The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-12-06
A STRANGE TALE.

World recently;
In December, 1878, John w. Hillman
made applications for insurance on his
life at Lawrence, Kan, in the offices of
the Mutual, the New York and the Con-
necticut Mutual Life Insurance compa-
nies. The applications were forwarded
to the home offices and in the same
month he was insured for $25 ,000-$10,-
600 in each of the New York companies
and $5 600 in the Connecticut Mutual.
He paid the first quarterly premium to
the three companies and then started for
the far West, ostensibly for the purpose
of establishing cattle ranch. A COM
panion started with him named John III.
Brown.
While crossing the prairies they met
young man named Frederick A. Wal
ters, whom Hillman hired to accompany
them and tend the cattle on the ranch.
On the evening of March IS, 1869, the
party camped few miles outside of
Medicine Lodge, Barbour county, Kan.
The following morning Brown came in
to the village and announced that his
friend Hillman had been accidentally
shot while removing some goods from
their wagon. A coroner's jury was inn
paneled and went out to the camping
ground, where Brown narrated the story
of the shooting. He said that Hillman
and himself had been travelling together,
without any companion, in search of
cattle ranch. A verdict of accidental
death was rendered and the body was
buried in the cemetery of Medicine
Lodges. Walters had disappeared and
nothing was heard of him.
When the news of Hillman's death
was brought to his friends in Lawrence,
they refused to believe the story of acci-
dental shooting, and had the body eX-
humed and brought home. Another
inquest was held, and an examination of
the body revealed the fact that it was not
that of Hillman. The insurance COM
panies agreed to act together and sift the
matter to the bottom. They believed
that Hillman was still alive, and that he
and Brown had procured corpse for the
purpose of securing the insurance. The
was curly and came down around his
face, while Hillman's was quite straight
and brushed back from his forehead.
The dead man had the usual number of
teeth, while Hillman was known to have
one missing. The dead man had re-
Gently been vaccinated, and the scar on
his arm was quite fresh and sore. Hill
man had also been vaccinated just before
starting on his trip, but the doctors GER
titled that the scar on Hillman's body
must have become clcatrized by that
time. The dead body was taller than
Hillman's, and it was remembered that
Hillman had tried to get his height falsi-
fled while undergoing the medical ex-
animation in the insurance companies
offices. The fatal wound also was one
which could hardly have been inflicted
in the manner described by Brown, and
the latter had become very much con-
fused at the inquest in narrating the de-
tails of the occurrence. Altogether it
was evident that the dead man was not
Hillman, but who he was remained
mystery.
A photograph of the corpse was taken
and sent to various places. 1t was first
recognized at Fort Madison, Ia, as that
ofFrederick A. Walters, the man who
had Joined Brown and Hillman on their
supposed search for cattle rancho.
When the photograph was shown to
Walters father, he at once recognized
the features as those of his son. He took
it home with him, and, accidentally
dropping it from his pocket, it was seen
by his wife and daughter, who at once
burst into tears. Several letters of Wal
ters were found. One to his sweetheart
in Fort Madison, whom he addressed as
dearest Alvira," stated that he was
going West with a man named Hillman,
who owned a large cattle rancho, and
who had agreed to give him very liberal
wages for his services. He told her to
remain constant to him, and he would
return in few months with enough
money for their marriage. Walters
brother, G. r. Walters, described the
body before seeing it, and said that there
was a mole about the size of pea on the
left leg. The body fully answered his
description, even to the small mole.
This left no doubt that the body was
that of Walters, and that he had been
killed by Hillman and Brown as SUBJ
stitute for the formers body in order TO
secure the insurance money.