The New York herald., 1879-02-15
A FICTITIOUS BURGLARY.

HOW THE wATcHMAN IN A BOSTON STORE STOLE
MONEY, BOUND AND GAGGED HIMSELF AND
TOLD LYING STORY ABOUT BEING ATTACKED
By ROBBERS
by TELEGRAPH TO THE HERALp.1
BosToN Feb. IA. 1879
On New Years night the jewelry store of n. G.
Wood Son, on Washington street. reported to
have been entered by burglars the wa,chman bound
gagged and thrown into closet at the head Of the
basement stairs and about $50 stolen from the
drawer The front door found open. and it was
understood that the thieves escaped thereby. The
policeman whose beat the building is located
tced the condition of the door and proceeded to in
vcstigate. He heard a noise in the alcove, toward
the the building, and there he discovered the
watchman, Smith, bound as above described. He
was promptly released and the officer continued To
search for proofs of the burglary. was found that
largo number of boxes containing sets of jowelry,
store and placed the glass top apparently for the
purpose OF removal.
THE wATcHMAN ALONE.
Further inquiry showed that the two associates of
the young clerk or watchman. who made their quar-
tiers with him in the place at night for the better
curty of the valuable goods stored therein.
this occasion absent, one OF them having gone to
visit friend or to the theatre while the other was In
the enjoyment of "a night off,.
APPARENT cLEwS
1t was also discovered that circular light had been
broken from skylight the rear apartment
main building. and il thought that the
burglars hal by that means gained admittance TO
the premises, having concealed themselves in the
upper part of the building during the day by means
of the sido entrance Washington street, leading up
stairs. rope and tackle depending from the rear
of one of the upper stories were supposed to have
assisted them in getting the roof OF the addition,
to which reference has been made, whence an
admittance to the store underneath by way
of the skylght q matter of comparatively
little difficulty. The watchman stated that he had
been down in the cellar attending to the furnace res
the time being about eight o'clock r. NJ, and that
he ascendcd the stairs his return he suddenly
attacked by two men who quickly overpowered him
and lett him in tho condition in which he was found
by the officer.
SUSPICION AROUSED.
New York officer accompanied the detail Of police
sent to the premises, and when he the iewery
laid out he said, III this had happened in New
York they would have csrted of the whole
place. This circumstance led the detectives
to thinking, and the more they thought
the more they became suspicious that the thing
q put up job" aud that the gagged watchnan at
the bottom of 1t. They found that sls6 instead of
500 had been taken.
CONVERSION
Tho next step to make smith confess. Various
schemes foot. and of the officers won't
far to become waiter in restaurant where the
young took his dinners. Last Tuesday, il is
given out, Smith made clean confession and corn
plcely took his employers by surprise. He did tho
job all alone arranging the suspicious
that o of violence and robbery could be made
plain to the first person who would discover him.
The similarity of this occurrence to the Barron
| alair has set people hersabouts thinking again.