The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1877-09-01
"The papers had an awful story to tell

II P"HSAD AANSN ga A"t"A wv
when it came out" said the traveller.
$50 they had but they didn't tell it
bad enough. Those pale-faced chaps with
lead pencils over their ears didn't git
around there to see the worst of it. | tell
you, sir, there never was such another
gang of cut-throats in this country. They
had been killing away and killing away
for years. Leastwise, some of the bodies
had almost gone to dust, and it takes
time Cor that. When a man came along
there who looked to have money they
( popped him over, no matter whether he
was a stranger or lived only 8 dozen
miles away. The bodies were buried down
cellar and around The house, and 'spect
that we didn't find bali O them. When
they first commended killing they
probably took the corpses further away
to bury 'em, and were more careful to
cover up all signs, I'll give my word that
the gang put over twenty travellers out
O the way"
"And what finally aroused suspicious
against them?'
"Well, several things. The chap who
passed for Kate's husband had too many
horses to sell. They got reckless, and left
revolvers, riding. boots o~vercoatsand other
such things in sight. Then Senator
Yorks' brother was murdered there, and
the crowd who was on the hunt for him
! tracked him to old Bender's to a dead
certainty. The old man stood up as bold
as q lion, and ever asked them to search
the house. If they hadn't been bluffed
they wonld have found two corpses in
five minutes search. I wasn't with that
party, but with a second, and we got
around there that night. The Benders had
taken alarm and made tracks"
"Isn't it curious that the family could
have escaped the country, when hundreds
of men were on the lockout for them?
observed the traveller.
"Wall, yaas," slowly replied the
strange old a
"And hew do you account for it,"
He chuckled and looked out of the
window. There was an interval of three
Tor four minutes, during which ne chewec
at his tobacco. Finally he said:
"They won't find old Bender il
Maryland. nor in Mexico, nor anywhere
else on top the earth, and they needn'
look any O. the rest O. the gang"
care they dead?"
"Purty likely they are, stranger! Whel
you see any more newspaper items abou
any of the Blenders turning up, you jes
: ak yourself if corpses can turn up ant
l walk around!'
| "When you and the others discovered
that the family had fled, what did yor
do?" asked the traveller, hoping to draw
, the old mans secret.
"Sat right down and sucked on.
thumbs, of course!' he chuckled. "That'i
what we did; butsome cfthe resthad mor'
pluck. They started out ON as plain
lsthF riff as they wanted to foller, and before
sunrrlhAmbcr, rraaEany futher use o
anybody hunting for the Bendersp' en
"Why?'
"Why? Well, what's the use O. locking
for anybody after they have been sho
full O. holes and planted? I reckon tina
the old oma quit knitting and singing
religious jest about daylight! Bout thu
time, also, that she-devil Kate and he.
hoss-thief of a husband pulled hair aRe
called each other hard names for the frs
time. The stranger who was with TIL
family might have been a hoss-thief,
preacher OF an angel, but I guess GU!
boys didn't wait to ask many questions!'
'And old Bender himself?'
81 guess he didn't git away stranger
Iguess there are men in Kansas wht
could dig up what's left O. him withou.
much trouble Law is good enough
in some cases, but in other cases it i
bout as well to plant a family in sandy
sile aud not have any fooling around!'
Sand that's the reason the Bender
have not been ~discovered?n
.Purty much the reason, I reckon
though folks can keep on looking if the,