The Anderson intelligencer. [volume], August 19, 1880, Image 1

About The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914

Image provided by: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC

                
BY E. B. MURRAY & CO.
VOLUME XVI.?NO. 0.
THE XAKSAS MURDERERS.
ARREST OF OXD MAN BENDER AND A
WOMAN.
The Horrible Story of their Crime-Luring;
Unsuspecting Travellers into tho House,
Throwing them into n Dungeon and Mur?
dering them for their Money?The Dis?
cover and the Flight?Behind tho Bars
at laut.
Omaha, Neb., Aug. 2,1880.
The story of the crimes of tho Bender
family is upon everybody's lips. The
greatest crimp of the century is likely,
in a small measure at least, to be atoned
for. But the most horrible death that
old John Bender could be put to would
but in a slight degree.avenge the suffer?
ings of his many victims, lu the jail at
Fremont, in Dodge County, a man is
locked up who is supposed to be the fiend
that the authorities of Kansas have been
looking for for seven years. There hard?
ly seems a doubt of his identity. With
him is a woman?repulsive, hard-fisted
and old. She nuy be the original Mrs.
- Bender or she may be his mistress.
Opinions differ on this point. When
they reach Kansas the authorities will
have hard work to guard the couple from
the attacks of the populace, who are
thirsting for their blood. In 1873, old
Bender andhis wife and their son John
and his wife lived -near Cherryvale,
Labette County, Kansas. Their house
was about two miles trat of town. It
was a rude frame structure, standing in a
lot of two acres. The old woman called
herself a medium. She had a way of
boiling herbs Jind roots, that were sup?
posed to have charms and'spells about
them, and she dealt in incantations. She
was repulsive in aspect?tall, angular
and scrawny, with hard, steel-gray eyes,
and thin, ragged gray hair struggling
over Ler- temples. The family seem to
have been totally under the influence of
this ungainly creature. Her word with
them was law. The Benders ostensibly
kept a grocery. A sign was displayed in
front of their rude dwelling to attract
visitors, but the stc-k in trade consisted
principally of a sort of cheap wine.
There were only two rooms in the house.
One was a dining room and kitchen
combined. In the other the four Ben?
ders slept.
MANY SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCES.
In 1873 a number of persons travelling
in the direction of Cherryvale. myste?
riously disappeared. No traces of them
- could bs found. The first disappearance
that attracted public attention was that
of an old man and his granddaughter,
who left Cherryvale in February, 1873,
in a two-horse wagon, to go to Fort Scott,
bet who never reached that place. All
inquiries failed to elicit a cine to their
disappearance until, about the beginning
of March, Dr. William H. York recog?
nized the wagon and team at Fort Scott.
He ascertained that the wagon bad been
purchased at the fort from some person
who had come from Cherryvale, and he
determined to ferret out the mystery.
He left Fort Scott on March 9, and he,
too, disappeared. Dr. York was well
known, and the greatest efforts were
made to discover traces of him. A large,
reward was offered, rivers were dragged,
spots fit for ambush were probed foot by
foot, lonesome places were quested as a
keen hound scents a trail that is cold,
and still no traces of the lost man were
discovered. Not a shadow of evidence
rested anywhere to say that Dr. York
bad been murdered?not a sign anywhere
told how he came to his death, if, indeed,
death- had overtaken him unawares. He
was traced to' Cherryvale, in Labette
County, but no further. There all track
and trace of him ceased. The excite?
ment was at a high pitch. One day an
exploring party stopped at the house of
the Benders. Had they seen anything
of Dr. York? No, the answer came,
they had not. They knew nothing what?
ever concerning him. But this visit had
a strange effect. The next day the Ben?
der family disappeared, and almost ns
mysteriously as liad Dr. York. This
suspicious circumstance aroused curios?
ity. A man riding into Cherryvale from
the country one day was impressed by
the deserted appearance of the Bender
place. He entered the yard. In the
stable he found n dead calf. There was
every indication from the appearance of
the miserable creature that it had starved
to death. The man walked up to the
house, opened the door and looked in.
Not an article of household furniture
had been removed, but the dust k.y
heavy on everything. The man went to
Cherryvale and told his story. Senator
A. M. York, the brother of the missing
man, was there. To his suspicious mind
the sudden and strange flight of the
Bender family was a revelation. He had
found the first clue to his lost brother.
He divulged-his suspicions, and a band
of men accompanied him to the Bender
farm. The front room of the bouse was
carefully searched, every crack and crev?
ice being minutely looked into and sub?
jected to the application of rods and
levers to see if the flooring was either
hollow or loose. Nothing came of it.
No blood spots appeared. The floor was
solid. The walls were solid. Next the
party searched the back room. The beds
were removed. In their flight the Ben?
ders had left everything untouched.
A HORRIBLE discovery.
The explorers w^re about to retire
when they noticed a depression in the
floor. A trap door was revealed. It was
lifted up, and in the gloom a pit outlined
itself, forbidding, cavernous, unknown.
Lights were procured aud some of the
men descended. They found themselves
in an abyss like a well, six feet deep and
five feet in diameter. Here and there
little damp places could be seen, as
though water had come up from the bot?
tom or been poured down from above.
They groped around and around over
these splotches, and held a handful to the
light. The ooze smeared itself over their
palms and dribbled through their fingers.
Id was blood. Every suspicion was real?
ized. The murderers had fled, leaving
behind damuing evidences of their hid?
eous guilt. But where were the bodies
of the victims ? For an hour the party
of excited people traversed the lonely
garden in the rear of that human
slaughter pen, prodding the earth with a
long iron rod. All at once the iron
seemed to strike a fleshy matter. In a
moment's time a dozen eager spades had
resurrected from its shallow grarc the
decaying body of a human being. It
had been buried facedown. They turned
it to the sunlight. A cry of terror went
up from the crowd. It was York's
corpse. Although far advanced in tho
stn<*e of decomposition the features were
platnly recognizable. How the murder?
ous deed bad been done was speedily and
easily learned. A terrible blow on the
back of the head had crushed the skull
upon the brain and the throat bad been
cut from ear to ear. The work of dis?
covery wenf. on. One after another were
laid bare the graves of ten murdered
people. Most of the bodies were identi?
fied. Among them were the bodies of
t?vo children. There were no marks of
violence on them. They had been
buried alive. The murders had been
committed lor robbery. Travellers were
asked in to drink. They never left the
house alive.
THE ARREST.
All traces of the Benders were lost.
Where they went to no one knew. A
few days ago a man was seen at Rich land
travelling eastward with a woman. They
stopped at a house, and soon after their
arrivals made inquiries as to whether
any thing had yet been discovered of the
Bender family, who formerly lived in
Kansas. Their talk and actions excited
suspicion, which was further strength?
ened by their answers to questions asked
them. They appeared excited, and told
conflicting stories as to who they were
and where they came from; said they
had lived five or six years among the In?
dians; that they bad becu up in the
Niebrara country, and that they were
not the Benders. Sheriff Gregg was
called. He started on their track. At
Schuyler he. caught up with them. He
passed them two or three times, aud
finally turned around and met them with
a drawn revolver. He said to the wo-1
?man, "Hello, Kate," and she was consid?
erably startled, and replied "I am not
Kate Bender." Tho old man didn't offer
any resistance, and the officer had no dif?
ficulty in landing him and his wife in
the Fremont Jail. In jail the couple
had a conversation, which was overheard.
The old man, who is apparently over 60
years of age, said to her: "I knew if we
came to Kansas that they would hang us
before we would be there two hours. Wo
would not stand a ghost of a show. If I
have to die, I want to die with you and
be buried with you. I am going crazy.
I know I have to die. -1 want that razor
in here before I start for, Kansas."
"They would not let you have it. They
are afraid of losing their reward," she
said. He continued: "I know you'll
give me away, but you cannot save your?
self. Oh! my first wife. She was a
good woman. You don't care for me.
You musn't think you can escape by giv?
ing me away. Don't you cry." The
couple were finally separated and
charged with being the original Benders.
They denied it. The old man said his
name was McGregor; that he was taken
sick and stopped at the house of the
Benders for seven weeks, and that his
wife was with him. He said he knew of
various murders being committed, and
that be did not dare to say anything for
fear of his life. The old woman told a
terrible story. She said the money of
the persons murdered was always divided
among the Benders. "I think my hus?
band never got any of it. The garden
was full of graves and the cellar full of
dead bodies. Dr. York's brother was
murdered while I was there. He was a
single man, I think about 35 years old.
The dining room of the house was the
room which the sliding trap was under.
A person would sit down at the table to
eat, and the slides were moved and the
person would fall into a deep cellar. I
don't know how deep the cellar was.
They would kill anybody then who would
come to tho house, rich or poor, for fear
they might inform on them. They
killed some persons that had no monev
at all."
NO DOUBT OF THE PRISONERS' IDEN?
TITY.
For a day or two it was doubtful
whether the man was really old Bender.
There does not seem to be any doubt of
it now. A man who lived near him at
Cherry vale called at the jail. His name
is Hoofiao, and he identified the prisoner
as old John Bender.
"Did you ever see this face before ?"
Hooflan asked. "Yes," replied the old
man, "I know you, but I can't place
you." "Don't you know the man who
used to herd near your place in Kansas?"
Mr. Hooflan inquired. The old man be?
came excited. "My God, yes," he an?
swered; "how did you come here?"
And so the old man was led on to tell
of the crimes which had been committed.
On being told that he would have to go
to Kansas, he swore that he would not
go. He said that he would not go any?
where else, and would kill himself before
ho would go there. Hooflan showed him
a plan of the house and surroundings,
which he acknowledged was correct.
Hooflau then went and saw the woman.
She began laughing when she saw him.
When asked if she knew him she an?
swered, "Yes, I do know him. How do
you do, Mr. Kuttan ?" [The name she
was wont to use.] I never expected to
see you any more. I don't want to talk
to you here. We are captured at last
and they will hang us. You know that
that's John Bender. There's no use de?
nying that any longer. I'm going to tell
the truth. If that don't save.me from
being hung, I'll have to hang, too. I
ought to have told the truth from the
start. I told him that we would be
caught if wo came back this way on tho
main road. We were going back East.
We had a hard time among the Indians;
very seldom saw a white person." Sheriff
Gregg says that the true Bender is in
custody. As to the woman he is doubt?
ful. He thinks she is not the original
Mrs. Bender, but that Mrs. Bender was
killed, and that this woman is Bender's
mistress. Sheriff Gregg is now engaged
in hunting up young Bender aud his
wife. They have been seen recently, and
officers are on their track. The excite?
ment is intense.
Mrs. Bender Confesses.
Fremont Dispatch in Chicago Tribune, Any. 2.
Further startling developments were ;
made in the Bender matter to-day. Mrs.
Bender, or Mrs. McGregor, made a full
and complete confession of the whole
matter, even to the minutest details re?
garding the butcheries perpetrated on
the John Bender farm during 1872 and
1873. She denies having had any per?
sonal hand in the matter, but says Kate,
old John's daughter, was the leader of
all the deviltry. She went over her
entire history from the time she became
Mrs. Alexander McGregor. She was a
widow at the time she married McGregor,
alias Bender, who was a widower with
four children, two of whom were Kate
and John, Jr. They migrated from Mis?
souri to Labette County, Kansas, and
became John Bender and family. Being
asked if she would be called Mrs. Mc?
Gregor or Mrs. Bender, she replied:
"The latter will do if you be satisfied, as
you be here to see Mrs. Bender." "Were
you married to Bender in Kansas?" "I
was a widow, and he married me at
Springfield, 111., at the close of the war.
I can't remember what year, but 'Squire
i Sedar tied the knot. His name was
Alexander .McGregor, and ho had four
children, John and Kate being of the
number, but two of the boys had run oft'.
He was a poor cuss, but we lived about
several years and then were sent by the
county to Dunklin County, in southwest
Missouri, where sister lived. All this is
true."
"You went by the name of McGregor?"
"We did to the name till the ole man
went to Kansas and took up a homestead
in Labette County, I believe, when he
I changed it to John Bender, and, arter
about a year, John and Kate came along,
and then the devil began to be played."
"What do you mean by that?" "Well,
there was steal in', thievin' and killin',
and all that." "Who was the first per?
son killed by the family?" "He was a
sick man named Brown. He came along
one afternoon. The house was a good
i sized one, and on a sign was 'Groceries/
outside the door, and scein' this he
stopped. We took him in, and the sec?
ond night we got him up to eat supper,
and while seated at the table, John Ben?
der let him into the cellar, where Kate
or John killed him, and the next day
they buried him in the garden."
"How long after this before any one
else was killed?" "I don't quite re?
member, but not long. Two were killed,
and one of them, whoso name I believe
was something like McGruthy or Mc
Gratb, had a good deal of money; at!
least John told me so."
"Dou you remember about a whole
family being killed?" "Yes, I do. j
There was a man and wife and two little
girls. They drove up in a covered spring j
wagon and wanted to stay all night, j
Kate Bender said they could stay. It
was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and
while at supper that night they were ;
dropped throu gh the hole. Kate and tho j
old man were below, and the man fought |
pretty hard, but they fixed him. I was
behind the curtain that night, but did
not pull the trap."
"What about the children?" "They |
cried terribly that night, and the next:
day a man came along and seen one of |
'em, and they were killed that night." j
"How were they killed?" "They were:
buried alive. Old John took* one aud
Kate took tho other. They hollered
awful, but finally stopped, and Kate J
came in and said the 'damned brats were i
all right now.'" "Who was killed
next?" "It was Dr. York. I remember!
him so well. He was such a pleasant!
man, with side-whiskers and moustache, j
It was a rainy day when he came, and j
they got a good deal of mouey when they
killed him. He fought bard, too, but |
Kate killed him with the hatchet." j
"You all left soon after this?" "Yes; I
they got 'skeered,' and. we all went away. I
After walking a few miles some men |
took us in a wagon, and we drove into j
the Cherokee or Choctaw Nation."
The Murderers Taken to Kansas,
Omaha, Neb., Aug. 7,1880.
Tho Times' correspondent met the East
bound Union Pacific train at Valley this
afternoon, and rode into Omaha with old j
Bender and his wife, who were in charge
of Sheriff Bender, (he is not a relati ve J
of the prisoners,) of Oswego, Labette
County, Kansas, aud Dan Condon, of j
Schuyler County, Nebraska, who was the
man who gave the information leading
to their arrest. Condon sat beside old j
Bender, who wp.s handcuffed, and the
Sheriff sat beside the old woman, just
behind her husband. The prisoners
were the observed of all observers, and
at every station they were stared at by
large crowds. They were continually !
being quizzed by passengers. The old i
man was rather cross and not in a very
talkative mood. Up to this morning he
bad no idea that his wife was still in jail,1
as he had been led to believe she had '
escaped. About 10 o'clock, when he j
learned she was still there, he raved and j
swore and became frantic with rage. To
pacify him, the old woman was brought
into bis presence, aud this cooled his
temper somewhat. She told him that
she ?had confessed everything, and he
then became more frantic than before,
and Sheriff Gregg had to take her away.
She wanted to go into her husband's cell,
but her request was refused. This morn?
ing she reiterated her confessions. When
leaving Fremont the prisoners were given
to understand that they were being taken
to Jacksonville, III., as the old man be?
comes very much excited when Kansas
is mentioned.
The Times1 correspondent took a seat
beside him on the train, and Bender,'
while denying to-day tb? he is Bender, |
again admitted that he was sick by
cEance at Bender's for five or eix weeks,
during which time several murders were j
committed. He talked quite freely about
the bad Benders, their misdeeds and their j
premises. He admitted the murder at
Jacksonville, and said he killed a drunk?
en man in self-defense. He thinks he
will get off free. Although contradicting
himself several times, he virtually cor?
roborated the confession of last evening,
which was published to-day. The im?
pression is that he is not of sound mind,
owing to his wonderings and his contin?
ued contemplation of his crimes. He has
a terrible fear of Kansas, aud frequently
makes a slip and catches himself, refer?
ring to himself as Beuder, ahd then cor?
recting himself. The idea of suicide
still prevails in his mind, and he fre?
quently asks for scissors with which to
cut his hair. He said if they took him
down below (meaning Kansas) he would
tell things that would "give several peo?
ple away." He would make somebody
pay for making him trouble. He claimed
to be a brother of the McGregor after
whom McGregor, Iowa, is named, and
mentioned the names of several persons
whom he knew in Jacksonville.
Your reporter next sat down beside the
old woman and got her in a talkative
mood by giving her a cigar, whereupon
she put away her pipe. She said she had
told nothing but the truth, and stuck to
all her previous statements, and thought
she would get off free on this account.
She believes also that the old man will
be released eveutually. She again re?
lated the accounts of the murder at Jack?
sonville, 111., and the murders at Cherry
vale, Kan., aud reiterated her statements
concerning young John, Kate and Mag?
gie, thus corroborating her previous
statements. She said her husband, Mc
gregor, changed hh name to Bender be?
cause the children in Kansas had taken
that name. She remembered Dr. York |
and referred to him as a brother of Col-1
onel York. She seems to have no sense j
of right or wrong, and both she aud the 1
old man are very ignorant and totally
depraved.
Sheriff Bender says that if the prison-;
ers are the genuine Benders there are j
persons in Labette County who can pos-1
itively identify them and thus settle the
matter. The party left for Kansas City
over the Wabash route, and will arrive
there at 8 a. m. to-inorrow. It i3 inti- j
mated that if they are the real Benders
they will be lynched by the people of i
Labetto Ccunty, but the Sheriff says they
will be protected.
Some time in 1873 an old man was iir- j
rested in Salt Lake on suspicion of being !
Bender. The suspicions were very,
strong agaiust him, and he was taken to
Kansas, and was there discharged, as he
could not be identified. Colonel Matt j
Patrick, of this city, who was a passen- ;
ger on the West-bound Union Pacific
train to-day, was the United States Mar?
shal of Utah at the time, and assisted in
making the arrest. Your correspondent
showed him a photograph of old Bender,
and he said that the picture very closely
resembled the Salt Lake Bender, and he
was willing to make a wager that he was
the samo man. This afternoon Bender
was asked if he was ever in Salt Lake.
"Yes," he said, "several years ago," but
he didn't kno', exactly when. "Did you
have a woman with you?" "No, was
alone." "Were you arrested?" "No."
"Have any trouble?" "No." "Where
did you go from there?" "Come back
East." That was all that was said on
the subject. An immense crowd gather?
ed at the depot in this city to sec the
prisoners as they passed through.?Vis- \
patch to New York Times.
A COLONY OF DEATH.
A Valley OncoTrod by Cortez and HIb rol?
lovers? Tlie Skeleton Inhabitants.
"That,V said a well-known Leadville
assayer, indicating a piece of odd-looking I
ore which he held in his hand, "that piece
comc3 from a mine with a history per?
haps as singular a3 anything you ever
heard."
He then related a story in substance
as follows.
The mine from which the ore was de?
rived is situated som?where on the line
of Southern Colorado and Mexico. Vast
mountain ranges enclose it on all sides like
i colossal barriers erected by nature to guard
! it from the intrusiou of mankind and no
j beaten path apparently leads thither by
I which any oue could penetrate to the
\ spot except the most daring mountaineer
that ever scaled the mountain heights or
with pick and shovel delved into the flin?
ty bowels of the rugged Colorado slopes
after the precious metal. The spot in
which the mint is located is a beautiful
green valley, in which Summer eternally
prevails, with only one outlet, through a
dark cleft in the towering rocks, which
from the outside would never be discov?
ered except by chance.
About the year 1524, when the Span?
iards under Cortez peuetrated Mexico
and overflowed the country surrounding,
a number of the lawless Andalusians,
camp followers, or whatever the occupa?
tion of those who drifted into the beauti?
ful country along with the large hosts of
soldiers detected some of the conquered
Indians wearing ornaments of massive
gold upon their persons so directly differ?
ent from any of the precious metal the
secret of whose deposit thoy had long be?
fore wrested from the simple natives that
they at once concluded it must be derived
from a mine whoso wboreabouts was yet
a mystery to them. Avaricious and
crupl, as Bancroft on good authority rep?
resents the Spaniards to have been at all
times, the secrets of the hidden mine
must come into their possession at any
price and at all hazards. But supplica?
tions and intimidations alike proved in?
effectual in forcing the red children to
make the coveted revelation, and as a |
last resort recourse was had to a cowardly
ruse, the success of which is unquestion?
ed.
A number of the adventurous vandals
from Spain, the destroyers of Mexico,
tracked some of the Indians at different
times into the mountains, and by this
means finally discovered the whereabouts
of the hidden mine in the valley. It was
fully developed, and seemed to have been
operated by the intelligent aborigines for
a long time, the method of reducing and
eliminating the noble metals being no
secret to them. Suspicious even of their
comrades, and fearful lost by some means
their preicous discovery be betrayed, or
the Indians drive them from it, they fell
upon the small body of Navajoes working
the mine and assassinated tLcm to the last
man. They then took surreptitious leave
of the Spanish settlement, removed their
effect to the hidden valley, and founded
a colony there, erecting houses, and in
duetime developing themselves intoquite
a large and busy community.
In 1560 Cortez began his incursions
into the vast mountain districts lying
North of Mexico, penetrating the inter?
vening territory and entering the South?
ern portion of what is now Colorado.
By some strange happening his soldiers
learned of the existence of the isolated
colony, and, guided by an aged Indian,
they found the Ionly mountain pass which
leads to the hidden mine, tinder the
pretext of administering punishment for
the crime committed against the Indians
whom they had robbed of their secrets by
taking their lives, Cortez had the wholt
colony executed, assassinating the men
and children and outraging the women
or carrying them away with them into
the mountains. This done, he selected
a number of his own force, and, leaving i
them to operate the mine, ostensibly in
the interest of his ?rovernment, he press- i
ed on toward the North to prosecute his
Bearch for more hidden treasures.
The new colony was less successful in
the management of the mine. Srife pre- j
vailed among them, and extended to the i
Indians who lived in the neighborhood,
and with whom their predecessors, from
the best political motives, had lived at I
peace, courting their friendship by inter?
marriage and completely winning them
over to their cause. The new colony
had neglected this all-important precau?
tion, and having incurred the hatred of
the redskins by their initial movement
of slaughtering their friends, opeuhostil- j
ity between them was very soon the or- ;
der.
One dark night thcludians in a count?
less force poured into the sleeping valley
and inaugurated a feast of blood in which
nearly three hundred Spaniards sacri?
ficed their lives, none escaping to tell the
tale. As suddenly as they had come
they had departed, leaving a dreadful
scene of carnage behind them. The im?
provements went into decay, and Cortez
returning by another route the valley was
forgotten and centuries cast their shad?
ows over ics bloody history.
Lust Spring two young men, named
Charles Ackerman and William Ram?
sey, left Leadville with a pair of pack
burros, two ponie3and shovels and picks,
to go on a long prospecting tour. They
strayed into Soithern Colorado, and,
having for a longtime wandered aimless?
ly about among the rugged hills, going
out of the way of hostile Apaches, and
creeping along dull Indian trails, where
perhaps, never a white man set foot, they
sought refuge in a deep cleft in-thc moun?
tains one stormy night, and there built
their camp (ire. The ruddy glare of the
flame penetrated far into the dense gloom
of the cavern-like retreat, and, actuated
by an irresistible fascination that drew
thorn onward, they supplied themselves
with a burning brand and set out to ex?
plore the mysterious region beyond the
circle of the light. They at last de?
bouched into the hidden valley containing
the colony of death, but being unable to
discern their surroundings at night, they
passed the hours until daybreak at their
camp fire, and in the morning made a
visit to the ruined settlement. Strange
to say, possibly owing to the shelter
which the high mountain ranges afford?
ed the valley from the fury of the ele?
ments, the massive adobe walls of the
ancient settlement where still intact,
and entering them, they were everywhere
confronted by the mouldering remains of
human bones and skeletons, crumbling to
dust at the slightest touch of the hands.
In a letter which Ackerman writes to his
Leudvillc friend, and from which the
particulars of their discovery of the hid?
den valley is drawn, he nays:
"We did not at first know what to make
of the strange spectacle presented to us
in the ancient city of the dead, with its
skeleton inhabitants and the wild air of
desolation brooding over the scene. In
every oue of the primitive structures we
found unmistakable evidence and traces
of civilized society, readily convincing us j
that the settlement was not, as we at first
imagined, the handiwork of an intelligent
branch of the ancient Navajoes. On the
inner walls of the larger adobe houses
we found the remains of a heavy cuirass,
evidently at one time the pride of a bold
Castilian warrior. As we prosecuted our
i
researches through the settlement, we
made the discovery that, with few excep?
tions, each house bore the name of its
former tenant, traced in the adobe when
it was soft, directly above the entrance
serving the purpose of a door. These
names were purely Spanish, and from my
diary I transcribe the following: 'Sylves
tro Kodrigo, Miguel Bandara, Sanch
Pizara, Francisko Mancha,-Lopez,'
and a hundred others. In one or two
places wo found dates covering a lapse
of years extending from 1530 to 1566,
convincing us that the settlement must
have flourished for a period of thirty
years at least. At a depth of a foot in
the ground, which seems to be the layer
which time covered upon the scene, wc
unearthed Indian arrow heads, of a some?
what primitive character, as well as me
talic substances, which again prove to us
that centuries back a fierce war had raged
here between the original lords of the
soil and the Spanish invader*, and that
the latter were overpowered and perished
at the hands of the red warriors. It was
all quite plain to us, and in 'he signs
which nature had preserved as a record
of the past we read that Cortcz, the con?
queror of Mexico, had here spent a short
period of his illustrious existence, to
what end and to what purposes I must
leave to the solution of one gifted with
a more fertile and gifted imagination
than I possess.
"But to the point. Drawn onward by
our discoveries to search the valley from
one end to the other, we found in one of
the most obscure portious of the same
indications of gold-bearing quartz on a
dump, where it was probably placed cen?
turies back, and soon after we alighted
on the shaft of an ancient mine from
which it had, to all appearances, been
derived. The mouth of the shaft was
entirely closed up with rocks and bowl?
ders which had been broken from the
mountain side and found lodgment here,
and was widely intergrown with rankling
weeds and shrubbery. Guessing that we
had struck a bonanza too valuable to ex?
pose to any contingency of a chance dis?
covery by others, without opening the
mine we took possession, packed our an?
imals the second day after our entrance
into the valley and returned to Del Nor
tre, where we at once filed our applica?
tion in the local land office to take pos?
session of the valley under the homestead
laws, and additionally secured our mine
by a patent. We hired a gang of men
aud set to developing our bonanza. Such
it proved to the most sanguine degree, j
and in a short time I hope to have amass- 1
ed a fortune, which, hyperbolically speak- j
ing will enable meto return toLeadville 1
and purchase the whole camp, including j
all the best mines. The specimen I send
you is from the Cid, as we call our mine. :
By return letter tell me what you think |
oi"\t."~Lcadvillc [Col.) Chronicle.
Value of Cotton Seed.
lu further illustration of the value of
cotton seed, we give a few important j
facts, reported to us by a practical plant- j
er and valued correspondent. He says :
An old negro man, soon after the war
ended, rented land, hired mules at a bale
of cotton each to cultivate it, and in the
usual manner got a merchant to furnish
him with supplies to enable him to make
a crop. The old mau concluded it was
best to be governed by his old master's
ways., and instead of jelling his seed, put
them back upon his land, and has con?
tinued to do so ever since; and if he
has not a sufficient quantity of his own
raising, he buys of others, and now he
has leased a tract of land for a term of
years, for which he pays annually twenty
three bales of cotton, owns all the mules
and horses he U3es, has plenty of cattle
and hogs, and money enough to buy
anything he wants, and does not owe any
man a cent. There is another tract of
land (school land) in his vicinity, which
three years ago rented for $625. This
year it is rented for $200 oc $250, and it
is doubtful whether the lessee will be
able to save himself at that. This is
flat, level land, aud a few years ago was
rieb ; but all the seed has been sold off
of it, and now one-half of it is too poor
to raise anything, and is not planted at
all.
A few years ago I had a piece of red
clay land, which I intended putting in
cotton. It had been cultivated the year
before by a good worker, but the stalks
standing upon it were only from one to
two feet high, and I doubt, if it made a3
much as 200 pounds of seed cotton per
acre. A friend of mine advised me to
run a center-furrow and scatter about five
times as much sound seed in it as the
usual quantity planted and bed upon it;
this I did early in the spring, and planted
about the usual time of planting. I
work^l it well, the cotton grew six or
sevei. fee', high, and made between 1,000
and 1,200 pounds of seed cotton per
acre.
One other case: Before the war there
was a wealthy planter in the Yazoo
valley, in this couuty, who owned several
hundred acres of rich bottom land, above
overflow. He had all his surplus seed
put on his land and had his cotton rows
from eight to ten feet apart. The cotton
grew from seven to nine feet high, and
locked in the middle. He gathered from
one bale to one bale and a half per acre.
Since the war the plantation has been
rented, and principally to negroes, who
sold all their seed except what they
wanted to plant. I was on the place in
the Fall of 1870, and frequently up to
1875. In 1870 the cotton rows were three
or three and a half feet apart, and the
cotton about three feet high, and made
about one fourth of a bale per acre. I
saw an old negro man last Fall who has
been on the place since 1870, who told
me that for the last three years he has
refused te sell his seed, but "put it upon
his land, and that he now made very near
a bale to the acre. Now these are facts
within the knowledge of hundreds ofj
people in this county, and still wc march j
on to certain ruin, with a full knowledge j
of the inevitable reBults in the end.
Now I ask, will we continue in our!
suicidal policy, or will we at once com?
mence to take steps to remedy the evils
under which we labor, and pursue a
course that will lead us to prosperity and
happiness? I do not wish to injure any
persons in their business, but I regard
the oil mills as the prime cause of our j
poverty in the South. And it does seem
to me that the planters ought to refuse j
to permit the seed to be sold to the oil i
men, or force them to pay a fair value
for them, to enable us to buy other
fertilizers for our land. And no man will
doubt for a moment that this can be
accomplished by a united effort of the
planters of this country. What say you,
shall we try it??L. B., Bovima, Miss., in
Planter^ Journal.
? Stephen C. Spcnce, of Kingston, N.
C, has been sentenced to jail lor thirty
days for kissing the wife of M. E. Waller.
? The timbet and lumber business in
Georgia will amount this year to 300,000
000 feet, and will exceed ?5,000,000 a
year.
? The courts have decided that a plot
of property in Brooklyn, valued at?250,
000, belongs to two brothers named liol
lerman, one of whom is a scissor grindor
and tho other a day laborer. Over $100,
900 of back reut is collectable.
' A HORRIBLE RAILROAD ACCIDENT.
' Plea Kit re Seekers Steamed to Death la a
CIoho Car.
Philadelphia, August 11.
Last evening the second section of an
excursion train which left Atlantic City
atsix o'clock ran into the first section
I telescoping the rear car, killing one pas
,' senger and injuring over forty. The
j train was filled with Catholic excursion
j ists from Kinsingtou and Philadelphia.
, The first section of sixteen cars left the
; city atsix o'clock, and the second section
j often carssoon followed. All went well
; until the first section reached May's land?
ing, when the engine slowed up and started
j to run on a siding track to allow the pas?
sage of the 5.30 express from Camden.
' All the cars had passed the switch ex?
cept two when the second section came
thundering on behind. Of the person.-? on
the roar platform of the first train, some
jumped to the ground and then rushed
panic stricken back into the cars. The
locomotive came bounding on and crash
; ed into the rear car still standing upon
, the bridge. So terrible was the force of
? the collision that the engine fairly plowed
a furrow half way into the car, the roof
, of the latter being lifted over the smoke
. stack of the locomotive. The shock broke
[ one of the cylinders of the engine and
j instantly scalding water was poured out
upon the terror stricken occupants of the
, car. The rain had been pouring down
j heavily and consequently all the windows
of the car were down, and the steam fill?
ing it constantly added to the terrors of
the occasion by concealing eveiything in
an impenetrable cloud. The scenes that
; ensued are described as being simply ter?
rible. From beneath the concealing va
! por were heard the agonized shrieks of
women, piteous wails of children and
I pain borus yells of suffering men. The
: panic stricken thousands in the cars of
! the first train ran pell mell from them
j or jumped through the windows,
i and rushed, they knew not whither, in
! their unconquerable fright, and it was
! some time before reason prevailed, and
earnest efforts were made to rescue the
j injured, and relieve the suffering. As
i there were nearly two thousand people
from Philadelphia on the excursion the
; excitement among those looking for their
' friends at the wharf as the wounded were
brought over from Camden was intense.
Some of the women bad gone down to
i the seaside in light summer costume,
i which furnished but slight protection
against the steam jets, and the only dif?
ficulty is to see where they are not burned.
They were carried from the cars a mass
of flour and cotton, in which the human
form was scarcely distinguishable and but
for their low moans they seemed dead. At
two o'clock this morning ten ambulauces
were full, and as the number of stretchers
proved inadequate several of the victims
still remained in the cars.
May's Landing, N. J., Aug. II.
This place is in a state of intense ex?
citement. The union Hotel is turned
I into a temporary hospital, and in the
parlors are several of the dead and dying.
In the front room lies Mrs. David Mc
Crystal with her face and body frightful?
ly scalded, and by her side is her hus?
band also badly scalded. In the next
room lies Mrs. Berry, badly burned
about the head and face; near her, and
covered with a cloth lies the body of
Katie /Velsh, aged 11 years, who died
from nor injuries last night, and near by
lies Lillie Grace, badly burned and suf?
fering intensely. At the neighboring
cottages are other victims. At Godfrey
Eastlow's near the hotel, was found a
daughter of the McCrystals, about four
months old, suffering from severe scalds;
another child of the same family has
been found at Mrs. Pearson's near by.
This little oue, a girl eighteen months
old, was in its mother's arms when the
collision occurred and the father
snatching it quickly without waiting to
raise the car window threw it through the
glass and jumped after it. The baby
was afterwards picked up only slightly
injured, and i3 now doing very well.
At another house is the dead body of
Miss Henratty, and two other persons
suffering greatly from scalds. The dead
body of James Sweeny has been sent to
Philadelphia. Freddler Carr, eleven
years old, who died soon after the acci?
dent, and Annie Gillespie, who died
early to day, are both at the residence of
Mr.Rafe. The mangled forms of Owen
Walsh and James Mullen tied up in raw
cDtton, and presenting a terrible appear?
ance, were also sent to Philadelphia.
T. B. Judge, President of St. Ann's
Literary Institute, who is waiting to at?
tend the inquest makes a statement
fixing the number of passengers at 1,300.
He characterizes the scene which follow?
ed the collision as indescribable, and
says : "I think the railroad company was
guilty of gross negligence in running
sections of trains so close. There were
24 cars in the train, 16 in the first sec?
tion, and eight in the other.
The scene of the accident is on a
straight stretch of track about 200 yards
from May's Landing station. A part of
the first section was on Great Egg Har?
bor River bridge when the crash came.
It is the general opinion that tbo engin?
eer of the colliding locomotive did all he
could to check his engine, and when it
struck it had been reversed and the air
brakes put on. Assistant Train Master
Edward Aiken, the engineer of the sec?
ond section, says the accident was caused
simply by the air brake's failure to work.
He believes if the air brakes had opera?
ted his train would have slopped in time
to have prevented a collision. It had
been suggested that the air brakes may
have been designedly tampered with, but
this theory has but few supporters. Sa?
rah Collins, who was terribly scalded
and suffered frightful internal injuries by
inhaling the steam, died at the Pennsyl?
vania Hospital to-day.
Two physicians and six nurses arrived
hero to-day. The railroad company has
done everything possible for the relief of
the injured.
M. Hoogland, the conductor, and Ed?
win Aiken, engineer of the second sec?
tion, were arrested here to-day. Tbey
are charged with manslaughter, and
were each held in one thousand dollars
bail.
County Coroner Boyson swore in a jury
of inquest this afternoon and the body of
Sweeny was viewed. Dr. Boysou was the
only witness examined. He testified as
to the.cause of James Sweeny's death,
I which he said was the result of being
i crushed. At the conclusion of his testi
J mony the jury adjourned until 11 o'clock
to-morrow.
At a farm house near the scene of the
j accident Mrs. Marry Waddell, aged 42,
j is lying in great pain and her life is de?
spaired of.
Cured of Drinkixg.?"A young
j friend of mine was cured of an insatiable
thirst for liquor, which had so prostrated
' him that he was unable to do any busi?
ness. He was entirely cured by the use
' of Hop Bitters. It allayed all that
burning thirst; took away the appetite
for liquor; made his nerves steady, and
he has remained a sober and steady man
for more than two years, and has no
desire to return to his cups ; I know of a
: number of others that have been cured
, of drinking by it."?From a leading R.
j R. Official, Chicago, Ill?Times.
GRANT AND THE SOUTH.
Will the K.x-l'rcsldent Cnnvass for Car
field.
Sjurcial to the Neu; York Herald.
Washington, August S.
A project lias come to light here with
reference to the South in the present
campaign, which, whether practicable
or not, goes far to explain the purpose of
the open discussion over Southern needs
and prospects nt the Republican confer?
ence in New York the other day. Great
care has been taken since the project
whs conceived to hedge it about with
secrecy, and since its developments were
entrusted to discreet management it has
been skilfully and quietly engineered.
It may have been noticed that at the
conference several speakers, upon the
subject of prosecuting the campaign in
the South, laid stress upon the desira?
bility of having men go South who were
j well known republicans, and upon whose
utterances the colored people could rely,
and whose influence would govern them
at the polls.
Pinch back, fur instance, was explicit
in the declaration that the South did not
want money for campaign purposes, but
men. To a casual observer the discus?
sion might as well not have takeu place,
for it seemed to accomplished nothing.
But it accomplished all it was intended
to accompli>h publicly, and that was to
sound the conference upon the subject of,
sending into the South men whom the.
negroes would be likely to trust and fol
low implicitly. There are not a dozen
Republicans of whom the mass of ne- i
I grocs know and by whom they would be
i guided. It is doubtful if there are a half
dozen. They have heard, most of them,
of Blainc, but not in a way to inspire
them with confidence in him. Of Sher?
man most of them have heard, but as th?
purveyor of official patronage for private
ends, and they arc not so benighted as to
repose confidence in one addicted tosuch
operations. Garfield was a stranger to
them before the Chicago Convention.
Since then they have heard little of him
except in connection with the questiona
blc career which has tarnished his pros-1
pectsintho North, and history of the
Credit Mobilicr and De Golyer transac- I
tions, with the salient features and the j
moral effect of which they have become
acquainted, has rather deepened their
disappointment over his nomination.
The original rcaton of their disappoint?
ment was because they had set their
hearts on Gen. Grant's nomination.?
Interviews published just after the con?
vention and circulated throughout the
country were abundant evidence that the
bulk of the negroes regarded the defeat of
Grant as a defeat of the party. Their
institutions led them even further than
this, for Garfield's nomination was inter?
preted by them as a Democratic victory.
Grant was and is their hero. The affec?
tion they cherish for him is little short of
worship. With him leading them they
would go anywhere and do anything.
A few shrewd political managers here
took in these notions and then cast about
to see what their practical application
would be in the present canvass. At the
same time the debt troubles of Virginia,
Tennessee and Arkansas began to attract
public attention. Many of the would-be
repudiators are negroes, and the Repub?
lican managers having the matter in
hand concluded that this could be
explained by the fact that the negro's
sole political aim just now was to array
himself against Democracy. They did
not for a moment believe that he hose
to side with repudiators because of repu?
diating instincts. The Readjusters last
year, with the aid of the negro (naturally
Republican) vote, they argued, carried
Virginia. There was a fair chance that
Tennessee and Arkansas would follow.
Putting the conclusions with reference to
Grant's supernatural influence over the
influence over the negroes and of negro
ignorance and gullibility together, the
plan of having Grant himself make
another tour of the South was batched.
The proposed operation was to be that
Grant could wean the negro Readjusters
in these three States from their new al?
legiance, and since the State debt agita?
tion is reasonably certain to continue
through this campaign, its advocates,
barring the negroes, being largely Demo?
cratic, would leave the Democrats divid?
ed and give to the Garfield electors in
each State a plurality. Then in the
Carolinas, Florida, and Louisiana the
preponderance of the negro vote would
be relied upon to return these States
Republican. Such in brief was the pro?
ject. Garfield and Conkling were both
made acquainted with it. The knowl?
edge that no public discussion of it
would bo attempted accounts plausibly
for their absence from the conference
which they went to New York avowedly
to attend. Whether or not the matter
was discussed at the subsequent confer?
ences of the managers, with closed doors,
depends entirely upon Mr. Conkling.
The task of inducing Gen. Grant to un?
dertake the tour was to fall, naturally, to
him, for it was conceded that he alone
could do it. That also Mr. Conkling
realized, and he understood perfectly the
advantage he held in that respect. It
was but natural then, that he should
have demanded of the party mauagers
and of Gen. Garfield such promises and
concessions for himself in ad ranee of the
undertaking as would duly compensate
him. Iftheschcme was to succeed, as
many of the managers believe it would
the party was entirely in his power, for
without such success he knew as well as
they what wuld be the fatal consequences
in November.
The really probable effect of any such
undertaking would in all likelihood fall
as short of what the Republicans expect
of it as wild schemes usually do of reali?
zation ; but there is little doubt that it
has been strongly urged during* the past
few days in New York and duly weighed,
and if it has been abandoned it was because
of the failure to agree on compensation
between the managers and Gen. Garfield
on one side, and the exacting functiona?
ry who alono could put it in operation on
the other.
No "Niooer" Nekd Apply.?-The nig?
ger,
The everlasting nigger, is at the front
again
Demanding office.
The nigger's highest idea of civil lib?
erty is
To have an office.
The nigger's eternal chatter is to get
Protection from the government,
Bounties from the government, and
Office from the government.
It is about time lie was given to under?
stand
That he was created by the Republican
party,
That he is expected to protect himself,
To earn his own bread and butter, and
That it is his duty
To vote for the candidates of the Re?
publican party, even
At the risk of his life.?Lamart, (Iowa)
Sentinel, Rcpulican.
? John Thomas, a native of Albc
marle, Va., is the father of thirty-two
children. He has been twice married,
and twenty-one daughters were born
to him before a son.
All Sorts of Paragraphs.
? Common sulphur is the best remedy
; for vermin on fowls.
? Asparagus ice-cream with rum
' sauce appeared in a Saratoga bill of fare
last week.
? Jay Gould has made over $11,000,?
000 in his stock operations during the
past twelve months.
? Republicans will hold 3,000 or 4,000
meetings in Iudiana between now and
election day, in October.
?Thesun's rays, focalized through the
glass of a round water-butllc at Alyth,
Scotland, set fire to a house.
? Administer Shrincr's Indian Ver?
mifuge according to the directions. In
the morning is the best time to lake it.
? Lynn, Mass.. has a pear-tree that is
covered on one side with ripening fruit,
while the opposite side is covered with
blossoms.
? A Berks County, Pa., hen laid a nest
full of eggs in the forks of a tree, twelve
feet from the ground, whore she hatched
the epgs out.
? It is stated that Mrs. Don. Came?
ron effected the reconciliation between
her husband and Senator Blninc at the
White Sulphur.
? Senator Bruce and his wife arc at
Saratoga at a stylish house kept by col?
ored people for the better class of people
of their own color.
? James Prescott, blacksmith, while
shoeing a horse, near Oakvillc, Out., was
struck by lightning and instantly killed.
The horse was also killed.
?- Congressman Bccrx*. of California,
writes to the DemocrartcrlxTnional Com?
mittee that the outlook now is that Han?
cock will carry California.
*? A Reading, Pa., man only sixty-five
years old has been married three times,
and the father of eleven pair of twins.
He has forty-one children in all.
? Berry Brad forth, at Clinch County,
Ga., was found dead at his plow-handle
recently. He is the third brother that
has died suddenly at the plow.
? A snake was killed on the farm of
W. H. Williams, Gwinnctt, County, Ga.,
which had two feet with five toes, the
feet being shaped like those of a lizard.
? After a recent shower at Kokomo,
Ind., the ground was found covered with
fish, all of which were alive and'flopping
about. They were the size of minnows.
? The St. Paul & Pacific elevator at
Minneapolis has been seriously damaged
by a peculiar worm that perforates the
boards and lets the wheat down as if run?
ning through a seive.
? Ephram Allen was shot dead by a
Britian ranger wheu on his way to Sack
ett's Harbor to join the army in 1813. In
exhuming the boby recently the bullet
that killed him was found.
? A Kentucky chicken tbat lived five
days and was hatched on the /arm of
Colonel J. W. Reynolds, had four legs.
In walking the legs were all kept in mo?
tion, and it was as lively a chicken as
ever scratched dirt.
? George H. Guldin, in Amity, Town?
ship, Pa., carries his leg iu splints from
trying to catch a frog. While pursuing
the frog a revolver in his breeches pocket
was accidentally discharged, the ball en?
tering the leg.
? A well near Brandon, Vt., forty-two
feet deep, freezes solid in the winter, and
furnishes ice for a family the year round
while 100 rods away, iu a gravel pit, is a
spot which never freezes, and which
sends up a cloud of steam.
? The population of Connecticut is
626,087, an increase of 88,633 over the
census of 1870, which the Hartford Times
regards ..s a very satisfactory showing.
Maine, with about the same population,
shows an increase of only 20,000 in the
past ten years.
? A colored man who voted the Dem?
ocratic ticket was stabbed by a colored
Republican at Lexington, Ky. In at?
tempting to make an arrest the marshal
was assaulted, and a general melee en?
sued, in which two colored men were
shot and several seriously cut.
? A sea captain residing in Portland,
Me., now over fifty years of age, has nev?
er as yet had an opportunity to vote for
President, as he has always been to sea
in some foreign country at the time of
election, but he says he will cast bis mai- ?
den vote for Hancock and English.
? When John Keeton, a Cumberland
County, Ky., man, saw a swarm of bees
in the woods with nothing to catch them
in he was sorrowful. He adopted the
first mode inwardly suggested of him,
slipped off his pants, and soon had the
bees hived in the legs, and so carried
them home.
?A little four-year-old of Des Moines,
Iowa, finding a revolver in one of the
tho bedrooms took it up and killed his
baby sister, two years of age. The same
day a Cincinnati boy aged eleven also
found a pistol in a drawer and playfully
pointed it at his cousin, a girl of nine,
and killed her.
? Judge Henry Hilton and Mrs. A.
T. Stewart, iu administering the estate
of the late A. T. Stewart, have set aside
?300,000, to be devoted to building,
equipping und furnishing a collegiate
building, where it is intended to educate
both sexes for a charge less than one
hundred dollars a year.
? Mrs. J. V. Alexander, of Big Sandy,
Texas, found that her fourteen month
old infant fretted unless it was placed on
the dining room floor daily to play.
Staying behind the door and unusual
time she looked for it, and horrified to
see the child patting a very large black
snake upon the head and dividing its
bread with it, and the reptile showing its
appreciation by wagging its tail. The
snake came into the room from a hole in
the floor.
? The headquarters of the Socialists
in this country are now at Detroit,
Michigan. They assert that they con?
trol 100,000 votes, and that they have
political organizations in New York,
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Connecticut, New Jersey Penn?
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West
Virginia ,Ohio, Indiana, Illinois Michi?
gan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas,
Colorado, Louisiana, Texas and Califor?
nia.
? A prisoner on a life sentence in the
New Bedford (Mass.) prison has always
been a desperate, dangerous man, ready
for rebellion at any hour. One day in
June a party of strangers came to the
institution. One was au old gentleman,
the other ladies, and two of the ladies
had small children. The guide took one
of the children on his arm and the other
walked until the party came to climbing
the stairs. Jim was working near bv,
sulky and morose as ever, when the guide
Baid to him: "Jim, won't you help this
little girl up the stairs?" The convict
hesitated, a scowl on his face, and the
girl held her arms out to him and said :
"If you will, I guess I'll kiss you." His
scowl vanished in an instant, and he
lifted the child as tenderly as a father.
Half way up the stairs she kissed him.
At the head of the stairs she said: "Now,
you've got to kiss me, too." He blushed
like a woman, looked into her innocent
face and then kissed her cheek, aud be?
fore ho reached the foot of the stairs
again the man had tears in his eyes. Ev?
er since that day he has been a changed
man, and no one in the place gives
less trouble.