The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-07-04

FRESNO. July 3.-John Sontag died at
30 O'clock this afternoon. He was un-
conscious before his death for five hours.
An inquest will be helA
The death Of John Sontag yesterday
brings to mind an incident that occurred a
couple of days before the Coils train rob-
berry.
e DIR. K. Ii. Ainsworth, resident surgeon
for the Southern Pacific at Los Angeles, is
a relative of one of the officials of the
Southern Pacific, and happened to be In
this city Cd a visit few days before the
robbery occurred, and he was booked to
leave for home two days before the Son.
tags and Chris Evans stopped a south
bound train at Coils.
- The day of the doctors departure two
detectives from Pinkerton's Chicago
agency and one from John Curtin's agency
in this city arrived from SQuaw Valley and
reported that they had tracked George and
John Sontag and Chris Evans from Mon
tana. ami they were confident from what
they had heard that the three men were
bent on robbing Southern Pacific train
at a point near Tulare.
=. These detectives had spent several
months gathering evidence against the
train-ro bbers, and knew positively. so hey
say, that they were the men who had been
=. committing train robberes in the San
Joaquin Valley Tor some years.
:: The detectives story vas told to the rail-
road official at once, and when he reached
home and met DR.. Ainsworth at the din
ner table he brought up the subject and
told the Los Angeles man that he had bet
ter wait over one day and be present at the
train robbery.
How do you know when the robbery
will take placer" asked DR.. Aipsworth.
= '';rhe detectives have filured it outto the
hour almost. and if you will wait over un-
til tomorrow evening l am quite sure that
you will not be disappointed, and it might
be advisable for you to be on the train, for
;: if these are the men who have been hold
ing up trains in the San Joaquin Valley
they are murderers OF the vilest type. and
it is possible that there may be some
work for you after the rObbing and shoot
ing S over"
Now Dr. AinswoEth IS an old army sur
geou, and for a long time be was stationed
on the frontier, and has seen considera bic
Indian warfare. he was anxious to re-
main over and take the train that was TO
be held up. Something occurred, how
ever. tngs made it necessary for him to
tage tAe next train for Los Angeles, and in
consequence he missed beng present at
-ona of the most exciting ira robberies
thai ever took place on the Southern Pa
cihc road in California
Ine whole thing was probably consid-
cred huge joke by tue railroad and ex-
press detectives at tie time, for it would
hrge been tle easiest thing In the orId
or them to pas I'VE or three armed men on
the train. These men could have been
so stationed that it would have been boys
play FOR them TO have blown Chris Evans
sud jobu Sontag's heads off ss so n as
they mounted the engine and ordered the
engineer TO bring his train to Q standstill.
After the robbery, however, they changed
their minds and did not hesitate to 60 to
Evans house and attempt to place him and
hn SOntag under arrest, and had it not
been for the fight made by the two train
robbers the officers would have been sue
: cessful..
In speaking OF the matter yesterday De-
tective Curtin said to a CALL reporter:
LAS soon as our men, who tracked the
!. SOntags and Chris Evans from Montana
to SQuaw Valley, reached this city We
knew that we were on the trail of the San
Joaquin Valley train-robbers Not only
that, but we knew about the day that the
men would make raid on the south
bound Southern Pacific train. How did
we know this? Well, one of our detectives
had played in with the robbers and was
with them when 1t was decided that the y
: would hold up the train as soon as they
could get down from Squaw Valley. They
also selected the dark of the moon for the
deed, and IL was easy enough to figure out
within a night or two of the exact time.
ut is great pity that proper steps we're
not taken TO prevent the robbery, but every
one thought it was guesswork on our part
and nothing was done.
=: That Chris Evans and the Sontag boys
have been carrying on the business of train
robbing for some years past there is not the
slightest doubt, and all this bosh about
their being hunted down like wild beasts
is a disgrace to the people who indulge in
it. They have been criminals for years,
and many Of the dark deeds in Tulare and
Fresno counties that have been laid to
others can be traced direct to the door OF
Chris Evans. While Evans has not fur
nished the brains Of the outlaws he has
Kept up general headquarters for them.
and through his claims of respecta bilty he
managed to hoodwink both officers and
detectives up to the time when they were
traced into Squaw V alley"