The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1897-01-08
The Luke Bradshaw
Case.
THE HEARING AT BONDVILLE
Intense Excitement In Winhell--The In
side facts-a Terrible Story of
Depraytty.

'SpAhfhsy.
Not for a generation have the good
people of our neighboring town of Win
hall been SO intensely excited as during
the past ten days. The causes of this
feeling had been accommodating for a
month or more prior to its elimination
on the 3lst day of last month when Luke
Bradshaw was arrested upon town
grand Jurors complaint charging him
with breaking and entering the house
vile at | o'clock on the morning of the
29th of December.
Ordinarily one would naturally wonder
why an attempt at burglary should arouse
the feelings of the p80ple of whole
town almost to the point of taking the
law into their own hands. But the fact
that no one supposed that the attempt to
enter the doctors house was from thiev-
ing motives but that the guilty party was
actuated by darker and mole revolving
designs throws much light upon the mat
ter. Dark and damnable stories had
been In eirculatiens for months, some of
them for years, In regard to the character
of Bradshaw and his relations with the
family he ma ried into, especially the fe-
male members, one of whom was an in
mate of DR.. Flandreau's house at the time
of the attempted ''burglary". These had
infamed the public mind to high pitch
and aroused leading citizens to deter
mined action.
In order to get at the bottom facts and
to verify or explode the current tales of
beastly depravity that had spread over
the town and extended to all surrounding
sections, the editor of this paper attend
ed the hearing on Monday. He had the
satisfaction of interviewing Mrs. Brad
shaw and two of her daughters besides
several leading citizens who were
thoroughly posted in the whole matter.
Through the courtesy of Dr.. Flandreau
he also obtained copies of two letters
written by Bradshaw to his step. .daugh-
ter, then and now with the doctors fami-
ly. In view of these facts the SITTER is
properly equipped to give its many inter
ested readers comprehensive history of
the matter with ali the truth as taken from
first hands-the inside facts. But hrst
we will answer the query
WHO Is BRADSHAW?
Luke Bradshaw Is mulatto, his moth
er be Hg full-blooded negress and his
father white man. He is about 33 years
Of age and was born in the town of WIN
hall and has resided in the locality of
his birthplace all his life. He is over
six feet in his stockings and of an athlet-
ic build-stout and wiry-and rather
good looking; can read and write and is
fairly posted on general affairs. HIS
physical strength as exhibited in wrest-
ling, lifting, pulling in tugs Of war"
and in other ways gave him reputation
of being hard man TO handle. This,
coupled with his moral character, made
him an object of fear by his neighbors
and others. This extended to his family
though it is not believed that he abused
its members, as is ordinarily alleged in
cases of mistreatment by the head of a
household. He provided WELL clothed
the children comfortable and put no un-
reasonable tasks upon them, but, at the
same time, all clearly understood that he
was sole master of the ranch and that
any msdeeds that would affect that
sovreignity, any tales "out of school, re.
lating to him, would bring dire'if not
fiendish punishment. In consequence
every member of the family, from wife
down to youngest step-child held him in
mortal dread and would no more tell OF
any OF Lukes misdeeas than they would
| thrust their hands in the fire.
WHO He MARRIED.
About five years ago Bradshaw married
white woman, the widow of Zeno Capen
who died some two years previously
Capen, though not a forcible man, was
of good reputation as to honesty anC
morals and eked out a living on IA smal
| rundown farm located away up on the
mountain in the north part of Winhall
between the two turn pixies. He left the
widow this place, mortgaged, and siN
children. three boys and three girls, til,
oldest, boy, about twelve, the youngest
girl, an infant. These, and nothing
else, were the widows dover. Under
these circumstances it is not strange tha
the town had to step in and assist thu
| family. This being ION the town" doubt
less influenced the poor woman, who un
der all the circumstances is more deserv
ing of pity than censure, to marry tn
| InIlatfa