The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-02-11
Love Causes a Burglar to Restore
Money to tho Man He
Robbed.
And Now He is to Marry the
Daughter and Be
Happy.
rhs Strange story Of Two Continents
which Has just Come to Light
in Tennessee.

YAVOIBt " WoO y.
tr.ted in the case Of Lal Wickiand. an old
man. 63 wears of age, and IN employe OF the
Illinois Central railroad at Mcconnell.
some nfty miles north OF Milan, Tenn. lae
story reads like o romance, AZ gwen 10
a st. Louis Globe Democrat corrsspohdeh
rms in this wise: There resided IN the city
Of Aberdeen, Scotland, seventeen years ago,
4 rich and prosperous jeweler, Mr.. Lailand
Wickland. . man of family. which consisted
of himself. his wife. three sons II three
daughters. The name of the eldest son was
Jean. and he WAS engaged to a young lady
of his native city by the name OF Craig, one
ri the foremost OF the beautiful Scotch
maideny OF Aberdeen. Their marriage
was only deferred on account
II some business transactions
One day Wickland burst into MS
wife's room, greatly agitated, and ex-
claimed: MARY, We are ruined! utterly
ruined! The shop has been broken into
and at least g12,OOO worth of plate and
isvelry carried of. / have been with the
detectives through all tho holes in the city,
but We found 10 trace OF the thief OF OF tne
goods. The detectives think the goods VIII
never be recovered, and we are ruined II u
"a 0O.' WHICH, tuSb AO0oOsy
Wicklsnd was in London, and 30 read the
news in q London newspaper. re nnrliea
home and found the family in the greatest
distress. For many days the Wicklands IN
duloed themselves in the hopes that some
clew would be found TO the roDpsIS, anu
grhsaa hopes were never realized. The rob
harv az the police said, bad been cleverly
cn1 cleaniy done. No trace OF the perpe-
Gators or any part of the property was ever
discovered. ~
III. ortstandino debts, and found himself a
nauper. and without a sixpence. he might
have urged the robbery as a plea Tor oapk-
~unfcv Int he was too honest and consclen-
tons a mar to ever think of such a course,
40 he paid his debts to the last penny. Inc
utter ruin which had overtaken the WICK
lands postponed the proposed union be
tween Jesn and Miss Craig, and Mr.. Wick.
land struggled on for a few years in q small
nv Of business, his son Jean assisting MIN
All the while, but they could not even make
q living ont Of it. II seemed that fate was
Ahont this time thousands of people were
leaving the old countries Of Europe and
headinc for America. Mr.. Wickland caught
Tire eniuratiou fever and longed to come to
this country. He sold all his personal
s6ects. and after securing storage passage
for his family, landed in New York: be
had some monsy a ana 81 :, m wsa' 6 iad' som ml
70 do. He left New York and went to st.
Tnnis. When they arrived in that city.
some fifteen years agO they had very httie
left. The boys found employment as nands
on the railroad. In 1888 they came to CAIRO.
ILL.,. and the boys stayed there wn.is .ne ,u on
At Mcconnell a. track~walker and keeper OF
the tanks in that vicinity.
For wears they have battled with dlfficu!-
ties since coming to America, and while
never in real need, fortune Was Sill unkind'
and they have never been abe 70 Iay ~
enough TO 90 back to Aberdeen. During all
this time Jean and Miss Craig kept up cor
r~espondencs until, in November last, miss
Craig was apreeabIy surprised at the SUD
den and unexpected appearance OK Jean
Wicklsnd in his native city, VINO pore the
joyful intelligence that his fathers family
their fortune restored, would soon be IN
their old home. 90.
The happy termination came ont IN THIS
wise. A n,an named johnson located him.
self at Mcconnell as a merchant, running g
plantation and supply store. His wealth
and unlimited amount OF money was tne
taIk of the town. He sold lots Of goods and
made money hand over fist. He o great
interest in the Woodlands and seemed to
eyince especial interest in the facts relat-
ing to their robbery and utter ruin. 1t
finally came out hat johnson had been a
prison bird, n the cold snouloer "as
turned to him by Lucy Wickland. to whom
he was paying attention. This seemed to
nettle him, and he sent for the old gentle
man to come to him. Their interview
lasted two hours. At length johnson con-
fessed that it was he who had robbed Wick
land of his wealth, and coming to this
country. had trebled his possessions. He
gave the old man his check for $4,000. So
soon AZ this happened the Wicklands de-
cided to return TO their native land. When
Johnsou heard Of their dissemination he
insisted on paying their passage back te
Scotland. The strangest feature of the at.
fair was that johnson Immediately sold ont
all his belongings and went back to Scot
land q month after the family of Wiekland
had returned, and a letter yesterday from
Miss Lucy Wicklsnd, eldest daughter of thu
man whom be had obbed