The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-11-05
And Flee to the Woods When
Confronted With Shotgun
AFTER AN EXCITING CHASE
That They Were Fooled Was Due to Fact
That Barre Hunter Staying in W.
Fairlee Was Awakened by the
Noise of the safe-blowing.

West Fairiee. Nov. 5.-Haying secured
only a hundred pennies after blowing
open the safe in the Thctford Center
post Office at midnight last night, two
burglars came to this place, six miles
distant, and blew the safe in II. c. Kez-
er's store, securing about $3.50 in money,
stamps and checks, but raising such a
rumpus that they were finally run down
and forced to leave their booty after an
exciting chase. Posses Of citizens are
pursuing the burglars now in the section
around Ely.
The robbery at this place would prob
ably nave been successful il ii had not
been for the fact that g. h. Bennett of
Barre, who was staying in the house of
K H. Dearborn, just across the street
from the hezer store, was awakened by
the noise OF the explosion. Mr. Bennett
got up to find out the cause Of the ex-
plosion and saw the light of the bur
glars bullseye lantern in the store across
the road Mr. Bennett at once aroused
his hunting companion, b. A. Eastman
OF Barre, and the two notified Mr. Kezer
and c. C. Coburn, clerk in the store.
Armed with their hunting rifles, the
besieging party attempted to surround
the building and keep the burglars COW
cred, but they neglected to cover a rear
door, and the burglars took advantage
Of the opening and fled by this door
to team which was standing waiting
and which, by the way, they had stolen
from Mr. Slack Of East Thetford earlier
in the evening. Thus the burglars ef-
fected their escape from the men who
were surrounding the building. Neigh
bors heard the team departing at
leisurely pace in the direction Of Ely.
On finding that the supposed captiyes
had got away, the besieging party at
once got into communication by tele-
phone with people down the line and
succeeded in rousing number When
the burglars drove near the Ely station.
they were confronted by sherman Rog-
ers, a rural letter carrier, armed with a
shotgun, and ordered to halt and throw
up their hands The robbers startled
BY the suddenness OF the command,
leaped from the wagon and ran into the
woods. leaving their West Fairlee booty,
as we'll as the stolen team, the latter
of which they had probably intended to
abandon at any rate as soon as they
had got we'll out of the region The
team was identified to-day and restored
to its owner.
Mr. Rogers took possession of the
booty found in the wagon and notified
the West Fairlee people Of his capture.
Word was then telephoned to all points
of possible escape to intercept the bur-
glars, and large posse OF citizens went
out into the woods.
An examination of the Kezer store
showed that the burglars had covered
the safe with blankets before blowing it
open, and the force OF the explosion lit
orally blew the safe into pieces. The
men secured the tools with which they
made entrance from the new creamery
building now in process OF construction.
The blankets which they had used
were stolen from the Thetford Center
store, where they had broken in earlier
in the night. and where the post Office
is located. This is the Fifeld store.
Search Of the premises there this morn
ing revealed that three blankets had
been taken from the stock, in addition
to the hundred pennies in the post Office
safe. The Thetford Center robbery was
not known until this morning, when
Mr.. Merrill, a passerby on the street,
noticed the broken window in the store
and notified the proprietor, That led to
investigation at once. The interior of
the store was found to be badly wrecked
by the explosion, and the safe was blown
to pieces.
That recalled to Young Ralph Fifeld,
son of the postmaster, d. G. Fifield, that
at about midnight he was awakened BY
loud explosion, whereupon he got N
and looked ont Of the window for about
ten minutes, after which he returned
to bed. The Fifeld house is about 50
rods from the post Office. and the lad
saw nothing to arouse his suspicious.
That the burglars did not get more
booty at Thetford Center was because
an attempt was made five weeks ago to
blow up the safe, which was unsuccess-
ful because the burglars were frightened
away in the midst of their work. Since
that time the postmaster has taken the
money home at night,