The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-08-27
SAFE CRACKERS
BOLD ROBERIES AT CHADBOURN
AND FAIR BLUFF


AND FAIR BLUFF
-
Blood Hounds Put ON Trail Of tho Robbers
-whe. the Hounds Were Taken on tho
! Train One Of the Williams Boarded the OPP
.p0sire Slde-He Flourlshed His Pistol and
Escaped mp the Koad-His Subsequent
Capture and Confession-He Is m Elk Con
Wet
Yesterday "a a day Of intense excite
miles from Wilmington ON the Will
mington, Columbia and Augusta rail-
road. Some time between Midnight
and day yesterday morning, the ware
house of the Atlantic Coas Line was
broken into and the safe priKed open
and robbed of between s25 and $50 in
money and some express packages, a
pistol. a razor, a scarf pin and other
articles. The discovery was made yes
terday morning and the railroad and
express authorities were Immediately
notified.
= "A dispatch was sent to Florence or
derfng h Atlantic Coas Lines blood
hounds to Chadbourn to trail the rob-
Der or robbers. five hounds were &C
cordingly put On train No. 81, Captain
Sam Cannon, conductor, which left
Florence at 8:55 a. m. Accompanying
the dogs were Jailor Dennis, their keep
er, and his son, and Mr.. K. G. Barrett,
route agent Of the Southern Express
company, with headquarters at Flor
ence.
When the train reached Fair Bluff;
about ten miles from C~hadbourn, there
was an excited crowd at the depot. It
seems that Mr.. M. D. Elvington's store
there had also been broken open and
robbed. The dogs were, however, car
ried on to Chadbourn. The train reach
ed there at 1926 a. m, and gathered at
the depot there was another large and
excited crowd. The b~loodhounds were
taken off on the depot side n Messrs.
Dennis and Barrett got off with them.
About Chadbourn that morning a
suspicious negro had been noticed, and
he had been seen in the crowd at the
depot, but when the train left he "a
missed. A telegram was Immediately
sent to Brinkley's station, which is 10
miles from Wilmington, inquiring of
Captain Cannon if a young negro
wearing a cap and a shirt with a speck-
led front was on his train. When Cap
tain Cannon got the telegram, he
looked through the train for a mar of
the description given. In the mean
time the negro went from the second
class coach into the baggage a and
asked what the train was being held
The baggage master Informed him that
they were waiting on the conductor
and told him the train would leave as
soon as the conductor came in from
the depot. When Captain Cannon
went into the train to find the man
Jumped off and was running down the
track. Captain Cannon ran drought
TO. the sleeper at the rear of the train
and followed to he man to stop. He
was running and kept himself covered
by the train and when he saw Captain
~oA4 oA1A Jill ~ "SAS oOOuI y
pursue him, he drew a revolver, -four
ished 1t as he went and dashed nto the
woods on the east side Of the railroad.
The news was telegraphed back to
C~hadbourn, and in the mean time Mr..
D.. S. Pitman, the railroad telegraph
the robber. He came up on the man
and the robber drew his pistol and
forced Mr.. Pittman to take the protec-
Hion of a friendly tree. Mr.. Pittman
went back and got a gun and went
In pursuit on horseback and succeeded
In capturing the man about eight miles
from Brinkley. He carried his pris-
pner back to Brinkley and he was
taken before Colonel David S. Cowan,
Justice of the peace, who sent him to
Jail at Whiteville. The prisoner gave
mis- name as George Workman, and
confessed to a knowledge of the rob-
berry, and implicated one Hayes Webb,
alias Alexander, eolored. He said
Webb was hid in a box car at Chad
bourn, and expected to come to Will
mington on the local freight which ar
rived in the city about 6 o'clock yester-
day evening. Officers were on the look
out for Webb but he did not turn up.
Captain Cannon says that soon after
leaving Chadbourn he came across
GeorgeWortham in the first class coach
He went into the second class coach
and paid his fare to Wilmington. The
cOlOred train hand on CAPTAIN Car
mons train says when the train started
from Chadbourn he drove Workman
off the front of the mail car and told
him to get on board one Of the pas
senger caches if he wanted to ride on
the train. He believed he was trying
to beat his way and thought nothing
of the circumstance, as the man got