Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1890-10-30
KILLED BY THIEVES.
DASTARDLY WORK OF TRAMPS
AT DESPLAiNEsI Ill.
Ehsy Attack m Old Man, Michael Braxeil,
and Brutaliy Pound Him to Death-Rsb-
berry the Motive Tor the Crime.


and Brutaiiy Pound Him to Death-Rsb-
berry the Motive Tor the Crite.
[Dcsplnlnef (ti.) dispatch
Michael BFazell, one of the oldest and
~palthieSt citizens Of Desplaincs, was
brutally murdered by thieves shortly
after 8 o'clock last night. The murder.
ers wayaid the old man In his barn,
crushed his skull with a bludgaon, and
then robbed him. To get al his money
and vAlnabes they had 10 cut his pock-
cts, and WHEN he was found by neigh
bors his cletiles were cut to shreds. His
wife estimates that the robbers got at
least 81, 200 and several thousand dollars
worth of papers, as he was IA the habit
OF carrying much money about his per-
son. Mr. RrrZtll went out to milk his
cows shortly after supper, and when
he had finished the job he went into tho
barn, which is about block from
his house He carried lighted lantern
In one hand and pail tt milk in
the othor. The three Robbers were wait
ing for hm II Is believed thst they
attacked him the moment he stepped
over the threshold, and tried to brain
him with heavy piecc OF scantlins
which was subsequently found In the
barnyard covered with blood. That
Braxel made a gallant fight fof his life
everything in the barn As well as the
marks on his body would indicate. A
man of powerful physique and fearless,
he fought his assailants untib finally
overcome, he sank 20 the floor nearly
dead His arms were torn and lacerated,
his hands were COVERED with blood, his
Face and neck were mass of cuts and
bruises, and several of his ribs were
broken. Even the walls OF the barn w6f6
bespattered with blood.
The assault occurred at time when
the streets were nearly deserted, and
not until the murderers had secured
their booty and were flying for safety
did anybody hear the old mans feeble
cries for help. William Haben and his
wife passed the barn just as tho murder
ers vaulted the fence, one of the fell
lows, who was bareheaded and whose
face was covered with blood, eollided
with Mrs, Haben and sent her reelng
into tho gutter He ran on without
saying word, leaving Haben 10 pick
his wife up. The faces and hands Of
tho other two men wefe also bloody.
Mr.. Habcn's drst impulse was to follow
them. b0t he was arrested by feeble
cry OF "murder," which seemed to come
from Brazelrs barn. IIo listened, and
again heard the cry more lndstinGt than
before. Thoroughly frightened and
confused he ran to Wicke's saloon, and
told Wicke what he had seen and heard.
Tho two men ran back to BraZell's place
and entered the barn. Lying on tho
floor. his face covered with blood, which
was flowing from score of wounds,
lyAs, Rrazell, lIn- -recngniznd- -Hnbep AND
Wickes, and In q faint Voice exclaimed:
"Tve been murdered; I'm dyings
The two men bent over the Injured
man, who made one or two vain efforts
to talk and then died with his battered
head resting In Habcn's arms. After
covering the body with some bags Habcn
and Wickc ran out and gave the alarm
to BraZelrs neighbors. In asfew min
utes a hundred men armed With shot
guns and revolvers were securing tho
country in search of the murderers.
Every nook and glen, every strip of
woodland was searched, but the fellows
had left no trail. Word was sent to tho
police department in the city for detec-
tives, and half dozen were dispatched
from the Central Station to help in the
man-hunt, but they arrived at Desplaines
too late to do any good. The only thing
the murderers left behind that will serve
to identify them was hat. 1t was an
ordinary Derby hat, in fair condition be-
yond the battering it received from old
man Brazells blows.
When the men were last seen, about
IL o'clock, noar Norwood, ono of them
was described as hatless. The fact was
reported by. two farmers who were driv-
ing in from the city, who said the trio
was walking along the road in the direc-
q 10 III 49, L.,
anxious to conceal their identity. Word
was at once sent to the police station at
jefferson TO send out men to meet them
If possible. Along the line of the North
western at every station between Des-
PLANES and Chicago officers were search
ing freight cars as fast as the arrived,
and everybody who could not give an ac-
count of himself was promptly taken in
and locked up at Montrose. Four mon
were taken from one train that passed
through Desplaines. The men were
travelling in pairs, and had between
them over 500. This, coupled with
the fact that they were stealing ride,
gave the officers some hope that they
had caught the right men. The three
murderers are known by sight to half a
dozen persons in Desplaines. They
spent Tuesday night in the railroad sta
tion and yesterday sat In Wicke's saloon
drinking and playing cards. Last even
ing, just before 6 O'Clock, one of them
entered the saloon with an empty whisky
bottle and asked Wicke to fill it, The
fellow was apparently under the influ-
ence of liquor and the. saloon-keepcr
told him he could not have any more.
The same whisky bottle was afterward
found in Brazelrs barn near the battered
hat.
ThSt the trio cano TO Desplaines for
the express purpose Of robbing old man
Brazell Is generally admitted IL has
been known among the mans neighbors
for years that he was in the habit of car
rying big sums of money, and though he
has been warned repeatedly against the
habit he persisted in doing so. At times
he was known to have 81 800 i'm cash In
his pockets. Only a week ago he cashed
a check for friend, paying him S4oO in
gold. He did an extensive loan business
with the farmers, aud always carried
from one to twenty notes for sums
ranging from 800 II $1,000. When he
was searched by the police no trace OF a
note could be found. Men who knew
him we'll say that the exact amount the
murdcreTs got will probably never be
known The old man, while conceded
to be wealthy had no bank accounts. He
abhorred banks. He believed they were
institutions run for the purpose OF de-
fraudng people, and always considered
his own pocket safer repository than