6
- —'
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STORIES
OF THE
SECRET
SERVICE
BY
Capt. Patrick D.Tyrrell
112 ———
STORY No. 2
{ The Bothamley
I Murder Mystery
Being an Account of the Efforts
Made by This Government to Bring
to Justice the Murderer of Clement
L. Bothamley, an Englishman Kiiled
in Kansas.
Sy CAPTAIN PATRICK D. TYRRELL
•"-li <r
[(fopvrlpht. 1905, by Marion G. Scheitiln.]
Her death was followed by a season
of physical and mental suffering on the
part of Bothamley, and this fact was
one of the strongest arguments pro
duced by the advocates of the suicide
theory. It was entirely reasonable to
suppose that a man of Bolhamley's
evident refinement, after deserting his
family under stress of a mad infatua
tion for the wife of another man,
should suffer a mental wrench at the
death of his inamorata that, might un
balance his mind and drive him to
suicide in the solitude of a frontier
trail. This was an easily spun theory,
and one that appealed strongly to the
sentimentalists.
Personally. I did not believe that, the
Englishman had sent a bullet through
bis own brain. I believe the records
of crime will bear me out in th's gen
eral conclusion —that (he man who
flings moral, legal and social obligat ions
to the winds, as Bothamley had done
when he eloped with Mrs. Miller, is
seldom molded of such delicate clay
as to blow out his brains when his
companion in sin dies. To follow the
course that B ithamley had followed
in England a man must be essentially
selfish; and selfishness of this kind
does not beget self-destruction. To my
mind it was more probable that Both
amley had formed another liaison than
that lie had destroyed himself on ac
count of the tragic ending of the first.
Suicide under these circumstances
would have been the natural refuge
of a woman—not of a man.
In additional support of my belief
that Bothamley had been murdered,
there were several corroborative phys
ical circumstances. One of the most
convincing of thes" was the fact, well
established by science, that the human
animal instinctively shuns the point
ing of a pistol to tne eye when about
to take its own life. bullet had
entered Bothamley '3 face just under
the right eye. Scientists assert that
there is not a single record of suicide
by shooting in which the weapon has
been aimed at the eye. and they go so
far as to claim that such a course
would be impossible. To press the
muzzle of ihe weap n against the
forehead or the temple, thus hiding if
from t!v vision, in common; to point
the weapon at. the eye is u-ilieard of.
Another circumstance going to dis
prove tho suicide theory was the find
ing of the pistol, a self-acting Colt's
of 45 caliber, by the side of the body
in such a position that it seemed im
possible for it to have fallen there had
the shot been fired by Bothamley him*
self. And. further, there were no
powder marks, according to Yetter and
Dodson, on the man's face when
found.
But the murder, if if was such,
could never be established, and the
guilt of the murderer proved, with
theories. The case .vas under the gen
eral supervision of United States Dis
trict Attorney J. R. Hallowell. but. the
local authorities had done about all
that lay in their power. Col. Hallowell
left me to my own devices In the work
that followed merely saying that, the
department of justice very much de
sired to have the murderer punished.
Truth compels me to say Hint I saw
but one promising path to travel, and
that was an investigation of the career
of the woman whom Bothamley had
Introduced as his sister, and with
whom he was making the j uirney to
Texas when he met. nis death. From
all I was aide to barn of the dead
Englishman he was a man who was
more lil;e|y to meet his detth through
entanglement with a woman than at
the hands of Indians or desperadoes.
I had studied Ihe probabilities of mur
der at the hands of the last two
agencies and found them weak. There
was no evidence that nn averaging
hand had reached acruss the Atlantic
to punish Hotlianib fur the r> in of
♦wo homeln a liaison in force at
the time of his death therefore I ex
pected to And the evidence d sired.
At Skeleton ranch there was a |kih(
office presided uver 6y a uuna 11 From
thin sou re* t wx* I anted (hat tornt
lltfle time before the dcatli of Eoth
n 111 ley his companion had mailed two
letters. The post not overbu dened
at an office like Skeleton ranch, and :
the postmistress had plenty of time to 1
inspect addresses of inc >ming and |
outgoing mail. in this case she was j
also garrulous and of retentive mem- j
ory. From her i learned 11:. t one of 1
the letters mailed by ihe supposed sis
ter of Bothamley was a bulky one in a
legal envelope, and addressed to ihe.;
clerk of Harvey county. This proved j
on investigation to have b en a deed
made by Sarah A. Laws, spinster, of;
Sedgwick county, Kansas, to Bertha L. |
Bothamley, of Harvey county, covering
GlO acres of land in the latter county.
The consideration in tlie deed was
given at $12,800. The deser'ption of
the land in the deed coincided with the
legal description of the ranch on which
Bothamley had lived.
This discovery ra ; sed the question ,
of the identity of Sarah A. Laws. Dili- |
gent inquiry faile l to reveal such a!
woman, and, had she lived in the conn- |
ty claimed, it was unlikely that she j
could not be located. The identity of j
the Laws woman, therefore, became a j
problem. The fact that a deed to the
Bothamley ranch, however h<l been j
forwarded for record by B jthamley's |
woman companion invested that per
son with even greater interest.
The discovery of li r r al identity
was not a matter calling for any
great, effort. While at the Bothamley
ranch, where she had pns ed as his
sister, she had been Identified as Mrs.
Nellie Bailey, the daughter < 112 a Kan
sas rancher and caip nter named C!, F. j
Benthuson. Th ■->. whereabouts of her (
husband was unknown for Ihe remark
able reason that will appear later.
Important chapters in her life were |
not known to her acquaiantances in j
Kansas. At this time the circumstan- j
tial case against her seemed to be |
growing stronger. In Action the (
shrewd detective would have gathered
a number of incriminat ing circum-!
SAW BuTHA.MJ.KV I.YINU UN THE FLOOK DEAD.
stances, grouped them into a narrative
which lie would have recited to the
suspect, who, thereupon, as a tribute
to the skill of the detective, would
have broken down and tearfully con
fessed the crime. Had intelligent
work been done immediately after the
finding of Bothamley's body some such
method might have been used with the
results desired. But I doubt the effect
of the "deduction and accusation"
method on Nellie Bailey. At every in
timation of her guilt she looked at you
squarely with the bluest of blue eyes
and protested innocence in a way that
left the man who was firmly con
vinced of her guilt in doubt. Innocent
or guilty, nature had given her a nerv
ous system on which threats, insin
uations or other attempts to pierce
her composure had not the faintest
effect. I believe she would have gone
to the gallows, had fato so decreed,
with the same air of injured innocence
that she had maintained since the In
dian police had taken her into cus
tody because she was the logical per
son to have guilty knowledge of the
crime.
She was shrewd enough to know
that the drear plains had furnished no j
witness tfi what had transpired in the I
little house on wheels on October 7. J
She knew that any case made against !
her must be purely circumstantial.
And she also knew that which I did
not realize at the time —that in a coun
try where women are few, a pretty
woman—even if she be bad—is prac
tically immune for the dangers of cir
cumstantial evidence in a criminal
trial. Therefore she "stood pat" in
her innocence or guilt, placing it
squarely up to the governmi nt to make
its case.
Inquiry in the county in which she
bad lived developed several Interesting
and suggestive facts concerning her.
She was an expert markswoman with
a revolver and a daring equ" trioniie.
She rode astride, shooting with ac
curacy at wolves and other game from
the .-addle. X11<• n iiully earrb 1 a re
volver slung to a cartridge belt buckled
around her waist. Small of tuture,
ixub iant of health, daring In spirit,
clad in short kirts and onibr. ru, she
was a figure not soon forgotten liy
those who bad Keen her. Despite her
mannlshne-s In the saidlo and wP.h i
the pistol, she had played a part In
numerous love affair , for It must iw
remembered that on the frontier e
woman In a sombrero Is no', a rarity,
and one that can rope a pi>uy or khoot I
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1906.
straight 1; not classed as masculine. '
These were traits of the plains, desir
able rather than otherwise, even in a
pretty woman.
From the time Nellie Benthuson bad
gone into long skirts she had asso
ciated principally with men, among j
whom she was a favorite; and neigh
borhood gossip recorded numerous love
affairs of more or less earnestness. In
all slve had earned the reputation of be
ing fickle, quick in forming attach
ments and equally quick in dismissing
them. These love affairs had culmin
ated in her marriage to Shannon
liailey, a young lawyer, good looking,
of some means, giving promise of rap
id advancement in his profession and
intensely in love with the high-spir
ited, hoydenish Nellie.
During the courtship Bailey had
been the victim of at least one of that
numerous class of individuals who de
light in carrying gossip to, the person
most interested. In this case one of
these officious chatter-boxes whispered
things to Bailey about his fiancee that
adoring lovers do not like to hear.
These whisperings had the usual effect.
Instead of breaking the attachment it
strengthened it; but at. the same time
it planted seeds of distrust that later
bore their fruit in a most grewsome
way.
Bailey promptly married the girl,
but decided that they could be happier
were she taken away from the scene
of her girlish attachments. The Pa
cific coast was decided upon, and to the
coast they went. They spent two
months in California, Oregon and
Washington. Over tills trail I did- not
follow them. They returned to Kan
sas. settling temporarily at Clinton.
Here the fickle bride almo t. immediate
ly on their arrival fell in love with a
telegraph operator and Bailey noted
the attachment. There was a scene.
Bailey shot at his wife's new admirer,
missed him and then whisked his bride
away to Dakota.
They first went to Huron, intending
to settle there, anil took rooms at the
Wright house. In a few clays Mrs.
Bailey plunged into another flirtation,
as furious as the first. Another scene
resulted, ending in separation. Bailey
took quarters away from the hotel and
his bride remained at the Wright
house. Several days later Bailey and
his wife again became reconciled. She
evidently had the power to throw him
into the most violent fits of jealous
rage, and then, by pretense of repent
ance and other woman's wiles, to bring
him to her feet again. Right after this
second reconciliation the pair moved
to De Smet, a mere hamlet at that
time, containing only 10 families. The
country was new and was being devel
oped by the railroad that had ju.it built
a line through it.
Bailey believed that the village had
a promising future and announced his
intention to settle there and go into
the real estate and loan business. In
his travels he had carried with him
several thousand dollars, and soon
after arriving at I)e Smet lie deposited
this money in the Bank of Kingsbury
County, conducted by A. and Thomas
11. Ruth. The Baileys rented a two
story building that had been used as
a shoe store, with living rooms above,
bought furniture and soon were, to all
appearances, comfortably settled.
The ground covered by the Baileys
from the time they returned from tl.e
Pacific coast until they settled in De
Smet was all carefully gone over by
me. It must be remembered that, in
these wanderings they had been nearly
a year in advance of me, and I neces
sarily depended to a great extent on
the gossip they had left in their wake.
From this I sifted as carefully as I
could the statements that I deemed
worthy of credence. At each place
they had stopped there were plenty of
tales of jealous quarrels, always due,
as nearly as I could judge, to the fickle
ness of the bride anil her seeming wan
ton pleasure In keeping her hu band
In the throe .of jealous rage. The i on
duslon 1 drew was this: That h« r ■
was a case of u woman who had mar
ried, not from love, but hecauc her
suitor had b en a desirable "catch." I
was satisfied that she had had n.i K- U
ulne affection tor Bailey; lmt to the
daughter of an obscure carpent< r, an
offer of marriage from a rl-InK, agree
able young lawyer of ample means wu <
not to b • treated lightly.
Thin I ji-dned the woman on the
facts as I had gathered them and with
out prejudice or desire to work auy
Injustice. An 1 here I wish to ?&y th»»t
in my many years of work in hunting
down and securing evidence against
criminals of all kinds—a career begun
in ISSC I have m ver been dishonest
In trying to manufacture evidence
against any person suspected or ac
cuse :1, and I I *ve never formed prema
ture notions of the guilt or innocence
of a suspect, always reserving conclu
sions on this point until the facts
gleaned forced such conclusions. I am
fully aware that many detectives of
my personal acquaintance first assume
the guilt of a suspect and then make
the evidence tit their preconceived idea.
Even-handed justice Is due the worst
criminal. If they are guilty intelli
gent, honest and persevering work on
the part of the officers of the law will
develop that fact if the evidence is in
any way obtainable. If not. —well, I
have always believed in the adage that
it is better for nine guilty men to es
cape than for one innocent man to be
punished. So in the case of Nellie
Bailey I took the stories of her flirta
tious wanderings for just what they
were worth as shedding light on the
character of the woman—and for notli
in.r; more.
On April 21 the Baileys moved into
their De Sinet home. For three days
Bailey was en about town in good
health and spirits, engaged in the pet
ty affairs connected with the furnish
ing of his home. So far as I could
learn on my arrival at Do Smet several
months lat« r, lie had not been seen by
any of the neighbors after the 27th of
the same month. He had bade no ono
goo 1 by an 1 none of the townspeople
had seen him leave. Mrs. Bailey went
blithely about her daily household
duties, and when questioned concern
ing the absence of her husband, ex
plained he had business interests in
California and had been summoned
thither by telegraph. Of course, there
was some gos ip over the hasty and
unseen departure of the lawyer, but it
turned more on his having deserted his
v ife on account of her frivolity and
freedom of action with other men than
on anything more serious.
For two months .Mrs. Bailey lived in
I)e Smet.. and then she announced mat
her husband did net intend to return
there, and that she intended to leave.
The newly bought furniture was tsold
at a sacrifice and other preliminaries
to her departure quickly arranged.
Elgin, 111., was given as her destina
tion. and later this was found lo be
the place to which she went. Thus tho
Baileys faded out of Dakota.
On my arrival at De Smet I went to
the bank of Kingsbury. I had sent Jn
an assumed name, and while waiting
to be admitted a voice called out:
"Hello, Tyrrell, is that you?"
I found the speaker lo be Mr. Rutb,
who had served on c. jury before whiciU
I had had a counterfeiting case in St.
Paul. There was no further chance for
me to conceal my identity or my mis
sion. The Ruth brothers placed their
services at. my disposal. From them 1
ascertained that Bailey had deposited
several thousand dollars in tbo tank
when lie first came to De Smet and
that he had withdrawn it soon after
ward. From the same source I learned
of the arrival and departure of the
Baileys and of the gossip that attended
the disappearance of the lawyer.
ITo He Continued.]
HEARING AFTER DEATH,
Remarkable Instance of Conticuod
Animation After Severance
of the Head.
An extraordinary incident which oc
curred at the guillotining at Orleans ot
the murderer Lauguille has been inter
estingly explained by Prof. Hartsmann,
a famous Paris surgeon, says the Lon
don Mail. When the blade of the guil
lotine fell, Languilie's head was toe*. !
pletely severed from the trunk. A doc.- ,
tor who was in attendance immediately
picked uji the head and called the. dead
man's name. To the astonishment of all
present the eyelids of the severed head
opened wide and then closed again.
"Languille! Languille!" called tho
doctor a second time, and once more t li-e
eyelids lilted, but a third call met with
no response.
Prof. Hartsmann says it is quite pos
sible for a form of nervous lifa to exist
after death. This would not be the case
if the subject died naturally or of some i
disease, but undoubtedly it would be so
in the case of a healthy person meeting
with a sudden and violent death. When
a strong man suddenly passes from life
to death his bodily tissues", show a con
siderable amount of resistance.
The professor says that he himself rila
socted the body of a man"ii hour.; alter
he had been executed, and that on prick
ing with a needle the nerve of the thick
he discovered that it was alive.
In the case of Languille, says the pro- 1
feasor, the eyelids opened, not because
the name of Languille was pronounced,
but because the sound of the voice on tho
ears produced a rellex action e>n the
nerves. They would have lifted had any
other name been called.
Roosevelt and Uncle Jake.
This story is told about Pros'dent
Roosevelt and an uged darky culled
I'm le J -j>e. The all colored man waa
very religious, ami was considered a
pillar of the church he attended.
The president, while out driving one
cold morning, met Uncle Jake, crip
ple! with ihtunmei .ni, hobbling along i
"Oeoil morning, .lake," mid tho
president.
"flood morning. Hah." r .<p<>n4c(l ih*
darky.
'I hen a h ipp> ih • i »-■ h• stru kMr
lioni-eveU. "I ncl • Jal e ' h- said
"which would you rather have thU
eold inornii: \ a ion ot coal or a bit tit
of whisky?"
"Well." slid the darky. h«'-watli - rly
"It's ths * ay, Mi au President, >o
See, Bia folks bltru Wood.'—ll.mill
iieralu.
rg!S!£tSJjS'3Sr~ SSSSSSSjfti
~%y
I Mm & Lloyd, jj
6 -=— ==== — it
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I i'j
if I
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WE have the best stocked (p
Jj general store in the county
and if you are looking for re
n liable goods at reasonable }j!
If prices, we are ready to serve
U you with the best to be found.
Our reputation for trust
worthy goods and fair dealing !,j
pi is too well known to sell any jlj
|j but high grade goods.
-| ft
Our stock of Queensware and
m Chinaware is selected with M
u j, *
Ii great care and we have some
ji of the most handsome dishes
;{? ever shown in this section, |j|
|r both in imported and domestic 0
|n makes. We invite you to visit
|A us and look our goods over. Jj
1 it
I i
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g"—- - t"UlI" 1 -.. LL
wwtßwwtwwiini
* ex ttk ja-tt J*|
LOOK ELSEWHERE BUT CON'T FORGET
£4 THESE PRICES AND FACTS AT
s* n
II IL i
M JL_„ —---.-.- II
M M
We carry in stock "T" "1
ie largest line of Car- . .
g* pets, Linoleums and
Mattings of all kinds |J
rl ever brought to this
112 J town. Also a big line
|| of samples. [lllljlJ if
Avery large line ol : FOR HE f— - o~«r
*2 Lace Curtains that can- **
SI XrcVr'ule'pdcr' s '' COMfOOTM LODGING ii
Art Squares and of fine books in a choice library jfjjj
J J Rngs of all sizes and select the Ideal pattern of Globe- $$
P* kind, from the cheap- Wernicke "Elastic" Bookcase.
£3 est to the best. Furnished with bevel French
jj plate or leaded glass doors. g
N Dining Chairs, J ron galc d» I
Rockers and GEO. J. LaBAR,
feifj High Chairs. Solo Agent for Camerou County. I jjj
£1 A large and elegant t i "
line of Tufted and j|jj
>j Drop-head Couches. Beauties end at bargain prices. h*
* * ——— ——————— L j
«i! 5 S3O Bedroom Suits, - (TOn *
N solid oak at....... Jbio tered lak... $dU N
§ S2B Bedroom Suits, CO I $32 Sidebcard, qnnr- (TIC
pf| • solid oak at tered cak
IfW $26 Bed room Suits, COfl Side-boatd, quar- CJf
solid oak at U I tered oak,.. W M
A large line of Dressers from I Chiffoniers of all kinds and M
gg $8 up. all prices. fc*
M ————- ——__ H
The finest line of Sewing Machines on the market, t|#|
JJ the "DOMESTIC" al.d "EI.LRII GK.' All chop- JJ
112 2 heads and warranted.
A fine line of Dishes, common grade and China, in fj
*5 sets and by the piece. PJ
M As I keep a full line of everything that goes to $4
M make up a good Furniture store, it is useless to etium- N
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jj* Please call and see for yourself that lam telling ijo
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done, as it is no trouble to show goods. 112
•I GEO. J .LaBAR. ••
URTDEnTAIiIKTO. /i
si II )£ m 212* ml XmX2*2* £** 2