Omaha daily bee., 1883-01-08

out on the trail, and heard of Hrs
brother three or four times between
Parsons and the Bender place. Colo
mel York stopped at the Bender place
and made inquiries for his brother,
the doctor The Berders denied that
he had ever been there. Colonel
York then went to Independence,
Montgomery county, Kan, and got
Sheriff Stone. They both Colonel
York end Sheriff S'one) made a visit
to the Blenders. On arriving there
they had a conversation with John
Bender, and the information they got
from him was unsatisfactory, but
enough was obtained to
ARGUS THEIR SUSPICIOUS.
Colonel York and Sheriff Stone
then returned to Independence and
raised q party Of men. They started
out to Bender's the very next morn
ing, and when the party arrived at TIE
place it was discovered that the fam.
lily had all decsmped. They then
tdnted around the house, and finally
prosecuted their search in the garden,
where they found that the ground had
recently been disturbed. On remov.
ing the surface soil they found the
body of DR.. York and others, who had
been murdered, buried in these crude
graves. Hon. William Wright and S
s. Peterson, deputy United States
marshal at that time, followed the
wagon track across the open prairie to
Thayer, Kansas, which i, about
twelve miles from the Bender house.
There they found the Benders' wagon
and horses, which had been aban-
doned. They there learned that the
Benders had taken the train on the
L., L & G. railroad for the north.
The pursuing party telegraphed the
conductor of the train, Aand he tele-
graphed back that the Benders had
stopped at Chinutte or New Chicago.
They next telegraphed the ticket agent
at Chicago or Chinutte. He an
swered that he had sold the Blenders
tickets to Chetopka, Kansas, which is
Just two miles from the Cherokee line.
Messrs. Wright and Peterson, after
obtaining this valuable information,
mounted their horses and rode rapidly
back to the Bender place, where they
found Colonel York and Sheriff Stone.
The four men at once procured fresh
horses and started In I'll haste for
Chetopa. At Oswego they again pro-
cured fresh horees and started anew
for Chetopa, only distant eight miles.
Then they s%scertained that the Ben
ders had taken a team and wagon,
which was awaiting them there, and
had gone in a southeasterly direction
toward the Grand river, In the Indian
nation. Chetopa is about thirty miles
from the Grand river. When the
pursuing party reached Chetopa they
were only about three hours behind
the Blenders. They pushed rapidly
ahead, and the four mon came up with
the fugitives four miles from the
Grand river, and there without further
ceremoney the Benders met the retri.
button due their crimes. They were
all shot &c death, and the bones OF
old man Bender, his wife, John anG
Kate, lie there In a hole dug in the
ground, where they remain at this
day.
Mr.. Wright Is now living in lows
and Peterson is q resident of indie
%pendepcs, Kansas. Stone is living IL
Montgomery county, Kansas. About
q year after the terrible murders by thu
Bender family occurred, Colone
Wear visited the spot. The house
had disappeared and a few stone.
forming the un~depinning and a hollow
space, which was the cellar, with here
and there an excavation In the rear
were the only signs to be seen of thu
monstrous crimes perpetrated by III,
Blenders, who In their turn met will
swift punishment and a just retribu
ton.