STRANGE ADVENTURE OF A SOLDIER.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 56, 27 January 1868, Page 21

STRANGE ADVENTURE OF A SOLDIER.

(From the Grantham Journal.) In the early part of last month, a soldier, named Jonathan Howard, belonging to'the Military Train, stationed at Woolwich; conceived the extraordinary idea of starting for a run on the road, Ala Dick Turpin, and, as will seen, he carried out his well-! conditioned plans with wonderful cleverness for a month. Being a servant of Lieutenant Crawford, of the Military: Train, his peculiar duty was to lqpk after his master*s horse and accoutrements, and this, no doubt, offered him extraordinary facilities for obtaining a good horse and other requisites. It seems he first of all presented himself at the military, stables, and asked for his master’s horse. As he had a few papers in one hand, and his master’s sword in the other, it was thought he was duly authorised, bo the animal, properly saddled and bridled, was handed over to him without question. The animal was a bay, seven years old, and worth about 50 guineas, being well made and in good condition for such a Quixotic adventure. After mounting, this hero "of a month took his way over Shooters’-hill before the trick had been .discovered, and ere Police-constable Saunders of the R Woolwich division, had started in'pursuit, the fugitive had made considerable way, and had time to have a glass of ale at the Elephant and Castle public house, Old-Kent-road. In a short time, however, Saunders, who had the disadvantage of being on foot with little money'in his pocket, as he had followed up the chase on firsts hearing of the; affair, "came-on his track and got scent; hut so had the runaway, and to get out of the way of his pursuers he made off at once in the direction of Barnet fair, which was held at the time,arriving therein the middle of the day when all the fun and festivity was ait its height. Here, however, he, found it almost too hot, for him: intelligence, having been sent on ahead that he might be expected there. Several were on the lookfor him"; still, it it is said, he eluded their vigilance by riding coolly through the crowd with his drawn sword over his ‘shoulder as if bn duty; and the police on the look-out for him, not expecting to see their man in that fashion let him pass, thinking he was an orderly or perhaps/also on the chase. As/soon as; possible, howr ever, the fugitive, clapped: spurs to his horse, and in a short time a good many miles ‘ parted him and his -pursuers, nor did he rein in till over forty miles had been run over.. Constable Saunders arrived at . Barnet fair, the night of the. day. his fox had got away; but, nothing daunted, off he 'started, again,' thinking that by travelling all night he might ‘steal a march on the soldier, who. would possibly put up somewhere, and .so enable him to fall upon him, safely earthed in the morn* ing. / Reynard was, however, too well up in his business to' be' caught happing in that way; and. for three days and nights Saunders kept on, foot-sore and wearied, upon the track—through towns and villages where .a shor/t /time before ,it appeared Howard had ridden, not many hours in advance, in a very stately manner, with his drawn' sword over his shoulder. As he had no money, it was for some time a puzzle to Saunders how Howard managed, but he found at one place that be bad the ready wit to get all that he wanted for himself and his horse', by representing himself to be the avant cottrier of a. detachment of the Military'Train,' who -would shortly pass through the place,'and after, ordering billets for the supposed ( detachment, he. took care to get what he and his horse required, telling the landlord to charge it all to the general: account,'-which; the r - quarter-master would, pay,.while, .in several instances he departed with an additional fee for the orders he left on behalf of the said to-be with the detachment’ following. In this way. Howard., managed .to^,prevail up ok the landlordrof the Roebuck. Inn, .neari Stevenage, to -allow him. to, run/ up. a score! bf 3s for his supper,* bed, and breakfast,! which he very, kindly left for the “ officer of the detachment to pay with, the rest.” ; another' ;time -when his horse: had best a’ shqe, ; Howard • seems to have 1 gone to/ai ‘blacksmith arid ? ordered a quahtity of shoesffor the’-horses of ' the imaginary detbohme]qt,;nofc forgetting to/havei .hisrown hprse sTipphed with , a shoe. toq, „hesides acceptmg;/Ktl'flus way Howard,/ although . quite- without /'money; mianaged to escape the ;rigilahce Y of ./the PPJibe, ; aud the, ; .a)ijbhori,tiejs -'.hillfh.e j ot, the;.:nqrth, his] destination/ heing is./',-?;'. ■■ '-1 •':'-/ jS-y

supppsedTto he Yorkshire;: his native place. Generally,, to; throw his pursuers off ! the scent; he. made it a point to inform everyone he spoketothatheintended.togotosqme place directly/opposite to where he really was bound for; and by this way the police for a long time were .nowhere ; though ho was I noticed../j?asßing. through Grantham and'Beems.tb have kept .pretty close to the and' villages abutting on the Great Northern-road: Ultimately the constable’s strength and.means became exhausted/and he; was obliged>to give the . chase., up. leav: ing, the taqk of finishing the work to Inspector Hawkes, of the Huntingdon constabulary. Fortunately each police constable in this county has a horse and cart allowed him, for the extensive districts, require them. Mr; Hawkes was therefore in a much better position to keep up the chase than Saunders was, so’ he 'appears to have trodden pretty close upon the fugitive’s heels by means of -.well planted relays of fresh horses, and it was. .expected that Howard would have been run, down before Saunders reached Woolwich, which he did after being absent a week,' cpmpletely ill and knocked up, to the surprise of his superiors, who wondered what had become of him, never dreaming he would keep up the chase so far. However, in spite, of all the relays and telegrams, and detectives. Howard managed to keep out of sight till Saturday night last, after having been “on the road ’,’ nearly a month, when Inspector Hawkes happened to catch sight of the delinquent, just as he ,was entering, a village on the skirts of Wakefield, and had succeeded in apprehending him before he was prepared -to -,offer th&t resistance which he certainly had ; the'power to ‘ do. It appears that Howard is a native of Wakefield, and was making for home. He had absconded once before, and was found-'“at-home ;” but thfe time was disappointed when within hailing distance of it, and now he awaits court martial at Aldershot. Both horse and man were in pretty good ' condition considering the journey they had had, and the affair caused no little amusement in military circles, in some of whioh the denouement may not yet he known.