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compared to the T.B. Story claim of 1946. He said, "I was as-
tonished to see how closely the accounts agreed."
Finally, the Extreme History Project of Bozeman uncovered
another possible suspect. Thomas Kent claimed to have been
hired by Nelson Story to kill John Bozeman, and said that he
had indeed committed the murder. He made this confession
to his family, and it has been passed down for generations.
I admit a lot of this information is hearsay, stories told to few
people, by people who have been dead for quite some time.
Unfortunately, this crime was committed before our town
had the facilities for a coroner's inquiry, and no sort of official
investigation was made. The only conclusion I can reach is
that we will most likely never know what happened that day.
There are too many rumors, conflicting accounts, and a lack
of admissible evidence to truly determine who murdered
John Bozeman.
The mystery-minded reader is invited to draw their own
conclusion.
Fort C. F. Smith
John Bozeman's grave,
located in Bozeman's
Sunset Hills Cemetery
Special thanks to
Rachel Phillips, the
diligent research
coordinator who
helped me at the
Gallatin Historical
Society & History
Museum, and the
Gallatin History
Museum Research
Library, for letting
me haunt their
halls and pore over
their well-kept
documents.