Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-12-15
a NARROW ESCAPE.
H4RRY GILBERr DIscOTERs
BURGLAR UNDER HIS BED.

V0cklOn anu 0llD6FEb 1bc4pe EOM -
tended Foul Play-The Would-Be
Rohber Escapes Without Effecting
His Intentions, But Leaves. His Tools.
A daring attempt at robbery came to
light yesterday, which goes to verify an
announcement made in the Helena INDIE
pendent recently that q dangerous gang OF
criminals were In the Territory, and evil
dences OF their work might be looked Tor
ia any Of the large centers at any mo-
ment. The circumstances surrounding this
case show that it was worked systematic.
| ally, ami only the merest chance savsd
the intended victim from it's ~complete
success. perhaps at the expense
OF his life. The matter was kept very quiet
in police circles and not an inkliDg OF the
affair could be obtained in that quarter.
But while the police officers are justified in
keeping their own secrets from prudential
| motives connected with the profession,
still it is the duty OF a newspaper to make
| public the fact that such criminals are
abroad in the community to put the pub
lie on their guard and possibly Illustrate
| the designs OF such criminals upon Others.
| Especially is this duty incumbent upon
Journals in q town like this where, efficient
as the police force is, no one will attempt to
maintain that it is anywhere near adequate
in size to cover all the sections within the
| city limits. For which reason. the
] circumstances oil the case were hunted up
yesterday and the facts obtained, snbstan-
| TALLY MS they occurred, from a friend OF the
gentleman who had the narrow escape here
detailed.
Harry Gilbert. who runs the wheel OF
fortune game at No. 8 Main street, occu-
pies a room i'm the Foster block or East
| Park street. Gilbert is well known on
nearly all the race tracks OF the country
and usually carries about with him a large
cum OF money. He has been somewhat
careless in displaying it and has exposed
| himself to great risk heretofore by so do
ing. His partner, Mr.. Meade, informed a
reporter yesterday OF several instances
where they had been Swallowed by thieves
who knew the amounts OF money they had
to carry round with them and whose de-
sigus they only checkmated through ex-
treme vigilance
The circumstances OF this last attempts to
| rob Mr.. Gilbert were detailed by Mr.. Meade
las follows: Gilbert has been sick for a
couple OF weeks, unable to leave his room
| most of the time. His partner has, how
| ever, been with him as much as possible,
putting in with him all the time be could
8 ,,are from attending to the house on Main
street. Last Wednesday evening was the
| night on which the Council met. Gilbert
and his partner were OF the impression that
it was the evening on which they had to APP
pear before it in answer to a summons
to defend their license. They left Gilbert's
| room in the Foster block together about
z o'clock and Gilbert went to a BARRIERS
| and got shaved after which they repaired
to the City Hall. There they found that
| the summons was for the succeeding We'd
nesday evening and they returned to Gill
| bert's room about a q 4rter past 3 and
spent an hour and a half together in SO .ial
converse. About 10 o'clock Gilbert retired
and turned the gas in his room low as he
| had to take some medicine at midnight.
He dozed lightly, the knowledge thatheh had
to get up later preventing him from going
to sleep.
About an hour later he heard the occu-
pant of the next room come in, and that
walked him up completely. He turned up
the light, looked at his watch, and found
it would be an hour more before he would
have to take his medicine. Turning the
gas down, he again laid down, and was
doing lightly when he heard a sound as oil
the clothes slipping off the bed. He list
ened, ana at first thought perhaps a rat
had got into his room, but thought
he detected the sound OF some
one breathing. 1t was too close
to attribute to the man in the next room
and the conviction forced itself o n him that
it must proceed from some onein the room.
Gilbert is a small man, OF q thin, nervous
appearance and usually has a weapon
handy in case..of emergency. On this occa-
sion, fortunately or unfortunately Tor him
as the case might have been, he was with.
out one, having lost the weapon ,one he had
valued highly, last September, and had
failed to provide himself with one since.
He had 10 sooner concluded that soine
one beside himself was in the room thar he
| did what few men would nave the courage
to do under the circumstances, weak as he
was from sickness. He got up, turned up
he gas to it's full and looked under the
bed. A glance was enough to reveal the
form OF a man lying there. Gilbert sprang
for the door, unlocked it, closed it behind
him. and was barely outside it, on the
further side OF q railing that surrounds the
stairway that comes up in the center OF the
hall, than the robber followed him
with a large Colts revolver in his
hand with which he threatened to shoot il
| he opened his mouth. The fellow ran rap
| idly down the hall and disappeared through
the rear entrance, leaving Gilbert shivering
in the hall in his night clothes. After he
had disappeared Gilbert gave an alarm,
| but of course, too late. The fellow had
made his escape in the darkness and, hav-
ing doubtless familiarized himself with the
premises. knew perfectly well how to elude
pursuit.
He left in the room, however. his coat
| and hat, a bottle OF chloroiorm, a sponge,
a ,nurderous looking sand bag two feet
long, a skeleton key and a bottle of
whiskey. These were handed over to the
police.
The fellow had evidently effected entrance
to the room during the time Gilbert and
ter. The door OF the room is fastened by
| an ordinary lock, and when Gilbert and
| his partner left the room the f)rmer had
locked the door. taking the key with him.
The skeleton key carried by the burglar
easily opened this. To what extent
he would have applied the
chloroform can only be conjec.
tured. Had it failed the sand
bag would have put a quietus on the vic
| tim that might have been fatal to existence.
He was evidently prepared to so to extrem-
tiles il his victim resisted and from the
fact OF having these appliances with him
was evidently a professional. 1t IL evident
| that he was posted as to Gilbert's circum-
stances. Meade had brought the latter a
considerablesu sum OF money, and there was
| a goodly haul FIR the burglar had he been
successful.
Such crimes az this are never committed
by professionals at ~haphAzard or working
| alone. There is always a head center who
becomes thoroughly acquainted first with
the means and habits OF persons or the sur
%roundings of houses which are decided upon
as the objects OF robbery. He then sends
word to one OF the gang at a distance who
| comes ON with as much secrecy as possible
and is posted as to what to do. He never
brings his tools with him. These are for
warded by express by confed .rates when
the plan OF operations has been decided
upon aud used without delay.
All the circumstances connected with this
case go to prove that business houses and
individuals having large sums OF money on
their person cannot exercise too much au-
ton at present or tax. too much care to
avoid possible robbery. The police are
| ~vigilant to the full extent OF their oppor-
t~unities, but the e extent OF territory each off
Ger has to cover on his beat is SO large that
almost any crime might be- committed with