The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-05-22
THE CEDAR SPRING ROBBERY.
The Bold Attack in which Paymaster
Wham Lost S2e, 900 Of Public Funds.

| The Bold Attack in which PaymaSter
Wham Lost S2e, 900 Of Public Funds.
WASHINGTON, May 1S.-The robbery
of Major Joseph ". Wham, one of the
army paymasters, will undoubtedly be
made the subject of thorough investiga-
ton by court of inquiry. If the pub
lished accounts of the strange affair are
correct, the chief point TO ascertain will
be whether adequate precautions were
taken against the possibility Of such .
surprise of the paymaster's escort as the
Arizona highwaymcn effected. That
the soldiers afterward did the best they
could, considering the ambush into
which they had fallen, seems to be clear
from the narrative. since they must have
come at once under hot fire from the
robbers which wounded the greater part
Of them, and put them to 4 constantly
Increasing disadvantage in carrying on
the fight.
Although the escort in this case was
overpowered, yet ordinarily force OF
two on-commissionad officers and nine
privates, besides the two drivers, Is Il
strong detail, and the paymaster and his
clerk also doubtless had pistols at least.
Major Wham is an old soldier, having
served as private and Sergeant of Com
pany G, Twenty-irst Illinois Infantry,
all through the civil war, from the 10th
of June, 1861, to the 2Sth Of July, 1865.
At the latter date he was promoted TO Il
Lieutenancy in his regiment, and was
mustered out towards the end of the
year. Appointed Second Lieutenant
of the Thirty-lifIh Infantry in 1867. he
served over three years and a half in
that capacity, and for more than twelve
years he has been a paymaster IN the
army.
Probably the main question to arise at
the court of inquiry will be as to the
degree Of vigilance which was exerted at
the time Of the attack. And On this
point it is only fair to note that the part
of Arizona in which the robbery oc-
Cured is one in which the only pracl!ca- praa
Die roads repeatedly~ofEorr OPPORTUNITIES
for an amDuSn like that which was
effected. Even with reasonable degree
of caution, it would be difficult in such
region to guarantee immunity against
surprise, while an attack of 50 elaborate
and formidable character Is almost or
quite unprecedented. Indeed, the num-
Der of robbers engaged in the successful
attack of Saturday afternoon IS thus TAR
only matter of conjecture. They knew
that they had a force Of fifteen men. OF
whom eleven were fully armed, to con-
tend with: and there were enough OF
them at al! events to wound eight out Of
these eleven in a prolonged fight. OF
course 10 official inquiry will be con-
Quoted until the result OF the present
general hue and cry after the thieves,
both among the military and the civil
ians, is known, since this will throw
much light upon the conditions OF the
ertGGaaqqitteer. ertGGaaqqiter.
THIS affair at Cedar aar-ssrppssings, spsSngs which is
situated between Fort Grant and fcrrce
Thomas, in Arizona, will recall IN some
respects the robbery Of PaymaSter Dam
! lei \. Bash, two gears ago, at Antelope
Springs, between Douglas and Fort
mckinney, in Wyoming Territory. That,
however, though as daring and success
full robbery as the recent one, was
much less of an affair in every way.
The amount stolen from Paymaster
Bash's valise was $3.50, or only one
fourth of the loss of Paymaster Wham.
In that former instance Il ranchman
named Charles Parker, seized the Yallse,
which vas in the stage coach drawn up
in front of the tavern where Major
Bash and his escort were taking dinner:
and jumping on his horse, which was
faster than the horses of the escort,
escaped with his booty, although pur-
sued and fired upon. And as only one
thief was then concerned, so there were
only two or three persons in the escort,
while the exchange of shots was harm
less all around, and quite different,
therefore, from the sangulnary tight at
Cedar Springs.
However, what particularly recalls
this case was the finding OF court of
inquiry to the effect that Major Bash
did not give to his escort sufficiently
specific erders for the protection of the
property aud did n6t'see that proper
precautions were taken. It Vas also
| found that unsuitable men had been Sc
lected for the duty, and that they were not
even properly armed. At that time it
/ was urged that the whole matter OF eS-
corts for paymasters should be revised,
in order to guard against any repetition
of loss from such robbery; and the
present far more serious affair will direct
renewed attenti on to the subject.