Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-02-12
OF SIGHT
IS NO H|N0RAhCE.
CONVICT At Fl. MADISON SAWS
WOOD AND WHEELS CON.
w.. CRETE WITH EASE. 1-
M A Y G EFT PAROLE

unusual Character Of "6lind Joe"
makes Him Prison Celebrity aa
Authorities Have Re-
tired Him.
~: MADISON. Feb. livery prison
mas us celebrities, Fort Madisnn NJ
,sss thah others, but few can boast =
Dllnd man who il able to saw a cnras
or wood in twenty days and then haln
plle IT up And that is not all Of the
uncahny things this totally blind pris-
oher can 40. He can wheel borrow
up runaway with as few accidents
as sightseeing man and do Others
or the most astonishing feats nv tina
aid of the senses.
ne IS Joe Kinney, AZ years of age.
native Of Iowa and one time an +.
austrlous coal miner. After twentv.
seven years of perfect vision an acc,.
cent totally destroyed his sight and ~
mas since been entirely dependent nnon
intuition and sense resources. HeNhe.
came peddler, vender OF simnie
commodities, and in that capacitv M
traVeied over the United States mas.
sisted and has even gone into British /
Columbia as far as Unalaska. II il
BOAST that he has never begged th.t
ne mas always maintained himself and
ne thinks that redeemed from his Ia.
settlng weakness for drink he could
make success in life even though
pima. This weakness has led him IN.
70 trouble and prison on two 90.
IcasiOns.
Wanted to Work,
IN 1909 he was sentenced to serve
IA term OF seven years for falsely ob.
tanning three hundred dollars frofn
VT; armstrong at Fort Dodge. Iowa.
ana IT was during that term he dis.
Played such intuitive accuracy in feats
or work that astonished the prison
said. - ""se
Work" Warden Saunders smiled
AN lndulgent note of banter crept into
MS voice and he looked keenly at the
slghtless man. II haven't anything IL
could put you to- he replied, "except
nifty cords of wood"
Dld the blin1 prisoner finch? Not
a little bit. He smiled.
Show me to it, he said
Warden Sanders hesitated. Can
you really do it. 1
mo w Inc "oodplle, Joe re.
peated, "and I'll show you"
II with some misgivings and intense
curiosity he was taken to pile ron.
tanning thirty-three cords q. wood
Ills hands were placed upon the buck
, and the saw, he was led around the
, woodpile, and after feeling its d.
mansions and it's situation he neeIed
of his coat and set to work. Az a
matter Of experiment and CURIOSITY he
was left to do 1t alone and he com.
t pleted the task of saving thirty-three
) cords In twenty days.
During that same period Of i'm
iprisonment he claimed that he could
break concrete and wheel barrow.
and Mr.. Spencer, architect and builder
took him on the work being done on
the new dollhouse He was placed
under the supervision of Guard Brown.
: and to the amazement Of the prisoners
he not only broke the concrete but
: he wheeled barrows full of II MP a
} steep incline, dumped them and re-
. turned constantly without accident
:, Back In Prison.
!. After period of three years and
! four months his sentence was COM
! muted and he was set free. But the
) demon rum clutched him again. He
, listened to the voice Of compani0ns
and while drunk he assisted them in
, an attempt to break and enter q build
, ing in Des Moines. One escaped. two
) were arrested. Blind Joe was the only
I one to feel the arm of the law He
r was sentenced to serve period not
to exceed five years and was received
back into the penitentiary on the 14th
Of April last. On the day he was I'm.
!. prisoned In the county Jail he was
0 notified that he had become heir to
quite a sum Of money from his
/ fathers estate, and this money is now
in the hands Of his mother said to be
K living at Ottumwa. He says that when
v he is set at liberty again he is going
J. to take his inheritance and invest II
b in some small business that Will be
g suited to his capacity as blind man
and make the effort of his life to live
7 the remainder of his days as good
citizen. Although in fine physical
o health he is not doing any work now.
;. Having demonstrated an ability and
willingness the authorities have
J.. thought best to retire him. He is
given exercise on the walks adjoining
the hospital and the cell house and the
. straight briskness OF his gait is
q nightly deceivinga to one who does
: not know he Is brad.
+ His father was at one time an en-
ploye of, the United States government
at Des Moines and later Of Denver,
Colo where he conducted feed and
fuel store. He is said to have died
fairly well of.
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