Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-08
The Coils Train Robbers
Victim at Visalia.
An Inquest Held on Oscar
Beavers Body.
Important Testimony ELECTED by
the Coroner.
George sontsg g Associated with His
Brother and Chris Evans in the
Robbery = The Sontags'
Bad Record.
BY the Associated Press.l

BY the Associated Press.l
VIsALIA, CAL, Aug. 7.-The coroner
resumed the inquest today on the body
of Oscar Beaver, killed by the train rob-
bers, Friday night, at Chris Evans
house. Harvey Ward. who lives twelve
miles north of this city, and who fur
nished the robbers cart and mule, tes-
titled that Chris Evans and John Sontag
came to his house Saturday morning,
between and o'clock, and demanded
breakfast and team, offering TO pay for
the same. The men were armed with
double -barrelled shotguns and six
shooters. Evans said he had shot
man in Visalia. He was backing
buggy out of the barn, when voice
said: s'Who's there?" and he shot in
that direction. Evans said he never
saw bullets fly as thick as they did then.
The fellow who called out was a gritty
devil, and returned the shots.
Evans told Ward how Detective Smith
and Deputy Sheriff Witty tried to arrest
him Friday noon on suspicion of being
a train robber, and that he would allow
no man to arrest him in bis own house.
Evans said he was innocent of any
crime. He was anxious to know who
he had killed Friday night.
After the shooting Evans and Sontag
left town, seeing no officers in the road,
though expecting to run into them
every minute The robbers stayed at
Wards place about two hours, and then
left, taking mule and cart, paying two
dollars for their use. They said they
had plenty of provisions in the noun
tains.
While eating breakfast at Wards
place, the train-robbers were very
wstchful against surprise, and kept
their guns handy for use. Sontag was
very lame and tired.
W. Nolan corroborated Wards teeti-
mony, with the exception that he says
Sontag told him that he shot Beaver.
John March, stock raiser, testified
that last Monday he saw Evans and two
other men on Niger creek. One man
was named Young; the other man he
did not know. John Sontag was not
with the party. March then identified
George Sontag as the man of the party
he did not know The men were on
horseback and had -four sacks Son the
horns of their saddles flied with some
thing.
March's testimony is considered an
important link in showing that these
men were on the way to rob the train.
The jury returned a verdict that
Beaver came to his death from gun-shot
wounds inflicted by Chris Evans and
John Sontag.
accompanied by Deputy Sheriff Will
"a, ri al xr.o -
today, to see what could be found. In
they discovered another, large enough,
and about the shape, to receive Wells
Fargo box an old hole, and believed to
have been dug in which to bury the box
secured at the time of the Goshen rob-
berry. The hole was near the manger,
where a horses forefoot would stand
when hitched in the stall. 1t was
packed with manure and little earth.
Nothing else was secured, except an old
coffeepot, q pair of overalls and the
empty shells of the cartridges used on
Friday morning and that night.
When Evans and Sontag left town
after shooting Beaver, they proceeded
north; three miles from Visalia, they
passed the residence of w. H. Byrd,
brother-in-law of Evans. They followed
the road until near Byrd's residence,
where the pursuers lost the track for
short time. They, however, found
tracks leading into Byrd's barn, where
the fugitives undoubtedly expected to
find horses. Byrd knew nothing of their
having been there until his attention
was called to the fact by Detective
Thacker. Byrd had the day previous
turned his horses into the pasture, and
hence the robbers failed to supply their
wants. Byrd rejoiced at the latter fact,
as, if horses had been obtained at his
place, he would have been accused Of
helping the robbers and murderers-a
thing he would not do for any one, as
he is an honorable man.