The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-06
FUGITIVE MOORE SEEN
NEAR NORTH SAN JUAN
I 7 ORTIZ SAN JUAN, April 5.-The
\ days Of bad man Moore's sue
U cessful efforts in battling pursuit
seem to be numbered. He Ven

U cessful efforts in battling pursuit
i ! seem to be numbered. He Ven
tured too close to civilization to-
DAY and now the officers of the law are
on his track, with every indication
pointing to his early capture.
At daybreak this morning Moore-or
al least man answering his descrip-
tion-was seen about two miles below
this place by James Fogarty, a ditch
tender Of the Milton Ditch Company.
Scarcely an hour later scores of armed
men were in hot pursuit. They took UP
the trail from the point where the des-
perado was seen and followed it in the
soft ground along the ditch for sew
5ral miles led them to an aban-
doned cabin, where Moore is believed
10 have slept last night. There the
scent was lost. but the manhunters did
not despair. 1t was the first time since
the murderer took to the mountains
shat any reliable trace of his where
abouts has been discovered and it i'm
bued the authorities with new hope.
Tonight they believe that they are so
close upon Moore's trail that they will
either capture or kill him before sun
down tomorrow.
There is little doubt that the man
seen by Fogarty was the desperate.
There is not a man in this vicinity who
disbelieves Fogarty's story, particular
~ in view of later developments, which
bear out his statements and suspicious.
When Fogarty caught sight of the
road-stained traveller. the latter was
going toward San Juan. The ditch
tender was attracted TO the man by
his striking appearance and gaZed in
tently at him. When within a hun
bred yards of Fogarty the fellow
stopped suddenly and turning abrupt
~ around doubled on his tracks. Fo-
gartv's suspicious were aroused and he
noted the strangers appearance criti-
cally The man was tall and as straight
as an arrow, with long black hair. On
his back he packed a roll of blankets
and strapped to the bulky roll was a
double barreled shotgun. He carried a
Winchester rife in his hand. BY his
side trOtted a black and white shepherd
dog and another yellow cOIored dog. It
is not definitely known whether Moore
took two dogs with him, or whether he
owned more than one dog during his
residence at Nevada City.
The ditch tender became convinced at
once that he had discovered. the des-
peradO. The appearance of the man
tailed with the description of Moore,
and his seeming anxiety TO avoid close
scrutiny made FOgarty doubly con-
WINGED that it was the murderer. Fog
arty was unarmed. He came to town
at once and reported his discovery.
The news caused intense excitement,
and Deputy Sheriff samuel McCol-
Tough had little difficulty in organizing
a large posse TO hunt the fugitive a
messenger was dispatched at once to
Columbia Hill, and from there to
Cherokee, instructing the peace officers
Of those places to be on the alert for
the fugitive should he attempt to Slip
the posse by travelling that way. A
telegram was sent to Sheriff Getchell
at Nevada City informing him of the
discovery, but the Sheriff and his
posse were already out in the woods
back Of Banner Mountain searching in
vain for the fugitive.
The posse which left here under the
direction Of Deputy Sheriff Mccullough
put spurs to their sturdy mountain
horses and were soon on the spot
where Moore was seen. There they
dismOunted and carefully scanned the
ground for the fugitive's trail. The
heavy dew of the previous night left
the surface quite damp, and every step
the retreating murderer took was plain
~ stamped on the sOggy earth. The
trail led the manhunters along the
ditch for several miles, and then it
turned off into the hillside. The foot
prints of the fugitive and his dogs led
them through the thick brush far up
on the rock side of Lone Ridge to a
deserted cabin. known to the residents
here as the Van Appen cabin. The posse
thought they had the murderer cor
nered and advanced with rifles cooked
and eyes centered on the open door of
the deserted hut. They called out to
the fugitive TO surrender. Receiving
no response they fired a volley into the
cabin. They then advanced upon the
lonely hut finding it unOccupied, but
bearing evidence Of having been lately
occupied.
The dying embers of fire still
smoked and sputtered on the boardless
floor of the cabin and the room was
filed with the aroma of cooked meat.
A tin bucket lay near the door, par
tally filed with water, and on the
ground on the north side of the cabin
were found footprints leading to a
nearby spring. Not a scrap of meat
or a crumb Of bread was found on the
h0ardless floor. This encouraged the
officers in their belief that they were on
the right track, as it is natural to sup
pose that Moores dogs would devour