The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1906-06-20
jim Cummings Lead Posse
Mazv Hike Through
Sand and Water
STEEO FOUND IN GARY
Knots Leads Sleuths and Finish of
Romantic Horse Trade is
Unlike the Pictures.

James P. Cummings of Chicago,
claiming to be in the employ of
Swift & Co. was put behind the bars
of the local police station this morn
ing on the charge of horse stealing.
The horse and rig in question belong
to Robert Mathies and are now again
in his possession.
Cummings is to be tried this after
noon either on the charge of horse
stealing or obtaining property under
false pretenses.
The circumstances under which
Mathies' horse came into the posses
sion of Cummings are extraordinary.
Fails to Return.
Cummings met Mathies last Satur-
day and the two men agreed on
bargain in which Mathies was to
turn the horse and carriage over to
Cummings when Swift e Co had
honored a draft for s95 which the
latter had made out on that firm,
Cummings claiming that they would
do SO, as they owed him more than
that amount The papers were
drawn up at the Citizens Ger
man National bank last Saturday
forenoon and were expected to be
back by yesterday. In the meantime
the property was to remain in the
hands of Mathies.
On Saturday afternoon Cummings
asked Mathies for the use of the
horse promising to return it by )
O'Clock in the afternoon. Since
then Mathies had seen nothing of
the horse until he and the police
/ found it in the bushes of Gary Cum
mings explains that his business was
SO pressing at Gary that he could not
return to Hammond
Mathies grew suspicious and asked
the local police to assist him, he hav-
ing heard that the horse was seen in
the neighhorhood of Tolleston. and
there the police directed their steps
IearIy this morning.
Captain Austgen and officer Trei-
nen were detailed shortly after mid
night and their trampings through
4 the bushes and sand of Gary on the
trail Of a supposed horse thief reads
like a wild west story. Thomas
Knots as the pathfinder played an
important part in the capture.
On Right Trail.
| Travelling through Gary up Euclid
avenue (later to be known as Fourth
Iavenue) Captain Austgen Officer
Treinen and Robert Mathies stopped
in front of the residence of Thomas
Knots and aroused him out of his
pleasant dreams. Tom hurried into
his clothes and set out to find Cum
mings The party crossed the river
at Gary's new bridge, went through
the camps on the north side and
struck off toward the lake. A search
in that direction gave them the bug
gy tracks and tracks of a horse thai
Mathies insisted were made by hi:
horse. The willy Cummings haC
driven along the submerged shore O.
the lake for nearly half mile. evi
IDENTIFY to throw pursuers off tn,
track.
The tracks when found trailed TO
miles until it again turned towart
the camps in the north part of Gary
: They found it to lead into one of tn,
large blast furnace excavations am
lready the pursuers thought they hat
their game. The driver had how
ever made his horse scramble out 0
the hole in the other end. III
searching party scattered, headin;
fer a knoll when Tom yelled, Her
he is"
Cummings had not heard the CT.
and the men quietly approached him
as he was tying the animal in
clump of bushes.
Cummings Surrenders.
Tom laid his hand on Cumming