The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-11-02
I'm memory of
BERTHA l.. BOTHAMLEY,
Beloved wife of
Clement l.. Bothamley.
Clement L. Bothamley

Contrary to the old saying, this
tombstone lies, but it is lie that will
be forgiven its author because It vas
engraven in marble to cover the sin
of a woman. The rearing of this mod
est marble slab marked the close of
one chapter in a tragedy that had its
scenes laid in two continents. ran the
whole scale of human emotions and
ended in murder.
It is seldom that an operative in the
secret service of the United States is
selected to unravel crimes other than
those against the currency of the coun-
try. My connection with the Botham-
ley case came about through a request
made by James j. Brooks. at that time
chief of the secret service for the fed
eral department of justice. John w.
Carr, secretary of the British Associa-
ton of Kansas, had written to the
British ambassador at Washington,
asking that he solicit the aid of this
government in clearing up the murder
of c0untryman and securing the con-
viction of the murderer or murderers.
Chief Brooks assigned me to the work
because the crime had been commit
ted in territory with which had be-
come familiar in the constant search
for counterfeiters.
It often happens that the man who
makes the unraveling of crimes a pro-
fession is called upon to take case
long after the commission of the crime
he is detailed to solve. Such tasks are
the most difficult in the detectives
calling. Time is the criminals strong
est protector. This is illustrated al
most daily in our criminal courts, in
prosecutions which fail to result in
convictions at the first trial. Before
q second trial can be held some wit
nesses die or disappear, the recollec-
ton Of others loses its clearness and
various considerations in favor of the
accused appear. These same consid-
erations work to the advantage Of q
criminal before the case gets into the
courts. This depression applies aptly
to the strange case I am about to re-
late. Had the same efforts been made
in the early part of certain October
as were started the latter part of the
following January am convinced that
the closing scene of this story would
have been laid at the scaffold. Had
certain significant incidents in the do
nestle history of man and his wife
in small Dakota hamlet been care
fully investigated several months be-
fore was called upon to go over them.
L am certain they would have led to
startling revelations that would have
proved one murder and prevented an
other.
Briefly stated, the mystery before me
was the murder of Clement L. Botham-
ley, good-looking, middle-aged Eng
lishman, wealthy as riches were COM
puted in the west at that time, and
while on his way over the Arbuckle trail
from Kansas to Texas, with 1900 sheep.
The Arbuckle trail was one of those
great highways Of the plains that then
served the nomadic cowboy, sheep
herder and immigrant as wagon road
and railrcsd combined. Its winding
course frceh Caldwell, Kan, to Fort
Reno, Indian Territory, was dotted on
either side with lonely graves, I'M
marked, and in most instances SPELL
ing .'finis'' to one of life's tragedies.
In such grave the body of Bothamley
had been buried the same day he was
found dead, his final resting place be-
ing near: a small post known by the
grewsome appellation of Skeleton
ranch g
This border country was plagued by
murderous Indians and white, desper-
ADDE'S. one as much to be feared by