The Tinsmith Who Dug His Way Into a Dry-Goods Store
A Spokane tinsmith allegedly tunneled under a neighboring store to steal merchandise, in a caper that rivaled the era's famous bank robberies.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
SPOKANE, Aug. 31. — [Special.] — The police have arrested James Quillier for a crime that rivals in its originality the famous New York bank robbers. For some time past Quillier has been running a tin shop next door to the dry goods store of W. J. Dustan. Several days ago two men at a hotel at Spangle were heard conversing about a friend they had at Spokane, who had an extraordinary method of procuring dry goods to sell to the trade at prices less than the East.
The chief of police here was notified by a man who had heard the conversation, and he immediately searched the tin shop. A great quantity of dry goods was found, and further search disclosed a hole in the floor and a subterranean passage connected with Dustan's storage cellar. Quillier has been in the shop several weeks and during that time has disposed of a large amount of merchandise. The goods that were found in his shop were identified by the owners, and it is supposed that he has made away with several hundred dollars' worth since he began operations.
“A great quantity of dry goods was found, and further search disclosed a hole in the floor and a subterranean passage connected with Dustan's storage cellar.”
The tunnel heist feels like an old-west caper, but it is also a reminder that retail theft and clever supply-chain schemes are nothing new. The tinshop and dry-goods store are gone, yet Spokane's downtown still wrestles with property crime and small-business security.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.