Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-30
DICK rURP1N Ar DAYToNA.
A Bold Burglar Who. Beat a Hotel and
successfully Ran the Gauntlet Under

A Bold Burglar Who Beat Hotel and
successfully Ran the Gauntlet Under
Fire.
One of the boldest of burglaries took
place at Daytona last Saturday night, as
rthe Jacksonville lines Union learns
from Capt. d. 0. Balloon, who arrived in
the city Thursday morning. 1t seems
that about a week or ten days ago man
on horseback arrived at DaytOna and
registered at the Palmetto House as John
Burton, of Orlando, Fla. He stayed until
Saturday noon, when he paid his bill and
rode away. He was seen at the junction
of the Port Orange and Enterprise road,
| about five miles away from Daytona, late
| that afternoon.
During Saturday night, while heavy
thunder storm was passing over Daytona,
| the bedrooms of three of the guests at the
| Palmetto House were entered and money
| and valuables amounting to considerably
more than 81 900 were stolen. When the
robbery was discovered, between and 8
o'clock Sunday morning, suspicion at
once rested upon this man. A search was
made about the premises at once. ana 1t
was discovered that horse had been tied
out near the hotel stable and the tracks
were similar to those of the animal ridden
| DY 1ulS hou UGH OtSN
| out during the storm and was ridden
away after the storm was over, being
tracked half mile south, on the Port
| Orange road.
A warrant was at once sworn out be-
| fore Justice Huston, aud Capt. Douglass
accompanied Constable Cox on the chase
to capture the thief.
THEY FOUND HIM
at the house of an old settler on Trumbull
| BaV, about fifteen miles south OF Daytona,
about O'Clock that afternoon, having
| Just eaten his dinner. They arrested him
| and carried him back to Daytona. On
searching him they found two fine re-
volvers loaded, bowie-knife, some bur-
! glars implements, about sixty dollars in
money, and a large number OF small
| trinkets, etc. They found on him, how
ever, nothing that any one of the guests
at the hotel could positively identity, a.
| though he had ninety twO-cent postage
| stamps, and ten postage stamps without
mucilage on them, and one of the guests
| had lost ninety and another had lost ten
stamps without mucilage on them.
| The horse he rode was shOd on both
| fore feet and unshod on the hind feet. One
of the hind feet made a peculiar track,
which correspondent exactly with the
| track made by the horse which had been
| tied out the night before. The Justice,
| LuGTGIOTps u6lu u1All Ill POUO jail, anu QC-
| tailed four men to guard him through
| Sunday night, intending to send him to
Enterprise, the county seat, Monday
| morning.
He was placed in the second story of a
| large building, with his four guards. Be-
/ tween and O'Clock Monday morning
| he made dash for the lamp, knocked it
| over with his hat, kicked over chair,
and in the total darkness and confusion,
HE MADE HIS ESCAPE.
| AS soon as the four guards got another
| lamp and were looking about for their
| prisoner, he had made his way to the
stable, saddled his horse and had led him
| out past the stable door to near the place
where the horse had been hitched the
Saturday night before. They came upon
| HIM while he was trying 30 adjust the
| bride, and fired at him with u shot
| gun, when he left the horse and ran into
| the woods.
During the entire day Monday many of
the citizens of Daytona turned Quito hunt
| him. No trace of him was found until
| about dark, when, having stolen another
saddle, he catered the stable of a citizen,
| had stolen horse therelrom, and was
| lust in the act of leading him out when
| two of the citizens met him at the stable
door. Another dash into the woods, fol-
| lowed by an Intellectual shot, ensued /,
! Within the hour, however, he was at
| Holly Hill, about three miles away, and
succeeded in getting away with horse,
saddle and brid e of Mr.. Carter, who. by
| the way, is newspaper man, being assoc
ciate editor of the Halifax journal.
This horse he rode to QrmOnd, six miles
| further north, and there he exchanged it
| for a fresh animal from Mrs. Penfield's
| stable, still retaining Carter's saddle.
| The horse he took Ia the same as that
| stolen by the man who committed murder
and tried to escape some time last year at
OrmOnd.
He then took the road leading west to
| Volusia. Meanwhile, his movements be-
ing anticipated, guards were scot to the
various bridges leading west. On reach
ing Timoka river, about midnight, he
found two men stationed at each end of
the bridge, and each man armed with
double-barreled shotgun. Leaning for
ward he made a dash across the bridge
and was fired at by all four men in his
flight, apparently without effect, for as he
rode away he sang out for them to shoot
again, as they bad failed yet to hit him.
Another exchange of horses was made
before he reached Nolusia, where he ar
rived about daylight Tuesday morning.
Here he turned the stolen horse loose, and
taking Carter's saddle with him stole
boat and passed over into Orange county.
This was the last trace of him up to the
time Capt. Balloon left NOlusia.
in appearance Burton is about five feet
four inches high, bro2d-shOuldered, solidly
built, dark-brown hair, inclined to curl,
moustache dark but not heavy, eyes blue
and clear, rather near together. There is
a cow-lick over each temple. He is about
90 years OF age, and would pass for
goOd-lOOking man.