davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
Circumstances Surround ing His Death Cause
 Two Opinions.
The Coroner Thinks That the Wounds Were Not Self
 Inflicted.
POLICE THINK IT SUICIDE.
A Woman Who Worked for Him Held Until an Investigation
 Is Made.

John H. Dow was found dead in his shooting gallery at S15 Kearny street last evening, with three bullet-holes in his head, and the circumstances sur rounding the case are such that the ories of both murder and suicide seem feasible, with the chances in favor of the former.
 A saloon-keeper named Fred Levers, who owns an establishment next door to Dow's place of business, was the first one to suspect anything was wrong with his friend. He says that he had not seen the place open since New Years eve, and last evening made the remark to Morris J. Cohen a special officer, that as he had not seen Dow's gallery open for two days he feared that he was sick. The two men went to the front door and knock ed, but received no response. Cohen then got a ladder and climbed through the transom and discovered Dow lying on cot in the center of the gallery. He opened the door and told Officer M. c. Mahoney, who notified the Coroner's office.
 At first the case seemed to be clearly one of suicide, but after making an examination Deputy Coroner John E. O'Brien had the Chief of Police send out detectives to investigate the case, as he thought that it looked very much like murder. There were three wounds in the head, one of them being in the right temple and the other two behind and little above the right ear. They were made with 22-caliber ball, and Coroner Hawkins found by probing that all of them had penetrated the skull. Beside the cot on which the body lay a single-shot 22-caliber Smith & Wcsson target pistol was found cooked, with an exploded shell in the barrel. Dow was lying on his left side, with the covers pulled very close ly about him. His left arm was par tially from under the bedclothes, his right resting on his leg, and his entire position was a natural one for a sleep ing man.
 Detectives Crockett and Gibson were sent to investigate the case, and while the latter would not express his opinion, Crockett pronounced it an un questionable case of suicide. The Cor oner differs with the haWkshawS and thinks there is not the slightest pos sibility of Dow having killed himself. He gives as his reasons that either one of the wounds would have probably produced unconsciousness, and that after receiving one of them the man would not be able to reload his pistol twice, infiiot the other wounds and then recock the weapon.
 The position and nature of the wounds are similar to those received by Isaac Hoffman and Detective Crockett is taking the same stand in pronouncing Dow's death to be suicide as he did in regard to the Hoffman case. He expresses it as his opinion that the man could have fired the shots with either hand, and scouts the idea that the wounds from the first shot would have so seriously injured Dow
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
CLAIMED HE
 STOLE HER
 DIAMONDS Mrs. ROnaldO Has a Man Apprehended . for Robbery. She Accused Him of Hav- ing Purloined Her
 Jewelry. He Makes an Excitinu Leap From a Hack to Escape
He Makes an Exciting Leap From Hack to Escape
 Her Wrath.
CAUGHT BY AN OFFICER.
After Being Taken to Police Head quarters He Was
 Released.

Don't let him get away; the scoun- drel has robbed me of my diamonds"
 Thus shouted an attractive young woman. who was seated in a hack which was being driven along O'Farrell street late Saturday night. Placing her head out of the hack window she called upon several men, who were standing near the Orpheum Annex, to stop a young man who was making rapid strides toward Mason street. Just then Police Officer Brophy happened along and, seeing the supposed thief dashing along the street, he promptly stopped him. The young mans ex- plained that he had not robbed the wo- man, but that she was jealous of him, and in order to get even with him, she accused him of having stolen her dia- monds.
 Taking him back to the hack in which was seated his pretty accuser the policeman started to question her. She was accompanied by another wo- man who claimed to be a stranger in the city.
 The woman gave her name as Mrs. Ronaldo. She was stylishly dressed and wore a profusion of diamonds.
 In answer to the officers question Mrs. Ronaldo said that several months ago she met her alleged despoiler, whom she called Jack" and fell des- perately in love with him. He pre- tended to reciprocate her affections, and after a brief courtship he prom ised to make her his wife. Shortly afterward the woman invited him to her house, and when he left she says she missed several diamond rings and a pair of diamond earrings. Convinced that he had taken them, she started a search for him, with the result that she learned that he had gone to Wat sonville.
 Shortly after II o'clock Saturday night Mrs. Ronaldo was walking along Market street with a friend, when she espied Jack standing in a cigar store. He at first refused to recognize her and started to walk away. She caught him by the arm and whispered that she did not care for the dia- monds and consequently would not prosecute him. Her scheme was to get him into a hack and order the driver to take them to police headquarters, where she intended to enter formal complaint against him.
 As they drove along O'Farrell street the surprised man evidently became suspicious and jumped out of the hack. It was then that the woman Justify shouted for somebody to stop him.
 After listening to her story, Brophy jumped into the hack and ordered the driver to drive to the central station.
 Jack indignantly denied that he had stolen the woman's diamonds. He declared that she was jealous of him because he had left her. and to be re- venged she conceived the scheme to have him arrested on some trumped up charge.
 Lieutenant Birdsall. who was in charge, refused to lock him up, and told the woman that if she wanted him arrested it would be necessary for her to swear to a complaint against him. They then left the station, the woman returning to the hack and Jack" going in an opposite direction.
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03

that he was unable to fire the others. Dr. Hawkins, in making an examina- ton of the body last evening, could find no signs of powder smudge or burn, nor was the hair singed. Real izing the similarity of Dow's wounds to those of Hoffman, the Coroner made some experiments on a cadaver to find the effect of shots from the pistol with which Dow was killed. He found that when held at the distance of inches from the temple, which is as far away from his head as the man could have held the gun, the powder smudge and stain would be very black and about an inch and half in diameter
 When held at one inch from the head the smudge was larger, and when the pistol was held directly against the flesh there. would be a light smudge half an inch in diameter. From this the inference can easily be drawn that the pistol was held farther away from Dow than he could hold it himself
 Whether murder or suicide Dow probably came to his death sometime Saturday night Levers, the saloon man, said that the gallery had not been open Saturday. but two men told the Coroner that they saw Dow Satur- day and that the gallery was open that night. Robert Little, who works at the Eureka saloon on Kearny street, ig positive that he saw Dow in the gallery at F o'clock Saturday. John Childers, a clerk in the clothing store at 735 Kearny street, saw Dow and bought
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
SOCIETY WILL TURN OUT TONIGHT.

At the California Theater. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, January 8, 4 and 5, the young people of the city, un- der the patronage of twenty prominent women, will present ten dramatic scenes from American history for the benefit of the Hospital for Children and Training School for Nurses. Over 200 will take part. The scenes repre- sented are the climax of dramatic in- terest of each epoch and give in drama the real life of the time. The scenes have been rehearsed at the homes of Mrs. John F. Merrill, Mrs. William Whittier and Mrs. w. P. Shaw and at the California Theater. The chief characters will be personated by some or the most prominent men of the city.
 Columbia" will fix in the minds of the children and young people who take part and witness the production important epochs, around which the other dates can be placed.
 Although the sale of seats is very large, yet there is room for several hundred more at the Monday per- formance. If the house is crowded the first night-that is, to-night-it will undoubtedly be packed Tuesday and
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
BOOTH AT CHURCH.
Service in the First CoDgreqo- tioDol Church Conducted
 by the Army.

Commander Booth, with Colonel Evans, Major Winchell and few other commissioned officers of the Salvation Army conducted the service in the First Congregational Church last night
 Commander Booth on being -7 O. duced by Rev. Dr. Adams, gave by the way of a prelude to his sermon the workings Of the Salvation Army in the United States for the past year.
 He claimed to have, through his re- cruiting agencies, over 100000 of con- verts from among the poorer class of the people.
 The expenditure during the year amounted to $150,OOO, and with the exception of about $250O, which came in gifts from rich people, the amount had been collected in dimes and nickels from the middle and poorer classes.
 A home shelter is now ready for 400 men in Los Angeles, and on his visit to this city in the near future a home for girls who work in stores will be provided, as also one for the unfor- tunates who are cast out of society As an example of the work done by the army in feeding the poor, he had partial figures before leaving New York which showed that 10000 persons had partaken of the Christmas dinner prepared for them by the army, and from sections not yet heard from he was sure that as many as 100. 900 would be reported.
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
Excuses That Are BeinQ Offered to Plying
 Friends.
Jagsby's Doctor Helped Him to Return to His Favor
 ite Toddy.
POSTPONED TILL LATER.
One Day Is as Good as Another to Quit and Conscience Is
 Satisfied.

The New Years resolution has come and geographically gone-as such things are prone to do, and now those who proudly announced to their friends a few days ago that they had sworn off are busily engaged in explaining how it was that they were unable to hold up to their good intentions.
 Of course, the man who was pledged to himself or some one else to refrain from intoxicants for a year has good excuse for cutting the period down to a day. His doctor had told him that a little stimulant was what was needed, and he was not going to let any such thing as a measley little resolution stand in the way of his health.
 And so with the devotee of tobacco. How could man be expected to keep business and his business welfare de-
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03

schemes of the Salvation Army, by which it is proposed to relieve the con- gested population of cities of their ex- cess.
 At recent meeting Attorney George H. Maxwell gave his ideas in full, and others connected with the movement elaborated on the scheme now under way by the Salvation Army. He and other speakers are in favor of the plans recently advocated by Professor Moses of the State University, and others who have advccated the Gov ernment regulation of affairs connected With the care of the defective and de- llnquent classes of society.
 The only trouble that the local so- clety has experienced has been owing to the rumors of the failure of similar schemes in India and elsewhere. It has been circulated lately that the schemes engineered by the original General Booth were great failures in India. that he failed in England and that his London financial packers deserted him at the moment they discovered how loosely he conducted his business schemes.
 George H. Maxwell is not a member Of the Salvation Army, but is a well known lawyer. His ideas are like those advocated by Congressman Osgood of Missouri some years ago, except that the Congressman was in favor of the Government doing what Maxwell asked the colony itself to effect
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03

sume fully five hours before reaching the reviewing stand.
 It is the opinion of the Jubilee parade committee that, if instead of holding a number of military games on some park in this city and a num- Der of drills and military evolutions at the Presidio, the two exhibitions were combined, a far more pleasing effect of brilliancy and splendor would be produced. With this end in view Colonel Smith, chief of staff to Grand Marshal Morse, is holding consulta- tions with Lieutenant Miley and other of the army officers, all of whom are eager to lend their assistance in mak- ing the project a success.
 The Native Sons joint golden Jubilee celebration committee met in Native Sons Hall yesterday afternoon and heard the report of it's parade committee. The meeting was pre- sided over by C.. Martin, and R. w. Martland acted as secretary. About thirty persons were present and rep scented the twenty-one local parlors of the order.
 The parade committee reported that it had held two meetings and had made many outside inquiries. It's plan is to have, as features of the parade, things illustrating the differ ent periods of California's history. The Indian period would be repre- sented by real Indians properly and significantly attired; the Mexican period, by mounted caballeros in their picturesque costumes, and the mis- sion period by some appropriate char acters. Then there would be shown an old mission, the bear flag, miners, an American flag, the soldiers first raising the American flag at Mon terey and finally four boys carrying the letters N. $. G. w, done in golden poppies. There would also be a float representing California's admission into the Union. After lengthy parlia- mentary debate the general committee limited the parade committee to an amount not to exceed S25 from each of the twenty-one parlors-and upon this as a basis the committee will make it's plans for a display.
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03

Wednesday. There is enough patriot ism in Columbia" to stir the hearts of every loyal citizen of this city.
 The departure of the volunteers for the Civil War in 1861 is cleverly imi- tated. The curtain goes up on a party or boys and girls waving handker- chiefs to company in uniform. The famous One Hundred of the Califor- mia Volunteers, under command of Captain George Filmer, marches into view and goes through few maneuv- CTS. The War Governor enters upon the scene with his staff and presents the company with a f1ag-a gift from wives and sweethearts.
 The War Governor, General J. H. Dickinson, makes a thrilling address melting them to duty, and the wait ing, weeping girls give salute of waving handkerchiefs. The com- mander responds briefly to the Gov ernor's speech and the boys in blue march away to the tune of "The Girl l Left Behind Me" The members of the famous One Hundred who take part in the real departure are inn personated by the City Guard of this city.
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03

package of cigarettes at the stand the dead man ran in connection with his gallery, between 8 and o'clock New Years night.
 No motive for a murder has been found, as the man is said to have had no enemies. He had considerable to do with women, and at different times had several who used to visit him. One of these friends was girl who went by the name of Babe Will son. A picture of her was found among Dow's effects, but it was learned that she had not been going with him for several months and that she is in Stockton at the present time. The woman whom he has been asso- ciating with lately is named Susie, but no one who knew her could tell her last name. This woman is de- scribed as being rather short and heavy set, with a dark complexion and about 30 years old. Friday after noon she took charge of the gallery for Dow, as he was not feeling well, having a couple of boils on his neck.
 At 6 o'clock she went out to dinner, and on her return found Dow asleep. Levers happened into the gallery about this time and heard a little argument between the two in regard to a rifle which was missing. Dow contended that 1t had been stolen while the girl was on watch, and she insisted that it was taken when he was asleep. There was no i'll feeling shown between the two over this dispute, and Levers thinks they were on the best of terms. Yesterday afternoon, about half-paSt 7, Levers attention was called by his barkeeper to the fact that Susie" had just looked into the saloon door. Think ing she might know why Dow had not had the gallery open Levers went to the door to ask the girl about him, but when he got on the street Susie" was not in sight. Jack Hooker, who runs a shooting gallery at II Eddy street, knew the girl and Dow both. He thought that she was a compositor on a paper
 No money was found in the posses sion of the dead man, with the excep- tion of some silver coins of early date. A silver watch and gold chain were lying on a table at the mans head, and another cheap watch was in a drawer in the desk. Dow was thought by all his friends to be a jolly, happy go- lucky fellow, and can't believe that he was the sort of a man to kill himself While his business has not been good of late, he was considered to be pretty we'll fixed financially. His parents and a brother live in Nebraska and are said to be very respectable people. and Dow was on the best of terms with them, as is evidenced by the fact that he some time ago sent them back money to help raise a mortgage which they had on their home
 The woman known as Susie" was arrested by Officer Coleman early this morning and gave her name as Mrs. E. B. DaZel. She said that she had been working in Dow's gallery, but denied
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03

mands when his nerves are jumping and head in a whirl? Of course, he is going to taper off" and eventually quit entirely, but this business of shut ting off the friend of half his lifetime in such an unceremonious way is easier to talk about than to accomplish. So he kicked himself quietly and went to strange tobacconist and got a new supply of his precious weed.
 Hundreds of matinee girls vowed on Friday with grim determination writ ten on their brows that they would eschew the afternoon theater for at least month, but alas for the resolu- tion. They read The Call on Saturday morning, saw the attractions seduc- lively set forth and fell. How could any girl with a particle of romance or artistic taste in her composition resist the last chance she might have in months of seeing that lovely Herbert de St Germain Montmorency play Romeo? So she persuaded mamma to yield up the necessary dollar, donned her Christmas gown and thronged the theaters.
 I'll not play the ponies for the rest of the year." vowed the man who had handed his salary to the bookies as regularly as pay day came around for year.
 But he heard tip last night and that settled it. Of course, it was a sure thing, and he argued himself out of his resolution by convincing himself that it would be utterly foolish to throw away chance of making some sure money just because he had felt bad about losing his money before. This would be the last time-why, cer- tainly-but he did want to get at the pencilers once.
 To say there is no hope for those who break resolutions in this way be-
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
HE BROKE THE PLEDGE.
WillioD Welsh. Aged l5 Yeors, Found Drunk oD Castro
 Street

William Walsh, aged 13 years, living at 5l4 Jersey street, was taken to the Receiving Hospital last evening in an intoxicated condition After being re- lieved of the liquor the boy said he was walking along Castro street shortly after o'clock, when he met two older boys, one of whom had bottle of whisky. He claimed that the bottle contained cider, and induced young Walsh to take a drink. The innocent boy took large mouthful, and almost immediately toppled over. He was found by policeman and at once re- moved to the Receiving Hospital.
 When asked how he felt after the effects of the whisky had partially worn away, he tearfully remarked: 'I feel all right, but it hurts me to think that have broken the pledge"
 The boy then explained that he had taken pledge to abstain from intoxi- eating liquor only a few days ago.
 Wait until I catch the fellow that gave me the liquor" he said, and I will break his jaw"
 Late last night young Walsh was taken home by his father.
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
PIONEERS HAVE
 ADOPTED PLANS
To Present Elaborate and His toric Features in the
 Jubilee Parade.
Native Sons Discuss Unique Show ing on an Economical
 Basis.

The Society of California Pioneers is making elaborate preparations for the part it will take in the big jubilee pa rade. Two bands of music and two marshaIs-one for each division-will be among the features following Mar shal Pinkham. Then will come Indians and vaqueros, followed by an OK team drawing a Mexican cart, with wheels hewn out of solid blocks; then an emil grant train, all arranged as it was in the days of '49. William NJ. Rose, a pioneer of '3S and one of the oldest members of the order, will follow in a carriage with Mayor Phelan, the de- sign being intended to represent the past and the present.
 Following this will come Marshalrs four companions in carriages, suita- bly designated. The float of Sutter's Fort will precede a carriage containing President of the Day Jewett, Orator of the Day Niles Searls, Chaplain Rev. Mir. Wiley, and Mrs. Eliza D. Keith, poetess. After this will follow the va rious officers of the societies, the eX- presidents and the members.
 Marshal Russ will have charge of the second division, which will be headed by a banner bearing the in- scription, "We Followed" The junior members will parade on foot and promise to present a number of ele- gant surprises.
 The hour for the moving of the pa rade has been definitely fixed at 10:30 o'clock. This will afford an opportu- nifty for all organizations to get in line and will permit all visiting organi- zations to reach the city in time to have their line in the parade. From the indications at present it is expect ed that at least two hours will be con- stunned for the parade to pass a given point, and the line of march will con-
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
THE NATIVITY"
The Drama Proved Such q Suc- cess That It's Promoters Will
 Give Another Performunce.

The Christmas Festival and Grand Scenic Production of 'The Nativity" which took place last Tuesday and Thursday evenings at St. Paul's hall, corner of Twenty-ninth and Church streets, for the benefit of St. PauPs Sunday School, was such a success that those in charge of the production in- tend to repeat it on Tuesday evening. January 4.
 Upon both nights the hall was so crowded that over 500 people were un- able to gain admission. The pastor. Rev. Father Connolly. was very sorry that all could not be accommodated and for this reason the drama will be repeated.
 The drama was a beautiful presenta- tion of the birth of Christ, and the tab leaux were so realistic that the curtain had to be raised again and again.
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03
An Open Door.

Rev. William H. Moreland preached a New Years sermon yesterday at St Luke's Church. His text was Revela- 'tion, iii:S, Behold I have set before thee an open door," He said that Christ is standing upon the steps of the new year, waiting to lead each one through the weeks and months of 1898. People dis like to grow old because they look back upon childhood through a rose colored haze, thinking it to be the golden age of their life and fancy that they are getting worse as they grow older This is a false notion.
The San Francisco call., 1898-01-03

fore they are cold would be unchari- table. One day, as a matter of fact, IS as good as another, and there is April l on the way. If that is not sat isfactory. for fear of being called fool, July is not so very far off, and Thanksgiving comes along in plenty of time to be safe before next Christmas