The Lampasas Daily Leader. (Lampasas, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 3372, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 16, 1912 Page: 2 of 4
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m
PARALLEL
STORIES
sf FAMOUS
CRIM E S
By HENRY C. TERRY
THE CRIMINAL Tells
How He Planned the
Deed and Sought to Close
Every' Avenue of Knowl-
edge Leading' to His Guilt.
The Detective Shows How
Futile These Efforts Were and
How the Old Adage, Murder
Will Out, “Always Holds Good.”
(Copyright by F. L, Nfelsoa
THE CRIME WITH THE NEEDLE
STILETTO.
HE man who follows
thievery for a living,”
said Jack Pendergast,
“often gets pretty hard
shocks, but it does not
do for him to take any
notice of them. I read
in some newspaper the
argument of an old
preacher, who ought
to have lived in the days when
they used to break a thief’s body on
the rack, that the thieves are the nat*
ural enemies of mankind and ought
to he exterminated.
“Well, if thieves Are the natural en-
emies of all the world, the other side
of the argument must stand also, that
the rest of mankind are the proper
prey of thieves. With this notion in
view, 1 say that it is a wonder that in
every house which is visited by
thieves there is not left a trail of
blood. But actual experience and sta-
tistics will show that fewer murders
are committed by thieves wken en-
gaged In their work, in proportion to
theta* number, than are committed in
the ranks of persons who go around
with a label of honesty on their fore-
heads.
“Speaking of shocks that a fellow
Is liable to get in any business, re-
calls a remark made by old Jimmy
■Mope when he first started out as a
crook In Philadelphia, to the effect
that the bravest people on earth are
the thieves who work In the night!
Perhaps you never thought of it in
that way, but just think for a moment.
The common notion of a crook is that
he goes about his work armed to the
teeth and ready to shoot or stab at a
moment’s notice. To disprove this be-
lief let us look for a moment Into the
mind of a thief who is about to enter
-a dwelling house in the night?
“First he must satisfy himself
that no one Is awake in the house.
The first evidence of this is the ab-
sence of lights. Well, then,’all the
lights being out, the thief goes about
his work as quietly as possible, but
taking into consideration the fact that
thievery, or, rather, burglary, is es-
sentially a breaking into a placer it
cannot be done without more or less
•noise.
“A thief knows that in nine houses
out of ten there Is some ready meahs
-of defense, usually a revolver or a
gun, and if any one is disturbed, his
entrance will be met with a shower of
dead. He Is liable to be killed, and,
•thieves appreciate this better than
any one else. He must face a secret
and silent enemy. I have been in
ihouses where the first intimation that
we were discovered was the report of
a firearm and. the singing of the lead
around our ears.
f “It’s quite a Mt ago since I was
rknown as Black Jack, and was the
^leader of as tough a gang of rangers
-as ever flashed a bull’s-eye. Every
another’s son of them came out of the
old Fourth ward, and from the time
we were kids we were out for the
dust and were the sworn enemies of
the old Market Gang, which turned out
such a desperate lot of crooks as Abe
Coakley, Paddy Reynolds, Billy Por-
ter and Long John Garvey. But our
fights were our own fights, and not
a man in either of the gangs was ever
known to lay down information to the
police. There were plenty of oppor-
tunities to do each' other when it
meant money and perhaps the saving
of a term of five or ten years In Sing
Bing.
“The Black Jacks made the best
tour on Long Island ever known
among thieves. We went from Fort
Hamilton to Riverhead, up one side and
down the other side of the island, with
only the loss of two men, both of
whom—Paddy Gillan and Shorty Far-
rell—were shot by a woman in Oyster
Bay, During this trip we used a black
sloop part of the time, but most of
the traveling was done by horse and
wagons, and it was usually the horses
and wagons of farmers.
“We visited over 600 houses, and
divided about $80,000 worth of stuff.
It was a trip of pleasure, for the lo-
cal police did not bother us at' all.
This was easily explained. It was on
account ©f the lack of money. In no
small place can you find the men who
have control of the public money will-
ing to spend anything to chase thieves,
and, even when murder is committed,
there Is never a willingness to put up
money to hunt for the assassin.
“When we got back from this trip
we were In high spirits, and the Bow-!
ery was painted red from one end to
the other with the deepest red, and
every gambling house in the town
got a bit of our coin. When we reach-
ed the end of our rope,! Teddy McCor-
mick came to me with a story that
he got from a butler in Banker Ro-
chot’s home. They met in Bill Mur-
ray’s gambling house on Broadway^
and Teddy staked the butler who had
lost his money in the game. The in-
formation that Teddy got was that Ro-
chot carried a big bank roll in a safe
in his house, which was in 65th street,
near Madison avenue.
"I thought maybe it was a ghost
story put up by the butler to give Ted-
dy an Idea that he was secure in his
loan. But it was worth Investigation,
and I went to look the ground over
with Reddy Ward and Bill Hendrick.
“The house was, a dead easy one to
beat, and I saw from the outside that
the safe was there; I learned that
ROchot was a very heavy dealer in for-
eign securities. There was also1 a bit
of a scandal connected with his meth-
ods of doing business, which gave a
color to the story told by the butler.
I decided to work the game, and fixed
upon a Saturday night for the trick.
“We entered the house through the
bathroom and reached the office,
which wa^ in the rear of the parlor, on
the first floor. In the gang was Ted-
dy McCormick, Reddy Mack, Bill Hend-
rick, , Abe Moses and Billy Reilly.
Mack and Reilly were to do the safe
work, Moses was left outside and Mc-
Cormick, Hendrick and myself Were
down to make a tour through the
house to pick up anything that Was
lying around loose. It would not do to
blow the safe, so the drag was used
to force otlt the back of the strong
box. This took about two hours.
s “We got the stuff together, and start-
ed to leave the house.
—“Suddenly, without the slightest
warning we were met by a shower of
lead. Everybody jumped for himself.
When we lined up on the outside
Reilly was missing. I concluded that
he had been shot. We hauled a big
boodle, but a pillion would not pay
for the loss of Reilly.”
DETECTIVE REYNOLDS' TALE.
“It was rather strange,” said De-
tective Reynolds, “that" I should be
given the robbery In the house of
Banker Rochot to work up, inasmuch
as I had something of an inkling into
his method of doing business, through
working up a case of alleged forgery
against his son, Emil—which, by the
way, was proved easily enough, but
was ended by the old man putting up
considerable money to square the busi-
ness.
“I was aroused from my bed to turn
out on the case shortly before daylight
on a Sunday morning, and went up-
town, not feeling any too well pleased.
I found all of the Rochot family up
and laboring under great excitement.
They were not so much worried over
the robbery as they were over the fact
that there was a dead man in the
house. He was found in the hallway
of the basement.
“Rochot told me he had been work-
ing quite late, following a set of com-
plicated books belonging to a mining
company in which he was largely in-
terested. When he retired for the
night he was in a very restless state
a^d could not sleep. He occupied a
robin on the top floor. While he was
tossing in his bed he heard a peculiar
noise. It sounded to him as if some
one were scraping a piece of metal
against a pipe. His idea was that
the noise was in the street, and was
made by some workmen Who had been
at work repairing a leak in the water
main in 65th street; near his home.
The sound annoyed him, but did not
make him suspicious. It continued
steadily, and he would, perhaps, not
have known that the sound came from
the turning of a ratchet drill into his
safe by thieves for several hours if
he had not heard the stairs leading to
the second or third floor creak.
“He was startled, but did not make
any outcry. He was a plucky old fel-
low at that. Instead of shouting to
see if any member of his family, all
of whom were sleeping on the two
floors below him, was up, he got quiet-
ly out of bed to see who it was. In
the dim light which came from a can-
dle he could barely see the forms of
two men, moving slowly in the hall
toward the front room door. Their
step was noiseless, and he saw them
disappear into the room occupied by
his wife.
“Rochot came down from the top
floor to his own room, where he had
several revolvers. He took the larg-
est one and then quietly aroused his
son, who was a bit of a hunter and
had two shotguns. It so happened
that the son had a friend with him,
which made it a shotgun for each of
them. They crept down the stairs to
the second floor, and in the hall they
could hear the thieves -talking , in a
whisper.
“The three men took a position
where they could shoot .without en-
dangering their own lives! They had
only a few minutes to wait when the
crooks came through the hall, evi-
dently with the intention of going out
through the front door. One of them
carried' a candle. When they got in
range the three men fire'’. The thieves
replied with a couple of shots and
made a dash for the basement. The
Rochot party rushed to the windows
to fire on the men, when they left the
house, but were a moment too late,
as the men had turned the corner.
“My first business was to take a
look at the dead crook. I knew many
of them, but I had never seen him
before. He was a sturdily built fellow
above the average height, wore good
clothes, and had a black mustacle and
dark, curly hair. Rochot claimed the
credit of killing him, and said he was
the man who carried {he candle. I
looked instinctively at the fellow’s
clothing, to see where he had been Jri'fij
I could not find any blood marks on
his head or shirt near any vital part.
I did not think this was strange at the
time, and I went upstairs to look
through the house for clues.
“A rope ladder had been left hang-
ing from the roof of the back stoop,
borne scratches on the paint showed
that the thieves had forced the bath-
room window after reaching the roof.
This was only the sort of work that
tip-top crooks deal in. The method of
bursting the safe also indicated that
there were some genuine bank opera-
tors in the gang. The drag, which is
the most powerful tool used by bur-
glars, had forced the back out of the
safe as if it had been made by paper.
The crooks were rewarded by getting
$90,000 in money, securities and jewel-
ry. They had left nothing but the
dead crook as a clue to their identity.
“His body Was taken to the Morgue.
Every detective in the city took a
peep at him, but no one remembered
having seen him before. This was ex-
plained /later by the fact that he had
just finished serving a twenty years’
sentenco, which meant, with “good
time” twelve years and six months—
in a Connecticut prison. The usuaF
form of inquest was held upon the
body.
“Then came a startling piece of in-
formation. Deputy Coroner Boldte,
who made the. examination of the body
was unable to certify the cause of
death. The police had reported that
the thief had been shot'' but there was
no sign of a bullet or any other wound
in any part of his body.
“No autopsy had been held, and one
was immediately ordered. The organs
were found to be In a perfectly health^
state. The only abnormal condition
was - a small clot of blood hear the
heart. The surgeons, after a long
hunt to find where this came from,
found a puncture in the heart so min-
ute, that it could hardly be detected
by the naked eye. Corresponding to
this wa3 an opening through the chest
over the heart, so small that not a
drop of blood had escaped from it.
The hole that closed when the Instru-
ment which made it was withdrawn,
and all the external evidence was a
little red spot not much bigger than
a pin point.
“Dr. Boldte’s opinion was that the
wound had been made by what is
known, as the needle stiletto, a weap-
on much used by the Cammora of Si--
cicily. He had never seen one or
heard of one being used in this coun-
try.
“Who killed the thief?
“The mystery aroused public inter-
est. A large crowd attended the in-
quest. Among the spectators was a
woman. She sat in a secluded place
and paid deep attention to the testi-
mony. No one had claimed the dead
man’s body. I studied all the facess
carefully. I saw this woman wipe a
tear from her cheek when the jury
brought in a verdict that the thief had
been killed by an unknown person. I
followed her from the coroner’s of-
fice, and spoke to her when we got out
of the crowd.
“I asked her what interest she had
in the dead man. She parried my
questions for a while and wept, I
worked upon bef''sympathies so wellA
that she finally Admitted that the man
was Billy Reilly, her husband.
“The ice Was-broken. She said that
when Reilly was in jail she had tak-
en up with Bill Hendricks, an English
crook. When Reilly’s term was ended
she deserted Hendricks and returned
to her husband. This made Hendricks
insanely jealoud.
k, “She attended the inquest to find out
how her husband was killed,'if he had
not been shot. She knew immediate-
ly that Hendricks had put Reilly out
of the way. because he had a needle
stiletto.
“She told me where Hendricks Was,
and gave me the names of the crooks
who robbed Rochot. Hendricks, I learn-
ed, had skipped, $fter following Mrs.
Reilly to the coroner’s office, but I
caught Pendergast; McCormick, \tacl
and Moses, and recovered a large por-
tion of the stolen goods. Old Rochot
buried Reilly and gave hie wife a re
ward”
SUIT THE SMALL GIRL
laid about the crown In a sash and
tied in the simplest of bows at one
side.
PRETTY NEW MODELS OF THE
SEASON’S BONNETS.
This hat Is made in other color com-
binations with good effect, but noth-
ing is prettier than the fashionable
Coral and Black Is a Combination
Much Admired^—Plain Black Vel-
vet the Best for Her Older
Sisteh
Here are two pretty new models de-
signed for the miss and little sister,
and both of them in coral and black.
The bonnet for the tiny girl Is of light
coral-pink brocaded silk with a full
ruffle of pink chiffon about the face
and a facing of the same. The top of
the crown is covered with velvet.
The little bonnet has a row of black
velvet daisies about the top of the
crown Where the velvet and silk join.
They are the size of the natural
black-eyed Susan and have yellow cen-
ters, just reversing the arrangement
of colors In the natural flower. There
are long ties of messaline ribbon in
the light pink. A sprightly little bow
is tied in one of them, and the ends
of both are knotted together. 'The hat
is really fastened with an elastic cord,
extending under the hair.
The hat for the older girl Is of plain
Mack velvet and is made over a wire
frame. There is nothing especially
hew in the design, but the lines are
exceptionally well balanced and grace-
ful. The crown is puffed and the
brim is a scant ruffle of velvet shirred
to the frame and extending beyond
the brim-edge of wire. The hat is
faced with a Shirring of thin silk in
a rather vivid coral pink. A ruffle of
the silk is of the same width as the
velvet.
Wide ribbonf matching the facing in
color, in a high luster messaline, is
pink and red combinations with
black. Magenta and cerise are used
very often Instead of pink. It is a
question of becomingness to the
wearer.
JULIA BOTTOM LEY.
TO BE EMBROIDERY SEASON
Magnificence in Trimming Is Pronn
ised as a Feature of the Gowns
for the Winter.
The embroideries on evening gowns
and cloaks have been very magnifi-
cent all this summer; but I hear they
will be still more so this winter.
Further* I believe that we shall see a
return to soft transparent fabrics, as
well as those of regal magnificence.
Accordion plaiting will he a feature In
evening gowns; this I have prophesied
for many weeks, but probably owing
to the fact that It is difficult wear for
outdoor gowns, it will be chiefly rele-
gated to the service of evening gowns,
A lovely model which carries out the
still popular combination of black-ancL
gold is here described.
The underskirt and top of the cor-
sage are composed of the very softest
black marquisette, through which a
fine gold thread is run. The over-
dress is of black charmeuse, with
panels of gold and coral embroidery;!
the charmeuse drapery gives a slight-
ly pannier effect. Over the shoulder
the embroidery and marquisette are
connected with soft layers of palest
pink tulle, to mitigate the severity of
the top of the corsage, a lovely Span-
ish cloak is worn of black chiffon.
This is lined with shot gold tissue. A
band of black velvet is wound round
the coiffure, with a jeweled ornament
at the left side.—Chicago Inter Ocean.
MONOTONY IS WHAT REPELS
DRESSING A WINDOW.
Impossible for All Women to Draw
Up Absolute Regulations as to
| Their Clothing Question.
There are a few women who are
strong-minded enough to remain true
to a certain kind of dressing in sum-
mer as in Winter; they have plenty
of duck and linen skirts made on the
same pattern, short, slim, fastened
down the front with large pearl but-
tons, extending above the waist line
and hung from an inside belt.
Their blouses are of the heavier
wash materials for the morning and
the sheer French mull type for the
afternoon. They wear collapsible
hats without trimming, either in black
or white, and. thereby save themselves
time, confusion and anxiety concern-
ing the various styles of clothes and
becoming color schemes.
But these women are in the minor-
ity; even if one envies them one does
not always copy them, for some rea-
son which it is hard to define. Pos-
sibly we get tired of the uniformity,
or it is not becoming to us, and we
are tempted by the many new ideas
In clothes and the various ways of
fixing up ourselves with the frills and
accessories that sweep the country
like a tidal wave.
Vogue of Pink.
Pink Is very much in fashton, and
a pink waistband on a black‘dress is
considered very chic. Black satin
frocks are piped with white, and the
long, tight sleeves fasten with white
buttons, /
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Vernor, J. E. The Lampasas Daily Leader. (Lampasas, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 3372, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 16, 1912, newspaper, October 16, 1912; Lampasas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth890141/m1/2/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Lampasas Public Library.