Schott's Miscellany 13 July 2009
SKULL & BONES
Established in 1832, Skull & Bones is a secret senior society at Yale University that each year "taps" 15 juniors to join its ranks. It is likely that Skull & Bones would have piqued little curiosity outside Yale had not many of the "establishment" been members including three Presidents: Taft, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. The 2004 presidential race was given added spice, for conspiracy theorists at least, by the fact that Senator John Kerry is also a "Bonesman." The exact nature, purpose, membership, and intent of Skull & Bones are little known and much debated. As Lyman Bagg, himself a Bonesman, wrote in 1871: "The mystery now attending [the club's] existence forms the one great enigma which college gossips never tire of discussing." Over the years, a plethora of rumors has dogged the society, alleging bizarre initiation rituals and dark, fraternal codes of loyalty.
"He had his lawyer Caroline debamboozle the small print."
