The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1878-07-25
Story OF a Female Thief

Story Of Female Thief
Minnie Watson, with dozen aliases,
was visited by a New York newspaper
reporter in the Tombs. She is a spare
faced woman of about thirty years.
GLOW long have you been following
such lifeS" asked the reporter.
almost ever since / came to this
country" she said, "and that was over
nine years ago. | went to board with
a woman named Sophie Myers, who
kept house in Henry street, and she
got me into it. She was bad one
She is on Blackwell's Island now for
robbing lot of working girls. She
talked to me until she persuaded me to
90 into it, and she picked out house
for Inc to go to. 1t was on Madison
street, near Rutgers, right opposite to
the church there. went there to
board, and after | had stayed there a
while left with lot of clothing"
"Were you not arrested for that?"
/ oohSh N'lS Dol
"Yes, and | was tried ard convicted,
and sentenced to four years in the State
prison. 1t was only an ordinary affair
| that ] was arrested for. | only took a
few clothes, but Judge Hackett told me
that my sentence vas more for the
company / kept than for what had
done. was with this Sophie Myers,
you see, and the people at her house."
"Did you serve out your term"
eyes, ! was three years and six
months at Sing Sing, and then got my
discharge. But | was ten times as bad
woman when l came out as ] was
when l went there"
"Why sc?"
"Because / was with all the old
thieves and criminals of every kind
there, and | learned things from them
that knew nothing about before"
"Then did you go right on stealing
when you came out?"
eyes. was married in June-a few
months after | came Gut?"
"Did your husband know what you
were ?''
"No. But when he found out what
l was he was contented to live off me.
supported him, and he never did any
thing toward supporting me. He was
mechanic, but he didn't work any
after he found out about me-"
"Where is he now?" asked the re-
porter.
Gle is serving time in Illinois for
committing a robbery in the Palmer
House, Chicago"
"Was he professional thief?"
"No; he let me do the stealing" she
replied, bitterly.
"Have you any children?"
eyes, two. One is two years old,
and the other nearly four"
"Where are they?"
"They are in Washington. left
them with some people there when l
went there last summer for pleasure.
Yes, | suppose they will take care of
them, but they will expect me to pay
! for it,"
And she hastily wiped away two big
tears that came in her eyes as she spoke
of the little ones.
"Did you never have any narrow
escapes from detection by the people
in the different houses from which you
took things?"
"NO, | always waited until was cer-
tain of what | was doing"
"What did you take, clothing or jew
elry, as a rule?"
"Always jewelry when l could, or
money"
"Do you know how much you have
stolen 20
"NO, never kept any account; but
the money that got went as fast as it
came always, and never did me any
good"
"Suppose you should get clear of
this?"
" | would lead very different kind
of life," she interrupted, 81 would
take my children and go back to the
Old Country. My father and mother
and sisters are living in England, and l
would work at my trade. l have a
good trade, dressmaking, but | never
worked at it after came to America, or
only little"