The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-06-14

| WINDOW and demanded to know wnat
he wanted. With a sweeping bow the
thief answered:
"Only the honor Of dancing one
measure with your fair self"
Helping her gracefully from the
coach. he proceeded to go through q
stately dance with her, then and there
in the dust OF tho road. After which
he handed her back into the coach.
bowed low again. sprang to the sad.
die and galloped away. having stolen
nothing except Ave minutes OF q pret,
ty girls time.
The highwayman was Jack Shep-
pard. And the odd adventure set ev-
cry one in England to talking about
him. Which was Just what his van
ity-crazed brain wished. (Dick Tur-
pin. Claude Duval and other scoun-
drels of the road are said to have
done the same thing-from the same
motive.)
Jack Sheppard's adventures have
! formed the plots of dozens of dime
novels. He Is also the hero OF at
least one famous book and play. Boys
in olden times. reading a garbled tale
of his exploits, were wild to become
highwaymen. AS a matter Of fact
Jack Sheppard was merely low-born.
reckless pickpocket and hold-up man.
with a twisted. depraved nature and a
degenerate brain. The accompanying
illustration reproduced from genu-
inc portrait) shows he was not the
handsome daredevil that the dime nov
els have made him. His homely face
is not unlike that of a criminal idiot.
Sheppard was only twenty-five when
he was hanged He was born in Lon
don in 1902 and was brought up in a
poorhouse. When he was old enough
to work he was apprenticed to car
penter. Then it was that he learned
much about locks and bolts and the
best way to cut through walls. That
seems to have been all he mastered
Of the carpenter trade. But 1t was
enough for his purposes.
He deserted his master and began
to pick up living by petty theft.
Being mentally deficient. he found this
an easier way to get on than by work
ing He was soon caught and brought
before a magistrate as runaway
apprentice" He was released and at
once entered on a career Of wholesale
robbery. He afterward confessed that
he stole from every one he coild.
This sort of thing brought him GER
tain notoriety, but not enough. He
was a very ordinary, cheap kind Of
burglar. So he took to eccentric
feats to get himself talked about. The
dance in the road was but one Of sew.
eral such antics. He used to dispose
of his plunder through one Jonathan
Wild, who was not only receiver Of
stolen goods but Sort Of thief-catcher
Ls we'll. When Wild had gotten all
the money possible out Of crook he
would turn the fellow over to Justice.
Thus he made an excellent living In
both ways.
Sheppard Quarreled with Wild. who
thereupon set the officers OF the law
upon him. Jack was arrested. brought
to trial and condemned to be hanged.
He was locked into one Of the strong
est cells in Newgate prison. For al
ready he had reputation as clever
tail-breaker He was handcuffed and
was chained to the cell floor. Yet he
got away Here is the story (proba-
bly, exaggerated by the writer's of that
day. Of his escape:
30 III oh h,,y
rowed into the thick, ill-made wall
with such instruments as he could
find at hand, wriggled through the
gap he made in the masonry and
reached an inner yard There he
climbed a chimney and made his way
into corridor He forced or picked
the locks of six doors and came out
at last upon the prison roof. Finding
he could not get to the street from
such a height, he went back to his cell,
snatched up his blankets, tore and
twisted them into rope, returned to
the roof and let himself down to safe
ty.
Two weeks later, while he was
drunk. he was recaptured. Twice he
escaped, but was too vain and stupid
TO keep his freedom Through drunk
enness or vanity he always made
fsome blunder that led to his recap
'ture. He was hanged on Nov. 16.
1924. A mob of 100000 people-from
'duchesses to ragpickers-turned out
to see him die
When one separates the truth from
the masses of silly legends the Won
derful Jack Sheppard appears to have
been dull, vicious semi-idiot. whose
only cleverness was a real genius for
-iail-breaking Even among the des.
peradoes of his time he cut a very
poor figure.