Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-10
LETTERS TELL A
STRANGE TALE
INCRlMINATING DOCUMENTS
FOUND IN ROOMS
LONG BEACH APARTMENTS ARE
SEARCHED BY POLICE
Manuscripts Discovered Show That
Deceased Murderers Brain Was
Busy with Plots to kidnap
and Murder

Sutherland, at 937 Georgia street anu
at the Dudley apartments in Long
Beach, a great number of letters was
found which reveal the utterly criminal
and depraved character of the man.
Sutherland was the husband of Clara
Sinclair Sutherland, the night operator
of the Home telephone exchange at
Long Beach, and part of his time was
spent in that city with her and her
brother Charles Sinclair, who also oc-
cupied apartments at the Dudley.
| Detectives Chapman and Home were
sent to Long Beach early in the day
| to find his apartments and stay there
| in case he arrived there.
AS soon as the detectives got to Long
Beach they searched the rooms occu-
pied by the wife and found numerous
| letters written by Sutherland to her, In
which he told OF plots to rob and even
to murder for the purpose of obtaining
| money.
In these letters, large number of
which had been recently torn to pieces
| and thrown in a waste basket, Suther-
| land stated that he expected shortly to
make a big stake, and when that was
accomplished he and his wife would go
away together to some other part OF
the country and live at ease for the
rest of their days.
| found great package Of letters and
manuscripts wrapped in piece of gro
| GERS paper. on this wrapping was
| pencied the following note to his wife:
ITO My Darling Wife, in case of my
| DEATH
Il love you, dear, better than my
| life. / tried to do right and they
| wouldn't let me. Be brave, little one,
and try to hold onto the little farm:
Good by. CARL"
On another part of this wrapper was
written in pencil
You with single spark of manhood
in you will hand all of this package to
apartment II, Dudley apartments,
Long Beach,"
Contained in the package was a
number of letters, typewriter and
printed in longhand, which showed
that they were intended to further a
criminal scheme formed by Sutherland.
One of the letters will serve as a
sample for all the rest, as of the half
dozen or SO all were Identical in word
ing. 1t was headed "Read Carefully.
Heed"
Blood curdling Letter
MAKE one sound or sign-act or
| sound-give an alarm and you are a
| dead man. We are desperate men and
| care nothing for life. am Black Jack,
| tnC JULIAN duu, with u price OIL 9tUUU
on my head, care not whether 1 die
now or at some other time. You will
| follow me and get into our automobile
| without giving sign. Remember that
have revolver pointed at you from
my coat pocket and can shoot you
down without drawing it from my
| pocket. If you accompany us quietly
all will be well. We will hold you for
ransom, and If your friends put up
| the required amount of money you will
| be released unframed. If they do not
give us the money, or IL they try to
follow us or to rescue you and cap
ture us, you will be killed at once"
This letter was evidently to be hand
ed to someone whom they planned to
kidnap. Accompanying this letter was
another evidently written to be sent
to friends OF the kidnapped man. 1t
was as follows:
"You will read this letter and heed
it and obey 1t to the letter. We have
your friend in our keeping. If you
wish to see him alive you will follow
these directions to the letter and not
try to set officers of the law on us,
for we are desperate men, and If you
try to capture us or rescue your friend
he will be killed and some of you will
also be killed before you get us.
ION tomorrow night you will get
grip and put in it, in gold coin, the
which Is written in blood below. You
will take the Santa Fe train leaving
the LIE Grande station at midnight and
keep lookout on the left-hand side
of the train all the way. Somewhere
between here and San Diego a red
light will be waved in a circle by the
side of the track as the train APP
proaches. AS soon as you see the red
light you will drop the gripsack with
the gold in it from the car window.
If you do this and the correct amount
of money is in it your friend will be
released the next day and returned to
you. If you do not he will be killed.
Be warned in time and do not try to
set men on better men than they, for
we are desperate and do not care for
our lives"
Writes His Autobiography
In a bulky package of manuscript,
wrapped up with the letters, was writ
ten what purported to be an auto
biography of Sutherland.
He related in 1t that he was born
of good and honest parents and had
tried to make an honest way in the
world, but that the world had turned
him down and refused to allow him
to make an honest living.
AS a consequence he had turned
against the world and for ten years
naQ D6on a train TODD6T ana DdnulL.
He described a dozen or more mythical
train robberies which he said he COM
mitted by himself, and, according to
the manuscript, he was also a partner
in train robberies of Black Bart, Son.
tag and Evans, Tracy, Rube Borrows,
Butch Cassidy, Red Wellington, Phil
Foote and other noted bad men of the
west, who have fiourished at one time
or the other during the past twenty
years.
AS Sutherland was but 26 years of
age he must have been mere child
at the time he was engaged in a num-
Der of the robberies he claimed to
have had part in.
Sutherland and his wife lived at the |
rooms at 937 Georgia street last Janu-
ary Early in the spring of the year
he left for Tucson, Ariz., and his wife
went to Long Beach, where she secured
a position as night operator In the
Home telephone exchange.
August IA last he returned to this
city. accompanied by Horning, and the
two men have lived together at the
Georgia street rooms since except when
Horning was in San Diego, wherefrom
he was recalled by Sutherland a few
days ago to engage liz the robbery of |
the Wright and Stilson homes.
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