The herald., 1897-06-11
Reported Murder of Pros
peCtors by Indians
IN THE WAHSATCH MOUNTAINS
WILD AND WOOLLY TALE WHICH
CAUSED ANXIETY
DR.. T. J. Dorland Arrives From New
York Looking for the Bodies Of
His Brothers

bold fake Of the most cruel description
has been perpetrated by some heartless
person upon DR.. T. ]. Dorland of Akron,
N. Y, who arrived in this city yesterday
on search for the bodies of his two
brothers, Ben and Pete, reported to
have been scalped by band of Indians
in a canyon near Mt. Wahsatch, wher
ever that may be. The letter which
brought him to Los Angeles purports
to have been mailed at Sierra Madre.
Cal, and bears date of May 10th. 1t was
written to William Bailey. friend of
the two men reported to have been
killed, and by him forwarded to Dr.
Dorlard at his home in Akron. The
precious epistle reads as follows:
SIERRA MADRE Cal. May 16, 1897
| William Bailey-Dear Sir: Please let
me know at once IL you know where
| Peter and Ben Dorlands folks live.
| There was Il party of seven of us out
| yesterday to Mt. Wahsatch. We were
I panning out some gold on placer dig
| ging and unknowingly crossed over the
| line into the Wahsatch Indian reser-
walton. We had worked up to about
| o'clock. when a band of fifty Indians
| came up, and we made for our horses
| and four of us got away, but Pete, Ben
! and Jack Hoskns were further up the
| canyon and did not see them in time,
| so were cut off from their horses.
| captured and scalped. The boys left
their effects somewhere in Los Angeles,
| but don't know whereabouts.
| Ben's coat was left at camp and
| found letter in 1t with your address
| on It, Their folks live somewhere in the
cast or Canada. If you know or can
aVN1 ,rvt IAA I~~~
can give them particulars Yours, truly,
d. E. McCANN,
Los Angeles, Cal, General Delivery.
| This letter was received by DR.. Dor
land on June 2, and he at once wrote to
Chief of Police Glass, inclosing a copy of
the letter and asking him to look up the
matter, secure the bodies If possible, and
to find Mccain and get the full story of
the tragedy. While to a person unac-
quainted with Southern California the
letter might have seemed plausible, a
glance was sufficient to show several in
congruities which could not be reconciled,
to say nothing of the absurdity of an In
dian massacre within days journey of
Los Angeles.
| 1t will be noted that McCann says the
massacre occurred yesterday" and that
he writes from Sierra Madre, CAL No
such mountain peak or range as the
Wahsatch Is to be found in Southern
California. the only range bearing that
name being part of the Rocky mountains,
situated on the western borders of Colo
rado and Utah. Then again he gives his
address as Los Angeles, but a diligent
search by the police has failed to locate
him. The Wahsatch Indian reservation
Is also an unknown quantity in this sec
| tion, and, all in all, the letter bore every
evidence of fake, pure and simple.
| The receipt of the letter greatly shock
| ed DR.. Dorland, and, having no means of
knowing its true character, he at once
took the train for this city to recover the
| bodies OF the murdered brothers. He ar
rived yesterday afternoon and imme-
diately sought the chief of police, who at
once eased his mind as far as possible,
telling him that the message was un-
doubtedly hoax, written for some un-
known purpose.
DIR. Dorland said that his brothers
were Canadians, and formerly lived on
the Canadian border near Buffalo.
About three years ago Pete came out to
the Pacific coast to look for gold, and a
year later was Joined by his brother
Ben. Pete was accompanied from Buff
falo by McCann, supposedly the writer
of the letter. After time spent in Cali
fornia the boys went to Oregon, but
| about six months ago returned to the
Golden state. Ben wrote to his brother
| from San Francisco, under date of March
Srd, and the last letter received from the
boys, dated April 9th, stated that they
were at the little station of Thompson,
situated on the main line of the Southern
Pacific few miles from Saugus. They
were prospecting, and are probably at
Ipresent back In the hills in that vicinity.
hale, hearty and unharmed.
| All these facts were explained to DR..
Dorland by the chief, and his anxiety
| assuaged. Last evening he took the
northbound train for Thompson, where
he will endeavor to get on the track of
the proSpectors and definitely locate
them before he cen be entirely convinced
| that they are in the land of the living.
| and not in reality the victims Of the
bloodthirsty Wahsatches. who, in the
yellow covered" imagination of Nc
Cam roam the wilds of the outskirts of
Los Angeles, seeking whom they may
| Capture and scalp"