Newspaper Page Text
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF BBTANT CRANDALL
By ORRIN E. DUNLAP, of Niagara Falls.
A Strange Insurance Romance. Involving a MysteDous Disappearance
and One of the Most Curious and Protracted Man Hunts on Record.
Early in April, 1886, distressed
relatives of Bryant B. Crandall, of
Buffalo, New York, visited Niagara
Falls in search of him. Mrs. Crandall
and George E. Newman, Crandall’s
brother (Crandall’s real name was
Newman, but he was adopted in
childhood by a family named Cran
dall and given their name), had both
received letters, postmarked Niagara
Falls, in which Crandall intimated an
intention of suicide. In the letter
to his wife he wrote:
“I am sick and tired of life; you
will be bettef off with the insurance
money than with me. Good-bye, and
God bless you.”
The letter to his brother was full
of the same sentiments, and further
requested that he, Newman, should
assist the wife in securing the insur
ance money. Naturally, when these
letters reached the parties to whom
they were addressed, there was a hur
ried trip to Niagara Falls. There it
was ascertained that Crandall had
registered at the Western Hotel —a
house that stood at the corner of
Falls and Second streets, the site of
the present Hotel Imperial—on
April 1.
Beyond this no trace of him could
be found, until on April 3 Officers
McMullen and Sims, of the State
Reservation, found a hat held down
by the feet of one of the park seats
on the river bank above Goat Isl
and bridge. Inside the hat they
found Crandall’s name, giving the
impression that the owner had sought
death in fascinating, tumbling, cha
otic waters of the upper rapids, which
rush by the spot where the hat was
found.
From that day all search for the
missing man was directed to the
banks of the lower river, the expecta
tion being that his lifeless body had
been swept down the stream and over
the American Fall by the relentless
■current. Crandall was a man of pre
vious good character, so that his rela
tives and friends did not for an in
stant suspect any trickery; they felt
convinced that he had taken his life
by leaping into the river. This opin
ion, however, was not shared by Nel
son O. Tiffany, secretary of the Ma
sonic Life Association of Western
New York. Mr. Tiffany maintained
that it was ridiculous to suppose that
a man so desperate as to commit sui
cide would feel enough concern for
the welfare of his old hat to care
fully fasten it to the ground. He be
lieved Crandall’s disappearance was
a trick designed to deceive, and that
the hat had been purposely placed
where it was discovered in order to
lend color to the suicide theory. This
conclusion on the insurance official’s
part developed the greatest chase ev
er known after a man who Tiffany
believed was attempting to swindle
the various companies that had is
sued policies on his life. These, it
was speedily discovered, were numer
ous.
It transpired that Crandall had two
thousand dollars insurance in the
Masonic Life Association of Western
New York, represented by Mr. Tif
fany; he was also insured in the
North-Western Masonic Aid Associa
tion for two thousand five hundred
dollars;, in the Ancient. Order of
United Workmen for two thousand
dollars; and for similar amounts in
the Royal Templars of Temperance
and the Empire Order of Mutual Aid,
making the respectable total of ten
thousand five hundred dollars insur
ance on the life which appeared to
have been surrendered to the death
dealing waters of Niagara.
The family of the mising man ex
pressed their unqualified belief in-
Crandall’s death, citing his good
character, his alleged depressed men
tal condition before leaving home,
the letters written from Niagara
Falls, his great love of home and
family, and the further fact that
his home had always been a happy
one. In time, such slight proofs of
death as were available were sub
mitted to the insurance companies,
and the payment of the policies re
quested. All the companies, however,
refused to accept the proof offered.
The next step was the offer of a
reward of several hundred dollars
for the recovery of the missing man’s
body. On July 28th, 1886, one hun
dred and nineteen days after Cran
dall disappeared, a waterman named
Pendergast found a man's leg, and
later the remainder of the body, in
the river between Lewiston and
Queenston. The body was badly de
composed, the face mangled. The
corpse was viewed by Mrs. Crandall
and other relatives, as well as by
frr. Green, the family physician, and
the opinion expressed that it was
that of Crandall. They claimed
that Crandall had a scar on his r*ght
foot, the result of an axe-cut, and
those w'ho saw the corpse were con
fident they could detect this sc;*-.
The body was accepted by the family
as that of Crandall and taken to
Buffalo, where it was interred in the
family burial plot iu the old Indian
cemetery on Seneca Street. Affidavits
were made and submitted to the in
surance companies, demanding the
paj ment of the policies. It seemed
that if a doubt had previously ex
isted as to the death of Crandall, it
had now been finally removed by the'
finding of the mutilated body and the
scar.
The new proofs of Crandall's
death were at once accepted by all
the insurance companies interested,
and payment of the insurance wrs
ordered. Up to this time the com
panies had believed Crandall to be
alive, but the identification of the
body rescued from the lower river
swept away their defense.
Even with the corpse found and
buried, however, it was hard for Mr.
Tiffany to believe that Crandall was
dead. He was still unconvinced, and
he managed to persuade the board 1
directors of his company to delay
the acceptance of the proofs offered
and the payment of the money, the
result being that he was granted a
month’s time in which to make fur
ther investigation. Ostensibly bound
on a fishing trip, he visited the vicin
ity of Queenston and talked with the
fishermen who had found the body.
He discovered nothing to confirm his
opinion that Crandall was living, and
yet nothing to make him believe he
was dead. At the expiration of the
month referred to the Masonic Life
Association of Western New York
paid its policy on Crandall’s life.
This might well have been the final
chapter in the history of the Crandall
.case, but it was not. After the in
surance money was paid, it was gen
erally accepted that Crandall had
died at Niagara, and that his body
had been reclaimed from the river
and had received burial. For
months the case had practically been
forgotten, until William B. Sirrett,
of Buffalo, a well-known business
man, who had met Crandall many
times in Buffalo and knew him well,
was visiting in Los Angeles, Califor
nia. There he saw a man he be
lieved to be Crandall in the street,
and tried to greet him. The man
evaded him, however, walked rapidly
away, and was soon lost to sight. Be
ing convinced that the man he had
seen was no other than the missing
Crandall, Mr. Sirrett telegraphed his
suspicions to Buffalo, and this re
sulted in a reoponing of the search
for the man who was supposed to
have lost his life at Niagara.
“At last I have a clue!” said Sec
retary Tiffany, “ and I am deter
mined to follow it for all it is worth.”
A meeting of representatives of
interested insurance societies was ar
ranged, and an executive committee
of three appointed for the purpose
of making a systematic effort to find
Crandall. This committee consist
ed of John H. Meech, at that time
Grand Master of the A.O.U.W. for
the State of New York; John Lythe,
Supreme Treasurer of the Royal
Templars of Temperance; and Nelson
O. Tiffany, of the Masonic Life Asso
ciation of Western New York. One
hundred thousand circulars bearing
Crandall’s picture were printed. They
described the man accurately, and a
reward of a thousand dollars (after
wards increased to two thousand)
was offered for information as to his
whereabouts. These circulars were
sent to every Masonic, A.0.U.W., and
Royal Templar Lodge on the Pacific
Coast, including the British posses
sions and the Hawaiian Islands. They
were also sent to the police of the
entire Pacific Coast and other sec
tions. Perhaps there never was a
man-hunt gone about more system
atically, for, in addition to the circu
larizing detective papers took the
matter up and published Crandall’s
picture.
The effect of it all was surprising.
Immediately after the circulars had
been sent out Secretary Tiffany was
flooded with letters and telegrams
concerning Crandall. Not only was
he launched in the detective field, but
he was fairly overwhelmed with busi
ness. A Crandall was found in al
most every hamlet from the Isthmus
to Vancouver. In the dead of night
Secretary Tiffany received r. telegram
stating that Crandall had been cap
tured in Portland, Oregon. There
could be no mistake, the officials
thought, and so Detective Thomas
Curtin was sent flying afte.- him,
when requisition papers had been
hurriedly obtained from the Gov
ernor at Albany. The fear was that
he w ould be released on habeas cor
pus proceedings. When he reached
Oregon, Detective Curtin found the
man was not Crandall, but a worn
out circus performer, having no re
semblance to the man sought.
For six years episodes of this kind
occurred, but never for an instant did
Secretary Tiffany relax his interest in
the case or lose his firm belief that
Crandall was alive. Away out in
Bear Lake, Utah, a man confessed to
being Crandall, but the authorities
released him, keeping him shadowed
by detectives. It was necessary to
act quickly, and so Secretaary Tif
fany himself hurried West to see the
man. For more than a hundred
miles he had to travel on horseback
over the Western “divides.” At
Ogden, Utah, he secured the services
of two deputies, and on arrival at the
domicile of the supposed Crandall
surrounded the house, armed for a
contest, if necessary. The man was
not Crandall, and Secretary Tiffany
made him happy by calling off the
watchers.
In the winter of IS9I, so sure were
a party of self-constituted detectives
in the lumber woods of Vermont that
they had discovered Crandall, that
they forwarded the money necessary
to defray the expenses of an officer
to that point. Detective Curtin
made the trip, but it only resulted
in another disappointment. In all,
about twenty different men were ar
rested as Crandall. In some cases
law-suits followed against the offi
cers, and in one case no less than
fifty thousand dollars’ damages were
claimed. This was by a man who
had been kept in a Texas prison
for three weeks before he proved lie
was not the elusive Crandall.
While this protracted search was
going on Mrs. Crandall, having no
desire to profit by the insurance
money if her husband was alive, had
turned over about eight thousand
five hundred dollars to a trustee, who
kept it three years. Then, Crandall
not having been found alive, it was
returned to her. Shortly after Mr.
Sirrett claimed to have seen Crandall
an indictment was obtained against
the missing man on a charge of an
attempt to defraud.
In the spring of 1892 Secretary
Tiffany received a telegram from
Los Angeles, signed by a Mrs. M.
Roland. The message inquired
whether Crandall was still wanted,
and if the reward held good. She
was informed that the offer was still
open, and this led to the arrest of
a man in Los Angeles. The fact
that “there was a women in the case”
at once convinced Mr. Tiffany that
success was about to crown his years
of effort, for he felt Crandall had
at last been betrayed. Detectives
Diehl and Lynch, of the Buffalo De
partment, were sent to California
and on June 3d, 1892, returned with
their prisoner, who was fully identi
fied as Bryant B. Crandall, the sup
posed dead man. An effort was
made to punish him for the fraud,
but the court failed ti convict.
Shortly afterwards the district attor
ney who prosecuted the case was
seized with softening of the brain,
and the case collapsed. Crandall’s
relatives paid his fare back to Cali
fornia, where he entered a soldiers’
home.
Thus was it shown that the waters
of Niagara were wholly innocent of
robbing this man of his life. The
expenses of the search amounted to
about fifteen hundred dollars, but the
insurance companies had about seven
thousand dollars returned to them,
which was distributed pro rata, so
that Mr. Tiffany’s dogged persistence
was amply justified.—The Wide
World Magazine.
j.
WISE WORDS.
Never forget that when God takes
away the sunlight. He always puts
stars in the sky.—Rose Porter.
There is nothing so great as to be
capable of happiness, to pluck it out
of every moment and whatever hap
pens.—Anna Gilchrist.
Who shall despair while the fields
of earth are sown with flowers and
the fields of heaven blossom with
stars?—Hamilton Wright Mabi.
Some people are always finding
fault with Nature for putting thorns
on roses; I always thank her for put
ting roses on thorns.—Alphone Karr.
This world is only a place of pil
grimage, but, after ail, there is a
good deal of cheer in the journey, if
it is made with a contented heart.—
Henry Van Dyke.
It is a selfish religion that grows
querulous at its own coldness, and
cannot stir the will till it attains a
rapture. Our sole business is to abide
and serve, to keep our assigned place
and grow.—James Martineau.
All the beauty of the sky and the
earth is like the smile of God, and a
smile shows us the disposition of the
person just as certainly as any words
he can use. One cannot sit down in
the midst of this loveliness without
being conscious that it is a Divine
Presence that makes it lovely.—
Henry Ware, Jr.
i used to think it was great to dis
regard happiness, to press to a high
goal, careless, disdainful of it. But
now I see that there is nothing so
great as to he capable of happiness—
to pluck it out of each moment, and
whatrver happens, to find that one
can ride as gay and buoyant on the
angry, menacing, tumultuous waves
of life as on those that glide and glit
ter under a clear sky; that It is not
defeat and wretchedness which come
out of the storms of adversity, but
strength and calmness. —Anne Gil
enrist.
WORKING FORCE
IS CURTAILED
Southern Lays Off 150 M:a in Its
Shops at Atlanta*
LEGISLATION THE CAUSE
Order of Suspension Was Indefinite as to
Time, and Came as Surprise to Many.
A., B. & A. Also Cuts Down Force.
One hundred and fifty men, four
fifths of whom are trained workers,
men who have served a long appren
ticeship and who are earning an ex
cellent grade of pay every day, walked
out of the Southern shops in South
Atlanta Thursday afternoon, carrying
with them an order of suspension for
—how long none of them can even
conjecture.
Not one of the men had the slight
est thought of a cessation of labor.
Since the season of vacations and
rests had passed and the men trained
to their several trades were anticipat
ing a long winter of money-making
work.
But, as the men entered the shops
Thursday morning, there was a fresh
sheet of paper on the bulletin board.
Its brightness attracted the attention
of every man with his dinner pail
upon his arm. All stopped to read
the board and to every one it was
a surprise. It was brief, but it was
plain and unmistakable. It simply
announced that when the day euded
there would be no work the next day
for some of those who read the bul
letin. While short and plain, the order
indicated those upon whom idleness
came. It apprised twenty-three ma
chinists, whose average pay is $23
to $25 a week; one coppersmith who
makes $3 and more a day; three
boilernutkes whose scale Is $3.10 a
day; fifteen helpers at $1.30 a day;
two blacksmiths, who without trouble
earn $3.20 a day, and one hundred
carpenters and car builders, out of a
force of 500 men and who earn $2
every day, that when the day’s work
was over they might call at their fore
man’s office for their time, as their
services would not be needed the next
day—B'riday.
No reason was given the men for
the order, but it didn’t take them long
to figure out a reason. One of the
number —he has been with the South
ern shops since Pittsburg, as the At
lanta shops are designated, was start
ed —spoke for the crowd who are laid
off:
“When I say that the order was a
surprise to the men, I tell you the
exact facts in the case. Still, among
those who are in charge it lias not
been a surprise recently. We have
ascertained that some of these fore
men have been working for this or
der for more than a week. If they
knew any reason lor it, however, they
have not given it out. But among the
men who are touched by the order,
as well as among their companions,
v,ho still remain in, there is now
an understanding. Recent legislation
is the cause. And do you know there
is not a man not bit by the order
at today who feels that he has a
certainty of a day’s work. That order
which came today may come again
tomorrow —It may come at any time
and when it does come we will then
know, and not before who is next to
be let out.”
At the regular meeting of the mar
cbiulsts of Atlanta 'ihutsday night,
it was announced, aot in an official
way, but in a manner wholly reliable
that at Fitzgerald one hundred men,
$3.40 a day on the wage scale, had
been let out by the Atlanta, Miming
ham and Atlantic railroad. No reasons
were assigned for that let-out.
L. & N. SELLS REBATE TICKETS.
Plan of Road to Technically Comply With
Alabama Rate Laws.
The Louisville and Nashville rail
road, in seeking to comply with tho
new 2 1-2 cent passenger rate law in
Alabama, has begun the sale of tick
ets within the state with coupons at
tached which entitle the passenger to
a rebate of half a cent a mile in
case the suit which the railroad has
brought against the state railroad com
mission to prevent the enforcement ol
the new law is decided against It.
STOP AT THE
ZBTTLER HOUSE
The best SI.OO a day house in the
c:ty.
C 53 FOURTH ST„ MACON. G*..
Mr3. A. L. Zettler, Proprietress.
HEAVY DECLINE IN COTTON.
A Sensational Break Brings October Option
Under Eleven Cents.
A sensational decline in the price
of cotton took place amid excited trad
ing on the New York cotton exchange
Monday afternoon. Asa result the
October option sold under 11 cents a
pound for the first time since last
June, when prices were advanced on a
bad crop report. Declines in the trad
ing late hi the afternoon reached 52
to 55 points, or about $2.50 below the
closing prices of Saturday night and
$7.50 a bale below the high Septem
ber. The leading factor in the decline
was heavy speculative liquidation sell
ing In apprehension of weaker mar
kets for spot cotton in the south. The
market was very activo and traders
were greatly excited during the de
cline. At the lowest the October op
tion sold at 10.97 and January at
11.14. At the close October rallied to
11.02 and January 11.25 and the mar
ket steadied. Sales wero estimated at
600,000 bales.
HONOR PAID GATE CITY GUARDS.
Company Gets Exclusive Invitation to At
tend McKinley Memorial Exercise*.
Tho Gate City Guard's, of Atlanta,
one of the oldest military organisa
tions in the United States, having
been organized during the civil war.
has had the distinction of being the
only company of troops outside of th
national guard of Ohio and the Uni
ted States army, to be invited to at
tend the unveiling of a monument to
the late President William McKinley,
at Canton, Ohio, September 30.
Whether or not tho company can
represent Atlanta at the unveiling de
pends upon whether a sufficient dona
tion can be secured from Atiuuta cit
izens.
Six years ago this company was the
only organization outside of the Ohio
and federal troops that weer invited
to attend the funeral of the late pres
ident.
GOVERNOR’S WIFE A TARGET.
Angry Farmer Fires at Auto Wherein Mrs.
Beckham Was Riding.
Dan Iluxtcr, a farmer, has been In
dicted at Owensboro, Ky., on the
charge of having discharged a pistol
at an automobile containing Mrs. J.
C. Beckham, wife of the governor of
the state, and a party of friends.
Mrs. Beckham, who was an Owens
boro girl, was visiting friends. Tho far
mers in the vicinity have been com
plaining of the spaed of the machines
on the highways, and when the motor
containing Mrs. Beckham reached a
bridge on a much coveted thorough
fare, a man on horseback demanded
that the chauffeur stop.
The horseman flourished a pistol
over the horse, "for the driver or the
automobile to wait several minutes,”
while lie denounced automobilists in
bitter terms.
When the machine started he fired
several shots and Mrs. Beckham and
the other women dropped to the bot
tom of the car in a paroxysm of
fright.
FOR MEMORIAL TO DEAD SON.
Mrs. Oliver Donates $150,000 to Yale for
Purpose of Erecting Hall.
Professor Russell M. urßtendeu, di
rector of the Sheffield Scientific school
of Yale university, announces a gift
of $150,000 from Mrs. James U. Oli
ver of Pittsburg, Pa. This gift Is
for the erection of anew recitation
or lecture hall as a memorial to hor
son, Daniel Leet Oliver, formerly a
student in the Sheffield Scientific
school, class of 1008, who died last
Juae.
FRIGHTFUL SLAUGHTER OF MOORS.
Franco-Spanish Army Made Sudden and
Successfu. Move Againr-t Fanatics.
The allied Franco-Spanish army on
Thursday made a sudden and success
ful move on Taddert, Morocco, where
the Moors were massed in force. The
camp of the latter was destroyed and
the enemy was put to flight, leaving
many dear on the field. The French
lost one man killed and six men
wounded.