The herald., 1897-01-29
AN UNLOADED GUN
The Story a Gamekeeper Tells About
Alleged Poachers
His Ineffectual Effort to Arrest Tres
passers Resulted in Disaster to Him
self-Preliminary Examination

In Justice Owens court yesterday was
held the preliminary examination of F.
c. Crandall and Frank Frowiss. two of
the three men who were originally charg
ed with committing a murderous as
sault upon Hugh Walters. the game
keeper of the ALA Gun club preserves
near Ballona. F. G. Shriner was the
third defendant, but as it was shown
that he was not even remotely connect
ed with the alleged assault, he was dis
charged, on motion of the district at
torney, at the opening of court.
Walters, the prosecuting witness,
whose bandaged head was in evidence,
told the story of the alleged assault. He
said that on the night of Jan. 10 some
time between 10 and II o'clock, he heard
shooting on the Santa Fe railroad near
the ALA Gun club house, where he was
at the time. He sailed out, saw the
flash of gun, and the suspicion Of
poachers was confirmed by seeing three
men walking through the grounds. He
approached the men, declared himself
as a deputy sheriff and a game-keeper,
and ordered the men to get outside the
reservation. The men-the three above
named-replied in a manner not to the
liking of the game-keeper, who returned
to the club house, armed himself with
double barreled shotgun and returned
to enforce his command to the men to
leave. Walters claims that the gun was
not loaded, but he presented it, muzzle
foremost, at Crandall and ordered him
to surrender and drop his gun. In COM
pliance with the command he says
Crandall laid the gun on the ground and
stepped away. AS Walters was in the
act of picking up the gun of Crandall,
the latter grabbed it and struck the
game-keeper terrific blow on the head,
which felled him to the ground.
The testimony of Shriner, Frowiss and
Crandall contradicted the statements
Of Walters in many particulars. They
claimed that they were merely passing
through the ALA grounds on their way
from Recreation park to the Llewellyn
meadows, and were not poaching. The
men had separated in order to pick their
way through some marshy ground.
Crandall was startled by some one COM
ing behind him and commanding him
with an oath-to lay down his gun.
He turned around and found himself
looking into the muzzle of a shotgun.
pointed directly into his face He could
not see far enough into the yawning gun
barrels to know whether the weapon was
loaded or not, but he took it for granted
that it was. He was about to surrender
his gun when his captor's attention was
called to his rear by Frowiss calling out,
Don't shoot that mani"
Walters turned to see whence came
this command. Crandall quickly hit
him over the side of the head, knocking
him out While Walter was hors du
combat Crandall took the game-keeper's s
gun and jabbed it in the mud in such
manner as to effectually impair it's
usefulness until it could be subjected
to a swabbing-out process.
The arrest of the three men followed
this stirring drama which was enacted
by moonlight on the duck hunting
grounds of the ALA club. After hearing
evidence and arguments. Justice Owens
yesterday took the case under advise
ment
The charge against Frowiss was dis
missed.