ROBBERY AT CARTERTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4728, 23 May 1894, Page 2

ROBBERY AT CARTERTON.

A Swagger at the Till, An Exciting Chase. Capture of the Thief, t (Prom Oui' Own Correspondent). jj Tuesday. * Last night a. hue and cry was raised at Olareville by the fact that r ft swagger was found at the till of the Tamtam Hotel, and tho report that the man had decamped with a con- 1 siderable quantity of money. Miss 11 Ray had gone out of the bar, but a on hearing footsteps in the bar and the sound of falling money, rushed in ( and found a man standing on a beer c barrel with' his aim stretched over ] the counter, transferring a handful t of silver and coppers to his shirt front. A box containing small silver 1 and coppers had just overturned on the floor. Directly he saw her, the fellow jumped down and vanished. 1 Mr Joe. Booth was just entering tho , hotel, followed by a couple of dogs; 1 when ho heard the outcry, and seeing tho fleeting figure of the sneak thief, he went iu full pursuit, at the same time shouting for help. ( Several men and boys in the neighbourhood were aroused,-and joined t in the chase, and with the aid of the ( dogs the swagger was traced to an f old unoccupied house on tho Clare- 1 ville road, a recognised sleepingplace ■ of the "commercial travellers," j Finding was bailed up, the j man broke cover with his pursuers hard upon him. Ho went across ! country to Mr Nicolson's residence, < and took refuge in an outhouse for a while, but the canines again smelt ' him out and he was off again. He wore a large white handker- . chief round his neck, aud as tho moon | was shining brightly he was easily kept in view. Evidently ho did not i know the run of the country, for he I ran round some of the paddocks sevoral times, and onoo or twice, in 1 his hurry, collided Heavily with the wire fences. Once or twice he hid : away in the scrub, but diplomatic j sorties forced his exit, and the exit- ! ing chase continued, At length, helpless through fatigue, he was ' bailed up, and submitted quietly to a 1 capture. Messrs T.Ray,Joe.Booth, ' and D. Boil contributing principally | to the " kill." The chase occupied , altogether about three-quarters of an hour. , j A few shillings wore found iu his i shirt at the belt, and a quantity of i silver which lie was noticed to throw ! 'away during the chase was subsequently recovered. He admitted tho ! theft, and pleaded for mercy, but was . straightway marched to the lock-up. | The man was aocompanied by a i woman whom he left, stating he was 1 going into tho hotel to get some bread 1 and cliecso, Tho pair had created a disturbance in a Featherston hotel and boarding house the night before. ! The woman was subsequently taken charge of by three other swag- ' gers who camped in the house where ! the light-fingered one first took refuge. The captured swagger, whose name is not known, is to be dealt with at the Police Court this afternoon. | : ; ' | 1 1 1 ' '