The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1899-10-27
The Robbery Of the Alameda.

secured luIOrmallOu WulOn Ne /
claims will prove Of great value in |
unraveling the mystery surround
ing the robbery on the steamship |
Alameda last May, when box |
containing 5000 sovereigns was |
stolen from the strongroom of the |
vessel on the trip from Sydney, |
Australia, to this port. The man
who furnished the Chief with this
valuable information is j. w.
Winton, the ventriloquist, now
playing jan engagement at the Or
pheum, who arrived on the City Of
Picking from Honolulu. The story
told by Winton fully explains GER
tain matters that have all along
puzzled the police, and clearly es
tablishes the connection of the
man Lewis with the gang which
the Chief has maintained from
the first committed the ROBBERY.
Winton sailed from San Fran
cisco for Auckland on April 20 on
the steamer Mariposa, and Lewis,
who travelled under the name Of
Murphy, was a fellow-passenger.
Lewis had known Winton in Aus.
tralia, and was known by the lat
ter as a crook. During the voyage
Lewis became quite confidential
and intimated plainly that he had
something on" that would pan
out big.
eff you knew what / know" he
told Winton confdentially, "you
wouldn't be working those dunn
mics for a living" referring to the
lay figures used by the ventril-
oquist.
That's all right l am on to
your game" replied Winton, "but
don't make my living that way"
Lewis was rolling in wealth on
the voyage over and as he was
drunk greater part of the time
he gave the mate 1900 sovereigns
IL Keep for him. Winton also
noticed that Lewis spent hours
each day in close conversation
with a steerage passenger, and
when asked by Chief Lees to des-
cribe the imam gave a detailed des-
cription of the member of the
gang who was known in San Fran
cisco 10y the name of Brody, but
whose real name is Murphy. That
was just the information the Chief
was after, as it establishes the
identity of the two members OF
the gang who were passengers on
the steamer on that trip.
Winton also says he saw Coop
er, alias Casey, who is now in this
city, and Kelly, who is serving a
four years sentence in Mexican
prison for getting away with $1O,-
600 from a bank in the City Of
Mexico, on the Mariposa just be-
fore the vessel sailed from this
port, in conversation with Lewis.
Another fact in connection with
the robbery, according to Chief
Lees, that has not been published
heretofore is that the box of SOW
ereigns was stole n between Sgd
ney and Auckland. This conten-
ton of the Chief is based on in
formation furnished by a lad
named Cook, who was ships boy
ON the Alameda. He went into
the strong room when the steam
er was three days out OF Sydney,
and through curiosity counted the
boxes containing the sowereigns,
He counted them three times, and
there were TWEEN ty-nine. There
should have been thirty, although
the boy was unaware of that fact.
Chief Lees knows where Cook is,
sand can produce him at any time.
The robbery was not discovered
by the officers of the steamer un-
til within three days of Honolulu.
The Mariposa arrived at Auck-
land on May 10, and the Alameda
left Sydney on May IL, arriving at
Auckland on the 18th, giving
Lewis and Murphy plenty of time
to arrange for receiving the stolen
gold. 1t has also been learned
chat the lock on the door of the
steamers strongroom could be re-
moved and replaced without re
. A n IL H.