Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-24
THE FLASH OF A MATCH
REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF THE
SAVING OF A LIFE.
Gre Evidence Failed
II
Against the Clever Idea of the
Sweetheart of the Accused.


! Whenever I strike a parlor match am
| reminded Of how I was saved from long
| term of Imprisonment, and, perhaps, from
| the gallows for an offehse of which I was
innocent" said Albert Shaw of San Fran
| cisco, at the Arlington last evening.
| Mr.. Shaw was one Of several gentlemen
| who were recounting the close calls to
pass to the other side they had received in
| their respective careers. He burned the
| little circular stick Of wood with which he
| had just lighted his cigar to the tip be-
| before he threw it to the marble floor and
| began his story.
Several years ago. while a resident of
| Frisco, 1 was paying attention to the lady
| who is now my wife" he said ''She lived
| over on the Golden Gate side of the city, IN
| the vicinity of Pacific street. which runs
| into the grounds of the United States mill
! tary reservation known as the Preside,
where the troops are quartered. At that
| time it was not as thickly settled a dis
trict as now. l resided in a part of the
| city on the south side known the Mis-
sion, and thus particularize these sections
| because of their Importance as to distance
| on the question of my guilt or innocence
| of the crime of which was charged with
having committed. lived about four miles
| from the residence of my sweetheart.
zone night in May 1 left her house at
about II o'clock. Feeling in high spirits,
moonlit evenings peculiar to California's
| superb climate, I decided to walk to my
| home. 1 had often made the distance be-
| fore foot and the walk usually con-
sumed about an hour. That evening. how
ever, l did not take the most direct streets,
| and it was about half after midnight when
l turned the corner of the avenue upon
which my residence was situated. In that
quarter of the city several of the streets
were shaded by a tree called the pepper
| tree, which is of long limbs and thick foil
age making a dense shadow in the moon
| light My street was closely lined with
them.
Arrested for Murder.
II had walked but a few steps smoking
my cigar contentedly with my mind far
away upon a certain sweet face when I
| stumbled upon something soft and yielding
| lying in the dense shadow, which 1 knew
| instinctively to be the form of human
being before my eyes reached the pave
ment where it lay. / saw it's dim outlines
and made out the form of man lying on
| his face. l was about to proceed on my
way, believing him to be simply drunk,
when 1 concluded to roll him over and prop
| him up against the tree.
LAS l grasped him and swung him up in
| a sitting posture my hands were smeared
| with something warm. My heart came up
| in my throat because I felt that it was
| blood. With thrill of horror l fOolishly
| wiped them on my coat sleeve as l hastily
| stepped out of the shadow into the brilliant
| mo hight. My foot kicked long knife
| much affected by Mexicans, and it went
| spinning along the stone pavement with that
| sharp ring peculiar to fine steel. I did
| what most every other man would have
| done under similar trying circumstances
picked 1T up and as l stood there 1rreSO-
| lutely examining its bloody blade l heard
| the steps of a couple OF men running rapid
| ly toward me-
lone was an officer and the other mo-
| torman on the line which passed my house.
| l happened to know the officer well and the
motorman by sight 1 hurriedly explained
| my connection with the knife, and we all
| three FASTENED to the foot of the tree, where
| the murdered mans figure was lying tum-
| bled in a heap. We dragged it into the
moonlight. g..
'If my feelings up to that moment had
been those of horror. you may well inn
agine what they must have been when we
all recognized the features of my nearest
neighbor and a man between whom and
myself existed the bitterest enmity over a
political feud OF long standing, which had
consummated into deep personal resent
ment. My two companions exchanged
meaning glance. The officer, who was I'M
| der the strongest political and personal OBJ
legations to me. and who probably felt that
perhaps my story was true. followed my
| instructions to rout out of bed post haste a
physician who lived directly opposite. The
doctor appeared in a moment or two, half
| dressed, and pronounced the man dead.
Web of Circumstantial Evidence.
"And what do you suppose were the up
permost thoughts in my mind at that mo-
ment, which. happily. comes to but few
men? thought of but two things. diamet-
rically opposite. First, that my sweet
heart would believe in my innocence to the
| last. and, second. while 1 had read of and
seen enacted on the stage similar instances
OF deadly circumstantial evidence fastening
a crime on an innocent man, realized how
| terrible it was in real life to disprove ap-
rarently positive evidence of guilt.
my arrest, release on heavy bail after a
prolonged fight and my arraignment and
| trial are matters of detail. The evidence
of my guilt seemed SO positive that my
conviction Of murder in the second degree,
| II not In the first, appeared assured. My
sweetheart was unwavering in her faith in
my innocence, and her magnificent courage
and steadfast, loving support sustained me
| in the days of suspense before the trial.
1.-THE prosecution wove a complete web
| of circumstantial evidence around me. The
murdered man and l had had quarrel
| which nearly resulted In blows at political
primary but three weeks previous to the
| night of the murder, Our Ill feeling was
mutual and not disguised by either Of us,
though under no circumstances would l
have done him mortal harm. They showed
how 1t had been my custom to walk from
my sweetheart's house. and that under or
| binary circumstances 1t took but about an
hour. On the night in question the spare
half hour ingeniously shown to have
| been consumed, in all probability, in a
| wrangle and a fight with my enemy. The
officer and motorman testified to the blood
| on my hands and clothes, the knife in my
| right hand and what had appeared to them
my disheveled appearance. but which, in
| fact, had been caused by my efforts to
| lift a much heavier man than myself and
a dead weight. Residents opposite had
testified to hearing sounds of a struggle.
In short. less discriminating evidence has
sent many a man for life within prison
walls.
my friends. the doctor and the officer,
| though both had been among the principal
witnesses for the prosecution; strangers
good memory and the flash Of single
match in the darkness established my in
nocence.
Effort to Prove an Alibi.
1.-The physician swore that in his opinion
as a medical man the murdered man must
have been dead at least thirty minutes be-
| fore he had examined the body, basing his
opinion upon the rfgor OF the muscles and
the condition Of the blood as it appeared at
the wound. The officer corroborated this
| testimony by declaring that the blood had
not that intense warmth peculiar to life
! fluid as 1t flows fresh from a deep stab
wound. These facts we knew would be
! testified to, as we HprOposed calling both