Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-03
CAUGHT BY WHITE BEANS
Sleuths Follow Trail and Finally
Come to Scene of the
Robbery
Special to The Herald

Special to The Herald.
NEW YORK, Dec 2.-After an all
night thief chase across country in a
than a few scattered white beans, the
Erie railroad police yesterday recov-
cred forty stolen bolts of silk worth $3,-
900 and arrested four men for theft.
The Liberty Silk company shipped
the silk in a big trunk last Thursday
from Hornellsville N. Y, to their
agents in New York. An Erie car in
spector on float No. 6 while crossing
the Hudson river last Saturday found
the seals on freight car No. 80,633
broken off. The inspector climbed in
and found the empty trunk. They also
found that two bags of white beans
had been broken open and the beans
scattered about the floor. The bags.
they figured, were used to carry off
the silk If they could trace the scat
tered beans along the railroad track
to the place where the trail began
they would learn where the theft oc-
Cured.
Detectives Charles Hazehurst ano
James o. Young hurried to Hornells-
vile, the shipping point of the silk
Late Saturday night they left that
town in special train of a locomotive
and one car. They crouched upon the
rear steps of the car, and, as it raced
along in the brilliant moonlight, scru-
tinized the ground carefully, searching
for a trail of little white beans. Hours
passed. No bean appeared.
For miles and miles the special train
sped on and the detectives eyes were
blurred by the flying ground-but not
one bean gladdened their hearts. Just
as they flew past the lonesome village
of Big Flats, spots of something white
and shiny began to fleck the ground.
"Jingo-the beans!" cried both de-
tectives in IA breath, and they backed
their special up to Big Flats. There
they searched the neighborhood and
found that horses had been stolen on
Thursday night from farmers named
Damn and Miller. living near the
Corning road. The animals came
llmping home on Friday morning.
The detectives found very few white
beans scattered here and there as they
drove rapidly south, but they We're
satisfied that the trail was accurate.
At daybreak Monday they entered au
abandoned barn and arrested William
Hawley and William Carey, tough look
ing persons, armed with revolVers and
blackjacks. They refused to tell any
thing about themselves and the Corn
ing authorities locked them up in Jail.
When the detectives searched Haw-
ley they found inside OF his underShlrt
Wells Fargo & Co.'S receipt for a
trunk shipped last Friday from Corning
to M. Meyers at SO Bowery. New York.
Detective Hazelhurst wired the New
York police. Detectives Kelley, Doran
and Sullivan were sent to watch Mey-
ers' place. which is an establishment
for the sale of pawnbrokers' goods.
Two men drove up to SO Bowery at
8 p. IN. They lifted a heavy trunk off
a truck and carried 1t into Meyers
place. The detectives arrested the men,
who said they were Thomas Stevens Of
S34 East Ninety eighth street and
Thomas Gleason OF 245 East Thirteenth
street, Jersey City. They also arrested
Isaac Meyers of SO Bowery and Abra-
ham Marks, jeweler, Of 127 East One
Hundred and Nineteenth street who
were in the shop. The police say Ste
vens is bank burglar known as
Thomas Michaels.
The Erie detectives and the police
are very happy over the capture of Ste
vens. who. they say, is the leader of
a gang of thieves who have stolen
thousands of dollars worth of goods in
Northern New York this fall.
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