The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1890-09-10
THEY ALL KxKw BEAcH.

THEY ALL ENEw BEAcH.
1t will be remembered that We published
an extraordinary paper some weeks ago, al
legged to be confession of one John Beach
that he and a man named Miller murdered
Herman Umberger 1t was hard then to
understand the very peculiar fact that this
would be confessor began his story by Civ
ing an account of his effort to get a skiff at
Kansas City away back in 1879, and follow
ed It with an account of his wanderings
thereafter until the murder All this Of
course had nothing to do with the murder,
and was hardly to be looked for in an ordi-
nary common place, square up and down
confession
At Confluence on the 3rd instant witness
es were called to prove that there was such
a man as John Beach IN Gaylor Kansas, in
1873 Iiat be, with Jasper Mountain, James
Mountain, Amos sipe of Fayette county
and wm- Burkholder of Draketown this
county expressed their satchels TO Scottdale,
ard started foot, and BY freight trains for
the east. Beach was from Iowa, the others
from Pennsylvania. They trudged along to-
eether to Atchisou when the Mountains left
them. and the rest went together TO Kansas
Chy. Here Beach told them to go below
the City and he would get skif and meet
them down the river at 8 o clock that night.
They went and waited until II O'Clock but
Beach did not come and from then until
now their eyes have not seen him, nor their
ears heard Of him except through this con-
fession. They came east and from thence
forth Beach Is missing man.-Just the sort
of character needed for some one to tie con-
fession to.
On cross examination they admitted they
had talked about the occurrence Of their
trip west,-one Of them {Sipel saying lit was
big thing to talk about them tines" Burk-
holder produced picture Of Beach, which
he said be had kept in his album at home
for several years where il was inspected by
the ueiehbors and that he often explained
who the man is
From this II seems the story Of Bepche's
mysterious disappearance has been floating
around the DraKetown and Mil Ran region
for some years and easily supplied ready
made, eut-ansl-dried hero for this wonderful
confession,
II explains Eor Itself also the reason for
beginning the story at the point where Beach
started for the skill in 1873.
The witnesses described the man Beach
they Travelled with in Kansas Is feet tall
II
or over, s5 to 20 years old, bald headed. thin
hair, heavy beard and dark sandy hair
They also proved that in the latter part OF
July 1890 stranger appeared in Fayette
county, and went TO James and Jasper
Mountain and talked about the Nicely case
and said their story corroborated Beech's
confession and asked if they thought it
would be right to give statement to let
guilty parties escape, and wound np by say
ing he knew Of fty men who would give
s. or $40 piece not to have that corrobora-
ted testimony. This man disappeared and
the witnesses Samuel T. Leonard and jam es
Mountain could not give bis name as evil
dence. bat he offered to sell buggy or al
organ and asked the road to BAkersviIle
Jasper Mountain did not appear to testify.
sQTRE KING rEsrIEIEs.
The deposition Of Elijah P. King Esq, oi
J Middlecreek township, the Justice befors