The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-27
Career of Amos 7. Whitman, Wanted
In Nine States.
HAS FOOLED EVERYBODY
NOW BEHIND THE BARS IN
PIQUA co. COUNTY JAIL.
As An Evangelist He is Powerful,
As a Horse Thief Successful and
As an All Around Bigamist He
Holds the Notwithstanding of
His Life.
lst. Lnnis Glohe.nemocratl

cell in the Ohio penitentiary this week
to face six deputy sheriffs, representing
as many counties in Illinois, Missouri,
Indiana and Ohio. He is now behind
the bars in the Miami county jail at
Piqua, o.. and is again headed toward
the grim prison walls. Two years ago,
when he stepped from the cell corridor
of the Prison North, at Michigan Sity.
Ind, he faced an even dozen deputies
from the states above named, ana when
he again finishes a term he will be con-
fronted by othcrs awaiting at the door.
The states of iowa, Kansas, Nebraska,
Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana,
Michigan and Ohio stand ready and
/ anxious to pay for his keeping for
terms of Imprisonment. And thus, prob
ably varying the programme by taking
the fare of different states, il seems,
| will end the life of a character even
more remarkable than the dual char
acters of DIR Jekyl and Mr.. Hyde,
which Stevenson created in fiction.
/ Amos 7. Whitman is known to the
! church people OF the Mississippi valley
j as one of the most successful eVange-
! lists that ever labored in the interests
of the Lord; to the officers of these
| states he is known as the greatest
horse thief this country has ever
|
sinners and brought many into the fold
of the Almighty, he has at the same
| time robbed them of their horses and
! has accumulated enough wives to en-
| title him to a seat in the Mormon
church dictatorship. Possibly no man
has lived life. of such striking incOn-
gruities and so successfully played each
star role.
Whitman is an Ohioan by birth He
had only a common school education,
but he acquired. by reason of his en-
VironmentS during his youth, a~Smat
! tering of theology. Early he showed
a tendency for fast horses, for reckless
ness and for getting at variance with
the law. He married at Greenville, his
home, and by reason of a breach of law
had to depart from that state, leaving
4, his wife behind.
Then began his dual career. He first
appeared in Kansas in the role of
country preacher. His devout bearing.
his religious fervor and his eloquence
made him instantly a success in this
role He tarried long enough to marry
one of the sisters, take most of her be-
longings and disappear with most of
the fast horses in the neighborhood. He
then opened out over in Nebraska and
repeated the programme. Then he ap-
peared in northwestern Missouri and
took on the character of a travelling
evangelist. In the meantime he had
organized probably the greatest horse
thieving organization the country has
ever known-at least, as developments
will show, the most systematic and
marvellous. It was in the role of the
travelling evangelist that he reached the
height of his duality. He would go into
d country community and begin revival
services. He was poor, and had to be
taken into the homes of the church
them, as he was such a wonderful
preacher and holy man. He prayed
with them in their chambers, asked
blessing over their food. and when the
meal was over strolled out to mediate
on his next sermon. 1t was not noticed
that he took specially keen interest in
the barn yards and in the stock. He
found out. through perfectly natural
questioning, how and where the horses
were kept, how and where the men
folks slept. whether there were any
dogs. information regarding the locks,
and the lay of the land. At the same
time he acquired knowledge of the
roads of the county, the by-paths and
infrequentd highways, the creek and
river SeculsionS. and reduced all this
and other information to memorandum
and map form. All this was done so
neatly by the poor. devOut evangelist d,
that in the ten years he played the
role. covering all of the north central |
states, he was never once suspected. !
The revival meetings would gain in
interest and enthusiasm until the en- |
tire community would be in religious |
fervor by reason of his eloquence and /
eXhortations. And then. after he had !
been there ten days or two weeks, the |
farmers of the neishborhood would /
awake some morning to find ten or
twelve of the best horses gone. BE 4
would then get out and try to pacify /
them. would caution against rash /
measures. and. finally gaining time. !
would set them off in direction which /
he generally managed 10 select him |
self. He would continue his sermons /
several nights longer. and in per- /
iectly natural manner bring them TO a I
close and with much regret depart. The /
next revival would be held 200 or 800 |
miles distant in another state, and with |
the same results
This would probably have continued /
indefinitely but for two things-first. |
that the bottom fell out of the horse |
market and there was not sufficient re-
turn; second. that he visited his own
home and his appearance there, of
course not as a minister. was contem
porary with the disappearance of some
horses. Sheriff Welker reasoned lOgi-
cally and placed him in Jail. He broke,
and getting ten hours lead headed the
great chase on record in the central
states. At Sturgis, Mich, two days
later. Welker missed him by twenty
minutes: a week, later at Waco, Tex,
Welker was one hour behind; a month
later, at St Louis. he missed him by a
day; a week later he almost had his
hands on him at Albuquerque. n. NJ, n
" eek later he was only two days behind,
and at Mendoza. H., two weeks later
when Welker went to d clairvoyant, he
received a surprise by her saying:
You are after man. He was here
last night. ] told him he was fugi-
tive, and he admitted it, and throwing
back his coat, showed revolvers and
said he would fight if it ever become
necessary. Your chase this time will
be of no avail. Return home In the
years to come. when you least expect
K, your lives Will cross in most startling
Welker did not believe her,
and on the money furnished by the
Anti-horsethief association of Ohio
continued the mad rush almost a
month longer, but at last was forced to
give up and return homo. That was
seven years ago.
Three years later Welker was out
IRVING one afternoon. in Darke county,
D.. making arrests, when he picked up
torn piece of paper from the floor of
he buggy and began reading it. He
ZANE across a special from this city re-
yarding the capture of horsethief.
The special went on to say that man
giving his name as j. 7. Williams had
been arrested in the north part of this
,ounty for horsetheft. He was caught
while sleeping. and the horses were in
lis possession. He had been brought
% this city and before pleading guilty
lad asked to make q statement which
10 affected the court that he was let ;