Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1901-02-02
ILLINOIS MURDER MYSTERY.
inc Body OF Man Found In = Sink Hui.
... Near tho Little Town of
Ames, III.

hed Bud, ILL.,, Jan. @s.-The badly
uecomposed body Of a man was found
Yesterday morning by party of
hunters IN one of the numerous "sink
hoies IN the vicinity of the little
town of Ames, southwest of here
Inns Is partial solution of the mys.
terry of the bloody cap that was found
IN the road about three weeks az by
Richard Cullen, saloonkeeper Il OF
Ames, The cap had a bullet hole
through it. The cloth of the can
around the hole where the bullet en-,
tered was scorched, as though the
weapon was held near the victims
head when the fatal shot was fired.
Near the cap lay purse containing
% cents in silver.
A minute search of the vicinity was
made, but nothing could be found OF
the body. The sink hole where the
body was found is about one hundred
and fifty yards from the scene of the
hndlng of the cap, and the murderer
had evidently carried the body of his
victim from where he killed him and
aesposlted it in the sink hole, where,
but for an accident,it might have new
er been found, A number of boys were
otu hunting rabbits, Sunday morning
and when near where the body was
found their dogs started rabbit
which soon fled for refuge to one OF
The sink holes The dogs and hunt.
ers followed, and while looking for
the rabbit found the body. 1t was
partially buried under pile of loose
earth that had been washed down
from the edges OF the hole by recent
rains. Decomposition was so far ad.
yanced that Identification of the feat.
ures was impossible, but by the cloth.
ing the man was readily identified as
one of a party Of movers that
stopped in that locality for a few days
prior to the finding Of the bloody cap.
There were three men, two women
and three small children in the party
They told John Dugan, a farmer neat
whose house they camped and from
whom they bought feed for their
horses, that they were on their way
from near Nation, H., to place in
southwest Missouri, where they had
purchased farms and intended to re.
side. The day before the cap was
found the party started again on
their journey
At the time no one thought of con.
Meeting them with the mystery of the
cap, but now, since the man has been
identified rs one Of the party, other
circumstances in connection with
them have come TO light that tend tc
show that the man was the victim OF
foul murder at the hands of one or
more of his companions, and that the
purse was simply ruse of the crimi-
nal or criminals to leave the impress.
sion that robbery was the motive OF
the crime in the event that the body
of the victim should be found.
1t now transpires that the muir.
dered man and one of the others was
in saloon at Ames two days before
the cap was found. They were both
freely and became involved
in a quarrel, the nature OF which
could not he learned by the bystand
ers. The men were ordered to keep
quiet, and soon left the place, nut.
tering mutual threats "to do each
other up" That was the last seen OF
them in town, as they apparently
kept close to their camp for the re.
of the time they remained in
the ncighborhood. Dugan, the farm
er, says that on several occasions dur
ing their stay he heard loud and vio'
lent talking, as of someone quarrel
ing at the camp.
The coroner has gone to the scene
and impaneled jury. The inquest
will be held to-day, kilograms sent
from this city to Chester and Ste,
Gcneyieve to see if parties answering
the description of the movers had
crossed the river at either Of those
points have been answered to the eff.
feet that no such persons have crossed
at either of the places. 1t is probable
hat the party disposed of their team
and wagon some place in the Ameri'
,an Bottom, crossed the Mississippi in
skiffs and separated when they
reached the Missouri shore