The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-18

From the Ohio State Journal.
- HICAGO has had number OF
women burglars, but as rule
- they have not been of the low
est strata of thieves and did not play
for big stakes as do Kleschna and his
daughter Fifteen years ago residents OF
the Southslde OF that city were alarmed
by a series of burglares in which
mysterious woman figured. The first ink
ling that the police had that a woman
was concerned in the robberies was due to
the vanity of the woman herself. The
robbery was committed during the ear
ly evening, when the owner of the house
and his wife were at the theatre and
had ample time to ransack the house,
and the fair member of the gang found
leisure while going through a dressing
table, to make use of a comb belong
ing to the mistress of the house The
comb, not being Of value, was left be-
hind and to it there chung several long
golden tresses The victim of the rob-
berry happened to be a brunette. The de-.
tectives looked out for golden-haired
girl after that, but this Leah Kleschna
either dyed her hair or sought fresh
fields for labor for she was never caught.
Sadie McKinstry or "Vassar Sadie" as
she was known among the powers that
prey was one of the cleverest thieves the
New York detective force was ever called
upon to cope with Sades work was
what Is called the high hell class. That
is, she dressed stylshly and mad man
ner that made 1t easy to pass for what
l. al
sar girl.
AT an early period of her career she Is
said to have been waitress in Pough-
keepse hotel and to have been discharged
from there for stealing. While there she
assimilated enough of the ways and man
ners of the college girl to be able to I'M
personate one successfully. She also got
access in some unexplainable way TO cata-
logues of the college, from which she
secured home addresses OF the students
The mother Of Vassar girl who lived
ON Madison avenue, in New York, re-
celved a telephone call one. evening from
a Young woman who said she was one or
the daughters classmates, called nome
by the death Of relative, and then on
her way back to Nassar. She had arrived
in New York too late to catch train for
Poughkeepsie, and was unfortunately
without money. having had her purse
stolen. The mother anxious to be kind
to the daughters friends. innocently in
vited the young woman UP to spend the
night.
When she arrived the impression she
made was so favorable that IL was q
severe shock the next morning to find the
young woman's room without an Occur
pant while such silver ware as was In
the room and much more from the din
ing room sideboard had vanished with the
visitor. "yassar Sadie" worked this game
in New York Buffalo and smaller cities
until she became too we'll known TO con-
tinue 1t. She Is supposed to have died or
pneumonia in a hospital In Schenectady,
N. Y, thereby nipping In the bud most
interesting criminal career
The Boston police nabbed woman bur-
glar in Ellen Emmons, one of gang
that was the terror of New England
cities for several months. Not content
with small places, the gang sought richer
hauls in the exclusive Brookline section,
| but the Boston seuths were on the watch
! for them and caught them red-handed at
| their second job.
Ellen Emmons took to burglary because
| she was infatuated with Eddie Dolan,
/ the leader of the gang. At the station
| and later In court she used every effort
to put all the guilt on herself and alb
| solve Dolan from completely. The proof
F., was too strong. however. and both were
! convicted. Had she not stuck by the mar
J she loved 1t is probable that she would
| not have been caught. She was a mite
J of a girl and wore a boys suit wher
! on job
case that bears some resemblance &c
| the reformation OF Leah ,Kleschna, and /:
/ one of the instances where truth Is
4 stranger than fiction. was that of WON
an burglar who is living now, happy anc
respected, in one of the cities Of the mid
.ta a al1f 81 h.
New York tenements. who i'nherited ir
, some way thirst for adventure ,akr
/ TO that of the boys who start west tc
| hunt Indians they have read Of In dime
/ novels Her environment was of the worst
| but she was nothing worse than tom
| boy until she grew up
| Then she was fascinated by the exploits
| of some of her former boy playmates
| who. from petty thefts about the city
! had progressed to holder burglaries in
/ suburban towns. Their operations met
! with such success that the region be-
/, came terror~stricSen and the residents OF
! the Oranges employed a private detective
/ agency to run down the robbers. The de-
| tective assigned TO the case was young
| man whose keenness had made him one
| of the crack sleuths of the force.
! 1t was not long before he had located
! his quarry and. by ingratiating himself
among Is members. was allowed to Join
the band. The first thing he did was to
! fan in love with the girl burglar. When
the time came to throw the gang into
| the hands of the police. himself with
them. the detective contrived it so that
the girl should not be in on that Job.
With the proverbial honor among thieves
not one Of the gang mentioned her and
the rest went to the penitentary while
the girl was never under police suspicion.
Meantime she had fallen in love with
the detective and before long they were