The San Francisco call., 1899-02-09

out of pentzup emotion. All business
throughout the district was suspended.
On Thursday. the Chief Inspector of
Police went out with a number OF Of
ficers and men and secured the coun-
try surrounding the paddock, but no
'clews or tracks were found. The horse
which had been found dead.in the pad
dock awas subsequently boiled down,
with the result that the bullet was
found. On Thursday the Colonial Di7
yisional Board held a meeting The
chairman, referred tosthe outrage, de-
scribing it as one of the most horrible
crimes that had ever occurred in Aus
tralia. He suggested that a letter OF
coincidence, should be sent to the be-
reaved parents.
The following particulars with refer
ence to the lives of the three victims
may be interesting: Michael Murphy.
the brother, was born in 1869 in the
very. district where he was killed. He
was member of the Colonial Mount
ed Infantry, and very popular with all
the people in the community where he
lived every one agreeing that he ala
not have an enemy in the world. Nora,
the elder of the girls, was born in the
same district, and since finishing at
school she has resided with her par
ents. Ellen was born here also and
was a gentle and innocent girl.
Blaek-trackerS are used extensively
in this country to run down criminals,
and the police have employed a large
number in this case and are securing
the country over.
The Premier, upon hearing OF the
dreadful crime, dispatched a message
of sympathy to the relatives of the vict
tins.
The Queensland Government has of
fered a reward of $1,000 for evidence
that will lead to the apprehension of
the guilty parties, with asfree pardon
to any one not the chief offender.
An epidemic of crime seems to pre-
vail in Australia at the present time
in the shape of murder and unmention-
able offenses. Not many miles from
where the bodies of the Murphies were
found the body of young boy has
been discovered, foully murdered. The
boy disappeared from home two weeks
before the Murphy tragedy but his
body was not found until after the
Murphy murder was known. The dis
covery of the boys body Immediately
following the triple murder had the
effect of terroriZing the whole colony
and making a sensation throughout
Australia the like of which has never
been known before.
On December 10 last boy named
Hill left home at Nundah on horseback
for the purpose of visiting his aunt sew
eral miles away. He never reached his
aunt's residence, as was ascertained
by his father, who went there on the
Wednesday following. The police were
communicated with, but their theory
was that the boy had run away A
few days ago the boys pony was found
dead near Oxley. Foul play was then
suspected, and search parties on Sat
urday found the boys body much de-
composed, with a bullet wound in the
head. The body was covered with
bushes. About four hundred yards
from this the body of the pony was
found, it having been shot through the
head. The utmost precautions were
taken not to disturb the boys body,
and the police were at once informed
A message was in the meantime sent
to Brisbane asking for the immediate
attendance of the Government medical
officer. The relatives of the missing
boy recognized the remains by the
boots and whip which lay near. There
was also a pair of trousers which had
been rolled up and attached to the lads
saddle when he left home. These were
found lying on the ground. A very
large number of people endeavored to
get to the spot, but the police prevented
them. The Hill boy was sixteen years
old and very timid. After careful ex-
animation the medical officer reports
that there is no doubt but that the boy
was shot. When the body was discov-
cred nothing was visible but the boots
and the bone of one leg, from which all
the flesh had disappeared
Coming almost at the same time as
the foregoing crimes in Queensland is
a horror in the colony of Victoria as
full of mystery as the others. For
over three weeks the Melbourne police
force has been endeavoring to discover
the identity of a woman whose remains
were found in a trunk in the Yarra
River and who, it is now ascertained,
had consumed an immense dose of
arsenic The case is one of the many
mysteries confronting the Colonial po-
lice at the present time. The remains
have been identified successfully as
those of several young women all of
whom have been found to be alive and
we'll The crime probably had to do
with some medical malpractice, and it
is thought that there must have been
two or more persons cogniZant of It.