The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-03-28
TELL THE STORY OF
A BLOODY MURDER
How Arapahoe Brown Was
Slain in Wyoming.
HIS BODY WAS BURNED
TWO MEN MAKE TERRIBLE CON-
FESSIoN AT BUFFALO.
HIS BODY WAS BURNED
fsnecial correspondence.l

Buffalo. Wyo., March 27.-Sherif
Kennedy has secured confession
from. Charles f. Hollibaugh and Eric
Bunten, the latter an 1s-year-old boy,
who were arrested two weeks ago
charged with the murder of Arapahoe
Brown, the wealthy cattlemap who
disappeared from Buffalo early iii Jan
uary and whose partially burned body
was found in the ashes of a bonfire
in gulsh on Powder river above Ar
vada.
Brown left Buffalo on Jan. 81 to go
to the ranch of Hollibaugh on Pow
der river to, look after a bunch of
horses he was running on shares with
Hollibaugh. As he did not return when
expected, a searching party went to the
ranch 10 look him up. About this time
Hollibaugh and Bunten came TO But
faio and sold some horses that be-
longed to Brown. A watch carried by
Brown was also in their possession
Suspecting that the men had had some
thing to do with Browns disappear
ance the officers placed them in Jail.
The posse found evidences of a muir
der at the ranch house and in the
gulch they found the body of Brown.
Sunday night Bunten confessed to
the crime, and yesterday Hollibaugh
Oroke down and also admitted his
guilt. The story of the crime, as TOLD
Dy the two men, would cast in the
shade some of the leading dime novels
of the day. Young Bunten's story of
the murder is about as follows:
We decided to kill Brown away
back in October, and began to lay our
plans accordingly We had a rifle,
a 1910. which we hid in the stable for
the purpose. Brown came TO the ranch
late on Tuesday, the 22nd of January,
and went into the house TO get ready
for bed. He took off his clothes and
sat down on the edge Of the bunk with
his back to the window, talking with
Hollibaugh and looking through a ma
chinery catalogue with him. L fired
a shot through the window and Holli-
baugh fired another from the inside of
the house. Hollibaugh ran out of the
house and Joined me, and together we
went to the woods and stayed there
three hours. AS we left the house we
heard Brown halloo, "Oh, boys"
Then Burned the Body.
when we returned to the house we
found that Brown had blown out the
light after he was shot as we found
blood stains on the table and lamp. He
had then laid down on the bed with
his rifle alongside. Hollibaugh told me
to go to the stable and hitch UP a
horse, which L did. Returning to the
house we tied a rope TO Browns feet
and dragged him to the bonfire in the
gulch and cast the body and clothing
into the flames. The fire had been
burning two days as we expected
Brown down couple of days before he
came, and the fire was made for the
purpose for which it was afterwards
used We gathered more wood and
kept the fire burning all night and sup
posed that the body had been entirely
consumed"
The location of the cabin in the lone
ly spot on the Powder river was an
ideal one for the commission of the
awful crime. To the east of the house
and. about ten feet from IL, is q root
cellar. On entering this nothing sus-
plc1ous was noticeable, except that the
west end was sOlidly boarded up How
ever, the officers in the search of the
place, found a door concealed in the
wall. Opening this concealed door
tunnel about ten feet long was ex-
posed, which led to a cellar under the
house. The roof of this cellar was COW
cred with large logs, which also formed
the floor OF the house, it being covered
over with dirt so as to give it the ap-
pearance of being a ground floor. In
the cellar was a furnace partly finished
and rocks enough laying around to
complete II.
1t has since been learned that it was
the intention of the two murderers and
some companions; who have not yet
been located, to conduct an Illicit still
and cOunterfeiting den under the
house, but failing to obtain the neces-
oSiIy machinery the men never got
down to actual work. MANY letters
from green goods men were found in
the den and other evidences that the
criminals intended to do business on a
large scale.
The fact is also being brought to
llght that Brown was implicated with
the murderers in their proposed Illegal
transactions he having furnished sums
OF money at different times with which
TO construct the still and foundations
for the counterfeiting machinery.
At the coroner's inquest, DR.. Allen
testified that the teeth found in the
ashes OF the bonfire were those of
Arapahoe Brown. DR.. Onderdonk also
testified that portions of the remains
were those of Brown, and there is now
no doubt that the body found in the
ilre was that of Brown and that the
confessions of the men are true.
Under the law the rnurcerers ave
punlshanle by hanging, and as feeling
mere is intensely bitter against the men
the chances are they will pay the pen
atty OF their crime on the gaIlows.