Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1890-11-20
Inspector Watkins Clever Work
in Capturing NcWberry, the
New Salem RObber,
He is Said to be Il Nephew Oi
IL Chicago Congressman
Elect.
A Little Romance Down il
Virginia Spoiled by His
Arrest,
Newberry's Chcckered Career.


The death of Rube Burrows by no
means completed the list of desperate
men vino practice train robbing as a pro-
fession. Within a short distance of
Washington on Saturday last there was
run down and captured train robber,
who, for nerve, skill, and deviltry, says
the Washington, D. g., Post, was on a
par with the worst of the fraternity, and
fast attainlng a degree of proficiency
that bade fair to rival Col. Burrows him
self.
The victim of the law bears the name
of William e. Newberry, and he is a
nephew of Congressman-elect Newberry
who has just been elected to the fifty
second congress from the city of CHI
cago. His arrest was the result of some
exceedingly clever work on the part of
Postotfice Inspector Watkins, Of Chicago
Newberry has been operating in South
Dakota for the past two or three years
robbing banks, stage coaches and trains.
and the gang ne associated with has in
more than one instance resorted tC
murder to secure booty. He went under
the alias of Nick We]lborn and was re.
markably lucky in eluding the detec-
tives, who have hunted him constantly
On June 3rd of this year, at New Salem
North Dakota, a Northern Pacific train
was stopped by highwaymen. Two
masked men climbed upon the engine
and compelled the engineer and fireman
to detach the engine from the train ano
then to pull out. Having taken the
engine about twenty rods the engineer
was ordered to stop, and the engineer
and fireman were taken back to the train
where they were ordered to batter dowr
the door of the express car. With the
first attack on the car the express clerh
escaped from it and saved the contents
OF the safes, since he carried with him
their keys.
Having entered the car the two rob.
bers compelled the engineer, the fireman.
and the postal clerk to cut open the
mail pouches and to carry the frst-class
registered mail matter to the robbers
horses, About 800 packages, containing
$4,000 in cash were thus secured. G.. E.
Bailey, one of the highwaymen, was sub
sequently captured. and is now serving
a term in the North Dakota peni-
tentiary.
The other robber was Newberry, and
though he had gotten away with so much
lucre he ha<: squandered it pretty fast,
for on the 10th of last month he was con-
cerned in robbery of the Missouri Pa
citic express near Kansas City. This haul
also panned out rich, much better indeed
than the other, passengers being robbed,
and the mail and express car gone
through thoroughly. After this New
berry made his way to Front Royal, Va,
where he took the new alias of Wigfeld,
passing himself off as a relative of re-
spectacle family of that name living near
Marshall. MIR. "Wigheld" took up the
vocation of a horse trader and spent
money SO lavishly on his acquaintances
that he go5 to be quite a favorite in the
rural circles about Shackelford's, Mills.
He took board with Mr. Shackelford, a
highly esteemed farmer, and had the au-
dacity to court one of the daughters OF
the house, a beautiful young girl. who
had no suspicion of the real character of
her lover.
The hlghwayman seemed to be as
lucky at wooing as at holding-up pas
senger trains, for he captured the heart
of the confdlng maiden, and the we'd
ding Was to have occurred in a few days
"Wigield' told such big stories of his
big ranches and farms in the west that
all Miss Shackelford's friends thought
she had made a great catch.
a rather strange coincidence comes in
just here. 1t was from Shackelford' s
Mills that the notorious Ford boys
started out in their crime. stained
career. From this secluded and law
abiding hamlet they went forth to JON
Jesse James and his hardened gang,
afterwards playing traitor and murder.
ing their famous chief to get the price
set on his head. It is more than prob
able that "Wlgfeld" was associated with
the Fords at some part of his carer and
that he was posted by them as to the ad-
vantages of security from the law offered
by Shackelford's Mills. q
But Newberry, to call him by his right
name, got tritle careless. as the Gun
ningest of his sort do after hiding out for
a good while. He made false move by
sending his linen to Washington to be
laundried, using the Adams express
therefor, but he made still worse
break by sending it in his own name
Some letters came to Marshall, also, ad-
dressed to Mr.. Newberry and the two
things conjoined worked the road agents
ruin.
Inspector Watkins was after him very
close, and on Saturday evening, with a
couple of assistants, made the arrest.
They got their man at Shackelford's
house, and had him covered with revol-
vers before he realized what the officials
were after. He gave in with very good
grace, seeing that resistance was useless,
On being searched $1,000 in cash and