Arizona republican., 1906-05-31
THE BENDER FAMILY.
The Latest Story of the Humiliation of
 The Gang.

Guthrie Okla The recent failure to locate the bodies of the notorious Bender family in an abandoned well on their former farm, near Cherryvale. 1 Kansas. brings out statement from ] J. K. Morgan. wealthy Indian Terri 1 tory ranchman to the effect that the entire Bender family was wiped out by cowboys in NO Mans Land" shortly after their disappearance from Kansas, | following the tracing of many mys- terious murders to them. Morgan has been a cowboy in the west for forty years, and has been located in the 1 Creek Indian nation, near Kellyville, | for the past twenty years. In the ear | Iy days il was his custom in going to and from his ranch. with punches of l cattle. to stop with the Bender family, as he had known all of them for some | time and gives it as his opinion that | the only reason he is alive today is be- ! cause on those trips he was accompa- | nied by a force of cowboys and team 1 sters. The Renders only attacked and 1 killed solitary travellers.
 1 The murderous career of the Bend 1 CTS was during the early sos, in the vicinity of Cherryvale. Kansas. Sus- picion pointed to them following the | disappearance of Dr. York, a member of the Kansas legislature, and at that ] time quite prominent in Kansas poli- | tics. A brother of York began search for him as far as the Bender home. | Here the trail ended, and calling upon | friends to assist him, York pushed the l search. One of the guns carried by the party had a bayOnet attached, and in 1 sticking this into the newly plowed 1 ground. one of the men struck some ! naff m investigation revealed the body of a murdered man and within a short time nine corpses were unearthed, including that Of Dr. York.
 | Morgan. the ranchman. was a mem Der of the vigilance committee that started on the trail of the Renders. He says that often when passing the Ben der farm. he would see John Bender blowing, and would ask what he was doing. but never received a satisfac- tory answer. It developed afterward that John Bender was blowing so as to 1 cover up the signs of new-dug grave. Following the disappearance of 11r. York. and even before the Renders had
 been suspected. band of searchers
 came to the Bender home at night. | Morgan was in the party. They were told by Kate Bender. the daughter. 1 that they must not enter the house as
 her mother was dangerously i'll and
 their entrance might cause her instant death. Unsuspecting. the searching
 party withdrew and that night the
 searchers left the country, taking with them two teams and wagons. Their
 absence, according to Morgan, did not become known until the bawling of the
 calves on the Bender farm attracted the attention of the neighbOrs. The
 calves were starving, having had noth- ling to eat since the departure of the . family.
 Morgan remained with the vigilantes and participated in the search south ., ward for the Renders. They were tracked across the Verdigris river, and
 as far into Indian Territory as the
 present town of Atoka. Here all trai
 ended, and the Renders at that time es- caped. Morgan says the Renders had
 about a weeks start of the committee
 Although the search was continued fOi
 some time. it was finally abandoned.
 Some time later, according to Nor
 gan, he had a cattle deal on with cow l men from mo mans land" the presen Beaver county of Oklahoma. That re
 zion. at that time, was claimed by n' | state, nor by the government, nOn' . claiming jurisdiction over it and it be i came the rendezvous for outlaws ant
 criminals of all kinds. The Bender | took refuge in that locality. but evi l dently did not cease their murderou
 work. The cowmen with whom Nor !. 1 gan was making a deal, told him of al 1 entire family being wiped out by th' l cowboys, short time before, in 'n l mans land" He described the entir
 family and they talIied exactly with tn
 Renders all of whom Morgan knev ; ] well. The cowmen stated that one O
 their number was missing several day
 from camp. They hunted for him, an
 found his horse and saddle near a desc
 late looking home. The inmates denie
 any Knowledge whatever of him an
 said they did not know to whom tn
 horse belonged. A search about tn
 premises, however. resulted in hi N body being unearthed from new-mad | grave. Tn cowboys were so incense
 that they returned to the house an , killed the entire family.
 Morgan says that before the trail o l the Renders was found after their sud
 den departure from Kansas, that h h believed then and still believes that
 local blacksmith knew all about tn
 family. The vigilantes hanged the ma
 three times in trying to force him t reveal what he kenw regarding tn
 Renders, but he remained mute. Anon the persons murdered by the Blenders