The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-08-06
THE MArAmoRAs nYsrERY.
The Only Mystery Involved IL; Who
Started the Lie?'

Last wednesday morning the ISrELLt-
CEScKE printed q very romantic story Of the
confession OF . dying man, that ne and two
others, one already dead, bad seventeen years
before murdered an oil land Spectator. The
story was taTen from the Bellaire Tribune
and credited to that paper. 1t was considered
rather doubtful; but on Thursday evening
the Tribune followed Its publication up with
q statement that the only living mar named
10 the alleged confession had been arrested.
On Thursday 81 1ErELLlGEScER reporter also
met Col. Dan johnson, OF Long Reach, Tyler
county, at the Capitol, and was assured
by him that there could be no
doubt OF the substantial truth OF
the story. The Colonel. further gave
the reporter 4 statement OF the case much
than that which had been printed. Upon
consideration this story was regarded as TOO
sensational to pint without personal invest
igatIon, and accordingly q reporter was sent
to Matamoras to investigate the truth OF the
account. TIE object OF this was 10 obtain
the bottom facts II there were any TO obtain,
and to avoid needlessly mi lring the parties
connected with the runiorsl II the charges were
unfounded. Tue reporter Visited ReY. Thorn
as Cline, the Methodist minister who had
been with Mr.. George West in his last hours,
when he was alleged to have made the con.
fession to Nj. Cline. This minister Is an old
gentleman, reliable in the highest degree,
and highly esteemed by the whole com.
munity. He said Mr.. West had never
made any confession OF any kind,
TOR had he. intimated anything that could
suggest o suspicion that he had any burden
on his mind. He was a consistent Christian
gentleman, and had died the death OF a
Chris ian at peace with God and a a
rumor was encountered that 1t was not Mr..
George West, but a man named James West,
living in another part OF tao county, who
had made the confession, and that he had
made II 10 another m mister. Investigation
OF this rumor showed The James West IN
question to be living, to have been astranger
TO the other gentlemen connected by ru.
NOR with the crime, aud this story to be as
false and g~roundiess as the other. The
statement that Mr.. Andrew Kirkbride, OF
Matamoras, the only living party 10 the
tragedy, mad been arrested, was 80 far from
true that he was in this city Saturday
and yesterday, accompanied by the
son OF Mr.. Ward, also named in the
rumors as an accomplish, and the son -in.law
OF Mr.. West. They were accom- panied ty an
attorney named Richardson. These gentle
men were Justly indignant at the publication
u LuE pukluEtoho thAAbt6 ttAA ~ NVNSt
mined to ferret out the person who was re.
sponsible for the falsehoods. In this lauda-
bic purpose the IsrELleEScEg hopes they
will b. successful. How a story withoutany
foundation In fact could have originated IL a
mystery; but tLat 1t was without q particle
oftruth for q basis the reporter who visited
the scene was satisfied. There Is no reason
to believe that any man was ever murdered
under the circumstances given; It was an
impossibility that Me:srs. Ward, Kirkbride
and West should have been implicated in 1t
o.ether, for they never met until fourteen
years after the crime was alleged to have
been committedi and no confession or state
ment was ever made on the subject. More
than this, at the time given, seventeen years
ago, there was no speculation in oil landS or
options in that vicinity, and consequently no
such person as the man reported to have
been murdered was in Washington county.
The whole story 10 false, and 80 utterly
groundless that one 10 at a loss to even con
lecture how 1t could have originated