Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-02-01


Itasca, Wis, January 31.-Kerosene
Joe, worthless whisky sot, petty GRIM
inal and all-around tough, who is said
to have taken more degrees in the
order oe weary walkers than any
other man alige, is now man OF
wealth. lie is no longer Kerosene Joe,
the bum, but plain Mr. Joseph Haskell,
Of nowhere in particular, who has just
come into fortune.
Last week Kerosene Joe could not
get drink on credit in any place in
the world His meals were furnished
by farmers wives and the keepers of
county jails For ten years he had
been Kicked from one place to another,
like a cur without an owner, sinking
lower and lower each day, until at
last, reaching the level of the gutter,
ostracized from the society Of men,
c Ell in his own degenerated class.
1t is different now Mr. Haskell as
sociates with men of refnerent and
afTiuence and rides in Pullman cars,
drinking costly wines, served by
courteous walters. He stops at the
best hotels and is shown to the best
rooms, and is driven to and from the
dep0ts in handsome carriages.
People say, Who is that distinguish
ed looking gentleman with the silk
hate Last week they said, There's
a tough-looking bum On his way to the
lookup"
WHAT CAUSED THE CHANGE.
This remarkable transformation was
brought about by the strange freak
Of queer cid woman named Anna
Hartley, who is now the Lawful wife
of the eX-tramp. Haskell is about 50
years old and his bride is not less
than 10. They were married at Fargo
n. d., few days ago and are now on
their honeymoon trip to the East.
The couple arrived at Duluth from
the west and stopped there two Or
three hours, waiting for the departure
OF the Northwestern train which took
them to Chicago. Haskell had been a
frequent visitor to the towns and cities
at the head of the lake, and was order
ed out Of Duluth by the police not lon
ger than two weeks ago. In his alter
ed condition he was not recognized,
however, but made himself known in
Duluth to several saloon keepers. upon
whom he called to indulge in liquid re-
freshments. In one place he displayed
a large roll of bills, which evidently
contained several thousand dollars,
and certificates of deposit drawn by
banks of Chicago and New York in
favor Of Anna Hartley, TO the aggre-
gate amount of $95,000
On the train Haskell sat with his
aged bride and told the story of his
lucky find" to the conductor and sew
eral interested passengers who sat in
adjoining seats. The wife heartily
corroborated the statements of her
lucky spouse as to their meeting and
the circumstances that led to their
marriage, and laughed loudly at his
references to his past life and strange
" altered condition.
Yes, Sir, am Kerosene Joe, and
this lady is my wife" said the ex-
tramp in answer to the question of
Private Detective Gallagher who sat
with the conductor. Then by degrees
he told the story of his luck
They gave me the run in Duluth
about two weeks ago, and then 7 just
takes a little squirt for the Klondike
TO set in line with the push.
SHE NET HER FATE.
Il went through to Fargo all right
in a lower berth longside the truck
of the merchandise express. 1 got
sidetracked there, and stayed around
q few days waiting for a chance to