The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-17
EXPEDITION WAS
BURLESQUE SHOW
THREE ARRESTED, HOWEVER.
HANDICAPPED BY DEPUTY SHOOT
ING NEWSPAPER FOR DOG.

Three of Gang That Has Been Meet
ing i'm Woods Near George siday's
ouse Caught During Day ana
Landed in JaiI-It Is Not Thought
Now That Gang Had Any object
other Than GambIing-Other Ar
rests May Follow.
Although the plans of Chief Deputy
Sheriff Sweeny and his four assistants
were probably frustrated Thursday
night by Deputy Sheriff Thompson
mistaking, newspaper for a vicious
dog and firing his revolver at it, three
of the members of the Isle of Hope
gang, that the officers went to arrest,
were caught during the morning, and
landed in the county jail.
1t is not now thought that the ne
groes had any organization for the
purpose of injuring whites, though it
is positively established that they had
a gambling club, which met every
night in the woods near the home of
George Siday, who reported the mat
ter to the authorities.
The attempts to break into Mr..
Siday's house were made, as was stat
ed in the Morning News, but it is
not believed now that these attempts
were made by any organized band.
Some of the members of the gambling
club may have made the attempts
after the sessions of that body were
over, but the chances are that tile
crowd as a whole knew nothing about
it.
Wednesday Nights Comedy.
After making elaborate plans to cap
ture the entire outfit Wednesday night,
the whole scheme fell through, by rea-
son of one of the party firing his pis-
toll at what he believed to be a dog.
Deputy Sheriff Thompson had been
sent ahead of the rest of the party as
an advance guard. He went to the Isle
of Hope on a car, while the others
drove out. The deputy was to see a
man at the Isle of Hope. get certain
information and meet the rest of the
party at stated point.
lust as those who drove out were
approaching this meeting point, a pis-
tol shot in the immediate vicinity was
heard. Fearing something serious had
happened the officers rushed forward
and met Deputy Thompson. A vicious
dog had attacked him, he said, and he
had killed it. The dog was pointed
out and proved to be an old newspaper
blowing about the road. Despite this
inauspicious beginning the officers
stayed through the night, but without
results.
Three Prisoners Arrested.
During the morning however, the
officers were more fortunate. William
Quarterman, one of the gang that has
been meeting in the woods, was caught
and locked in the Thunderbolt Jail.
Later Walter Brown and Furry Cohen,
two other negroes, We're also arrested.
All three of the negroes were brought
to the city and landed in Jail late in
the day.
The negroes admit that they have
been meeting in the woods and gam
bling. There are several more yet to
be arrested. They deny, however,
having attempted to break into Mr..
Siday's house and claim to know
nothing about such attempts.
The officers made a careful investi-
cation of the meeting place of the ne
groes. A lamp, several razors and a
lot of fishing paraphernalia were
found. The mound, in which ii was
not overlooked.
Grave of a Monkey.
Digging down into this mound, the
officers found the remains of a mon
key peacefully reposing in the folds
of silk under garment. The mon
key had been dead some time, probably
ten days or two weeks.
The monkey is believed to have been
a pet of some one living near the Isle
of Hope, though no one could be found
who had buried monkey in the
woods. The negroes under arrest deny
knowing anything about the monkey
grave, and Chief Sweeny says it is
one too many for him.
The work of the officers in break
ing up the gang is commended by the
residents of the Isle of Hope and
vicinity. Though gambling was prob
ably the only object of the meetings,
they might easily have led to some
thing more serious. The residents in
the vicinity will feel more secure with
the gang in jail. Other arrests will