The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-06-01
THEIR SEARCH Is FUTILE.
Man Hunters Find No Trace of Dunham
in the Mountains.

iIl the Mountains.
SMITHS CREEK, CAL, May 31.-The
pursuit of Murderer James Durham to-
day was crowned by disappointment.
Though startling reports frequently
reached the headquarters at Smiths Creek
during the day, when they were investi-
gated it WAS found that nothing had been
discovered by any of the scores of search
e-s which would indicate the direction of
Dunham's fight.
The news that created the most excite
ment at Smiths Creek during the day was
received by telephone from Mount Hamil-
ton about IL o'clock. 1t was to the effect
that footprints made by Durham had been
found on the Ward & Burgess ranch, at
the junction of the Arroyo Bio and San
Isabel creeks, nine miles from Mount
Hamilton.
In coming down the creek Consta BILE
Coschina discovered the tracks, which he
at first supposed were made by Durham,
as they were made by pointed-toed shoes
and were the same as had been seen by
Sheriff Lyndon in the morning When
COschlna arrived at the Ward d. Burgess
ranch al 10 o clock yesterday morning, he
stayed there and sent Wards 15-year- old
daughter to Mount Hamilton to tele phone
TO the Sheriff. Coschina and his party
followed up the tracks q short distance.
The fact that this place was in the
direction in which Durham would prob
ably have gone had the tracks discovered
by District Attorney Harrington and posse
near WandeH's been his caused Sheriff
Lyndon to feel that the last find would
prove TO be of importance.
Sheriff Lyndon and Sheriff Ballou, with
n@5 iaFt l. II.
upon receiving the message with four
horse outfit and Everett Smell and Oscar
Parker accompanied them on horse back
and took with them an extra saddle-horse.
Smell and Parker went TO the top of the
mountain by trail. The two parties met
at Wandells and thence proceeded down
the hillside into the canyon. and tried to
SET the hounds on the trail
The tracks led Up to Arroyo Bio. which
is the chief branch of the San Isabel. 1t
was thought that if Durham had been in
that vicinity he would have followed the
creek TO San Antonio Valley and tried to
so through Red Creek and out into the
! San joaquin plains to seek refuge in the
mountains back of Visaha, where Sontag
and Evans so successfully avoided the
officers for so many weeks.
The Sheriff posse made thorough
search in this locality. Footprints were
visible. but they were not made by Dun
nam, and there was not the SLIGHTEST evil
dence that he had reached the San Isabel
at that point. The footprints were evil
IDENTITY those of a fisherman.
The Sheriff. posse returned to Smiths
Creeks at 7:45 clock this evening.
Constable Reynolds came into Smiths
Creek this afternoon from the direction of
San Antonio Valley. He left Constable
Coschina at the Summit mine, of Red
Greek, and Coschina made his way down
the Arroyo Bio TO its junction with the
San Isabel
He met the Sheriff's party at the Ward
& Burgess ranch. Coschina has been out
nearly all the time since he entered the
search. He has strong horse and carries
plenty of ammunition.
Nearly all the Sheriff's posse are now of
the opinion that Durham has killed him
self, and this is the prevailing opinion at
Smiths Creek among those who are in
the search. Sheriff Ballou is also of this
mind.
There was heavy hailstorm in the
gu CHI Thursday night. Durham was IN
doubleday exhausted, knew that he was
surrounded by men, ali of whom were de-
termlned 20 take him dead or alive, and it
IS probable that he, rather than fall into
the hands of the law, took his life.
With the occupants of nearly every
casin in the mountains apprised of the
crime he had committed, the probability
that every avenue of escape would be
guarded and starvation staring him in the
face so long as he remained in the
gulch, he likely realized that the chances
for getting away were slight. He had only
one half-pound of bacon and two pounds
OF dried orunes for food after he robbed
Parker'S cabin Thursday evening