The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-09

last that was first directed to Butler by
a friend of mine who had met him. That
was before L was on the force. / had
meeting with Butler, and he wished me
to join him in prospecting expedition.
At the time he told me he had claim
$4,000. He said if he got $4,000 he would
take it. | was to see him in few days
and give him definite answer.
Events in the meantime made 1t i'm
practicable for me to go, and so informed
him. Later he told me be had sold his
mine for $4,000, and if ! had gone with
him | could have had half. He said he
l was sorry too"
Conroy makes no pretense that he sus-
pected Butler at the time, and as the in
ducements held out to him to accompany
the hend were the same that lured Lee
Weller and Preston to their fates, he has
ample cause to have changed his mind
about regretting not having gone on the
expedition.
1t is singular coincidence tina Conroy
was appointed on the police force Of sgd
ney the very day that Butler was setting
sail from Newcastle, though at that time
the murders were not known.
The crimes of which Butler is known to
be guilty are not nearly so numerous as at
first reported. In fact McHattie saws that
there is no ground for the rumor that he
committed fourteen murders, other than
the desperate character of the man. He
is known to have committed only two, but
these were perpetrated with a v1llainous
deliberation that makes it seem pro bable
that many more yet undiscovered may
have been committed in the same manner.
Both of the murders for which the Off
GERS are now anxiously awaiting the arri-
val of Butler were committed in October.
The first body found was that of Captain
Lee Weller, a retired sea captain, who
had been resident OF Australia since
1886. when he arrived from England with
his wife, who afterward died. He was
well connected in England, though he
was not thought to have a great deal OF
wealth at the time of his death.
Captain Weller was attracted to Butler
by an advertisement which the latter had
put in Sydney paper. 1t read: "Wanted-
A mate to. go on prospecting tour; must
have 910."
Captain Weller left Sydney with Butler,
who was afterward identified as his COM
panion by persons who lived in the same
house with Weller from a photograph of
Butler, and nothing was seen of him for
three weeks. Then his friends became
suspicious Search parties were instituted
and the pair were traced to little station
in the Blue Hills, a desolate strip OF
country about forty miles from Sydney.
a lew miles away the remains OF ue-
serted camp were found, and clew by
clew Weller's fatal journey was traced
until his body was found with wound
through his head where the cowardly as
sassin had shot him from the rear.
In the meantime it was reported TINT 0.
I. q. Preston, young student of miner
alogy, who had recently come from
Queensland, where he had well-to-do par
ents, was also missing. The force of
searchers in the Blue Hills was increased.
Inch by inch the tangled underbrush Of
the wilderness was searched, and at last,
buried beneath three inches of clay, the
body of the missing man was found.
The announcement of the finding of the
second body brought the excitement in
the colonies to fever heat The Blue
Hills were alive with eager and ferocious
searchers for the murderer. Every avail
able hiding-place was explored, but the
search for the bodies had been matter of
weeks. and already the murd erer was
speeding over the waters away from the
scene of his crimes.
The attention of the police was first at
tracted to Butler, or Aarwood as he was
sometimes known, by discovering that he
had inserted advertisements in the papers
similar to the one which had lured Cap
tain Lee Weller to his fate. A photograph
of Butler was procured and the residents
in the house where Lee Weller had lived
reaQlly recognized III as a picture OF the
man who had left with the dead captain.
From then on it was an easy matter to
trace the murderer.
On November Ii Butler had arrived at
Newcastle.
Here he had the temerity to place an
advertisement in a daily paper similar to
the one which had proved Lee Weller's
undoing. The foolh ardiness of this move
probobly dawned on him later for he did
not call at the Office for replies. While at
Newcastle he assumed the name of his
victim, Weller. and TO the proprietor of
the Sailors Home, at which he stayed, he
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