Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-10-04
FROM THE BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER
EXETER BANK ROBBERY.

| FROM THE BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER.
EXETER BANK ROBBERY.
The Portsmouth Journal Of Saturday contains
full report Of the trials Of Philip :. Kimball and Wi
liam Lorne, alias Loyanc, Of Freetown, in the conn
ty Of Bristol for entering the Exeter Bank in h'
night time, and stealing therefrom, bank bills ant
SPECIE of the value of 1921 0G0, on the lith of Junt
last Malbone Briggs was also charged in the samr
| indictment, but on motion OF MIR. Bartlett, thf
counsel of the prisoners, to which the Attorney
General did not object, it ordered that Griggs
should be tried separately, and he was recommittcd
TO prison.
A great Number Of witnesses were called, in sup
port Of the prosecution, and their testimony is dc
tailed in the Journal. We have room only for
summary, embracing the principal facts. Eoonc
John Rogers, Cashier Of the Bank. testified that he
| closed the Bank at ] O'Clock on Saturday, June l.
and opened a, O'Clock on Monday moruna--thai
| he found the Bank locked, as usual, and did moi
perceive. until he opened tho vault that any body
had broken in. Tho money was gone, and two iron
bars, wallet, tindcr and matches. chisel and 9th
or tools were left in lis stead. These the witness
exhibited in Court. The koyL,olc of the iron chest
! had been enlarged About $4,000 in specie, $1,000
in bills of Exeter Bank, and $1,000 ia bills of other
| banks part of which were uncurrent, were taken
away. Most Of the SPECIE (say S;GOO0,) was in dol
! lars-there were many half dollars, and n number o
| other pieces. No cents were taken away Ofthe
bills, several hundred dollars were OF eastern banks
Smith Chapman. Some .me last May had seen
| smoke in the wo?ls between Exeter and New
| market, for several days. Between the 20;h and
| 9th OF May, went into the woods and found man
sitting there with watch in his hand. said 'good
morning friend" !" aud he said good morning. ask
| cd show came you herc!" he answered that he came
TO keep out ofa storm. There a large camp
near by. This man am confident KimbaIl. /
stopped at the camp 10 or Is minutes--saw nobody
| there but Kimball, and did not talk much with him.
| lie not dressed then as now-had blue
| suriout or frock do not know what his pan
| falcons wcrc--a black bell crowned hat, hung a
bush near him. There was tin dippcr IN the camp,
| and bundle containing provisions, and | remcm.
| ber nothing more. / should have known Kimball
afterwards wherever | had seen him-cculd have
told what his complexion was, his height and his fig
| ure. ! mentioned what ] had seen soon as got
| home, to my father and mother, and to George
! Marsh, with whom worked.
| This witness further testified, that another
| day he a of the woods, in the d-
rectIon of the camp, go towards the town, aud after
wards return with earhen jug, and provisions.
After the robbery Of the bank, he mentioned these
facts, and gave desert ption oftwo men, to Colonel
Rogers and MIR. Tilon, which the latter took down
| in writing. This descrpi ion, at n subsequent stage
Of the trial, was produced and read. Col. Rogers
being again called, testified that tho description was
so minute, he thought he should have identified the
! prisoners by it, wherever he had met them. lie pro-.
duced bundle of clothing. Chapman, being called
Sdu Inat ttc coat ana HaI were ike tnOSe
which kimball wore, when he saw him at the camp,
but the buttons the coat not the same.
George Chapman, boy 10 years OF age, was with
his father, Smith e.. when he kimball at the
camp, and confirmed his testimony. kimball had n
long beard, and looked it he had been shaw cd
for fortnight. lie identified Klmball the prisoner,
as the man he had n, tho camp.
Edv ard Wadleigh saw Kimball with another man
on the z7ih OF May, in pasture, about a mile back
oil The town OF Exeter, sIlling by a stump, filing
something with large fat file. Had 10 doubt thai
kimbaii the man he saw. Alier the robbery,
gave a description of to Judge Smith.
Metaphor Chase was with Wadlegh, agreed in
his description Of the two mon. and had doubt of
the identity OF Kmbal. Neither of them saw the
face OF The other man.
Dr. W. Perry, not long before the bank brok-
en- open, was riding near The pasture above describ
ed, and saw two men coming towards him, walking
slowly, and lounglng OH the. way. They appeared
to be neither gentlemen travelling for amusement,
nor labourers. The peculiarly OF their appearance
led him to notice them particularly. One Of them
was much pock broken.-Thcy strongly resembled
the prisoners at the bar and he had doubt OF their
being the same.-Several other witnesses testified
to having seen the prisoners IL that cighborhood in
May ard June.
James Gilman. who lives the camp, had his
cows MIXED, several times, in May, by per-
sons unknown. j. X. Norris, who keeps public
house on the Epping roac, three miles from Ecxc,er,
testified that two men, whom he believed 10 be the
prisoners, came TO hiS house, about The EUth oi Nav,
aud wanted supper. One OF them drank two bowls
of milk. Mrs. Norris testified to the same iacts
and had doubt that the two prisoners were the
men.
Jeremiah Do,o. These iron bars 1.-TWO iron bars
which had been brought into court with other mple-
nients found ~ the Bank are miBe. On the zS,h
| May last, locked them up in my saw mill above
| Juuge Smiths. That part ol the mil in which they
we're locked was broken open, and the next that
OF the iron bars, in the Bank, upon my re-
| turn from Concord last June. ! think that saw
| Kmball and Lornc, the prisoners, in April or May
last, in and about the mill several thncs-an as con l..
| fdent that klmball was there as Of any thing which
| could swear to. inquired OF my workmen il they
| knew him, hut could find out who he was. They
were lettering about, aud two three times stepped
into tho mill as they were going up and down.
Reuben Sanboxp saw Lorne, at Mr.. Moses Store
| in Exeter, Monday morning, June ID, where he
| bought dozen and half OF crackers. Ilo noticed
hn, particularly, thought he looked like foreigner,
and that his beard was long for Monday morning.
Should have known him again, IL he had met him on
J the road, aud had no doubt IL was Lorne.
William Evans lives in Berkley, about hall a mile
, from Malbone Briggs IN Froetown. First saw Kun.
ball there the last oi March or hsi Of April last.
lie came down through the woods aud asked # any
| Briggs lived about lAerc-wautod Malbonc Briggs.
| 1 neat saw him about three weeks afterwards with
Lorne. They came by where | was milking, ono