The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1873-04-29
A Web OF Mystery.


have printed great many surmises about
it, and the people of the Placer section are
being more and more excited, and deeper
and deeper in darkness. They give it up
in despair as something surprising human
understanding. .t.
There are three deaths in the chapter of
horrors. A young girl of eleven, her old
father and man who had watched his
corpse one night.
G. M. Coates, a sickly man of so, had a
small rancho of his own, and sometimes
did service for his neighbors as herdsman.
His daughter of 81 kept house for him, and
he had in his household besides, his son
aged 16, one aged 10, Elvina, a daughter
aged 103 years, and an infant son four or
five years. There had been bad stories
about Coates in former years, but his
neghbors in Placer knew nothing wrong of
him except that he was a severe man, and
might be sometimes harsh with his chill
dren. If any of his family had any deadly
enemies it is not known to the few scatter
ed neighbors.
Elvina was very pretty, well-developed
girl for eleven years, with sun-browned
face and sun-shiny hair, and full of life.
One of her brothers was engaged herding
sheep for neighbor mile or so of, and
she was in the habit of visiting him occa-
sionally accompanied by her little brother.
1t seems her father had told her not to go
any more, as he feared some danger. One
day he took a short trip by railroad to re-
ceive $3.50 in cash, the balance Of legacy,
and returned in the evening with the mon
ey Elvina was not at home. He was told
she had gone to visit her shepherd brother,
and had not taken the boy with her as was
her wont. The boy had cried to go, but
she had hired him with some trifle to stay
at home, and had bounded off alone on the
trail that led to her brothers. sheep-cote.
Mr.. Coates become very angry at the DISC
bedience of his daughter, cut good-sized
switch, and went off after her. The shep-
herd-boy was found with his sheep, but
had not seen his sister that day. The
father, alarmed, threw away his switch,
and began to call "Vina," among the hills,
but received only hollow echoes for answer.
He went home, but was SO much troubled
that he could eat no supper. He started
out alone, calling for his daughter, and
was never again seen alive. AS neither
"Vina" nor the old man returned the rest
of the family became much alarmed and
aroused the whole neighborhood for miles
around to search Mr.. Coates was found
dead, lying on his face, with no marks of
violence on his person, and the $3.50 safe in
his pocket. Coroner's inquest; no post
mortem verdict, death by heart disease.
A young Italian volunteered to sit up one
night with the corpse, and the next day
he died. Cold was assigned to be the
cause The search for little Elvina Coates,
which continued for twenty-one days, had
been relinquished. Afterward, a man
passing an old prospecting hole" twelve
feet deep, six feet in diameter and filled
with water to within one foot of the top,
saw what appeared to be a bundle floating
on the surface. He thought of a missing
girl, and dismounted. 1t was a burlap
sack, such as is used for grain. He pulled
at it, and found human head in the sack.
He rode rapidly away, and told what he
he had seen. The Coroner came, and a
great many people came with him. The
sack was taken from the water, and con-
tanned the body of Vina Coates. There
were no marks of violence or outrage on
the body. The sack was drawn over the
head and drawn tight about the waist with
a cord 1t fitted closely to the body and
shoulders. 1t was marked II. ii. s., the
initials of Mr.. H. II. Smith, a merchant al
Newcastle, three or four miles off, whose
clerks swore they had sold many such
sacks, but had never sold one to Coates
Many people in the vicinity had such sacks
so the sack revealed nothing but little Vina
Coates sunshiny hair and lifeless body
The body was removed to Gold Hill and
examined, but no post mortem was made
! The verdict was: "Death by some cause
unknown to the jury"
There are various theories of these re-
markable occurrences, but none are salts
factory, and all contradict themselves be
fore solution is reached. One is tha
Coates drowned his daughter, but the girl'i
body was found in a secluded spot mil'
from her usual path to and from her broth
er's sheep-cote, and mile from her home
and Coates himself was too weak to have
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is that seeing her father with switch she