Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-10-24
BOLD BURGLARS
Blow Open Three Safes in North Haven Post office and Get
 Much Money
FIRED MANY SHOTS

North Haven, Oct 24.-With an exchange of ten or fifteen shots with four burglars about 9:3O o'clock this morning, A. B. Clinton, who lives over the postofice, wound up one of the most exciting hours of his career and during that brief period of sixty minutes he heard three safes below him blown to pieces, was threatened with death as he poked his head out of his window, and finally saw the expert cracksmen disappear in the moonlight down the track with "swag'' amounting to hundreds Of dollars. The raid on the North Ha- ven postoffice, which is situated alongside of the railroad tracks and directly across the street from the depot, was one of the most complete jobs of it's kind ever carried out ln this state. It took four men to do the trick and they played their parts so we'll that it would have been prac- tiaclly impossible to have halted them. One man was stationed in the shadow of the brick building across the tracks guarding the street leading to the center ot the toWn' another man was in corner or the porch on the side of the postohce and saw to it that the coast at that end was clear, and the two others blew open the safes of the govern ment, calmly took away every cent and stamp in the place, joined thelr pals and got away safely.
 Before blowing open the safes the burglars wired the door leading up to the apartments of MT Clinton, so that he was securely locked inside and also kept watch on the telephone which could easily be seen from the porch by the man keeping watch there. Every precaution was taken to make the job a success and from every indication nothing went wrong.
 When MT Clinton heard the men cut away big pane of glass in the postoffice. he opened the window up stairs and wanted to know what was doing down below. He was told to get, inside and lock the window un- der penalty of having his head blown off, and he complied with the request. Nothing more was heard of MT Clln- ton until the men were seen backing down the track. Getting out his re- volver he fired several shots in the air and at the men and in return was made the target of regular fusilade of bullets. One sailed over his head and buried itself inches deep in the wood work of his house this one coming nearer than any other.
 MT Clinton owns the building in which the postoffice is located and rents it to the government> There are three safes in the postoffice proper of different sizes and it only took three charges of nitro glycerine to splinter them all. The explosions were muff1ed to some extent by blan- kets, but they were loud enough to awaken a man next door, who, like Mir Clinton, yelled out of his window and wanted to know the cause of the trouble. The sentinel on guard at the brick building across the street uuieted him with a shot from his six shooter and instantly heard the win dow slam. There was no further attempt to inquire as to the work being carried on by the cracksmen.
 When daylight came Mir Clinton got into the postoffice and found it wreck. w. P. Leete, the postmaster, was sent fg early and with clerk was busy figuring up the extent of the burglary, and it was not until late in the morning that the post master learned how much was taken.
 The news of the burglary spread fast to-day and hundreds of persons visited the postofice during the day. The burglars went toward New Ha- ven and word was sent to that city and other points along the line, but no trace of them is reported.