Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-02-08
How Mr.. Avery Caught a Burglar.


An amusing case was tried last week
an the Superior Court of this county,
George Averyis typical country grocer,
ana his store in the quiet village of Gro
ton has almost as various stock of
goods as was crowded into the ark. He
IS tall and lean, and prosaic and method
lcal IN disposition Henever smiles. No
one eVeraecused him ofhumor or shreWd-
ness. AT intervals of several years his
store has been entered by thieves at
night and small sums of money have been
stolen from his till. Two or three months
ago he lost quite a sum of money and
some valuable goods in this way. Mr..
Avery said nothing, but he took a spade
and went down into his cellar and began
10 dig a hole directly beneath his money
drawer. Atodd times for several days
thereafter, when trade was dull and the
male gossips had fallen asleep on the
cracker barrels up stairs, Mr.. Avery
tolled at his excavations. When he had
finished his work with the shovel he had
a pit four feet square and eight feet deep.
From the top of the hole to the floor of
the grocery was a distance of about ten
feet. MIR. Avery next purchased some of
the smo0thest-matched yellow pine
boards in the market, and with them
made q seamless shaft, reaching from
the floor ofthe grocery to the bottom of
the pit. He next cut square hole in
the floor under the till, and rugged in
trap, similar to those used on gallows
frames, directly opening into his
eighteen-foot shaft. He invented a re-
flex action spring that, after the descent
of the trap, would carry the door back
into position, where it would be held by
n nj
for his next burglar. He arranged his
trap during the day so that neither he
nor his clerk would fall into the bowels
of the earth, but invariably left it baited
when he shut up store for the night. He
waited several weeks with no result.
On the night of january 2, Henry
Johnson, and partner wandering ras-
Gals from New York, decided to enter
Mr.. Avery's store for a pillage. The
getting in was a simple process. They
quietly knocked in a pane of glass, and
johnson entered. He trod safely across
the store and passed behind the
counter He approached the till. He
placed his hand on the drawer knob and
took step forward. Instantly the trap
shot downward with rattle and bang,
and Mr.. johnson went down straight as
a plumb into the chasm. His descent
was so sudden and rapid that he hadn't
time to utter q cry to his companion.
The latter heard the. noise of the trap
as it struck against the side of the shaft,
and at once made off. The trap, as
soon as it had disposed of its victim.
rose swiftly and noiselessly into its
place, and the automatic hasp fastened
it.
Mr.. johnson speaking to a reporter
concerning his downfall, said 81
thought was going down to the bot
tom of the earth. I was surprised. I
struck all in a heap. 1t was total
darkness. 1 picked myself up after
u while, and found that l was lame,
but no bones were broken. then
began to think of some means of
getting out. 1 thought 1 was in the
cellar, and felt around. My hand struck
against the side of the pit. found
there was a smooth surface all around
me. AS high up as l could jump it was
solid as steel. 1 kicked against the
sides, but it was no use. l cussed the
demnition hole. Then l thought l
might dig under the boards, and
j went to work with u will, but
after digging for half an hour with my
hand and piling up a mound of earth
behind me nearly as high as my head,
the piled-up earth began to run back
into the hole. 1 gave up the task as
hopeless, and waited for developments.
was now anxious to be caught, Any
way to get out of that blasted pit, which
was blacker than midnight.
At an early hour on January Mr..
Avery came down to his store, opened
it, and at once saw that burglars had
paid it a visit and that the trap had been
sprung. Mr.. Avery went about his
morning duties with his usual COM
posture, sweeping out the store and set
ting things to rights He did not 90 to
the shaft to see whether the burglar had
escaped. He had perfect confidence in
the trap. After an hour or two, and
after returning to his home and eating
breakfast, he called the neighbors into
the store and told them about his trap.
He added that he had good reasons for
believing that there was a burglar in it..
All went to the mouth of the Shaft, and
Mr.. Avery raised the lid. The party
peered down, and deserted Mr.. johnson,
begrimed with soil, sitting complacently
on the dirtspile at the bottom. He looked
up at the gathering and called out:
''When eye goin' ter let me outer
this cussed trap"
MIR. Avery replied that there was no
hurry.i Aseonstable was called in, ropes
were prepared, and after quarter of an
hour Mr.. johnson was drawn up and
landed on the grocery floor. He made
40 effort to escape. He was taken to
New London and lodged in the county
Jail. He pleaded guilty to charge of
burglary in the Superior Court, and on
Tuesday last was sentenced to two years
in State prison. His companion, whose
name is unknown, has not been captured.
Mr.. johnson is still lame from the effects
of the fal.-=Nor10tch (Copn.) Cor. ~ r
San.
An Orators Power.