, 1873-05-13
The Diabo1ical Crimes Of the
Bender Gang.
rlntla1lg of the Bodies of
tho Victims.
Letter from a Visitor TO the Scene~...
An Interview with Detective.
The Benders Formerly from Hyde
Park, the Chicago Suburb.

como current enough in tloac days, when crime, |
L not moro frequent, Is, At lcast, moro fro
Quantly known In sill its brutal, horrid, stupidity
selr-betsaying details; but ono fools tho utter
lnadoquacy Of this and every similar expression
ks descriptive Of tho
RECENT TERn1nLE D1gGLoBUHEe
in the adjoining County of Labotto. To1egraphfo
notice haa reached you before now OF tho dlsap-
ii tho middle Of last March. of DR.
William IL. York, brother Of Col. York, Of POM
eroy notoricty, and of tho factB TINT caused tho |
words " Disappearance" and " murder" to be- |
como synonyms namely: throo or four othora |
having disappeared during tlo past fall and wn- |
tor, In that region, In an equally mysterious
manner. The finding Of his body and thoHo OF |
eight othorH has developed history Of butchory |
beforo whose appalling details
ONE IS SIMPLY wonDbEss.
Yesterday went out to tho scono.of tho muir
DORIS place distant II miles, and found aov-
cral hundred poraona already thorc, some Of
whom had apent tho night, and oven womon-of
apparent Refinement, for whom that blood-dronch-
cd spot seemed to hayo morbid fascination.
Tho farn,, or " olaim," hs 1t is called hero, is
beautiful pioce Of 'ssecond bottom" land, undu-
lating gently upward from the house, crouching
In green basin; thus atrording an early viow OF
any approaching wnyfarcr.
This houae and claim were owned and occu.
piod by d
GERMAN FAMILY NAMED BENDER,
Bnid to hnvo moved horo year ago from Hyde
Park, ono Of yonr own beautiful suburbs.
young apple orchardli lies at oneBtdc Of tho houae,
and this orchard, twice plowod this spring, and
looking q cheering exponent Of human thrift,
smiling prophecy Of plenty, hid unaor it's inno-
notwithstanding lap
EIGHT BLOODY coRpsEs.
Thoy wore buried in IN irregular line from east
to west, and each bosiln m infant troo 30 pruncd
as to show tho murderers how to avoid digging
second timo into grayo. DR.. Yorls'a body waa
found first, and found by Ills own (youngor)
brothor,-ho and tho dotective, BoorH, being
engaged in probing the ground With pointed iron
rods. When tho news reached Independence,
large party visited the place, and Boom unearthed
four other corpses, In various atagee Of decom-
position, hut all bearing marks Of
l. THE sAME Fatal. HAMMER
q Hhoemnkor'a tool), or, rathor, hammoru, for
| one, sometimes tho other and in ono or two IN
| atanccs both, had boou used in crushing tho
! elsulls of tho yictimH.
| As + arrived thero yesterday, they had found
IN all eight hodies, aud wore preparing to move
| the house from its foundations. The 1ouso Was
tolerable ono for the country hereabout, being
| Of frame, aud containing in ono corner petty
grocery whilo across the contro Of tho one largo
| room WAS drawn curtain about breast-high,
and near this curtain had alwayB atood tho table
where tho una.1Bpocting traveller was given scat
with hiH back to the fatal blind, and in the floor,
| besido hia chair, D small trap-door On hinges.
Everything wns here just 40
| THE wNErouEs HAD LEFT II
In their guilty aight throo wooka ago, Qhoy fed
Immediately aftor tho visit of tho 6horif with
Coils. York aud Peckham On their aearch for Dr.
York;. Here lay tho miserable stock Of gro
ceries, atreWn about and trodden into the filthy
| floor hore were still tho murderous hammers
wl,oao disks fitted only too we'll into tho pItoouB
tsounda Of the putrofying bodies now lying In
tho yard, covered with rude doal-boxes.
had hoard before how the victims had boon
stunned by blow from behind the curtain, and
tho bodies tlon dropped through the trap into 8
pit below, whese they wexe finished by having
thoir nocka cut through to the bono, and whore
they renamed until night enablea the alaugh-
terars to hide them more securely, md, Us the,
fondly hoped, permanently but not until d hun
dred furious mon had wronched tho house from
tho spot On which 1t atooa, not until tho mist!
light Of q aullon dny had boon thrown
| FULL INTO THAT CORY FIT,
revealing the awful doliborateneas Of prepart
tion, the full purpose and prospect ct the futur
indefinite extonHion OF such crime, did perfec
panorama Of that namoleBH Horror unroll itaol
i before mo. For many wero on tho ground yes
torday who told mo thoy had paasod and repssso
their lunch st that houho, md they agree in d
tho lotai1s Of tho customs OF seating aud eory
ing traye!ers there. Apioturo roso
LIKE DnEARY NIGHTMARE,
and showed mo poor Longcpro sitting thore Wit
| ia 1,ah1 fYuf 1nf
the curtain Of FutnTi.y for him showed mo H.
> stealthy hand upliftod from behind, armod wit
hammer, and descending with mortal forco Q
tho nnsuspooting head @ showed ~ ma ~ tno pafa
before another murderer Tor nlurderess, Tor 70
.. know thoro wore two women engaged IL th
work) Beizod tho childish throat and put ont fcs
. and life together then the trap.door nftod u
senger came, q . ncighbor called, thoy could Il
md clint without unploaaantnoHH:
t | II tile days wore long while al,eh pale corpHt
laY b1ooding under tae hoor thoso sa 5wo CIV wome nc
j knows not. It Ia already dlslocation OF ono
faculties to conceive ut MI nuch beings AZ tAos
: and quito impossible to imagine remorAo IN
learth OF mural Aenaa that would mako =
!: morao an inoongr1llty. But night comos Mt
|. ogery day, long or short, aud then ho1e Is ~
under tho appfo-troo, tile father stripped OF b
d outer-clothng and put In, the poor little 81
J. thrown upon Ills hody (sono conjecture, indee
, that -..-. .--.
I: sHE WAS hurried ALIVE,
: ainco sl.e bearH mark Of riolence}, the era
y filled, and the earth raAod about aiA made
= look lilso tho oireumjaeont ground. Some OF 4
J; graves were very narrow, only allowing tho bo
l. 70 lio upon its sido, and tho first grave was d
?. ike vol, and tho corpae thrust in standing,
Il rather. Bqltatting.
nf ~ Tho bodies, 10 far aa idontilol, aro those
s. York, McUrowdy, Brown, McKonzlo, Longce
L. and Child Callan, nnd ono not yet rocognizea
Ia, I neod not toll you that tho whole COUNT
side In .... ..-.........-
ooNyuGsEn WITH HORIZON AND INDIGNATION,
at and burrH with tlamo Of revonge that can 0,
of DO qucnchod with blood. Tho atrociousneas
nG tho criminals Is magniilod BY the fact that til
u paid so lightly and willingly tho price Of ass
ia, ainaton for tho proBpeot Of trlillng gains; I
re beyond tho Aalo OF the hotsoH, thoy renli2
cd vory little reonniarily, mono Of tho murder
tp men having much money with them, thou
ho two (ono Of them Dr. York; had
It; peeted to carry some hundreds OF dollars, .
To- this fact may have become known. WI
ho guidol tlen, In their olo!eo OF Victims, no {