Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-09-14
A CANNES DETECTIVE WORK
The Police Assisted In Lar
ceny Case by a Dog. 81
ANIMAL OWNED BY j. C. WILLIAMS
Found Missing Purse Near
Isaac Chase's House.


A dog owned by John Q. Williams Of
No. 522 Walnut street is responsible for
large part of the evidence against
Isaac Chase, colored, living in Ander-
sons court, against whom there is a
charge in tho City Court of the larceny
of pocketbook containing S23 and two
checks, the property of Joshua Conner.
proprietor of harness and leather
goods store at No. 237 Market street.
The pocketbook was missed by Mr..
Conner on Saturday evening and was
found Sunday by Mr.. Williams dog
in the rear of Chase's yard.
On Saturday evening Mr.. Conner was
standing in front of his place Of busi-
ness and after he had been on the pave
ment for about five minutes, talking to
Frank Corbit, whose store is IN the
adjoining building, heard somebody
knocking on his own door. Looking
around he saw a negro standing in the
door, which was open. The negro had
been endeavoring to attract Mr.. Con-
ner's attention and when the latter
looked around the negro stated his
business, saying he desired to purchase
a satchel. Mr.. Conner waited ON him
and sold him a satchel and after the
customer left returned to the front door
and resumed his conversation with Mr..
Corbit. After they had talked for
few minutes longer Mr. Conner re-
tured to the store and began to prepare
to go to his residence, No. $40 West
Eleventh street.
1t did not take Mr.. Conner long to
discover that his pocketbook, which
contained s23 and two checks, was
missing from shelf where he had
placed it. He was at a loss to know
how it had disappeared, but was posi-
tive the negro was the last stranger in
the store, and as he did not know any
thing about the negro his suspicious
were aroused. He recalled that, although
he was standing in front of his door
when the negro entered he did not see
him go in, which set him to thinking.
He was satisfied the pocketbook had
been stolen and acquainted Chief Of
Police Dolan with his loss and fur
nished description of the negro to
whom he had sold the satchel
During the night Policemen Ralston,
J. H. Massey, Fox and Murphy bad
occasion to go to the residence of Isaac
Chase, colored, in Anderson's court.
being armed with warrant for man
who was supposed to be there They
did not find their man, but, strange to
relate, saw new satchel which they
thought resembled the one Mr.. Conner
had said he had sold to a negro early in
the evening. While the officers were
in the house Chase and his wife be-
came abusive and were arrested on tine
charge of disorGerly conduct After
their arrest Mr.. Conner was summoned
to the police station and after looking
at Chase said he believed he was the
man who was in his store on Saturday
evening, and later he expressed the
opinion that the satchel at Chase's
house was the one which had been
purchasedEat his store. Accordingly,
charge Of larceny was preferred against
Chase.
Up to this time, nothing had been
heard concerning the whereabouts of
the pocketbook, but Sunday John G.
Williams, whose yard is close to
Chase's, saw his dog chewing pocket
book in the rear of Chase's premises.
He took the pocsetbook, which was
then badly mutilated, away from the
dog, and finding check and card
therein containing Mr.. Conner's name,
supposed it belonged to Mr.. Conner
and took it to him. The money, 1923.
and check for 81 were missing, but 1t
is believed the money and check had
been extracted before the dog got hold
of the pockethook, as no fragments of
check OF money could be found. The
pocketbook is now in the possession of
the police.