Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-09-28
Whole No. 2S17.

couple Of postage stamps, which nau
beeen printed upon /" No. 10, =
plate, but the 50 No. y and " plate" had
been crossed out, and substituted in
their places 50 Mar. /" and " 1854, " max
ing it read Mar. Is, 1854" which
was the day before the robbery and
murder. This may all seem common
enough, but 70 me is was ray OF
light and hope, for the alteration was
in my own handwriting. 1 remem-
bered perfectly making the change;
also that had placed my initials ON
the under side, and that the bill must
have been in the safe at the time Of
the robbery. Calling my friend, we
went into a side room, and there care
fully removed the paper. On the
other side we discovered, as / had
expected, the letters " ]. B." much
blurred from Wetting, but still legible.
My friend agreed with me that it was
an important discovery, and in order
to press 1t forward we called in the
landlord and questioned him.
be remembered having received
the bill that morning, and had rather
questioned it on account Of the tear.
On being asked to describe the man,
he said:
As near as I can reeOllect, he was
about five feet ten inches in height,
and quite stout in proportion. He
was dressed entirely black. The only
peculiarities that I noticed were q
deep scar running across his face and
the absence Of his left eye-the place
being supplied by a piece Of black
silk, which he showed very plainly
when he winked."
I think I must have started very
pereeptib bly, when heard this deserip-
ton, for recognized the man imme-
dtately as runner for the firm Of
Bagley & Mason, OF Boston, who had
been in our town for q week previous
to the murder, and had left the same
morning.
As we could learn nothing more
from the landlord, save that he had
heard him order the haekman to drive
to the Boston depot, We dismissed
him and held a consultation. We
both agreed that it was best to go
Immediately to Boston, see Bagley
& Mason, and, il possible, learn OF
BurnhRm's whereabouts. Carrying
out this plan, we learned from the
firm the following facts:
james Burnham was q good, relia-
bic business man. Tie had been in
their employ for about fifteen years,
were and they willing to trust him
with any amount Of their funds. He
was now in Vermont, where he had
been since leaving L., and had not to
their certain knowledge been at G..
This rather perplexed US; but at
last we determined thai ne had de-
eeived his employers, and although
we did not think we had sufficient
cause to arrest him, still we deter
mined to track him. With this pur-
pose we went TO Vermont. and fell in
with him at Montpelier. For a week
we observed him closely, but at the
end of that time had discovered Moth
ing, save that he would stay in town
about one wees longer. Feeling that
my friend was fully capable Of watch
ing him alone, I determined TO 60 to
Boston to see If I could learn any
thing new; and accordingly, on the
morning Of the 21st day Of April left,
after having FIST arranged q system
Of cipher, by which We could COM
municate with each other, II occasion
required it.
Early on the morning Of the ed I
was standing on the steps Of the -
hotel, when q paper dropped at my
feet, apparently from one OF the upper
windows. STOPPING down, / picked
it up, but discovered that it was but
an envelope, and was about 10 drop It,
when the name upon it caught my
eye. It was that Of 3 leading mer-
chant in L. Looking up at the win
dow, I saw, to my surprise, the face
Of James BCrnham, and that he
turned deadly pale when be saw me.
Feeling certain that he knew my
erTSnd, I saw that it would not be
sSfe to let him escape me any longer.
Immediately determined on having
him arrested at all hazards. HuF-
riedly writing s dispatch, which to
the operator would read Join me
in Portland tomorrow Immediately
on receipt Of this you may close the
bargain spoke to you about yester-
day - but which to my friend would
read: James Burnham is in Boston.
Why are you nOt2 have q clue.
Shall have him arrested immedi-
ately.n I sent it to the telegraph
office, and then hurried to the police
station. Here I told my story as
briefly as possible, and in fifteen min
utes was at the door Of the room from
which the envelope had fallen. A
noise Of some one moving about, told
US that the occupant was still there.
The door Of the room was not fast
ened but as the officers approached,
Burnham sprang to lock il; but they
were too quieh for him, and entered
before he could get it done. As we
came in he stepped back, and in no
gentle tones demanded the cause of
our intrusion. In answer 10 him, one
officer said:
&" arrest you, James Burnham, for
the murder OF Charles Smith and the
robbery Of the pOstOffiee at L., on the
night Of the 14th Of March last"
The effect was instantaneous. He
turned deadly pale and sank into a
chair near by; but after q moment
reused himself and said:
" You have mistaken your man.
NY name is not james Burnham, but
William Chase
We considered this, however, as but
an attempt 70 bully Us, and he was
accordingly led away. The search
which followed brought to light con-
siderable money in bills and a num-
Der Of check, many Of them payable
to certain merchants in l., and some
Of them from citizens Of L., payable
to persons living in Boston.
I Immediately telegraphed the par
ticulars OF the arrest to my friend,
and he joined me the next morning;
but the strangest Of all, James Burn
ham came with HIN, and I saw that
it was a case Of mistaken identity.
But it was not to be wondered at,
for L think 1 never saw two men
lOOkmOre alike. We also telegraph
ed to the landlord at g., and learned
q thing we had neglected before,
namely, that the man who possessed
the torn bill went by the name OF
William Chase.
Little more remains to be told. The
man, finding that there was no hope
for him, made q confession soon after
his arrest. From this it appeared
that he was 3 notorious criminal, who
attire some bold deed, had been lying
for a time in the country, and that
while there, accidentally heard that
mail matter would arrive in
the mail from c., had determined on
3 little professional business, and &C
came to. There he saw
me receive a large payment Of money
on the 18th OF March, and had, that
evening, after shut up, entered the
Office, and removing the keys from
my pocket, and getting possession Of
he revolver, robbed me as described,
md made of with the booty, stin re-
aiming the keys, which we found in