Evening journal., 1891-07-11
LONG ISLANDS BANDIT.
He Lived in Two Caves Near
Islip. /
HUNTED BY A POSSE OF CITIZENS.


IsLIP, l. l., July il--Nearly 200 men
armed with shotguns. rifles and revolvers
secured the woods north Of this place drn--
ing the day and searched Saxton's swamp.
a mile and half away, for Tom Richard
son, cowboy, robber and bandit. Two
caves have been discovered cunningly con-
structed IA the sandy scrub oak land bo-
tween here and Brentwood, In which he
has concealed the booty Of numerous rob
berries and in one OF which, it Is supposed,
he meant to cage his wife after he sue
ceeded in abducting her. Tom went to
Texas, where he lived an adventurous life
This at least was the story he told when
| he returned somewhat over a year ago,
wearing picturesque clothes long hair,
and a sombrero. He cut quite figure in
Islip.
He could pierce dime at 100 feet. HO
took well with the girls and he married
the pretty daughter Of Police Justice
Waller, OF Bay Shore.
lilo swore Revenge.
Then he was made a constable but he
got frightfully into debt and treated his
wife so badly that she ran away from him
four months after marriage Justice Wal
Ter kicked him out Of the house. 1t iB
said then that he swore revenge and that
he would have his wife in spite Of every
obstacle.
One Cave Discovered.
He disappeared, and soon thereafter there.
began in Islip, Brentwood and neighbor-
ing towns succession OF robberies and
thefts which worried the community great
ly. They were generally Of a similar
nature, aud seemed as often to be provoked
by hunger as greed Of gain. A reward OF
81, 750 was offered for the thieves.
| The other day Lot Ben jamin, fisher
man, and Alexander Coombs, laborer.
made a discovery in the woods which AZ
tonished she neighborhood They wene'
Q huckleberrying in an open piece of land
( half way between Islip and brentwood
e when they found fireplace with potatoes
r and peas boiling. Further investigation
later in the sand on the part of posse un-
earthed shallow wooden tray three feet
/ square. Under this an opening Of the
same size was discovered, dug downward
for four feet and then shooting backward
and downward into a black underground
4 cave. The passage was boarded to hold
! up the sandy walls Thinking he had
4 found the robbers lair enc OF the men
I drew revolver and shouted
q "Come out Of that, yon wretches Como
Il quick. Call out, for pm going to shooti'
q He Fired Into the Hole.
l. There was no response, so he fred down
a into the hole. Immediately another man
r shouted: Look herel The stumps are
e smoking" He pointed to an old pine
stump twelve feet away and in the direc-
IS tion In which the underground passage
3 pointed. Men attacked the stump and
e pulled It to pieces IL was no stump, but
d cunning arrangement OF bark and mosa
e around four tin pipes which arose from
y the sand. A little smoke came from the
y pipes, but they proved afterward TO be tho
smoke from Jones revolver.
r Still thinking men were below, Deputy
< Sheriff Benjamin and William Jones
d lowered themselves into the pit and
Q crawed through the passage II was 30
e narrow that they could just push their
e way through. There was no one within
y There was a bed inside. Some sheets hung
+ around the walls, some bits of stolen
= property, some salted chickens, hams and
1 pieces Of beef, and some papers and letters.
{ The Earth Swallowed Him.
On piece of paper was written Tom.
and Fannie" Fannie was the name OF
Tom Richardson's sister. This discovery
created deal Of excitement in the neigh
. borhood. An attempt was made TO keeR.
quiet the known fact that the occupant
z had been Tom Richardson, but the very
e afternoon Of the discovery, as 1t happened.
r Joseph Marvin saw Richardson. Marvin
4 was at the cave with several townsfolk ex--
S amining the place.
Q Richardson had evidently been away on
( some excursion, for he apparently sus-
}. pected nothing. He wore an old Prince
+ Albert coat and heavy false beard, but
= Marvin and the men with him recognized
{ him instantly.
d The man instantly disappeared, and th@
!. most faithful search failed to discover
0 him.
r To Catch the Robber.
They spread the report OF his appear
ance. Immediately plan was adopted to
catch the robber. The vicinity Of the under
y ground retreat was carefully guarded nighk
: and day, and other parties searched the
s wild country for other trahs Of the robber.
Il At last a second cave was uncovered II Is
e within two miles OF the first one and it in
L said to be near W. Bayard Cuttings coun-
s try place. to the east from Islip and not
Il far from the Central Islip road. This cave
was discovered on Monday by Joseph
Marvin. The newly found cave was built
on precisely the same plans as the other
In both ventilation was insured by a sys-
J, tenn Of tin tubes. The ends emerging from
4 the sand were covered with moss and dry
i bushes.
) The new cave was roomy, and had evil
:, IDENTIFY required long ana hard WORK TO
= tunnel. There were no heaps Of sand to
be found in the neighborhood, a fact which
:, indicates the pains the bandit took 10 con-
: ceal this new retreat 1t was furnished in
luxuriant style. There were sheets hung
around the walls TO keep out the damp
The floor was laid with rugs. There was
/ bed and bedding, and all the appoint
> ments Of a comfortable home. There was
5 china in the pantry and silverwara. Is
I; was evidently furnished for long occu-
pancy. There was also here much OF the
I booty known to have been stolen from the
fine country homes along the shore.
To Chain His wife.
The most significant thing in this strange
residence was chain securely fastened t0
n a stake firmly driven into the ground
a What did Richardson want OF thfa fms
v underground residenceg is what tha, dis
l. coverers asked themselves. For what ptlr-
d pose was the chain put thereT They con-
q suited Justice Waller, and the opin ion nk
Y the authorities now Is that Richardson Ia
tended this place as the home of his wife.
and that he meant to take her thexe by
force.
e Whether be meant TO keep her pri s0neT
n here and force her to share his bandkt life
" with him for an extended time can only
: be conjectured. Several times Richa rdson
: : has been seen, but he was never nesr
y enough for shot. Tie search viii 50 on
$ until he Is brought in dead or alive LfaA
Ia N fDI ka nrvaf IN al m -