The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-06-22

THE TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES OF HENRY r.
BENGE AND WIFE.


THE TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES OF HENRY r.
BENGE AND WIFE.
The Topeka ks Commonwealth tells a
story of the Remarkable Sufferings and
Adventures Of Henry II. Beuge ano Wife"
which is sufficiently sensational to be true,
for life on the plains twenty years ago was
violent and yenturesoine beyond any idea
of the present generation. The Common
soed5th says
Mr. Henry X. Bense is man of forty-four,
and was accompanied on his recent visit to the
Fast 10y his wife Elizabeth. strong, healthy,
sun-browncd woman somewhat his Junior, and
their daughter Milys EirI of eighteen. In
chant of Philadelphia, newly married, whose
property was all swt pit away 10y the financial
crash. DcSpairing of ever soaring his broken
fortunes he started, with tue small remnant OF
bis pt ssessions, for the tar W est IN May OF the
panied hun proceed ded by rail as far he thef
terminus of the iron lines Jefferson City, MOI,
whence they took boat to i4eaVenworth, Kan.
There Mr.. Benge made the acquaintance of sew
cral young men about 10 tit cut a train for
pixies Peak" as the whole OF Colorado was
then called, and arranged 10 join them. The
party, nine men aud tour women, left Lea
worth j Ine 10, ISIS, and moved by way of To-
pekd and Council Grove TO the old Santa Fe
trail. where they canped on Cow Creek. Dur
irg the first night OF their camping some of
their mules STAN peded and early next morning
Three OF the men started in search OF the ami
mais. These men, William Manning. James
Bra-heres anu Henry SpilHnai, al! residents of
the STATE OF New York, were never afterwards
seen 10y any OF the parry, About 4 o clock that
evening some twenty hOrScmen, ali white men,
.esurely rode into the camp from the direction
taken Ivy their comrades III the morning, dis
mounted and ordered them To surrender claim
ing that they were Depu:y United States Mar.
shals. and that they had orders tor their arrest
for stealing Government mules Mr.. Benge
stepped furward ard demanded 70 see their
wariunts, claiming at the same time that there
must bc some mistake. He had hardly spokcn
the words before II buriy ruffian struck him Il
terrible how over the head with navy revo-
yer. saying at tie same time: This is our
warrant."7 He fell as ii dead, and the other Ave
men, james Marshall and Elliott Jones. of East
Tennessee, and John Harvey, David H. Scrib-
ner and Benton ForsyIhe. of Southern Illinois
sprang to their weaponsHnda II desperate conflict
ensued, winch ended only WHEN three of the as
sniiauIs had been xii ed ana four badly wounded
and all the members of the train oycrpow cred
and murdered AS soon as the last man was
disposed OF, the helpless women more dead than
alive were dragged from the wagons, where
instant death, to sit down and ma Ike no attempt
to escape. The band then proceeded to rifle th..
dead, and piiiny the bodies OF friends and foes
alike into one Of the wagons beg an their march
down the stream, compelling the women to
walk in advance. Art..r making some i've miles
in this way the mara udcrs halted and weut into
camp for the night, dug trench besi6e the
stream and piled into il The hodies of the slain,
ana heapcd the earth over them i'll a rude
mound. Among the effects IN the wagons they
found a small keR OF brardy. of the contents OF
which they partOok immOfCrateiy. In less than
an honr All were in al bcastIy state OF intoxica-
ton. ana The loader oi the band approached
Mrs. NJ OrcheHd ttnere does not appear to have
been amy MIR. MOrchead with the party aud
began taking in@olcnt liberties with her. The
terence to what they Feared tI,-,. wrt.tches
might do. The hnuGits beRan quarrelling among
themselves over the women tncy bad captured,
ana finally drew lots for them, and Subjected
their uniOt tunate prisoners tn every outrage
ihelr debdSed and drunken I'M CinatiOns could
deN Use.
Meanwhile Mr.. Bengc. whose dead body, by
slme fortunate aud fortuituus in exposition
wholly unaccounted for, hal not been huddled
into the sham Jlvs-wHgOn ana .,urIcd liz the
7 trench, had recovered from the effects OF his
blow. aHd found ON rising To his unsteady feet
that lie was alone. On every hand were ev!.
/ dences of the Iightful crime that had been
committed; blood was every W here; he saw the
traii OF me wagons gong down the river, and
determined 10 follow IT. About 10 O'Clock he
had managed 10 crawl towards The camp, near
enough to see and hear ali that was going on
Ih"re he WIS compelled to lie helpless and
listen to the hears -reudiug cries of these Door
! women Tor aid: to hear the Jitiiui appcnis of
his wife TO the monsters dcsist Towards
morning everything became quiet, ana he crept
8 into the btvOusc oi the bdnditIi. BY good for
tune the first woman he encountered was his
Wite' aha she was 80 surprised aud terrified on
( seeing the apphrition OF the husband whom she
deemed oea" hat SHE gave Il wild, HncarthIy
scfcain. Mr. l5cnEc S"Izeti her by the arm
sGringiy, and dragged her alter him. Her
1 scr am awoke the runbers, WHO spraug up with
leari al oaths, and sInlr o! them started in pur-
sun, but owing To the darkness bi the mig nj the
dulineSs resulting from their drunkcnnts So, aud
the supeIhuman efforts made 10y Mr.. Benge and
| MS Wile, WHO were now thoroughly aroused.
they managed io rludc pursuit. The, fie, the y
hafdiy knew how, and certainly knew not
whittier, and after much toll and suffering
reached the mountains, where Ihry took up
their abode i'm cave. Mir. Beuge irnprovised
traps Tor game, which furnished hem with food
and clothing, ana So they contrived to exist
/ Tor twelve years, without seeing another hu-
[ man lace save that of their daughter Miiiy.
{ who was born to them in 1859. la July. Is1 l. n
party oi miners pt ospcctinV for gold discovered
/ 'hiin ana took them to their camp, some ten
miles distant. Mr.. Bcnge aud his family re-
Uained with these men some time. He then
mace bis way 10 Denver. " here he has remained
/ untll ne recently made up his mind to again
! hIsit the East, having accumulate cd IA handsome
! iittie sum in the mines.
such, according to the Commonwealth, is
! the o'er-stiange and o'er-true tale or Mr..
/ Henry Benge. who, with his wife, was cut
on from civilization during twelve years,
! IN which the world lived century. the
great civil war began and ended, the man
| OF Europe was remade, France turning Re
public and Germany empire, the East and
| West were linked by IRON bands and the
two hemis,,heres joined by cables, and all
civilization took In know ledge and expert
ence a cycles advance