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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1907)
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN. PORTLAND. APRFL 21, 1907. vre Six lemons me t Marion County Farm That Has Been the Scene of Succession of Tragedies Site of the Oregon Reform School Which Fate Seems to Have Selected for Bloody Deeds 1 'J-))y3M 11 AROITJD the picturesque oiling ' ' . 'l' hills of an old farm In Marlon II s N ? ' " S " ' " 11 County hang many wierd tales if 1 p '"C''- J - ' ' ' ' . ' . j I of murder andudden doath. -I sWdttAmawMs&i&i a Southern Pacific train, and view- ijtifSlM " : lng the massive brick buildings of ' v""1 aa hitim ass-gpgjir i the C'.ate Reform School, crowning; the ' stately hill. 100 feet above, there is f ijjjt - - . I nothing to suggest the stern tragedies 2fl 1 Vi4 V ' """ 1 that have taken place upon the prem- I ii "N r . I ises within the recollection of the old- I ''' I &v5av ,'?? ' " J7 I 1 er residents of the locality. I . (.'-'. S.v U Ljg? ir u2 I 1 The farm comprises about 400 acres, I M'Tif ii1' 1 i JteIiP 'i'm'i " ll" fefe I I stretching back upon the hills jn the I ' ' ' A? ) S?S??' ' W'd north and east, and down Into the beau- Mjr1fSs4: ' V V - UflBI i I 5l , ' " gnPwTfL I I tiful little valley of Mill Creek on the ' w'j&t , T I .HHk ' 1 of the railroad, and when farms were I tgXW'.'ll. $m' -iSSSP W1 '' wN I Z "' 1 1" larger and homes more scattered than ' I 't1 - - J 1 .' j ' I ' I "r f ' V InB Mlthe while what cou'd'havep- : - ' , j J , ' J A eeream from the child broueht . I E I ' " ?gp - I I " " lA.HL t , M.-,,,r , ' O I . ' 7. v. -r-'- S3 : 9 ST put her quickly to the side of the wagon, and there In the bottom of the wagon box lay Conrad, shot straight through the heart. The powder-burned clothes Indicat ed that the murderer had sat beside him on the seat; but there was abso lutely no clew by which to trace the a-iilHy one; no way of knowing lust where along: the !onely road the trage dy occurred. Examination showed that the team had swerved from the track, and short ly further on bloodstains were found in the dust. Th5s was supposed to be the scene of the tragedy, as It was the most lonely along the road. But no human tracks were found. The few dimes in the murdered man's pocket were undisturbed, and a small blood stained bag of candy told a pathetic tale of a Jast kind thought for his little ones. Not the slightest clew has ever been found by which to- trace the murderer of this man. No motive could be sug gested by anyone who knew bim. The widow could tell of no enemy that had ever had ause. or fancied cause, to wish for the death of her husband. The horror of the dark crime lay heavily upon the community for many weeks to come. The widow and her . children took up the work of the husband and father, toil ing early and late in the fields. In seed ing time or harvest a man was hired to do the heavier work. It was in this way that an Irishman named Murphy came to the farm. The older boys and girl found work away from home, the little girl died, and Murphy rented the place for a term of years, Mrs. Warner re maining in the house, retaining certain privileges, and cooking for the renter and his hired help. Murphy was stockily built, with dark hair and piercing dark eyes. His face and head bore many scars, but no word ever passed his lips as to where his previous life had been spent. He was intelligent and even scholarly in his conversation, but. being addicted to drink, combined with the-mystery surrounding him. he made few friends in the neighborhood. - It was in the early Summer of 1883 that Murphy came home from Salem. late one night. He was accompanied by a hired" man a tramp and both were intoxicated. They drove into the barnyard quarrelling loudly, and before the team was un harnessed, a murder had been committed and 'Murphy's tramp' lay in the moon light with one side of his head blown away. . Murphy walked into the house, some what sobered by the awful consequences of his drunken passion, and sitting down by the stove, took the revolver from his pocket and put a bullet through his own brain . with such accuracy that he still sat in the chair when neighbors arrived, an hour later. A stream of blood ran almost across the little sitting-room, and for years no scrubbing would remove the stain. It was said that a ghost walked there on moonlight nights, and its groans were ' heard in the attic and bedrooms. At last this house was destroyed by fire, and a rude board cabin was erected on the ruins. But still it was said the ghost remained and its rapntngs, groans and cries were - not abated, for there were other tragedies yet to come. Mysterious Death. The. fourth victim of the strange fa tality that has hung for so many years over this place, was an unknown man. Where the swift waters of Mill Creek leave the shadow of the hill and turn to the northward at the old bridge and the older ford, a young fisherman in the early Spring of 1S?0 came upon the dead body of a man lying half in the water and half among the low willows that edged the gravelly banks. The body was that of a stranger and well dressed, but whence he came' and how he met his death there were none to tell. No money, watch nor papers were found in his pockets. Whether this was a murder, for the purpose of robbery or revenge, and whether committed on the spot, or the dead body conveyed from Halem in the darkness of night: or whether a suicide, or an accident, are questions that were asked, over and over, but never answered. A cas ket was brought and a grave was dug there among -the .willows, and the un known was placed in an unmarked grave. - A covered bridge now spans the stream at this point, the north ap proach of which Is but a few feet from the grave. Teams pass here all' day long, travelers camp and picnic parties lunch here, but rains and floods have leveled the ground and willows-have overgrown the spot, and the grave of the stranger passes un noticed. ; Suicide Drawn to the Place. , The place . was sold soon after this, and Mrs.. Warner and her two boys, now grown to manhood, moved away. Changes came fast, and - the old farm with Its broken fences and tumble-down buildings became one of the beauty spots of the state. On the high hill, always called "The Knob," stands the Reformatory like an ancient feudal castle. Green lawns, white fences and trim outbuildings give a pic turesqueness undreamed of years ago. But still the evil spell has not been lifted. Again, in 1894, did a coroner's jury assemble here to Inquire into the tragic death of another unknown. w"ho was found in the pasture near the railroad with his throat cut from ear to ear. This man, it was shown, had taken his own life probably through despond ency. He was clearly a tramp, and had presumedly grown weary of the long march and chose the coward's way ' to end his existence. But what led him here? What unseen hand guided his last steps to almost the very spot where four other dead bodies had been found? Sixth and Last. The sixth violent death took place two years ago. and but a few rods from the scene of the last mentioned. One of the Inmates of the school, a boy of 14 years, disappeared very sud denly from his post of duty in the pump ing station, where the water supply for the school is forced up the hill by the power of a huge wheel turned by the swift current of the creek. The usual search for runaways failed to reveal any trace of the lad, and not until a month had elapsed was any light thrown upon the mystery. Then some other boys of the school Ashing along the creek found the dead body of their missing comrade far be low the wheelhouse, where it had washed in the swollen stream. Thus ends, so far, the list of fatalities, tragic and pitiful, that have shocked and saddened in turn the kindhearted resi dents of the neighborhood for half a life, time. Chicago's New Kicking Machine Chicago Cor. Sew York World. rB adjustable kicking and spanking machine, on exhibition this week at the Electric Show has planted its first se ries of kicks on the human form. There are- four ' flying boots, which whirl in s, circle, and Charles Gregory, the inven tor calls it, "The Remorse Motor." Inspector' Wheeler, of the Harrison Street Potltce Station, furnished the re morse .victim in the person of a prisoner, Ed Bloom. He threatened to send Mr. Bloom to-the workhouse for two months for smashing city ordinances, but being deeply interested in the kicking machina from a police point of view, offered Bloom his freedom if he would submit himself as a sacrince to the machine. Bloom elected to be kicked ratiier than go to the Bridewell. He balked when brought to the Colliseum and saw with what smoothness and precision the ma chine delivered kicks within the zone of punishment. "That's all right. Bloom. Stand up ano take It like a man." said the Inspector. A few scientists, anxious to learn If the kicking machine was superior to the clenched fist, the club or the beer bottle, watched the demonstration. Finally Mr. Bloom was put in range and held by two men. The Inventor started it up at half speed, and Mr. Bloom sustained a few terrific swats and tried to escape. He plucked up more courage and the machine was sent along at 20 revolutions a second. Ten seconds and Bloom was al most out. In that time he had 'received almost 1000 kicks. His clothing was torn, his flesh was bruised and his feelings in jured. He was given his liberty, a new suit of clothes and some arnica. ' "We put slippers on for small boys, about No. 9." said the inventor. Turbine propellers tr Btanlly growing in favor lrth In the Brltisb navy and the merchant marlns.