Year: 1870

On the night of the Goth Of July, Mr..
Benjamin Nathan, an esteemed and
| wealthy citizen of New York, was MUIR
dered at his home in that city. On the
night of the murder, Mr.. Nathan had re-
| tired to rest in room by himself, his
wife being absent from town. The other
occupants of the house on the night in
| question were his two SONS, Frederick
| and Washington, and Mrs. Ann Kelly,
| the housekeeper, ), and her son William.


| According to the statements published
in the New York papers, shortly before
midnight the son Frederick came into the
| house, and found his father awake, in
| quired if his younger brother, Washing
ton, had returned home, received mega
| tive reply, and retired to his bedroom on
the third floor. At fifteen or twenty
minutes past twelve, Washington came
home, and looked into the reception room,
and saw his father apparently asleep. He
spoke to him, but received no reply. He
| also retired to rest.i .roitrG 3di td9na' H
Shortly before six o'clock the next
morning Washington awoke and proceed
ed down stairs to call his father. On en-
| tering the reception room, he found the
been most foully murdered. He immedi-,
ately shouted for help, and Frederick
came to his assistance. The brothers then
ran down to the outside door and called
in a policeman 9'o2 't'


On examination it was found that gold
watch and chain, a set of diamond studs,
/ and the key Of small Office safe in an
| adjoining room, all of which had been on
the person of the deceased, the night be-
fore, had disappeared. The safe was
found open, the key in the, lock, and the
4 contents of the safe, consisting of valua-
BILE papers, were strewn about the floor


When first discovered the body of the
murdered man was lying on the threshold
of the door leading into a small room ad-
joining the onei in which he slept. The
weapon used by the murderer in killing
his victim is heavy bar of iron, about
eighteen inches long, with both ends
turned down at right angleslwith the bar.


This "dog" was covered with clotted
blood. 4 IN 7tasta5 n hna .896f sUfl s.


There were five terrible wounds on the
head, given, evidently with fearful force,
with the weapon alluded to above. The
body had nothing on but an under
shirt, which was all covered with blood,
and the carpet at the spot where it was
found was also saturated with blood.


Commenting on this affair, the New


York World says:


"Here, in his own mansion, in one OF


our most respectable and best guarded


streets, Mr.. Benjamin Nathan, an esteem


ed and wealthy citizen, retires to rest, his
sons and servants sleeping in rooms al
most adjoining his. Between an hour
after midnight and dawn he is robbed and


slaughtered by some prowling wretch,


whose only conceivable motive was the


chance of depreciation. Evidently the


victim did not die without hard and


protracted struggle; yet neither in nor


out of the house did the noise that must


have been caused attract the least atten-


ton and, after the perpetration of the


dreadful deed, the homicide seems to have
coolly departed through the front door,


unseen, or at@ least unrecognized, and


leaving no trace behind him-at least a


trace so slight as to be of no practical
4 avail. 1t may be that the ship carpenter S


tool, with which the murder was commit


ted. will lead to the detection Of the
assassin; but the police have not up
to the present time formed even q
rational theory upon the subj jsct
J They unanimously agree in opin
ion, however, that it was not the


crime of professional burglar. The
9 hypothesis they venture on is that the
murder was done to cover up bungling
, robbery, which had been planned and put


in execution by some one who fancied
f because Mr. Nathan had safe in the


room that it must contain valuables Very


little of convertible value was kept in it
T. .ough, and this tends to confirm the ides
8 that the robber was not an expert; fol
f those regularly in the business always


make sure of the whereabouts and amour