The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-08-31


the business portion and was walking
in the middle Of the street, country
fashion, when | made rich find. In
the dust lay three diamond rings, two
ladies' watches and several charms for
lockets. They were scattered about as
if they had fallen from some vehicle
passing over the road. picked them.
up, of course, aud there being no one
near me / continued my way. ] had
never found anything of value before,
and did not know exactly how TO
proceed. knew of course, that | had
no right to the property, nor did l
have the remotest intention of convert
ing it to my use. The trouble was that
| did not know exactly what course to
take, being but young, green boy.
At home | would have gone to my
father or neighbor, but under the
present circumstances | was puzzled.
/ had heard of policemen, but never
saw one. finally made up my mind
to accost the first one / met and ask
him what to do.
About four squares beyond where /
had found the jewelry stopped at a
German grocery to ask for drink of
water There was boy about four
teen years old in the store and he told
me to go around the side way to a pen
stock | was drinking, when a dog
rushed at me and was so determined to
bite me that had to keep him off with
my feet. The German and his wife
rushed out and attacked me and as l
got out of the gate a policeman came
up and seized me. The officer asked
who | was, where came from, and
where was going. If l had returned
him prompt answers ne might have let
me go, but did not dare tell him I
was runaway for fear he would re-
turn me to Uncle Jabez. | therefor
refused tn answer him, and he natural
ly concluded that | was suspicious
character, aud took me to the station.
As was registered they searched me,
and when the jewelry came to light
there was great astonishment and re-
joicing, aud the ch rye of grand lar
ceny was at once entered against me.
On the night previous jewelry store
was robbed of large amount of jew
elry, and the robbers had got away,
leaving no clew for the detect yes.
This was some of the plumber | told
them where | found it, but as | would
not tell them who was, or anything
about myself, my find was declared too
thin. Under the same circumstances
to-day would do just as the officers
did then. They regarded my greenness
as assumed for the occasion, and the
newspapers put me down as one of the
sharpest and shrewdest thieves in the
country. Every iniucement was held
out to me to give way my confeder-
ates, who were supposed to be older
men and tougher characters, and my
inability to do it was laid to shrewd-
ness and nerve. The only lame point
with the detectives was that l was on
my way into the city when captured,
and that was showing myself openly
and boldly. 1t was hard to believe
that a robber would hang about town
with his pockets full Of plumber, but
they got over this by saying it was
shrewd move on my part to throw
them off the scent.
Had | acknowledged my identity,
Uncle Jabez would have come on to
defend and clear me, but would have
also taken me back and thrashed mo
within an inch of my life / dreaded
him more than State prison, and, there
fore, when the trial came on | had
nothing to say, and was sentenced to
State prison for three years. l was
glad of it, l would be of age when I
came ont, ard as no one would hear
of me in the interval, l would have
nothing to fesr from my tyrant of an
uncle.
The fact that had served only four
months Of my sentence was due to the
efforts of an old detective in another
case. had forgotten to tell you that
the jeweler and two of the clerks had
'fully identified" me as "a person who
had been in the store several times
just previous to the robbery" The
proprietor swore that he sold me ring
for two dollars, and one of the clerks
testified on the stand that l stood for
half an hour and bartered with him
about silver watch.
"Then you positively swear he is the
person?' asked my counsel in each
case.
II do" was the decided answer.
l could have shown that l was twen-
ty-fve miles away at the time, and
that had never stepped foot in Cleve-
land before the morning of my arrest,
but, for reasons which l have stated,
went off TO prison with comparative.
| ly light heart, knowing my own limo
cence. had been convict for foul
months when, one day, was called in
to the warden's office. There were
several gentlemen present, among
them l recognized the Cuyahoga
county prosecuting attorney and two
Cleveland detectives. The prosecutor
began by declaring that l was an in
nocent man, and then asked for my
story. Under promises that they
would not betray me gave il to them
1t seems that the detective, in working
up another case, had fallen upon th
jewelry robbers and secured most o
the plunder. There were three O
them, all old hands, and the stuff
found had been lost by them as the
drove out of the city. Robbers though
they were, they did me good turn b,
denying that | had any hand in tn
affair, Indeed, after the case wa
open, the detectives saw that a blunde
had been made in arresting me. TIL
gentlemen had come with a pardon
from the Governor and / returned t.
Cleveland with them on the promise O
employment. To test the value of tn
people at the jewelry store as witnesse
the detective took me in there aud ash
ed if they had ever seen me before
-Four months could not have change,
me much, and yet those who ha
sworn so boldly against me on tn
stand now denied ever having seen m
before.
have been a detective for years
but that circumstance has been upper
most in my mind when / had a cas-