Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-08-12

How the Kansas Friends Were
Captured-Snfe behind Iron Bars
The story OF Their Horrible
Crimes.

Captured-Safe Behind Iron Bars
The story OF Their Horrible
Grimes.
A correspondent OF the Philadelphia
Times, writing from Omaha Neb., says:
The story of the crimes of the Bender
family is upon everybody'a lips The
greatest crime of the family is likely, in a
small measure at least, to be atoned for.
But the most horrible death that old John
Bender could be put to would but in a
slight degree avenge the suiferings of bis
many victims. In the jail at Fremont,
Dodge county, man il locked up who is
supposed to be the fend that the author
ities OF Kansas have been looking for for
seven years There hardly seems doubt
of his identity. With him is q woman
repulsive, kard-fisted and old. She may
be the original Mrs Bender or she may be
his mistress, Opinions differ on this
point. When they reach Kansas the
authorities will have hard work to guard
the couple from the attacks of the popu-
lace, who are thirsting for their blood
In 1873 old Bendersand his wife and their
son John and his wife lived near Cherry
vale, Lahette county, Kansas. Their
house WAS about two miles out of
town. 1t was rude frame structure,
standing In lot of two acres The old
woman called herself q medium. She had
way of boiling herbs and roots that were
supposed to have charms and spells about
them and she dealt in incautations. She
was repulsive in aspect-tnll, angular and
scrawny, with hard, steel gray eyes and
thin, ragged gray lair struggling over her
temples. The family seem to have been
.,,n
creature. Her word with them was law
The Benders ostensibly kept grocery. A
sign was displayed in front of their rude
dwelling to attract visitors, but the stock
in trade consisted principally of sort of
cheap wine. There were only two rooms
In the house. One was dining room and
Kitchen combined. In the other the four
Benders slept.
InlS73 number of persons travelling
in the direction of Cherryvale mysteri-
onsly disappeared. No traces of them
could be found. The first Disappearance
that attracted public attention was that of
an old man and his grand daughter, who
left Oherryvale in February, 1873, in
two-horse wogon, to go 10 Fort Scott, but
who never reached that place. All inqui-
ries failed to elicit q clue to their disap-
pearance until, about the beginning of
March DIR. Fl. York recognized the wagon
and team at Fort Scott. He ascertained
that the wagon had been purchased at the
Fort from some person who had come
from Oherryvale, and he determined to
ferret out the mystery. He left Fort Scott
on March ., and he too disappeared. DIR.
York was well known, and the greatest
efforts were made to discover traces of
him. A large reward was offered, rivers
were dragged, spots fit for ambush were
probed foot by foot, lonesome places were
quested as keen hound scents trail that
is cold, and still no traces of the lost man
We're discovered. Not shadow of evil
dence rested anywhere to say that DR..
York had been murdered-not sigh any.
where told how he came to his death, If,
indeed, death had overtaken him una
wares. He was traced TO Oherryvale in
Labette county, but no further. There
all track and trace of him ceased The
excitement was at high pitch. One
DAY an exploring party stopped at
the house of the Benders. Had they
seen anything of DR.. York? No, the
answer came, they had not They knew
nothing whatever concerning him. But
this visit had strange effect. The next
day the Bender family disappeared. and
almost as mysteriously as did DIR. York.
This suspicious circumstance aroused
curiosity. A man riding into Cherryvale
from the country one day was impressed
by the deserted appearance of the Bender
place. He entered the yard. Iu the sta.
BILE he found a dead calf. There was
every indication from the appearance of
the miserable creature that it had starved
to death. fhe man walked up to the
house, opened the door and looked in.
Not an article of household furniture had
been removed, but the dust lay heavy
upon everything. The man went to
Oherryvale and told his story. Senator
A. Nj. York, the brother of the missing
man was there. To his suspicious mind
the sudden and strange flight of the Ben
der family was revelation. He found
the first clue to his lost brother. He
divulged his suspicious, and band of
men accompanied him to the Bender farm.
The front room of the house was carefully
searched, every crack and orevice being
minutely looked into and subjected to the
application of rods and levers to see If the
flooring was either hollow or loose. Moth
ing came of it. No blood spots appeared.
The floor was solid. The walls were
solid. Next the party searched the back
room. The beds were removed. In their
flight the Benders had left everything un-
touched.
The explorers were about to retire when
they noticed depression in the floor.
trap door was revealed. 1t was lifted up,
and in the gloom pit outlined itself, for
bidding cavernous, unknown. Lights
were procured and some OF the men
descended. They found themselves in an
abyss shaped like we'll, 6 feet deep and 3
feet in diameter. Here and there little
damp places could be seen, as though
water lad come up from tho bottom or
been poured down from above. They
CROPPED around over these splotches and
held handful to the light. The ooze
smeared itself over their palms and
dribbled through their fingers. 1t was
blood. Every suspicion was realized.
The murderers had fled, leaving behind
damning evidences of their hideous guilt.
But where were the bodies of the victimsp
For au hour the party of excited people
traversed the lonely garden in the
rear of that human slaughter pen,
prodding the earth with long
iron rod. All at once the iron
seemed to strike tieshy matter. In
moments time a dozen eager spades had
resurrected from its shallow grave the
decaying body of Il human being. 1t had
been buried face down. They turned it
to the sunlight. cry of terror went up
from the crowd. 1t was York's corpse.
Although far advanced in the stage of
decomposition the features were plainly
recognizable. How the murderous deed
had been done was speedily and easily
learned. A terrible blow on the back OF
the head had crushed the skull upon the
brain, and the throat had been cut from
on. One after another were laid bare the
graves of ten murdered people. Most of
the bodies were identified. Among them
were the bodies of two children. There
were no marks of violence on them.
They had been buried alive. The mur-
ders had been committed for robbery.
Travellers were asked in TO drink. They
never left the house alive.
All traces of the Bendtrs were lost.
Where they went no one knew. A few
days ago man WAS seen at Richland
travelling eastward with a woman. They
stopped ut house, aud soon after their
arrival made inquiries as to whether any
thing had yet been discovered of the Ben
der family, who formerly lived in Kansas.
Their talk and actions excited suspicion,
which was further strengthened by their
answers to questions asked them. They
appeared excited and told conflicting
stories as to who they were and
where they were from; said they
had lived five or six years among