The Portland daily press., 1895-08-10

! finally. Thereupon a constable of Brigh-
ton, who is also tax collector, and had a
slight acquaintance with some of the
gang, tried his hand He called on one or
two o the creatures whom he knew, and
by dint Of persuasion and promises of
| dainties succeeded in enticing four of the
tribe to Norridgewock and into the
| county Jail, when the strong doors were
| locked upon them. s0
| And there they are to-day. No
prisoners ever created SO much curiosity
among the people of Norridgewock and
| the surrounding country as do these wild
and woolly denizens of the forest. Jailer
John Smith, a kindly man, with long,
white beard, who has kept the Jail for
some years, and who, with his family,
lives in the building, says that the train
wreckers, Gregg and Durham, who were
| confined there last fall and who had hun.
dreds of visitors, did not attract, one
tenthSof the curious who now call hourly.
for glimpse of the men. When captured.
they Wore scarcely anything that could
be called clothing, and were almost
| naked. The bodies of the two elder were
covered with a thick growth of black
hair. Since their arrival the jailer had
procured shirts and overalls, and these
they now wear.
The names of these wild people are not
savage in sound. The elder. who isl40
| years of age, is called Gabe by the others,
who are his nephews. He is a very tall
| and strong man, and cannot talk or
| speak word of any language except the
standard Yankee oath, which he had
learned to utter. His older nephew, Asa,
is strongly built man, about 23 years
| old, and the ugliest and most dangerous
of them all. The other two are about 16
or 49, and talk very fair English.
| l visited the Jail. When an eighth of
mile distant the shouting of the wild
men could be plainly heard, and in
volume and character it was calclated to
send a cold chill down a mans spinal COL
umn They are all kept in one CELL and
howl almost perpetually, We when fight
ing among themselves. The other day
| Ase, as his brother calls him, insisted
on fighting with his younger brothers,
tried t stop the row. The latter entered
his cell with rawhide whip, and was
compelled to use it upon Ase before he
would stop fighting Since then he has
been very docile when Jailer Smith is
arc und. They seemed much pleased
when they were taken from their cell to
have their pictures taken, and make no
trouble while out in the air.
They are a hard looking set in their
humble attire. Their hands and feet are
black with dirt, and their faces not much
better, while the portions of their body
exposed could be seen to be covered with
thick hair, giving them much the appear
ance of beasts. The uncle Gabe, is very
strong, and easily carries the others on
his back around the cell. This man has
been harnessed to rude sled, and, in
lieu of horse, hauled many a load of
wood to the home of the tribe. He is a
giant IN stature, and one would scarcely
care to be favored with an introduction
to him in his native wilds. Thew freely
aver that when they get out they will
poison all the sheep in their neighborhood,
and surely kill the man who caused their
arrest. But there is no probability that
they will be at large very soon, as they
will remain as unwelcome guests of taller
Smith until fall, when they will be likely
to receive good dose of Maine law. az
dealt out to sheep thieves. 1t is possible
however, that the two younger hoys may
get clear.