The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-04

Captain Nihell of Company Citation
al Guard, accompanied by City Mar
shall TOmkin, journeyed' over the ridge
to Spencerville to-day. There they in
terviewed Rancher Taunt. who said
yesterday he had seen and talked with
Moore. The officers heard Taunt's
story, but placed little credence in it.
They beat back through the canyon.
carefully searching the woods and un-
derbrush.
Early o-morrow morning another
large detachment of members of Com
pany G of this city viii go out on the
trails behind Banner Mountain and
beat through the country in a sys-
tematic manner, very much on the
same plan as they drive rabbits in
Fresno. The militiamen are anxious to
get Moore in their clutches, and be-
hind their fervid anxiety there is an in
teresting little story:
Moore at one time was a member of
Company c. and was famed the county
over for being the best rife shot in the
company. 1t was easy for him to carry
off all the prizes, and he speedily
gained the reputation of being the best
rifle shot in the country. His aim was
so accurate that a suspicion that he
had tamp. d with his rife crept into
the minds # his rivals. and they set
a trap for him.
Several of the boys watched Moore
carefully, and after a prize shooting
contest one of them picked UP the muir
derer's rifle and subjected it to a close
scrutiny. He found that the suspicious
of his comrades were not grOundless.
Moore, with his characteristic shrewd-
ness and knowledge OF tools. had filed
the trigger of the rifle down to such a
point that it went off at the slightest
touch of the finger. This was a great
aid at the prize shoots, as the rest Of
the contestants We're compelled to exert
a power of seven and a half pounds on
the triggers of their weapons 10 ex-
plOde the cartridge.
For this trick Moore was Immediately
discharged from the company and
blacklisted by nearly everybody in
town. The incident is still fresh in the
memories of the boys of Company c.
and they will not be disposed to show
the murderer anything but scant cour-
tesy should he fall into their hands.
The only relia BILE information as to the
route taken by Moore after he left his
cabin is given by Frank Sandow.
prospector, who lives in cabin at the
top of Phelps Hill. Moore's tracks were
traced in the soft mud by Jack Kill
roy, a brother of the murdered police
man. along the North Banner mine
road as far as the abandoned black
smith shop of the mine There the trail
ended. and the murdered mans brother
and his companion wasted several
shots at the old shop in the hope that
Moore had taken refuge therein. They
were disappointed, as the fugitive had
cut across the road at that point and
iourneyed over the hills toward San
dow's cabin.
The lone occupant was awakened in
the dead Of night by passing footballs
and the barking of his deerhounds. He
struck a light and looked out Of the
window in time to see Moore passing
the house on a trail a few yards dis
tant. Sandow is certain that it was
Moore. for he has known him for the
last twenty years.
From that point the man hunters have
lost all trace of the murderer, but they
hope to capture or kill him within the
next twenty-fou hours. The longer
Moore remains at large the greater
menace he is to the lives of innocent
people who may be so unfortunate as
TO cross his path. He certainly knows
by this time that scores of brave men
are on his trail and, if captured. Judge
Lynch will be his judge and jury. so
the citizens here fear that Moore Will
not hesitate to carry out the theory of
outlaws-"dead men tell no tales" The
posses who are hunting the murderer
have been instructed to kill him on
sight.
Since the murder Of Policeman Kill
roy a belief exists here that Moore is
responsible for at least two other mur-
ders that have taken place during the
! last five years 1t is now suspected
that Moore murdered Driver Meyers of
the Bloomfield stare and Superintend-
ent Gaviota of the Derbec mine. Both
murders were cowardly affairs. the men
being shot down without being given a
fighting chance for their lives. The
crimes have always remained unsolved
mysteries. In both cases the murderer
attempted to rob his victims of treasure
which they were bringing from the
mines. and each time he was unsuc-
cessful. because the horses ran at the
sound Of his rifle.