The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 25, 1895, Page 10

10 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, MARCH 25, 1895. HIS BODY 1§ TURNED T0 STONE, THE REMAINS OF MRs. FAIR'S FATHER, THOMAS ROONEY, PETRIFIED. - *NOW AT CALVARY CEMETERY. ACTION OF SILICA OR LIME THE| PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE TRANSFORMATION. Down at Holy Cross Cemetery, in San Mateo County, there isan imposing mauso- | lenm waiting for the reception of the earthly remains of Mrs. Theresa Fair and her family, and probably no other tomb in all America will have the distinction with which it is destined to be marked. At present there are the remains of four persons to be laxd in the vaults of the gran- | ite mausoleum. One of them is petrified, and so preserved by the secret processes of nature that its form is true to life, and no | doubt will remain so Jong as the stone re- | sists disintegration. This is the extra-| ordinary distinction that will cling to the magnificent family tomb that has just been finished in Holy Cross Cemetery—one full of interest for the scientific mind and as- tonishment for the public. The petrified remains are those of Thomas Rooney, the father of the late Mrs. Fair. Rooney lived for many years in the mountain mining districts. He died on August 14, 1876, and was buried in the cemetery at Angels Camp, Calaveras | County. The earth where his body was laid islargely composed of silica, one of the com- ponents of quartz, thongh in a different state, and poss d of qualities having the power of petrifaction, or more cor- rectly of silicifying organic substances and changing organic tissues into a glass-like body known as silica. Although no opportunity for scientific investigation was possible in the present case, ientific men familiar with the geological 1 conditions and action of silicates on organic substances, have no doubt that the remains of Thomas Rooney were sub- | jected to the influence of quartz in some form while lying in the mountain burial ground, and that his tissues were rapidly silicified. . The petrified body is now in a temporary vault in Calvary Cemetery in this city, whence it will be taken to the mausoleum erected by his daughter, Mrs. Fair. A very strange feature of the phenome- non, for such it really is, cannot be easily explained. Rooney’s body underwent the change, while the remains of his wife and son, resting on either side, returned to ashes. 3 John T. Rooney, the son, died July 2, 1854, and was interred at Angels Camp. On June 16, 1 Mrs. Alice Rooney, Mrs. Fair's mother, departed. She was lai¢ a few feet from her boy. And when old Mr. Rooney passed away in the August follow- ing he was buried between them in the family plat. Together their remains rested there until May 27, 1885, when two under- takers from San Ftancisco, acting for Mrs. Theresa Fair, went to Angels Camp to re- move them to this city. The wealthy lady had not forgotten her own in the most exciting years of her life, | for as soon as she had a vault bnuilt out by Lone Mountain she prepared for their re- | interment in the spot where they would lie beside herself in the long sleep to come. No pains were spared to have the ashes | borne hither with all due reverence. Three | handsome iron caskets were taken to the | mining town, and Henry J. Gallagher, the undertaker, was entrusted with the mis- sion. He selected a triea assistant and both set about their duty with the greatest care. They opened ‘the three graves ana found the coffins rotted away. Only bones and ashes remained of the bodies of Mrs. Rooney and her son, but the undertakers were astonished beyond belief to find the old man’s body hard as stone and so heavy they could not move it in any direction. Four strong men were taken out from Angels Camp to the cemetery, and, with ropes and blocks of timber, the petrified | body was lifted to the surface. It wasno | casy matter, either, for the six men were hard pressed, though exerting all their strength in the work. The body weighed 400 pounds, which added to the metallic casket made a total weight of 600 pounds. ‘When the three caskets were brought to this city they were laid away in Mrs. Fair's vault very privately and without ceremony. The late Mrs. Fair was informed by the | undertaker of what had taken place with | her father’s body and sne saw the face under the glass lid. It is not known if she told her children about it, but she used every means in her power to keep the story secret. Through her influence and the undertaker’s determination not to betray | what he regarded as a professional secret | the strange facts were kept from the public | for nearly a decade. Now, however, it is | known to a few men here and in Angels | Camp, as the story is told among under- | takers as one of the phenomena of the grave. “The coffin in which Mr. Rooney was buried,” said the undertaker to a friend, “‘was rotted away, but the body was pre- served in a kind of stone. Even the hair and his chin beard were petrified, though his nose was flattened as if pressed down by some weight, and the eyes were sunken. The mark of the coat was quite | distinct where the coliar lay upon his | chest, but it seemed to have fallen into the body, as little more than its outline was marked. In moving the body one hand struck something and . broke off at the wrist like a piece of glass. Evidently it ‘was exceedingly brittle, “It took six strong men to ecarry the casket to the vault at Calvary Cemetery, because the total weight was something over 600 pounds. Of course two mien could have carried the other caskets, but then for the sake of appearances we had them take hold of each. I understand the bodies are o be taken fo Mrs. Fair's new mausoleum at Holy Cross, and when that takes place people will be astonished at seeing for themselves the truth of what I have told you.” The only explanation that can be offered by State Mineralogist Crawford in reply to | | a request for his epinion on the subject was that Thomas Rooney’s body had been buried in a subterranean channel where a solution of silica flowed. He stated that a silicious current striking the remains would fill the adipose tissue and change it into a silica, or in plain English, some- thing on the quartz order. Then again the body might have been filled with an em- balming fluid, which, coming in contact with the alkali in the earth, would set up a chemical reaction through which the hu- man body would change rapidly into stone. THE MONEY COMES TOO LATE. Wealth Was Almost Within the Grasp of the Hapless Brunsons. A few short months ago Captain John M. Brunson of the First Troop Cavalry N. G. C.and his wife Ada, the Baroness von Barnekow, started for Germany in search of a fortune. They left here brimming with nope and laid” all their plans before- hand for the enjoyment of the wealth that seemed ready to fall into the lap of the youthful heiress. ‘“The best laid plans o’ men and mice gang aft aglee,”” however, | and ere the Captain and his bride reached Berlin for some reason they changed their | plans. The young couple came to the conclusion that stany watting had to be done they would do it in C:fiilorma. They therefore took passage on the unfortunate steamer Elbe and both lost their lives when the sel went down after being in a collision. Now comes the news that the estate, part of which belonged to the Baroness by right, is in the process of settlement and that it will shortly be ready for distribu- | tion. 5 The information came in a letter from THE ADVENTIST BRIG PITCATRN. SUCCESSOR - OF A LOST* VESSEL THAT WAS PURCHASED ON A SATURDAY. IS THE "CHILDREN'S BRIG.” A SHARP STRUGGLE OVER THE SHIPMENT OF THE Er- WELL'S JAPS. Yesterday was a midsummer day on the water front, and in consequence the wharves were crowded with strollers, an argument in itself in favor of the proposed | intention on the part of the State Harbor | Commission to make the street bordering on the bay a boulevard. The many fine vessels lying at the docks were objects of | the close attention of the sightseers, and | in many instances the decks of the ship- | ping were invaded by the visitors. The ship Elwell, which went to sea bound for Nanaimo with a npon-union | erew, was the bone of. contention between the Seamen’s Union and the Ship- before he left home. His heart was away from home before his body was. Wan- dering thoughts produce wandering ac- tions. The young person who imagines he can think of evil things and not do them is mistaken. Apostacy of heart develops into apostacy of action. The feet g0 where the mind takes them. If we do not wander from God we must crush down every thought of enmity to our Father and his rule. - “His decision to return home was_as much the result of thought as _his decision to go away. First he changed his opinion about himself. ‘He came to himself.” What a curious expression! The parable speaks as if he were two persons. Some eople live far away from themselves. hey broke the looking-glass of conscience years ago and flung it into the gutter, and they do not know what manner of persons they are. When the boy loses his sitaa- tion then and then only he seems to know he has been stealing. The prodigal was awake now. He realized he had made a big mistake. In the bloomof youth he felt the painof a diseased soul. Unless we first come to ourselyes we will never come to God. Conviction of sin precedes confession of sin. ‘‘Secondly he changed his thoughtsabout his father’s service. He was a son before he left home. He was not satisfied, how- ever. He despised the position, now he envied the position of a servant. What a change! he proud, self-willed boy is willing to be obedient and.diligent. ~Ex- {;ericnce has wrought the needed change. erhaps if he had associated with the ser- vants and helped them in their work before heleft home he would have been content to stay. He envied them now for two things. They had enough and they had food to give away.. These two things speak well for the father. It is a blessed thought that God has enough and to spare. “The prodi- gal’s estimate of his father’s possessions is THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST BRIG PITCAIRN. [Sketched for the *Call” by W. A. Coulter.] Berlin, and® Captain Brunson’s father opened it and thus became aware of the sorrowful fact that the thousands now ready for distribution had cost him a son and a daughter-in-law. Action will have to be taken under the letter, as Mrs. | Robinson, mother of the Baroness von Barnekow, will be a beneficiary in the new state of affairs. As the widow of the Baron and mother of the late Baroness she is entitled to a double portion. : The First Troop Cavalry, with which Captain Brunson was a great favorite, are now satisfied that he was drowned when the Elbe went down. An election will accordingly be held in a few days to fill the vacancy caused by his death. FREAK OF TWO MASKED MEN THEY HOLD UP A MILKMAN AT AN EARLY HOUR ON POTRERO AVENUE. HEe Was Torp To DRIVE ON, as HE ‘Was Not THE MAN THEY ‘WANTED. Two masked men, evidently thirsting for revenge for some real or fancied wrong, almost frightened a milkman to death at an early hour yesterday morning. The milkman was Henry Heltzenster, 1032 Eighteenth street. He was driving along Potrero avenue, about half past2 o’clock, and when near Twentieth street he observed two men leaning againsta fence under the shade of a tree. He kept his eye upon them and his hair stood up on end when _one of them stepped quickly to the middle of the roadway. The man wore a black derby hat and a long dark overcoat, and he had a dark colored mask concealing his features. His right hand was in his overcoat pocket, and the milkman was sure a re- volver was clutched in it from the way in which the overcoat bulged at that particu- lar point. The man raised his left hand | and said in a quiet determined voice, “Pull up.” The command was so quickli obeyed that the horses were pulled bac! on their haunches. . The man looked at the trembling milk- man, who was prepared to hand over the few dollars he had in_ his pocket and _his watch, and then startled him by saying, “Turn your face round to the light.”” As the mis of a gaslamp played on his face the other man stepped a few feet forward out of the shade, and the milkman saw that he also wore a mask. Just then the horses moved forward, and in a menacing tone one of the men said, *Don’t try that on.” The horses were instantly pulled up. The two men held a hurried consultation, the only words the milkman could hear being, “ino, that’s not the man.” Then the one who first told him to stop made a motion with his left hand and said, “You can go.” The terrified milkman did not require a second bidding. He started off ata gallop, and when he got to a safe distance he looked around and saw the two men turn- ing into Twentieth street. He reported the affair at the Seventeenth-street station and later at the Central station. He de- scribed both men as about medium height, but that was all the description he coul give. The police think that the two men have a grudge against some milkman who has given information against them some time, and they were lying in wait to get even with him. Highest of all in Leavening Power.—Latest U.S. Gov't Report Rl ABSOLUTELY PURE Baking Powdexr s | owners’ Association. Early in the morn- ing a squad of Harbor police officers in charge of Sergeant Mahoney went to 11C Prospect place to escort five Japanese to the vessel. They found the strikers’ pa- trols already on the ground, and a short, sharp conflict occurred. William Aiken, one of the strikers, refused to leave the locality and was severely handled by the police. The unionists claim that the Japs had been mu! ted by Kane, the boarding mas- ter, and the Japanese landlord of one of the houses $10 apiece, which is in violation of the new shinping laws, the little brown sailormen being ignorant even that their wages were being tampered with in ad- vance of their proposed voyage. . The strikers also claim that the officers forced one of the “‘scabs” to go aboard the vessel. They allege that he was the only one who could speak English, and finally learning of the imposition refused to go. Besides the Japanese the Elwell took seven Italians, three of whom were off the ship Macdiarmid and run aboard by “‘Cocoa” Lanteri, the Italian boarding- house keeper at 116 Broadway; also a Greek, a Chilean and an American de- serter from Mare Island. 9 The schooner Laura Pike went out in the stream with two non-union men. The schooner Charles R. Wilson went to sea with a $35 crew after waiting several days for non-union men. unable to get a crew and is held back from sailing. The ships Cyrus Wakefield and Two Brothers and the bark Ceylon are almost ready to sail and will each need full crews. A battle royal is being quietly fought between the union and the associa- tion over their equipment. The union is determined thatthe law making the accept- ance of a sailor’s advance and the holding of his clothing for debt Punishnble by fine and imprisonment, shall be strictly en- forced. The case of Edwards, who signed an advance of $22 75, will be prosecuted, as Secretary Furuseth of the Seamen’s Union has the order in his possession. The Seventh Day?Adventist missionary brig Pitcairn is fifting out for a_cruise ramong the South Pacific islands. She was built at Vallejo several years ago to take the place of the missionary schooner Phebe Chapman which was’lost in the South Seas. This disaster waslooked upon by a large number of the members of the | Adventist church as a judgment sent upon her and her co-religionists because she was ‘Enrchused at auction in Honolulu on a aturday. For a while the question of accepting her even after the purchase was completed was a subject of much dissen- sion, but the elders considered that as she was hard and fast on their hands the end must sanctify the means and she was sent away with ‘a load of missionaries and station supplies and disappeared forever from the ocean, leaving not a vestige of her- self and people behind. Her successor, the Pitcairn, was built from the penny contributions of the Sab- bath-school children of that church .all over the United States. The little tots brought their cent-pieces, stamps, nickels and dimes to the treasury until the pur- chase price was raised and she is known as the “Children’s Brig.” The vessel is valued at $10,000. She is found to be too small for the service and will be sold after this coming trip and a larger vessel built. THE PRODIGAL'S RESOLUTIONS. The Rev. Dr. Gibson Discusses the Eater of the Husk The resolutions of the Prodigal Son gave the Rev. Dr. Gibson the subject for the sermon which he preached at Emannuel Baptist Church last night. After singing ‘“The Good Shepherd,” by Millard, the preacher said: “Last Sunday we spoke of the two journeys; to-night we shall speak of the two resolves. Before we g0 ona journey we think about it. Our minds travel along the road before our feet do. Thought precedes action. The Prodi- al must have resolved before he acted. e resolved to io away and he resolved to return. In both cases the change was in- ward before it was outward. Like other boys he lived for a number of years a con- tented, happy life. I think his desire to leave home started in the conviction that his father was keeping something from him. His request for all his property sug- gests this. andering away from God be- gins in bad thoughts. “This young man wasa prodigal long The bark Columbia is | | the Bible’s estimate of God’s possessions. In him is plenteous redemption. Pau | speaks of the exceeding riches of his grace. “Thirdly, he changed his thoughts about his father. Through all his despair he | clung to the word father. Wandeéring had 1 not changed the relationship. His father was still his father. This was the thought that brought him home. This is the thought that brings every prodigal home. We need right thoughts of God, just as we need right thoughts of ourselves. Along with the prayer ‘Lord, show me myself,’ we need {‘lm other one, ‘Lord, show me thyself.” Ob, that every wanderer might have a vision of his Heavenly Father in the words of Jesus Christ. You are stray- ing away because you have wrong views of him. ~ You think he is your enemy. It isnot so. He was your Father before you went away. He is your Father now. Try and change your thoughts about God. He is willing to receive you, because he is your Father still. Oh, that some of you thinking on these things would make the prodigal’s resolution, ‘I will arise and go to my father.” TOR A NEW BLYTHE BLOCK. MRS, FLORENCE BLYTHE-HINCKLEY IS CONSIDERING WAYS AND MEANS. THE NEecessary Funps To BE RAISED BY A SALE OF PROPERTY. Mrs. Florence Blythe-Hinckley and her legal advisers, anticipating the final dis- tribution of the Blythe estate, are looking far into the future and planning what they will do with the property when once it comes beyond question into their hands. | _ According to the ideas of the heiress and her friends a modern business block of many stories would grace the western por- tion of the famous Geary-street gore block. So it is Emposed that the present building occupied by the City of Paris shall be en- larged to cover the entire plot of ground between Geary and Market streets and Grant avenue and Brooks alley. The money with which to build the structure is to be raised by seiling the triangular bit of land east of Brooks alley. ‘When it was srect.erf the City of Paris building was considered one of the best of its kind, but since then such an advance in architectural science has been made that it is now thought old-fashioned and behind _the times. For that reason, though it will be incorporated in the new | structure, it. will be thoroughly over- hauled and remodeled, so that the pro- posed block, when completed, may not suffer by comparison with the Mills and Crocker buildings, “The idea is,” said General Hart yester- day, “to erect on that valuable piece of ground a building which will e not only a paying investment but a credit to the city. The expense will be great, but to defray it the triangular piece of land at the eastern extremity of the block will be sold. *‘The plans? No, they have not yet been drawn nor has the architect been selected. No negotiations for the sale of the point have yet been entered into.” ———— 15 Cents Per Set, Decorated. ‘These beautifully decorated breakfast and lunch sets will be sold for a short time at all GREAT AMERICAN IMPORTING TEA COMPANY’S STORES. Those in want of crockery, chinaware or glassware will do well to visit our stores and get posted on our prices, Newest and prettiest de- igns, shapes and accorations. e The municipal elections in New York and Maine go to show that the Democratic party is getting no better pretty fast. ————————— SIXTY-FIVE new patterns of moldings for picture-frames to start the spring trade. To make room we are closing out about the same number of patterns, perfect goods, at a discount ©0f 25 per cent from 'the regular price. Sanborn, Vail & Co., 741 Market street. = % - What the Ohio River towns seem to need most is a successful fog plow. T TrE NEw Louvee bas opened, 8-14 0’Far- rell street. g AD EDITOR SHOT - BY A FOOTPAD, ‘WALTER P. BLAKE OF THE STOCK- TON INDEPENDENT STOPS A BULLET. IS DANGEROUSLY WOUNDED. THE CRIME Was COMMITTED AT MIDNIGHT NEAR THE PAL- ACE HoTEL. ‘Walter P. Blake, city editor of the Stock- ton Independent, was shot last night in an alley back ofthe Palace Hotel by a foot- pad. The robber made his escape, leaving only his hatas a clew. Blake is danger- ously wounded, but will probably recover. The wounded man has been acting as the Stockton correspondent of the Ex- aminer. He came to this city yesterday morning with his wife to spend the day. He intended to return to Stockton yester- day afternoon, but at the last moment decided to remain here a day longer. . Wishing to see some of his old friends and to consult the telegraph editor on the Examiner on business, he left his wife at the Grand Hotel, where they had rooms, and went to the editorial rooms of that paper on Mission street. About 11:40 o’clock he started to return to his hotel. He crossed Mission street and entered the alley leading from Mission to Market and running along the west side of the Palace Hotel. The alley was dark and apparently de- serted, and he struck up a brisk walk. He had just passed a little byway known as Lick alley when a man, who had been crouching in the shadow of the fence, leaped out with a pistol in his hand, cry- ing: “Throw up your hands.” Blake obeyed. Both hands went up im- mediately, and in the second that they did s0 he observed that the footpad was a | short, thick-set man with a long coat. Blake had no time to see more. When his hands went up a heavy walking-stick that he carried in his right hand went up in the air too. Then it came down with a swish and a thud on the surprised foot- pad’s head, knocking off his hat. The journalist did not stop to see the effect of his blow. Quick as a flash he turned and ran toward Market street, call- ing for help. He only ran a few feet. The footpad called once for him to stop and then fired one shot. It was enough. The bullet struck the fleeing man just above the hip and he fell in a heap on the sidewalk. It was then the footpad’s turn to run. He started down the alley to Mission street, leaving his hat where it had fallen. As he turned toward Second street he was seen by Peter Dalton of 12 Elizabeth street, who, hearing the shot, had just come out of a restaurant. Dalton says that he tried to stop the footpad, but the man eluded him and ran down Second street toward Howard. He describes the man as being about five feet, six inches tall, heavy set, with a sandy mustache. He thinks the robber is about 30 years of age. He could tell nothing about his clothes. A number of people heard the shot. But most of them expected to hear a second report and thought it would be safer to wait till the trouble was over before ap- pearing on the scene. At last they ven- tured out and Blake was discovered lying 02 the sidewalk groaning. He .was carried to the hotel and un- dressed. It was then found that the bullet had entered the back on the left sidea little above the hip. As he was running, the ball glanced upward making a hole in the skin about three inches above and to the left of the navel. Although the skin was punctured the bullet remained im- bedded in the body. A Dr. Brooks, who was stopping at the hotel, did what he could. He had no in- struments for probing, and a search was at once made for a surgeon. A dozen tel- ephone messages failed to gain a single response. Finally Dr. J. E. Noble was reached. He made a hurried examination and found the bullet lodged just beneath the skin. It was easily removed and showed that the pistol used was of 38-caliber. No at- tempt was made by either of the surgeons to probe or wash the interior of the wound. It is not definitely known, therefore, whether the abdominal cavity was pene- trated or not. If it has penetrated the wourdl is a dangerous one and might prove fatal. The doctors think that owing to the pe- culiar position in which Blake was running the bullet passed only along and through the muscular wall of the side without pen- etrating. Such a wound will be painful for some time. Walter P. Blake is well-known as a newspaper man throughout the entire Pacific Coast. He has worked at San Diego, Fresno and other southern cities. In the Northwest country and in this city he has also been employed, and has won many friends by his talents and genial dis- position. For the past six months he has been liv- ing in Stockton with his wife and three children. Blake bore the suffering caused . by his wound with great fortitude. He was un- able to give a description of his assailant other that* he was a short thick-set man and had a pistol. ° He had no idea he would be shot. His idea in striking the man, he explained, Wwas to confuse him. He thought the fel- low would be afraid to follow or do any- thing desperate while within only a few hundred feet of Market street and the largest hotel in the city. Dalton, the man who says he saw the robber run away, was sent to the Southern police station. There he told his story again. The description given of the foot- pad will be of little value, as it will fit thousands of men. William Zeigler and Harry Mullen were arrested about 2:30 o’clock this morning by Policemen Ryan and Tuite on suspicion of being the footpads who shot Blake. Mullen answers the descrip- tion of the man seen by Dalton. —_— Accused of Burglary. David Nelson is charged with having stolen an overcoat from Joseph Roseleaf's room on Washington street yesterday, and the exploit caused him to be locked up in the old City Pri- son on a charge of burglary last night. Nelson was found wearing the stolen coat on Broad- way and was arrested by Officer Brodt. ———— Professor Helmboltz’s library has been bought by direction of Chancellor von Hohen!ohe for the Imperial Institute of Technical Physics of Berlin. —————— FRIz SCHEEL at the park keeps the Park News presses rushing to supply programmes.* DEKY GOODS. 1095---SPRING |---1005 DRESS GOODS DEPARTMENT! We take pleasure in announcing the lection ever shown in LOW PRICES. 4 cases ALL-WOOL designs, 2 cases NEW TARTA arrival of 40 CASES NEW GOODS for this department. The assortment includes all the latest and most fashionable Europ-~ ean and American Novelties in both design, color and fabric, and are the grandest col- San Francisco. We will also offer this week three spe- cial lines of New Goods at EXCEEDINGLY 5 cases GENUINE FRENCH SERGE, full 45 inches wide, in all the very latest shades, also black, Price 50c per Yard, Good value for 75c. BLA CK FRENCH NOVELTY DRESS GOODS, 12 different Price 50c per Yard, Regular value 75¢. N PLAIDS, 45 inches wide and 25 different styles, Price $1.00, $1.25 and $1.50 per Yard. The attention of our patrons is respect~ fully directed to the above goods. ’ &GORP 0. RAT:D 1892. 111, 113, 115, 117, 119, 121 POST STREET. DID SENATOR FAIR DIE OF POLSON? Miss - PHOEBE COUZINS' QUESTIONED BY INTER- ESTED PARTIES. CERTAIN DETAILS DISPUTED. ANGUS AND BRESSE DENY BEING IN CHICAGO AT THE TIME ALLEGED. The latest sensational development in the noted Fair will case is thatinsinua- tions are abroad that the deceased mil- lionaire died by poison administered by parties interested in his death taking place at a certain time. Miss Pheebe Couzins, who claims to have | been the affianced wife of Senator Fair, broadly hinted at her suspicions that Senator Fair had been given poison at | more than one time when she unfolded | the secret of her life last Saturday. The suspicions of Miss Couzins are backed up by a San Franciscan who was in a position to know a great deal that occurred to Senator Fair just before his death. This man is keeping in the background for l certain reasons, but when he tells his story the public will be able to form opinions as to whether the suspicions of Miss Couzins are correct or not. The close friends of Senator Fair claim that the poison story is all nonsense, but the public know that the announcement of Fair's death struck all with surprise. To those who saw Senator Fair on the street a week or two before his death he had the appearance of being aman 1n good health. Still some most reputable physi- cians state that he had been slowly dying for months. 1f Miss Pheebe Couzins' sus- icions and the tale of the mysterious San | g‘mnciscan are correct there existed a_plot. ! most damnable in its various ramifica- | tions. The conspiracy not only aimed at the life of a millionaire, but it ran through several years so as to at last bring about the death of Senator Fair just after he had | made a certain will. 2 Louis C. Bresse; who is accused by Miss Couzins with having unduly influenced Senator Fair, laughed when questioned | yesterday about his alleged trip to Chicago with the deceased millionaire. Mr. Bresse is one of the persons afigmst whom Miss | Couzins throws a vague hint in regard to | Senator Fair's death. He was one of Fair's confidential men and is named among his executors in the Picrson and Mitchell will. In speaking of Miss Couzins’ story he said : Miss Couzins’ statement that Angus and my- self were in Chicago with him is absurd on the face of it. We never were East with him. Who would have been left here to attend to his busi- ness interests had we gone East? I cannot for the life of me understand why a | ‘woman like Miss Peebe Couzins should make such a statement. She ought to be aware that it could be ellflg proved we were both in San Francisco at the time Fair was in Chicago. Fair started for wumnrmn in the spring of 1893 to secure contracts from the Government to grade the sandhills around Black Point so as to fill in his North End waterlots. The woman is either mistaken or she is not in her right mind. I know of no one who was with Senator Fair in Chicago but his valet, Herbert Clark, except his son Charles Fair, who was in Chicago at the time the Senator was sick. Crothers, who is a man of about 22 years of age, was attending school at Ann Arbor, Mich., atthe time Fair reached Chicago. -When the Senator was taken sick Crothers, who is his nephew, came to Chicago to see him. He was ‘with him a great deal of the time. The fact is that when I regd Miss Counzins’ story in the CALL this mornifig I looked upon it as a huge joke. Icould not realize how any | T statements in it. STORY | lone of sane mind could make some of the I certainly will not pay at- tention to her charges that any of us cepted her letters to_Senator Fair. The Jate- ment is too absurd. I consider that the lters which passed between Senator Fair and Miss Couzins were those of a friendly business na. ture. She isquite & politician, and I believe she wrote some articles which were of interest to Senator Fair. Then she would write letters tohim inquiring how they pleased him. He answered in the usual formal way, just as he would to any one. I have heard Senator Fair mention her name a few times, but must refuse, as his former con- fidential agent, to state in what connection the remarks were made. Please bring Miss Couzins to our office and let her face Mr. Angus and myself so she can see what we look like. I have never-seen her in my life and I believe she would hardly say she saw us in Chicago when she meets us faco to face. She should have become scquainted with us before she talked so much—with re- Iuctance. Iknow that she did notsee us in Chi- cago and I cannot_understand why any one should pass themselves off as Angus and my- self. Icannot believe that any persons did it, Charles Fair spoke in very much the same strain as did Mr. Bresse. He said: Neither Angus nor Bresse were in Chicago with my father. The statements of Miss Couzins are a surprise to me, & I know some of them are not true. What led her to be mis- taken I do not know. I was in Chicago with Gus Sheehy when my father was 11l and 1 called on him every day. He introduced me to Miss Couzins in & hall- way of the Grand Pacific Hotel one day. That was the only time I ever saw her. When my father left San Francisco for Chicago be was accompanied by a clerk of his by the name of Collinson, I believe. Collinson went as far as Chicago with my father and remained there only two or three days, when he returned to San Francisco. I never saw anything which would indicate that Miss Couzins was more_than an ordinary acquaintance of my father. I believe she must be out of her mind to have made such state- ments unless she is looking for fame. It is ossible that since her arrival in California she as been captured by the climate and desires to take up her residence in this city. If soshe Das taken the means to secure a good advertise- ment. Asshe is a lawyer and is probably seek- ing & name and practice this in the only solu- tionI can find to the question. 1 can easily understand why it appeared that some one was keeping Miss Couzins from my father. He was very ill from erysipelasin the face and an abscess in the ear, and I am sure he did not want many persons talking to him when he was suffering. It was his nature not to offend her by a blunt refusal to offers of at- tention. 1know of but one reason why Miss Couzins should make the statements she hasif they were not made for the purpose of gaining an advertisement. -She wrote some very foolishly worded letters to my father and she has tried u);get them back. She is still trying to secure them, Miss Couzins’ insinuations that my father did not die a natural death are absurd. Dr. Levingston, Dr. Mizner, Dr. Dudley Tait and Dr. Rosenstein all attended him and they know that the cause of his death was disease of the kidneys. Dr. Marc Levingston, who was Senator Fair’s attending physician for several years prior to his death, laughed last evening when spoken to in reé;nrd to Miss Couzins’ insinuation. He said: There were four doctors, two nurses and Her- bert Clark, the valet, who were attending Sen- ator Fair for the five'days prior to his death. Mr. Fairdied of diabetic coma: He wasknown o have been a sufferer from Bright's disease of the kidneys for some time. He was on the verge of dying several times during the last four years of his life. Miss Couzins’ remarks as to his “sudden and strange illness” isall nonsense. He was often so sick that I feared he would die, but he always rallied aiter se- vere spells, which lasted from six to eight hours. When he went over this time in hislast illness I knew it was fatal. After Senator Fair's death his organs were all i removed and examined. They showed plainly the cause of death and were sufficient proof of the absurdity of Miss Couzins’ insinuations of poisoning. Hisstomach showed no traces of oison, His kidneys were greatly enlarged, ing so much over the ordinary size that there was no question as to the cause of his death. Miss Couzins’ statement that I advised Sena- tor Fair not to go Eastis false. On the con- trary, I often advised him to visit different places, After his trip to Chicago in 1893 I Sent him to Yuma. This was in 1894, 1 be- ieve. - T do not believe Miss Couzins is correct in a: other statement. To the best of my rgmem:. brance neither Angus nor Breese went to Chi- cago with the Senator. In fact, I feel sure they were not there, and this tends {0 show that ong part of her story is incorrect. On the other hand is Miss Couzins' plain statement of facts, backed up by letters, and apparently not to be overturned by the discovery of certain discrepancies,