, 1898-09-17
GAY'SWRECKED LIFE
FORMER MUSIC AND DANCING
TEACHER CONVICTED OF
BURGLARY.
When His Only Daughter Eloped With
a jar He Took to Drink and Lost
All knowledge of Right Or Wrong
Does Not Remember His Crime
Judge Will be Lenlent..

broke into a music store in Denver and
took some violins and bows. The I'M
fortunate man had his trial in Denver
yesterday and was found guilty. AS
Prof. Gay Vas well known in Laramie
where he taught music some years ago,
the following from the Denver Times
may be of interest:
To the tune of five stolen fddles and
the unlucky number of thirteen bows.
Silas Gay, the dancing teacher, waltzed
from the county Jail to the courtroom
this morning to stand trial for burglary
and larceny. Two hours later he dane
ed a quick-step back to his quarters,
where he will serve out the remainine
three weeks OF a thirty-day sentence
for stealing the cuspidors from the Bar
clay block while he was out on bond
pending the trial for the crime of which
he was convicted by the criminal court
today. His next waltz will be to the
state reformatory or the penitentiary
with a deputy sheriff as partner instead
OF some paint-bedaubed dance hall
fiend.
The jury found Gay guilty on two
charges of larceny and burglary, and
as soon as he has served his present
term in the county Jail Judge Palmer
will impose the sentence for the con-
viction which the jury brought in this
morning.
On the night OF June 30, Gray threw
a rock through the rear window of
Nichols Bros music store, which is ON
the first floor of the building on Cham-
pa street, where Gays dancing academy
was located. He crawled through the
hole and abducted five violins and
thirteen bows, taking them to his room
above. Here in the morning Detective
Carberry found the stolen articles, OF
which Mr.. Gay claimed no knowledge.
Cay was taken to Jail, where he con-
fessed that he had pawned one Of the
fiddles at Solomon's pawn shop for 50,
but he said that he had seen a man
very accommodatingly throw the rock
through the window, and that he never
let an opening pass by, so he crawled
through the opening and took the in
struments. The man was apparently
drunk at the time of his arrest and was
in a dazed condition.
He vas bound over in the Justice
court and let out on bonds. He had
not been out more than three weeks
when he stole the cuspidors from the
Barclay block, and was sent to the
county Jail for thirty days for this Of
Tense.
On the stand Gay told a tale Of wreck
ed life and family sorrows which touch
ed the heart of the judge and jury, and
upon recommendation Of the jury Judge
Palmer will do all in his power to miti-
gate the sentence when it is pronounce
ed. Gay had no lawyer to defend him
and none OF his friends were present to
manifest an interest in his fate. 1t
was a clear case against the man, but
he made nc attempt to cross-question
the witnesses. although the prosecut-
ing attorney gave him every opportuni-
ty to clear himself If he could. He only
asked permission to state his case,
which he did as follows:
THE charge upon which I am being
tried l know nothing about. I was a
perfect gentleman until the middle of
last February. when my daughter elop-
ed with a Jap. At first the blow almost
killed ne. I was dazed, and for a long
time 1 did not know what I was doing.
1 had been a temperance man for years,
but 1 took to drink, and how much /
drank or what I did I do not know. I
took the Kelley cure, but 1t did me no
good. Since 1 committed the crime of
which l ann accused I have not been a
man, and was not from the day my
daughter disgraced my name by her
elopement. am not a criminal. I
never stole 80 much as a pin until that
day. My business began to fall away
after February. I was not fit for bust
ness and drove people away by my on
duct. My wife vent me away and when
I came back I was no better. II I COM
mitted the crime which you say ] did.
then I suppose l did, but l do not re-
member a single thing that happened