The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-09-04
CHASTITY Discoveries
In the Cabin of the Deadwood Muir
derer, Ward.

OSIeI, w etA0
Deadwood, s. D., Aug. 2S.-When the
sheriff took charge Of the cabin of w.
/ H Ward, the old miner accused OF the
murders of the two Shepherd brothers,
an immense collection of stolen prop
erty was found piled about indiscrim-
! inately. There was a large quantity
of mining timbers stored in the garnet
of the old house. all of them new and
unused, and the impression is that
| they were purloined from the Burling-
ton railroad, where they had been
thrown off for the use of the bridge
builders of that road. Ward could
certainly have had no particular use
for them. The same may be said OF a
lot of other plumber found in the house
Men who have made a partial inVen-
tory of the mass declare there is enough
in the house to load five or six box cars
and that they saw numerous ARTICLES
that are known to have been stolen.
From that it would appear that Ward
has been carrying on system or plum
der for the last few years, as we'll as
a practice of unnatural crimes and
murder.
More than one death is attributed to
Ward, and the CHASTITY discoveries of
the last few days have tended to con-
firm what has been q suspicion in the
minds of many of the people of Puma
for several years. 1t had been known
for a long time that Ward was not
entirely in his right mind, and it has
been publicly asserted in Puma that
he was not only mentally irreSponSi-
BILE, but a knave and a dangerous man.
He had little intercourse with his
neighbors and his place was seldom
visited by any of them When people
went there Ward usually made them
feel i'll at ease, and managed to convey
the impression that they were not al
together welcome, although to meet
him away from home he was the soul
of cCngeniality. He was an enthusiast
tic Odd Fellow and a tmember of the
Improved Order of Red Men, being an
active worker in both these societies
and rarely missing at a meeting In
the event of illness among the mem
bers Ward was one of the first to visit
them and offer relief, and he has been
known to sit up with sick fellow
member every night. for weeks at
time, apparently to tle neglect OF his
own affairs, although according to the
developments of the last few days his
own affairs did not demand his per-
sonal attention very urgently.
Several Odd Fellows of the city will
recall an instance of his eccen tricity in
connection with the institution of the
Odd Fellows lodge at Hermosa in Feb
Tuary, 1895, wnen he walked to Rapid
City from Deadwood. fOrty-eight miles,
trying to overtal1e the passenger train
that he had missed as it was pulling
out of Deadwood. The Deadwood Odd
| Fellows were to assist in the institu-
ton. and they left this city on the
evening Elkhorn train. Ward was
about half minute late in reaching
| the depot, and the train was passing
I Trebers bottling works, a block down
the track Ward started after it on the
run, and people standing about the de-
pot watched him round the curve
/ thinking that he would either overtaI1e
/ the train at the freight house or turn
/ back. One or two of the Odd Fellows
I on the rear end of the train saw his
race, but he soon dropped out of sight
and the matter was not thought of
again that evening.
Next morning, when the passenger
| train reached Rapid City, bringing the
] Deadwood Odd Fellows back from Her
mosa, Ward came aboard. Knowing
] that there had not been a train that he
! could have ridden down on, they asked
/ him how he got there He replied that
he had logged down afoot and would
/ have gone on to HermOSa but for fall
/ ing through a cattle guard and injur-
/ ing his leg. Inquiry at the Harvey
/ hotel verified his statement the clerk
| al the hotel asserting that Ward had
arrived shere about 4 o'clock in the
morning, cold, exhausted and with an
| injured leg. and had expressed a desire
| TO continue on the way to Hernosa,
| but the clerk had talked him out of it.
Ward was continually doing some
| thing unusual, and many times it had
! the appearance of the ridiculous He
/ generally had an air of mystery about
| him, and a stranger was not long in
reaching the conclusion that he was
suspicious of rearly everyone with
| whom he came in contact
The sheriff and his deputies have not
| been able so far to locate Ward. and it
| is believed that he has left the country.
! He is a man about 40 years Of age.
dark. with dark hair and heavy dark
| moustache: had blue eyes weighed 135
| pounds, was 5 feet or s inches tall.
/ betrayed a nervousness in his move
ments and conversation, and when last
seen Wore a dark coat and vest and
blue overalls. Officers in all parts of
| the country have been notified to be on
| the lookout for him, and it is proba bIy
| only matter of a short time when he
! viii be apprehended.