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SEEKING THE BANDITS'
LAIR
_________ |
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Large Parties From
Visalia and Fresno
Take the Field to Capture or
Kill Evans and
Sontag.
_________ |
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Details of the Fight Given at
the Inquest
on the bodies of Wilson
and McGinnis. |
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EYEWITNESSES TELL THE
STORY |
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The Law-Abiding
People of the Upper
San Joaquin Valley Thoroughly
Aroused to the
Situation - Sheriff
Hensley Discovers a Redoubtable Re-
treat of the
Murderers - No News of
the Whereabouts of the Fugitives -
Wilson's
Brother to Avenge His Death.
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_________
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[Special to the Examiner]
VISALIA, September 14. - The streets were thronged
today by large crowds of people, who discussed nothing but the terrible fight
near Sampson's Flat. Yesterday and its results, and the consensus of opinion
seems to be that the daring desperadoes must be captured or wiped out of
existence at any hazard and cost.
The reports
originally sent out that more than two men were killed by Evans and Sontag
prove to have been incorrect. It is now known that Wilson and McGinnis were the
only ones killed.
Preparations were made all day
to renew the hunt for the outlaws, and squads of officers left for the hills
this afternoon.
This evening the Indian
trailers, Pelon and Cameno, took the train for Yuma. They refused to continue
the pursuit on the ground that they did not receive any support in the fight
from anyone, with the exception of Frank Burke, who stood his ground manfully
and returned the outlaws' fusillade. They told Burke they were completely
disgusted with the outcome of yesterday's encounter with the bandits, as they
had to do the fighting assisted only by officer Burke. No amount of persuasion
could change their plans, and they took the evening train for home, accompanied
by Frank Burke. |
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BURKE BENT ON VENGEANCE. |
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Burke will go on to
Tucson with the remains of Officer Vic C. Wilson, who met his death in the
terrible fight yesterday morning. Burke is almost heart-broken over the death
of his comrade. He will return to this city in a few days accompanied by his
brother and several men who will assist him in running the bandits to the
earth. He is determined to avenge his partner's untimely end, and his future
course will be inspired by a sense of duty to his murdered comrade.
Burke showed himself to be a brave and courageous
officer. He was in the thickest of the shooting yesterday and never flinched
when the bullets were whistling around him. He is confident that he shot Evans
as the desperado was disappearing in the cornfield. He was behind a log and
Evans was in plain view. The effect of the first shot he did not know. The next
time he shot Evans fell forward and dropped his rifle. He shot at Evans again
as the latter was running through the corn. He aimed at Evans' chest and
arm.
The Indian trailers do not think that Burke
wounded the train robber. |
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JAMES YOUNG INTERVIEWED. |
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James young, the
owner of the house where the fight took place yesterday, was in town today and
was interviewed regarding his knowledge of the train robbers.
In conversation with an Examiner representative Young
stated that he had been working at Moore & Smith's lumber mills at Sequoia
all summer and had returned home Monday. Tuesday morning he left his house to
find a horse and was about half a mile away when the shooting took place.
He heard the firing and surmised that a fight was
taking place with the bandits, although he did not think the encounter was at
his house.
When he returned home he found a note
written by one of the officers requesting him to come to Visalia at once, which
he did.
He said he knew nothing about the
robbers and had not seen them. |
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OBDURATE INDIANS. |
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The two Indian
trailers were on the streets nearly all day today. Both wore overalls and
cotton shirts. One of the Indians had on a pair of Evans' overalls that were
found by him at the robbers' camp last Sunday. Both Indians were bare-headed,
and their heavy growth of black hair hung down to their necks. They wore turkey
handkerchiefs around their necks. The Indians were objects of great interest to
the residents and were almost constantly surrounded by groups of spectators.
The Indians, however, did not like their notoriety, and when a crowd gathered
around them they would get up, giving a guttural utterance of intense disgust,
would leave for some less frequented spot.
The
two Indians are splendid specimen, of physical manhood, and as trailers they
were a great success. They trailed the robbers from place to place and never
made a mistake. Their services will be needed in the hunt for the bandits, but
they could not be induced to remain here for any monetary consideration.
Detectives Smith and Thacker, ex-sheriff Dan Overall,
James and Milton Wagy of Tulare, John Broder and ex-City Marshall Gilliam and
an Examiner representative and others left for the hills this evening. They
were well armed, and equipped for a prolonged chase. |
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RIDDLED WITH SHOT. |
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Sheriff Kay and
E.A. Gilliam returned to this city this afternoon from a trip through the
Sanger country. They were not in the hills when the fight took place, and knew
none of the particulars of the ambuscade until they reached Sanger last
night.
V.C. Wilson's remains were taken to
Tucson, Arizona, tonight by Frank Burke, where the funeral will take
place.
Wilson's body was completely riddled with
small bullets, no less than 125 being counted.
The remains of A. McGinnis were taken to Modesto this morning by his
brother-in-law. McGinnis's face was horribly mutilated by the gun shots. Over
thirty-five bullet wounds were counted in his body.
Fred Witty, who was shot in the neck, left this
morning for his home in Modesto. His wound is not serious. |
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_____
THE
INQUEST.
_____ |
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Details of the Battle
at the Turner
House Brought Out. |
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[Special to the Examiner.]
VISALIA, September 14 - At 7:30 this morning Coroner
T.W. Pendergrass began to impanel the jury to inquire into the cause of the
death of the murdered officers. At 8 o'clock the jury met in the undertaking
parlors and viewed the bodies.
The following are
the names of the jury: G.S. Voyle, Spier Jackson, J.H. Woody, T.E. Henderson,
H. Nuttall, E.W. Holland, T.H. Stonsland, B.M. Smith, B.S. Richardson, H.
Levinson, C.E. Coughran and G.L. Bliss.
During
the viewing of the bodies several of the jurymen became faint and had to retire
a moment to fresh air. At 8:30 the jury retired to Judge Holder's office to
listen to the testimony of the witnesses. |
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F.J. Burke of Yuma,
A.T., was the first to testify. He said:
I am a
Deputy Sheriff at present. Was at Young's house yesterday when the shooting
occurred. Went to buy some potatoes and was with Al Witty. Saw Wilson and
McGinnis shot dead. Saw smoke issue from the window of the house. Wilson and
McGinnis were from seven to ten yards from the door when they were killed. I
was from fifteen to twenty yards behind them. Saw both Evans and Sontag. Saw
both Wilson and McGinnis fall. The shots came from inside of the house. The
descriptions I have heard of Evans and Sontag answer those of the men who did
the shooting. I saw Evans very plainly.
Both
Evans and Sontag got their man when they shot. Evans was soon after shooting at
me. There was a third party in the house shooting, but the killing was done by
Evans and Sontag.
V.C. Wilson lived in Tucson,
Arizona. He was a detective of the Southern pacific Company. He has a wife and
child in Tucson. He was about thirty-six or thirty-eight tears of age. He came
to Texas when he was four years old. He is an American.
I met Mr. McGinnis when living, and recognize him as
one of the dead men. He told me he was a married man. The shooting occurred
between 10 and 11 o'clock yesterday. |
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Testimony of
Detective Smith:
I know Mr. McGinnis. We were at
Young's house on Pine Ridge at 11 o'clock yesterday. Most of us dismounted at
the fence.
The members of our party were the two
Yuma Indians, Pelon and Cameno Dulce, A.W. McGinnis, Vic Wilson, Fred, better
known as Al, Witty, Warren Hill, Frank Burke and myself. The house was made of
logs. There is a door and a small window in front. McGinnis took his rifle.
Wilson left his shotgun and Witty also left his.
When the shooting began my horse commenced bucking. I saw Wilson fall across
McGinnis. When I saw the bodies soon after Wilson was lying partly across
McGinnis. The rifle of McGinnis had one blank shell in it.
When my horse threw me I got behind a tree.
I
saw Evans stealing up firing at me. Then he stopped and fired at Burke. The
Indians were some sixty yards away and fired.
I
went into the house and found a shotgun. It was a 12-gauge gun. There was a
small sack, like a hunting bag that can be hung over the shoulder, lying near
the shotgun. The gun had two empty shells in it. The window pane was shattered.
There was a shot by the window, as though someone had been sitting there
looking out of the window. The bag had 200 wire cartridges loaded with No. 1
shot in it, and also some cartridges that could be used for a pistol or rifle.
There is one door in the front of the house and also a small window. I was at
this house three days before and say {saw} the young boys. It is a log house
and has corn growing on three sides.
Soon after
the shooting I saw a man in the house named Mainwarden. He is an Englishman. I
saw smoke issuing from the window. There is a window in each end of the house,
but there was no firing from these windows. It would have done no good to have
fired from these windows, as it could not have been in the direction of the
posse.
I saw Vic Wilson fall. I rushed for my
horse to get my gun. I did not see Evans and Sontag until I saw them behind a
log.
The Englishman came to the door and said
"there is no one here." We covered him with our guns and made him come up to
us. There is corn growing on each end of the house and on the back. I did not
see what became of Evans and Sontag. There is only one door in the
house. |
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Deputy Sheriff G.W.
Witty was called. He said:
I knew McGinnis. His
name was A.W. McGinnis. He was a Deputy Sheriff of Stanislus County. He leaves
a wife and daughter, who reside in San Francisco at 906 McAllister
street. |
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The next witness was
E. Mainwarden, the Englishman. He is about thirty years of age, with dark red
hair and a full, short beard. He was dressed in a short, peculiar-looking
ulster and tight-fitting pantaloons. His testimony was as follows:
I was at Young's house in Fresno yesterday. I live
near them and keep my tools in their house because my house is very small. I
went to Young's at 9:30 yesterday morning. The door was shut when I went in.
Evans made me acquainted with Sontag. The Young boys were not there. The house
has a loft in it. I was up in the loft to get some wax to put on my young
trees. There was no one in the loft. Evans told me to get some breakfast. He
said they had been without blankets for three nights.
Evans asked me if I had seen a posse looking for them.
I told him I had seen some men on Sunday. They did not talk very much. One read
from a book and the other had a paper. They each had two shotguns. Sontag kept
his on his lap. Each had on pistols. Evans sat near the window all the time.
The young boys were not there. I live half a mile from Young's place.
I made some bread. As I was taking it out of the oven
Evans ordered me to get some water. He said: "If you look back or give us away,
we will shoot you." I went for water to the spring 100 yards from the house. It
is a little uphill to the spring. They kept me covered with a gun as I walked
toward the spring.
I lay down when the shooting
began. I saw none of the shots. Saw the smoke. Could not see the men fall. Had
not got to the spring when the shooting began. As I walked toward the spring I
waved my hand close to my side.
Saw one man
approaching the house. Was afraid to sing out anything. I lay on the ground for
some time. I saw the robbers going away.
When I
got back to the house the dark man was still alive. He had on a corduroy suit.
This man had eaten supper with me at my cabin some time before. He seemed
somewhat lost.
I saw Evans and Sontag leave
through the corn. Could not say whether Evans or Sontag was hurt. Saw the gun
left at the house. It was a shotgun. It was standing between the door and the
window. The house is not very large. I saw the window pane was broken. It was
not broken when I left to get the water. Looked like it was broken by a shot. I
was upstairs before the shooting occurred. Evans or Sontag did not say there
would be any shooting.
The Young boys do not
lock the house. We do not lock our houses up there.
I saw Evans and Sontag running from the house after
the shooting was over. Did not notice what kind of guns they had. One was ahead
of the other. The tall man was ahead. The window has six panes.
I saw Wilson coming up to the house before the
shooting. I was badly scared. I came back after I saw Evans and Sontag leave. I
was unarmed.
I would not have gone into the
house in the first place if I had known Evans and Sontag were there. I met
Evans twice before the shooting. I did not know Sontag
before. |
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When Mainwarden had
finished his testimony he arose and stood by the table. He wanted to know why
the officers had put him in jail like a prisoner.
Doctor Pendergrass politely informed him that he had
nothing to do with that, for it was the business of the officers.
Deputy Sheriff Russell escorted Mr. Mainwarden back to
the County Jail, and he was released a few minutes later.
Here the courtroom was cleared of spectators and the
jury proceeded to deliberate upon a verdict.
The
substance of the verdict the jury was that V.C. Wilson, a resident of Tucson,
Arizona, and A.W. McGinnis, a resident of San Francisco, came to their death
from shotgun wounds at the hands of Chris Evans and John Sontag, at the
residence of Mr. Young on Pine Ridge, at or near Sampson's Flat, in Fresno
county, on the 13th day of September, 1982. |
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_________
ON THE BANDITS'
TRAIL
_________ |
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Discovery of a Rifle
Pit Prepared by the
Fugitives. |
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[Special to the
Examiner]
FRESNO, September 14. - Deputy Coroner
L.O. Stephens and Dr. J.L. Maupin returned from Dunlap and Sampson's Fat (Flat)
at 7:30 o'clock this evening.
Stephens left here
yesterday with Sheriff Hensley and posse to hold an inquest on the bodies of
the men killed by Evans and Sontag.
Stephens
told your correspondent that Sheriff Hensley is confident that the robbers are
still in the vicinity of Sampson's Flat. When he left Mill Creek, two miles
above Dunlap, Sheriff Hensley and posse were examining their guns and
ammunition and preparing to go in pursuit of the robbers, who are supposed to
be in the near vicinity of Sampson's Flat.
Hensley has with him eight trusty men, all officers. Beside himself there are
in the posse Constable McFatter of Selma, formerly Sheriff of Butte county;
Constables Pack and Ashman of Fresno and Constable Hill of Sanger; and deputy
Sheriffs Ed McCardle and W.J. Pickett of Fresno.
Stephens reported this evening that a rifle pit made by Evans and Sontag had
been found in the side of the mountain in the vicinity of Sampson's Flat. The
pit had been dug in the ground and was not accessible except from one
direction. Provisions were found in the pit, and it is believed the robbers
made it to retreat to in a last extremity. The location of the pit was selected
with great care, and two men in it with plenty of provisions and ammunition
could defend themselves against any number of men, so difficult is it of
access. It is one mile above where the fight occurred. Rocks for breastwork
were placed in front of the pit, which was in every way very strongly
fortified. To resist all attempts at capture seems to be the determination of
the robbers. Sheriff Hensley is aware of the character of the men he has to
deal with. He said today when making preparations to start after Evans and
Sontag that he would command his men to shoot on sight of the robbers and take
no chances.
Stephens had a long talk with Hill
concerning the fight at Young's house. He said only two men were killed. When
Hill sent word that four men were shot he meant that two men were killed and
two others shot but not killed. Witty was one of the men shot, and Evans was
also supposed to have been shot.
Evans in his
flight left his shotgun, but took Wilson's Winchester rifle, but none of
Wilson's ammunition.
Stephens and Dr. Maupin
were prepared to hold the inquest and bring the corpses to Fresno. They were
surprised on reaching Dunlap to learn that Smith and the whole party, including
the trailers and the dead bodies, had gone to Visalia. No reasons for such
actions could be ascertained. Why Smith should leave Young's house and rifle
pit entirely in the hands of Evans and Sontag is not explained. He knew
Sampson's Flat was in Fresno county and that he had no right to take the
corpses to Visalia.
Sheriff Hensley and posse
are well-armed with Winchester rifles, revolvers and shotguns. Shotgun
cartridges carry twenty buckshot to the charge.
Evans' track is easy to distinguish, as his shoe sole is worn in two and makes
a peculiar track.
Stephens left Sheriff Hensley
at 11 o'clock this morning and returned to Fresno. He thinks the Visalia
inquest is illegal, as Smith had no right to take the bodies there.
F.M. Miller of the Grangers' warehouse in this city
said today that Chris Evans is a fatalist and believes no power can kill him
until the time set for his death arrives. Evans worked for Miller in his
warehouse in Tulare in 1877. Miller states he observed at the time Evans had
peculiar notions. He was a total disbeliever in any hereafter and was sort of
an anarchist. |
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________
WILL THE
GOVERNOR COMPLY?
________ |
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Mr. Town Wants Him To
Proclaim the
Robbers As Outlaws. |
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There was not much
talked about at Fourth and Townsend streets yesterday outside of the killing of
Wilson and McGinnis by Evans and Sontag.
Early
in the day Detective Hickey of the company sent to General manager A.N. Towne a
telegram stating that there was no doubt that Clark Moore, an employee of the
flume company, who at one time had mined at Sampson's Flat with Evans and
Sontag, had apprised the latter of the approach of Wilson and his posse. He saw
the posse half an hour before it reached Young's house and ran on in advance of
it in the direction of Young's house. Hickey is sure the fellow warned Evans
and Sontag.
Hickey's telegram also stated that
Wilson and his posse were going to Young's house to leave a note for John
Broder of Visalia, telling him where to meet the posse Tuesday night, Broder
having gone to Visalia on Monday with that understanding. At the time the
members of the posse knew Evans and Sontag had been at Coffy's house the night
before, and it was their intention, after going to Young's house, to surround
Sampson's Flat and stay there Tuesday night.
The
sudden attack of Evans and Sontag on Wilson and comrades is spoken of in
Hickey's telegram in the same manner as published in yesterday's Examiner. He
thinks there is not much doubt that Frank Burke hit Evans during the
shooting.
Later in the day Mr. Cowan had a
consultation with President Valentine of Wells, Fargo & Co,. and they
jointly sent a telegram to Governor Markham requesting him to issue a
proclamation declaring Evans and Sontag outlaws and warning people not to
harbor them. They also requested him to increase the $300 reward now offered by
the State for their capture, and in closing their communication stated that the
affair had assumed such serious proportions as to warrant him in taking the
steps outlined.
Andrew McGinnis, another of the
murdered men, was a resident of this city, living with his wife and daughter at
890 MCAllister street. Since last March he has been selling cigars for Paul
Friedman of 519 and 521 Jackson street. From the records on file with the
company it appears that V.C.Wilson, one of the men who were shot, went to work
for the company in 1890, as its special agent for Arizona and New Mexico, with
head quarters at Tucson. He succeeded R.H. Paul on the recommendation of that
gentleman when he became United States Marshal for Arizona. Mr. Paul in
recommending Mr. Wilson said he was as brave, sober and honest a man as could
be found in the country. He was thirty-three-years-old, a native of Virginia,
being a son of Dr. Samuel Wilson of that State. He was raised in the family of
Governor Coke of Texas, now one of the Lone Star State's United States
Senators. During President Cleveland's administration he was appointed Chief of
Mounted Customs Inspectors along the Mexican border, serving four years. He
leaves a wife and child at Tucson, and a host of friends all over the Southwest
and in California who will remember him for his manly bearing and high sense of
honor at all times.
Mr. Friedman, in speaking
about him yesterday, said: "He was a splendid fellow and a good salesman, and
early in the month I tried to persuade him to remain with me and not go on the
hunt for the robbers. But the reward was a large one, and knowing the country
well, he thought he could bring the robbers in dead or alive. When he left he
said to my bookkeeper that he was going on a hunting trip."
McGinnis was a native of Ohio and lived at or near
Modesto for a great many years. For a long time he was a deputy under constable
Perres, and in trying to arrest a negro on one occasion killed him after the
negro had first shot at him. He was considered a fearless fellow and a fine
shot. His body was sent up to Modesto from Visalia yesterday, and his wife and
daughter left here last night for the same place. |
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__________ |
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Wilson's brother bent On
Vengeance. |
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It was Vernon E.
Wilson who was killed by the train robbers, Sontag and Evans, during the fight
with a posse yesterday, and not Victor Wilson, as telegraphed accounts had
it.
The dead man was a nephew of United states
Senator Coke of Texas, and this morning Walter E. Wilson, a brother of the
deceased, arrived from Alaska on one of the incoming steamers.
The latter first learned of his brother's death when
he reached San Francisco, and as quickly as he possibly could travel Wilson
rushed down to Fourth and Townsend streets and called on the officials at that
place. He explained who he was and was at once fitted out with arms and
ammunition.
Wilson is now on his way to Fresno
to avenge his brother's death. He will join a posse and is determined to stay
in the fight until the robbers are rounded up or either he or they are
killed.
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