The Portland daily press., 1894-03-19
4 COSTLY ST. PATRICK'S DAY.
Walter Joyce Declares that Robbers
Took His $500.


Costly Adventures of the Man from
County Galway.
The process of getting poorer and wiser
has been very rapid with Walter Joyce,
according to the story which he told to
the PRESS yesterday afternoon. Joyce
is sturdy looking young man of
twenty-eight years, who came to this
city about four months ago from the
west of Ireland. According to his story
he was there fairly prosperous fara 81
of the parish of Ross, County Galway.
He says that he brought seventeen hum
dred dollars to this country with him
and has kept this money in trunk at
his boarding house, No.91 india street.
He intended to return to Ireland soon,
and take his money with him. For this
reason he did not put it in bank.
Joyce represents that he has led very
quiet life since coming here, working
about the English steamers and spend
ing his evenings at home. But Saturday
evening, being the evening OF st.
Patrick's day, his blood tingled for
llUGl6 T6ll6l lIOA buC lAO-iOOOAJ " A~NS
quiet existence. So he dressed himself in
his best clothes, put on his silver watch.
took the pocket book with the seventeen
hundred dollars from the trun.s and
put it into the inside pocket of his coat,
and then, about 80 O'Clock in the eve
ming started out for little quiet amuse-
ment.
joyce says that he went to the
vicinity of the United States hotel, and
there fell in with several respectable APP
pearing men with whom he took two or
three drinks. Then he went into room
with them and a quiet game of cards
was enjoyed until towards midnight. He
says that no money was ventured on the
game, and that his companions, while
total strangers to him, appeared and
acted well. Once or twice he took GU.
his pocketbook to get bill changed,
and he thinks it barely possible that
some one may have noticed that he had
it we'll filled.
About midnight Joyce started towards
bis boarding place. He acknowledges
that he is not quite clear as to events
happening about that time, for,
although he had taken but three drinks,
the fluid had remarkable and unex-
pected potency. He thinks that he took
Federal street and followed along by
Lincoln park until he was overtaken by
gang of eight men. He is very positive
that there were eight in the gang. As
they came up to him three of them
passed him, while the remainder kept
behind. Then the three in front turned
suddenly and came upon him. He
thinks he knocked one down, but the
others hustled him to the ground and
then bundled him into some alleyway
and then into an entryway, where they
quickly tore off his watch and took his
pocket book with the seventeen hundred
dollars. By this time it had dawned up
on the victims confused mind that he
was in a bad place, among bad people,
and he set himself to kicking the door
and making an cutlery. His captors
thereupon. showed him out, and he says
he made all haste to get into the street.
where he began to make loud outcry
for the police. Joyce does not know just
where he was at this time, his only
positive recollection being of a man who
pushed up "a window while he was
believing and shouted to him, go
home you blamed fool" But Joyce only
shouted the louder, and after consider
able clamor attracted the attention of
Officer Riley, who took him to the
station.
Joyce did not recongize any of the men
who attacked him, but noticed that one
had light moustache, and thinks he
could identify him.
Officer Riley said last evening that he
was going down India street on his
regular rounds, when he heard strange
sounds in the direction of Middle or Fore
streets. The sounds were as of some one
shouting, but the intervening buildings
muf1ied them. After considerable search
the officer finally located the sounds in
behind the Davis store in the Proctor
building on Middle street. He there
found neatly dressed man holding fast
to the door of an outdoor water closet,
ana shouting luStllJ 1Hd1 Ao Aau ooo'i
robbed and that the robber was within.
A brief investigation by the officer
showed this to be an hallucination, and
then an attempt was made to ascertain
what had happened. The man said at
first that he had been robbed of watch
and twenty-eight dollars. AS the officer
started with him to look for the place
where he had been robbed he declared
that the sum which he had lost was five
hundred pounds, and a little later that
it was seventeen hundred pounds He
was much confused and pointed
out to Officer White, who had
by this time come up, several places
| where he thought the robbery had been
| committed. These were on Fore street,
but an investigation re vealed nothing.
The man was then taken to the station.
Officer Riley says the actions of the
man did not seem to him so much like
| those of drunken man. as of man
VIII had been drugged. Yesterday Joyce
| was sober enough, but feeling badly and