The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-13
BURGLARS
East Side Houses
Visited.
Residence Of Councilman
SturgeS Robbed.
A Gold Watch and Silver
Valued at 500 Taken.
French Maid Saw One of the Rob-
bers and Screamed.
Valuables to Value Of $500 Taken
From Residence of MIR. Young.

Two burglars of the boldest type i'm
vaded Captain Magill's district last night
and today the entire detective department
of the city is at work and the clerks are
making out list Of the articles stolen,
which, when completed, will be duplicated
and copies sent to police departments in
New York, Boston and other large cities.
1t is probable, however, that the gold
watches and solid silver ware carried off
will be in melting pot before it is traced.
At 3:45 o'clock this morning, Marie the
French maid in the family of Coun-
Gilman Howard O. Sturges, 177 Hope street,
was awakened from sleep and on sitting
up in bed she saw man standing mt the
door of her room. She called for hclp and
as she did so the man ran down stairs, and
with his pal escaped. The cries of the girl
awakened Mrs. Sturges who ran out of her
sleeping room into the hallway. Hearing
the girl still calling for help Mrs. Sturges
went TO her room and found her unable TO
tell what had happened. Mr.. Sturges was
then called and went TO the girls room.
BY that time she had somewhat recovered
from her fright and was able To tell Mr.
Sturges that the house was being robbed.
Mr. Sturges ran down stairs closely fol-
lowed by his wife and went 10 his room,
grabbed his revolver and went to n win
dow facing Hope street and fired three
shots.
The shots attracted the attention of n
patrolman, who was standing at the cor
ner of Manning and Cooke streets who
responded promptly. He found the front
door of Mr. Sturges' residence open.
This he closed and moment or two later
was called into the house by Mr. Sturges.
The gas was lighted in the dining room,
and there was ample evidence of the re-
cent visit of burglars
Just before O'Clock last evening Mr..
Sturges raised a window in the north
west corner of the house, and on retiring
forgot to close it, and il was through this
window the burglars entered the house.
The marauders then went TO the front
door and opened it before they began
their work, afterward going To the mantel
in the dining room where they took "a
candle. BY the light of this they went to
a small clothes press where Mr.. Sturges
keeps the greater part of his wearing
apparel. The pockets of every garment
they turned inside out Next the side
board received their attention and the
robbers drank large quantity of cognac
brandy. From drawer in the sideboard
they took u table cover and into this they
packed large cups, three plates a por-
ringers n small tea set and lot of trinkets.
All of these were OF solid silver and We're
valued at about 500 This package the
burglars took outside the residence and
hid it behind tho shrubbcry. They i'm
mediately returned 10 the house. BY this
time the first candle had given out so they
took another from the candelabra and then
went to the sleeping room of Mr..
Sturgcs' son Walter, on the second floor
There they secured from Walters vest
pocket gold watch which had been pre-
sentcd to him by his grandfather, Robert
knight. They also took a small sum of
So far as known they did not visit the
sleeping rooms of Mr.. and Mrs. Sturgcs.
Having completed their work in young
Sturges' room, one of the men went up
the winding stairs To the third floor. At
the head of the stairs 10 the left is the
sleeping room of the French maid, and IL
Is the custom of Mr.. Sturges little daugh-
ter TO make an early call upon the nurse,
| and when Marie heard the noise of the
| man coming up the stairs She presumed il
was her little charge, and was ready TO
| greet her When, however, she SAW the
! burly form of the burglar she became
frightened and shouted and the man fled
! going down the stairs three and four
| at n time 80 sudden was their exit
that neither he nor his pal was seen by
any one but the maid.
The men could bc easily traced from one
| portion OF the house To another by candle
| grease. lt Is quite evident that when tho
men went into the house tho second time
| they intended TO search for finer articles
for ON the floor of the dining room was "A
large silk mufllcr, spread out but whcn the
man called at the room of mo maid tho
! job was at an end The two men must
have gone toward Fox Point with their
booty for the patrolman who heard the
shots came along Manning street TO Hope
| street and saw no one.
There are but few houses in the city
that are better located for burglars than
| that of Mr. Sturges. the windows on the
| lower floor being very near TO the ground,
the lower portion being hidden 10y n hedge
Of rhodendrons and other plants and
| bushes IL is possible that after the shots
were fired the men hid behind this hedge
until after the patrolman went into the
house.