The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-09-01
Truth Which Can
DiSCodnf Fiction

has not been seen, either In whole or In
part, and that therefore murder cannot
be presumed, suggests to John Northern
Hilliard, contributor to the Times
Herald, the narrative which follows: Be-
tween 155 and 205 p. m. on the last day
of February. 1884, William wootton, a
wealthy citron-Srower of Fresno coun-
ty, California, disappeared as suddenly
and mysteriously from his home as a
coin is slipped from the palm of wiz
ard. To this day not the slightest trace
of the man, dead or alive, has been
found, though twenty detectives nave
secured this country from the racine 10
the Atlantic. Shortly after Wootton
disappearance there were rumors or foui
play. He had been last seen In company
with a friend named Sanders, and the
latter was arrested, but because OF the
absence of the body of the onense, tne
corpus delicti, he was discharged. He
was rearrested Immediately on the
charge of having forged Wootton's name
to a draft for S1,4OO and was convicted;
The case was appealed, and 1t dragged
along as such cases will where there Is
money enough to keep up the interest or
the lawyers and only last month saw
a dispatch in the Times-Herald to the
effect that he had been taken at last to
prison to serve out the long-delayed sent
ence. The hunt for William Wootton has
not been abandoned. Some are searching
for his skeleton; others expect that he
will return some day and remove the
stigma from Sanders name.
The story, as told by the evidence In
this case, is extraordinary, and, as Judge
Henshaw asserted in his charge, in some
respects it is without parallel. The de-
fendant, Sanders, is a man GO years old,
who has resided in California for more
n ha1 Of q. iv,nn 10 Urod prn I'M
inent in educational circles, and for
many years he had been a teacher in the
schools of the state. He was well edu-
Gated and possessed more than a local
reputation as an agriculturist and horti-
culturist, and as a business man his word
was considered as good as any form Of
security. He was married. and the fa-
ther of children, who were growing up
about him in his home in Fresno coun-
ty, where he had lived for many years,
and where he seems to have enjoyed, up
to the time of Wootton's disappearance
the regard and respect of his neighbors.
Wootton was unmarried and lived upon
his land with only his hired man. Sand
ers and Wootton were friends. Some time
prior to Wootton's disappearance Sanders
purported to act as an agent for a GER
tain John Knausch of San Francisco
who was contemplating the purchase of
the Wootton land. Acting. as he rep
resented, for Knausch, Sanders made an
examination of the land, plated it, show
ing its sources of water supply, fences
ana other improvements, describing the
nature of the soil; in short, collating
such information as a purchaser unfa-
miliar with the property would care to
possess. This information he sent by let
ter to Knausch. Wootton was reluct-
ant to sell, and Sanders, by, letter, sug-
gested to knauSch that when he should
come to bargain in person with Woot-
ton for the property it would be well
Tor him to bring $4,000 in gold coin. the
sight of which would tend to excite
Woottons avaricious nature and stimu-
late him to sell at a bargain. Knausch be-
ing unfamiliar with the Wootton land
Sanders also suggested to him, that when
ne came he should not drive directly TO
the Wootton house, but should proceed
up valley in the southern slope of the
1arm, leave the buggy there and cross
the high hill that interposed between the
vaiiey ana Wootton's house. BY this
MODE OF approach he would be enabled
10 take comprehensive view of the
property, and thus save much time which
would be spent otherwise In travel and
inspection.
On Feb. l, 1894, Sanders was at woot-
tons house and waited the coming of
hnausch, as he claimed in the evidence,
At noon Rohloff, the farm hand, came
IN from the field. The dinner was eat
en- ana Rohlof went back to his work.
sanders agreeing that when he should
leaVe Tor home he would take some sacks
OF seed grain to him upon his buck
Doard. After Rohloff had gone John
hhausch appeared, accompanied bv a
man named Graves, the two having
crossed the hill. The subject of the sale
OF Wootton's ranch was speedilv
oroacneu. There was some haggIng ov-
81 the prace' When knausch opened his
Vailse and poured the gold upon the ta-
pie. Wootton became greatly excited and
agreed to trade. The papers were pre-
pared on the spot. Wootton took the
$4,000 in gold and a check for s25 900
lie was to accompany Sanders and
hnausch to Fresno, where 1t could be
cashed. Knausch and Graves left the
house, walking back over the hill To
the valley, where they had left their
Vehlcle. Sanders harnessed his mules to
his blackboard, loaded the seed grain
for Rohloff, and drove down the road
accompanied by Wootton. The money
was in the valise at Woottons feet.
Rohloff had used up his seed grain and
he noticed Sanders driving hurriedIv
down the road. When he reached the
spot where the grain was to be un-
loaded Sanders climbed over the seat of
the blackboard, holding the reins in his
hahd ana without dismounting from the
vehicle kicked and thrust the sacks to
the ground, some of them striking the
barbed-wire fence. The blackboard was
then driven hurriedly by Sanders to a
gate, which was closed Here Sanders
dismounted, opened the gate, drove
through, closed the gate. and then
climbed into the blackboard and drove
on; not once during these operations re-
leasing his hold on the reins. Rohloff
honced that Wootton, whose habit 1t
was never to leave the ranch without
informing the hired man of the date of
his return, sat stiffiy in the seat, star
ing straight ahead
When Sanders drove away from the
field Rohloff looked at his watch. II
was just 1,55 p m. This was the last seen
of Wootton. A mile down the road two
farmers plowing near the country road
saw Sanders, and they testified that he
was driving alone. One of the farmers,
Wiseman by name, chanced to be look
ing at his watch at the time. 1t was
2,O5 p. m. Within the interval of ten
minutes Wootton had disappeared as ef-
fectually as If the earth had suddenly
yawned and engulfed him. The case
has another mysterious side. 1t was
brought out during the trial that no one
In the country had ever seen Knausch
and his friend Graves. Sanders testified
that he had known Knausch for many
years and had "grub-staked' him in
the early days when Knausch was a
miner and Sanders a school teacher. De-
tectives secured the state for inform
alton regarding Knausch, but the search
was in vain, They could find no one
who had ever seen or heard of the man.
The theory and arguments of the prose-
cution, then, was that Knausch and
Graves were myths; that Wootton was
done to death by Sanders on the first
day of February, 1894, and his body con-
cealed; that each and all of these acts
were part of a preconceived and elab-