The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-01-23
HELD UP BY A SHERIFF.
How Doughty With His Revolver
Stopped a Liquor Team.
THE COURT HEARS ABOUT A DARK
NIGHTS DOINGS In GRAY.

Officers Waited in Hiding but the Birds
Flew Away = Suspicious Characters
Overtaken, Kept at Pistols Point and
then Released-The Station Agents Pc
culiar Interview With Men Who Want
ed the Rum-Jury Decides the Defend
ants are Guilty.
In the Superior Court yesterday, three
Lewiston parties, Joseph Bourgette,
Jules Gregoire, and j. A. Chagnon,
were put on trial for the illegal transpor-
tation of liquors in the town OF Gray.
County Attorney Robinson appeared for
the state and F. L. Noble OF Lewiston
for the defendants.
On the afternoon of December 4th Dep
uty Sheriff Doughty of Gray, on his way
home saw in the Gray freight depot OF
the Maine Central Railroad, four sugar
barrels each containing twenty gallon
key of liquor. He procured aids and
that evening they secreted themselves
in the passenger station to watch for the
parties whom they expected to cCme at
ter the goods. The barrels were direct
ed to parties not known in Gray. About
eleven o'clock three teams drove up;
parties came to the window and door OF
the passenger station and raped; they
soon went away, as was supposed to the
station agents. They soon came back, and
this happened two or three times and
still they didn't load the goods. Finally
everything became still and it was evident
they had gone. Doughty then discovered
that they hadn't got the station agent but
had pulled the staple of the lock OF the
freight house and the liquor was gone.
He took his team and one aid and went
in pursuit. It was very dark, windy.
rainy night. They found wagon tracks
leading to Lewiston. At Fogg's Corner
five miles from the station, he overlook
a horse and beach wagon with two men
sitting in behind and two on the seat.
He drove by short distance and came
to another horse and express wagon
hitched to the side of the road
with no one in charge. Doughty hitched
his horse, took out his revolver
and when the men came along ordered
them to stop. They pulled up and want
ed to know why they were halted,
Doughty told them for the illegal trans
portation of liquor. Doughty sent his
aid back to the houses after aid to arrest
thin but the aid was gone so long that
Doughty let the men go after giving their
flames and their promise to appear in the
polioe court the next day. Doughty says
two of them gave the names of Gregoire
and Bourgette, but he didn't remember
the other names given; he didn't pay
much attention to that because he
thought they were giving fictitious
names. He had a lantern with him, he
held them there nearly three-quarters of
an hour, and he says he saw their coun-
teuances plainly and he identifies these
men on trial as three of the men in that
team. His aid, Russell, also identified
them; their ulsters OF coats were plast-
cred in front with clayey mud as though
something muddy had been lugged in
their arms
The parties were allowed to go and the
sheriff and his companion drove back TO
Gray. When on top of the hill near the
station they fonnd the marks of the I'M
loading Of the barrels, and a short dis
lance away in the woods the liquor was
found, the barrels covered with clayey
mud.
The station agent, Perley, testified that
in the night he heard team drive up to
his place, man came to the door and
wanted him to go down and deliver him
the goods; he told him he couldn't, that
the barrels had been seized by the depu-
ty sheriff; that the man wanted to
know if the sheriff could be fixed. Per-
lev told him he didn't know, the sheriff
was down in the station and they could
interview him. The man went away.
After short time he came back again
and said the sheriff wasn't there and
wanted the agent to go down and deliver
the goods. He refused. Then the men
asked if they should break in and get
the goods and Perley told them he had
nothing to say about that. Perley says
he didn't dress himself, only opened the
door just a crack and didn't see the
countenance of the man he talked with
He therefore couldn't say whether it was
one of these men on trial or not.
The defense of each of the respondents
was an alibi. Gregoire is druggists
clGIhs BAY AC OltlA ~ .1IOlllO llOlA
his shop until after 10 o'clock and then
he had to go back to the store after
medicine for his sick wife. His brother
in-law and another witness, a policeman,
corroborated his statement.
Bourgette has no present business; has
been druggists clerk. He was in
Sabrine's restaurant that evening until
half past 10 o'clock and therefore
couldn't have been at Gray at II o'clock.
The keeper of the restaurant corroborated
him. Chagnon- keeps drug store in
Lewiston. A friend by the name of La
zette came into his store on this evening
about 10 o'clock; he closed his store about
that time and they went to semi-politi-
cal club of which they are members, re-
manning there until Ii o'clock, and this
was also testified to by Lazotte. Each
respondent denied that he was in Gray
that night, or that he had anything to do
with this lot of liquor at the Gray station.
Chagnon admitted on the witness stand
that he had served eight months in Port
land Jail for keeping a liquor nuisance
when he kept a store in Brunswick a
number of years ago.
The jury was out half an hour and
rendered verdict of guilty against each