The Republican journal., 1871-01-19
THE BINGHAMPTON MURDER.

IN August last mysterious tragedy &C.
c,urcd in the little town of Binghampton, on
the Erie railroad in New York. During the
night of the 18th of August the store Of d.
N & +. G. llalbcrt, containing general as
-ortment of merchandise, as is usual in
country places, was entered by burglars, who
opened the front door by boring holes in it,
so that they could reach tie lock from the
inside, As soon rs they had entered they re-
moved their shoes and opened the doors Civ
n@ access to the rear yard, which reached
down to the Susquehanna River. They then
began removing their plumber from the store
10 this yard, and succeeded in getting there
in large bags which they had brought with
Them, and which nobody but the professional
burglar was ever known to possess, a large
iaantiig of silks, valued in the aggregate at
~iooO. This operation naturally consumed
much time and involved the making of some
little noise, rs they used no lights except per-
haps that of a bull's-eye lantern, and thew
would occasionally stumble over some OBJ
i"ct IN the crowded store-room. But frederick
y. Mclrick and Gilbert Burrows, two clerks
who slept in the building, had not been
3Wa6ened by all this uproar, and it was not
until the burglars had returned after remoy-
my all the silks, that they made some unusual
noise which disturbed the slumber of the
clerks flushing from their beds and into the
lore At the same moment, they caught the
burglars Just as they were going out the
JACK door and one, snatching up large iron
ar used for opening boxes, dealt the last of
me rctreating marauders a terrible blow over
ne forehead, intlicting q larcerated wound.
ana telling him to the floor. He cried for
hrp rs he fell, and two men rushed back
lrom the yard, one of whom fired pistol
-h"t which struck and killed Merrick, one of
Inc clerks The fallen burglar had meantime
nrEAlhed ms feet, and, instantly after the
lot was fired, the three men ran off down
lhc yard toward the river, and disappeared
in The darkness.
The Sun 1lvor OF this terrible scence instant
y gave the alarm, and IA a little while the
hooked town was all astir. Hundreds Of
men were searching everywhere for the ma
rudcrs who had left behind them the plunde,
they had removed to the yard, one carpe
ha%. their shoes and other alticles After ;
Ion" search an old man of respectable an
peasnce. but for 'he moment of stra.paaut
disturbed aspect was found concealed in ,
remote clubhouse and taken into custody, A,
inquest was held and even ything possible wa
done to convict this man. who soon became
known as Edward Rulofl, with the crime
but there was no evidence against him ex
ttli inc ldCl tiidl he was Stranger. an(
concealed himself, SO that at last he was dis
charged. But Just at this moment, up +
which no trace Of the other two men ha,
been discovered, the Susquehanna river CAV
up its dead. as two bodies floated to the sur
face from the bottom of a deep hole midwa,
Of the stream, and close to the zig-zag fort
from Bnghampton to the opposite shores
Both bodies were those of young men
strangers in the place-one was barefoote
ana the other had on rubbers; but thei
pockets were searched and in those of on
OF them were found burglar tools. amonf
which was a bit which exactly fitted the hole
in the door OF the store, and on the forehead
of the other was the wound made bv tn,
iron bar. 1t was evident that fate had cboot
cd the law of its due in the cases of at loo g
Two of those concerned in the tragedy. hu
where was the third outlaw Ruloff was re
arrested, and confronted with the dea,
bodies, but he viewed them with callous in
difference. and affirmed that he had neye
seen either of them in life; but the instinc
OF The community declared he was the thir
man, and more in obedience to popular opin
ION that from any hope of securing convic
tion' hew as remanded to prison. The cler
who swore positively to the two dead men
was uncertain as to the live one, but som
time after another of the carpet-bacs wa
found in a remote field, in which were foun,
some scraps of papers, which sent Mr.. pete
w. Hopkins the keen District Attorney NJ