Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-29
BURGLARS !.
ARE ACTIVE
UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO
LOOT A TAILOR SHOP
LAST NIGHT.
BURGLAR DROPPED SOME
INTERESTING LETTERS.
One of the Letters Was From a Deer
Lodge Convict, and Evidently an
Expert Safe-Cracker.

A burglar entered the tailoring shop of
J. Spigle at AZ West Park street at an
early hour last night but was inter-
rupted before he got away with his booty.
Letters which had fallen from the peck
cts of the burglar indicate that he is a
professional thief and a safe cracker. AS
burglars generally visit a town in force
the police believe that at the present time
there are a number here sizing up the
situation and preparing to make a gen.
eral cleanup.
The letters that We're dropped in the
store show that the person to whom they
were addressed had been in correspond
ence with one of the inmates of Deer
Lodge penitentiary, and one of the let
ters is particularly interesting. 1t tells
OF all the different kinds of safes and eX-
plains in detail how they may be broken
into. Drawings of the safes and locks
are made a part of the letter and the
writer explains that a certain kind of a
drill operated at a certain point will do
the work. He states the name of Il safe
and gives the direction and the distance
from the lock where the drill should be
operated. He displays a remarkable ia
miliarity with the mechanism of all
kinds and makes of safes, and tells
which are the hardest to get into and
y liz WIN Noil oS DAAS ~ AStNNh,
as a whole. is one of the most remark
able that has fallen into the hands of the
police n it is very highly priced by
them.
The burglary of Spigle's store does not
look like the work of a professional bur-
glar, but the boldness Of the attempted
robbery goes to show that the thief was
not easily frightened. The indications
are that he broke a pane Of glass in the
rear of the building and after crawling
through attempted to force his way into
the room in front. A bar of iron was
used as a Jimmy on the communicate
ing door, but as it was very strongly Sc
cured by bars it resisted all efforts.
Failing to get through in this manner,
the burglar went outside and broke the
glass in the window of the room imme-
diately in front. Crawling through, he
made an unsuccessful effort to pry open
the door that ~mlnunicated with the
store, where the bolts of cloth We're kept.
He hen crawled on top of the building,
which is q one-story frame shack, and
breaking the glass in the transom he let
himself through and set to work gath
ering bolts of cloth together. He or they,
filled one sack with the goods and with
the. aid of electric light wires, which
were cut from the walls of the store and
fashioned into a rope. the sack was
hauled to the roof of the building.
The indications are that it was at this
nG3anent he was disturbed ana sought
safety in flight. Mr.. Spigle was returning
home at about $3.50 n. NJ, and noticed
that the goods in the store had been dis
arranged, and that the curtains of the
front window had been drawn together
He suspected thai someone had entered
the place and, getting assistance, made
an investigation. The floor in all OF the
rooms was covered with blood, showing
conclusively that the burglar had severe
ly wounded himself with the glass he had
broken. a handkerchief was found that
was literally soaked with human blood
A hasty examination was made by tbs
proprietor, but nothing was missing, and
} it is the belief of the rolice that the
thief had calculated to get all of the
} goods on the roof of the building anC
( have them taken away in a wagon at
} later hour.
( The ieweler next door said that a
) about $50 o'clock he heard someone ham
( mering in the rear of the building an(
5 it was kept up for some time, but think
( ing that Spigle was working in the real
) of the store did not pay mach attention
I to it. Detective Murphy is working OF
5 the case, and he believes that he will b.
I able to run his man to earth.
{ There are several letters in the bunc!
! that was found, but the police viii no
s tell wha they contain. as they will b
! valuable in running down other crinlinar
{ who are supposed to be making Butt
! their headquarters.