The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-11-16
4 Burglar Who Carries His Tools In
q Wooden Leg.

lt7 % - 3lIffI S
An episode that was quite amusing to
q small circle of spectators, and at the
same time Illustrated the keen ingenu-
ity of the burglar in keeping dark ev-
erything that would tend to convict him,
occurred at the county jail few days
ago, when one of the ts cross roaders'
was brought in for board. The charac-
ter that furnished the amusement was
q well-known crook by the name of
Mike Govern, and to whom has been
given the sobriquet of 20 Limp Leg"
He acquired this title from the fact that
when at one time he was engaged in a
legitimate occupation he was victim
In q railway accident, and his injuries
necessitated amputation at the knee.
Mechanism furnished substitute for a
foot and calf, and he started out to be a
gambler. The indemnity that he OBJ
tanned from the railroad company was
deposited in the treasury of Dame
/" Chance" and he was compelled 70 do
something for living. His crippled
limb hindered him seriously, and as for
doing hard work or getting down to the
honest and honorable occupation of a
laborer, he had no thought of such
thing. 1t was easier to steal than to Ia
Dor, and his " game" limb was a fort
and bulwork against the yag. law. Con-
sequently he had every natural advan-
tage for shining light as loafer, and
he stood on the street corners unmolest-
ed. His associates were of a bad char
acter, and finally /" Limp Leg was ar
rested for completely in a burglary.
This was in Chicago; he was confined in
jail, and upon conviction. was sent to
the penitentiary, where he served
1 eh Houipnr carva1 hio far,,, ho
again 80 Joined the gang and but for
| the fact that he had a wooden limb he
would have been expelled from the city
or compelled to sit and pound mac
adam" continually. He naturally drift
ed to the West after he had established
his identity as a burglar, having been re-
peatedly arrested upon suspicion, and
q few weeks ago, when the burglars
were doing such extensive work here,
he was again taken in. Limp Legs"
familiarity with the business, and his
knowledge of how to slip through the
wheels of justice with scratch, made
him naturally defiant, and when Cap
tain Flood led him before the court for
examination he laughed and scoffed at
the proceedings. Nevertheless he was
bound over to await the action of the
Grand Jury, and, being unable to fur
nish bond, he, was placed in the county
! Jail. 1t isn't often that the prisoners
squeal on one of their kind, but the joke
on this occasion was so extremely funny
that they gave it away after their fellow
prisoner had been discharged. There
was little. evidence before the Grand
Jury, and upon the warrant was
marked "not true bill" The doors
were opened to " Limp Leg" and the
4 f1,oT L
might go. At this juncture Sam Tate
| whispered somethin into the ear of Jail
| er Tucker. The taller indulged in a
bland smile, and turning to the fellow,
who had fingered for moment, said:
"'Limpy,' let's see your tool-chest
before you go, will youP'' I-f,g,t
"What do you meanP'' replied
sLimp Leg" feigning the most pro-
found ignorance of what the jailer re-
ferred to.
40 you needn't be afraid, the Grand
Jury has said that you could go, and we
! want to see where you carry your bur
| glars tools.
" Burglars toolsl" exclaimed '.Limp
Leg" as a shade of color passed across
his features.
ssYes, the set you carry in your wood
en- leg,n continued the jailer, while the
burglar began to retreat toward the
door, seeing that his racket had been
given away. BY this time the prisoners
were convulsed with laughter, and
Sam Tate was bubbling over with mer-
riment.
"Here, you'd better show us the
trick now, or we'll have you arrested.
If you do wen give you Just one hour
to get out of town with your stock Of
tools.n N fI aH.ac8
At this "Limp Leg" reseated himself,
and, pulling up his pants leg, he exhib-
| tied the cork addition or extension.
s' If you think you can find anything
| wrong with my leg, just look at it your
| sch, % said s.Limp Leg as he thrust it
| out toward the jailer.
'.Touch the spring." shouted a voice
| from behind the bars.
"Touch the spring, Limpy,n repeated
| the jailer to the fellow, who was now
wild with wrath. rl-. 4o
Seeing that he was cornered, Limpy
then reached down, and throwing his
thumb nail on needle that protruded
from the cork leg, a small door flew
open in obedience TO his touch. A small
hole was revealed here, and inserting
his fingers, ssLimp Leg" brought forth
an assortment of articles that are EN-
ployed in getting into the house of the
man who has a bank account There
were skeleton keys, several punches
and three or four slender files. Thi.
was indeed startling, and sticking to hi
word, the jailer told ssLimp Leg to 'sgit
up and git.'' The door to his tool chest
was locked, and he went off leaving his
curse behind him.-Leadville (Col. >
Democrat.