In this book you will find eyewitness accounts of the most shocking and deplorable murders committed in Kansas during the territorial years. Between 1854 and 1869, the hearty pioneers of Kansas - and some just traveling through - endured many exasperating hardships including the ever-present danger of murder by the Border Ruffians, Jayhawkers, and Quantrill's Raiders. Angry Indian tribes, soldiers from the Forts, claim jumpers, neighbors, and even bar-room buddies could kill you in the most brutal fashion at any time. Guns, knives, poisons, arrows, rope, and rocks were all convenient weapons, and did their job most effectively during those years of vigilante justice and limited medical assistance. This book contains hundreds of period newspaper stories reflecting the details as well as the editor's unique and very clear expression of shock and grief as each murderous affair was announced to Kansans - and to the nation - during some of the most turbulent years of Kansas history.

From railroad towns like Ladore to cow towns like Newton and Wichita, southeast Kansas pulsed with rowdy activity during the late nineteenth century. The unruly atmosphere drew outlaws, including the Dalton Gang, and even crazed serial killers the likes of the Bender clan. Violent incidents, from gunfights to lynchings, punctuated the region's Wild West era, and the allure of the frontier also attracted the everyday people whose passions sometimes spawned bloodshed as well. Award-winning author Larry E. Wood explores thirteen of these remarkable episodes in the criminal history of southeast Kansas.

Murder cases in the Bourbon County, Kansas area between 1868-1898

Eyewitness newspaper accounts recall scenes that took place when Harvey County was little but unbroken prairie. It was accounted nothing strange in the halcyon days of the festive cowboy that a man should die without being put to the trouble of removing his boots before doing so. That useless point of etiquette was overlooked in numerous cases during the early years of Harvey County's existence.In the early days Harvey County passed through scenes of riot and of bloodshed such as no other frontier town was compelled to undergo. While it generally takes two to make a quarrel, in those days there was but one left to put on the finishing touches. These were put on by means of the unerring revolver in the hand of a cowboy. Before 1900 nearly every man in the area carried a revolver and knew well how to use it, often out of necessity more than desire. During this period when it was said "going to Newton is all the rage just now," you will read 100 fascinating tales of those who were not fortunate enough to leave town alive.

Murder in the 20th Century became less about revenge and territory, as the cowboy days had passed and the residents of the Central Plains focused on building their farms and communities. Motivations to commit murder became more personal - domestic disputes and affairs, forsaken loves, and of course, money. This volume recounts over 90 murders in one Kansas county during this period of time, which includes plenty of mystery still waiting to be solved. Was there a reason that a cut up man stuffed under a building, with no knife to be found, was announced as a suicide? Who killed the young man walking home from his fiance's house - or was that suicide also? Whose skeleton was found burned on a strawstack in the middle of a country field? Harvey County was also connected to 2 notorious train robberies, a mechanic killed as he slept in his shop, a police officer who was said to be set up and shot by members of his own department, a piano teacher shot by an enraged father, a farm owner who was killed by his own nephew over a dispute over planting wheat or corn, another killed because of a fence, and still another for walking across a neighbor's field. This volume also recounts by eyewitness testimony the amazing stories of murder committed by the famous Aggie Myers, the first woman convicted of murder who was released because the Governor refused to be the first to hang a woman. In Harvey County, Kansas, a man killed his wife, a father killed his child, a nephew killed his uncle, a man killed his son-in-law, men killed their girl friends, a mistress killed a wife, and a policeman shot a drunken man in the back. Conflicts such as these may be common in some cities, but in a small rural county they shocked and stunned the peaceful residents who called it home."A shocking tragedy, the most terrible and revolting ever recorded in the annals of Newton, took place in the city and the citizens have not yet recovered from the horror and indignation which the crime aroused in their breast" wrote one reporter. Another writes, "All through this confession one is impressed with the thought that this man who says that he helped to commit one of the most fiendish murders in the history of Kansas and Missouri, was lamentably weak and compelled in the power of a woman." What caused hard-working Kansans to become so frenzied that murder appeared to them as a reasonable solution - and who were those who became the object of their wrath? Follow the progression in the development of a county seeking peace in the early 1900's by reading the stories of the most atrocious and fiendish crimes committed in her midst.

First published in 1944, this is an unusual little edition concerning the infamous Kate Bender and her family, also known as the “Bloody Benders,” who owned an inn and small general store in Labette County of southeastern Kansas from 1871 to 1873 and systematically murdered at least a dozen travellers that passed through their hotel and store, with Kate luring men with promise of a meal and a rest. Consisting of John Bender, his wife, Elvira Bender, their son, John, Jr., and daughter, Kate, the Bender family were widely believed to be German immigrants. Kate Bender, who was around 23, was cultivated and attractive and spoke English well with very little accent. A self-proclaimed healer and psychic, she distributed flyers advertising her supernatural powers and her ability to cure illnesses. She also conducted séances and gave lectures on spiritualism, for which she gained notoriety for advocating free love. Kate’s popularity became a large attraction for the Benders’ inn. This book details the family’s crimes and explores some theories on the family’s fate following the discovery of their crimes and escape from justice.