The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-21
BOLD THIEVES, THE 'YEGGS."
A CLASS OF CRIMINALS ABOUT
WHOM LITTLE is KNOWN.


known as "yeggs" have been compar-
atively few about New York city. The
''yeggs" flourish in the southern and
the western part of the state and in
the country districts of all the other
states, especially those in the South
The safe blowing and robbery by
'yeggs" at Port Chester last week in
dicates to those who know the habits
of this queer class of criminals that a
band are working this wSy. 1t is on
the cards for them to be heard from
soon in New Jersey or down on Long
Island, although in the past the
''yeggs" have bothered Long Island
very little.
The men whose business 1t Is to
know about criminals, their ways and
the peculiar. marks by which their
work may be told, have had a hard
time in studying the ''yeggs." One rea-
son is that the ''yeggs'' are compar-
atively new class
1t is only within ten years that they
have become known in this region. II
| they We're known previously in other
parts of the country detectives here
never heard of it.
Very little of their origin is known,
| but that they have more complete
organization then even the common
American tramp Is Well established.
Their work is all of one class. They
loot country postoffices and railroad
stations, country stores and occasion
ally, but not often, a., country, resi-
dence.
They use dynamite in blowing open
safes always, and they depend upon
the terror that their boldness spreads
| over a neighborhood for success. Some
| of the raids that they have made right
in this state are unequalled for bold
ness by anything ever done by the
stage robbers of yellow fiction.
| The "yeSgs" are really tramp crimi-
nails. They must not be confused with
| the country road tramp who loots
kitchens and hen-roosts, because they
| do not belong to that class at all and
hold such petty criminals In great con-
| tempt.
The "yeggs" are bright clever
tnleves, who dress well and plan all
their operations with care. Their chief
characteristic is their utter fearless
ness.
When they mark place for raid.
they don't sneak up to 1t, throw out
guards and use other precautions.
They Just march UP with their imple-
ments, break open as many doors as
may be necessary, charge the safe with
dynamite and touch it off. Then thew
take what they want from the interior
and disappear.
If any one interrupts them they.
shoot at him. Almost invariably a fus-
illade follows any attempt to interfere
with "yeggs" and this evident VIII
ingness to shoot recklessly always has
the effect of keeping people off. 1t must
pc remembered that the "yeggs" work
almost exclusively in country places
where there is no organized police
force to interfere with them.
Some folks think the "yeggs" are
Gypsles, but they certainly don't show
any signs OF belonging to that race
Ihey don't camp out anywhere ans
they are. seen very little on the road
| What road travelling they do is done
by night, as 1t is a part of their BUSH
ness to keep their movements secret.
occasionally "yeggs" are caught
Then they are found to be men of I'M
usual intelligence. They are of all
natlonaiities, and seem to come from
SO many different walks of life that
the notion that they are class like
the Gypsies is exploded.
which excites the admiration of men
who have seen something Of it, They
nave ways of communicating with one
another that are mysterious and effec-
tive They will swoop down on
country postoffice, blow open the safe.
shoot several people and then get
away with the loot without leaving
the slightest trace of their movements.
They haven't been seen coming In
a fIAN h
out. general alarm sent out over
the surrounding country never seems
to result in catching the participants
in any of these raids. They seem to
melt away.
remarkable instance of this oc-
CURED last summer in q small town In
Southern New York. A gang of about
thirty ''yeggs" descended on the place.
Instead of robbing stores, they carried
out a carefully planned raid on the
residence district. This town has
uniformed police force of some thirty
men, but despite this the "yeggs"
marched in, went into houses without
bothering to find out whether any one
was at home or not, took what they
wanted, shot at any one who objected
and at some who didn't and then went
away. They walked through the main
streets of the place with their loot.
fired shots in the air, and so terrified
the local police that the latter did not
dare to interfere. at
The next night they came ar6tnd
again and went through the same per-
Torrance. The third night they did 1t
again. On the three nights they got
away with about 10000 worth of sill
yer and Jewelry. and not one was ar
rested.
The "yeggs" fred about 300 shots
during this time and never injured a
person. They probably never meant
to. Their object in shooting so much
and so freely was to create terror, and
they succeeded.
Alarms for these rnarauders were
sent far and wide, but not one Of them
was ever captured. Where they stay
ed during the daytime on this partic-
ular raid no one ever found out al
though it must have been somewhere
inside or just outside of the town.
And what is more mysterious is
what they did with their loot. They
never could have got away with all
they took from this town themselves
They must have had some way of
shipping it.
Detectives say that the "yeggs" ship
everything they steal right into New
York by express. At this end II is
share when they. return at the end Of
q trip. e
"Yeggs" will be heard of in one place
and next heard of 200 or 300 miles away.
All of their movements are mysterious
and the fact that they are rarely ar
rested proves their wisdom in this re-
enact