The herald., 1896-06-20
A REPORT, A FLASH, A CRY,
And the Man Ran Down Chavez Street
Northwards
Al Air Of Mystery Surrounda the Deed Of
Last Night
The Victim at the rime Was With Woman
Vet She Was Not Seen by an Observer
Of the Tragedy - Police Have
But Little to Work On

Edward White, railroad man "a
years of ago, was fatally shot ON Chavez
street in front of the Fulton Engine
works at 11:05 last night and expired
from the effects of his wound in the re-
ceiving hospital within an hour after
ward. The murder seems to have been
unprovoked and cold blooded, but who
the assassin is has not yet been determ-
ined. Whoever he was. he has succeed
ed in making his escape, at least tempo
rarily. but will undoubtedly be cap
tured and the crime laid at his door.
Shortly before II o'clock Alfonso Lie
ber, a night watchman at the Wieland
bottling works on Upper Main street.
was returning from delivering some
goods at the Boston saloon. The bot
tling works stand facing on Main street
on q triangularshaped lot. Running off
Of Main street at an angle'is Chavez
street, and the point of their division
forms one point of the triangle. The rear
side is formed by Chavez street, while
on the other is a vacant lot.
Lieber saw two men in the bright
moonlight sneaking along the west side
Of Chavez street their bodies bent down
and trotting along as much in the
shadow as possible. He drove
into the yard, put up his team, and
went back in the yard toward the Chavez
street side to see what had become of
them, as he feared they were up to mis-
chief. In the rear of the yard is shed
barn, which occupies a portion of the
~tr
closed in by high picket fence. Directly
opposite the fence portion is the entrance
gate to the Fulton Engine Works, a
high. white-washed affair, directly in
front of which the shooting took place.
When Lieber went to the rear of the
yard he looked over the fence, south
erly, toward the junction of Chavez and
Main streets, and saw two men sitting on
some empty beer barrels, which were
piled up against the wall of the build
ing. They were not conversing, that he
could hear but one of them was smoking
a cigarette. He then stepped around
into the shed against or near the corner
of which they were sitting, to hear if he
could hear through the cracks what
they were talking about, If anything,
thinking that possibly they were hatch
ing some scheme against the bottling
works.
Looking through the cracks he could
see them on the barrels in the shade, but
heard no word spoken. Then his wife
who was in the office of the works clean
ing out came to the door and called
him, causing him to return toward her.
He told her In few words of his suspi-
cions and started back toward the rear
fence. He reached 1t and was Just look
ing over when directly opposite, out
lined against the whitewashed gate, he
saw the form of a man, heard a pistol
shot, saw the flash Of the weapon, heard
the victim Cry out, "Oh, my God, am
shot" press his hand to his side and run
off down Chavez street toward the north.
AS he reached the end of the bottIing
works yard, the man turned west, ran
across the Southern Pacific railroad
track to the corner of Alhambra avenue
and Main streets, where he dropped d.
rectly under an electric light pole, lying
partly on the sidewalk and partly in the
gutter. Lieber ran back into the works,
seized the telephone and rang up the po-
lice station, stating that man had been
shot. The wagon responded promptly
and hurried the wounded man to the sta
tion, where he arrived at 11:35 He was
conscious but unable to speak, and died
at 11:52 without having uttered word.
The coroner was notified and had the
body removed to Kregelo & Bresee's un-
dertaking parlors, and the search for
the murderer was begun.
Going to the scene Lieber was seen and
told of the men and their suspicious ac-
tions. When he saw the shot fired he
noticed but the one man present, and
thought that he had tried to commit
suicide. AS he ran off so rapidly and
seemingly unhurt, he fancied it a Joke
and was on the point of recalling the
message for the wagon when he heard
means from the corner, and going there
found the man lying groaning with pain
What became of the two men who not
minute before the murder had been sit
ting on the beer barrels on the west side
of the street he did not know. They
certainly did not run north on Chavez
street after White, the victim, or he
would have seen them. If they were
innocent parties, they disappeared in
most mysterious manner, not being seen
after the shot was fired.
On the beer barrels where they sat
was found the remains of a cigarette
which had evidently been suddenly ex-
tinguished by being rubbed on the head
OF the barrel, probably so that it would
not betray their presence as the victim
approached. The pile of barrels was so
high that man or men at the north end
OF 1t would easily be concealed from
casual observation of any passing north
ward on the opposite side of the narrow
street.
The first definite clew to the circum-
stances leading up to the crime was OBJ
tained when 1T was found that just be-
fore the shooting White had been in
company with Mrs. George Abbott. wife
OF Amos Abbott. and that she had some
knowledge OF the affair. 1t appears that
White had been up town with Mrs, Abb