Omaha daily bee., 1883-01-08
BONES OF THE RENDERS
A True Story OF the Flight, Pursuit
and Capture OF the Murderers.

st. Louis Republican.
Time and again the fate of the Ben.
de- family has been q question warm.
ly debstS bin all parts of the West.
Many people maintain that the family
were duly killed by the avengers of
DR.. York, whose death first brought
to notice the murderous family. Not.
w~ithstanding this, every little while
m the report that the Benders are
still living and have been captured.
There have been discovered no less
than a hundred different Bender fami-
lies, and a collection of the newspaper
sensations relative to the discoveries
of Benders would prove a most inter
esting literary curiosity. The latest
Bender sensation was q local one,
when the detectives of this city clap.
ped a guileless citizen into a ralaboose
upon the statement of q man named
Green. He was discharged from cus-
tody q few days afterwards.
The Benders kept an inn on a lone
some road near Cherryvale, Labette
county, Kansas. The road passed
through the middle of q prairie, six
miles from C~herryvale, and all the inn
travellers often stopped to get lodg-
ings for the night. Travellers stop.
ping there, supposed to have money,
were seated at the table, and while
they were taking their meals, a u
tain which was suspended behind
them showed the position of their
heads. A blow with the head of al
axe from behind the curtain would
stun or finish them. The bodies were
lowered into a cellar underneath
thr ugh q trap door, where the pockets
would be riff I'd of money and valua'
bles and then the bodies were
BURIED IN A HOLE
dug in the lot In the rear of this hos
pitable tavern. The disappearance Of
DR.. York led to the discovery of these
terrible crimes and the sudden depart
ure of the Bender family.
Many statements of the manner In
which the Blenders met their retribu'
ton have been made, but the circum
stances of the affair have for a Ions
time been enveloped in mystery. A
new version of the fate of the BenderI
sets the matter beyond all doubt.
The following statement by Capt
s. O. Reeves, who was first liertensn
of Captain Burrows battery, U. S
volunteers, and who was living at In
dependence, Kansas, at time the Ben
der family were detected as the mur
derers of DR.. York and others, wa
given 10 CJlonelD w. Wear, of THU
city, who furnished 1t to The Repuo
licsn. According to Captain Reeves
statement DE-. York lived in Indepsnd
ence, Kansas, and went from indie
pendence to Fort Scott to sell a nous,
and lot at that place. He negoJt lated
the sale, but the purchaser did not pa.
any money down. York started 70.
his home in Independence, ant
was met and recognized at Paracns
Kan, where ne purchased SOM
cigars. He was next met Ca the roAC
from Parsons TO Bender's and recog
nized by three or four parties, but h
never could be traced beyond Ben
der's. DR.. York's wife being indis
posed her husbands return was tx
pected that night. His brother
Colonel York. aware Of the delicat
condition of his brothers wife, starte'
out after him, and the first trail h
struck was at Parsons, where h
learned that the doctor had gon
through Parsons on his way home tn
day before. From this place he se