St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-08-30
THE coNvlcT's OFFER


4 Brooklya Wonaa's stssv q . Negro
DafgtaF and He Wealth.
''Some years ago my father rented .
house in Wefhersaeld from Captain
Willard. who was then warden OF the
Connecticut State prison. He was Aft
erward stabbed to death. ~ you may
remember. by one Of the prisoners. who
was hanged for the murder" said .
Brooklyn lady. my fathers family
was very large, but 50 WAS the old
house, and there was plenty Of room for
~ all The grounds were spacious. and
required good deal Of care. and i've
or ak colored gardeners were often
working ON them. These men were all
oonvicts. hired BY my father from the
prison. which was about . quarter OF .
mile from our house. Captain Willard
said they wers . dangerous lot and
warned US to watch them closely, and
advised my father not to allow any OF
us girls to speak to them, or to 60 near
them alone. I can not say, however.
that any OF the gang allotted to US ever
misbehaved-unless. indeed, 1t was the
one about WHOM am going to speak.
This was big. good-natured fellow.
very black. . capital hand with the
banjo. and about forty years old. His
wife and children went to SEQ him In
the Jail every visiting day, and they
al seemed t. be very hopeful Of the
future. for tbs prisoner was serving .
term Of only i've years. He was sus
pectcd Of having participated in num-
Der Of burglsries, but was convicted Of
but one, the robbery Of jewelry store
in Hartford. Very little property WAS
found with him when he was arrested,
and, though the store had been COM
pletely emptied Of its valuables. it was
supposed that he had played but . very
small part in the raid upon it. and his
sentence was light
'.But one day this man, to whom my
father had been very kind, told him
coniidentially that he had been entire
~ alone in his last robbery and dozen
others, and that the day before he was
taken into custody, knowing that his
arrest was imminent, he had buried all
his booty. amounting in value, he
thought to close ON to $50. 900. in an un-
frequented place. He offered to tell
my father where the treasure lay and
share it equally with him il he would
unearth it turn it into cash, and hold
it until his term Of Imprisonment had
elapsed. OF course. my father refused
to listen to such . proposition, and
tried to worm out of his informant
where tho wealth WAS hidden; but the
prisoner MAS too cunning for him. He
detected his object and became very re-
ticent
about . month after the man had
been released my father received by ex.
press . package containing fully $500
worth Of jewelry. in the shape Of ladies'
rings and bracelets. There WAS NO
letter with the bundle. but
there WAS no doubt about the
accuracy of the address. The
things were shown to the jeweler
who had been robbed. but he said none
OF them had ever belonged to him, 20
We kept them. subject to an original
owners claim.
sLate last winter I was in New Or
leans with my husband, and ono after
noon an elderly colored man accosted
me as I Was walking in tho street He
Was dressed in the most fashionable
material. cut in the latest style, and he
literally twinkled with diamonds; but
I easily recognized our old Wethersfield
gardener. He was, evidently. quite
rich, and ] asked him when and how he
had acquired his wealth.
" Missy he said, forgetting that
WAS An elderly married woman. it was
befo' went to prison. / done tole yer
pa all bout it. but he give me de cole
sholdah. IN. Y. Sun.