The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-11-10
PRISONER NON -TALKAT|VE
AND VISITORS ARE BARRED
Suspect is Held on Two Charges
OF Murder and Charge Of
Breaking Prison

Strongly guarded and heavily iron.
ed the man said by officers to be Ben
Crayens, but who claims to be Char
les Maust. was brought to the federal
Jail here this morning to be held ON
a charge of numbering Alvin Bateman
at Red Rock, in January, 1901 He
will be kept in very close confinement
here until he is either disposed of
| by conviction or until he shows he
is not Cravens
Arrested at the gate of the Missouri
| pententiary Wednesday. Crayens was
taken before a United States commits
sioner at Jefferson City, and he was
identified by j H Dunn, l.. A. Lunn
and j A. Dawson as the Oklahoma
Ioutlaw. He was further Identified BY
the yardmaster of the Kansas peni
tentiary as the convict who escaped
from that institution five years ago
The Oklahoma officers say their evil
dence is perfect up to the Kansas
penitentiary case and that 1t viii be
fully shown that the Kansas convict
is the Missouri convict. Crayens es-
capped from the Kansas prison while
serving a burglary sentence.
Three Definite Charges
There are at least three definite
charges against the noted prisoner
the Red Rock murder charge, the Kan |
Sas charge and the charge Of murder |
ing Deputy Sheriff Johnson OF Paw
nee,
Crayens, or whoever he is. has moth
ing to say No visitors are allowed
to see him He is said to have made
no remark whatever to the officers
about himself except to say that he is
not Cravens. He rarely speaks at any
time. His record in the Missouri
prison is fairly good.
The tri-state prisoner was taken
in charge at Jefferson City by United
States Marshal A. J. Martin Post.
office Inspector r. V Leahy was one
of the party, identifying Cravens as a
postotfice robber From the prison to
Guthrie the prisoner was in charge Of
Martin and of j. H. Livingston, spe-
cial oGcer from the Missouri prison
Three deputies accompanied the party
from Kansas City to Arkansas City
where, early today. Chief Deputy
Chris Madsen and Deputy A GoH re-
placed the Kansas City deputies. n
chances whatever were taken with
the prisoner at any time.
Kept Closely Guarded
From Kansas City the prisoner was
kept in a drawing room and no one
out officers saw him. From Arkansas
City to Guthrie he came over his old
stamping ground, ii he is Cravens.
This is probably not his first ex-
Derience in the Jail here Cravens
was in twice about fourteen years
ago.
A great deal of documentary evi-
ience will be put together for the
rial, which may be held here in Jan
iary The early records are deficient !
)ut Ben Cravens was a bad man fiji I
cen years ago to be making his story,
md there are large fragments eXtant [
The Anti-Horse Thief association has /
OTIS of it.
j. n. Livingston, superintendent OF {
he Bertillon system for the Missouri {
has compiled complete
PERSONAL statistics of Cravens from
he time ne was in the Kansas prison.
The present description is: Age A.;
eight feet 10 inches; slightly [
ald; weight, 40 Old and new pic !
ures have been put together Old {
liners here say the old pictures are d
orrect and that the present prisoner /
5 very much like the other one {
Cravens was brought here in Ore v
on boots" The Oregon contrivance Q
a rather heavy affair. iron, bearing !
n the shin and fastened under the e
eel. Speed is impossible while wear /
lg this boot. Crayens was han1- {
uffed and otherwise decorated The o
Ulcers had the trustiest guns they y
ould find and they allowed nobody
D get in the way. {
iecame National Figure IN 1901
Cravens became national hgure ?
l January. 1901. when he and Bert n
lelty went to the store and post /
flee at Red Rock. Welty went in h
isgused as. a woman trader. wear e
lg a mother hubbard gown and an Y
ID fashioned bonnet Getting a good
antage point he ordered hands up n
While he had all hands up and whi-e il
ravens was searching the store ana r.
ostoffice for money. Alvin Bateman, b
citizen of mature age and assistant q
ostmaster. entered He was told TO 1,
lt up his hands. but he made dive Il
n a pistol he hal laid around handy tcl
,r use. He succeeded in shooting al G
ost as soon as the outlaws did. but
? received mortal wounds. Welty W
as shot and badly hurt q
We and Cravens got out ana it
ent a quarter OF mile from town. u