Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-12-21
MULTIPLICATION IN THEFT.
A Hopeful COlOrea Pursues the Proges-
sion Of Thievsng for Fun-His
Successful Opersti0ns on
the Drawer of Cap.
tain Mafhes.

Eugene Mynatt is colOred sprout of
fourteen years, quite smart, and full of
that sublime darky assurance which has
been instilled into the nations wards
/ during the last seven years. His father
is janitor at the County Court Building,
and very quiet, inOtfensive and oblig-
ing old fellow he is; but Eugene has a
soul above the petty things of life. He
Is young person of promise. The great
| popularity of his intellectual develop
ment is penetration. He goes to ''skuleu
once in while for the purpose of keep
/ ing posted as to the progress of the
intellectual world, and also to pull the
wool over the eyes of less favored Alum
nj in the way of "gifts and grace"
The brilliancy of Eugene's brains being
such that he saw into the beauties of
nice "clos" and gambling, at the early
age of fourteen he had stepped far
beyond the sphere of molasses and su-
! gaT-hogsheads, and affected cigars and
church singing. He was piOus and ex-
emplary, and gave promise of blossom
ing into a vigorous and effective ex-
FOUNDER at an early day. His fond and
fiattered parent was revolving propo-
sitlon to send Eugene to Fisk Uni
/ verslty to finish his instruction. These
few biographical remarks will be found
enlightening while perusing the follow
| ing simple and short narrative of facts:
Fully one month ago Mr.. Harris, who
attends to taX-collecting in the Office of
Captain J. Harvey Mathes, missed
| some money out of his drawer. He did
not know what to think of it, and could
say nothing. Still later he missed mon
ey again, and was equally at loss how
to account for the mysterious disappear
ance of the funds. One week ago the
drawer was again emptied of its con-
tents. CONSERVATION took the place of
speculation in the minds of Mr.. Harris
and Mr.. DOwnes. They were dumb
founded. They could not think how the
money was taken in daylight; for, be it
remembered that the money was al
ways transferred from the drawer to the
safe IN the evening before the clerks left
the office to go home. Thursday even
ing last the drawer was again raked out.
When the clerks returned after dinner,
their back hair became disarranged
in horror when they beheld the
Quilted drawer, nary a cent was left.
Both young men had diligently perused
all that had been written about spirit
ualism, and were much absorbed in the
Neutrality-suspicious.
Of that speculative science. This last
plumber of their drawer convinced them
that some thievish "Jimmyu had made
his way in through the keyhole and alb
stracted the funds. Captain Mathes
and his two deputies held long con-
sultatiOn, during which it was suggest
ed TO call in the local of the APPEAL.
as being an expert in the spiritist sci
ence, but this was overruled and bet
ter plan was adopted by Mr.. Harris.
He marked a lot of greenbacks, took
their numbers and nature of issue care
fully down on slip of paper, and then
left the cash in the usual drawer in the
desk, locking the same. When he went
to dinner yesterday, Mr.. Downes pre-
tended to go to dinner also, and the office
was left empty, though locked. In
few minutes Mr.. Downs took a sly
peep around the corner and saw the
hopeful colOred going up the second
flight of stairs to the floor above, at the
rate of five steps at bound. Downs at
once conceived an idea. He ran to the
Office, opened it; went to the drawer,
opened that! The money was gone. In
three seconds and half exactly he had
Eugene collared in one of the jury rooms
up stairs, where he was slowing away
the money in his breeches pockets. En-
gene was arrested. The money was
identified as the same put in the drawer
by Mr.. Harris, besides some of the
money lost on the previous day, which
was also recovered. Eugene was lodged
in the stationhouse, and it is to be
hoped he will get that sort of punish
ment which his crime deserves. The
two clerks had paid out of their own
pockets to Captain Mathes the money
that had previously been lost; but they
do not care so much for this as to have
the matter ferreted out.
The faith of these gentlemen in spirit |
ism is entirely destroyed by this prosaic
discovery, and the contemplated future !
of the hopeful Eugene is
gone into smoke.
The Criminal Court is in the habit of
melting out prompt punishment to |
thieves, Eugene will not be an excep-
ton. Vanucio got three years very |
promptly after going into the safe of
CASTOR; here is a chap who has gone
into Captain Mathes' drawer four times. |
J. ct him graduate in a quarry at Nash
vile.