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.