St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-03-20

was driving home from Woodstoch
when, at the crossroads leading te
Eastwood. man turned the corne'
| from the Blenheim swamp road ano
started for Eastwood The man wore
a fur cap, and he stopped and asked
| Mr.. Buck the way to Gables Corners
| as he wished to get to Woodstock
Buck told him he was within much
less than two miles of Eastwood and
he could get to Woodstock from there
as easily as from Gables Corners. The
man thanked him and walked on TO
ward Eastwood at a rapid pace
At three o'clock Miss Alice Smith
arrived at the Eastwood station to
post a letter. AS she was going into
the station gate she came face to face
with Lord Somerset, who had been in
Woodstock the year before, and who
had called at the home of her grand,
father, John Hayward at Eastwood
Somerset wore an astrakhan cap. He
came up to Miss Smith and shook
hands, saying: How do you do?
Don't you remember me?" and asked
after her family and grandfather. He
told Miss Smith he was coming back
later, and then bought a ticket for
Hamilton. Miss Mary Swazie, another
young lady of Eastwood, also was at
the station for the three o'clock train,
and saw the stranger. His trousers
were turned up and his shoes were
muddy. Miss Ida Cromwell of East
wood also saw him at the station.
James Hayward, an Eastwood store
keeper, saw him at the station and
recognized the so-called Lord Somer-
set.
At 1888 the train for Niagara Falls
reached Eastwood and the stranger in
the fur cap climbed aboard. George
Hay, a brakeman, saw and remem-
bered him distinctly and identified
Birchall positively as the man. Other
witnesses also identified him, their
evidence covering Birchalls trail up
to his return to the Stafford house,
Buffalo, at $50 at night. Witnesses
also identified the dead body of Ben
well as that Of the young man with
Birchall on the train to Eastwood, and
on the road to the swamp, Birchall,
according to the detectives deduc-
lions, had four hours and "a minutes
in which to walk the four miles from
Eastwood to the swamp, do the muir
der, and walk back to Eastwood. He
arrived at 11:14 in the morning and
departed at 1888 in the afternoon. II
he took three hours to walk the eight
miles, he still had one hour and "a
minutes for the crime.
AS a final proof of Birchall's guilt,
Murray was advised by the London,
England, police that Col. Benwen had
just received from Birchall an undat-
ed letter, headed with the address OF
Niagara Falls. The postmark revealed
it's date as February 20, three days
after Birchal1 left Benwell dead in
in the swamp. In this letter Birrhall
asked that $500 be sent him at cnce,
adding: 81 have been talking to your
son to-day about arrangements, and he
is so well satisfied with the prospect
here that he is ready to go immediate
1y into the partnership, and he is
writing to you to-day on the subject"
The $500 asked for was to be the
first payment on $4,000 which Col.
Benwell was to send to his son for
Pirche1l if the farm and prospects
pleased the youth. Pelly identified
the body found on February IS as Ben
wells body, and therefore Birchall
could not have been talking to him
on February 20. Instead of writing
to his father on February 20, Benwell
was lying cold in death. Having
found witnesses who identified Biz
chalI as the bbgus Lord Somerset, who
had made frkquent visits to Blenheim
swamp the year before, and had
learned the path to Pine Pond, the
lake in the swamp that is supposed to
be bottomless, Murray knew that his
case was complete.
Birchall had embarked in business
as murderer. He had deliberately
planned the crimes and fitted himself
for the practice Of his profession.
While masquerading as Lord Somer-
set he had selected the bottomless
lake known as Pine Pond for the grave
that would tell no tales. The Bicn-
helm swamp he marked as the place
of slaughter. He was familiar with
the emigration business, through his
father-in-law's knowledge of it, ard
conceived the idea Of taking rich
young men instead Of poor immi-
grants. He created an imaginative
farm and went back to England seek
ing victims, but made the mistake OF
taking two instead of one. Even
then his plans were well laid. He in
tended to kill Benwell in the swamp
and shove Pelly into the whirlpool
rapids. Neither body would be found
for he would bury Benwell in the bot
tomless lake and Pelly would vanish
in the rapids. II one of the Elridges
had not slipped in the swamp he
would not have stepped upon Ben
wells body, revealing the crime. Biz
chall had not meant to leave the body
where anyone could find it. He was
heading for Pine Pond when he slew
Benwell and intended to drag the
body there, but recent storm had
swept the swamp and choked with de-
bris the path to the bottomless lake.
With Benwell and Pelly vanished from
off the face of the earth, Birchall
would have collected through bogus
letters to the fond parents the sum
still due from his victims and then
returned to England in pursuit of
other prey.