Oakes weekly Republican. (Oakes, Dickey County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1898, 1890-06-20
Two MORE HORSE THIEVES

Last Sunday evening two boy tramps
called at the home of Mr.. VIM
Mills, adjoining Oakes on the west
and asked for something to eat
Mr.. Mills, with heart commensur.
ate With his large avoirdupois, gave
them money to come up town and
buy their slippers, which they pro-
ceded to do and returned to thank( p
him for his kindness. 1t was rain
ing and they prevailed upon Mr.
Mills to allow them to sleep in the
barn. The next morning two Of
his horses were missing, and it was
not difficult to conjecture who were
the thieves. The two fellows were
around town Saturday and one of
them stole new pair of Sc shoes
from one of the Northwestern rail-
road boys, who caught him with
them on, thrashed him and took
them off. About ten o'clock Mon
day morning Deputy Sheriff Martin
loaded Ben. Roddle and his Win
chester into a buggy and started
in pursuit. One of the boys was
described as carrying two revolvers
in belt under his coat, and a gen.
eral "tough from Bitter Creek, in
Texas" Mr.. Peabody had been out
to VIM. Quinnell's, about IA miles
north, and informed the officers that
about one o'clock in the morning
two fellows on horseback stopped
there and inquired the way to
jamestown. This was an impor-
tant clew and one which they fol-
lowed. They arrived at Verona and
there heard Of two men at Lisbon
who had been seen leading two
horses behind a spring wagon, and
accordingly left their team at Yero-
na and went on the train to Lisbon.
When they returned to Verona after
their team they heard that the boys
had been seen there that night and
they were warned to look out for
their horses. Mr.. Roddle started at
once for the elevator where they had
unhitched and embarrassed their
horses, and was not minute too
soon, as tine boys had them out and
bridled, ready to jump on their
backs. The toughest one Of the
two, who carried the revolvers, fired
two shots, when they heard some
one coming, thinking to scare them
away. They said they thought it
was ''some hobo or farmer" but
they were mistaken i'll judging the
running qualities of their man, who
is an old-time sheriff, and at home
when it comes to using a revolver.
He opened fire on them, taking aim
at the flash from their revolver.
They let the horses loose and ran
under the elevator and out on the
prairie where, as one of them said,
they laid down in some grass, and
in the darkness managed to escape,
although Ben said he did put a bull
let hole through newly-turned sod
which looked about the length and
size Of man. He passed within
about a rod Of one of them without
knowing it. At daylight Monday
morning they had turned Mr.. Mills
horses loose on the prairie, and they
were returned home Tuesday. After
turning the horses loose the thieves
hid in shanties during the day, and
after coming so near perpetrating a
cruel joke on the sheriff by stealing
his horses while he was searching
for them, they went into shanty
and were found by some farmers on
Tuesday and taken to Verona where
they were being held for house.
breaking, and so anxious were their
captors for lawsuit they did not
want to give them up to the Oakes
officers. Mr.. Roddle arrived on the
train Wednesday morning with one
Of the prisoners, who gave his name
as Frank Graves, and age 90 years.
He said his home was near Waterloo,
Iowa, that this was his first exper-
ience stealing horses and thought it
would be his last; that they only
took them for the ride. Said his
partner was hard customer and he
was afraid Of him, as he carried