The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-18

Foul Ever Committed In Alaska
$50 Heinous That BIRDS Mistress
Could Not Forgive Unsatisfactory
Not the Cause Of the Tragedy.
J. Homer Bird. the condemned Alaska
murderer. after being refused new trial
by Judge johnson, will make an effort to
prolong his life by an appeal to the
United States supreme court, according
to reports arriving here by the
Steamer City of Topeka. Judge Johnson.
In imposing the death penalty on Bird,
stated that In all the evidence In the case
there was not one single extenuating cir
cumstance to justify Birds crime Of muir
dering his two partners. The execution
Of Bird will be the FIRST legal hanging In
Alnska during American occupation.
For foul murder, the Bird case has, per-
haps, not an equal in all Alaskan crimes Of
this nature" said Deputy United States
Marshal c. L. Vawter yesterday. Perhaps
no man. not even among the lawyers
themselves, Ii better qualified to speak
with reference to the Bird case. for he
has ofiicially had to do with 1t since the
arrest OF the double murderer some nine
months ago. In fact, 1t was Marshal
vawter who caused the st. Michael mill
tary authorities to detail three soldiers
to apprehcnd Bird, after. he had been In
formed on, being himself 30 tied up with
other engagements at the time. that he
could not personally do the work. Later
he conveyed Bird and other st. Michael
prisoners to Sitka and Juneau for trial.
Contrary to many published reports
that have SEEM vawter resumed, 1T
was not jealousy that caused Bird to take
the lives of Patterson and Herring. Far
from It. He had no reason to be jeal-
out OF either man, nor, for that matter. OF
Charles Scheffler. who also came so near
being murdered by Bird. And Scheffier
is in love with Noami Strong. the
woman in the case. He Is great big.
gocd-natured boy. and was never In any
way mixed UP with the woman. Schef-
fer is a young man of good reputation
and a member of a large and respectable
New Orleans family.
"Murder Mt Heart"
mo; the motive for the murder appears
to have been pure cussedness. 1t was
a case of murder at heart. Bird had
made himself so disagreeable that the
other members of the party concluded
they would divide the outfit. which they
proposed after the crowd had finished a
cabin for Bird and the woman to live
in. There was nothing to show that
any attempt at taking advantage of Bird
in the division OF the property was
made In fact, he at first agreed to a
dissolution Of partnership. II such it could
be termed. Neither Patterson nor Her
ling cared anything about the woman.
whose undivided affections Bird appears
to have retained until his heartless and
brutal murder OF their companions.
Though his mistress and a fallen woman,
be 1t said to her credit that Naomi Strong
turned on Bird and hated him. as the
testimony showed, from the moment he
shot down like dogs his two partners.
During her testimony Miss Strong
broke down and wept. particularly where
she detailed how Patterson. after he had
been shot, begged Bird not to kill him.
stating that he was a knight of Pythias
and using every other persuasion he could
think Of. The court scene in which she
described these incidents was most
dramatic. Patterson, poor fellow, beg
ged for his life, but he finally died from
the wound inflicted. Scheffier escaped
by talking Bird out Of his purpose to kill
him.
eat the time of the tragedy the three
men were sitting at the table. all on one
side, with scheffier In the center seat.
Bird first shot Herring. who dropped
dead then Patterson, and had his gun
leveled on 6chefner.
Woman Turns Against Him.
"A
connected with the case tend to show
that the woman, despite the life she had
been leading, had no desire to shield muir
der. She has been, / am satisfied. per-
fectly honest in her efforts in assisting
the prosecution of Bird. Nothing tend
ed to show, as the case unfolded. that
she was in any way implicated in the
murder or had the slightest knowledge
of Birds desperate intentions.
ynod MANY roIrdarS and qnY1e Of than
awful In their execution, occur up in Alas
ka, of which We hear nothing. There was
the case of Martinius Ingebretsen, Nor
wegian. killed on the Yukon last August
ten miles below Hamilton, OF which only
casual mention was made In the papers 1t
was hardly possible to hear much more
about the ease at the time, though some
day an interesting tale may unfold in this
connection.
An Indians Blind Revenge.
'Ingebretsen met death at the hands of
q treacherous Alaska Indian, whom he
had never seen, much less spoken to or
harmed In any way. He and his partner,
Swede. were floating down the Yukon in
an open boat from Dawson, bound for Cape
Nome. When they reached the scene OF
the tragedy an Indian saw them coming
and rowed out into the stream to within
shooting distance and blazed away with a
rifle, firing three times. with the first
report of the rife Insebretsen fell over
dead. exclaiming: The indian has shot
u.e!'
His partner had been asleep in the bot
tom of the row boat, and was awakened by
the report. He looked about and saw the
Indian putting back for the shore. And
for that matter the Swede, whose name
do not now remember, had no disposition
to stop him. He was naturally scared. so
pulled for dear life down the river with
the dead prospector for companion. The
distance to st. Michael. 200 miles, he made
alone with Ingebretsen's body lying in the
bottom Of the boat. Reaching the island,
the Swede reported the murder to the au-
thorities, though we have been unable to
apprehend the murderer.
mo doubt Ingebretsen was killed tor
gr.e vance the Indian bore against some
o,Ecr white man. With the Alaskan Ir