The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-10-22
While Gardener Hoffman Was
Pitching Hay He Uncovered
Articles Which Were Stolen
At Eaton, o.
He PLAYED Detective
BUT ROBBER ESCAPED
Fugitive Does a Marathon Out
Of Glen, UnmindfuI of the
Bullets Which Were Thrown
His Direction.

Glen Miller park was the scene of
considerable excitement yesterday aft
ernOon. A man who is believed to
have been connected with the robbery
of Joseph Werner's clothing store at
Eaton, Ohio, Tuesday night, was seen
in the glen about o'clock, and ordered
I'd halt at the point of a revolver by
Gardener Norman A. Hoffman. I'm
needing the demand the man ran from
the elk pen around the lake to the
railroad. where he disappeared behin,l
a cut OF freight cars and all trace Of
him was lost. Several shots were fired
at the fleeing man bv Hoffman in the
lively chase, but they went wide of
their mark and only served to increase
the speed of the frightened fugitive.
While Gardener Hoffman was
pitching hay in the feed pen by the
Elks inclosure. yesterday morning, his
pitchfork struck something hard bur-
led beneath the hay. An investigation
disclosed the fact that it was an old
fashioned telescope, filled with cloth
ing. bearing the label of Joseph Werner
at Eaton. Ohio. Another paper bun
die, in which clothing was tied, was
found near the telescope. Here Hoff-
man did a little detective work, la
Sherlock Holmes.
'at Secures Revolver.
First arming himself with q six
shooter, Hoffman walked a short dis
tance from the place where the dis-
covery was made lin the meantime re.
moving the clothing from the hay
now and seating himself under a
large oak tree, waited, pretending to be
businly engaged in gathering acorns,
at the the same time. Keeping a vigilant
watch on the feed~pen.
Hoffman's efforts were soon reward
ed A big heavy set man, wearing 4
brown cap, and gray sweater with
blue stripes on it. was seen to stealth
lily creep along the side of the enclos-
ure and climb into the hay NOW. De
tective' Hoffman thought it was time
to call a halt on the proceedings and
pulling his gun he commanded the in
truder to throw up his hands or be shot.
Whether the stranger was aware of
Hoffman's poor Workmanship is not
determined. However, he apparently
preferred to take chance on being
shot. for with the speed of a frighten-
ed deer, he beat Marathon In the di-
rection of the railroad. while Hoffman
unloaded the contents of his revolve"
without effect. The shots attracted
the attention of George Tfnneapple,
special patrolman in the park, who
Joined Hoffman in the exciting chase.
Breaks All Records.
But the stranger took advantage o:
a good start and 1t is estimated that he
broke all records for short distance
runs. He literally burned up the
ground in his race around the lake and
Hoffman and Tinnapple soon realized
that they were sadly outclassed. back
Of the flag. and pulled up lame. Reach.
ing the railroad. the man disappeared
behind friendly freight train and was
lost to view. No trace has been dis
covered of the robber since. Blood
hounds from Dayton were sent for and
took up the scent, tracking the man tu
the Pennsylvania depot. It is pre-.
and left the city. A man answering
the description Of the stranger, was
seen at the Pennsylvania depot last
evening about 9 o'clock. but the mat
ter was not reported to the police.
Hoffman asserts that he notified the
police before noon yesterday that a
quantity of clothing, believed to have
been stolen from Joseph Werner at
Eaton, as they bore his label, had been
found in the hay stack in the elks en-
closure, and asked that an officer be
sent to the place Immediately. as II
was expected there would be big do
ings. However, no one was sent to
the glen from the department until aft
er the activities had taken place. The
police declare that they had received
no word that Werner's clothing store
had been robbed and were not of the
opinion that the discovery at the glen
amounted to much at the time.
Access was gained to the Werner es
tablishment Tuesday night by means
Of q ladder which had been placed at
tho second story window. The
thieves escaped with about 500 worth
of loot, including Z vests, pairs OF
trousers, 6 coats. one mans overcoat
and one boys overcoat. All Of tha
goods. with the exception Of the sweat
er Jacket and pair Of trousers. worn by
the robber. who made his sensational
escape in the glen yesterday. have been
recovered and identified by Mr.. Wer-
ner, who was in the city last evening
A diligent search was at once institut-
ed by the local police in the Glen and
thjcjssts back q the park In the hspea