Chief Conley's Skull Stolen and Repatriated. Chief Conley (Khan Comy) was a famous Chinook leader who died in 1830 In 1834, Dr. Meredith Gardner stole his skull from Fort Vancouver The skull was shipped to England and remained there until 1952
Chief Concomly (Khan Comy), a famed Chinook leader who died in 1830 of smallpox, had his elongated skull stolen and sent abroad for scientific study. Dr. Meredith Gairdner, Hudson's Bay Company physician at Fort Vancouver, obtained the skull around 1835. Eventually acquired by the Smithsonian, it was repatriated and reburied by the Chinook in 1972. A second Chinook skull was also obtained by ornithologist John K. Townsend in 1836.
Key Facts
- Chief Conley (Khan Comy) was a famous Chinook leader who died in 1830
- In 1834, Dr. Meredith Gardner stole his skull from Fort Vancouver
- The skull was shipped to England and remained there until 1952
- It was then sent to the Smithsonian and held until 1972
- It was finally repatriated and reburied by the Chinook in an undisclosed location
- A second Chinook skull was obtained in 1836 by ornithologist John K. Townsend and sent to Samuel G. Morton
Related site: Bohaterom Powstania 1863 Fr. Nullo — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Signs of Lost Civilization in Pacific Northwest United States by DeDunking