The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-06-09
MAIL ROBBERY.

MAIL ROBBERY.
The Bird Gagged and In Duranoe
Vile.
About the middle of last month q
man called at the Butte Postofice,
receipted for q registered letter. and
passed ont. In q few days he re-
turned, stating that the sender of the
letter requested him to find $25 en-
closed, instead Of which he only
found S.. It was then thought there
might be some mistake by the re-
mitter, which would in time be recti-
fled. To convince the man that all
was right the clerk at the p~ostof1ce
took the large registered envelope in
which the letter came to show him
that it had not been tempered with
in transit, and as he put bis hand in
at the edge where it had been cut to
show that the envelope was all
right, his little finger ran
through a slit in the edge
which had not been fully sealed
by the one who had cut it to steal the
letter. This circumstance indicated
that there was a thief somewhere on
the road between Helena and Butte.
A dispatch was Immediately sent
to Mail Inspector Bannerman to
Helena, but he had just left that
place. In his absence the matter
was laid before Mail Inspector Geo.
L. Seybelt at Salt Lake, who visited
this locality some four or five days
since. In the meantime a number
of registered letters coming over the
Boulder road had been opened, and
parties werec complaining that money
had been taken therefrom. On the
night of Prof. Smiths return from
the East a registered letter was re-
ceived from Basin po~stof1ce. ad-
dressed to John Caplice, which had
been cut at the edge and the letter
examined, but still containing the
remittance of 500. The prob
able reason why the bill vas
not taken out were that the remitter
stated the number of the bill in the
letter and the sensible thief must have
concluded that a bill of this kind
would be of no use to him. This cir
cumstance fixed the locality Of
the thief at either Basin, Wood
vile or Butte, with a strong
probability that Woodville was the
place
Postmaster Smith Immediately
telegraphed Geo. L. Seybolt, who ar
rived Monday night. He immedi-
ately set about surrounding the
thief by means of decoy
letters, registered and con-
tanning money. These = were
mailed at Basin, and the packages
came through, cut at the edge as
usual and the money distracted. MI.
Seybolt invested about thirteen DOL
lars in that kind of feolishness, when
he began to get a little warm, and,
having Mr.. H. G. Kessler appointed
special deputy marshal, proceeded
out to Woodville yesterday morning
and took in custody H. D.. Mclean,
postmaster atthat point. In
through McLean's exchequer
two S. bills, that MI. Seybolt had
put in the decoy letters, were reeov
cred. He is still out three dollars.
Mclean stated that he came by the
money honestly, but could not say
how.
This business came neal being
unwittingly. On Mr.. Sey-
bolts arrival he requested the news
papers not to give him a send-off-a
thing which they feel like doing
when a thoroughly good fellow comes
within range. The manager forgot
to make known Mr.. Seybolt's
request to the editorial force,
and a personal notice appeared in
Tuesdays papers. AS an exceptional
instance that newspapers can lie I'M
der great provocation, it was stated
in Wednesdays paper that MI. Sey-
boldt had returned to Salt Lake, so
that the decoys might he snapped up
intended.
In this connection it seems proper
to say that Mclean has the entire
confidence of those that know him,
who stOutly insist that ther3 must be
some mistake about the whole mat
ter. It has not been the intention in
this account to prejudice the public
against the accused, but to state facts
that are uncontrovertible.
The preliminary examination of
H. D. Mclean was called at half past
S ven yesterday afternoon before
Judge Galbraith, setting AS exalnin-
ing magistrate in the absence of U.
s. Commissioner. Geo. c. Randolph,
ESQ.,, appeared in behalf of the
United States. The complaint was
made by Geo. L. Seybolt, and set
forth that the accused had opened a
registered letter addressed to Walker
Vile, containing $500 which
he distracted from such letter.
The prisoner plead not guilty
and YVES given until seven
and a half o'clock this evening to
employ counsel and prepare his de-
Tense.
A friend of the accused called in
this office at a late hour last evening
and stated that he had employed as
counsel for thedefense Messrs. Duffey
and Thompson, who felt confident
that they could completely refute the
charges against their client.
Alaska.