ON TUESDAY, NOV. 5, 1901 (124 years ago), a murder struck the small community of Mora. My story last month also looked at a murder in Mora.
John Carnes was unmarried and lived alone on his ranch. He was about 50 years old. Most accounts indicated that Carnes did not have an enemy in the entire area.
Nov. 5, 1901, started out like any other day in the Quillayute area. Yet, we have all experienced “normal” days that take unexpected turns.
Peter Leyendecker began his morning by starting a fire in his house and feeding his cows. One cow needed to be milked. He put a piece of beef into a sack and started out for John Carnes’ place. The beef was a gift to Carnes.
At about 11:30 a.m., Leyendecker arrived at Carnes’ home. Everything appeared normal. Carnes was “jolly and friendly.” Carnes was boiling some salmon and invited Leyendecker to stay for lunch. After some typical lunchtime conversation, Leyendecker needed to leave so he could finish the day’s activities.
As Leyendecker was leaving, a local Native American man named Carl Black was outside Carnes’ house. Black was looking for his cattle. Carnes and Black talked in English rather than Chinook.
Leyendecker walked over to the area where the oil crews were working. He later returned home and wrapped up his chores. He went to bed about 10 p.m. without hearing any gunshots. Another typical day.
Mid-afternoon on Nov. 5, Tim Clawahud, a local Native American, went to Daniel White’s place to do odd jobs until the mail came in. About 6 p.m., shortly after sunset, Clawahud and his wife started out in their canoe to fish. They met other Quillayute fishermen along the way. It was the typical chitchat as they passed.
“Did you get any fish?”
“We caught some, but not many.”
First, they dropped the mail off at K. O. Erickson’s store in Mora. He remembered seeing three canoes at the store’s landing; his and two belonging to Erickson. Then they went back upstream to place their nets.
Just west of Carnes’ landing they heard a voice call out “Ho.” Clawahud responded in kind. Carnes’ landing is where Carnes would tie up his canoe when he was home. Thirty yards farther, Clawahud saw a light coming west on the trail, probably held by Carnes. Soon, Clawahud heard voices talking. Clawahud recognized Carnes’ voice because “he talk Boston (English) language and he talk loud.” Clawahud also recognized Carnes’ Dutch accent.
The other person spoke quietly. Both Carnes and the other person seemed to talk quickly and constantly. But Clawahud could not hear what was said or see who it was.
A few hundred yards farther upstream, Clawahud and his wife stopped to put out their nets. Then they heard a gunshot. To them it sounded like a big gun. Clawahud’s wife thought they should call out in case someone might shoot in their direction. Clawahud did not think they were in any danger.
Unknown to the Clawahuds, John Carnes had been shot in the back near his landing. It was about two miles from the post office.
Returning home, Clawahud stopped at Erickson’s store. He remembered seeing Carnes’ canoe tied up there. They returned home after another typical day in their lives.
In the early hours of the next day, Mr. Ragnon, a mining expert, found Carnes’ body. Ragnon was employed by investors who were examining the West End of Clallam County for oil and minerals. Mr. Ragnon sounded the alarm to neighbors.
Justice of the Peace A. W. Smith acted as coroner and assembled a jury of neighbors to gather any testimony. The jury’s verdict was “death by gun shot at the hands of parties unknown.”
Deputy Sheriff K. Y. Church was sent to the area but needed a week to make the journey. No conclusive evidence was found. There was only speculation. Was it a cold-blooded murder for money? Was it an altercation with a neighbor or stranger?
Deputy Church could find little information. Carnes was believed to have $200 on his person the day before. Many local people believed that Carnes did not have an enemy in the whole area. Of course, some thought the murder was at the hands of a local Indian.
The murder caused quite a stir among the neighbors. Deputy Church could find little information and returned to Port Angeles on Nov. 21. As a result, the county commissioners took the unusual step of hiring the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. They met with an agent on Nov. 25. The commissioners also offered a reward for information leading to an arrest.
The Pinkerton agent arrived in Mora in late November. The investigator was a Mr. Ireland. In the records, the agent is referred to as Agent F. C. I. or Operative #51. Over the course of 24 days, between Dec. 8 and Jan. 1, he traveled around the area and interviewed at least 24 people.
Around Dec. 1, Carnes’ brother, James Carnes of Massillon, Ohio, arrived. He came to care for both Carnes’ body and his property. He also said, “he will devote the remainder of his life, if necessary, and fortune in tracing and punishing the man, or men, who killed John Carnes.”
The investigation centered on several elements. First, Carnes’ canoe was at Erickson’s store soon after the murder; a leather money pouch that possibly belonged to Carnes found at Erickson’s store several days after the murder; and possible hostilities between neighbors.
I was impressed with the level of detail contained in the investigator’s reports considering the limited means available to him. Even though the reports record people’s recollections of the days surrounding the murder, they also provide a wonderful picture of daily life.
Despite the extensive investigation and the resources of James Carnes and Clallam County, nothing was found to identify a clear suspect. Sadly, interest in the murder quickly waned. Sadly, too, James Carnes failed in his quest for justice.
Pinkerton National Detective Agency billed Clallam County $600 for its services. That equates to about $23,000 in 2025 dollars. The cost was seen by some as a waste of tax dollars.
In a March 12, 1902, report from the Pinkertons, finding the leather pouches at Erickson’s store after the murder indicated to them that the murderer was still in the area.
We can see that any typical day can turn bad quickly. It reminds me that our lives can change in an instant.
I am also reminded that sometimes justice is not served.
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John McNutt is a descendant of Clallam County pioneers and treasurer of the North Olympic History Center Board of Directors. He can be reached at woodrowsilly@gmail.com.
McNutt’s Clallam history column appears the first Saturday of every month.
Pinkerton National Detective Agency advertisement.
