The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1867-01-05
PASSING STRANGE. y
Story Of u COnvict-Iiis Body Literally n
Needle Cushion-Needles Driven into
Him by Thieves and C0untcrfeiters.

y story or u COnvlct-Hts Body Literally
Needle Cushion-Needles Driven int
{ Him by Thieves and Countcrfeiters.
+ The Warren, o., Chronicle, of Dec
10Th has the following strange story
Ed. Day, colorcd, convicted Of bur
glary at the last term of the Court, wa
taken last week to the %pcnitentiary
making his third term at the institution
, He seems to be an incorrigible fellow
/ but claims to have been more sinnc(
against than SHINING. He claims to b'
: the victim Of a merciless set Of persc
cutors--an organized band Of thieves
and countcrfeiters. Our readers viii
/, remember that we lately published two
instances in which surgeons EXTRACTED
t, needles from Days neck and breast,
while in Jail awaiting his trial, Foul
large button needles were cut out OF
his person, and the surgeon says he
has a great many morc--pcrhaps fifty
in different parts of his body. But as
the needles do not seriously effect him,
except when they work to some cspeci
ally sensitive part, he does not like to
have the surgeons operate on him.
W. were present OF one occasion
when he was being examined by Il sur
geon, and it was easy to observe the
locality of needles in his face and neck.
When first asked how they came to be
in him, he o~bstinatcly refused to tell ;
but taking sick, and thinking, perhaps,
he had not long to live, he yielded to
frequent pcrsnasions to divulge his
secret, under condition that it should
not be made public until he was out of
the way of his prosecutors. He claims
that his principal business has been to
discover the schemes and rascalities OF
certain parties, and then to black mail
them to keep him from divulging.
Some eight or ten years since the
Trcasurcr's office is Ashtabula county
was robbed. Day claims he was made
cognizant of the robbery, and employed
ITO carry several thousand dollars to q
certain party, but instead of doing so
he appropriated the money to his own
use. This SO incensed his conrelerates
that they determined to punish him.
He WAS taken and bound, and while in
this helpless condition hotneedles were
forced into his flesh, and he was forced
to swear eternal secresy, under penalty
of suffering a like punishment if he
did not keep his promise.
Two years ago last Summer a party
counterfeitcrs in this place enleavored
to engage him to do some work for
them. Day is a tolcrable cngraver.
After finding out their plans he refused
to do the work, but told them he wan
ted several hundred dollars hush mon
c,y. One night he was dccoyed into a
place on Main street, knocked down,
manaclcd and carried to a certain point
on q back street, and put to torture
that would shame the cruelties of the
Spanish lnquisition. One plan was to
tickle the soles of his feet until he
would faint under the eXcruciating
agony. After somewhat r~cviving, red
hot needles were driven into his body,
legs, arms and cheeks. lie says he
knows the parties, but is afraid to make
their names public. How much truth
there may be in his story, VIZ will not
pretend to say. The fact that his body
is literally q needle cushion, leads to
the inference that some forciblc means
we're probably used to place them there.
This strange story of cruelty and
wickcdness is hard to believe as having
occurred in these days; yet there are
certain circumstances that in some
degree corroborate his statements.
Had Il sharp, discreet detective obtained
the confidence CT Day, he might have
learned much that would have aided in
unearthing gangs Of thieves and their
nclarious schemes. We have no doubt
there are many men at large who are
quite rs deserving, to say the least, Of
Days fate, as himself. Although he is
probably q thief himself, he is a sort of
lshmaelitc among them, because Of his
black mail leyies upon them. He says
he met several members of the gang in
the pcnitcntiary, and that he was not
free from their hate and prosecutions
w there, and that the prison keepers
were at a loss to know why he was con-
cerned in 50 many quarrcls with the
prisoners. He did not dare tell tielh.
Because he did not suppose h. would
be believed. He is more than ordin-
arily sharp; has a good common edu-
cation, and read law for Il while with
John NJ. Langston, Of Oberlin. He is
a good peninan. and says countcrtoiters
used him to initiate signatures to their
bills. He learned the art Of engraving:
doubt, to make his services more
valuable in the countcrfeiting business.
When a,raigned before the bar for his
late sentence, he made u short speech
in his defense, in which some points
were made with considerable ability.
His attorney, however, did not consider
his case defendable, the proof Of his
committed burglary being too
positive to be cvadcd. He goes to the
Penitehtiary for three years, but he
told the jaiIor before he left here, that
he did not expect to live through the
1t is hard to realize what there
in life to render it desirable to him.
ABSTINENCE OF ROMAN WOMEN.-The
lncient Romans, in some respects, were
il advance Of the present are i'm their .