The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1893-10-07
Horse Thieves Caught.


gang Of horse thieves which has been
operating for sometime past in Cecil county
Maryland, New Castle county, Delaware and
Chester and Lancaster counties, Pennsylvania,
has been unearthed. Two men named Harris
and Clemson were arrested last week and
Harris turned States evidence confessing to
large number of thefts by himself and Glenn
son.
Several horses were recovered, one, a large
roam. htlonginS to gentleman in the upper
part of Cecil county. The officers also secured
hay mare, two black mares, two roam
horses. a bay colt and two buggies all of
which were taken TO West Chester.
Clemson and Harris are believed to belong
10 large gang part of which operates along
the Pennsylvania and Maryland line and part
in the neigborhood of Washington and over
in Virginia, the horses stolen in this section
being sent to the lower gang for disposition
and those obtained there being sent here for
sale or trade. 1t is believed that the arrest
OF these two men and Harris evidence will go
far to break up the gang.
Mr.. b. B. Dunbar, who had a team stolen
some months ago, went to West Chester in the
hope that he might learn something of his
property. He saw the prisoners, Harris and
Clemson, but was not allowed to converse
with them. He was also taken to the stable
and shown thirteen horses and a number of
carriages which had been recovered up to
that time, but his team was not there. One
of the detectives then exhibited to him a tin
type of q man that closely resembled the per
son who drove off Mr.. Dunbar team, and the
officer said he was confident he was the man
wanted in this case and that he had great
hopes of arresting him.
Fifteen horses in all have been recovered,
two having been sent on to Washington, and
some ten or twelve more have been located.
LANCASTER, Oct. 4.-Chief of Police Bor-
ger, Of this city, last night arrested George c..
Eekert and Uriah Eckert, Jr., of Kinzer's $,
on the charge of being implicated with Thigh
man Clemson and VIM. Harris in their horse
stealing operations in Lancaster and Chester
counties and in the northern part of Delaware
aud Maryland. The evidence is strong
against the Eckerts, who are believed to have
acted as the "fence' for the horse thieves.
George C. Eckert has been held in $4,000 bail
for hearing next Tuesday before Alderman
Spurrier in Lancaster, and Uriah Eckert, Jr., ,
is under $4,000 bail for hearing at the same
tine.
I. w. Stonestreet, of Rockville, Nd, who
had two horses stolen by Clemson, paid him
visit at the Jail, but was treated very impu-
IDENTIFY by the prisoner. In leaving Clemson
the angry Marylander said that he wanted to
inform him that ''if they ever got him down
his way for trial his carcass should swing from
the nearest tree
HARRIS MAKES A CONFESSION.
The West Chester pa Ne,cs of October
ID, contains the following confession of
Harris:
On railroad running past Kensington,
Montgomery county, Nd, we got offat Rock
vile. West of this place we took bay mare,
between three and four years old, with curb;
also small sized dark brown horse with a
little lump on his head. We spotted them by
daylight and lay in the bushes near Magrud
er's store until night, when we took them
from the field. We rode the horses from
there east to the Seventh Street road, where
we turned, going north to the end of the pike,
then turned to the left about 200 yards, and
then to the right and kept on six or eight
miles. Then We took a falling top buggy,
harness and Fly net. Then we made for John
Myers, after taking breakfast at Westminster.
Here we banged the brown horse, took it and
the buggy TO VIM. Conard's and traded them
for sow and pigs, dun pony and dog cart.
Conrad is straight We sold the SOW and
pigs to Henry Stiles and returned to Conard' S,
then went to Myers and met Gail Myers and
sold him the dun pony. Gail Myers lives
near Eckert's in Lancaster county. We
stayed at Myers over night, and traded the
mare to Myers for a moon eyed horse of
Chamberlain's and $40.
On September 2nd, on the Seventh Street
road, on the outskirts of Washington, near
Silver Spring, we stole a strawberry roam
horse, with yoke around his neck, and a
sorrel horse from a field and rode them north
on the Seventh Street road to a country store
about five miles from where we had taken
them. There we took falling top buggy, a
set of harness and a saddle. Going north,
We stopped at blacksmith shop and stole a
set of harness, and little farther on we got
an old falling top buggy that set up high.
Then we went to Hoods Mill. Soon after
we left the old buggy. When near Westmin.
ster | saddled the horse and rode him through
Westminster and then got back into the buggy.
We brought the horse and buggy TO John
Myers, in Pennsylvania.