The Osceola times., 1878-01-12
An Appalling Career.

The st. Louis Republican has pub.
lished story from the lips of G. ID.
Hildenbrand, convict recently released
from the prison at Jeffersonville. II was
received by him from fellow criminal
named " Hawkeye," alias "Raleigh Bill"
who recited iton his death bed. His fint
crime was the killing of man in Char
lesion, in 1850. Two years later he COM
mitted murder and arson in MiIledge.
vile. In 1855 he killed man in New
Orleans. In 1858 he was in st. Louis
working with some confederates, with
whom he quarreled, and as one Of them
knew all about the New Orleans homi.
eide, he was very anxious about his own
safety. One night he saw them exceed
ingly drunk, and Hawkeye met them as
they were going to the Pacific hotel,
where they were stopping. As they
staggered along he shadawed them and
conceived the idea Of burning the hotel
and them too. After waiting until they
mad probably fallen asleep, he attempted
to force an entrance to the laundry, but
was driven away by large watch dog
Later, however, he got into an unoccu-
pied room through window, and there
started the connagration, making good
his retrcated undetected. The fire spread
80 rapidly that many of the guests were
smethered in the smoke aud flames, or
killed in attempting to escape from the
windows. The two men whom Hawkeye
feared had rooms close to the roof, and in
their drunken stupor they suffered the
fate designated for them. As they never
gave any further trouble to him, it is
probable they roasted in bed. Hawkeye's
after career did not abate in ferocity a
little. In 1860 he started for Canada in
company with gang of horse thieves,
four in number. On the way they de-
coyed girl of train of cars near Pom
tiac, ILL.,, and after maltreatihg her in
the most brutal manner, completed the
crime by murder. An innocent man, a
negro, was afterwards hanged for this,
and the doctors got his skeleton. A few
days later, the gang committed another
similar murder and escaped the country.
Hawkeye always denied having anything
to do with these two crimes, and said the
same on his death-bed. The following
wear he helped to kill man at the resi-.
dence of a counterfeiter named Bigelow,
about twenty miles above Rock Island.
The next great crime in the calendar was
the burning Of large livery stable in
Galesburg, ILL.,, to create an excitement
while the gang could beat the bank in
that place. The stables burned, but the
scheme failed. The next was the murder
of an old man, his wife and three daugh.
tcrs, on the road near Welton, Dewitt
county, Iowa. Three horse thieves were
with him in this, and they got $500,
three horses and a wagon. This was In
1862. In 1864 he was in bank robbery
at Hamilton, Canada, for which one Of
the gang was sent up for three years
Atterward he decoyed man from Toledo
to Windsor, Can, and there put him
under water, robbing him. On the SAINT
night a heavy silk robbery was perpe
trated in Detroit. In January, 1866, h.
killed a negro sub-broker in Dunkirk, N
Y. This was the list OF Hawkeyt'
offenses, which weighed heavily on hi
soul. He died soon after telling the story
and, in accordance with his express re
quest, his body, instead of being buried
was packed in a box, weighted, and sunl
in the Mississippi. Hilderbrand sen,
word to his relatives where they could
find his body, but it is not known whether
they ever took it up or not. t.