Newspaper Page Text
THE WASHINGTON GAZETTE.
VOL. XX.
KING OF BURGLARS.
REMARKABLE CAREER OF QRORQE
H PROCTOR.
A Colleoe Or.du.t. Who Prostituted Omt Tal
.du to
J **iledlphim Time.)
George 11. Proctor, who was taken
1o the Eastern Penitentiary on Thurs
day night to serve a sentence of nine
and a half years for robbing the Uni
ted Stales Express Copipany 0f540.-
000 an June, 20, 1883. is considered bv.
Pinkerton detectives the most ex
pert burglar known in the history of
crime. The money belonged to the
Erie Railway Company. Robert A.
Pinkerton who spent months in
working up tlie ease and in fastening
the crime on Proctor, said yesterday
that .t was the most important arrest
that ins ever tnadc; that Proctor was
the moat accomplished safe robber in
the world and the most expert “fit
ter’’ known in the art of burglaily.
Proctor is about thirty years old. five
feet nine inches in height, sparely
built, with sharp features, lias sandy
hair and red side whiskers and mous
tache. He is a voluble talker, a col
lege graduate, a first-class mechanic
and a thorough musician. About
the Ist of .Tune. 1882, Proctor went to
work in the boiler shops of the Erie
Railway at Susquehanna. After lie
had been tliete for about six months;
on account of his superior knowledge
• and workmanship, lie was made fore
man if the shops. He knew that 1 lie
money, used to pay off hands was
brought from New York City, and
that it was sometimes kept in tlie safe
of the express company fora day or
two before it was distributed among
the employes.
PLASM XU A BOLD ROBIIKRY.
Proctor in the course ot time found
out who carried the keys of the safe.
He learned that the agent of the ex
press company at Susquehanna and
two of the clerks each had a key and
he set about making h'ts acquaintance.
Oa account ot his education and his
oa-y flow ef language he soou got to
know the agent and the clerks,and one
dav when one of the clerks was in the
shops Proctor asked liini to lend him
his keys to Hillock his tool chest. The
clerk handed Proctor his bunch of
keys. As he walked toward the tool
chest the clerk followed. Proctor
readilv picked out the safe key as lie
walked along. Ip his hand hs had
small piece of the while margin ot a
newspaper. He rubbed the Key tight
ly on the soft paper without the dork
suspecting tor an instant what he was
doing. The impression of the flat key
was perfect. That was all Proctor
wanted. Of course he found lhat
none of the clerk s keys would fit the
lock of his tool chest. He put the
paper in his pocket and handed the
bunch of keys back to the clerk. That
night by ten o'clock lie had a key ex
actly like the safe key on theclerks
bunch. A lew days after the key was
made Proctor got a leave of absence
and went to Canada. Not wanting to be
known in Hie burglary he hunted up
two well-known local burglars in Can
ada named Collins and Martin, told
them of the scheme and engaged them
to do the job. At this time they were
living near Suspension Bridge.
HOW TIIK MOVKT WAS STOLES.
Proctor found out that tlie money
would leave New York city at. six
o'clock in the evening on June 20. The
traiu arrived at Susquehanna at three
o’clock in the morning. An hour
later it had been pul in the safe by
the agent and taken cut by the bur
glars. Prec'or was not in Susque
hanna, bathe had made everything
clear sailing for his companions in
crime even to stealing a bag from
the express company like the one
the money was sent in. He found an
old seal on the bag and from that
engravad a perfect seal. A number
of packages were made up into “dum
my” packages of money, were placed
in tbe bag and it was sealed and ad
dressed to the express agent at Sus
quehanna. While the agent was
busy in the waybill department at
four o'clock in tbe morning Collins and
Martin came up with the “dummy”
money pouch and Martin entered the
office where the safe was, while Col
lins kept watch outside. The agent
was out of earshot, as the way bill
department was at the other end of
the station. Martin opened the safe
with the key that Proctor made and
lookout the bag containing the $40,-
000. Then he put the “dummy” bag
in the place of the ral money bag
so as uot to excite suspicion. The
safe was again locked and a few min
utes later Collins and Martin, carrying
the valise witli the 140,000, took the
train for Corning. N. Y’. Then they
took another train to Schenectady
and then another to Suspension
Bridge, where Proctor was waiting
tor them. Ihe object in the circuit
ousjourney was to throw anyone
off the trail in case they were being
followed. At Suspension Bridge
they met Proctor and the stolen booty
was divided. Proctor received as
his share $13,000 and then started
hack for the boiler shops at Susque
hanna.
TKVIXO TD LIVE DOWN THE CHIME.
Collins and Martin remained in
Canada spending their ill-gotten
gains, while Proctor quietly returned
to his boiler shop, donned bis over
alls and went to work. lie AxpTessfcd
surprise when lie was told ot the rob
bery. it was still (he topic of the town
when lie got back. Nobody dream
ed that lie knew anything about it.
The $13,000 that ho received as his
share he put in n fruit jar, screwed
the glass lid on tightly and buried it
four feet under the ground in his lit
tle garden. lie buried it with the
mouth of the jar down so that water
would not be apt to get iuto the jar
and spoil the money. Neither his
comely little wife nor his children
knew of the burial. It was done at
night while they were sleeping. For
nearly a year alter the robbery Proc
tor remained foreman of tho shops.
The company lie had robbed in
creased his pay from time to time on
account of his efficiency, and the jar
of money lay buried in bis garden
until lie finally gave up his position
and went to Buffalo.
PROCTOR AK A ( Lin MAX,
When Proctor went to Buffalo he
dug up the jar in'the little garden
and took it along. He speculated in
•II and became a member of the Oil
exchange, -lie soon got acquainted
with many of 2ho' tfiost prominent
men injßuffalo and it was only a short
time after his entrance into the Oil
Exchange that lie was elee’ed mem
ber of the City Club, the most aris
tocratic club in the city, occupying
a position in Buffalo similar to that
held by the 1* hiladelphia Club here.
Ho opened accounts with threw differ
ent batiks ami Donaldson & Abel, a
weel-known firm, were his brokers.
He lived an apparently comfortable,
quiet life and was well liked. Ho
has confessed since Ills capture lhat
he look impressions of (lie office door
-keys of Chase & Comstock, the
largest furriers in Buffalo, who got
to be intimate friends of his. His
family remained at Susquehanna and
Proctor visited them every Saturday,
lie told acquaintances in Susquehan
na that he had a friend connected
with the Standard Oil Company who
gave him inside information as to the
movement of the oil market and in
this wav induced several persons to
join him in his speculations. Immed
iately after the robbery was discov
ered Robert Pinkerton put men to
work in the Erie shops in the hope
of getting some clue, but it was not
till more Ilian a year after the rob
bery that suspicion fell on Proctor.
Pinkerton’s detectives heard of Pioc
tor’s speculations in Buffalo and of fus
weekly visits to Susquehanna. One
of the detectives went to Buffalo and
shadowed him ami it was soon dis
covered that lie was in communica
tion with men in Canada who were
known to be professional thieves.
These men were Marlin and Collins,
who had helped him in the robbery.
Shortly afterwards Proctor got
caught l#ng of oil when a big break
look place in the market and his mon
ey was swept! away.
HOW HE WAS CAPTL'KKD.
Robert Pinkerton, as soon as the
discovery was made that Proctor was
in league with Canadian thieves, went
to Buffalo and arrested Proctor one
Saturday night at ten o’clock, just as
he stepped out of the City Club on Ids
way to take the take the train to Sus
quehanna to spend Sunday with his
wife and children. Detective Pinker
ton took Proctor to Susquehanna and
made him believe that he had a con
fession implicating Procter. In that
way lie got Proctor to make a clean
breast of the whole job. On the
promise that ho would induce Collins
and Martin to cross the border into
New Y'®rk State Proctor was tobeal
WASHINGTON, GA., FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1885.
lowed to turn Stale's evidence and
get off'with a light sentence. Detec
tive Pinkerton concocted lettors that
Proctor was to write to Collins and
Martin, telling them to come to Buffa
lo, as he had another scheme on hand.
In order not to arousii the suspicion*
of Collins and Marlin, Proctor was
not put. in jail. Detective Pinkerton
hoping • lint Ids two partners would
eotne across the border, so that he
could arrest thorn ; hut although Proc
tor was watched he got away and wont
to Canada, where lie met Collins and
Martin and told them all.
Detective Pinkerton tlieu went to
work to find out Proctor’s career ami
soon learned lhat instead of his being
a simple mechanic, as was supposed,
ho had for years been a successful
burglar who was unknown to the po
lice). Pinkerton discovered that he
was concerned in a hank burglary in
Quebec, and when Proctor found lhat
Pinkerton knew it he became fright
ened and prepared to go to Europe. He
started to buy tickets to sail from Hali
fax, but changed his miml and decided
to go from Portland. Pinkerton got a
requisition and went to Island Pond,
Vermont, just across the Canadian
border, and arrested Proctor while he
was asleep in a sleeping car on the
Grand Trunk Rilway on his way to
lake the steamer at Portland. Collins
was on the train and escaped by jump
ing through one ofthe windows. lit'
was sitting up on watch at the time
Pinkerton made the arrest. Proctor
was taken to Montrose, Pa., the comity
scat of Susquehanna county, where
lie pleaded guilty.
I’HOCTOII S CHECK EKED CAREER.
Proctor's father lived in Vermont.
He was a first class mechanic and
and his son was trained in the fath
er’s trade. He became foreman of the
Portland Boiler Works in 1873. He
had meanwhile 'the acquaintance of
several Eastern burglars who easily
persuaded him to join them. He
was successful in his new trade until
in 187t> when h,e was convicted of a
safe burglary is*-Lowcli<md was sent
to Hie Massachusetts State prison at
Charlestown for four years. Being a
good musician lie was made organist
of Hie prison and in that way was al
lowed privileges not given to other
prisoners. He g6t acquainted with
Charles Bullard, a convict who was
serving twenty years for tlie robbery
of tlie Bovlston Bank of Boston.
Proctor and Bullard conceived a
plan of escape. Proctor took impres
sions ofthe cell-door keys and made
keys out of old knives, it took him
nine months to steal enough clothes
from the prison authorities to fit out
himself and Bullard. He hid Hie
clothes iu the top of the organ.
ESC ARE FROM MASSACHUSETTS.
One night Proctor, Bullard and
seven other convicts who were serving
long terms escaped. Proctor and
Bullard went to New York and then
went to Canada. They made their
headquarters at Toronto. While
there they robbed the ticket office of
the Grand Trunk Railway at Brook
villc of $3,000, and also the ticket of
fice at Atherbasco, near Quebec, ofs3,-
800. After that Bullard got Proc
tor to get work in 11 10 Toronto safe
works. After working for some time
Proctor was promoted to a traveling
salesman and sold a great many sales.
He arranged the combination when lie
delivered the sates and then wrote to
Bullard and told him what the com
bination was, and Bullard
would follow a'ter him and rob
the sales. After a time)! he safe com
pany became suspicions and dis
charged Proctor. Within a few weeks
alter Proctor’s discharge Bullard was
arrested in Toronto while trying to
rob a jewelry store and was sentenced
to five years in the Kingston prison.
While Proctor was traveling in Can
ada with Billiard lie went by the name
of Stephen Brigham.
STOPPED AT THE PISTOL’s POINT.
Proctor had made one attempt to
escape from the Montrose jail and
nearly got away. One night he pried
the bars off his cell door and the Sher
iff stopped him in the prison corri
dorat the point of a pistol. lie was
sentenced to eight years’ solitary con
finement for the robbery and one
year and a half for attempting to
break jail. After he was taken from
ttie cell on Thursday pieces of paper
were found in his cell bearing impres
sions of the key of his cell door, the
corridor door and the door leading to
impression ol the keys to the doors
of the mister mechanic’s office of the
Erie Railway,and in thrt way helped
himself to passes. Proctor has not yet
been put to work In the Eastern Pen
itentiary. Warden Casidv is puzzled
as lo what he had better do With the
“King of Fitters."
Proctor says that he lias a brother
who was at one time a professor in
Dari mouth College. Unloss lie breaks
out of the Eastern Penitentiary lie is
likoly to apend the rest of his life in
prison, at other charges will be
brought against him at the expiration
of his sentence here.
JOHN MORGAN’S WOAPE.
How the General and Hio Party Tun.
nolod Their Way out of Prlaon.
A correspondent writing from
Columbus, Ohio, says: Chief
Justice Hines, of Kentucky,
who has been in the city for t lie
past few days, gave ait account yes
terday of the escape from tho peni
tentiary here of the famous Confed
erate raider, John Morgan, which
finally nettles that mm h-dieussed
subject. Budge, thru Copt, llincs
and his chief and sixty-eight others
were captured euily in November,
18<S3, wliilo raiding through the
southern part ot Ohio, and himself
planned and executed the successful
delivery. Ho says that ho discover
ed two foot belotv the tier of cells in
which himself and six Olliers were
confined, ran an air chamber, or sew
er, wliipli emptied the prison walls.
.Having purloined two knives from
tlie dining-room, he dug his way
down through tlie cement floor of
his cell uutil he struck the sewer,
secreting the debris in his bed after
oaeli day’s work. Once in tlie sewer
lie easily located the cells of his com
panions, and in twenty-two days had
dug a hole through the thin floor of
each call large enough for them to
squeeze through.
On the night of Nov. 27, ni mid
night they dropjied into the air cham
ber, and giopcd their way toward
the outlet,., They were dismayed ,lo
find the mouth of the air chamber
completely tilled up, large quanti
ties of debris having been dumped at
its mouth. Fortunately for them
they wore but a few feet below the
surface of the ground. After tunnel
ing upward for a short lime they
fotmd thomselves in the prison yard.
The night was cold and dreary, a
heavy rain falling attlio time,so they
Ind but litlio lo fear from tlie
guards, who were well under cover.
To scale Iho wall was Iho work of a
minute. Once free, the party separa
ted, Morgan anil Hines bearded a
train for Cincinnati, and got over
the Ohio river before their flight
had been discovered. The other five,,J.
C. Bennett, L. 1). Hockeismith, G. ('.
Magee, Ralph Sheldon, ami S. B.
Taylor hid for a time but finally
made their way South without
trouble.
JUMPING DOWN A CANYON.
Tho Wonderful Encana of an Kng-tn-er
and Fireman on a Canadian Railroad.
A Yale. 8.. C, special says: A
frightful accident occurred on) the
western division ot tlie Canadian Pa
cific railroad, fifty miles above Yale,
on tlie night or February 2511i, no ac
count which has hitherto been printed.
An engine drawing twenty lumber
cars-and a caboose was bowling rapid
ly down the winding track along the
Erases river. On one side were cliffs
reaching to a height of 3,000 feet, oc
casionally cut through by frowning
canyons spanned by high trestles. A
huge boulder, loosened by the storm
had dropped from its height at the
entrance of one of these trestles, and
engineer Evans did not sec it in time
to prevent a collision. The engine,
alter striking the boulder, shot from
the trestle, followed by the tender and
four cars. The engine described a
great arc, landing across the gorge
100 feet away, and then slipping 100
feet more down tne sloping granite
wall to tho brink of the river where
it stopped.
Engineer Evans remained iu the
engine, and, strange to say,Jwas unin
jured though Doth the cylinders were
broken and tho engine was otherwise
badly wrecked. Fireman Gascoigne
leaped from the tender down the side
of t tie gorge and was seriously injured
though ho is now fast recovering.
The four lumber-laden cars were re
duced to a mas of splinters on the
rocks below, while ten passengers in
the caboose in the rear, which remain
ed on the track, were uninjured, save
a few bruises.
QEN. GRANT AND THE CBANKS.
[From the Baltimore Amerioen]
During the stress of anxiety when
Gen Grant’* death was a matter of
hourly expectancy, neither his physi
cians, the family nor the reporters
paid attention to the cranks who in
fested the neighborhood of his resi
dence, seeking admission, or who sent
letters by tho score in tho vain hope
that some reply would be given. Now
that a favorable turn has come in the
(liso&sc, and weeks or months of life
seem to be assured, the doings of tho
wild men and women are worth men
tioning. Those persons may be di
vided into two general classes—re
ligious and medical. The former en
deavored to make the General and
those who have him in charge rely
upon a miracle to cure him. Tlie
mails wtiich are delivered at the
Giant house fall into the hands of one
or another of tlie sons. Scarcely a de
livery wi'.hin the past six weeks has
been free of communications from
monomaniacs, who counsel the pa
tient to abjure tho doctors and place
liis faitli in direct intervention.
A letter purporting to eotne from Mil
ton Morgan, who described himself
as a Frco Methodist evangelist, de
clared that on a certain day, at pre
cisely lon o'clock iu tho morning,
the General would experience a sud
den and complete relief from pain,
and that thereafter his recovery would
lie rapid—all becansc the congrega
tion of Frco Methodists at Lansing
hurg, N. Y., would, at that instant
unite iu pruyor for his miraculous
cure. An equally positive assurance
came from Chicago, signed Amelia
Gongdon, that a band of five prevail
ing Christians would by their united
petitions enuse a faith cure. Those
are samples of many. Boston is now
considerably agitated by the so-called
mind cure; and not less than twenty
letters have come from the disciples
of that doctrine. Those have been
destroyed carelessly, bill the best re
collection of them is that they all
agreed pretty well in counseling the
General to recover by menus of an ex
ercise of liis reputed doggedness of de
termination.
Tlie letters proffering nostrums
were numbered by the hundred, and
in a large proportion of eases tho med
icine was sent along ready for trial.
Some came from manifestly honest
persons, and their proposed doses
consisted of tlie catnip sort of mate
rials, compounded in accordance with
tlie recipes of old women. Proprie
tors of patent medicines, too, took
tlie remote chances of get
ting an advertisement through an
offer of their mixtures. Few of the
current preparations for disease ofthe
blood tailed to put in an appearance.
Of course, none of the advice, selfish
or loving, was taken into a moment’s
consideration.
The most persistent of the volun
teers wore alleged miracle workers,
who desired to lay tlieir hands on tlie
General. Some of them were spirit
ualists, male and female mediums,
from the phenomenon imbued by na
ture with marvelous electric powers
to tlie mere human agents, through
whom medical spirits wore accus
tomed lo work cures. A fair percen
tage were palpably insane, while
otlicrs seemed intent only on a noto
riety which might be turned to valu
able account in tlieir business. Not
one of the applicants for a trial got so
near the patient as tlie inside ot the
front doorway,where the errands were
heard by one of tho family, usually
Fred, who unceremoniously sent them
away. “But there was one exception,”
lie says: “an instance in which polite
ness was required, for the .man was
a clergyman famous enough lo have
a name well-known throughout tlie
entire country. He said that lie be
lieved in the efficacy of prayer, and
wished to arrange for a test. I told
him that we were grateful, profound
ly, for the prayers of all Christians,
but that we did not feel like doing
anything that implied expectancy of
a miracle in father's case.”
The cyclone that passed through
Cherokee county. Ga., February lOtli
1884, blew away a feather bed be
longing to Mrs. Johnson, of Walesca.
In traveling in Towns county recent
ly fifty miles from homo, she learned
of a bed found iu the woods by some
parlies, and it proved to lie her bed
ami was returned to her in good con
dition.
NO. 19
UNLOADING AM ENGINE.
Tho Ancuto. Glbeon and aondorovlUo
Railroad Company Rooolvoo Mow
Ena-lnoo and Railroad Supplloa.
Yesterday the Chronicle went out.
to the A. G. and S. R. R. depot to
see tho new Mogul engine taken
down from its perch on top of a.
flat car. There arc few people, per
haps, who have any idea how an en
gine is taken down from this eleva
tion. It is very simple. One of the
switcii tracks in tlie yard is lifted up
bodily—crosstics and all—and tho
end of it placed on the flat car. Then
a foundation of logs is piled under
the track ready tor work. The new
engine is No. 2 of the four which
President Mitchell has bought for
his road, and is called the “Ogecchec.”
It is a handsome Mogul, with three
driving wheels instead of two, like
the “Sandervillc or No. 1.” .and is
capable of pulling at much as the
broad gauge engines.
But the engine is not the only thing
that attracted notice at the Augusta,
Gibson and Sandersville yard. The
turn-table has been completed, and is
(lie handsomest in Iho Stale, and as
finely balanced as a mariner’s com
pass. It revolves on a high pivot,
which rests on a rock foundation
ten feet dc-p, and is as solid as tlie
Rock of Gibralter. The table is
made of solid wrought iron and
weighs 20 tons, and yet can be pushed
around with one hand or tilted up
and down with the pressure of your
foot, so perfectly is it balanced. A
force ot hands is engaged laying tracks
in Hie yard, and in a short time they
will be laid in connection with tho
turn-table, and Iho handsome Mogul
can be swung around to face either
Augusta or Sandersville as is desired.
A short distance from tlie turn-table
several brick foundations have beeu
laid with contented trenches, over
Which the engine can be run and tlie
workmen got under them in ease of
needed repairs. Over Chose will bo
built tho round house, and be
fore long depots for freight and pas
sengers will be erected.
Long trains are received daily la
den with steel rails and building ma
terials and the flat cars ot tho A. G.
&S. carry them at once to the ter
minus of the lino. The cars of the
narrow gauge take tho load of the
broad gauge cars car for car, and
President Mitchell says lie can haul
jus* as macli as the broad gaugers.
He lias i number of open cars with
canvas tops for summer excursions
and picnic parlies, and the narrow
gauge will furnish a now field for
picnics which will boa relief from
the places which have peen used year
after year.
President Mitchell is pushing tho
work right ahead, und before the peo
ple know it, a fully equipped and
prosperous road will bo added to the
avenues of trade already enjoyed by
tlie city.—Augusta Chronicle.
AN “ANGEL OF THE LORD” IN
TROUBLE.
(Macou Telegraph.)
Recently at a baptism of the “un
washed” in Utah, Mormon elders
guaranteed that, the “angel of tho
Lord” would be present and tend his
influence to make the affair a giowing
success. Great crowds assembled at the
river and while the baptizing was in
progress, watched with interest a
high bluff' across the river, upon
which, according to a programme, the
“Angel of the Lord” was to alight.
Public expectation was not doomed
lo disappointment. The angel ofthe
Lord made his appearance. He was
dressed in white and moved about
waving a prodigious pair of wings
with grace and precision. A great
awe fell upon tlie multitude. It was
the first appearanco of an angel of
the Lord in Utah, and tlie Gentiles
wore overwhelmed with the solem
nity of the occasion. But suddenly,
while all eyes were bent upon him,
tiicangcl of tlie Lord approached tho
dizzy edge and the next instant fell,
if not from grace, from (lie bluff and
disappeared from sight in the flowing
waters. In an instant all hands went
to the rescue, for it had suddenly oc
curred to them that ail angle of the
Lord could no more fly with wet
feathers than a jaybird,and very prob
ably had not leat tided how to swiin.
He was fished out nearly dead and
proved to lie a locally 'prominent Mor
mon. Some of the “bail boys” had
pushed him from tlie bluff.