The daily sentinel., 1908-07-04


The above is from yesterdays Salt
Lake Herald. Continuing The Her.
aid has the following to say regard
ing this noted and somewhat mys-
terious police character whose name
has figured in the criminal records
of the great Mormon civ since 1897:
For more than ten years past he
was a familiar police character in
Salt Lake. He was noted in dens
and dives as the man who boasted of
having won the Victoria cross-the
hero who had become a thief. Dur
ing the years Grice was in Salt Lake
he was often in trouble. but until he
was arrested on May 25, 1905, for
robbing a tobacco store in West Sec
ond South street, he always managed
to slip from the hands of the police.
But that time his captors were de-
termined to end his career of out
lawry and when he was brought to
trial in August of that year he was
found guilty and sentenced to twelve
years in the state penitentiary. Af-
ter he reached the prison he proved
model convict and gave the guards
no trouble
Two months ago he was sent to
the prison hospital for treatment for
stomach trouble. AS he steadily
grew worse, an effort was made to
secure pardon for him, but these
efforts were unsuccessful, and Grice
died yesterday still, figuratively at
least, in stripes.
The man to the last, IL is said,
maintained the truth of his story
that in his early manhood he rescued
Lord Roberts of the British army
from death during a battle in Afghan
| istan. For this deed of bravery, he
said, he received the Victoria cross
! Queen Victoria herself pinned the
bronze badge cf bravery to his coat.
| he said and he enjoyed that mo-
ment of high exultation to which ev-
| cry man who wears the British uni
| form aspires.
| Just before he was taken out to
| the state penitentiary nearly three
years ago, he told fhe story of this
glorious period of his life. He told
the tale brusqlely. as might have
been expected from a warrior who
struggled to conceal the shame he
felt at dimming the glory of his
youth by crime. Those who heard
him believed him, for hc seemed to
be telling the truth.
He said that it was on May 90,
1877, nearly thirty years before he
, robbed the tobacco store, and when
! he was % years old, that the great
hour of his life came. The British
soldiers were engaged in grim
struggle with the Afghans. He saw
an officer fall and in the rapid shift
ing of the struggling men the wound
ed man soon lay 500 feet from the
British line. Over his head poured
| the torrent of shot and shell. 1t
seemed death to attempt to rescue
| him, but Grice dashed forward, pick
ed up the fallen man, placed his limp
body before him on his horse and
galloped back to the British line.
while the Afghan bullets whistled
about his ears. The mad cheers that
| were raised at this gallant act were
as wine to him. Such an hour SEEM
ed worth throwing dice with death.
The man whose life he saved
this was the way his story went
was Lord Roberts, then a general in
the English army.
The glorious day in the field, when
men cheered and officers wrung his
hand, was followed by that day when
the queen of England pinned the Vic
toria cross to his breast.
1t was splendid story-but it
was not all true. Grice was soldier
in the English army when he was
young man and was probably as gal
| liant as the others when ordered to
do his duty.
But the Victoria cross-it was not
won by Sam Grice, so far as the rec
ords show.
| Many tales are told of Grice's ex-
ploits in Salt Lake. 1t is said that
he had mania for stealing things.
The few who believed that he was
hero called him kleptomaniac and
thought that he should have been
sent to an insane asylum instead of
the penitentiary. But the police call
ed him crafty. cunning, mean-spir-
tied thief.