USA > California > Sacramento County > An illustrated history of Sacramento County, California : containing a history of Sacramento County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future portraits of some of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also prominent citizens of today > Part 11
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On April 1, 1875, a horse-race was run near Roseville. David Turley, a sheep-herder, was present as a spectator. He had been drinking very freely, and was on horseback. W. H. Shaw, a farın laborer, was also present, quite in- toxicated. He was on foot, and applied an epithet to Turley, who pulled a pistol and shot him dead. Turley rode to Roseville, surrendered himself, and was brought to the county jail in Sacramento; was tried for murder, and defended by Creed Haymond. The defense was made upon the ground that the accused was so intoxi- cated as to be irresponsible for his acts; and it was shown at the trial that he had drank an in- ordinate quantity of whisky. The law, however, provides that intoxication is no excuse for the commission of crime, but can be regarded only in mitigation of punishment. Turley was con- victed and suffered the penalty of death, Febru- ary 25, 1876.
At about 8 o'clock on the evening of Decem- ber 7, 1878, a bright moonlight night, just back
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on Seventeenth street, between I and J, a pistol shot was heard; but no investigation was made, and the result was not known until the next morning, when the body of a policeman, Joseph Scott, was found lying upon the sidewalk. He had been shot through the heart, and from the blood marks it was ascertained that he had passed across the street after having received the wound.
For many years the murder remained a mys- tery. The only clne was that a citizen in the block, on hearing the shot, looked from his window and saw four men running, one of whom wore a long, white coat. Several years after- ward a convict named James Ivey, in the San Quentin State Prison, informed the authorities that three men then confined in the prison were the persons who had committed the crime, and that he had overheard them detail the particu- lars of it. On the expiration of the terms of these three men, they were brought to Sacra- mento, where two of them made a full con- fession. They had been in former years inmates of the State Prison, and on the night of the kill- ing of Scott had, in company with another ex- convict named Edwards, arrived in the city on a freight train from Marysville. The ride was stolen, and as the train slowed up about Twen- tieth street they jumped off and started through the city, with the understanding that they would rob the first person whom they met. There had been a fire at the Protestant Orphan Asylum, at Nineteenth and L streets, earlier on that even- ing, and Officer Scott had been detailed to watch the ruins. He was passing through Seventeenth street when these four inen overtook him, and in an attempt to rob him he resisted and Ed- wards drew a revolver and shot him, as de- scribed. The men did not stop to search the body, but ran away from the city and continued on to Stockton, and finally three of them arrived in Sonoma County. There they burglarized the house of Judge W. C. Wallace, who apprehended them, and they were sent to the State Prison. While serving this sentence the authorities re- ceived the information of their complicity in the murder of Scott.
They were put upon trial at Sacramento, be- fore Judge A. Van R. Paterson, then a superior judge, but now a justice of the State Supreme Court. Two of the accused, as we have stated, mnade full confessions, and were permitted to plead guilty of murder in the first degree, with the understanding that their punishment should be life imprisonment. The third one stoutly refused to confess, and exhibited feelings of in- dignation because the other two had. Finally the authorities proposed to him to plead guilty as the others had. He accepted it and received a life sentence.
Edwards, who fired the fatal shot, is now in an Eastern penitentiary, and will be brought here for trial as soon as his terin expires.
The case of Troy Dye and Edward Anderson was one of the most remarkable in the annals of crime.
On the morning of Angust 2, 1878, A. M. Tullis, a wealthy fruit-raiser on Grand Island, in the lower part of the county, was found dead in his orchard, with a bullet-hole through his body. He was a bachelor, aged about fifty-five years, and had lived alone upon his ranch. There was apparently no motive for the murder, as no property had been taken, and for a time the officers were at sea to unravel the mystery. At length pieces of new redwood lumber were found in the tules on the opposite side of the river, a little lower down; and from the indica- tions they were portions of a duck-boat. Upon one of the pieces were figures used in calcula- tions of lumber measurement. These boards were secured by the officers, and the pieces con- taining figures were taken to the various lumn- ber-yards in Sacramento, and a salesman at one of the yards identified them as having been made by himself. It was developed subse- quently that Anderson had purchased the lum- ber; that the salesman liad figured the number of feet in the purchase upon the smooth side of a board; that Anderson's curiosity was aroused as to how the determination could be made in a manner so simple; that the salesman had re- peated the figuring npon one of the boards
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which Anderson had purchased. The officers then found the drayman who had taken the lumber from the yard, and discovered that he had delivered it at the house of Dye.
The information from the neighbors showed that a boat was made in the basement of that honse, and the expressman was found who had taken the boat to the river. Parties along the river had observed an unpainted boat contain- ing two men passing down, and their descrip- tions were obtained. Upon this information a clue was based which resulted in the arrest of Dye and Anderson, the third party being then unknown. They were confined in separate jails, and they confessed fully concerning the crime.
Dye had been elected to, and was then hold- ing, the office of public administrator. It was ascertained from their confessions that soon after his election he had entered into an arrange- ment with Anderson and Tom Lawton; to kill certain wealthy persons who had no relatives in the State, to enable Dye to administer upon their estate and receive the commissions. He, of course, was to divide the spoils with those who killed for him. Tullis was the first victim selected. Anderson and Lawton went to Tul- lis's ranch in the duck-boat, and met Tullis in his orchard. They had never met him before, but he had been fully described to them by Dye. While in conversation with him, Ander- son struck him with a sand-bag, and Lawton shot him. They then rowed to the opposite side of the river, and started up the road. By appointment Dye met them on the way up in a buggy, the signal of his approach being that he should whistle the tune "Sweet Bye and Bye." They returned to the city and took oysters, and Anderson on the same night rode up to Sutter County, where he had been employed on a threshing-machine, and resumed his work there. It was understood between them that in case there should be danger a letter should be written to him, signed by a fictitious name, and that the name should be underscored with one line or more, to indicate the degree of danger.
On August 8, 1878, a letter was sent to An- derson from Sacramento, reading as follows:
JOHN A. PARKER, EsQ .:- Your child is very sick. You must come home at once. It would be well to come down in the night. It would be so much cooler for you. Call at the Doctor's new house. I will be there.
Yours in haste, CHARLES PARKER.
The signature was donbly underscored. On the receipt of this note Anderson came down on horseback, and was arrested by officers who were watching his house. Lawton fled, and has never been captured. Dye was tried first, and An- derson next. Both were convicted of murder in the first degree, sentenced to be hanged, and were executed in the county jail-yard on March 28, 1879.
A fourth party, named Clark, was tried for complicity in the murder, but was acquitted.
The defense of Dye was made upon the ground that he had years before received an injury which caused a lesion of his brain, and conse- quent insanity. There was a division of opin- ion among medical witnesses on the subject. After his conviction a sheriff's jury was called to determine the question of his insanity, and the verdict was against him. That question at- tracted considerable attention in the medical world, and was elaborately discussed in quite a number of pamphlets subsequently issued.
Abont 4 o'clock on the afternoon of April 10, 1882, a tragedy occurred in the city which created the wildest excitement.
A Siberian named Simon Ratan had some misunderstanding with a man which resulted in his being beaten. He applied for a warrant of arrest for the party, but was refused. He then procured a revolver, songht out the party and met him at the corner of Fourth and K streets. He shot at him, without effect, and ran away, pursued by a large number of people. While passing through the alley between Kand L and Third and Fourth streets, and as he reached the rear of the International Hotel, James Lansing, the proprietor, came out into the alley in front of Ratan and attempted to stop him. Ratan
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leveled his revolver at Lansing and shot him iu the stomach.
Lansing had been a sheriff of the county and also assessor; his standing in the community was high and his friends many, and the news of his being shot spread over the city like wild- fire, and the city prison in which Ratan had been lodged was surrounded by a large number of people, who threatened summary vengeance upon Ratan. Lansing died that evening, in great agony, and several thousand people im- mediately surrounded the prison. It seemed that a riot was imminent. The mayor of the city addressed the crowd, urging them to return to their homes and allow the law to deal with the offender. His appeal was of no avail. The military were summoned and they drove the mob from the immediate vicinity of the prison, and established a guard line about it. A Gat- ling gun was placed in the prison door, fully prepared for service in an emergency. A dis- persal was effected. A month later Ratan was placed on trial for his life, the jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to be hung.
About the same time Joseph Hurtado shot and killed a man named Estuardo, at Front and I streets. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to be hung. The attorneys for Ratan and Hurtado appealed their cases to the Supreme Court of the State, without avail. Then their cases were appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, upon the point that au informa- tion filed by a district attorney under the pro- visions of the State Constitution was void; and that no man could be put upon trial for a felony except after having been indicted by the grand jury. It was claimed that the State constitu- tion was repugnant to the United States con- stitution. The Federal Supreme Court, in an elaborate opinion, held that the point was not well taken, and the parties were re-sentenced to death. Subsequently doubts as to the sanity of Ratan were entertained, and the Governor com- muted his sentence to imprisonment for life.
After confinement in the State Prison for a time, he proved to be insane, and is now in one of the asylums for the insane.
Hurtado was consumptive, and he died of that disease in the tonnty jail before the day ar- rived for his execution. He had been a hotel runner, but was a man of quarrelsome disposi- tion, although of sacrificing fidelity to his friends. On one occasion he saved the life of a friend at the risk of his own. Some years ago he had a difficulty with a man named Denny, and the lat- ter was killed. He was put on trial for the mur- der of Denny, but was acquitted. The night before his trial he had married, and the defense for the killing of Estuardo was because of the infidelity of that wife.
In March, 1888, John Lowell, a well-known rancher, left his home near Brighton to visit another ranch in El Dorado County, about seven miles from Folsom. He was missing for sev- eral weeks, and search was made for him, and on June 2 his remains were found buried in a cellar under his house. It was subsequently ascertained that three men, John Henry Myers, John Olsen and William Drager had borrowed a team at Sacramento, driven up to Lowell's ranch, ostensibly to engage in wood-cutting; and that while they were going out to look at the wood one of them shot and killed Lowell with a shot- gun, and disposed of his body as indicated. The motive for the crime was to steal a buggy and some horses and harnesses from Lowell. They returned with their plunder to Sacramento, and disposed of it openly. They were arrested, made full confession, taken to Placerville, tried, con- victed and sentenced to death. Myers was exe- cuted November 30, 1888. The other two appealed their cases to the Supreme Court, and are (April, 1889), still awaiting the decision.
Lowell, the murdered man, a few years before had a difficulty with some parties at Brighton, and he shot and killed Joseph Powers. He was placed upon trial for murder, and the jury ac- quitted him.
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"POLITICAL.+
CHAPTER XI.
N 1854, during the rapid decay of the old Whig party and the uprising of the anti- slavery party into prominence, and when the struggles in "bleeding Kansas" constituted the Inost exciting topics of political discussion, a Democratic convention was held at the Fonrth Street Baptist Church in Sacramento, at 3 o'clock P. M., Tuesday, July 18. Some time before the hour for the meeting, the doors of the church were surrounded by a large assemblage of per- sons, many of whom were not delegates; and as soon as the doors were opened the church, which was estimated to afford accommodation for about 400 persons, was filled to its utmost capacity.
D. C. Broderick, the chairman of the State Committee, ascended the platform, and was re- ceived with loud and continued cheering. On his calling the convention to order, several dele- gates instantly sprang to the floor for the pur- pose of nominating candidates for temporary chairman. Broderick recognized T. L. Vermule as having the floor; but before the announce- ment was made, John O'Meara proposed ex- Governor John McDongal for chairman pro tem. Vermule nominated Edward McGowan for the position. Broderick stated that he could not recognize O'Meara's motion, and put the question on McGowan's election, and declared that it had carried. McGowan instantly mounted the stand, closely followed by MeDougal, whose friends insisted that he had been selected al- though his name had not been submitted to the
convention in regular form. The two chairmen took seats side by side, and a scene of inde- scribable confusion and tumult ensued. When something like order was restored, MeDougal read the names Major G. W. Hook and John Bidwell as vice-presidents; and McGowan an- nounced J. T. Hall and A. T. Laird as his ap- pointees for those offices. Again a scene of extreme confusion occurred; but the gentlemen named seated themselves with their respective leaders. Two sets of secretaries and comunit- tees were then appointed, and reports were made to each side recommending that the temporary officers be declared permanently elected. Mo- tions were made to adopt the reports, and amid the greatest excitement they were declared car- ried.
This donble-headed convention sat until about 9 o'clock in the night. No further business was transacted but each side tried to " sit " the other ont. Two sickly candles, one in front of each president, lighted up the scene. The trustees of the church finally relieved both sides by stat- ing that they could not tolerate the riotons crowd longer in the building, and the delegates left without a formal adjournment.
The session throughout was like pandemonium let loose. Soon after the organization, a rush was made by the crowd to the stage. One of the officers was scized, and at that instant a pistol exploded in the densely crowded room. A mad rush was made for the doors, and a por-
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tion of the delegates made a precipitate retreat through the windows to the ground-a distance of some fifteen feet. Toward night Governor Bigler was called to the stand and he made a conciliatory speech, but without effect.
On the 19th, the wing presided over by Me- Dougal, and which represented the " chivalry," or Southern element, of the party, met at Musical Hall; and the MeGowan or Tammany branch, representing the Northern element, met in Car- penter's building. The officers of the chivalry wing resigned, and Major Hook was elected President, and H. P. Barber, William A. Man- nerly, A.W. Taliaferro and J. G. Downey, Viee- Presidents. A communication was received from the other convention asking that a com- mittee of conference be appointed, with a view of settling the disagreement; but the language of the communication was regarded as offensive, and it was withdrawn for the purpose of chang- ing the phraseology. Afterward a second note, almost similar to the first, was sent in; but it was flatly rejected.
After nominating candidates for Congress and for clerk of the Supreme Court, and passing resolutions favoring the construction of the At- lantic & Pacific Railroad under the auspices of Congress and indorsing the Nebraska bill, etc., they levied an assessment of $5.00 per delegate to repair the damages to the church building. The convention also appointed a State Central Committee.
The McGowan wing met at 9:30 A. M. on the 19th, that gentleman continuing to act as the presiding officer. A committee of seven was appointed to invite the MeDougal convention to attend, and the committee were empowered to arrange the difficulties. A recess was taken until 1 o'clock to give the committee time to act. On the re-assembling of the convention the committee reported that they had sent the following communication to the MeDougal con- vention, and that the proposition therein con- tained had been rejected.
"JOHN MCDOUGAL, EsQ., Chairman of Dem- ocratic Delegates convened at Musical Hall:
Sir-The undersigned have been this morning constituted a committee, with full powers, by and on behalf of the Democratic State Conven- tion at Carpenter's Hall, for a conference with our fellow Democrats at Musical Hall, for the purpose of harmonizing and uniting the Democ- racy of California. You will be pleased to annonnce this to your body; and any commu- nication may be addressed to the chairman of this committee, at Jones's Hotel."
The committee was discharged, and the con- vention proceeded to nominate a ticket, different throughout from the one nominated by the other convention. They also adopted a series of reso- Intions alluding to the heterogeneous character of the Democratic party in this State and the subsequent differences of the convention in this city, and urged the people to adopt their ticket as the one most conciliatory. They also ap- pointed a State Central Committee. A collec- tion of $400 was taken up to repair the damages that had been done to the Baptist church on the previous day, a committee having reported that the building had been injured to that extent.
Directly after the adjournment of the conven- tions, several of the nominees withdrew from the tieket, and after the election the Tammany party ascribed their defeat to the withdrawal of Milton S. Latham from the Congressional race.
The first mass meeting of " Republicans " in California was held in Sacramento, April 19, 1856. E. B. Crocker was the leader of the new party in this county, and opened the meeting with a speech which was listened to attentively. George C. Bates was then introduced, but the general disturbance raised by the " Americans " and Democrats present prevented his voice from being heard. Henry S. Foote, previously Gov . ernor of Mississippi, then took the stand and begged the disturbers to desist and allow the meeting to proceed; but he was not heeded. The Republican speakers again attempted to talk, when suddenly a rush was made for the stand by the crowd, and it was overturned and the meeting broken up.
On the 30th of that month the first State
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Convention of the Republicans met in the Con- gregational church in Sacramento. E. B. Crocker was temporary chairman. Only thirteen counties were represented, and of the 125 delegates pres- ent sixty-six were from San Francisco and Sac- ramento. Resolutions were adopted opposing the further extension of slave territory and of slave power, welcoming honest and industrious immigrants, deprecating all attempts to preju- diee immigrants against our free institutions, favoring the speedy construction of a trans-con- tinental railroad by aid from Congress, favoring the speedy settlement of land titles in this State and the election only of bona-fide permanent settlers to office.
Early in May that year a public discussion was announced to take place at Sacramento be- tween George C. Bates, Republican, and J. C. Zabriskie, Democrat; but when the appointed time arrived no location could be procured on account of the anticipated disturbance, and the meeting was postponed until the evening of the 10th of that month. When the time arrived the discussion was commenced. Rotten eggs were thrown and fire-crackers burned to create a disturbance, but the police made several ar- rests and order was restored. After the meet- ing closed, outsiders took possession of the stand, and a resolution was adopted declaring "that the people of this city have been ont- raged by the discussion of treasonable doctrines by a public felon; and that we will not submit to such an outrage in the future."
A few days later the Sacramento Tribune (American), referring to the meeting, said: "The fact that a public discussion was per- mitted to take place in a public street in the heart of our city, in the presence of a large con- course of citizens, almost all of whom disap- prove the doctrine advocated by the speakers, and this too when it is the firm conviction of a large. majority of the persons assembled that the agitation of the slavery question as the basis of political party organization is against the trne in- terest of the State and the Nation, speaks volumes in favor of the public morals of Sacramento."
In 1865 a dissension occurred in the Union party. On the 25th of July that year it cul- minated at a county convention held at Sacra- mento. The Low and the anti-Low delegates were about equally divided in numbers. Gov- ernor Frederick F. Low was a candidate for the United States Senate, and was supported by one wing of the party. There was, however, a strong opposition to him. The convention met in the Assembly chamber in the then State capitol, now the court-house. The desks which had ordinarily occupied the floor had been removed, and a sufficient number of chairs had been placed in their stead to accommodate the 106 delegates who were expected to participate in the proceedings. As the room filled it was a noticeable fact that almost without exception the Low, or short-hair, delegates occupied the seats on the right of the speaker's chair, and the anti-Low, or long-hairs, those on the left. Im- mediately after the convention was called to order, two persons were placed in nomination for temporary secretary, and voted for. The chairman of the county committee announced W. H. Barton, the long-hair candidate, elected to the position by a viva voce vote. The con- vention was at once thrown into confusion, and the Low delegates insisted on a count of the votes. Barton advanced from the left toward the secretary's table, when the delegates from the right made a general rush to the left side of the house.
Then ensued an indescribable and a terrible scene, such as was never before witnessed in Sacramento at any political convention. Barton was intercepted before reaching the secretary's table, and told that he should not take his seat. The delegates on the left crowded up for the purpose of supporting him, as those from the right forced a solid phalanx on the front to pre- vent him from advancing. In a moment the two parties were engaged in a hand-to-hand fight. Solid hickory canes, which appeared to be abundant on both sides, were plied with vigor. Spittoons flew from side to side like bomb-shells on a battle-field. Ink-stands took
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the place of solid shot. Pistols were drawn and used as substitutes for clubs. The principal weapons, however, which were used by both sides, were the cane-bottomed arm-chairs, which were of course within the reach of every one. These implements, though not very well adapted to purposes of warfare, were swung in the air by the dozen and broken over the heads of the contending parties. In some instances chairs were broken up for the purpose of procuring the legs to use as clubs. No fire-arms were discharged and no knives were used. The fight lasted probably five minutes. At the close the anti-Low men, or long-hairs, who had rallied to the support of Barton, were driven from the field. Several jumped out through the win- dows; others who were badly hurt were assisted out of the building, while the greater portion passed into the ante-room and the main hall to find neutral ground.
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