Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1914-11-23
Missouri Bill Is
Again in Trouble

Frank Williams Hedgespath-
known in Ashland as "Missoufi Bill'
and now in the klamath county Jail
as the confessed murderer of Allen
McLeod-is again occupying space in
the Klamath Falls papers. Through
Pat O'Connel, a temporary lodger in
the Jail, he recently sent letters to
his wife outlining the story he wish
es her to tell on the witness stand.
The letters fell ! to the hands of
Sheriff Low instead of Mrs. Hedge
spath.
The very plea or testimony she is
to make on the witness stsnd is writ
ten by the prisoner and she is urged
to give it word for word as he has
written. Details of the defense
Hedgespath would make, as written
in the notes to his wife, are too sor-
did for print. In substance the ac-
cused man urges his wife to swear
that she shot Mcleod with twenty
two rifle after he had committed
crime against her person and was
coming toward her with Il shotgun.
Another interesting phase of his
activities is letter which he urges
his wife to have copied by some man,
and made public, to create the i'm
preston that Jack Madill-another
supposed victim of Hedgespath-is
still alive. The letter he suggests is
addressed to a mysterious alleged
/ friend of Madill. 1t is as follows:
( Dear Friend Tom: / will write
you few words. Being that | am
supposed to be dead | will let you
know that | am not ! have been
working out in Harvey county since
| left Williams in Bonanza, Oregon.
herding sheep and | have been going
under a different name. My whis-
kers is about foot long. No one in
Klamath county would know me
there if they should see me now,
unless they would notice me by my
walk. | have come nearly two hun
dred miles to write this letter to
you so Williams can stand a better
show. | have mail a letter to his
wife also. Tom. if you ever was a
friend of mine say nothing to no one,
but just find out where Mrs. Will
liams is and give this letter to her.
! They were living on Klamath av-
enue, behind the postoffice, before
can see Williams tell him to have
some one to ditch that saddle | left
him to keep for me- Tom, ! will
trust you to give this letter to her
or find out If he has lawyer, If so,
give il to him. Say nothing to no
one till you have gave one or the
other this letter Then | don't care
who you tell. They can send this
man Low after me If they like.
( Trusting you as ever,
JACK MADILL."
In another epistle Hedgspath
says to his wife: Dear darling, you
have this man write this above letter
and go with him and show him the
way to Lerella, up toward Lewis Ger
bers, you know the way Do this
above all and don't change the words
in what ever you do. After II is done
all is done, dear darling, till my trail
and we shall both live out our lifes
together"
Hedgspath is not being held in Jail
on charge of numbering Madill but
it is believed by the authorities that
he took Madill's life somewhere in
the neighborhood between Bonanza
and BLY, some time in May last. The
Klamath Falls Northwestern says:
After perusing the above reference
to Madill, and the apparent attempt
by Hedespath to have his wife try
to prove that Madill Is alive and far
out of civilization, one cannot possi-
bly, believe but that Hedgespath
killed Madill, although his body has
never been found. His reference to
the Gerber place may have some sig
nifcance and 1t is possible Madill
was slain and his body secreted in
that neighborhood.."