The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-05-08
A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR.
A BOSTON MERCHANT DRUGGED AND
ROBBED.
He is Shipped to Portland and Found in
an Attic at Gorham's Corner.

The particulars of an affair came to our ears
yesterday that for GOODNESS and audacity takes
rank with the bodest operation of its kind
On Monday evening last one of the leading
wholesale merchants in Boston, a gentleman of
large means, and well known on change, who
owns an elegant establishment atsthe Hub, and
who rejOlces in an interesting family, went
into popular billiard room on, or near School
street in that city with few intimate friends
to play game of billiards. During the course
of the game the party had several glasses of
lager and after about an hour or SO spent in
pushing the bottle, the gentleman decided to
pay his share of the gaines and go home. He
had partaken of, perhaps three glasses of
lager, had drank nothing else of spirituous
nature during the day, and was known to be
particularly abstemious in this regard. In
fact it was rare thing for him to go into bill
lard room anyway, for he is quite devoted to
his family. He stepped up to the counter to
pay his bill, and took the money from small
purse he carried in his trowsers pockets,
handed it to the proprietor and received his
change. He then started to go out of the
room and remembered nothing more.
Wednesday morning an Irish woman, who
resides in the vicinity of Gorham's Corner,
went to neighbor and told him there was
very well dressed gentleman in her tenement
who was either insane or drugged and she
didn't know what to do about him She did
not want to inform the police for she was afraid
she would get into trouble for selling rum,
and she asked him what she had better do.
The neighbor happened to be employed by one
of the leading firms on Commercial street and
had occasionally got Into trouble on account of
his weakness for drink. When this had oc-
CURED his employer had looked him up and
had him taken care of. So this man thought
the best thing he could do was to inform his
employer and take that gentleman's advice.
The Portland merchant accompanied the
Irishman to the woman's house Up in the
attic of small house, ON dirty coarse straw
mattress, and covered with ragged quilt, lay
the stranger, man about 40 years of age, and
evidently person of refinement and culture
His clothes were nicely cut, his soiled linen of
fine quality, and he wore a valuable gold
watch and heavy chain. The woman said he
came to the house about 8 o'clock Tuesday
night accompanied by another man, also well
dressed. The strangers appeared to have both
had more than was good for them and her
ledger while we'll dressed, as could be seen,
singuarly enough wore no coat. As however
she had several customers at that time, wait
ing for their liquor, and as, by the recent law,
she had to make frequent visits to other parts
of the house to get small quantities to serve
them with, she was afraid the
"cops" might jump on her and seize her stock,
and did not notice when the coatless mans
companion left. He paid for the drinks and
that was all she looked for.
When she came back after one of her er-
rands for liquor the coatless man asked per-
mission to lie down somewhere as he did not
feel WELL Surprising he was overcome with
liquor she led him into this little attic room,
showed him the mattress and he lay down.
She supposed he would be all right in the morn
ing. When morning came however he APP
peared so strange she concluded something
was the matter and decided to take the steps
narrated above.
The Portland merchant took the stranger
home, had a bath given to him, clean linen put
upon him and called a physician. The latter
said at once the man displayed the signs of
drug poisoning but was evidently coming out
of it all right. In the afternoon the stranger
had sufficiently recovered to give his name and
residence, and requested a telegram be semitic
his family, saying he was all right. The, Port
land merchant had a feeling at first that the
stranger had been on a spree and that while on
the tear he had brought up in Portland, but
when thn strauoar yvac oh1a IN Diva his n anna
a well know one-and stated that on the day
he went into the billiard room in Boston he
had in his inside pocket-book-on of the long
ones carried by business men-about $500, in
bank-bills, some bonds to quite an amount
several thousand dollars-he had purchased
that morning, and valuable papers, and that
this pocket-book was in the coat he had lost, it
was evident he had been the victim of a well
planned game. While he was playing billiards
and when the beer was brought him, some
body must have watched his chance and
slipped the drug in his beer mug. 1t could not
have been any one of his companions however,
as they were all men of high standing. 1t could
not have been any of the billiard room people
because the saloon is one of tho most respeota-
Bile in Boston. 1t must have been one of
gang who had logged him since he bought the
bonds in the morning waiting their chance to
find way to get at him. The drug evidently
operated just as he was leaving the saloon,
and favored the scoundrels more than they had
anticipated. They probably thought he would
become unconscious in the saloon and then,
under cover of assisting him they could pick
his pocket Whether they robbed him of his
coat in Boston, taking the money with it, and
whether he wandered in Supplied state to the
cars semi-crazy, took the cars to Portland,
or whether one Of them brought him to Port
land, and who the man who went to the Irish
woman's with him..was, remains:a mystery. 1t is
very singular they should not have touched the
gold watch and chain. Whether that was be-
cause the Chain bore Masonic charm or not
is question, but if that was the reason one
would think they would then have refrained
from any robbery.
The stranger, or stranger no longer, full! re-
covered Thursday and left for home Thursday
night. The affair will be thoroughly investi-
gated and the matter placed in the hands of
Boston's well known detectives We are
promised the result of the investigation when
cOmDletod