The herald. [microfilm reel], May 05, 1895, Page 7, Image 7

About The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
Alva Johnson Confesses the
Train Robbery
THE KID'S QUILT NOW PLAIN
He Gets Mad and Strikes a Witness in
the Face
Storwni the Roscoe Outrage as It Happened
To.d by One of ths Two Criminals
Who Did the Job
J"Kid" Thompson, the man of the sin
ister countenance, may have had hopes,
up till yesterday morning, that the evi
dence gathered against him oy the pros
ecution, might not pro/c sufficiently con
vincing to the jury trying him, to send
him to the hangman's rope. Whatever
were these hopes or fears up to that time,
thoy were changed in a half an hour
from a state ol incertitude to the most
positive assurance that his crime had
found him out and that presently he
must suffer the punishment that he has
so well deserved. ~ . ,
The attorneys for the defense on Friday
must have felt gratified when Alva John- '
son withdrew from the stand wit bout
having told the story of the train week at
Itoscoe. It was a matter of considerable
importance to tbe defendant. Whatever
kind of Influence it was that was brought
In bear upon Johnson since then —and
it .oust have been paramount—lt swept
away his conscious scruples which were
of the old saw variety, towit, that thro is
honor among theives. And when Alva
came to tlic witness stand at 10:45, unex
pected by tbo defense, unexpected by any
body in the crowded court room, except
by the prosecution, he had made up his
mind to It'll the plain, unvarnished tale
of the terrible misdeed which hurled two
staunch soldiers of labor on duty into
eternity. Johnson was not an unwilling
witness when he spoke, neither was lie
an eager one. He had forgotten the ex
act words used in certain conversations,
and little details, not extra materially
important, had slipped his memory, but
iv the main his story was as straight
and complete as could uavo baen desired
by any lover of the truth.
'Johiison looked stout physically, but
when be Hrst entered the court room it
was very evident tiiat ho was anything
but stout-hearted. His narrative, told in
soft, mellow tones, in grammatical Eng
lish, carried conviction with it from be
ginning to end. At no time did be seek
to screen himself or to try to throw more
odium vim Thompson than he was will
ing to take himself, and only at the time
that ho was Idling id' having heard that
some one was pinned under the train did
he make use of language that was some
what palliative to himself. The facts as
related by him without commentary show
what a heartless, cold-blooded villain Kid
Thompson is, and how richly he deserves
the direct punisbmnt that can be meted
out by the laws oi the state to an evil
doer of his kind.
Not only does his own accomplice's
plain, unvarnished story show that, but
his own act yesterday morning points to
that he belongs to a variety of humanity
that ought to be indelibly labeled "mad
nog.''
As Kid Thompson, the desperado, was
being brought from the county jail to de
partment one of the superior court, he
passed in one of the halls of tho court
house, a little man named Doke, whom
lie forthwith smote violently in the face,
and might have harmed him considerably
if not restrained by a depty sheriff. Doke
is a witness who" was material, by his
testimony, is supplying certain import
ant links'to prove Thompson's unqualified
guilt.
Owing to the delay in the arrival of
the southbound train, one of tiie jurors
diil not reach the court room till 10:40.
After he had taken his seat and explain
ed to Judge Smith the cause of Ins ab
sence. Deputy District Attorney McComas
said: "If the court pleases we have a iit
tle further testimony to offer. We have
one witness, who has been sent for and
who will beSiere presently.'
'Very well; is there any objection on
the part ot the defense."
The defense evidently did not know
what was in store, for the. reply that the
query elicited was the nonchalant one
that it was within the discretion of the
court to say whether the evidence should
be beard. After a couple of minutes
Alva Johnson shambled in between the
bench nd the lawyers' tabic and imme
diately took the stand.
District Attorney Dunned conducted
the examination of tbe man turned state
evidence at last, after many an ineffectual
attempt had been made to get the truth
out of him publicly, although in a
moment of discouragement, not long ago,
he had confessed privately.
After answering a few preliminary ques
tions to establish the length of his ac
quaintance with the defendant. Johnson
said that they were together at Roscoe ou
the loth of February, 1804, about sun
down.
The shifty looks of Thompson darted at
Johnson Jin fitful, fury-loaded glances,
but the latter went on imperturbably, un
disturbed by any vengeful glitters of the
eye—now that his mind was fully made
up. But Thompson .vas uncomfortable
and wrathful and for once he had not the
drop on the man who was sjaling his
fate.
"We started from Los Angeles. " said the
witness, speaking clearly and deliber
ately, although not in a "voice tnat was
audible in every part of the room, "and
went straight on to Itoscoe. in a spring
wagon drawn by two horses. One was
black, tbo other "a sorrel. There was no
other person with us. Just we two-
Thompson and 1. We tied the horses to
a clump and waited till the train was
due.
"The train came along about 11:30. I
made a torch out of brush and signaled to
make it stop. Then Thompson and I
broke the lock of the switch, and he
threw it as the train approached. It had
slowed up, but did not coino to a stand
still, and as it left tho side track some of
the cars toppled over.
"Then came the crash, and wnen I saw
what had happened, 1 said to Thompson,
'For (iod's sake let's get out of this.' We
went a little ways and then Thompson
spoke: 'Hy God, we have got them now.
We can get it anyhow.' We turned back.
I was armed with a Winchester and a re
volver. Thompson had a revolver. We
met a man, made him throw up his
hands and took him with us to the ex
press car. We used giant powder to blow
open t',o door."
The witness' recollection was indistinct
as to the order in which the car was jn
tered, but he knew that Thompson
ordered the messenger to open the safe.
Neither did he decidedly recollect what
was done in the cur, but ho had a perfect
remembrance of what his own actions
had been during that time.
T walked up and down on each side of
the car." said he, "and tired my revolver
Once or twice."
When tho money was put in the sack
and bo proposed that they should carry
it. Thompson with au oath said that
the tr.iin hands should carry it for them
to the wagon. Then they started upon
the return trip wh icb he described. Be
ing asked whether he had heard during
the time that the rubbery was going on
A CharHiing Cottage
OI 5 rooms, now and modern, a little gem, on
car line, corner lot. well improved; parties
leaving and prefer selling to renting; price,
$1875, ifi 100 cash, balance $2.> pur month
House com .SI3OO. Another 5-room house
ifil4oo, if'-IS per month and no aash down.
Still another, $isoat $15 per month. Inter
est is It! cents per mouth. Belter thall paying
rent all your life. I.angworthy Co., 220 tj.
Opting, Take the raiser.
that men had been hurt, he replied |that
he had been tolil that there .vas then a
person pinned under the locomotive. And
it was then that he asserted that if he
had known that such a thing was going
to happen he would never have taken
part in tho robbery. Vain regrets!
They made for tho Arroyo Seco bridge
and were halted by officers. His re
membrance as to what was said here
again became somewhat blurred, but the
men on duty made escape easy for the
train robbers, because they convinced
themselves on slim evidence that the
outfit was a milk wagon, and that idea
came principally from an empty chicken
coop which was in the back of tho ve
hicle, and all this time the sack of Mex
ican dollars was nestling between their
feet.
When they were stopped by the officers
the blood-thirsty instinct of Thompson
immediately came uppermost. He knows
nothing above a pistol play, with the drop
on the other mail.
He put his hand on his gun and was
for blazing away, but Johnson checked
him. The prisoner said something at
the time which witness begged to bo per
mitted to omit in his narrative and the
prosecution granted his request. They
pulled off and threw away the tags on
the money bags as they were traveling on
borne, ami a little ways before reaching
there witness hid the silver under some
brush. They arrived at the Johnson place
about 8 o'clock. Thompson remained
three or four days. Afterward witness
buried the money in different places on
the ranch and divulged the whereabouts of
money when he was in the hands of the
law. There was $1160 in Mexican money
and over $100 in American coin. All of
that Johnson gave to Thompson before
he left. The latter Wanted the Mexican
money disposed of some way or other,
but to doing this immediately witness
demurred on account of the danger.
Several months later Thompson re
turned during Johnson's absence. He
came to the ranch in the evening, and
Etzler, Trogden and Mrs. Trogden were
there. Thompson demanded a division
of tho money then, to which Johnson
would not consent, but he agreed to send
him his share wherever desired. At
that time he had presented his accomplice
with a revolver in a scabbard.
A revolver in a scabbard was now shown
the witness. Ho Identified the latter as
the one given, and as being of his own
make, b::t stated positively that tho gun
contained in it was another than the one
he had handed Thompson as a parting
gift to speed the unwelcome guest.
Ho then detailed how he had writt.n
a letter to Thompson under the address of
Parker, advising him that lie would send
hi iv (100 Mexican dollars to Tcmpe. Ari
zona, on the day following the screed,
and that he had actually shipped the coin
in twenty rolls on the day announced, in
a box to W. S. Parker,Tcmpe. It was un
dertsood that either Etzler or Thompson
would receive tho cash all right under
that name. This concluded Johnson's
confession, which it has been so hard to
obtain.
The cross-examination was at first
directed to elicit if possible if Johnson
was now speaking because of inducements
that might have been held out to him of
a pardon or a commutation of his sen
tence. He denied emphatically that ha
had been promised anything directly or
indirectly. He admitted that some for
mer statements made by bim during ex
amination were perjuries, but exculpated
his 15-year old step-daughter of a similar
crime by swearing falsely as to his where
abouts. If she had testified that he* was
at home on a certain occasion she had
done so because she honestly believed that
he was there then.
Owing to a severe indisposition nf
Judge Smith, who was with a chill
in the forenoon, the case was continued
at the noon recess until tomorrow morn
ing.
Johnson's testimony closes up all gaps
in the evidence against Thompson and. it
tallies in every point with that already
introduced by" other witnesses for the
prosecution. " When "Kid" Thompson
was returned to his cell in the county jail,
he did not go back unfettered as of yore,
but his two hands were properly confined,
as They shotud have been at all times
while being moved from one building to
the other, in a good, solid pair of nickel
plated hand cuffs.
JACK PRINCE
The Lone-Distance Champion Bicyclist in
Jack Prince, who heads every bicycte
record from fifty to 100 miles, arrived in
town yesterday. He has been riding
bicycles since 1881, having been in
twenty-live six-day races, of wihch he
only lost two. and has held every profess
ional short-distance record from 1882 to
1888. He has crossed the Atlantic
eighteen times on racing teams and has
competed against all nations for the
championship of Europe. He was cham
pion of England on the high wheels for
two years before he came to tho states.
Last'winter he spent three months in
Cuba, defeating all comers.
He is 33 years of age, and it would be
very bar 1 to state how many races this
not'd wheelman has contested. So much
riding has made his muscles hard as steel
ami some of them aye double.
Mr. Prince will remain here for nine
or ten days, and would liko to have a
race while here. He offers a challenge to
race twenty miles against any two trot
ting or pacing horses in the country,
allowing them to relay each other every
mile while he must do the full twenty
miles without a rest. Ho is willing to
bet $20 on the nice, -and can be seen any
time at The Herald ofhee to make tho
match.
BURGLARS AT WORK
The Knights of the Jimmy Busy In Various
Parts of the City
Frequent complaints are being made to
the police authorities regarding burglars
and sneak thieves, and in some instances
the culprits have got away with consider
able booty.
A few nights since an attempt, was
made to gain an entrance into King's
grocery, corner Twenty-seventh and Main
streets. Evidence of the intended raid
was discovered by the attempted prying
open of a side door with a chisel, but it
is presumed the thieves were frightened
away before accomplishing their object.
On Friday afternoon Detween 1 and 3
o'clock thieves gained an entrance into
the private dwelling at 808 South Pearl
street, while the occupants of the house
were absent, and they purloined a $20
gold piece, a valuable gold watch and
chain and an expensive pair of gold eye
glasses. Iv this instance the daylight
burglars made an entrance through a rear
window. There are other similar cases
reported from various parts of the city
and it would be well for housekeepers to
take suitable precautions.
UNDERGROUND WIRES
Proposed Route of the Sunset System
Extension
C. W. Hinchliffe. assistant superinten
dent of the Sunset Telephone company,
has filed witli the city clerk plans show
ing the proposed location of an extension
of the company's underground system .
commencing at the corner of Sixth an d
Olive streets and continuing along Sixth
street to Grand avenue, thence to the
alley south of l'ico street and thence to
the company's west office.
Wants Big Damages
John 1!. McManis yesterday sued the
Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Kail
way Company to obtain $25,000 damages.
On May 13. 180, i, he claims, he was walk
ing across the track, opposite tho Pico
liouse and fell just is a car was com ing
aloug. It struck him in the hip. For the
bodily pain, etc., due to defendants' alleg
ed neglect, he claims the $25,000.
A Little Meat Bill
U. F. Pritcbard has commenced suit
against Charles Gassen, tho butcher, to
recover several sums of money from him,
aggregating $1058, balances due upon thu I
sale and pasturing of cattle and sheep. I
LOS ANGELES HERALD: SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 5, 1895.
A WORLD'S FAIR FEATURE
Montana's Silver Statue Will
Be Seen Here
MISS ADA RLHAN IN SILVER
It Will Be on Exhibition for Only
And From Los Angeles It Will do Direct to
Europe—Under Guard by Day and
Night-Statistics
Two years ago this month the world's
fair was inaugurated at Chicago. Its tri
umphs have been sung and its attractions
exploited, but thsre was one chanter that
was never written. In every great expo
sition there must needs be some ono great
crowning feature that is always remem
bered and becomes a part of the history
of the fair. It is generally conceded that
at the centennial at Philadelphia the
greatest novelty was a woman modeling
faces in butter, and the great Corliss en
gine came in for the greatest praise as a
mechanical wonder. At Paris the Eiffel
tower led all other attractions and is yet
preserved as a monument to the exposi
tion and its time. For the Columbian ex
position, one enterprise alone, the' 'Spec
tatorium," conceived by tho late Steele
Mackaye, and supnor ed by some of the
richest men in Chicago, cost $500,000 and
was then abandoned. The colossal build
ing was sold for a sung and torn down,
while Mackayo died a broken-hearted man
soon after.
The two things which will, of all others
at the Columbian exposition, be thought
of as peculiar and monumental io it are
the Montana silver state of the actress,
Aaa Rehan. and the great Ferris wheel.
Both of these were conceived in an acci
dental manner. Ferris drew the first
sketch of the mammoth wheel on tiie
back of a bill of fare at a chop houuse.
winle he was waiting for luncheon: Hig
bee got up one. night with the idea of a
silver statue, sketched it, and went back
to bed, and forogt all about it until his
wife found the sketch days afterward and
carelessly asked if it was of any value
before throwing it away. The silver
j statue probably had more newspaper at
tcntion than any other one thing at the
[ fair. It advertised Montana and her great
■ resources in every paper of the world,
| and drew everyone to see it at the fair.
Since the fair the big silver statue has
been on a tour of exhibit, and from May
j 13th to the 25th—only twelve days exclus
! ive of Sunday—it will be seen in this
j city. A few statistics regarding this
J unique statue may prove interesting. Its
j height is ( J feet and it weighs 1)7.000 ounces.
: There is silver in the statue to the value
i of $04,800, and gold in the pedestal to the
| value of $224,000. The "cost of the
sculpturing was $740, and the cost of
casting was an even $5000.
Messrs. Htttuburgei A: Sons of the Peo
ple's store, 135-145 North Spring street,
always enterprising and alive to the in
terests of their customers and friends, are
responsible for bringing this magnificent
statue of Ada Rehan in silver and gold
here. Ihe cost of shipping it from Chi
cago by Wells-Fargo express will be $300.
It will occupy a position in tne center of
1 that firm's floor and will be guarded day
! and night by six men. Tbe exhibition
; wili be free. * From Los Angeles it will
ibe taken to Europe.
A red sunset foretells dry weather, he
cause it indicates that the air towards the
west, from which quarter rain may gener
ally be expected, contains little moisture.
THE SECRET
OF
BEAUTY
fSOAP ♦
The most effective skin purifying and beau
tifying soap in the world. It is the only
preventive of pimples, blackheads, red, rough,
and oily skin, red, rough hands with shape
less nails, dry, thin, and falling hair, and
simple baby blemishes. It is so because it
strikes at the cause of most complexional
disfigurations, viz., Tn eCi.oc.ged, IRRITATEO,
Inflamed, Overworked, ob Sluggish
Pore.
FDR FACIAL BLEMISHES
rashes, freckles, bites and stings of insects,
irritations, yellow, oily, and niothy skins,
chafings, and undue perspiration. CUTI
CURA SOAP, because of its delicate medi
cation, is the most soothing, cooling, purify
ing, and iieaiing application, as we'll as being
beyond all comparison the purest, sweetest,
anil most refreshing of toilet, bath, ami
nursery soaps. Sale greater than combined
sales of all other skin and complexion soaps.
Sold thrmighoutthewnrlil. Price,;.Sn. Potter
Drco ani> Ohkm. Cokp., Sole Prop*., Boston.
"AU about the Skin, Scalp, and Ilair," free.
Twelve Days
THE BEAUTY IN SILVER
Storekeeping of the Period.
The true theory of retail trading in this generation is that the storekeeper is the con*
sumer's agent. The retail buyer has a right to expect storekeeping to be managed in his
interest. If prices are depressed he should get all the advantages. A single small profit
is all he should pay. The modern retailers of the world accept this theory. They put
capital and capacity at the command of the smallest buyers. Mercantile genius is simply
the finding and following of trade laws. We accept and abide by these principles. Witness
the magnificent stock that fills our stores and the extremely low prices. More than ever
this business appeals to your intelligent self-interest.
MEN'S CLOTHING TO ORDER
Cloth may be right, cutting
even may be right, but it
doesn't follow that the suit
will be right. Making and
finishing are just as impor
tant. Sewers and pressers can
spoil the work of the most ar
tistic cutters.
We take At\
good care *%lk *
that : dfY^K
every y \X IV \
step*in V\ (A \
the get
up of a 1- >A
suit shall IJ n p
compe- v Vv l 'Ij I
tent peo- fesT M /
pie. j /\ /^W^
Scotch
and En- «| /
glisli Cheviots in Styles for
spring, and worsted effects
in seasonable weights, are now
going into the most stylish
Suits at $25, $30,535 and $40,
Among the fine Worsted
Trouserings ($7.50 a pair) are
some of the newest patterns
of the season.
Black Clay Worsted Suits
$25 to $50.
Second Floor.
MEN'S READY SPRING SUITS
You never read an adver
tisement of poor clothing.
Strange, too; for there's more
poor than good. Even the
good isn't all you should have.
There's a best. It's here. A
best $10 suit, a best $30 suit,
best at the between—prices as
well.
Neat mixtures for good
tastes £12, $15, $18, $22.50.
Fancy Cheviots, plaids and
stripes for those go in for
style, $10, $12, $15, $18,
$22.50.
Hlf ViUfil a VJI A -feW 128 to 134 N - s P rin s st - •I»T|YJ
"J' *j ■« -1 Bl'M 123 N. Main st. "Jit"» 1» »1 lI'M
■■ 1
i
|P-I ISjjj
| TIMELY |
I TIDINGS I
I OF TABLES.
m Rs <
|i If you want to buy a table you better come where the tables |$ !
are. Our table showing' alone would till almost any other Furni- R||
||| ture house in this town. We have Card Tables, Parlor Tables, Tea 3m
|M Tables, Bedroom Tables, Hall Tables, Library Tables, Dining Ta- \
|8 bles—better than 300 styles. There are Mahogany, Curly Birch, M|' i
yjgr, Curly Maple and Antique Oak for woods—any size, shape or F|| j
style you want. Tomorrow we shall open a carload of elegant JS|!
m Antique Oak Tables, made with a shelf, highly polished and fin- ||
$$ ished with rich bead molding. The prices are $1.7?, #2.00 and M:
|| $2,?0 the table—according to size. You cannot buy second-hand m <
H tables of such quality for a half more. This is not merely table m \
M talk—it is table facts! m \
¥ Los Angeles Furniture Co. j
P 225, 227 and 229 South Broadway. *||
gi; The Widest Street in the City.
If M
g$
Aa to the $10 £V r\
suit; 300 of JJf J£
black and
blue Cheviot, / • i<\
and plain and A Mt\ '
fancy Chev- I -, vA~ \ j
iots and Cas-JyWi V- S m \~3
simeres are /111 I
ready. Klse- /1 r < t
where they're ■/ I V ,1
called "good 'J li 1 |
$12.50 suits,"
that makes 'em best $10 suits
All wool blue and black
Cheviots, for all tastes, as
little as $10 and up to $20.
Don't make any difference
whether your breast measure
is 30 or 50. Come.
First Floor.
BOYS' CLOTHING
Takes the honestness of
stuffs and carefullest of mak
ing to give a boy good service.
The ay-
erage rsx (&<r*y
store in i >
town wi^-^^^<^
would r* J
either / jk*\*f tfy
keep AT a,
buying
or busy \/\ X r?f^*s
keeping j\ V "
from VQ/^'Li^o
spoiling his clothes. Both
things are wearisome.
Children's Suits.
These Zouave suits arc the very pret
tiest. They corre in gray, brown and
tan cassimere and mixed cheviots,
prettily trimmed with black braid,
a to 6 years, and f'J.5O.
Long trouser Middy Suits, of all
wool blue flannel and cheviots, trim
mer! with black braid; cord and
whistle goes with each. :ito 8 years.ls.
Long trouser Admiral suits, made
with Middy trousers and reefer coat,
elegantly trimmed with very wide
silk braid, one of tbifowellest things
of the day. 3 to s yealS, and $0.
For ihe larger boys, Knee
Trousers.
At $3; serviceable combination suits,
extra pants and cap to match, of
light and medium gray cheviot, 5 to
15 years.
At J3.50, boys' woolen Suits ln plain
gray and brown cassimere, light and
medium stripes and mixed cheviots.
Trousers with double knee, 5 to 15
years.
At*s. 350 all-wool combination suits,
rxttapants and cap to match, gray
and tan plaids and stripes, o to 15
years.
Agency for A. Shuman &
Co. 's Boston Celebrated Boys'
Suits, $6.50 to $10.
Second Floor.
SHOES I
If there is any discussion
as to the qualities of our
shoes and their unequalled
cheapness, our
Tivo Dollar
Noxall Shoes for men moves
the previous question and
cut off all debate.
Among the Ladies' Fancy
Colored Suede Slippers, full
cut steel beaded, Louis
heels and hand-sewed (Laird,
Shober & Mitchell's make.)
$4 instead of $6.
Odds and ends in Boys'
Calf Shoes, all kinds, $2.
Two Shoe Stores:
u8 and 130 N. Spring St.,
123 N. Main St.
MEN'S STRAW HATS . \. . ,
Extra quality silver-fin
ished Mackinaw, having the
natural pearl lustre only seen
in the finest hats, $1, better
grades $1.50 to $2.50.
Genuine double - bodied
French Manillas in the semi
stiff square crown, and the
soft finished Alpine, just the
hat for large men—white and
brown colors, $1, $1.50, $2
and $2.50.
Men's selected Milan Straws,
low and medium crowns, with
wide, flat set brim, $1.50
and $2.
The "Yeddo." or ounce hat. is the
lightest straw hat known, and vet It
has all the style, dress and dur
ability of the standard makes, Tsc
and *1.
150 dozen Men's Straw Hats, all
bright, new shapes, fsc and 50c.
Hat Aisle.
7