Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1918-01-25
CONVICT TELLS Of
HIDDEN FORTUNE
JOLIET INMATE RELATES AN
AMAZING TALE
chance-oIven Riches are He, but He
pespairs OF Ever Using the
Buried "Swag."

Joliet, nl.-Within the penitentiary
walls here Is man serving his fourth
prison sentence for crime. Blind
chance has made him the master OF q
fortune. which, were he free, he could
hardly spend during his lifetime. The
only evidence Of its existence is a key
that bangles from his neck.
The thought OF death-death In q
prison cell-has brought the remark.
able story of Convict No. 4725 to light.
He recently told It for the first time
in the private office OF the warden of
the penitentiary.
And this Is the story, which-if II ia
true-rivals in weirdness of detail the
most bizarre imaginings of u Dumas
or Poe.
In December of 1915, No. 4725 was
released from the penitentiary and be-
gan working to regain a place in So
ciety. For time his efforts were re-
warded. He began saving and made
arrangements to marry and live down
the past.
On his way home from work one
night he was accosted by man whom
he had known in the past. The man,
with good deal Of secrecy, gave him
q sealed envelope, which he told him
not to open until he had reached
home.
The envelope contained a key, a 81
bill, and a paper Of instructions. The
paper directed him to a certain place
where he would find q strong box
wrapped in paper. This he was to
keep with the key until a newspaper
should tell him where to dispose of It.
Number 4725-his name is William
Mansfield Williams-waited until the
advertisement appeared. He kept the
appointment. The advertiser did not.
For some days he waited. Then he
opened the box.
Within It were several thousands Of
dollars In Government bonds, and
necklaces and rings he could set no
value upon. Frightened. he hid the
box.
Another advertisement appeared.
This time Williams did not respond.
A few days later he was arrested on
charge Of highway robbery. He was
tried and sentenced to fourteen years.
The chief witness against him In the
trial was fellow convict, with whom
he had formed an acquaintance on
leaving the prison. The case, Will
tams says, was frame"
From time to time since his i'm.
prisonment, Williams declares that he
has received threatening letters.
Death upon the expiration of his
sentence is predicted unless the box
Ia restored.
IL hope 1t comes sooner than that"
said Williams when questioned recent
ly. my soul already Is dead. Long
years Of imprisonment have made me
Indifferent. Three years more and i
will die and oe buried over near the
prison quarry without their trouble.
"But when go, the box and its con-
tents will go with me, because II is
hidden SO safely that 1t never can be
found. II it she Id chance that live
thru the eight !. ars more Of my i'm
prisonment, my first act as free man
will be to throw 1t into Lake Michi-
gan.
Turn It over to the Slater Why
should II Twelve years Of my life be-
hind prison bars have dissipated any
impression that the State has any re-
gard for me. have nothing to live
for. Society has branded me as an
undesirable. The only way to efface
that stain Is to die. I used to amuse
myself in the early years Of my i'm.
prisonment writing to representatives
of society for help that never came.
I'm thru with that now"
Investigation revealed that Will
iams' story, In SO far as It relates to