Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-31
and desperate characters, fugitives from

and desperate characters, fugitiYes from
justice.
The investigation of the disappearance of
the Bender family conducted during the
administration of Governor st. John, and
the information resulting therefrom, all
of which passed through the hands of
Captain Ward, is exceedingly interesting
The most important feature was in the
statement of Sam Merrick. a convict con-
fined in the Michigan state penitentiary at
Detroit. The statement is corroborated by
ali the other evidence which could be Sc
moves the theory that the Benders were
lynched. In substance Merricks state
ment follows:
In 1872 l was with Lee Dyer's herd of
cattle at the old Spark ranch, on the Little
Wichita river, about four miles from the
mouth of it, in Clay county Tex. Missouri
the house was one of those double log
houses built before the Indians drove tho
people out in 1868. We stayed in one end of
II. In the other was family by the name
of Slimp. They used to talk about their
affairs TO me. They said their sister would
come down in the fall or winter with their
cousins, the BenderS, from Labette coun-
~, kas. Floyd, their second son. said
their mother and old Mrs. Bender were
cousins. Their mother was dead. 1 went
TO the Arkansas river in September. In
1913 | guided Dan Waggoners herd to the
Big Wichita. In the spring of 1873 | passed
near Slimp's place and stopped there to get
a bride that belonged to me. Their sister
mad come little while before on the cars
TO the end of the Missouri, Kansas & Tex
as ana lnen nlreQ Il conveyance from
Sherman, Tex, to Simp's The Benders
had come three days before with a team. I
was made acquainted with the old woman
ana John and Kate. They went by the
name of Gardner. Kate was called Jennie
Gardner. The old man and Slimp and an
other man, who came with them, were
away looking for some safe place to go,
somewhere on the head of the Little Wich-
ita, they said. John went by the name of
IN: IN: The old woman talked, a little
Dutchy. but John and Kate did not In
coming through the nation they all wore
mems clothes
They crossed the Arkansas river at the
oiu creek agency, passed through Stone
river at Sobe Leaves following a route that
was not travelled much. While | was AT
Si'mn Frank Mcpherson, brother TO Mis-
souil Bill. who had been n conductor on
me me railroad between Sedalia and Parsons.
hilleu n man, at Parsons l believe at any
rate ii was a Durchman. restaurant
keeper. and he got away from the officers
by jumping through the car window ar
flyed. He stayed at Missouri Buls at Red
hlNer station. Before | left that country
IN March the Benders had moved about
thirty-fve miles farther west onto Wan
derer's creek, west OF the Pecos river.
dli not come back until the winter of 1874.
l stayed at Missouri Bills Frank McPher-
| son had gone to the Bender camp, which
! had moved to Prairie Dog canon. about
| twenty miles still farther west. While
| was there detective named Sullivan
| came to Henrietta in search of the Bend
| him, and came back and said he was not
/ afraid of that fellow, he was too stylish,
but there might be others with him.
went South and came back through the
/ Staked Plains in 1876. i went over TO the
/ Benders' camp which was sixty-five or
seventy miles from the nearest whites.
! Kate complained of their poverty and John
! said they would always be worth $1,000