The Legend of Bone Hill, Missouri
Nestled in the rolling landscapes of western Missouri, near the quaint town of Levasy, lies a place shrouded in local lore and whispered tales: Bone Hill. More than just a geographical landmark, Bone Hill is a repository of stories, a convergence point for Native American history, Civil War-era anxieties, and the enduring human fascination with buried treasure and unexplained phenomena. This seemingly unremarkable rise in the terrain has captivated imaginations for generations, giving rise to two distinct legends that continue to fuel speculation and curiosity to this day.
The very name, Bone Hill, evokes a sense of mystery and antiquity. The first legend associated with the hill explains this evocative moniker, tracing its origins back to a time long before European settlement. The story speaks of Native American tribes who once roamed the vast prairies of Missouri. These tribes, deeply connected to the land and its resources, would utilize a method of hunting buffalo that involved stampeding the massive herds. According to the legend, Bone Hill served as a strategic location for these hunts. The buffalo, driven by skilled hunters, would be herded toward the hill, where they were then slaughtered. The remains of these hunts, particularly the bones, were left to scatter across the hillside, bleaching under the relentless Missouri sun. Over time, the accumulation of these skeletal remains gave the hill its distinctive name: Bone Hill.
Early settlers, upon arriving in the area, corroborated this account through their own discoveries. They unearthed a wealth of artifacts, tangible remnants of the Native American presence. Arrowheads, crafted with precision from flint and other stones, were frequently found scattered across the surface of Bone Hill. Alongside these hunting implements, settlers also discovered flint scraping tools, further evidence of the buffalo hunts and the processing of the animals that took place on the hill. Most strikingly, the settlers encountered the bleached bones themselves, scattered across the landscape in varying states of decay, a stark testament to the hill’s historical significance as a hunting ground.
The second, perhaps more intriguing, legend associated with Bone Hill centers around a tale of buried treasure and a mysterious, unearthly light. This narrative unfolds against the backdrop of the turbulent pre-Civil War era in Missouri, a time marked by simmering tensions and escalating violence. The story begins with a farming family who, along with their enslaved laborers, established a homestead on Bone Hill. They quickly set about transforming the land into a productive farm, cultivating crops and raising livestock. One of their first acts was to construct a substantial stone fence that encircled their entire property. This fence, built by the hands of enslaved people, would later become a key element in the legend.
As the shadow of the Civil War loomed larger, the border region between Missouri and Kansas became a hotbed of conflict. The Kansas-Missouri border, already strained by the issue of slavery, erupted into open warfare, with pro-slavery "Border Ruffians" clashing with abolitionist "Jayhawkers." This volatile environment created a climate of fear and uncertainty, prompting many to take drastic measures to protect their assets.
According to the legend, the farmer on Bone Hill, sensing the impending chaos and fearing for his family’s safety and wealth, decided to sell his land for gold. Rather than entrusting his fortune to a bank or attempting to transport it elsewhere, he chose to bury it. The location he selected was along the stone wall that his slaves had constructed, believing it to be a secure and discreet hiding place. With the gold safely buried, the family packed their belongings and departed, promising their neighbors that they would return in seven years to reclaim their land and their buried treasure.
However, the family never returned. Seven years passed, and the community waited in vain for their reappearance. But in the seventh year, 1869, something strange occurred. A mysterious light was reported to be hovering above Bone Hill, specifically near the stone wall where the treasure was believed to be buried. This light, described as an ethereal glow, sparked immediate speculation and rekindled the rumors of the hidden gold.
The legend persists to this day, claiming that the mysterious light continues to appear every seven years. Some believe it to be the spectral manifestation of the farmer, forever bound to the hill, returning to guard or perhaps reclaim his buried fortune. Others offer more earthly explanations, attributing the light to natural phenomena.
Adding a layer of intrigue to the legend, local resident Edwin F. Borgman, who was born on the farm in question, provided a firsthand account in 1939. Borgman acknowledged the existence of the light, stating, "The light appears for a fact, I’ve seen it. It puffs up like a glow and goes away." However, he vehemently denied the existence of any buried treasure, asserting that if gold had been hidden on the property, he would have known about it. Borgman’s father purchased the farm in 1878, nine years after the purported appearance of the light and the promised return of the original family.
Despite Borgman’s skepticism, the legend of the buried treasure and the mysterious light continues to captivate the imagination. The lack of concrete information about the land ownership in 1862, when the treasure was supposedly buried, and in the subsequent years before Borgman’s father acquired the property, only adds to the mystery.
One theory attempts to explain the light through geological factors. Bone Hill is composed primarily of slate and limestone, and is situated near former soft coal mining areas. It is hypothesized that the light may be caused by gases seeping from seams within the slate-ribbed hillside. These gases, when released into the atmosphere, could potentially ignite, creating the eerie glow that has been witnessed for generations.
The article’s author recounts his own experience of visiting Bone Hill with a camera, hoping to capture the elusive light. However, his efforts proved fruitless. Similarly, conversations with friends revealed that no one had witnessed the light in recent years, leading to the whimsical suggestion that perhaps the ghost of the farmer had finally retrieved his gold and moved on.
Regardless of its origins, the legend of Bone Hill continues to fascinate and intrigue. The remnants of the stone wall, built by enslaved people, still stand one and a half miles south of Levasy, a tangible link to the past and a silent witness to the enduring mysteries of Bone Hill. Levasy, Missouri, is located approximately 25 miles east of Kansas City, Missouri, on U.S. Highway 24.