Cambria Freeman, Ebensburg, Pa. Friday, August 5, 1904 Volume XXXVIII, Number 31 Brutal Men Lay Ambush On Saturday last three unknown men shot and instantly killed Charles Hays of Portage and seriously wounded Patrick F. Campbell of the same place. The crime was one of the most brutal ever known in this state. About 9:15 o’clock Saturday morning Campbell and Hays secured from Station Master H. D. Hoover bags containing bills and silver to the amount of $2,970. Hays was driving. Campbell sat on his left, holding the money bags in his right hand and the other hand in his pocket, grasping a revolver. They were driving a top buggy. Passing through the town Campbell spoke cheerily to several people he passed and drove on at a brisk pace. After leaving Portage the road known as the Puritan road, or the Trout run road, strikes a grade. A Volley from Shotguns As the buggy passed a clump of bushes there was a volley from shotguns. Hays, on the right of the buggy, received the full charge, being pierced with 17 shots. His body protected Campbell to a large extent but not enough to allow him to escape. As Campbell toppled from the vehicle another volley was fired from ambush and both men were practically riddled with bullets. Bullets Fired into Campbell After Campbell fell to the road a man stepped from the bushes to the horse’s head. Campbell noticed his action and watched him while at the same time he noticed two other men rush to the buggy, reach over the dying form of Hays and grasp the money. The man standing at the head of the horse, seeing Campbell still moving, deliberately aimed his revolver at the bleeding man and fired. The bullet crashed into Campbell’s right shoulder, breaking his collar bone and lodging in his neck. Then, when his companions moved away from the buggy, the man fired several times at Hays from his revolver and released the horse. Farmer Finds Wounded Man Campbell allowed himself to sink down on the roadway but he hardly had fallen down when William Helsel, a farmer living beyond Puritan, drove up in a spring wagon on his way from Portage to his farm. He knew Campbell and he realized what had happened. Helsel immediately placed the wounded man in his wagon and drove back to Portage, taking Campbell to the office of Dr. J. C, Schofield. Here the physician made a hurried examination and determined that the man should be removed to a hospital at once. Helsel and several others returned to the scene to find Hays. The horse was found grazing along the roadside not far from the scene of the crime. Hays was seated in the corner, still bleeding, but seemingly dead. He was brought back to Portage in the buggy. He never regained consciousness. When Campbell reached Dr. Schofield’s office he was able to give them a whispered account of the outrage. Campbell left Portage station about 9:15 o’clock Saturday morning. He was back in the doctor’s office at 10 o’clock. The day express was stopped and he was on his way to Altoona at 10:11 o’clock. There, he was placed in the hospital. [snip] Identification is Established The most startling feature in the Portage hold-up was the identification by Superintendent P. F. Campbell of Gundo Menzi or Gaetana Giampoli as one of the men who assassinated Charles Hays, stole almost $3,000 and shot him. He was taken to Altoona Wednesday morning, handcuffed to County Detective Ed Knee, accompanied by Charles A. Robinson, Pittsburgh division railroad policeman, C. A. Frazer, also a railroad policeman and ex-chief of police of Johnstown. They were met at the station by Patrolmen Vaughn and Spangler and conducted to the Brant House where they waited until the arrival of the patrol wagon. At the hospital the officers who brought Menzi over accompanied him into Mr. Campbell’s room and there in the presence of the officers and physicians, Mr. Campbell positively identified him. Raising his right hand up in bed, Mr. Campbell, the instant he saw the fellow and without a second’s hesitancy, said: “The hat, coat and face are all right.” Campbell stated, however that the man who shot him in the road wore trousers that he thought were corduroy while Menzi wore a light gray pair of trousers. _________________________________________________________________ Stay organized with simple drag and drop from Windows Live Hotmail. http://windowslive.com/Explore/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_102008