Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1905-10-14

to XIII Him-Man and Woman In
duce William Ellis 10 Come to Cali.
fornia-Hit Him With = Hammer,
Rifle Pockets, Leave Him for Dead.
Berkeley, Cal, Oct 13.-A DARING
plot To lure an Australian sporting
man. William E. Ellis, to a quiet place
, in Berkeley and there murder and rob
him of 1000 pounds in English cur
rency, which he had on his person.
was partially carried out this after
noon by a man and woman whom the
police believe to be desperate crooks.
They had persuaded Ellis to come with
them to America and race horses
here
They have brought Ellis from ho-
tel in Oakland TO a cottage at 2214
Ellsworth street. a stones throw from
the University of California, bade him
SIT down TO lunch, then crushed his
skull in with hammer. The woman
fired two shots at him as he lay pros
trate. The crooks riaed his pockets
of an amount equal nearly to $4,000
III American money, then, leaving their
victim for dead, hurriedly left the
house and made their escape Ellis
regained consciousness and staggered
to the California stables, two blocks
away On Allison way, and from there
was carried to Roosevelt hospital
wnere the doctors found he had a frac-
tured skull. He is in a precarious CON
dition tonight.
Ellis home is at 235 Crown street.
Sydney, Australia, where his wife and
three children reside He is a promi-
nent horseman there and met his as
sailants there during the late racing
season. They represented themselves
to be a MI and Mrs S. W. Curtis, but
assumed the name of Brush in this
country. Curtis claimed to be a
wealthy race horse man, owning big
stables here He offered Ellis the pO-
sition Of manager of his stables and
induced him to sail with them on the
steamer Sierra, which arrived in San
Francisco one week ago.
Curtis and the woman came to
Berkeley and rented a furnished cot
tage from local parties. Ellis took
apartments in a hotel in Oakland. The
couple evidently had made all prepare
lions to carry out fiendish crime,
a bowie knife, stiletto, pistol, butch
er knife, bottle of poisonous acid and
pair of rubber gloves were found
hidden under the bedcovers adjoining
the dining room, where the assault
took place The carpet nailed to the
dining room floor was ripped up and
a large piece of thin oilcloth was put
down instead, evidently for the pur-
pose of avoiding bloodstains on the
carpet.
Ellis skull was fractured by blow
from a hammer welded by Curtis, who
approached him from behind while the
guest was seated at the luncheon ia
bic. Ellis held up his hand to ward
off a second blow and received the
weapon on the wrist, which was badly
bruised. The injured man says he
saw the woman standing with a revOl-
yer and that she fired two shots at
him.
Curtis tore the coat from Ellis and
found a roll of notes to the amount of
1000 pounds in Ellis hip pocket III
their haste the robbers overlooked
S513.35 in American money in other
pockets.
That Curtis and the woman made q
hasty escape is shown by the fact
that they left complete wardrobe OF
the most costly clothing behind, in
Guiding the contents of two large
steamer trunks. In al this clothing
and personal effects there was not a
single photograph or mark that will
lead to the Identification Of both par
ties. John Edward, a high school
student, playing tennis 100 yards from
I the scene, says he heard the screams
i or a man in pain about 3 0 clock. Ten
minutes later he saw a tall man in a
+. light suit, with a small woman, in a
I. brown dress, running down Ellsworth
. street to catch a car. The description
of the parties TALES with that of the
clerk of the hotel who met them when
they visited Ellis apartments yester'
day. The neighbors who saw them
going in and out the past week say
the woman was slender, blonde and
/. wore many diamonds and dressed
elegantly.