The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1870-01-28
An Extraordinary Robbery.

| On the 18th of December last, Tama City,
Iowa, was thrown into an extraordinary
state Of excitement on account of the rob
berry of the county treasurer's safe money,
amounting to between $4,000 and $4,000.
About seven o'clock on the evening ofthat
day one of the county officials named New
conner heard means and groans proceeding
| from the treasurer's office and on entering
found the deputy treasurer, Denton Cam
cry, lying under the table in pool of
blood. He was apparently insensible.-
Examination showed that he had several
wounds in the breast, and that his hand
was gashed across, and that his head was
badly bruised. On coming to he gave the
| following version of the case:
About half past six o'clock p NJ, lie was
i'll the office preparing to go home, when
two men of savage aspect came to the
counter and called for five dollars worth of
internal revenue stamps, offering in pay
ment bill of one hundred dollars. After
carefully scrutinizing the bill to assure
himself of its genuineness, he went to open
the safe to get the change. While doing
so, the larger of the two men jumped over
the counter, and, grabbing him by the
throat, inflicted the wounds in his breast
with knife, while the other man occupied
the time in pounding his head with hea-
Wy stick, after which he put out the lamp.
The wound in his hand was caused by
himself, as he grasped the knife with which
his assailant was cutting him up. The
thieves then ransacked the SAFE
! The entire community felt deep inter
est in the case, for Mr.. Camery was nearly
killed in protecting public property. He re-
ceived the sympathy of man who sacrifices
himself for the public good. Then he was
always known as respectable citizen, of
tried worth and honesty, and more than all,
had been married only six weeks, to the
prettiest girl in that part of the country.
His friends and neighbors vowed ven
gence on the perpetrators of the outrage,
and sort of vigilance committee was form
ed to hunt down the villains. The coun-
try was secured, and every suspicious char
acter for miles around was closely watched,
but with no satisfactory result, as no clue
could be obtained to fiasten the crime upon
anybody.
Mr.. G. ii. Warren, banker in the town,
was determined to have the mystery solved,
atany cost, so he wrote to Mr.. Holmes, of the
Manufacturers National Bank of Chicago,
who placed the case in the hands of Pink
erton's National Detective Agency. A de-
tective was at once dispatched to the scene
to work up the case. He lay around there
for week, following up the case. At the
end of that time he became convinced that
none OF the known bad characters of the
community were guilty of the crime. The
story told by Camery did not hold togeth-
er in all its parts. There were inconsis-
tencies in its details that could not he re-
conciled.
1t was strange that when the lamp was
thrown down it did not set something on
fire, and it was more strange that the
wounds, though deep, were not serious, nor
were they such as q man would be likely
to receive in struggle of life and death.
The detective made up his mind that
Camery inflicted the wounds upon himself
as blind TO screen the robbery and di-
vert suspicion in other channels Camery
was induced to go to Chicago on Thursday
: last, on pretense of searching for the rob-
bers there He went without much hest
tation, and was taken to Pinkerton's office,
, where he was put through a course fwhat
: detectives call Sweating" and after three
hours examination he owned up and con-
, fessed the crime:
He stated that the money was in the safe
! oV iip iiiSlIy tii't llll llC bCClHC pOsStSSCNt
: of an nconquerable desire to steal it. He
took it and buried it under the sidewalk
, of the courthouse yard, where 1t has since
} been found, not a dollar missing. The
wounds he made with knife, and tken
. bumped his head against the wall to pro-
, duce the bruises He must have been a
man ofsurprising coolncss combined with
great tenacity of purpose, to deliberately
,,1o 70 T.
| taken back from whence he came and given
| in custody of the authorities. The surprise
of the people on learning the true state OF
affairs may be imagined. Camery, over.
I come with shame and disappointment
| shot himself on Tuesday, thus passing ig-
ANONYMOUSLY away at the early age of TWEEN
ty-tive. There seems to be no adequate
motive for the robbery. The unfortunate
|, man was comparatively well off, the own
!, er of some valuable real estate and in the
| enjoyment of a good salary