The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-05-25
AN EvENTFUL LIFE.

GOVERNOR BISHOP, of Ohio, re-
" Gently granted q pardon to a man
known upon the prison books as Rich
ard Roe, but In society as James M'Coy.
The release of this man recalls history
of crime which is so full of interest that
II will bear repeating, and Is related by
the Columbus, Ohio, correspondent of
the Cincinnati " Times" as follows -
James M'Coy was born In Hoboken, N.
j., where his father, very respectable
man kept q wellknown hotel. Young Nc
Coy was precocious child, and itneeded
only association with evil compan-
ions to direct that precoclty in the line
of crime. After run through juvenile
depravity he left home and, joining a
gang of burglars, soon became an adept
in that line.
In the course of his wanderings he To-
Gated temporarily at Cadl2, Ohio, where
he was Joined by his gang. One night
in 1866, night to be long remembered
by the good people of Cadiz, the house
of the cashier of the Bank of Cadiz was
entered by four masked men, and the
afirighted family were reused from
deep sleep to find at each of their beds a
masked man, who, with pistol at their
heads, demanded perfect silence. The
cashier seeing that resistance was use
less, lay still and asked their object, only
to be told that he must give up the keys
of the bank vault. The keys were after
some resistance delivered up, and after
binding and gagging the family, the
burglars withdrew, and when daylight
came 1t was noised around that the
Cadiz Bank had been robbed of o large
sum of money-over 100000.
1t is unnecessary to follow the pursuit
and trail of the robbers suffice to say
that four of the five were after time
captured, and sentenced to the Ohio
Penitentiary for term of years, and
among them was young MCoy, then
known as Richard Roe, who was given
a ten years. term.
After time all the money but about
$40, 600 was recovered by the bank, and
it was supposed that the missing money
was that given by the gang to M'Coy as
his share. One of the gang escaped and
the most persistent efforts of the police
were unable to discover anything of his
whereabouts.
Early in June 1869, nearly three years
after this famous robbery occurred, dis
tinguished looking gentleman arrived at
the leading hotel there and secured
rooms. He was of elegant appearance,
and was dressed in expensive, but mod
est garments, such as are worn by gen
tlemen of taste. He announced himself
as the American agent of all extensive
English clothing house, which was
about establishing agencies in the far
west.
The stranger spent money freely play
ed an occasional game of billiards with
q master hand, drank but little, but al
ways the finest liquors. His agreeable
ways and gentlemanly appearance soon
won him friends among some of the ul-
tra.fashionable young men of the city,
and to be the friend of the stranger was,
with many, a condition to be envied.
Occasionally, the stranger drove about
the city with brighteyed little beauty
whose elegance of appearance and dain-
ty garments attracted general attention
among the young men. While the
stranger was agreeable to all his new
friends and was always ready to discount
them in a game of billiards, or break the
seal of the bottle of Sillery, he never in
troduced his female friend, whom he
claimed to be his sister.
The pleasant agent of the English
cloth house and his beautiful sister lived
an easy life here for about three weeks,
and one day went out to drive, ostensi-
bly, to neighboring town on business,
and by singular coincidence, when the
roll of convicts was called that night,
James M'Coy, alias Richard Roe, was
found to be missing.
OF course there was great commo-
ton among the prison authorities, and
offers of reward for the apprehension of
the fugitive were wired to all neighbor-
ing towns. One detachment of guards
traced the fugitives to Delaware, and
there lost all trace of them.
The next day the team hired by the
stranger was returned here by the livery
stable keeper from Delaware, who stated
that about . o'clock that morning he
had been awakened by the calls of a
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