The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1885-03-25
HORSE-THlEvES.
Some Of the Tricks OF the Trade rs De-
tailed by Detective.
Inhinnnn Trlhnnn

lChicago Tribune.l
The hunting down and capture OF horse-
thieves In this city is the work OF one
man-and he is kept busy pretty much all
the time. The officer has a reputation for
shrewdness that extends for a consider
able distance into the country, and every
horse-thief Of any prominence knows
slim" Morgan, and no doubt mourns the
day when he made his involuntary ac-
quaintance. When one thinks Of the vast
number Of rigs that are driven of from
street-corners daily by horse thieves II
will readily become apparent that Morgan
has no easy berth. He has also been very
successful in his line of business. Out
side of catching horse -thieves this officer
has little to do. "The -thievln bus
iness," said the detective, sis somewhat
peculiar for the reason n that men who fol-
low such liue of business never give
any attention to burglary, sand-b aggingr
or kindred occupations. But they are
takers and sharks of the worst kind.
They are usually well-dressed class, and
, enter mans buggy and drive 1t
off with about as much nonchalance
asi IL 1t were their own. II arrested they
protest in the most vigorous terms, and
are ready to produce credentials that
would convince any one that they are
honest men; but when horse-thief pro-
duces credentials after making bluff set
him down as a smooth man and worth
watching"
"How do you manage to catch themI"
"It's queer, but you seldom find WELL
dressed person driving jaded horse, and
perhaps buggy, on the street. He doesn't
do 1t because he likes it, but because he
wants to dispose of it at the first OPP
portunity. Well, have a rig Of my own,
and when sight one Of those fellows l
Just follow him. Tho first place he will
go to is livery stable or auction house,
and there, on account Of his family, ETC.,
he will sell It for song That fellow Is
arrested and locked up. Possibly the
owner Is busy some place and doesn't
think Of horse-thieves troubling him.
When he reaches the sidewalk he finds his
property gone and then he reports it.
Generally the rig is at the station when
and he assists in giving the well-dressed
man house at the expense Of the State"
"What class is most difficult to cap
turep
"They have various schemes, just as
burglars and climbers" )" but the gang that
dye the horse and have the rig repainted
are the best in the business" .
SHOW do they work."
"Walk along the street and sight rig
that Is worth stealing. When they find 1t
unoccupIed they jump in and of they go.
rlNell, that class Of customers is difficult to
handle. Instead of going and selling the
rig outright, they drive to some stable
where people of their class hang out, and
there the horse is dyed. II he is gray he is
soon dyed brown, and would deceive the
owner were he to see tho animal after un-
dergoing the process. Then the stars In the
forehead are dyed, or perhaps tho limbs
are dyed and the star left untouched. A
horse Is generally recognized by such
marks, but when they are dyed black,
brown or gray, Of course any one would
become puzzled. Then the rig is painted.
II it's black it's painted red or yellow, and
Identification for tho time Is out of the
question. We rarely catch such fellows,
but keep man on the lookout for horses
that are driven into barns where dye
shop is kept"
care there many dye-houscs in Chica.
go!"
"Two; one on the South and one on the
North Side"
"Are there many professional horse.
thieves In Chicago!"
"No; they're learning trades in Joliet"