The Horse, the Furniture, and the Sumner Theft
An abandoned horse and a cache of furniture tie a Sumner arrest to a grand-larceny investigation.
Van de Vanter has been probing the mystery surrounding Mrs. Ziegland's hiring of a horse from M. M. Teater and then leaving it at a fence near Sumner. It will be remembered that Charles W. Wellington was arrested at Sumner in connection with the woman, but he denied knowledge of the affair. It now turns out that Wellington recently left a valuable lot of furniture at the King County home of a Mr. Ruther, and a part of the goods supposed to have been sent to Sumner by train by Wellington and the woman—while they went in a team—have been identified as belonging to Mr. Ruther. The matter will be thoroughly investigated later. It is very likely that Wellington will be prosecuted for grand larceny.
“It is very likely that Wellington will be prosecuted for grand larceny.”
A stolen-horse-and-furniture case from Sumner reads like a small-town crime blotter, but it captures how early Puget Sound communities were linked by rail, teams, and shared law enforcement. The mystery remains unresolved in this account, with Wellington facing grand larceny and the woman's role still unclear.
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