St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-24
BEAWELL NOT The FIRST.
Many Young Enalishman Lured to Their
Death in America.
KIDNAPPING A PROFESSION.
English Newspapers Still Contain Such
Advertisements as Lured Young
BenWell to His Grave.

can farming TO young men of good
family for premium. The price fixed
is usually from $1,000 to S2,O00-enough
TO pay for a gO0d-siZed farm in some Of
the Western American states. so that
the young Englishman, usually brought
up in comfortable and even in delicate
circumstances, is required to pay for the
privilege of doing farm labor an amount
that would make him landed pro-
prietor, with a farm of his own to la
Dor on. If he is to make any use of his
experience he will buy farm any way,
would look forward to the life of an ag-
ricultural iaborer. There is too much
reason to believe, however, that the
greatest number of these advertise
ments are, at the best. swindles, and at
the worst, inserted with even a
darker intention than fraud-the
deliberate intention to perpetrate
murders that are easily accom-.
plished and difficult to detect. The
Birchall case illustrates this. But for
the cigar case which fell from Benwel'S
pocket, and which Birchall failed to
pick up when he destroyed or apprOpri-
would, in all probability, have remained
to this day unsupported. The case of
Birchall is calling attention to other
mysterious instances of the disappear
ances of well-to-do young Englishmen
who have not been heard from by their
relatives since they crossed the Atlantic
TO learn farming, Jays the st. Louis Re-
public.
Scores of young men leave England
every year, we'll equipped and with
considerable sums of money i'll their
possession. in the company of persons
who. for aught they know, may be des--
wisconsin Joe" is not unknown to the
police in some of our English cities.
where he for a long time piled his trade
of virtual kidnapping. Jce's cattle
ranch was always in Wisconsin, al
though that is said to be not cattle
raising state. To the credit of Joe be it.
said, he is believed to have stopped
short of murder. He was content with
Turing his victims into the pineries and
there stripping them, at the point of
revolver, of everything they had, even
underclothing, if it happened to be of
superior quality, and turning them
loose. The unfOrtunateS made their
way to the nearest settlements or log
ging camps, and were generally glad
keep their miSadventures from their
friends at home. IVY ,sconsin oo.-
made a mistake, however: VITO,
he undertook to rob Edward
Hilleary Smyth, son OF Inc
Rev. Thomas Kyle Smyth. of Teighn
mouth, Devon. The youthful Smyth
went to Wisconsin with Joe to learn
how to run cattle ranch. He told his
story to the writer in his own fashion
few days ago, as follows:
I'VE got to the place, yOu see, and
,>ff II, ,,oi,n
and heard everybody talking about
wood and lnmber and the pineres.
However, got Off with Joe, or Mr.. Ev
erett, as l knew him-Joseph Ev-
erett-at station in the woods
that he said was nearest his ranch.
1t was an awful lonesome place, and he
said he was surprised that his man
wasn't there with the horses to meet US,
as he had ordered him; hut iiS the dis
tance was short, only three or four
miles, we might as we'll walk. We
started and walked. and had got about
a mile wnen Joe suddenly turned on
me. pistol in hand pointed at me.
Hold Up Your Hands, He Says.
~ held up my hands as if / was pray
ing, not knowing what to make of 1t.
''NOt that way he cries; hold them
straight up and not word from you
ut flashed through my mind in
minute that | had put myself into the
hands of rObber, and i saw there was
nothing to do but stand it. He took
everything ] had, even to my trousers
ard underclOthes, and made me put on
a tattered WOODEN shirt and OverallS,
and an old pair of shoes which he
dragged out from under fallen tree
near by. showing he had calculated
weeks before just where be would rob
me. Then, turning me in the direction
from the station, he said:
.Now get as quick as you can. and if
you dare to turn while l have you in
Sight you'll get bullet in your head"
ut was along time before dared to
turn my head, as did not know wheth-
er he was following or not. After wan-
dering about half-famished for Il day
and half got to camp OF wOOdchOp-
pers. They took me for what suppose
| seemed to be-a crazy tramp. But
they gave me something to eat and
chance to work. l worked away. but
all the time kept thinking of the fellow
that had robbed me. / learned to be
expert with the ak, and when the log
ging season was over / had enough
money coming to ME to buy me some
respectable clothing and enable me to
send word to my friends i'll England.
after that kept good lookout for
advertisements like that which had
tempted me to America, although did
not care to be laughed at by giving my
own experience to the public. About
a wear later / noticed all invitation
in familiar language for young
man to learn life on a cattle ranch in
a Western state. The premium was
put at e5O0, the same amount that had
paid. L answered. of course, under
To I,c
/ had the pleasure of coilaring 'WiscOn-
sin joe at a hotel coffee room in Lon
don. He pleaded earnestly, Offering to
return double my money, but | turned
him over to the police. Fortunately
for me, he proved TO be wanted for a
little by-play i'll the way of forgery,
with which he had amused his waiting
hours in London: so he was sentenced
to penal Servitude without necessItating
a public appearance on my part"
Mr.. Smyth was perhaps more fortu-
nate with Wisconsin Joe than several
other Englishmen of good family that
answered that Scoundrefs advertise
ment, and have not since been heard of.
Though there is no reason to believe
that Wisconsin Joe, alias Porter, alias
Everett, ever imbrued his hands in the
blood of his victims, the treatment of
Mr.. Smyth suggests that some of them
may have persisted from want and ex-
posure. Others, again, may have been
ashamed to send an account of how
they have been duped and plundered.
The British consul at Guatemala, in
Central Ameraca, recently received an
application from poor fellow working
on Central American railway. He
proved to be the son of a gentleman
farmer III Suffolk, and dupe of the
premium business. His parents were
communicated with, and the young man
returned to his home. He is not likely
to answer any mole advertisements for
Englishmen to study farming in Amer
;oo