The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-08
THE COLORADO CRIME.
Cases Meteoric Career and Hasty
Departure From Freshwater.

Yer Republican says:
Nineteen months is a long time for
brutal murder to go unaVenged IN com
munity where eaoh man knows the bust
ness of every other as we'll as his kwT,
and where the Identity of the murderer
from the first has been suspected
The little camp OF Fresnwater, in the
southeast corner of Park county has
been hngging such a secret TO itself since
Jan. Is. 1896. sitting its suspicious with
the charitable Injunction. Judge not that
We be not judged.
FreshWater had it's suspicious, but what
was to be done when they implicated the
man who wasf the life The mainstay, the
hope of the embryo mining camD2 II
could not be positive the suspicious we're
right. and the man TO whom they Sgere
attached was the one looked to for the
caD!tal that was TO bring mills for the
low grade ores. build railroads to the
town, populate the district with capital
lists, open mines and put in motion the
business machinery of the camp.
But the mills failed to come; the mines
were not opened, the railroad progressed
no farther than four miles of survey
stakes; Charles T. Case Went away.
In May Charles I. Case left Freshwater
to go to Chicago, there to perfect the
arrangements for capital that was to give
the town of Guffey and the Freshwater
district the mines, mills and railroads
that were to complete its destiny. Hope
was bright in the camp when &c went
away, but he did not return, and the
visions of prosperity faded away.
Removed from the binding glamour of
power to lift the FreShWafer district into
fame Charles Z. Case appeared to the
people through a vista of four months
absence as stranded adVeuturer. then
the suspicious OF months arose in ghastly
form and would not down. He was an ad-
yenturer-was he more2
The suspicions crystallized and var
rant from the district court Of Park
the plains to Chicago. charging Charles
T Case, the late king of FreShwalter with
the murder of w. d. Champion on the
18th day of January, 1896,
STORY OF THE MURDER
The story of the murder has been told
before. There is little ITO add. II was told
now on tne Goth of January. 1895 the
body OF w. ID, Champion was found hid
den in a manure pile on his own ranch,
after diligent search by his neighbors
led by his cabin associate and prospecting
partner, ]. G. Sipehen. Two 3s-eaAber
bullet holes in the head told shat murder
had bee5n committed. Down the road
from the ranch cabin a few yards, d dog,
a faithful friend of the murdered man.
was found, where the body had been
thrown, a bullet in its body. Had the dog
lived 20 follow the murderer OF his master
through the town, as ut WI Following the
protest against the crime, the suspicious
might have been more firmly attached
and bat one warrant issued for the guilty
man. whoever he may be.
But the dog was killed, and with it the
-
is known
A eoroner's inquest was called, Justice
of the Peace Gus Cohen sitting TO take
testimony. a number of citizens told
what they knew-it was unimportant and
pointed TO no one upon whom the crime
could be fastened. The murdered tnan
mad lived in the Current creek section for
years, he had few acQUa irtaqIceg beVond
the circle of progpectors who had come
into the country a few months before to
Iouna a camp! he had no enemies; the
murderer must i've in the community.
ID. u. Sipchen had been living with
CHAMPION on the ranch. They patched to-
gether At the inquest he proved that he
mad been in Canyon City On business on
Dells ranch at 4 O'Clock that afternoon
ana moved on the 10 the ca bin, reaching
there at 5 O'clock. The morning after he
appeared at neighbours to. say Cramp-
Ton hd0 not been hume that night His
suspicious of foul play evidently were
founded on cause to expect them He
hunted up Monaghan and they led the
search for the missing man. It was Sip
chen who found the dog. That Furnished
some evidence Of foul play. and search
OF the premises near the blacksmith shop
revealed blood. A pool of blood was
pile, where the body of the murdered man
was then recovered.
THE EXCHANGE OF REVOLV ERS.
The murder had been done by a ss-cali-
Der bullet The gun owned by Sipehen
was 4i-caliber, but. .1.."..*
Case had exchanged guns with Sipchen,
giving him 3S-caliber ancaSeceiving H.
When was this exchange made?
The officers who have had the case in
hand viii not say.
Case had come into Freshwater in Sep
temoer. 1895, at the time the camp was
beginning 70 claim recognition as a min
ing field. Expectation ran high. The new
camp was to rival Cripple Creek. from
which 1T lies about % miles 40 the Nesf
New finds hSiT19 ,, inc
was at fever heat. Case dropped in and
from the first took q leaGling part in ad-
vancin- the new camp He told that he
was a mining man driven from enor-
mously rich properties in Idaho by the
! drop in silver. He became the recognized
| leader in E'reshwater. His stakes covered
the county. his schemes for mills and
| large enterprises were the ones on which
! the camp based its hopes of prosperity
| A plausible talker, soeIable, personally
| attractive. educated, raised in the tech
| the camp could rely upon pulling 1t out
! OF amy difficulty when the values in the
/ veins showed the need for mills and cap.
! tai to assist in their conversion into
! gold
! AS long as case remained his word and
! work and larger promises remained the
| hope of the camp. Not a new strike
! could be made but Case would come into
| possession of an interest: he was a man
/ TO be taken in without terms. His claim
! as a nephew of j. l. Case. the agricultural
! implement manufactured of Racine Wis
was sufficient evidence that he was con-
| rected with men OF large means The
| new camp needed no further proof of his
| ability to carry forward the numerous
| large enterprises that he outlined on
paper.
THE MOTIVE.
| ". D. Champion, after years of living ir
| the Current creek section. ranchins fol-
! his brother. D. C. Champion, whose ranch
l lies two miles down the creek from the
new town of Guffey, had a year previous
! 10 the mining excitement filed a home.
stead location on the quarter section thai
the town builders knew as his ranch
| When the excitement over the mineral
! discoveries was highest. word went out
that the richest Yiens of all in the new
! district were those covered by the home
! stead location. Champion became envied
! for mis- foresight in selecting as agricul,
tural land THAI so rich in mineral. Cramp.
ton had mining locations outside his
ranch, and Case, getting Interested in
| everything good, became interested il
| Champions location. In addition, Case
located veins inside the homestead and
IT IS out of this fact. through some mis-
! understanding between Case and Cramp.
! ton, the prosecution expects to prove 6
motive for the murder.
There had been some misunderstanding
between Case and CHAMPION over The
! ranch land 1t was to go into one Of
cases numerous companies.
Slpchen seems to have been about the
only man n the camp who was no.
! enamored with Cases style; with whom
! Case . promises Of great things did moi
! go. Sipchen lived with Champion. was
| his most intimate frienG, hard headed
honorable, straight forward man DID
/ Sipchen disilusion Champion of the charm
| of Case? Was a rupture in the thereto
! fore friendly relations and arrangement.
| for business offered therein? Did Cramp
| ton refuse 20 concede half his homestead
10 Case and break off all negotiation.
under the advice of Sipchen? Such {
motive is offered If one hanks back to the
! day of the murder when FreShwatel
was booming and there was talk of vein.
worth millions of dollars a ton in home
! stead claim on which final proof had no