The Washington times., 1904-07-13
MURDER ENDS
SORD|D LIFE
Mlser and Fence Killed in
Squalid Quarters.
FIRE REVEALS THE CRIME
Simple Companion of Junkman Also
Found Dead in the
Shop.
FIRE REVEALS THE CRIME

round murdered on the grimy floor OF
his ancient howell back OF Chapel Alley
opposite st. James ro-Cathedral In
Brooklyn, yesterday. A few feet away
on bed made of a heap Of moldy cof-
fee bags and trash the body of his
ne'er-do-well helper. Henry Van Bus
kirk, was found
The old man had been beaten to death
with club. Van Buskirk had been shot
through the head. The murders were
discovered by Aremen who had been
called to put out a fire which the muir
derers had started TO prevent the dis
covery of their work.
Out Of an atmosphere of petty thievery,
bestiality. miserliness, and all unclean-
illness, moral and material, out of a
record of years Of defiant lawbreaking
out of history Of months of quarreling
and threatening between a gang OF
sullen, stupid drunken tramps on The
one hand and cunning old miser on the
other. the Brooklyn police quickly
traced the story of the murders.
Four Arrests.
Three men and a boy were arrested
within two hours after the bodies of
Abbott and Van Buskirk were found.
Last night these four lay in the prison
of the Adams Street station; Charles
Johnson. n tramp carpenter and jack
of-all-trades, charged with murder,
Oscar Dahrlin. a scullion in low saloons
and cheap lodging houses, charged with
being an accomplice in the murders /;
Charles Olsen, another itfnerant soul
lion. held as a witness and Arnaldo Ben
nedetto. also held as a witness.
St James Pro-Cathedral is one Of
the oldest If not the very oldest church
in Brooklyn. The original building has
recently been encased in strong modern
outer walls TO protect the inner shrine
in all its ancient quaintness. The
neighborhoOd for blocks around has an
church. its parish house and its young
man club have done much 10 pre-
serve.
The Murdered Fence.
George F. Abbott once owned most Or
the square opposite he Pro-Ca -he'.rll.
In the middle OF thu square. where the
transverse alleys met, were his store
rooms and his stable. Tie and his busi-
ness have been there, rs nearly rs the
memory of living man rurs. IS long as
the church itself.
Once Abbott lived at 2;5 Pearl Street.
lnt street SOuAn OL Jay ClIEEA. Ac
building ran back to the stable and the
bowels In the middle II tn" alley. He
pretended TO be general dealer In junk
and secondhand things. With his wife.
SON. and daughter he lived in the up
per floors OF the building. which was
next 10 the headquarters of engine
company 107. The ground floor was
used as a stable. There old Abbotts
robber customers drove their wagon
loads Of plumber in by night and spent
the day haggling with him. bit by bit
over the price at which the contents
should he sold.
Contents of His Place.
But a few years ago the miser mort
gagged the Pearl Street house. Rather
than take money out Of the safe de-
posit vaults in which he boarded it with
which to redeem the mortgage he let
the property be sold 1t is now used
as an automobile station.
Great was the edification OF the neigh
borhood when the Abbotts moved out of
the house. A solid marble bathtub came
out with great bundle Of children's
hats and was followed soon after by
crate of empty bottles and dolls baby
carriage. There were paintings. bar
fixtures, images of the saints and gilt
tering glass chandeliers, books, and beer
taps. there was nothing within the
which was not represented in the col
lection.
Most Of it was taken to the sheds
back In the alleys and stored there IL
was a matter OF grim jest, among the
neighboTs. that there was no live stock
I'm the lot, for Abbott had more than
once been arrested for haTbOring stolen
horses and delivery wagons.
Mrs. Abbott Goes South.
Mrs. Abbott went South after this re-
movaI. She took with her the boy,
George F. Abbott, jr., who had spent
two years at Elmira for an atrocious
assault upon a little girl. Mary Paige.
That crime had been committed In the
very spot were the old mans body was
found yesterday.
The boy came out of prison with con-
sumption. and his mother took him 10
Florida and southern California. He died.
The mother is still In California, the
nefghbOrs say. The story runs that she
Is travelling from one hotel to another
in considerable luxury. The daughter
married a well-to-do Long Island
farmer
block He went back 10 the sheds in
the alley A self-respecting dog would
not have lived there.
Abbott's Surroundings.
Is there any stage scene painter, dsiN
magazine illustrator VINO would Snuw
what the home Of miseriv traAcllor
with thieves is really like? Lex him go
the back of Chapel ALLEY and look at
Abbotts place.
The doors are double and open ike
those of an old-fashionad barn Within
is a mass Of rubbish and dirt. waste
and things Of value. jumbled in modify
confusion. There is a physician 5
phaeton packed tight in piles of books
bales OF mating. stacks of lead and
brass pipe marble Mushroom slabs and
all manner OF broken furniture.
There Is barely room TO walk between
these and a series Of closets on the 9th
er side, in which are bales Of paper
DUrlop bags, bucks Of all iIinis Of dir
~ crOckeTY AMI glassware
Where Abbott Slept.
Sometimes the old man slept on the
mating and rnol5ly horse blankets on
top Of the carryall. More often he slept
in . closet little further back from
the barniike doors. and n tiny stove, all
rusted, furnished him with the means
by which he cooked his own messes of
cornmeal and molasSes, bacon, and can
ned things brought TO him by grocery
there's.
Out of this closet again there was an
other closet. so small that even a short
man could not stretch out on the floor
OF Il fun length IL was 10 this retreat
that the old man betook himself when