| Show HOW WAS IT DOS el theory of the officers regarding mannings death I 1 sheriffs G B belnap of weber county and carl loveland of box elder county left Ogden at pm thursday june ath for brigham city arrived at that place they obtained some buggies and proceeded to hampton s bridge twenty two miles further north reaching there friday morning at 2 here they found mannings team the place is kept by the brothers standing they stated that manning who left ogden on friday had come there at dusk sunday night june ad and asked to put up at the place this was granted while there he asked if they had anything to drink but was told that none was kept after supper about 10 he went out to grain his horses about this time a covered wagon came across the bridge and with it two men one dark and the other light they stopped and asked for something to drink they found none and continued on their way to station about two miles away half aa hour later they came back and it was then found that manning had with them to the station as the folks had thought when he did not return from tending to his horses yet they thought nothing strange of that as he had his bedding with him and said something about staying in the wagon during the night while this information had been obtained by sheriff loveland sheriff belnap had proceeded to collingston collinston Col linston where be learned that the dutch peddler who had been seen riding with manning on sunday having with him two red satchels had stopped the same evening at the travelers hest the stopping place at collingston collinston Col linston that he had gone to bed and that the proprietor had the keys and would vouch for his having staid was of in cache valley peddling his wares so there was no cine in that direction tipon returning to hamp tons bridge he found that sheriff loveland bad the idea that the men who on the same evening had sought to obtain something to drink wore parties who had committed the mur der sheriff belnap then returned to learned who the men were had only come up to geta keg of beer which they expected from some station along the road the camp to which they belonged was and thither the officers bent their way there they found their men but it proved to ba a false clue as they had been engaged in shearing sheep and had been asked by a party to help him which they promised to do if he would get the beer for them he said that if one of the boys would go after it he would pay for it the two young men in question had volun leered to go and that was why they were found at CoU inston at that particular time Heth ming the officers went out to the place where the body had been south of Hamp toas bridge or one and one quarter miles on the other side of malad biver ab nb evidences of any struggle were to be seen but had there been any they doubtless would have disappeared as the range was covered with sheep after thoroughly looking into the matter the agreed upon a theory the effect of which is as follows when manning left he had been drinking to some extent and was under the influence of liquor when he went to attend to his horses having previously asked for something to daml to stop the craving coming upon him he became delirious and in the spell thus brought upon him he wandered away ho had a new pocket 1 nife which he had purchased at browning bros before leaving the eity this knife he had taken out and in the frenzy under which he was then laboring he unintentionally had cut himself he had crossed the bridge over bear eiver and gone the range toward malad eiver on reaching this place he had waded across and continued in his mad career for over a mile when he had dropped on his face utterly exhausted and there died when found the knife was lying beside him it had a few specks on the large blade which was open and which appeared to be blood the other blades were all rusted showing that the knife had been in water his clothes bad been in water and on hia boots were found the kind of mud peculiar to malad river and to be found in no other place in that immediate vicinity there was blood on his clothes down to his boots which proved that he bad bled while standing up he had not bled any on the spot where he was found which would tend to prove that he had not fallen until thoroughly exhausted he had not been robbed for he had several dollars with him and he had previously stated that he had only five dollars with him but would give a check etc on further consideration the people who saw the body are not sure that the wound on his wrist was that of a bullet it may have been caused by his crawling through the barbed wire fences which he had passed as his clothes were torn in several places As for his head being pounded to pieces the ranch men attribute it to the many horses on the which will approach a man when lying down and if he does not move they will begin to paw at the body this was evidently the case as the ground was pawed up yet there were no traces as if any scuffle had occurred if this theory is incorrect the real truth of the said affair will probably never be learned should the body be exhumed and it should be proven that the wound on the wrist was actually a bullet wound it would conclusively clu prove that murder had been committed as manning bad no pistol with him at any time the family believe that he had been murdered ogden standard |
