Los Angeles herald., 1891-11-30
The Fate of a Southern Pa
cific Watchman.
Found Dead Yesterday With a
Bullet in His Brain.
Two NSlavonians Arrested on Sus-
picion of the Crime.
The Dead Man Found in the San Fer
nando-Street Yard-Arrest of Two
Men, One With a Bad Bull
let Wound.

l.
company, was murdered early yesterday
morning in the San Fernando street
yards.
Leffier was a night man, and COM
pleted his round of duties at O'Clock.
He was relieved at that hour yesterday
morning and reported off. He started
for his home in East Los Angeles, going
down through the big freight yards, IN
which were side-tracked a number OF
box cars, some empty and some loaded
with goods to be dispatched.
1t was the watchman's duty to see
that the loaded cars were not ritied OF
their contents by the ever ready thieves,
and also to keep the box cars clear OF
the gangs of tramps who frequently
find in them snug sleeping place.
The wandering gentry who seek such
roosting places have been unusually
numerous of late, and the watchmen
have had no little difficulty in keeping
the ward free of them. Leffier was zeal
ous in the performance of his duties,
and waged constant war with the Loaf
ers he found in his precinct.
Saturday night he found stranger
wandering about, and ordered him away
from the yards. The man seemed 10th
to obey, and the watchman, who was a
special officer appointed by the board OF
police commissioners, was compelled TO
show his authority before the fellow
would go. He finally left the yard,
growing and scowling at the watch
man.
Leffler spoke of having ordered the
man away before he left for home. lie
went down the track towards the bridge
on his way home in East Los Angeles,
where his wife was awaiting his return.
The breakfast was already on the table,
but the husband, usually SO prompl, did
not come. At the very hour he was
wont to return he lay dead on the
tracks with bullet wound through the
head and his face SCARED and bruised
from blows received in the struggle with
his murderers.
An employee OF the company heard
many shots. and after search discovered
the watchman's body. There was no
one in sight at the time and the man
ran to a telephone and startled Clerk
Harris at the police station with the
news of the murder.
Detective Bosqui, who occupied room
at the station, was aroused, and within
ten minutes was on his way to the
depot. He had scarcely left the station
when a second telephone message came
stating that there was another man
shot. This time the affair was located
on New Upper Main street. A blast OF
a police whistle called Bosqul back, and
when he heard of the second message
he thought it must be anotherreport OF
the finding OF the watchman's body.
On the way down Main street he met
Sergeant Fletcher, who turned and ac-
companied him. The sergeant went to
the Upper Main street place, while
Bosqui continued on to the railroad
wards. Although the hour was early for
people to be about on Sunday morning,
there was quite a crowd gathered about
the dead man when the officer arrived.
No one seemed to know anything
about the affair. The ground about Tor
thirty feet or more bore evidences OF a
terrific struggle having taken place and
it was clear that the watchman died
fighting. His pistol was nowhere to be
found, and it occurred to the officer that
he had been shot with his own weapon.
One man who stood near by told the
officer that he saw two men go along a
path which leads up the hill to Buena
Vista street, but no satisfaction was
cleaned from that meagre information.
While the detective was seeking Tor
some clue the patrol wagon came up IN
charge of Sergeant Fletcher, who had
under arrest two men whom he found at
the Upper Main street address given by
the sender of the second telephone mes
sage to the station. One OF the men
was nearly dead from fearful wound In
the Jaw, which he had bound up In
rude manner in order to stop the flow o.
blood. He was foreigner, as was also
the other prisoner, and neither could be
induced to say word. The wounded
prisoner was identified as the person
who was ordered from the yard the
night before by Leffiler. His companion
was also recognized by parties who saw
him about the yard. The detective
asked them for their pistol and the un
injured man promptly produced 3S
calibre bulldog revolver from his Goa
pocket.
Coroner Weldon arrived and tool
charge of the remains, which were
taken to the morgue. The ofhceri
started to the station with their prison
ers, who were both charged with mur
der. At headquarters one OF the mer
said he and his companion, the wound
ed man, were Slavonians, and had come
from Gila Bend, Arizona, Friday night
with the intention of going through tt
San Francisco, where they hoped to gel
work. Both were attired in working
clothes and appeared to be laborine
men. The spokesman said his name is
andre Kandaler, and that OF his com
panion, the wounded man, Janoir Kar'
mos. Kandaler had $29. 20 in his pock'
cts, the other having small sum IN
his possession.
Drs. Murphy, Hagan and Bryant took
charge of Kormos, while Kandaler was
locked up. The physicians made an ex-
animation OF Kormos's wound, and pro-
nounce it remarkable one. The. ball
entered the right cheek. passing
through the cheek bone and down un-
der the tongue to the collar bone on the
right side, which it followed clear
around, and finally lodged at the base OF
the neck on the left side.
The jaw bone was pierced without be-
ing badly shattered, and the physicians
are in doubt as to whether the wound
will result in death. Kormos cannot
sneak word of English, or pretends to
he unable to do so, and very little in
formation could be obtained from Kan
daler.
There is not the slightest doubt that