Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-01-13
HORSE THIEVES CAUGHT
At the Foot of Wiley Mountain
in South ReadsbOrO.

LIverymRn II. Il. Brown Recovered Ills
Team After an Exciting Chase of Two
Days---ThieVes Placed Under $500
Bonds---VVOman Confessed to Stealing
Springfield Team.
The trio who stole the livery team of II.
Il Brown last week were caught Friday
night in South Readsboro. The credit of
the arrest belongs almost wholly TO Mr..
Brown, and the $25 reward which he Of
( red for the capture of the thief and the
return of the team will be retained in his
own pocket.
AS stated last week Mr.. Brown went to
Mortified, where he was met by Deputy
Sheriff Pratt of Millers Falls. Postal card
descriptions of the team were sent out by
Deputy Sheriff Mcclure. After a confer.
ence at Mortified Mr.. Pratt was of the
opinion that the trio consisted of q man
named Reed, a man named Suuires and
woman named Emma Carroll, who left
Shutesbury Is months ago and who are
suspected of having stolen several teams
since then. lnasmuch as Mr. Browns
team had been traced as far as Mortified
Mr.. Pratt and Mr.. Brown thought it might
possibly be in one of the empty camps for
merly run by Dooliltle q Brown on North
field mountain, and they started toward the
mountain
When Pratt and Brown arrived at the
camp they found it entirely deserted so
they started toward Reed home in Shules-
bury They found that the team had
stopped at the hotel in Montague at 10
o'clock at night (Thutslay) and after re-
naming there an hour it had gone toward
Shutesbury mountain, the string of bells
having been taken from the horse and put
in the sleigh.
Brown and Pratt and Deputy Sheriff
Shaw of Sunderland arrived at Reeds
home at / o'clock at night, but Reed was
not there. Mr.. Brown then took the train
to Orange. Meanwhile Sheriff johnson of
Conway had received one of the postal
cards. He found that the team had been
seen in that town, and by ,elephoning to
Brattleboro he located Mr. Brown in Or
ange and told him that fact. A few min
utes later Sheriff Crafts of Shelburne Falls
received one of the cards. He learned that
the team had gone toward Ho sac Tunnel,
but there the trail was lost.
Mr.. Brown went from Orange to North
Adams Friday morning, where he en-
gagged Chief Of Police Kendall, Capt. Di-
neen and guide named Pike to assist in
the hunt. At North Adams they received
a message from the sheriff of Stamford,
who had just returned from the house OF a
Frenchman named Pedro on Wiley noun
tain in Readsboro. , He. stated that q team
answering the printed description left Pc
dro's house at 8 o'clock that morning. Mr.
Brown and his party arrived at Pedro's
about & o'clock at night and found that the
team had gone down the mountain. A
binding snow storm was then raging, but
the party continued the search. They in
quired the way at every house as they
could no see the road, and they found that
the party with the team had also made in
quiries for the same purpose.
They finally arrived at a house where
they were told that party had enquired
for the house of Milo Moon. Mr.. Brown
enquired for the same house and upon mis-
arrival there he found his sleigh overturned
in a snow bank back of the house. That
was about s o'clock Friday night, the party
with the stolen team having spent the aft
ernoon at Moons. They were asked what
they were doing there, and they replied
that they were simply visiting. Chief-of-
Police Kendall said that there was no need
of mncing matters; that they were wanted
and that he should take them to the Reads
boro hotel. They remained at the hotel
until Saturday morning, when they drove
to Jacksonville, where the officers turned
the thieves over to Deputy Sheriff Mcclure
of Brattleboro.
1t had been learned by this time that the
thieves were not Reed, Squires and Miss
Carroll. The party arrived in Brattleboro
about o'clock Saturday night. The men
were arragned before Judge Newton by
States Attorney Barber Onr gave his
| N nth nj a h.
20 years old. He pleaded guilty TO steal
ing the horse and was placed under bonds
in the sum of $500 to await the action OF
the grand jury at tie next March term of
county court. The other gave his name as
Frank Pratt and said he was p years old.
He pleaded guilty to being an accomplice
Of Williams and was also placed under
$500 bonds. They said they lived in
Shutesbury. They we're taken to Newfane
Jail Sunday by Deputy Sheriff Mcclure.
The woman said she was Mildred Smith
of Shutesbury. She was taken to the
American House where she remained Sat
urday night under guard at the instance of
Peter Gebo of Springfield, Mass, a livery
man who had team stolen from him Dec.
27. When Mr.. Gebo heard of the arrest
of two men and woman for horse stealing
he believed they we're the persons who
stole his team, and he came to Brattleboro
so as to be here when the party arrived.
He Immediately identified the woman. On
Sunday the woman confessed that she
stole GebO's team, and she and Gebo and
Deputy Sheriff Mcclure drove to Rich.
mond Four Corner, N. H., where the team
was recovered. Mcclure and the woman
! returned to Brattleboro, and on Monday
Mcclure took the woman to Springfield.
The woman hired Gebo's team to take a
female friend to ride for an hour. Gebo
watched her and saw her drive into a
street, where two men got into the sleigh.
He Immediately gave chase, but lost their
trail and had got no further trace of them
until they were arrested for stealing Mr..
Browns team.
Mr.. Browns team was driven % miles
in two days, but the horse was in good
condition. The mares hind feet, which
were white, had been blackened in order
to avoid Identification.
Mildred Smith In Court.
The Springfield Republican of Tuesday
said: "Miss Smith was arraigned before
Judge Lyford in the police court yesterday
morning, charged with the larceny of a
horse, wagon, harness and robe, the prop.
ertY of Mary B. Borriso of this city. The
girl said she was guilty of hiring the team,
but she did not hire it for the purpose OF
| selling it, and pleaded not guilty to the
| charOa IF larcanV Rail was fivad at eSO0