Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-05-20

somewhere near the oath OF April
William Bender had sold to some
person either in or near CherryvaIe
watch, some clothing of a fine
character, two mules, and perhaps, a
shot gun or two and some pistols.
How did he come by these? If the
dead could speak the question might
be readily answered.
The party from Cherryvale arriv-
ed at the house directly from the
Usage Mission road, having the OUT
house in the rear and to the south of
it.
In the rear, as we have said, was
garden. This at first was not ex-
amined. The front room of the
house was next carefully searched,
every crack and crevice being mi
nutely looked into and subjected to
the application of rods and levers to
see if the flooring was either hollow
or loose. Nothing came of it all. No
blood spots appeared. The floors
were solid-the walls were solid. If
there were dead men about, they
were not in the front room. Then
came the back room. The beds were
removed. In his flight the elder
Bender had left everything untouch-
ed. Not even the doors were lock-
ed, though such had been the repu-
tation Of the she-devil that the prem
ises stood as safe from intrusion as
if protected by a devil in reality.
After the beds he been removed
one of the parties .oticed slight
depression in the floor, which, upon
examination revealed q trap door
upon hinges. This was Immediately
lifted up, and in the gloom pit out.
lined itself, forbidding, cavernous
unknown. Lights were procured and
some OF the men descended. They
found themselves in an abyss shaped
like well some six feet deep, and
about five feet in diameter. Here
and there little damp places could
be seen, as if water had come up
from the bottom or been poured
down from above. They CROPPED
about over these blotches and held
up a handful to the light The ooze
smeared itself over their palms ard
dribbled through their fingers. 1t
was blood-tbick, fptid, clammy,
sticking blood-that they had found
cropping there in the void-the blood
perhaps Of some poor, belated trav-
eler who had died while dreaming Of
his loved ones. The party had pro-
vided themselves with long, sharp
rod of iron which they drove into
the ground in every direction at the
bottom of the pit, but nothing fur
Their awarded the search, and they
came away to examine the garden
in the rear Of the house. After bor-
ing, or probbing, rs it were, for near
y an hour, the rod was driven down
into spot, and when it was with
drawn something that looked like
matter adhered to the point. SHOW
els were at once set to work, and in
few minutes a corpse was uncov err
ed. 1t had been buried upon its
face. The flesh had dropped away
from the legs. There was no coffin,
no winding sheet, no preparation
for the grave, nothing upon the body
but an old shirt, torn in places and
thick with damp and decay. The
corpse was tenderly disinterred, and
laid upon its ba TX in the full light of
the soft April sun. One look ofhor-
ror into the gastly, face, restoring
and swoolon, and a dozen voices
cried out in terror:
my GOD, IT Is DR.. YORK !"
And il was. He had been buried
in shallow hole with scarcely two
feet of dirt over him. Had he been
murdered, and how? They examin-
ed him closely: Upon the back of
his head and obliquely from his right
ear terrible blew had been given
with hammer The skull had been
driven on the brain, and from the
flattencd and broken crcvices a dull
stream Of blood had oozed, plastering
his hair with kind Of clammy paste
and running down upon his sholders.
Strong men turned away from the
sickcning sight with shudder. 9th
ers wcpL Some even had to leave
the garden and remain away fro m
the SHAMELESS of tho butcher
1t seems as if the winds carried
the tidings to Cherryvale. In an
hour all the town was at the scene
of the discovery. A coffin was pro-
cured for DR.. York's body, and his
brother, utterly overwhe lmed, sat
by the CHASTITY remains as one upon
whom the hand of death had been
laid. lie could not be comforted.
But the horrible work was not yet
completed. The iron rod was again
put in requisition until six more
graves were discovered five of which
contained each a corpse, and the
sixth, contained two, an old man and
little girl. Some were in the last
stages of decomposition, and others,
not as far gone, might have been
identified if any among the crowd
had known them in life.
(: The scene was horrible beyond des-
cription. The daylight fed from the
praries, but the search went on with
undated vigor. A fascination impos.
sble to define, held the spectators to
the spot. The spirit of murder was
there, and it kept them in spite Of
the night and the horror of the sur
roundings.
Six butchered inhCman beings were
brought forth from their bloody
graves, and three others are yet to be
uncovered. 1t is thought that more
graves will yet be discovered. Tho
pit under the trap door was made to
receive the body when first struck
down by tho murderers hammer. All
the skulls were crushed in, and all at
nearly the same place. One of the
corpses was so horribly mutilated as
to make the sex even q matter of |
doubt. The little girl was probably |