The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-11
WHARF RATS WORK.
They Cut a Hole i'm a Warehouse
Floor and Steal Sugar.
BORED AND SAWED THE BOARDS.
Ingenious Robbery of the Risdon- Calm
Company's store-Revesied by
Light Shining Through.

The warehouse OF the Rision-Cahn Company,
at the corner of West aud Columbia streets. was
entered night before last by harbor thieves in
their peculiar way and large amount of goods
stolen
The left side Of the warehouse is filed with
all such goods as are put up in sacks Yester-
day morning about O'Clock Thomas Nash, one
OF the employees, removing some
sacks of sugar when he felt the
floor give way. He called C. l. Webb,
manager OF the company, and told him that
something was wrong with the floor under.
meath the sugar. Everything was apparently
straight, the bags gave no indication of having
been disturbed, all in perfect order as if the
stockman had just finished work. 1t is the Gus
tom of the house to separate one grade OF goods
from others by wooden partitions, and in this
case the floor had given way to the right and at
the end of one OF these partitions
Nash examined the floor and discovered light
coming through what should have been solid
plank. A closer examination showed a row OF
five anger holes extending at right angles to the
end OF the partition. 1t was the work of a few
minutes TO remove the sugars from the point in
question and reveal the true state OF affairs. A
hole about 2ixi2 inches had been cut through
thefloor, thus giving access to the warehouse
and placing the contents at the mercy OF the
thieves.
The surrounding could not have been more
advantageous for the workmen. The storehouse
extends from West street to Railroad avenue, a
distance OF 40 feet, and at every point is over
the tide flats. At high tide the water extends as
lar up as the Colman block and at low water the
ground directly below where the entrance was
effected is dry. The building can only be
reached from beneath from a boat and,
as the water front is not protected
by harbor police, thieves are in lit
tie danger OF interruption. large
post extends to the ground from the floor at tho
point where the work WIGS done, and on this the
thieves had built a scaffold, that they could
work at any time without reference to the tide.
The job was done in scientific manner, and in
dicated that the workmen were not novices.
Between the wall and the next rafter parallel
to 1t the thieves had bored two lines
of twelve auger holes each, and then
using one of these holes as
starting point, had sawed through the spaces
between the holes causing piece of the floor
to drop out, bringing with it a number of bags
of sugar. The thieves were disappointed, how
ever, by finding the partition board extending
across the hole and thus making it difficult for
an ordinary-sized man to climb through. The
job was probably done at high tide, which was
about o'clock in the morning, and the goods
were taken away in q boat
The exact quantity OF goods taken cannot be
estimated, owing to the large stock.
One year ago a similar job was done, the
thieves cutting a hole in the northwest corner
of the room near tbs scales, and securing plum
der to the amount Of several hundred dollars.