River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-03-04
At half past two Charles Buck, a

| young farmer living on the road be-
| tween Eastwood and Blenheim swamp,
was driving home from Woodstock
when, at the crossroads leading to
| Eastwood, a man turned the corner
| from the Blenheim swamp road and
| started for Eastwood. The man wore
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
as easily as from Gables Corners. The
| man thanked him and walked on to-
ward Eastwood at rapid pace.
At three o'clock Miss Alice Smith
arrived at the Eastwood station to
post 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
sitter her family and grandfather. He
Gold Miss Smith he was coming back
Scter, 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, brakeman, saw and remem-
bered him distinctly and identified
Birchall positively as the man. Other
witnesses also identified him, their
evidence covering Birchalps trail up
to his return to the Stafford house,
| Buffalo, at $3.50 at night. Witnesses
| also identified the dead body of Ben
/
| Birchall on the train to Eastwood, and
on the road to the swamp, Birchall,
according to the detectives deduc-
tions, 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
| oil nj .. IN hn of
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 Birchalrs guilt,
Murray was advised by the London,
England, police that Col. Benwell had
tust 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 Birchall left Benwell dead in
in the swamp. In this letter Birchall
asked that $500 be sent him at once,
adding: 81 have been talking to your
son to-day about arrangements, and he
Is so we'll satisfied with the prospect
here that he is ready to go immediate
ly 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.
BenweIl was to send to his son for
Pirche1l if the farm and prospects
pleased the youth. Pelly identified
| the body found on February 1S 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 bogus Lord Somerset who
had made frequent 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.
BirchalI had embarked in business
as a murderer. He had deliberately
MANNED 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 Blen-
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, and
| conceived the idea of taking rich
voung men instead of poor immi-
grants. He created an imaginative
farm and went back to England seek
ing victims, but made the mistake or
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
tomIess lake and Pelly would vanish
in the rapids. If one of the Elrldges
had not slipped in the swamp ne
would not have stepped upon Ben
Wells body. revealing the crime BIZ
chal1 had not meant to leave the BODY
where anyone could find it. he was
heading for Pine Pond when he slew
| RenweIl and intended to drag the
body there, but a recent storm had
swept the swamp and choked with de-
| hris the path to the bottomless lake.
With Benwell and Pelly vanished from
off the face of the earth, Birchall
would have collected through bogus
fond narpnfS the sum