Weekly journal-miner., 1909-04-28
WAS IT FOUL MURDER?
 THE KILLING OF CARSON
His Head Smashed by Blow Partly
 Blown Away and Skull = h.. ..,. =. = Shot to Pieces.

] Frank Garcia was the first witness
 who. testified at the eoroner's jury. He
 said that he saw Superintendent Car son alight from the northbound train at Il o'clock. Carson had, two pint
 ffasks filled with whiskey. Witness saw him drink half of the contents of one. flask. Witness left Carson in the room occupied as an office and bed room and about noon was informed Dy the. cook, Henry Tanaka, Japanese, that Carson was dead. Witness went to the. cook s room and found the dead body of Carson as described.
 Henry Tanaka, the cook, was the next witness called. He said that the government workman, meaning A. R.. Gillie, had slept the last three nights ill the dining room. A short time be- fore noon he heard a snapping sound from the direction of the dining room and kitehen to the outside. Witness went into the room occupied by Car son as a bedroom and office and found Carson bleeding from a wound in the head. Carson asked for warm water and bandages and after getting same requested Tanaka to go to the tele- graph office and telegraph D. Yount that he was ill and come at once. Wit ness saw Carson bleeding from a wound in the head.
 Three Mexieans employed at the kilns. who were washing in the place occupied as bunkhouse preparing for dinner, testified that they heard a shot in the eookhouse building. Bap- tiste Acoste, one of the three, said that Tanaka, the cook, was about three hundred yards distant from the camp at the time the shot was fired, going in the direction of the railroad sta tion.
 These witnesses admitted seeing no one come out of the building where the shot was fired.
 Sheriff Smith and Undertaken Les ter Ruffner, testified of finding a pis- tol belonging to Carson in the room occupied by him as bedroom and of flee. The weapon was cooked and ly- ing on the bed covered with blanket
 It is generally believed that after he was struck by Gilhe, in the affray in the dining room, Carson, after des- patching the cook to telegraph for Dr. Yount, cooked his pistol and laying tt on the bed, walked into the cook s room for his rife. It was his custom to leave the rife in the cooks room when he left camp. Grasping the wea- pon, some say the gun was discharged infiicting the fatal wound. Still oth- CTS asset that the wound is the most peculiar .gunshot wound ever seen by them, even going so far as to state that Carson's skull was broken by a blow from a sharp, heavy weapon be- fore the shot that entered on the right side of the head was fired,
 Carson has been superintendent of the Puntenney lime kilns five years. He was g years old and leaves a wife and one child, three years old, l surviving. His wife and child are vis- iting relatives in WarnertOn, Louisi- ana.
 He was deputy sheriff under Sheriff l Smith until last Saturday, when his | commission was revoked after an in- vestigation of an affray with some Mexicans at Cedar Glade, in which he is alleged to have exceeded his official authority. He had been drinking, more or less, since that time, and is alleged | to have made threats against resi- dent of Cedar Glade, even going 80 far as to inform the coroner that his services would be needed in a few days at Cedar Glade after he returned to that camp.