The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-10
WANTED NEGRO RETURNED ID MINES. Joe Bessix Says Woman Be- trayed Him at Cairo IS A PROFESSIONAL Robs Only Houses of the Wealthy "Who Can Afford It. Has
 Many Sentences to
 Serve Out
IS A PROFESSIONAL

J. r. Hall. state warden at Banner mines. returned yesterday from Cairo. ILL. with Joe Bessix, one of the shrewd- est and most daring negro criminals that ever operated in the state.
 l He was brought to Alabama on requi- sition papers, the special charge being that he was fugitive from justice, having escaped from Banner mines about year ago with sentences aggre- gating B years standing against him. He has a number of daring prison es- capes to his credit and is wanted in half dozen states. His speciality is house breaking, and he makes the boast that he has never hurt anyone while following his profession" and that he never held man up for rob oery. He also boasts that he confines his operations among the well to do, those who can afford it." as he ex- pressed himself
 The negro was arrested in Jefferson county several years ago following a number of burglaries that had occurred in the wealthy sections of the city. It is estimated he secured at least s8500 in money and jewels. He was tried in the criminal court on three cases and given two 10-year and one fve-year sentence, aggregating 25 years.
 He was sent to the penitentiary in charge of Transfer Agent James Mar shall and when nearing his destination made daring break for freedom and succeeded In making his escape. Moth ing was heard from him for nearly a year when a prisoner was sent to the Banner mines from Mobile county named Joe Hayes, who had been convicted and sentenced to eight years Imprisonment for house breaking. When Hayes ar rived at the penitentiary he was recog- nised as the man who had escaped from the transfer agent and and he was placed in the mines with a sentence of 35 years standing against him.
 In October, 1913 three convicts es- lcaped from Banner mines, having tun- neled their way through one of the old workings. How they managed to make the tunnel without detection is lstill a mystery to the state officials and guards. The tunnel meant months of labor. When the roll was called Joe Bessix alias Joe Hayes was among the missing, and with him two other convicts.
 The usual reward was offered, but Joe seemed to have made his getaway, and nothing further was heard from him until few days ago when a mes sage came from Carlo. Ill., that he had been captured by the police authorities at that place and was in jail. The nec- essary papers were fixed up and on Thursday MT. Hall started for Illinois to bring back the escaped prisoner. And in bringing him back he took no chances. He placed handcuffs on his wrists and shackels on his legs and then fastened Joe to himself with a stout chain. His eyes never left the prison CT from the time he left Illinois until he was safely lodged in the Jefferson county jail
 Joe talks freely of his escapes and of his operations in the house break ing line. He resisted the efforts to bring him back to Alabama from the fact that there was such long sen tence hanging over him and stated that he would have gladly gone to any oth- CT state He declares that the treach- cry of a woman was responsible for his arrest in Cairo, who through Jealousy betrayed him to the police. He was captured while sleeping and declared the woman waited for such an oppor- tunity to betray him. He states he will not try to escape any more but will walk the straight and narrow path in the future, and hopes to get paroled after having served a number of years. He also states that he Is done with women kind forever.
 Dat oman was nah pal" he said "Ah gave her most of the money dat II swiped. She done me wrong, just
 cause she got mad wid me bout err lnuther oman" Joe said other things that would indicate that he believed with Kipling that "rhe female of the species Is more deadly than the male" Joe will be taken to Banner this morn- ing to heein his 22 Yaars sentence.