The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-07-23

spared hanl He was thslz nelehase. was
often in their house and skt On tfa ae2alr
seat his head ssalnaf the 6eafh-eurtaln.
In speaking Of the Benders . 8 repre-
sentative Of the Eagle Frieay lAst. -
said that they were noe lynehsda fhas
they escaped. VIII they ever b eApter
sd2 The overtaklns OF Jester would cAnss
man to hesitate before sayiHg me- For
murder win cut
Lulu MaCGusre Peek. danEhser q 6r.
AEacGulres has written for the Eagle hsr
fathers reeollections OF the Bsndsrs, e.
fellows:
Looking upon the broad praiFiea % kan
ssas at the present DAY. her luxuriAnt
fields Of grain moving above the, Fertile
soil. u seems hard to realise that ntfls
over \ quarter OF century ago This sane
land was Ia an uncuitured condltion and
the majority oe the inhabitants shs claim
ed the uncivilszed REDSKINS.
But that time has passed and todav
Kansas ranks as one Of the leading states
OF the union. II Is tare she h caIssd the
state Of d-ouths and that the grasshoppsrs
are Intimately connected with her history
yet she holds her head high AID ls recos-
mixed as equal 10 her sister atasas in many
ways. Although I am not q eenturian.
yet 4 few OF the recollections % these
early days viii forever I've 3 vivid pie
ture In my memory. After the close oe
the civil war. my mother ana father Join.
ed the ambitious ones who made their
way TO Kansas where homesteads could
be had for the taking. and there secured
a hundred and sixty acres which Vas %
be their hame for future years In those
days railroads were n0; woven IKE a net
work over the land az they are today.
most travel being with teams II wss ln
the town OF LAHORE my father concluded
10 stop and at that unFcmantIe spot my
eyes we're first opened 90 the light OF DAY.
tt was perhaps when Was seven years
years old that my first knowledge % the
Bender family was obtained and see
as plainly today the open graves IN the
tail prairie grass. as II Il were but yesteF-
day. I listened while my father spoke Of
their awful crimes and how they had TAX
en nlgh; In the darkness OF the night.
hiding themselves from the sight % an
mankind. leaving the dead 20 testify.
against them. for no living man ever
knew where they had gone. or half Of
their wiekedness.
My father was perhass - Intimately
acquainted with them 30 anyAne. and
the words from his own FPS win repeat
here: The frss time ! met the Benaerr.
was =: the little house they we're ssiidirg
IN the early seventies. They hta taken
up a r. r. claim on an odd section tire
r. r. claiming all odd secxions. the even
sections belonging 20 the g0Fernmenf
and were all taken and held BY the actual
settlers. I was riding through shs eoun.
try on horse back and seslng a new
house going 40 across the prairie. rode
up. hiiched my horse and commenced %
talk with John Bender. Finally the
old man came % from their wagon.
standing back thirty or forty yards fFom
where we were. They were building their
death-trap then. John tnld me q wa to
be u by % feet. one story. about feet
high. The studding was partly np When
I was there. He sOld me he vas going 20
run a grocery store. The old WOMAN ben.
der or Kate. the she devil'' as che haa,
been called. was not there az that timo.
Their building was on the TRAN from ~
Scott and Usage Mission 10 ISdepsadsncs
on the virdigris river. II ran a soathwsst-
eriy direction and sli travellers going -
that direction passed their house.
They built In the fall aAd just south Of
their house they broke no sonss pralra
and planted an orchard some time later
drove by there IN my wagon and saw
some -four and bFooms standing out This
was their grocery sign halted. cent IN
and 90, some salt meat which everybody
used IN those days
They had sp a little counter 70 the left
and as you walked IN and across The room.
hung shat ressmbled . wagon sheet anA
! saw a little bench about six sess fOag
IN front Of this where the weary lrassisr
might sit and resi. I took a sat and hsd
quite a chat with John IN the mean
time Kate and her mother came from BE-
hind the curtain and said sOmsthiRg %
John and then vent back Only thfnk
What might have happened n they hal
concluded 90 add another victim % fhsiS
list. II makes my blood run cold 20 thiBE
Of how near vas 70 q horrible death.
and would always stop Rnl set s0msthins
needed. The last time ! st0epes Tiers
was IN the year % fg7l The Blenders sess
dark looking people % iow brow sra q
mean eognisnancs. Kate had black esgig
or friEly hair ana an Sers hsavy sea pess
pie. John was the one Who ga ibs safk.
iaE for the family. the others soaFcsfy
ever speaking a word before strangers
The way th-T Killed shsir victims go,
when they you'd oons n d buy some
thing OF enquire the 6isectiona % soss
place. John would get them behin8 TIE
curtain N s9ns pretsKt. snd thsa hia
them IN ;hs had With q hammer % shasA
them and dsS5 them thrDuEh q trap 6oor
Into the o@lier ana sbsn cut tbsls thFoata.
az al bodies found Afterwards usfs a.
usSs; entirely severed from TIE hsad as
The print ~ The fatal hammer oosts ~
sssn- J8st sOsfh % ne b~sse n that
htfis orchard they bsTisd their HAD asa
Kept the Erssna freshly Dsossbss % ces-
osai thsif bsryfnE place asa Ssatsrsts
thsIr hsiiish deeds
Thsy kiiIss $50 - our nsizhbsra. Buiy
AccrossS. VINCE farm Jofpss ouss. abA
Mr. Bsown sho iiv@d is Lss9ss. nrewa
had Ess On hls p<rs5n sns Necsassy 80
but ave They ssrsea oss uif8s Eiri aitse.
killed. her father thss fhreu 49, b 1Fsf.
;ses b@E murdered father as9 tssie4
hoth-
sseh 6ssssss a hsrssn fssm ssss n.y..
There wess sssvss ap5iss fosns bsris9 -
the sgrhar5 asf s~Vsfsi gsrs fossS %
Rsx I'm ana prsfs Crssks 80 tss fFsa