The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-30
The Victim Held Mortgages to
Land Wanted by the
King"
LYNCHERS TO BE ARRESTED.
Officers Determined to Bring tn
Slayers of Littlefeld to
Justice.


and Coroner Barker returned from Round
Valley this evening and report everything
quiet in the Mad River country Yes
Palmer has returned to his home in Covelo.
Henry Carder, who was arrested for the
murder of Charles FELTON, near Covelo a
week ago, was released from custody, as it
was not believed that he had killed FELTON,.
The authorities are entirely at sea as to
the perpetrator of the crime, and there is
no clew to his identity. They have, how
ever, succeeded in establishing a motive
which may eventually lead to the discov-
cry of the murderer.
FELTON, at the time he was killed was
engaged to marry Mrs. Annie j. Tanney,
on whose ranch and stock he held mort
gage. Mrs. Tanney had expressed the
intention of fencing her ranch, which COM
prises about 1000 acres, and lies adjacent
to king" George E. Whites winter range,
and on which Whites stock has been
grazing many years. White, it is claimed,
had limited to several parties that Mrs.
Tanney was in his way. Felton's death
means that his estate would be admins
tered by public administrator, and the
mortgage upon Mrs. Tanney's ranch fore
closed and she put off the place.
At the inquest held before Justice Akin
son over the body of jack Littlefield
Constable Van Horn. the officer who had
charge of Littlefield at the time of the
lynching, testified as follows:
81 had arrested Mr.. Littefeld in the
southern part of Trinity County on the
Round Valley, Mendocino County, and
ta1 l., H. "
were going down the mountain toward Red
Mountain place, when suddenly some one
in the bushes by the side of the trail COM
manded us to halt, saying: Hold on
there; we will take that man in charge
looked to the left, from which direction
the command came, and saw a man raise
and level his rifle at US (at the instant
didn't know which one), and at the same
time | saw Littetield Jump from his horse.
Il started to pull my pistol, but didn't
get 1t out, and Littlefeld hadn't taken
more than one or two steps until the rifle
was fired, and l saw Littlefield throw up
his hands to his breast as though he was
shot. AT the same time they said: You
fellows go on there-go! and commenced
a regular fusillade of shots.
"As [ started l saw the dark outlines of
men moving in the bushes, and could see
the smoke of rifles of men farther back in
the brush. l looked TO the right and saw
Jack fail by the side of big pine tree. H e
ran about thirty feet from where he was
shot before he fell. The mob had masks
on and 1 couldn't recognize, identity, tell
how many there were or how many shots
were fired.
tfTbpra a LARGO har nf thono
The brush was full of them, and they
kept shooting until we had ridden, think,
about $50 yards. This all occurred as near
as l can tell between 7: 80 and o'clock
P. NJ. on the 9th day of Septem Der, 1895.
Johnny Grow was with me as deputy con-
stable, and helped me arrest Littlefeld,
and was along when it all took place, he
riding behind Jack and l ahead"
This statement made by Van Horn is
known to be untrue. There were but five
persons present at the time the crime was
committed and but three shots were fired,
any of which would have proved fatal.
Sheriff Bergin of Trinity, who, with
Sheriff Johnson OF this county, has been
investigating the lynching of Littlefeld,
returned to his home in Weaverville.
He has determined to arrest eight per.
sons whom he has good reason to believe
were implicated in the crime. Trinity
County officers refuse to reveal the result
of the inquest until the parties to whom
they attribute the lynching of Littlefeld
are under arrest.
The Republican of this city has been
threatened by boycott by some of the
residents of Round Valley because it re.
fuses to champion the White side of the
| controversy. That journal has insisted
| that the late crime was due to the feud be-
tween the White and anti-White factions
and held White responsible for many muir.
| ders committed in that section of the
| country.