Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-11-25
KILLED BY THUGS.
Tragic End of Frank p. Arbuckle, a
Prominent Denver Politician,
at New York.

New York, n. Y, Nov. 19.-Frank 2.
Arbuckle of Denver, Col, was found in
an unconscious condition lying in an OBJ
scure place near a vacant lot just OFT the
sidewalk. in a lot of weeds, on the west
side of Eighth avenue, between 152d and
153d streets, at 2:45 o'clock this morn
ing. He died in the patrol wagon on the
way to station house without regain
ing consciousness. That the man was
garroted, robbed and murdered is be-
lieved from incidents which occurred a
short time previous to his being discov-
cred lying in the weeds.
The ambulance surgeon who was called
! upon the finding of the dying man gave
it as his opinion that he was suffering
from heart disease. The police, bow
ever are of the opinion that the man
came by his death at the hands of thugs.
Theory of Murder.
Ten minutes before Arbuckle was
found a policeman passed the place on
his beat and he asserts positively that
there was no one there then. Arbuckle
was about SO years old. 5 feet inches
tall and weighed about 22O pounds, and
in his attire had the appearance of be-
ing a prosperous business man. He
wore a black diagonal suit of clothes of
fine material, which bore the name of
the maker, 81. A. Merriman, Fond du
Lac, Wis" fy ~ fLa iFr
In the pockets of the dead man were
q number of letters addressed to Hon.
Frank P. Arbuckie. care of Tammany
Times, 236 West Thirty-ninth street"
There were also found a number of GER
tifcates of the Cripple Greek and Cen
trail City Consolidated Mining company.
The letters all related to mining sub
jects and projects. which indicated that
ho hoH IN tp6 n mil
ing ventures. Besides these things found
in the dead mans pockets there were
also found SLIGO in change, several pro-
grammes of a theater, latchkey, two
handkerchiefs, marked with the letter
"A" and pair of linked cuff buttons,
q gold ore charm and three pieces of
gold ore. His shirt was marked "a"
The police surgeon at the station house,
after q thorough examination of the body
of Mr.. Arbuckle, declared that in his
opinion death was due to heart failure
brought on by an attempt to ascend the
steps of the elevated station.
Showed d Roll of Money.
officers sent out on the case went to
the Atlanta Casino near where Arbuckle
was found. There they had a talk with
the bartender, Charles Horstman, who
confirmed their theory that the man had
been foully dealt with. Horstman said
that man answering the description of
the dead man came into the saloon about
an hour before the time he was found
unconscious and called for a drink Of
whisky. He appeared at the time to
be partly under the influence of liquor
In paying for the drink, he displayed q
large roll of bills and then pulled from
his pocket a heavy gold watch which
was attached to a large gold chain. Aft
er. taking his drink the man left the
saloon. That is the last known of his
movements until he was found in the
weeds, nearly dead. No money except
the small amount of change was found
in his pockets and he had no watch nor
chain.
1t is surmised that the man got on an
elevated train somewhere downtown and
falling asleep, rode to the end of the
line. He then got off the train, it is
believed. and walked downstairs and into
Of the elevated stairway. 1t is be-
lieved that after leaving the Casino the
man was set upon by thugs, knocked
down and robbed. No marks of VIC,
ing to the police except a slight abrasion
on the head. This might have been
caused by blow from sandbag or it
might have been received in a fall. No
one living near the scene of the tragedy
could be found who had heard any I'M
usual noise during the early morning.
A messenger sent to Frederick Siegel.
editor Of the Tammany Times, brought
that gentleman to the station to which
Mr.. Arbuckle's body had been taken.
Siegel's Identification of the remains was
complete.
Mr.. Siegel said that Mr. Arbuckle had
been stopping at the Fifth Avenue hotel
until within a few days. His later
movements were not known to Mr.. Sic
gel
was instrumental in raising 100000 for
the recent Democratic National cam
paign, which was almost one-third of the
whole sum disbursed by the campaign
committee.
John Wilkinson of 264 West One Hun
who says he knew Mr.. Arbuckle well.
has asked the coroner for permission to
take charge of the body.
The neighborhood where the dying
man was found has an unsavory reputa-
ton. There are a number of Raines law
saloon-hotels which are frequented by
boatmen and women of low chara cter.
Nearly every week the police receive
report Of some robbery or Knockout case
in that locality.
Prominent in Denver.
Denver, Col, Nov. 19.-The man who
was found unconscious on the street in
New York City this morning and who
died soon after was Frank p. Arbuckle,
chairman of the Democratic state com
mittee of Colorado and receiver of the
land Office in this city. t
He wa sborn at Erie, Pa, in the early
part of 1852. He had the advantage of
an excellent education and early evil
denced the business capacity with the
telegraph service of the Kansas Pacific
company whose railway had been com
pleted to Denver. Some time afterward
he organized the American District
Telegraph company in this city, was its
superintendent for a number of years
and showed marked executive ability in
its management.
Other organizations perfected and sue
ctessf9lly operated by Mr.. Arbuckle were
the Beaver Brook Water company and
the Mountain Water company, which
for many years supplied the citizens of
Highlands until consolidated with the
Denver Union Water company. The
Denyer-Highlands Electric company is
another of his prosperous adventures.
He was receiver of the land office at
Lamar during Cleveland's first admins
tration and was appointed to the same
position in the Denver Office under the
present administration.
Mr.. Arbuckle went East just after the