The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-07-24
4 BIG ROBBERY RECALLED
BY the Death Of the Man Who Was
Accused OF 1t.
WAS NAMED KETCHuM OR HARDING.
None of the Money Ever Recovered
and the Accused WAS Acauit-
ted ON a Tcchnicnlity.

Chicago. July 2s--Ncws is received here
Of the death OF Charles l.. Kctchum, alias
Dick Wilson, In tho Michigan City und)
pcnitentlary, by tho bursting OF blood
vessel Kctchum was well known in this
city as forgcr aud confidence man. lilo
was only II years old when he commenced
his criminal career in Louisville.
In 1892 he was engaged ~ an express
messenger by tho Adams Express COM
pany, his run being from Cincinnati TO
Nashville. In November he Is said to have
robbed the company of $4,000 by substitut-
ing brown paper for paper bills,
Returning 10 Chicago he committed
many forgerlcs in the Maxwell street po-
lica district aud the police OF that station
siill carry warrants for him for passing
bogus checks ON various retail DEALERS.
Whom he learned detectives were searching
for him he left Chicago aud went TO IN
dianapolIs, where he robbed II jeMclcr of
tray of diamonds. For this he was scnt-
enced to Ave years In the Michigan CITY
ponltontiary. Before Kctchum died there
he is said TO have madc a complete comics
sion OF his criminal career TO Deputy War
den sutton,
Galveston, Texas, July 2S.-Kctchum is
the same man. who. under the name OF
Harding, was accused OF extracting 10000
from package Of money shipped by
<ountze Bros. OF New York to the Island
City Savings bank of this city for account
NJ one of their customers and s25. 900 from
-,
u package sh'Ppou ny tno NATIONAL '"y
bank OF New York to Ball, liutchings d.
Co. Both packages arrived here on the
,,,.,,,,.. ~ ,,,..,,,, 90 ,eon ,,,.. ,.r,
"'Vi" '"H VI NoN''"pet ~ '''-' hwy "o'e
delivered by the Woiis-Fhrgo company in
the morning of thai day. n few minutes al
ter the delivery was made to the island
city bank officers OF the institution notified
Agent Wea,herngton OF the Wells Fargo
company that the Package contained moth
ing but brown paper lie went at once TO
tho bank. hut there was no sign of the
money Paving Teller John r AIctarthv
of the Island civ bank received tho pack-
age and at the ;ime rave tho following nc
count Of how no onenna II mud disrnv,rcd
Tho hrnw., nnnnr.
Whom mo nackaso WING brouph, IN ma 7
,rnpd DOR n M ovnros.,,nn Id NOT wal,
81, no ~, -, .hs 49,, 10, -,
,ya,In ,o, -, ,tn, g.. ~. 20 ia 49,,
Ala nn, nn,tna an,,hin, ,o,,,I,ar ahn,,,
, ~ - III ,1.i =, -, 49,,
-,..,a. a.. go. a..
u'o" sh'nis any. e'tti w w ~. t"e "i"P
yer, Nuirenoy usuany Von,eh III pauN"se
Ia, ing pioo' VI o'omn i"pei U" ,"o 'op
anu hotl"h Oh Tue DIS MelI wheh
lanpea the point OF ihe -@rdrs INTO tue
"rappef ieit the piane ulk mo the sup
posed money ana as "lthdrow the sheafs
saw that there was moro brown paper
in sight than usually comes In such
package
II tore hole in the wrapper large
enough TO see that tile parcel contained no
money and then the discovery OF the brown
paper was made"
Tho saJpe day Ball, Hutchings Il Co. re-
cciNed package supposed to contain S2o.-
200 WI IN this was opened nothing but
brown nanor was found.
The money had been received ny Inc
Wollg-Fnrgo company in New York ana
forwarded by that company to Cincinnati
There IL WAS turned over To mo Adams
company and taken 10 Nashville, whore
in turn II was elvon TO the southern aud
carried by that company IN New orieansi
whore II again was turned over 10 the
Wells Fargo, which made the dcllVefy mere.
Tho Adams md southern carried the pack
age under n traffic Arrangement with the
Wolq~Fargo.
TAe robbery was seven days sensation
at the time. Detectives were put TO work
from one end Of the route 10 the other nut
the express companies never recovered
dollar OF II nnd finally made settlement
with the banks, COMPROMISING between