Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1888-11-22

MS STARTLING rREAko II HA\GnE ANp nj
DEATH IN IHE rooR HOUSE.


DEATH IN rHE rooR H"reE
when Preston b. Jones dird the other
day. Bangor lost one Of it, most unique
characters and tie small boy- one OF their
fruitful sources of fun. Pres Jones
a. he wa- commonly called. was the
greatest Jumper" in the State. aud i J.
doubtful if hi- counterpart coulu be found
IN the country he being victim of a ner-
vous disease.
Pres was born and brought up in tho
town Of Holden, and up 70 l~bl he was a.
robust and healthy as Young countryman
When the rebellion broke ont, however,
he shoudcred his gun and went to the
front and when the .roop> came back y
Maine he came with them. with II" loss oi
limb. but still physical wreck. Disease
contracted in the Virginia >wamp- had 20
weakened him that being OF nervous
temperament generally tie heavy cannon
aiding around Petersburg had terrible effect
on him, and he soon was unable I" control
himself in the least when startled by
noise, shouting aud jumping about Ike
a mailman upon the slightest provocatlon.
The malady grew upon poor Pre- with the
wears and for long time before his death
he wa, one of the sights Of the streets
of Bangor He was a cobblcr by trade,
and a. he couldn't sit still a minute, even
when working alone on his bench, II was
always considered my ystery how he man
aged not to cut the boots and shoes he
mended, not to speak of his own hands, IN
to inch bits.
When Pres saw anything new or strange.
laughablc or lamentable, he would shout
his comments thereon in tones that could
be heard across the Penobscot. He couldn't
help il. Whatever came into his mind he
had to veil it out. and it may readily be
surmised that he occasionally made some
awkward speeches. once IN the winter
season, Pres had his domicne and COB
bler's shop all in one room, directly across
the street from coal yard, and as ne was
pretty hard up at the time ne was wont To
make nocturnal visits to neighborlng tuel
heaps, thinking it better to borrow with
out notice than to freeze. III he could on
ly have kept still he might have lusged on
the entire coal yard without the police
knowing ANYTHING about it, but he was
unable to keep his mouth shut on any oc-
casion, and one moonlight night, ptrcelv-
| ing two of the night force coming down
Broad street lust as he was returning
| from one of hi, marauding trips, he let
| his coal hod drop on the pavement Win an
awful racket, while he yelled
Here | am, Pres Jones, stealing coal.
This was enough to wake up even a
policeman, and they took Pres in. trial
| was had at which it was clearly shown
| that Pres had stolen lots of coal, but ne
was allowed to go free on promising That
+ be would steal no more, the judge taking
| pity on him in his almost destitute aud
! forlorn condition. But so far from being
| deeply impressed Dy this act OF mercy
| on the part of the judge, Pres yelled
out to his Honor, while leaving the
| court:
IAN right, steal it yourself if you get
| the chance!"
| In the days of Sheriff Jerrard when
strenuous efforts were made to enforce the
| LIQUOR law in Bangor Pres was constant
source of worry to the rum-sellers OF the
DEVILS Half Acre, the precincts OF which
delectable quarter of town he was wont
to parade on fine afternoons. These llq-
nor dealers were obliged to be eternally
| on the alert for constables and deputy
| sheriffs who were liable to swoop down
| any minute of the day to search for liz
uors. the seizure of which meant SlOO
| and costs or two months in Jail. Pick
cts were kept on duty in all directions,
to give alarm in case the officers appeared
| heading for the ''Acre," as the above men,
toned locality is called for short, and
1.-THE sheriffs are coming !" and Here they
comet" ETC., were familiar cries along
Broad street in those days.
Now, Pres Jones was liable to sing out
"Here they come!" at any time and wher
he did there would be sudden barring