The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-02-26
By TELEGRAPH.
The Dexter Tragedy.
A Slight Clue to the
EEJarderers.
= A Well KnOWn Gambler
Supposed o be I'M
plicated.
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COR
ONER'S INQUEST.

DEXTER, Feb. 25.-The town Is still in a
fever of excitement over last fridays tragedy
and nothing else is talked about. As regards
facts tending to give any cine to the guilty par
ties the most substantial are those furnished nv
Kate Russell. She states positively that at
half-past six o'clock on the afternoon of the
robbery she was passing the bank and saw
three men come quicly out of the doorway
leading to the street. They walked rapidly
into the middle of the street and seemed to be
very much in hurry. They looked neither to
the right or the left, but FASTENED away in the
direction of Dustin's Hill. One of these men
she noticed very particularly, because she
thought she had seen him before. He was tall
and broad shouldered. The other two she paid
little attention 10, but one of them she thinks
was quite small This large man she is sure
she saw as long ago as last December while
she was watching with sick womaa. 1t was
m;dpight and looking out she saw this man on
the piazza leaning over as if talking to some
one. She thinks she cannot be mistaken. A
week ago Mrs. Whitney was in the Dexter
bank attending to some business and while
she was waiting three men opened the door.
stand aud then departed. The description of
these men as far as she remembers corresponds
very closely to that of the men seen by Mrs.
Russell. Other parties have seen suspicious
persons lurking around the bank, but the
above statements are the only really valuable
testimony tending to identify the robbers In
the light of these facts it seems probable
that the Dexter burglars operated very much
Ia the same way as the Northampton bank
robbers, who were about Northampton a num-
Der of weeks before they broke the bank.
The murderers no doubt escaped by teams
but in what direction is not certain. A team.
it is ascertained left the village on the night of
the robbery at o'clock, and was driven rapid.
1y to Sangervile and thence on to Moosehead
Lake, which is about thirty-fve miles from
Dexter. There is no railroad at that point
they could take, and if they went in that
direction they must continue their flight much
further by teams. About dusk on the same
evening team was noticed in the outskirts Of
the village which had previously been seen here
under suspicious circumstances. Another
team is known to have left at about half past
six the same evening and driven rapidly to the
southwest in the direction of st. Albans
This team contained two men, one of whom
was recognized on the road as well-known
desperate character, who few years ago gam
bled extensively on the Maine Central railroad
1t Is quite probable that the robbers separated.
and that both OF these teams contained some of
them. The well-known Maine Central gam.
bier was probably not one of the principals as
he is hardly of sufficient calibre to work nm
EuCh a inh a. this lint a
some of the details, though he is so well-known
that the chances are he would not have been
employed.
There are good reasons for believing that
this robbery was not the work of New York
gang, as the most of the bank robbsries in this
state have been. An interview with a detec.
tive who is familiar with all the New Yort,
gangs, developes the fact that the most skillfnl
and noted of them have been broken up. The
northampton job broke up the Scott gang, he
ana Dunlap getting twenty years in state
prison, and the gang which attempted to rob
the Deep River Bank in Connecticut the same
probably which made the attempt on the Wa.
terville Bank last year, has been demoralized
oy the capture OF its leader. Besides the expe-
rience of New York bank burglars has not been
very pleasant III ibis state.
The funeral of the murdered man took nlace
this afternoon, and was attended by a LARGE
concourse of citizens. He was a prominent
Mason and was buried with Masonic honors
He leaves wife and child. There was an in
surance on his life of $4,000 in leading com
panies.
As some confusion exists regarding the locks
on the inside door of the safe which the hnr
glars failed to open, it may bs stated again that
1t had two, one combination AMI the other a
chronometer. AT the time of the robbery
the latter was not locked, SO the cashier had
in his power to open the safe had he chosen
to do so.
The following ara the material portions of
the testimony taken by the coroner's iury,
The jury consisted of George A. Abbott. Rem.
Jamln L. Eldridge, George Hamilton. Simon
Mudgett, Henry L. Wood and Levi Bridpbam.
Henry G. Parsons, sworn:
The last saw of Mr.. Barron was at twentv
i've minutes OF five o'clock, Februarv o2d ~
the front room of the saving shank in Da1,+a -
left the room at that time, locking the door
behind me. The room at the head Of the stairs
was locked. L observed two or three times
about half-past four O'Clock two parties or
more come to the door and try for admission
and go towards the stairs that lead to Masonic
Hall. There were two or more at time fnr
could tell by their walking.
Charles G. Crowell, sworn:
When l went up the stairs saw Mr.. Curtis
and Mr.. Wood, and they said Mr.. Barron was
alive, for they could hear him breathe Mr..
0 n.;a said they could get to him through the
,S.o bank Mr.. Wood tried to pass
through between the safes, but could not /
sook on my overcost and boots and cot nm
over tne savings bank door, which was swung no
wss 1s ara b cOua near Barron breathe The air
me the lantern and put it up over the pS Jaes
but the light was SO dim could not see who Uo !,
was. put the lantern still further dow WHO ~
saw It was Mr.. Barron. They helped me o SuT
the door and jumped down and found NJ
Barron bound and gagged with his hands he
hind him. Immediately went to work to GET
the gag ont of his mouth. When L took the
gag from his mouth he did not breathe and
tried to initiate his lungs. stood him on his
4 uval 90 \ oo,,Il mi.