The Lincoln County herald., 1873-05-21
HUMAN DUTCHEBY.
A Horrible Kassss Murder Der

A Aovvib1e KasSaS Murder Der.
tFrom the st. Louis Times, llth.l
Through special dispatches the readers
Of the Times have already gained some
idea Of tho atrocious murders recently
by the Bender family near
in Southeast Kansas. Il is
now knosn that the Bender family fed
10 this direction. A detective, Mr.. Thos.
Beers of Indepe ndence, Kan who has
dous more than any one else to ferret out
the mystery, arrived yesterday morning,
traced the Dender's to St. Louis.
A Times reporter called upon Mr.. Beers
during the day and obtained the inside
history and full particulars Of the
Benders' bloody career.
For several months different persons
have been disappearing very mys'eriously
on the route between Independence and
Usage Mission. Nearly a dozen people
had suddenly dropped out of sight in
this way and the matter was exciting q
great deal Of talk throughout southeast
Kansas.
About month ago, DR.. William A.
York, brother of Senator York, who
exposed the machnations of Pomeroy,
disappeared IN the same way, and all
efforts to fnd him were in vain. Dr..
York lived in Fort Scott and had gone
out on collecting tour, riding a valua-
Bile roadster. He finally road down to
Independence aud visited his father, then
started home, passing along the trcach-
erous route to Usage Mission, and moth
ing more was ever seen Of him.
The York family is ore of considerable
influence in that part Of Kansas, and the
affair caused great excitement. The
other disappearances were recalled tc
memory aud the people began to talk Of
tho existence Of a gang Of murderers and
robbers somewhere between the Mission
aud Independence.
On the route between these places is /.
dismal stretch of prairie, sparsely settled
Two of the landmarks of this prairie
are Drum Greek and Big Hill. Midway
between them lived the Bender family
consisting of the old man and the old
woman, young man who passed as a sol
of Bender, and young woman who
passed as the daughter OF the old woman
The young people passed ns married, al
though the younger Mrs. Bender bore O
very slippery character on the point o
morality.
Bender had frame house of severa
rooms. which he had built upon claim
He proie.sed to keep a grocery In th'
front room Of the house and an eatn,
room for travellers. The place was con
sidered kind of half way stopping place
The house stood IN the midst Of prairie
with nothing to break the view for mil
around
The younger Mrs. Bender pro fessed t.
be a spiritual medium, aud held occa
sionally seanccs. She also had a card il
one or two Of the country papers, inviting
calls from those who desired to have th
future revealed.
About two weeks aco or more, Senate
York organized a party and secured tn
country far aud wide to find some trac
Of his brother. In the course of thei
ride they halted at the Bender place t
feed. Young Bender when he heard O
their mission volunteered his services t.
aid 10 the search This visit occurred o
Wednesday. The younger woman ais
called Senator York aside, and, tellin
him of her power, proposed to hold
scance on the next Friday night, sayiu
that if he would come she would revea
the whereabouts Of his brother.
York paid little or no attention to thi
and the party soon passed on.
About two weeks ago, Mr.. Thoma
Beers, who has been Kansas detectiv
for ten years or more, was urgently n
quested by Senator York to take hold {
the case aud did so.
Day and night he travelled the roui
between Usage Mission and Independ
euce, seeking to solvc the mystery. II
soon struck the trail Of a desperate wit
whom he was acquainted. The ma
had served several terms in the peniter
tiary and there was nothing to show tb'
he had reformed. Beers found that tn
man was travelling back and forth b'
tween the Mission aud Independence an
he shadowed him closely. Wherev'
the man stopped Beers waited and the
learned his conversation. He found th
tho villain was talking freely about my
terious disappearances.
At one place he told woman abol
the murder Of little girl seven or cigl
years old. and when the horri6ed listen'
exclaimed. "How could they do it2'
replied. "Why they stra"gled her." Tb
was told to Beers and he knew he had
clue.
At another place the Disappearance
York was the topic, and the man conf
dentially said they would never hr
York, for he had been burned in . cor
field and the ground ploughed over.
Beers heard this. too, and some 9th
things. Then he learned that Il
Benders had suddenly disappeared, 81