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...... », American-Rxamlrer Gr»-t PHtaln n..»rr.j - 4 > jr ▼ £< Victims and Reported Losse* |\Z| I MRS STUYVESANT FISH Silver plate and dia- Z "Z,<V, t ■ WO JL T IIV-/CJ 7 \' Zi mond necklace. . >125.000 M| jMfcr 'WM '' W ;/ r r. * . . / \. -IRS. JOHN NICHOLAS BROWN—Fear! dot Mil CAPTAIN KIDD a - I 1 X.AM.IJL \ 1\ 1 ]L*J 1 • MRS OLIVER HARRIMAN Cigarette and vanity fyJ. fESsT W - -Cy mm 20,c00 MH MRS. STEWART BARNEY Diamond brooch 30,000 aT / -w T W"M YC7 T T* \ dflt / MRS WILLIE K VANDERBILT--String of pea-H. 50.000 / |k| I 11/ 11/ A Igr I ■• V - MRS HENRY REDMOND Emerald bracelet 50,C-> / |V| L %n/ I I IIV | \Jr JH Iffil MRS. HtNKY BAR ION JACOB' Rubv pendant 200.000 Il| Ljf 1 X^ L I\ I \\ M ' s DO< ” H ' BIGELOW G..!J bag studded " yHEHMH*>*vJK / \ \ E \ WMI r z , \\ ~ 8040.030 Mg , zsjSk \ \ v ■■ ~sJ L’ <> ''ha. ■•'■ ~ ' r ~ ~~*> * *, Bllll : ;,Jiz ( ''' '*■'■■•' '~V'S .\ v ■. ■ MMkKM x —-X\ '■•'\ ■ v z ? M4W '■■ $ ' B ■ » "• z/£-W*PBWmM| ■-■ twist iiiiMi xK. O--. Z.. —, rfc-xz s-& - \ \ "Ws B “This modem ‘Miss Captain BBk |: ' Kidd, first lady of the gang, must use a motor boat, she covers so *— -»< ■* ) -—. ' much ground—or water—in a single night.** f\\' *X. 7- ] ckTER-l^’• .... z*WWIL x s How a Daring Band of Motor ' " IMOb Boat Pirates Recruited from ■ j > a > > - Richard Stevens, who it r asnionaole Society’s Own Ranks s / Kidd’s” up-to-date industry. Are Looting the Unprotected Shores of the Summer Colony SOCIETY motor boat pirates, captained by a woman, are the latest enemies of the rich. Newport, supposedly impregnable, is suffering from a series of very peculiar robberies. Women whose jewels are guarded as zealously as those of a queen are the unhappy victims. They do not lose the.r jewels in the old way; fasuiuu changes even In burglary. Formerly a woman lost her dia monds or pearls while dancing or flirting with some fascinating stranger. This man. In reality an enterprising thief, would attend a dance or a reception, become ac quainted with a be-jeweled woman, dance or flirt with her and incident ally relieve her of as many gems as he dared. But this is out of date. Kaffleses were becoming too com mon, the method was growing dan gerous. Something new was needed, some daring departure had to be made. Newport is therefore the practice ground of the most modern thieves, thieves whose cunning is more dan gerous than that of their pred ecessors, for they do not scruple . to use the latest modern inventions. And at the head of all the trouble is a woman. Newporters will have to "find the woman” before they can stamp out the burglaries! Newport has always guarded its houses and gardens very carefully, unless a person entering the grounds is Known he is made tv get out at once. Therefore the present situa tion is all the moie staggering to the police. Houses whose grounds are patrolled bj watchmen from sunset to sunrise, whose entrance gates are securely barred have been en tered, priceless jewels and plate have been taken and not the slight est clue left. Not a foot print, not a finger mark points to the bold pirates. Not a fold of a curtain iu changed, and certainly no one his passed the watchman at the gates. These men say they hear nothing, see nothing- But the jewels are gone Some one has taken them. Ostensibly Hie work of ghosts, but in reality the work of the cleverest gang of clever thieves; the work of a woman! When these robberies were first reported to the police it was decided that the thieves got away in a motor car. They made such quick get aways Extra watchmen were sta tioned on Bellevue avenue and streets touching that shaded bigjj road. One night eight rubber-heeled im . ported sl-’iiths guarded a certain handsome mansion on the cliffs near Narragansett avenue That night he house was entered and jewels valued at half a million dollars, it was whispered, were taken. The sleuths and the men servants swore that no on. entered the grounds How could they" The grounds are surrounded by an iron fence twelve feet high Th. gates were kicked. The only unguarded aide was the ocean side, and the cliifa here are nearly two hundred feet high. How did the pirate get away? A maid servant peeking from her win dow' just before dawn saw a shadow slink behind some shrubs. She thought it was one of the sleuths. A few minutes later she heard the muffled chug-chug of a motor boat, and almost instantly a long shadow cut through the water just off shore. The sleuths also saw and heard. Said one to another: "There goes an early lobster man. That's a good boat he has." The next morning the detectives saw a great light. "The robbers are pirates,” they cried, "they use a motor boat.” They surely do use a motor boat. No old fogey automobile for this modern Miss Captain Kidd, the First Lady of the Gang. They must have a boat, they cover so much ground, or, at least, so much water, in one night. They have appeared in Jamestown, across the bay from Newport, where many very wealthy Philadelphians have Summer homes. They have looted places at Narragansett Pier, which is less than an hour's sail down the bay. It is a physical impossibility to gj from one of these places to another at night in anything but a boat, and the boat must boos the swiftest kind. So the private detectives en gaged by the wealthy cottagers are looking for a large and handsome hydroplane. 1 IB . J| ral|p * ■-> * •. .# w 5 ’ WwSB H / IB > <’ i * *• s - ' ■•c?W»l^wfe';?«'?;*-»»'■ w' ?-’>' ■\ -, ’ ' |l||||', jj Rw - - JMF ;. ' ’^'' W PHOTO »Y ' ** ‘» ' ; l*»* '-''••“O'- Mrs. Oliver Harriman, who * $> mourns a S2O,- 000 vanity and x cigarette case. Mrs. Lewis Iselin, another Newport victim ot Miss Caotain Kidd.” Great secrecy is being preserved, many of the cottagers who have lost their most valuable jewels will not admit the theft, they do no Hike notoriety. The detectives believe ® they are on the right track || and are keeping very stili until they have their via tint under arrest. But Newport knows k more than the detectives realize! :.ns. Stuyvesant Fish arrived in Newport the first of July. Cross ways had been closed for three years. It is'one of the show places on the Ocean Drive. The day Mrs. Fish arrived she sent out cards for a large din ner. It was tc be a very elaborate affair. Sudden ly Mrs. Fish postponed ths dinner, giving a curious excuse. "The key of the silver vault has been lost and we cannot open it. Mis. Fish said over the telephone to some friends. HI ; NW This naturally caused a good deal BW: H of gossip, it was so Kj ■ odd. Then a HE - strange tale was H whispered in the H| W colony. The plat? HE H ~ had been stolen. 'Witikßk ■- 'JU | •. ■ WL:'’'Xn'' i? ftiW/ WMIII . WsSMeMf/ ft - « ft •W'- » tO Mrs. Adrian Iselin, upon whom “Miss Captain Kidd” levied a pearl necklace valued at $50,000. Crossways had been entered the • night after the family’s arrival and the silver and much jewelry taken This astonishing story flew about ■ Newport in quick irder. The pirates had run their speedy noiseless boat in under the rocks at Bailey’s Beach and attacked Crossways from the watershed. Their boat had be n seen but mistaken for a fishing craft. Some one has commented ot? the few jewels that are being worn this Summer by the matrons whose jewel collections are famous. Those whose jewels have not been stolsn by the pirates have sent their pre cious stones to safety vaults in New York and Philadelphia. But no one will admit that anything has been stolen. Miss Captain Kidd could deck her self from head to foot with her stolen plunder if she dared to. Odd tales are whispered along the water front. One old salt who sits by the hour in an old boathouse on Long Wharf tells of a long, gray boat th it frequently slinks in and out among the handsome yachts off the New York Yacht Club. One night ha swears that she was nosing along shore between Ida Lewis's light house and Mrs. John Nicholas Brown's estate. At the wheel was a beautiful girl, wearing a pale gray evening gown and a "funny’ kind if a coat.” Whether the old man was. drawing on his imagination or not it remains that the next day New port was staggered to hear that Mrs. Brown had “lost" a pearl dog collar, valued at three hundred thousand dollars. The pirate boat is handsome, it is swifter than anything in the bav. It rust have cost thirty thousand dollars The puzzle the detectives have to solve is by nc means an easy jne. There are at least three men and one girl in it. It has been practically proven that these pirates mingle freely with the cottagers at the Casino, at Bailey's Beach and at many of the large private entertain ments. They know the lay of the land They know every twist and turn of the gardens, they know each room in the houses they enter, it is therefore obvious that they have been received as guests in them. Mrs. Harry Barton Jacobs has "lost” a diamond and ruby pen- i dant valued at $200,000. The rubies, it is said, are the very rare Oriental stones once mined in Badakhshan and are practically priceless. Mrs. Henry Redmond, one of the. wealthiest widows of the Newport set, whispers that she has "lost” a bracelet valued at fifty thousand dollars. Os course the Casino gossips sav that when a woman acknowledges to having lost one jewel, the real truth is that she. has lost several, perhaps the bulk of her collection. Mrs. Oliver Harriman. Mrs. Lewis Iselin, Mrs Adrian Iselin and Mrs Norman Whitehouse acknowledge individual losses, but deny anything further. Rut these charming mat rons. formerly known as "jewel queens,” are wearing no jewels this Summer The gossips say, "You -e --member that when Mrs. Charlie Oelrichs and Mrs. Ogden Goelet were robbed they wore no jewelry for several months." This proves to Newport's satisfac tion that all women who do no carry their gems on their backs have been robbed. These pirates are quick to seize the least advantage. A fortnight ago several handsome cottages were burned at Narragansett. Naturally all the cottagers turned out to fight the fires. After the excitement was over Mr. Kenneth Murchison, Mr. Phil Randolph and several oth°r men discovered that their homes had been looted. This was in broad daylight. Later it was proved that a strange motor boat had been standing off shore for two hours during the excitement. “From him that hath, shall be taken,” is the motto of the piratjs. They do not, as a rule, take much at a time. They evidently under stand to a dollar the value of the jewels owned by the people they rob. They pick and choose. They do not gather in all they might. Only the most valuable are taken. A dog collar here, a tiara there. They take only what can be slipped into a pocket, perhaps the girl wears the jewels out of the house. She helps to rob! One tale has it that at a ball given at a mansion on the cliffs the girl walked out of the house with the hostess’s tiara on her head! Many theories are being presented as to the manner in w-hich the pirates work. The most plausible is that the girl, dressed in the most perfect taste and carrying herself with self-possession, enters a house while a dinner, a dance, or a recep tion is being given. Even in the largest houses there is a certain ex citement and laxity when entertain ments are in progress. The Casino theory is that Miss Captain Kidd, looking like any other guest, enters the house at the mo ment several others are entering. There are always, even at dinners, guests who are unkown to others and to the servants. The girl finds her way upstairs and, of course, any one seeing her supposes her to be a guest. The hostess is always downstairs receiving her guests. Il seems very easy. Only those houses are entered that have a water approach. If the detectives had reasoned this >ut earlier they might have captured the pirates before this. The houses on the cliffs, the Breakers, owned by Mrs. Vander bilt; Marble House, owned by Mrs. Oliver Belmont; Ochre Court, owned by Mrs. Ogden Goelet, have been in reality at the mercy of the pirates, for the estates can easily be ap proached from the ocean. The forty steps at the foot of Narragansett avenue give clear access from the beach to these houses, to the John Drexel house and the Tw-otnbly mansion. This approach is now carefully guarded night and day. Is it any wonder that Newport 13 hunting pirates? Is it any wonder that every strange craft entering the harbor is viewed with jus picion? Even the yachts in the harbor are not safe. Robberies have occurred on board several of them. But “mum" is the word and it is prac tically impossible to make the los?r S tell of their ‘losses.” Mrs. Stewart Barney, wife of the well-known architect, and a niece of Mrs. Richard Gambrill, “lost” a valuable brooch while a guest on the North Star, Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s yacht. This “loss" was made pub lic, but a greater “loss" was kept secret; it is noticeable, however, that Mrs. Vanderbilt has not worn a certain dog collar for several weeks. She says that it is being repaired. Mrs. Redmond's “loss" also oo curred on a yacht at anchor near the yacht club.