The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-29
TELLS OF THE
PLOT TO MURDER CULL|NANE
Sensational Confession Made by the Younger of the Three
Prisoners Says Dotson and Persinger Did the
Deed-Dramatic Scene in Court.


confession Of Charles Oliver Benson"
| 1t was in these words that Prosecut-
| ing Attorney Duffy launched a care
| fully nursed sensation at the prelim-
mary hearing of Benson, Clinton Dot
| son and Ellis Persinger yesterday aft
ernoon in the district court room at
Anaconda before Justice of the Peace
! Frank Kennedy. After some sparring
| on the part of the lawyers the confess
| sion became of record.
THE state rests" then declared the
| prosecution
| We will offer no testimony said
Attorney c. j. Walsh, who, with his
| partner, John w. James, appeared for
| the defense
Justice Kennedy promptly held the
three men without bail to await the
! action of the district court on the
| charge of murder in the first degree.
About the men the coils seem to he
| Tightening. Bensons confession asserts
positively that his uncle, Clinton Dot
| son. and Ellis Persinger murdered Eu-
| gene Cullinane near Cullinane's home
in American sulch Tuesday, Aug. s,
doing so to get the old mans money.
I In the face of this confession Persing-
| ef and Dotson stand silent
Benson is the youngest man of the
| three. He is the one who admits haV-
| ing deserted from the United States
navy. Pale, nervous and heavy eyed,
he listened yesterday to the story of
| his confession with evident emotion.
once or twice he gulped down a big
lump in his throat
Clinton Dotson, his uncle. who Is
charged by his nephew with being the
| leader in the murder, rubbed his bleary.
shifty eyes, twisted in his chair and
! gave every sign of uneasiness
In marked contrast was the demean-
or Of Ellis Persinger. He bore the or
| deal we'll. Persinger Is a Well built,
| rather handsome young man, with
/ clear. blue eyes and that reddish brown
| complexion that comes from an out
| of door existence. He has brown hair
| and a curly brown mustache set over
strong mouth and chin He sat un-
| moved throughout the trial.
There are some who believe he is not
SO deep in the crime as young Benson
would have him appear. When told
that Benson had confessed implica ting
him, Persinger exclaimed to Prosecute
ing Attorney Duffy:
That's what | expected. | knew
. Bensons confession was made last
Friday, Aug. 20, and was then taken
down in short hand, transcribed. read
over to him and signed and sworn to.
1t describes the journey by night from
Helena to American gulch made for
the aVoWed purpose of numbering
kindly old Eugene Cullnane for his
gold Benson then declares that Aug
8, the day the murder was committed,
ne lay MD caring for the wagon and
horses, while Persinger and Dotson
went away to do the deed. When they
returned it was with the remark: I'VE
must get out of this now" The mar
rative then goes on to tell of the flight,
Following is the confession in full:
Mr. Benson, will you please state
what time yourself, Persinger and Dot
son left the town of Helena, and by
what means you left?''
We left on the morning of Aug, ) in
the same wagon and drawn by the
same horses that the officers afterward
found in our possession on the day of
our arrest. We travelled out, going from
Helena, Montana, in the direction Of
Washington gulch, Is miles on said 9Th
day of August, where we camped for
the night. We remained there that
night in camp. The next morning-the
morning of the 9Th, about o'clock that
morning, We continued our Journey
still going in the direction of Washing
ton gulch, and in the direction of the
home of Eugene Cullinane, and trav-
eled out on that day about 10 miles,
where We stopped and remained until
about dark When the day became
about dark, we three continued on to
travel all that night, the night of the
9Th of August, still going in the direc-
ton of Cullinane's home. We continued
on our travels the night of the 9th until
GtOnnP6 haf do
light on the morning of the 7th at Ne
yada creek. We stayed there all that
day and camped and hid the horses and
wagon in the brush where the rig could
not be observed or seen"
Did you remain in that place all
night?"
we remained there all the night of the
1th together and on the morning of the
Sth, and before daylight of that morn
ing. Dotson and Persinger left me in
charge of the rig there and went to-
ward the direction of Eugene Cullin-
anes place. / knew they were going
there to rob him, because they had fire.
quently talked about robbing him be-
fore we left Helena, and after We left
Helena. Dotson said that he knew that
the old man had money buried in and
around and about his place Before
they left me on the morning of the Sth,
about daylight each of them took a
weapon out of the wagon that we had
been travelling in, Dotson taking a So
calibre rife, which was afterward found
in the wagon by the officers when they
made the arrest of myself, Dotson and
Persinger.
They were gone all that day of the
Sth They returned to the wagon where
| was shortly before dark on the Sth of
August 1899. They did not get any
money from the old man, so they said
Where the wagon was hid in the brush
was at a point about mile and half
from Eugenes cabin. l should judge.
| did not hear any shots fired; l did
not know how many We're fired. Dot
son, upon his return. answered We
will have to get out of here now l did