Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1902-11-08

state and IN the country 1l~lfictS "a
au the other States. especially those In
the South.
The safe blowing and robbery by
"vcgEs' az Port Chester last week In
iicates 10 those who know the habits
OF this queer class OF criminals that
band are working this way. II Is on
the cards FOR them 10 be heard from
soon in New Jersey or down on Long +
Island. although in the past the /
.yegrs" have bothered Long island I
very little.
The men whose business II IS % know |
an about criminals. their ways and 1
the peculiar marks by which their /
work may be told. have had a hard
time IN studying the "yeggs.' one
f reason IS that the 'yegss" are a conn
parativelv new class
f IL IS only within ten years that they
have become known in this region
.Ir they were known previously in other
parts of The country detectives here
never heard ~ it
Very LITTLE of their origin is known.
hut that they have a more complete
organ cation than even the common
American tramp is well established
Their work is am 90 one class They
loot country postofices and railroad
stations. country stores and occasion
ally. bul not often country residence.
They Use dynamite ia blowing open
safes always. ana they depend upon
tho terror that their holiness spreads
over r. neichborhood for their success.
. some ~ the raids that they have made
RIGHT I'm this state are uneOualled for
|boldncss by anything ever done by the
stage robbers of yellow fiction.
rh, "ycggs" are really tramp GRIM
.iralS. They must not be confused with
the country road tramp who loots
kitchens and hen roosts. because they
lido not belong 20 that class az an and
hold such petty criminals in great
, contempt.
Thc ..yecgs" are bright. clever
thieves. who dress well and plan all
|thcir operations with care. Their chief
-. characteristic is thcir utter fearless
n uess.
: When they mark place Tor raid
!, they DONE sneak up GO &c. throw ou'
guards and Use other precautions
h. They just march up with their nipple
mentS. break open as many doors al.
may be necessary. charge the SAFE
:, with dynamite ana touch ir on. Then
. they mao what they want from the ln
terror and disappear
n auv One Interrupts them they
=, shoe, ar - Almost invariably ;
Is msuale follows amy artempt 90 inter
fore with .-Fee-~.~ and this eviden
Z. willingness Q. Shoe. reck.e--iy AWAY
has fle effect 90 Keeping people oG
IL must Dee remembered that ta
"yc--, work almost exclusively b
= country places where There is uo or
=. gaulrrd police force 500 interfere w.t
u, thcm.
some folks think thc ~yecs~" mr.
" cypSies. but they certainly DON'T sho'
any signs of belonging to shat rac,
H.. They don't camp out anywhere au
80 they are seen very little ON the roa,
y, What road travelling they do is don
y, by night. as it is % part OF their bus
ness 10 keep their movements secre
Occasionally 'ycgsS' are caugh
Then they are found to be men OF ul
usual Intelligence They are OF a
natiOnauties. ana seem 90 come frol
so many different walks of life that O.
notion that they are class like Oh
- sypsies is exploded.
IL is the organization of the "yegg.
. which eXcites tlr admiration OF mt
who have seen something of BE-. The
have ways 0f communicating with Oi
ia another that arc mysterious and
uS fcctiye. They wW sweep down ON
H..
len shoot several people a1S then get aw.
.bi- with the loot without leaving OBJ
vii slightest trace OF their movements.
Tue They haven't been seen coming
aud they haven't been noticed goii
zen out \ general alarm sent out over (
surrounding country never seems
.ial result in catching the participants
lar any OF these raids. They seem TO Ia
hat away.
ow 4 remarkable instance OK this
Cured last summer ia a small 70,
the i'm Southern New York A gang
or about thirty "yeggs" descended on {
and place. Instead OF robbing stores 10
Who carried out carefully planned raid
ow. the residence district. This town
hat a uniformed police force of some thil
nse men. hut despite this the veg.
sht marched in. went into houses with,
botherilg 10 hnd 0ut whether any q
hat was home or not took what "a
2 is wanted. shot at any one who objec
efer and az some who didn't and then W.
her away. They walked through the mi
streets of the place with their Il
bies dred shots IN the air and 80 terrified
lonf l,..aI r,nlic.. that IN. Inter IA No. n