Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1889-10-24
HE BEGGED FOR MERCY.
A WITNESS STORY.

During the month of February, 1858,
Seth Damon, of Acton, instituted al
action at law against Gabriel Butter.
worth, of the same town, for the re
covery of thirty thousand dollars, OF
which he claimed that said Butter.
worth had defrauded him. The circum'
stances were these;
Butterworth owned and kept the
principal store in Acton, and though
he had never been regarded as an ex.
emplary gentleman, his honor in bust
ness had not been impugned. Those
who had the faculty of looking upon
the undercurrents of human actions
decided that he was a man not bound
by honor, but who understood the laws
of self-interest too well to be guilty OF
small meannesses in business. What he
was capable of doing on a grand scale
was not mooted until the occurrence OF
which 1 am abont to speak.
Seth Damon had removed from Ed,
Son to Acton in the fall, ard had pur-
chased the iron works. Shortly after
concluding the purchase he had pay
ment of thirty thousand dollars to
make, and late on q Saturday after
noon he arrived from New York with
the money-part of it in bank notes
and part of it in gold. When he arrived
he found that the parties to whom the
money was to be paid had left town,
and would not return till Monday Mr..
Butterworth had the only reliable
safety-vault in town, and to Mr. But
terworth Damon took the thirty thou
oon1 ln11o,.. TO l.,
it in his vault over the Sabbath, which
permission was readily and cheerfully
granted.
During Sunday night the people of
the village were aroused by the alarm
of fire; and upon starting out it was
found that the alarm came from But
terworth's store, but Mr.. Butterworth
had been active. He had discovered
the fire in season, and, with the assist
ance of his boys, had put it out before
much damage had been done. Upon
looking over the premises it was found
that the fire had not only been the ev
ident work of an incendiary, but that
il had been set in several different
places.
"How fortunate" said the owner,
But very soon another discovery was
made. The safety-vault had been pro-
ken open, and every dollar it had con-
tanned stolen away! Here was alarm
and CONSERVATION. Gabriel Butter
worth seemed fit to go crazy.
"For myself care not" he cried.
"a few hundreds We're all l had in
there; but my friend had great
sump
Immediate search for the robber, or
robbers, was instituted, and word was
sent far and near TO all Sheriffs and
their deputies, and to the police of the
cities.
Now it had so happened that on
that very Sunday evening - or
I may say, Sunday night, for
it was near midnight, John Wat
son, had been returning from my
hired team at the stable, and on my
way to my boarding house L passed the
store of Mr.. Butterworth. In the
back yard of the store was horse
trough, and, being thirsty, 1 stepped
around that way to get draught Of
water. As I stopped to drink at the
spout of the fountain saw a CLEAN of
light through crevice in the shutters
of one of the store windows. Curiosity
impelled me to go and peer through; !;
for | wondered who could be in there
at that hour of a Sunday night. The
crevice was quite large, made by q
wearing away of the edges of the
shutters where they had been caught
by the hooks that held them bach
when open, and throught it looked
into the store. | looked upon the
wall within which the safety-vault was
built; and | saw the vault open, and
saw Gabriel Butterworth at work
therein. 1 saw him put large packages
into his breast pocket, and i saw him
bring out two or three small canvas
bags, and set them upon the floor by
the door that opened toward his dwell
ing. AS l saw him approaching this
outer door a second time / thought he
might come out, and l went away. 1t
was an hour afterward that l heard the
alarm of fire. And it was not until the
following morning that heard of the
robbery of the safe.
I was placed in critical position;
but had duty to perform. l went
to Mr.. Damon, and told him what |
had seen; and also gave him liberty to
call upon me for my testimony in pub
lie when he should need it. Until ]
should be so called upon / was to hold
my silence
While the officers where huntingl
hither and thither, Mr.. Damon kept a.
strict watch upon the movements of
Mr.. Butterworth, and at length de-
tected him in the act of depositinp a
large sum of money in bank in Buf-
falo. His action Immediately followed.
and Butterworth was arrested.
This was the way matters stood
when was summoned to appear before
the Grand Jury at Wiltonburg. Iwent
there in company with Mr.. Damon,
and secured lodgings at the Sabine
House. 1t was a small inn, well and
comfortably kept, and freqnented by
patrons of moderate means. There
were two public houses of more fash
ionable pretensions in the place.
1t was on the afternoon of Monday.