St. Landry democrat., 1880-08-14
kansas City Times.]

On the 9th of March 1878, DR.. William
Fl. York left Fort Scott on horseback
for his home in Independence, Kansas.
He never arrived at home. On the 2Sth
of March the Lawrence Tribune gave a
brief account of his disappearance and
limited at foul play. York was well
known throughout the State-a brother
of Col. A. NJ. York, whose expose Of old
Senator Pomeroy had at that time made
famous. The story Of York's disap-
pearance was now in every mouth, and
every effort was put forth to solve the
mystery of his absence. Rivers were
dragged, spots fit for an ambush were
probed foot by foot, lonesome places
were quested as keen hound scents a
trail that is cold, and still no traces OF
the lost man were discovered. Not a
shadow Of evidence rested anywhere
to say that DR.. York had been murdered
not a sign anywhere told how he came
to his death, il indeed death had over
taken him unaWares. He was traced
to Cherryvale, in Labette County, but
no further. There all track and trace
of him ceased.
About two miles south of Cherryvale,
in rude frame house standing in a lot
of two acres in dimension, lived the
Bender family. There were four of
them-father, mother, son, and daugh-
ter. The mother was splrltuallst.
She called herself a medium the neigh
bOrs called her she-devil. She had a
way Of boiling herbs and roots that
were supposed to have charms and
spells about them, and she dealt in in
carnations. She was repulsive in as
pect-tall, angular, and scrawny, with
hard, steel-gray eyes, and thin, ragged
gray hair struggling over her temples.
The family seem to have been totally
under the influence OF this ungalnly
creature. Her word with them was
law. The Benders ostensibly kept a
grocery. A sign was displayed in front
of their rude dwelling. The only artl-
Gle they dealt in was cheap native wine,
which was served on the spot. There
were two rooms in the house, one used
as a kitchen and dining room, and the
other as sleeping apartment.
While the excitement over the mys-
FERROUS disappearance of DR.. York was
at its height d party Of Cherryyale citi-
Zens dropped.in at the Bender mansion
and casually inquired of the family it
they had at any time during the past
week seen anything of DR.. York. The
visitand the questioning of the Cherry
vale party had strange effect upon the
Blenders. They suddenly disappeared !;
nor were they seen again till their ap-
prehedsion at Fremont, Neb., last week.
A man riding into Cherryvale from
the country one day was Impressed by
the deserted appearance of the Bender
place. He entered the yard: In the
stable he found dead calf. There
was every indication from the appear
ance of the miserable creature that
it had starved to death. The 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 OH everything.
Tt was suspicious. The man went ito
Cherryvale and told his story. Senator
A. M. York, the brother of the missing
man, was there. To his suspicious
mind the sudden and strange flight of
the Bender family was a revelation.
He had 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 creyice being infinitely
looked into and subjected to the appli-
cation Of rods and levers to see if the
flooring was either hollow or loose.
Nothing came of it. No blood spots
appeared. The floor was solid. The
walls were solid, Next the party