The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1897-05-14


wages than could make ait anything
else, l concluded to take tat least
until can strike someUnlng better"
He wrote other letters to his family
making the same statement But no
more letters did he write. Never more
did his mother or sweetheart SEQ him
alive.
Hillmon and Brown and Walters
started out on wagon, towards Bar
Der county. The next news from the
party was the report that Brown had
accidentally shot and killed Hillmun
while they were in camp, ON the 17Lh
OF March; that he had taken Hillmon's
pouy 20 Medicine Lodge where CO..
oner's inquest was held and the body
buried for decomposition.
The Ba,dwins went down there to
get Jhe body; they did not get it, but
fenced in The ground where it was
buried. Col. Samuel Walker and two
insurance agents soon after arrived
from Lawrence, and insisted upon dig
cling up the body and taking it to
Lawrence. These three men knew and
said it was not the body of Hillmon.
When the body was exhumed, Alva
Baldwin, then boy sixteen years old,
and a brother of Levi Baldwin. who
stood by the side of the grave, ex-
claimed when the face was uncovered,
Hell, that amt John Hillmon." A
coroner's inquest was held at Lawrence
the verdict of the jury was that the
body was net Hillmon's. A warrant
was issued for the arrest OF John H.
Brown for the murder CT an unknown
man. Brown ran away to Missouri
and eluded capture. While fugitive
from justice, Brown sent fer lawyer
and made a confession. He declared
that the body brought to Lawrence
was net the body CT Hillmon, but of
another man whom Hillmon had muir
dered for the purpose OF palming it
off on the insurance companies as his
own. Browns full confession had
been introduced ON all the trials ex-
cept the last. His deposition, taken
by The Hillmon attorneys, was not
used in the last two trials. 1t is said
the lawyers hold the policies and are
the parties in interest, but the "wid-
| CIV" even OF murderer is often in
| fluential with jury, and Mrs. Hlll-
mon appears as The plaintiff. John
! H. Brown and Alva Baldwin have
never been brought into court as wit
nesses by The Hillmon lawyers, for the
possible reason as suggested that they
fear cross examination.
On the 18th of September, 1879, Mrs.
Hillmon signed full release of all her
interest in the policies. She went to
her lawyers office and demanded the
! pclicies. He said he had a lien on
the policies for $4,000 and refused to
give them up. From that day to this,
the PARTIES demanding the payment OF
the policies, 1T is said have been Uhe
lawyers and not Mrs. H.llmon; she is
their creature, their slave 1t IS
said they threatened one Super
intendent CT Insurance with prosecu-
tion if he published history of the
case: and endeavored to have Super
intendent Snider exclude the companies
from the state, and who prevailed on
Superintend snt McNall to do so.
The body at Lawrence remained
unidentified until the father OF F. A.
| Walters, through tine Masonic Lodges
at Fort Madison and at Wichita, OBJ
tanned intelligence of the tragedy and
a copy of the photograph OF the alleged
dead "Hillmcn." 1t was the lost sen,
Walters. When this CHASTITY photo
graph was shown to the aged mother
she exc. aimed 20 God, it is my son."
and tainted.
More than twenty witnesses from
Fort Madison identified the photo
graph. The Odd Fellows Lodge, OF
which Walters was a member, con-
WINGED Of his murder. paid his life
| insurance. A monument has been
erected to the memory CT this victim
of assassins.
All of the relatives of Hillmon, in
GLIDING his brothers ard sisters, swear
that the body is not that Of Hillmon.
AT the last trial all Of Tie jurymen
except enc were en- the side Of the
insurance companies. although they
are corporations and the supposed
plaintiff is a widow. sympathy for a
widow and hatred OF corporations have
kept case in court seventeen years
that, had beth parties been citizens,
would have been decided on the first
trial.
And yet state officer has ordered
these life insurance companies out of
Tie state, companies in which thou
sands of our citizens hold policies,
and companies that do business and
ora haId n, ih,tOh ertnon oil nvor tfha