The San Francisco call., 1896-02-09
THE CRIME OF MAJORS.
Lawyer Richards Tells the Story of
the Celebrated Case
Of 1Q22

the Celebrated Case
of 1888.
The murder of William P. Renowden
and Archibald Mcintyre, for which Lloyd
Majors, father of Oakland's boy burglar,
was hanged, was characterized by Incl.
dents of the most dramatic interest, such
as make it one of the celebrated cases of
Cali ifornia.
This is the story as told by John Rich
ards, counsel for Joseph Jewell. The latter
was companion of Majors in the crime.
'Lloyd L. Majors came TO San Jose in
the early part of 1876" said Mr.. Richards.
"He brought with him a young wife. He
was about IS years of age, big, ungainiy
man, awkward in manner, homely of face,
having a dark, stern, rather covert and
altogether forbidding expression. He wore
thin, struggling beard that only partially
covered mouth the ugly lines of which
constituted almost deformity.
"His wife, on the contrary, almost a
child in years, was very fair to look at,
trim of figure, simple in manner, modest
and full of winsome grace.
Majors was carpenter or wagon-maker,
and set himself up in a shop on the
outskirts of the town on what IS
known as the beautiful Alameda. He pro.
fessed to be something more than worker
with his hands, however, and engaged the
attention and won at least the familiar &C
quaintance of myself and other lawyers of
the town who happened to have graduated
from the Ann Arbor Law School by de-
claring that he, too, had done SO. He also
enlarged his circle by joining the Metho-
dist Church and taking prominent part
in its work.
'His shop suffered from series of fires,
from which he always collected the in
surance. No suspicion regarding the fires
attached to him. Apparently broken up
from their effects he left San Jose and went
to Los Gatos. He joined the church there,
but was handicapped in his progress In
that direction by opening hotel with a
bar attached. This brought him into dis
favor in the church. The step from a
hotel with saloon attached to saloon
without the hotel was easy and took place
directly. and Majors became known as
plain saloon-keeper.
! "Meanwhile he took to politics in lieu of
religion, and was an active figure in the
Garfield campaign. That was in 1880. He
organized uniform company in Los Gatos
and travelled the country over making
speeches, in which he was quite forcible
and effective. His wife bore two
CnllQIen at JHdI place. I1lS place WAS
known as Ma iors Mill from a large wind
mill which he had built with the purpose
of not only developing power for pumping
water, but for other purposes. His saloon
became the rendezvous of the idle and
rough element of the entire neighborhood.
II had personal meeting with Majors
shortly after the installation of Garfield
that impressed itself upon my memory"
said Mr.. Richards. "Garfield was in diff
Guilty with National high lights-the con-
troversy with Conkling being at its height.
Majors called in at the office and the con-
versation turned to this. He became ex-
cited with the topic at once.
al know Garfield, he said. Il was a
pupil at Hiram College when he was
professor there; l tried to enter certain
class, but failed in mathematics. Garfield
took fancy to me and offered to help me
along in this study; gave me his evenings
for personal instruction until l caught up
with that class. / entered Hiram College
because there boy had a chance to secure
an education by working for it. Iknow
Garfield and
'.The man paced up and down
the room and worked himself into a
passion, giving me such demonstration
of passion as l had never seen. 1t was
frightful-his dark, vindictive face was
scanned and distorted by its violence. He
swung his arms and increased his gait
great drops of perspiration stood
upon his face, while he beat the air and
swore, declaring over and over again that
if the men who were opposing and block
ing the wheels of his administration were
within his reach he would tear them limb
from limb. This voluntary exhibition of
violence amazed me, and, as l say, fixed
itself in my memory.
"In the mountains near Los Gatos there
lived an old woodsman named William
par Ha hun noH 81
mountain side, lived in cabin, was some
thing of a recluse and was popularity sup
posed to have considerable money hidden
away. His cabin stood far up on the
mountain side, and from its door picture
OF incomp parable beauty stretched away
below, the mountain leading down in
gentle slopes to the far-spreading valley,
with its winding river and the white viii
lagos in the far distance.
'.Recluse that he was, Renowden had one
friend in Archibald Mcintyre. Mcintyre
was an ideal mountaineer, a Scotchman,
agile. strong, fine looking and known far
and wide. His every acquaintance was
his friend. This young man lived with
the old man much of the time.
lone morning in March, 1883, the village
of Los Gatos was aroused by messenger
from the mountains, who brought the
news that old man Renowden and young
Mcintyre had been murdered and their
cabin destroyed by fire. OF course, this
created great excitement; parties went out
to the place and people talked and specu-
lated of nothing else. Majors saloon be-
came the center of all this, and Majors
himself was loudest in denouncing the
atrocity, and most eager for the capture
Of the murderers.
GA mountaineer had first brought the
news to town. He lived some miles away
from the Renowden cabin, but had seen
the light of it's burning. Fearful as these
men are of forest fires and quick to COM
bat them, he had hurried toward the Iight
until he came to the edge of deep can.
yon, on the further side of which was the
burning cabin. He saw that he could do
nothing and turn dback. Next morning.
however. he made his way around the can
yon and found the ashes of the cabin and
near by the body of Renowden pierced by
two bullet holes.
Afterward those who went UP from the
village searched among the ruins and
found something of the trunk of what had
been another human being. 1t was only
portion of the lungs and the upper portion
of the heart. These were carefully pre-
served at the time, afterward sent to a
physician for examination. :,
Interest in the crime grew as time
passed. Nothing developed further, how
ever, for two or three days, when it was