Our neighborhood has been visited by a thief.  On Saturday morning last Mrs. PAUL, a widow lady, living alone with two small children and endeavoring to make a comfortable living, had her smoke house unlocked and a barrel containing 50 gallons of wine and a barrel of pork was taken out, and the door was locked again, the thief thinking, no doubt, that it would be sometime before the things were missed, but it was found out immediately, and the horse and cart was tracked right to the stable from which he was taken, and belonged to the father of the young man who perpetrated the theft.

A general search being made by several men, a portion of the wine was found in a trunk belonging to a negro woman, who being arrested, and taken before Dr. STILLEY, confessed the whole of it and told where the barrel of wine was, and it was readily found and taken back to the owner.  The thief, being present at the trial, heard the evidence against him, but before they could have him arrested he ran away, and cannot be found, and well he did, for I think the penitentiary is too good a place for such a person.

To show how keen he was, he employed another man to go to this widow’s house and carry an accordion to play until late, and so give him the chance to take the things out without being heard.  This much he confessed to the negro woman to whom he gave a portion of the wine, and told her if she told it he would kill her. She is now in Washington waiting to be tried.  The young man, though gone, will not dare return home, as he will surely be arrested.  I omit his name.

Source:  Washington Gazette (Washington, NC). 5 June 1884.