The morning call., 1893-03-30
1t Is Most Likely a Case
of Murder.
SAN MATEO MEN THINK so.
The Body May Prove to Be That
of Jack Harrington.
No Autopsy Could Be Held on the
Remains Because of Their
Decomposition.
SAN MATEo MEN THINK SO.

Deeper and deeper grows the plot OF the
Point San Pedro murder mystery.
Every one in San Mateo County seems i'm
bued with the idea that he is especially
delegated to assist in unraveling the pro-
found secret with which the crime seems
enwrapped.
New theories as to the Identity of the
man who so unaccountaby met with an
untimely end are advanced by the score, and
are almost as suddenly run TO earth again.
Two main theories are fOlIowed-that of
murder and that Of suicide.
The Coroner's jury could not agree upon
a verdict, as two of its members favored the
suicide theory while the remaining four
held out for murder.
The body of the deceased, which had
been removed 10 Redwood City yesterday
morning. was viewed by hundreds OF people,
but not one among them could trace a SEM
blance to any acquaintance in the swollen
| and blackened countenance.
Decomposition lad SO far advanced that
no doctor could be found i'll the county to
hold an autopsy on the rema aims in order to
see whether the wounds in the neck and
wrist were the effects of bullets or My the
working Of nature upon the decayiDg
corpse.
The Coroner concluded to bury the re-
mains in the afternoon, ana again they were
consigned TO oblivion. just as they were in
tended to have been when placed in the
weirdly constructed tomb on the bleak
morntainSide.
II a suicide, tired OF all earthly pleas
ures and trusting no one as his friend,
desiring only TO be known to posterity as
nOnentIty, surely he could not have better
| planned his fate.
But again, were he murdered, some one
| surely is watching for him to return, some
| fugitive is hidden away, perhaps fearful of
| the results of his crime, while the Innocent
| cause, perhaps, of all this sorrow and
trouble is quietly sleeping the sleep of the
| unknown.
His first grave was gruesOme thing. The
| tins and trouble necessary 10 construct it
| seemed 10 be no object to the digger.
A shovel and a pick. both almost new,
neither of which belongs to any of the resi-
| dents of the vicinity, nor in fact TO any one
| who has thus far seen them, were the i'm
| plements used in following out the sepul-
| cher
The spot selected was curious one. A
| narrow. winding roadway, crossing the
Coast Range toward Point San Pedro, from
the upper rancho OF the Jersey farm, leads
| to within about forty yards of the spot
| where the grave is.
This roadway, long since deserted. seems
| now to end at point of land which juts
! outward from the immediate summit, and
| at this point overlooks Lake San Andreas
| on the left. while TO the right is the pre-
| cipitOus cliff along the ocean front.
Down the side of this point Of land a bout
twenty yards from Its extreme summit, in
| bunch Of chaparral and scrub oak, was the
| spot selected for the grave.
| An excavation was made and on the floor
thereof was placed a number of pieces of
what looked like coal oil box, at least the
! pieces were saturated with oil.
| A journey backward of some 200 yards
hrn. M FIa Of u n
ruin of barn. Here four long redwood
boards were obtained. With the aid of the
pick they were cut or broken in half and
| the pieces carefully measured TO the width
| of the grave.
A shelf was cut on the upper side OF the
grave to receive one end Of the boards. A
! lot of did grain bags were found about the
| old barn, and were used by the mysterious
| digger TO cover the boards with after they
| had been placed over the top of the excava-
| ton. An old iron pot was placedin a cavity
| cut in the wall at the foot OF the grave.
In this pot was found partially burned
| clnderS OF charcoal, couple OF pieces of
| coke and some coal. On the bank outside
| was a handful of chips cut from one OF the
boards, and evidently intended for kind
| ling.
On the foot Of the grave Immediately
| over the pot was new joint Of SfOvepipe,
| which had been so punctured as to admit OF
| the greatest possible dTRught.
1t lay horizontally evidentally to still fur
| Their increase the powers of the currents by
| which the fire kindled in the Dot could be
| famed. At the head of the grave was the
snail aperature into which the old feed
! box fitted.
| This completed the makeup of the grave
| save that the top was covered with earth a
| large lump of coal almost a perfect cube
( and an empty whisky flask being set up in
| the center OF the mound forming a rather
| odd monument.
Here was the grave Of the unknown
man.
| The fire had been set, but did not do
much damage, only charrng the boards
overhead little. Had 1t progressed but
little would have been left to tell the story
! which even now is hidden in so much
| gloom.
But who can he eP" every one asks.
| San MateO wiseacres shake their heads
| dOubtfully and cannot answer.
| Many theories have been advanced. but
none have so for developed anything. One
of them was that the deceas resembIed
the description of Pemberton, the missing
| Brentwood man.
A relative of Pemberton's went down to
Redwood City yesterday, but was too late
to see the body, as it had just been buried.
II do not think it was WILL" he said.