The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-08-13
HE DIED IN THE HARNESS.
Tho Oc.orensrian Horse Thief Who Once
Gnxe m Omcer n 400. mile Chnse.

Tho Oc.osenarian Hor.e Thief who Once
Gave Omcer n AOO.miie Chase.
There Ia no doubt about the identity OF
Isaac Van Nortwick. tho eighty-year-old
horse thief. who was shot aud killed by an
officer on the Wcst Virginia border Of Penn
sylvania last week. IIo was resisting arrest
with two stolen horses in his possession. and
! had shot twice at tho officer, both bullets pass
ing through tho lattcr's hat. lilo is the same
Van Nortwick who was tho leader Of gang OF
horse thieves in northwestern Pennsylvania
and southern New York some years ago, and
who gavc Sheriff Black of Bropme county
tho longest and most tedious chase on record"
So said u resident Of linwley. Ia.
"A team OF horses belonging TO bank or In
lawIcy were stolen from their pasture ono
night about ton years ago Harness for tho
horses was taken from the bankers barn. :,
wagon belonging to II neighbor of his was
stolen the same night No trace OF tho miss
ing property could be found. Two months
lator u horse and wagon wero taken from
barn near Binghamton. Whom this robbery
was discovered next morning. Sheriff Black OF
that city started In pursuit Of tho thieves. lie
traced them TO Great Bend Pa. whcro they
had stolen n valuable horse from a field. hut
subsequently the animal broke loose from
| them and escaped.
From Great Bend the officers followed tho
thieves to Susquehanna. Pa. twenty miles
| from Binghnmton. There he heard OF thom
| from man to whom thcy had tried to sell the
horse and obtained n description OF them. lIo
| chased them to Smiley. Pa from there to
Jackson. Susnuehanna county. md thence to
| Irrrick lrntr". on tho inc between SusIue-
hanna and WAYNE counties. Then tho officer
IRON lIerrck Centre Sheriff Black fol-
| lowed the thieves to lloncsdale. Wayne county
IN liam tfnr l.,f
Hone .dae he learned thnt tho county fair was
| the description OF the thieves had put up their
horse IN tn. village. attended the races at tho
They had about Jour hours the start Of tho
| officer. who resumed the chase at once. 10
EE2t trace Of them at a farmhouse at Cherry
| sheriff Black wok he IN the farmer and received
pistol shot through his coat sleeve. tho
break into his house.
.h nWhen made aware , OF the officers business.
horse and carriage. had stopped nt his house
the syeaHs IND WantS tod to sell hin nar
r BaGS the the pur
suit. He followed the trail of the thieves to
hMollisteryillee.w he procured a fresh horse.
satisfied that .he thieves were known and Ea nd
though he had then driven nearly 100 miles,
oyer pss, hlly roads with scarcely half an hours
neaF agd ds Ss tro Th Of
thieves led him INTO the wild and mountainons
country known rs Hunters Range in Luzerne
Grove region. in Pike county. Then the thieves
passed southwark into the Wilderness Of tho
pocono Mountains. in, Monroe county. Pa
sheriff Black followed tho rough and noun
famous roads through country Inhabited
thirty miles. He then struck the road leading
TO. Stroudsburgh and lost the trail OF the
Iln.n nina 4 t,,r -
he retraccd his way ,hroI:h tile Poenon5 S VII
drrnoSs to Wayne county. and thcr" he learned
hiding ri ace in the Pocono Mountains He
drove back into Monroe county. and in his
search discovered that men answering the de:
driven through. going toward the Delaware
Water Gap; This was the afternoon OF tho
Sheriff Black drove to the Delaware Water
GAP. and there learned that his men had gone
sey at Portland. few miles below. the day
before. The officer had now driven more than
20 miles in less than three laSs 3v ar som" Of
but he hurried on into New JersrY. He rerov-
cred hi III, trail at Mannnka Chunk: and from
overlook his men and placed them under
rest. They had gold the horse and wagon for
thieves proved to DO old man Yam NortXick.
then past ~. and mnn namel Voorhis, f!cy
w"ro taken back to BinGhamton for trial.
Tho news OF the arrest OF the Horse thieves.
after u chase OF nearly 400 miles. was pub.
IlSHcLl IN tle local papers. am, met tho eye o.
tn" Iiawley banker. whose horses had been
stolen couple u months before. In the name
Of Van Nortwick h" recognized that OF Il man
whC had been around Iinwley about tho time
the horses. wagon. and harness were stolen.
and who had not been soon since. The banker
went To- BinGhnrnt"n and found that, the old
man officer Black had ARRESTED, was tho same
Van Nortwick. Black had learned in New
Jersey that Van NortwirE had been dealing nX-
tensivcly in horses aud wagons in that vicinity
for some time pr"V MS to his sa !e of the BinS-
hamton property there. The liawlcy banker
IL nj FOL
The officer and tho owner of the stolen team
went to halfway. and finally traced the prop
ertr to Orange. whore they found one Of the
horses in possession of a man named Van
Tor S5O. 1t was worth 500, Tho horse was
recovered. \ trace ol the other horse and tho
wagon was discovered in Orang" They were
followed up through New Jersey into Orange
county, \. y. and from there into Ulster
county. where tn" ,othe" horse was found
in II village among the Cutskills. in the pos
session ot n man named S"hoileld. He had
paid S+t for it. and handed it over to the owner
without word ut protest. The harness was
found in the same village and recovered Tho
county. across corner of Orange into sui
van. through Sullivan into and across Della
ware county and npand into Sch ohnrio county.
whore all track Of it was lost. Six months later
under its owners she'd in Hnwicy. but who re-
turned it was never learned.
Ike Van NOrtwick was undoubtedly tho
Inst Of tho great gang OF horse thieves that
operated in the states of New York. PennSyl-
vania. and Maryland forty years ago. under
the lead Of the notorious and daring Temple
Il systematic gang Of robbers with numerous
rendezvous In tn" wilds Of Pennsylvania Van
Nortwck was sent to states Prison from
broom" county Tor this Binghamton robbery.