The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1873-05-29
A NEST OF HORSE THIEVES.
They Make Headquarters in New York
City and Pillage the Country About.

The head of the gang of horse thieve
located in New York city. is one William
Temple, pure gypsy. He is over sixt,
years of age, and is gray headed and some
what eufeebled. He is full of menta
vigor, however, and presides at the heac
OF the bureau with efficiency. He wa.
born under the tent on the Wilds of Lin
colnshire, England and at the age Of six
teen was married to the daughter of the
head of the tribe. He stabbed his wife
in fit of jealousy, and before he was
eighteen was shipped to Van Diemau'
Land as life convict. After serving
seven years, he escaped by slowing him
self away in ship which touched at the
island to water, aud escaped to England
He joined himself to tribe of his peo
pie there, and soon put into use the
schooling he had received
He carried on his depredations as a
horse thief and farm house burglar for
many years, 10 various parts of England
but was at last caught and sent into penal
servitude for the rest of his life Five
years ago he escaped from Norfold Island
with three others, and found his way to
this country. He piled his trade as a
horse thief very successfully for some
time, and was mainly instrumental in or
ganizing the gang who are now stealing
horses right aud left, with apparent i'm
punity. He is tall, slim, dark man,
with prolusion of black, curly hair.
He shaves clean, and dresses with
scrupulous propriety. lie takes his walks
regularly on Broadway, and has rooms at
Il quiet, up town hotel. He never en-
cages personally in any depredations, but
plans jobs and appoints the members of
the gang to work them out. He is known
among his friends as ''The Kid"
Another leading member of the fra
teruity, has cattle farm near Baltimore,
Maryland He is a half breed his moth
er being gypsy, aud his father, he as
serts, clergyman. He is tall, stout,
respectable looking man, of about forty,
and has never, so far as known, been in
prison. He runs good pasture farm,
leased by the gang, and we'll stocked.
To his care all the younger and more
valuable horses stolen in New York and
New Jersey, are sent. At one time Jake
had sixty stolen horses in his pastures,
ranging in value from $3.50 81, 900. He
has already individually made fortune
The third of the gang is q small, we'll
made man, of between 40 and so years of
age, and of highly convivial turn. He
is pure gypsy, but when boy, was turn
ed out of his tribe, known as the Faw
Vale gipsies, from the locality iu Devon
shire which they chiefly frequent.
He has been in half dozen British
jails, and has escaped from several. He
boasts that he rode Faugh ballagh at
the St. Leger. in 1913. George runs an
other farm belonging to the gang, near
Medina, in Ohio. All the heavier stock
are sent thither, and it is said that he of
ten has over two hundred horses in his
paddocks. He is famliarly styled "King
George" or "The Prince"
The more active members Of the gang
the agents who find out where valuable
horses can be stolen, and boldly steal or
cleverIy cajole men out of their property
now demand attention. There are
seventeen of them, or that the gang alto
gether numbers twenty.