Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-25
In memory of
BERTHA l.. BOTHAMLEY,
Beloved wife OF
Clement l.. Bothamley.

p given Its author because 1t was engraven
In marble to cover the sin of a woman.
The rearing of this modest marble slab
marked the close of one chapter In trag-
edy that had its scenes laid in two con-
tinents, ran the whole scale of human emo
tons and ended in murder
II Is seldom that operative in the
secret service OF the United States is Sc
lected to unravel crimes other than those
against the currency OF the country. My
connection with the Bothamley case came
about through a request made by James j.
Brooks at that time chief of the secret
service. for the federal department of JUS
tice. John w. Carr, secretary of the Brit
fish Association of Kansas. had written to
the British ambassador at Washington,
asking that he solicit the aid of this gov
eminent In clearing up the murder of
countryman and securing the conviction OF
the murderer or murderers Chief Brooks
assigned me to the work because the crime
had been committed in territory with which
i had become familiar in the constant
search for counterfeiters.
Briefly stated. the mystery before me was
the murder OF Clement L. Bothamley, a
good looking middle aged Englishman,
wealthy as riches were computed in the
west at that time. and while on his way
over the Arbuckle trail from Kansas to
Texas. with 2,300 sheep The Arbuckle trail
was one of those great highways of the
plains that then served the nomadc cow
boy, sheepherder and immigrant as wagon
road and railroad combined
Three months or more had elapsed be-
tween the murder of the Englishman and
the time l was assigned to the clearing I'D
of the case, and this made 1t necessary for
me to secure all the data concerning the
finding of the body and the incidents at
tending 1t at second hand. Fortunately a
seventeen-year-olG boy, Wesley Vetter by
name, who had been In the employ of the
murdered man, was in Wichita and dis
a Of no Of
cumstances surrounding the death of his
employer. With this lad visited the scene
of the murder, seventy miles from Caldwell.
This visit resulted In nothing except the
fixing in my mind of the events as related
by Fetter.
According to the story of Vetter who was
employed at the Bothamley ranch, his mas
ter announced one day in the summer that
he going to Newton to meet his sister
who coming out from England On his
return he was accompanied by a petite,
brown-haired, blue-eyed young woman of
about % whom he introduced to the men at
the ranch as his sister. Bertha Bothamley
The pair lived at the ranch house as brother
and sister. and the current of affairs ran
smoothly until Bothamley decided to move
TO Texas. where, he claimed, he had a
brother. Arrangements We're quickly made
for the trip. The outfit consisted of 9 800
head of sheep, four yoke of oxen, some
horses, q buggy and a wagon boxed in with
ceiling. inns wagon mad Deen used by an
. itinerant daguerrotyper The house part
seven feet high and wide and ten feet
long. 1t was supposed to furnish shelter
for Bothamley's sister and to protect the
owner of the outfit from wet weather, as
he suffered from rheumatism The start
was made the latter part of August, with
Vetter and another man, William Dodson
to help care for the sheep. Little progress
was made ct first, Bothamley was at
tackled with rheumatism and had to be
taken back for treatment. October found
the outfit at blackberry creek, on the Ar
buckle trail, the scene of the murder.
Vetter and Dodson seldom slept more
than 125 feet from the car. the woman
sleeping on a raised couch in the car and
Bothamley on ,'shake-down'' on the floor,
or in the covered buggy close by Early IN
the morning Of October Dodson and Vet
ter, who. contrary to their custom, haG
gone to sleep some distance from the car,
were aroused by cries from the woman,
who was rushing toward them.
Something awful has happened at the
car" she cried
She was much excited and dazed COM
p'sIning that something allied her head"
Nctter Immediately went back to the car,
found the door shut and returned to the
OTHERS without attempting TO investigate.
The woman urged DodsOn to go to the car.
He opened the door and Bothamley
lying on the blankets on the floor, dead A
bullet hole under the right eye told the
manner of his death.
When Dodson informed the woman that
Bothamley was dead she became hysterical
and wept violently. Dodson saddIed a horse
ana rode several miles to the camp of a
man named Collins Bothamleys body was
prepared for burial, the funeral taking
place the same day at Skeleton ranch with
the woman, Dodson, Netter and Collins in
attendance. The next morning Dodson and
the woman washed the blood stains from
the bedclothes. After three days during
which Bothamley's supposed sister said she
had written to England concerning the
death of her brother. preparations were
made 10 continue the journey TO Texas.
Meanwhile, however, news Of the finding
of Bothameys body had Travelled over the
thinly settled country and reached the ears
of the Indian police. the regularly consti-
tuted constabuldry of the Indian Territory.
Just as the outfit was about To move on
the woman and the two men were taken
into custody by the Indian police and sent
10 the Wshita jail pending investiga-
ton of the murder. All three stoutly pro-
tested innocence. There was no general be-
lief that either Of the men had any guilty
knowledge of the crime, but many thought
the woman had committed the murder.
This remained 10 be proved or disproved.
Eliminating the possible guilt of the
murdered mans supposed sister. the most
tenabe theory Of the affair was suicide.
Ihls was the belief held by those who did
not mink the little, mi!d-mannered woman
guilty.
In additional support of my belief that
Bothamley had been murdered there were
several corroboratlng physical crcum-
stances. one Of the most convincing of
these was the fact well established by
science that the human animal instructive
ly shuus the pointing Of pistol to the eve
when about to take its own life. The bullet
had entered Bothamley's face just under
the right eye. Scientists assert that there
is not single record of suicide by shooting
In which the weapon has been aimed at the
eye. and they go so far to claim that
such course would be impossible To
press the muzzle of the weapon against the
forehead or the temple thus hiding ii from
the vision. is common; to point the weapon
at the eye is unheard of.
At Skeleton ranch there was post Office
presided over by woman. From this
source 1t was learned that some little time
before the death OF Bothamley his COM
panon had mailed two letters. The post
is not overburdened at Office like Skele-
ton ranch. and the postmistress had plenty
of time TO inspect addresses of incoming
and outgoing mail. In this case she was
also garrulous and of retentive memory
I leo, YI,st -.