Year: 1879

| tives and friends East and West who have
been disgraced enough already"


Thus said chunky, black-eyed, intelli


gent female prisoner In the Detroit House


of Correction to reporter the other day


and he agreed to her as Mrs. Saunders. Hel


age is abont forty, her sentence for several
years, and she is there for grand larceny.


Two years ago she lived on comfortable


farm in that State, and was not only re-


spected by all who knew her, but worthy


young farmer who was also town consta-


BILE, was in love with her and ready to en-
gage himself in marriage. The Widow
Saunders had no children. and the hired
man employed was half-idiot of fellow
who minded his own business, even if he
acted silly at times. If he ever had the
slightest suspicion of anything wrong
about the place, he never limited it, and
and when the lawyers got hold of him on
the widows trial they found more than
their match.


Some three years ago the farmers in the
widows neighborhood discovered that they
were being robbed. The first theft was
that of aline full of clothes left out of doors
of Monday night. The next was that of
dressed hog weighing about 140 pounds.
The porker was hanging on woodshed at
tached to a farm house, and ii thief shoul-
dered it, carried it to the highway, and
there all trace was lost. The marks of
wheels were looked for in vain, simply be-
cause the Widow Saunders, who was the
thief, had come on horseback, distance of
about three miles. 1t was the work of a
stout man to take down that meat and pass
it over the fence and strap it to the horse,
but the widow performed the feat


Pretty good lug for you?" queried the
reporter.


81 admit nothing" she quietly replied,
as she twisted at her apron. "rhey said |
stole the hog, but | don't remember any
thing about it2''


The next robbery was that of ten bush
els of wheat. A farmers barn was broken
open and the bags taken off his loaded
wagon, carried to the highway, distance
of five rods, and there loaded into one
horse wagon. They attempted to track the
vehicle, but a shower came up and render
ed all efforts fruitless. The Widow Saun-
ders was the guilty party. She drove four
miles after midnight, stole and loaded the
wheat, drove home, carried the wheat to
the garret, put out the horse and cleaned
off the wagon, and at daylight was out
milking cows when the parties in pursuit
of thieves rode by her house.


t'You must be an awful smart woman, ~
said the reporter, as he realized the work
she had put in.


9'Thank you," she demurely replied,
''but of course never stole that wheat.


The farmers now began 10 bestir them
selves, and the constable picked up all the
clues he could, and spotted two or three
parties and kept watch of them for many
nights AS he was "sparking" the Widow
Saunders he took her into his con-
fidence and related his suspicious, and de-
tailed his plans to become a second Pinker-
ton. She encouraged him to renewed Wig
ilance, and the next thing was something
csc. A farmer brought home cornsheller
and left it in his barn. In the morning it
had disappeared sheled itself out of sight
as it were The thief could not get the big
doors open, and had therefore gone in at
the stable door. united and turned out a
kicking horse, and then brought the ma
chine out through the stall. The corn
shelter was found in the Widow Saunders
parlor bedroom, when her house was
searched, and she had carried it on her
back across the fields full mile.


The constable was now on his mettle. Ini
one breath he declared his love for the
Widow and in the next he vowed by the
eternal to nab the robber or die trying.
She squeezed his hand and told him to take
fsExcelsior" for his motto and go ahead.
This was about week after the theft of
the corn shelter, and he left her house to
put in the balance of the night on four
corners. When he reached soon after day
light 1t was to find that some one had
stolen slver-plated harness from his barn.


eyes, they found the harness in my
house, sighed the Widow as the reporter
put the question, ''and shall always be-
lieve Juy hired man stole it in his sleep!'


Highways and barns were guarded for
the next two weeks, but nothing occurred
to add the excitement. 1t was generally
agreed that the robber had taken himself to
other parts, and farmers once more hung
up their army muskets and took their full
allowance of sleep. Then one night a
young farmer returning home at a late
hour from neighbor's, heard noise in the
carriage house and investigated. The door
had been broken open, and as he was
about to enter he got rap on the head,
and some one rushed past him. He fol-
lowed after as soon as his eyes quit seeing
stars and though not able to overtake the
stranger, he picked up one or two robes
dropped in the chase. The other was
found in the Widow Saunders garret.


The climax was not far away. A far
mer brought home barrel of flour left it
on the yeranda, chained his Watchdog ten
feet away. loaded shotgun, and then Law