Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-02-17

| lVu NdO scarcely imagine NOW | lecl
| under the circumstances. ! have spent
many y slcepess night In that steel
cell back there. | know that / was ln-
nocent all the time, and that conscious
Tess has helped TO keep me lighting for
my lie,
Look at my face. It Is wrlnilcd now.
| Nhon ! come here there was no such
| thing upon my cuuntenance, | have
been here eighteen months and have
seen very little but the inside Of my
narrow cell-iand all for crime which
| lmew nothing about
PRAISES HILTON.
ITO CHIEF Hilton, Of the police force
| | am deeply grateful, for II rs due priu-
| cipally to him that | am alive lodny
| TO near Of the confession OF this man In
| Colorado. From the first he seemed to
! believe | was Innocent ana has always.
given me the benefit Of the doubt
| When | was arrested no said King, II
| you are guilty you viii have To take
| your medicine; but If you are innocent
| ] want to see you cleared
He has eXerted himself In every way
to get &C the truth IN this matter and
! II seems that his tnorts are at last to
| be rewarded and am 10 get the justice
That Is due me. ! am very thankful
10 nm indeed and II You, see him please
tell him so.
CONDEMNS SHEETS
Unsolicited the prisoner went on with
| me story OF his arrest and the circum-
| stances surrounding II. When he came
| 70 mention formerDetective Sheets his
| spirlt seemed To De much perturbed
| ana II was with an exercise of his self
| control mat he paid his respect" to
! the former city detective Whether or
| no TINS DISLIKE Of the officer has any
| foundation In fact or Is simply the
| result OF the detective having done his
| pain duty II is impossible for anyone
| put Pedro Paguini and George Sheets
| to say
IF Il hadn't been for Sheets" said
| the prisoner Il would not now be here
| win The brand Of Cain upon me.
| There Is hope now that / shall be
| cleared of the horrible accusation that
| has been made against me and that
| my freedom may soon come When I
| get out Of here | shall take some steps
| against Mr.. Sheets that may make il
| uncomfortable for him. / have II in
black and white and know what am
! talking about"
WAS WRONGED.
did you know this man Strange.
who is IN the Colorado state prison and
! VINO Is said TO have confessed to hay-
| ing Killed Col, Prowse?" asked the re-
| porter.
Know him? Why, no; | never saw,
me man In my life | have no ideh
who he is nor what he looks like. How
| could ~ | was not in the place when
| the man was Killed ana know abso-
lutely nothing about it,
Two days after the murder Sheets
aecosled me and said, We have got a
| fellow named Lynch arrested for the
| shooting of Colonel Prowse He says
| he Is from California and perhaps you
| Know him. Come up to the police sta
| ton and see If you have ever seen him
| there.
Il went up with this fine detective,
who couldn't even catch the smallpox
| In the pest house, and as soon as we got
| in, crowd Of officers surrounded me
and | was searched.
II asked what It was all about and
| they told me | was one of the men that
| killed Colonel Prowse, OF COURSE,
knew better, but what good did Il do
| me2
FRIENDS INUNDATED.
"As soon as they heard of my having
been arrested three young Friends OF
mine rushed to the police station and
asked for my release, because al the
| time of the shooting | had been with
! them In another part Of the town. They
were told to get out and were after
wards visited by certain officers and
| told to keep out OF the business or 1t
might be unpleasant for them.
Thus they were prevented from as
sisting me by simply telling the truth
which they desired TO do but We're
| gagged
NEVER SAW PROWsE.
Did you know Colonel Prowse when
he was aliye?"
NO; nor when he was dead. either.
! have never yet seen the man. IL is
q peculiar situation TO be into have
been sentenced to death for having
Killed a man whom | have never yet
seen. But that IL the truth. / am as
innocent Of the crime as you are and
now thank goodness, IL Is about TO be
proven.
MURDER WILL OUT"
Il am not much of a religious man,
nut there certainly is truth In the old
saying mat murder viii out
MUCH RELIEVED.
Just think u H. have been here
for eighteen months with death SEN
tence hanging over my head. There
II no-Wonder that | am different now.
Anyone would be.
THANKS CUNEO.
II was informed only this morning Of
the confession Of this man Strange and
the news was g0dsent, can tell you
! nave been constantly In receipt OF
letters from Signor Cuneo. Italian
consul at Denver and If at any time
| nave been little slow IN replying he
has wired me. ! owe him much for his
enorts IN my behalf, and when | am re-
leased ! shall be proud to thank him
and Chief Hilton for their Kindness TO
me In my trouble and their belief In
my innocence"
HIS LEFT HAND.
Again the prisoners memory turned
to the trial which resulted In his CON
victlon. what do you think OF It?
Those fellows absolutely perjured them
selves. They swore that ] held gun
In my right hand and some of the
money In my left, You see that | have
lost the thumb Of my left hand That
was through felon. They didn't no
tlce, that however. Oh, no.
THE facts are that I was not pres.
ent at the time Of the holdup and muir
der; that | was In another part OF the
town With three friends who viii now
probably come forward and say So
that | never knew, and don't know 10
this day, either Col. Prouse who was
killed or the man Strange who says
ne killed him. I am innocent OF the !
crime and have been uujustly convicted |
and have been made TO suffer this |
agony for the past eighteen months on |
account Of some official persecution
THINKS BETTER
But now ! feel mighty glad that the |
truth is 20 come out l don't think / |
shall bother with gambling houses |
49,.