Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1908-07-24


and had also visited the store room
which they had found open. In this |
store room ne said was a can partly |
filled with coal oil, and it was his
opinion that it was there for the ex-
press purpose OF burning down the
house. lie said that while there he
had told Botto the reason of his
visit. Ho stated at first that there
were no coal oil lamps in the hotel,
that only electricity was used except
ing when that would be turned off
candles were used. But upon cross
examination he remembe red that
there was a large hanging lamp in the
barroom, but could not recollect the
one in the dining room.
The next witness to take the stand
was Emil Botto who accompanied
Bryant on his tour of inspection of
the hotel few days before the fire.
lie corroborated the statements of the
latter concerning the contents Of
the store room. On the night of
the fire he was asleep at his home on
Suite. hill. and it was about five or
ten minutes after the fire had broken
out that he reached the scene. While
he was standing few feet from the
dining room, where the fire seemed
to be raging the fieTcest, he heard an
explosion very much like a coal oil
can, and immediately afterward de-
tected a strong odor of burning coal
oil. Immediately he went to the
store loom and removed the lawn
mower which he found there, but
the coal oil can, which he and Bry
ant had noticed few days previous
was missing.
Thursday morning the first witness
was Emil Lucot, who testified when
the alarm OF fire was given, he had
left his home, going TO the Summit
house almost Immediately. lie found
the front door closed, but upon try
ing it found that it was not locked.
Entering he found the cash register
gone, while the nickel-in- the-slot
machine was still standing there, but
the back door of it had been pried off
aud the nickels removed.
Alex Davis said the slot machine
was his property, and had been placed
an the Summit house, with the under
standing that he aud Borello would
share equally in the profits or losses
of the machine, bat the keys to the
money sack we're IN his Davis
possession at the time of the fire,
while BnreIlo had only key to the
top of the machine in case a nickel or
coin should become damned.
John M. Fullen said three or four
days proceeding the fire Agostino had
visited his saloon at Martell station
and bad offered a mum Der of nIckels
in exchange tor large coin. Having
only tour dollars on hand at the time
he had taken that amount of nickes
but had been urged by Borello to
take more.
Mrs Annie Campbell was employed
at the Summit house for period Of
two years before the fire. Borello
running the place until he sold out
to &. Rossi The BoTello brothers
and Ross left the hotel about a week
or ten days before the fire, presum-
ably for San francisco, tbs. keys to
the place being given TO her. Borello
returned a few days before the fire,
and took the keys from her. She
could not remember having seen
lamps or a can Of coal oil about the
place, but had used kerosine, which
was kept in bottle, about the beds.
Though she visited the store room
every day for provisions, she had
never seen a five gallon can, supposed
to contain keIosine in the room.
In taking the testimony of John
Poinelli and Luigi Milo it was necess
airy to call an interpreter in the
Italian language. The former had
seen Domenco Manzo at his saloon
about eight thirty or nine O'Clock the
evening of the fire, hut had not seen
Elm again that evening, though he
had stayed up most of the night
watching his own house TO see that it
did not take fire. Milo said that he
had seen Borello and a man who had
cume from San Francisco with him a
week or more before, but did not
know who the man was.
Wendell Jones, who lived directly
across the road from the Summit
house, testified that he had seen
l{nralio return from San Francisco