The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-24
MINNEAPOLIS.
OFFICE 20 SOUTH FOURTH STREET.
GUN MISSED FIRE.
Henry III. Barber Tries In Vain to
Kill n Burglar.

Were it not for the luckiest kind of
luck the corpse of a burglar bold would
now adorn one of the marble slabs at
the morgue. AS it was, the house
breaker was evidently hurt, and he can
consider himself very fortunate in
dividual that the revolver of Henry H.
Barber did not work after the first shot
had been fired
Mr.. Barber is assistant cashier in the
Hennepin County Savings bank, and
resides at 730 Seventeenth street east.
About 4:15 o'clock yesterday morning
he was awakened by noise in the house.
At first he imagined it only the wind.
which, at the time, was blowing q, gale,
but looking for his clothes by the bed
side, he noticed that they had disap-
peared. Listening again, he heard
footsteps, and at once came to the con-
clusion that burglars were paying the
house visit. Hastily Selling a 32-cal-
iber revolver, which was kept in bu-
reau drawer in the bedroom, Mr.. Bar
Der ran in the direction whence the
sound proceeded He then heard the
robbers retreating down the rear stairs.
He went to the rear, and as he put his
head out of the second story window,
two burglars emerged from the kitchen
door AS one of the fellows ran down
the steps, directly below the window,
MI Barber fired, and the housebreaker
lGll TO the STOuuu Win d yen VI PAIL
The head of the house pulled the trig-
ger again, as the burglar lay on the
ground only fifteen feet away, but the
cartridges were worthless, as the caps
simply snapped and would not explode.
The thief soon picked himself up and
beat a hasty retreat, in fact he left so
quickly that he neglected to carry away
one of his shoes, and this is now at po
lice headquarters.
Meantime the other burglar who
carried Mr.. BARRIERS clothes on his arm,
vaulted the low railing on the porch at
the rear door. and ran in a direction OBJ
posite to that taken by his pal. When
Mr.. Barber fired this fellow dropped
the clothes and fled. The pair met in
front Of the house and ran down Seven
teenth street to Chicago avenue, being
seen by people In the next house. who,
however, did not know what the
trouble was.
A search of the house showed that
the bold pair had evidently been at
work for at least an hour. Securing
entrance by removing the screen on
the pantry window, they had ransack-
ed the entire first floor. However, they
had not touched the silver. The whole
amount of booty taken amounted to
six rings, one a diamond solitaire, Mrs.
BARRIERS engagement ring, and sew
era1 other valuable flngerpieces. Mrs.
bdTDeT diamond DrOOCn ana neF small
gold watch were also taken. The whole
value of the jewelry is about $780, but
1t was valued more for the association
than the intrinsic value.
The thieves overlooked several dia-
monds and jewelry which were on top
of the bureau but covered by a spread.
Mr.. Barber misses a dollar bill from
his clothes. A Columbian half-dollar
was transferred from one trouser
pocket to another. AS the coin was
furnished, the supposition is that the
burglar took 1t for a counterfeit and
returned 1t to another pocket. Burned
matches were found scattered over the
lower floor, and the rear door had been
left open for hasty exit, a water
pitcher being used to keep the door
open.
Mr.. Barber could not get descrip-
ton Of the men as he was directly
over them. He feels sure that he
struck the man he shot at, as he can
find no trace Of the bullet on the steps.
AS 1t was daylight he feels positive
that he would have been able to in
jure If not kill the fellow had the cart
ridges not baked at the time Of ac-
ton. With the police, he is at a loss
to account for the luck which seems
to follow This class of criminals.