A Rascality Rampant-Chloroformed and Plundered 1869

HUNE, CLANCY, GOEBEL, FLICK

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 3/1/2016 at 18:57:33

DUBUQUE DAILY-TIMES JOURNAL, June 22, 1869

A Rascality Rampant
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Henry Hune Chloroformed and
Plundered
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A Multitude of Minor
Outrages
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Saturday night was such a rainy day that the circus couldn’t show, but that didn’t prevent the burglars from being out in full force-either a number of them, or one of them in several places.

The heaviest robbery was perpetrates on Mr. Henry Hune, formerly keeping a tobacco store on Main Street, where he was burnt out, with a loss of about $5,000; what of his stock of goods still remains he removed to the corner of 11th and Clay Streets, where he has since been holding forth. Sunday morning Mr. Hune was awakened by his wife inquiring of one of the three children, asking why the door had been left open during the night, or how it could be open? The children knew nothing about it. Mr. H. thought, since he was awake, he would get up; but a preventing providence appeared in the fact that he could not find his trousers; so he sat on the side of the bed in his nocturnal wardrobe, and philosophized on the mystery. He by and by dressed in another pair of unmentionables when one of his children found his former pants out in the yard. On examining them, a couple of knives, a key, a pocket book, and some other things were found, but the money that had been in the pockets book was missing - $115, and a few cents.

On examining, it was discovered that the key with which the door was locked, and which was left in the lock on the inside, had been taken hold of by a pair of small nippers, inserted in the keyhole from the outside, and the door thus opened by the key that belonged to it. The other key, the one left in the pants pocket, belonged to the store, but it could not be discovered that any attempt to open the store had been made.

Mr. Hune felt very dull on waking, until stirring into activity by the thought of his lost cash; and Mrs. H., who awakened before him, avers that when she awoke there was a strong, stifling and oppressive smell of something in the room, which she believes to have been chloroform.

The same night the boarding house of Mrs. Clancy, on Main Street, between 1st and 2d, was entered, thro’ a door left open for the accommodation of boarders, and stole some clothing belonging to various parties, and five dollars in money. The same night, Mr. Goebel’s saloon, near Rouse & Dean’s Foundry, was entered, and ten or fifteen dollars taken.

The same night, early next morning, about three o’clock, Mr. Flick, the carpenter, getting up very early to take his horse and start out on the prairie for a missing cow, found a man just entering the stable. He said he was going to sleep there all night; but as it was rather late to sleep there all night, and the man didn’t look a bit sleepy, Mr. Flick concluded the man was perpetrating a practical joke by trying to steal his horse; so he had him arrested, and he was ordered to seek the shores of Wisconsin.

Traces of burglars were heard of otherwheres; and our citizens would all do well to look out for the nocturnal gentry.