St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1895-11-16
HAS A DUCKS INSTINCT,
Mysterious Escapes of Noted Crinina,
from Prison Walls.


from Prison Walls e
/ The retired detective said. sa0ne q
the hardest chaps to run. down I eve
came across was one had sornethin,
to do with when was on the Londol
police force. many years ago. He wa
an all-round thief. ready and willin,
to crib anything he could get his hand
on, from house and lot to a hot stove
and he never let anybody get thei
hands on him If he could help 1t. ant
he always did while | was on th
force. For the Ave years + was work
ing along the dock district the fellow
Kept at his work, and we couldn'
catch him. One night he cracked /;
safe and got away with one thousant
dollars or more, and a reward was of
fered for him. This put us all on oul
nettle, and I was keen to make repu
tation, and had everything and every
body spotted.
Not hair of him. though, showed
| Tor as much as three months, and ther
one night I f,-.5hed him and gave
chase Ho went for the dock, and
was sure had him, for there was only
one way to get out of that, and that
was by the water, and in this particu,
lar place he couldn' 'tysneak under the
flooring, but had to take to the open
water. wasn't ten yards behind him
as he went out the dock on a run, and
saw him go over and heard the
splash. It couldn't have been a Sec
ond till was in sight of all the water
where he went in, but when / got there
there wasn't any sign of my man, and
the whole place was well lighted with
lamps l made a thorough search, go
ing all around under the docks beyond,
the only place where he could get un-
der, but there wasn't any man there
l was sure then that he had been
drowned, and we dragged the place.
but could find nothing in the shape of
man, though we did fish out a dead
woman, who had evidently been in the
water for month. His body had
hoated off, that was all there was to
1t, and we congratulated ourselves on
getting rid of him, even if we had lost
the reward. However, six weeks later.
a detective detected him one night
on boat on the Thames, and Just as
he was going to take him in he went
overboard and disappeared in the dark
waters OF the river. Every effort was
made to find him again, but without
success, and this time we were sure he
had been drowned.
For year afterward nothing was
seen of him, and then we heard of him
in Liverpool, and one of the Scotland
Yarders went there to take him, if pos
sible. He spotted him, as usual, down
about the docks, where he seemed to
be careless, and again he took to the
water and escaped. By this time we
felt that he wasn't born to be drowned
and that he would turn up again. He
did, several times, and each time he
got away. At last, about five years
after / had been in America, received
a letter from a friend Of mine at Scot.
land Yard to the effect that the water
dog as we called him, had been cap
tured by an accident. He had been
seen near the docks by a roundsman
and chased, and as he went toward
the water across the dock he tripped
and fell, striking his head on a stan
chion and falling into the water in an
condition. He was fshed
out and resuscitated, but before they
brought him around they discovered
ais amphib biousness, SO to speak. Fast
sned around his. neck was a rubber
'ube,- ten feet or SO long, with mouth
,iece ready handy at one end, and the |
'ther end fastened into a small cork |
Loaf, SO that when he went into the
water he stayed there, either swim
ming away or holding to a dock pile, |
,utnever coming to the surface for |
lir, as he got all he wanted through |
he tube, with its open end in the float, |
which wouldn't be noticed one time in I
, thousand in the dark in such nasty |
water as is about the docks. OF course
hey would have got onto him after
while, but the accidental falling saved
in1e and explained a mystery, which
g no doubt guarded sacredly, even
rom men of his class, for know none
t the thieves we ever caught could
i've him away. Washington Star.
u