Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-02-21
A WOODLAND SENSATION.

the RECORD UNION stating that the day be-
fore the Governor bad offered reward Of
$500 for the arrest and conviction of the muir
derer or nurderers of John E. Maltby. which
took place in Yolo county about the 9th OF
last March. The reward was offered at the
suggestion Of District Attorney Craig, Of Yolo
county. Later in the day Deputy Sheriff j.
D. Lawson, of Yolo. and officers Arlington
and jackson, Of this city, made the arrest
through which it is expected to obtain the
reward. the person arrested being Frank nj.
| Rahm, a highly respected citizen OF Yoio
county, end late Sheriff, his term having ex-
pied on January Ssh. The ex.S herih's cousin,
| George Rahm, was also arrested. :.
| John Z. Maltby was at the time OF his DIS
| appearance Under Sheriff OF Yo.o county:
| He was last seen alive on March ~ IN OF last
yezr, He was a man of peculiar disposition,
| and was addicted to strong drink, and was
! frequently missing for several days at time,
and but little was thought Of him until six
/ DAYS afterward, when q young man named
| Will Moore. who was out hunting, found
| his dead body about two miles north
east of Woodland. By the side
| of the corpse was found bottle labeled
"poison" This and some other slight evil
dence caused the COroner's jury to render q
verdict Of suicide The stomach was sent to
San Francisco for analysis, and after the yer.
! dict of the Coroner's jury had been rendered
| it was found to contain no poison. This
Strengthened the suspicion already held by
many that there had been foul play. still
hunt was kept up by friends of the dead
man, assisted by detectives, but it was not
until the new District Attorney, Mr.. Craig,
assumed his office and Sheriff Kahn
had retired, that matters were pushed.
The services of detectives Arlington and
Jackson were secured, and with the counsel
of attorney Charles L. Jones and Chief
! Karcher, the matter was worked up and the
arrests made. It has been an open secret for
some time that the ex-Sheriff was suspected,
but the officers requested that the attention
of the public should not be called TO the mat
ter until the arrest was made. So public had
| it become, however, that the man when ar
rested stated he was not surprised, as he
knew it was to be done.
Monday afternoon Deputy Sheriff Lawson
and detective Arlington drove from Wood
| land to the ranch Of the ex-Sheriff's father,
NJ. A. Rahm, about fifteen miles north Of
Woodland, and arrested George Rahn, reach
ing Woodland on the return some time after
dark. The Deputy Sheriff and officer jack
son then went to the ranch of the ex-Sheriff,
dDDGb Uut L1llb run lOWIls anu l4S l1lf4l
in the b, so u of his family. He was returned
TO the town, and taken in through the back
door of the jail unknown to the resident; Of
the place. George Rahm was taken to the
Office of the District Attorney and questioned
at some length, and it was finally decided to
bring him to this city, which was done, and
the prisoner now lies in the city prison. So
quietly was the whole thing done that news
papers published in Woodland yesterday
morning contained no account of the arrest.
The officers, with their prisoner, did not ar
rive in this city yesterday morning until
after the RECORD UNION had gone to press.
The officers claim the evidence against the
ex-Sheriff is Of the strongest kind, being
mostly circumstantial, excepting that of one
witness, a yong married man named REM
Stodenberg, a laborer in Woodland, who, it
ia stated, will swear to having seen the fatal
blow struck by ex-Sheriff Rahm in the Court
house yard. George Rshm was at that time
in the employ of the Sheriff at his house,
and occasionally took charge of the chain
gang when the others were engaged. He was
arrested as accessory to the deed. The jailer
st that time was Augustus Applsby, and he
was TO be arrested yesterday.
There are two theories as to the reasons
FOX the alleged murder. It is known that the
ex-Sheriff short time before the disappear
suce of Maltby took the man into his room
and told him in severe language that he must
stop drinking. This the man promised but
did not fulfill, and it is thought possible that
when the man next appeared intoxicated
there may have been difficulty, and Maltby
had been struck on the head and accidentally
killed, and after realizing what had
been done the body was taken away and con-
cealed where found. The other theory is
that the murder was committed for financial
gain, and it is claimed by Maltby's friends
that the deceased had more money than could
be found
George Rahm was found by a RECORD
UNION representative at the city prison last
night. He expressed the opinion very
strongly that the matter would be all ex-
planned at the examination, and had no
fear that anything serious would result from
it. He expressed surprise when told that his
former employer had been arrested. He said
he}.sd frequently heard the ex-Sheriff speak
Of Maltby's death, being much affected by
sas sad end &c which the man had come.
The prisoners both come from a highly
respected family. There are persons in this
city who knew the father OF the ex-Sheriff
when he resided near Mercersburg, Franklin
county, Pennsylvania, and previous to the
birth Of the prisoner. The family arrived in
California in 1852, and are highly spoken cf
by all who know them. The ex-Sheriff has two
brothers. One Of them, Ed. Rahm, was for
many years Sheriff Of White Pine county,
Nevada, and is now engaged in merchau-
dising in Cherry Creek, in that State. The
other brother is engaged in business ia Mon
| tana. TIE deceased was q member of Sscra-
mento Commandery, knights Templar, and
was well known in this city. The ex-Sheriff
also stands high ia the Masonic Oder.
District Attorney Craig has sworn to the
| complaint. and the examination of the pris.
ouer viii take place before Justice Cronan in
| Woodland on Friday next at l o'clock.
:" Skill aud patience succeed where force
fails" The quiet skill and patient research
which brought forth Kidney Wort illustrates
the truth of the fable. Its grand succes:
everywhere is admitted. Disease never comes
TO us without q cause. Ask any good ply
stefan the reason, and he will tell you some
thing interferes with the working of the great
organs. Kidney Wort enables them to over
come all distractions and preserves perfect
health. Try box or bottle at once.