The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1915-08-06
Bold Thief Gains
Entrance To House
From Mondays Daily.

man whom she saw in the mirror,
Mrs. George F. Wright who runs the
European hotel upstairs over the
Rex cigar store. fell TO the floor OF
| her room last Saturday evening about
| half past ten o'clock. The intruder
| tied towel around her face TO pre-
vent her from screaming in case she
should come to herself before he was
through with his robbery, and then
| ransacked the room for valuables.
All that he managed to steal. as far
as had been made out last night, con-
sisted of five to six dollars, the con-
| tents of her pocket book. which lay
| on the dresser.
Mr.. and Mrs. Wright have been
| running that place for about three
| years. Mr.. Wright is a cripple. suf
| fering from locomotor ataxia. He
was out last evening when this rob
berry occurred There were some,
| roomers. in the house. but as Mrs.
| Wright did net scream they were not
| aroused.
Mr.. and Mrs Wright have done
| very we'll with their rooming house
and have never had any trouble OF
| this kind before They have now
| sixteen rooms and when the building
| is enlarged they will have an ad
| dition to the rear. giving them thirty
| one rooms in all, including what they
| new have.
| During the early part of the even
| ing they entertained company. Mr.
| end Mrs. Charles Selleck having call
| ed Mrs. Wright went to the front
/ 81 l,Ii al,
| guests. as they were leaving She
has an idea that during that time. the
| robber may have sncaked up the back
! itairs and concealed himself in the
,loset in her room. Or he may have
hidden in chat place earlier in the
| lay.
| After the guests were gone. Mrs.
| Wright went to her room She mad Il
! splinter in her finger and turned on the
| electric light TO remove il. OF Il sud =
| len she happened to glance up To the
| mirror and saw man emerge from
! he closet which was separated from
| he rest of the room, merely by cur
tain.
Although the fright caused her to
'aint. she was afterwards able to
give some description OF the intruder.
She said the man was tall and wore a
zap. Both his cap and the suit OF
| clothes that he wore were black. He
was smooth shaven. But she declared
that she would not be able To linden
| .ify the man if she saw him. and she
| lid not wish to get any innocent man
nto trouble. She was told yesterday
hat a suspect was under arrest but
she was not enough interested to go
nto the police station and look at
| lin
When Mrs. Wright recovered, she
'ound herself lying on the floor She
managed to get to her feet. and saw
hat the contents of the various
.rawers had been thrown cut on the
| floor. The robber had evidently
searched the room in quest of some :
| hing valuable to steal
She managed to get to the tcle-
rhone. and tried 10 call up the police
station. Somehow. she did not she =
ceed in doing this, but got in com =
munication with Fred POlchow. and a
Few moments later John Gacke hurried
over to the station and gave the
alarm. The police soon made an in =
the robbery.
Patrolman John Albrecht remember
ed certain stranger in the city who
had talked With him and others in a
manner that aroused their suspicious
that he mi.ht know more about the
recent boX-car robbery near BE lo
Flame than he cared 10 tell. The
'atrolman felt suspicious OF this
;tranger and thought he might BE- the
nan who uuiled eff the robbery at the
Wright place.
At all events il was known that the
man was working at a local restaur-
ant as a night aid and il was dis
covered that he was sleeping in the
back part Of the restaurant The
man seemed to correspond fairly well
with the imperfect description that
the police bad been able to get from
Mrs. Wright. and he also. il was
thought. ccrrespondcd with the de
scriptiOn OF the taller of the two rob
bers. who last Sunday night held IN
six tramps in an Omaha box car ON
moving train. One of the trainps
1t will he remembered. was killed when
he showed fight
|
young fellow. giving the name of VIII
liam Houghtling. tie says he came
from Pittsiield. Mass. and that his
father and mother live there. lie
says he has learned the trades OF
painter and forester. but has been
drifting around the country. doing odd
jobs. He says he was in Mankato with
the Sells-FlotO circus on July II. and
that he left with that circus. working
for the concern at Faribault Austin
La Crosse, Wausau. Green Bay. Ap.
pleton and Kenosha. He says he left
. the circus at kenosha, and started
back to Minnesota. He made his way
by catching freight trains.
j He states that he was so travelling
, towards Minnesota on the night when
that murder occurred near Belle
, PLANE He says he got as far as Red
, wing at seven O'Clock last Monday
morning. the day after the murder
and on the afternoon of the same day
he got to Shakopee Here he talked
!, he said. with the trAmps who have
, been held there by Sheriff c. VI. KopT
: OF Scott county, in the hope of being