The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-10-01
Exciting
"reminiscences Told By P. 0.
Inspector Robinson
Of His Adventures As A Fed.
efaI Officer

The Columbus Dispatch prints the
following concerning the exciting ex-
periences of PostofTlce Inspector w.
3. Robinson, former Knox county
boy
Postoffice Inspector William b.
Robinson of Columbus was formerly
in charge of postofflce inspection in
Maine and other New England states.
Some of his experiences read like
chapter out of a dime novel and he
has the evidence to verify his widest
tales.
During the first year or so of his
government work in New England,
he was called upon to round up three
yeggs, who had blown the safe in a
small town postofice and escaped
with large sum in stamps and mon
ey. After much sleuthing, Robinson
located the men, who had taken
refuge in the dense underbrush Of
forest:
"Enlisting "a score of farmers from
the vicinity" said Inspector Robin
son, 1--WE picketed the forest, placing
guards at each road and the railroad
that entered and left the place.
stationed myself at Toulouse, near
a water tank on the railroad that PEN
etrated the woods. During the night,
which was one of those pitch dark
nights of early fall, heard some one
coming down the track. / couldn't
see them, but when they came oppo-
site me, as my ears told me, | yelled
to them to throw up their hands and
stop. | was pretty new and green
then or l would have known that
they never would stop for hands up
in the dark.
"They started to run and | shot up
into the air, hoping to frighten them.
At that, they turned and let me have
it, all three blazing away at me. |
got bullet through the left leg there,
but it felt like only a scratch at the
time. ] fired at them as their guns
flashed, and, as ! learned afterward,
potted one of them in the knee. One
of my men came up when he heard
the shots, but the fellows caught a
freight. for which / had been looking
when they came upon me at the tool
house, and got away
"A few miles from the place where
the shooting occurred, brakeman
and ordered them off. AS they jumped
one of them stumbled and fell under
the wheels, losing a leg. He was tax
en- to the hospital, where I managed
to 60 to see him. He was the fellow
shot through the knee, and 1t was this
that made him lose his leg under the
freight when he jumped. He died
shortly after from loss of blood. His
name was Sullivan"
Later, Robinson was called to Bos
ton to investigate postoflice rob
berry. Four men, arrested after much
sleuthing, entered pleas of guilty, and
two OF them confessed to having been
with Sullivan, whom Robinson shot In
the knee when the other burglary was
pulled off"
"There were seven men connected
with this Boston job" said Robinson
After much hard work, discovered
woman who lived near this postof
flee, located In one of the rural dis
tricts surrounding Boston She had
been awakened by the barking of hei
watchdog on the night of the burglary
The safe had been blown at 2:15 and
2:30 this woman had been awakened
by the dog She went to the window
and saw two men sitting on a rock
several rods from the house. They
started to run when she opened the
window, Upon examination of the
premises | found money orders and
blanks behind the rock she referred
to and knew that | was on the right
track
Following the road she indicated
as the one taken by the men, came
to n street car line. running into
Boston. Inquiry at the car barns
showed that seven men had boarded
the last car into Boston at 3 a, m
that morning. They were the only
ones on the car and the motorman
and conductor were badly frightened
They got of at Washington street
near the Globe theatre, without mo-
Testing the car men, however.
with the aid of the street car con
ductor. several nights later. locat
ed four of the men in a saloon or
Washington street, which is the
tough district of Boston. Securing
several plain clothes men from the
city police force, had the four lock