Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-11-11

BENEDICT AND HENDERSON,.

- WIN
BENEDICT AND HENDERSON,.
Full Psraicniars ofthe "Mysterious lIisap.
p~esrance" Casc-An III Treated WIf.
aud an III Treated Husband
Come ToEsther-They
Agree 10 Never
Go Home
Again.
Sioux City Journal, 9th.
The Journal Of yesterday morning made
mention Of the FACT that q Mrs. Hendershos
whose home is near Yanktou. was mvster.
iously missing.
ihere is usually some methoi in these
mysterious" disappearancce, aud the above
worthy had . notion that he might find fod.
der If he kept his eyes open for = trail. He
he was on the track Of this affair. but found
that the woman was from farther up the riy.
er and did not answer the description. But
last evening be struck q new lead and this
time Mrs. Henderahot was at the end of II.
Inquiries Of Mr.. Ruger, proprietor of the
American house, ELECTED the fact that =
couple were stopping there of whom be
knew nothing and was a little inclined to be
suspicious. They had come to the house
Wednesday evening about Z o'clock and reg
lstered rs man and wife, saving that thew
had driven about seventy.6ye miles in =
lumber wagon. They attracted considerable
attention and drew considerable comments
the following day by their loving behavior
and honey moon bearing, particularly a. the
woman had remarked that they had been
married eleven years. Further inquiries
showed that the description of this woman
tailed exactly, even to the clothes worn,
with the one given above Of Mrs. Hender.
shot.
There could be little doubt that here was
the solution Of the "mystery," but how to
get the particulars Of the affairs was the
next question over which the reportorial
brain was cudgeled Finally ~coaxine Mar.
shal Melon with his in%timida.ing official star
in % the job We went down to have an inter-
view. The couple had retired, but we've
called up and after some time the woman
made her appearance. To the inquiry, as
this Mrs. Henderson, ?" She answered
without hesitation, in = low tone, that it was.
To the question, "Who is the man Won were
With up stairs ~ che simply asked, "Am l
obliged to tell " As the questioners had no
notion of attempting a show Of authority.
she was not questioned further upon this
point, but the investigation was shifted to
the room up stair, where the companion
was found. He answered questions freely,
both %supposing they were facing officers
about to arrest them. The story in detail.
as gathered from both, is about az follows:
The woman's name 10 Mrs. George Hen
dershot, and the home of her husband and
the place she too has until this week called
home is on the Jim river, but two or three
miles from Yankton. She has been mar.
ried TO Mr.. Henhershot twenty years and
they have four children, the youngest being
aged ten and two years. She claims that
,Hendershot hss abused her during all the
years Of her married life, and says, also, that
he knows very we'll what he left him for.
She has threatened often to leave him and
would have done SO before but for the chill
dren,of whom she speaks tenderly and seems
to think q great deal. She says. she has
told him frequently during the past summer
that if he would let her take tie two younp-
er children she would leave him but he re-
fused. Her final department. will therefore
tie seen, and so she says, was not the result
of IN impulse. but the outcome Of q deter
mination long settled. The man in the At.
fair gives his name as A. G. Benedict and
says he ha. left = farm of 24O acres. and a
wife and daughter aged twelve or fifteen
years,to take care of Mrs. Henderson,. He
lived about thirty.one miles from the Hen.
dershot place, but has been acquainted with
Mrs. IL. Tor years, the two families having
lived as %neiehbors in New York state, aud
moved to Dakota at the same time. He,
too, has beeo unhappy in his domestic rela.
tons, and it would seem has been in the
habi. Of seeing Mira. Hendershot occasiopa'-
~ that they might trade complaints and
minEle and kis. away tears. At the ques-
ton "how long haye you contemplated this
step?' he answered, "six months-one-
two-well-thirteen years."
Last Monday was finally chosen Is the
day for the consumation of their desires TO
shake OF the old aud irksome ties and s,ep
into the heaven of happiness they faucied
was open to them. Yankton was agreed
upon IS the place Of meeting, and thither
she went as the Press above states. He
was on hand with Z team and lumber wae-
on. and they started ct once for Sioux CITY.
reaching here Wednesday night, and stop
ping ON the way at Gayyille and Vermilion.
Benedict has been looking for work here
and says they did not OK poet I 20 any fur.
Their. Both say they will never 20 back,
and Mrs. Henderson, is very decided in
saying that she will never live with her
husband again. She says she bad intended
to write him . note telling what she had
done, and gives her reason for stopping
here. was that she wanted to be where she
could see her children occasionally. Meth.
ct Of them seem to appreciate the fact that
they have been guilty of q crime for which
they can be severely punished, but look
upon It ratt or as q family affair. The NO
man said she knew she had done wrong
but her husband had driven her 10 il. Il
was. che said. her first step in wroug-duing.
and no one knew what she bad suffered
both before leaving home and since. Mrs.
Hendershot 10 preposscssing 10 appearance
and quite lady.like 10 her manner. Her
brown hair. so plentifully sprinkled with
gray. speaks Of trouble, but her form, above
the medium hight, is erect snd gives her
dignity. She looks like q woman Of taste
and has some culture. but q glance at the
she has run away with either bellies it
Op indicAtAa that eha = az ln1eoA vorv ~,ch