The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-11-18
STARVED OUT THE ROBBERS.
THE STORY OF THE BOLTON ROBBER
BAND OF WILDCAT MOUNTAIN.
They were veritabis Lords or the Green
wood. and Had - First-c,nss Gave 10 Live
In. but Were Finally brought to Book.

In, but Were Finally brouuht To book
NORWICH. Nov. 17.-This is q story OF roman
tic robbers who dwelt in n cave in the Wild
wood. high up In tho Bolton Mountains. in
eastern onnecticut They pillaged the coun-
try all about them. and had high old times in
the cave. Tho cave robbers wcro seven in
number namely: James Wilson. 10 wears old: :
Jerry Mccormack. %: Joe Quincy. ~: jim
DAILY. 80: Buck Mccartney. 20; Jack Fccvcr.
II. and another outlaw whom nobody knows.
They have all been captured by brave Con-
stable Cowlcs OF Bolton. except tho robbcr
whom nobody knows. and are behind tho bars
in Tolland county jail. in Tolland village.
Bolton town is the widest and loneliest nook
in Connecticut. 1t is In the southern part OF
Tolland county. which is set like n wedge IN
northern Connecticut letwcen Hartford
county on the west and Winlham and New
London counties on the east 1t Is u lana OF
great grcon valleys and rugged MOUNTAINS
which traverse it from Massachusetts
on the north to Lebanon and colchester
towns in this county on tho south.
in Bolton. which Is hall way h"'Wo'n
Willtn,ant!c aud Hartford. tho earth is heaNed
IN in massive granite ridges. swccrin. east.
ward md westward. Everybody has heard oi
Bolton Notch in the northern lnrt OF the town.
A good many years ago the old Hartford. troy.
ilrnce and fishkil Railroad now oranch OF
the New York and New England cleft its way
with drill and blasting powder straight
through these ilin;y hills Mt the Notch.
a lonesome little mountain hamlet among
the ridges. 1t sliced n deep dark canon be-
tween seamless blue granite walls. Among
the gloomy hills. n milo or 40 from the Notch.
is the cavern Of the robbers.
The story Of the robbers is like a ballad OF
tho days OF Robin Hood. For many months
singular robbcries and other ines have been
perpetrated in almost every town in Tollnnd
county. and there was not n clue to the cul-
prits. The farmers in half Gozcn towns
were in terror on account OF them.
Barns wore looted and burned at night.
houses broken into and despoiled in
the daytime while the inmates OF them were
away for a days visit tn friends. farming tools
and poultry were stolen. and cattle were
slaughtered. sometimes disc boweledi in their
pastures. In Mansfield dozen barns. many OF
them costly ones. were burned in six months.
and once tho flames OF three fine barns red
dened tho midnight sky in that town. The
marauders came and went and execute ell their
mischief with the mysterious swiitness and
apparent illusivcness OF spectres. On ono
night barn was burned in Mansfield or O. o..
Bolton or Coventry. The whole country was
terrorzed., Farmers Watched their property
them at doing guard duty. Women
s ssss a roads alter Snt and chd ns
hurried 70 the distant red scnoolhouse among
the hills. casting frightened chances back
bandit leap out of clnmps,of roadside bushes.
The people, OF beautiful Mansfield village on u
hostile. measures against the common TOE.
First they app"inted y town guard of a
1"ass ssnt suna and rts S"Grs try
town offered $500 for the arrest OF the rob:
bers. At the third town meeting the reward
wrre hired 70 take Tho field. Country sherilrs
and constables toiled necessarily. but ACCOM-
thing; No one saw, ono of tho robbers, or
stumbled on the ira OF one. At times. when
the officers of the law md the i%ople were
lawry was interrupted. sometimes tor few
weeks. As soon as the porular excitement
resumed. Now ANA then tho hri: lands reno.
trnted rs far south as towns In the northern
from Bolton. and last summer they slauGh.
tered cows belonging to salem farmers west
they stole in nroad iaylirh; from salem man
tw" calves that were ut pasture. and. it Is pre-;
sMmSd., flung them A.. into =, their wagon and
Not in,rcnuentiy. it is inferred. they went
with swi., horses to and from the scenes OF
farmers ut midnight. and having rerrctrated
their rohbGry let Them by the t"sd5!;!e The
cess IS not less than ,w" years and half or
Lazy this fall the bandits. who hitherto had
confined their criminal operations TO the plum
Ser!nG 81 iatmrrs' began =" vary mem %'th "c;
Offices. In doing tha; thcy took the frs, steps
in tho way that ended in their c%tosur" aud
arrest Several stores in Bolton and adjoining
towns were mystori"usly rlunlered. and the
ror,,ers ESCAPED Their SUCCESS made them
lose Mt luarryvie. tw" or three miles from
]iolton Notch. was entered while tho woman
lot Of goods That had been put up ' tho "v.nins
before to he sen, out next morning in the ped
dlers' carts va, was stolen. 1t WAS valued at 500:
could betrny them. and no arrest was made at
the time.
person: A. ". Cowles. constable cool. silent.
and Of modest ncmeanor Him Mrs. l;"sc
looked the ,pIars, cS%r, took soI mental
notes ,,t Of LOT Of things 70 one else
much. He had no clue to the robbers. he adj
mitted. but he went to work quietly and sa-
derent towns II, NJ To"H% c"untv N sauEt nst
all sorts of odd characters. cultivated friendly
relations with them. and dIscroctly led them
the county. He made several visits To Will
mantle and was seen in familiar talk with
Shiitless persons hangrrS-On ot saloons In
some way, no one knows how. and after cx.
haustiy" investigations he learned that there
as Wildcat Mountain. Then the next thing for
the constable to do was to find the robbers
retreat in the intricate dcfilrs of the ,drsolate
hill and he began To explore the wild region.
Thereafter the officer was not at home in tho
day, much. iio was browning all day in the
willingness. climbing steep hilsides. peerinG
into assures in the i,lue granite ridges scruti
valleys.
One day not long ago while strollnG about
the widest Fart %! Wildcat Mountain Con.
stable Cywles deserted something curious in
the wo2drath = few feet ahead OF him. He
bounced upon it with an expression OF exulta.
ton. twas y half,eatcn. cookie; H"pirked II
piece had been bitten out Of IT.: the print OF a
mans teeth were in the border Of the cash
He put tho cookie into his overcoat pocket and
went on eagerly and hopefully. The path. he
tons side Of Wildcat Mountain. lIe had no,
gone far before he came upon another thing
a singular ono In an almost untrodirn wilder.
ness. miles from human lnb,ations. The
cookies lying. beside his path. 4 little further
he discovered bag that had been buried in
In the sod n pyranidal shape. the forked ends
meeting nboyo tho buried Ing. to mark the
GnOt, In the BAG WAS an OVarcoaf N n mock al