Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 286, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 December 1913 — BLOOD HOUNDS ON TRACK OF THIEVES [ARTICLE]

BLOOD HOUNDS ON TRACK OF THIEVES

Many People Followed Hounds to Wheatfield, Dunn’s Siding and Burroughs’ Camp. W. Logan Wood, one of the Barr merchants who was robbed last Friday night, was in-town this Monday moaning to swear out an affidavit fox the arrest of a man whom suspicion indicates as having played an important part in the robbery of his store, the Myres pool room and the Hammerton store at Parr. The man wanted is Jacob Smith, who for some time lived in the neighborhood of Parr, and who was arrested something over a year ago on a charge of forgery. Smith has been missing for some time, hut on last Saturday, the day after the burglary, he got off the 11:54 train at Surrey and circumstances and a pair of bloodhounds have directed suspicion to him. ‘ The bloodhounds used to trace the robbers were procured of Woodworth Bros., at Danville, Ilf. They were brought across country in an automobile and arrived at Parr at 5 o’clock Saturday afternoon. They were taken to Wood’s store and after rushing about the store where the thieves had been they went out through the rear store window, then east to the blacksmith shop, thence down the alley to the Myres poolroom and through the window there and then tb Wood’s barn, then back to Hammerton’s store, then west past Wood’s store to the railroad and north on the road to the range house on the government rifle range. They had not entered the range house, which was locked. The dogs then went north a short distance and back to the track, then north to Fair Oaks, thence over the C. & E. f. bridge to Virgie, Kniman and Zadoc. At Kniman two men had been seen the night before. At Zadoc there was some evidence that the robbers had stopped to rest and the dogs waited there for a time. The dogs then went to Wheatfield, where it was learned that two men had bought tickets for Dunn’s Siding. Thinking themselves hot on the trail, the men who were following the dogs and that included about fifty persons, procured motorcars, handcars, pushcars and everything that could, run on the railroad, and went to Dunn’s Siding. There they learned that the two men who had come from Wheatfield were well known and highly respected farmers. They decided, however, to visit Burroughs Camp, a tough saloon and joint north of the river and east of Dunn’s Siding and they made a search there but found nothing. They learned that there was a suspicious camp in the swamps north and west of Burroughs’ place and made a trip there, where they aroused the people, three men and a woman, who occupied a tent, and went through the tent, questioning the people. They found some new goods, apparently more than the people would have purchased for their own use, but there was no evidence that they had been stolen. The chase was given up at this point and all returned to Parr. Included in the party was Merchant William Lyons, of Mt. Ayr, whose store bad been robbed less than a week before the Parr robberies. With Mr. Lyons were a number of Mt. Ayr people, who gamely stayed on the man hunt all night, as did the people from Parr. They walked all the way from Parr to Wheatfield and back again. The Mt. Ayr people went on a motor car from that place to Dunn’s Siding. Mr. Wood traveled part of the way by auto and part by motor ear and part by foot. Tired and disappointed the men returned to Parr at 6 o’clock Sunday morning and there learned that Jake Smith, who lias been under suspicion, was seen at Surrey on Saturday morning. The dogs were again taken to Surrey and there took up Smith’s trail and went to the Mauck farm, occupied by a man named Pritchett. The dogs did not go in to Pritchett’s yard, but seemed to lose the trail at his fence. Mr. Pritchett and Smith are said to have been friends at one time and Mr. Wood and the pursuers asked permission to go thorugl/ - Pritchett’s house, which was granted, although the dogs gave them no encouragement. The house was searched before Pritchett was informed that it was Smith who was being sought. Pritchett then admitted that Smith had been)to his farm Saturday and had stood at the fence, but said that lie did not allow him to enter his yard. It is believed that there is a “fence” where stolen plunder is taken up on the Kankakee river and that all the robberies that have taken place down this way have been committed by members of the gang. Whether the surmisal that Smith is connected with the gang is well founded or not, there is circumstantial evidence, so Mr. Wood thinks, that make him a desirable party to find and officers will be right on the job this Monday afternoon.