The herald., 1898-01-25
WAS SHOT
AND SLAIN
Before His Aged Wife's
Eyes
A TRAGEDY AT LAS VIRGINES
4 TRAGEDY AT LAS VIRGINES
JOHN w. HILTON KILLED BY
CARDWELL AND HARRIS
A Dispute Over Right-of-Way
Caused the Fatal Quarre1-The
Coroner's Inquest

AS result OF II dispute over rlsnC Oh
way across a small ranch, John w. Hill
ton was shot dead in his tracks by
George Cardwell, one Of his neighbors
late Saturday afternoon, before the eyes
Of his aged wife. J. 1. Harris, another
Of Hilton's neighbors, was with Cardwell
and also took a shot at the murdered
man, but missed him.
The tragedy occurred in the mountain
district of Las Virgenes, about twelve
miles from Calabasas, and in one of the
widest and most sparsely settled por-
tlons of the county.
The murderers are now In the county
jail. They claim to have acted in self
defense, but the evidence adduced at the
coroner's inquest makes the case look
more like one of willful murder.
Hilton, who was 68 years of age, lived
on small ranch near the summit of the
mountains north of Calabasas. He was
a squatter on government lands, which,
until few months ago, had not been
surveyed. Nearly two years ago he
purchased the improvements on the
place from another squatter, named
Polly, paying him $3.50. Since then he
and his wife, aged 70, had been living
there, raising just enough to keep them
in food and clothing. At the time of the
purchase a road ran through his claim,
cutting 1t in two. 1t was not a public
highway, but only widened path which
had been used as a road for several
years. Desiring to use the land, Hilton
notified his neighbors about ten months
ago that he intended to close up the
road and open another one along the
edge of the ranch. j. I. Harris was his
next door neighbor and he and all the
other people residing near by consented
to Hilton's plan. They even assisted him
in making the new road, and last season
Hilton put the site Of the old one under
cultivation. He built fence around his
place and made other improvements.
The recent rains washed out a portion
of the new road, and Harris and Card
well demanded that Hilton make the
necessary repairs. This he refused to do,
saying he would help to fix the road but
would not do all the work. Cardwell
then notified him that he would out his
fence and use the old road unless Hilton
IepdlTeu lIle new Out, dIlo LIE OlQ iId IL
warned him not to do so.
Saturday afternoon Harris and Card
well decided to make the passage across
Hilton's farm over the old road. BY
their own admission they expected trou-
BILE and when they left Harris house
Cardwell carried an old musket loaded
with buckshot and Harris took his Win
chester. They reached the Hilton place
and had torn down portion of the fence
before the old man saw them. When he
saw what they were doing he left his
plow and went to his house near by, re-
appearing with his own Winchester.
His wife followed him at a distance and
saw all that happened. AS Hilton ap-
preached Cardwell and Harris he raised
his left hand and warned them off his
place. They continued to advance and
Hilton started toward a tree which
stands near the old roadway. He never
reached it, for as soon as he started
Cardwell fired at him with the musket
and Hilton fell dead in his tracks, por-
tion of the charge having taken effect in
his left arm and side and one of the
buckshot penetrated the heart. Just
before Cardwell fired, Harris was seen
by Mrs. Hilton to take aim at her hus-
band with his rifle, using the wagon
wheel as a rest. He, too, fired, immedi-
ately after Cardwell, the bullet tearing
a piece of bark out of the tree.
AS soon as Hilton fell his wife rushed
toward him, but Harris stepped clear of
the wagon and pumped another cart
ridge into his rifle barrel. He then COW
cred the woman and ordered her back.
She retreated and ran at once to the
house of a neighbor named Chapman,
half mile away, for assistance. Chap
man accompanied her back to her home.
The body of the dead man was carried to
the house and laid out. Harris and Card
well had disappeared. They went to
Calabasas and told what had happened,
but were not then arrested.
News of the murder was received at
the sheriff's office and also by the coro-
ner early Sunday morning. Coroner
Campbell, his deputy, John Summerfield,
Under Sheriff Clements and Deputy
Sheriff Harrington left at once for the
place. At Calabasas they We're Joined
by Constable M. D. Nash, who showed
them the way to the scene of the crime
Harris and Cardwell were found at their
homes and arrested. An inquest was
held, at which Mrs. Hilton told the
story of the killing. The prisoners ad-
mitted that they had gone on Hilton's
place expecting trouble and had carried
their guns for the purpose of using them
in the event of Hilton's opposing their
progress. They claimed that had their
victim reached the tree toward which he
was running when shot he would have
opened fire upon them. Fearing this
they had shot him. The verdict of the
coroner's jury was that Hilton had come
to his death by gunshot wounds inflicted
by George Cardwell with intent to kill,
and that ]. I. Harris was an accessory
to the murder before the fact and par
ty to it. The prisoners were taken before
Justice of the Peace Richardson, who
them to jail without bail until
an examining trial can be held.
The officers reached this city with
their prisoners at o'clock yesterday af-
ternoon. The two men are typical noun
taineers and are of that ignorant class
often found in such remote places. Both
positively to make any state
ment. When Cardwell was asked the
simple question as to whether he had an
attorney, he replied: II amt goin' to
talk; you can't catch me-" He is about
IS years of age and has villainous ex-