Mexico weekly ledger., 1896-01-23
A Slick Horse Thief.
j. T. DAVIDSON, A MEXICO SEW
ING MACHINE AGENT, AIRES
TED IN ST. LOUIS AND
BROUGHT HERE.
He Has Made a Full Confession to
Sheriff Stephens and the Grand
Jury Investigated His Case
To-Day.

James T. Davidson, an agent for the
Singer Sewing Machine Company, who
worked for L. Coil, of this city, and
who lives here, was arrested in st.
Louis Monday morning on a charge of
horse stealing.
For nearly two weeks Sheriff Steph-
ems and Joseph Early, from whom
Davidson stole a horse, have been on
the alert, looking for the thief.
Davidson was suspected and Sheriff
Stephens has been following him from
one place to another but was never
able to catch him. Sheriff Sturgeon,
of montgomery County, was also in
formed of the matter, and Monday
morning about eight O'Clock the po-
lice in the third district, st. Louis, ar
rested Davidson and he was brought
to this city last night byDeputySheriff
Johnson, of Montgomery County, and
now reposes in Jail here.
To the sheriff on Tuesday he made
a full confession of his thefts, and the
case was Immediately given over to
the GrandJury. He told Sheriff Steph-
ems that on November %, 1896, he stole
a horse from Thomas Helm, who lives
north of this city; on January 7, 1896,
he stole one from VIM. Hayes, who
lives in the same neighborhood, and
on January 9, one from Joseph Early.
He stated that the one he stole from
Joseph Early he had sold to a st.
Louis firm, which had shipped it to
North Carolina. The horse he took
from VIM. Hayes has been secured and
is now the possession of the sheriff,
while the other one is somewhere in
the county.
Davidson's east is a most peculiar
one and stamps HIM as a very slick
horse thief. Since last May he has
been in the employ of L.. Coil, agent
for the Singer sewing machine in Au-
drain county, and has been perfectly
honest in all his transactions with
Coil. He always appeared like a very
poor man, and would often complain
of his poverty. He is a large man
and is about 55 years old. He has two
sons, n grown and one thirteen
years old, who live near Perry. He is
a common dresser and to all appear
ances was very poor. A circum-
stance has come to light, however,
since his arrest, that rather blasts the
theory of his poverty. One day while
staying with Mr.. Coil, he went into
his room to change his clothes and
was accompanied by Mr.. Coils boy,
who said that when Davidson opened
his trunk the hat tray was half full of
silver coin and there was a roll of bills
in it as big around as a mans arm. At
the time, the boys parents paid
little attention to what he said, only
thinking that perhaps he might have
seen a few dollars and with a child's
idea of money, have supposed it to be
an immense sum. This may have
been some profits which he had OBJ
tanned by earlier thefts, of which
nothing is known.
L. Coil was e by a reporter for
the LEDGER last Tuesday, just after
he had come in from the country,
where he had been looking into some
Of the business carried on byDavidson.
He said that thus far he had found
him short 50 in his collections and
one machine, and that before night he
expected to find him short one more
machine. Mr.. Coil was much sur-
prised at late developments, and had
never had any trouble about David
sons accounts before this time.
Davidson was sentenced onWednes-
day to six years in the penltentiary.