Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-03-25
PEOPLE WHO ROB THEMSELVES.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Leading detect
ives throughout the country are always
ready and willing to spin interesting
yarns in reference to robberies. Hardly
a day passes that a peculiar case is not
brought to the notice of Chief Deitsch or
some of his subOrdinates. OF recent years
there have been robberies in which the
details We're so peculiar as to excite SuS-
picion, but the cases have not been made
public.
1t may seem strange that persons often
rob themselves. but such is a fact. There
have been cases of that kind in Cincin-
natl, but for obvious reasons names nave
always been suppressed. hat other cities
have similar cases is evidenced by the
following talk of a prominent eastern de-
~tective:
"There are some queer characters in
his world. For instance, during the past
two weeks 1 have been hunting some val
liable jewelry which was stolen from a
lady's bedroom in her own house, and 1t
was only an hour ago that l was able to
satisfy her and others interested in the
robbery that she took them and sold them
herself.
"You may wonder why a lady of aris-
tocratic connections, of wealth, and NTH
crto u%ndoubted integrity, should steal
and pawn her own jewels. Well. it does
seem strange, but the queerest fact is
that 1t was the lady nefSeI WHO Drought
the robbery under our notice.
she came to us greatly excited
gave us a long list of the jewelry-worth
about $50, O00-which she said had been
stolen from her jewel case. | was de-
tailed on the case. Failing to learn any
thing at the house, l went on another
tack, and 1 ave just discovered that the
woman herself pawned it for $500, with
which to satisfy a dressmaker's itnpor-
tunities.
Her reason for robbing herself was
obviously to raise a little ready cash
without the knowledge of her husband,
who was getting anxious about her IN
creasing demands for money. And, OF
course, her object in setting the police to
investigate the affair was to allay any
suspicious he might have.
There are very many more society
scandals than those which find their way
into the L know OF a case,
though was not personally connected
with it, in which a young woman, famous
for her mania for gambling to satisfy
losses at cards, got up a sham burglary
at her ather's country house to hide, or
to divert suspicion from the fact that she
had pawned not only all her own JeWelry
but also some of her mothers. AT the
time of the alleged burglary the JeWelry
had been in the pawnbroker's hands three
or four months, and no one had noticed
the loss.
After that time, however, her relations
began to question her about the humble
amount of jewelry she had taken to wear
ing; and she, realizing that the loss could
not remain undiscovered much longer,
worked a sort of bogus rgl IN the
dead of one night.
"She forced open a window, then went
to bed, and an hour or two later started
screaming that there were two men in
her room. She did very well in making
the bedroom look as if it had been rum
mayed, and the window was cleVerly
forced. But she overlooked the fact that
for men to have entered by the forced
window they must have crossed a Hover
bed and there left footprints.
The first case of self-robbery | came
across, however, was not committed FOR
the purpose Of secret gain, but for quite
another motive.
"A wealthy lady, living with her broth
or had as a companion a well bred girl
who was very attractive; indeed, so much
so, in fact, that the brother, who was a
man some years younger than his sister,
and also very wealthy, fell in love with
her. For some reason the sister greatly
objected to the idea that her brother
should marry her companion.
"One day it was discovered that the
sisters Jewels had been stolen, and the
inquiry set on foot at once threw a|rath-
er suspicious light upon the companion
actions. Deeper Investigations proved
that the jewels had been either sold to or
pawned with different brokers by a per-
son very much resembling the compan-
ion; but it could not be discovered that
she had recently had any very large sum
of money, or any reason for acquiring the
same. think it was only this that pre-
vented her arrest.
"Then, after some weeks, it was found
and conclusively proved that the robbery
was a mere plot against the companion.
The sister had taken the jewels herself.
Luckily, her shameful conduct was ex-
posed, and all the disgrace fell upo her.
self.
'sThese are only a few of many in
stances I could quote, n dared | use
names some of them would cause an eX-
citement very nearly approaching an up
heaval of society"