The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-04-26
THE CHICO MASSACRE.
Full Confession of the Assassins.

Full Confession of the Assassfns.
The following is taken from the San
Francisco chronicle:
CHICO, March 26.-On the night of
March IA, 1877, in shanty on Chris
Lemm's ranch, two miles east of Chico,
on the Humboldt Road, five undis
guised white men entered, and, cover
ing six Chinese occupants with pistols,
searched them for money. They then
shot them, spilled coal oil through the
shanty, fired it and left. Three China
men were killed outright. OF the
wounded, one was hurt but slightly
only in the ARMAND when the muir
derers left he fastened to the shanty Of
a white woodchopper, half a mile away,
on the same ranch. The chopper and
he went to Lemm's, but Lemm and
others were afraid to go to the Chinese
shanty that night. Next morning the
Chinaman brought word to Chico.
The Coroner and a jury went out and
held an inquest. The verdict was,
Murdered by unknown parties. :"
On March 16 three suspected boys were
arrested, but discharged. The citizens
formed meeting of $50, appointed an
Executive Committee of 81, who form
ed another committee of three. Sheriff
Schneider and his deputies took rs lit.
tie interest as if they had never been
here Ex-Sheriff Daniels took an &C
tive interest in detecting the murderers.
Col. Bee, agent of the Chinese Com
panies, sent here R. B. Hall, head
OF Hall & Co.'s private detectives. On
board the train he met Detective James
Hamilton, of San Francisco. Hall and
Hamilton arrived here on the 18th, and
agreed to work together, and this night
have fully completed the most thor
oughly and promptly worked out GRIM
inal mystery of California. By their
instructions the drop box in the Chico
Post office was kept cleared and watch
ed by F. c. Radcliffe, clerk. of John
Bidwell. A suspicious letter was drop
ped; Radcliffe ran out the back way,
followed the young man who dropped
it to the house of the Slaughter family
in town. The letter was then taken to
the person addressed, opened, and
found to be one of threatening series.
On the morning of the 10Th City Mar
shall Steward arrested Fred Conway,
the man who dropped the letter, and
confined him in the City Prison. By
the direction of the detectives no charge
vas made against him. On the night of
Thursday, the Esd, Conway made con-
fession, which was taken down by de-
tective 4. B. Hall, and subsequently
signed and sworn to by Conway. 1t is
as follows:
CONwAY'S CONFESSION.
My name is F. E. Conway. The cir
cumstances of the murder of the four
Cinnamon at Chico, ON the evening of
the 14-h, are these: Myself, Charles
Slaughter, John Slaughter, Thomas w.
Steinbrook and Eugene Roberts, all
Chico residents, living near together,
started out, not knowing myself what
we were going to do. John Slaughter
asked me to go along. They did not
tell me what they intended doing till
near the cabin, when Roberts said /:
"Unless we kill the Cinnamon, we will
be arrested" The first object was to
rob them of their money, as it was be-
lieved they had some about them. When
we entered, there were six Cinnamon
there. Roberts and Charles Slaughter
examined the CABIN and the person of
each Chinaman, while the rest of us
held our pistols to them to keep them
quiet. don't know whether either of
the boys got any money. Roberts, be-
fore the shooting commenced, scattered
coal Oil broadcast over the cabin and
the Cinnamon from bottle of the liz
uld which he carried in his pocket.
don't know as any one set fire to the
cabin. After scattering the coal oil,
all fired, each selecting Chinaman.
Some OF the crowd fred more than
once. Four Cinnamon were killed, as
we learned, by our shots, and two were
wounded who are alive. As soon as we
fired, we left in haste, following down
the Lumber Company's flume, through
the woods, and separating near Mr..
Roberts's house. The killing occurred
about O'Clock, as near as l can tell.
We separated about $50 and went
home to Slaughter's, where we have
been living for few months past.
When the murder became known, Mrs.
Polmantier, the mother OF the Slaugh-
ter boys, accused me and the BOYS of
having had a hand in it. Roberts was
the principal man and talker. don't
know who suggested the robbery.
John Slaughter first mentioned it
to me. Roberts told US that Fl. C.
Wright would swear we were all at the
stable that night at the hour of the
murder. His statement concerning the
fires is that there have been several at
tempts to fire Chinatown. Henry C.
Wright first suggested it, about Febru-
airy 10. Ii am confident that A. M. Ames.
President of the Labor Union. was COO.