The herald. [microfilm reel], September 29, 1895, Page 14, Image 14

About The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900

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14
§p=§« BOSTON dry goods STOBR mm^t
23 goods at the low- methods and new
vjjl c i price merchandise from
| te„t w u hJ ZuJ Grand Opening on Tuesday, October Ist 7 nop o A andfrom
2 Silks and Colored r— , Ml I Trimmings Ar *
VAl\7Af C DreSS GOOdS _W_ 3H Dame fashion has decreed that the p.
proper garniture to put on waists for IvCpflrtnilCHt
Cheviotine Serge BT [^Enl^^^^F^^^"3^^r^^ JIJ - Jl ' , * L g fa|| js Jet p |;, stroriSi etc
_% We place On exhibition a line Of Silks Unusually soft finish, easily draped; ... J§. These are shown here In endless . .
. Having secured the services of Miss
Jflj thlt will Create a Sensation Never alread V pronounced a strong autun- i rJ2§§|*lr assortment, Jet points by the dozen
ured Taffetas, Persian Effects. Bro- On plain, soft finish grounds are . ' Latest Paris-Born announce to our patrons and the
-JL caded and Striped Gros Grains, =S Novelties are public that this department in our
*g| Fancy Armure Silks, Chameleon Taf- command special attention. ' ~k|J _ % * Herein new store will excel in beauty and
fetas, the newest and richest effects ; in this department wm be found the MI M Great completeness any art room on the
ate. Velvets in same profusion. 1 ;< J . Second Floor
ff-CC fl f\f\f \ d " a Only the choicest toilet requisites
M UrCbb U °° Ub I *e C SrJS!! «"<» a *~ * Ga- The pick and flower of all the world's
4§j Ne west Fall Novelties, New Crepons, h 'waS ToaTLd^p markets is here * Al,overs in Nets, '
the new Pierola cloth, the new Cur goods and; furs are dividing the hon- Wx HHB 18 iPl?fysij Soaps and Face Po« Qhiffons and other novelty materials
•b|| lene Cloth, Boucle effects, Serges, dudes all gradW and Is worthy of vtffi P mP'wP ■M' This department, although a new „ xi,. „j„ .11 „ ,
3 Jacquards, French, German and Eng- speda. inspection. HJ If £j Sggg I If H J -with us, is sure to he a lead- ° n th,S °' der WI " COnstltute a most
lish Novelties of all kinds; all wool second floor. V, j^^^^^^^HS B5 3 gjSS gaSS ing feature. important feature of the lace business
•«[ English Whipcords, Diagonal, Cheviot, no. 239 bDv^^pfci te"ctt^all _ for this season, and special attention
« Mohair, Brilliantine, French Serge, | J : | g . yen fa rf
«©§► Coating Serge. Full line Priestleys, # +\ e—> + _ , , , ,
.£§ and exclusive weaves of the best DraOeriCS aild ShadCS theSe We W '" Sh ° W ddicate
•S makes. This department is particu-, „, .. _ , ... , coloring in plain, spangled, beaded,
J£Z u-ur We d,rect attentlon to °ur facilities in this department for furnishing, making to order and hanging artistically Lace and _ c .
*t larly attractive. Heayy CurtajnSj and Draperies of £very des J ription> second Floor-Take Elevator Crepon and Satin Striped effects.
THESE BOLD
CRACKSMEN
Are Criminals cf the
Highest Order, it
Is Said
MANY ARE FINE MECHANICS
Bank Safe Robbing Has Become Too
Dangerous, and the Adepts Are
Now Enrolled in the
Pcstoffice Gang
The real finely educated criminal
when ho has proved himself proficient in
all branches ot ourglarv and lawlessness
from sneak-thieving to sale-robbing,grad
uates in to tbe postotlice class. A post
office robber ranks as much above the
cheap criminal as a statesman does above
tbe ward politician. The postofiflico
thief is the finest thing ot his Rind. He
is tbe equal of the expert bank safe
cracskman.
There are a large number of posotflice
robbers in the country, and those skilled
in the knowledge of criminals claim that
ther are ns ; thoroughly organized as a
tirst-class labor nnion. What is more,
mighty tew of tbem are caoght, which in
itself shows that they are an exceedingly
am art set of men. The secret seri fee de
parteinnt has detectives out every day
and night in the year hunting fur these
men. The drag-net is spread from tbe
Atlatnic to tho i'acilic and from Canada
to tba gulf. .Not often one is caught ia
its meshes. Tbis is the reason tbat such a
u»wi WM made by the Washington auth
orities when the three postotlice thieves
recently escaped from Ludlow street jail
in New York, through the stupidity of
tbe city's reform sheriff and his warden,
an ex-barber. It took the secret service
men years to make the oapturo, and it
may take them several more to get them
in jail again.
Those familiar with tbe workings of
the postotlice thieves say that this escape
wae probably participated in as assist
ants by at least a dozen members of the
oragnization. Kooins were probably
hired weeks in advance in some of the
big tenements in the neighborhood, where
an indiivdnal could lose himself as com
pletely as in the sands of tho Sahara.
The postotlice department has a fine
list of expert cracksmen and a rogues'
gallery which compares favorably witb
the famous one collected by ex-Chieff
Bjrnes of Mulberry street. The men in
this list are constantly being looked for,
but it is a di.ficiilt mutter to .race tbem,
because tne robberies are usually com
mitted in small towns wbero the local
police force amounts to nothing, or next
to it, and in consequence is of little use.
All the buiglaries within 800 miles of
New York ara done, it is believed, by
gangs making the metropolis their home.
They do not follow their calling in this
city, and thus escape acquaintance wicb
the police. Besides, New York offers a
hetter mantet for the sale of stamps,
which form the principal item of tbeir
plun jer.
*The chief of the New York branch of
the secret service says tbat nearly all the
expert safo breaker , who used to devote,
their attention to the robbing of banks,
are enrolled among the postotlice thieves.
While it has been proved time after
time that an adept cracksman can break
into tbe finest bank safe that was ever
made, the new ararngemems have made
the task a long nnd dangerous one. The
chances of capture are very great, and
although a successful burglary means a
rich harvest, the man who works regu
larly at the trade of postotlice rohmng
secures heavy plunder during the year
witb comparatively little risk.
Not long ago a branch gang was un
earthed in New York, and through a wo
man, tbe wife of one of the thieves, the
secret service men learned something of
tbeir methods. This woman had married
tbe tnau on the supposition that he waa
LOS ANGELES HERALD: SFXDAT MOKNTN"Gt, SEPTEMBER 29, 1895.
honest. He told her lie was a commer
cial traveler, and as be made frequent
trips out of tbe city and seemed to be in
receipt of a regular salary, she did not
learn the truth until a short time before
the arrests were made.
There were six men in the gang and
they worked in pairs. When their rooms
were searched excellent maps of the
states within easy reach of New York
were found, also lists of the postoilices
I throughout the country. Shippers'
guides were also found. These gave de
tailed information about tbe postoifices.
When a certain section was decided on
for operations, two ot the men left the
city, walking the tirst day several miles
into the country. They went dressed as
tramps and never rode in regular passen
ger trains. They beat tbeir wav Ilka the
grand army of tramps on freight ears.
In tbis way conductors, ticket agents and
the like never came in contact with
them, and, of courso. in the police in
vestigation subsequsnt to the robbery,
could give no information of a correct
character.
No tools were carried hy the men ex
cept a few drills ol assorted sizes and a
package of dynamite. Tnese were easily
carried in the pocket. They relied upon
some shop in the neighborhood of the
postotlice for the brace, hammer, files
and any other little tool they might need.
The average small town shop or pojt
office is about as easy for a skilled bur
glar to enter as it 1% fur tho ordinary man
to unlock bis door. It takes but a 'en
moments to burglarize carpenter's shop
and a few more to get into the postotlice.
Before they begin the job they know if
there are any electric alarms connected
witb the safe, doors or windows. These
are suon disposed of. The lirst look ut
tbe safe tells the men if they are going to
have an easy tune of it or not.
The average postoffice safe makes as
much trouble as the breaking of a pea
nut shell. The quickest method is to
drill a Couple ot boles, iill them with
dynamite and then touch them off. All
of the skillful men are adepts in the
handling of explosives, ami fjthey know
to a grain how much will lie needed to
shatter a safe, and jmt how loud the ex
plosion will be. Whon a job is contem
plated, where tbe life will require a big
charge of dynamite, the men tramp
around tho surrounding country some
times for weeks at a time, waiting ior a
stormy night. Tnen if there is any
thundering the job is an easy one. To
the man who has just been aroused from
a deep sleep with the crash of thunder
and a loud explosion sound much alike.
Very few of the postotlice robberies re
sult in more than a couple of hundred
dollars' worth of plunder in stamps anil
money to the thieves, although some
times as much as $2000 bave been taken,
lint the men work quickly whan they are
out on a trip. Knch pair usually visit
three or four different counties before
returning to New York. They skip from
one county to one some distance away,
abd then appear in another close to the
lirst one, and then again in a new
A WELL-KNOWN O/ROl'P
region. By this time secret service men
are on the scone, all the postmasters are
on the alert, ami as things are netting
hot gonerally tho men beat their way
back to the city, where they all keep
quiet until the excessive vigilance be je
laxeil.
The banner year for these men vros in
lX'i.'i. According to the records of the se
cret service men in New York these
places were robbed. The dates show how
the gang skipped about from county to
county in New York state: Jnnuary 3d,
West Cambridge. Washington county;
January 14th, Irvington; January 25th,
Silver Creek, Chautauqua county; Janu
ary vflth, Cedarhurst, Queens "county;
January 20th, Elnora, Saratoga -county;
February 6th, Central Park, (Jueens
county; February oth, Castletoti, Uonsse
lenr county; February 7th, Amityville,
Suffolk county; February 9tb, Aurora,
Cayuga county; February loth. Tucka
hoe. Westohester county February lllth,
Lodi, Seneca county; February 23d, Al
den Centre, Erie county; February 3d.
Bath Beacb, Kings county; February
; 27th, Friendship, Allegheny county;
MaYch sth, I'ierpont, Rockland county;
March tlth, Trumanshurg, Tompkin
county; March Xth, Larchmont; March
10th, Mount Kisco, Westchester county.
All the time that these wore going on
there were robberies in the neaiby Con
necticut, New Jersey and I'ennsylvania
towns. In New Jersey about this time
the gang mado one of its best nauls at
Lakewood, where the season was at its
heght. l'ostage stamps worth $2000 and
SlUilO in cash were secured.
Some of these men are mechanics who
I could command big salaries at an honest
caiiing. To keep themselves well up In
all improvements in safes tbey some
times give up robbery for the time and
get employment in Ihe largo safe manu
factories. The knoweldge .bus gained is
of great use to them. It has been claimed
tbat some of these men havo such a del
icate sense of bearing and touch tbat by
slowly turning the combination knob on
a safe dooi they can work out the com
bination by the soft click made when a
correct number is reached.
Safe makers deny this, and the fact
that all burglarized safes are invariably
found in a shattered condition goes to
show that explosives are iho agents em
ployed even by the must expert thieves.
PROFESSIONAL
FROG CATCHERS HAVE METHODS
ALL THEIR OWN
Last week a professional frog catcher
for the New York mantel was down at
Mattituck creek, and the way he raked in
the frogs was a caution. He was a
Frenchman, owned nis own little bateau,
cat-rigged, and spent most of his time
clamming, making, he said, about $20 a
week, winter and summer, until the
weather was too hard. Noiv. for a month
or so, he was after frogs. His apparatus
was practicaly a cross-bow of the type
used Before the introduction of gunpow
der. Tbe stock part was about seven feet
long, but instead of shooting a bolt of
iron, 1 it had n spear or arrow about ten
feet long, very light and very strong, so
arranged that it shot forward only its
own length from the stock. Thus the
act of pulling the trigger con»erted the
cros3bow Into a spear about sixteen or sev
enteen feet long. He bad a basket
strapped on his back, with an opening
jyADEAU 311-313 S. Main st. NADEA|J
Furniture and Hall PfSrP
Household Goods II £111 I I ivy
Up to Date and Out of Date
Suited to every taste and every purse. In quantity, quality, variety and
price nobody can compete with
Nadeau WLM s - 5i nadeaU
at me top lik* nn «aI pot, so that what
was in could not get out, and »m, tbi.
be waded into the water,soneaking around
the banks and clumps of jtrass and sedge
until be saw a frog. Then, getting with
in range, he took aim as with a gun, and
pulled the trigger and out shot the arrow,
piercing tho frog with tho point. Tho
crossbow was then raisad. when tho
weight brought the spear bade to posi
tion, and the frog was taken off and
dropped into the basket. There was no
noise, no smoke, no cost, and not a frog
escaped. He told tbe Sun reportor that
in Gascony, France, frog hunting in this
fashion was sport of the well-to-do, like
golf or tennis here, and that some of tbe
arquebuses, as he cal led nis crosslnw,
wer of inlaid fancy woods and frequently
jeweled until tney were worth 18000.
Flnough to keep a poor man for life!'' he
added. "The prodigality of these aristo
crats !"
Another good old-fashioned way of
catching frogi; is with the grains, or light
iive-tined spear. Each tine is made of a
10.0 tishhook heated roil hot and then
straightened out and set in a piece of
hard wood; the handle is three jointed
and about twenty feet long. One end of
the spear can be used to polo the boat.
This is the best fun for any one going
alone.
A soft, warm day is the beat for frog
hunting, and whether for fun or Tcash
there is lots of fun in it. The hunter's
way of cooking frogs is to build a good
tire and let it burn to ashes and then just
let the legs brown hy holding them over
the glow spitted on a twig. To a hunery
man tney are most appetizing. If a fry
ing pan is available, try out a piece of
bacon dust the legs after they
have been well skinned and fry very
lightly.
The great frog depot "in New York is
Gansevoort market. C. H. Dawson has
often advocated the most extensive cul
ture of domestic frogs in the east to com
pete with the imported Canadian prod
not, wbich now practically supplies tho
market. New Jersey and New York
state have an;' number of frog farms iln
the rough, which only want a little care
to develop them. The Canucks have
mm arise ponds at St. Catherines, and
pay great attention to tbe culture,so that
the frogs are large, well fed and without
any marshy taste. A few years ago a
Frenchman from St. Catherines started
a frog farm in Forest county, Pennsylva
nia with some Imported stock from St.
Catherines. The very first season the
arouth dried up a great portion of his
swamp, he was unable to feed his young
ones, and what was worse still, the na
tivea came down every night when it waa
d.rir ,»„„„., 1 !.„» i,;,, f ro j» 3 In pails,
so his industry went to pieces. He did
not go oaok to Canada, however, hut is
just now at an uptown restaurant which
makes a specialty of snails and frogs' legs
whon in season, ana his frogs' legs are a
dream. Ho is saving money and will have
that irog farm yet. He says 311,000 legs are
received every week in the season at
Buffalo, from Canada, frozen, anil dis
tributer! all over the country. Tho hrst
legs from Maryland sell nt from 50 to 75
cents a pound early in tbe season: then,
lato in June, the Canadian saddles coma
in at 45 cents, and when in July the im
ported have to compete with native frogs
they sell at 25 cents. It is estimated
tbat the city of New York alone usos a
ton of frogs' saddles a day, more than
the quantity stated officially to bo con
sumed by the whole of France, the home
Ol frog eating. Tbat American frogs aro
much belter than tho French is shown
by the largo exports from the United
States and Canada to France, where tliey
are at last trying to propagate the large
and luscious American variety.
The voice of a frog in good health can
be heard for two miles, says a French
scientist, who adds that their unearthly
''swamp music, 1 ' as lie calls it, is simply
a long distance conversation carried on
between acquaintances. Ho gives their
articulation as "Brekeke-hre-kekc. Kretel
Krate, too-000-o. Brekete! Brekete 1
Brekete. kwarr, brekete, too-oo !" This
is similar to the fanlou'S-tp>iege cry,
wbich tho Frenchman probably never
beard, and which was taken from the
frog chorus of Aristophanes.—New York
Sun.
Subject to Attacks of Cholera rinrbus
While staying in the Delta, Mississippi
Bottoms) last summer, F. T. Moss,repre
senting Ludlow-S&ylor Wire Co., of St
Louis, suffered from malaria and becamt
subject to attacks of cholera morbus. In
every instance when attacked he was re
lieved as if by magic, by using Chamber
lain's Colic, Cholera nnd Diarrhoea Rant*
edy. He says: "I regard it as the no
plus ultra oi medicines." For sale by
Off it Vaughn, corner Spring and Fourth
C. V, Hcinzeman, 222 North Main street.
Catalina Island
power yacht La Paionia, (22 tons),
leaves San I'etlro 10:20 a.m. daily exo?pt
Sunday. Good accommodations on the
island. Enquire W. T.Co., 222 S. Spring
street.
Kregelo it Bresoe, funeral diieotora
Broadway and Sixtli Btreet. Tel. 243.