The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-09-05
Young Mail Thief Seems TO Be
Proud of Criminality
SOME STORIES APPEAR FlSHY
FOurteen-Year. Old Has, According TO
Own Lips, Covered Much Ter
ritory; Exports

Joseph Godfrey Brown of Superior,
Wis, the fourteen year old boy
who was brought here from Albert
Lea last evening on the charge of
stealing a mail pouch containing 5000
and other valuable papers, is regard
ed by Postoffice Inspectors G. H.
Drake and A. NJ. Steadman, Deputy
United States Marshal George Wells,
the sheriffs of several states and
criminologists at large, as possessing
one of the most remarkable minds
that has ever come under their OBJ
Servation. AS stated in The Free
Press yesterday, he was arrested at
New Lisbon, Wis, last Friday where
he confessed to the theft to the post
office inspectors. The money he left
at Albert Lea has not been recovered
Young Browns story of the affair is
as follows: 81 arrived in Albert Lea
last Thursday morning from st. Paul,
in the tool box of a locomotive.
aWoke in the roundhouse, and upon
climbing out, discovered that | had
just thirty-four cents to my name. 1t
was up to me to make raise quick,
but before doing it bought a good
breakfast with part of the money
had. A fellow can't do much on an
empty stomach. | loafed round town
a while and finally | saw a mail pouch
and several other packages lying on
a truck at the Rock Island station,
and / grabbed the pouch, put it
under my arm and carried it off into
a little brush patch near the depot.
Here | found an old mattock and
with the aid of it, and mallet which
l picked up, l cut the staple of the
pouch on stone.
Found Package of Money
II found several letters, which con-
tanned nothing of importance but a
draft for $500, and a package of
money. l then gathered up the stuff
and looked for plant for it.
found an old bucket along the rail-
road track near a little bridge, and
decided to put the money there. Two
Greek laborers were working on the
track at the time and they asked me
what | was doing / told them to
mind their own business, and dug
little hole and put the money and the
pouch in it, and covered them with
the old pail | did not undo the pack
age of money, but | extracted SO
bill from the top, and saw an in
voice which stated that the bundle
contained $500. l then went back
to town, and watched some boys
playing ball. l offered to show them
how and two of them got mad and
jumped onto me. | licked them both
and then bought ticket to st. Paul.
! arrived there that night and staid
at the LennoX hotel.
Bought a Revolver.
The next morning | bought a
revolver, a holster and a box of
cartridges, and boarded a freight
train. At New Lisbon a brakeman
tried to put me off, but he wasn't
much bigger than l was so I put
up quite a scrap. We both got off the
train and while we were fighting, the
train started out. l managed to pull
the gun and when / pointed it at
his solar pleXus and told him to beat
it, he minded fine. He went so fast
that if | had shot, the bullet would
never have caught up with him. He
caught the train though, but when
went into thicket, the sheriff came
out looking for me, and arrested me-
! told him my name, and then he
searched me and found the 5000 draft.
He knew it didn't belong to me so
he notified the postoffice authorities,
and the inspectors came after me.
My father and mother came down
from Superior too and tried to get
me off, but it was no use. | guess
| am about due for long rest-up|
in some reform school,"
Unlike most boy desperados, Joe
didn't get his boisterous ideas from
between the covers of dime novels or
at the motion picture shows. He
lived in South Superior, and there
was nothing there, but trees and
wolves. He says that he simply got
lonesome and wanted to get out and
see the world. He says that they
received a paper only once week
and he never got any dime novels to
read and never saw any picture shows
He has, however, passed through the
eighth grade in school. He says that
he was pretty good in school but was
always in trouble out of school. In
the past eight months he has travelled
from Oklahoma to Winnipeg and
from Chicago as far west as Denver.
1t is admitted that he has seen
something of the United States at
least. He is a remarkably bright
boy and absolutely nothing escapes
his glance.
Thought Of His. Stomach.
The first thing that he said when
he alighted from the train was: Now
We'll get something to eat" On the
way to the Heinrich hotel he noticed
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