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About The Albany register. (Albany, Or.) 1868-18?? | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1873)
L P Fisher VOLUME V. ALBANY, OREGON. APRIL 18, 1S73. NO. 33. A HORRIBLE MYSTERV. THE PLACER TRAGEDY MURDER OF "vina" COATES. From the Dally Record of March Slut. It lias remained tor California to add to the chapter of horrors with which this fair sprint; lias been ushered in, the most appall ins; trig edy of all, to give lo the public eye the fringe and edge ol a mystery which seems too close knit to be unraveled, too deeply buried to be dragged from its bloody biding place. Holy writ declares "I here is nothing covered that shall not be ievealed; and hid that shall not be known." Yet here is the recital of a blood-curd ing horror so en wrapped in gloom that, at this hour s search, skill, theory and dis covery have but deepened the black ness of the murderous silence. During several weeks past, dis patches from various points in Placer county have mentioned the dissappearance of a Miss Coates, the search for her by her lather, and his singular death. Ou Friday the body of the unfortunate girl was found, and in a lew hours a representative ot the Record was on the ground gathering facts, and to-day we lay lielbre our readers every material obtainable detail of "the most arch deed ot PITEOUS MASSACRE That ever yet this land was guilty ol." The Coates family consisted of ('. M. Coates, the father, aged at out 50 years; bis wife, now de ceased ; George, a sou, aged about 12; Mary, a daughter, aged 21; Klvina, a daughter, aged 10J years; and an infant son of four or five. Coates came from the southwest to California, nearly ten years ago, and settled at Virginia Town, in Placer county. About four years ago he moved up to Radger Ravine, about one and a half miles southeast from Gold Hill, and about two and a half miles west of Penryn Station, upon the Central Pacific Railroad. About five years ago Mrs. Coates died. About two years ago Coates received new of the death of a rela tive, by which there fell to him a Mnall property. He went East and secured about halt of it; the re mainder, cashed, he received on the day he met his death, as described below. Coates gained his livelihood by tending stock and working in pot hole claims, making but litt le money thereby. He however managed to buy, latterly, a very neat cottage, where his older daughter kept house for him. Here he dwelt, surround ed by his children, and, so far as the world knew, the past few years at least in COMPARATIVE HAPPINESS. Coates was a feeble man, and at times subject to fits, in which he would fall prone upon the earth. He knew ho was not long for this world, and often spoke of his fragile health. We would gladly let the curtain of the past remain undrawn; willingly we will not speak ill of the dead, but that full light may lie thrown upon the dark tragedy here unfolded, and every possible avenue for truth be searched, t is in ssary to go back a tew years, when we find it admitted that while ( 'oates loved his children, he was a harsh man. 1'ity did not often ii l his breast to outbreaking, aiid wh'l 1 not absolutely cruel, he was deemed somewhat callous to the appeals of mercy. In 1 SIM Coates was brought before Justice Moore, of Newcastle, tor cruelty to an orphan child he and his wife had taken to board. Through testimouy whichthe Justice tells us lie was compelled to receive, but motally disbelieved, Coates procured his acqirtttal. The child was a mere infant, and this couple had chained it in an outhouse, left it to wallow in its own filth, and it FINALLY DIED, As is alleged, from sheer inatten tion. An uncle of this little one subsequently meeting Coates knock ed him down, and crying, "Yon murdered my little niece," jumped upon him and kicked and stamped him fearfully. Again Coates was charged with incest, and one or two of his own children, then very young, were witnesses against him, but ad mitted on cross-examination that the charges were false, and that they had been bought up to testify by parlies who desired to ruin Coates and run him off his litt.e plat of land. No one believed Coates guilty, and the universal verdict is that in his family he was a correct father and kind parent, though strict, and that he loved and respected his children. Their behavior, testimony and breeding gave evidence of this also. All these details must be remembered in connection with what follows. THE MYSTERY BEGINS. On the 8th day ot March, 1873, the family was thus situated. James Coates was living with and herding sheep for Robert Majors, about half a mile from his father's house, a ridge of hills intervening, on top of which the Hock was tend ed. Majors is a single man, and has a cabin where he and the boy lodged at the toot of a steep range of hills, in a small ravine. The son George worked at Mr. Gregory's, some tour miles away. Mary, Klvina and the infant boy were at home. At 1 o'clock Coates started for Newcastle, on the Central Pa cific Railroad and four miles dis tant, to receive $670, the remainder of the lquest spoken ot. From Coates' house a trail leads up the hills, along the ridge eastward to Newcastle. This was the road the father took. Another trail leads to the southward up the same ridge, to the spot where James was tend ing sheep and on to Majors' house. Fifteen minutes after Klvina took this path lo visit her brother. Kv ery day or two she made this trip of half a mile, always taking with her the little boy of five years. Rut her father HAD FORBIDDEN HER To go up there, not deeming it best for her to go alone. On this occa sion Klvina did hot take the child with her. It cried to go. She bribed it to remain by giving it a book, a siate and a pencil. Th elder sister remarked this. She was seen to go up the hill side, joyously skipping along, 'A simple child. That lightly drew its breath. And felt its life in every limb.' Klvina, familiarly called "'Vina," was, as before stated, not 11 vears old. She was about tour feet high, remarkably well developed, a pretty girl and exceedingly well formed. She was a pure, blonde, though the free air had blown the tan of health upon her cheek, and her auburn hair bad browned be neath the fervent sun. Her eyes were blue, large, expressive. Rare headed, bare:ioted, but always cleanly, though oft in tattered frocks. "Slie bad a rustic, wooland air" A simple, free-hearted, good-tem pered, well-hchfeved child. THE 11.0T THICKENS. A woodehopper saw Coates three miles upon his road, just where the time 2 P. M, should place him. He arrived less than one hour later at Newcastle, received his money ami started home where be arrived about 4.30 p. It. Finding the girl absent he became angered and re gretful at her disobedience, cut him a switch to punish her, and went up the trail she had taken. We next hear of him ou the ridge over looking Majors' house, about 5.30 p. m. Without coming down he cal ed to the inmates. Majors and James came out. "Is your sister there?" "She is not," was the answer of his son. ."Have you seen her?" "I have not seen her to-day." We can imagine the fear which was then awakened ipher father's heart. "She is lost," he erjed. "Come down and have supper," said Mr. Majors, "then I'll help you search " "No," responded Coates, "She may be at home by this time." And he left for his house. It was between 6 and 7 when he came home. He sat down to the meal .Mary had prepared, but he barely tasted one dish, arose ab ruptly and said, "I must find 'Vina." Then the father and daughter went out upon THE SEARCH. They took different routes and called aloud from all the surround ing hills '"Vina," "'Vina," "Oh 'Vina," but echo alone gave answer, as the name died in vocal waves upon the darkening hill sides. The young moon sank in deep night, but no response. At 10 o'clock, the daughter Mary no longer hearing her father's voice, and concluding he had found Klvi na, groped her way to the house to find no one there but her baby brother. The night wofe away, and the next morning Charles Vin cent, a neighbor, going up the trail from Coates' house toward Majors, found Coates, about 300 yards from his house, lying stark and dead. Upon his lips "the sprier had set the seal ot silence." lie lay upon his face, his right hand beneath his forehead, his left outstretched upon the ground. A few inches from his head was a stone as largo as a man's fist, but it is a country where such stones abound, and no bruise or mark on the body shows that Coates tell upon it in any way. No sign of violence was found upon the body; a slight scratch upon the neck, just below and back of the left ear, was visible, but amounted to nothing. The $670 was on his person. Justice Clough held an inquest, and a verdict ot death by heart disease was rendered, but XO POST MORTEM Kxam ination was had, and here we mark the first error ou the part of the officers. Monday, the 10th, the old man was buried at Gold Hill. A young Italian, who sal up and watched with the corjise on Sunday night, took cold by reason, became ill, and in a few days he was dead. Now all the country was up in search of the missing girl, and for eighteen days it continued. Regular bands of men formed with leaders and scoured every ravine, every bush and canyon. The chief of these searchers were as f! lows, for as they numbered hundreds we can name but a few. From Au burn t here was Sheriff Dunham and a company, mounted and on foot, and Under NhorifV Huntley and a euittpany' Constable Walker and a company from Rocklin; Constable Hearts and a. company from Ophir; Constable llotchkiss and a band from Lincoln. Resides these, sin ires of private citizens were out upon the search. Amomr these were citizens ot Newcastle, District At ton ey Knlwester of Auburn, W. R. Lyons of the Phcer Argmi 1. j Perkins of Rocklw, and many nth- 1 ers. All the officers and citizens were unremitting, and though the j numbers dwindled as time wore on ; and no trace was fbuudjjstill was THE. SEARCH KEPT IT. At this, time suspicion attaeed to i many parties, and muttering wf a storm were heard, portending simely the wont form of mob law. Now transpired an event, which added new depths to the mystery, and cleared suspicion from the then sus pected parties. Ou last Friday, March 28th, just twenty-one days of Klvina's disap pearance being gone, Jesse Parker of Rocklin started out to find some estray horses. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon he found himself on ?. blind trail about midway between Gold Hill and Coates' Ranch. As he rode along he saw a bundle lying in a prospect hole, which seemed tilled with water; the limb of a tree protruded from the water. Riding by about 100 yards SOMETHING INSPIRED HIM To turn back. Parker said to him self, "This is foolish, it's bad luck to turn back ;" but as he rode away the story of the missing girl occurred to him, and he forthwith turned about and cantered to the prospect hole. Dismounting, fie saw float ing across the mouth of thediole, just spanning it, a bundle of cloth ing and at one end a burlap sack, filled. He laid hold of the sack and grasped a human head; the action moved the body, and a girl's foot washed out from the bundle. Parker mounted in hot haste and rode to the nearest settlement. A picked body of men at once went up to the, spot and watched all night beside the body, not touching it or moving it. Meanwhile the news spread like wildfire over the entire country, and morning found the Acting Coroner, Justice ("lough, of Newcastle, and a hundred citizens on the spot. Among these we note all the officers and gentlemen before named, aud Dr. Dubois, of Auburn, Dr. Flint, of Lincoln, Daniel Ho- gan, of Newcastle, George Atdrich, of Virginia, and many other promi nent citizens. THE BODY REMOVED. Under direction of the officials, the body was removed from the hole and an inquest bed. The prosiject hole was in a secluded spot, surrounded and shaded, by foliage. It was twelve feet wide. It was tilled within a foot of the top with water, and the limb before referred to rested on the bottom of the upper rim of the pit. PLAT OF THE GROUNDS. xs well as it can be done now, we give a rough plat of the posi tions, to e able the reader the better to comprehend the situation, rela tive positions and not geographical accuracy being aimed at : North. 1 5 6 4 8 3 South. 1. Newcastle, and four miles from 2. 2. Gold Hill, which is two miles '.'rem 3. 3. Virginia town, 4. Majors'i 5. Co&tc-'. tti Where the girl was found, nearly cqui-disttut beiween Gold Hill and her father's house, and about a mile from each. T. Direction of the trail from Coates' to Newcastle. is. Direction of the trail the girl usually took. 7 and 8. The direction of the ridge between Coates' and 5lnjo. 0. Whew Coales was 'bund. From this it will lie seen the g;.l was found in an opposite direction from that she usually took, and about one mile from home. Re twecn Gold Hill and I Elites' lived the young Italian win died, and scattered along are the vabius ot a tew Mexjeans, but U qaite distant from the place where the girl was found. Returning to the inquest. The body was. removed from the hole and found to have been lying on its face. A wheat sack, which would hold 120 pounds of wheat, being about 30 inches long, was drawn over the head and bound tightly about the waist with a cord. The sack fitted closely to the body and shoulders. It wasmarked"H. H. S.," the initials of a merchant at Newcastle, Mr. H, B. Smith, whose clerks swore they sold many such sacks but never sold any to Coates. The latest sale was to a reputable family named Gregory, but many people had like sacks, and this circumstance, at present, has de veloped nothing. Removing the sack from the body, little Klvina lay upon the sward before the silent spectators. From being long in the water the flesh of the feet was beginning to peel off in wrinkles. The eyes and forehead were swollen and discol ored, but not from bruises simply natural causes. The mouth slightly open, the blue eyes partly closed, the little face quite natural. Cheek and lip death had touched with hie icy finger, and chilled the young blood in her veins to stillness 'With ruthleaa baste he bound The silken fringes of those Curtaining lids forever." And she was as mute and dumb as the green turf she lay upon, or the wiP flowers which rocked in the breeze and nodded against the cold cheek of the murdered child, and kissed her parted lips as if welcom ing her to their earthly home. THE EXAMINATION. Drs. DuRois and Flint in due time, the body being removed to Gold Hill, made an examination, and testified that there was not the s ightest trace of violence or strug gle. The girl had not been violated . Her clothing was in good order. True, her dress was torn, but it was in that condition when she left home. She wore knit, close-fitting under clothing from her knees to iier waist, buttoned closely, which was undisturbed. On Sunday, the 23d, some chil dren had been at this identical pros lt, hole, and had moved the pole or limb spoken of. Was the mur dered girl then at the bottom of the pit, held there beneath the angle of that limb? Was she drowned No post mortem was held to de termine the condition ot the lungs. Krrorthe second. Was slie suffo cated ? The same error has pre vented that being known, for, on Saturday afternoon, a rough liox was hastily constructed, the coffin ordered from Conboie not arriving in time, ami the rapidly swelling body was buried, and so Klvina i 'oates, and the secret of her mur der ton, we fear, were put six feet lieueath the sod beside her dead lather, at Gold Hill. The verdict of the Coroner's jury poiuts toward no one as guilty. Will it ever lie known? THEORIES. A score ot theories are afloat in Placer county as to the truth of this case. These are a few; 1. Her i'atlier killed her. 2. She was kidnapped by lieing seized and sacked as dcsorilted, ai d was suffocated in the bagging. 3. She was kiduapied and at tempts to outrage her fading, she was suffocated aud thrown into the prospect hole. 4. She was beguiled by some human serpent, and bribed by pees, cuts to come away from, home ttlom , a she did, and to leave her- usual route and go westward toward GoU Hill; then she was followed, the kidnapping resulted. 5. She was killed by thos w ho desired lo nevuuge themselves upon Coates. 6. She was drowned m the sack. 7. She was dtead whet., placed in tl e sack, for no evideiwesuf a strug gle we? found;.