The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1873-05-27
THE DEVILS KITCHEN,
Further Particulars Of tho Bdtchs
er Bender's Den.
Pursuit Of the Human Butchers
How Armed Men Were Fooled.

How Armed Men Were Fooled
TFrom the Kansas City Times, 13th.]
The foul and dreadful series of mur.
ders lately broughtto light in Labett,
County, Kansas, continues to be the al
absorbing topic OF speculation and con
versation throughout the State,a and to ex
cite wonder and amazed horror all owe
the nation. Every item of circumstance
connected with the horrid butchery is dill
igently sought after, aud ears made cred
ulous by the feaffally true stery of tn,
darnnablc deeds OF the Bender family ar,
made to drink in rumors and storie.
which have their found alton only in th'
Imagination, which vainly labors 70 in
vent something more strange and horriG
than the reality. The Times has already
published such full and generally accu
rate accounts of the discovery of the af
fair and the subsequent movements Of tn,
populace, officers and criminals, that lit
tie remains to be added, but the following
facts cleaned by the Times special repor
ter, who returned from "Helrs Half Acre
as the Bender garden will hereafter b.
known-yesterday, will be read with uni
versal interest.
THE DEVILS KITCHEN.
Otherwise the Bender house, is a small
rude frame shanty, without lath or plas
ter or intervening substance between it
noof and the rafters of the pointed roof
In size it is 16x24 feet. Small upright.
2x4 inches are set to mark the house int
two compartments, but no wall had eve
been made other than a white cottol
cloth hung in the rear apartment ant
against these uprights. The front apart
ment had in it a counter, over which th,
butchers once pretended to sell groceries
In the rear room was rude bed, table
a stove and three chairs.
I The table to which the guests Of the
fends were seated, was placed directl,
over the trap:door, so that the guest
back was to and against the white curtain
In this position it was an easy thing fol
the male villains in the front apartment
to strike the form clearly lined and rest
ing against the white cloth, and when the
blows of the sledge and the hammer hat
knocked the victim, with a crushed anl
broken skull. senseless and helpless Il
the floor, for the female fends in the bacl
room to cut the throat. The execution
was as simple as it was dreadful; bu
though it would seem resistance to sucl
well planned murder of the trusting ani
unsuspecting was impossible, the wall.
gave silent evidence that some of tn,
murdered ones had not been sent to thei
doom without an effort to defend thei
lives. No less than dozen bullet holes
in the sides and roof of the house attes
that armed men, when struck down so re
lentlessly, had attempted to shoot thei
murderers; but unfortunately the aims
had been wild and the murderers are re
served for the hempen halter.
THE SITUATION.
i The building is located just on th'
rising edge Of beautiful narrow valley
circled on the south, east and west by .
range Of mounds or hills, fronting to th'
north IN the mouth of the valley. Th,
hills are distant from tile house from hal
a mile TO mile, the closest being on th,
south to the rear. The house fronted tt
the road just in the bend, sitting bacl
aboutits own length from the roadway
From this point of the road can be had .
full view of everything for half mile il
every direction, but not another house i
within sight. 1t is about seven mile
from Cherryvale, ten miles from Thaye1
eight from Ladore and two from More
head, and just ia the northwest corner o
Labette County.
WHERE THE MURDERED NOW SLEEP.
! With the exception of DIR. York ant
Henry F. Mckenzie, G.. W. Longcor an,
daughter, whose families took charge o
their remains and buried them at Inde
pendence, the bodies of those found il
the garden graves were quietly taken b.
silent men, who knew them not, yet long
ed for vengeance on their assassins.to th
base of high mound, about a mile t.
the southeast of the devils kitchen. an,
there second time returned TO the earth
to sleep until the final resurrection.
i WHO THEY WERE.
J The first of the eight bodies discovered
was DR.. York, of Independence.
GEoRaEw. LANcoR AND DAUGHTER.
Mr.. Longcor was a neighbor OF Dr.
York, from whom he had purchased
team just before starting for Iowa, in De
cember last. He and his infant chile
were buried in one grave. He, as all th,
other men, had the back of his skull
crushed in and broken, and his throat cut
and the body stripped of nearly all tn
clothing. The child was placed at it
fathers feet, without bruise or mark o
violence upon it, and all its little clothe!
on, even to its hood and mittens, an(
many Judge that the little one had beer
buried alive.
L. g. BROWN
was from Cedarville, Howard County. HI
had recently traded horses near Ladore
and was supposed to have had about S6(
with him. He was recognized by silver
ring on his finger, which was identified BY
the friend Johnson with whom he hao
traded horses.
". F. M'cRoTTY
lived near Cedarville. He was en- route
to Independence to contest land claim
One report says he had large sum ol
money on his person, and another Judged
to be more reliable, that he had but
small sum.
| HENRY F. MKENzIE
was from Hamilton County, Indiana, and
was on his road to locate at Independ
ence, where his sister, Mrs. j. Thompson
resides. He had but little money, anC
was on foot, and had been missing since
December last.
| PETER DOYLE
resided in Howard County. His body
was so mutilated as to be hardly recogni
Fable, but his poor widow identified him
by his peculiar shirt, which her own hands
had made for him. He had started or
foot to Usage Mission some time last De
cember.
| THE UNRECoGNIzED.
IT.. .I 80 +hn In3;oo not ;1opf;