The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-31

There is always a negro chicken thief of unusual ability In every southern city or town. Birmingham has one in the per- knows every chicken roost from East Lake to Bessemer, and who has cut a figure fin police circles and Judge Fea- gins court for years.
 There Is no negro in the south who has stolen more chickens than Ed, and none who is quite as much of charac- ter. Ed knows nothing but the art of chicken stealing but he l-nows that to perfection. as can readily be seen from what he told Judge Feagin once in court. The judge had asked Ed how he knew there were chickens on the limb Of a tree. The reply was:
 "Lawd, jedge, ken shake limb and tell the number and the size of the chick ems what roosts dar.
 Such Is typical saying of Eds The old negro brides himself on never having told Judge Feagin lie On one occa-. sion Judge Feagtn was trying to get Ed to plead guilty to charge of stealing chickens. Privately Ed admitted the fact, but in court he would not. When Judge Feagin said: Ed, are you guilty or not guilty?' The old negro scratched his head for few minutes and replied:
 "Jedge, I ain't gwine tell you no lie. but fore I pleads anything I guess I like to hear de testimony" He was not con- victed on the charge, which was that of breaking into a chicken house in North Birmingham and stealing some chickens. This would have constituted burglary and grand larceny, and Ed knew that meant the mines. He was anxious to keep away from them.
 The chickens were the property of a white man in North Birmingham, and he swore that they were his. He knew them because they were the first he had ever bought. After he had given his testimony Judge Feagin allowed Ed to question the witness, as Ed always represented him. self In a legal capacity. Ed asked the witness if he could certainly identify the chickens, and the witness replied that he could. He swore they were his.
 A son of the owner of the chickens was then placed on the stand and identified the chickens. Judge Feagin likewise gave Ed chance to question him, but Ed refused to do so, saying:
 Nav, jedge I don't want to ax him nothing. I forgot to put him under the rule, and don't you know de boy am gwine to swear jest like his paw" After the witnesses had made their statements Ed went on the stand. He said
 "Jedge, I am certainly here for to tell you de truf I never stole dat mans chickens. If you will give me police ken take him to the place where I got them fowls, and dat am on the High lands at the house of --." He named one of the most prominent men in Birmingham. He was not convicted, for it proved as he had said. He was. however, fined for petty larceny.
 Ed was once sent to the mines for bur glary and grand larceny and he never after that robbed a chicken house. He would clean a roost but never break into a chicken house. When the negroes were stealing chickens by the hundreds about year ago, Captain Wier happened to run up on Ed on Fountain Heights one afternoon. He felt that Ed was around to steal chickens, and many had been missed from the neighborhood but could not arrest him for lack of proof So Cap tain Wier stopped the old negro and com menced questioning him. The following conversation took place:
 "Well, Ed, don't want you to rob my roost,' said the captain.
 Nav, sir. capn,' replied the negro. "I al'ays wants to be yer friend. Now you jest show me where you liv' and I promises dat your roost won't be touched" Sure enough 1t was not, but every roost around was robbed within the next two or three nights
 Ed was on intimate terms with all the policemen. One of them was bragging to Ed one day that he had no fear of his roose being robbed, as he had somebody