According to regional newspapers of the day, Gust Piper was found in his cabin near Dent shot through the head in February 1941. Law enforcement investigated the death as possible foul play, though some believed it was suicide.

He had been scheduled to testiby in a criminal case before the district court against Jasper Safely, North Fork, who had been accused of stealing a calf from the Martin Zimmerman place.

It was Zimmerman that found Piper in his cabin after the continued barking of a dog. Piper lived on Zimmerman's land. The injured man was taken to the Burn's Hospital, but succumbed to his wound.

A Clearwater County Coroner's jury deliberated for 45 minutes Feb. 27 before delivering a verdict of murder in the fatal shooting. The newspaper accounts never mentioned who may have been accused of the murder.

Leo Ratliff was the sheriff and Sam Swayne the prosecuting attorney involved in the case.

Piper had no know relatives. He was born in Germany and came to the U.S. when he was 9 years old. He came to Ahsahka in 1903. In the accounts, his name was recorded as Gus and Gust and his age was between 73 and 85.

For further details on the case see: http://clearwater.idgenweb.org/obituaries/piper,%20gust.html.

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