Evening star., 1922-08-16
M'bR|DE IS THIRD
Of W|FE'S KIN To
D|EMYSTER|OuSLy
Indians First Husband Also
Murdered and Slayer
Never Detected.
ESTATE FIGHT INDICATED
Brutal Killing Also Casts Doubt
on Robbery Theory-Death
Wagon Is Sought.
ESTATE FIGHT INDICATED

Barney A. Mcbride. the wealthy oil
| operator, who was brutally murdered
| last week and his body left on the
road near Meadows. Md, was the third
| person closely associated with the
Creek Indian family to which his wife
belonged to die a violent and mys-
terious death.
1t was learned at the bureau of In
dian affairs today that Silas Deer, the
first husband of McBride's full-blooded
Indian wife, and Wesley Deer, her
brother-in-law, were shot to death in
Oklahoma in 1901. The mystery sur
! rounding their deaths has never been
solved.
Silas Deer was the father of Ellen
Deer. McBride's stepdaughter, and il
was originally from him that she in
herited much of her fortune of $780,
0oo. Considerable property also was
lett to her by her murdered uncle.
Revives Vengeance Theory.
Discovery of the fact that the family
OF which Mcbride became a member
tnrough his marriage to Mrs Deer
| twice before had been the victim Of
assassins lent added Importance to
the previously advanced theory that
Deen
sworn enemy or at the direction Of a
cianoestine political Organization in
the west
Bafied in their efforts to prove that
McBride was killed by thieves, the
poIce began to concentrate more
again interviewed several of the
Indians living in Washington and
VINO admit having known the mur-
dered man. They hoped to CLEAN more
Information from them concerning his
associates in the west.
Mcbride was undoubtedly robbed
BUT the detectives are now inclined
10 believe that the dead man was
stripped of his valuables as a blind
70 the real motive that prompted the
with which the man was slauehtered
is regarded as an argument in favor
of this theory.
Ihere Is no case in the criminal
history of Washington where a rob
Der literally carved his victim to
| pieces and then strangled him with
rope merely to commit a theft.
particularly when the thief must have
| known that the only booty was a
diamond ring whose very size would
| create suspicion should he attempt
| to dispose of 1t.
Checks Are valueIess.
McBride's money was tied up in
travellers checks, which NO sane
burglar would dare attempt to have
cashed, for such an act would re-
suit in his arrest Immediately. Nor
would any fence" no matter how
well protected he might be. consider
accepting a draft bearing the name
of man whom the whole country
knows to have been murdered.
The slayer of Mcbride was either
lucky or master at his bloody trade.
He left behind not one trail by
which the police might follow him.
Presumably. he committed the mur-
der OF a prominent man in the very
capital of the nation, carried his
body to a nearby state and then dis
appeared as completely as though
the earth had swallowed him.
| Another highly important bit of
| information obtained from the Indian
AFFAIRS bureau today was the fact
that some of Miss Deer's property
was recently in litigation. McBride's
| ward, it was stated, was only part
| owner of considerable property which
was divided among two Indian ma
| tions.
Recently overtures were made by
| the persons owning the other part to
| make a trade. whereby Miss Deer
| would become sole owner of the prop
| erty in one nation and the second
party sole owner in the other.
| representative Of the Indian bureau
was in Muskogee at the time the
| transaction was under discussion, and
| met Mcbride.
Miss Deer Favored.
| Mcbride was personally handling
Miss Deers affairs. he said, though
F, the guardian had already turned her
| property over to the federal authori-
| ties for administration. The Indian
| bureau representative returned east
| before the transaction was settled
and therefore did not know the out.
come, but he did learn that the deal
would have resulted decidedly favor
able to Miss Deer if Mcbride succeed
! ed in obtaining all that he asked.
/ The government official was much
! impressed. he said. by the ardor with
which Mcbride guarded his former
wards affairs. At the time he turned
/ them over to the Indian bureau-in
1s1s-he pointed ont that strife 1les De, so
strong that he feared to have the
girl manage her own affairs.
A brother of Ellen. Bernard Deer.
also inherited considerable property
| from his parents, but sold out his
| share years ago.
| The police said today that they had
! learned that a wagon. and not an au-
tomobile, had been used to carry Nc
Brides body from the spot where he
was murdered to the culvert near
the source of their Information.
| The police admit that they have
| been hampered by so-called dog
berry detectives" One of the clues
! they wasted time over regarded a
straw hat. reporter breathlessly
, told of finding it seven miles from
the spot where McBridk's body was
| found. He pointed proudly to cut
| in the rim, evidently made by knife,
and declared the chapeau had been
worn by the slain man.
| Investigation proved that Mcbride
/ boG mt worn a straw hat. but
green felt affair. In addition. the
wore TN, and that was rather small
for him. One of his most prominent
features was an unusually large
head. To cap the climax, detectives
happened to notice there was not
! sign of blood on the hat or around
the slash the knife was supposed to
have made.
with the hope of obtaining some
! information which will lead to the
identity of the man who was seen
playing pool with Mcbride at the
Elks Club last Wednesday evening
Acting Inspector w. s. Shelby and
tHeadquarters Detective Thomas q.
Walsh have gone TO Frostburg, Nd,
| where the Elks are holding a state
convention. Both Acting Inspector
Shelby and Detective Wn}1e are
members of the Elks. while fpr-
mer is secretary of the local 0Ddy.
incidentally the Washington police
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