News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-02-18
CAREER OF A CONVICT.
The Strange Fortunes of a Man Recently
Released for HerOism-An Heir to n
Large Fortune, which He SQunndered.

Silas McCloon, one of the four Dee
Island convicts who were pardoned a
Boston for heroism in rescuing the rem
nant of the crew of the wrecked schoo
ner Juliet, off Winthrop's Point, ha.
had romantic career, according to
history of his life, which is published
here to-day.
McCloon's father was a wealthy mer.
chant and ship-builder of Rockland,
Me-, and was worth at least 81, 800, OOO
at the time of his death. The inherit
ance was divided between the mother,
two daughters, and the son, he receiv-
ing in accordance with the provisions of
the will one-third of the whole fortune
The residue was equally divided among
the other heirs. One of the daughters,
soon after the disposition of the estate,
married an ex-Lieutenant-Gover of
Massachusetts, now one of the most
prominent members of the bar in that
state. Silas became the husband of q
young lady distinguished in the society
of Haverhill, Mass, for her great beauty
and accomplishments. A $50, 900 resi-
denCe at Rockland was his first invest
ment. His next was the fatal purchase
of half interest in the incompleted
invention of Yankee to utilize steam
without allowing an exhaust. Thou
sands after thousands of dollars melted
away in the scheme. The financial
hacker, inexperienced and insane with
enthusiasm, fastened off to Europe with
imperfect models and illustrations to
introduce to the Old World an unpat-
nnfn6 invention Aho% laz3,~oI
reVolutlonlze power. Sharpers at Lon
don'and Paris saw the weakness of both
the man and the machine, and while
attesting to the marvellous worth of
one showed no hesitation in patronizing
the apparently ineXhaustible wealth of
the other. Young McCloon, it is said,
had dined and wined himself out of
nearly 5000, 900 when his married sister,
then in Paris with her husband, had
him spirited off to America one night
lie stuck to the invention until all his
resources were dissipated, nothing being
left but tho Rockland house and lime
stone quarry that yielded an income of
s., 900. These he one day gave to his
wife, convinced that he was irreclaim-
able. His mother gave to him money
with lavish hand, but when she saw
that he was falling lower with each gift
she withheld her favors. His sisters
closed the doors of their rich homes
against him.
At last his mother gave him a purse
with which to start anew in the West,
'xacting promise that he would never
'eturn unless he had overcome his I'M
ortunate habits. In February, 1877,
young McCloon passed through Chicago
IN his way to the Black Hills, then the
Gene of a gold excitement. He had
lot allowed an intoxicant to touch his
Ups for a month. At Omaha, while the
'verland train was waiting for lunch,
lie bought bottle of ale. The next
light, while the train was speeding past
fibbon, small station in Nebraska,
ne station agent was shocked to see
'ody fall and apparently roll under the
wheels. He took the unconscious man
nto the station and restored him. 1t
vas the young New Englander. He
had miraculously escaped with a few
bruises on the head. The following
rain took him on to Cheyenne. Then !
or some days he surprised the border
nen by his munifcence. On the fourth |
lay he awakened with a meagre 5000 |
of the &c. which his
mother had given for the first instalment
n the purchase of q cattle ranch. His
ext effort at reformation was made |
Then an exile on the Medicine Bow
fountain Range, where for four months
e remained searching for gold. At the
EXPIRATION of that period, having suf-
cred the adverse fate of most gold |
unters, McCloon returned home to his |
wife and two children in Maine, sure
hat circumstances had redeemed him,
nd resolved to recover by hard labor
be fortune he had so recklessly squan-
ercd.
His release from a convict's cell for |
ravery is the first that has been heard |
rom him since then.