Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1897-11-03

on this continent, either In state OF
civilization or savagery, than the moral
monsters, the Stafflebacks, who have
trafficked In every crime and vice from
thievery to butchery, and two OF
whom, at least will spend the remain
der of their lives In prison. George and
Ed Stafiieback have been found guilty
of murder in the first degree and SEN
fenced to the penitentiary for life,
while the mother, hoary In crime as in
years-she Is now 65-has been found
guilty of murder in the second degree
and will no doubt end her years in pris-
on, having received twenty flve-year
sentence.
Nancy Staff1eback has led most re-
markable career of crime and has
trained her progeny to follow in her
footsteps. or her thirteen children not
one has led an upright life. and not one
has a trait of character to redeem,
even in part the general coarseness
and criminality Of their natures. She
was born In Allegan County, New
York. Her maiden name was Chase
and her early years were spent in Wis
consln. Through her mother she inner
tied strain of Wyandotte Indian
blood, and perhaps this may have had
something to do with the natural vic
iousness of her character. When a
young girl she met Swiss, Michael
Stafieback, in Dubuque, Iowa. After
cnma obnnuao tbav y,,oua5 M To- uroOoa
County, Missouri. where they settled
on farm. Here they quarreled. The
husband was charged by his wife and
some of his children with unmention-
able crimes, and the husband accused
the wife Of crimes equally revolving to
both moral and natural laws. The re-
suit was that the husband left the
Eeighborhood and has not since been
heard from. The airing of their fam
lily differences in court had the effect
of making Lawrence County too hot
for Nancy and her brood, and they
moved to place known as Swindle
Hill, in the town of Joplin, Jasper
County. 1t was fit abode for such
characters.
Here congregated the degraded of
both sexes, women who had forgotten
the meaning of decency and men who
were practiced in every crime. A mans
life was not safe in the place after
dark and policemen never ventured
into 1t singly. Here the Stafflebacks
lived several years, the sons practicing
thievery and other crimes, for which
some of them received sentences in Jail.
and the girls consorting with the de-
graded of both sexes.
They committed one murder, at least,
here, but the story of this will come
later. Ultimately the vile den of the
Stafiiebacks was raided and two of the
sons were sent to the penitentiary.
In Hotbed of Crime.
Three years ago the family moved to
"Picker's Point" an unsavory place on
the outskirts of Galena. They took up
their abode in a long-deserted shanty,
within few rods of which were a
number of deserted shafts, where some
time or other men had prospected for
lead or zinc. The place is a hotbed of
crime. Scattered around are miserable
novels, the homes of depraved women
and men. Here vice reaches depth
that decency dare not attempt to de-
scribe. Rough miners, many of them
foreigners, frequent the novels and
gamble and drink and swear. Ribald
revelry Is often interrupted by fight
that ends in murder. Then the shafts.
the silent, yawning pits of the ground.
are charged with another victim, which
they receive into their dark depths new
err to yield again. If these shafts were
to-day made to give up their CHASTITY
tenants fully fifty undiscovered MUIR
ders would be revealed.
Amid such congenial surroundings
the Statileback family resumed their
career of crime. At this time the fam
lily consisted Of Mother Nance. Ed.
George, Mike, Cora. Louisa aud Emma.
All these were children of the old wom-
an except Cora, who was married to
George.
The latter and Ed had a short time
before been released from the peniten
diary and had joined the family at
"Picker's Point"
And now another man, Charles VIII
son. who passed as a husband of
Nancy, drIfted into the gang. Two girls,
Rosa Bayne and Anna McComb, also