The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-09-13
LOST HIS PRISONER.


County Detective Richard Amour returned
to town from Nashville, Tenn, at two o'clock
Yesterday afternoon, but without Joe Keiser,
his prisoner. The officer stated that Keiser
escaped from him at the Reading Terminal
in Philadelphia. He said Keiser wanted to
telegraph his friends here to meet him at
Delano. Amour says he pointed out the
telegraph office and Keiser started for it.
Amour turned to pick up his satchel and
when he turned around again his prisoner
had vanished When Amour told his story
to the bondsman who has spent nearly S40O in
tracing Keiser there was war in camp. The
bondsman said to the officer, You bring
that man here, or there will be trouble in the
camp" The bondsman left for Philadelphia
last night to investigate the officers story of
the escape. Amour says Keiser can't get far
as he got the Philadelphia detectives on the
case Immediately after the escape. When
asked why he didn't have his man hand
cutIed Amour said, he did for the first 100
miles from Nashville, but the cuffs opened an
old wound ON one of Keiser's wrists and,
out Of compassion, the cuffs were removed.
Keiser travelled ,25s miles to Philadelphia,
the officer says, without handouts and made
no attempt to escape.
The Philadelphia Public Ledger publishes
the following account of the case County
Detective Richard Amour. of Shenandoah,
Schuylkill county, reached Philadelphia
over the Pennsylvania Railroad about 3
O'Clock yesterday morning, having in custody
Howard H. Keiser, alias II. j. Gibson alias
Edward Mitchell, whom he had brought from
Nashville on a requisition, charged with
highway robbery. When Detective Amour
left the Reading Terminal several hours
later for Shenandoah he went empty-handed,
for the simply reason, as he himself ad-
mitted, that he had been the victim of mis-
placed confidence in human nature. In
plain English, his prisoner had given him
the slip and had suffered himself TO be
/ swallowed up in the human mass Of over
/ / 900, 900 souls constituting Philadelphia, and
/ County Detective Richard Amour, a stalWart
six-fOOter, had nothing else left to do but to
report his loss at detective headquarters and
solicit the aid of the police in the task of re-
covering the fugitive.
when he called at headquarters, Detective
James p, IIamm was on duty and did not re-
strain hearty laugh when he heard Amours
story and learned that he-was no green
horn I'm the business, but well acquainted
with Superintendent Linden and had seen
service in the coal regions. Nor did Amour
vince when Detective Hamm called him "a
big chump" and told him he ought to have
known better. Amour said that Keiser, who
was known as crook" gambler, swindleI
and all-around CRATER" or one who lives
by his wits, had been arrested in Nashville
on the charge Of highway robbery, COM
mitted in Schuylkill county. His apprehen.
sion was effected by means Of photograph
which Amour had sent TO Nashville authOri-
ties Keiser it is said had been subsisting
by practiciug various small swindling games
upon visitors to the Nashville Exposition
Amour said Keiser gave him no trouble at all
while coming home, and when they reached
Chattanooga was permitted TO walk around
the town for several hours ON parole ''tI
stretch Ais legs, aud that he came back and
resumed his journey without making any
trouble II was after reaching Philadelphia
iat the trau L. came in. Amour ~
Keiser, after reaching Broad street station
went ON down TO the Terminal to takea train
for Shenandoah. About o'clock yesterday
morning, Amour says, Keiser asked permis
sion to go down stairs to send a telegram and
that was the last Amour saw Of him. When
he failed 10 return within an hour Amour