Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-07-22
The Partial Solution Of the High Handed
Robbery Of James Branchs
Pawn. Shop
In This City on the Night of February
20 Last, the Loss Being Some
$4,000.
Jack Steever Arrested in the Panhan
die, Brought to This City aud
Inoarcerated.

Branch, was ia the act of closing up
his place of business, that of pawn
broker, on Houston street, in this city,
three men came up to the door, which
they promptly opened, and rushed in
upon Mr.. Boyd and proceeded to
knock him down and drag him 10 the
rear of the store, where he was
quickly bucked and gagged and laid
aside with an overcoat over his head,
man at the same time standing guard |
over him with revolver. The men |
then proceeded to the robbing OF the |
safe OF all articles of value, or at least |
as much thereof as they could conven- |
ient]y carry. The full detail OF this |
high handed robbing appeared in the
columns of The GAZETTE al the
| time.
During all these intervening months
our officers have worked most dill
! gently upon the case, but with only
| faint hopes of success until on about
the Let OF July, when there appeared
in these columns a special from Gle
burne to the effect that q negro woman
OF that place had been discovered to be
in possession OF handsome gold
filled case watch, which she claimed to
have COTTON from q friend in this city
whom she had attended in sickness
some time during April, and for serv-
ices at that time she had received in
payment the watch.
Upon q telegram from Marshal Rea OF
this city to the city marshal OF Gle
burne the woman, Eliza Pollard by
name, was arrested and held to await
| tla arrity al Of oil or MT
who went down after her
on the night Of the Sd of
July, returning at - o'clock
the same night with the prisoner, who
was visited by reporter of THE GA
ZETTE, to whom she told, as she
claimed, all she knew of the circum-
stances Of her getting possession Of
the watch. She said that she had been
repeatedly sent for by the coloreu
woman Millie, who was an oldtime
friend of hers; that Mile was very
sick and sent to Cleburne for her,
, begging her to come up and nurse
I her until she was able to get up, and
: saying she would pay her well for the
service. She finally consented to come
J when the woman sent her word she
I would give her gold watch to come.
Upon her arrival here she received
| Un6 WhlCE, Which, SIG III Hbs'
session when arrested though the wo
man told her that the watch was only
i to secure to her the payment of all eX
J. penses and wages for her trouble
\ etc. To this arrangement Eliza
!, after staying few days, objected
l. saying that in case she (Milliel should
d die that her friend might lay claim Il
: the watch and take 10 away from her
i Mile finally told her that her fellow
l. had given it to her and told her to lie
= no one know where she got IL or any
thing about it, and she lated to par
/, with it under any circumstances, bu
L that If she died she could have 1t &
!, keep.
Z Eliza remained some days lopge
e and when she spoke of leaving Milli'
!, told her to stay few more days anC
A. she thought she would he well, since
u she had improved so much under he
\ care, and that il she would stay sh'
r, would give her a fine silver cup and {
X silk dress pattern, which she did
i Millie continued to improve, anC
Il when Eliza left for her home in Gle
y; burne was sitting up One day, Will
r, sitting up talking to Eliza about IL
ri pleasant and easy life she led, sh
n spoke of her fellow, and, pointing to
Y; l0Xl2 portrait upon the wall, said
"a; THAT is him, and he Is a mighty mic
A man, and gives me all the money an
N clothes want - Eliza went home
rs; sho wed the watch to her friend, whic
fact coming to the knowledge {
white people there, led to her arres
ot and the recovery of the watch.
Marshal Rea detained the woma'
in jail here for day or two while b
he made every. effort to locate and r.
h. cover the picture, being fully saiisile
that the picture referred to by Mill
was that of Que of the men engaged i
the robbery OF Mr.. Branch's paw
shop. Before investigation 1t WI
found that the negro Millie had die
sometime the latter part
April or 1st of May, an
ns. that her effects had bee
divided up amongst friends and tn
some Of those parties had left town.
,,o VIA, also found that one Dora Dlllar'
SOU a negro woman OF Dallas, had bee
with the sick woman much OF II
time and was there at her death, an
had taken one of Miles trunks hon
ort with her. With this pointer, Marsh
ar Rea boarded the east-bound train
noon on the 4th of July, and, arr
ing in Dallas, proceeded wa
sh- the assistance of the loc
Qn- Ulcers 10 lOcale lue Woht
billiard, who was found that nigl
about Ii o'clock and the identical pl
ture described by Eliza secured.
,a,s giving the picture up the billiard "
man most streDuously objected, sayiI
that it had been given her by Nil!
upon her death-bed with the strict
iunction that she take the best OF ca
xas OF il and let no one have II.
ed. Marshal Rea returned next morni
and with the picture, but the question nc
hey seemed to be to identity the man
1 or whom this was q likeness. After mu
3. time and trouble and
Tex. most skillful manipulation
the part OF Mr.. Rea and
assistant, parties were found in
CITY who positively identified
picture "a that of ore Jack Steev
who had worked in various caPacit
about the city last winter, anon
Fort other things in the capacity OF dri'
~ AT. of Inc baggage-wsgon for the trans
he a Ia