The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-12-29
AN ODD CASE.
Mark M. Bachelor Found Dead Near
Sebag0 Pond.

Home Without Him-But the Officers
Think His Death May Have Been Caus-
EDDY Fall.
Yesterday morning Sheriff Plummer
received despatch from Baldwin, say
ing that Mark Bachelor, a farmer, had
been found lying dead near Sebago pond
with wounds on his head, and suggested
that the matter be Investigated. Sheriff
Plummer and Coroner Perry Immediate
on receiving the despatch, left for the
scene of the affair. The Investigations
of these officers resulted as follows:
Mr.. Bachelor was former who had
resided for some time ut East Sebago
where he carried on farm. He former
ly lived in Saccarappa and moved from
that place to East Sebago. He was about
55 years of age, man of large and pow
erful frame, generally good tempered, but
a man who wouldn It allow himself to be
imposed on. Saturday morning he har-
messed his horse to his sleigh and left
home in order to carry lady to Bridg-
ton who had been stopping at his house.
He carried her to Bridgton without In
cident and on his return stopped at a
place called Kenniston's, road house
that has not. it is said, very savory re-
putation. Here Kenniston's people and
two men from 6hapleigh, said to be
weavers by trade, and Irishmen-were
celebrating the Christmas season. The
Shapleigh men had brought down quite
lot of whiskey and the party had been
enjoying it to the utmost. According to
the story of the officers the party appar-
emily got pretty full
The Kennistons say that Bachelor left
the house soon after dinner and drove
back towards Bridgt0n. Nothing was
seen of him again until about o'clock
in the evening when he called at the
house of Swede, situated about half
way between Kenniston's and his own
house. When he called at the Swede's,
he was leading his horse. The Swede.
who went to the door, didn It know Bach
eldor, but says he saw that his head wa
bloody and that the blood had dripped
down and on to his coat. He asked Bach
elder if he was having any trouble. Bach
edor replied no, and then without stop
ping, went right along. The bloody APP
pearance of 1.-THE man, and his peculiar
manner, disturbed the Sw EIDE and he got
lantern and followed after him. He
traced Bachelor for some little distance
by the blood that had drippcd on to the
snow until finally he lost the trace and
mad to return to the house without fnd-
ing out where be had gone.
Sunday morning, Cash White. a farmer.
who lives by Sebago pond, went out to
the stable to look after his stock and
while there heard the voice of some one
shouting as if in pain, and DESTROYS of
followed up the sound of the cries and
found Bachelor lying near the pond,
about rod off from the road, in clump
Of brushes. His face was all scratched,
evidently the work of the stiff leaves and
branches of the shrubs through which he
ly exhausted. Mr. White took the injured
men to his house. about 30 rods away
and sent for DIR. Norton Of East Baldwin,
and for Bachelors wife. But Bachelor
wa. so far gone that he breathed his last
about an hour afteS he reached Whites
house, Tand a few moments after his wife
reached there. After White found him
Bachelor couldn't tell anything about
how he got into the terrible condition in
which he was found.
An examination of the premises near
Remission IS, and between their place and
that whers Bachelor was found, showed
that the man must have lost tremen-
dous quantity eff blood, and that he must
have lost the first blood near the Kennis-
tom % door yard. There were blood marks
and large pools of blood on the snow all
the way to the spot by the pond where
he was found.
About half way from the Kennistons,
Bachelors sleigh and part of the har-
ness was found. One Of the shafts Of
the sleigh and the cross bar were brok-
en-. An odd thing about the affair was
that the broken shaft had been mended
with piece Of hay wire, an article
that would not be picked up by the side
of road, but Coroner Perry thought
that this break was an old one and the
hay wire had been used for some time to
keep the broken shaft straight.
= Thus far the opinion seemed to be, on
the part of the officers. that the affair was
the result of an accident, that there might
have been some sort of scrimmage at
Kenniston's between Bachelor and
some of the people there while they were
full of whisky, and that Bachelor fell
and struck his head on something, in
fiicting the two wounds, close together,
on the left side of the head little in
front of and some distance above the
ear. These wounds were cut into the
scalp SO deep that finger could be laid
in them, and they bled, as we have said,
as if an artery had been severed and all
the blood In the body exhausted. Or
he might have fallen on leaving the Ken
nistons and received the wounds.
Coroner Perry empanelled II jury and
then adjourned to next Friday. These
Il ~