The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-08-16
HOW 1T WAS DONE.
Interesting Account of How Ar
thur Ramie, Robber,
Was Spotted at Sacramento, CAL, by a
Canton Ohcer, and the Details of the
Homeward Trip in Charge of Sheriff
Leininger and IN A ssistant.

Quite a large crowd gathered at the
Fort Wayne depot yesterday afternoon
to see Sheriff Leininger and Deputy
Wielandt arrive with fleet" Ramie.
Several parties had gone to the depot
in the morning expecting the parties
would arrive then but they did not
come. 1t was then whispered around
town that the trio had left Chicago in
the morning and would arrive for GER
tain on the 2:33 p. m. train, and many
of those who heard it made it a point to
be there.
Our readers well remember about the
burglarizing of Squire Wants house
last October, in which 800, a watch
and chain, revolver and a few other
things were taken. Ramie and Frank
Purney were arrested OF suspicion as
the guilty parties, but for want of sufli-
Gent proof the Grand Jury ignored the
bill. They were both rearrested on
newly discovered proof and the Grand
Jury at the second time found a true
bill against them. Ramie was tried
first and his trial came up in June last.
1t lasted for several days and was stub
bornly contested, Ramie being repre-
scented by very able council. After
the evidence was all in and part of
the argument made, Ramie saw
conviction staring him in the face and
he resolved to cheat the law by skip
ping out between two suns. The court
after waiting a reasonable length Of
time for him to show up, proceeded
with the trial without him. The case
was given to the jury, and after out
about 20 minutes they returned with a
verdict of guilty as charged in the in
dictment. Purney was Immediately
surrendered by his bondsmen, and he
was sent to jail to await his trial. He
plead guilty soon afterward and was
sentenced by Judge Pease to three years
in 1.-THE Peuitentiary.
After considerable work by Police
man Yant and Others to capture Ramie
he was spotted in Sacramento, Cal, as
the man answering the description
given to them by the Canton officials.
He was arrested and locked up in Sac
ramentO, and word was t%elegraphed
here to Sheriff LeininGer. The gherltf
and Deputy Wielandt Immediately left
for Columbus to obtain a requisitiOn
from the Governor, and from thence to
Sacramento. They obtained the neces-
sary papers from the Governor of Cali
fornia and then came homeward with
their fugitive. They left Sacramento
this morning a week ago, so they were
a little less than a week on the road.
They took a sleeper and were not out of
the cars except at Denver, Col, where
they changed. The sheriff and the
deputy occupied a berth together and
they put Ramie in the berth above
them. Ramie was h%andcuffed and had
his one foot chained to the car, SO that
escape was absolutely impossible.
During the trip Ramie was very reti-
cent and spoke nothing at all concern
ing himself. He says that Purney had
nothing to do with the robbery and was
a fool for pleading guilty. He does not
admit that he himself was guilty, but
he admits that he gave Ramie 800,
which was about the amount that was
taken from Yant.
When Ramie was arrested in Sacra-
mento a revolver and large dirk knife
were found on his person. The revolver
was brought along to Canton, and it
was identified this morning by Squire
Yant as the one that was stolen from
his premises last October.
When Ramie lit out he struck for
San Francisco, beating his way on
freight trains and tramping it when
ever he was put off. He could not OBJ
tain any work in San Francisco and he
went to Sacramento. Here he obtained
a good job at $3.50 a day, but he had
not his card along to show that he was
a member of the union. While he was
making arrangements to get his card
he was captured.
While confined in the city prison at
Sacramento, Ramie made some des-
perate attempts to escape. He pro-
cured an iron bar in some manne and
was trying TO dig his way out. In this
he failed, and had he succeeded in get
ting out of the cell, his efforts would
have been futile, for the prison was
surrounded by a high wall which no.
body could scale. He next tore up his
bed ticking and set it on fire and shout
ed fire! fire! This aroused the turnkey,
and Ramie was in hopes that he would
rush in excitedly and leave the corridor
door open and then unlock his cell
door, and by this means he would es-
cape. But the turnkey did not lose his
head, and he procured a bucket of
water and dashed it in through the cell
door, eXtinguishing the fire, and the
same time completely soaking Ramie.