The morning call., 1892-05-04
THE CALAVERAS MURDER.
Route Agent Tice of Wells, Fargo
& Co. Talks About 1t.
He Dissents From the Opinion of Many That
stage-Robber Sharp Committed the
Crime-A Difficult Case.

Mr.. j. c. Tice, route agent for Wells,
Fargo d Co.'s Express, with headquarters
at Stockton, arrived here last Monday even
ing direct from the scene of last Saturdays
tragedy In Calaveras County. When the
stage was held up he was on his way to San
Francisco and at Stockton received the first
intimation that there had been serious trou-
BILE on the route over which he had passed
a few hours before. Returning with haste,
he reached San Andreas on Saturday night,
assumed charge Of the gold destined for the
Sheep Ranch mine and on the folio wing
day took it over to Mr.. Haggin's superin-
tendent.
In speaking of the murder and attempted
robbery yesterday afternoon in the Office of
Wells, Fargo & Co. Mr.. Tce said:
SHARP did not do it. or this l am fully
such an opinion am sure that he has
changed it now, since arriving On the
ground and takiI the first steps in what
is going to be a rather hard case to fathom.
In the first place Sharp is not in California,
and when | say this | am not making a
wild guess. Ii he were here, at large, and
actually suffering for money, l would not
believe that lie committed the crime of last
Saturday, even though he confessed it him.
and his methods of operation. l know him
to be an educated gentleman. possessing
some splendid traits Of character, man
who knows no fear, and not a cowardly
assassin, who from ambush shoots into
stageload of female passengers and then
takes to his heels over the hills like a
whipped eur. This is not Sharp Had be
stopped that stage he would have taken the
box or killed Toyey. or both.
THE GROUND EXAMINED.
"The ground has been carefully examined
by a number of officers and others skilled in
woodcraft, and we are unanimous in the
opinion that the discharge Of the murder
er's gun was acciden tai and premature. If
This theory is not correct then the case goes
on record as the first of the kind ever
known In California or anywhere else. No
highwayman, as far as / know, and my ex-
perence covers a wide field, ever fred be-
fore calling upon the driver to stop. Kill
Ing In stage-r0bbiDg invariably occurs upon
a refusal Of the man at the lines to comply
with this request on the part Of the bandits.
Sever al years ago merchant riding with
the driver On the Shasta route was shot
from his seat by highwaYman- under cir
cumstances seemingly similar to the affair
of last Saturday. IL developed, however,
that the robber called for the driver TO halt,
but ii was down grade. and while doing his
best 10 obey the command his failure to do
so promptly drew from the desperate
death-dealing missile The surest way in
the world to lose treasure box is 10 dis
charge a gun. Experience has taught the
highwayman that In nine cases out OF ten
sach course will frighten the horses and
cause them TO run away.
millions have been lost this way to the
profession, and skillful man never uses
weapon until forced TO, for he fears excited
horses ten times more than brave drivers or
neryy messengers.
Concerning the case In question there is
considerable misrepresentation as to the
position Of the assassin az the time of the
shooting, and also as 10 the position occu-
pied by the people In the stage.
IT WAS A mud WAGON"
"The conveyance was what is generally
known In stageline pariance as a mud
wagon 1t had three seats. On the first
was the driver to the right and Toyey to the
left.
"rhe second seat was occupied by the
Rodislno girls. and the third by Mrs.
Loyed.
big bowler on the lefs-l rand side of the
road, and al such an elevation that the shot
came through the top of the stage One
barrel was used instead of two, as stated in
the dispatches. When the shot struck the
driver he fell off his seat and was caught by
Tovey, who at the same time seized the
lines. Somehow Louisa RodiSino got out of
the wagon and ran up the grade In the
direction OF the discharge. She Is the only
one of the passengers who caught sight of
the feet-footed robber. The girl was, of
course, terribly frightened and can only
remember that he wore dark clothes and a
light mask.
Sat Sperry's ranch the alarm was given,
and in short time Sheriff Ben Thorn and
posse were on the trail. 1t struck in a
northwesterly direction toward MOkelumne
HILL and the devious and dangerous route
chosen by the traveller, through canyons
and gOrges almost impossible, proves con-
ciusively that he knew every foot of the
country. The citizens were obliged to aba n
don their horses after a few miles, and the
trail was followed on foot until lost. The
rain interfered IN measure with the pur-
suit, rendering the tracks indistinct and un-
certain in places; but had it been otherwise
the man would probably have escaped, as
he had good start and knew the country
thoroughly
Detective Hume arrived Sunday evening
and had long conference with Sheriff
Thorn. What the result was | do not know.
1t will be Of no use to take up the tr all
again. Several hard characters of Gala
veras County, at first suspected of the
crime, have been closely examined, but
have all given satisfactory proof of their
whereabouts on the morning of etragedy."