The Van Buren press., 1873-05-20
HUMAN BUTCHERY.
The Bender Gang of Southeast Kansas.
Story Of tie Finding of Or. yerk and
Eight Other Victims
The Bendcrs Traced to st. Louis
lrrnm tho 81 Louis rimos. ]

| II rom tht ~ spNle iiN'N''l
Through special dispatches the readers
of the Times have already gained somo
idea of the atrooious murders recently
pcrpctrated by tho Bender family near
Chcrryvale in southeast Kansas. 1t is
now known that the Bender family fed
in this direction. A detective, Dir.
Thomas Beers OF Independence, Kansas,
who hes done more than any one else to
ferret out the mystery, arrived yesterday
morning, having traced the Benu0rs 70
st. Louis. A Times reporter called up
On Mr.. Beers during the day and obtain
ed the inside history and full particulars
of the Benders bloody career.
For several months different persons
have been disappearing very mysterious
! " on tho route between Independence
and Osago Mission. Nearly q dozen
people had suddenly dropped out OF sigh!
in thi. way and tho matter was exciting a
great deal Of talk throughout southeast
Kansas.
About month ago, Dr.. William A.
York, brother Of Senator York, who
eXposod the Vaccinations Of Pomeroy,
disappeared in the same way, and all ef7
forts TO find him were in vain DIR. York
lived in Fort Scott and had gone out on
collecting tour. riding valuable road
stcr. He finally road down to lndepen-
doncc and visited his father, then ho
started home, passing along the treaeh
Gus route to Usage Mission, aud nothing
more was ever seen of him.
On the route between these places Is q
dismal stretch OF prairie, sparsely settled.
Two Of the landmarks of this prairie are
Drum Creek and Big Hill. Midway be-
tween them lived the Bender family, con-
sistpq OF the old man and old woman, o
Young man who passed IS the son OF
Bender and young woman who passed
as the daughter Of the Old woman. lhc
Young people passed as married, al
though the younger Mrs. Bender bore a
very slippery character on the point OF
morality,
Bender had frame house Of several
rooms, which no had built upon claim.
He professcd to keepa u grocery IN the
! front room Of tho house and On eating
room for travellers. The place was con-
sidercd kind of half way stopping place.
The house stood in the midst OF prai'
ric, with nothing to break the view for
mile round
Tho Younger Mrs. Bendor profcssed to
be n spiritual medium, and held oecas
sionally seances. She also had card in
one or two OF the country papers invit-
Al la, Iaairfl tn lnNl
the future revealed.
About two weeks ago crmore Senator
York organized party end secured the
country far and wide TO find some trace
of his brother In the course OF their
ride ;n,cv halte,a, at the Bender place to
feed Young Gender cheu be heard OF
their mission volunteered bis services 70
aid in tho search. This visit occurred on
w elnesday. The younger woman also
called Senator York aside and, telling oil
her powers, proposed to hold seancs
on the next Friday night, saying that II
no would come she would reveal the
whereabouts OF his brother
York paid little or no attention to this
and the party soon passed on.
About two weeks sgo, Mr. Thomas
Bsers who has been Kansas detective
for ten years or more, was earnestly re,
ouosted by Senator York to take hold OF
the ease and did so.
Day and night he travelled the roa'e
between Usage Mission and lndepsn
dsnce, seeking to solve the mystery, lie
soon struck ths trail Of n desperate with
whom he was acquainted The man had
served several terms in the pcnltentiary
and there was nothing to show that he
had reformed Beers found that TINS
man was travelling back and forth be
tween the Mission and Independence and
ho shadowed him closely Whenever
the man stopped Beers waited and then
learned bis conversation. He found that
tho villain was talking freely about mys-
terious disappearance,
At one place he told q woman about
the murder Of little girl seven or eight
years old, and when the Mortified listen.
or exclaimed, . How could they do it 2
he replied, "Why, they strangled her
Thi, was told TO Beers and he knew h'
had clue