Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-28
FITZ NOW ADEAF MUTE
The Clever Criminal Said to Be in
Greene Doing This Old Dodge.
HEWRITESOUTALL HIsQUESTIONS.

HEWRITES0UTALL HISQUESTIONS.
4 Farmer Doubts His Deafness and Does
Some Clever Detective Work.
BREAKING FOR THE VIRGINIA HILLS
H. Norton Van Voorhis and several
Pittsburg friends returned yesterday from
Greene county, where they have spent a
week shooting. They made their head
quarters at Carmichaels. One of the party
tells q story which has a chain
of circumstances linking it together
SO firmly that it cannot but
be with foundation. Fred Fitzsimmons,
the escaped murderer, was alleged to be
up in that country or Tuesday last. The
willy and dangerous man is now, if it was he,
masquerading as a mute. On last Tuesday
q slightly-built man of about 30, sharp
features. with small, keen eyes, and dressed
quite respectfully, called at the house of
Mr.. Murdoch, and stayed for din
ner He touched his ears with his
fingers. shaking his head, signifying
that he was deaf Then he wrote on
piece of paper that he wished to stay for
dinner The folks took him in and gave
him meal, for which he offered money.
This was refused, the people not being in
the habit Of setting meals for foot travellers
His aff1iction, however, prompted them to
break this rule. After he had gone, the
l.
was shamming
Avery Suspicious Deaf Mute.
This opinion was communicated to some
of the other neighbors.
He fingered about the neigh borhood, and
at night he went to the house of James
Murdoch, where he wrote on paper some
words which were not decipherable by the
people, but the stranger made them under
stand by signs that he wanted place to
stay all night. They did not care to have
him in the house, so refused his request by
writing it down.
He seemed disappointed at this and went
away shaking his head. A few of the peo-
pie were suspicious of his actions. He,
however, stayed at the house of a man
named Russell all night. The latter lives
out of Carmichaels several miles, but he re-
lated his story to one of the Pittsburg
hunters, who was shooting on his farm. He
laid scheme to find out for sure whether
the man was really mute or not, and before
making ready for retiring, gathered with
several members of the family about the
fire. The stranger sat with his back slightly
turned to the people. Mr.. Russell told the
folks that he had good story to read them
before going upstairs. 1t was some funny
incident related in newspaper, which was
ludrcious enough to make most anyone
laugh or change their expression during its
recital. The reader began, and at the
same time watched the stranger at
points where the other people laughed.
Detected by a Farmers Clever Euse.
Several times the supposed mute looked
up at the reader, and once he bit his lips to
avoid giving audible expression to his feel
ings. Other actions beside this convinced
Mr.. Russell that the guest was not deaf.
He had money, which freely showed he was
not tramping for the pleasure there was in
it.
In the morning he wrote asking to be
directed the way to Carmichaels; this he
was answered by one of the men. He started
off, and man said that instead of going
toward the town, he cut across field and
was making in an entirely opposite direc-
tion, toward the mountainous country of
West Virginia.
Throughout Greene county the people
generally are keen observers of anything of
a criminal look from the fact that the famous
Clarke trial took place there, and some of
its remote townships are especially desir-
able to an escaped convict, or any one elud-
ing arrest There are hardly any railroad
facilities, and very little travel is done on
the roads. For this reason the chances of
escape are much facilitated. Every one up
there who paid any attention to the de-
scriptions as published in the Pittsburg pa
pers now believe this mute was no other
than Fitzsimmons.
He Exactly Filled the Description.
One man who met him on the road had
never seer, or heard description, but after
reading one, threw up his hands, and said:
"Why, that's the same man L met" He
described him very closely, all of which
tailed to Fitzsimmons as he was when in
jail here. One persons description was ex-
a man being seen who was thought to be
Fitz. The farmer even told of the stripe in
the mans trousers, and said he had four or
five weeks growth of beard on his face.
The store of Frank Gwynn at Carmichaels
is q rendezvous for the people of that little
hamlet, and the matter has been discussed
there pretty thoroughly since the strange
mute's mysterious passage through the
town.
Mr.. Gwynn was called up on the tele-
phone by THE DISPATCH last night,
and in his opinion the man was not affect
ed by deafness, and that it doubtless was
Fitzsimmons.
One of the best evidences in the world
that he was either shamming deafness or
keeping his identity for some reason, was
his handwriting on the slips of paper hand
ed to different people in conveying his
messages. These are all in the possession
of Mr.. Gwynn, and show great
attempt at disguise At the first house he
stopped for meal his chirography could not
be read, but other specimens of his hand
writing are excellent, and compared with
Fitzsimmons' fac simile in THE DISPATCH
ora ram, III h1v cimi1or