The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 2, 1903, Page 21

(Pages 21 to 32/ VOL[ ME XC IV—\ O 63. EAN FBANCISCO SUNDAY AUGL'ST 2 1903—FORTY -EIGHT PAGES FOLSOM CONDICTS IN AMBUSH KILL TWO NATIONAL GU)?RDJ‘MEN = FATALLY WWOUND ANOTHER, AND AN OUTLAW IS SEEN TO FALL | all lPagcs 21 to 32| PBICE FIVE CENTS: IN TERRIBLE RIFLE BATTLE NEfiR THE GRflND UIC’TORY MINE N.&TION/?L GUfiRZ)JMAN HENRY UJ.HLTERJ‘ TELLJ OF THE FIGHT lIJI‘TH THE EJ‘CJ?PED CONUIC‘TJ‘ ;» 2t the Grapd Victory mine, c brush. éd. for assistance. ¢ ’*am{ as Licutenant.. ‘)‘nufh diz e 1 ran a-mile to u/’«’(’ wele r‘f onr r,q ‘and l [m’krd uj’ Brggr on '/m.ra q d us up.’ mfo squads ]mms and’ 1!1yrrlf haue been thraugh the- P’uhflvmer and were adeptr at /rmkmg Thinking to head ‘theni off, Lieutenaiit Swmith- took mie aid- anothrr soldier and we went down to the ravine to watch for the convicts, leaving :Lt’ ‘of our men on the hillside llgv .of c’mtr and “one of our-men rushed vut of Hhe brush and rellm’ ‘to-as fromi otie hundred‘yards away Io get doctor: and assistarce. He said two. of our -men were ;th Licutenant and zie drove back to tozm.” o) Troop sMarch|| Into Trap on Hill. Convrcts Fzre and Men Fall. HAssault Tl Be Made To-Day. By P. T. Winslow, | Staff Corresp f The Call,'}'] L ACERVILLE;] | Aug. 1.—Myr-|| der "has “been|] done again,and || this time in|{ A a terrific. battle: by the|] convicts. - -who_ - escaped| | frogy “the penitentiary ati; Folsom a-few: days ago.| Five members of that cut-| throat: crew . ambushed a|! party of National Guards-| | inen this afternoon. |1 J. Festus Rutherford! | and “W. G. Jones, mem-| bers.. of - Company = H;|] Second Infantry, Natiomal|{ Guard of Ca wwrma \\ere;; killed and- A..L. Gill of ‘the| | same - - organization - was|| probably fatally 'wounded in‘ the fight -which oc~ curredat the Grand Vietory | _mine, four miles south of | Placerville.. ‘The houir was| 4:30. oclock. It is thought by ‘surviv=| ors of .the ‘bloody. conflict that least one ‘of the outlaws- was killed. - An|: army of 300 men-has sur- | rounded-the ‘hill. on which!i the . fight occurred. *An- H‘er battie -is -expected | vy daylight, -as -the con- \icrs are too -exhausted to travel. A body of eight militia-|+—— men marched: straight in-|and’ proceeded to 4 poinit] to an. ambush. and - the|aboeut, six. miles: south of three men hit dropped atj Placerville. Besides Smith, | Before| Lon - Bell, Wil and Festus Rutherford Wiltiam.-Bur- gess, W. G. Jones,- Harry Walters and AL Gill were in-the detachment. . They the - first - volley. noon, : to-day, reports: came -pouring ‘in: from farmhouses in the section; of - the - hill: to the- South)i that four suppesed - con-: victs ‘were- making. ‘theiriroad over the hill and: half line. = Three Carried ‘guns Grand Victory. mme and one 4 bundle, whichj ; Convicts Fire presumably ¢ontained am-] ; w Nen -Pod dzer' Iflun]tlon < G Posses ~weére ‘hurriedly] - s i e::;ee: anfll:ouf organizéd - a8d: Sent QUL 2o e tig fr i o oo = S ' drcrs he had seen four men, one ieutenant Smit 1, of CQm’ of whom was the negro, cross the | pany H, took seven men road at that point.” The party l with him in IWO teams alrghtcdand saw the tracl\s ofthe i Grand Vtctory Mi me, B S ! e ém" Which Battle. Eet-"ween 'M'r'lii'i:a and Cb'rzviétfs ‘Was .'Fouglrt' Desperadoes Make Their Escape ./Ifter the fippallmg Conflwt and Are Now Hemmed In by Hundreds of Enraged Pursuers. i — COH\"IC(S. ”Jvhcy tqok up'the traijl | mamcn fired mdncrumnatel\ with' the exception of Walters, | The conviets replied \\ml \OllL_)t: who wis left with the team. ' At: the Grand: Victory mine Lieutenant Smith’ took a course! up-the i gulch aud senit -Bell, the two Riitherfords; Burgces, Gill | and.-Jones strarght up- the hill. They marched in skirmish forma- } Near the top: of the hill the} stopped their team in the {brush was extremely thick. When. tion." Mthm fifteen paces:of the under- 1 hi- L ] way toward - the VCVfldfl’_a mlle away from thei,gros\t on Bell steppcu on.a log and saw’ the ‘convicts uaurh» ing in the chaparral. “There - they: are, bm : ‘shoutcd Instantly the Uutla\\s hred Jones and Festus Ruthcrford fell dead immediately. Gill dropped behind a log with ‘a rifle bullet through his right lung. He raised hrmse]f and fired one shot which’ ‘he thmks struck a comnct as he About . séventy “shots "were "ex- chang_’cd The:outlaivs used riflés - at first.” “Their - last voliey was with re\-ol\era. : Courrers Race to Plac_erutlle " Dith the 'J‘Vews Ihe mrh'uameh retreated in bad order to: the mine, Gill; of the fight. mrnutes -They drove ‘into the "street by. the *Ohio House and discharged a-rifle into ‘the -air as they.tumbled out of the rrg with - the terrible news. A crowd gathered instantly and posses were -dispatched by every-team in sight to’the scene ‘In two. hours the Lhill where the convicts are sta- | | tioned was surrounded.. The out- | ITaws, could hardly drag them, | sel\ es along and dre undoubtedly bleedmg profusely from an awfu'l}m a trap from “hrch then. is o | -] waund, crawled moanmg over he] the rocks to join-liis companions: Festus Rutherford ‘and- Jores were Jeft where they feli. * Smith ran ‘back to his teams and told [ the people gathered there that two then were pn the ground and to get reinforcements and a doc- tor as quickly as possiblc. Wal: escape. Drs. Uren, ‘Frazer and \Ioun- tain were on the scené with the | first outfit and a dozen ‘otlrer phy- | sicians were present before dark- ness fell.© Gill was resting easily, but was rather low as the evening waned.’ y When the posses arrned at the ters, @ boy, and two men, rushed | scene it:"was suggested. that a saw a man fall, The othetr.mil-| their horses to Placerville in forty | party ascend the hill and get the - : | Negro J'eams in the Band _of - Fugitives. I bodies ‘of the dead ‘soldiers, but | noné of the men who had been m the fight w: ould, volunteer fo lead; .so the crowd rested: on its arms, | but maintained -a ' close, guard \\ltl‘l .a sentry every. ten paces.’ ( aptain Swisler Wmted to. attack- ' the convicts at once, and’.volun- | teered, to ‘lead .the attack, but he f)\n\ dissiaded from..making an ~| attempt which-wduld have result- led’ (hflttmml\ The convicts. will not be taken and there is little doubt-that more |men wil! .imeet’ death at their hands. The man hunters do . not | flinch, "and’ eagerly -~ await ' the dawn.. Al'Gill said as he lay on a bed at the; mmmg camp to- night : ; }' “Lon Bell saw them’ hrst and { showed them to us. Before we Coufd. aci the -convicts: ‘blazed -away. They waited until we were almost on top of them. 1f Bell had not seen them, we would | liave'walked to the muzzles -of | their: guns. I fell behind a lo.g Jand, kne\» at once that I was hard | hit. Then 1 faised my gun, fev- eled it oft a-cdnvict just as he. was taking aim and fired. - He fell without shooting and think I killed him. They had us -dead to rights.” : S szens .flre S Enraged and Demaqd Livés Lreutenaht Smith, who wzs in Continued on: Page 23, Column 3. - We picked up the trail near the mm. and fal-—} | Closmg In on | the Besieged Convicts. Many Posses - Hurry to |57 dcene, . ‘Gun Is Fired - to Arouse Town. Special -Dispat to The Call. LACERVILLE, Aug. 1.<= Sheriff Bosquit has jiist.res ceived a-telephone message | froin Lotus saying sixteen guards rrom Folsom are on the way:here to the scene of battle. Sheriff Tom | Norman of Amadar. County tele- phones he is closing - in. with a | posse to the spot where the con- | victs fought with the soldiers. | . Sheriff Bosquit says that it is | impossible for the convicts.to.get taway, as a_hundred drmed men were rushed: to the vicinity of the 1 Grand Victory mine and - will | camp ‘out all night. "The bright moonlight night will - help the | manhuniters, The excitement in Placerville is intense. - The streets are crowded with a.few: men, all that-remain in “the .town; and a Xarge number of women and chil- | dren. The time at whuh the soldiets were ambushed ‘was shortly after 5 ‘o’clock this evening. - Shortly | before 6 o'clock a double. team carr\mg Henry ‘Walters of. Coms= pany H and- V olunteer G. A, | Biggs dashied into- ‘the main street | of Placerville from theé scene of i action. Walters, fited: his rifle_in the air, and in'.an. mstant the [ whole city was in @ state of \uld e\cnement Every one flockéd to thé arm: or_v and soon “the: news. spread. The convicts had cunmningly Tid themselves in the bushes and fired a volley of shots-into the’ soldiers who were ' tracking them.. -Wal- | ters and his companion h\rl been, - | rushed .back to Placerville for doctors and more armed me. In twenty minutes rlnuhk teams and wagons were (ome\mg armed | thien to the scene of action. Prs. J. - C. Wren aml N.“W. Mountajn have gone to the sceie of battfe. The posse of Depity: Sheriff Bo>qurt consisted -of John Sex=: ton,- Frank \ounq Frank -Allan and-Clarence Peters. .This'passe went to the place; where the‘con- victs had been reported ta be, proceedmg by ‘the. Texas Hill road via- Bells ta rhe (Jraml Vlc- tary mine.. .- - s The: ught members of‘tne mr.]r- . tia who. wefe ammbushéd: Ly the convicts were under comtand oi' : LreutcnamT F. Smith, his men : beéing . ‘Henry Walters, W.: G : Jones, W.. -C. Butgess; Wt Rutherford .“T: Belt, A W, Gill and J: F, Rutherford: The. soldiers went from’ P]acervflle mn - | another chrectron to.the. sccne of action. - .Every man w ho can’ h:md!e a' nfle has rushed from Placetville. in teams and on horseback and- the whole eountry -is up i armd. l For Further Detdls See !sp' ‘ll‘