The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1911-10-17
Especial Dispatch 10 The Call

lSPcSsGt LtSP0sCH 10 nc &dtJ
N ANITA BARBARA, Oct 10
To the faithfulness of a night
|o watchman President Taft and
his party, who were speeding
from San Francisco to Los Angeles
over the coast route early this morn
| ing, perhaps owe their lives. This
watchnan. a Mexican, stationed at
FL Captain bridge, 80 miles north of
Santa Barbara. discovered man i'll
the act of placing dynamite on two
central piers of the 800 foot span
few hours before the train bearing
the president crossed it.
The watchman was attracted to the
north end of the bridge about / 80
this morning by the sound of ham
mer striking against the steel girders
of the bridge. Armed with revolver,
he hurried to the scene, but upon his
approach the man stopped his work
and fled.
Commands of the watchman for the
fleeing man to stop were unheeded, and
several shots were fired in his direc
tion They went wide of their mark
and the man disappeared in the dark
ness.
The watchman discovered under one
pier of the steel structure Fl sticks of
dynamite and Is under the next pier,
To each pile of explosive had been att
tached a 10 foot fuse. The watchman
|carried the dynamite to a place of safety
and guarded 1t the rest of the night.
thinking that the dynamiter might re-
turn to carry out the intended destruc-
tion.
Taft Crosses i'm Safety
His watching was in vain. Wher
the train sped over the bridge toward
the south at about $50 O'Clock, just as
day was breaking, the president slept
soundly, unaware OF the danger he had
escaped and of the man whose atten-
tion to duty had possibly saved his
life.
At dawn the watchman hurried tc
Naples, the nearest railway station,
and reported his experience. The in.
formation was communicated to South
ern Pacific headquarters in Los Angeles
and San Francisco, and before noon
number of railroad detectives, accom-
panied by Sheriff Nat Stewart of Sants
Barbara county, were on the scene.
In the afternoon an investigation was
made by the officers and tonight they
declare that the dynamite was unques
~. l. -
purpose of destroying it, Many were
inclined to believe that the explosives
had been left under the bridge by acci-
dent that railroad employees. blasting
rock in the vicinity, had carelessiy
placed it there. but this theory was dis
PEELED when the fuses were found.
Special Secret Service Agent w. F
Hines of San Francisco, who accoHa-
panied the presidents special as far
as this city, went to the scene with
other of1cers Tonight he said he was
so thoroughly convicned of an attempt
to wreck the train and kill the presi-
dent that he would have number of
secret service men from San Francisco
and Los Angeles working on the case
tomorrow.
The night watchman told the sherin
and special agents that he had seen q
man in the vicinity of the bridge for
two days. and that while he acted
strangely he had done nothing to war
rant arrest. He gave a description of
this man.
Sheriff Makes Statement
Sheriff Stewart tonight made the
following statement of the conditions
upon his arrival at the scene:
I'VE found 40 sticks of dynamite.
Eighteen OF them were placed on the
stone foundation Of the first ples. hid