The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-08-29
The Nom Irritating
Cathartic
Easy to take. easy 10 operate
Hoods Pills

OF St George and the dragon. The nial
had no second hand and was decorated In
enamel. with a wreath OF flowers
Tho afiair interested me exceedingly.
and being tn Charleston soon afterwards
began Some systematic Inquiries. With
a great deal OF difficulty found an in
vontorv OF tho property OF tbe man who
had died there and learned from It that
tho purchaser Of the Jackson watch was
q sen captain named Jcner.es Taylor. who
owned an Old-time trading vessel called
The Moorish Prince. That was in 1861
and the next thing 80 DO was to find Cap
tain Taylor. Everybody seemed 10 have
forgotten him. but az last by mere acct.
dent. learned that be had given up the
sea ia the early eos and gone 20 live at
Savannah. TIA At that city + was told
that ne had gone TO Florida. ana finally
j found him living near Tampa. where /
think he Sun resides. lie remembered
the watch perfectly. and told me be had
sold ID IN 1874 or 1870 20 "a Mr. T. A. West
a Louisville collector Of curios.
"By that time ) was thoroughly aroused
10 tie chase / got Mr. Vests address
from an old letter head and made Il con-
vcnicnt TO stop Mt Louisville TO visit him
lie was then in California, and ! made
three trips before l found him at home
To my deep disappointment he Informed
me that the watch had been stolen from
his collection in a burglary Of his house
I'm 1873. about a year before ] saw him
That brought the investigation against q
stone wall. and ] realized that the chances
were about q thousand TO one that /
would never get any further trace Of the
relic AT the same time l did not despair
1 simply changed my tactics, and there
after / made point Of describing the
watch in detail 10 everybody ! met who
would Zoe at all likely 10 set hold OF H.
Il left the description with scores Of
paWnbrOkers. jewellers. and secondhand
dealers. and waited I'm hope that some
thing would turn up. Three or four years
ago a jeweller at Mobile told me that a
man had left such a watch with him 10
be cleaned. and II possible put in running
order The works We're utterly worn out.
and he could do nothing with them. but
he felt sure afterward that the watch
was the one that ] was hunting. Nothing
came of this incident. but 1t encouraged
me 10 believe that the heirloom had es-
caped the melung-pot and was still drift
ing somewhere about the country.
Now for the denouement. Last Janu-
airy I received a letter from q jeweller in
New Orleans informing me that ne Ger
tainly had the long-lOst watch In his pos
session 1 had no opportunity 10 Vlslt the
city until the following May Dut ! made
a Decline for his place as soon as 1
arrived. and could hardly believe my eyes
when ne really placed IN my hands what
seemed TO be the bona-hde Jackson relic.
II answered the description IN every par
ticular but 7 was still a tribe skeWical.
] could hardly believe my luck. and would
not be sure until I had showed the watch
10 my friend at Richmond. The jeweler
kindly allowed me TO take il when l left.
and. TO make a long story short. 1t was
fully and completely identified. l need
hardly say the Richmond man was over
joyed. and he at once authorized me 20
purchase The old time piece at e. very libe.
raj figure. I made the deal and paid over
the money only "a few days ago.
Il am not az liberty To say exactly how
the watch found its way TO New Orleans
further than that TT passed into the jewel
ler's possession I'm perfectly regular
ard legitimate manner il had passed
through four or Eve hands at least sincs
II was stolen from the West collection
and at this lapse of time it would De ut
torly impossible go trace the thief
ought 20 add by the way that n satsfac-
tory arrangement was made with Mr.
West himself He was reimbursed what
ne had paid, and when he heard the cir
cumstances was entirely willing 10 waive
any claims. Times Democrat