St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-10-29

and taken to Lisbon for safe keen;ny
Two rnen were put over him as watchers
he teigned a chill and put on all hi.
wraps. He soon found an excuse tc
leave the room, and as soon as he
reached the next room he Jumped from
the window and escaped in the darkness
TO waterford, VT. He was tracked to
TINS place the next day, found in a pile O
empty barrels, and shot in the side while
trying to make his escape. A woman
c'aimIng to be his wife came upfrom Bos
ton to nurse him. DR.. Billiard of st,
Johnsbury and the other doctors pro.
left to die.
1t was al this juncture that John Bailey
TOOK a hand in the case, and told the
oflcers they were dealing with a danger.
Gus criminal. Bailey wanted a couple OF
watchers for him, but the doctors pro.
tested, and two days after their bird had
hown. Bailey started for Boston to find
MIN, and had great trouble in getting ex-
tradition papers. He described his man
&c a Boston officer, and he was arrested
as a fugitive from justice and held in Gus
tody until Bailey could make two trips
To Vermont to get the necessary papers.
ne hnally got him landed in the Chelsea
Jail to await his trial. He was in Jail
rom February to August and then broke
out, letting four Others go with him. He
was oundl in Nashua and carried back to
Jall, and finally sent to state prison.
But OF all Mr.. Bailey's experiences his
capture OF the Barre bank robbers fur
nishes one OF the best chapters in Yer
mont police history. and was at the
time one OF the most important pieces Of
detective work known.
On July Z, 1875, the national bank of
Barre, VT, was robbed by four men and
about $1400 in unsigned bills secured.
he house OF the cashier, Charles A..
King, was entered at one in the morning /;
both the cashier and his wife were
heavily handcuff'd and Mr.. King was es-
corted to the bank to open the safe. He
assured the robbers that the safe had a
time lock, but they would not believe
him. They found this out when they
reached the bank, and all he could do for
them was to open the door OF the vault.
Here they found a lot of unsigned bills
that had just come from Washington.
Early the next morning Sheriff Bailey
heard OF the robbery and was also in
formed that two men had been seen in
Piermont, N. H. Heimmediately boarded
a train and watched every part OF the
road for strange men. When the train
reached Rumney two men boarded it and
one of them acted very suspiciously.
Bailey took his eye off from him for a
moment and when he glanced back again
the man was gone. Bailey Jumped to
his feet and running through the car sa
the stranger jump from the rear platform
while the train was going 1t lull speed.
1t took some time to stop the train and
when Bailey reached the spot his man
was gone.
For two hours and a half he searched
all around the adjoining country, fire.
quently coming across the robbers trail
and then losing it. At last he saw in a
clump OF bushes his man lying fiat on the
ground. Bailey made a spring Tor him
and landed on the mans body. In the
scuffle which followed Bailey handcuffed
him and Peter Curley, one of the boldest
OF the gang, was caught. There was
plenty OF evidence to convict him, though
he stoutly denied his guilt, and after trial
at Montpelier he was sentenced to a long
term in state prison.
Curley's wife came to visit him in the
Montpelier jail, and hot words was the
result OF the interview. She finally got
so mad that she promised to take the
officer to New York and point out the
rest of the gang. Detective Wiggin of
Boston went to New York with her, and
a few days later Bailey and Cashier King
joined them, and they oonlocated Miles,
the leader of the gang, and one of the
most daring criminals in the country.
For two weeks Miles lawyers tried to
tire out the Vermont officers by serving
writs Of habeas corpus. After all these
had been set aside by the court, and just
as Bailey was crossing the room t. ar
rest his man, Miles lawyers served a
writ of certiorari upon Bailey and Wig
gin. This would take the case to a
higher court and give Miles several
months freedom. Bailey feigned despair
and told Miles that he would give it up
and go back to Vermont.
When the case came up the next day,
as neither Wiggin or Bailey were there,
Mr.. Butler got the writ set aside. Papers
OF arrest were then Immediately secured,
a two-seated team, warranted good for
SO miles at a fast speed engaged. and
Bailey and Wiggin drove to Ludlow
street Jail. Before Miles knew what had
happened he was being driven through
the streets of New York at a ~breakneck
speed with Bailey OIL the front seat
looking for any trouble and Wiggin on
the back seat handcuffed and ironed at
the ankles to the prisoner. Miles yelled
Murder, police" but was informed by
the officer that he would smash his head
if he opened his mouth again.
The party drove clear to Stamford,
Conn, making the distance in less than
two hours. Miles talked very little, in
sisted there was a big mistake somewhere,
and said Bailey had used 60" sharp
practice" to get him out OF the state. He
was taken to Montpelier, tried and SEN
fenced to a long term in state prison at
Windsor.
Such. in brief, is the story of the cap
ture of the Barre bank robbers, all of
whom were brought to justice by Mr..
Bailey's efforts. Though Mr.. Bailey
possessed no special legal training,
he had Yankee tact and plenty OF sand"
and it is somewhat remarkable that
since he run down Miles and his gang
there has not been a bank robbery in
Vermont.
Dartmouth College Notes.-Rev. DR..
Thomas Marshall, field secretary Of the
Presbyterian Board OF Foreign Missions,