The sun., 1903-10-18
BANDIT ASKS FOR RELEASE.
CHRIS EVANS, NOTED TRAIN ROB.
Der, WANTS TO nj FAROLED.

Has Been In Folsom Prison, Cal. foe Eleven
Years for His Share IN Remarkable
Series OF Crimes-A Great FiSht Put
Up by Him and His Pal when CauGht.
San Francisco, Oct. l2.--Chris Evans's
appeal for release on parole from Folsom
Prison, where he has been confined eleven
years for train robbing. recalls the most
remarkable crimes In the history Of Cali
fornia and an extraordinary man hunt
In the Sierra Nevada that extended over
several months and finally ended In fierce
battle. In that battle John Sontsg, Evans Q
companion, was killed and Evans emerged
with tho loss Of his left hand and ono eye
and was sent to Folsom Prison for life.
There he has been q model prisoner,
never making any disturbance and never
joining in any Of the plans for escape made
by desperate prisoners. This restraint on
his part Is due largely to his love for his
wife and daughter, who remain In his old
home at Visalia, waiting patiently for him
to return. In his letter to the Governor
asking for release on parole, Evans says:
am not innocent Of wrons sdoins. for n I
had not violated the law I would not be In
prison: but they were errors Of the head.
not Of the heart. permitted my sympathies
for the victims of corporation greed to over
come my judgment. but II I have stnned I
have suffered. lost my right eye and left
hand and have been separated nom my
wife and children. who love mo dearly. for
over eleven years.
Though Evans pretends that his crimes
were inspired by revolt against railroad
greed, it Is very doubtful II this was moro
than minor factor In urging him to rob
Southern Pacific trains. That this hos
tility to great corporation was useful to
Evans there is no doubt. for he would have
been captured on several occasions had It
not been for tho protection and help given
him by the mountaineers Of Tulare county.
who look upon all organized law as the
moonshiners Of east Kentucky and Tennessee
regard revenue officers.
The story OF Chris Evans, II told In q
romance, would be regarded as improbable.
Certainly Robert Louis Stevenson in "Dr.
Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde" never drew ANYTHING
stranger than the actual characters as
sumed by Evans in the prosaio little town
Of visalia, in the heart Of the great San
Joaquin Valley.
Evans first appeared in California in the
mountains Of Tulare county. He was Q
fairly good carpenter, but worked at wood
chopping or any roug gh farm work that he
could get to do. With him came John
Sontag. dark, good looking fellow who
had one finger gone from his left hand.
Evans said that he had studied for tho
priesthood in Canada, but hadgiven 1t up and
como West. He said also that he and Son.
tag had had trouble on the railroad while
working and had to leave IN a hurry and
dee over the mountains
After several years Evans married Mary
Byrd. the ffteen-year- daughter OF
mountain farmer; and when old Byrd died
Evans and the widow moved down to Vi
salia. There Evans worked industriously
for years, and Sontag lived with him.
1t was understood that Sontag was en-
gagged to Eva Evans, the fourteen-year-
daug ghter. Chris Evans had q small farm
and was interested In a mine In the noun
tains. He did carpenter work also when
ever he could get it. He was respected by
every one in Visalia, for he was honest,
paid his debts and had only one vice. that
less.
Visalia is q town which inherited, like
several towns in the San Joaquin Valley,
bitter hatred for the Southern Pacific
company. When the survey for tho railroad
was done in the valley Visalia was on the
main line, but the people refused to give the
railroad the amount. of land required for
station purposes, and the company, which
had then an absolute monopoly built it's
road around the town.
1t was years before q branch line ran
to Visala. This embittered all the people,
and high freight and passenger rates added
to their wrath. Near there was the Mussel
tween the original settlers and tho railroad
agents, who had to evict them. a conflict
which forms tho climax Of Frank Norris's
novel the Octopus.
Evans naturally shared In this popular
hatred Of the great railroad monopoly,
and no doubt he counted upon it as means
of escape when he began his career az
train robber.
1t was in February, 1889. that the State was
startled by daring robbery in a Southern
Pacific train near Pixley, Tulare county, BY
two masked men. They seemed to ex-
press messengers and train officers like old
hands at the business. for they were cool
car with dynamite and looting the safe in
q skilful way.
They secured several thousand dollars
In coin and bills, but didn't injure any OF
the train hands That they were reckless
of human life however, was shown by the
way in which they shot down two passen-
gers who had crawled forward from their
cars to see what was being done.
The leader of the robbers, who was on
guard turned a sawed-of shotgun against
these two men and as quick as flash riddled
them both with buckshot. Then the rob
bers vanished into the night. All that the
trainmen heard was the regular beat OF
horses hoofs as somerig was rapidly driven
along the road toward Visalia.
A small army Of detectives and Sheriffs'
deputies descended on Pixley and the sur
rounding country the next day. but not a
single clew was obtained, and the robbery
soon passed into the limbo of criminal
mysteries. The most plausible theory was
that some Eastern experts, passing through
California, had planned and carried out the
work
Eleven months later, in January, 1890, the
same train was robbed again by two men,
this time near Goshen, and a tramp, who
was riding under car and who stuck
his head out to see what was going on
was filed full of lead by the same man
who carried the same deadly sawed-of
shotgun. Pretty good descriptions of the
two men were obtained and 1t was found
that their buggy tracks led to Visalia.
That town was overrun by sleuths, but
no strangers had been seen and 1t seemed
folly to suppose that any Of tie old resi-
dents had suddenly developed criminal
instincts and become expert train robbers.
One Of the men who were appealed to for