The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-07-30
Exciting Bit of Local History
Told Again
HOW THE ROBBERS FLED
Took Cashier King at Point of Revolver
and With Rope Around Neck to Bank
to Unlock Vault Thwarted
by Time-lock.


story Of the capture Of three Of the
four robbers by John Bailey Of Wells
River in the June number of The Yer
monter will bring the exciting incidents
wildly beofre their minds. The Charles
A. King who was cashier at the time
and who was led by the robbers down
town from his home on the Washing.
ton street hill, is the man for whom the
celebrated Kings Bohemian beer Is
named, The Vermonter's article, which
Is largely tribute to Mr.. Bialey's per.
sistence in chasing the robbers, is as
follows.
Hon. John Bailey Of Wells River, tine
principal Of this story, was born in New
bury, June 30. 1922, and has been a
lifelong resident of that town His
father, also named John, a soldier of
the war Of 1912, was one Of seven sons
Of Col. Joshua Bayley, of Revolutionary
fame, who cleared and cultivated seven
adjoining farms in that part of New
bury called jefferson Hill His great
grandfather, Gen. Jacob Bayley, was a
distinguished officer IN the Old French
war, and won still greater honors in
the Revolution. His maternal great
grandfather, Rev. Peter Powers, con.
temporary at Harvard college with John
Hancock, John Adams and Governor
Wentworth, was pastor Of the Church
Of Christ in Newbury and Hayerhill
att Coos from 1864 to 1852. From
these ancestors, and Others like them,
Mr.. Bailey inherited and has developed
certain qualities Of perseverance, ener-
gy and integrity, SO wisely employed,
that many have found it tor their I'M
terest to intrust their business affairs
to him.
"Of his services as town officer, repre-
sentative, senator and bank director, il
is not the purpose of this article to
speak, but TO give the facts relating TO
his pursuit and capture of the robbers
Of the National Bank Of Barre. Mr.
Bailey was trained In the school Of hard
work. with necessity for a teacher, and
IN This affair displayed those traits Of
logged perseverance and fertility of re-
source, which those must need acquire
who begin at the bottom of the ladder
Ailu WIN AAAhil way lhMdlu NttF ARHs
In the night of July 6, 1875, four
men entered the house Of Mr.. Charles
"A. King, cashier of the Barre bank,
bound and gagged both Mr.. King and
his wife, and while one Of the men,
whose name was Peter Curley, remained
to keep guard over Mrs. King, the other
three compelled him TO 90 with them to
the b1nk in order to make him open
the combination lock 70 the vault This
was O method which some of them had
employed with success in other robber.
les Mr.. King told them that time
lock, then a new invention, had been
placed on the safe within few days
and he could not open the door When
they reached the bank they found this
to be true, and unable TO open the
safe door, they secured only few hun.
dred dollars in unsigned bills They
returned Mr.. King to his house and
having bound and gagged both him aud
his wife made haste to get out of town.
When the affair became known, tele-
grams were sent in every direction, and
one reached Mr.. Bailey at the same
time that second message informed
him that two suspicious men had crossed
piermont bridge early that morning,
who had been followed some miles be-
hind, all the way from Barre.
"Alr Bailey, at once divining that
they intended to hit the railroad be.
tween Wells River and Plymouth
boarded train going that way, and at
Wentworth one of the men who had
been in pursuit of the robbers came on
board and at the second station the
men themselves came in. One Of the
mcn, perceiving that they were watched,
ran through the train, followed by Mr.
Bailey, and jumped from the rear car
while the train was at full speed. The
train was stopped and Mr.. Bailey began
search, the Barre man looking on
awhile, which lasted three hours,
through wodd, underbrush, field, pasture,
thickets and newly cleared land, losing
and regaining the trail time and again,
searching over a wide territory. This
was certainly very daring act on Mr.
Baileys part, a man Of slight frame,
iifty.threc years old, 70 seek alone, and
in a strange place, desperate man.
who would not hesitate to shoot him,
should that OF capture be the only al
ternatiycs 1t would have relieved his
mind had he known that the robber lost
his revolver when he jumped from the
train, whore Mr.. Bailey found it two
days later at the place where the man
made steps twenty-five feet apart, when
he struck the ground
"A man who came along Joined in the
search, and at last Mr. Bailey saw the
robber lying on the ground a few feet
away in the underwood, and springing
upon him, hand-culIed him before he
could get up. This man was Peter A.
Crrley, the other man, George Miles,