Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-01-30

aDccnfityx and n. TWENTY-FIVE. per ~
Fvould purchase anything that was for
sale. cheap, from. wormy dried apples TO
soldiers 0vetcoats ana boots, though the
Eiasse4e-vas .ass.penitsnttafy' offence. He
E6Knid sefl ,tced what Others could not
ifa siss7 The tosto1,ca ~as located IN the
lheadquaTters building. he kept in the.of-
E6Se a email field safe. which could easily
HI carried by two men. It was a. well
tknown fact tlat he always kept IN the
kSafe$asrarBe suN4 Of money. In an adjoln-
Hng.rooin was TIE. Tegimental printing Of
Hoe. and in this room slept the regimen.
tai printer. who I will. call "B". He was
disc the post school teacher. the school
room being a part ~, and attached to the
pHstfsc hiirchs WAS a director. Ofssthe
FIRST National Bank of Mandan and also
the owner Of some Mandan property. He
often visited Montana and at times would
remain over night; on such occasions 3
would perform the duties of post master.
One morning on my way to the Commits
sary I was asked II the safe from the of.
nee had been stolen, as one like it had
been found in the school room that NOM
Ing ,broken open and robbed. Knowing i
had q .safe like the safe in the commits
sary Tat once thought it was it, which
1t proved to be. b claimed he found the
safe when he opened the school, room door
and reported the matter to the post chap
lain. G returned during the forenoon,
and had the safe brought to his office.
where. at the noon hour, many went, to
look at the broken safe. B was there,
and 1t was noticed, by one present. that
he was perfectly quiet: never a word did
he say, though he vas known as a very
dazed and at o loss to fix the crime on
any one. He hads lost twelve hundred
dolldFs, and this was to him a heart
breaking matter. He was asked * he had
any suspicious OF any party, when he re.
piled mo he was told to watch B. He
could not believe his friend and confidant
would rob him. Nevertheless he did watch
him. and found that each day he left the
post alone and always came, back with
onc or two men. lie also found if e was
ZIP first in the morning he, always went
to the quarters OF the men who were seen
with him during the d lily trips. If these
got up first they always visited the home
Of, p. All this indicated that the money
!" hidden somewhere. and one was
afraid that the others might leave in the
night and take the cash. One very rainy
day 3 was seen to leave the post and
walk very fast, up along the river bank,
and in about IN hour returned. This led
to the belief that the money was hidden.
In some place where a heavy rain might
wash It away. About this time one OF
these suspected deserted, and c had the
u. 8. Marshall to arrest the others. A
few days after the arrest a man went up
river. and found where the money had
ben hidden in the mouth of a dry ravine,
and had been removed. though some Of
the money had been left in the sand.
Some postoffice papers were also found
and candle grease on a rock, showing q
candle had been set on the rock. The
stub Of the same candle was found in the
room of b. That the money was hidden
close by there was scarcely a doubt. c
wished to recover his cash and going to
Bismarck. where sthe men were in Jail,
he with the U. IS. Officials told the pris-
oners what evidence they had. promised
that II the money was given up they
would not b. prosecuted. B would not
consent, but G, who was really a good
man. gave the whole thing away; and
on a dark night went with an U. 8. Of
fcer. aid showed him where the money
was hidden and It was all recovered err
cepting about thirty dollars.
went shortly. afterwards to Fort
Meade. and G. when discharged. went to
Bismarck and formed = partnership in
tho painting business. i don't think but
very few in Bismarck knew of his part
in the robbery. He asked mi not to tell,
and nevr did. Years afterwards l met
him in Minnesota, where he had married
a very pretty woman and was doing we'll.
b was the real criminal.