Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-01-31
AN OLD HORSE THIEF.
He Has seen SeYenty-eight Years and Has
Done Some Very Curious Work.

He Has seen Seyenty-eight Years and Has
Done Some Very Curious Work.
The men who claims to be the most
celebrated horse-thief in the world Is now
under arrest In LOuisburg, Kas. His
name is Washington Waterman and he is
IS years of age. He acknowledges the
theft of 100 horses in Kansas alone, and
the authorities OF the state are willing to
admit thai he has made off with five
times that many.
The old man takes his present arrest
with great good nature. He is near the
end of his earthly pilgrimage and he does
not expect to be jailed again in this
world. The prisons of Missouri, Kansas
and Nebraska have each held him on diff
ferent occasions. In his earlier days it
was his custom 10 lead party of tramps
into a eighborhood which he had pre-
viously prospected, and with central
rendezvous, all would make circuit of
five or ton miles on given night and
round up before daylight at the
appointed place with all the horses, har-
ness, shovels, currycomos chains monkey
wrenches, whips, hammers, oil, screw
drivers aud brooms that the region af-
forded. Barns would be literally stripped
of erything of value.
After the prohibitory law went into eff
feet in Kansas, the country being more
thickly settled, Waterman found it ad-
visable TO change his plan of operation.
He would visit towns in Missouri and lay
il large supply Of whiskey in quart bot
ties, and then, a secret dis penser of
this beverage he would attack the Kansas
farmer on his weak side. When he found
one who properly appreciated the luxury
of having liquor brought to his very door,
he would tarry with him and open bottle
or two on his own account. After the
farmer had yielded to the effects of the
rotations and had fallen uLder the table,
Waterman would help himself at the barn
and disappear.
The Old man also enjoys the rare dis
tinction of being the only man In the
world who ever stole horse while he was
an inmate of State prison. When he
was serving the last of his three terms in
the Missouri Penitent1ary, his conduct
was so good that he was set down as
"trusty," and as ssuch was on many COCA
sions permitted to go outside the walls.
On one of these excursions he was siezed
with an irresistible impulse to make off
with horse, and five minutes later he
was astride fine animal which he had
lifted from convenient barn. With this
exploit he seemed to have been con-
tent for he presently dismounted, left
the horse to browse at will by the road
side, and hurried back to the prison.
Having had taste of liberty Waterman
longed for more, and two weeks later he
stole a team belonging to one of the
keepers and made for the country at a
break neck pace. He found no difficulty
in disposing of the horses, and with the
money obtained he fed TO Canada, where
he passed several years without attracting
much attention.
Waterman, who does not appear to be
as old al he is, talks freely of his exploits,
and seems to have no conception of the
fact that horse stealing is not perfectly
legitimate persuit. He told one of his
visitors the other day that he was getting
on in years, and that if any of the boys
wanted points in the business he would
give up at the rate of S. point.