White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1859-04-28

explained. The wool-spinner, returning
home after dark. saw tied to post in the
canal, close by Madame Andrecht's gar
den, one of those small boats which were
generally used by the dragons for bring.
ing forage from the magazine; and he al
once conjectured that this was the means
by which the dragon was enabled to con-
time his designations. With the recol-
lection of this passage in the landlords
history, was combined a circumstance oil
recent occurrence, trifling in itself, but
which appeared curiously to link in with
the mode in which the robbery appeared
to have been effected. Ten days before
the discovery of the house breaking, and
while the widow was in the country, the
wool-spinner stated that he had found,
one morning, dirty-colored handkerchief
lying on the grass-bank of the fosse, and
exactly opposite his neighbours garden.
He took it up and put it in his pocket,
without thinking about it at the time. AT
dinner he happened to remember it, men
toned the circumstance to his wife, show
ed her the handkerchief, and observed,
jestingly, eff Andrecht were in town,
and Hannah were still in her service, we
should say our old friend, the Blue ORA
COON, had been making his rounds, and
had dropped his handkerchief" His
wife took the handkerchief examined it,
and exclaimed ain the name of wonder,
what is that you say ? Is not Hannah's
husbands name Nicholas D." poin-
ting out to him. at the same time, the in
itisls, N. D., in the corner. Both, how
ever. had forgotten the circumstance, till
the occurrence of the robbery naturally
recalled it to the husbands mind.
The wool-spinner told his story simply;
his conclusions appeared unstrained sus-
picion became strongly directed against
the Blue Dragon, and these. suspicious
were corroborated by another circumstance
which emerged at the same time.
During the first search of the house, a
half burnt paper, which seemed to have
been used for lighting a pipe, was found
on the floor, near the press which had
been broken open. Neither Madame
Andrecht nor her maid smoked !; the po-
lice officers had no pipes when they entered
the house so the match had, in all pro-
liability, been dropped on the ground by
the house breakers.
On examination of the remains of the
paper, it appeared to have been receipt,
such as was usually granted by the excise
to inn-keepers for payment of the duties
on spirits received into the town from a
distance, and which served as a permit,
emitting the holder to put the article into
his cellars. The upper part of the receipt,
the name of the party to whom
it was granted, was burnt, 5ut the lower
part was preserved, containing the sigma
ture of the excise officer, and the date of
the permit: it was the 18th March. of the
same year. From these materials. it was
easy to ascertain what inn-keeper in the
town had, on that day, received such
permit for spirits. From an examination
of the excise register, it appeared that on
that day, Nicholas D. had received
and paid the duties on several ankers of
Geneva. Taken by itself, this would
have afforded but slender evidence that he
had been the person who had used the
paper for a match, and had dropped it
within Madame Andrecht's room but,
taken in connection with the finding of the
and the suspicious history
of his nocturnal rambles which preceded
it, it strengthened in high degree the
suspicious against the ex-dragoon.
After short consultation, orders were
issued for his apprehension. Surprise. it
was thought. would probably extort from
him an immediate confession. His wife,
his father-a man advanced in years
and his brother, shoemaker's apprentices,
we're apprehended at the same time.
A minute search of the house of the
followed but none Of the
stolen articles were at first discovered,
and indeed, nothing that could excite sus-
picion, except larger amount of money
than might perhaps have been expected.
At last, as the search was ON the point Of
being given up, there was found IN one
Of the drawers a memorandum book.
This was one of the articles mentioned in
the list of Madame Andrecht's effects; and,
on inspection, there could be no doubt
that this was the one referred to-for sew
eral pages bore private markings in her
own handwriting, and in side pocket
were found two letters bearing her address.
Beyond this, none of the missing articles
could be traced in the house. -
The persons apprehended were sever
ally examined. Nicholas D. answer.
ed every question with the utmost frank
ness and unconcern. He admitted the
truth of the wool spinner's story Of his
his nightly scrambles over the
hedge, and his subsequent visits to his
by means of the forage boat.
The handkerchief he admitted TO be his
property. When and where he had lost
It he could not say. 1t had disappeared
about six months before, and he had tho't
no more it. When the pocket book
which had been found, was laid before
him, he gave it back without embarrass-
ment, declared he knew nothing of it,
had nveer had it ir his possession, and
shook his head with look Of surprise
and incredulity, when told where it had
been found.
The other members Of his household
appeared equally unembarassed they ex-
pressed even greater sstonishment than
be had done, that the pocket-bOok, with
which they declared themselves entirely
rnacouainted. should have been found in