History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 54

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660

USA > California > San Joaquin County > History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 54

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A little later Swaney, who was affected with kidney trouble, as he afterwards claimed, be- gan reading up on poisons, their action and effect. He was told that hydrocyanic acid was good for kidney complaints, and he made inquiry for the acid (prussic acid is is usually called), but there was none in town. Then he sent an order to the well-known drug store of Williams & Moore, in Stockton, for a three ounce vial of hydrocyanic acid. Swaney in due time received the poison and on his way to his office he tried to pry off the cover. In so doing the box fell from his hands to the earth, breaking all to pieces. Swaney in his testi- mony before the coroner's jury testified that he gave the box a kick with his foot and passed on. In less than two days after Swaney re- ceived the poison Searles was taken violently sick and died within an hour.

Searles' sudden death and the familiarity of Swaney and Mrs. Searles caused considerable talk. Suspicions of poison now began to fly thick and fast, and ten days after the funeral the coroner had the body exhumed, the stom- ach taken out and placed in a glass jar, tightly sealed, for examination. The coroner then sent an order to San Francisco for the chem- icals necessary to make a poison test. In the meantime the Sheriff and his deputies were busy and Sheriff Crippen sent Dorsey Rams- den, the sexton of the Odd Fellows cemetery, to search Swaney's house for vials of poison. The amateur detective was successful, for, after prying up the boards of the toilet, he found hidden beneath them a broken vial of prussic acid. Just previous to this time John Kessler, a shoemaker, while walking along the

street noticed a piece of paper lying upon the ground. Picking it up he found that it was a bill head of Odd Fellows hall, Stockton. Read- ing the contents, he found that it was Swaney's bill for prussic acid. The shoemaker took this important evidence to the coroner and he showed it to an attorney who said: "Let's go and see Swaney about this." Swaney admitted that it was his bill, and told them the story of his sickness and sending for the acid, and then letting the box fall. When the chem- icals arrived Dr. Turner sent for Dr. Buford of Coulterville to come and assist him in test- ing the stomach of Searles to see if it con- tained poison. The doctor also called in two or more witnesses. They drank considerable whiskey during the test, and during the exami- nation of Dr. Turner at Stockton Lawyer Dud- ley for the defense asked, "Did you and Bed- ford get drunk on the whiskey?" Three sepa- rate poison tests were made and the doctors declared that the presence of hydrocyanic acid was shown. After the tests were made Swaney and Mrs. Searles were arrested, in- dicted and tried for the murder of her husband. The jury disagreed and the defendant then claimed they could not get a fair and impartial trial in Mariposa, and the case was trans- ferred to this county. The trial began May 6, 1868, before Judge Cavis of the District Court and continued sixteen days. Sixty witnesses were examined, among them Judge Alexander Deering of Mariposa county. The entire pro- ceedings were published in the press, being stenographically reported by Attorney Elliott. The defense was represented by William L. Dudley, S. A. Booker and J. H. Budd of this city and Judge Jones of Mariposa. The pros- ecuiton was represented by District Attorney E. S. Pillisgury, D. W. Perley and J. Burk- holder of Mariposa. After being out seven- teen hours the jury failed to find a veridct as there was no evidence showing that either of the parties implicated had given Searles the poison. Later Swaney was acquitted and he .then married Mrs. Searles.

Executed for Stealing Horses

There are many persons today who disap- prove of legal executions even though the criminal committed a deliberate, unjustified murder. What would they say regarding a law that punished horse stealing by a death sentence. That was the law in 1852. The legislature repealed this severe law in 1853. Under this law two men were hung in Stock- ton, the only legal executions for horse steal- ing in the history of the state. You remember of reading in a former chapter of the lawless acts of 'a party of men under the leadership of Wm. Owens, the gambler. They took to the gallows a man named Wilson, whom they sus- picioned of being a horse thief, and choked

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him until he made a confession and led them to the camp of the thieves. Five men, James Wilson, Jasper Cochrane, Jerry Boland, James Neal and Frederick Salkman were arrested and taken to jail. They were all indicted for horse stealing and placed on trial. Boland and Coch- rane were each sent to the penitentiary for seven years, but James Wilson, alias Moun- tain Jim, and Frederick Salkman, alias Dutch Fred, were awarded the death punishment by the jury. They paid the "penalty of their crime on Friday afternoon, November 28, amidst an immense concourse of people," said the Times, "amongst whom we were sorry to see a large number of women." It was about three o'clock when the two men were taken to the gallows, near the Methodist Church on Washington street, near Commerce. Salkman, jumping on the platform, remarked in a loud tone of voice, "I take my place to the right, as · a soldier always should." Salkman, who was German born, came to this country in early life, and fought in the battles of Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, Cerro Gordo and Reseca de la Palma during the Mexican war. His demeanor was both bold and reck- less throughout and he seemed to be ut- terly careless of his solemn end. He de- clared "he wanted to die like a man and not like an old woman." "Mountain Jim" or Wil- son in a low tone of voice denied committing the crime for which he was being hung, "al- though he had committed many others." The two men were attended by the Rev. James Woods, and as the trap was about to be sprung Salkman exclaimed in a loud voice, "Here we go, gals." At three-thirty the signal was given and "the men were launched into eternity."

The Cold-Blooded Murderer Eleyea

The most atrocious murder ever committed in this city was that perpetrated on the even- ing of January 28, 1858, by Jacob Eleyea, the proprietor of a saloon and boarding and lodg- ing house, a low wooden building on Hunter street near the Levee. Some time previous William McWade, an Irish miner living at Mariposa decided to visit the coast. Taking with him about two thousand dollars in gold nuggets, he went to San Francisco and Oak- land, and then, with considerable money left, came to Stockton. He applied at Eleyea's for lodgings and was shown a room. He went down to the bar and took a drink and in pay- ing for it drew forth a bag of gold. McWade soon retired and was not again seen alive. The next morning he was found in the water closet, hanging.by the neck. Judging from all ap- pearances, he had hanged himself, but upon examination no abrasions, discolorations or any evidences of strangulation were found on his neck. It appeared to be a case of murder,

but who was the guilty party? A red Mexican scarf told the tale, for the stranger was hanged with a scarf belonging to Eleyea. At once suspicion was aroused and he was arrested. He denied all knowledge of the murder, and declared that he had gone to bed at twelve o'clock and had slept soundly all night, had arisen at seven o'clock and had seen nothing of McWade until he saw him dead. Other witnesses, however, at the trial of the case, swore that they had seen Eleyea at two o'clock in the morning. Blood was found on the cot where McWade had slept, and it was also found in the passageway leading from the room to the closet. Over the murder the citi- zens were deeply aroused, for it was supposed that Jake knew considerable about several murders, and when his trial came on the court- room was crowded. On that trial the jury dis- agreed, standing eleven for conviction and one for acquittal, the one man standing out because the evidence was all circumstantial.

The murderer was remanded to jail and in April, 1859, his second trial took place, Samuel A. Booker defending the accused. The prose- cuting attorney, Judge Campbell, brought for- ward several witnesses who swore to hearing a noise and disturbance in the back yard of Ele- yea's place place early in the morning, and the principal witness, a Turkish tailor who lived and worked next door, swore that in the early morning he heard stifled cries and groans. Soon after this he heard Eleyea's voice asking of his accomplices, "What shall we do with the body? It's too heavy to throw in the slough." Booker tried by every means in his power to have the Court exclude the Turk's evidence, and Judge Creanor being a man of Southern birth, Booker even went so far as to try to prejudice the Court's mind against the witness because of his dark skin .. Said the attorney "This Turk, a native of Joppa, near Jerusalem, is darker than the average of Chinamen and darker than an Indian," and he requested the Court to appoint a committee of physicians to examine him and pronounce his color and race. Absurd as such a request would appear today, it was then neither absurd nor unlawful, for there was a law upon the statute books (re- pealed by the legislature in 1862) that no col- ored man could testify against a white man, referring to negroes. But Judge Creanor, true to his duty as a judge, refused to exclude the testimony of this most important witness. The trial ocupied two days time and the case was given to the jury April 12, early in the even- ing. At that time they frequently held court sessions. at night, so many were the murder cases. The jury was out all night and the fol- lowing morning at ten o'clock they returned into the court with the following amusing ver- dict: "We the jury find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree (a death penalty)

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with a recommendation to the court for mercy.'

The Law's Delay

At the close of the week Eleyea was brought into court for sentence, and the Judge com- manding the prisoner to stand up, asked him if he had any reason to give why sentence should not be pronounced. Then from the lips of this cold-blooded wretch came the most blasphemous words ever heard in court: "I would not tempt the spirit of my God, nor seek His displeasure, but this is true, so help me Lord in Heaven! Judge, I know no more of this murder than you do." It was an awful moment and not a man in that packed room believed a word Eleyea said. Then the judge, in a solemn but firm tone of voice pronounced the criminal's doom: "Upon Friday, the third day of June next, between the hours of ten o'clock and four in the afternoon, you will hanged by the neck until you are dead." Not then did justice reach the scoundrel, for Book- er, taking the case to the Supreme Court, suc- ceeded in obtaining writ of supersedeas, giving a stay of judgment of six weeks, the writ being signed by Chief Justice David S. Terry. Re- garding the outcome of this writ I know not, but Eleyea enjoyed a Christmas dinner, for, although he had been sentenced to be hanged, Governor John M. Downey, on December 23, granted the condemned man a respite until January 13, 1866. Booker, unceasingly labor- ing to save his client from the gallows, had cir- culated a petition, which a large number of cit- izens had signed, praying the governor to commute Eleyea's sentence to imprisonment for life. As the fatal day, the thirteenth drew near, Eleyea gave up all hope and the officials made ready for the execution, but Booker was not idle, and on the evening of the twelfth of January, the sheriff, by telegraph, received word from the Governor that another respite until March 9, would be sent on the morrow. Eleyea had been over two years in jail. Gover- nor Downey refused any more respites and on March 9 justice was satisfied. On that morn- ing as Sheriff O'Neal entered Jake's cell, he handed the sheriff the ends of several matches. Eleyea having been given the matches to light his pipe. Jake said he had saved the poison- ous end to kill himself. But when the sheriff inquired, "Why didn't you eat them, Jake?" he replied "Having made my peace with God, I could not reconcile the act with my own con- science."

About four o'clock the criminal was taken from his cell to suffer for his crime, and stand- ing upon the gallows, just before the black cap was drawn over his head, he made another speech. "The Turk," he declared, "has been the cause of all this trouble and expense to the state, and he has sworn my life away !- and my friends, I hope for you all when you come

to die that you may enjoy happiness and con- solation in the Lord Jesus Christ, as I do to- day." After making this speech the cap was placed over his head, the trap was sprung and his neck was broken. In twenty minutes the physicians declared him dead. The body was then cut down, placed in a coffin and carried to the Methodist church, where the pastor preached a funeral discourse. Then Eleyea's San Francisco friends, who had been putting up the coin for his defense, had him buried in the city burial ground, just east of where the Southern Pacific depot now stands. From the time of his first sentence to death by Judge Creanor, Eleyea had been frequently visited by two pastors, the Rev. John B. Hill of the Methodist denomination and the Rev. Clark King, and he became very religious.

This brutal murder has always been some- thing of a mystery, and today it is not known positively how McWade was murdered. From indications and appearances it is supposed that Eleyea, with two accomplices, strangled Mc- Wade in his bedroom with the scarf. Blood flowed from his mouth, and this was found on the cot and in the hall, where they dragged the insensible man to the closet. There he partly came to, hence the cries and groans heard by the Turk, and one witness swore that he heard the pleading cry, "My God, don't kill me." While Eleyea was lying in jail awaiting his sentence, there were confined with him fourteen persons arrested for horse-stealing, Greene C, Palmer, accused of murdering John Benson; William Crawford, charged with kill- ing John B. Lewis; and William Crosson, ac- cused of the murder of John V. Ford.

The Murder at the "Snug"

It seems that Crawford, who had been cele- brating the Fourth of July, 1859, pretty freely, rode to a saloon on the Mokelumne River known as the "Snug" and there found four men playing cards. Crawford wanted to take a hand, but they refused to admit him, and this made him angry. Soon after the refusal a boy fired a firecracker, and Crawford, exclaiming, "If there is any shooting going on I will take a hand," drew his pistol and fired at the bar- keeper. The bullet went wild of its mark, and then Crawford turning round, fired at Lewis, one of the card players. The ball entered his breast and Lewis died in ten minutes. The murderer then, holding out his revolver, said : "Does anyone want to shoot me?" The attendants were paralyzed and Crawford mounted his horse and escaped in the night. Two days later he was caught near Cham- berlain's Ferry on the San Joaquin River, and when arrested by Constable L. F. Neeley of Woodbridge and William Brown of Dry Creek, said he was shooting wild and accidentally hit Lewis. "I suppose I will be hung or shot,"

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he said, adding, "anything rather than San Quentin." The body of Lewis was borne into town and a funeral discourse was preached by Rev. McDonald of the Episcopal Church. It was a singular coincident that, as the funeral procession was entering the town on the north, Crawford's capturers were coming from the south, bringing him bound in a wagon. Crawford lay in jail until October, at which time the Grand Jury met. They found an indictment against him for murder, and in De- cember his trial took place. The defendant was represented by Oscar M. Brown, who two years later joined Conner's regiment as a lieutenant colonel, and Lewis Dent, a brother- in-law of U. S. Grant. The district attorney, Judge Jenkins, was assisted by S. A. Booker and John B. Hall and Colonel Huggins. It was a short trial, lasting one day, and the jury, retiring at nine o'clock in the evening, brought · in its verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. This meant death by hanging, as the jury then could not, as now, fix a sentence of life imprisonment for murder. -

Crosson's Murder of Ford

On the previous day Crosson had received a similar sentence for the murder of John J. Ford on the San Joaquin River near Harbin's Ferry. On September 5, 1859, Crosson called to see Ford, and they had a fight over a debt for potatoes, Crosson having owed the debt about two years. Crosson got the worst of the difficulty, and declared: "I will get even with you." Ford replied: "I have two guns at the house, if you want to fight. Crosson de- clined to engage in a duel and went away. Soon afterward, meeting a friend, the latter exclaimed, "There is blood on your face." "Yes," replied Crosson, "I had a difficulty with Ford, and no man can live who has drawn blood on me." The following day Crosson filled up with liquor and while in a fighting mood he called on Ford, gun in hand, and shot him, killing him at the first fire. Crosson then fled, but he was captured the next day and placed in that little brick jail that has confined so many murderers. He also was tried in the December term of the District Court, making three murder trials and two convictions in three days. Crosson employed Booker to defend him, and the district attor- ney was assisted by Lewis Dent, who in fact conducted the case, for Jenkins' knowledge of law was limited. Dent, who the following day lost his case as the defender of a mur- derer, now won the case as the prosecutor, for the jury after being out less than two hours, brought in a verdict of guilty. To save Cros- son's life Booker tried the same tactics as in the Eleyea case, and circulated a petition that Crosson be imprisoned for life. This called forth a protest from the local editor, who

asked: "What is the tendency of this faint- hearted leaning to the side of mercy?" Craw- ford and Crosson, three days after Christmas, 1859, were brought into court and by Judge Creanor sentenced to be hanged February 17, 1860.

From the time of their sentence until the passed hence, the two men were visited by Revs. Hill, King and McDonald. From early morn on that fatal day these ministers prayed with the doomed man. Near the hour of three the sheriff and his deputies entered the cell to prepare the men for the fatal drop. They were led into the jail yard, and the bright sun was slowly sinking in the west as the prisoners slowly but firmly ascended the gal- lows. About forty persons were present by invitation to watch the awful scene while every vantage point outside the jail was cov- ered with people. Housetops, trees and she were black with morbid beings anxious to see two men pass into eternity. Even the passers upon the streets waited, for the terrible sight could be seen from the street.

At the schoolhouse on Center Street the boys in the grammar grade, under intense nerv- ous strain, studied hard to get their lessons so that they might not be detained after three o'clock. Every boy that afternoon had his lesson, and when school closed with a whoop and a yell we ran all the way to the jail "to see the hanging." As we arrived we saw two men upon a gallows, their lips and faces blood- less, and ropes around their necks. The sher- iff was then reading to them the death war- rant and, after he had finished, Crawford, turn- ing to his companion said, "Bill, how do you feel?" "I feel well; I am ready," Crosson re- plied. When the deputy tied Crosson's hands tightly behind him, he complained, and Craw- ford remarked, "It won't hurt you very long, Bill; you can stand it." "Oh, yes, that's all right," he answered. The men thanked the sheriff and the ministers for all favors and kindly acts, the black caps were drawn over their heads and the trap fell. Crosson strug- gled for twenty minutes. Crawford died al- most instantly. When both were pronounced dead, the bodies were cut down, placed in cof- fins and taken to the Baptist Church. A large number gathered there, and Hill and King both preached funeral sermons, King declared that this was the second time that he had attended two murderers, both orphans, and he took for his text the sublime words of Christ, as He was nailed to the cross, "Father, forgive them ; they know not what they do."

Black Bart

One of the most frequent criminal acts of that day was the holdup and robbery of the stage and passengers that traveled between Stockton and the mountain camps. One of

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the most peculiar and gentlemanly highway- men of the '70s was the man who signed himself Black Bart P-0-8. Late in the '70s a series of mysterious stage robberies took place, one man alone, his face concealed be- neath a white or black mask, committing the robberies. The officers of the state were puz- zled. They could find no clue, suspected no. one, and they designated the lone highwayman by the name of "Black Bart," because he some- times left notes behind signed Black Bart P-0-8 and occasionally some doggerel verse. In San Francisco there lived a single man known to his friends as Chiarles Bolton. He dressed in the fashion of the time, wore a diamond pin, a handsome gold watch and chain, and a large diamond ring. He seemed to be a gentleman of leisure and wealth, but occasionally he disappeared from sight for a few days. His friends presumed that he was looking after his mine, for his conversa- tion led them to believe that he was a mining man.

One the morning of November 3, 1883, R. E. McConnell, then driver of the Sonora and Milton stage, was ascending the grade about three miles from Copperopolis, he was halted by a highwayman carrying a double-barreled shotgun, his face concealed by a flour sack with eyeholes cut out. McConnell was alone. His only passenger, a boy carrying a rifle to shoot deer, got on at the ferry and dismounted at the foot of the grade. As the road agent halted McConnell and stood in front of the leaders, he inquired: "Where is that boy that was on the stage with you?" From his high point of observation with strong field glasses, the highwayman had noted the passenger long before the stage's arrival at that point. The driver stated that the boy got off below. Mc- Connell was then ordered to dismount, unhitch the team, and drive behind the stage. McCon- nell was a brave, fearless man but, being un- armed, he wisely obeyed. The highwayman climbed upon the stage and, smashing open the box with a sledge hammer, found a gold mine-over $4,000 in amalgams, three ounces of gold dust, and $550 in gold and silver coin. Gathering up the loot, with a cheerful, "good- bye," he was soon lost in the brush. A few minutes later the boy reached McConnell. Grabbing the rifle, the driver hastened after the highwayman. About a hundred yards distant he appeared in sight and McConnell fired. The robber hesitated a moment and again disappeared in the heavy underbrush, slightly wounded on the hand. Believing that he was closely pursued, by armed men, hastily left the spot, and in his flight, he lost his black Derby hat, dropped à handkerchief, laundry marked "F-0-7" and threw away a package of papers covered with blood.

McConnell, quickly harnessing his team, drove to Copperopolis and reported the rob- bery. . Officers were soon upon the ground. They included Sheriffs McQuade of Tuolumne and Ben Thorne of Calaveras. At Black Bart's campfire the officers also found a pair of cuffs, nicely laundered, a field glass case, the flour bag bearing the advertisement of a grocery conducted by Mrs. Crawford of Angels. Dur- ing the search for 'evidence Thorn surmised that the robbery was the work of Black Bart, and the neatly laundered cuffs led him to be- lieve that the highwayman lived in San Fran- cisco. A few days later the two officers, Thorn with the handkerchief and Thackery with the cuffs, were looking for the owner among the laundries. Thorn soon found a clue, a China- man recognizing the laundry mark as his. He said the owner lived at 27 Second Street. Morse then quickly learned the occupant's name, Charles Bolton. Morse finding a friend who knew Bolton, requested him to introduce Morse as a mining speculator. They easily found Bolton on Bush Street, and after the introduction and a few casual remarks, Morse. under an assumed name said: "I wish you would go with me, Mr. Bolton, to Wells Fargo's express office to examine some gold specimens." He readily accompanied the offi- cer and Morse, leading him into a back room, Bolton was there confronted by Hume, Thack- ery and Captain Stone of the San Francisco police. He was interviewed for three hours, but shrewdly he parried all incriminating an- swers. The following day he was taken to Stockton and lodged in jail. He was then taken to San Andreas, where he confessed the Copperopolis stage robbery, having learned from the officers that they had very strong evidence of his guilt. He also conducted the officers to where the treasure was hid in the hollow of a tree only three hundred yards from the holdup. He was sentenced by Judge Gottschalk to six years in the penitentiary, and after four years he was released. A few days later he disappeared, and from that day nothing has been seen or heard of the famous "Black Bart P-0-8." The officers traced to him twenty-three holdups, beginning in 1873, in which he never injured a person nor molested a passenger. McConnell was re- warded by Wells Fargo with a costly watch and chain. It was a hoodoo, for every high- wayman on the road made him a target, say- ing, "I'm after that watch and chain." Mc- Connell later became a shotgun messenger, and in a hot fight one day he was so badly wounded he was compelled to permanently retire.

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History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 54

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849 Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1660

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660