Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 September 1900 — HOBO CRIME EXPERTS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOBO CRIME EXPERTS

MANY BANK ROBBERIES TRACED TO THIS CLASS. Are Known to Detectives Under the Kame of “Yeggmen”—Rival Other Burglars or Cracksmen in Fearlessness—Careless with Nitro Glycerin. “Once more ‘Topeka Joe,’ the notorious ‘hobo’ burglar and cracksman, is under arrest," said W. A. Pinkerton at his office in Chicago the other day. “The latest crime of this crook calls attention to the fact that the ‘hobo’ criminal is becoming pretty übiquitous, not only in the Chicago region, but everywhere else in the country- As an oper-

ator he is getting to be more formldable and more to be dreaded than the gentleman burglar. “ ‘Topeka Joe’ has been in trouble before and has twice been behind prison bars. He is a perfect type of the ‘hobo’ safeblower. A few weeks ago he robbed a bank in Williamsburg, Va„ by blowing open the safes- Ttre other day only we succeeded in catching him away out in Portland, Ore., wh4re he Is uow under arrest awaiting extradition to Virginia. The appearance of large numbers,, of criminals from the tramp, class is a recent development. Six or seven years ago the modern ‘hobo’ expert was comparatively unknown In criminal circles. To-day

be is committing the majority of bank robberies. Witbin the last few years there have been nearly two score of banks robbed in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and a few other Western Stales, and nearly every one of these crimes was convuitted by tramp operators. These ‘hobo’ criminals are called .‘yeggs’ or ‘Johnny Yeggmen.' “Other classes of tramps are called ‘cats' and ‘gay-cats.’ The ‘cat’ is the tramp who will do nothing but beg. He will not be connected with a crime except in a remote way, and there are probably great numbers of ‘cats’ who would have nothing whatever to do with any very great offense. The 'gay cat’ occupies a position midway between that of the ‘cat’ and the ‘yegg.’ He will take a hand in a robbery or a safe-blowing expedition if there seems to be no chances of his l>elng caught. If there seems to be any chance of his arrest he will have nothing to do with the project. But the yeggman Is made of entirely different material. As an exhibitor of a fearless or don’t-care spirit, or whatever you want to call It, he is entitled to the banner over all the burglars, thieves and cracksmen of the day. He will often on to bis project and try to get results even when the noise of the exploding safe lias brought citizens on the run to the scene. He doesn’t seem to be much of a rusher for safety. “Here the ‘hobo’ is a widely different citizen from the gentleman burglar and safe-blower. IJke the ‘gay cat,’ the first thing the latter looks out for Is his safety. He is about twice as careful as the yeggman in the matftr of not getting caught. The ‘hobo’ is extremely foolhardy not only In the way he stands his ground and opens fire on whoever disturbs hirer in his operations, but also in the reckless way in which he handles nltro-glycerln. All of his safeblowing is done with this sive. To get the stuff he steals > lot of dynamite, and with alcohol or warm water soaks out the glycerin. Aften the soaking is done the glycerin is poured off or the water drawn from the bottom of the receptacle with a syringe. ■Tha explosive is carried In a bottle or

a rubber fountain syringe bag. Thai« bar of soap, a few fulminating caps and a fuse complete the yeggman’s outfit. All of the cracks about the safe door, except an inch or two at the top, are closed with the soap, and with the same thing a little cup is made against the front safe with the unfilled bit of crack at the bottom. Into this cup glycerin Is poured. The liquid gradually seeps through the crack. After the ‘hobo’ has poured in all of the glycerin he is going to use he applies the fulminating cap and to it the fuse, while he retires to a safe distance to await the explosion. In his determination to secure ‘swag’ the yeggman has been known to resolutely stay by the exploded safe and commit murder rather than be driven off without a fight ~~ I Reckleav Work. “The man is equally reckless in han dilng the dangerous oil. Once a safe was blown open in the East. The perpetrator escaped without leaving the least trace behind him. Finally we landed the criminal several hundred miles away in another State. He was known as ‘Black Jack.’ 1 asked him I how on earth he managed to leave the ' country without leaving any telltale evidence behind. He told me that he rode eighty miles on the trucks of a Pullman sleeper. All of the time he had with him a quart bottle of nitroglycerin. Think of carrying a quart bottle of that stuff with you on the jolting trucks of a railroad train. One 1 little jolt might have caused it to explode, and the tramp and the whole car would have been blown to atoms. “Nearly all of these yeggmen go by nicknames and are seldom known by any other. Often the names indicate the city-or the State from which the i tramps were supposed to have come or igi na Uy. So me of Jthe lirgmlnent; ‘yeggs’ are ‘Frisco Slim,’ ‘Michigan < Red,’ ‘The Rambler,’ ‘Denver Harry,’ ‘Topeka Joe.’ ‘Warren Patty,’ ‘Macbn Tip,’ ‘Meridian Joe,’ ‘Silvers,’ Jack,’ ‘Baldy,’ ‘The Frog,’ ‘Wheeling Red,’ ‘Big Frank,’ ‘Janesville Tommy,’ ‘Zanesville Shorty,’ 'Squench,* ‘New York Slim,’ ‘Ohio Fatty,’ ‘Ohio Shorty,’ ‘Shenandoah Red,’ ‘Shenandoah Dan,’ ‘Bellaire Bob,’ ‘Yorker Dick,’ ‘Sleepy John,’ ‘Toronto Jimmy,’ ‘Syracuse Shorty,’ ‘The Turk,’ Frank,’ ‘Oakland Sammy,‘Brownie,’ ‘Alton 1 Whitey’ and ‘Montreal Connie.’ "In his attire the yeggman differs widely from tne gentleman criminal. ■

When the later is prosperous and has plenty of money he fives on the fat of the .laud and dresses in the most extravagant style. On the other hand, when the pockets of the yeggman are bulging with money he continues to dress like a mechanic in hard hick and never displays the least evidence of his wealth.”

CHARACTER STUDY IN “YEGGMEN.”

“YEGGMAN" PLIES HIS VOCATION.