The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-21
THE GANG CAPTURED.
Port Townsend Postoffice Burg
lars Caught Here.
GUILTY or MANY OTHER CRIMES.
sufRern and Ffnnexan. Both Seattle
Boys, Caught with Booty-suf-
fern Attempts to Escape.

Boys, Caught With Booty-Suf-
fern Attempts to Escape.
Two of the most daring and successful
craftsmen that have ever operated in the
Pacific Northwest were captured in this
city yesterday morning with indisputable
evidence of their Iaxless vocation and
their most recent crimes in their posses
sion. To add to the sensational features
OF the case one of the burglars attempted
to escape from Jail at night and was shot
and seriously wounded before he was
stopped
These men were George Suffern and
James Finnegan, both Seattle-raised boys,
and their latest known crime was the
cracking of the safe and burglary of the
postoffice at Port Townsend early on the
morning Of March !, just two weeks ago
yesterday. Previous to that burglary
about six weeks they cracked the
safe of George A. Meiggs, of the
Port Madison Mill Company, at
Port Madison. and secured $500 in
coin. The same night they drilled hole
into another safe at Port Madison. but the
fuse would not burn and they were fright
encd away. Five weeks ago last Sunday
night they cracked two safes at the lower
end of Port Townsend. From George w.
Downs safe they secured Sill. and from the
other safe in the Point Hudson Engineer
ing works Office they got nothing.
Two watchmen were in the mill Office
whcnthey cracked the safe there.
THE PosToFFIcE BURGLARY.
Their next haul was the big one. and
was particularly daring, as they chose
Uncle Sam for their victim. The story Of
this job is best told in the following dis
patch, printed in the PosT-IsTKLLIGENcER
on March s.:
PoRT TOWNSEND, March 7.-fspecial 1.-The
postoffce was entered this morning, presum-
ably about the hour of or 5 O'Clock, and over
$3.50 stolen. There is no doubt that the rob
bers were skilfull burglars. The safe was blown,
and everything in it taken. hole was
drilled In the top, the charge placed in, and
the doors blown completely off. In coin 81 COO
was taken and fifty registered letters, the value
OF which cannot even be guessed at. 1t may run
up into the hundreds or even thousands. Be-
sides these. 400 postal notes and all the docu-
ments, private papers and Alaska mail in sight
were carried of. Handy & French's stationery
store, in the rear of which is the postofiice was
also robbed. Twenty dollars in cash was taken
from the drawer. and other things to the value
of 500.
Several people claim to have heard the explo-
sion in the morning. The store was evidently
entered by means OF false keys Underneath the
postofiice, which is built on piles, a ladder and
staging were discovered, ard several joists had
been sawed through, showing that the burglars
had intended first to enter by the fioor
There 10 hope that the robbers will be run
down, as clue has been discovered. A boat
was stolen from the Hudson point ways last
night, and quantity OF tools taken from car
penter shop near by. A brace found in the
postofiice was identified - having been taken
from tnat shop A boat answering the descrip-
ton given was seen pulling over to WILDLY
island and had two men in it, one of whom had
an injured hand. Postmaster Learned has mott
fed the postal authorities.
Since the Port Townsend postoffice
burglary the young men have probably
done several jobs; but they have not vet
been fastened upon them. Several DAYS
ago two men were held up at Quartermas-
ter Harbor, and Suffern and hi: pal are
supposed to have been the highwaymen.
A robbery committed there by water pirates
is another job laid to them. On Tuesday
night warehouse at Finley, on WILDLY
island, was broken open and robbed, and
the two burglars were suspiciously near at
the time. 1t is also thought that the
young men had hand in one or two
Olympia jobs of recent date.
KNOWN By THEIR CHIPS.
There were several marked peculiar
tiles about each of the jobs done by
Suffern and Finnegan. and these,
in great measure, led to their appre-
hension. The most notable fact about
each Of the burglaries was that the men al
ways went into town at night, worked
their lay quietly and slid out with their
"swag'' without being seen and without
taking any public conveyance. Suffern and
Finnegan owned long green rowboat,
and it was always somewhere in the neigh
borhood Of the burglaries about the time
they occurred. This was one of
the clues that led the detectives
to the capture of the criminals Another
important point was the fact that the Jobs
were all done in the same way, exactly
the same tools being used in each
case, and this was clue that helped.
On the day before the postoffice
robbery Suffern and Finnegan were seen
in Port Townsend. Sheriff Delaney's
wife was dead and Suffern was overheard
w party dO Jill uOt hIOW tucHl 10 saw:
"The funerals today and we'll do the
postoffice job tonight" After the burglary
was reported this individual told what he
had overheard, and by his description
another clue was fastened onto the two
men.
WEEK ON THE TRAIL.
Sheriff Thomas R. Delaney, of Jefferson
county, commenced working on the case
Immediately after the burglary With the
aid of King county detective, whose
knowledge of criminals and their s'lays" is
probably better than that of any other
man in the profession, conclusive evidence
was secured against Suffern and Finne-
gan. Then Sheriff Delaney came to Sc
attic and watched for his men. Both Suf-
fern and Finnegan were on to the Port
Townsend officer, so he was forced to sslay
low" and for six days he kept under cover
at the Occidental hotel while two deputy
sheriffs kept the cracksmen under sur
VIGILANCE.
THE ARREST MADE.
1t was known that both of the young
men were stopping with young Suffern's
mother, widow, living at 2,012 Second
street. Thursday night deputy sheriff
who was unknown to the young men
went To the ho,1se in the o,,isa of