IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ■ 1.0 I^|2j8 |25 — I^la 1.1 f."^!^ Ii£ 1-25 1 1.4 ||.6 ^ — «" * Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M5«0 (716) 873-4503 V' v^ '4^' '^\V'4 ^ f CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Tschnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa tachniquas at bibliographiquaa Tha Inatituta haa anamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may significantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad baiow. L'Inatitut a microfilmi la maillaur axamplaira qu'il lui a AtA poasibia da sa procurar. Las details da cat axamplaira qui sont paut-4tra uniquas du point do vua bibliographiqua. qui pauvant modifiar una imaga raproduita. ou qui pauvant axigar una modification dana la mAthoda normala da filmaga sont indiquAa ci-daaaoua. □ Colourad covars/ Couvartura da couiaur n Covars damagad/ Couvartura andommagia □ Covars raatorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura raataurte at/ou pallicul4a I — I Covar titia miasing/ □ Colourad pagaa/ Pagaa da couiaur D D D a n La titra da couvartura manqua Colourad maps/ Cartas gAographiquaa mt couiaur Colourad inic (i.a. othar than blua or blacic)/ Encra da couiaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) Colourad plataa and/or illuatrations/ Pianchaa at/ou illuatratlona an couiaur Bound with othar matarial/ RalM avac d'autraa documants Tight binding may cauaa shadows or distortion along intarior margin/ La ro liura sarria paut causar da I'ombra ou da la diatorsSon la long da la marge intiriaura Blank laavas addad during rastoration may appaar within tha taxt. 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Pagas wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Lea pagaa totalament ou partieilement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, una pelure, etc., ont iti fiim^s A nouveau da facon i obtanir la mailleure imaga possibla. 7 s T VI IV d ei b( ri r( D Additional comments:/ Comnientairea supplAmentaires; This item is filmed at tha reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmi au taux da reduction indiqu* ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X itails It du modifier ir une ilmaga Th« copy filmad h«r« has baan raproduead thanka to tha ganaroaity of*. Naw Bruniwick MuMum Saint John Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poaaibia conaidaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in icaaping with tha filming contract spacificationa. L'axamplaira film* fut raproduit grAca k la gAniroaiti da: New Brunswick IMuMum Saint John Laa imagaa suivantaa ont 4tA raproduitaa avac la plua grand loin, compta tanu do la condition at da la nattatA da l'axamplaira filmA, at 9n conformitA avac laa eonditiona du contrat da filmaga. IS Original eopiaa in printad papor covara ara filmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or iiluatratad impraa- sion. or tha back covar whan appropriata. Ail othar original eopiaa ara filmad baginning on tha firat paga with a printad or iiluatratad impraa* •ion, and ending on tha laat paga with a printad or iiluatratad impraaaion. Laa axamplairaa originaux dont la couvartura 9n papiar aat imprimAa sont fiimAa 9n commandant par la pramiar plat at •$% tarminant soit par la damlAra paga qui comporta una ampralnta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration. soit par la sacond plat, salon la caa. Tous laa autras oxamplairas originaux sont fiimAa tt commandant par la pramiAra paga qui comporta una ampralnta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration at •n tarminant par la darniAra paga qui comporta una talla ampralnta. Tha last raeordad frama on aach microficha shall contain tha symbol — ^ (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol V (moaning "END"), whichavar appllaa. Un das symbolaa suivanta apparaitra sur la damiAro image da cheque microfiche, selon le caa: la symbolo — » signlfie "A SUIVRE", le •ymboie y signifie "FIN". IVIapa, platae. cliarts. etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratioa. Thoae too large to be entirely included in one expoaure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand comer, left to right and top to bottom, aa many framea aa required. The following diagrama JMuatrata the method: Lee cartea, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimAa A dee taux da rAduction diff Arants. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre raproduit en un soul clichA, il est filmA A partir de i'angle supArieur gauche, do gauche A droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'imagea nAcessaire. Las diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. irrata to peiure, n A 32X 2 3 •flr 6 «• « t^- ,# v* *• j^l '^' %. TBB jp-.-i MYSTERIOUS STRANGER; OR. MemoitB of tfje Notelr HENRY MORE SMITH, CONTAINING A correct account of his extraordinary conduct during the Thir- teen Months of his confinement in the Jail of King's Coun- ty, Province of New-Brunswick, where he was convic- ted of horse stealing, and under sentence of death. ALSO, A Sketch of his Life and Character, from his first appearance at Winds'^A in Nova-Scotia, in the year 1812, to the time of his apprehension and confinement i , -A To to.Aeh is added — A History of his Career up to the preseaU time, ^ enAracing an AcamiU of his Imprisonments and Escapes. SCLSCTKD FROM THX MOST AUTHKNTIC SOURCIS, BOTH POBLIC AND PRIVATE. f J TBIBD BDITIONy Bmsed, Enlarged, and Improved, — by Walter Bates, Author of tlu First and Second Editions. SAINT JOHN, N. B. PRnri|ED AT TBS BRUNSWICK PRESS, PRINCE WILLIAM 8TRCKT,. Bt WIIililAin li. XVMUV, AND SOLD BT HIM, WHOLXSALK AND BCTAKm 1§10. ym)w»— *> ! ■ I " I ■ ' < ■ " wi ' m ' p.. .. I . I ■r'w T i ' i M i' « » i P " '^^ SfSSri H, . >v. PREfACE. f. <• Upwards of twenty years have now elapsed since the first Edition of the "Mtsierious Sthanoek" was published. In the course of this time, I have had occasion to visit the United States at four different periods, which ^ave me frequent oppor- tunities of enquiring after the notorious individual who forms the subject of the following narrative, and of becoming acquaint- ed with many of the prominent features of his conduct and ca- reer, from the time of his banishment from this Province, and during his subsequent travels through Nova-Scotia, the States of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New-York, Maryland, • and Upper Canada. " As I pursued my enquiries, the facts relating to his ^xtraor* dinary career became increasingly interesting and astonkiiybing. insomuch that I considered it my duty to the world to publish them, that all might, in some measure, be prepared to guard, ad* much as possible, against the approaches of so artful and design- ing a villain, who, from a life spent in the practice of depreda- tions, thefls, and robberies, has become so accomplished in his diabolical profession as to set mankind at defiance. My resolution to publish this Third Edition of his Memoirs ill also in compliance with repeated solicitations from Boston, New- York, Connecticut, and various other parts of the United States, as well as from many persons in New-Brunswick, Nova* •Scotia, and Upper Canada. And to render the Work as com- plete, interesting, and acceptable as possible, it begins with a «ihort sketch of his life and character, from the time of his first appearance at Windsor, in Nova-Scotia, in the year 1812, to thet time of his apprehension and confinement in my custody. It presents, also, a full account of his astonishing behaviour during the period of his imprisonment under my keeping in the years 1914 and '15, with his remarkable escape from prison, and his # PREFACE. Ill e the first ished. la he United jnt oppor- irho forms ; acquaint- ict and ca- ^ince, and the States Maryland, is i^xtraor ston^ing. ve-apprtthension and commitment to confinement again ; his trial, sentence of death and pardon, and his banishment from the Pro- vince. I have traced his subsequent career throughout the United States and other parts, up to the present period ; and from the *best information I could obtain, — from pubRc prints and pri- vate correspondence, and by all possible means have collected and narrated all the principal facts connected with his remark- able history for upwards of twenty years ; have detailed particu- larly his various imprisonments and escapes, until the narrative naturally closes with the report of his confinement in the gaol of Toronto, Upper Canada. As I have deemed it necessary also, to give the public a de- scription of his person, I have chosen to give it a place in tliia part of the Work, that the chain of the narrative may be preser- ved unbroken, as much as possible. At the time of his banishment from this Province, he was about twenty-two years of age : five feet, nine or ten inches high,— ^ straight limbs, and well proportioned ; large bones, and close jointed wrists, — fingers large and unusually long, — his complex- ion light, but a little of the sallow cast; — his hair of a dark brown, liandsomely shaded, and naturally curled iu front;— his eyes of a light grey, quick ani piercing, — his noso rather more promi- nent than ordinary, and his visage thin, with a small scar on the jjeft side of his chin, and a slight one on the- right cheek near his «ar, which he received, as he said, in using the small-sword : he Avas astonishingly quick and active in his movements, and uni- formly clean and neat in his dress. To this description of his person may be added, that he was exceedingly addicted to snlo^ king, could sing and whistle remarkably well, and play on any instrument of music. He could speak several foreign languages, and perform all kind of mechanical business or common labour, and seemed to have in his arm the strength and power of a lion, i^d a mind filled with subtlety, invention, and depth of Satan. WAIiTGR BATES, Kingston, (NeuhBrunstoick,) n, and his tut: MTSTEILZOITS STEiLlTGSIl. Heniit More Smith, tlie noted individual who forms the sub-» ject of this Narrative, made hii^ first appearance amongst us in the y^ar 1812. Previous to this, we have no information con' corning him* Some time in the month of July, in this year, he appeared at Windsor, in Nova-Scotib, looking for employment, and pretended to have emigrated lately from England. On be- ing asked vrhat his occupation was, he stated that he was a Tai- lor; but could turn his hand to any kind of mechanical businew or country employment. He was decently clothed, genteel in his appearance, and prepossessing in his manner, aiid seemed to understand himself very well. Although an entire stranger, he seemed to be aoquainteil with every part of the Province, but studiously avoided to enteeinto close intimacy with any person, associated with few, and Careful- ly concealed all knowledge of the means by which he oqiUhb to to the country, and also of his orij^in and connexions, ke^^g his previous life and history in entire obscurity. Fmding no better employment, he engaged in the service of Mr. Bond, a respectable farmer in the village of Rawden, who agreed with him for a month on trial, during w^hich time he con- ducted himself with much propriety and honesty ; was iintueH trious, careful, and useful, to the entire satisfaction of Mr. Bondy ^■jhis employer, and even beyond his expectation. He was per- ,^«HGe tgst us in ition coTi' » year, he »Ioyment, On bo' OS a Tai- businew eateel in 3eined to ted with crtee into (iamful- BOl^ to keepmg ?icriousncs3 ; nnrl, in the absence of Mr. Bond, he would him' uelflJlRlciate in the niont soloiun and devout manner. This well directed aim of his hypocrisy secured for him almost all he could wish or expect from thia (iimily ; he not only obtained the full confidence of 3!f. T'ond himself, but gained most effectually, tb^ affections of his favorifo daughter, who was unable to conceal' the strength of her attichment to him, and formed a resolution to give h 'r hand to hi in in marriage. Application was made to Mr. Bond for his cnncurrenco, and, although a refusal was the consequence, yet so sUong was the attachment, and so firmly were they detorniiuecl to consummate ll)eir wishes, that neither the advice, the entreaties, nor the remonstrances of her friends, were of any avail. 8ho went with him from lier father's house n VVindsor, aud under the name of Frederick Henry Mora, be tijere married her on the l"2lh of March, ldl3, her name having l)een Elizabeth P. , ,.. While he rliMiined at Rawden, although he professed to be a Tailor, he did not purtiue his business ; but was chiefly engaged in farming or country occupations. After his removal to Wind- sor, and his marriage to Miss Bond, he entered on a new line of business, uniting that of the tailor and pedlar together. In this character he made frequent visits to Halifax, always bringing with him a quantity of goods, of variou-* descriptions. At one time he was known to bring home a considerable sum of money, and upon being asked how he procured it and all those articles and goods he brought home, he replied that a friend by the name of Wilson supplied him witi> any thing he wanted as a pedlar nnd tailor. It i::! remarkable, however, that in all his trips to Ha- lifa&, he uniformly set out in the afternoon and returned the next morning. A certain gentleman, speaking of him as a tailor, re- marked, that he could cut very well and make up any article of clothing in a superior manner. In fact, his genius was extraor- dinary, and he could execute any thing well that he turned his attention to. A young man having applied to him for j^^e coat, he according'y took his measure, and promised to h ■"*"'" cloth with him the first time he went to Halifax. V^^i^iti aAer, he made his journey to Halifax, and on his returi^aj^b^ilr'^ ing to meet with the young man, he shewed J|iim, from tiiS.nt>H-'^ manteau, the cloth, which was of a superior quahty, and pi^niis- «d to have it made up ou a certain day, which he punctually per- formed to the entire satisfaction of his employer, who paid nim his price and carried off the coat. About Ihis^titne a number of unaccountable and mysterioud tbeAs were ct^ri^itted in Halifax. Articles of plate were mis- sing frotin. gentlemen's houses ; silver watches and many other valual>l^;artic(e# were taken iVoni Silversmith's shops, and all' done in 90 i^ysterious a manner, that no maizes of the robber's 6 THE MYSTERIOUS BTRANOER. !.\t>'— hands wero to -b^een. Three volumes of Inte nets of Parlin- ment, relating to the Court of Admiralty, vvoro mitaiiig froui iUc office of Chief Justice Strange about tho same titnft : ho ofrerod n reward of throe guineas to any person who would restore them, with an assurance that no questions should he asked. In .'ifj-w days after, Mr. More produced the vohimes, whierland, and bring him the black horse. To this the Colonel readiljr;0ono sented, and paid him down the fifteen pounds. This opened the way to Smith for a most flattering speculation : he had observed, a valuable mare feeding on the marah contiguous to the place # f ^il TJllE MYStERlOUS STRANGER. of Pailiff. ^' frOui 111,. 'torotheiji, In finnv «aid h(« 'e ffuinen ; nffair laid 'lU'it have lystcrioij.s qunrters ; iiJ-nished n!-r^ed aular af- ? and af- ncl unac- 1/ issued dopant «t pard 'edvirith Mny by ^ »e made '»ine of ity with of OMo 5 of the sans to , who, squain- mgiug whicli ofdif. •loneJ, 1> that i> that da for Id ad- 36 in ^iion<- dthe rved, ilace r '■-■i'! u wheru he had taken Ma lodgings, and cast hjjfely e upon a fine saddle and bridle belonging to Major King, #nch ho could pia hid hand on in the night. With these facilities in ^ lew, Smith entered on him scheme : he put himself in possession of the sad- dle and bridle, determined to steal the mare ho saw feeding on the inarielonging to William Fayerweather, atthebridge that crossetr the Mill-stream, to take a short sleep, and start again in the night, so us to pass the village before daylight. But, as fate would have it, he overslept ; and his horue was discovered on the bam floor ia the morning , and he was seen crossing the bridge bjr daylight. Had he succeeded in crossing in the nighty he would in oil pro- bability have carried his design ; for it was not till the afkernoon . tlirongh the Provin< of Nova Scotia, as far as Pictou, a distance <6f oi^e hundred and seventy miles; which the thief had performed v^yitiithe stolen horse in the space of three days. There on the ^!^%Mj» the hBtae having ueen stolen on the 2Qth, Mr. Jiaox i ■ ( 8 TflE MVSTERIOUS flTRANOER. had him ft]yprehW|dcd by the Deputy Sheriff, John Tni'ions, E§q. uad taken before mo County Jui^iticoR in Court then sitting. Do- Hides the horse, there were a watch and fifteen culneas found with the prisoner; nnd a warrant was i.4sued by tlio Court, fur Ilia conveyance through the Boveral Counties, to the gaol of King'rt County, Province of New-Brunswick, there to take hin trial. — Mr. Knox states, that ho, the prisoner, a>)sutn6d different names ar^d cotnmittod several robberies} by the way ; that a wutch and a piece of India ciitton were found with him, and returned to the owners : that on the way to Kingston gaol he iiad made several attempts to escape from the Sheriff*, and that but for hi« own vigilance they never would have been able to reaob the pri- Hon with him, observing at the same time, that unless he were make his es- tji the war- fiad no d be- well taken care of and secured, he would certai cape. He was received into prison fur examin rant of conveyance without a regular comubneh Tlie prisoner had rode oil day in the nKKrtini opportunity of changing his clothes, which by ti come very wet, it was thought necessary, lest he should sustain injury, to put him into the debtor's room, hand cuffed, where he couldbar^^fl);) opportunity of warming and drying himself at the fire; tne stove having been out of repair in the criminal's room. The da^ ft»liawiag he was removed into the criminal's room, where irons were considered unnecessary : and as he appeared to be quite peaceable, his hand-cuflfs were taken off, and bein|; furnished with a comfortable berth he seemed reconciled to h;^ situation. On the ]3th of August, I received the following Letter from the Clerk of the Circuit Court: — Dear Sir, Mr. Knox has left with me the examinations, &c. relating to More Smith, the horse- stealer, now in your jail; these are all taken in the Province of Nova Scotia, before Magistrates there, and I would recommend that he be brought up before the Magistrates in your Countv, and examined, and the examination committed to writing. I 60 not know under what warrant he is in your custody ; but I think it would be as well for the same Magistrates to make out a Mit- timus afler the examination, as it wenld be more acoordtng to forin. I remain, dear Sir, your's, Ward Chipman." After proper notice. Judge Pickett, Mr. Justice Ketchum, and Mr. Knox, all attended his examination; in the course of whic!), lie said his name was Henry More Smith, twenty years of a^e, came from England on account of the war^ had been in Attienca about a year and a half, that he was born in Brighton, that liis fa- ther and mother were living there now, and that he expected them out to Halifax the ensuing Spring ; that he purchased a farm for them on the River Philip, ana had written for them to come. t' n »»»9, Rsq. >I. Bo- n* /blind nirt, for gaol of tHko ilii, iffflrent watch Bturned " inadfl for iiM the pri- e w«re his es- war- 1f- ^DB MYSTERIOUS STRANQBR. De alio itQted that he came to Saint John on bniineM, where he fell in with Colonel Daniel, of the 09th Regiment, who proposed to give him two hundred dollars if he would brine him a black horae, within a fortnight, that would span with hLi own of the aame colour; that he told the Colonel ne knew ono that would riiatch hia perfectly, and that if he would lend him iifteen guineas, he would leave his own mare in pledge' until Im would bring the horse, as he knew there was a vessel then in St. «fohn, bound to Cumberland, where the horse was. To this pro- posal he said the Colonel agreed, and having received he mo- ney and left the nliare, wettt to his lodgings ; but before he could return, the vessel had left him ; and having no other conveyance by water, he was obliged to set out on foot ; and having a Ions journey to travel, and but short time to perform it in, he travelled all the night, and at davlight was overtaken by a stranger with a larxe horse and a small mare, which he oiTered for sale, and that he oeing weary with walking all night, offered him ten pounds for the mare, which he accepted. That they continued their journey some time, and began to find that the mare would not answer his purpose ; and the horse being a food looking one, which he might sell again for the money, he bantered the stran- ger for a swap, which was effected by giving the mare and fifteen pounds to boot in exchange for the horse, saddle, and bridle. He then produced a receipt which he said the stranger gave him, to the following effect:—" Received, July 20th, 1814, of Henry More Smith, fifteen pounds, inswap of a horse, between a small more and a large horse I let him have, with a star, six or seven years old.— James Chuhma!*." He then stated, that he proceeded onto Cumberlatid, and bar- gained for the black horse which was the object of his pursuit; but not having money enough to pay fbr him, without selling the one he rode, and hearing that Captain Dixon, of Truro, wanted to purchase such a horse, and finding that he. Captain Dixon, had gone on to Pictou, forty miles farther, to attend Court, he was obliged to follow him with all speed. That the next day being ^ufld»y, he was obliged to wait till Monday to sell his horse, and was there apprehended by Mr. Knox, and charged with stealing his horse ; that he was taken before the Court, and had all his money, his watch, and his horse, token from him, and was sent back to King's County gaol to take his trial ; and complained, that as he was an entire stranger, and had no one to speak for him, unless the man were token who sold him the horse, his case might be desperate, for he hod neither friends nor money, nor any one who knew him to take his port. He complained also of having been badly used by Mr. Knox on the way. Having been asked by Mr. Knox, in the course of his exami- I # -'*SP' 10 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. s :>u ^ nation, what loccupation he followed in this country, he replied) "" No one in particular." Mr. Knox then hastily asked him how he ^ot his living. He replied, with great firmness and self-pos- session, " By my honesty, Sir."— After this examination, a regu- lar commitment was made out, and he returned to prison. He submitted to his confinement without a murmur, and with much seeming resignation; but complained of a severe pain in his side, occasioned by cold he had received. He seemed anxious for an opportunity to send for his portmanteau, which he !M|id he had leit with some other articles in the care of Mr. Stackhottse near Saint John. Tlxe portmanteau, he said, contained lim clothes, which he would be obliged to sell to raise money for the purpose of procuring necessaries and engaging a lawyeis repeat* mg again, that, as he was a stranger and had no friends t5 help him, the'e would be but little chance for him, though innocent, except the thief who stole the horse were taken and brought to justice. It so happened, on the day following, that I had occasion to go to the City of Sayit John in company with Dr. Adino Paddock, senr. when, on our way, he had occasion to call at Mr. Nathaniel Goldine's tavern, in Hampton ; and while placing our horses under his shed, we perceived a man mounting a horse in great haste, that was standm^ at the steps of the door, who immediately rode ofifwith all possible speed, as though he were in fear of being overtaken. On inquiring who he was, we were informed by Mrs. Golding that he was a stranger who had called there once or twice before, and that she believed his name was Chumah, or Churman. I observed to the Doctor, that that was the name of the man from whom the prisoner Smith said he purchased the horse ; upon which Mr?. Golding said that she could ascertain that by inquiring in the other room, which she was requested to do., and was answered in the atiirmative. We made frequent inquiries by the way, as we proceeded to- wards St. John, but could ascertain nothing further of the stran- ger by that name. Af\er my return from St. John, I informed the prisoner Smith of what had happened by the way; he appear- ed exceedingly elated witli the idea of his being the man that had sold him the horse, and said if he had money or friends he could have him taken and brought to justice, and would soon be resto- red to liberty again himself; bnt that if he were sufiered to make his escape out of the country, his own case would be deplorable indeed, though he was innocent. He again reiterated his com- plaint, that he was destitute of money aud friends, in a strange country, and although anxious to employ a lawyer, he did «iot know of any to whom he could apply for advice. He was re- commended to Charles J. Peters, Esq., Attorney in Saint John, with the assurance, that if there were any possibility in the case. s «. THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. u of gettinff him clear, Mr. Peters would exert himself in his behalf most faithfally. The first opportonity that offered, be sent ao order to Mr. Stackhouse for his portmanteau, with instructions to apply the proceeds of certain articles, which he had left with him for sale, if disposed of, in retaining Mr. Peters as his Attor- ney. The return brousht a handsome portmanteau and a pair of boots, leaving a small sum in the hands of Mr. Peters, as part of his retainer, which was to be increased to five guineas before the sitting of the Court. This arrangement seemed to be pro- ductive of much satisfaction to the prisoner, and for the purpose of fulfilling the engagement with Mr. Peters, he expressed a de- sire to dispose of the contents of his portmanteau, as far a^ was necessary, for making up the sum. He gave me his key, witK which I opened his portmanteau, and found it well filled with various articles of valuable clothing; two or three genteel coats, with vests and pantaloons, of the first quality and cut ; a snpedor top-coat, of the latest fashion, faced with blacIL ulk ; with silk stockings and gloves, and a variety of books, eonsistingof a n«at pocket-Bible and Prayer-Book, a London Gazeteer, a Ileady. Reckoner, and several other useful books. He had also a night and day spy-glass of the best kind, and a small magnifyin^-glass: in a tortoise shell ease, with many other useful articles. Suspi- cion of his not having come honestly by the contents of his port- manteau was not tlie impression that was made ; but rather that he had been handsomely and respectably fitted out by careful and, affectionate parents, anxious for his comfort and happiness, and that be was, in all probability, innocent of the charge alleged against him. He soon commenced selling off his little stock, and for the purpose of affording him a facility, persons, wishing to purchase from him, were permitted to come to the wicket door, through which he could make his bargain, and dispose of his things. He never failed to endeavour to excite the pity of those who came to visit him, by representing his deplorable sitnation, in being reduced to the necessity of selling his clothing to raise the means of defending his innocence in a strange country from the unfortunate charge preferred against him. Nor did he fait of his purpose, for many, from pure sympathy for his unfortu- nate situation, purchased from nim, and paid him liberally. — Among those who came to see him, there was a yoonj^ man, who said he had known the prisoner in St. John, and professed to visit him from motives of friendship ; he had access to him through the grates of the window, and some of the glfVi being broken, he could hold free conversati<>n through the gems. The last time he came ho carried off the night and day glaai^r debt, which he said he owed him while in St. John ; but the probability rather was that he had given him a watch in exchange. The prison was then kept by Mr. Walter Dibblee, a man fUtk 13 THE MrSTERIOUS STRANGER. learning and talents, who for several years had boen afflicted with a painful disease, so that for it great part of his time, he was confined to the house, and frequently to his room, in the County court house, where he taught a school, by which means,, together with the fees and perquisites of the jail and courthouse, afforded him a comfortable living for himself and family, consist- ing of his wife and daughter, and one son named John, about nineteen years of age, who constantly attended his'father. It may ako be necessary to mention, that Mr. Dibblee was one of the principal members of the Masonic Lodge held at Kingston, and was in high esteem among them; besides, he was regarded by all who knew him as a man of honesty and integrity, and well worthy to fill any situation of responsibility or trust. I am in- duced to advert to these particulars of Mr. Dibblee'is character because I am indebted to him for many of the particulars rela- tive to the pris^er, and because, having had a person who could be relied on, there was the less necessity for my visiting the prisoner very frequently, which did not exceed once in a ' weelc generally, except upon special occasions. Shortly after the commitment of the prisonbr he was visited by Lieutenant Baxter, an officer in the New-Brunswick Regi- ' prisoner to enlist him, as a means by which he might be released from his confinement. This idea he spurned with contempt, and chose rather to await the issue of his trial, depending on his Srofessed innocence of the crime for which he stood committed, [e was however prevailed on to write to his Attorney on the subject, and received for his answer, that such a measure was entirely inadmissible, aiid advised him to content himself and await the issue of the trial. He appeared much displeased with the abruptness of his Attorney's answer, and seemed rather to look upon this short and summary reply, as an indication of his displeasure with him, and as an omen that he, his Attorney,, would not interest himself much in his behalf. About this time, Sept. 7th, I received a letter from the Clerk of the Circuit Court, enclosing a Precept to summon a Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery, to be held at Kingston on Tuesday the 27th of September. On the approach of the period for his trial, he was encouraged by his friends to refy with full confidence on his Attorney, with repeated assu- rances, that he would give his case all possible attention ; but with uU his professed ignorance^f the law. (and this ignorance he had often declared with much apparent simplicity,) the prisoner knew too much of it to resign himself with confidence to the issue of a cause which could promise him nothing but conviction, and con- ' j^rm his guilt. He therefore, upon his professed dissatisfaction with his Attorney, appeared to think no more about bim,. nor t» # n- THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 18 venew his inquiries concerning him, but set about a more sum- mary method of pxtricating himself from the power of the law. He turned his aUentioa to his Bible, and perused it with an air of much seriousness, as though the concerns of the unseen world engrossed all hisihonghts: he behaved himself, in every respect, with becomiug propriety; and his whole demeanor was such as to engage much intere.'l in his behalf. r About this time he discovered symptoms of a severe cold, be- ing troubled with n hollow sounding cough, and complaining of a pain in his side : but still submitted to his confinement without a murmur or complaint. He would frequently advert to the ill usage which he said he had received by the way from Pictou, , after he was made a prisoner, particularly of a blow on the side with a pistol, given him by Mr. Knox, which felled him to the ground, as he expressed it, like a dead man; that when he had recovered his respiration, which had been for some time sus- pended, he raised blood, and continued to raise blood occasion- ally by the way for two or three days ; that the pain had never left him since, and was now greatly increased in consequence of the cold he had received, and that die wound was, as he believed, approaching to a gathering in the inside, which he feared would finally prove fatal to hiui. He showed the bruised part on his side, which was swelled and much discolored, and apparently ■very painful. All this was accompanied with loss of appetite and increased feebleness of body: but he still discovered a re- markable resignation to his fate. His siiuation was such as to excite sympathy and feeling, so that an endeavour was made to render him as comfortable a^ possible, by keeping his apartment properly tempered with heat, and providing for liim sucnfood as was adapted to the delicacy of his constitution. His diseases, however, continued to increase, and his strength to decline, with ail ihe symptoms of apjiioachiug dissolution: })ainin the head and eyes, dizziness with sickness at the stomach, requent rising of blood, and increased painfuliiess of the contu- sion on his side. It was now considered high time to apply to a Physician, and on the 11th of September sent for a doctor, who examined his side and the general state of his diseases, and gave him some raediciue. On the 12th, ap^^eared a little better, — thirteenth, at eveiiiti"', grew worse. Fourteenth, unable to walk, —very high fever with frequent chills of ague. Fifteenth, vo- miting and rising blr)od more frequently. Sixteenth, the Rev. Mr. Scovil visited him in the morning, found him very ill, and sent him toast and wiuc ;md some other cordials. Same day the Doctor attended him at 3 o'clock, and gave him medicine. At 6 o'clock, no better, ansl vomiting whatever he took. Eighteenth, appearel still to grow worse; was visited by Judge Pickett and Mveral other neighbours ; and being asked whether he wanted B ■Wik # 14 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. any thing, or what he could take, answered, " nothing, except an orange or a lemon." Nineteenth, appeared to decline very fast: at 2 o'clock, was visited by the Doctor, who said the man must be removed out of that room, that he was too ill to be kept there, and that it was of no use to give him medicine in so damp a place. Twentieth, in the morning, found him still de- dining : at 10 o'clock, Mr. Thaddeus Scribner and others went in to see him, inspecting the room, but found no dampness that could injure even a sick man taking medicine. The Rev. Mr. Scovil visited him in the afternoon, and intro- duced the subject of his approaching end. The prisoner con- versed freely on the subject, and expressed his conviction that there was little or no hope of his recovery. He stated to Mr. Scovil that he was born m England, that his parents were for- merly attached to the Church of England, but had lately joined the Methodists ; that he came from England on account of the war, Biid that he expected his parents to come to this country next Spring, which last circumstance seemed to excite in him strong emotions. Twenty-first, the Rev. Mr. S . with others of the neigh- bourhood visited him in the morning : no favourable symptoms. Twenty-second, the prisoner very low : violent fever, accompa- nied with chills and ague. Inflammation of the bowels, with eva- cuations of blood for the last two days ; extremities cold, and strength greatly reduced, inson^ch that he could only just arti culate above his breath. Was ttnderstood to say, that he should die for want of medical assistance, as the doctor had refused to attend him any more in that place, and the SheriiT refused to re- move him. His situation had by this time excited general sym- pathy and pity ; his seeming simplicity, passiveuess, and resigna- tion, greatly contributing to produce tne effect. At 6 o'clock, the Rev. Mr. Scovil and a great number of the neighbours came and sat with him till 10 o'clock, and then left him with the im" pression that he would not live till morning. Friday, 23d, went to the jaU early in the morning, found the prisoner lying on the Roor, naked, and seemingly in great distress ; said he had fallen, through pain and weakness, and could not get up again. He was taken up and curried to his bed ; appeared as though he would instantly expire ; continued in a low and almost lifeless Btate till 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when he appeared to all pre- sent to be really dyin^. Rev. Mr. Scovil, Mr. Perkins, Mr. G. Raymond, all near neighbours, and Mr. Eddy, from Saint John, who happened to be in Kingston at the time, all supposed him to be in the agonies of death. He fell into a state of insensibi- lity, and continued so until a phial of hartshorn was brought from an adjoining room, the application of which seemed to revive him a little. After some time he recovered so far as to be able to articulate, and upon its being observed to him that he had had THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 15 went )n the alien, He h be feless 1 pre- r. G. John, hi in nsibi- from a fit, he replied that he was sensible of it, that it was his family infirmity, and that many of his connexions had died in the same way ; and further remarked, that he did not think he could sur- vive another, which would probably come upon him about the same time the next d.ay : that he was sensible he should not reco- ver : but that God toould have him. He then asked Mr. Scovil to pray with him ; his desire was complied with, and prayer was offered up in the most solemn and devout manner : the occasion was deeply airectin<;, and all departed with the full conviction that the patient would not linger till the morning. Previous to this, no regular watchers had attended him ; but it was now considered highly necessary that some persons should sit with him till the morning : and consequently John Dibblee and Charles Cambreau were appointed by the Sheriff to watch him through the night. The next morning the following letter was dispatched to Mr. Peters, the prisoner's Attorney : " Dear Sir, — I fear we shall be disappointed in our expectati- ons of the trial of the prisoner, More Smith, at the approaching Court, as I presume, from appearance, he will be removed by death before that time. He is dyiag in consequence of a blow that he received, as he says, from Mr. Knox, with a pistol, which he has regularly complained of smce he has been in jail, and is now considered past recovery. As it will be matter of enquiry, and new to me, I will thank you to let me know by the bearer what would be the necessary steps for me to take : and natfUil as I have but little hopes of his continuing till niorntng. ' « " Your's, &c. " Walter Bixii^^Jt^ The return of the bearer brought the following answor:-- " St. John, September 24fft. " Dear Sir, — Your favor of yesterday I received this morning, and I am sorry to hear so desponding an account of the unfortu- nate man in your custody. It will be your duty I conceive to have a Coroner's inquest on the body, and then have it decently interred. With respect to the cause of the death, thait is a cir- cumstance which must rest wholly on facts ; if any physician shall attend him, let him be particular in taking down in writing what the man says in his last moments, as to the circumstances ; and if ii Justice should be then present, it would not be ami«r. "In haste, your's sincerely, " C. J. Peters. "Walter Bates, Esquire." Saturday, 24th. — The watchers reported that he had passed a very restless night, and but just survived the morning ; that he complained for want of medical assistance. — ^The following note was then sent to the Doctor who had attended him ; ^ 16 THE MTSTEBIOUS STRANGER. >•' *' Kingston, September 2ith, 1814. " Dear Doctor. — Smith, the prisoner, says that he is suiferini^ for want of medical assistance, and that yon will not attend him unless he is removed into another room, which cannot be per- mitted ; he must take his fate where he now U, and if he dies in jail, an inquiry will take place, which may prove to your disad- vantage. I must therefore request your attention. " I am, truly your's, &c. " Walter Bat£s. " Dr. A. Paddock, Jun." At this time the sympathy and compassion of the whole neigh- bourhood was excited to the highest degree. The famik of the Rev. Mr. ."-covil, especially, manifested deep concern for him. and sent him every thing thai they thought would either comfort or relieve him : as did also the family of Mr. Perkins, and that of Mr. Raymond ; all these having been in the immediate neigh- bourhood. But the prisoner used little or none of their cordials or delicacies. Mr. Perkins visited him about 10 o'clock, a. m., and kindly proposed to watch with him the ensuing night, for which he discovered much thankfulness. In the course of the day tfajlKj^ijpctor came, and gave him some medicine ; but found him al-^ak, that he required to be lifted and supported while he was recei^g it. The Doctor acknowledged his low state, but did not think him so near his end as to die before morning, un- less he should go off in a fit. This, the patient said, was what he had reason to fear would be his fate before morning, and there- fore wished to make his Will. All his Clothes, at his death, he willed to John Dibblee ; and his money, about three pounds, which he always kept by him in his berth, he bequeathed to the Jailer for his kind attention to him in Ida sickness. The money Mr. Dibblee proposed to take charge of; but Smith said it was safe where it was for the present. Mr. N. Perkins having had occasion to call that day on Mr. W. H. Lyon, was enquired of by him concerning the state of the pri- soner. Mr. Perkins informed him that he was alive when he left him ; but thought he would be dead before night. This in- formation Mr. Lyon communicated the same evening to a num- llir of persons who w?re assembled at the house of Mr. Scribner ; «nd added, that he was dead, for that while he was on his way ta Mr. Scribner's, (it having been in the dusk of the evening), he had seen SmUh^s Ghost pass by him at a short distance off, with- out touching the ground. This singular report, as it came from a quarter that could not be well disputed, very much alarmed the whole company, and formed the subject of tlielr cohversatien far the evening. THE MYSTEUIOUy STRANGER. 17 But to return to our narr!iti>^. Af:or the prisoner had made h\s Will, he wan, for a short tiino, Icfr. eiIosu;, with tho probability that he would shortly bo seized by iinothor fit, which ho was not expected to snrvivo. About 6 o'clock in tho fn'eiiiii<», the Rev. Mr. Scovil observed to his fmn'Iy, thit it vv'i ^ tlxui iv!)out tho same hour of the day at wliich Qiu\lh hu\ had his fit on the, day pre- ceding: that ho t'.ioM'iht ho would die siuhlenly ; ho would there- fore walk over to the (/ourt fl<;!i-;e, atul be ready there at the time, as it must be uai)lousa:itf''or Mr. OJbbleo to be alojie. T-liis BO much awaivoiiod the He!isi')iiitu!s of Mr:''. Ccovil,that ^iho could not bear the roll'jr.tioi, tS.at, acliild. ol" parents that were perhaps respectable, Khould lie so near her, in a sfrango country, sick and dyinir, on a bed of straw. Ghe I'lorelbra called Amy, her wench ; ''her;!," said siie, " take litis feallier bed, and carry it to the gaol, and toil Mr. Dibbles; tiiat I lave sent it for BiivAh to die on." Mr. Seovil had bee:i in tiie noase, and seated v/ith Mr. Dibblee but a v<'ry shori: time, when a noise wa.^ lier.rd from Smith in th" jail. John Dibblee, wlio constantly attended on him, ran in haste, unlocked tii;; pris!)n do')r, rintl fo'uif! him in the agonies of a fit, aud ahno?^ cxpirinir. He niad^ an ciibrt to speak, and be<2;2;ed of-Iohn to run and heat a brick thatwa? near, and apply it t(» his feet. to ^"ive hnn one inom.'iit's reiiaf whilehe was dying, for that his feet and lo'^s were already coid and dead to the knees. Jo!m, willin;*- to alford what lelief ho could to the dying man, ran in great li;r<;'5 fVoiu the jail thro!i,f^!i tiie passage round the stairway that led f.o the kilchcn. wliere wa;; a large fire of coals, into v/hi(!h ho ea-t. ih ; liriek, waited but a i'eW minutes, and returned with the Iieaied I)vick to the prison; b tt to liis in- describable astfinislii-jon^ an;! alino.-t unwilling to hnlieve tho evidence of his senses, the <';;'ii'Jf mm had iH-utppsarcfL, and coidd not be found ! ! Jo'.iU ran \v'\Va the ti,lin-!,s to his (hther and the Rev. Mr. Seovil, who weresii; nr in a room which the prisoner mu,st have passed in ma'.in ;; iii.t e^eape. They were entirely in- credulous to the ref)')rt of -ui alfiir .-^o unparalleled, and would not yield their btdiei' uiitil t'.iey searched every corner of the apartment theinsolvea, and .^od a ivr.vurd of twenty dollars for his apprehension and ro-cosninitmuiit to cnstody; but with very lit- tle prospect of »n(:(;(Vv'i. k-iovviii^ tliat h(5 wa.s escapin<; for his life, and wonid s.iccoed in gottiii^' ont of the country before ho could be overta!ca did not make more than three or four fniles bef^n' nnvk. When Mr. Bailes returned to his house and found it had bctui rolibcd. lie immeiliately fixed his suspicion on the man wiio li.id Iain belbie the barn door, from having ob- fierved the prii'f of a i)oot-hf:ci, which was thought to be his, and gave the alana toiiis noi//h!>onis. They inmiediately set out in pursuit of him, and Iviving heard that he had been seen on the road at no greai distaiioe bnfore them, they foMowed on in high spirits, expectiu',' shordy to t-t-'r/.G him; bnt in this they were dis- appointed, for t!ie rol)!)er warily turned ai«ide from the road, leaving his pnv^,Mors to exercise a painful and diligent search, without beini :;b!e to Oi-ee) ;ain which way he had gone. Having followed as far as Gugetown, they posted up advertisements, descriptive of his pervon, and also of the watch; and sent some of them oa to 1' ledericion. Jl'ars lor hia tnh very lit. V"f? for hia uo/bre ho k fetiirncd [porU con- F^d. The f) meef on '**eiit parts ^9 stea/er. make tiio .""ot aiii. 'c'» I was ^"ifiil (Je.. It tJje viJ. '•'y reach niiioa tho ' 'jarn of J^ tia^e- ('^ Bat en there 1" an on- of Mr. for Mr. >»io dis- 'fitered, dollars t book, '3 way, conti- roe or i\onso picion '» and •nt in I) the high dis- oad, rch, inj tits, me THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 91 Late on Sunday nij»ht, nman called at the house of Mr. Green, who resided on an island at the mouth of the Washademoae Lake. He said he was a Frenchman, on his way to Fredericton about land, and called for \hi purpose of enquiring the way. Mr. Green informed him that he was on an iHlund, and that he had better stay till the morning, and that he would then direct him on his jourrey. He made on a large fire, by which.the man examined his pocket book, and was observed to cast seve- ral papers into the fire, and finally he threw in the pocket book also. Mr. Green on seeing this, had an immediate impression that the man must be some improper character, which idea was strengthened by the circtiinstance of its being a time of war. In the morning therefore he took him in his canoe, and carried him directly to Justice Colwell. a neighbouring Magistrate, that he might give an account of himself On his examination, he an- swered with so much apparent simplicity, that the Justice conid find no just ground for detaining him, and consequently dismis- sed him. He then made his way to an Indian camp, and hired an Indian, as he said, to carry him to Fredericton : and, crossing the rirer, went to Vail's tavern, on Griinrossneck, where he ordered breakfast for himself and his Indian, and had his boots cleaned. At this moment, Mr. Bailes, whom he had robbed the day pre- ceding, was getting breakfast at Mr. Vail's, and writing adver- tisements in quest of the robber. About eleven o'clock, he, with his Indian, started again, leaving Mr. Vail's unknown and unde- tected ; but not without taking with him a set of silver teaspoons from a side closet in the parlour. The time was now come for the sitting of the Court, and about eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning, the Attorney Gene- ral arrived from Fredericton, with very unfavoinable impres- sions on his mind, bringing iufurmation that the robber was still traversing the country, stealing and robbing wherever he came, without sufficient eft'ori being made for his apprehension. The Jury also were collecting from the diftiMGut Parishes of tho County, bringing with them unfavourable idoas, from the reports in circulation concerning his escape. AniDug the many opinions that were formed on the subject, one, particularly, was very in- dustriously circulated. The prisoner \v:rj a Freemason, and it will be recollected that Mr. Dibblee, the jailer, was stated in a former part of the narrative to be a FreemTson also, and tlmt there was a Freemason Lodge held at KiUj'^ston. The public mind was strongly prejudiced against us, unwilling to believe the real circumstances of his elopement; and the Court assem- bled under the strongest impressions that his escape was conni-^ ved au The Honorable Judge Chipman presided on the occa- ■ion. The Court was now ready for business, hnt no^trisoncr ; yet high ">■'« 22 TnB MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. expectations were chorished that every hour would bring tidings of nis nnpiehension, aa ho was pursued in every direction. The Grand Jury was empannelled, and the Court adjourned till the next day at eleven o'clock, waiting anxiously for the proceeds of the intermediate time. And to render the means for his ap- prehension as effectual as possible, Mr. Benjamin Furnald, with a boat well manned, was despatched in the pursuit with direc- tions to follow on as far as he could get any account of him. Wednesday, the Court again met and commenced other basi* ness ; but nothing of Smith yet. In the afternoon, Mr. John Pearson, witness against him, arrived from Nova Scotia, a dis- tance of two hundred and eighty miles. Towards evening con- clusions were beginning to be drawn that he had eluded all his pursuers and was making his way back to Nova Scotia, and this conjecture was almost converted into a certainly by the circum- stance of a man having been seen crossing the Wai-hademoac and making towards Bcllisle Boy. Nothing more was heard till Thursday morning earl^, when Mr. B. Furnald returned, and reported that he had found his oourse and pursued him through Maugerville : that the night before he (Mr. F.) reached Maugerville, the robber had lodged at Mr. Solomon Perley's, and stole a pair of new boots, and had offered the silver teaspoons for sale, that he. had stolen at Mr. Vail's. That he then walked up as far as Mr. Bailey's tavern, where he stopped some time, and that he was afterwards seen towards evening under a bridge counting his money. This was the last that could be heard of him in this place, and it was now believed that he had taken an Indian to pilot him, and had gono by way of the Washademoac and head of Bellisle, for Nova Scotia. This was in accordance with the idea entertained at Kingston before Mr. Furnald'^ return. At ten o'clock on Thursday morning the Court met according to adjournment, to bring the business then before them to a close, without much hope of hearing any thing further of the horso-stealer at this time ; when about three in the afternoon, a ser- vant of Mr. Knox's, (who it will be remembered was the Plain* tiffin the cause,) came direct to'^the Court with information to his master, that his other horse was mis^ng out of the pasture; that he had been known to be in the pasture at one o'clock at night, and was gone in the morning ; and that a strange Indian had been seen about the place. This extraordinary news pro- duced much excitement in the Court ; and the coincidence of the Indian crossing the country with the robber, with the Indian seen at Mr. Knox's, confirmed the opinion, that Smith had made him- self owner of Mr. Knox's other horse also!!! Mr. Knox, on bearing this niews, became exceedingly agitated, had no doubt that Smith was the thief again, would not listen to the Sheriii' '^ THE MYSTERIOUS STRANQEfl. bring tidings >ction. The iruod till the he proceedR a for his ap. urnald, with with direc- of him. i other bnsi. i» Mr. John 'cotia, a dis- vening con- luded all his tin, and thini the circiim- i.-haden)oac arljr, when d U)und his ' the night had lodged >ts, and had 5len at Mr. sy's tavern, wards seen This was I was now I had gone for Nova irtained at according them to a her of the ^on, a ser- the Plain, oiation to pasture ; clock at ?e Indian lews pro- ice of the lian seen ade him- ^nox, on « 10 doubt 3 Sheriff V'^ \1 who was not just willing to credit the report of the hnrae being stolen, and atiirmed that his life was in danger if Bifidli was suf- fered to run at large. Mis Honor the Judge expressed his opi' niou that groat remissness of duty appeared. A General Warrant was issued by the Court, directed to all the SheritT:) and Ministers of Justice throughout the Province, commanding them to apprehend the said More Smith and bring him to justice. In the mean time, men were appointed to com- mence a fresh march in quest of him, to go in dincrnnt directions. Mr. Knox, with Henry Lyon and Isaiah Smith, took the road to Nova Scotia; and Moses Foster, the Deputy Sheriff, und Na- than Deforest, directed their course towards Frodericton, by the head of Bellisle Bay, with orders to continue their search as far as they could get information of him, or to the American settle- ment. The Sheriff then wrote advertisements for the public pa- pers, offering a reward of forty dollars for his apprehension ; and the Attorney General increased the sum to eighty dollars. Indictments were prepared, and the Grand Jury found a BUI against the Sheriff and Jailer, for negligence in suffering the pri- soner to escape. They were held to Bail to appear at the next Court of Oyer and Terminer to traverse the iHuictments. The business of the Court being at the close, the Sheriff paid the wit- ness, Mr. Pearson, from Nova Scotia, for his travel and attend- ance, amounting to one hundred dollars, afler which the Court finally adjourned. Nothing was heard of our adventurer till after tlie return of Mr. Knox with his party from a fruitless search of ten days in the I'rovince of Nova Scotia, and as far as Richibucto. The day rullovving, Mr. Foster and Mr. Deforrest returned from theiV rhase, and reported that afler they had proceeded to within three miles of Fredericton they heard of a stranger, answering to his description, having lodged all night at a private house ; but had gone on the road towards Woodstock. They continued the pursuit, and found that he had stopped at Mr. Ingrahim's tavern the night following, slept late in the morning being fatigued, paid his bill and went off; but not without giving another serious proof of his characteristic villany. Ho broke open a trunk, which was in the room adjoining the one he had slept in, and carried off a full suit of clothes belonging to Mr. Ingraham, that cost him forty dollars, and a silk cloak, with other articles, which he concealed so as not to be discovered. This information gave his pursuers suthcieut proof that he was indeed the noted horse- steeuer. But Mr. Ingraham not having missed his clothes imme- diately, the robber travelled on unmolested, and the next day went only as far as Mrs. Robertson's, where he found a collection f young people, played the fiddle for them, and remained the ext day and night. He then proceeded towards Woodstock, u THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. leaving tho spoons with AFin. Ilnberijon in exchange for a shirt, and taking pai^sai^e in a f?.»u(>(*, lianticMjed lofi^l in company with another canon that had Ijoeii at I r.ilcrictou, in which tho Rev. Atr. Dibblee, Missionary tit \V oodsiuck, was passenger, with a younsf man poling th;i caiiot!. Tin; young man had seen Mr. Bailes' advciiisriinent at Fredei'iatoii, describing the man and watch, whicli liad a singidar steid chain; and observed to Mr. Dibblee, that t!iey both answered to tlie appearance ofthestran- ^ ger. Mr. D. remarked ta the young man that he might be mis- taken, and as]\(.(l tho strau;^er to let him see the watch. The 8 ranger handed the watcli with a'l willingness, and it was found so exactly to answer to the matk-f of Mr. Bailcs^ tcatch that Mr. D. challenged it as the property of Mr. Bailes. Smith very gravely ^ replied, that it was nfacouritc loatr.h that he had owned for a " ibng time ; bnt that if he had heard of one like it having been stolen, he had no objection to leave it with him until he returned, which would be in about two weeks. Mr. D. replied that the Huspicion was so strong, iuit he thought he would detain him also, until he couid hear from Fredericton. Smith rejoined that ,ho was on imporlrsnt business and could not be detained ; but if he would pay his expense- and iii»ke himself responsible for the damage incurred by his detention, he would have no objection to stop till he could send to Fredericton. Otherwise, he would leave the watch, as he proposed belore, and would return in ten or twelve tiays, during which iitne Mr. D. might satisfy himself OS to the watch. He appeared so perfectly at ease, without dis- covering the slightest indications of guilt, that on these couditiona they suffered him to pass on. He continued his march through Woodstock until he came to the road that leads to the American settlemeni, and a~ it drew towards evening he enquired of a re- sident by the way coiR'ornin? the road to the American side ; but was asked by t :e man to tarry till morning, as it was then near night and ihe .•jelilcniont yet twelve miles dii^nt. He did not choose to comply - .ilh the invitation, and affianced, as an apology, that two iueu liad gfue on before him, and he feared tliey would leave hiin in the morning ifhe did not proceed. It happened in a very rtliort time after, that two young men arrived Uiere from the settle. nen', a.-id b;3ing asked whether they had met two men on the read, the y ausweied in the negative. It was tlien concluded that Smith w;u- a deserter, and they turned about and tbllowed him to t.he American settlement, but found nothing of him. The day foliowiiij. Mr. Foster and Mr. Deforrest arri- . ved at Woodstock, and tiudiu'i tliemselves still on the track of him, they pur-fuod oi: to t.'ie / nierican lines, but could hear no- lliing concornin!:r him. Thin then informed the inhabitants of Smith's character; aud proposed a reward of titenty pounds for his apprehension. The people seemed well disposed and pro- iniKed to do tlieir utmost. # THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. ge fot a shirt, iornpany with lich the Rev. enger, with a had seen Mr. the man and erved to Mr. of the stran- light be miB- »[atch. The it waa found h that Mr. D. very gravely owned for a having been he returned, ►lied that the [ detain hinj [■ejoined that inod ; but i£ sibJe for the 10 objection 3, he would etiirn in ten '■^s^y himself without dis- » conditions rch through 3 American red of a re- iican side ; t was then . He did CRd, as an 1 he feared •ceed. It en arrived iy had met •• It was ned about d nothing rrest arri- 3 track of I hear no- bitanta of ounds for ^ and pro- w Rfessrs. F. &, D. then made their way back to the River Saint J^ohn, and tliere, most unexpectedly, came across tlio path of our adventurer again. They found that he had crossed the river, stopped at several houses for refreshment, and called himself Bund. That he had assumed the character of a pursuant in quest of the thief viho had broken into Kingston jail : said that he was a notorious villain, and would certainly be hung if taken, and appeared to be extremely anxious that lie should be apprehended. They traced him down to the river where the Indians were eu- camped, and found that he had agreed with an Indian to conduct him through the woods to the United States, by the way of Kd River, a route not unfrequently travelled; and hence had baflled uU the efforts of his pursuers and finally escaped. Messrs. F. <& D. thought it was now time to return and make their report. It afterwards appeared, that the Indian, his conductor, af\er hav- ing gone about two days on the route, began to be weary of his job. (perhaps finding that it might not be productive ofmucii profit,) and discovered that Smith carried a pistol, which he did uot like very much, refused to guide him any longer, gave him back part of his money and returned. This materially turueil the scale with our adventurer, and Fortune, that had hitherto smiled on his eiiterprize, refused, like the Indian, to conduct itfiu much further. Unable to pursue his journey alone, he was, of course, obliged to return, aud he had now no alternative but lo try his chance by the known road. It was now the 10th of October, and he re-appeared on tlie old ground, wanting re- freshment, and in quest, as he said, of a deserter. While hiss i)reakrast was preparing, information of his presence was circu- lated among the inhabitants, and Dr. Rice, who was a principal character in tiie place, eOected his apprehension and had hiiu secured. The clolhgs he had stolen from Mr. Ingraham he had on, ex- cepting the' pautaloons, which he had exchanged for a pistol. lie said he had purchased the clothes very cheap from a man who he believed was a Yankee. He was then taken in charge by 31 r. A. Putnam and 3fr. Watson, vv'ho set out wilJi their pri- soner for Fredericton. On their way they stopped at the Attor- ney General's, throe miles from Fredericton, and then proceeded juto town, where the Supreme Court \vas then sitting. Tht? prisoner was brought before the Court in the presence of alarj^e number of spectators. The Hon. Judge Saunders asked hiui iiis name, and he unhesitatingly an.-:\vered, " Smith." " Ar*t you the man that escaped from the jail at Kingston?" " Yes." On being asked how he effected his escape, he said, the Jailer Mteitcd tlie door and the Priest prayed him out. He was then or- dered to prison for the night, and the next day he was remandcil to Kingston jail. Putnam aud Wati-on set out wilh him iu an ■4» 6 THB MYSTERIOUS STRANGER^ Indian canoe, one at each end, and the prisonef, hntadcuffed and pinioned, and tied to a bar of the cnnoe. in the centre. They wete obliged to watch him the first night at the place where thcy^ lodged, and the next day they reached Hie house of Mr. Bailea, opposite Spoon Island, wtiei-e he had stolen the watch and the money, &,c. It wa» near night, and the passage to Kingston rather difficult ; and thHy being strangers, Mr. B. pro- posed that if they would stop with him till morning, he wonld conduct them to Kingston himself. The3r willingly complied, and they having been up all the preceding night, Mr. B.{)ropo8e(l that if they would retire and take some rest, he with his ramily wotild keep watch of the prisoner. After they had retired, the prisdner enquired the way to Saint John, and whether there were any fiirries on this side the river. He then asked for a lilanket and'leave to lie down. Mrs. B. made him a bed on the floor ; but before he would lie down, he said he had occasion to go to the door. Mr. B. awakened Mr. Watson, who got up t(r attend him to the door. Smith suid to him that if he had any apprehensions, he had better tie a rope to his arm, which he ac- cordingly did, fastening it abo-;e the handcuffs, with the other ^nd wound round his own hand. In this situation they went out of doors; but in an unguarded moment^ Smith watching hiH opportunity, knocked him down with his handcuffs, leaving the rope in the hands of his keeper, having slipped the other end over his hand without nntieing the knot. Thus, handcuffed and pinioned, and bound with a rope, the ingenums horse-steider, by another effort of his unfailing ingenu- i^, akin to his mock sickness in the jail, had effected a second escape from his keepers, leaving it as a matter of choice, whether to institute a hopeless search for him in the darkness of night, or sit down in sullen consultation on what plan they had best pur- axie in the morning. Nothing could exceed the chagrin of JPut» nam and Watson on finding themselves robbed of their prisoner, except the confusion wl: ch filled myself and the Jailer on the knowledge of his unexuinpled and noted escape from the jail. — To pursue him in the night, which was unusnall} dark, and rainy besides, was both hopeles and vain ; it was therefore thought test to inform the Sheriff" in the mornin|^ of what had taken ]ilace, and receive his advice as to their future proceedings. In the morning, accordingly, Mr. Putnam proceeded to Kingston, and on communicating the news to the Sheriff, received a sup- ply of money, with orders to pursue the road to Saint John, while the Shcrifl*, with two men, proceeded to Mr, Bailes*. There they received information that Smith had changed liis course, and crossing the Oaknabock Lake in the night, was di> rcr.ttnf his course towards Fredericton again ! It will be remem- he/ed that previous to his escape, while a prisoner at Mr. BailM\ THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 27 ho cniide particular enquiries whether there were any ferrias in the way to Saint John, on this side the river. At this time it would seem that he had looked upon hU schenx) as siicces-^ful, and evidently directed those inquiries concerning the road with a view to mislead, while it wa.s his policy tn return upon the course which would he judged the most unlikely of all he should take. But to return to our story. Me catiie to the hike the same even-, ing ho had got clear of Mr. Watson and the rope, and there ur- ged as a reason for hishnste in cro^s n:^ the lake \n the ni<;ht, that He was on his Way to Fredericton to purchase land, and that he had arranged it with Putnam and Watson, who had gone to Kingston with the Thikp, to take him up in tiieir canoe on their return, and was to meet them at the in ervale altnve, etuply tbe next morning. This well varnished and rhamcttrUtie st mocto ; and so we followed up his retreat accordingly ; hut in that direction no intelligence could be obtained, and we remained in total ignorance of his proceedings and history up to the S)6Ui of October. At tiiis date, when it was supposed that he liad transported himself into the United States, to our utter a^'toninb- meut and surprise we find him again in the pro.seciition of his usual business in the immediate vicinity of Fredericton. Him Rnt appearance there again, was in a bye place, at a small house not then occupied 9s a dwelling. It was drawing towards night, and the day having been rainy, he came to the house wet and cold. An old man by the name of Wicks, wit!i his son, was engaged in repairing the house, in which they h;id some potatoes. There was also a quantity of dry wood in the house ; but as the old man was about quitting work for the day, he bad suflfered the fire to burn down . ^„.T he stranger was at'ixions to lodge in their humble habiUitionropitious kvas much ig, whose uspeiided ice of tha nts, mak- 'ats, three aring ar- ps he ex- bis con- • this tra- his horse e Ihat hi» •w of his* rson had istaken ; ay, with to be it was an- er land, ay, and Ihat the nd was idea of (Md cal- which ?3cap«. ■■■''al It was Roon discovered that their prisoner was no loss a person than thu far famed Henry More Smith, a«d no lime wa? lost in committing him to Fredericton jail. Patterson, not seeing the comforter with him which he wora round his neck in the hay, wa3 induced to examine the hay it' perhaps he might find it. This led to the discovery of his entir^j deposit: for, he not only found the immediate object of his searcli. but alHo all the articles previously mentioned, with many more which were all re.storcd to the owners respectively. Upon the examination of the prisoner, he gave no proper sa- tisfaction concerniu!i the articles found in the hay: he said tlicv were brought there by a soldier, who rode a little poney, and went off, leaving the saddle and bridle. He was then ordered to be taken by the Sherift' of York County and safely delivered to the Sheriif of King's County, in his prison. Accordmgly, th*? Sheriff prepared for his safe conveyance an iron collar, made of n flat bar of iron, an inch and a half wide, with ahingeandcla^p, lastened with a padlock. To the collar, whichwas put round hi"< neck, was fastened an iron chain, ten feet in length: thus pre- pared, and his hands bound together with a pair of strong hand- cufls, after examining his person lest he should have saws or other instruments concealed about him, he was put on board ;t sloop for his old resi/laice in Kingston. They started with a fair wind, and with Patterson, the mulatto, holding the chain by the ond, they arrived with their prisoner at Kingston, a distance of sixty miles, about 12 o'clock in the night of the 30th of October, which was better than one month from the time of his triumphant escape t'iroua;h means of his pretended indisposition. On his re- appearance in the old spot and among those w'.o had ministered BO feelingly to hU comfort during the whole period of his affected illness, and whom he had so effectually hoaxed, it might hav^ boeu expected that he would have betrayed some feeling or emo- tion; or th.at a trati:jient blush of shame, at least, would have passed over his countenance; but ah! no: his conscience had long since become seared, and there was no sensibility within, strong enough to gjflftifie slightest tint to his shame-proof couii- fenance. He app^rod perfectly composed, and as indifl^ercnt and inr'ensible to all around him as though he were a statue of marble. On the ensuing morning he was conducted to the jail, which he entered without hesitation or seeming regret. After his for- mer escape it had been cleared out of every thing, and carefully swept and searched,, In the course of the search there were found several broken parts of a watch, and among the rest, the box which contained the mainspring. This convinced us that the watch, (which he received from the young man before his escape, in exchange for the spy-glass,) was intended to furnish 30 THB MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. him with the materials for making a saw, in case all other plana he mi/;ht adopt to accomplish his release, should fail to suOeeed. Wtt found u large dinner knife cat in two, which we supposed tu have huen done with a saw made of the mainspring, as a trial or experiment of its utility. Havin/2; hy this time, from painful experience, become a little acquainted with the depth of his genius, we thought it not impos- possihle nor unlikely, that he might still have the saw concealed about his persoti. although Mr. Burton, the Sheriff of York Coun- ty, had Hearrhed him before his removal from Fredericton jail. VVe were, however, de ermin3d to examine him more closely, (or which end we took off his hnndcuiTd, and then ordered him tu take off his clothes. Without hesitation or reluctance he di- AcHted himself of l\k clotheii, &11 to his shirt: we then searched every part of his dress,— the sleeves, wrist-bands, collar of his whirt, and even the hair of his head ; but found nothing. We then KuHered him to put on his clothes again, and we carried out of the jail, his hat and shoes, and every article he brought with him. The prison in which he was confined was twenty two feet by Mxteen ; stone und lime walls three feet thick on three sides, the fourth side having been the partition wall between the prison rooms. Tliis partition was or timber, twelve inches thick, lathed iind plai stored. The door was uf two inch plank, doubled and lined with sheet iron, with three iron bar hinges, three inches wide, clasped over staples in the oppo.oite posts, and secured with three strong padlocks ; and having also a small iron wicket door secured with a padlock. There was one window thrQii|h the stone wall, grated witliin and without, and enclosed With glass on the outride, so that no comunmication could be had with the interior undiscovered. The passage that leads to the prison door is twenty feet in length and tliree feet in breadth, secured at the entrance by a padlock on the door ; the outside door wan also kept locked, 'so tliat no communication could be had through the passage, without parsing through three securely locked doors, the keys of which were always kept by Mr. Dibblee, the jailer, who from his infirm state of health, nevMJ^ the bouse by daj or nig4u. ^^ Having learned a lesson hy former experience, we maintained the most unbending strictness, suffering no intercourse with the prison whatever. In this manner secured, we put on his right leg an iron shackle, with an iron chain no more than long enough to allow him to reach the necessary, and take his provision at tbe wicket door. The end of tlie chain was fastened to the timber of the floor by a strong stapkt. near tlie partition wall, eo that ho could not reach the grated window hy five or six feet He was prorided with a bunk, Mtraw. and blankets, as a bed ; and hia wriala having been much swelled with the bandco^ I coa«Mcr< *:| THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 31 other plaoi to Muticeed. m supposed ig, as a trial some a little not impoH- V concealed IforkCoiin- 3ricton jail. )re closely, rdered him ince he di- n searched ollar of his We then ried out of ' with him. wo feet by ) sides, the the prison iek, lathed ubied and ree inches d secured »n wicket r through Med with I had with lie prison , secured door wait through ed doon, le jailer, e by da J tintained with the his right enoQcfa loathe timber • thai he He waa aadhia c.d it unnecessary to keep them on, especi illy as he was so tho- rflu<;hly s'icured in other respectn. Im this situation I lefl him, with directions to the jniler to look to him frequently through the wicket door, to soe that he letnaiued secure, intending at the name tlm3 to visii him occasiourily inyHolf. Tha jailer came to look at him frequently at the wicket door, as -atisfied that th ? inner grate remained se- cure, was led, rather by curiosity, to reach through his hand, and take up the chip that lay on the bar of the outer grate; on doing t y 32 TilB MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. this, ho thouglit he could perceive that the bar was inclined to hang in a smnil degree. This led to further examination; and to the utter astonishment of all that were present, it was found that the bar was cut one-third off, and artfully concealed with ihfi feather edge of the chip. Our astonishment was increased bjr die fact, that it was impossil)le to reach the outer grate without first removing the inner. This gave the hint for a yet more ef- fectual examination, when it was found that he had cut one of the inner bars so neatly, that he could remove and replace it at pleasure, having contrived to conceal the incisions in such a manner as almost to preclude the possibility of detection. There Is little or no doubt that in two or three nights more, he would have effected his second escape, had not his works been disco- vered, through the very means which, artful as he was, he em- ^ ployed to conceal them. On beingasked what instnnnent he used in cutting the grjitc. he answered with perfect indiflerence, " With this saw and tile ;" and without hesitation, handed me from his berth, a case knife, steel bhde, neatly cut in fine teeth, and a common hand-saw file. I then asked him how begot to the grates, or whether ho had slipped the shackles off his feet ? he answered me, no ; biit that he had cut the chain : and then showed ine very calmly where he had cut the chain in the joint of the links, a part where the cut could not very readily be discovered. On being asked where iie got his tools, he answered that " had left th nn in the jail when he went away, and that those in had given me were all the tools he had left. But perceiving the shape of t' e knife, (it having been much thicker on the than the edge,) that the bars could never have been through with that instrument, we were induced to er search, and found, in a broken part of the lime grates, a very neat watch-ppring saw, having a cor end. I then asked him who gave him those tools ; replied with great firmness, " You need not ask me again, fi)r I never will tell you." After I had finished these enquirie|| I searched his bed and his clothes, and lenewed the chain agai|^t« his leg, fastening it firmly to the floor with a staple ; an putllhg on a pair of strong hand-cuffs of J bt)lt. We then left him, itbe- ing about 11 o'clock on Saturday night. On the next Sunday, at 4 o'clock, I revisited the jail, when the jailer informed me that the prisoner was lying in his berth with all his irons on, and had been enquiring of him if the Sheriff were not coming to examine his chains. About 12 o'clock the same night I was alarmed by V a man sent by the jailer to inform me that Smith had got loose from all his irons, and having worked his w>iy through the inner grate, was cutting the outer grate, and had nearly escaped ! Here, at the dead hour of midnight, when it might be expected that «very eye would be sunk iii the stillness of sleep, through tba m HPft' ed at one to which he tll£ ftiVSTEttiOUS STRANOEtt. Vigilant attention of Mr. Dibblee, the jailer, this astonishing be- ing, who set haudcufiV, and shackles, and chains at defiance, had ■ all but eflected another escape. Mr. Dibblee, on finding him to be at work at the grates, was determined, if possible, to take him in the act ; and by fastening a candle to the end of n stick three feot in length, and shoving a light through the wicket gate, he was enabled to discover him at work before he could have time to retreat to his berth. Mr. Dibblee, on perceiving how he wai employed, ordered him to leave every thing he had, and take to his berth : he instantly obeyed, but as suddenly returned to the grates again, placing himself in a position in which he could not bo seen by tlie jailer. Remaining here but a moment, he went quickly to the necensary^ and threw something down, which was distinctly heard, and finally retired to his berth. Mr. Dibblee maintained a close watch until I arrived at the jail, which we im- mediately entered, and to our amazement found him extricated from all his irons. He had cut his way through the inner grate, and had all his clothes collected, and with him, ready to elope^ and had cut the bar of the outer grate two-thirds off, which, no doubt, he would have completed long before morning, and made his escape. I said to him, " Smith, you keep at work yet :" he answered that he had done work now, that all his tools were down the^iiecessary. The truth of this, however, we proved by letting do^^^candle, by which we could clearly see the bottom ; but no tanfjlf^elre to be seen there. His return to the necessary and droppmg. or pretending to drop something down, was, no t, an artifice by which he attempted to divert our attention [^the real spot where his tools weie concealed. But in lhi.i , _^. with aH his cunning, he overshot the mark, by his over- cag^ness to tell us where he had cast his tools, instead of allows ing us rather to draw the conclusion ourselves, from his return to the place, and dro])ping something down. We next proceed- ed to strip off and examine his clothing, carefully searching every horn and seam. His berth we knocked all to pieces, examining every joint and split ; we swept out and searched every part of the pri-on, knowing that he must have his instruments m some part of it ; but all to no purpose, — nothing could we discover. Wo next replaced ail his chains with padlocks; put oh htm a pair of screw hviiid-cufTs, which confined his hands close together, and thus left him about 4 o'clock on Monday morning. On the day following, Mr. Jarvis, the blacksmith, having repaired the grates, came to put them in, whelkwe found Smith lymg on the floor, apparently as we left him ; but, on examining the new handcuffs, which screwed his hands close together when pat CMi» wo found them separated in suoh a manner, that he could piUt them off and on when he pleased. On being asked why he de- stroyed those valuable handcuffs, " because," stiid he, " they art no stiff that Qobody can wear them." >^M 34 TIIC MYSTURIOUS MTRANGER. No doubt then reniainnd thiit he mast have his saws concealed •bout his body, uiid having been ordered lo take olf his clothes, he eomplied wiili his usiiul reudinetts. On taking otf his shirt, which hud not been done tit tiny time previuns in our searches •bout his body, Dr. A. Paddock, wiio wu.-i pre^tHut, and nuipiov- •d ill tlie search, discovered a small niu^hn cord about his thigh, close to his body, and drawn so tight th:U it could not be felt by the hand passing over it, with the shirt between. This small cord was found to conceal on the inside of his left thigh, a fine steel smopttUe, two mr:hes broad and ten inches long, tiie teoth neatly cut on both the edges, no doubt of his own woirk. After ihis dis* eovery, we put on him light handcutfs, secured his chains with padlocks again, and set four men to watch him the whole night The next day we secured the inner grate, filling the squares with hard bricks, lime, and t>and ; leaving a space a\ the upper corner of only four by Hve inches, in which was inserted a pane of glass in the centre of the wall. This small opening in a wall three feet thick, admitted little or no light, so that the room was ren- dered almost a dungetui, which prevented the prisoner from be- ing seen at any time from the door without the light of a candle. From this time we never entered the prison witliout cau'^e^and two or three men. Ou the 13ih of November, I addressed a letter to Judge Chip- man, to which I received the following answer: '^' Saint John, November 14, 1814. " Dear Sir, — I received your letter of yesterday relating t^the new attempts of H. M. Suyth to escape. I have forwardr corner « of glass all three was ren- froni be- I candle. ('.Ilea and ?e Chip. ■I .^ > V.', THE MYSTBRIOITS STRANGER. 35 Zl'Z 1814. 'lum gtCthe -clMttie Jifljy Jtiifgf t'Ji Sco- uiakcH, tiust bo y uiea- •^ br thin '■^■ *.«»." :M hat he v-|ffiB n waii leared Iburn le left air of eput vhich neck. rill a ^s^^^f direction opposite to the other : and also a chain from hia fetters to thK n ck collar, with hiiiidcutfs bolted to the middle of hia chain in Niich a iiiitinifr ih to pr(>vent his hands from reaching his head and ftMit when Htaiidin!,', luaving it jiiHt possible for him to feed himHelf when sittintr. All theme iron^ and chains he received withotit discovering the least concern or r(?gard. When the blacksmith had finished riveriiig the wliolo, I said to him. "Now, Smith, I woiilfl advise you to h • quiet after this, for if you are not you will next h;\ve iin iron band put round your body and stapled fast d«>wn to tlie floor." He very calmly replied, •* Old man, if you are not satisfied, you may put it on now. I do not regard it, if you will let me have my hands loose you may put on as much iron a^i you please. I care not for all your iron." In this situation we left him, loaded with irons, the entire weight of which was forty-six pounds, and withoiU anv thing to sit or he upon but the naked floor. Although he was thus situated and in an entire dungeon, he appeared not in the least humbled; but became more troublesome and noi.sy, and exceedingly vicious against the jailer. Despair and madness seemed now to seize him, and ravinir and roniing would unite with the utterance of prayers and portions of the Scriptures. With a tremendous voice he would cry out, " O you cruel devils — you nmrderers — you man-slayers— you tormentors of man I Ho'v I burn to be re- venged; help, help, help me; Lord holp me to be revenged of those devils; help me, that I may tear up this place, that I may turn it upside down, that there may not be one stick nor stone of it left. My hair shall not be shorn, nor my nails cut, till I grow as strong as Sampson, then will I be revenge'l of all my enemies Hulp, help, O Lord help me to destroy these tormen- tors, murderers of man, tormeniin^i me iuchainsand darkness:" shouting, " darkness, darkness, O darkness, — not light to read the Word of God, — not one word of comfort from any. All is, — ^you rogue, you ihief you villain, — you deserve to be hanced. No pity, not one word of consolation, — ail darkness, all trouble:" singing "trouble, trouble, tiouble; O God help me, and have mercy upon me, — I fear there is no mercy for me; — yes, thero Is mercy, it is in .lesus, whose arms stand open lo receive; but how shall I dare to look at him whom I have offended !" Then he would call upon his parents, and deprecate his wicked life: then rave again, " murderers, tormentors, consider you have souls to save, consider you have souls to lose, as well as I. a poor prisoner; consider you have children that may be brought to trouble as well as I ; consider I have parents as well as they. O ! if my parents knew my situation, it would kill them. My wife! begone from my sight; why will you torment me ! It is for vou that I suffer all ray sorrow, — it is for you my heart bleeds. Not a friend comes to see me,— nothing before me but pain and Mr- # 30 TUB MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. row, cliains and darknesfi, niiHory and death. Oh ! wretched me, how long am I toHiifTer in this place of torment! Am I to linger ulifeofpain and sorrow in chains and miHery? No, I will cut the thread of life and be relieved I'roin thin place of darknes^s and trouble:" singing "trouble, trouble, trouble," a thousand tinieH rcpoated. In this manner he continued raving till ho became very hoarse and exhausted, would take no notice ofanything thut was Haid to him, and finally left otTspcaking entirely. The weather having become very cold, he was allowed hin berth a^aiii, with u comfortable bed of straw and blunkots ; but the blankets had to betaken away from him again, on account of his having attempted tn hanir himself with one of them made into a ropo. lie next attempted to starve himself, but this he gave over, after having fasted throe or four days. He now dropped into a state of quietness, and lay in his bed the most of the tiuu>, day as well as night; but on the 16th of December we found, on oxaiitining his prison, that he had broken the iron collar from hiw neck, and drawn the staple from the timber ; but replaced it again •0 as to pi event d(>tection. On the ITtli, wn put a chain about his neck, and stapled it to the floor in such a manner that he could not reach cither of the staples. In this situation he remained secure and rather more quiet, yet with occasional shouting and screaming until the lOtU of January. The weather having now become very cold, and no tiro allowed him, fears were entertained that he might freeze; to prevent which it became necessary to remove his irons, which, with the exception of his fetters and handcuffs, wore accordingly taken ol*'. For this relief ho discovered no sign of thankfulness, but borame more noisy and troublesome, especially in the night, ,r.o:.:r-'''.:g ::!1 within the reach of his voice, with screeching and howling, and all manner of hideous noises, entirely unlike tlie human voice, and tremendously loud, even beyond conceplion. In this manner he continued for five moiilhs, occasionally com- mitting violent^e upon himself and breaking his chains, during which period he never could be surprised into the utterance of one single word or articulate sound, and took no notice of any person or thing or of what was said to htm, no more than if he had been a dumb, senseless animal ; yet perlbrming many cu- rious and aj^tonishing actions, as will be related liereafier. In the New Testament, which he always kepi by him, a leaf was ohsLMvod to bo turned down, under which, upon examina- tion. WIS found the following Scripture, in the I'd chapter of Ist Corinthians. "And I, brethren, could not speak unto yon," &<*. The weather having been intensely cold throughout'the month of January, and ho having had no Hre, great fears were enter- tained that he must perish from cold : but astonishing to relate, his hands and feet were always found to be warm, and even hi* ched me, Uo linger I'lciittljo Iness and I'id tiiiieA became Ihitig thut ked hin lofs ; but [count of i«de int(» droppe«l he tinu!, 'iind, on 'Voju f„„ ^t again THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 37 i^haiiu ! In February, when t)' > weather began to moderate a little, he became more troubit ome; beean to tear off the lime wall and lathins from the partition, and break every thins he could reach. A strong iron-hooped bucket that contained his drink he broke all to pieces ; the hoops he broke up into pieces not exceeding three Inches long, and would throw the pieces with such dexterity, though hand'^suflfed, as to put out the candle when the jailer would bring the light to the wicket door to examine what he was doing. As the weather moderated he became more noisy and vicious, as will appear by the following letter which I received from the jailer on the 10th February : " Dear Sir, — There must be something done with Smith — he is determined to let me know what he is if no one else does,— he sleeps in the day time, and when I go to tell him to keep still at night, he yells so as not to hear what I say to him. Instead of thanks for taking off his irons, he makes all the noises he can by yelling and screamins all night, and knocking very loud all night with some part of his irons. I wish you would come up early and advise what is best to be done. W. Dibblxk." I came to the jail accordingly, and found his irons uninjured, and to prevent liim from using his hands so freely, locked a chain from his fetters to his hand-cufis, and left him. On Sunday, two gentlemen from Nova-Scotia, at the request of Smith's wife, came to make enquiry af\er him. I went with them to the jail to see if he wOuld speak or take any notice of them, or of what they would say to him from his wife. They told him that his wife wished to know if he would have her come to see him, and what she should do with the colt he left ; that she would sell it for two hundred dollars, and have the money sent to him. But all they said had no effect on him, any more than if he had been a lifeless statue, which convinced us all that he would go to the gallows without speaking a word or changing his countenance. The next week he became more restless and vicious, and on Sunday, on going into the jail with Mr. Rulofson, from Hamp- ton, and Mr. Griffith, from Woodstock, found he had broken up part of his berth, had broken his chain from the handcufib, leav- ing one link to the staple, the parted links concealed ; tore up part of his bedding aud stopped up the funnel of the necessary. It appeared also that he had been at the grates; but how he got there was a mystery, for the chain, by which his legs wexe bound, was unbroken, and the staple fast in the timber. We then rais- ed the staple and again, put on the chain to bis handcuffs, fasten- ing the staple in another place more out of his reach. Thu next day, I found ne had again bioken the chain from his 38 THE MYSTERIOUS STRAN6SR. handcuffs and torn off a large portion of lathing and plastering^ irom the middle wall. Finding this, I determined to confine him more closely than ever, and so put a chain from his feet around his neck, stapled to the floor, securing his handcuffs to the mid' die of this chain. He had already given such mysterious and astonishing proofs of his strength and invention, that I feared he would finally baffle all my ingenuity to prevent his escape. The twisting of the iron collar from his neck and drawing the staple from the timber, was a feat that filled every one with wonder. The collar was made of a fiat bair 6f iron, an inch and a half wide, with the edges rounded. This he twisted as if it were a piece of leather, and broke it into two parts, which no man of common sense could have done with one end of the bar fastened in a smith's vice. The broken collar was kept a long time and shewn to many a wonderer. As might be expected, his wrists were frequently much swelled and very sore from his exertions to break and get loose from his irons ; yet he appeared as iqsen' sible and as regardless of his situation as if he had in reality been a furious maniac. Notwithstanding the seeming insanity which characterized these ^orks of his in the prison, yet other parts of his perform- ances there indicated ^he most astonishing genius and invention; perhaps in a manner and degree unequalled in the memory of man. On the 1st of March, on entering his prison in the even- ing, we found him walking in fron'i of an effigy or likeness of his wtfe, which he had made and placed before him against the wall as large as life. When the light was thrown upon this scene which he had prepared and got up in the dark, it not only fiUpd us with amazement, but drew out all the sensibilities of the heart with the magic of a tragedy, not so much imaginary as real. This effigy he intended to represent his wife, visiting his wretch- ed abode, and manifesting signs of disconsolation, anguish, and despair, on beholding her wretched husband moving before htr in chains and fetters, with dejected mein, and misery and despair depicted in his countenance. The effigy was formed out of his bedding and the clothes and shirt which he tore off hi» body, together with a trough three or four feet in length, which was used in the jail to contain water for his drink. Rough as the materials were, yet he displayed such ingenuity in its forma- tion, and conducted the scene in a manner so affecting, that the effect it produced when viewed with the light of the candles, was i^ally astonishing, and had a kind of magical power in drawing out the sympathies of every one who witnessed it. He continued noisy and troublesome till the 5th of March, when we took his irons off, and caused him to wash himself and comb his hair, which had not been cut since he was put in jail ; neither had bis beard been shaved. On receiving a piece of THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 39 le him round e mid' 'us and ired he The staple onder. a half ere a man of stened ne and wrists ertions I iusen- Y been erized r/brnj- ntion ; lory of ! even- ' of his e wall scene ' filled • heart 3 real, retch- ?uish, efore rand d out ffhis ^hich ^h as rma- tthe was iring rch, and ail ; ^ of * isoap for washing, he ate a part of it, and used the rest. We then gave him a clean shirt, which he put on himself with the rest of his clothing, after which we replaced his irons, which he receive'] in the same manner as an ox would his yoke, or a horse his harness. The term of the Court of Common Pleas was now coming on, which required much of my attention for the necessary pre- parations ; and Mr. Dibblee, the jailer, being about to remove to Sussex Vale, to take charge of the Academy there, my situa- tion began to look I'ather awkward and unpleasant. According- ly, the jailer moved away on the 11th of March, after the sitting of the Court, and from the extraordinary trouble which the pri- soner was known to have given, I had little hope of finding any one who would be willing Intake the charge. However, I pre- vailed with Mr. James Reid (a man in whom I could confide), to undertake the charge of him ; who, with his family, moved into the house the day following. After this. Smith appeared more cheerful, and became rather more quiet, until the 24th of March, when I was called on by the jailer, and informed that Smith was attempting to breakthrough the partition where the stove-pipe passed through into the debt- ors' room. On entering the jail we found him loose from all his irons, — his neck-chain was broken into three pieces ; the chain from his neck to his feet into three pieces ; his screw hand-cufis in four pieces, and all hanging on nails in the partition. His great coat was torn into two parts^ through the back, and then rent into small strips, one of which he used as a belt, and su))- ported with it a woode" iv/ord which he had formed out of a lath, and with which he amused himself by goin<^^ through the ' sword exercise,' which he appeared to understand very well. The chains from his legs were disengaged from the staples, and tied together with a strip of the torn coat. His hands, his feet, and his clothes, were all bloody ; and his whole appearance pre- sented that of an infuriated madman. There were present on this occasion, Messrs. Daniel Micheau, Moses Foster, George Rayraond, Walker Tisdale, the Jailer, and some others. I then raised thy staple, secured him by the leg chain, put on a pair of stiff haud-cutfs, and added a chain to his neck, stapled to the floor. In this situation we lefl him until the 28th, when I was again call- ed by the jailer, who said, he believed that he was loose again, and about some mischief. On entering the jail, I accordingly found him loose, — the chain from his neck in three parts ; he had beaten the lime off the wall with a piece of his chain three feet long. We lefl him for the purpose of netting his chains re-^ paired : at night we added a new chain from his fetters to his' neck, and stapled him to the floor with a chair, ubout four feet Jong ; we secured his hand->cuj9s to the chain between his neck 40 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. and feet, eo that when standing, he could not reach in any direct tion. In this situation he remained until the Slst, spending the time in singing and halloing occasionally. I was then again call- ed hy the jailer, who on opening the wicket door, found a piece of his chain hanging on the inside. I went immediately to the jail and found that he had separated all his chains, had tied his feet chain to the staple again, and was lying in his bed as uncon- cerned as if nothing had happened, having a piece of chain about his neck. We then took his bunk bedstead from him, and remov- ed every thing out of his reach, but could not discover by what means he could separate his chains. No links in the chain ap- peared to be twisted, nor were there any broken links to be seen, from which we inferred that he still must have some means of cutting his chains. At this moment, however, it occurred to us that he might have the broken Hnks concealed in the privy. We accordingly let down a candle, by which we could see the bot- tom, and with an iron hookpre{)aTed for the purpose, we brought up a bunch of broken links which he had tied up in a piece of his shirt, together with a piece of his neck-chain a foot long. — This convinced us that he had not destroyed his chains by means of cutting them, but by the application of some unknoton myste- rious power. I then determined to break the enchantment, if strength of chain would do it, and added to his fetters a large timber chain, which had been used as the bunk-chain of a bob- sled, by which four or five logs were usually hauled to the mill at once. The chains we had previously used were of a size be- tween that of a common ox*chain and a large horse tracC'Chain. Secured in this manner we left him, and on the 6th of April found his neck-chain parted again. I then replaced it with a strung ox-chain about seven feet long, firmly stapled to the tim- ber. The next morning the jailer informed me that from the uncommon noise he had made in the night, he was convinced he must be loose from some of his irons or chains. I then conclu- ded that he must have broken his steel fetters, as I judged it im- possible for humau strength or invention, in his situation, to break either of the ox-ehains ; but to my utter astonishment, I found the ox-chain parted and tied with a string to the staple, his hand- cuffs, fetters, and log chain having remained uninjured. We fastened the ox-chain to his neck again, by driving the staple into another link. After this, he remained more quiet, hiswnsts having been much galled and swelled by his irons, and bruised and rendered sore by his exertions to free himself from them. At this time I received a letter from the Clerk of the Circuit, of which the following is a copy : — " Saint John, March 15. " Dear Sir, — ^At length I enclose you the precept for summon- ing a Court Of O^er and Tkrmintfr and Gaol Delivery iti your A^-v — ■ ..i ■ f rarr! L t ^?^ ; L : " ' ;j"! ^!!:;rr:!::a- i:.- ' j.- .~itr: N. %. • THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 41 County, on Thursday the 20th April, for the trisij of the horse 8teaIer.>-I also enclose a letter from Major King for his saddle stolen from him at the same time. "Your's, &c. " Ward Chipman. "To Walter Bates, Esq. High Sheriff." After this our prisoner remained for some time rather more peaceable, and amused himself with braiding straw, which he did in a curious manner, and made a kind of straw basket which he hung on the partition to contain his bread. Sometimes he would make the likeness of a man, and sometimes that of a woman, and place them in postures singularly stiking ; discovering much curious ingenuity. At this he would amuse himself in the day ; but spent the night in shouting and hallooing, and beating the floor with his chains. On entering the jail, we discovered the image or likeness of a woman, intended to represent his wife. He had it placed in a sitting posture, at the head of his bed, with the New Testament open before her, as though reading to him, while he sat in the attitude of hearing with serious attention. I was induced to look into the New Testament, and found it open at the 12th chapter of St. Luke, and the leaf turned down on the 58th verse, which reads as follows: "When thou goest with thine adversary to the Magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him ; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officei, and the officer cast thee into pri- son." It would seem as though he had intended tu represent her as reproaching him for his escape from the constables on his way to Kingston, while he would defend his conduct by refer- ring to the above portion of Scripture. He produced many other likenesses, which he« would place in different significant postures, manifesting the most remarkable ingenuity and inven- tion. A special Court for his trial had been summoned to meet at Kin rston on the 20th of April ; but it was postponed until the 4th if May, on account of the ice having remained unusually late n the river, as will appear by the following letters : - *♦ Saint John, 5th AprU, 1815. "Dear Sir, — ^I have received your letter detailing the very ex- traordinary conduct of the culprit in your custody. There is certainly a mystery in this man's means and character Mt^ich is unfathomable, and I fear there will be considerable di^cultif with him on the tria]L Your vigilance and exertions, of course cannot be relaxed. As the best thing to be done, I dispatched your let- ter, without delay, to the Attorney General, tfacdytt^ might WmiMMi^ii 43 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. adopt, at Head duarters, any such measures as they might think expedient for the further safeguard and security of the prisoner. " Very respectfully your's, ■ "W. Chipmak. " W. Bates, Esq." " Sunday, 16th April, 1815. " Dear Sir, — I have just received, by express from Frederio- ton, a letter from the Attorney General, stating, that from the state of the river, it will be impracticable for him to be at King- ston by the 20th, and as he has hitherto taken the whole burthen of the trial upon himself, it cannot go on without him. From this circumstance, therefore, and as the present state of the tra- velling would probably render it dangerous to my father's health, (who IS not now very well), to hold the Court this week, he has determined to put it off till Thursday the 4th May, for which day he wishes you to summon your jury, and to proclaim the hom- ing of the Court. He regrets much giving you this additional trouble ; but it must be attributed to the extraordinary backward- ness of the season, which was not probably foreseen when it was recommended to hold the Court on the 20th of April. I have not time to forward a new precept by this conveyance ; but I will forward one in time, or the one you have may be then alter- ed. This can be easily arranged when we go up to the Court. " Your's truly, " VV. Chipman. " W. Bates, Esquire." The Court was accordingly proclaimed, and at the same time I wrote a letter, inclosing the proclamation, to Mr. Dibblee, the former jailer, to which I received the following answer : — " Sussex, 2(itk April, 1815. *' Dear Sir, — I yesterday received your letter, inclosing your proclamation of the Circuit Court, for the trial of Smith, the horse-stealer. I shall be very sorry if Judge Chipman's health xhould be such as to prevent his attending the trial. Should the Attorney General attempt to prosecute on recognizance for the escape, I think his" (the Judge's) influence at Court would pre- vent it. I am quite of your opinion, that it will be the most dif- ficult case that has yet been before any court, for trial in this county. As for his behaving much better after I left the jail, it was what I expected he would do, to put lleid off his guard. Those pajfts of^his chains that were hanging in convenient situ- ations, were powerful weapons; and had Reid come into the jail alone, or weak-handed, I think he would have felt the weight of them. It is remarkable that the villain, with all his art and cunning, should manage it so ill; and it seems altogether provi- dential, that from the beginning, (except his sickness,) he has either delayed too long or has been too hasty, which has pre- vented his escape before, and I hope and trust will be the sant& THE MYSTERIOUS STBANGES. 43 think poner. lAW. with you. I am sorry for the trouble you must have with him, and confidently hope and trust he will not evade your vigilance. You arc too well acquainted with his conduct to need my advice. I must claim from you the particulars of his conduct at the trial. I remain yours truly, W. Dibblee. W. Bates, Esq." On the 30ih of April, I went into the jail and found Smith ly- ing quietly with all his irons and chains uninjured, and told him that on Thursday next, the 4th of May, he must have his trial be- fore the Court for his life or death; and that Mr. Pearson, the Deputy Sheriff, who apprehended him at Pictou, had come to witness against him ; but he paid no attention to what I said. The second day Mr. Pearson earao to see him, and told him that his (Smith's) wife was coming to see him ; but he took no notice of him, no more than if he could neither see nor hear, and set at defiance all attempts to extort one single expression, as though he were destitute of every sense. The third day we found that he had been at the stone wall, his face bruised and bloody. I renewed my attempts to elicit something from him, by telling him that the next day he would be brought before the Court for his trial ; but all was in vain. He gave the most decided indications of confirmed insanity ; patted his hands, halloeed, sang without articulating, and continued to slug and beat the floor with his chains the most of the night The 4th of May, the day appointed for his trial, being now come, the court began to assemble early in the morning, nnd numerous spectators crowded from every part of the County. About 11 o'clock his Honor Judge Saunders, and the Attorney General, arrived from Fredericton. About one o'clock the whole Court moved in procession to the Court House, which was un- usually crowded with spectators. After the opening ef the Court in the usual form, the prisoner was called to the bar. The jailer and four constables brought him and placed him in the crimmal'a box. He made no resistance, nor took any notice of the Court, and, as usual, acted the fool or the madman, snapping his fingers, and patting his hands: he hem'd and ha'd, took off his shoes and socks, and tore his shirt. Every eye was fixed on him with won- der and astonishment. After the Attorney General had read his Indictment, the Judge asked him how he pleaded to that Indict- ment, guilty, or not guilty. He stood heedless and silent, w'th- out regarding what was said to him. The Judge then remon- strated with him, and warned him that if he stood mute out of obstinacy, his trial would go on, and he would be deprived of the opportunity of putting himself on his country for defence ; and that sentence would be given against him: he therefore ad- vised him to plead not guilty. He rail continued mute, and qki- 44 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. ing the fool without betraying the slightest emotion. The Judge then directed the Sheriff* to empannei a Jury of twelve men, to inquire whether the prisoner at the bar stood mute trilfuUy and obstinately, or by the visitation of God. From the evidence brought before the Jury on this inquiry, it appeared that he had been in the same state for the three months preceding, during which time he could not be surprised into the utterance of one word. The Jury consequently returned their verdict that the prisoner stood miUe by the visitation of God. The Judge then directed the Attorney General to enter the plea, of not guUty : and Counsel for the prisoner was admitted. The Court then adjourned till 10 o'clock the next morning. The next morning, Friday, the Court assembled accordingly, and the prisoner was again brought to the bar, and placed in tne criminal's box as before. He sat down quietly, and maintained his usual silence and inattention. The most profound silence reigned in the Court, which was still crowded with spectators, and every eye was fixed on the pris )ner witli the most eager at- tention. "The Judge then arose and observed that the prisoner appeared more calm this morning, and directed the Attorney General to. proceed with his trial. Afler the Jury had been empannelled and had taken their seats, and the witnesses brought before the Court, the prisoner was ordered to stand up for his defence, hold up hiis hand, and hear the evidence ; but he still maintained the same disregard and in- difference, giving no attention to any thing that was said to him. The constables were then directed to hold up his hand ; but to this he offered the most determined resistance, and fought and struggled with them so furiously, that they were unable to man- age him. They then procured a cord and pinioned his arms ; hut this was of no avail; he would flounce and clear himself from them all, as though he had the strength of some furious animal. They then procured a rope and lashed his arms back to the railing of the box; but he still continued his struggling, and reaching the railings before him would break them out like a gipe-stem. They then procured another rope and bound his ands together, and secured them to the railing in opposite di- rections. Finding himself overpowered in his hands, he imme- diately availed himself of his feel, with which he kicked most lus- tily, and soon demolished all the railing in front of the box, not- withstanding all the efforts of the constables to prevent him. — Another rope was then procured, and his feet bound each way from the posts of the box, so that he was rendered incapable of further mischief. Afler securing him in this manner, all the con- stables being in readiness for his movements, while he himself now sat as unconcerned as though nothing had happened, tho THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 4» Attorney General proceeded to read his Indietnumt, in which the grisoner stood charged with hav'mg feloniously sto/en a certain bay orse, the property of Frederick WiHis Knox, Esq., of the value of thirty-five pounds. Mr. Knox having been sworn, stated the manner of his pursuit after the prisoner, with all the circumstan* ces, until he came to Truro, as has already been detailed. At Truro he engaged Mr. Pearson, Deputy Sheriff, to pursue on to Pictou, whither he was informed the prisoner bad gone to sell the horse. Mr. Peters, Counsel for the prisoner, on the cross-examina* tion of Mr. Knox, asked him how he wrote his christian name, — ' Willis,' or ' Wills.' He answered, " I am christened and named ailer my god-father. Lord North, the Earl of Willsborough, and I never write my name Willis." Mr. Peters then produced au- thorities to show where one letter omitted or inserted in a man's name had quashed an Indictment, and moved that the prisoner be discharged from this Indictment. This move was overruled by the Judge ; but was reserved for a question in the Court above. The witness Pearson having been sworn, deposed and said, that he pursued after the prisoner the whole night, and early the next morning was shewn the prisoner, and arrested him on sus- picion of having stolen the horse, and told him that the owner of the horse would soon be present. He seemed but little sur- prised, and only replied that he came honestly by the horse.— The witness further stated, that he then asked the prisoner where the horse was, who unhesitatingly pointed to the house, where witness soon after found him. Witness went on to state that he took the prisoner before a Justice for examination, and thence to the jail at Pictou. That he then went to the house which the prisoner had pointed out to him, and there found the horse; that he returned homewards with the horse about ten miletn. and met Mr. Knox, who immediately knew the horse, and called his name * Brittain.' That they then relurneci to Pictou, where the pri- soner remained in jail, and on* examination was found to have in his possession a watch, and about fifteen guineas in money, with a number of watch-seals and other articles, some of which it appeared he had stolen on his way as he escaped with the horse. That he was committed to the charge of a constable and Mr. Knox, to be conveyed by a warrant from Nova-Scotia to the jail at King's County in New Brunswick. That before he was taken from the jail at Pictou he had cut the bolt of hishand-cnlfa nearly through, and had artfully concealed it, which was fortn> nately discovered, and new handcuffs provided, otherwise he must certainly have escaped from his keepers before he arrived at Kingston. The circumstances against the prisoner were, that he gave contradictory statements as to the way in which be came by th« 46 THE MYSTERIOUR 8TBANGER. horse : at one time asserting that he bought him from a pedlar; at another, from a Frenchman ; again, that he swapped for him ; and at Amherst produced a receipt for money paid m exchange. The Counsel for the prisoner, in cross-examining, asked Mr. Knox, did you ever seethe prisoner in possession of the horse ?" " No; but he acknowledged it." " Did you ever hear him ao- knowledge that he was in possession of the horse in any other way, than by saying he came honestly by him?" "No." — Mr. Pearson was cross-examined in the same manner, and answered to the same effect. Mr. Peters, in defence of the prisoner, produced authorities to shew that by the evidence the prisoner was not taken in the manner as stated in the declaration, and that it was sufficient for him to prove, in a general way, how he came in possession of the horse, which he was able to do by a receipt he produced for the money paid in exchange, the best general evidence that can be given, as such is the common way of dealing in horses. He acknowledged that if the prisoner had been taken on the back of the horse he would then fhave been taken in the manner as sta- ted by the Attorney General, and consequently bound to prove how he came in possession ; but in the present case, he himself, or any one present, might have been in this unfortunate prison- er's situation ; dragged to the prison, to Court, and to the gal- lows, because he could not produce the person who actually sold him the horse. The prosecutor had not produced any evi- dence of the horse ever having been in tlie possession of the pri- soner, any other way than by his own confession : and he trusted that the Jury would not hesitate to find, that the prisoner was not taken in the manner stated in the declaration, but would pro- nounce him, by their verdict, ' Not Guilty,' Ihe Judge, in his charge to the Jury, overruled the plea^ by stating to the Jury that his having been taken in the manner, was proved by the various accounts he gave of his getting possession of the horse, thus rendering himself liable to prove how he came by him, or to stand guilty of having feloniously taken him, as stated in the Indictment. That they had heard tho witnesses, and if from the evidence and circumstanaes before them they were fully satisfied that the prisoner at the bar had taken the ^orse feloniously, as stated in the Indictment, they would find him guilty ; but if they had any doubts, that leaning to mercy, thet would find him not guilty. While the Jury was out, the Sheriff invited the Court and other Gentlemen to visit the jail, where they were shewn the irons and chains, and the situation in which the prisoner had been E laced. The Jud^c observed that it was fortunate the prisoner ad been sent to Kingston. jail> a3 no other jail in thQ ProviiMStt would have kept him^ THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 47 The Jury, afler an absence of about two hours, returned with a Verdict of Guilty. The Judge then proceeded to pass upon him the awful sentence of the law, Death, wUliout benefit of Clergy; but the criminal remained unmoved and unatfected, and conti' nued shouting and hollooing. The Court asked the Counsel for the prisoner whether he had any thing to offer in arrest of judgment, or why the sentence of death should not be executed upon him. Mr. Peters then rose and produced authorities to shew that the present Law that took away Hie benefit of Clergy for horse-stealing, was not in force in this Colony, and that it could ..not be construed to be in force, and must be a question to be de- ciden in the Higlier Court, where he hoped to have the honor of discussing it. The Judge admitted the flea ; but gave his opin- ion against him. The business being ended, the prisoner was returned to his cell, where he received his chains v^rith willingness and apparent satisfaction; and the Court adjourned without delay. The At- torney General, however, gave me to understand, that the pri- soner would not be executed immediately; and requested that I would observe his behaviour, and inform him by letter the par- ticulars of his conduct. The next mormngi visited him and ob- served to him that he was now under sentence of death, and that he would be allowed only one pound of bread every day, with water, during the short time he had to live. That as soon as his death warrant was signed by the President, he would be execu- ted, and that a short time only was left him to prepare for the dreadful event. But he paid no attention; patted his hands^ sang and acted the fool as usual. One of his visitors being much surprised at his insensibility, observed to him, " Smith, it is too late for you to deceive any more ; your fate is fixed now, and you had better employ your little time in making your peace with God, than to act the fool any longer." On our next visit to the jail, which was soon after, we found his Testament open, and a leaf turned down on the following passage — " If any man among you seemeth to be icise^ let him become a fool, that he may be tcise." From this it would appear, that he either founded his pretended insanity on Scripture precept, or affected to do so ; yet it cannot be supposed that he intended us to know what use lie made of this Scripture, as he must have known that our con- clusion would be that he was " more rogue than fool." I kept him nine days on bread and water, during which time he manifested no sign of hunger, more than when fed with four times his allowance, and tore off every particle of his clothing, leaving himself entirely naked. After this I allowed him other provisions, and his subsequent behaviour was briefly stated in a letter to the Attorney General, and afterwards published in the Eoyal Gazette. The following is a true copy of the letter, as it appeared in this paper, on July Uth, 1815. 48 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. " Copy of a Letter from the High Sheriff of King's Countjr:— "Kingston, June 26th, 1815. " My dear Sir, — Having heard nothing from you since the late Gaol Delivery at King'a County, I beg leave briefly to state to you some circumstances of the criminal Henry More Smith, since his trial and sentence. After securing him with strong chains to his neck and legs, and with handcuffs, ho con- tinued beating the floor, hallooing day and night with little inter- mission, making different sounds ; sometimes with jinking hi gan to speak — would ask questions, but would hold no conver- sation. But the most extraordinary, the most wonderful and mysterious of all is, that in this time he had prepared, undisco- vered, and at once exhibited the most striking picture of genius, art, taste, and invention, that ever was, and I presume ever will be produced by any human being placed in this situation, in a THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. A9 inty :— 815. % dark room, chained and hand-cuffed, under sentence of death, without 80 much as a nail or any kind of thins to work with but his hands, and naked. The exhibition is far beyond my power to describe. To give you some faint idea, permit me to say, that it consists often characters, — men, women, and children, — all made and painted in the most expressive manner, with all thn limbs and joints of the human frame, — each performing different parts; their features, shape, and form, all express their different ofBces and characters ; tnair dress is of different fashions, and auitable to the stations in which they are. To view them in their Htations, they appear as perfect as though alive, with all the air and gaiety of actors on the stage. Smith sits in his bed by the side of the gaol, his exhibition begins about a foot from the floor, and compasses the whole space to the ceiling. The uppermost is a man whom he calls the tamborinc player, or sometimes Or. Blunt, standing with all the pride nnd appearance of a master musician ; his left hand akimbo, his right nand on his tamborine, dressed in suitable uniform. Next him, below, is a lady genteelly dressed, gracefully sitting in a handsome swing; at her leflstands a man, neatly dressed, in the character of a servant, holding the side of the swing with his right, his left hand on his hip, in aii easy posture, waiting the lady's motion. On her right hand stands a man genteelly dressed, in the character of a gallant, in a grace- ful posture for dancing. Beneath these three figures sit a youn^ man and a young girl, (apparently about fourteen,) in a posturo of tilting, at each end of a board, decently dressed. Directly un- der these stands one whom he calls Buonaparte, or sometimes the father of his family : he stands erect, his features are prominent; his checks re^ ; his teeth white, set in order ; his gums and lips . red ; his nose shaded black, representing the nostrils ; his dress in that of the harlequin. In one baud he holds an infant, with the other he plays or beats music ; before him stand two children, ap- parently three or four years old, holding each other by the hand, m the act of playing or dancing, which, with a man dressed in fiishion, who appears in the character of a steward, sometimes in one situation, and sometimes in urother, makes up the show, all of which you have at one view. Then commences the perfor- mance. The first operation is from tthe tamborine player, or master, who gives two or three single strokes on his tamborine, that may he heard in any part of the house without moving hlchains. On m^ entefiOff^the jail, Smith said to me, " The devil told my old dmmm^, if Fdld not put that chain out of the way, you would certainly put it about my neck again;" that he hated it, andhadnmrderedit,Bnd put it under the dirt ; but he feared he should have no peae^ lill ne raised ii a^ain. I then told him he must raise it agtim, and if he behaved himself well I would not put it about his necft agalin. The ilext morning the chain was seen lying on the jail floor ; but where or by what means ho concealed it, could never be found out. I then took off his hand-cuffs, and gave him water to wash himself I also gave him a clean shirt and jacket, and a youttf^ man who was present gave him a black handkerchief, which he put about his neck, and seemed much pleased ; and said if he had a fiddle, or any instrument of music, he could play for his family to dance ; if he had a set of bag-pipes, he could play on them very well, and that if vfe would give him wood and leather, he would make a set. He was offered a fife, vvhich he handled in a clumsy wa^ ; but he said he believed he could learn to play on it. He paid the boy for it, and then took the fife, and would pitky any tuAe eitlier right or lefl handed. I then told him if he would behave well I would not put his handcdfl^ on that day. He replied that he would then have his family in good order for m^ btul ; btit he observed, that when he put one hand to do any thing, the other would follow as though the handcuf&i were on. We gave him some materials that he wanted, and then left him : itbis was the 17th of July. On the 18th, fonhd him bnsily em^ \- THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. ployed with his famil)^, making improvements for the ball. Igav# aim pen, ink, and paint, and many articles for clothing, &,c. All his figures were formed of straw from his bedding, curi- ously entwmed and interwoven. The colouring he had used before was from his owu blood, and coal which he got from a piece of burnt timber in the jail : and their first clothing was made from his own torn clothes. He now began to talk more coherently, and accounted for the broken glass. He said to me, '" My old drummer cried ant for more air ;" his family stood 80 thick about him. " Well." said I, " tell me how to get more air and I will go to work at it." " He told me to make a strong wisp of straw, long enough to reach the glass and break it, which I did, and then af\er undoing the wisp put the straw in my bed again." He continued improving his family, by dressing and painting them all anew, and by adding to their number. He said that there were a gentleman and lady coming from France to attend his ball, and all of them must perform well With money he received from visitors, many ot whom I have known to give him a dollar for one exhibition, he purchased calico enough for a curtain or screen. In the front of the partition stood all his family, which he continued to improve and increase, until he said they were all present that were coming to tlie ball ; and about the 10th of August completed his show for exhibition. The whole consisted of twenty -four characters, male and female » six of which beat music in concert with the fiddle, while sixteen danced to the tune; the other two were pugilists: Bo..aparte with his sword, fighting an Irishman with his shUlelah. His mu- .sicians were dressed ia their proper uniform, some were drum- mers, some were tamborine players, and some were bell-ringers. In the centre stood his dancing-master, with hat. boots, and glovea on. In an advanced station stood an old soldier in Scotch uni- form, acting as sentinel, while Smith himself sat before them, his feet under the curtain, playing a tune on the fiddle, to which tfaey would all dance or beat in perfect harmony with the music. The one half on the right to one part of the tune, and the other half on the lefl to the other part, and then all together as regular and natnral as life. The dancing master with his right hand and toot with one part, and his left hand and foot with the other ; and then with the whole together, with the most perfect ease, to any tune that was played. So ingenious, and, I may say, so won- derful was this exhibition, that it is impossible to do justice to its description; and numbers of persons from different parts came to indulge their curiosity by witnessing the performance, and all expressed their astonishment in terms the most unquali- fied. Doctor Prior, a gentleman from Pennsylvania, was among the number of his visitors: he told me that he had spent most of gav« curi- used Dm a was more me, tood nore ong hich bed and He ance Vitb own nlico tood until and tion, )ale» teen arte niu> Uffl. ers, >vea ini- Bm, lich sic. hier liar nd 5r; to in- to rts »y of TilE MYSTEltlOITS STRANGER. 63 < •• his timo in foreign parts, Irjivellina; for general and literary in- formation, and had made it a point to examine all curioBitieB both natural and artificial, and that havinij heard much of an extraor- dinary person I had in prison, he came for the express purpose of aeeiUi^ him and hi^ exhibition. Iliiving viewed his person and every part of his performance, he was pleased to say that he had travelled through all ihe Continent of America, and a great part of Europe, hut had never mot with any thing the equal of what he there then saw performed, and that he certainly should not fail to insert a notice of it in the journal of hia travels and obser- "vationc. Another gentleman. Doctor Cou Willie, if he is yet alive ; he was always his friend, ai|d be i^utd like to go and see him. And he had one sister, he fiaid|.4n B^gland, that he wanted to see : she played well on the piaiioforte, and he himself could play on it too. She was mar- ried to a lieutenant in the army ; but he was promoted to be cap- tain now. If he could he would go to see her in England, where he had friends. He also said that he had an uncle in Liverpool, a merchant: then looking earnestly upon me, he said, ''My name is not Smith, — my name is Henry J. Moon : I was educa- ted at Cambridge College, in England. I understand English, French and Latin well, and can speak and write live different languages." He also said that he could write any baud, as hand> some or as bad as I ever saw. He said that he had five hun- dred pounds in the Bank of England, which was in the care of Mr. Turner; and that he wished to have his wife get it, as he did not know where he should go ; but he knew be^should meet with trouble ; yet he did not fear what man could db to him, for he could but kill him and he should like to die here. x4fter hearkening to these incoherent observations for a length of time, without being able to obtain an answer to any question I put to him, I lefl him for that time. The next morning, when the jailer went in to see him, Smith said that he had been fishing and had caught a large fish. The jailer, on looking, perceived the chain which Smith had formerly worn about his neck, and had been missing a long time; bvr| -^ 56 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. never coald find out where or by what means he concealed it. After this, he commenced a new scene of mystery, that of for- tane-telling ; in which, if he did not possess the power of divi- nation, he was at least wonderfully successful. The jailer car- ried him his breakfast, with tea ; Smith observed to him that ho could tell him any thing, past or to come. The jailer then asked liim to tell him something that had happened to him. Smith replied, — " Some time ago you rode a great way on my account, and carried letters and papers about me, and about others too. Again yod went after a man, and you had to go on the waior before you found him, and I am not sure but that you found him on the water. While you were after him, you saw a nifin at work in the mud on the hi<>hway, and you inquired of hini for the man YOU wanted. He told you what you asked. You then asked nim if thete was any water near, that you could drink. He told you of a plsice where he had drunk ; and you went to it, but found the water so bad vou did not drink it." The jailer wa»i greatly astonished at this, knowing the whole affrtir to be truo just as he had stated, and had no recollection of ever having mentioned the circumstance to any person. Perhaps all this may be attempted to be explained away in some mannnr, or may be attributed merely to his imagination, or the hazard of an opj» nion; but it would be a coincidence not to be expected, and very unlikely to happen. Besides, he often hit npon a developement of facts, which could not be accounted for but upon the suppo* sitionofsome mysterious knowledge of things beyond the reach of common conception, as the following particulars will fully testify. . The next morning, August 13th, he told his own fortune out of his tea-cup. After looking into the cup for some time, he kiss- ed it, and told the Jailer that he was going away from this place, that he was going over the water, and must have a box to put his family in ; that he saw three papers that were written and sent about him, and that one of them was larger than the other two, and coijLained something for him that he did not yet understand ; but he would soon know. The next morning, Aug. 14th, he looked into his cnp again, and told the Jailer that these three papers were on their way coming, and would be here this day at4 o'clock, and he should soon know what they contained about him. Accordingly I received papers., from Fredericton, containing his Pardon, and two letters just Q» he had predicted ! ! In addition to this, the following must be regarded as a very singular and remarkable prediction, which, independently of some unknown mysterious means, cannot be accounted for. Early in the morning he remarked to *^e Jailer in his usual manuer— «• Thi^ St seal I w'lUl a fresf tide, the A\ was* lyiU] her. Doci| sitet fotti Doc pris( see ance eho on sen (he had ter ma ofi ma fin ex ki m hi fa it < THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 67 y n r ■%■ *' This man over the way has a son who has gone to sea, and u Kt sea now ; but he will be here this night, and you shall see that, I will affront him." — Now mark the seonel. It so happened that B fresh breeze springing up to the southward, with a strong flood tide, the vessel which contained the young man was alongside the dock in Saint John, on the same day about two o'clock. He was then and there informed that one of his sisters lay dangeroufi* iy ill at Kingston, and that Dr. Smith was just going up to visit her. The young man hired a horse, and m company with the Doctor, arrived at his father's about the time that we usually vi- sited the prisoner in the evening. I called at Mr. Perkins', and found that the Doctor and young Perkins had just arrived. The Doctor said to me that he had heard much of my extraordinary prisoner, and if I had no objection, he should be much pleased to see him and his show, he had heard so much of his gre&t perform- ance. Young Mr. Perkins said that he would also like to see the show, and all went with me into the jail, and found Smith lying on his bed ; but without appearing to take notice of any one pre- sent. Mr. Perkins, like every one else, was much astonished at the appearance of his show as it was exhibited on the wall, and had a great desire to see the peformance. He put down a quar* ter dollar by Smith, and said he would give it to him if he would make his puppets dance ; but Smith would not take any notice of him, and young Perkins continued to urge him to the.perfor- uance, but without effect, until he wasquiteoutof patience, and finalljr took up his money, which he had proposed giving for the exhibition, and left the jail in quite an ill humour. Auer Per* kins had left the jail. Smith said, "now if any of you want tosee- my family dance, you may see them in welcome;" — and took up^ his fiddle and went through the peformance to the entire satis^ faction of all present. Now the reader may account for this mysterious prediction and its fulfilment upon whatever grounds he pleases ; but the arrival of the young man from sea that day, his coming to Kingston, and his being affronted by Smith in the jail, are facts which cannot be disputed. The writer is aware that he may incur the imputation of weakness for narrating some things relative to the prisoner; but as they are all characteristic of him in a high degree, and when all united, set him forth before the world as a character, singular and unprecedented, he considered that every part of his sayings and doings had their interest, and were necessary to be narrated. Afler closing the exhibition of his family for this time, he went on to say, that he had told his fortune from his tea-cup, and it came always alike ; that he could tell a great deal by dreams. The devil helped fortune telling, he said, but dreams were the inspiration of God. When the hogs came to him by night, he S8 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. could teil a great deal by them. " Your neighbour," he said to nie, "had a black sow that had pigs, some black, and some all white, and one with red spots before and behind." By them he said he could tell much. I was aware that Mr. Perkins had a sow with young pigs, and I had the curiosity to look at them, but they did not answer to his description, and I consequently allowed these remarks of his relative to the sow and pigs to pass for noth- injj. However, in the evening, as I was leaving the jail. Smith said to me, (and without a word having been said about my look- ing at the pigs,) " The pigs I told you about are not those you examined, they were six months old." I made no reply, know- ing that Mr. Scovil had a sow with pigs, answering to his descrip- tion in every particular. On Saturday morning, Smith said to the jailer, " Your neigh- bour over the way there, has a sow that is gone away into the woods, and she has pigs, — some all black, some all white, and some black and white, and she will come home before night, and when she comes, she will have but one pig, and that will be a plump black pig. and they will never know what became of the others." Accordingly, the sow, about 4 o'clock, came home with her one " plump black pig," and was immediately driven back into the woods the way by which she app^ed to have conle ; but according to the precise terms of miii^% prediction, tiiti others were never found ! '' The next evening after I had ireceived his Parrfon from Fredet- icton, I went to see him, and found him in bed, but said he could not eat ; asked for new potatoes, and remarked that the jailer^s wife had new potatoes yesterday ; and did not appear in his usual good humour. Although he would both talk and act, at timed, rationally, yet he had never recovered from his pretended insanity, nor even until his release from ray custody ; thus carrying out his scheme, in perfect wisdom, to the last. But now, with the PARDON in my hand, I hoped to make some impression upon him, and if possible, bring him to some sense of his situation, by com- passionately proposing my assistance to get him out of the Pro- vince. I then proceeded to inform him that I had received his Pardon, that his Attorney had proved his friend, and had petition- ed the President and Court, stating that he was a young man, and this having been the first instance of a case for horse-stealing be- fore the Court in this Province, prayed that mercy might be ex- tended and his life spared: and that the President and Council had been graciously pleased to withdraw the sentence and grant his Pardon : and that I was now authorized to release him on his entering into recognisance to appear in the Supreme Court «nd plead his pardon when calbd upon. The only reply he made was, " I wish you wouid bring me some new poUUoes whtM yottcor ready,] give hi order, | be a ploymi replied family! them with the su ingin must with must bttttc ■ repea chapt you\ to vo eithe; rencc little me, woul than or d 1 Wt and mec bee Soi me hes ed. we th( ir£ isi tv V! n THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 59 'gh- the md mdf e s the 'ith ick te; ild r'8 al (8, It le 1, i- i $oucome again /" I proceeded to say that as soon as he was ready, and would let me know where he wished to go, I would give him clothing, and would give him time to put his family m order, and a box to put them up in ; observing that they mt^t be a means of getting him a living until he could find better em- ployment, without being driven to the necessity of stealing. He replied, " Have you not got boys and girls that wish to see ray family dance ? Bring all your family to see them; I will shew them as much as you please, but others must pa^." I remained with him nearly an hour afterwards without saymg any more on the subject of his pardon: during which time he continued talk- ing incoherently as he had done the evening before. That toe must watch and pray lest we enter into temptation : that he prayed with his family ; they could not pray for themselves. That we must be spiritually minded, for to be spiritually minded was life; hut to be carnally minded was death : and much more of this kind, repeating large portions from the New Testament, nearly whole chapters. He observed, "Now you see I can read as well to you without the book as others can with the book. I can redd to you almost all of any other chapter in the Bible you will name, either in the Old or New Testament, it makes not much diffe- rence ; in the dark as well as in the light. My wife is a good little woman ; she would read in the Bible on Sunday and say to me, ' Henrv come sit down and hear me read the Bible ;' but I would laugh and tell her I could read better without the book than she could with: and would go out and look after my horse, or do any thing on Sundays. I have been a bad fellow; when i was in England I gave all my attention to reading my Bible, and became a great Methodist, and went to all the Methodist meetings ; and would pray and exhort amongst them, and finally became a Preacher, and preached in Brighton, Northampton, Southampton, and in London ; and great numbers came to hear me. I was sometimes, astonished to see how many followed to hear me preach the Scriptures, when I knew they were deceiv- ed. But I did not follow preaching long in London." He went on to state his reasons for giving up preaching, or rather the reasons that prevented his continuing to preach. He had given himself up to the company of lewd women, and had con- tracted the disease common to such associations. A course like this could not remain long concealed, and the issue was that he was prevented from preaching, and was even- tually obliged to leave England, and come to this country. He went on to say — " I have been a bad young man. I am young now, only 23 years — not 24 yet;" and did not know but he would Ereadi again; he could easily find converts ; many would like to ear him preach. When he was a preacher, he was spiritually 60 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. minded, and all was peace and heaven to him ; but ever sineo, mil was Uroable, trouble, and misery to him. He never intended to leave this place ; he was contented and willing to stay here until he died : he was better oflf here than any where else, and never wished to so into the world again unless he whs a preacher. After hearing nim talk in this manner for some time, I left him till the next day at noon, when I went into the jail again, and gave him a good dinner, and read his Pardon to him. When h» «aw the paper, he said, " that looks like the paper which I dream* ed I saw, with two angels and a ship on it, with something that looked like snakes." When I read his Pardon, he paid not the least attention to the nature of it, but asked quel^dns^^ foreign to the nature of the subject as possible; only he 1n&id. hie wished I would give him that paper ; he dreamed it was coi^ng. I told him that as soon as I would get him some^ clothes inado, I would give him the paper : and that I would hel^f him away with his ohow in a box, that he might not be driven to the necessity of stealing ; and in the evening I went with a tatlot to take his mea- sure (tit a coat. .When he saw the tailor with his measure, he said, " I wi!4h voiiijtHFOMid give me that ribbon in your hai)d." — ** It is no ribbon," said the tailor, " but a measure to measure you for a new coat : come stand up." " What!" said he, "do you think you are tailor enough to make me a coat?" " Yes." " But you do not look like it ; let me look at your hands and fingers;" and upon seeing them, added, "you are no tailor, you look more like a blacksmith; you shall never make a coatforme; and would not be measured ; but he said he would make it better himself, and wished Iwould give him a candle to work by, and he would make iiimself a waistcoat. He said I need not be afraid of his doing any harm with tho candle; he would put in the middle of the floor, and take care that his straw and chips did not take fire aud burn up his family, which he could not live without, as he could not labour f'-r his living. Besides, he said, if he were so disposed, he could burn up the house without a candle ; for, said he, I can tnnko fire in one hour at anytime. " When I was a boy," continued he, "every one took notice of me as a very forward boy, and I ob- tained a licence for shooting when I was but fifteen. (Jne day when shooting, I killed a rabbit on a farmer's land where I had no right. The old farmer came after me, and I told him ifha would come near me I would knock him down; but he caught me, and tied me fast to a large stack of faggots, ami bcnt for a constable. While he was gone, I made fire, and burned up the whole stack, and got off clear; but the old farmer never knew how his faggots took fire. You do not use faggots in this coun- try ; they are little stjcks tied up in bundles, and sold to boil tha lea- fire and Ugh and wai imp THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 61 i.'» tearkettle with ;" and if I would give him a candle, he would make fire to light it. Accordingly, I provided materials for his clothes and a lighted candle to work by. He continued to sew by the light of the candle but a short time, and put it away from him, and said he could see better without it ; and he completed his waistcoat in the neatest manner, and occasionally attended to the improvement of his family. August 29th, at evening, many persons came to see his per- formance, as was usual ; and when they were k\l gone out, he told me that he had carved a new figure of Bonaparte : that the first he made was after his own image and likeness, for he was the mait after bis own heart : but he had fallen. God, he said, made man out of the dmst of the earth ; but he made man out of the wood of the earth. He had new bean in my custody more than a vear, and almost every day developed some new feature of his character, or pro- duced some fresh effort of his genius. I had had much trouble with him, and my patience oflen severely tried; but now I view- ed him rather as an object of commisseration, and could not think of turning him out of jail, naked, destitute, and friendless. In such a situation he must either starve or steal ; so that his pardon a~ release would become rather a curse than a blessing. I re- presented these things as feelingly as I could to him ; gave him ^ a box to put his famify in, and tola him he must be ready to leave \ the Provmce on Tuesday morning, and I would procure him a gassage either to Nova Scotia or me United States. To all this e gave no attention, but asked some frivolous questions about ' mohawks and snakes, and acted the fool ; so that I began to con- ., elude that I would now have more trouble to get him out of jail, .%*5vV than I formerly had to keep him in it. :^„\ ■'■-'^f-rir The next day Judge Pickett and Judge Micfaeau ^tlimded at the Court House, to take the reepgnizance required oniita^ to, appear and plead his pardon when ^led upon to do an. '^After divesting him oThis irons, and furnidhing hii|^Eit& dec^t cloth- ing, it was with much difficulty I could pretwlsbn him to leave the' jail. However, he finally took one of his &mily in one hand, V^ a pair of scissors in the other, and with much efFort T/e got liim'np into one of the Jury rooms, when Judge Miches a read his Pardon to him, and explained all the circumstances which .■:A^ united to produce it : to wnieh, as usual, he gave no attention ; but looked about the room, and talked of something else. Judge Pickett then required his recognizance, and informed him that if he did not leave the Province immediately, he would be taken^ ^ ^^ and tried on two Indictments pending against him in the Coun^ -^ - tT of York. He took no notice of what w^ said, but talked and danced about the room, told the Judge he iffoked like a tailor, and Qsked him to give him hi^ shoe-string. His Pardon Igring on Uie :■/ 6-2 THE MVeTEBIOUS STRANOEK. table, he caught hold of it, and before it could be recovered froof him, he clipped off the seal with his scissors ; he said he wanted the ship that was on it to carry him awajr with his family. He tore the collar off his coat, and cut it in pieces with the scissors. Finding that nothing else could be done with him, I returned him a^ain into prison ; when he said to us, that for our using him %9 kmdir, he would, for one shilling, shew us all his performance with nis familv. Upon which. Judge Mieheau gave him half a dollar, and told him to return a (;|uarter dollar change, and then he would have more than a shilhng. He took it, said it was s .niee piece of money, and put it in his pocket; bnt the Judge could not make him understand the meaning of cAani^s. He then performed the exhibition in fine style, but when we> were leaving him, he seemed out of humour with Judge Pickett, and told him that he had thrown stones at him, that he would bum his house, and that this place should be in flames before morning. He could make fire in half an hour, and wanted a fire^ and would have fire, and I should see that he could make fire. Upon which we left him, without apprehending any thing frony S^is threats more than usual. But the next day, the 29th, when entering the jail for the purpose of preparing for his removal, I peiveived that there was much smoke in the hall, which I luppo- ■ed had come from the Jailer's room ; but he said that no smoke had been carried that morning, but that it proceeded from the prison door. I immediately opened the door, and found Smith sitting quite unconcerned before a fire which he had made with the chips of his carved work, and other materials. He observed to me that fire was very comfortable, that he had not seen any before for a long time, that he had made the fire with \m own hands, and that be could make it again in ten minutes ; that he could not do without fire. I immediateljr extinguished the fire^ and shut him up in suffocating smoke, which did not seem to give him the least inconvenience. The account of his having made the fire, had excited the fears of the neighbours, who came in to see the feat. I ordered him to put his family into his box imme- diately ; he took no notice of my orders. I hastily took down one of them, and laid it in his box, at which he seemed pleased, and said he would put them all in that box, and began to take tkem down very actively, observing that he did not want as8i»- tance from any one, bnt leave him, with the light, and he would have tliem all ready, in half an hour. We left him with the can- dle, and returning in about an hour, found him walking the floor, and every thing he had packed up in the box very neatly. It was remarkable to see with what skill and ingenuity he had packed them up. I gave him a pair of new shoes, and with thr liox on his shoulders he marched off to the boat I had prepared for his conveyance, ahd with three men in the boat we set out rt TBS MtSTBRIOUS STIlANdBll. 63 "with him for the City of Saint John. On the way he told the jailer, if he would cive him but one dollar, he would teach him the way to make nre at any time : it would be very conrenient for him to know how to make fire on any occasion. Receiving no reply from the jailer, he commenced preaching, praying, and Ringing hymns, and sometimes acting as if crazy, durinc the pas- soffe down. We made no stop by the way, and reached Saint John about 8 o'clock in the evening. On his perceiving the moon as me made her appearance be- tween two clouds, be observed that there was a relation of hie that he was ghid to see ; that he had not seen one of hii name for a long time. On our arrival at the prison in St. John, he said he must have a hot supper with tea, and then wished to be locked up in a strong room, where be might have all his family out to take the air to-night, else they would all die in that hex before morning- However, we found all the rooms in the prison occupied, or undergoing repairs, so that there was no place to confine him. I directed the jailer to provide him his supper, while I would call upon the Sheriff to know what would be oone with him for the night, and how he would be disposed of in the morning. I understood from the Sheriff that there was no yjM- eel that would sail for the States before some days, and therefore made up my mind that I should send him to Nova-Scotia. White I returned to the jail I found Smith at his supper: when he had finished his tea, he looked into his cup and remarked that he must not disturb his family to-night; that he there saw the ves- sel, then lying at the wharf, that would carry him to his wife,— and there would be eruing. While in confinement, the follow- ing letter was received from his wife : — " Dear Husbattd,—! received your letter of the 23d Oct. 1815 : you say you have sent several letters, — if you have, I have never received them. You wish me to come and see you, which I would have done, if I hfd got the letter in time ; but I did not know whether you we}|hit Kingston or not. My dear, do not think hard of me that I-ldo not come to see you, — if you write back to me I shall come immediately. My dear, as soon as yoa receive tfiis letter send me an answer, that I may know what to do : so no more at present, but that I remain your loving and affectionate wife, Elizabeth P. M. S. H. F. M. S., Kingston." The jailer, by the^ direction of the Sheriff, cleared (Hit a small room above stairs, with an iron grated window, where we co|i- fined him, with hi» family, for the night. On the next morning, Ihe 30th of August, finding there was no vessel bound for tlie States, I determined to send him to Nova Scotia; and happen- ing to meet with my friend, Mr. Daniel Scovil, he informed me *,■ i 64 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. that he hnd a vemel then lying at the wharf, which would rail Cor Windsor, Nova Scotia, in half an hour. I, accordingly, pre- vailed with him to take Smith on board, which was done with- out loss of time, and at high water the vessel hauled off from the wharf, to my great satisfaction and relief. While the vessel was getting under weigh. Smith was in the cabin alone, and seeing a great number of chain traces lying on the cabin floor, he took them up and threw them all out of the ea- hintoindou}'. "Because," said ho, "they would get about my neck gain." During the passage, he appeared very active : he played on his fife, and was quite an agreeable passenger. But on the vessel's arrival at Windsor, he lefV her immediately with- out any ceremony ; and notwithstanding the very strong regard which he hnd always possessed for his family, as he called them, he leA them also, and every thing else that he had brought with him. He was seen only a very short time in \Vindsor before he entirely disappeared, and never was known to be there aAer- P^wiAb, but was seen at some distance from Windsor, in several other places, and recognized by many, but always carefully eva- ded being spolcen to. After havi Hl^ ade his appearance in different parts of Nova- r^<s." When he came in, he handed the towel to the young woman, and said, " there were just fifteen watches, were there," and with such expression of countenance, that she could not refrain from answering " Yes." " But," said he, •' you were mistaken about my stealing them,, for I came honestly by them." Upon which the young woman instantly recognized him to be Henry More Smith ; and concluded that he was collecting his hidden treasure, which he had deposited while he was in Rodeit. TliH» information I received from Mrs. Beckwith, a respecta- ble lady from Nova-Scotia, who resided at the time in that neigh- bourhood, who also said it was not known that he had ever seen his wife at that time, from the time of his release from confinct- THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 65 the >» raellt. The next account [ henfd of him stated that he had been Keen on board of a plaster vcsHel it Eastport ; but he was not known to have been ashore during the time flhe remained there. lie employed himself while on board engrtiring a number of small articles, some of which he made presents of to young ladies who chanced to come on board. He was next seen at Portland, by a gentleman who had known him at Kingston ; nothing, however, transpired here concerning; him, only that he was travelling with considerable weight of bag- pge, through the State of Maine, which gave rise to the follow* ing ludicrous story, which I saw published at Eaatport, of Mpslo- rious Stranger, travelling in a stage. One cold and stormy night, the bar-room of a hotel was filled with sturdy farmers surround- ing a cheerful fire, and discussing the affairs of State over a mug of flip. The night having been tremendously stormy and wet, the wind whistling all round the house, and making every door and window rattle, the landlord expressed much fear for the safe- ty of the stage-coach ; but suddenly the sound of a distant stage horn announced the approach of the coach and removed the land- lord's anxieties. He replenished the fire, that the approaching travellers might have as warm a retreat as possible ftom the ua- usual inclemency of the night. Some time passed, and yet the expected coach did not come up. The landlord's fears got up anew, and with an expression of concern, put the question around, "Did not some of you hear a horn?" and added, " I have expect- ed the stage a long time, and I thought that a few minutes ago, I heard the horn near at hand ; but I fearthas something has hap* Fened in the gale that causes it to be thus belated." '< I thought heard the stage-horn some time ago," answered the young arch farmer Hopkins; "but then you must know that ghosts and v^itches are very busy on such nights as this, and what kind of pranks they may cut up we cannot tell. You know the old adage. Busy as tm Devil in a gale of wind. Now who knows but they may have?" — Here he was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door, accompanied by a violent gust of wind and the dash- ing of rain, when in rushed, from the fury of the storm, drench- ed with wet from head to the foot, a tall stranger, dressed in a fur cap and shaggy great coat. From an impulse of politeness and reapect, not unmingted tcithfear, all arose on his entrance, — the expression, " TheDevilinotgaleofmnd" rushing upon their mind with a signification to which a profound silence gave ex- pressive utterance. The stranger noticed their reserved, yet voluntary respect with a slight nod, and proceeded to disencum- ber himself of his wet clothes and warm his fingers by the fire. By this time the driver entered, bearing the baggage of his pas- senger. " The worst storm I was ever troubled with, blowing right in my teeth, and I guess the gentleman there found it the m same. tRE MYSTERIOUS STRAMifitl^ Here a low wisper ensued between the driver and th^ landlord, from which an unconnected word or phrase drojpped npon the ear of the inmatoB. " Don^t know, — came in the, — as uch as a mine,^* &.c. Upon this information the landlord imme> diatelj took his wet garments and hung them carefully beford the fire. " I hope that your wetting will not injure your healthy sir." '< I hardly think it will, my good friend ; I am no child to catch cold from a ducking." " Shall I show you a iroom, sir ?'^ said the landlord : we can let you have as gbod a room and as comfortable a supper as in the country." The strknger was im-* mediately conducted into a handsome parlour in Which blazed a cheerful fire; and, in a short time, a smoking supper was placed on the board. Afier supper was over he called the landlord into itis room, and sent for his trunk. " I like your accommodations," Accosting the landlord, ** and if you like my proposals equally well, 1 mtill be yoiir guest for some time, though I knc.'v not Iiow long. Nay, I shall stay at any price you may please- but remember I must have my rooms to myself, and they must liot be entered without my leave : and whiatever I do, uo ques- tions to be asked. Do you consent to theste my terms ?" " 1 do, sir," replied the landlord, " and you shall not have cause to com- plain of your treatment." " Vdiy well," rejoined the stranger, ' then the agreement is completed, you nitty go now." " Yes, sir," returned the landlord, "but what may I call your name, sir?" " Beware, ydu have broken the bargain already," replied the .stranger, " I forgive you for this once only, my name is Mait- land, now ask no more questions, or you will certainly drive me from your house." After this, the landlord returned to his bar- room, from which the merry farmers had not yet withdrawn ; but were endeavoring to penetrate the mystery tliat hung around the stranger. " Well, landlord," said the arch Hopkins, "what do you make him out to be?" "That is a question! daro hardly answer. He is a gentleman, for he does not grudge his money." " I would not think he should," replied Hopkins, shaking his head mysteriously. "And why not." exclaimed several of tho company: " Ay, just as I thought," returned Hopkins, with an- other shake of the head aud significant look at the landlords " What in die name of all that is silly, is the matter with yovt, Hopkins," exclaimed the landlord ? — " What upon earth ean you know?" "I know what I know," was his reply. "Rather <(oubtAil, that," rejoined the landlord. " You doubt H," returned ijfopkins, rather warmly : " then I will tell you what I think him to'be, and what I know him to be : he is nothing" more or lesA than a Pirate, and you will all be murdered in your beds. Smith, (which was the landlord's name,) you and your whole family^ before morning. Now what think you of your guest?" All tb» company stood aghast, and «t9jred at eaco other in silonce U» '* THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 67 a M to some time, until the landlord ventured to interrupt the silencA ii|C;ain, by asking Hopkins, " How do you know all that?" Hop- kins answered, in rather a silly manner, " I guessed at it;" which did away with the effect which was produced by his previous a8> vertions; and tlie landlord, dismissing his fears, exclainied, "As long as he pays well, be he man or devil, he shall stay here." " A praiseworthy condusion" proceeded from a voice at the back £art of the room, and at that instant the mysterious stranger stood efore them. All started to their feet, seized their hats, and waited to ask no questions, nor make additional comments, but went home and tild their wives of Smith's guest, and Hopkins' opinion of his character. Every woman fastened her door that night with suspicious care, and the mysterious stranger, and the delineation of his real character, by Hopkins, became a subject of general conversation and comment, throughout the village^ and gradually became the received opinion among all the settlers ; so that they set down the mysterious stranger for what Hopldns guessed him to be, and concluded that the articles which compo< sad his baggage could not have been obtained honestly. The stranger finding how the conversation turned upon him, did not think it, prudent to protract his stay in this place, and j)roceeding to Boston in the coach, was never known from that time by the name of Maitland. He reached Boston about the Ist of November, where it was supposed he must have, in some way, disposed of much of his treasures. From thence he pro> ceeded for New- York, and on the 7th of November arrived at New Haven in Ihe Boston stagecoach, by the way of New Lon- don, with a large trunk full of clothing, a small portable desk, and money in his pockets. He was dressed in a handsome frock-coat, with breeches, and a pair of Um4toots ; and remained at the steamboat hotel several days. While he reniained here^ he always eat his meals alone ; and preferred being alone in diA ferent parts of the hotel at different times: every part of which he had an opportunity of becoming aequainted with, while he remained waiting for the arrival of the steamer from New York. The hotel was then- kept by Mr. Henry Butler; and as it after- wards appeared, the traveller found his way, bv means of keys, into Mr. Butler's desk and side-boards, ns well as every part of the house. He lefl New Haven in the steam boat at 5 a. m. on the 10th November, 1815. — After his departure from New Haven, Mr. Butler's servants discovered that their whole quantity of sil- ver spoons, to the number of four or five dozen, which had been carefully put away in a sideboard, was missing, and not to be found on the premises ; and it was found, upon further search by Mr. Butler, that a watch and several other articles, with mo- ney from the desk, had sympathetically decamped with the spoons. Mr Batler imagined tKat tne theft roust be chargeable on some ■#.-: / C8 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. lodger in the hotel, and immediately fixed his suspicions upon Smith, whose appearance and movements about the house fur- nished symptoms too strong to pass unnoticed. Mr. Butler, with- «ut loss of time, set out for New- York, and arriving there before the boat that carried his adventurer, he furnished himself with proper authority, and boarded the boat in the stream. Afler Mr. Butler had made some enquiries of Captain Bunker, who could not identify the traveller among all his passengers, Smith made his appearance from some part of the engine room, and was im- mediately ordered by Mr. Butler to open his trunk, with which he complied unhesitatingly ; but the trunk did not disclose the expected booty. There was, however, in the trunk a very n^at portable writing desk, which he refused to open, and Mr. Butler could not find out how it was fastened. However, he called for nn axe to split it open, upon which Smith said, " I will show you," and, touching a spring, the lid flew open. The desk con- tained a set of neat engraving tools, with old silver rings and jewellery ; among which Mr. Butler perceived a small ear-ring, which he supposed to belong to a young lady that had slept in his house, and laid her ear-nngs on a stand at the head of her bed, which were missing the next morning. After hei depar- ture one of the rings was found at the door of the Hotel. Upon the evidence of tliis single ear-ring, he was arrested, and put into the Bridewell in the City of New- York. The keeper of the Bridewell at that t'uie was Archimial Allen, an old friend of mine, and a man of respectable character. On my visit to New- York afterward, I called on Mr. Allen, and enquired the particu- late concerning W. H. New man, (for this was the name he had < assumed then) while in his cistody. He informed me that when he was put in, he behaved for some time very well; that he fleer- ed him a book ; but lie could neither read nor write a woi!d^ He soon began to complain of being sick from confinement, raised blood, and seemed so ill that a doctor attended him, but could not tell what was the matter with him. However, he kept up the farce of being ill until he was removed from Bridewell to New Haven, there to take his trial at the Supreme Court in January. His change of situation had the effect, as it would seem, of re- storing his health, which brought along with it tliat display of his ingenuity which the peculiarity of his new situation seemed to call forth. During tlie period of his confinement at New Haven, he amused himself by carving two images — one representing himself, and tlio otlier Butler, in tlie attitiide of fighting. And so mechanically had he adjusted this production of hi.<: genius, that lu^ would actually cause ti.em to fight, and make the image re- presi^nliug himself knock down that of Butler, to tlie wonder and amusement of many tliat came to see him. By his insinua- ting manner and captivating address, he not only drew forth the THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 69 sympathies of those who came to visit him, but even gained so far upon their credulity as to induce a belief that he was innocent of the crime with which he was charged. The lapse of a few days, however, made impressions of a very different nature ; the January Court term drew nigh, at which our prisoner was to receive his trial ; but on the very eve of hia trial, and afler the Court had been summoned, he, by the pow> er of a mind which seldom failed him in the hour of emergency, contrived and effected his escape in the following curious and sin- gular manner. And here it will be necessary to give some de- scription of the prison, with the situation of the apartments, which the writer was himself, by the politeness of the Aeepcr, per- mitted to sur«rey. There was a wide hall leading from the front of the County House, and from this hall, two separate prisons were entered by their respective doors : between these doors, a timber partition crossed the hall, having in it a door also, to allow an entrance to the inner prison. The object in having this par- tition, was to prevent any intercourse between the two prison doors, and it was so placed as to leave a distance of about two feet on each side, between it and the prison doors respectively. Newman, (for this, it will be remembered, is tlie name by which our prisoner is now known,) was confined in the inner prison. The doors of the prison opened by shovinjg inwards, and when shut were securea by two strong bolts, which entered into stone posts, with clasps lapped over a staple, to which were fixed strong padlocks. These padlooks, our prisoner, by some means, mana- ged to open or remove, so that he could open the door at plea- sure, and fix the padlocks again so ingeniously, that he could not be detected from their appearance. On the night of the 12th of Jannary, at the usual time of feeding the prisoners, Newman availing himself of these adjustments, opened his door, came out, and replacing the locks, took his stand behind the door of the partition, which, when open, would conceal him from observa-i tion. The prisoners in the other apartment received their sup- ply first, and the instant when the servant was proceeding from their door to go and bring Newman's supper, he stepped through the partition door, which had been first opened and not shut again, and followed the servant sofdy through the hall to the front door, and walked away undiscovered ! When the servant returned with his sapper to the wicket, she called him, but re- ceiving no answer, placed his supper inside of the wicket, saying " you may take it or leave it ; I am not going to wait here aU night." She then secured the outer door, and so the matter rest- ed till the morning. The next morning, finding that the prisoner had not taken his supper, the servant observed to the keeper, that she feared iV«u>- man was dead, for he had not taken his supper ; and she called 4"> 70 TBS MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. him, but could not hear or see anything of him. Upon this, the keeper came with his keys to unlock the door, and to his utter astonishment found both locks broken and the prison empty. — The keeper made known the matter to the SherifT, and on the 13th, the day subsequent to his escape, the following Notice was inserted in the Cmmeetieut Journal: — " Bbwark of a Villian ! — One of the most accomplished ril- lains that disgraces our country, broke from the Jail m this City on Friday evening last, between the hours of five and six o'clock, and succeeded in making his escape. This fellow calls himself Newman, and was bound over for trial at the sitting of the next Supreme Court, on >the charge of burglary, having robbed the house of Mr. H. Butler, of plate, money, &c. He is supposed to be an Englishman, and is undoubtedly a most profound adept in the arts of knavery and deception. He speaks the English 9nd French languages fluently, and can play off the air of a gen- ^el Frenchman wiUi the most imposing gravity. He is of mid- dling stature, s!ender and active, and appears to possess an aston- ishing variety of genius. He is sick or well, grave or gay, silent or loquacions ; vni can fence, box, fight, run, sing, dance, pla^, whistle, or talk, as occasion suits. He amused himself while m })rison, by making and managing a jpujipeCsAoto, which he per* brmed apparently with such means as to excite the wonder of the credulous, having a piece of an old horse-shoe, whetted on tbie wall of his dungeon, as the only instrument of his mechanism ; and complaining only of the scarcitjr of timber to complete his group. jHe had the address, by an irresistible flow of good hu- mour and cheerfulness, to make some believe, that he was quite an innocent and harmless man ; and excited sympathy enough in those who had the curiosity to see him, to obtain several gratifi- cations which prisoners do not usually enjo;^ : yet the depth of his cunning was evinced in accomplishing his means of escape, which he effected by sawing a hole in his prison door, which is several inches thick, so neatly, that the block could be taken out and replaced without any marks of violence. Through this hole he could thrust his arm, and by wrenching off strong padlocks, and shoving back the bolts, at the hour of supper, when the per- son who waited on the prisoners was giving them their food, found a free passage to the hall of the Counting House, and thence to the street." The saw which he used in cutting the door of his prison, is supposed to have been one which he stole on board the steam- boat FvtroVt on his passage from New-York to New-Haven : and so artfully did he conceal the saw, though repeatedly search- ed both before and aAer his confinement, at the suggestion of Capt. Bunker, that he retained it about his person until by its means he effected hb escape. About ler baPP* met Nov the city. instUuteJ and maal gaged a ■ if possit their ef The aceftav breakfa table ai thefam ferring niured me." red. anythi that I vtasw ewrer, when tcred AUen eogni turnc attlK see t migl intl bjsl to t fon ins hii fh th V u D I < TUB MY8TIRIOV8 8TRANG1K. 71 itter F7— the Jept te n r I About the time (hat Nevnnan made his elopement, Mr. Bnt- ler happened to be in New- York ; and on his return by land, he met Newman travelling leisurely along, a few miles distant from the city. Mr. Butler readily recognized him, and immediately instituted a pursuit ; but he baffled nis attempt to apprehend him and made his retreat into the woods. Upon this, Mr. Butler en-, gaged a party of men, with dogs and fire-arms, to ferret him out if possible; but he had vigilance and art sufficient to elude all their efforts to take him. The next morning after the chase, he made his appearanse at a certain house, where he found the table placed for the family breakfast, and without invitation or ceremony, sat down at the table and besan to eat. While he was eating, he observed to the family, mat he would not let them take him yesterday; re- ferring to his pursuers. "Was it you they were after?" en- quired some of the family. <'Yes, but I would not let them find me." *' How came you from New Haven ?" was next enaui- red. " I staid a great while," he replied, " but they did not nnd anything against me ; only a young woman pretended to say that I had an ear-ring ofher's, which belonged to my wife, which was not wbrth waiting for, and so I came away." ^ Here, how- ever, he was apprehended, and sent again to bridewell; but when he came there, he denied being the man; and had so al- tered his appearance and dress, that no one knew bun, until Mr. Allen, the keeper of the prison at New Haven, came and re- cognized him. He took him in charge at Bridewell^ and re- turned with him to New Plaven in the steamboat. On his arrival at tlie County-house, the Sheriff had him closely searched, to see that he had no saws, nor any other instruments, by which he might effect another escape. After the search, he was confined in the criminals' room, handcuffed, with a shackle about one of his legs, to which was attached a long iron chain, firmly stapled to the floor, and in company with two negro boys who were f onfined for stealing. In this situation te was left at evening: and the next morn- ing, when the keeper came to the door of his prison, he found him walking the room, smoking his pipe, with the chain on his shoulder, and the handcuffs in his hand, which he presented to the keeper, saying, you may take these they may be of use to you ; for they are of no more use to me." The keeper, on at- tempting to open the door, found that he had not only drawn the staple, but had raised the floor also, which was of stroiu^ plank, firmly fastened to the sleepers with spikes. The heacb of some of the spikes were drawn through the planks which he had taken up, and with which he had so banicaded the door, that the keeper attempted in vain to enter. Upon this, he cal- led npon the Sheriff, who came and ordered the prisoner to . .»." 72 THE MYSTERIOUS STRA Nqpi. open the door ; to which he replied from within, '' My house im my castle, and none shall enter alive without, my leave." The Sheriff then ordered the two colored boys, (who stood trem- bling from fear,) to come and remove the fastening from the door; but the prisoner told them that death would be their por* tion if they attempted it. The Sheritr finding him determined not to open the door and having in vain attempted to get in by oth^r means, sent for a mason and ordered him to break an opening through the brick partition which divided the lower room. When the mason com- menced operations on the wall, Newman said to the sheriff, " it is no use to make a hole through that wall, for I could kill every vagabond as fast as they put their heads in ; but if the sheriff will bring no one in but gentlemen, I will open the door for him."— The door was then opened and the sheriff went in and secured him : and soon af\er, more strongly, with additional irons and chains. Finding himself now overpowered, and another escape rather hopeless, he had recourse to his old scheme of yelling and screaming like any thing but the human Voice, and seemingly in every part of the house. This he kept up all night, until the whole town was literally alarmed. A special Court was there- fore immediately called, and in a few days he was brought on his trial. The trial was brought on as a case of burglary, the prisoner having entered a chamber of Mr Butler's, and stole an ear-ring belonging to a young lady then lodging at the house. Newman obtained counsel to plead his case ; but not being satisfied with the manner in which the trial was conducted, he plead his own case, in which he maintained that the ear-ring did not belong to the lady, but to his own wife ; that every like was not the same, and that the evidence before the court did not establish the charge. How- ever, he was found guilty and sentenced to three years confine- ment in the Neto Gate Simsbury Mines, which was considered ra- ther a stretch of power on account of his infamous and notorious character. He was consequently sent off the next day to the place of his future confinement and labour, ironed and chained ; and in a waggon under a strong guard. Afler I arrived at New Haven, where I was put in possession of the&e particulars concerning him, no person was known in the United States who could perfectly identify him to be the noted Henry More Smith, but myself. I was consequently requested, for the gratification of the public, to go to the Simsbury mines to see him. I had the curiosity to see how he conducted himself at New Gate, and proceeded to Simsbury, about fif^ miles, for the gurpose. On my arrival at Simsbury, I enquired of Capt. Wash* urn, the keeper of the prison, how Newman conducted himself. He answered me that he behaved very well ; that he had heard • THC MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 73 1 ho was a \eiy bad follow, but ho had so many that were worse he did not think any thing bad in Newman. I further enquired of the keeper what account Nevvmau gave of himself, and what he acknowledged to have been his occupation. His answer to these enciuiries were, that he professed to be a tailor, if any thing, but that he had not been accustomed to much hard work, as he had always been subject to Jits; that his^fs toere frightful, and that in his agony and distress he would turn round on his head and shoulders like a top, and that he was so chaffed and bruised with his irons in his convulsive agonies, that he had taken the shackles off his legs, so that now be only put one on one leg. This was as convincing to me as posssble that he was my old frienp, Smith. The Captain asked me if I had a wish to liberate him. I replied, my object was to ascertain whether he were a prison- er I had had in ray custody more than twelve months, and that if he were, he would know me immediately ; but would not profess to know me. Accordingly, when he was brought into ray pre- sence in the Captain's room, he maintained a perfect indifference,, and took no notice of me whateler. I said to him, " Newman, what have you been doing that has brought you here ?" " Noth- ing," said no, "only I had an ear-ring with me that belonged to my wife, and a young lady claimed it and swore it belonged to her, and I had no friend to speak in favour of me. and they sent me to prison." I then asked him whether ho had ever seen me before. He looked earnestly upon me and answered, " I do not know but I have seen you at New Haven, there were many men at court." "Where did you come from?" His reply was, " I came from Canada." "What countryman are you?" "A French- man,- bom in France." He had been in London and Liverpool, but never at Brighton. " Was you ever at Kingston, New-Bruns- wick ?" He answered, " No," he did not know where that was, with a countenance as unmoved as if he had spoken in all the con- fidence of truth. He appeared rather more fleshy then when at Kingston ; but still remained the same subtle my stciious being. I understood that he was the first that ever effected an exemption from labour in that prison by or on any pretence whatever. He kept himself clean *nd decent, and among the wretched victims who were daily brought from the horrid pit in chains and fetters to their dail^ labour of making nails, William Newman appeared quite a flistmguished character. So obtuse was he that he could not be taught to make a nail, and yet so ingenious was he, that he made a Jews-harp to the greatest perfection without being discovered at work and without it? being known until he was seen' playing on it It was in the city of New Haven that the author published the First Edition of these Mrmoirs, being aware that here, where his G 74 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. character and unprecedented actions were perfectly known throu|;hout the country, the publication of his doings at Kinenton, and hia career throughout the provinces of New-firunswicK and ?f ova Scotia would not only be desirable and acceptable *, but would also be received with less scrupulousness, when brought, as it were, in contact with facts of a similar nature publicly known and believed. While these papers were being prepared for the press, a gen- tleman from Washington, Major McUaniel, on his return from Boston, boarded some time in the same house with me, that of Mr Joseph Nichols, and having heard some details from m« of his unprecedented character and actions in New*Bninswick, and having also become acquainted with the facts relating to his im* prisonments and escape, &c. in that place, could not reprtss hia curiositjT in going to see him, and requested me to accompany him at his own expence. He observed that it would be a high gratification to him, on his return to Washington, that he would not ohly have one of my books with him, but would also be able to sav that he had personally seen the Sheriff from New Bruns- AViek'Uiat had written the book, and had seen the remarkable cha- raetdrln the prison of New Gate that constituted die subject of the book, and aJso the prison in New Haven from whidi he es- caped. Accordingly we set out for New Gate and mv friend had the satisfaction of seeing the noted Henry More Smith, now W?!- Itiam Newman. On our leaving him, I said to him, " Now Smith if you have any thing you wish to communicate to your wife, I will let her know it." He looked at me and said, "*Sir are you going to the Jerseys ?" Why, do you think your wife is there ? '' I hope so, I lefl her there," was his reply, and that with as tnnch firmness and seeming earnestness as if he had never before seen my facv?. — Afler I had left him and returned to New Haven, and furnished the printer with this additional sketch, and had the Me- moirs completed, one of the books was shewn to him, which he perused with much attention, and replied with seeming indiffer- ence, that there never was such a character in existence ; but that ierfect neatness, " Henry More Smith,*' on the one side of one of them, " William Newman," on the other side, and on the other knife he engraved, -< Mysterions Stranger." Those knives were kept by their owners as a curiosity, and many persons were much gratified with seeing them. One of them was sometime after brought to Kingston, and I, myself had the Salification of seeing the name of my old Domestic, engraved on e handle. Under the indulgent treatment he received in New Gate, he became perfectly reconciled to his situation, manifesting no desire to leave it. " Contentment," he said, " is the brightest jewel in this life, and I was never more contented in my life.*' He con- sequently never attempted any means of escape. After the period of his imprisonment was up and he had received his discharge, he left with tne keeper of the prison, a highly finish- ed pocket knife, of moderate size, the handle of which contained a watch, complete in all its parts, keeping time regularly. And what excited much wonder in reference to this ingenious and singularly curious piece of mechanism, was the fact, that he had never been found at work on any part of the watch or knife, and yet there was no doubt on the minds of those that saw it, that it was in reality the prodiiction of his oum genius, and the work of Dtis own hands. ¥ot this information I was indebted to a gentle- roan named Osbume, who resided in the neighbourhood, and who stated that he had seen the knife and watch himself, and that it was regarded by alias a very extraordinary piece of ingenuity. He left Simsbury decently apparalled, with some money in his S)cket, and in possession of some articles of his own handiwork, e directed his course eastward, and was seen in Boston ; but for 0ome short time, nothing particular or striking was heard ofhim. The first thing concerning him, that arrested public attention, was publbhed in the Boston BuUetiu, and whidi came under my own 76 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. •je : " Beware ofpickpockcts ! A stage coach destined for this city and full of passengers, a few evenings since, when one of the pas- lengjers rang tiie bell, and cried out to the driver to stop hi^ horses as his pocket had been picked of a large sum of money since lie entered the coach ; and at the same time requested the driver would not let any of the other passengers get out of the coach, it being dark, until he, the aforesaid passenger, should bring a light, in order to have a general search. This caused a general feeling of pockets among the passengers, when another passenger cried out that his pocket book had also been stolen. The driver did as he was directed, until the gentleman who first spoke should have time to have procured a lamp ; but whether he found it or not re- mained quite uncertain. But no doubt he found the light he in- tended should answer his purpose, as he had not shewn his ap- f)earance in any other light, tlowever the passenger who really ost his pocket book, which although it did not contain but a small amount of money, thinks he shall hereafter understand what is meant when a man in a stage coach calls out thiff, and that he will prefer darkness rather tJian light, if ever such an evil joke is offered to b6 played with him again." As he was continually changing his name as well as his place, it was impossible always to indentify his person, especially as few persons in the United States were personally acquamted with him. The difficulty of recognising him was not a little increased also 6y the circumstances of his continually changing his external appear- ance; and the iniquitious means by which he could obtain money and change of apparel, always afforded him a perfect facility of assuming a different appearance. In addition to these circum- sances also, as a feature of character which no less contribu- ted to the difficulty of identifying him, must be taken into ac- count his unequalled and inimitable ease in affecting different and various characters, and his perfect and unerabavassed com- posure in the most difficult and perplexing circumstances. To the identity and eccentricity therefore, of his actions, rather than to our knowledge of the identity of his person and name, we must depend, in our future attempts to trace his footsteps and mark their characteristic prints. On this ground, therefore, there is not the shadow of a douLt that the robberry committed in the stage coach, and that the origi- nality of the means by which he carried off his booty, pointed with unhesitating certainty to the noted cliaracter of our narative. Af- ter this depredation in the coach, with which he came off succes.^- ful, it would appear that he bended his course in disguise through the States of Connecticut and New York, assuming different cha- racters, and committing many robberies and depredations undis- covered and even unsuspected for a length of time, and afterwards* made his appearance in Ufp£R Canada, in the character of a i THE RIVSTERIOUSI STUANGEU. . gontlcmin irioix-hant fifoni Ncw-BrniKwicIc, witli a lar^'o qiTnntity nrsnnv^ftlf-tl £,'ooi|ii iVom New- Voik. w liich ho niiid wcrt^ coiniri;:; en after him in \vai,'i;on.s : t!ies« hijaui-I ho int..;»i(l(ul to (IL'pojO ot'on vary inodcrrito toriii;-!. so as to suit parcliasi r.i \Uu-<) l.(! railed upon my brother, Am,^ii-1u5 Bafoi, Dopiity Po^tmasrcr, rtt \Voirm;:^t():i 8qiinre, he;ul of f,ake (fntnria, arul informed tlu; fa.tiily tl>at he iras wdlacqiiainUd ui'k Shr.rljf' liriftn, nl K'miiU'r.i, and th;it hn called to I(jt t!;eiii know that \w a?id \va fijnily vvoi'i.' vvidl. Il;s rcftvotled vcjy m ic!'. that ho had not r)iind Mr. i]atp« at homo, and stati-d that ho wjn nnon ur, sired information as to the particular fate of the prisoner, and the -',)( 82 TH£ MYSTERIOUS STRANqi^ manner in which he was disposed of, until the 18th of SeDlltti- ber last, (1836.) *^ By a letter from Mr. Augustas Bates, bearing this date, it would appear that the prisoner had not been ezeeiUed, but had been sen* tenced to one year's cot^nement in the Penitentiary. We make the following- extract :— " I give you all the information that I can obtain respecting (Kii' i prisoner enquired after. The Jailer, who is also the Deputy She- r^, that had him in charge, says that he could learn nothing from him, — said he called his name Smith,— that he was fifty-five years eld, but denies that he ever was in Kingston, New-Brunawick. The jailer had one of your books, and showed it to him, but he dmiied any knowledge of it, and would not give him any satis- faction to the enquiries he made of him. "The Sheriff says he believes the person to be the same Mya- teriom Stranger r that he was condemned end sentenced to uie Penitentiary for one year : his crime was bt.rgiary" -* «;>=' It would have afforded the writer of these Memoirs great s** tisfaction, and no doubt an equal satisfaction to the reader, bnd it been in his power to have paid a visit to Upper Canada, that he might be able to state from his own certain and penonal knowledge of the prisoner in Toronto, thnt he was, indeed, the self -aame noted individual that was in his own custody tweniy-two years ago ; and whom he had the gratification of seeing and re- cocnizing subsequently, at the Simsbury Mines, where he played offhis affected Jits wifh such art and consequent advantage. But although it is pot in the writer's power to close up his Me- moirs with so important and valuable a discovery — ^yet, keeping in view the characteristic features of the inan — his professed ig- norance of Kingston, in New-Brunswick — his denial of ever ha- ving seen the first edition of the Memoirs, and the care which he took to keep himself enveloped in mysiftry, by utterly declining to give any satisfactory information concerning himself: all these circumstances united,'form a combination of features so marked, as to carry conviction to the mind of the repder who has traced him through this narrative, that he is no other than the same mys- terious Henri More Smith. There is aaJM^er feuture in the prisoner at Toronto, that seems fivrongly conqiprative of what we are desirous properly to esta- blish ; that iaiTw age. He acknowledges to b^Mty-^^e years of ige ; and althoagh this would make him somewtiat older thar4his real age, yet it fixes this point— that the prisaiHNt,at Toronto is well advanced in years; and so must the subject of our Memoir* be also. t«^ithf«L could not! the persol tinuaUy c| KingBtoiil cf twentl teaJ Xi^"^ Theif<^ that the I confttt®^ to pteasi , nish awl Eh id[i«re'i i| *'• K hadmaj undergi year's 4 WH laboun finexn^ partur highly, in the] on Hi ittfeti theU ripei bytl It gre< si<»< . an( an ed CO ii # THE MYSTEWOW* STBANOEK. 83 *i,T fhrNarrative would close with t^^J^P^'t this had gone '". f °' ' forSS ^formation as to the '■ ™?,X,e period, that he 3re"S.t"^« Spooled «.*ear at som^m^^^^^ • . highly P"Hw to Kj^«*^'*!7iJ'^r£L heaTrfor M and with tears oi ^ v resolved, by a c""*^^ • ag dig. himself upon her neck, an ^ ^ S? titnde and honesty, to ™T'*';,' . j„ her nuserable 1 mmf^ mm # 84 THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. ed the inmate of his bosom, and set out single-handed in the fresh pursuit of crime. There is, however, one redeeming feature trhich stands out among the general deformities of his character: in all the adven- tures "Which the history of his course presents to our view, we are not called upon to witness any marks of violence and blood; and it is perhaps owing to the absence of this repulsive trait of character, that we do not behold him in a more relentless light. The writer would close up these pages by finally observing, that if these Memoirs should ever fall into the hands of Henry More Smith, the unhappy subject of them, and should he, from whatever motive, be induced to peruse them, he trusts that the review of a life, so wretchedly abjjLjuiserably raispent, may b« accompanied with conviction from^QL\High, and be followed up with repentance unto life, that hewnvhas so of>en been immur- ed withm the walls of an earthly prison, may not at the close of his unhappy and sinful course in tliis world, be finally shut up in the prison of hell, and bound hand and foot in the chains of eter- nal darkneiss, where shall be weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth : where the hope of mercy or release can never enter, but the wrath of God abideth forever and ever ! 'i^'t/ ^///^-^^^^ i^lJ^^^ |rv:| ^.^y/^/*^^ <** Ati ■ >.A-^.'' ^•*ii i^ le fresh nds out adveu- w, we blood; trait of light. serving, Henrt e, from that the may be wed up immur- close of ut up in of eter- [nashing it enter, *« ^^^Se^^ A*;