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John Wheeler was bred a joiner; and for several years supported himself and his family at that occupation, though he was generally accustomed to rob every house where he was employed. From his natural covetous disposition, he was soon prevailed upon, by the advice of a near relation, to become an house-breaker. When he went to rob any house, he took a young kitten with him, and pinching its tail, made it mew loudly, while the people in the house, cursing the cat's caterwauling, remained quiet, and the noise of the cat prevented them from hearing the noise of the robbers. It would exceed our limits to relate the particulars of this man's exploits, as it is reported that he and his accomplices robbed above an hundred houses. He was at last convicted upon two indictments, and suffered at Tyburn in the thirty second year of his age.
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Charles Johnson, The History of the Lives and Action of the Most Famous Highwaymen, Street-robbers, &, &: To which is Added a Genuine Account of the Voyages and Plunders of the Noted Pirates (Longman, 1813) p. 487.
1 comment:
I hope the sidekick kitten wasn't subsequently homeless.
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