The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-11-10
DESPERATE FIGHT
WITH BURGLAR



&. A. Haight OF 312 East Main
Street, was Thursday about Sis
o'clock shot through the right hand
while in terrific encounter with a
burglar whom he had surprised ia the
act OF coming upstairs. after thorough
~ ransacking the ground floor OF the
house. and who made good his es-
cape.
Mr. HaiEht was awakened about 3
o'clock By noise in the
lower portion OF his house. Think
ing that IL was perhaps the slamming
blowing hard. ne paid no attention
to Il at first When Il persisted and
seemed to be approaching nearer Mr.
Haight accredited IL to pet cat. which
he thought had become locked In the
houee, and was trying to get out 1t
never entered Mr. Haights mind that
ID ~ould be a burglar Hence ne went
to investigate. unarmed.
Walked Into Burglar.
Coming Gown the steps. just as he
reached the last landing. he literally
and actually walked into the thief.
who was In the act OF coming up
stairs and evidently die not see or
hear Mr.. Haight
II was too dark TO see anything
whatever. but Mr.. Hafght era bbed for
the man and received blow on the
forehead which sent him reeling.
As he was going down he grappled
with the burglar. and by chance
caught the hand of the man with
which he was levellng pistol at him
10 lire. As Mr.. Haights hand closed
over the pistol the burglar fred, and
the bullet passed souarely through
Mr. Haight's right hand Suffering
great pain from the wound, Mr.
Hafght slightly released his hold on
" and desperately.
Fled Through Back Door.
The man took advantage OF the op-
portunity and broke away, making
his exit through back door. which he
had previously unlocked, and left
partly ajar. for this express purpose.
1T all happened In a moment. /"
said Mr.. Haight. but the man, who /
could feel, was a great big fellow.
Tor, in tussling with hinhg I had to
reach Up 70 torch his head. struggled
nercely and tore my nightshirt into
shredn. He was evidently negro, Tor
IA touching his head my hand came
into contact with his hair, which ]
thought was of the .'lkinl1y' kind, char
acteristic of the negro race. It seem
ed 10 me he wore a cap.
In his struggle he dropped a
bundle. which afterwards proved to
be the silvervare he had gathered m
in the dining room. and which was
found by the police short time
The noise OF the struggle awakanea
everyone in the house. and Mr.. .fIairht
was assisted upstairs and the arnbu-
lance and the police were summoned
An investigation disclosed that the
mtonight visitor throughout his work
nae oispiayed forethought and a
reckless daring almost unparalleled
In this city. Entering through
DOWNSTAIRS back window, which he
led up quite rudely. as in SO doing
A2rokc Shatwsrth lock which had
peo II down, he took the pre-
70 open all the doors. even
TX door. before he went 20
that he would have sbun-
.HQs OF escape.
ApaPed His SuDner
- in the least hurry how
to work, for he care
5 = ~ $500 e. which was
which he Brought With r~ss Mr.
house, then he bethouR himseIf ~
a meal. and. opening tha &c box and
kitchen cabinet, ne too out firsz q
cake which Mrs. Haight b baked the
evening before and otl delicaciee
which she had placed here. These
he carefully placed onX.the Kitchen
table, he procured CD fr and pro-
ceeded 70 feast himself
Mr. Height SAYS ne a + nearly
pound Of butter. nearly the whole
cake. several slices of brad and al
the IN. 49,. meat available TN burglar
choice OF victuals, for he loft rem
nants OF food. burned matches and
cigarette stubs all over the kitchen
floor.
After appeasing his hunger he care
found and turned every drawer out and
scattered the contents ali over the floor
In the dining room he found three
n a ina Oh
bank notes This he extracted and
threw carelessiy on the floor IA neat
valuables he found, using Mrs. Hates
table linen. Withal he only made s4xrt
noise, Mr. Haight- Il ought IL aSas
merely the scratching of a cat
After taking everything Of value he
could nnd downstairs he was ia the act
OF coming upstairs with a view TO con-
lided with Mr.. F8ight "a was so dark
that Mr.. Hatghf, who did not even carry
a light, could not sec me man. and
case the police caught he right man
Got Away with Cash.
The Twenty-Five dollars which he took
from the purses was ali the burglar
succeeded IN getting away with except
q square meal. as he dropped his bum
The evidences of the burglars auda-
city were FOUND all over the ground
fieor of Mr.. Haights house by the police
who do not seem TO have a elew as TO
his Identity.
Mr. Haight is in the undertaking bust
ness at 312 East Main Street. He rents
the outnouses OF the place. which are in
the back yard. to coiored people. but
they declare that they heard not the
slightest noise, although the burglar
operated almost beneath their windows.
a binding. pouring rain and a high
wind were a great shield to the man,
who Is believed TO be q professional.
Mr.. Haight. although quite excited by
his terrible experience. was able TO be
about this morning end to give full
account to The Evening Journal re-
porter.