diff options
| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:00:29 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:00:29 -0700 |
| commit | 9b5d7453dcaffd9ea93d7cd47bb692c26d120370 (patch) | |
| tree | 9bec9845a81f27eb69dcaa21fe6e5037b813ab45 | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-8.txt | 4090 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 85392 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 312692 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/33922-h.htm | 4292 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 65490 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/images/image_001.jpg | bin | 0 -> 55392 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/images/image_002.jpg | bin | 0 -> 57465 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/images/image_a.jpg | bin | 0 -> 4757 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/images/image_l.jpg | bin | 0 -> 4369 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/images/image_t.jpg | bin | 0 -> 4530 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/images/seal.jpg | bin | 0 -> 5037 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922-h/images/title_page.jpg | bin | 0 -> 33831 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922.txt | 4090 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 33922.zip | bin | 0 -> 85368 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
17 files changed, 12488 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/33922-8.txt b/33922-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..94168e6 --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4090 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of True Detective Stories, by Cleveland Moffett + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: True Detective Stories + From the archives of the Pinkertons + +Author: Cleveland Moffett + +Release Date: October 15, 2010 [EBook #33922] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Suzanne Shell, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + [Illustration: WILLIAM A. PINKERTON] + + + True Detective + Stories + + + From the Archives of the + Pinkertons + + + By + + Cleveland Moffett + + + + + + NEW YORK: + + _G. W. Dillingham Co., Publishers,_ + + + + + Copyright, 1893, 1894 + S. S. MCCLURE CO. + + Copyright, 1897 + DOUBLEDAY & MCCLURE CO. + + * * * * * + + + + +CONTENTS + + PAGE + +The Northampton Bank Robbery 1 + +The Susquehanna Express Robbery 57 + +The Pollock Diamond Robbery 95 + +The Rock Island Express 121 + +The Destruction of the Renos 161 + +The American Exchange Bank Robbery 193 + + * * * * * + + + + +The Northampton Bank Robbery + + +About midnight on Tuesday, January 25, 1876, five masked men entered +the house of John Whittelsey in Northampton, Massachusetts. Mr. +Whittelsey was the cashier of the Northampton National Bank, and was +known to have in his possession the keys of the bank building and the +combination to the bank vault. The five men entered the house +noiselessly, with the aid of false keys, previously prepared. Passing +up-stairs to the sleeping-apartments, they overpowered seven inmates +of the house, gagging and binding them so that resistance or alarm +was impossible. These were Mr. Whittelsey and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. +T. B. Cutler, Miss Mattie White, Miss Benton, and a servant-girl. + +The bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Whittelsey was entered by two men who +seemed to be leaders of the band. One wore a long linen duster +buttoned nearly to the knees, also gloves and overshoes; the other +wore a jacket and overalls. Both men had their faces concealed behind +masks, and one of them carried a dark-lantern. On entering the room +the two men went directly to the bed, one standing on either side, and +handcuffed Mr. Whittelsey and his wife. Both carried revolvers. The +proceedings were much the same in the other rooms. + +After some delay and whispered consultation, the robbers ordered the +five women to get up and dress. When they had done so, they were roped +together by ankles and wrists, and taken into a small room, where +they were kept under guard by one of the band. Mr. Cutler also was +imprisoned in the same way. Then the two leaders devoted themselves to +Mr. Whittelsey. They told him plainly that they had come for the keys +of the bank and the combination of the vault, and that they would +"make it hot" for him unless he gave them what they wanted. Mr. +Whittelsey replied that it was useless to attempt to break into the +bank, as the locks were too strong for their efforts and he would not +betray his trust. At this the man in the linen duster shrugged his +shoulders and said they would see about that. + +Mr. Whittelsey was then taken downstairs, and again summoned to +surrender the keys. Again he refused. At this the man in the overalls +put his hand in the cashier's trousers-pocket and drew forth a key. + +"Is this the key to the bank?" he asked. + +"Yes, it is," answered the cashier, hoping to gain time. + +"You lie," said the robber, with threatening gesture, at the same time +trying the key in the lock of the front door of the house, which it +turned. + +"Don't hit him yet," said the other; "he is sick." Then he asked Mr. +Whittelsey if he wanted a drink of brandy. Mr. Whittelsey shook his +head no. Then the man in the linen duster renewed his demands. He +wanted the combination of the vault. Mr. Whittelsey gave him some +figures, which the robber wrote down on a piece of paper. These were +for the outer door of the vault. He demanded the combination for the +inner door, and Mr. Whittelsey gave him other figures. Having written +these down also, the robber came close to his prisoner and said, "Will +you swear these figures are correct?" + +"I will," answered Mr. Whittelsey. + +"You are lying again. If they are correct, let's hear you repeat +them." + +The cashier could not do this, and so disclosed that the figures were +not the right ones. + +"See, Number One," said the robber, addressing his comrade, "we're +wasting time; we'll have to teach him to stop lying." + +As he spoke he struck the sharp point of his lead-pencil into Mr. +Whittelsey's face so violently as to make a wound, and followed this +with several blows on the body. + +"Will you tell us now?" he asked. + +Mr. Whittelsey kept silent. Then both men came at him, wringing his +ears, shaking him by the throat, hurling him to the floor, and +pounding their knees into his chest. For three hours this torture was +continued. More than once the ruffians placed their revolvers at Mr. +Whittelsey's head, declaring they would blow his brains out unless he +yielded. Finally he did yield; the suffering was too great; the +supreme instinct of self-preservation asserted itself. Toward four +o'clock in the morning, bruised from head to foot, and worn beyond +further resistance, he surrendered the keys, and revealed the true +combination of the vault. + +Then the robbers went away, leaving two of their associates to watch +over the prisoners. One of the band, before his departure, did not +disdain to search Mr. Whittelsey's clothes and take his watch and +chain and fourteen dollars in money. The last of the band remained in +the house until six o'clock; and it was an hour later before Mr. +Whittelsey succeeded in freeing himself from his bonds. + +He hurried at once to the bank, arriving there soon after seven +o'clock. He found the vault door locked, and its dials broken off, so +that it was impossible at the moment to determine the extent of the +robbery, or, indeed, whether there had been any robbery. It was +necessary to send to New York for an expert before the vault could be +opened, which was not accomplished until late that night, twenty hours +after the attack had been made. Then it was found that the robbers had +been only too successful, having secured money and securities +estimated at a million and a quarter dollars. Much of this sum was +safe-deposits, and the loss fell on the depositors; and to some it was +the loss of their whole property. + +At this time the authorities had no clue to the identity of the +robbers, though they had left behind them numerous evidences of their +presence, such as dark-lanterns, masks, sledge-hammers, overshoes, and +the like. Their escape had been managed as skilfully as the robbery +itself. Sheriff's officers and detectives did their best during +subsequent days and weeks, but their efforts were in vain. The +president of the bank offered a reward of twenty-five thousand +dollars for the apprehension of the robbers and the return of the +property; but there were no discoveries. + +When several months had elapsed, the Pinkertons were called into the +case. They began by carefully studying certain communications that had +been received by the bank directors from persons claiming to have in +their possession the missing securities. The first of these +communications was dated New York, February 27, 1876, about a month +after the robbery. It ran as follows, the letters of each word being +carefully printed with a pen, so that there was little chance of +identification through the handwriting: + + "DEAR SIRS: When you are satisfied with detective skill you + can make a proposition to us, the holders, and if you are + liberal we may be able to do business with you. If you + entertain any such ideas, please insert a personal in the + New York 'Herald.' Address to XXX, and sign 'Rufus,' to + which due attention will be paid. To satisfy you that we + hold papers, we send you a couple of pieces." + + [No signature.] + +No attention had been paid to this letter, although two certificates +of stock accompanied it which had undoubtedly been in the bank's +vault. Three other letters of a similar nature had been received +later. To one of these the bank people had sent a guarded reply, which +had called forth the following response, dated New York, October 20, +1876: + + "GENTLEMEN: Since you have seen fit to recognize the receipt + of our letter, we will now send you our price for the return + of the goods. The United States coupon bonds and money taken + cannot be returned; but everything else--bonds, letters, and + papers, to the smallest document--will be returned for one + hundred and fifty thousand dollars. If these figures suit + you, we will make arrangements, according to our promise, + and you may have the goods as soon as preliminaries can be + arranged for the safe conduct of the business. If you agree + to this price, insert in the New York 'Herald' personal + column the simple word 'Agatha.' + + "Respectfully, etc., + + "RUFUS." + +The special value of these letters was in helping the detectives to +decide which one of several gangs of bank robbers then operating in +the country was most likely to have committed the crime. Being +familiar with the methods of each gang, Robert Pinkerton was able to +draw useful inferences from evidence that would otherwise have been +insignificant. He knew, for instance, that the notorious gang headed +by James Dunlap would be more apt than any other to thus negotiate for +the return of all the securities in a lump, since it was Dunlap's +invariable rule to insist upon personally controlling the proceeds of +his robberies until final disposition was made of them. On the other +hand, the gangs headed respectively by the notorious "Jimmy" Hope, +"Worcester Sam," and George Bliss might have divided the securities +among the members, and then tried to negotiate a compromise on the +individual portions. + +A fact of much significance to the Pinkertons was the rather +remarkable interest in the case, and apparent familiarity with it, +shown by one J. G. Evans, an expert in safes and vaults and the +representative of one of the largest safe-manufactories in the +country. + +The day after the robbery Evans had been at Bristol, Connecticut, in +the interest of his firm, who, on receipt of the news, had immediately +wired him to proceed to Northampton. His presence in Northampton was +regarded as nothing strange, for he had been there several times +during the months just preceding the robbery, and once had inspected +the lock and dials of the vault of the robbed bank. What did seem a +little strange, however, was Evans's evident interest in the +negotiations for a compromise. On a dozen different occasions he +talked with the president and other officers of the bank regarding the +robbery, and insinuated quite plainly that he might be in a position +to assist them in recovering their lost securities. A few months after +the robbery he even went so far as to tell one of the directors that +he could name the members of the gang. + +This disposition of Evans to put himself forward in the negotiations +had all the more significance to Robert Pinkerton from the fact that +it had been rumored that a series of daring bank robberies lately +committed in various parts of the country had owed their success to +the participation of an expert in safes and locks, who had been able, +through his position of trust, to reveal to the robbers many secrets +of weak bank locks, safes, and vaults. Up to this time these rumors +had remained indefinite, and no one ventured to name the man. It was +known, however, that the false expert was a man of high standing in +his calling and generally regarded as above suspicion. It was also +known that there was great jealousy in other gangs of bank robbers +because of the amazing success of the gang with whom this man was +working, and that overtures even had been made by the leaders of some +other gangs to win over to their own gangs this desirable accomplice. +Robert Pinkerton had already concluded that the gang so ably assisted +was the Dunlap gang; and he was now pretty well persuaded, also, that +the Northampton robbery had been committed by the Dunlap gang. There +was every reason, therefore, for keeping a sharp eye on the +safe-expert Evans. + +As he studied the case, Mr. Pinkerton recalled a circumstance that had +happened in the fall of 1875. On the night of November 4, 1875, the +First National Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania, had been robbed of +sixty thousand dollars, and Mr. Pinkerton had gone there to +investigate the case. He met a number of safe-men, it being a business +custom with safe-men to flock to the scene of an important bank +robbery in order to supply new safes for the ones that have been +wrecked. While they were all examining the vault, still littered with +debris of the explosion, the representative of one of the +safe-companies picked up a small air-pump used by the robbers, and, +looking at it critically, remarked that he would have sworn it +belonged to his company, did he not know that was impossible. The +air-pump was, he declared, of precisely his company's model, one that +had been recently devised for a special purpose. At the time Mr. +Pinkerton regarded this as merely a coincidence, but now the memory +came to him as a flash of inspiration that the man who had remarked +the similarity in the air-pump represented the same company that +employed Evans. + +In view of all the circumstances, it was decided to put Evans under +the closest questioning. He did not deny that he had made unusual +efforts to effect the return of the securities, but professed that it +was because he was sincerely sorry for the many people who had been +ruined through the robbery. And he professed to believe, also, that he +had been unjustly treated in the affair, though just how, and by whom, +he would not say. To the detective's trained observation it was +apparent that he was worried and apprehensive and not at all sure of +himself. + +In November, 1876, George H. Bangs, superintendent of the Pinkerton +Agency, a man possessed of very remarkable skill in eliciting +confessions from suspected persons, had an interview with Evans. He +professed to Evans that the detectives had secured evidence that +practically cleared up the whole mystery; that they _knew_ (whereas +they still only surmised) that the robbery had been committed by the +Dunlap and Scott gang, and that Evans was a confederate; that for +weeks they had been shadowing Scott and Dunlap (which was true), and +could arrest them at any moment; that there was no doubt that the gang +had been trying to play Evans false (a very shrewd guess), and would +sacrifice him without the slightest compunction; and, finally, that +there was open to Evans one of two courses--either to suffer arrest on +a charge of bank robbery, with the prospect of twenty years in prison, +or save himself, and at the same time earn a substantial money reward, +by making a clean confession of his connection with the crime. All +this, delivered with an air of completest certainty, was more than +Evans could stand up against. He broke down completely, and told all +he knew. + +The story told by Evans is one of the most remarkable in the history +of crime. He admitted the correctness of Robert Pinkerton's inference +that the Northampton Bank had been robbed by Scott and Dunlap and +their associates, and in order to explain his own connection with this +formidable gang he went back to its organization in 1872. The leader +of the gang was James Dunlap, _alias_ James Barton, who, before he +became a bank robber, had been a brakeman on the Chicago, Alton and +St. Louis Railroad. His inborn criminal instincts led him to frequent +the resorts of thieves in Chicago, and thus he met "Johnny" Lamb and a +man named Perry, who took a liking to him and taught him all they knew +about breaking safes. Dunlap soon outstripped his masters, developing +a genius for robbery and for organization that speedily proved him the +most formidable of all the bank robbers then operating in the country, +not even excepting "Jimmy" Hope, the notorious Manhattan Bank robber. +He had the long-headedness and stubbornness of his Scotch parents, +united with the daring and ingenuity peculiar to Americans. In the +fall of 1872 he organized the most dangerous and best-equipped gang of +bank robbers that the country had ever known. + +Dunlap's right-hand man was Robert C. Scott, _alias_ "Hustling Bob," +originally a deck-hand on a Mississippi steamboat and afterward a +hotel thief. Scott was a big, powerful man, with a determination equal +to anything. Their associates were what one might expect from these +two. Other members of the gang were Thomas Doty, William Conroy, +"Eddie" Goody, John Perry, James Greer, a professional burglar +originally from Canada, and the notorious John Leary, _alias_ "Red" +Leary, of whom more will be said later on. In addition to these, the +gang contained several members of less importance, men who acted +merely as lookouts, or as go-betweens or messengers. + +The first large operation of Dunlap's band occurred in 1872, when they +plundered the Falls City Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, of about two +hundred thousand dollars, escaping with their booty. This was +satisfactory as a beginning, but Dunlap and Scott dreamed of +achievements beside which this was insignificant. They began a careful +investigation through many States, to learn of banks of weak structure +containing large treasure. One of the gang finally found precisely +what they were in search of in the Second National Bank of Elmira, New +York, which institution, being a government depository, contained, as +they learned on good authority, two hundred thousand dollars in +greenbacks and six millions in bonds. + +A survey of the premises satisfied the gang that, massive though it +appeared, with its ponderous iron walls and complicated locks, the +vault of this bank was by no means impossible of access. The floor +above the bank was occupied by the Young Men's Christian Association, +one of the association's rooms being directly over the vault. There +was the floor between, and under that four feet of solid masonry, some +of the stones in it weighing a ton. And under the masonry was a layer +of railroad iron, resting on a plate of hardened steel an inch and a +half thick. All this, however, so far from discouraging the +conspirators, gave them greater confidence in the success of their +plan, once under way, since the very security of the vault, by +structure, from overhead attack lessened the strictness of the +surveillance. Indeed, the most serious difficulty, in the estimation +of the robbers, was to gain easy and unsuspected admission to the +quarters of the Young Men's Christian Association, on the second +floor. The secretary, a very prudent man, had put on the outside door +of the association rooms an improved Yale lock, which was then new +upon the market and offered unusual obstacles to the lock-picker. +Neither Dunlap, Scott, nor any of their associates had skill enough +to open this lock without breaking it, which would, of course, have +been fatal to their plan. For days, therefore, after all the other +details of the robbery had been arranged, the whole scheme seemed to +be blocked by a troublesome lock on an ordinary wooden door. + +So serious a matter did this finally become that Scott and Dunlap went +to the length of breaking into the secretary's house at night, and +searching his pockets, in the hope of finding the keys and getting an +impression of them. But here, again, the secretary had taken +precautions that defeated their purpose, for he had hidden the keys +under a carpet, where the robbers never thought of looking for them. +Disappointed in their search, they went away, making no attempt to +carry off anything, a bit of forbearance which caused the excellent +secretary much wonder the next morning, when he found that nothing +was missing, although there were plain traces of intruders. + +The Yale lock still continuing an insoluble difficulty, Perry finally +made a journey to New York, in the hope of finding some device by +which to open it. There, in the course of his search, and in a curious +way, he made the acquaintance of Evans, then a salesman in the employ +of a prominent safe-company. + +Before entering the employ of the safe-manufacturers, Evans had +conducted an extensive mercantile business for himself in a large +Eastern city, where he was regarded as a man of wealth and integrity. +He had large dealings through the South, with extensive credits; but +the outbreak of the war had forced him into bankruptcy. It was hinted +that there was some over-shrewd practice connected with his failure, +and his subsequent sudden departure for Canada gave color to the +insinuation. At any rate, he compromised with his creditors on a +basis advantageous to himself. + +On his return from Canada, Evans took up his residence in New York +City, and began to cultivate habits far beyond his income, notably the +taste for fast horses. Perry heard of Evans through one Ryan, whom he +had known as a "crook" years before, but who was then running a +livery-stable in an up-town street. As a matter of fact, this +livery-stable was merely a blind for the sale of unsound horses +"doctored up" to deceive unsuspecting buyers. But of this Evans knew +nothing, and, in good faith, had stabled one of his own horses with +Ryan. This had led to an intimacy between him and Ryan, and now, at +Perry's suggestion, Ryan encouraged Evans in his disposition to live +beyond his means. + +Before long Evans found himself much cramped financially. Being unable +to pay Ryan the money he owed him for stabling, he began to talk of +selling his horse; and one day, when he was complaining of being +short of money, Ryan said, "If I had your position I'd never lack for +money." + +Evans asked him what he meant. + +"Oh," said Ryan, "there are plenty of people who would put up well to +know some of the things you know about safes and banks." + +By degrees Ryan made his meaning more clear, and Evans grew properly +indignant. The subject was dropped for the moment, but, in subsequent +meetings, Ryan kept reverting to it. Meantime Evans found himself +growing more and more embarrassed, and one day he said, "What is it +these people want to know?" + +"Well," said Ryan, "they would like to know, for one thing, if there +is any way of beating these new Yale locks?" + +"You can't pick a Yale lock," answered Evans--"that would take too +long; but there is a way of getting one open." + +"How?" + +"We'll talk that over some day." + +Having once nibbled, Evans was not long in biting at the bait thus +adroitly held before him. He consented to be introduced to Perry, who +shrewdly showed him what an easy matter it would be for a man who knew +the secrets of safe-makers and could locate weak banks, to make a +great deal of money, without danger to himself. + +"Why," said Perry, "you can make more in one night with us, without +any one's suspecting it, than you can make in a year working for these +safe-people." + +The result was that Evans, in consideration of fifty thousand dollars, +finally agreed to provide some means of opening the Yale lock which +barred the robbers from the coveted treasure at Elmira. + +Perry, in great delight, hurried back to Elmira, and reported his +success to Dunlap and Scott. In order to bring Evans to Elmira in a +way not to excite suspicion, a letter was written to the company he +served, containing a tempting proposition regarding the purchase of +safes. Evans was at once sent to Elmira to look after the matter. He +stopped at the Rathbone House, where he was waited upon by Scott, with +whom he concerted a plan of operations. Scott was to slip a thin piece +of wood into the lock at night, so that the lock would not work. Then, +as Evans's presence in the city had been made known, it was hoped that +he would be called upon, as an expert in difficult locks, to find out +what was the matter. This would give him an opportunity to secure an +impression of the key. The plan worked only too perfectly; and within +twenty-four hours the conspirators were able to pass in and out of the +Young Men's Christian Association rooms as they pleased, without the +knowledge of any one. + +It now remained, in order to achieve the robbery, to dig down into the +vault--an immense task, for which the constant presence in Elmira of +the whole gang was necessary. It was also necessary that their +presence should not be noticed, and to that end a woman from +Baltimore, who had been associated with one of the gang in previous +undertakings, came on to Elmira and took a house in the suburbs, +giving out that she was the wife of a man whose business kept him +traveling most of the time. The house was simply furnished, and every +day, for the benefit of the neighbors, the woman made a great pretense +of sweeping the steps, cleaning the windows, and busying herself about +the yard in various ways. Meantime, inside the house, in careful +concealment, the members of the gang were living--Scott, Dunlap, "Red" +Leary, Conroy, and Perry. They never went out in the daytime, and they +left the place at night so cautiously, going one at a time, that, +although they lived here for six weeks, their presence was never +suspected. + +Every night they gathered in the rooms of the Young Men's Christian +Association after the young men had gone home, using their false keys +to obtain admission; and they remained there hours at a time, doing +what would ordinarily be the noisiest work; but their movements were +so cautious and well planned that their presence in the building was +never suspected. Every night the carpet and flooring were taken up, +and, after they had finished their excavations, were carefully relaid. +Tons of masonry and heavy stone were removed, shoveled into baskets, +and carried up to the roof of the opera-house, adjoining the bank +building, where there was small chance of the debris being discovered. +Thus the unwearying rascals worked downward through the layer of +railroad iron, and at last found themselves separated from the inside +of the vault by only the plate of steel. Success seemed within their +very grasp, when an unforeseen accident spoiled everything. + +One day the president of the bank, Mr. Pratt, was surprised, on +entering the vault, to find the floor sprinkled with a fine white +dust. An investigation was made, and the whole plot was uncovered. The +members of the gang, however, got word in time, and all managed to +escape except Perry, who was convicted of attempted burglary and sent +to the Auburn prison for five years. + +Undisturbed by the failure, Scott and Dunlap proceeded to scour the +country again in search of another bank suited to their operations, +and in February, 1874, notified the gang, which now contained some new +members, that they had "found something to go to work at" in Quincy, +Illinois. The attack on the Quincy bank was made in very much the same +way as the attack on the bank at Elmira. The Baltimore woman again +rented a house which afforded shelter and concealment to the men; +access was obtained to rooms over the vault by false keys, as before; +the flooring was taken up and put down every night without exciting +suspicion; the masonry was removed, the iron plates of the vault were +penetrated, and, finally, one night Scott and Dunlap were able to +lower themselves through a jagged hole into the money-room beneath. + +It now remained to force open the safes inside the vault; and to +accomplish this the robbers used, for the first time in the history of +safe-wrecking in America, what is known as the air-pump method, which +had been devised by Evans, and carefully explained by him to Scott and +Dunlap. Evans's employers were at this time introducing a padding +designed to make safes more secure; and Evans had hit upon the idea of +introducing powder into the seams of a safe-door by an air-pump, in +the presence of a possible customer, in order to impress him with his +need of the new padding. Evans himself was not present at the breaking +open of the Quincy bank, and he had nothing to do with the robbery +beyond furnishing instruction and the air-pump. Scott and Dunlap did +the work. + +As a first step, all the seams of the safes formed by the doors were +carefully puttied up, save two small holes, one at the top and one at +the bottom. Then, at the upper hole, Scott held a funnel filled with +fine powder, while Dunlap applied the air-pump at the hole below. By +the draft thus created, the powder was drawn into all the interstices +between the heavy doors and the frames of the safes. Then a little +pistol, loaded simply with powder, was attached near the upper hole, +and, by a string tied to the trigger, discharged from a safe distance +above. There were several attempts made before a complete explosion +was effected; but finally the safes were blown open and their contents +secured, the robbers making good their escape with one hundred and +twenty thousand dollars in money and about seven hundred thousand +dollars in bonds. No part of this money was ever recovered by the +bank, nor were any of the gang captured at this time. The securities +were, however, afterward sold back to the bank. Indeed, so cleverly +had the whole affair been managed that no suspicion fell upon either +Scott, Dunlap, or any of their associates. + +Here were fortunes made easily enough, with plenty more to be made in +the same way, and the gang were in high feather over their success. +During the summer of 1874 Scott and Dunlap lived in princely style in +New York. They attracted much attention at Coney Island during the +season, where they drove fast horses. No one suspected that they were +the leaders of the most desperate gang of bank robbers ever organized +in this or any country. + +By fall their money began to run short, and they decided to look about +for another job. In the Quincy robbery they had broken their agreement +with Evans, paying him only a small sum for the use of the air-pump +which he had furnished them. Now, however, they called upon him again, +and, partly by threats, partly by generous offers, induced him to +assist them again. A series of unsuccessful attempts at robbery were +made on banks in Saratoga; Nantucket; Covington, Kentucky; and +Rockville, Connecticut. In several instances failure came at the very +time when success seemed sure. In the case of the Covington bank, for +instance, nitroglycerin was used in blowing open the safe, and the +explosion was so violent that the men became frightened and fled in a +panic, leaving behind untouched, although exposed to view, two +hundred thousand dollars in greenbacks and one million five hundred +thousand dollars in negotiable bonds. In the case of the Rockville +bank their plans had worked out perfectly, and they had removed +everything from the top of the vault but a thin layer of brick, when +Scott accidentally forced the jimmy with which he was working through +the roof of the vault and let it fall inside. As it was too late to +complete the work that night, and as the presence of the jimmy inside +the vault would inevitably start an alarm the next day, they were +obliged to abandon the attempt entirely. + +The gang's most desperate adventure befell in connection with the +attempt on the First National Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania. This was +made late in the fall of 1875. The bank occupied a one-story building +covered with a tin roof, and the robbers decided to make the attack +from the roof. But there was a serious difficulty in the fact that in +case of rain coming any time after they had begun operations, water +might soak through the openings they had made and betray them. +Dunlap's ingenuity, however, was equal to this emergency; and each +night, after finishing their excavation, they carefully relaid the +sheets of tin that had been disturbed, protecting the joints with red +putty, which matched the roof in color. So well did they put on this +putty, that, although it rained heavily the very day after they began, +not a drop leaked through. + +On the night of November 4 only one layer of bricks separated them +from the top of the vault, and it was decided to finish the work and +do the robbery that night. Two hours' hard labor with "drag" and +"jack-screw" sufficed to effect an opening, and Scott and Dunlap were +lowered into the vault. They found three Marvin spherical safes +protected by a burglar-alarm. But Dunlap was somewhat of an electrical +expert, and was able to so surround the burglar-alarm with heavy +boards as to render it of little or no danger. They experienced much +difficulty, though, in blowing open the safes. The first one attempted +yielded on the second explosion, and they secured five hundred dollars +in currency and sixty thousand dollars in bonds. The next one was far +more troublesome, not less than ten explosions being required to make +way into it. And just as the task was at last accomplished, and they +were on the point of seizing a great sum of money, there came a +warning call from Conroy, who was doing sentry duty on the roof, and +it was necessary to fly. + +When Dunlap and Scott had been dragged out of the vault by their +associates, they were found scarcely able to run. During all the +twelve explosions of powder and dynamite they had never left the +vault, but, crouching behind the boards that guarded the +burglar-alarm, had remained within arm's length of explosions so +violent that they tore apart plates of welded steel and shook the +whole building. Worse than the shock of these explosions were the +noxious gases generated by them, which Scott and Dunlap had to +breathe. On coming out, their clothes were wringing wet with +perspiration, and they were so weak that their legs tottered under +them, and their comrades had to almost carry them for a time. But, +nevertheless, they managed to walk thirty miles that night, to Lehigh, +where they boarded a train to New York. + +It was on this occasion that there was left behind in the vault the +air-pump which Robert Pinkerton afterward recalled so shrewdly to +Evans's disadvantage. + +Coming, in his confession, to the Northampton Bank robbery, Evans said +that the gang had considered making an attempt there for several +months before the robbery was actually executed. For a time they had +designed to rob the First National Bank, where Evans had been +employed to put in new doors, but this scheme they afterward +abandoned. Enjoying the fullest confidence of the Northampton Bank +officers, Evans had made repeated visits to the bank and gained +important information for his associates. It was through his influence +that the bank directors decided to give the whole combination of the +vault to the cashier, Whittelsey, who had previously been intrusted +with only half of it, the remainder being given to one of the clerks. + +On the night of the robbery Evans was in New York, but he had gone to +Northampton a day or two after, as already stated. Then, for the first +time, he realized what immense wrong and suffering would be inflicted +upon innocent people by the robbers, and he said it was this that had +prompted him in his efforts to have the securities restored to the +owners. + +Returning to New York, he at once communicated with Scott and Dunlap +by means of "Herald" personals, and had several interviews with them +in the city during the month of February. While they were anxious to +dispose of the securities, it was plain from the first that they +distrusted Evans and proposed to lessen his share of the profits. +While pretending to approve the steps he was taking for a compromise +with the bank, they were really, without his knowledge, carrying on +secret negotiations with the same object. The suspicion on either side +grew until finally it could no longer be concealed. Meeting Scott in +Prospect Park some time after the robbery, Evans said, "When are you +going to settle and give me my share?" + +"You'll never get a cent," answered Scott; "you've given the whole +gang away." + +For some time they did not meet again. Evans continued his vain +efforts for a settlement, growing more and more anxious as the months +went by and he saw the danger to himself become more threatening. On +the 9th of November he met Scott, Dunlap, and "Red" Leary on the +outskirts of Brooklyn, and a violent quarrel occurred about the +division of the spoil. Reproaches and threats were exchanged with +stormy language, and at one time Evans's life was actually in danger. + +It was soon after this interview that Evans decided, under the +management of Superintendent Bangs, to save himself by making a full +confession. He had fewer scruples about betraying his associates, +because he had become convinced that in the previous robberies, +notably in the one at Quincy, Illinois, he had been treated most +unfairly by Scott and Dunlap. + +Evans said that for several weeks preceding the Northampton robbery +the gang had concealed themselves in the attic of a school-house which +stood four or five rods from the highway and apart from other houses. +His statement was substantiated by the discovery in this attic, after +the robbery, of blankets, satchels, ropes, bits, pulleys, and +provisions, including a bottle of whisky bearing the label of a New +York firm. + +After the vault had been rifled, the money and securities were placed +in a bag and a pillow-case, and carried to the school-house, where +they were stowed away in places of concealment that had been +previously prepared. One of these was underneath the platform where +the teacher's desk stood. Another was a recess made behind a +blackboard, which was taken off for the purpose and then screwed +carefully in place. For nearly two weeks this treasure, amounting to +over a million dollars, lay unsuspected in the school-house, the +teacher walking over a part of it, the children working out their sums +on the blackboard which concealed another part. It was left there so +long because the robbers were unable to return for it, owing to the +strict watch for strangers that was kept at the railway-station and +along all the roads. Finally Scott bought a team of horses for nine +hundred dollars, and, with Jim Brady, drove over to Northampton from +Springfield. After securing the booty, they had serious trouble in +getting away. Brady fell into the mill-race, which they were crossing +on the ice, and this accident necessitated their camping out all night +in a cabin in the woods. + +After hearing Evans's story, the question foremost in Mr. Pinkerton's +mind was where the stolen securities had been concealed. From what +Evans said, and from what he knew himself about the methods of the +gang, he was satisfied that Dunlap possessed this secret, and would +intrust it to no one unless absolutely compelled to do so. The +likeliest way of compelling him was to put him under arrest, which +might very well be done now that Evans had consented to turn State's +evidence. For weeks Pinkerton "shadows" had never been off Scott and +Dunlap, who spent most of their time in New York, the former living +with his wife at a fashionable boarding-house in Washington Square. + +Instructions were accordingly given to the "shadows" to close in upon +them, and on February 14, 1877, both men were arrested in +Philadelphia, as they were on the point of taking a train for the +South. + +Despite the large sum of securities in their possession, the men had +run short of ready money, and, while awaiting a compromise, were +starting out to commit another robbery. They were taken to +Northampton, and committed to jail to await trial. + +It happened as Mr. Pinkerton foresaw. Brought into confinement, Dunlap +and Scott were compelled, in the conduct of their affairs, to reveal +the hiding-place of the booty to some other member of the gang. They +chose for their confidant "Red" Leary. The securities, as subsequently +transpired, were at this time buried in a cellar on Sixth Avenue, near +Thirty-third Street, New York. The precise spot was indicated to Leary +by Mrs. Scott, who, in doing so, reminded Leary of an agreement +entered into by the members of the gang before the robbery, that any +one of their number who might get into trouble could, if he saw a +necessity, call upon his confederates to dispose of all the securities +on whatever terms were possible and use the proceeds in getting him +and others--if others were in trouble also--free. At the time Leary +scoffed at this agreement, but was perfectly willing, even eager, to +have it enforced a little later, when, by the orders of Inspector +Byrnes, he was himself arrested on the charge of complicity in the +memorable Manhattan Bank robbery, which had occurred some time before. +Having failed in a purpose of "shadowing" Leary to the place where +the securities were hidden, Robert Pinkerton decided that the best +move to make next would be to arrest Leary for complicity in the +Northampton robbery. Steps were taken to have requisition papers +prepared, and it was pending the arrival of these that Leary was held +on the other charge, for it was not thought that he had really taken +part in the Manhattan Bank robbery. + +The criminal annals of the United States contain no more thrilling +chapter than that of the adventures of "Red" Leary. He was a typical +desperado in appearance, with his shock of red hair, and his bristling +red mustache, and his ugly, heavy-jawed face, while his huge neck and +shoulders, his big head, and powerful hairy hands impressed one with +his enormous physical strength. He weighed nearly three hundred +pounds, and his "pals" used to point with pride to the fact that he +wore a bigger hat than any statesman in America--eight and a quarter. + +While much of Leary's life had been spent in deeds of violence, he had +shown on occasions such splendid bravery, and even heroism, as almost +atoned for his crimes. There are few soldiers who would not be proud +of Leary's record on the battle-field. He was among the first to +respond to his country's call in our own Civil War, being a volunteer +in the First Kentucky Regiment under Colonel Guthrie, and he was a +good soldier from the time of his enlistment up to the moment of his +honorable discharge. + +The ablest lawyers were now secured in his defense, and by every +possible method of legal obstruction they kept alive a controversy in +the New York courts until the early days of May, 1879. Meanwhile Leary +reposed in Ludlow Street Jail, where he enjoyed all the privileges +ever accorded to prisoners. In return he paid the warden the +substantial sum of thirty dollars a week; and it was evident that, +whether he had or had not been concerned in the Northampton robbery, +he had in some way obtained abundant money. He was visited constantly +by his wife. + +On the afternoon of May 7 Mrs. Leary called at about five o'clock with +"Butch" McCarthy, and the three were alone in Leary's room until +nearly eight o'clock. After that Leary strolled about in the prison +inclosure, and at about a quarter past ten keeper Wendell, who had +charge of the first tier, in which Leary's room was located, saw him +going up-stairs from the second to the third tier. Although in this +Leary was going directly away from his own room, there was nothing to +excite surprise, for Leary had been accustomed to use the bath-room on +the third tier. A quarter of an hour later Wendell started on his +rounds, according to the prison rule, to see that each one of the men +in his tier was securely locked up for the night. When he came to +Leary's room he was a little surprised to find him still absent, but +supposed he would be there shortly. But after waiting a few minutes +and finding Leary still absent, the keeper became alarmed, and began a +search. He first went to the bath-room, and not finding Leary there, +searched in other places, high and low. Then he returned to the +bath-room, and there made a discovery which filled him with +consternation. He saw in the brick wall, what at first had escaped his +attention, a gaping hole, large enough to allow the passage of a man's +body. The hole opened into a tunnel that seemed to lead downward. The +alarm was at once given, and it soon appeared that the keeper's fears +were only too well founded. "Red" Leary had escaped. + +It was found that the tunnel from the bath-room led into a room on the +fifth floor of a tenement-house at No. 76 Ludlow Street, adjoining the +jail. The wall of the house added to the wall of the jail made a +thickness of four feet and a half of solid masonry, which had been cut +through. In the three rooms that had been rented in the house by +Leary's friends were found abundant evidences of the work. + +Leary, after his escape, fled to Europe, but was afterward arrested in +Brooklyn by Robert Pinkerton and three of his men, who "held him up" +in a sleigh at the corner of Twenty-seventh Street and Fourth Avenue, +Brooklyn; and before Leary could make use of a large revolver which he +had on his person, the horse was grabbed by the head and pulled to a +standstill, and Leary was dragged out of the sleigh and handcuffed. He +was taken immediately to Northampton, and put in jail there. + +Some time previous to this the Pinkertons had located Conroy, who had +also escaped from Ludlow Street Jail, in Philadelphia; and immediately +on the arrest of Leary, Robert Pinkerton sent one of his detectives +from New York to Philadelphia, who was fortunate enough to arrest +Conroy at one of his resorts on the same night, and he was also +delivered in jail at Northampton. + +Some months previous to this the Pinkertons had also arrested Thomas +Doty, another member of the band, and lodged him in the Northampton +jail. + +In the mean time, Scott and Dunlap, now in State prison, had made a +confession as against Leary, the holder of the securities; and when +Leary was brought to Northampton, they wrote him a letter, notifying +him that unless the securities were handed over to their proper +owners, they would take the witness-stand against him and convict him, +but that if he did turn over the necessary securities they would +refuse to take the stand. This resulted in the recovery by the +Northampton Bank of nearly all the securities stolen from the bank and +its depositors, this not including, however, the government bonds and +currency stolen at the time. Some of these securities had depreciated +in value upward of one hundred thousand dollars since they were +stolen. The amount of the securities recovered represented seven +hundred thousand dollars; they had been in the hands of the thieves +upward of two years. + +After the securities were returned, Scott and Dunlap refusing to take +the stand against Leary and Doty, the authorities were eventually +obliged to release them, as Evans had also refused to take the stand +against them. Conroy, who had simply been a go-between, and not an +actual participant in the robbery, was released at the same time by +order of the court. + +The trial of Scott and Dunlap took place at Northampton in July, 1877, +a year and a half after the robbery. Evans took the stand against +them, his evidence making the case of the prosecution overwhelmingly +strong. After three hours' deliberation the jury brought in a verdict +of guilty, and the prisoners were sentenced to twenty years each in +the State prison. Scott died in prison, and Dunlap, having been +pardoned several years ago, is now living in a Western city, a +reformed man, and is earning an honest living. As far as is known, +since leaving the penitentiary he has never returned to his evil ways. +Conroy also has taken to new ways, is honest, and is generally +respected by all who know him. + +"Red" Leary came to his death in a curious way. One night in April, +1888, he had been drinking with some friends at a well-known +sporting-resort in New York, on Sixth Avenue, between Twenty-seventh +and Twenty-eighth streets. In the party was "Billy" Train, an old +bunko-man. They were all somewhat intoxicated and inclined to be +uproarious. As they came out on the street, "Billy" Train picked up a +brick and threw it up in the air, yelling: "Look out for your heads, +boys." To this warning Leary paid no attention, and the brick came +down on his head with full force, fracturing his skull. He was taken +to the New York Hospital, and died there, after much suffering, on +April 23. + +As for the safe-expert, Evans, he is engaged in legitimate business, +and is prospering. In compiling this chapter from the records, the +writer has, by request, changed some of the names of the parties, who +since that time have reformed, and are now respected members in the +communities where they reside, and the author has no desire to injure +them. + + + + +The Susquehanna Express Robbery + + +At Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, are located the great shops of the Erie +Railroad, where fifteen hundred men work throughout the year. These +men receive their wages on a fixed day toward the end of each month, +the pay-roll amounting to many thousands of dollars. It was customary, +fourteen years ago, for the company to have a sum of money sufficient +for this purpose shipped from New York by express a day or two before +the date when the wages were to be paid. Following out this practice, +on the night of June 20, 1883, the Marine National Bank of New York +shipped by the United States Express Company a sealed package +containing forty thousand dollars for the Erie Railroad Company, in +care of the First National Bank of Susquehanna. The package contained +United States currency and bank-notes, almost entirely in small bills, +none larger than twenty dollars. + +The usual precautions were observed in shipment, a trusted clerk of +the Marine Bank carrying the package to the express company's office +and taking a receipt for it from the money-clerk, who examined it +first to make sure that the seals of the bank were intact and that in +all respects it presented a correct appearance. Having satisfied +himself on these points, the money-clerk placed the package in one of +the canvas pouches used by the United States Express Company, sealed +it carefully with the company's private seal, and attached a tag +bearing the address of the company's agent at Susquehanna. + +After a brief delay the pouch was delivered to express messenger Van +Waganen, who saw it placed in one of the small iron safes used by +express companies in conveying money from city to city. The messenger +rode with the safe to the train, and then remained on guard in the +express-car, where the safe was placed, as far as Susquehanna, at +which point he delivered the pouch to Dwight Chamberlain, a +night-clerk and watchman in the joint employ of the Erie Railroad and +the United States Express Company. The train left New York at 6 P. M., +and reached Susquehanna about midnight. + +Watchman Chamberlain, having received the pouch at the station, +carried it into the ticket-office and locked it inside a safe +belonging to the Erie Railroad Company. He remained on duty the rest +of the night, and at seven o'clock the next morning a messenger from +the First National Bank of Susquehanna came to get the package. +Chamberlain unlocked the safe, took out the pouch, opened it, and +then emptied its contents on the table. To his great surprise the +package containing the forty thousand dollars was gone, and in its +place were several bundles of manila paper cut to the size of +bank-bills and done up in small packages as money is done up. + +The agent of the company, Clark Evans, was immediately notified, and +he at once telegraphed the news of the robbery to the officials of the +United States Express Company in New York, who with very little delay +placed the matter in the hands of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The +direct supervision of the work was undertaken by the late George H. +Bangs, at that time general superintendent of the Pinkerton Agency, +and a force of detectives at once started for Susquehanna. + +An important discovery was made on closer examination of the pouch. It +was found that this pouch was not the one that had been sealed up in +the express office at New York, but a bogus pouch, so much like the +other that the change might easily have escaped notice. The chief +points of difference were the tag and the seal, the former having been +addressed in a different hand from that of the New York money-clerk, +and the latter being an old seal not in use by the company at that +time. But the general appearance of the pouch was such that neither +the messenger, Van Waganen, nor the watchman, Chamberlain, could swear +that it was not the one that he had handled. + +After going over the ground carefully and cross-examining Van Waganen +and Chamberlain, Superintendent Bangs concluded that the robbery had +not been committed on the train and that the genuine money package had +reached Susquehanna and been locked in the railroad company's safe by +the night-clerk. He was strengthened in this conclusion by the +statement of Chamberlain, who admitted that, after locking up the +money, he had only been in the ticket-office at intervals during the +night. For this he was in no way to blame, as he had other duties to +perform about the station, notably those of way-bill clerk. + +Thus the robbers would have had full opportunity to approach the safe +unobserved and exercise their skill upon it, could they have secured +entrance to the ticket-office. Nor was this a difficult matter, since +the door leading into it was known to have three keys, in the hands of +various employees of the road, from whom they might have been procured +or stolen. More important still was the fact, ascertained by Mr. +Bangs, that the safe itself had three keys, intrusted to as many men, +whose duties required them to have access to the safe. It subsequently +transpired that two of these keys had been made by the men who carried +them, for their own convenience and without the knowledge of their +superiors. The door leading into the ticket-office opened from the +men's waiting-room, where people had been coming and going during the +entire night of the robbery. Such of these people as could be found +were questioned closely as to what they had observed on this night, +but they could furnish no information that threw light upon the case. + +Some significance was found in the coincidence that nine years before +there had been a robbery at Susquehanna, in which thirty thousand +dollars had been stolen from the express company's safe. The +Pinkertons knew that for years a band of professional thieves had been +traveling through the country, operating on safes that could be opened +with a key. Among them were experts in fitting locks, especially +skilled in making keys from impressions, and known as professional +"fitters." At first it was considered possible that the robbery had +been committed by these men; but, after the most careful search and +inquiry, Superintendent Bangs concluded that this was not the case and +that the pouch had been stolen by some person or persons resident in +Susquehanna, presumably by one or more of the railroad employees who +had access to the office, or by persons intimately acquainted with +some of the men who had keys to the safe. + +"Shadows" were put on all persons who might have had access to the +ticket-office and the safe; but, although this was continued for +weeks, nothing conclusive came to light. + +About this time a reorganization of the Pinkerton Agency became +necessary, through the death of Allan Pinkerton, the founder, and +George H. Bangs, the general superintendent; and Robert Pinkerton +assumed charge of the investigation at Susquehanna. He undertook the +difficult task of picking out one guilty man (or possibly two or +three) from a body of fifteen hundred workmen. For, despite lack of +evidence either way, there was no doubt in the detective's mind that +the money had been taken by some of the employees of either the +express or the railroad company. Pinkerton men were taken to +Susquehanna and given employment in various positions for the railroad +and express companies, their duty being to make friends and hear +gossip, and, if possible, in an unguarded moment, at some saloon or +boarding-house, or perhaps at the chatty noon hour in the works, +secure some important secret. Other detectives came with money in +their pockets, and, under the guise of sporting men, made themselves +popular at resorts where a poor man come dishonestly and suddenly into +money would be apt to spend it. + +Day after day, month after month, the watch was continued from many +points of view, the conversations of hundreds of workmen were +carefully noted, the gambling houses and their inmates were kept +under constant scrutiny, the lives of this man and that man and scores +of men were turned inside out, and all without any one in Susquehanna +suspecting it, the general opinion being that the robbery had been put +aside along with many other unsolved mysteries. + +A whole year passed before any promise of success came to cheer the +express company and the patient detectives. In the summer of 1884, +Robert Pinkerton, having received information that a professional +burglar, who had been arrested some weeks previous for a burglary at +Milwaukee, had valuable information about an express robbery, +immediately journeyed from New York to Milwaukee to interview the man. +He learned from the burglar that some years before he had operated +with a man named John Donahue; that about the time of the Susquehanna +robbery Donahue had been away from home, and that shortly after the +robbery he had returned with plenty of money and paid off several old +debts. Mr. Pinkerton at once recognized in Donahue a notorious thief +who, to escape justice, had taken up his residence at Fort Erie, +Canada, where he had opened a hotel. + +The burglar also gave Mr. Pinkerton a description of a man who had +visited Donahue at his hotel on several occasions, and who had the +general appearance of a workman. He suspected that this man had been +in some way concerned with Donahue in the Susquehanna robbery; he knew +that he had resided at one time in Buffalo, New York, and worked in +the shops there, and he thought that he might be then living in +Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. + +From the description, Mr. Pinkerton was able, on going to Susquehanna, +to identify the suspected man with one George H. Proctor, who had +formerly been foreman in the railroad company's shops, but had +resigned his position some months before and moved to Buffalo. In the +investigation that was at once begun it was found that Proctor had +recently been speculating largely in oil and spending money freely, +although while living in Susquehanna he was known to have had no +resources besides his salary. It was learned further that Proctor had +deposited money with three Buffalo banks and had accounts with various +firms of brokers, and also that he was paying frequent visits to +gambling-houses and in general leading a fast life. Proctor's +deposits, it was learned, had at one time amounted to about eleven +thousand dollars, but most of this sum had been subsequently drawn out +and lost in speculation. + +All of this was strong presumptive evidence against a man who was +known to have been poor a few months before, and a more significant +discovery was made a little later, when Proctor went on a trip to +Canada, evidently on important business. The detective who followed +him found that the men with whom he had dealings, and with whom he +passed nearly the whole time of his visit, were professional thieves, +well known to the police. + +In view of all that had come to light, it was decided to effect +Proctor's arrest. This was made easy by his habit of coming to +Susquehanna every few weeks to see his wife and three children, who +had remained there. During these visits it had been remarked that he +was especially intimate with employees of the railroad and express +companies who were connected with the ticket-office. + +All unsuspicious of the danger that threatened him, Proctor took the +train from Buffalo on the night of Saturday, November 16, with a +ticket for Susquehanna. Word was at once telegraphed to Robert +Pinkerton, who, in company with E. W. Mitchel, superintendent of the +United States Express Company, started for Susquehanna, reaching there +Monday morning. They learned that Proctor was still in town, but +keeping very closely to his house. It was not until ten o'clock in the +evening that he appeared on the street, his purpose in going out being +to purchase some groceries. As he came from the store Robert Pinkerton +stepped forth from his place of waiting and took him into custody. He +was taken to a private house, where Mr. Pinkerton passed nearly the +whole night in conversation with him. Before daylight Proctor had made +what purported to be a full confession. + +Proctor stated that he had moved to Susquehanna in 1880, having +resided in Buffalo previous to that time. While in Buffalo he had +occasionally of a Sunday visited Fort Erie, Canada, and there had made +the acquaintance of John Donahue. At first he did not know that +Donahue was anything more than the keeper of a hotel. He found him an +entertaining companion, a good story-teller and singer of comic songs, +and very generous with his money. They came to see much of each other, +and after Proctor's removal to Susquehanna they kept up an occasional +correspondence. Proctor, having a monthly pass over the Erie Railroad, +and being able to procure passes on other roads, made several trips to +Fort Erie, always stopping at Donahue's hotel. On one of these visits +he chanced to read aloud to his friend the newspaper account of a +clever robbery in Montreal, where a band of sneak-thieves had robbed a +paymaster of a sum of money he had in a bag to pay off employees. This +turned the conversation to criminal exploits, and Proctor related the +circumstances of the express robbery at Susquehanna some years before. +Donahue showed great interest, and inquired how it happened that the +express company had so large a sum of money at Susquehanna. Proctor +explained about the extensive railroad shops there, and incidentally +remarked that the same system of paying the hands was still in +practice. Donahue then requested Proctor to ascertain for him how much +money was being shipped each month at that time, the day of shipment, +the train, the kind of safe used on that train, and full details about +the lock--whether opened by a combination or a key. Donahue professed +that his only motive in seeking this information was curiosity, and +Proctor promised to learn what he could. + +It was about a fortnight after this that the two men met again, +Proctor having secured all the facts about the monthly transfer of +money from New York to Susquehanna. These he confided to Donahue, who +seemed greatly pleased at the report. He showed Proctor the greatest +attention, spending money freely. Then he pressed Proctor with +further questions, asking how the money was wrapped up, what kind of +pouch it was carried in, and so on. Finally he came out bluntly with +the opinion that Proctor was a fool to waste his time working in a +dirty shop when he might be living in luxury. Then, seeing that the +foreman took no great umbrage at this suggestion, he asked him if he +could get an impression of the safe-key, and also one of the key to +the door of the ticket-office. After some show of reluctance, Proctor +finally consented to try. + +Returning to Susquehanna, Proctor took advantage of his friendship +with employees about the ticket-office to get possession of the keys +long enough to take the desired impressions, and these he mailed to +Donahue, in whose service he was now fully enlisted. Donahue wrote +back, expressing satisfaction, and saying that he and another man, +named Collins, had paid a secret visit to Susquehanna, and had found +everything as Proctor had represented. A little later Proctor went to +Canada again, and was introduced to Collins. At this meeting it was +arranged that Donahue should procure a canvas bag like the one used by +the express company, and that a dummy money package should be placed +inside, so that a substitution might be effected on the arrival of the +next shipment. Proctor was to take no active part in the robbery, but +was instructed to return home and continue at his work, showing no +concern, whatever happened. + +"If there's an earthquake at Susquehanna when pay-day comes around, +you don't know anything about it, do you understand?" Such was the +final order given to Proctor, and he obeyed it implicitly. + +A month passed, and, hearing nothing, Proctor went to Canada again, +and had another talk with his two confederates. They told him that +they had gone to Susquehanna prepared to do the "job," but had +learned, accidentally, that the money that month had been sent in +gold, which would have been too heavy for them to carry away, and they +had therefore decided to wait until a month later. + +This was in May, and the following month the robbery occurred. Two +weeks later Proctor went to Canada, and received eleven thousand +dollars as his share of the plunder. Donahue and Collins explained to +him that he did not receive more because they had been obliged to give +a fourth share to another man who had worked with them. They cautioned +him not to spend a dollar of the stolen money for months to come, as +the detectives would be always on the lookout for suspicious +circumstances. They also advised him to continue at his work, under no +circumstances giving up his position within a year. + +Proctor had strictly followed these suggestions, living and working as +he had done before the robbery, and not spending any part of his +portion. Having changed the money into large bills and sealed it up in +a fruit-jar, so that the moisture could not injure it, he buried the +jar head downward in his garden. There it remained untouched for +months. But when the severe weather of the following winter set in, he +dug up the jar, and taking the money to Buffalo, deposited it in three +banks, in the name of his wife and his three children, with himself in +each instance as trustee. + +Although his trade became very irksome to him now that he had a small +fortune in his possession, he prudently stuck to it until June, 1884. +Then, a year having elapsed since the robbery, he decided that it +would be safe for him to launch out into a pleasanter life. He +accordingly went to Buffalo, where he entered into oil speculations +with a friend who claimed to have "inside information" from the +Standard Oil Company. Although fortunate at the start, the failure of +Grant & Ward brought them heavy losses, and soon their profits and +their original capital were swept away. Proctor assured Mr. Pinkerton +that, at the time of their talk, he was ruined, and that he had +intended, during this very visit to Susquehanna which ended in his +arrest, making application for his old position as foreman of the +boiler-shops. + +Having heard Proctor's confession, Mr. Pinkerton took counsel with the +officers of the express company. They, believing that Proctor had been +only a tool in the hands of two smart professional criminals, agreed +with the detective that the ends of justice demanded rather the +apprehension of his confederates than his punishment alone. Proctor +professed great penitence for his wrong-doing, and declared himself +willing to do whatever was in his power to make amends. + +The first step necessary to the capture of Donahue and Collins was to +get them both into the United States at some point where they could +be arrested at the same time. Donahue was still in Canada, where he +could not be taken. Mr. Pinkerton arranged with Proctor to write to +Donahue that he had discovered another safe which offered a tempting +opportunity, hoping in this way to induce him to cross the line into +the United States. To give color to the story it was necessary to +accord Proctor apparent freedom of movement; but he pledged himself +not to leave Susquehanna without Mr. Pinkerton's permission, and to +keep the detective informed by letter and telegraph of all +developments. At the same time detectives were sent to Canada to keep +watch over Donahue. + +Collins, in the meantime, had been located in Albany, but no attempt +was made to arrest him until Donahue could be brought over the line. +Should he cross without notifying Proctor, the men "shadowing" him +were to cause his arrest. It was arranged with Proctor that, in case +his letter failed of its purpose, he should go to Canada himself, +persuade Donahue to send for Collins, and then induce the two to come +back with him, when they would be arrested the moment they crossed the +line. + +On the 29th of November Robert Pinkerton received word by telegraph +that Proctor had left Susquehanna suddenly in the night, telling the +agent of the express company that he would return the next day. This +looked very much as if Proctor had played him false, since it had been +expressly stipulated that he should not go away without Mr. +Pinkerton's permission. Days went by, and Proctor did not return. Then +word came from one of the Pinkerton men at Fort Erie that Proctor had +arrived at Donahue's hotel and had been joined there by Collins. This +was a serious setback for the detectives. Not only were the three +robbers safe from arrest where they were, but being fully aware of +the danger threatening them, and being men of shrewdness, it was fair +to presume that they would now move with great caution. + +It soon became evident that Donahue and Collins were thoroughly +alarmed by the news Proctor had brought them; for they at once took +energetic steps to mislead any one who might be watching them. Having +retired as usual one night, they arose later, and drove in a wagon to +a station on the Grand Trunk Railroad, where they boarded a freight +train for Toronto. After a brief stay in that city they went on to +Montreal, where they tried hard to lose themselves, but were +unsuccessful, and returned to Fort Erie. + +Meanwhile Mr. Pinkerton discovered that the story told him by Proctor +was entirely untrue. So far from having been an honest man before the +robbery, it came to light that he was already at that time a hardened +criminal, having committed burglaries both in the United States and +Canada, and having been sentenced, under another name, to a term in +the Massachusetts State prison. While in prison he had contrived to +make keys that would unlock his own cell and those of three other +prisoners, and the four had thus made their escape. One of them was +the notorious Charles Bullard, who was at that time serving a term of +twenty years for the robbery of the Boylston Bank of Boston. Proctor +had also offered the privilege of escape to Scott and Dunlap, the +Northampton Bank robbers, who were confined in the same prison, but +they had distrusted his plan, and refused to avail themselves of it. + +It was now necessary for the detectives to devise a new plan. Robert +Pinkerton knew that some three years earlier Donahue had been +concerned in the robbery of a bank at Winnipeg, and also in the +robbery of a hardware store at Quebec. His brother, William Pinkerton, +he also knew, had a personal acquaintance with Donahue, from having +arrested him a number of years before. He therefore sent for William +Pinkerton to come to New York from Chicago, and on his arrival +proposed to him that he go to Fort Erie, get an interview with +Donahue, and tell him of Proctor's treachery in betraying Collins and +himself; impress upon him that Proctor was a dangerous man to have +dealings with; and try to induce him to lend his aid in delivering +Proctor and Collins over the line, just as Robert Pinkerton had sought +to have Proctor do in the case of Donahue and Collins. Donahue was +known as a "stanch" man,--that is, one who is true to his +friends,--and it was thought probable that he would refuse to take +part in any such scheme. But in that event William Pinkerton was to +threaten him with arrest for the old robberies at Winnipeg and Quebec. + +This plan was carried out by William Pinkerton with greater success +than had been expected. At first Donahue stoutly refused to betray a +comrade, but the danger threatening himself was made to appear so +great that finally, seeing no other way out of his difficulties, he +consented to do what was asked of him in regard to Proctor. Against +Collins, however, he declined to give any aid. By working on Proctor's +natural fear of arrest, he easily persuaded him that the immediate +departure of all three of them--himself, Proctor, and Collins--for +Europe was advisable. It was arranged that they should not sail from +Quebec or Halifax, since the steamers from those points were likely to +be watched by detectives, but that they should leave Fort Erie +stealthily by night, make their way separately to Montreal, and meet +there. + +This plan was carried out, and within a few days the three were in +Montreal, all apparently of one mind in their desire to escape the +country, though in reality Proctor was the only one of the three who +thought himself in danger. Donahue had taken Collins into his +confidence, and Collins was quite of Donahue's opinion that they were +doing the proper thing in saving themselves by surrendering a man who +had shown himself willing to betray them. + +It had been agreed between William Pinkerton and Donahue that at +Montreal tickets should be purchased to Europe by way of Portland, +Maine, and that the party should leave Montreal at a certain time by +the Grand Trunk road. The line of this road runs for a number of miles +through northern Vermont, and it was customary for the train the men +were to take to wait over for an hour at Island Pond, a little place +just across the Canadian line. Here, as it was arranged, Robert +Pinkerton was to be waiting, ready to take Proctor into custody, and +also (though in this part of the arrangement Donahue, of course, was +not consulted) Donahue and Collins, should they be so imprudent as to +stay on the train until it crossed the line. To the forwarding of this +latter end, indeed, a special stratagem was resorted to. Conceiving +that Donahue and Collins, in order the more completely to allay +Proctor's suspicion, might remain with him until the last station was +reached on the Canadian side, the detectives arranged that on this +particular night the train should not stop at that station, but push +on at full speed to the American side. + +On a certain Tuesday night, Donahue, Collins, and Proctor took the +10:15 P. M. train at Montreal for Portland. No sooner had they left +the station than a Pinkerton representative, who had "shadowed" them +aboard, telegraphed the fact to Robert Pinkerton at Island Pond. +Proctor went early to his berth in the sleeper. In another berth, not +far distant, never closing his eyes through the night, but lying there +fully dressed, with weapons ready, was a Pinkerton detective, whose +instructions were to accompany the three robbers as long as they were +together, and to stay with Proctor to the last. + +It was five o'clock in the morning when the train drew up at Island +Pond. On the platform stood Robert Pinkerton, carrying a requisition +from the governor of Pennsylvania on the governor of Vermont for the +arrest of Donahue, Collins, and Proctor, charged with robbing the +United States Express Company of forty thousand dollars, at +Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. The first man to leave the train was the +"shadow," who informed his chief that Proctor was sound asleep in +berth No. 12. Donahue and Collins, he said, had left the train long +before it reached the last station on the Canadian side, so that the +plan for their capture had fallen through. Mr. Pinkerton went aboard +the sleeper at once, and going to berth No. 12, pushed aside the +curtains. He could not see distinctly for the darkness, but borrowing +a lantern from one of the trainmen, let the light fall on the face of +the person within, and saw it was Proctor, slumbering in complete +unconsciousness that his hour of reckoning had come. A gentle push in +the ribs awakened him with a start. Recognizing Mr. Pinkerton, he said +with admirable coolness: + +"You have spoiled the whole business. If you had not come in here to +arrest me, I would have had those men across the line next week." + +When he said this, Proctor supposed that Donahue and Collins were +asleep in an adjoining berth; but, even to save himself, he never +thought of betraying them, which goes to show that he was a "stancher" +man than Donahue and Collins had been led to believe. For some time he +endeavored to maintain his old character with Mr. Pinkerton; but on +the way to Susquehanna, realizing the hopelessness of his case, he +acknowledged the deception he had practised, and his full +responsibility with the others in the Susquehanna robbery. He also +admitted his previous criminal record. + +At Susquehanna, Proctor was placed in jail to await trial, and there +Mr. Pinkerton visited him some time later. Something in the prisoner's +manner convinced the detective that all was not as it should be, and +he urged the sheriff to put Proctor in another cell and search his +clothes and his cell thoroughly. This was done, and there were found a +number of keys that fitted the locks of various doors in the jail, and +also a large key fitting the gate from the jail-yard into the street. +Proctor's rare mechanical skill had enabled him to make these keys in +his cell, from impressions furnished him by a woman who had been +allowed to visit him. Being a good talker, Proctor had won this +woman's sympathy, and had also made a strong appeal to her +self-interest by promising, on his escape, to share with her a large +sum of money he had buried. + +At his trial Proctor pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to twelve +years' imprisonment in the penitentiary at Cherry Hill, Pennsylvania. +Here, again, he was caught in the act of making keys to aid him to +escape. He laid various other plans for regaining his liberty, indeed, +but all were frustrated. His imprisonment worked no reform in him. +After he had served out his sentence, some burglaries committed in +Maine brought him again under arrest, and, having been identified as a +convict from the Massachusetts State prison, he was taken back to that +institution, to serve out his unexpired sentence. + +The United States Express Company had not relaxed its efforts against +his associates after Proctor's capture. Donahue and Collins returned +to Montreal, well satisfied with the work they had done, and thinking +themselves safe from pursuit. But President Platt instructed Robert +Pinkerton to take every measure possible against them, and it was +decided that as Donahue could not be reached and punished for the +robbery at Susquehanna, he should be made to suffer for the early +robbery at Quebec already referred to. Donahue's complicity in this +robbery was proved by the discovery of a part of the stolen goods in +his hotel at Fort Erie. Through the efforts of the express company and +the Pinkertons he was now arrested, and on trial was convicted and +sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the Kingston penitentiary. +After his conviction Donahue told the detectives that he was a fool to +have had anything to do with such a dangerous project as an express +robbery, but that the opportunity at Susquehanna was so tempting that +he could not resist it. After his arrest the express company attached +all of his property, and, although they did not succeed in getting a +judgment against him, they fought him in the courts until his wife, +acting for him, was obliged to mortgage all their possessions up to +the last dollar, so that they never derived any substantial benefit +from the stolen money. + +As for Collins, he remained a fugitive from justice for some time +after the conviction of Proctor and Donahue. Several years later, +however, seeing himself constantly threatened by the express company +and the detectives, he decided to placate his enemies by stepping out +from the ranks of the law-breakers and trying to lead an honest life. +And he has succeeded, as the Pinkertons have reason to know; and his +case goes to prove what is borne out by wide experience, that even the +most desperate criminals are sometimes capable of genuine reform. + + + + +The Pollock Diamond Robbery + + +There were thirteen men in the smoker of a train on the Sioux City and +Pacific Railroad when it drew out of Omaha at six o'clock on Friday +evening, November 4, 1892, and started on its eastward run. Among +these thirteen, sitting about half-way down the aisle, enjoying a good +cigar, was Mr. W. G. Pollock of New York, a traveling salesman for W. +L. Pollock & Co., of the same city, dealers in diamonds. In the inside +pocket of his vest he carried fifteen thousand dollars' worth of uncut +diamonds, while a leather satchel on the seat beside him contained a +quantity of valuable stones in settings. + +On the front seat of the car, just behind the stove, sat a +stolid-looking young man, who would have passed for a farmer's lad. He +seemed scarcely over twenty, having neither beard nor mustache, and a +stranger would have put him down as a rather stupid, inoffensive +fellow. Compared with Mr. Pollock, he was slighter in build, although +an inch or so taller. As he sat there staring at the stove, the +passenger in the seat behind him, J. H. Shaw, an Omaha well-digger, a +bluff, hearty man of social instincts, tried to draw him into +conversation; but the young fellow only shook his head sulkily, and +the well-digger relapsed into silence. Presently, as the train was +approaching California Junction, the young man on the front seat rose +and started down the aisle. Curiously enough, he now wore a full beard +of black hair five or six inches long. No one paid any attention to +him until he stopped at Mr. Pollock's seat, drew a revolver, and said +loud enough for every one in the car to hear him: + +"Give me them diamonds." + +Then, without waiting for a reply, he shifted the revolver to his left +hand, drew a slung-shot from his coat-pocket, and struck Mr. Pollock +over the head such a heavy blow that the bag of the slung-shot burst, +and the shot itself fell to the floor. Then he said again: "Give me +them diamonds." + +Realizing that the situation was desperate, Mr. Pollock took out his +pocket-book and handed it to his assailant, saying: "I have only a +hundred dollars; here it is." + +Pushing back the pocket-book as if unworthy of his attention, the man +coolly aimed his revolver at Mr. Pollock's right shoulder and fired. Then +he aimed at the left shoulder and fired. Both bullets hit, and were +followed by two more, which went whizzing by the diamond-merchant's head +on either side, missing him, perhaps by accident, but probably by design, +as the men were not three feet apart. + +By this the other people in the car had disappeared under the seats +like rats into their holes. To all intents and purposes Mr. Pollock +was alone with his assailant. The latter evidently knew where the +diamonds were secreted, for, ripping open his victim's vest, he drew +out the leather wallet in which they were inclosed, and stuffed it +into his pocket. Wounded though he was, Mr. Pollock now grappled with +the thief, who, using the butt of his revolver as a cudgel, brought +down fearful blows on Pollock's head. The latter, however, getting +into the aisle, fought the robber up and down the car; but a crushing +blow at last laid him senseless on the floor. + +With perfect self-possession and without hurry the thief walked back +down the aisle to Mr. Pollock's seat, and took one of the two leather +bags lying there, by mistake choosing, though, the one that did not +contain the mounted diamonds. Then he went to the end of the car, +pulled the bell-rope, and, as the train began to slacken its speed in +response to this signal, jumped off the steps, rolled down a bank +fifteen feet high, and disappeared. + +Sharing, apparently, in the general consternation and terror inspired +by the young fellow, the conductor, instead of holding the train to +pursue the thief, signaled the engineer to go ahead, and no effort was +made for a capture until the train reached California Junction, +several miles farther on. Meanwhile the panic-stricken passengers +recovered, at their leisure, their composure and their seats. Had but +one of his fellow-travelers gone to the assistance of Mr. Pollock, the +robber might easily have been overpowered. As it was, he all but +murdered his man, plundered him of his diamonds, and escaped without +the slightest interference. When his pistol was picked up, near the +spot where he left the train, it was found that in the struggle the +cylinder had caught, so that it would have been impossible to +discharge the two chambers remaining loaded. Thus eleven able-bodied +men were held in a state of abject terror by one slender lad, who at +the last was practically unarmed. + +At California Junction the wounded diamond-merchant was carried from +the train, and that same night taken back to Omaha. Mr. Pollock, being +a member of the Jewelers' Protective Union, a rich and powerful +organization, established some years ago for the protection of jewelry +salesmen against thieves, was entitled to its aid. + +When the detectives reached the scene of the robbery, the robber had +vanished as completely as if he had been whisked off to another +planet. To be sure, farmers in the neighborhood brought rumors of the +stealing of horses, of a strange man sleeping in the woods, and of a +desperate-looking character seen limping along the road. But all this +came to nothing, except to establish, what seemed probable, that the +diamond-thief had fled back to Omaha. A patient and exhaustive search +in Omaha resulted in nothing. The man was gone, and the diamonds were +gone; that was all anybody knew. + +What made the case more difficult was the uncertainty as to the +robber's personal appearance; for some of the passengers testified to +one thing, and some to another. The black beard was a cause of +confusion; only one witness besides Mr. Pollock remembered that the +man wore such a beard. Mr. Pollock, however, was positive as to this +particular, and it seemed as if he ought to know. It was also +impossible to decide, from conflicting statements, whether the robber +had a mustache or not, and whether it was dark or light in color. The +fact is, the passengers had been so thoroughly frightened at the time +of the assault that the credibility of their testimony was much to be +questioned. + +Mr. Pollock reported that for several weeks previous to the robbery he +had suspected that he was being followed. He also reported that on the +day of the robbery he had been in the shop of the largest pawnbroker +in Omaha, and that while he was there two noted Western gamblers had +entered the shop and been presented to him as possible customers. He +had made a trade of some diamonds with one of the men, and, in the +course of the negotiations, had shown his entire stock. While the +trade was in progress a negro on the premises had noticed, lounging +about the front of the shop, a man in a slouch-hat who suggested the +robber. From these circumstances it was decided that the robbery might +be the work of an organized gang, who had been waiting their +opportunity for many days, and had selected one of their number to do +the actual deed. + +All his life it had been Mr. Pinkerton's business to study criminals +and understand their natures. He knew that a crime like this one was +much beyond the power of an ordinary criminal. Let a robber be ever so +greedy of gold, reckless of human life, and indifferent to +consequences, he would still think many times before declaring war to +the death upon twelve men in a narrow car, on a swiftly moving train. +This was surely no novice in crime, reasoned Mr. Pinkerton, but a man +whose record would already show deeds of the greatest daring; a brave +fellow, though a bad one. And even among the well-known experienced +criminals there must be very few who were capable of this deed. + +Mr. Pinkerton, therefore, set himself to studying the bureau's records +and rogues' gallery to first pick out these few. Page after page of +photographs was turned over, drawer after drawer of records was +searched through, and at last a dozen or more men were decided upon as +sufficiently preëminent to merit consideration in connection with the +present case. + +Photographs of these dozen or so were speedily struck off, and +submitted by the detectives to all the men who had been in the +smoking-car at the time of the robbery, to the conductor of the train +and the trainmen, to other passengers, to farmers and others who might +have seen the robber while making his escape, and to various people in +Omaha. The result was startling. Conductor D. M. Ashmore, without +hesitation, selected from the dozen or more portraits one as that of +the robber. Mr. Shaw, the Omaha well-digger, who had sat just behind +the robber, selected the same photograph, and was positive it +pictured the man he had tried to talk to. Other passengers also +picked out this photograph, as did various persons who had caught +sight of the man as he escaped. + +The portrait thus chosen by common accord was that of Frank Bruce, one +of the most desperate burglars of the younger generation in the +country, and it seemed only necessary now to find Bruce, to have the +problem solved. Many days were spent, and hundreds of dollars, in +searching for him. Dozens of cities were visited, and every +conceivable effort made to get on his track; but it was not until his +pursuers were almost weary of the chase that he was finally discovered +living quietly in Chicago, on Cottage Grove Avenue, near Thirty-sixth +Street, where he was operating with another high-class burglar, +"Billy" Boyce. + +Requisition papers were at once procured from the governor of Iowa on +the governor of Illinois, and men were sent to take Bruce into +custody, when the "shadows" reported that he and Boyce had left for +Milwaukee, where, of course, the requisition papers were valueless. +Fortunately, that same night they attempted a burglary in Milwaukee, +for which they were arrested and held for ninety days. This gave the +Chicago detectives abundant time to identify Bruce as the missing +robber. + +Mr. Pinkerton himself went at once to Milwaukee, saw Bruce in the +jail, heard his story, verified its essential facts, and within two +days, to his own complete disappointment, and in spite of himself, had +proved a complete alibi for Bruce. To satisfy himself in this +connection, Mr. Pinkerton brought conductor Ashmore and Mr. Shaw to +Milwaukee, and pointed Bruce out to them; and, after looking carefully +at him, both men declared they had made a mistake in choosing his +portrait, and that Bruce was not the robber. + +With Bruce clear, the detectives were again without a suspect, and +almost without a clue. Just here, however, Mr. Pinkerton recalled that +on a trip to the West, some three years previous, to investigate the +case of a man arrested at Reno, Nevada, on a charge of "holding up" a +faro-bank, and while stopping over in Salt Lake City, Utah, he had run +across some sporting men in that city with whom he was well +acquainted, and on his telling them where he was going and what his +business was, one of them, whom Mr. Pinkerton had known for years, had +said: "Why, the man at Reno is innocent. The men who committed that +robbery are in this city. One of them is a smooth-faced boy, about +twenty years of age, and the other is a heavy-set, dark-complexioned +fellow, with a dark mustache. They are the intimate friends and +companions of Jack Denton, the well-known gambler of Salt Lake; and +only a short time ago, at Salt Lake, they entered a house one night, +going in through a rear door, and compelled two ladies, who were just +returned from a ball, to give up a large amount of diamonds." + +Though not interested in this particular robbery, Mr. Pinkerton had +mentally jotted down the intimacy of Jack Denton with this class of +people; and he recalled it now in connection with the fact that Jack +Denton was one of the two gamblers to whom Pollock had exposed his +diamonds at the pawnshop in Omaha. He at once decided to secure +definite information in regard to the boy who had been with Denton at +Salt Lake three years earlier. Proceeding immediately to Salt Lake +City, and making cautious inquiries, he learned that the boy in +question, since he first heard of him, had been arrested and convicted +of robbery at Ogden, Utah, and sentenced to one year's term in the +penitentiary. An investigation at the penitentiary disclosed that the +young man had given the name of James Burke, had served out his +sentence under that name, and had been released about one month +previous to the Pollock robbery. + +Denton, in the meantime, had left Salt Lake and gone to Omaha, there +to make his home. The boy Burke, argued the detective, had naturally +followed his friend to that place. An accurate description of Burke +was got from the records of the Utah penitentiary, and some idea of +him and his friends was derived from the officials of the prison. But +where to find him in the whole great West was a question. + +Inquiries at Salt Lake developed the further fact that Burke had had +one intimate friend there, a man named Marshall P. Hooker. Hooker had +now, however, left Salt Lake and removed to Denver. For a man of his +class, Hooker was unusually talkative, and was known by "crooks" +throughout the country as "Windy" Hooker. Plans were made for keeping +a watch on him and on Jack Denton, in the hope, by "shadowing" the +movements of these two, of ultimately locating Burke. + +Through the free talk of Hooker, reported back to the detective, it +was soon learned that Burke was known by the alias of "Kid" McCoy, and +that he had recently been operating on the Pacific coast in "holding +up" faro-banks, and had also been concerned in two large robberies, +one at Lincoln, Nebraska, and the other at Sacramento, California. His +whereabouts at that time, however, were unknown. + +Much time had now elapsed since the robbery, and the sensation caused +by it had died out. Jack Denton and his friends seldom spoke of it, +and Hooker never spoke of it unless the subject was introduced to him. +Both men were extremely shy of strangers, and it was almost impossible +for a detective to draw them out, as anybody who introduced the +subject of the robbery was at once looked upon with suspicion. For the +purpose of creating further talk upon the subject, Mr. Pinkerton +caused to be inserted in the Omaha papers an advertisement as follows: + + "Five hundred dollars will be paid for any information + leading up to the identification of the party who robbed + William G. Pollock on the Sioux City and Pacific train, + November 4, 1892. + + "WILLIAM A. PINKERTON, + + "Paxton House, Omaha, Nebraska." + +This at once attracted the attention of the local newspaper-men, and +when Mr. Pinkerton arrived in Omaha he was interviewed by all the +papers in the city in regard to the robbery. Thus interest in the +robbery was at once renewed. Denton and the other persons under +suspicion commenced talking of the matter again, none more freely than +Hooker. + +The latter was then in Denver. Mr. Pinkerton instructed Mr. James +McParland, Denver superintendent of the Pinkerton Agency, to send for +him, and say to him that he had understood that he (Hooker) could +throw some light on the robbery, and that a large sum of money would +be paid him for the information he gave. Mr. Pinkerton explained to +Mr. McParland that Hooker would lie to him and endeavor to get the +money by giving him false information, but to listen patiently to what +he had to say and lead him on as far as possible without giving him +any money. This done, Mr. Pinkerton further predicted that Hooker +would go back to his cronies and boast of the way he was fooling +Pinkerton and how much money he expected to get; and that eventually, +through his boastings, he would prove the means of locating Burke, +_alias_ McCoy. + +And so, precisely, it fell out. Some of Hooker's companions were +Pinkerton detectives, although Hooker did not know them as such, and +they in time reported back that Burke was really the Pollock robber; +that after committing the robbery he had gone back to Omaha, and from +there had gone to Denver. From Denver he went to Salt Lake, and +visited a prisoner in the Salt Lake penitentiary with whom he was +intimate, gave this prisoner some money, and went from Salt Lake west +to the Pacific coast. + +Mr. Pinkerton next instructed that the record be examined for daring +"hold-ups" that might have occurred in the country lately traversed by +Burke. It was then found that a faro-bank at Colorado City, a small +place between Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs, had been entered +late at night by a masked robber, who compelled the dealer and other +persons to hold up their hands, took the money in the drawer, and +escaped; that later on a similar robbery had been perpetrated at San +Bernardino, California; that later still the pool-rooms of James +Malone, a noted gambler at Tacoma, Washington, had been treated in the +same manner; and, finally, that a light or pane of glass in a jewelry +store at Sacramento had been broken in and a tray of diamonds snatched +from the window by a daring thief. And all of these deeds, Mr. +Pinkerton learned ultimately through Hooker's talk, had been done by +Burke. + +The watch on Denton at Omaha developed little, if anything, except +that a close companionship existed between him and the Omaha +pawnbroker. + +During the summer of 1893, learning that an intimate friend of +Burke's, a burglar who had been in prison with him in the Utah +penitentiary, was confined in jail at Georgetown, Texas, Mr. Pinkerton +decided to go and interview this man, and see if he could get any +trace, through him, of the robber. In the meantime he instructed the +detectives at Omaha and Denver to keep a particularly close watch on +Jack Denton and Hooker. + +On Mr. Pinkerton's arrival at Austin, Texas, he found awaiting him +despatches from Superintendent McParland of the Denver agency, stating +that through Hooker's talk they had learned that "Kid" McCoy, or +Burke, had been arrested at Eagle, Colorado, with a kit of burglar +tools in his possession, and was then in jail at Leadville, Colorado. + +Mr. Pinkerton at once telegraphed to have conductor Ashmore and Mr. +Shaw, the well-digger, go to Leadville and see if they could identify +the prisoner. Word was also sent to New York for Mr. Pollock to do the +same. He also instructed Superintendent McParland at Denver to send +his assistant, J. C. Fraser, to watch the case, so that if McCoy gave +bail, or attempted to escape from the Leadville jail, they could be +ready with a warrant for his arrest on account of the Pollock +robbery. + +Having wired these instructions, Mr. Pinkerton proceeded on his +journey to Georgetown, Texas, where he called on McCoy's former prison +associate in the Utah penitentiary, but was unable to get him to tell +anything about McCoy, though he volunteered, if Mr. Pinkerton would +furnish him a bond and get him out of his Texas scrape, to go to Omaha +and compel the "fence" who had received the diamonds to turn back the +property. But the rule of the Jewelers' Protective Union was to get +the thief first and the property afterward; so no treaty was made with +the Texas prisoner. + +Mr. Pinkerton now went to Kansas City, and found awaiting him there +despatches from Superintendent McParland of the Denver agency, stating +that conductor Ashmore and Messrs. Shaw and Pollock had positively +identified the prisoner James Burke, _alias_ "Kid" McCoy, as the man +who assaulted Mr. Pollock and robbed him of his diamonds. + +Burke winced perceptibly when he saw conductor Ashmore and Mr. Shaw, +and went fairly wild when confronted by Mr. Pollock. Requisition +papers were obtained from the governor of the State of Iowa on the +governor of Colorado, and the Colorado offense being a minor one, +Burke was turned over to Assistant Superintendent Fraser and another +detective, to be taken to Logan, Harrison County, Iowa. Before leaving +Leadville, Mr. Fraser was confidentially warned by the sheriff of the +county that he could not be too careful of his prisoner; for that +Burke, through a friend of the sheriff, had made a proposition to the +latter to pay him a thousand dollars if he would secretly furnish him +with a revolver when he left the jail, his design being, with this +revolver, to either "hold up" or kill the two detectives who had him +in custody and make his escape from the train. + +On trial at Logan, Iowa, the man was easily convicted, and was +sentenced to imprisonment for a term of seventeen years. + + + + +The Rock Island Express + +[Illustration: ROBERT A. PINKERTON] + + +I + +The through express on the Rock Island road left Chicago at 10:45 P. +M., on March 12, 1886, with twenty-two thousand dollars in fifty- and +one-hundred-dollar bills in the keeping of Kellogg Nichols, an +old-time messenger of the United States Express Company. This sum had +been sent by a Chicago bank to be delivered at the principal bank in +Davenport, Iowa. In addition to the usual passenger-coaches, the train +drew two express-cars: the first, for express only, just behind the +engine; and, following this, one for express and baggage. These cars +had end doors, which offer the best opportunity to train robbers. +Messenger Nichols was in the first car, and was duly at his work when +the train stopped at Joliet, a town about forty miles west of Chicago. +But at the next stop, which was made at Morris, Harry Schwartz, a +brakeman, came running from Nichols's car, crying, "The messenger is +dead." + +The messenger's lifeless body was found lying on the floor of the car. +The head had been crushed by some heavy weapon, and there was a +pistol-wound in the right shoulder. Apparently he had been overcome +only after a hard fight. His face was set with fierce determination. +His fists were clenched, and the hands and fingers cut and scratched +in a curious way, while under the nails were found what proved to be +bits of human flesh. The pistol-wound was from a weapon of 32 caliber; +but it was not the cause of the man's death. This, unmistakably, was +the blow, or blows, on the head, probably after the shot was fired. +All who knew messenger Nichols were surprised at the desperate +resistance he seemed to have made, for he was a small, light man, not +more than five feet five in height, nor weighing over one hundred and +thirty pounds, and of no great credit among his fellows for pluck and +courage. + +The express-car was immediately detached from the train, and left at +Morris, guarded by all the train-crew except Schwartz, who was sent on +with the train to Davenport. After the first cursory inspection no one +was allowed to enter the car where Nichols lay; and nothing was known +precisely as to the extent of the robbery. The safe-door had been +found open and the floor of the car littered with the contents of the +safe. + +An urgent telegram was at once sent to Chicago, and a force of +detectives arrived at Morris on a special train a few hours later. +Search-parties were at once sent out in all directions along the +country roads, and up and down the tracks. Hundreds of people joined +in the search, for the news of the murder spread rapidly through the +whole region, and not a square yard of territory for miles between +Morris and Minooka station was left unexplored. It happened that the +ground was covered with snow, but the keenest scrutiny failed to +reveal any significant footprints, and the search-parties returned +after many hours, having made only a single discovery. This was a mask +found in a cattle-guard near Minooka--a mask made of black cloth, with +white strings fastened at either side, one of which had been torn out +of the cloth as if in a struggle. + +Meantime Mr. Pinkerton himself entered the car and made a careful +investigation. His first discovery was a heavy poker, bearing stains +of blood and bits of matted hair. It was hanging in its usual place, +behind the stove. The significance of this last fact was great, in Mr. +Pinkerton's opinion; from it he concluded that the crime had been +committed by a railroad man, his reasoning being that the poker could +have been restored to its usual place after such a use only +mechanically and from force of habit and that an assailant who was not +a railroad man would have left it on the floor or thrown it away. + +Coming to the safe, Mr. Pinkerton found that the twenty-two thousand +dollars were missing, and that other papers had been hastily searched +over, but left behind as valueless. + +Among these was a bundle of canceled drafts that had been roughly torn +open and then thrown aside. Mr. Pinkerton scarcely noticed at the +moment, but had occasion to remember subsequently, that a small piece +of one of these drafts was missing, as if a corner had been torn off. + +All the train-hands were immediately questioned, but none of their +stories was in any way significant, except that of Newton Watt, the +man in charge of the second car. He said that while busy counting +over his way-bills and receipts he had been startled by the crash of +broken glass in the ventilator overhead, and that at the same moment a +heavily built man, wearing a black mask, had entered the car and said, +"If you move, the man up there will bore you." Looking up, Watt said +further, he saw a hand thrust through the broken glass and holding a +revolver. Thus intimidated, he made no attempt to give an alarm, and +the masked man presently left him under guard of the pistol overhead, +which covered him until shortly before the train reached Morris, when +it was withdrawn. He was able to locate the place where the crime must +have been committed, as he remembered that the engine was whistling +for Minooka when the stranger entered the car. This left about thirty +minutes for the murder, robbery, and escape. + +Returning to Chicago, Mr. Pinkerton investigated the character of the +man Watt, and found that he had a clean record, was regarded as a +trusty and efficient man, and had three brothers who had been railroad +men for years and had always given perfect satisfaction. Watt's good +reputation and straightforward manner were strong points in his favor, +and yet there was something questionable in his story of the +mysterious hand. For one thing, no footprints were found in the snow +on the top of the car. + +Brakeman Schwartz, the only man on the train who had not yet been +questioned, "deadheaded" his way, in railway parlance, back from +Davenport the following night on conductor Danforth's train, and +reported to Mr. Pinkerton the next morning. He was a tall, +fine-looking young fellow, about twenty-seven, with thin lips and a +face that showed determination. He was rather dapper in dress, and +kept on his gloves during the conversation. Mr. Pinkerton received +him pleasantly, and, after they had been smoking and chatting for an +hour or so, he suggested to Schwartz that he would be more comfortable +with his gloves off. Schwartz accordingly removed them, and revealed +red marks on the backs of his hands, such as might have been made by +finger-nails digging into them. + +"How did you hurt your hands, Schwartz?" asked Mr. Pinkerton. + +"Oh, I did that handling baggage night before last," explained +Schwartz; and then he related incidentally that as he was on his way +back to Chicago, the conductor of the train, conductor Danforth, had +discovered a valise left by somebody in one of the toilet-rooms. Later +in the day Mr. Pinkerton summoned the conductor, who said that the +valise was an old one, of no value; and, having no contents, he had +thrown it out on an ash-pile. The only thing he had found in the +valise was a piece of paper that attracted his attention because it +was marked with red lines. + +Examining this piece of paper carefully, Mr. Pinkerton saw that it had +been torn from a money-draft, and at once thought of the package in +the express messenger's safe. Now it is a remarkable fact that no +human power can tear two pieces of paper in exactly the same way; the +ragged fibers will only fit perfectly when the two original parts are +brought together. There remained no doubt, when this test was made in +the present case, that the piece of paper found on conductor +Danforth's east-bound train had been torn from the draft in the +express-car robbed the night before on the west-bound train. The edges +fitted, the red lines corresponded, and unquestionably some one had +carried that piece of paper from the one train to the other. In other +words, some one connected with the crime of the previous night had +ridden back to Chicago twenty-four hours later with conductor +Danforth. + +Mr. Pinkerton at once ordered a search made for the missing valise, +and also an inquiry regarding the passengers who had ridden on +conductor Danforth's train between Davenport and Chicago on the night +following the murder. The valise was found on the ash-heap where the +conductor had thrown it, and in the course of the next few days the +detectives had located or accounted for all passengers on conductor +Danforth's train, with the exception of one man who had ridden on a +free pass. The conductor could only recall this man's features +vaguely; and, while some of the passengers remembered him well enough, +there was no clue to his name or identity. As it appeared that no +other of the passengers could have been connected with the crime, +efforts were redoubled to discover the holder of this pass. + + +II + +So great was the public interest in the crime and the mystery +surrounding it that three separate, well-organized investigations of +it were undertaken. The Rock Island Railroad officials, with their +detectives, conducted one; a Chicago newspaper, the "Daily News," with +its detectives, another; and the Pinkertons, in the interest of the +United States Express Company, a third. + +Mr. Pinkerton, as we have seen, concluded that the crime had been +committed by railway men. The railway officials were naturally +disinclined to believe ill of their employees, and an incident +occurred about this time which turned the investigation in an entirely +new direction and made them the more disposed to discredit Mr. +Pinkerton's theory. This was the receipt of a letter from a convict in +the Michigan City penitentiary, named Plunkett, who wrote the Rock +Island Railroad officials, saying that he could furnish them with +important information. + +Mr. St. John, the general manager of the road, went in person to the +penitentiary to take Plunkett's statement, which was in effect that he +knew the men who had committed the robbery and killed Nichols, and was +willing to sell this information in exchange for a full pardon, which +the railroad people could secure by using their influence. This they +promised to do if his story proved true, and Plunkett then told them +of a plot that had been worked out a year or so before, when he had +been "grafting" with a "mob" of pickpockets at county fairs. There +were with him at that time "Butch" McCoy, James Connors (known as +"Yellowhammer"), and a man named "Jeff," whose surname he did not +know. These three men, Plunkett said, had planned an express robbery +on the Rock Island road, to be executed in precisely the same way, +and at precisely the same point on the road, as in the case in +question. + +The story was plausible, and won Mr. St. John's belief. It won the +belief, also, of Mr. Melville E. Stone of the "Daily News"; and +forthwith the railway detectives, working with the newspaper +detectives, were instructed to go ahead on new lines, regardless of +trouble or expense. Their first endeavor was to capture "Butch" McCoy, +the leader of the gang. "Butch" was a pickpocket, burglar, and +all-around thief, whose operations kept him traveling all over the +United States. + +The police in various cities having been communicated with to no +purpose, Mr. Stone finally decided to do a thing the like of which no +newspaper proprietor, perhaps, ever undertook before--that is, start +on a personal search for McCoy and his associates. With Frank Murray, +one of the best detectives in Chicago, and other detectives, he went +to Galesburg, where the gang was said to have a sort of headquarters. +The party found there none of the men they were after, but they +learned that "Thatch" Grady, a notorious criminal with whom "Butch" +McCoy was known to be in relations, was in Omaha. So they hurried to +Omaha, but only to find that Grady had gone to St. Louis. Then to St. +Louis went Mr. Stone and his detectives, hot on the scent, and spent +several days in that city searching high and low. + +The method of locating a criminal in a great city is as interesting as +it is little understood. The first step is to secure from the local +police information as to the favorite haunts of criminals of the class +under pursuit, paying special regard in the preliminary inquiries to +the possibility of love-affairs; for thieves, even more than honest +men, are swayed in their lives by the tender passion, and are often +brought to justice through the agency of women. With so much of such +information in their possession as they could gather, Mr. Stone and +his detectives spent their time in likely resorts, picking up +acquaintance with frequenters, and, whenever possible, turning the +talk adroitly upon the man they were looking for. It is a mistake to +suppose that in work like this detectives disguise themselves. False +beards and mustaches, goggles and lightning changes of clothing, are +never heard of except in the pages of badly informed story-writers. In +his experience of over twenty-five years Mr. Murray never wore such a +disguise, nor knew of any reputable detective who did. In this +expedition the detectives simply assumed the characters and general +style of the persons they were thrown with, passing for men of +sporting tastes from the East; and, having satisfied the people they +met that they meant no harm, they had no difficulty in obtaining such +news of McCoy and the others as there was. Unfortunately, this was +not much. + +After going from one city to another on various clues, hearing of one +member of the gang here and another there, and in each instance losing +their man, the detectives finally brought up in New Orleans. They had +spent five or six weeks of time and a large amount of money, only to +find themselves absolutely without a clue as to the whereabouts of the +men they were pursuing. They were much discouraged when a telegram +from Mr. Pinkerton told them that "Butch" McCoy was back in Galesburg, +where they had first sought him. Proceeding thither with all despatch, +they traced McCoy into a saloon, and there three of them,--John Smith, +representing the Rock Island Railroad; John McGinn, for the Pinkerton +Agency; and Frank Murray, working for Mr. Stone,--with drawn +revolvers, captured him, in spite of a desperate dash he made to +escape. + +McCoy's capture was the occasion of much felicitation among the people +interested in the matter. Mr. St. John and Mr. Stone were confident +that now the whole mystery of the express robbery could be solved and +the murderer convicted. But McCoy showed on trial that he had left New +Orleans to come North only the night before the murder and had spent +the whole of that night on the Illinois Central Railroad. It also +appeared that McCoy's associate, Connors, was in jail at the time of +the robbery, and that the man "Jeff" was dead. Thus the whole Plunkett +story was exploded. + + +III + +Some time before this the man who had ridden on the free pass, and +given the detectives so much trouble, had been accidentally found by +Jack Mullins, a brakeman on conductor Danforth's train. He proved to +be an advertising solicitor, employed by no other than Mr. Melville +E. Stone, who would have given a thousand dollars to know what his +agent knew; for the advertising man had seen the conductor bring out +the valise containing the all-important fragment of the draft. But he +had not realized the value of the news in his possession, and Mr. +Pinkerton took good care to keep him from that knowledge. One hint of +the truth to the "Daily News" people, and the whole story would have +been blazoned forth in its columns, and the murderer would have taken +warning. Not until he had seen the man safely on a train out from +Chicago did Mr. Pinkerton breathe easily; and it was not until months +later that Mr. Stone learned how near he came to getting a splendid +"scoop" on the whole city and country. + +The identification of the pass-holder removed the last possibility +that the valise had been taken into the train by any of conductor +Danforth's passengers. And yet the valise was there! How came it +there? In the course of their examination two of the passengers had +testified to having seen Schwartz enter the toilet-room during the +run. Brakeman Jack Mullins stated that he had been in the same room +twice that night, that the second time he had noticed the valise, but +that it was not there when he went in first. Other witnesses in the +car were positive that the person who entered the room last before the +time when Mullins saw the valise was Schwartz. Thus the chain of proof +was tightening, and Mr. Pinkerton sent for Schwartz. + +After talking with the brakeman in a semi-confidential way for some +time, the detective began to question him about Watt, his +fellow-trainman. Schwartz said he was a good fellow, and, in general, +spoke highly of him. Mr. Pinkerton seemed to hesitate a little, and +then said: + +"Can I trust you, Schwartz?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, the fact is, I am a little suspicious of Watt. You see, his +story about that hand overhead does not exactly hang together. I don't +want to do him any wrong, but he must be looked after. Now, my idea is +to have you go about with him as much as you can, see if he meets any +strangers or spends much money, and let me know whatever happens. Will +you do it?" + +Schwartz readily consented, on the assurance that the railroad people +would give him leave of absence. The next day he reported that Watt +had met a man who wore a slouch-hat, had unkempt red hair, and in +general looked like a border ruffian. He had overheard the two talking +together in a saloon on Cottage Grove Avenue, where the stranger had +discussed the murder of Nichols in great detail, showing a remarkable +familiarity with the whole affair. Schwartz had a sort of Jesse James +theory (which he seemed anxious to have accepted) that the crime had +been committed by a gang of Western desperados and that this fellow +was connected with them. + +Mr. Pinkerton listened with interest to all this, but was less edified +than Schwartz imagined, since two of his most trusted "shadows," who +had been following Schwartz, had given him reports of the latter's +movements, making it plain that the red-haired desperado was a myth, +and that no such meeting as Schwartz described had taken place. +Nevertheless, professing to be well pleased with Schwartz's efforts, +Mr. Pinkerton sent him out to track the fabulous desperado. Schwartz +continued to render false reports. Finally, without a word to arouse +his suspicion, he was allowed to resume his work on the railroad. + +The "shadows" put upon Schwartz after this reported a suspicious +intimacy between him and Watt, and a detective of great tact, Frank +Jones, was detailed to get into their confidence, if possible. He was +given a "run" as brakeman between Des Moines and Davenport, and it was +arranged that he should come in from the west and lay over at +Davenport on the same days when Schwartz and Watt laid over there, +coming in from the east. Jones played his part cleverly, and was soon +on intimate terms with Schwartz and Watt, taking his meals at their +boarding-house and sleeping in a room adjoining theirs. They finally +came to like him so well that they suggested his trying to get a +transfer to their "run," between Davenport and Chicago. This was +successfully arranged, and then the three men were together +constantly, Jones even going to board at Schwartz's house in Chicago. +About this time Schwartz began to talk of giving up railroad work and +going to live in Kansas or the far West. It was arranged that Jones +should join him and Mrs. Schwartz on a Western trip. Meantime +Schwartz applied to the company for leave of absence, on the plea that +he wished to arrange some family matters in Philadelphia. + +Mr. Pinkerton, being informed by Jones of Schwartz's application, used +his influence to have it granted. When the young man started East he +did not travel alone. His every movement was watched and reported, nor +was he left unguarded for a moment, day or night, during an absence of +several weeks, in New York, Philadelphia, and other Eastern cities. + +To one unfamiliar with the resources and organization of a great +detective system it is incomprehensible how continuous "shadowing" day +after day and week after week, through thousands of miles of +journeying, can be accomplished. The matter is made none the simpler +when you know that there must be a change of "shadows" every day. +However adroit the detective, his continued presence in a locality +would soon arouse suspicion. The daily change of "shadows" is easy +when the man under watch remains in one place; for then it is only +necessary to send a new "shadow" from the central office early each +morning to replace the one who "put the man to bed" the night before. +But it is very different when the subject is constantly traveling +about on boats or railways, and perhaps sleeping in a different town +each night. Without the network of agencies, including large and small +bureaus, that the Pinkertons have gradually established all over the +United States, the "shadowing" of a man in rapid flight would be +impossible. As it is, nothing is easier. Schwartz, for instance, spent +several days in Buffalo, where his actions were reported hour by hour +until he bought his ticket for Philadelphia. As he took the train a +fresh "shadow" took it too, securing a section in the same +sleeping-car with him, and taking his meals at the same time Schwartz +took his, either in the dining-car or at stations. No sooner had the +train left the station than the Pinkerton representative in Buffalo +reported by cipher-despatch to the bureau in Philadelphia, whither +Schwartz was going. The exact form of the despatch, which well +illustrates a system in constant use in the Pinkerton bureaus, was as +follows: + + "R. J. LINDEN, + + "441 CHESTNUT STREET, + + "PHILADELPHIA, PA. + + "Anxious shoes sucker Brown marbles man other dropping eight + arrives put grand fifty marbles articles along or derby coat + ship very tan seer wearing these have and is ribbon ink dust + central Tuesday for dust to rice hat and paper vest + yellow ink get must jewelry morning depot on. + + "D. ROBERTSON." + +In despatches of this sort important information regarding criminals +is constantly flashing over the wires, with no danger of any "leak." + +Thus, from one city to another, and through every part of the country, +any criminal may be "shadowed" to-day as Schwartz was "shadowed," one +set of detectives relieving another every twenty-four hours, and the +man's every word and action be carefully noted down and reported, +without his having the faintest suspicion that he is under +observation. The task of "shadowing" a person who is traversing city +streets is intrusted to men especially skilled in the art (for art it +is) of seeing without being seen. This is, indeed, one of the most +difficult tasks a detective is called upon to perform, and the few who +excel in it are given little else to do. Where a criminal like +Schwartz, upon whose final capture much depends, is being followed, +two, three, or even four "shadows" are employed simultaneously, one +keeping in advance, one in the rear, and two on either side. The +advantage of this is that one relieves the other by change of +position, thus lessening the chance of discovery, while, of course, it +is scarcely possible for several "shadows" to be thrown off the trail +at once. An adroit criminal might outwit one "shadow," but he could +scarcely outwit four. A "shadow," on coming into a new town with a +subject, reveals himself to the "shadow" who is to relieve him by some +prearranged signal, like a handkerchief held in the left hand. + +The result of the "shadowing" in Schwartz's case was conclusive. No +sooner was the brakeman out of Chicago than he began spending money +far in excess of his income. He bought fine furniture, expensive +clothing, articles of jewelry, presents for his wife, and laid in an +elaborate supply of rifles, shot-guns, revolvers, and all sorts of +ammunition, including a quantity of cartridges. The "shadows" found +that in almost every case he paid for his purchases with fifty-or +one-hundred-dollar bills. As far as possible these bills were secured +by the detectives from the persons to whom they had been paid, +immediately after Schwartz's departure. It will be remembered that the +money taken in the robbery consisted of fifty-and one-hundred-dollar +bills. + + +IV + +In addition to this, it was found, by the investigations of detectives +at Philadelphia, that Schwartz was the son of a wealthy retired +butcher there, a most respectable man, and that he had a wife and +child in Philadelphia, whom he had entirely deserted. This gave an +opportunity to take him into custody and still conceal from him that +he was suspected of committing a higher crime. The Philadelphia wife +and child were taken on to Chicago, and Schwartz was placed under +arrest, charged with bigamy. + +Mr. Pinkerton went to the jail at once, and, wishing to keep +Schwartz's confidence as far as possible, assured him that this arrest +was not his work at all, but that of detectives Smith and Murray, who +were, as Schwartz knew, working in the interests of the railroad +people and of the Chicago "Daily News." Mr. Pinkerton told Schwartz +that he still believed, as he had done all along, that Watt was the +guilty man, and promised to do whatever he could to befriend Schwartz. +The latter did not appear to be very much alarmed, and said that a +Philadelphia lawyer was coming on to defend him. The lawyer did come a +few days later, when a bond for two thousand dollars was furnished for +Schwartz's reappearance, and he was set at liberty. Matters had gone +so far, however, that it was not considered safe to leave Schwartz out +of jail, and he was immediately rearrested on the charge of murder. + +Whether because of long preparation for this ordeal or because he was +a man of strong character, Schwartz received this blow without the +slightest show of emotion, and went back into the jail as coolly as he +had come out. He merely requested that he might have an interview with +his wife as soon as possible. + +Mr. Pinkerton had evidence enough against Schwartz to furnish a strong +presumption of guilt; but it was all circumstantial, and, besides, it +did not involve Newton Watt, whose complicity was more than suspected. +From the first Mr. Pinkerton had been carefully conciliatory of the +later Mrs. Schwartz. At just the right moment, and by adroit +management, he got her under his direction, and by taking a train with +her to Morris, and then on the next morning taking another train back +to Chicago, he succeeded in preventing her from getting the advice of +her husband's lawyer, who was meantime making the same double journey +on pursuing trains with the design of cautioning her against speaking +to Mr. Pinkerton. She had come to regard Mr. Pinkerton more as a +protector than as an enemy, and he, during the hours they were +together, used every device to draw from her some damaging admission. +He told her that the evidence against her husband, although serious in +its character, was not, in his opinion, sufficient to establish his +guilt. He told her of the bills found in Schwartz's possession, of the +torn piece of the draft taken from the valise, of the marks on his +hands and the lies he had told. All this, he said, proved that +Schwartz had some connection with the robbery, but not that he had +committed the murder, or done more than assist Watt, whom Mr. +Pinkerton professed to regard as the chief criminal. The only hope of +saving her husband now, he impressed upon her, was for her to make a +plain statement of the truth, and trust that he would use this in her +husband's interest. + +After listening to all that he said, and trying in many ways to evade +the main question, Mrs. Schwartz at last admitted to Mr. Pinkerton +that her husband had found a package containing five thousand dollars +of the stolen money under one of the seats on conductor Danforth's +train, on the night of his return to Chicago. He had kept this money +and used it for his own purposes, but had been guilty of no other +offense in the matter. Mrs. Schwartz stuck resolutely to this +statement, and would admit nothing further. + +Believing that he had drawn from her as much as he could, Mr. +Pinkerton now accompanied Mrs. Schwartz to the jail, where she was to +see her husband. The first words she said, on entering the room where +he was, were: "Harry, I have told Mr. Pinkerton the whole truth. I +thought that was the best way, for he is your friend. I told him +about your finding the five thousand dollars under the seat of the +car, and that that was all you had to do with the business." + +For the first time Schwartz's emotions nearly betrayed him. However, +he braced himself, and only admitted in a general way that there was +some truth in what his wife had said. He refused positively to go into +details, seemed very nervous, and almost immediately asked to be left +alone with his wife. Mr. Pinkerton had been expecting this, and was +prepared for it. He realized the shock that would be caused in +Schwartz's mind by his wife's unexpected confession, and counted on +this to lead to further admissions. It was, therefore, of the highest +importance that credible witnesses should overhear all that transpired +in the interview between Schwartz and his wife. With this end in view, +the room where the interview was to take place had been arranged so +that a number of witnesses could see and hear without their presence +being suspected; and the sheriff of the county, a leading merchant, +and a leading banker of the town, were waiting there in readiness. + +As soon as the door had closed and the husband and wife were left +alone, Schwartz exclaimed: + +"You fool, you have put a rope around Watt's and my neck!" + +"Why, Harry, I had to tell him something, he knew so much. You can +trust him." + +"You ought to know better than to trust anybody." + +The man walked back and forth, a prey to the most violent emotions, +his wife trying vainly to quiet him. At each affectionate touch he +would brush her off roughly, with a curse, and go on pacing back and +forth fiercely. Suddenly he burst out: + +"What did you do with that coat--the one you cut the mask out of?" + +"Oh, that's all right; it's in the woodshed, under the whole +woodpile." + +They continued to talk for over an hour, referring to the murder and +robbery repeatedly, and furnishing evidence enough to establish beyond +any question the guilt of both Schwartz and Watt. + +Meantime Watt had been arrested in Chicago, also charged with murder, +and in several examinations had shown signs of breaking down and +confessing, but in each instance had recovered himself and said +nothing. The evidence of Schwartz himself, however, in the interview +at the jail, taken with the mass of other evidence that had +accumulated, was sufficient to secure the conviction of both men, who +were condemned at the trial to life-imprisonment in the Joliet +penitentiary. They would undoubtedly have been hanged but for the +conscientious scruples of one juryman, who did not believe in capital +punishment. Watt has since died, but Schwartz, at last accounts, was +still in prison. + +About a year after the trial Schwartz's Chicago wife died of +consumption. On her death-bed she made a full confession. She said +that her husband's mind had been inflamed by the constant reading of +sensational literature of the dime-novel order; and that under this +evil influence he had planned the robbery, believing that it would be +easy to intimidate a weak little man like Nichols, and escape with the +money without harming him. Nichols, however, had fought like a tiger +up and down the car, and had finally forced them to kill him. In the +fight he had torn off the mask that Mrs. Schwartz had made out of one +of her husband's old coats. It was Watt who fired the pistol, while +Schwartz used the poker. Schwartz had given Watt five thousand dollars +of the stolen money, and had kept the rest himself. He had carried the +money away in an old satchel bought for the purpose. A most unusual +place of concealment had been chosen, and one where the money had +escaped discovery, although on several occasions, in searching the +house, the detectives had literally held it in their hands. Schwartz +had taken a quantity of the cartridges he bought for his shot-gun, and +emptying them, had put in each shell one of the fifty- or +one-hundred-dollar bills, upon which he had then loaded in the powder +and the shot in the usual way, so that the shells presented the +ordinary appearance as they lay in the drawer. The detectives had even +picked out some of the shot and powder in two or three of the shells; +but, finding them so like other cartridges, had never thought of +probing clear to the bottom of the shell for a crumpled-up bill. + +Thus about thirteen thousand dollars lay for weeks in these +ordinary-looking cartridges, and were finally removed in the following +way: While Schwartz was in jail, a well-known lawyer of Philadelphia +came to Mrs. Schwartz, one day, with an order from her husband to +deliver the money over to him. She understood this was to defray the +expenses of the trial and to pay the other lawyers. Superintendent +Robertson remembers well the dying woman's emotion as she made this +solemn declaration, one calculated to compromise seriously a man of +some standing and belonging to an honored profession. Her body was +wasted with disease, and she knew that her end was near. There was a +flush on her face, and her eyes were bright with hatred as she +declared that not one dollar of that money was ever returned to her, +or ever used in paying the costs of her husband's trial. Nor was one +dollar of it ever returned to the railroad company, or to the bank +officials, who were the real owners. + + + + +The Destruction of the Renos + + +The first, and probably the most daring, band of train robbers that +ever operated in the United States was the notorious Reno gang, an +association of desperate outlaws who, in the years immediately +following the war, committed crimes without number in Missouri and +Indiana, and for some years terrorized several counties in the region +about Seymour in the last-named State. The leaders of this band were +four brothers, John Reno, Frank Reno, "Sim" Reno, and William Reno, +who rivaled one another in a spirit of lawlessness that must have +been born in their blood through the union of a hardy Swiss emigrant +with a woman sprung from the Pennsylvania Dutch. Of the six children +from this marriage only one escaped the restless, law-despising taint +that made the others desperate characters, this single white sheep +being "Clint" Reno, familiarly known as "Honest" Reno, and much +despised by the rest of the family for his peaceful ways. Even Laura +Reno, the one daughter, famed throughout the West for her beauty, +loved danger and adventure, was an expert horsewoman, an unerring +shot, and as quick with her gun as any man. Laura fairly worshiped her +desperado brothers, whom she aided in more than one of their criminal +undertakings, shielding them from justice when hard pressed, and +swearing to avenge them when retribution overtook them after their day +of triumph. + +During the war the Renos had become notorious as bounty-jumpers; and +at its close, with a fine scorn for the ways of commonplace industry, +these fierce-hearted, dashing young fellows, all well-built, handsome +boys, cast about for further means of excitement and opportunities to +make an easy living. Beginning their operations in a small way with +house-breaking and store robberies, they soon proved themselves so +reckless in their daring, so fertile in expedients, so successful in +their coups, that they quickly extended their field until, in the +early part of 1866, they had placed a wide region under contribution, +setting all forms of law at defiance. + +John Reno and Frank Reno, the elder brothers, were at this time the +dominating spirits of the band, and they soon associated with them +several of the most skilful and notorious counterfeiters and +safe-burglars in the country, among these being Peter McCartney, James +and Robert Rittenhouse, George McKay, John Dean, _alias_ "California +Nelse," and William Hopkins. The band soon came to be named with the +greatest dread and awe, good citizens fearing to speak a word of +censure, lest swift punishment be visited upon them. The Reno +influence made itself felt even in local politics, corrupt officials +being elected at the instigation of the outlaws, so that their +conviction became practically impossible. + +The Renos, toward the end of 1866, began a series of train robberies +which were carried out with such perfection of organization, such +amazing coolness, and such uniform success as to attract national +attention. The first of these robberies took place on the Ohio and +Mississippi Railroad, being accomplished by only four men, Frank and +John Reno, assisted by William Sparks and Charles Gerroll. Other train +robberies followed in quick succession, the same methods being used in +each, with the same immunity from capture, so that people in this +region would say to one another, quite as a matter of course, "The +Reno boys got away with another train yesterday." + +But while indulging in its own acts of outlawry, the Reno band +strenuously objected to any rivalry or competition on the part of +other highwaymen. A train robbery was perpetrated on the +Jeffersonville Railroad early in 1867. The Renos had no connection +with this robbery. It was accomplished by two young men named Michael +Collins and Walker Hammond, the two men escaping with six thousand +dollars, taken from a messenger of the Adams Express Company. But +their horses had carried them only a short distance from the looted +train when they found themselves surrounded by the formidable Renos, +who had quietly watched the robbery from a place of concealment, and +now unceremoniously relieved the robbers of their plunder. Not content +with this, and as if to intimidate others from like trespasses on +their preserves, the Renos used their influence to have their rivals +arrested for the crime by which they had profited so little; and both +were subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to long terms in the +Indiana penitentiary. The Renos, meantime, although they were known to +have secured and kept the six thousand dollars, were allowed to go +unmolested, and continued their depredations. + +Up to this time the Reno gang had confined their operations, for the +most part, to Indiana; but now they began to make themselves felt in +Missouri, where a number of daring crimes were committed, notably the +robbing of the county treasurer's safe at Gallatin, in Daviess County. +In this last act John Reno was known to have been personally +concerned. The case was placed in the hands of Allan Pinkerton. + +Taking up the investigation with his accustomed energy, Mr. Pinkerton +traced John Reno back to Seymour, Indiana, where the gang was so +strongly intrenched in the midst of corrupt officials and an +intimidated populace that any plan of open arrest was out of the +question. Recognizing this, Allan Pinkerton had recourse to the +cunning of his craft. He began by stationing in Seymour a trustworthy +assistant, who was instructed, on a given day and at a given hour, to +decoy John Reno to the railroad-station on any pretense that might +suggest itself. Then he arranged to have half a dozen Missourians, the +biggest and most powerful fellows he could find, led by the sheriff of +Daviess County, board an express-train on the Ohio and Mississippi +Railroad at Cincinnati, and ride through to Seymour, arriving there at +the time agreed upon with his assistant. Along with them was to be a +constable bearing all the papers necessary to execute a requisition. + +When the train reached Seymour there was the usual crowd lounging +about the station, and in it were John Reno and Mr. Pinkerton's +lieutenant, who had entirely succeeded in his task. While Reno was +staring at the passengers as they left the train, he was suddenly +surrounded and seized by a dozen strong arms; and before his friends +could rally to his aid, or realize what was happening, he was clapped +in irons, carried aboard the train, and soon was rolling away to +Missouri, under arrest. + +Reno's friends stoutly contested the case in the Missouri courts, +arguing that the prisoner had been kidnapped and that the law had +therefore been violated by his captors. The courts decided against +them on this point, however; and John Reno, with several less +important members of the gang, was tried and convicted. He was +sentenced to twenty-five years of hard labor in the Missouri +penitentiary. + +This was the first break in the ranks of the band, the first instance +in which they had suffered for their crimes. But the bold spirit of +the organization was still unbroken. Three brothers still remained to +replace the one who was gone; and so far from learning caution, the +band launched forthwith into still more daring and frequent offenses. +Trains were "held up" right and left; robberies were committed; and +early in 1868 the gang made a famous raid across the country through +Indiana and Illinois, robbing safes in county treasurers' offices in a +number of places. In several instances some of the members were +arrested; but they always managed to have the prosecution quashed, or +in some way to escape conviction. In the spring of 1868 their +operations became so outrageous, and the situation so serious, that +Allan Pinkerton was again called upon to do something in the cause of +public safety. + +In March of this year the safe of the county treasurer at Magnolia, +Harrison County, Iowa, was robbed of about fourteen thousand dollars; +and Allan Pinkerton detailed his son, William A. Pinkerton, and two +assistants, to run down the burglars. Arrived at the scene of the +robbery, the detectives found that the thieves had made their escape +on a hand-car and had gone in the direction of Council Bluffs. At this +time in Council Bluffs there was a low saloon, kept by a man who had +formerly lived in Seymour and who was known as a bad character. It was +decided to keep a sharp watch on this resort, Mr. Pinkerton reasoning +that since Seymour was the friendly refuge of the Renos, it was +altogether likely that the outlaws would have a friend, and perhaps an +abettor, in the saloon-keeper who had once lived there. After two +days' watching, the detectives observed a large man of dark complexion +enter the saloon and engage in close conversation with the proprietor, +having with him, evidently, some mysterious business. + +Investigation disclosed this man to be Michael Rogers, a prominent +and wealthy citizen of Council Bluffs, and the owner of an extensive +property in the adjoining counties. Puzzled, but still persuaded that +he had found a clue, Mr. Pinkerton put a "shadow" on Rogers, and +hurried back to Magnolia, where he learned that on the day preceding +the robbery Rogers had been seen in Magnolia, where he had paid his +taxes, and in doing so had loitered for some time in the treasurer's +office. This also looked suspicious. But, on the other hand, search as +he might, the detective could find nothing against Rogers's character, +every one testifying to his entire respectability. + +Still unconvinced, Mr. Pinkerton returned to Council Bluffs, where he +was informed by the man who had been "shadowing" Rogers that several +strange men had been seen to enter Rogers's house and had not been +seen to come out again. The watch was continued more closely than +ever, and after four days of patient waiting, Rogers, accompanied by +three strangers, was seen to leave the house cautiously and take a +west-bound train on the Pacific Railroad. One of these men, a brawny, +athletic fellow nearly six feet tall, and about twenty-eight years of +age, Mr. Pinkerton shrewdly suspected was Frank Reno, although he +could not be certain, never having seen Frank Reno. Feeling sure that +if his suspicions were correct the men would ultimately return to +Rogers's house, Mr. Pinkerton did not follow them on the train, but +contented himself with keeping the strictest watch for their return. +The very next morning the same four men were discovered coming back to +the house from the direction of the railroad. But at that hour no +train was due, which was a little curious; and another curious point +was that they were all covered with mud and bore marks of having been +engaged in some severe, rough labor. The hour was early; the dwellers +in Council Bluffs were not yet astir. A little later the city was +thrown into a fever of excitement by the news that the safe of the +county treasurer at Glenwood, in Mills County, about thirty miles +distant, had been robbed the previous night. No trace had yet been got +of the thieves, but everything indicated that they were the same men +who had robbed the safe at Magnolia. One remarkable point of +similarity in the two cases was the means employed by the robbers in +escaping, a hand-car having been used also by the Glenwood thieves; +and they, too, were believed to have fled in the direction of Council +Bluffs. Investigation soon made this absolutely certain, for the +missing hand-car was found lying beside the railroad, a short distance +from the Council Bluffs station. + +Putting these new disclosures beside his previous suspicions and +discoveries, Mr. Pinkerton was further strengthened in his distrust of +the man Rogers; and although the local authorities, to whom he +revealed his suspicions, laughed at him, declaring that Rogers was one +of the most respectable citizens of the State, he resolved to attempt +an arrest. Proceeding to Rogers's house with all the force he could +command, he placed a guard at front and rear, and then, with a few +attendants, made his way inside. The first person he met was Mr. +Rogers himself, who affected to be very indignant at the intrusion. + +"Who have you in this house?" asked Mr. Pinkerton. + +"Nobody but my family," answered Mr. Rogers. + +"We'll see about that," answered Mr. Pinkerton; and then, turning to +his men, he ordered them to search the premises. + +They did so, and soon came upon the three strangers, who were taken so +completely by surprise that they made no effort at resistance. They +were about to sit down to breakfast, which was spread for them in the +kitchen. A comparison with photographs and descriptions left no doubt +that one of the three was Frank Reno. A second--a man of dark +complexion, tall, and well built--proved to be Albert Perkins, a +well-known member of the Reno gang. The third was none other than the +notorious Miles Ogle, the youngest member of the band, who afterward +came to be known as the most expert counterfeiter in the United +States. Ogle at this writing is in the Ohio penitentiary, serving his +third term of imprisonment. At his last capture there were found in +his possession some of the best counterfeit plates ever made. + +While they were securing the four men the detectives noticed that +smoke was curling out of the kitchen stove, accompanied by a sudden +blaze. Mr. Pinkerton pulled off a lid, and found on the coals several +packages of bank-notes, already on fire. Fortunately the notes had +been so tightly wrapped together that only a few of them were +destroyed before the packages were got out. Those that remained were +afterward identified as of the money that had been stolen from the +Glenwood safe. There was thus no question that these were the robbers +so long sought for. A further search of the house brought to light two +sets of burglars' tools, which served as cumulative evidence. + +The men were carried to Glenwood by the next train. They were met by a +great and excited crowd, and for a time were in danger of lynching. +Better counsel prevailed, however, and they were placed in the jail to +await trial. + +With the men in secure, safe custody, there was no doubt of their +ultimate conviction; and every one was breathing easier at the thought +that at last the Reno gang was robbed of its terrors. Then +suddenly--no one will ever know how it happened--the prisoners made +their escape. Great was the surprise and chagrin of the sheriff of +Mills County when, on the morning of April 1, 1868, he entered the +jail, only to find their cells empty. A big hole sawed through the +wall told by what way they had made their exit. They left behind the +mocking salutation, "April Fool," scrawled in chalk over the floors +and walls of the jail. + +A large reward was offered for the capture of the robbers, but nothing +was heard of them until two months later, when an express-car on the +Ohio and Mississippi Railroad was boarded at Marshfield, Indiana, by a +gang of masked men, and robbed of ninety-eight thousand dollars. The +messenger made a brave resistance, but could not cope with the +robbers, who lifted him bodily and hurled him out of the car, down a +steep embankment, while the train was running at high speed. + +All the facts in the case pointed to the Reno brothers as the authors +of this outrage, for by frequent repetition their methods of robbery +had become familiar. Allan Pinkerton, furthermore, obtained precise +evidence that it was the work of the Renos from secret agents whom he +had stationed at Seymour to watch the doings of the gang. Two of these +agents engaged apparently in business at Seymour, one setting up as a +saloon-keeper in a rough part of the town, another taking railroad +employment, which kept him constantly near the station. A third made a +wide acquaintance by passing for a gambler and general good fellow. So +successful were they that Allan Pinkerton was soon in possession of +facts proving not only that the Marshfield robbery had been committed +by the Renos, but that another train robbery which followed was +executed by John Moore, Charles Gerroll, William Sparks, and three +others, all members of the Reno organization. Moore, Gerroll, and +Sparks were arrested shortly after, and placed on a train to be taken +from Seymour to Brownstown, the county-seat. But they never reached +their destination. As the train stopped at a small station some miles +from Brownstown, a band of masked men, well armed, rushed on board, +overpowered the officers, hurried the three outlaws away to a +neighboring farm-yard, and there strung them up to a beech-tree, while +an old German who owned the farm looked on approvingly. + +This was the first act of retributive justice done by the Secret +Vigilance Committee of Southern Indiana, an organization as +extraordinary as the situation it was created to deal with. The entire +population of that part of Indiana seemed to have risen in +self-defense to crush out lawlessness. A second act followed several +days later, when three other men who had been concerned in the latest +train robbery, having been captured by the county officials, were +taken from their hands and condemned to the same fate as their +companions. Each one, as he was about to be swung off, was asked by +the maskers if he had anything to say. The first two shook their heads +sullenly, and died without speaking. The third, standing on a barrel +with the rope round his neck, looked over the crowd with contemptuous +bravado, and addressing them as a lot of "mossback Hoosiers," said he +was glad he was not of their class, and was proud to die as a good +Republican. The barrel was kicked away, the rope stiffened with his +weight, and there ended the career of the sixth member of the band. + +Hard times followed for the surviving Renos. Realizing that their +power was broken, they fled in various directions. The three brothers, +Frank, William, and "Sim," though still at large, were not left long +to enjoy their liberty. A large price was placed on their heads, and +betrayal came quickly. William and "Sim" were arrested soon after, in +Indianapolis, and turned over to the local authorities, who, in order +to avoid the Vigilance Committee, took the prisoners to New Albany, in +an adjoining county, where they were placed in jail. + +The Vigilance Committee, growing stronger and more determined every +day, now scoured the whole country for other members of the gang or +for persons believed to be in sympathy with it. They literally went on +the "war-path" through this whole region of Indiana, and it went ill +with any poor wretch who incurred their suspicion. Like the +"Whitecaps" of a later day, they sent warnings to all who came on +their black-list, and administered by night, and sometimes by day, +such promiscuous floggings and other forms of punishment that the +tough and criminal element of the region was entirely cowed, and +feared to raise a hand in defense of the Renos, as it had previously +done. Up to the time the Vigilance Committee was formed not a member +of the Reno gang had been convicted in that locality, largely because +the people were afraid to testify against them. They knew that if they +should testify, their stock would be killed, their barns burned, and +they themselves waylaid and beaten. This was the reason offered for +the formation of the Vigilance Committee of Southern Indiana. Whether +a justification or not, the committee must certainly be credited with +having rid the State of a monstrous evil. + +In the excitement of other events the Pinkertons had not forgotten the +men who had escaped from the Glenwood jail. They finally traced Miles +Ogle and Albert Perkins to Indianapolis; and there Ogle was captured, +but Perkins escaped. Frank Reno was discovered a little later at +Windsor, Canada, where he was living with Charles Anderson, a +professional burglar, safe-blower, and "short-card" gambler, who had +fled to Canada to escape prosecution. Reno, operating with Anderson, +made a practice of registering as "Frank Going" if the enterprise in +which he was engaged was prospering, and as "Frank Coming" if it was +not prospering. He and Anderson were now arrested on a charge of +robbery and of assault with intent to kill, in the case of the express +messenger hurled from his car at Marshfield, Indiana. Under this form +their offense became extraditable; and after a long trial before the +stipendiary or government magistrate, Gilbert McMicken, at Windsor, +the men were ordered for extradition. Aided by the ablest lawyers, +they carried their case, however, to the highest court in Canada. But +the decision of the lower court was affirmed; and in October, 1868, +the men were surrendered into the hands of Allan Pinkerton, who was +delegated by the United States government to receive them. It was due +to the patience and persistence of Mr. Alfred Gaither, the Western +manager of the Adams Express Company, and his then assistant, Mr. +L.C. Weir, now president of the company, and to the general policy of +the company to permit no compromise with thieves, that, regardless of +cost and time, the prosecution was continued until it issued thus +successfully. + +Michael Rogers was also discovered to be in Windsor at this time, and +he was known to have had a hand in the Marshfield robbery; but he +escaped arrest, and remained securely in Windsor for a year or two. +Later, though, he reached the penitentiary, being brought to grief by +a burglary done at Tolono, Illinois. On coming out, he joined the +notorious McCartney gang of counterfeiters, and had many narrow +escapes. The last known of him, grown an old man, he was living +quietly on a farm in Texas. + +Made at last secure of Reno and Anderson, Allan Pinkerton chartered a +tug to carry them to Cleveland, and thus avoid the friends who, as he +had reason to know, were waiting across the river in Detroit to +effect a rescue. When the tug had gone about twenty miles, it was run +down by a large steamer and sunk, the passengers, including the +prisoners, being saved from drowning with the greatest difficulty. The +prisoners were carried on to Cleveland by another boat, and from there +were hurried on by rail to New Albany, where they were placed in jail +along with "Sim" and William Reno. + +The final passage in the history of the Reno gang occurred about a +month later, in the latter part of November, 1868, when one day a +passenger-car was dropped off at Seymour, Indiana, some distance from +the station. There was nothing remarkable in this, nor did the car +attract any attention. That night a train passing through Seymour took +up the car and drew it away. A few people about the station when the +car was taken up remembered afterward that this car was filled with +strange-looking men, who wore Scotch caps and black cloth masks, and +seemed to be under the command of a tall, dark-haired man addressed by +every one as "No. 1." Although there were at least fifty of these men, +it is a remarkable fact, developed in a subsequent investigation, that +the conductor of the train could remember nothing about the incident, +declaring that he did not enter the car and knew nothing of its being +attached to his train. It is certain the company of masked men did +everything in their power to avoid attention, scarcely speaking to one +another during the ride and making all their movements as noiseless as +possible. + +The train reached New Albany at two o'clock in the morning. The car +was detached, and was presently emptied of its fifty men as silently +and mysteriously as it had been filled. A few hurried commands were +given by "No. 1," and then the company marched in quiet order to the +jail. Arrived there, they summoned the jailer to open the doors, but +were met with a firm refusal and the shining barrel of a revolver. +There followed an exchange of shots, in which the sheriff received a +ball in the arm, and two local police officers were captured. Without +loss of time the jail doors were battered down; the company entered, +and taking the three Reno brothers and their friend, Charles Anderson, +from their cells, placed nooses that they had ready around the men's +necks, and hung them to the rafters in the corridors of the jail. +Then, having locked the doors of the jail, leaving the prisoners +secure, they made their way silently back to the New Albany station, +reaching there in time to catch the train that drew out at 3:30 A. M. +The same special car in which they had come was coupled to this train, +and dropped off at the switch when Seymour was reached. This was just +before daybreak on a dreary November morning. + +Who these fifty men were was never discovered, although, because of +the fact that Reno and Anderson had been extradited from Great +Britain, the general government made an investigation. It was rumored, +however, and generally understood, that the company included some of +the most prominent people in Seymour, among others a number of +railroad and express employees. It was found that at the time of the +lynching all the telegraph wires leading from New Albany had been cut, +so that it was noon of the following day before the country learned of +it. + +The newspapers described the leader of the party as a man of unusual +stature, who wore a handsome diamond ring on the little finger of his +right hand. Later some significance was attached to the fact that a +well-known railroad official who answered this description as to +stature and who had always worn a handsome diamond ring previous to +the lynching, ceased to wear his ring for several years afterward. + +After the execution of her brothers, it was rumored that Laura Reno +had taken an oath to devote the rest of her life to avenging them; and +for a moment there were threats and mutterings of reprisals from +allies or surviving members of the gang. But these latter were not +heard again after a certain morning, the third day after the +execution, when the people of Seymour, on leaving their homes, were +startled to see on the walls and in other public places large posters +proclaiming that if any property was injured or destroyed, or any +persons molested or assaulted, or if there was any further talk in +regard to recent happenings, some twenty-five persons, therein frankly +named, who were known to be sympathizers with the Renos, or to be more +or less intimately connected with them, had better beware. And as for +the sister's deadly oath, she did no act in proof of the violent +intentions imputed to her, but instead subsequently became the wife of +a respectable man and settled down to a useful life, though a much +more commonplace one than she had previously known. John Reno, after +serving fifteen years in the Missouri penitentiary, was released, and +is said to be at present living on the old farm. "Clint" Reno, or +"Honest" Reno, always stayed at the old homestead, and has never been +willing to speak of his brothers or of what happened to them. Seymour, +purged of the evil influences that corrupted it, has grown into a +thriving and beautiful little city, and is to-day one of the model +towns of Indiana. + + + + +The American Exchange Bank Robbery + + +Late in the afternoon of Friday, May 4, 1888, two messengers left the +American Exchange National Bank, at the northeast corner of Cedar +Street and Broadway, New York City, and started down the busy +thoroughfare for the office of the Adams Express Company, a few blocks +distant. They carried between them, each holding one of the handles, a +valise made of canvas and leather, in which had just been placed, in +the presence of the paying-teller, a package containing forty-one +thousand dollars in greenbacks, to be transmitted to the United +States Treasury in Washington for redemption. + +Although the messengers--Edward S. Crawford and old "Dominie" +Earle--were among the bank's most trusted employees, their honesty +being considered above suspicion, they were nevertheless followed at a +short distance by bank detective McDougal, an old-time police +detective, whose snow-white beard and ancient style of dress have long +made him a personage of note on Broadway. Detective McDougal followed +the messengers, not because he had any fear that they were planning a +robbery, but because it is an imperative rule of all great banking +institutions that the transfer of large sums of money, even for very +short distances, shall be watched over with the most scrupulous care. +Each messenger is supposed to act as a check on his fellow, while the +detective walking in the rear is a check on both. In such cases all +three men are armed, and would use their weapons without hesitation +should an attack be made upon them. + +The messengers walked on through the hurrying crowd, keeping on the +east sidewalk as far as Wall Street, where they turned across, and +continued their way on the west sidewalk as far as the Adams Express +Company's building, which stands at No. 59 Broadway. Having seen them +safely inside the building, the detective turned back to the bank, +where his services were required in other matters. + +Passing down the large room strewn with boxes and packages ready for +shipment, the two messengers turned to the right, and ascended the +winding stairs that in those days led to the money department, on the +second floor. No one paid much attention to them, as at this busy hour +bank messengers were arriving and departing every few minutes. Still, +some of the clerks remembered afterward, or thought they did, that +the old man, Earle, ascended the stairs more slowly than his more +active companion, who went ahead, carrying the valise alone. Both +messengers, however, were present at the receiving-window of the money +department when the package was taken from the valise and handed to +the clerk, who gave a receipt for it in the usual form: "Received from +the American Exchange Bank one package marked as containing forty-one +thousand dollars, for transfer to Washington"; or, at least, so far as +has ever been proved, both messengers were present when the package +was handed in. + +The two messengers, having performed their duty, went away, Earle +hurrying to the ferry to catch a train out into New Jersey, where he +lived, and Crawford returning to the bank with the empty valise. The +valuable package had meantime been ranged behind the heavily wired +grating along with dozens of others, some of them containing much +larger sums. The clerks in the money department of the Adams Express +Company become so accustomed to handling gold, silver, and bank-notes, +fortunes done up in bags, boxes, or bundles, that they think little +more of this precious merchandise than they might of so much coal or +bricks. A quick glance, a touch of the hand, satisfies them that the +seals, the wrappings, the labels, the general appearance, of the +packages are correct; and having entered them duly on the way-bills +and turned them over to the express messenger who is to forward them +to their destination, they think no more about them. + +In this instance the forty-one-thousand-dollar package, after a brief +delay, was locked in one of the small portable safes, a score of which +are always lying about in readiness, and was lowered to the basement, +where it was loaded on one of the company's wagons. The wagon was then +driven to Jersey City, guarded by the messenger in charge, his +assistant, and the driver, all three men being armed, and was safely +placed aboard the night express for Washington. It is the company's +rule that the messenger who starts with a through safe travels with it +to its destination, though he has to make a journey of a thousand +miles. Sometimes the destination of money under transfer is so remote +that the service of several express companies is required; and in that +case the messenger of the Adams Company accompanies the money only to +the point where it is delivered to the messenger of the next company, +and so on. + +The next morning, when the package from the American Exchange Bank was +delivered in Washington, the experienced Treasury clerk who received +it perceived at once, from the condition of the package, that +something was wrong. Employees of the Treasury Department seem to gain +a new sense, and to be able to distinguish bank-notes from ordinary +paper merely by the "feel," even when done up in bundles. Looking at +the label mark of forty-one thousand dollars, the clerk shook his +head, and called the United States Treasurer, James W. Hyatt, who also +saw something suspicious in the package. Mr. Blanchard, the Washington +agent of the Adams Express Company, was summoned, and in his presence +the package was opened. It was found to contain nothing more valuable +than slips of brown straw paper, the coarse variety used by butchers +in wrapping up meat, neatly cut to the size of bank-notes. The +forty-one thousand dollars were missing. + +It was evident that at some point between the bank and the Treasury a +bogus package had been substituted for the genuine one. The question +was, Where and by whom had the substitution been made? + +The robbery was discovered at the Treasury in Washington on Saturday +morning. The news was telegraphed to New York immediately, and on +Saturday afternoon anxious councils were held by the officials of the +American Exchange Bank and the Adams Express Company. Inspector Byrnes +was notified; the Pinkerton Agency was notified; and urgent despatches +were sent to Mr. John Hoey, president of the express company, and to +Robert Pinkerton, who were both out of town, that their presence was +required immediately in New York. Meanwhile every one who had had any +connection with the stolen package--the paying-teller of the bank, +other bank clerks, the messengers, detective McDougal, the +receiving-clerks of the Adams Express Company, and the express +messenger--was closely examined. Where and how the forty-one thousand +dollars had been stolen was important to learn not only in itself, but +also to fix responsibility for the sum lost as between the bank and +the express company. + +Three theories were at once suggested: the bogus package might have +been substituted for the genuine one either at the bank, between the +bank and the express office, or between the express office and the +Treasury. The first assumption threw suspicion on some of the bank +employees, the second upon the two bank messengers, the third upon +some one in the service of the express company. Both the bank and the +express company stoutly maintained the integrity of its own employees. + +An examination of the bogus package disclosed some points of +significance. Ordinarily, when bank-notes are done up for shipment by +an experienced clerk, the bills are pressed together as tightly as +possible in small bundles, which are secured with elastic bands, and +then wrapped snugly in strong paper, until the whole makes a package +almost as hard as a board. Around this package the clerk knots strong +twine, melts a drop of sealing-wax over each knot, and stamps it with +the bank's seal. The finished package thus presents a neat and trim +appearance. But in the present instance the package received at the +Treasury was loosely and slovenly wrapped, and the seals seemed to +have been put on either in great haste or by an inexperienced hand. +Moreover, the label must have been cut from the stolen package and +pasted on the other, for the brown paper of a previous wrapping showed +plainly in a margin running around the label. The address on the +package read: + +"$41,000. + "United States Treasurer, + "Washington, + "D. C." + +All this was printed, except the figures "41,000," even the +dollar-sign. The figures were in the writing of Mr. Watson, the +paying-teller of the bank, whose business it was to oversee the +sending of the money. His initials were also marked on the label, with +the date of the sending; so that on examining the label Mr. Watson +himself was positive that it was genuine. + +All this made it tolerably clear that the robbery had not been +committed at the bank before the package was intrusted to the two +messengers; for no bank clerk would have made up so clumsy a package, +and the paying-teller himself, had he been a party to the crime, would +not have cut the label written by himself from the genuine package and +pasted it on the bogus one; he would simply have written out another +label, thus lessening the chances of detection. Furthermore, it was +shown by testimony that during the short time between the sealing up +of the package in the paying-teller's department and its delivery to +Dominie Earle, who took it first, it was constantly under the +observation of half a dozen bank employees; so that the work of +cutting off the label and pasting it on the bogus package could +scarcely have been accomplished then without detection. + +Earle and Crawford, the bank messengers, were submitted to repeated +examinations; but their statements threw no light upon the mystery. +Both stuck persistently to the same story, which was that neither had +loosed his hold on the handle of the valise from the moment they left +the bank until they had delivered the package through the window of +the express company's money department. Accepting these statements as +true, it was impossible that the package had been tampered with in +this part of its journey; while the assumption that they were not true +implied apparently a collusion between the two messengers, which was +highly improbable, since Dominie Earle had been a servant of the bank +for thirty-five years, and had never in that long term failed in his +duty or done anything to arouse distrust. Before entering the bank's +employ he had been a preacher, and his whole life seemed to have been +one of simplicity and honest dealing. + +As for Crawford, who was, indeed, a new man, it was plain that if the +Dominie told the truth, and had really kept his hold on the +valise-handle all the way to the express company's window, his +companion, honest or dishonest, would have had no opportunity to cut +off the label, paste it on the bogus package, and make the +substitution. + +Finally came the theory that the money package had been stolen while +in the care of the express company. In considering this possibility it +became necessary to know exactly what had happened to the package from +the moment it was taken through the window of the money department up +to the time of its delivery at the Treasury. The package was first +receipted for by the head of the money department, Mr. J. C. Young. +Having handed the receipt to the bank messengers, he passed the +package to his assistant, Mr. Littlefield, who in turn passed it on to +another clerk, Mr. Moody, who way-billed it in due form for +Washington, and then placed it in the iron safe which was to carry it +on its journey. Two or three hours may have elapsed between the +receipt of the package and the shipment of the safe, but during this +time the package was constantly in view of five or six clerks in the +money department, and, unless they were all in collusion, it could +scarcely have been stolen by any one there. As for the express +messenger who accompanied the safe on the wagon to the train, and then +on the train to Washington, and then on another wagon to the Treasury +building, his innocence seemed clearly established, since the safe had +been locked and sealed, according to custom, before its delivery to +him, and showed no signs of having been tampered with when opened in +Washington the following morning by another representative of the +express company. The messenger who accompanies a through safe to its +destination, indeed, has small chance of getting inside, not only +because of the protecting seal, but also because he is never allowed +to have the key to the safe or to know its combination. Recently, as a +still further safeguard, the Adams Express Company has introduced into +its cars an equipment of large burglar-proof and fire-proof safes, +especially as a guard against train robbers, who found it +comparatively easy to break open the small safes once in use. In the +present instance, of course, there was no question of train robbers. + +One important fact stood out plain and uncontrovertible: that a +responsible clerk in the money department of the Adams Express +Company had receipted for a package supposed to contain forty-one +thousand dollars intrusted to the company by the bank. This threw the +responsibility on the company, at least until it could be shown that +the package as delivered contained brown paper, and not bank-notes. In +accordance with their usual policy of promptness and liberality, the +Adams people paid over to the American Exchange Bank the sum of +forty-one thousand dollars, and said no more about it. But their +silence did not mean inactivity. Their instructions to their +detectives in this case, as in all similar cases, were to spare +neither time nor expense, but to continue the investigation until the +thieves had been detected and brought to punishment, or until the last +possibility of clearing up the mystery had certainly expired. + +Hastening to New York in response to the telegram sent him, Robert +Pinkerton examined the evidence already collected by his +representative, and then himself questioned all persons in any way +concerned in the handling of the money. Mr. Pinkerton, after his +investigation, was not so sure as some persons were that the package +had been stolen by employees of the express company. He inclined +rather to the opinion that, in the rush of business in the express +office, the false package, badly made up though it was, might have +been passed by one of the clerks. This conclusion turned his +suspicions first toward the two bank messengers. Of these he was not +long in deciding Dominie Earle to be, in all probability, innocent. +While he had known of instances where old men, after years of +unimpeachable life, had suddenly turned to crime, he knew such cases +to be infrequent, and he decided that Earle's was not one of them. Of +the innocence of the other messenger, Crawford, he was not so sure. He +began a careful study of his record. + +Edward Sturgis Crawford at this time was about twenty-seven years old, +a man of medium height, a decided blond, with large blue eyes, and of +a rather effeminate type. He went scrupulously dressed, had white +hands with carefully manicured nails, parted his hair in the middle, +and altogether was somewhat of a dandy. He had entered the bank on the +recommendation of a wealthy New-Yorker, a young man about town, who, +strange to say, had made Crawford's acquaintance, and indeed struck up +quite a friendship with him, while the latter was serving in the +humble capacity of conductor on a Broadway car. This was about a year +before the time of the robbery. Thus far Crawford had attended to his +work satisfactorily, doing nothing to arouse suspicion, unless it was +indulging a tendency to extravagance in dress. His salary was but +forty-two dollars a month, and yet he permitted himself such luxuries +as silk underclothes, fine patent-leather shoes, and other apparel to +correspond. Pushing back further into Crawford's record, Mr. Pinkerton +learned that he had grown up in the town of Hancock, New York, where +he had been accused of stealing sixty dollars from his employer and +afterward of perpetrating a fraud upon an insurance company. Putting +all these facts together, Mr. Pinkerton decided that, in spite of a +perfectly self-possessed manner and the good opinion of his employers, +Crawford would stand further watching. His general conduct subsequent +to the robbery was, however, such as to convince every one, except the +dogged detective, that he was innocent of this crime. In vain did +"shadows" follow him night and day, week after week; they discovered +nothing. He retained his place in the bank, doing the humble duties of +messenger with the same regularity as before, and living apparently in +perfect content with the small salary he was drawing. His expenses +were lightened, it is true, by an arrangement voluntarily offered by +his friend, the young man about town, who invited him to live in his +own home on Thirty-eighth Street, whereby not only was he saved the +ordinary outlay for lodgings, but many comforts and luxuries were +afforded him that would otherwise have been beyond his reach. + +Thus three months went by with no result; then four, five, six months; +and, finally, all but a year. Then, suddenly, in April, 1889, Crawford +took his departure for Central America, giving out to his friends that +he was going there to assume the management of a banana plantation of +sixty thousand acres, owned by his wealthy friend and benefactor. + +Before Crawford sailed, however, the "shadows" had informed Mr. +Pinkerton of Crawford's intention, and asked instructions. Should they +arrest the man before he took flight, or should they let him go? Mr. +Pinkerton realized that he was dealing with a man who, if guilty, was +a criminal of unusual cleverness and cunning. His arrest would +probably accomplish nothing, and might spoil everything. There was +little likelihood that the stolen money would be found on Crawford's +person; he would probably arrange some safer way for its transmission. +Perhaps it had gone ahead of him to Central America weeks before. + +"We'll let him go," said Mr. Pinkerton, with a grim smile; "only we'll +have some one go with him." + +The Pinkerton representative employed to shadow Crawford on the voyage +sent word, by the first mail after their arrival in Central America, +that the young man had rarely left his state-room, and that whenever +forced to do so had employed a colored servant to stand on guard so +that no one could go inside. + +Nothing more occurred, however, to justify the suspicion against +Crawford until the early part of 1890, when the persistent efforts of +the detectives were rewarded by an important discovery. It was then +that Robert Pinkerton learned that Crawford had told a deliberate lie +when examined before the bank officials in regard to his family +relations in New York. He had stated that his only relative in New +York was a brother, Marvin Crawford, who was then driving a streetcar +on the Bleecker Street line. Now it came to the knowledge of Mr. +Pinkerton that Crawford had in the city three married aunts and +several cousins. The reason for Crawford's having concealed this fact +was presently brought to light through the testimony of one of the +aunts, who, having been induced to speak, not without difficulty, +stated that on Sunday, May 6, 1888, two days after the robbery, her +nephew had called at her house, and given her a package which he said +contained gloves, and which he wished her to keep for him. It was +about this time that the papers contained the first news of the +robbery, and, her suspicions having been aroused, she picked a hole in +the paper covering of the package large enough to let her see that +there was money inside. Somewhat disturbed, she took the package to +her husband, who opened it and found that it contained two thousand +dollars in bank-notes. Realizing the importance of this discovery, the +husband told his wife that when Crawford came back to claim the +package she should refer him to him, which she did. + +Some days later, on learning from his aunt that she had spoken to her +husband about the package, Crawford became greatly excited, and told +her she had made a dreadful mistake. A stormy scene followed with his +uncle, in which the latter positively refused to render him the money +until he was satisfied that Crawford was its rightful possessor. A few +days later Crawford's young friend, the man about town, called on the +uncle, and stated that the money in the package belonged to him and +must be surrendered. The uncle was still obdurate; and when Crawford +and his friend became violent in manner, he remarked meaningly that if +they made any more trouble he would deliver the package of money to +the Adams Express Company and let the company decide to whom it +belonged. This brought the angry claimants to their senses, and +Crawford's friend left the house and never returned. Finally +Crawford's uncle compromised the contention by giving his nephew five +hundred dollars out of the two thousand, and retaining the balance +himself, in payment, one must suppose, for his silence. At any rate, +he kept fifteen hundred dollars, and also a receipt in Crawford's +handwriting for the five hundred dollars paid to him. + +Other members of the family recalled the fact that a few days after +the robbery Crawford had left in his aunt's store-room a valise, +which he had subsequently called for and taken away. None of them had +seen the contents of the valise, but they remembered that Crawford on +the second visit had remained alone in the store-room for quite a +time, perhaps twenty minutes, and after his departure they found there +a rubber band like those used at the bank. The detectives also +discovered that on the 15th of May, 1888, eleven days after the +robbery, Crawford had rented a safety-deposit box at a bank in the +Fifth Avenue Hotel building, under the name of Eugene Holt. On the +18th of May he had exchanged this box for a larger one. During the +following months he made several visits to the box, but for what +purpose, was not known. + +On presenting this accumulated evidence to the Adams Express Company, +along with his own deductions, Robert Pinkerton was not long in +convincing his employers that the situation required in Central +America the presence of some more adroit detective than had yet been +sent there. The difficulty of the case was heightened by the fact that +Crawford had established himself in British Honduras, and that the +extradition treaty between the United States and England did not then, +as it does now, provide for the surrender of criminals guilty of such +offenses as that which Crawford was believed to have committed. +Crawford could be arrested, therefore, only by being gotten into +another country by some clever manoeuver. The man best capable of +carrying out such a manoeuver was Robert Pinkerton himself; and, +accordingly, the express company, despite the very considerable +expense involved, and fully aware that the result must be uncertain, +authorized Mr. Pinkerton to go personally in pursuit of Crawford. + +Mr. Pinkerton arrived at Balize, the capital of British Honduras, on +February 17, 1890, nearly two years after the date of the robbery. +There he learned that Crawford's plantation was about ninety miles +down the coast, a little back of Punta Gorda. Punta Gorda lies near +the line separating British Honduras from Guatemala, and is not more +than a hundred miles from Spanish Honduras, or Honduras proper, +directly across the Gulf of Honduras. + +Difficulties confronted Mr. Pinkerton from the very start. People were +dying about him every day of yellow fever, and when he started for +Punta Gorda on a little steamer, the engineer came aboard looking as +yellow as saffron, and immediately began to vomit, so that he had to +be taken ashore. Then the engine broke down several times on the +voyage, and the heat was insufferable. + +As the boat steamed slowly into Punta Gorda it passed a small steam +craft loaded with bananas. "Look," said one of the passengers to Mr. +Pinkerton, not aware of the nature of Mr. Pinkerton's mission, "there +goes Crawford's launch now." + +Landing at once, the detective waited for the launch to come to shore, +which it presently did. The first man to come off was Marvin Crawford, +whom Mr. Pinkerton recognized from a description, although he had +never seen him. Then he saw Edward Crawford step off, dressed smartly +in a white helmet hat, a red sash, a fine plaited linen shirt, blue +trousers, patent-leather shoes, and so on. Mr. Pinkerton approached +and held out his hand. + +"I don't remember you," said Crawford; but his face went white. + +"You used to know me in New York when I examined you before the bank +officials," said the detective, pleasantly. + +Crawford smiled in a sickly way and said, "Oh, yes; I remember you +now." + +Mr. Pinkerton explained that he had traveled five thousand miles to +talk with him about the stolen money package. Crawford expressed +willingness to furnish any information he could, and invited Mr. +Pinkerton to go up to his plantation, where they could talk the matter +over more comfortably. Seeing that his best course was to humor +Crawford, Mr. Pinkerton consented, though realizing that he thus put +himself in Crawford's power. They went aboard Crawford's launch and +steamed up the river, a very narrow, winding stream, arched quite over +through most of its length by the thick tropical foliage, and in some +parts so deep that no soundings had yet found bottom. The plantation +was entirely inaccessible by land on account of impassable swamps, and +the crooked course of the river made it a journey of twenty-three +miles from Punta Gorda, although in a straight line it was only six +miles away. + +Mr. Pinkerton was surprised at the unpretentious character of the +house, which was built of cane and palm stocks and roofed with palm +branches. Originally it had been one large room, but it was now +divided by muslin sheeting into two rooms, one at either end, with a +hall in the middle. Almost the first thing Mr. Pinkerton noticed on +entering was a fire-proof safe standing in the hall. It was of medium +size and seemed to be new. He knew he was powerless, under the laws of +the country, to search the safe, but he made up his mind that while he +was in the house he would keep his eyes as much as possible upon it. +That night he did not sleep for watching. But Crawford did not go near +the safe until the next morning, when he went to get out some +account-books. While the door was open Mr. Pinkerton saw only a small +bag of silver inside, but he felt sure from Crawford's manner that +there was a larger amount of money there. + +Mr. Pinkerton remained at the plantation for forty-eight hours. On the +second day he had a long interview with Crawford, questioning him in +the greatest detail as to his connection with the robbery. Crawford +persisted in denying that he had had any connection with it, or had +any knowledge as to what had become of the stolen money. Argue as he +would, Mr. Pinkerton could not beat down the stubbornness of his +denials. All direct approaches failing, at last he tried indirection. +He spoke of Burke, the absconding State treasurer of Louisiana, who, +along with a number of other American law-breakers, had fled to +Central America. "Burke had a level head, hadn't he?" said he. + +"How do you mean?" asked Crawford. + +"Why, in going to Spanish Honduras. You know the United States has no +extradition treaty there under which we could bring back a man who has +absconded for embezzlement or grand larceny. Burke is as safe there as +if he owned the whole country." + +"Is that so?" said Crawford, looking significantly at his brother +Marvin, who was present. + +"Yes," said Mr. Pinkerton, "it is. I only wish the fellow would come +up here into British Honduras; then we might do something with him." + +Here the subject was dropped. + +Next Mr. Pinkerton exhibited to Crawford a sealed letter written by +James G. Blaine and addressed to the chief magistrate of British +Honduras, pointing to the seals of the State Department to assure +Crawford of the letter's genuineness, and hinting mysteriously at the +use he proposed making of this document and at the probable effect +that would follow its delivery. + +With this the interview closed, and Mr. Pinkerton announced his +intention of going back to Punta Gorda. Crawford had practically told +him to do his worst, and he had not concealed his intention of doing +it. Nevertheless their relations continued outwardly pleasant, and +Mr. Pinkerton was treated with the hospitality that is usual in +tropical countries. He saw no sign of any disposition on the part of +either of the Crawfords to do him harm, but he kept his revolvers +always ready, and gave them no chance to catch him napping. + +Toward evening of the second day Crawford and his brother got the +launch ready, and took Mr. Pinkerton down the river back to Punta +Gorda, where they said good-by. At parting Crawford made a brave show +of treating the whole matter lightly. "I may see you in New York in a +couple of months," he said to the detective as they shook hands. + +"If you see me in New York," said Mr. Pinkerton, "you will see +yourself under arrest." + +On landing, Mr. Pinkerton proceeded, with all the obviousness +possible, to call at the house of the British magistrate, which was so +situated that Crawford from the launch could not fail to see him +enter. This seems to have confirmed the impression he had been +striving to create, that British Honduras, though in truth a perfect +refuge for a criminal like Crawford, was none. Crawford, apparently +thoroughly frightened, and thinking he had not an hour to lose, +steamed back in all haste to his plantation, gathered together, as +subsequently appeared, his money and other valuables, and then, under +cover of night, dropped down the river again, put out to sea +forthwith, and crossed the Bay of Honduras to Puerto Cortés, in +Spanish Honduras, the country of all Central America in which Mr. +Pinkerton preferred to have him. In short, Mr. Pinkerton's stratagem +had worked perfectly. + +Mr. Pinkerton's reason for wishing to get Crawford into Spanish +Honduras was not because the treaty arrangements were more favorable +there than in British Honduras, but because the Pinkerton Agency +enjoyed unusual personal relations with the Honduras government. +Several years before, when President Bogram had in contemplation the +federation of Central American States under one government, he had +applied to the Pinkerton Agency for reliable detectives for +secret-service work. In consequence of this the present head of the +Honduras secret force was no other than a former Pinkerton employee +who had been recommended by the New York office to the Honduras +government, and upon whom Mr. Pinkerton knew he could rely absolutely. +Another man equally disposed to favor him was Mr. Bert Cecil, a member +of the cabinet, and at the head of the telegraph service, and thus in +a position to render most valuable service in the apprehension of +Crawford. + +As soon as Mr. Pinkerton learned of Crawford's flight, he hurried in +pursuit, crossing the bay to Livingston, in Guatemala. In so doing he +risked his life, first by putting out to sea in a little dory, and +then by trusting his safety to a treacherous Carib boatman, who, when +they were several miles out, evinced a strong disposition to take +possession of the detective's overcoat, in order, as he explained with +a cunning look, to turn its silk lining into a pair of trousers. At +this, Mr. Pinkerton carelessly produced his revolver, which had a +quieting effect upon the fellow, and the voyage was completed in +safety. But soon after landing Mr. Pinkerton suffered an attack of +fever, and being warned by the doctors to return to a Northern +latitude, he got the government machinery in motion for the +apprehension of Crawford, had photographs of the former bank messenger +spread broadcast through the country, and then having cabled the New +York bureau to send responsible detectives to take his place, he +sailed for New Orleans. + +Mr. Pinkerton was succeeded in Central America by detective George H. +Hotchkiss, one of the best men in the country, who arrived in Balize +on the 18th of March. A telegram from Pinkerton's former employee, now +chief of the secret police in Honduras, informed him that Crawford had +been seen in San Pedro, Spanish Honduras, on the previous Saturday, +and was being closely pursued by Spanish soldiers accompanied by +Pinkerton men. Hotchkiss sailed at once for Puerto Cortés, where he +learned from the American vice-consul, Dr. Ruez, that Crawford had +left San Pedro hastily the previous Monday night. On further +investigation the detective discovered that a San Francisco bully and +former prize-fighter, "Mike" Neiland, had called at Crawford's +boarding-house on Monday, and warned him that detectives were pursuing +him from Puerto Cortés on a hand-car. Neiland had pretended to be +Crawford's friend, and said he would keep him out of the hands of the +detectives. Crawford, very much frightened, grabbed up some of his +luggage and left the house with Neiland. It was generally believed +that Neiland had designs on Crawford's money, and would not hesitate +to kill him, if need were, in order to get it. + +Hotchkiss immediately requested Mr. Bert Cecil, at Tegucigalpa, the +capital, to cover all telegraphic points, and, if possible, have +Crawford and his companion arrested on some trivial charge. The day +after he reached San Pedro, on March 22, he received a telegram saying +that Crawford and Neiland had been arrested and taken before the +governor at Santa Barbara. They had been searched, and about +thirty-two thousand dollars had been found on Crawford's person. The +money was in old and worn bills that in every way resembled those in +the stolen package. Whether they were the identical bills or not it +was impossible to say, as the bank had not recorded the numbers. + +On receipt of this news, Hotchkiss, accompanied by Jack Hall, a guide, +set out across the country for Santa Barbara. The journey was +accomplished, but only after the most terrible suffering and many +privations and dangers. Moreover, the fever got its deadly clutches +upon detective Hotchkiss; and when he had finally dragged himself into +Santa Barbara, he cabled the New York office: "Crawford and money held +for extradition. Am sick. Cannot remain. Coming on steamer Tuesday. My +associate takes charge." + +Before sailing for New Orleans detective Hotchkiss had an interview +with Crawford, in the presence of the Spanish officials, and obtained +from him a written confession of his guilt. While admitting that he +had been a party to the robbery, the absconder tried to lessen his own +crime by declaring that the plan to plunder the bank had been +suggested to him by two men, named Brown and Bowen, whom he had met +accidentally on a railway-train in New York, and with whom he had +afterward become very friendly. These men had taken him to Brown's +house on Thirty-eighth Street, somewhere between Eighth and Ninth +avenues (Crawford could not locate the place more precisely), and +introduced him to a fine-looking woman presented as Mrs. Brown, who +was also in the conspiracy. They told him that he was earning very +little money for a man in such a responsible position, and that he +might easily make a fortune if he would put his interests in their +hands and be guided by their advice. + +The outcome of several conversations was a plan to get possession of a +valuable money package on some day when Crawford should know a large +sum was to be sent away from the bank. He claimed that on the day of +the robbery one of his fellow-conspirators, Bowen, followed behind +himself and Earle after they entered the Adams express offices, and +managed to substitute a bogus package for the real one while the two +messengers were going up the stairs. He did not make this attempt +until he saw the bank detective McDougal turn back up Broadway. +Crawford said that he managed it so as to precede Earle in going up +the stairs, which gave Bowen, who was standing at the first turn, in +the shadow, an opportunity to open the satchel and quickly make the +substitution. Crawford declared that the conspirators gave him only +twenty-five hundred dollars as his share of the booty, although +promising him more. This sum he put in two envelops and sent to his +aunt, the one to whom he afterward intrusted the package supposed to +contain gloves. + +Crawford stated further that Brown and Bowen, having been forced to +flee the country, sent him word from Paris, some time later, in a +letter written by Mrs. Brown, that the greater part of the stolen +money had been buried in a flower-bed in the southeast corner of a +yard on West Thirty-eighth Street, and asked him to dig it up and send +it to them. A remarkable fact in this connection is that the yard +referred to on West Thirty-eighth Street belonged to the house of the +friend and benefactor with whom Crawford was living at the time of the +robbery. + +Crawford claimed to have carried out these instructions, and deposited +the package of money taken from the flower-bed in the safe-deposit +vaults in the Fifth Avenue Hotel building, where, as a matter of fact, +he was known to have rented a box. He gave as his reason for not +sending the money to Paris that he was in trouble himself, being under +constant surveillance, and thought it best to keep the money secreted +for the time. He admitted that he had carried this money with him to +Honduras, and that it was the same found on his person by the +detectives. By his description of Brown and Bowen, the former was a +man about twenty-five years old, of slight build and light complexion, +while the latter was ten years older, two or three inches taller, with +a sandy mustache and very fat hands. Mrs. Brown Crawford described as +about twenty-five years old, a blonde, with regular features. He had +no idea what had become of these people since he left America, having +had no further communication with them. None of the alleged +conspirators has ever been found, and they are believed to be purely +mythical. + +Detective Hotchkiss also had an interview with "Mike" Neiland, +Crawford's companion in flight, who described his first meeting with +Crawford at his boarding-house in San Pedro, and acknowledged that he +had deliberately frightened Crawford into running away by his story of +the pursuing detectives. He described their adventures and hardships +in trying to escape over the rough country, the difficulties they +experienced in buying mules, their sufferings from exposure in the +swamps, and finally their capture by the soldiers. Neiland said that +Crawford gave him three thousand dollars in fifty-dollar bills, and +also allowed him to carry, a part of the time, a large package wrapped +in oil-cloth paper and sewed up tightly. Crawford had told him to +throw this package away rather than let any one capture it; for, he +said, it contained money which would send him to prison if found upon +him. + +As they pushed along in their flight, Crawford declared repeatedly +that he would put an end to his life rather than be taken prisoner; +and when the soldiers surrounded them he drew his revolver and tried +to blow his brains out. One of the soldiers, however, was too quick +for him, and struck the weapon out of his hand. After the capture +Crawford vainly tried to bribe the guards to let him escape, offering +them as much as ten thousand dollars. When the large package was +opened, it was found to contain bundles of bills sewed together with +black thread, and with about a dozen rubber bands wrapped around them, +and a stout covering of buckskin under the oiled paper. The money +amounted to thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars, all in United +States bills--fives, tens, twenties, fifties, and hundreds, but mostly +fives. Ultimately the money was returned to the American Exchange +Bank. + +When organizing the pursuit of Crawford, detective Hotchkiss had +arranged with the Honduras government that any letters and telegrams +that might come addressed to the absconder should be delivered to him. +Several letters were thus secured from the young man about town in New +York who had befriended Crawford so constantly in the past, and who +seemed now disposed to stand by him even in adversity and disgrace. +The letters contained counsel and reproaches, and seemed to indicate +that relations of unusual familiarity had existed between the two men. +Besides these letters, two cablegrams were intercepted from the same +source, both being sent through an intermediary. The first was dated +March 15, 1890, and read: "Tell Crawford go back. Papers bluff. No +treaty exists." The second, sent two days later, read: "Inform +Crawford will meet him in Puerto Cortés." + +It is needless to say that the young man did not carry out his +intention of joining Crawford in Honduras, for the same mail which +would have brought him Crawford's reply carried the startling news +that his protégé and friend was under arrest in Santa Barbara, a +self-confessed bank robber. + +The government of Honduras consented, thanks to their friendly +relations with the Pinkertons, to deliver Crawford over to one of the +representatives of the agency, and superintendent E. S. Gaylor, who +had meantime replaced detective Hotchkiss, took him in charge. A guard +of Spanish soldiers brought the prisoner to Puerto Cortés, where he +was placed in a hotel pending his transfer to a vessel sailing for the +United States. Superintendent Gaylor himself was present to see that +everything was managed properly, and he was seconded in his oversight +by the former Pinkerton employee, the head of the secret police in +Honduras. The final arrangements had been made, the government having +taken advantage of a law authorizing the expulsion of "pernicious +foreigners" in order to get rid of Crawford. The superintendent had +actually taken passage for himself and Crawford, and selected berths, +on an American vessel that was to sail on the morning of May 2, 1890; +but the night before Crawford made his escape from the hotel, going +without the money, which remained in the detective's keeping. How he +escaped is still a matter of conjecture. The hotel stood on the +water's edge, and from a balcony to which Crawford had access he may +have managed to spring down to a wall built on piles. From there he +may have reached the hotel yard at the back, and escaped over one of +the picket fences that separated the hotel from the adjoining +property. There is also a possibility that the Spanish soldiers were +bribed; but this has never been proved, and is scarcely probable, as +Crawford at the time of his escape had not more than seventy-five +dollars in Honduras bills in his possession. + +During the following days and weeks untiring efforts were made to +recapture him. The swamps were searched for miles, and soldiers were +sent out in all directions. Mr. Gaylor believed that Crawford +succeeded in making his escape into Guatemala, which was only thirty +miles distant. He was undoubtedly assisted in his escape by the fact +that people in the surrounding region sympathized strongly with him +and would have done anything in their power to conceal him from his +pursuers. At any rate, the man was never recovered. + +Seven years have passed since Crawford's escape, and all this time he +has been left undisturbed in Central America, where he has been +frequently seen by people who know him, and where he seems to be +thriving. At last accounts he and his brother were engaged in business +on one of the islands in the Mosquito Reservation of Nicaragua, where +they were regarded as dangerous men by the government, likely to +incite revolution. So strong was this feeling on the part of the +Nicaraguan officials that some years ago advances were made to the +United States government to have Crawford surrendered, the Nicaraguan +officials declaring that they would gladly give him up if a demand for +his extradition was made by the proper authorities in Washington. For +some reason the demand has never been made, and probably never will +be. + +Immediately after Crawford had made confession, the American Exchange +Bank, realizing that there was no longer any doubt that the robbery +was committed by one of its employees, voluntarily refunded to the +Adams Express Company the forty-one thousand dollars that had +previously been paid to it by the company, together with interest +thereon for two years, and a large part of the expenses. Therefore the +only complainant in the case now available would be the bank +officials, who, for some reason, have seen fit to let the matter drop. + +Mr. Pinkerton's theory of the way in which this robbery was committed +is that Crawford had an accomplice who had previously prepared the +bogus package, and who, by previous appointment, was standing on the +stairs in the express office when the two messengers arrived. It has +always been a question in Mr. Pinkerton's mind whether the old man +Dominie Earle told the exact truth in his testimony before the bank +officials. Not that he suspected Earle of having been implicated in +the crime, but he has wondered whether Earle might not have been +simply negligent to the extent of leaving Crawford in sole possession +of the valise at some time after they entered the office. There is no +doubt that Earle was very anxious to catch a four-o'clock train at one +of the New Jersey ferries, in order to get home early. He may, in his +haste, have allowed Crawford to go up-stairs with the valise +unaccompanied. + +This would explain how Crawford found opportunity to open the valise +and make substitution of the bogus for the genuine package. Assuming +that the accomplice was standing at a turn of the stairs, which are +winding and rather dusky, it is perfectly conceivable that such a +change of packages might have been effected with scarcely a moment's +delay. + +But consenting that Earle told the exact truth, he admitted that he +lingered behind Crawford a little in ascending the stairs, and in so +doing he may have furnished sufficient opportunity for the +substitution. An old man going up rather steep stairs naturally bends +his head forward to relieve the ascent, and in such position he might +fail to see what a man close in front of him even was doing. The +trouble with this theory is that it supposes the label on the bogus +package to have been a forgery. + +There is still another theory suggested by Mr. Pinkerton to account +for the presence of the bogus money package in the valise when the two +messengers reached the counter of the receiving department. It is that +Crawford's confederate had provided himself with a second valise, +similar in all respects to the one used by the bank, and that in this +had been placed the bogus package with a forged label, making the +substitution a matter of merely changing valises, which could have +been accomplished in a second. It has also been suggested that +Crawford might have managed the whole scheme himself, by having +prepared a valise like the one he carried daily, arranged with two +compartments, in one of which was placed the genuine package received +from the paying-teller at the bank, while out of the other compartment +was taken at the express office a bogus package previously placed +there. What makes it the more reasonable to suppose that Crawford +accomplished the theft single-handed is the fact that when arrested in +Honduras the bulk of the stolen money was found on his person, while +it was known that, in addition to the thirty-two thousand dollars then +recovered, he had previously spent considerable sums in various ways. +His voyage, for instance, must have been expensive; and it was found +that he had given at various times to members of his family sums +ranging from twenty to fifty dollars. This would have left out of the +original forty-one thousand dollars a very meager remuneration for a +confederate. + +Perhaps the most reasonable explanation of the robbery lies in the +assumption that Dominie Earle, honest, but simple-minded, did not go +up-stairs at all with Crawford, but left him at the foot of the +stairs, influenced by his eagerness to get home. Granting this +supposition, what would have been easier than for Crawford, left alone +at the foot of the stairs, to have turned back with the valise and +gone into the back room of some neighboring saloon, or other +convenient place, where he could manipulate the label and substitute +the bogus package? There is reason to think that the bogus package had +been prepared weeks before, which would have accounted in a measure +for its worn and slovenly appearance. The time occupied in doing all +this need not have been over fifteen minutes, which would not have +been noticed at the bank, especially as the robbery occurred after +banking hours. It is highly improbable, however, that Crawford could +have accomplished the substitution on the stairs of the express +office; for, while these are winding and somewhat in the shadow, they +are by no means dark, and are plainly in view of clerks and officials +who are constantly passing. Besides that, Crawford could not have +carried the dummy package concealed about his person without +attracting attention, for the original package was quite bulky, being +about twenty inches long, twenty inches wide, and fourteen inches +thick. The bogus package was not quite so thick, and more oblong, but +could not easily have been hidden under a man's coat. Finally, even +supposing Crawford did carry the bogus package with him in some +manner, he would never have dared to expose himself to almost certain +detection by cutting off the label from the genuine package, pasting +it on the bogus package, placing the latter in the valise, and hiding +the genuine one in his clothes--and doing all this on the busy stairs +of an express office where at that hour of the day a dozen men are +going up and down every minute. + +The sum of all these theories is, however, that, in spite of the fact +that the author of the robbery is known and the bulk of the money has +been recovered, the manner of the robbery is to this day a mystery. + + * * * * * + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's True Detective Stories, by Cleveland Moffett + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 33922-8.txt or 33922-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/9/2/33922/ + +Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Suzanne Shell, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/33922-8.zip b/33922-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ec5c83 --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-8.zip diff --git a/33922-h.zip b/33922-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..fde1d97 --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h.zip diff --git a/33922-h/33922-h.htm b/33922-h/33922-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a6b670d --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/33922-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4292 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of True Detective Stories, by Cleveland Moffett + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; background-color: #FFFFFF; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +table { padding: 1em; text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + +.tocpg {text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;} + +.img1 {border:solid 1px; } + +.f1 { font-size:smaller; } + +a[name] { position: static; } +a:link { border:none; color:#0000ff; text-decoration:none; } +a:visited {color:#0000ff; text-decoration:none; } +a:hover { color:#ff0000; } + + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + font-style:normal; +} /* page numbers */ + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +.p1 { margin-left: 70%} + +.p2 { margin-left: 50%} + +.p3 { margin-left: 10%} + +.p4 { margin-left: 5%} + +.p5 { margin-left: 15%} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.caption {font-weight: bold; font-size:smaller;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +.figleft { + float: left; + clear: left; + margin-left: 0; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-right: 0.25em; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} + + +/* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of True Detective Stories, by Cleveland Moffett + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: True Detective Stories + From the archives of the Pinkertons + +Author: Cleveland Moffett + +Release Date: October 15, 2010 [EBook #33922] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Suzanne Shell, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" height="813" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img class="img1" src="images/image_001.jpg" width="400" height="537" alt="WILLIAM A. PINKERTON" title="" /> +<span class="caption">WILLIAM A. PINKERTON</span> +</div> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img class="img1" src="images/title_page.jpg" width="500" height="775" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<p> </p> +<h1> +True Detective<br /> +Stories</h1> +<p> </p> +<h3>From the Archives of the +Pinkertons</h3> +<p> </p> +<h3>By</h3> +<h2>Cleveland Moffett</h2> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 67px;"> +<img src="images/seal.jpg" width="67" height="50" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h3>NEW YORK:</h3> + +<h3><i>G. W. Dillingham Co., Publishers,</i></h3> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h5>Copyright, 1893, 1894<br /> +<span class="smcap">S. S. McClure Co.</span></h5> + +<h5>Copyright, 1897<br /> +<span class="smcap">Doubleday & McClure Co.</span> +</h5> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table summary="Contents"> +<tr><td></td> + <td class="tocpg f1"> </td> + <td class="tocpg f1">PAGE</td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#The_Northampton_Bank_Robbery">The Northampton Bank Robbery</a></td> + <td class="tocpg"> </td> + <td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#The_Susquehanna_Express_Robbery">The Susquehanna Express Robbery</a></td> + <td class="tocpg"> </td> + <td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#The_Pollock_Diamond_Robbery">The Pollock Diamond Robbery</a></td> + <td class="tocpg"> </td> + <td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#The_Rock_Island_Express">The Rock Island Express</a></td> + <td class="tocpg"> </td> + <td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#The_Destruction_of_the_Renos">The Destruction of the Renos</a></td> + <td class="tocpg"> </td> + <td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#The_American_Exchange_Bank_Robbery">The American Exchange Bank Robbery</a></td> + <td class="tocpg"> </td> + <td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="The_Northampton_Bank_Robbery" id="The_Northampton_Bank_Robbery"></a>The Northampton Bank Robbery</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> +<h2>The Northampton Bank Robbery</h2> + +<div class="figleft"><img src="images/image_a.jpg" alt="A" width="37" height="40" /></div> +<p>bout midnight on Tuesday, January 25, 1876, five masked men entered +the house of John Whittelsey in Northampton, Massachusetts. Mr. +Whittelsey was the cashier of the Northampton National Bank, and was +known to have in his possession the keys of the bank building and the +combination to the bank vault. The five men entered the house +noiselessly, with the aid of false keys, previously prepared. Passing +up-stairs to the sleeping-apartments, they overpowered seven inmates +of the house, gagging and binding them so that resistance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> or alarm +was impossible. These were Mr. Whittelsey and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. +T. B. Cutler, Miss Mattie White, Miss Benton, and a servant-girl.</p> + +<p>The bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Whittelsey was entered by two men who +seemed to be leaders of the band. One wore a long linen duster +buttoned nearly to the knees, also gloves and overshoes; the other +wore a jacket and overalls. Both men had their faces concealed behind +masks, and one of them carried a dark-lantern. On entering the room +the two men went directly to the bed, one standing on either side, and +handcuffed Mr. Whittelsey and his wife. Both carried revolvers. The +proceedings were much the same in the other rooms.</p> + +<p>After some delay and whispered consultation, the robbers ordered the +five women to get up and dress. When they had done so, they were roped +together by ankles and wrists, and taken into a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> small room, where +they were kept under guard by one of the band. Mr. Cutler also was +imprisoned in the same way. Then the two leaders devoted themselves to +Mr. Whittelsey. They told him plainly that they had come for the keys +of the bank and the combination of the vault, and that they would +"make it hot" for him unless he gave them what they wanted. Mr. +Whittelsey replied that it was useless to attempt to break into the +bank, as the locks were too strong for their efforts and he would not +betray his trust. At this the man in the linen duster shrugged his +shoulders and said they would see about that.</p> + +<p>Mr. Whittelsey was then taken downstairs, and again summoned to +surrender the keys. Again he refused. At this the man in the overalls +put his hand in the cashier's trousers-pocket and drew forth a key.</p> + +<p>"Is this the key to the bank?" he asked.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes, it is," answered the cashier, hoping to gain time.</p> + +<p>"You lie," said the robber, with threatening gesture, at the same time +trying the key in the lock of the front door of the house, which it +turned.</p> + +<p>"Don't hit him yet," said the other; "he is sick." Then he asked Mr. +Whittelsey if he wanted a drink of brandy. Mr. Whittelsey shook his +head no. Then the man in the linen duster renewed his demands. He +wanted the combination of the vault. Mr. Whittelsey gave him some +figures, which the robber wrote down on a piece of paper. These were +for the outer door of the vault. He demanded the combination for the +inner door, and Mr. Whittelsey gave him other figures. Having written +these down also, the robber came close to his prisoner and said, "Will +you swear these figures are correct?"</p> + +<p>"I will," answered Mr. Whittelsey.</p> + +<p>"You are lying again. If they are correct, let's hear you repeat +them."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> + +<p>The cashier could not do this, and so disclosed that the figures were +not the right ones.</p> + +<p>"See, Number One," said the robber, addressing his comrade, "we're +wasting time; we'll have to teach him to stop lying."</p> + +<p>As he spoke he struck the sharp point of his lead-pencil into Mr. +Whittelsey's face so violently as to make a wound, and followed this +with several blows on the body.</p> + +<p>"Will you tell us now?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Mr. Whittelsey kept silent. Then both men came at him, wringing his +ears, shaking him by the throat, hurling him to the floor, and +pounding their knees into his chest. For three hours this torture was +continued. More than once the ruffians placed their revolvers at Mr. +Whittelsey's head, declaring they would blow his brains out unless he +yielded. Finally he did yield; the suffering was too great; the +supreme instinct of self-preservation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> asserted itself. Toward four +o'clock in the morning, bruised from head to foot, and worn beyond +further resistance, he surrendered the keys, and revealed the true +combination of the vault.</p> + +<p>Then the robbers went away, leaving two of their associates to watch +over the prisoners. One of the band, before his departure, did not +disdain to search Mr. Whittelsey's clothes and take his watch and +chain and fourteen dollars in money. The last of the band remained in +the house until six o'clock; and it was an hour later before Mr. +Whittelsey succeeded in freeing himself from his bonds.</p> + +<p>He hurried at once to the bank, arriving there soon after seven +o'clock. He found the vault door locked, and its dials broken off, so +that it was impossible at the moment to determine the extent of the +robbery, or, indeed, whether there had been any robbery. It was +necessary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> to send to New York for an expert before the vault could be +opened, which was not accomplished until late that night, twenty hours +after the attack had been made. Then it was found that the robbers had +been only too successful, having secured money and securities +estimated at a million and a quarter dollars. Much of this sum was +safe-deposits, and the loss fell on the depositors; and to some it was +the loss of their whole property.</p> + +<p>At this time the authorities had no clue to the identity of the +robbers, though they had left behind them numerous evidences of their +presence, such as dark-lanterns, masks, sledge-hammers, overshoes, and +the like. Their escape had been managed as skilfully as the robbery +itself. Sheriff's officers and detectives did their best during +subsequent days and weeks, but their efforts were in vain. The +president of the bank offered a reward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> of twenty-five thousand +dollars for the apprehension of the robbers and the return of the +property; but there were no discoveries.</p> + +<p>When several months had elapsed, the Pinkertons were called into the +case. They began by carefully studying certain communications that had +been received by the bank directors from persons claiming to have in +their possession the missing securities. The first of these +communications was dated New York, February 27, 1876, about a month +after the robbery. It ran as follows, the letters of each word being +carefully printed with a pen, so that there was little chance of +identification through the handwriting:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Sirs</span>: When you are satisfied with detective skill you +can make a proposition to us, the holders, and if you are +liberal we may be able to do business with you. If you +entertain any such ideas, please insert a personal in the +New York 'Herald.' Address to XXX, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> sign 'Rufus,' to +which due attention will be paid. To satisfy you that we +hold papers, we send you a couple of pieces."</p></div> + +<p class="p1">[No signature.]</p> + +<p>No attention had been paid to this letter, although two certificates +of stock accompanied it which had undoubtedly been in the bank's +vault. Three other letters of a similar nature had been received +later. To one of these the bank people had sent a guarded reply, which +had called forth the following response, dated New York, October 20, +1876:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>: Since you have seen fit to recognize the receipt +of our letter, we will now send you our price for the return +of the goods. The United States coupon bonds and money taken +cannot be returned; but everything else—bonds, letters, and +papers, to the smallest document—will be returned for one +hundred and fifty thousand dollars. If these figures suit +you, we will make arrangements, according to our promise, +and you may have the goods as soon as preliminaries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> can be +arranged for the safe conduct of the business. If you agree +to this price, insert in the New York 'Herald' personal +column the simple word 'Agatha.'</p></div> + +<p class="p2">"Respectfully, etc.,</p> + +<p class="p1">"<span class="smcap">Rufus</span>."</p> + +<p>The special value of these letters was in helping the detectives to +decide which one of several gangs of bank robbers then operating in +the country was most likely to have committed the crime. Being +familiar with the methods of each gang, Robert Pinkerton was able to +draw useful inferences from evidence that would otherwise have been +insignificant. He knew, for instance, that the notorious gang headed +by James Dunlap would be more apt than any other to thus negotiate for +the return of all the securities in a lump, since it was Dunlap's +invariable rule to insist upon personally controlling the proceeds of +his robberies until final disposition was made of them. On the other +hand, the gangs headed respectively<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> by the notorious "Jimmy" Hope, +"Worcester Sam," and George Bliss might have divided the securities +among the members, and then tried to negotiate a compromise on the +individual portions.</p> + +<p>A fact of much significance to the Pinkertons was the rather +remarkable interest in the case, and apparent familiarity with it, +shown by one J. G. Evans, an expert in safes and vaults and the +representative of one of the largest safe-manufactories in the +country.</p> + +<p>The day after the robbery Evans had been at Bristol, Connecticut, in +the interest of his firm, who, on receipt of the news, had immediately +wired him to proceed to Northampton. His presence in Northampton was +regarded as nothing strange, for he had been there several times +during the months just preceding the robbery, and once had inspected +the lock and dials of the vault of the robbed bank. What did seem a +little strange, however, was Evans's evident interest in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> the +negotiations for a compromise. On a dozen different occasions he +talked with the president and other officers of the bank regarding the +robbery, and insinuated quite plainly that he might be in a position +to assist them in recovering their lost securities. A few months after +the robbery he even went so far as to tell one of the directors that +he could name the members of the gang.</p> + +<p>This disposition of Evans to put himself forward in the negotiations +had all the more significance to Robert Pinkerton from the fact that +it had been rumored that a series of daring bank robberies lately +committed in various parts of the country had owed their success to +the participation of an expert in safes and locks, who had been able, +through his position of trust, to reveal to the robbers many secrets +of weak bank locks, safes, and vaults. Up to this time these rumors +had remained indefinite, and no one ventured to name the man. It was +known,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> however, that the false expert was a man of high standing in +his calling and generally regarded as above suspicion. It was also +known that there was great jealousy in other gangs of bank robbers +because of the amazing success of the gang with whom this man was +working, and that overtures even had been made by the leaders of some +other gangs to win over to their own gangs this desirable accomplice. +Robert Pinkerton had already concluded that the gang so ably assisted +was the Dunlap gang; and he was now pretty well persuaded, also, that +the Northampton robbery had been committed by the Dunlap gang. There +was every reason, therefore, for keeping a sharp eye on the +safe-expert Evans.</p> + +<p>As he studied the case, Mr. Pinkerton recalled a circumstance that had +happened in the fall of 1875. On the night of November 4, 1875, the +First National Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania, had been robbed of +sixty thousand dollars, and Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> Pinkerton had gone there to +investigate the case. He met a number of safe-men, it being a business +custom with safe-men to flock to the scene of an important bank +robbery in order to supply new safes for the ones that have been +wrecked. While they were all examining the vault, still littered with +debris of the explosion, the representative of one of the +safe-companies picked up a small air-pump used by the robbers, and, +looking at it critically, remarked that he would have sworn it +belonged to his company, did he not know that was impossible. The +air-pump was, he declared, of precisely his company's model, one that +had been recently devised for a special purpose. At the time Mr. +Pinkerton regarded this as merely a coincidence, but now the memory +came to him as a flash of inspiration that the man who had remarked +the similarity in the air-pump represented the same company that +employed Evans.</p> + +<p>In view of all the circumstances, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> was decided to put Evans under +the closest questioning. He did not deny that he had made unusual +efforts to effect the return of the securities, but professed that it +was because he was sincerely sorry for the many people who had been +ruined through the robbery. And he professed to believe, also, that he +had been unjustly treated in the affair, though just how, and by whom, +he would not say. To the detective's trained observation it was +apparent that he was worried and apprehensive and not at all sure of +himself.</p> + +<p>In November, 1876, George H. Bangs, superintendent of the Pinkerton +Agency, a man possessed of very remarkable skill in eliciting +confessions from suspected persons, had an interview with Evans. He +professed to Evans that the detectives had secured evidence that +practically cleared up the whole mystery; that they <i>knew</i> (whereas +they still only surmised) that the robbery had been committed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> by the +Dunlap and Scott gang, and that Evans was a confederate; that for +weeks they had been shadowing Scott and Dunlap (which was true), and +could arrest them at any moment; that there was no doubt that the gang +had been trying to play Evans false (a very shrewd guess), and would +sacrifice him without the slightest compunction; and, finally, that +there was open to Evans one of two courses—either to suffer arrest on +a charge of bank robbery, with the prospect of twenty years in prison, +or save himself, and at the same time earn a substantial money reward, +by making a clean confession of his connection with the crime. All +this, delivered with an air of completest certainty, was more than +Evans could stand up against. He broke down completely, and told all +he knew.</p> + +<p>The story told by Evans is one of the most remarkable in the history +of crime. He admitted the correctness of Robert Pinkerton's inference +that the Northampton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> Bank had been robbed by Scott and Dunlap and +their associates, and in order to explain his own connection with this +formidable gang he went back to its organization in 1872. The leader +of the gang was James Dunlap, <i>alias</i> James Barton, who, before he +became a bank robber, had been a brakeman on the Chicago, Alton and +St. Louis Railroad. His inborn criminal instincts led him to frequent +the resorts of thieves in Chicago, and thus he met "Johnny" Lamb and a +man named Perry, who took a liking to him and taught him all they knew +about breaking safes. Dunlap soon outstripped his masters, developing +a genius for robbery and for organization that speedily proved him the +most formidable of all the bank robbers then operating in the country, +not even excepting "Jimmy" Hope, the notorious Manhattan Bank robber. +He had the long-headedness and stubbornness of his Scotch parents, +united with the daring and ingenuity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> peculiar to Americans. In the +fall of 1872 he organized the most dangerous and best-equipped gang of +bank robbers that the country had ever known.</p> + +<p>Dunlap's right-hand man was Robert C. Scott, <i>alias</i> "Hustling Bob," +originally a deck-hand on a Mississippi steamboat and afterward a +hotel thief. Scott was a big, powerful man, with a determination equal +to anything. Their associates were what one might expect from these +two. Other members of the gang were Thomas Doty, William Conroy, +"Eddie" Goody, John Perry, James Greer, a professional burglar +originally from Canada, and the notorious John Leary, <i>alias</i> "Red" +Leary, of whom more will be said later on. In addition to these, the +gang contained several members of less importance, men who acted +merely as lookouts, or as go-betweens or messengers.</p> + +<p>The first large operation of Dunlap's band occurred in 1872, when they +plundered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> the Falls City Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, of about two +hundred thousand dollars, escaping with their booty. This was +satisfactory as a beginning, but Dunlap and Scott dreamed of +achievements beside which this was insignificant. They began a careful +investigation through many States, to learn of banks of weak structure +containing large treasure. One of the gang finally found precisely +what they were in search of in the Second National Bank of Elmira, New +York, which institution, being a government depository, contained, as +they learned on good authority, two hundred thousand dollars in +greenbacks and six millions in bonds.</p> + +<p>A survey of the premises satisfied the gang that, massive though it +appeared, with its ponderous iron walls and complicated locks, the +vault of this bank was by no means impossible of access. The floor +above the bank was occupied by the Young Men's Christian Association,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> +one of the association's rooms being directly over the vault. There +was the floor between, and under that four feet of solid masonry, some +of the stones in it weighing a ton. And under the masonry was a layer +of railroad iron, resting on a plate of hardened steel an inch and a +half thick. All this, however, so far from discouraging the +conspirators, gave them greater confidence in the success of their +plan, once under way, since the very security of the vault, by +structure, from overhead attack lessened the strictness of the +surveillance. Indeed, the most serious difficulty, in the estimation +of the robbers, was to gain easy and unsuspected admission to the +quarters of the Young Men's Christian Association, on the second +floor. The secretary, a very prudent man, had put on the outside door +of the association rooms an improved Yale lock, which was then new +upon the market and offered unusual obstacles to the lock-picker. +Neither<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> Dunlap, Scott, nor any of their associates had skill enough +to open this lock without breaking it, which would, of course, have +been fatal to their plan. For days, therefore, after all the other +details of the robbery had been arranged, the whole scheme seemed to +be blocked by a troublesome lock on an ordinary wooden door.</p> + +<p>So serious a matter did this finally become that Scott and Dunlap went +to the length of breaking into the secretary's house at night, and +searching his pockets, in the hope of finding the keys and getting an +impression of them. But here, again, the secretary had taken +precautions that defeated their purpose, for he had hidden the keys +under a carpet, where the robbers never thought of looking for them. +Disappointed in their search, they went away, making no attempt to +carry off anything, a bit of forbearance which caused the excellent +secretary much wonder the next morning,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> when he found that nothing +was missing, although there were plain traces of intruders.</p> + +<p>The Yale lock still continuing an insoluble difficulty, Perry finally +made a journey to New York, in the hope of finding some device by +which to open it. There, in the course of his search, and in a curious +way, he made the acquaintance of Evans, then a salesman in the employ +of a prominent safe-company.</p> + +<p>Before entering the employ of the safe-manufacturers, Evans had +conducted an extensive mercantile business for himself in a large +Eastern city, where he was regarded as a man of wealth and integrity. +He had large dealings through the South, with extensive credits; but +the outbreak of the war had forced him into bankruptcy. It was hinted +that there was some over-shrewd practice connected with his failure, +and his subsequent sudden departure for Canada gave color to the +insinuation. At any rate, he compromised<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> with his creditors on a +basis advantageous to himself.</p> + +<p>On his return from Canada, Evans took up his residence in New York +City, and began to cultivate habits far beyond his income, notably the +taste for fast horses. Perry heard of Evans through one Ryan, whom he +had known as a "crook" years before, but who was then running a +livery-stable in an up-town street. As a matter of fact, this +livery-stable was merely a blind for the sale of unsound horses +"doctored up" to deceive unsuspecting buyers. But of this Evans knew +nothing, and, in good faith, had stabled one of his own horses with +Ryan. This had led to an intimacy between him and Ryan, and now, at +Perry's suggestion, Ryan encouraged Evans in his disposition to live +beyond his means.</p> + +<p>Before long Evans found himself much cramped financially. Being unable +to pay Ryan the money he owed him for stabling, he began to talk of +selling his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> horse; and one day, when he was complaining of being +short of money, Ryan said, "If I had your position I'd never lack for +money."</p> + +<p>Evans asked him what he meant.</p> + +<p>"Oh," said Ryan, "there are plenty of people who would put up well to +know some of the things you know about safes and banks."</p> + +<p>By degrees Ryan made his meaning more clear, and Evans grew properly +indignant. The subject was dropped for the moment, but, in subsequent +meetings, Ryan kept reverting to it. Meantime Evans found himself +growing more and more embarrassed, and one day he said, "What is it +these people want to know?"</p> + +<p>"Well," said Ryan, "they would like to know, for one thing, if there +is any way of beating these new Yale locks?"</p> + +<p>"You can't pick a Yale lock," answered Evans—"that would take too +long; but there is a way of getting one open."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> + +<p>"How?"</p> + +<p>"We'll talk that over some day."</p> + +<p>Having once nibbled, Evans was not long in biting at the bait thus +adroitly held before him. He consented to be introduced to Perry, who +shrewdly showed him what an easy matter it would be for a man who knew +the secrets of safe-makers and could locate weak banks, to make a +great deal of money, without danger to himself.</p> + +<p>"Why," said Perry, "you can make more in one night with us, without +any one's suspecting it, than you can make in a year working for these +safe-people."</p> + +<p>The result was that Evans, in consideration of fifty thousand dollars, +finally agreed to provide some means of opening the Yale lock which +barred the robbers from the coveted treasure at Elmira.</p> + +<p>Perry, in great delight, hurried back to Elmira, and reported his +success to Dunlap and Scott. In order to bring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> Evans to Elmira in a +way not to excite suspicion, a letter was written to the company he +served, containing a tempting proposition regarding the purchase of +safes. Evans was at once sent to Elmira to look after the matter. He +stopped at the Rathbone House, where he was waited upon by Scott, with +whom he concerted a plan of operations. Scott was to slip a thin piece +of wood into the lock at night, so that the lock would not work. Then, +as Evans's presence in the city had been made known, it was hoped that +he would be called upon, as an expert in difficult locks, to find out +what was the matter. This would give him an opportunity to secure an +impression of the key. The plan worked only too perfectly; and within +twenty-four hours the conspirators were able to pass in and out of the +Young Men's Christian Association rooms as they pleased, without the +knowledge of any one.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> + +<p>It now remained, in order to achieve the robbery, to dig down into the +vault—an immense task, for which the constant presence in Elmira of +the whole gang was necessary. It was also necessary that their +presence should not be noticed, and to that end a woman from +Baltimore, who had been associated with one of the gang in previous +undertakings, came on to Elmira and took a house in the suburbs, +giving out that she was the wife of a man whose business kept him +traveling most of the time. The house was simply furnished, and every +day, for the benefit of the neighbors, the woman made a great pretense +of sweeping the steps, cleaning the windows, and busying herself about +the yard in various ways. Meantime, inside the house, in careful +concealment, the members of the gang were living—Scott, Dunlap, "Red" +Leary, Conroy, and Perry. They never went out in the daytime, and they +left the place at night so cautiously, going<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> one at a time, that, +although they lived here for six weeks, their presence was never +suspected.</p> + +<p>Every night they gathered in the rooms of the Young Men's Christian +Association after the young men had gone home, using their false keys +to obtain admission; and they remained there hours at a time, doing +what would ordinarily be the noisiest work; but their movements were +so cautious and well planned that their presence in the building was +never suspected. Every night the carpet and flooring were taken up, +and, after they had finished their excavations, were carefully relaid. +Tons of masonry and heavy stone were removed, shoveled into baskets, +and carried up to the roof of the opera-house, adjoining the bank +building, where there was small chance of the debris being discovered. +Thus the unwearying rascals worked downward through the layer of +railroad iron, and at last found themselves separated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> from the inside +of the vault by only the plate of steel. Success seemed within their +very grasp, when an unforeseen accident spoiled everything.</p> + +<p>One day the president of the bank, Mr. Pratt, was surprised, on +entering the vault, to find the floor sprinkled with a fine white +dust. An investigation was made, and the whole plot was uncovered. The +members of the gang, however, got word in time, and all managed to +escape except Perry, who was convicted of attempted burglary and sent +to the Auburn prison for five years.</p> + +<p>Undisturbed by the failure, Scott and Dunlap proceeded to scour the +country again in search of another bank suited to their operations, +and in February, 1874, notified the gang, which now contained some new +members, that they had "found something to go to work at" in Quincy, +Illinois. The attack on the Quincy bank was made in very much the same +way as the attack on the bank at Elmira. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> Baltimore woman again +rented a house which afforded shelter and concealment to the men; +access was obtained to rooms over the vault by false keys, as before; +the flooring was taken up and put down every night without exciting +suspicion; the masonry was removed, the iron plates of the vault were +penetrated, and, finally, one night Scott and Dunlap were able to +lower themselves through a jagged hole into the money-room beneath.</p> + +<p>It now remained to force open the safes inside the vault; and to +accomplish this the robbers used, for the first time in the history of +safe-wrecking in America, what is known as the air-pump method, which +had been devised by Evans, and carefully explained by him to Scott and +Dunlap. Evans's employers were at this time introducing a padding +designed to make safes more secure; and Evans had hit upon the idea of +introducing powder into the seams of a safe-door<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> by an air-pump, in +the presence of a possible customer, in order to impress him with his +need of the new padding. Evans himself was not present at the breaking +open of the Quincy bank, and he had nothing to do with the robbery +beyond furnishing instruction and the air-pump. Scott and Dunlap did +the work.</p> + +<p>As a first step, all the seams of the safes formed by the doors were +carefully puttied up, save two small holes, one at the top and one at +the bottom. Then, at the upper hole, Scott held a funnel filled with +fine powder, while Dunlap applied the air-pump at the hole below. By +the draft thus created, the powder was drawn into all the interstices +between the heavy doors and the frames of the safes. Then a little +pistol, loaded simply with powder, was attached near the upper hole, +and, by a string tied to the trigger, discharged from a safe distance +above. There were several attempts made before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> a complete explosion +was effected; but finally the safes were blown open and their contents +secured, the robbers making good their escape with one hundred and +twenty thousand dollars in money and about seven hundred thousand +dollars in bonds. No part of this money was ever recovered by the +bank, nor were any of the gang captured at this time. The securities +were, however, afterward sold back to the bank. Indeed, so cleverly +had the whole affair been managed that no suspicion fell upon either +Scott, Dunlap, or any of their associates.</p> + +<p>Here were fortunes made easily enough, with plenty more to be made in +the same way, and the gang were in high feather over their success. +During the summer of 1874 Scott and Dunlap lived in princely style in +New York. They attracted much attention at Coney Island during the +season, where they drove fast horses. No one suspected that they were +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> leaders of the most desperate gang of bank robbers ever organized +in this or any country.</p> + +<p>By fall their money began to run short, and they decided to look about +for another job. In the Quincy robbery they had broken their agreement +with Evans, paying him only a small sum for the use of the air-pump +which he had furnished them. Now, however, they called upon him again, +and, partly by threats, partly by generous offers, induced him to +assist them again. A series of unsuccessful attempts at robbery were +made on banks in Saratoga; Nantucket; Covington, Kentucky; and +Rockville, Connecticut. In several instances failure came at the very +time when success seemed sure. In the case of the Covington bank, for +instance, nitroglycerin was used in blowing open the safe, and the +explosion was so violent that the men became frightened and fled in a +panic, leaving behind untouched, although exposed to view, two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> +hundred thousand dollars in greenbacks and one million five hundred +thousand dollars in negotiable bonds. In the case of the Rockville +bank their plans had worked out perfectly, and they had removed +everything from the top of the vault but a thin layer of brick, when +Scott accidentally forced the jimmy with which he was working through +the roof of the vault and let it fall inside. As it was too late to +complete the work that night, and as the presence of the jimmy inside +the vault would inevitably start an alarm the next day, they were +obliged to abandon the attempt entirely.</p> + +<p>The gang's most desperate adventure befell in connection with the +attempt on the First National Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania. This was +made late in the fall of 1875. The bank occupied a one-story building +covered with a tin roof, and the robbers decided to make the attack +from the roof. But there was a serious difficulty in the fact that in +case of rain coming<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> any time after they had begun operations, water +might soak through the openings they had made and betray them. +Dunlap's ingenuity, however, was equal to this emergency; and each +night, after finishing their excavation, they carefully relaid the +sheets of tin that had been disturbed, protecting the joints with red +putty, which matched the roof in color. So well did they put on this +putty, that, although it rained heavily the very day after they began, +not a drop leaked through.</p> + +<p>On the night of November 4 only one layer of bricks separated them +from the top of the vault, and it was decided to finish the work and +do the robbery that night. Two hours' hard labor with "drag" and +"jack-screw" sufficed to effect an opening, and Scott and Dunlap were +lowered into the vault. They found three Marvin spherical safes +protected by a burglar-alarm. But Dunlap was somewhat of an electrical +expert, and was able<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> to so surround the burglar-alarm with heavy +boards as to render it of little or no danger. They experienced much +difficulty, though, in blowing open the safes. The first one attempted +yielded on the second explosion, and they secured five hundred dollars +in currency and sixty thousand dollars in bonds. The next one was far +more troublesome, not less than ten explosions being required to make +way into it. And just as the task was at last accomplished, and they +were on the point of seizing a great sum of money, there came a +warning call from Conroy, who was doing sentry duty on the roof, and +it was necessary to fly.</p> + +<p>When Dunlap and Scott had been dragged out of the vault by their +associates, they were found scarcely able to run. During all the +twelve explosions of powder and dynamite they had never left the +vault, but, crouching behind the boards that guarded the +burglar-alarm, had remained within arm's length of explosions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> so +violent that they tore apart plates of welded steel and shook the +whole building. Worse than the shock of these explosions were the +noxious gases generated by them, which Scott and Dunlap had to +breathe. On coming out, their clothes were wringing wet with +perspiration, and they were so weak that their legs tottered under +them, and their comrades had to almost carry them for a time. But, +nevertheless, they managed to walk thirty miles that night, to Lehigh, +where they boarded a train to New York.</p> + +<p>It was on this occasion that there was left behind in the vault the +air-pump which Robert Pinkerton afterward recalled so shrewdly to +Evans's disadvantage.</p> + +<p>Coming, in his confession, to the Northampton Bank robbery, Evans said +that the gang had considered making an attempt there for several +months before the robbery was actually executed. For a time they had +designed to rob the First<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> National Bank, where Evans had been +employed to put in new doors, but this scheme they afterward +abandoned. Enjoying the fullest confidence of the Northampton Bank +officers, Evans had made repeated visits to the bank and gained +important information for his associates. It was through his influence +that the bank directors decided to give the whole combination of the +vault to the cashier, Whittelsey, who had previously been intrusted +with only half of it, the remainder being given to one of the clerks.</p> + +<p>On the night of the robbery Evans was in New York, but he had gone to +Northampton a day or two after, as already stated. Then, for the first +time, he realized what immense wrong and suffering would be inflicted +upon innocent people by the robbers, and he said it was this that had +prompted him in his efforts to have the securities restored to the +owners.</p> + +<p>Returning to New York, he at once communicated with Scott and Dunlap +by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> means of "Herald" personals, and had several interviews with them +in the city during the month of February. While they were anxious to +dispose of the securities, it was plain from the first that they +distrusted Evans and proposed to lessen his share of the profits. +While pretending to approve the steps he was taking for a compromise +with the bank, they were really, without his knowledge, carrying on +secret negotiations with the same object. The suspicion on either side +grew until finally it could no longer be concealed. Meeting Scott in +Prospect Park some time after the robbery, Evans said, "When are you +going to settle and give me my share?"</p> + +<p>"You'll never get a cent," answered Scott; "you've given the whole +gang away."</p> + +<p>For some time they did not meet again. Evans continued his vain +efforts for a settlement, growing more and more anxious as the months +went by and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> saw the danger to himself become more threatening. On +the 9th of November he met Scott, Dunlap, and "Red" Leary on the +outskirts of Brooklyn, and a violent quarrel occurred about the +division of the spoil. Reproaches and threats were exchanged with +stormy language, and at one time Evans's life was actually in danger.</p> + +<p>It was soon after this interview that Evans decided, under the +management of Superintendent Bangs, to save himself by making a full +confession. He had fewer scruples about betraying his associates, +because he had become convinced that in the previous robberies, +notably in the one at Quincy, Illinois, he had been treated most +unfairly by Scott and Dunlap.</p> + +<p>Evans said that for several weeks preceding the Northampton robbery +the gang had concealed themselves in the attic of a school-house which +stood four or five rods from the highway and apart<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> from other houses. +His statement was substantiated by the discovery in this attic, after +the robbery, of blankets, satchels, ropes, bits, pulleys, and +provisions, including a bottle of whisky bearing the label of a New +York firm.</p> + +<p>After the vault had been rifled, the money and securities were placed +in a bag and a pillow-case, and carried to the school-house, where +they were stowed away in places of concealment that had been +previously prepared. One of these was underneath the platform where +the teacher's desk stood. Another was a recess made behind a +blackboard, which was taken off for the purpose and then screwed +carefully in place. For nearly two weeks this treasure, amounting to +over a million dollars, lay unsuspected in the school-house, the +teacher walking over a part of it, the children working out their sums +on the blackboard which concealed another part. It was left there so +long because the robbers were unable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> to return for it, owing to the +strict watch for strangers that was kept at the railway-station and +along all the roads. Finally Scott bought a team of horses for nine +hundred dollars, and, with Jim Brady, drove over to Northampton from +Springfield. After securing the booty, they had serious trouble in +getting away. Brady fell into the mill-race, which they were crossing +on the ice, and this accident necessitated their camping out all night +in a cabin in the woods.</p> + +<p>After hearing Evans's story, the question foremost in Mr. Pinkerton's +mind was where the stolen securities had been concealed. From what +Evans said, and from what he knew himself about the methods of the +gang, he was satisfied that Dunlap possessed this secret, and would +intrust it to no one unless absolutely compelled to do so. The +likeliest way of compelling him was to put him under arrest, which +might very well be done now that Evans had consented to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> turn State's +evidence. For weeks Pinkerton "shadows" had never been off Scott and +Dunlap, who spent most of their time in New York, the former living +with his wife at a fashionable boarding-house in Washington Square.</p> + +<p>Instructions were accordingly given to the "shadows" to close in upon +them, and on February 14, 1877, both men were arrested in +Philadelphia, as they were on the point of taking a train for the +South.</p> + +<p>Despite the large sum of securities in their possession, the men had +run short of ready money, and, while awaiting a compromise, were +starting out to commit another robbery. They were taken to +Northampton, and committed to jail to await trial.</p> + +<p>It happened as Mr. Pinkerton foresaw. Brought into confinement, Dunlap +and Scott were compelled, in the conduct of their affairs, to reveal +the hiding-place of the booty to some other member of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> the gang. They +chose for their confidant "Red" Leary. The securities, as subsequently +transpired, were at this time buried in a cellar on Sixth Avenue, near +Thirty-third Street, New York. The precise spot was indicated to Leary +by Mrs. Scott, who, in doing so, reminded Leary of an agreement +entered into by the members of the gang before the robbery, that any +one of their number who might get into trouble could, if he saw a +necessity, call upon his confederates to dispose of all the securities +on whatever terms were possible and use the proceeds in getting him +and others—if others were in trouble also—free. At the time Leary +scoffed at this agreement, but was perfectly willing, even eager, to +have it enforced a little later, when, by the orders of Inspector +Byrnes, he was himself arrested on the charge of complicity in the +memorable Manhattan Bank robbery, which had occurred some time before. +Having failed in a purpose of "shadowing"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> Leary to the place where +the securities were hidden, Robert Pinkerton decided that the best +move to make next would be to arrest Leary for complicity in the +Northampton robbery. Steps were taken to have requisition papers +prepared, and it was pending the arrival of these that Leary was held +on the other charge, for it was not thought that he had really taken +part in the Manhattan Bank robbery.</p> + +<p>The criminal annals of the United States contain no more thrilling +chapter than that of the adventures of "Red" Leary. He was a typical +desperado in appearance, with his shock of red hair, and his bristling +red mustache, and his ugly, heavy-jawed face, while his huge neck and +shoulders, his big head, and powerful hairy hands impressed one with +his enormous physical strength. He weighed nearly three hundred +pounds, and his "pals" used to point with pride to the fact that he +wore a bigger hat than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> any statesman in America—eight and a quarter.</p> + +<p>While much of Leary's life had been spent in deeds of violence, he had +shown on occasions such splendid bravery, and even heroism, as almost +atoned for his crimes. There are few soldiers who would not be proud +of Leary's record on the battle-field. He was among the first to +respond to his country's call in our own Civil War, being a volunteer +in the First Kentucky Regiment under Colonel Guthrie, and he was a +good soldier from the time of his enlistment up to the moment of his +honorable discharge.</p> + +<p>The ablest lawyers were now secured in his defense, and by every +possible method of legal obstruction they kept alive a controversy in +the New York courts until the early days of May, 1879. Meanwhile Leary +reposed in Ludlow Street Jail, where he enjoyed all the privileges +ever accorded to prisoners. In return he paid the warden the +substantial sum of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> thirty dollars a week; and it was evident that, +whether he had or had not been concerned in the Northampton robbery, +he had in some way obtained abundant money. He was visited constantly +by his wife.</p> + +<p>On the afternoon of May 7 Mrs. Leary called at about five o'clock with +"Butch" McCarthy, and the three were alone in Leary's room until +nearly eight o'clock. After that Leary strolled about in the prison +inclosure, and at about a quarter past ten keeper Wendell, who had +charge of the first tier, in which Leary's room was located, saw him +going up-stairs from the second to the third tier. Although in this +Leary was going directly away from his own room, there was nothing to +excite surprise, for Leary had been accustomed to use the bath-room on +the third tier. A quarter of an hour later Wendell started on his +rounds, according to the prison rule, to see that each one of the men +in his tier was securely locked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> up for the night. When he came to +Leary's room he was a little surprised to find him still absent, but +supposed he would be there shortly. But after waiting a few minutes +and finding Leary still absent, the keeper became alarmed, and began a +search. He first went to the bath-room, and not finding Leary there, +searched in other places, high and low. Then he returned to the +bath-room, and there made a discovery which filled him with +consternation. He saw in the brick wall, what at first had escaped his +attention, a gaping hole, large enough to allow the passage of a man's +body. The hole opened into a tunnel that seemed to lead downward. The +alarm was at once given, and it soon appeared that the keeper's fears +were only too well founded. "Red" Leary had escaped.</p> + +<p>It was found that the tunnel from the bath-room led into a room on the +fifth floor of a tenement-house at No. 76 Ludlow Street, adjoining the +jail. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> wall of the house added to the wall of the jail made a +thickness of four feet and a half of solid masonry, which had been cut +through. In the three rooms that had been rented in the house by +Leary's friends were found abundant evidences of the work.</p> + +<p>Leary, after his escape, fled to Europe, but was afterward arrested in +Brooklyn by Robert Pinkerton and three of his men, who "held him up" +in a sleigh at the corner of Twenty-seventh Street and Fourth Avenue, +Brooklyn; and before Leary could make use of a large revolver which he +had on his person, the horse was grabbed by the head and pulled to a +standstill, and Leary was dragged out of the sleigh and handcuffed. He +was taken immediately to Northampton, and put in jail there.</p> + +<p>Some time previous to this the Pinkertons had located Conroy, who had +also escaped from Ludlow Street Jail, in Philadelphia; and immediately +on the arrest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> of Leary, Robert Pinkerton sent one of his detectives +from New York to Philadelphia, who was fortunate enough to arrest +Conroy at one of his resorts on the same night, and he was also +delivered in jail at Northampton.</p> + +<p>Some months previous to this the Pinkertons had also arrested Thomas +Doty, another member of the band, and lodged him in the Northampton +jail.</p> + +<p>In the mean time, Scott and Dunlap, now in State prison, had made a +confession as against Leary, the holder of the securities; and when +Leary was brought to Northampton, they wrote him a letter, notifying +him that unless the securities were handed over to their proper +owners, they would take the witness-stand against him and convict him, +but that if he did turn over the necessary securities they would +refuse to take the stand. This resulted in the recovery by the +Northampton Bank of nearly all the securities stolen from the bank and +its depositors,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> this not including, however, the government bonds and +currency stolen at the time. Some of these securities had depreciated +in value upward of one hundred thousand dollars since they were +stolen. The amount of the securities recovered represented seven +hundred thousand dollars; they had been in the hands of the thieves +upward of two years.</p> + +<p>After the securities were returned, Scott and Dunlap refusing to take +the stand against Leary and Doty, the authorities were eventually +obliged to release them, as Evans had also refused to take the stand +against them. Conroy, who had simply been a go-between, and not an +actual participant in the robbery, was released at the same time by +order of the court.</p> + +<p>The trial of Scott and Dunlap took place at Northampton in July, 1877, +a year and a half after the robbery. Evans took the stand against +them, his evidence making the case of the prosecution overwhelmingly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> +strong. After three hours' deliberation the jury brought in a verdict +of guilty, and the prisoners were sentenced to twenty years each in +the State prison. Scott died in prison, and Dunlap, having been +pardoned several years ago, is now living in a Western city, a +reformed man, and is earning an honest living. As far as is known, +since leaving the penitentiary he has never returned to his evil ways. +Conroy also has taken to new ways, is honest, and is generally +respected by all who know him.</p> + +<p>"Red" Leary came to his death in a curious way. One night in April, +1888, he had been drinking with some friends at a well-known +sporting-resort in New York, on Sixth Avenue, between Twenty-seventh +and Twenty-eighth streets. In the party was "Billy" Train, an old +bunko-man. They were all somewhat intoxicated and inclined to be +uproarious. As they came out on the street, "Billy" Train picked up a +brick and threw it up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> in the air, yelling: "Look out for your heads, +boys." To this warning Leary paid no attention, and the brick came +down on his head with full force, fracturing his skull. He was taken +to the New York Hospital, and died there, after much suffering, on +April 23.</p> + +<p>As for the safe-expert, Evans, he is engaged in legitimate business, +and is prospering. In compiling this chapter from the records, the +writer has, by request, changed some of the names of the parties, who +since that time have reformed, and are now respected members in the +communities where they reside, and the author has no desire to injure +them.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="The_Susquehanna_Express_Robbery" id="The_Susquehanna_Express_Robbery"></a>The Susquehanna Express Robbery</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> +<h2>The Susquehanna Express Robbery</h2> + +<div class="figleft"><img src="images/image_a.jpg" alt="A" width="37" height="40" /></div> +<p>t Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, are located the great shops of the Erie +Railroad, where fifteen hundred men work throughout the year. These +men receive their wages on a fixed day toward the end of each month, +the pay-roll amounting to many thousands of dollars. It was customary, +fourteen years ago, for the company to have a sum of money sufficient +for this purpose shipped from New York by express a day or two before +the date when the wages were to be paid. Following out this practice, +on the night of June 20, 1883, the Marine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> National Bank of New York +shipped by the United States Express Company a sealed package +containing forty thousand dollars for the Erie Railroad Company, in +care of the First National Bank of Susquehanna. The package contained +United States currency and bank-notes, almost entirely in small bills, +none larger than twenty dollars.</p> + +<p>The usual precautions were observed in shipment, a trusted clerk of +the Marine Bank carrying the package to the express company's office +and taking a receipt for it from the money-clerk, who examined it +first to make sure that the seals of the bank were intact and that in +all respects it presented a correct appearance. Having satisfied +himself on these points, the money-clerk placed the package in one of +the canvas pouches used by the United States Express Company, sealed +it carefully with the company's private seal, and attached a tag +bearing the address of the company's agent at Susquehanna.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> + +<p>After a brief delay the pouch was delivered to express messenger Van +Waganen, who saw it placed in one of the small iron safes used by +express companies in conveying money from city to city. The messenger +rode with the safe to the train, and then remained on guard in the +express-car, where the safe was placed, as far as Susquehanna, at +which point he delivered the pouch to Dwight Chamberlain, a +night-clerk and watchman in the joint employ of the Erie Railroad and +the United States Express Company. The train left New York at 6 <span class="smcap">p. m.</span>, +and reached Susquehanna about midnight.</p> + +<p>Watchman Chamberlain, having received the pouch at the station, +carried it into the ticket-office and locked it inside a safe +belonging to the Erie Railroad Company. He remained on duty the rest +of the night, and at seven o'clock the next morning a messenger from +the First National Bank of Susquehanna came to get the package. +Chamberlain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> unlocked the safe, took out the pouch, opened it, and +then emptied its contents on the table. To his great surprise the +package containing the forty thousand dollars was gone, and in its +place were several bundles of manila paper cut to the size of +bank-bills and done up in small packages as money is done up.</p> + +<p>The agent of the company, Clark Evans, was immediately notified, and +he at once telegraphed the news of the robbery to the officials of the +United States Express Company in New York, who with very little delay +placed the matter in the hands of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The +direct supervision of the work was undertaken by the late George H. +Bangs, at that time general superintendent of the Pinkerton Agency, +and a force of detectives at once started for Susquehanna.</p> + +<p>An important discovery was made on closer examination of the pouch. It +was found that this pouch was not the one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> that had been sealed up in +the express office at New York, but a bogus pouch, so much like the +other that the change might easily have escaped notice. The chief +points of difference were the tag and the seal, the former having been +addressed in a different hand from that of the New York money-clerk, +and the latter being an old seal not in use by the company at that +time. But the general appearance of the pouch was such that neither +the messenger, Van Waganen, nor the watchman, Chamberlain, could swear +that it was not the one that he had handled.</p> + +<p>After going over the ground carefully and cross-examining Van Waganen +and Chamberlain, Superintendent Bangs concluded that the robbery had +not been committed on the train and that the genuine money package had +reached Susquehanna and been locked in the railroad company's safe by +the night-clerk. He was strengthened in this conclusion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> by the +statement of Chamberlain, who admitted that, after locking up the +money, he had only been in the ticket-office at intervals during the +night. For this he was in no way to blame, as he had other duties to +perform about the station, notably those of way-bill clerk.</p> + +<p>Thus the robbers would have had full opportunity to approach the safe +unobserved and exercise their skill upon it, could they have secured +entrance to the ticket-office. Nor was this a difficult matter, since +the door leading into it was known to have three keys, in the hands of +various employees of the road, from whom they might have been procured +or stolen. More important still was the fact, ascertained by Mr. +Bangs, that the safe itself had three keys, intrusted to as many men, +whose duties required them to have access to the safe. It subsequently +transpired that two of these keys had been made by the men who carried +them, for their own convenience and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> without the knowledge of their +superiors. The door leading into the ticket-office opened from the +men's waiting-room, where people had been coming and going during the +entire night of the robbery. Such of these people as could be found +were questioned closely as to what they had observed on this night, +but they could furnish no information that threw light upon the case.</p> + +<p>Some significance was found in the coincidence that nine years before +there had been a robbery at Susquehanna, in which thirty thousand +dollars had been stolen from the express company's safe. The +Pinkertons knew that for years a band of professional thieves had been +traveling through the country, operating on safes that could be opened +with a key. Among them were experts in fitting locks, especially +skilled in making keys from impressions, and known as professional +"fitters." At first it was considered possible that the robbery had +been committed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> by these men; but, after the most careful search and +inquiry, Superintendent Bangs concluded that this was not the case and +that the pouch had been stolen by some person or persons resident in +Susquehanna, presumably by one or more of the railroad employees who +had access to the office, or by persons intimately acquainted with +some of the men who had keys to the safe.</p> + +<p>"Shadows" were put on all persons who might have had access to the +ticket-office and the safe; but, although this was continued for +weeks, nothing conclusive came to light.</p> + +<p>About this time a reorganization of the Pinkerton Agency became +necessary, through the death of Allan Pinkerton, the founder, and +George H. Bangs, the general superintendent; and Robert Pinkerton +assumed charge of the investigation at Susquehanna. He undertook the +difficult task of picking out one guilty man (or possibly two or +three) from a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> body of fifteen hundred workmen. For, despite lack of +evidence either way, there was no doubt in the detective's mind that +the money had been taken by some of the employees of either the +express or the railroad company. Pinkerton men were taken to +Susquehanna and given employment in various positions for the railroad +and express companies, their duty being to make friends and hear +gossip, and, if possible, in an unguarded moment, at some saloon or +boarding-house, or perhaps at the chatty noon hour in the works, +secure some important secret. Other detectives came with money in +their pockets, and, under the guise of sporting men, made themselves +popular at resorts where a poor man come dishonestly and suddenly into +money would be apt to spend it.</p> + +<p>Day after day, month after month, the watch was continued from many +points of view, the conversations of hundreds of workmen were +carefully noted, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> gambling houses and their inmates were kept +under constant scrutiny, the lives of this man and that man and scores +of men were turned inside out, and all without any one in Susquehanna +suspecting it, the general opinion being that the robbery had been put +aside along with many other unsolved mysteries.</p> + +<p>A whole year passed before any promise of success came to cheer the +express company and the patient detectives. In the summer of 1884, +Robert Pinkerton, having received information that a professional +burglar, who had been arrested some weeks previous for a burglary at +Milwaukee, had valuable information about an express robbery, +immediately journeyed from New York to Milwaukee to interview the man. +He learned from the burglar that some years before he had operated +with a man named John Donahue; that about the time of the Susquehanna +robbery Donahue had been away from home, and that shortly after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> the +robbery he had returned with plenty of money and paid off several old +debts. Mr. Pinkerton at once recognized in Donahue a notorious thief +who, to escape justice, had taken up his residence at Fort Erie, +Canada, where he had opened a hotel.</p> + +<p>The burglar also gave Mr. Pinkerton a description of a man who had +visited Donahue at his hotel on several occasions, and who had the +general appearance of a workman. He suspected that this man had been +in some way concerned with Donahue in the Susquehanna robbery; he knew +that he had resided at one time in Buffalo, New York, and worked in +the shops there, and he thought that he might be then living in +Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.</p> + +<p>From the description, Mr. Pinkerton was able, on going to Susquehanna, +to identify the suspected man with one George H. Proctor, who had +formerly been foreman in the railroad company's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> shops, but had +resigned his position some months before and moved to Buffalo. In the +investigation that was at once begun it was found that Proctor had +recently been speculating largely in oil and spending money freely, +although while living in Susquehanna he was known to have had no +resources besides his salary. It was learned further that Proctor had +deposited money with three Buffalo banks and had accounts with various +firms of brokers, and also that he was paying frequent visits to +gambling-houses and in general leading a fast life. Proctor's +deposits, it was learned, had at one time amounted to about eleven +thousand dollars, but most of this sum had been subsequently drawn out +and lost in speculation.</p> + +<p>All of this was strong presumptive evidence against a man who was +known to have been poor a few months before, and a more significant +discovery was made a little later, when Proctor went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> on a trip to +Canada, evidently on important business. The detective who followed +him found that the men with whom he had dealings, and with whom he +passed nearly the whole time of his visit, were professional thieves, +well known to the police.</p> + +<p>In view of all that had come to light, it was decided to effect +Proctor's arrest. This was made easy by his habit of coming to +Susquehanna every few weeks to see his wife and three children, who +had remained there. During these visits it had been remarked that he +was especially intimate with employees of the railroad and express +companies who were connected with the ticket-office.</p> + +<p>All unsuspicious of the danger that threatened him, Proctor took the +train from Buffalo on the night of Saturday, November 16, with a +ticket for Susquehanna. Word was at once telegraphed to Robert +Pinkerton, who, in company with E. W. Mitchel, superintendent of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> the +United States Express Company, started for Susquehanna, reaching there +Monday morning. They learned that Proctor was still in town, but +keeping very closely to his house. It was not until ten o'clock in the +evening that he appeared on the street, his purpose in going out being +to purchase some groceries. As he came from the store Robert Pinkerton +stepped forth from his place of waiting and took him into custody. He +was taken to a private house, where Mr. Pinkerton passed nearly the +whole night in conversation with him. Before daylight Proctor had made +what purported to be a full confession.</p> + +<p>Proctor stated that he had moved to Susquehanna in 1880, having +resided in Buffalo previous to that time. While in Buffalo he had +occasionally of a Sunday visited Fort Erie, Canada, and there had made +the acquaintance of John Donahue. At first he did not know that +Donahue was anything more than the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> keeper of a hotel. He found him an +entertaining companion, a good story-teller and singer of comic songs, +and very generous with his money. They came to see much of each other, +and after Proctor's removal to Susquehanna they kept up an occasional +correspondence. Proctor, having a monthly pass over the Erie Railroad, +and being able to procure passes on other roads, made several trips to +Fort Erie, always stopping at Donahue's hotel. On one of these visits +he chanced to read aloud to his friend the newspaper account of a +clever robbery in Montreal, where a band of sneak-thieves had robbed a +paymaster of a sum of money he had in a bag to pay off employees. This +turned the conversation to criminal exploits, and Proctor related the +circumstances of the express robbery at Susquehanna some years before. +Donahue showed great interest, and inquired how it happened that the +express company had so large a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> sum of money at Susquehanna. Proctor +explained about the extensive railroad shops there, and incidentally +remarked that the same system of paying the hands was still in +practice. Donahue then requested Proctor to ascertain for him how much +money was being shipped each month at that time, the day of shipment, +the train, the kind of safe used on that train, and full details about +the lock—whether opened by a combination or a key. Donahue professed +that his only motive in seeking this information was curiosity, and +Proctor promised to learn what he could.</p> + +<p>It was about a fortnight after this that the two men met again, +Proctor having secured all the facts about the monthly transfer of +money from New York to Susquehanna. These he confided to Donahue, who +seemed greatly pleased at the report. He showed Proctor the greatest +attention, spending money freely. Then he pressed Proctor with +further<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> questions, asking how the money was wrapped up, what kind of +pouch it was carried in, and so on. Finally he came out bluntly with +the opinion that Proctor was a fool to waste his time working in a +dirty shop when he might be living in luxury. Then, seeing that the +foreman took no great umbrage at this suggestion, he asked him if he +could get an impression of the safe-key, and also one of the key to +the door of the ticket-office. After some show of reluctance, Proctor +finally consented to try.</p> + +<p>Returning to Susquehanna, Proctor took advantage of his friendship +with employees about the ticket-office to get possession of the keys +long enough to take the desired impressions, and these he mailed to +Donahue, in whose service he was now fully enlisted. Donahue wrote +back, expressing satisfaction, and saying that he and another man, +named Collins, had paid a secret visit to Susquehanna, and had found +everything as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> Proctor had represented. A little later Proctor went to +Canada again, and was introduced to Collins. At this meeting it was +arranged that Donahue should procure a canvas bag like the one used by +the express company, and that a dummy money package should be placed +inside, so that a substitution might be effected on the arrival of the +next shipment. Proctor was to take no active part in the robbery, but +was instructed to return home and continue at his work, showing no +concern, whatever happened.</p> + +<p>"If there's an earthquake at Susquehanna when pay-day comes around, +you don't know anything about it, do you understand?" Such was the +final order given to Proctor, and he obeyed it implicitly.</p> + +<p>A month passed, and, hearing nothing, Proctor went to Canada again, +and had another talk with his two confederates. They told him that +they had gone to Susquehanna prepared to do the "job,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> but had +learned, accidentally, that the money that month had been sent in +gold, which would have been too heavy for them to carry away, and they +had therefore decided to wait until a month later.</p> + +<p>This was in May, and the following month the robbery occurred. Two +weeks later Proctor went to Canada, and received eleven thousand +dollars as his share of the plunder. Donahue and Collins explained to +him that he did not receive more because they had been obliged to give +a fourth share to another man who had worked with them. They cautioned +him not to spend a dollar of the stolen money for months to come, as +the detectives would be always on the lookout for suspicious +circumstances. They also advised him to continue at his work, under no +circumstances giving up his position within a year.</p> + +<p>Proctor had strictly followed these suggestions, living and working as +he had done before the robbery, and not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> spending any part of his +portion. Having changed the money into large bills and sealed it up in +a fruit-jar, so that the moisture could not injure it, he buried the +jar head downward in his garden. There it remained untouched for +months. But when the severe weather of the following winter set in, he +dug up the jar, and taking the money to Buffalo, deposited it in three +banks, in the name of his wife and his three children, with himself in +each instance as trustee.</p> + +<p>Although his trade became very irksome to him now that he had a small +fortune in his possession, he prudently stuck to it until June, 1884. +Then, a year having elapsed since the robbery, he decided that it +would be safe for him to launch out into a pleasanter life. He +accordingly went to Buffalo, where he entered into oil speculations +with a friend who claimed to have "inside information" from the +Standard Oil Company. Although fortunate at the start, the failure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> of +Grant & Ward brought them heavy losses, and soon their profits and +their original capital were swept away. Proctor assured Mr. Pinkerton +that, at the time of their talk, he was ruined, and that he had +intended, during this very visit to Susquehanna which ended in his +arrest, making application for his old position as foreman of the +boiler-shops.</p> + +<p>Having heard Proctor's confession, Mr. Pinkerton took counsel with the +officers of the express company. They, believing that Proctor had been +only a tool in the hands of two smart professional criminals, agreed +with the detective that the ends of justice demanded rather the +apprehension of his confederates than his punishment alone. Proctor +professed great penitence for his wrong-doing, and declared himself +willing to do whatever was in his power to make amends.</p> + +<p>The first step necessary to the capture of Donahue and Collins was to +get them both into the United States at some point<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> where they could +be arrested at the same time. Donahue was still in Canada, where he +could not be taken. Mr. Pinkerton arranged with Proctor to write to +Donahue that he had discovered another safe which offered a tempting +opportunity, hoping in this way to induce him to cross the line into +the United States. To give color to the story it was necessary to +accord Proctor apparent freedom of movement; but he pledged himself +not to leave Susquehanna without Mr. Pinkerton's permission, and to +keep the detective informed by letter and telegraph of all +developments. At the same time detectives were sent to Canada to keep +watch over Donahue.</p> + +<p>Collins, in the meantime, had been located in Albany, but no attempt +was made to arrest him until Donahue could be brought over the line. +Should he cross without notifying Proctor, the men "shadowing" him +were to cause his arrest. It was arranged with Proctor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> that, in case +his letter failed of its purpose, he should go to Canada himself, +persuade Donahue to send for Collins, and then induce the two to come +back with him, when they would be arrested the moment they crossed the +line.</p> + +<p>On the 29th of November Robert Pinkerton received word by telegraph +that Proctor had left Susquehanna suddenly in the night, telling the +agent of the express company that he would return the next day. This +looked very much as if Proctor had played him false, since it had been +expressly stipulated that he should not go away without Mr. +Pinkerton's permission. Days went by, and Proctor did not return. Then +word came from one of the Pinkerton men at Fort Erie that Proctor had +arrived at Donahue's hotel and had been joined there by Collins. This +was a serious setback for the detectives. Not only were the three +robbers safe from arrest where they were, but being fully aware of +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> danger threatening them, and being men of shrewdness, it was fair +to presume that they would now move with great caution.</p> + +<p>It soon became evident that Donahue and Collins were thoroughly +alarmed by the news Proctor had brought them; for they at once took +energetic steps to mislead any one who might be watching them. Having +retired as usual one night, they arose later, and drove in a wagon to +a station on the Grand Trunk Railroad, where they boarded a freight +train for Toronto. After a brief stay in that city they went on to +Montreal, where they tried hard to lose themselves, but were +unsuccessful, and returned to Fort Erie.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Mr. Pinkerton discovered that the story told him by Proctor +was entirely untrue. So far from having been an honest man before the +robbery, it came to light that he was already at that time a hardened +criminal, having committed burglaries both in the United States and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> +Canada, and having been sentenced, under another name, to a term in +the Massachusetts State prison. While in prison he had contrived to +make keys that would unlock his own cell and those of three other +prisoners, and the four had thus made their escape. One of them was +the notorious Charles Bullard, who was at that time serving a term of +twenty years for the robbery of the Boylston Bank of Boston. Proctor +had also offered the privilege of escape to Scott and Dunlap, the +Northampton Bank robbers, who were confined in the same prison, but +they had distrusted his plan, and refused to avail themselves of it.</p> + +<p>It was now necessary for the detectives to devise a new plan. Robert +Pinkerton knew that some three years earlier Donahue had been +concerned in the robbery of a bank at Winnipeg, and also in the +robbery of a hardware store at Quebec. His brother, William Pinkerton, +he also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> knew, had a personal acquaintance with Donahue, from having +arrested him a number of years before. He therefore sent for William +Pinkerton to come to New York from Chicago, and on his arrival +proposed to him that he go to Fort Erie, get an interview with +Donahue, and tell him of Proctor's treachery in betraying Collins and +himself; impress upon him that Proctor was a dangerous man to have +dealings with; and try to induce him to lend his aid in delivering +Proctor and Collins over the line, just as Robert Pinkerton had sought +to have Proctor do in the case of Donahue and Collins. Donahue was +known as a "stanch" man,—that is, one who is true to his +friends,—and it was thought probable that he would refuse to take +part in any such scheme. But in that event William Pinkerton was to +threaten him with arrest for the old robberies at Winnipeg and Quebec.</p> + +<p>This plan was carried out by William<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> Pinkerton with greater success +than had been expected. At first Donahue stoutly refused to betray a +comrade, but the danger threatening himself was made to appear so +great that finally, seeing no other way out of his difficulties, he +consented to do what was asked of him in regard to Proctor. Against +Collins, however, he declined to give any aid. By working on Proctor's +natural fear of arrest, he easily persuaded him that the immediate +departure of all three of them—himself, Proctor, and Collins—for +Europe was advisable. It was arranged that they should not sail from +Quebec or Halifax, since the steamers from those points were likely to +be watched by detectives, but that they should leave Fort Erie +stealthily by night, make their way separately to Montreal, and meet +there.</p> + +<p>This plan was carried out, and within a few days the three were in +Montreal, all apparently of one mind in their desire to escape the +country, though in reality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> Proctor was the only one of the three who +thought himself in danger. Donahue had taken Collins into his +confidence, and Collins was quite of Donahue's opinion that they were +doing the proper thing in saving themselves by surrendering a man who +had shown himself willing to betray them.</p> + +<p>It had been agreed between William Pinkerton and Donahue that at +Montreal tickets should be purchased to Europe by way of Portland, +Maine, and that the party should leave Montreal at a certain time by +the Grand Trunk road. The line of this road runs for a number of miles +through northern Vermont, and it was customary for the train the men +were to take to wait over for an hour at Island Pond, a little place +just across the Canadian line. Here, as it was arranged, Robert +Pinkerton was to be waiting, ready to take Proctor into custody, and +also (though in this part of the arrangement Donahue, of course, was +not consulted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>) Donahue and Collins, should they be so imprudent as to +stay on the train until it crossed the line. To the forwarding of this +latter end, indeed, a special stratagem was resorted to. Conceiving +that Donahue and Collins, in order the more completely to allay +Proctor's suspicion, might remain with him until the last station was +reached on the Canadian side, the detectives arranged that on this +particular night the train should not stop at that station, but push +on at full speed to the American side.</p> + +<p>On a certain Tuesday night, Donahue, Collins, and Proctor took the +10:15 <span class="smcap">p. m.</span> train at Montreal for Portland. No sooner had they left +the station than a Pinkerton representative, who had "shadowed" them +aboard, telegraphed the fact to Robert Pinkerton at Island Pond. +Proctor went early to his berth in the sleeper. In another berth, not +far distant, never closing his eyes through the night, but lying there +fully dressed, with weapons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> ready, was a Pinkerton detective, whose +instructions were to accompany the three robbers as long as they were +together, and to stay with Proctor to the last.</p> + +<p>It was five o'clock in the morning when the train drew up at Island +Pond. On the platform stood Robert Pinkerton, carrying a requisition +from the governor of Pennsylvania on the governor of Vermont for the +arrest of Donahue, Collins, and Proctor, charged with robbing the +United States Express Company of forty thousand dollars, at +Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. The first man to leave the train was the +"shadow," who informed his chief that Proctor was sound asleep in +berth No. 12. Donahue and Collins, he said, had left the train long +before it reached the last station on the Canadian side, so that the +plan for their capture had fallen through. Mr. Pinkerton went aboard +the sleeper at once, and going to berth No. 12, pushed aside the +curtains. He could not see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> distinctly for the darkness, but borrowing +a lantern from one of the trainmen, let the light fall on the face of +the person within, and saw it was Proctor, slumbering in complete +unconsciousness that his hour of reckoning had come. A gentle push in +the ribs awakened him with a start. Recognizing Mr. Pinkerton, he said +with admirable coolness:</p> + +<p>"You have spoiled the whole business. If you had not come in here to +arrest me, I would have had those men across the line next week."</p> + +<p>When he said this, Proctor supposed that Donahue and Collins were +asleep in an adjoining berth; but, even to save himself, he never +thought of betraying them, which goes to show that he was a "stancher" +man than Donahue and Collins had been led to believe. For some time he +endeavored to maintain his old character with Mr. Pinkerton; but on +the way to Susquehanna, realizing the hopelessness of his case, he +acknowledged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> the deception he had practised, and his full +responsibility with the others in the Susquehanna robbery. He also +admitted his previous criminal record.</p> + +<p>At Susquehanna, Proctor was placed in jail to await trial, and there +Mr. Pinkerton visited him some time later. Something in the prisoner's +manner convinced the detective that all was not as it should be, and +he urged the sheriff to put Proctor in another cell and search his +clothes and his cell thoroughly. This was done, and there were found a +number of keys that fitted the locks of various doors in the jail, and +also a large key fitting the gate from the jail-yard into the street. +Proctor's rare mechanical skill had enabled him to make these keys in +his cell, from impressions furnished him by a woman who had been +allowed to visit him. Being a good talker, Proctor had won this +woman's sympathy, and had also made a strong appeal to her +self-interest by promising, on his escape,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> to share with her a large +sum of money he had buried.</p> + +<p>At his trial Proctor pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to twelve +years' imprisonment in the penitentiary at Cherry Hill, Pennsylvania. +Here, again, he was caught in the act of making keys to aid him to +escape. He laid various other plans for regaining his liberty, indeed, +but all were frustrated. His imprisonment worked no reform in him. +After he had served out his sentence, some burglaries committed in +Maine brought him again under arrest, and, having been identified as a +convict from the Massachusetts State prison, he was taken back to that +institution, to serve out his unexpired sentence.</p> + +<p>The United States Express Company had not relaxed its efforts against +his associates after Proctor's capture. Donahue and Collins returned +to Montreal, well satisfied with the work they had done, and thinking +themselves safe from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> pursuit. But President Platt instructed Robert +Pinkerton to take every measure possible against them, and it was +decided that as Donahue could not be reached and punished for the +robbery at Susquehanna, he should be made to suffer for the early +robbery at Quebec already referred to. Donahue's complicity in this +robbery was proved by the discovery of a part of the stolen goods in +his hotel at Fort Erie. Through the efforts of the express company and +the Pinkertons he was now arrested, and on trial was convicted and +sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the Kingston penitentiary. +After his conviction Donahue told the detectives that he was a fool to +have had anything to do with such a dangerous project as an express +robbery, but that the opportunity at Susquehanna was so tempting that +he could not resist it. After his arrest the express company attached +all of his property, and, although they did not succeed in getting a +judgment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> against him, they fought him in the courts until his wife, +acting for him, was obliged to mortgage all their possessions up to +the last dollar, so that they never derived any substantial benefit +from the stolen money.</p> + +<p>As for Collins, he remained a fugitive from justice for some time +after the conviction of Proctor and Donahue. Several years later, +however, seeing himself constantly threatened by the express company +and the detectives, he decided to placate his enemies by stepping out +from the ranks of the law-breakers and trying to lead an honest life. +And he has succeeded, as the Pinkertons have reason to know; and his +case goes to prove what is borne out by wide experience, that even the +most desperate criminals are sometimes capable of genuine reform.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="The_Pollock_Diamond_Robbery" id="The_Pollock_Diamond_Robbery"></a>The Pollock Diamond Robbery</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> +<h2>The Pollock Diamond Robbery</h2> + +<div class="figleft"><img src="images/image_t.jpg" alt="T" width="31" height="40" /></div> +<p>here were thirteen men in the smoker of a train on the Sioux City and +Pacific Railroad when it drew out of Omaha at six o'clock on Friday +evening, November 4, 1892, and started on its eastward run. Among +these thirteen, sitting about half-way down the aisle, enjoying a good +cigar, was Mr. W. G. Pollock of New York, a traveling salesman for W. +L. Pollock & Co., of the same city, dealers in diamonds. In the inside +pocket of his vest he carried fifteen thousand dollars' worth of uncut +diamonds, while a leather satchel on the seat beside<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> him contained a +quantity of valuable stones in settings.</p> + +<p>On the front seat of the car, just behind the stove, sat a +stolid-looking young man, who would have passed for a farmer's lad. He +seemed scarcely over twenty, having neither beard nor mustache, and a +stranger would have put him down as a rather stupid, inoffensive +fellow. Compared with Mr. Pollock, he was slighter in build, although +an inch or so taller. As he sat there staring at the stove, the +passenger in the seat behind him, J. H. Shaw, an Omaha well-digger, a +bluff, hearty man of social instincts, tried to draw him into +conversation; but the young fellow only shook his head sulkily, and +the well-digger relapsed into silence. Presently, as the train was +approaching California Junction, the young man on the front seat rose +and started down the aisle. Curiously enough, he now wore a full beard +of black hair five or six inches long. No<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> one paid any attention to +him until he stopped at Mr. Pollock's seat, drew a revolver, and said +loud enough for every one in the car to hear him:</p> + +<p>"Give me them diamonds."</p> + +<p>Then, without waiting for a reply, he shifted the revolver to his left +hand, drew a slung-shot from his coat-pocket, and struck Mr. Pollock +over the head such a heavy blow that the bag of the slung-shot burst, +and the shot itself fell to the floor. Then he said again: "Give me +them diamonds."</p> + +<p>Realizing that the situation was desperate, Mr. Pollock took out his +pocket-book and handed it to his assailant, saying: "I have only a +hundred dollars; here it is."</p> + +<p>Pushing back the pocket-book as if unworthy of his attention, the man +coolly aimed his revolver at Mr. Pollock's right shoulder and fired. Then +he aimed at the left shoulder and fired. Both bullets hit, and were +followed by two more,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> which went whizzing by the diamond-merchant's head +on either side, missing him, perhaps by accident, but probably by design, +as the men were not three feet apart.</p> + +<p>By this the other people in the car had disappeared under the seats +like rats into their holes. To all intents and purposes Mr. Pollock +was alone with his assailant. The latter evidently knew where the +diamonds were secreted, for, ripping open his victim's vest, he drew +out the leather wallet in which they were inclosed, and stuffed it +into his pocket. Wounded though he was, Mr. Pollock now grappled with +the thief, who, using the butt of his revolver as a cudgel, brought +down fearful blows on Pollock's head. The latter, however, getting +into the aisle, fought the robber up and down the car; but a crushing +blow at last laid him senseless on the floor.</p> + +<p>With perfect self-possession and without hurry the thief walked back +down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> the aisle to Mr. Pollock's seat, and took one of the two leather +bags lying there, by mistake choosing, though, the one that did not +contain the mounted diamonds. Then he went to the end of the car, +pulled the bell-rope, and, as the train began to slacken its speed in +response to this signal, jumped off the steps, rolled down a bank +fifteen feet high, and disappeared.</p> + +<p>Sharing, apparently, in the general consternation and terror inspired +by the young fellow, the conductor, instead of holding the train to +pursue the thief, signaled the engineer to go ahead, and no effort was +made for a capture until the train reached California Junction, +several miles farther on. Meanwhile the panic-stricken passengers +recovered, at their leisure, their composure and their seats. Had but +one of his fellow-travelers gone to the assistance of Mr. Pollock, the +robber might easily have been overpowered. As it was, he all but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> +murdered his man, plundered him of his diamonds, and escaped without +the slightest interference. When his pistol was picked up, near the +spot where he left the train, it was found that in the struggle the +cylinder had caught, so that it would have been impossible to +discharge the two chambers remaining loaded. Thus eleven able-bodied +men were held in a state of abject terror by one slender lad, who at +the last was practically unarmed.</p> + +<p>At California Junction the wounded diamond-merchant was carried from +the train, and that same night taken back to Omaha. Mr. Pollock, being +a member of the Jewelers' Protective Union, a rich and powerful +organization, established some years ago for the protection of jewelry +salesmen against thieves, was entitled to its aid.</p> + +<p>When the detectives reached the scene of the robbery, the robber had +vanished as completely as if he had been whisked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> off to another +planet. To be sure, farmers in the neighborhood brought rumors of the +stealing of horses, of a strange man sleeping in the woods, and of a +desperate-looking character seen limping along the road. But all this +came to nothing, except to establish, what seemed probable, that the +diamond-thief had fled back to Omaha. A patient and exhaustive search +in Omaha resulted in nothing. The man was gone, and the diamonds were +gone; that was all anybody knew.</p> + +<p>What made the case more difficult was the uncertainty as to the +robber's personal appearance; for some of the passengers testified to +one thing, and some to another. The black beard was a cause of +confusion; only one witness besides Mr. Pollock remembered that the +man wore such a beard. Mr. Pollock, however, was positive as to this +particular, and it seemed as if he ought to know. It was also +impossible to decide, from conflicting statements, whether the robber<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> +had a mustache or not, and whether it was dark or light in color. The +fact is, the passengers had been so thoroughly frightened at the time +of the assault that the credibility of their testimony was much to be +questioned.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pollock reported that for several weeks previous to the robbery he +had suspected that he was being followed. He also reported that on the +day of the robbery he had been in the shop of the largest pawnbroker +in Omaha, and that while he was there two noted Western gamblers had +entered the shop and been presented to him as possible customers. He +had made a trade of some diamonds with one of the men, and, in the +course of the negotiations, had shown his entire stock. While the +trade was in progress a negro on the premises had noticed, lounging +about the front of the shop, a man in a slouch-hat who suggested the +robber. From these circumstances it was decided that the robbery might +be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> the work of an organized gang, who had been waiting their +opportunity for many days, and had selected one of their number to do +the actual deed.</p> + +<p>All his life it had been Mr. Pinkerton's business to study criminals +and understand their natures. He knew that a crime like this one was +much beyond the power of an ordinary criminal. Let a robber be ever so +greedy of gold, reckless of human life, and indifferent to +consequences, he would still think many times before declaring war to +the death upon twelve men in a narrow car, on a swiftly moving train. +This was surely no novice in crime, reasoned Mr. Pinkerton, but a man +whose record would already show deeds of the greatest daring; a brave +fellow, though a bad one. And even among the well-known experienced +criminals there must be very few who were capable of this deed.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton, therefore, set himself to studying the bureau's records +and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> rogues' gallery to first pick out these few. Page after page of +photographs was turned over, drawer after drawer of records was +searched through, and at last a dozen or more men were decided upon as +sufficiently preëminent to merit consideration in connection with the +present case.</p> + +<p>Photographs of these dozen or so were speedily struck off, and +submitted by the detectives to all the men who had been in the +smoking-car at the time of the robbery, to the conductor of the train +and the trainmen, to other passengers, to farmers and others who might +have seen the robber while making his escape, and to various people in +Omaha. The result was startling. Conductor D. M. Ashmore, without +hesitation, selected from the dozen or more portraits one as that of +the robber. Mr. Shaw, the Omaha well-digger, who had sat just behind +the robber, selected the same photograph, and was positive it +pictured<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> the man he had tried to talk to. Other passengers also +picked out this photograph, as did various persons who had caught +sight of the man as he escaped.</p> + +<p>The portrait thus chosen by common accord was that of Frank Bruce, one +of the most desperate burglars of the younger generation in the +country, and it seemed only necessary now to find Bruce, to have the +problem solved. Many days were spent, and hundreds of dollars, in +searching for him. Dozens of cities were visited, and every +conceivable effort made to get on his track; but it was not until his +pursuers were almost weary of the chase that he was finally discovered +living quietly in Chicago, on Cottage Grove Avenue, near Thirty-sixth +Street, where he was operating with another high-class burglar, +"Billy" Boyce.</p> + +<p>Requisition papers were at once procured from the governor of Iowa on +the governor of Illinois, and men were sent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> to take Bruce into +custody, when the "shadows" reported that he and Boyce had left for +Milwaukee, where, of course, the requisition papers were valueless. +Fortunately, that same night they attempted a burglary in Milwaukee, +for which they were arrested and held for ninety days. This gave the +Chicago detectives abundant time to identify Bruce as the missing +robber.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton himself went at once to Milwaukee, saw Bruce in the +jail, heard his story, verified its essential facts, and within two +days, to his own complete disappointment, and in spite of himself, had +proved a complete alibi for Bruce. To satisfy himself in this +connection, Mr. Pinkerton brought conductor Ashmore and Mr. Shaw to +Milwaukee, and pointed Bruce out to them; and, after looking carefully +at him, both men declared they had made a mistake in choosing his +portrait, and that Bruce was not the robber.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> + +<p>With Bruce clear, the detectives were again without a suspect, and +almost without a clue. Just here, however, Mr. Pinkerton recalled that +on a trip to the West, some three years previous, to investigate the +case of a man arrested at Reno, Nevada, on a charge of "holding up" a +faro-bank, and while stopping over in Salt Lake City, Utah, he had run +across some sporting men in that city with whom he was well +acquainted, and on his telling them where he was going and what his +business was, one of them, whom Mr. Pinkerton had known for years, had +said: "Why, the man at Reno is innocent. The men who committed that +robbery are in this city. One of them is a smooth-faced boy, about +twenty years of age, and the other is a heavy-set, dark-complexioned +fellow, with a dark mustache. They are the intimate friends and +companions of Jack Denton, the well-known gambler of Salt Lake; and +only a short time ago, at Salt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> Lake, they entered a house one night, +going in through a rear door, and compelled two ladies, who were just +returned from a ball, to give up a large amount of diamonds."</p> + +<p>Though not interested in this particular robbery, Mr. Pinkerton had +mentally jotted down the intimacy of Jack Denton with this class of +people; and he recalled it now in connection with the fact that Jack +Denton was one of the two gamblers to whom Pollock had exposed his +diamonds at the pawnshop in Omaha. He at once decided to secure +definite information in regard to the boy who had been with Denton at +Salt Lake three years earlier. Proceeding immediately to Salt Lake +City, and making cautious inquiries, he learned that the boy in +question, since he first heard of him, had been arrested and convicted +of robbery at Ogden, Utah, and sentenced to one year's term in the +penitentiary. An investigation at the penitentiary disclosed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> that the +young man had given the name of James Burke, had served out his +sentence under that name, and had been released about one month +previous to the Pollock robbery.</p> + +<p>Denton, in the meantime, had left Salt Lake and gone to Omaha, there +to make his home. The boy Burke, argued the detective, had naturally +followed his friend to that place. An accurate description of Burke +was got from the records of the Utah penitentiary, and some idea of +him and his friends was derived from the officials of the prison. But +where to find him in the whole great West was a question.</p> + +<p>Inquiries at Salt Lake developed the further fact that Burke had had +one intimate friend there, a man named Marshall P. Hooker. Hooker had +now, however, left Salt Lake and removed to Denver. For a man of his +class, Hooker was unusually talkative, and was known by "crooks" +throughout the country as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> "Windy" Hooker. Plans were made for keeping +a watch on him and on Jack Denton, in the hope, by "shadowing" the +movements of these two, of ultimately locating Burke.</p> + +<p>Through the free talk of Hooker, reported back to the detective, it +was soon learned that Burke was known by the alias of "Kid" McCoy, and +that he had recently been operating on the Pacific coast in "holding +up" faro-banks, and had also been concerned in two large robberies, +one at Lincoln, Nebraska, and the other at Sacramento, California. His +whereabouts at that time, however, were unknown.</p> + +<p>Much time had now elapsed since the robbery, and the sensation caused +by it had died out. Jack Denton and his friends seldom spoke of it, +and Hooker never spoke of it unless the subject was introduced to him. +Both men were extremely shy of strangers, and it was almost impossible +for a detective to draw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> them out, as anybody who introduced the +subject of the robbery was at once looked upon with suspicion. For the +purpose of creating further talk upon the subject, Mr. Pinkerton +caused to be inserted in the Omaha papers an advertisement as follows:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Five hundred dollars will be paid for any information +leading up to the identification of the party who robbed +William G. Pollock on the Sioux City and Pacific train, +November 4, 1892.</p></div> + +<p class="p2">"<span class="smcap">William A. Pinkerton</span>,</p> + +<p class="p3">"Paxton House, Omaha, Nebraska."</p> + +<p>This at once attracted the attention of the local newspaper-men, and +when Mr. Pinkerton arrived in Omaha he was interviewed by all the +papers in the city in regard to the robbery. Thus interest in the +robbery was at once renewed. Denton and the other persons under +suspicion commenced talking of the matter again, none more freely than +Hooker.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> + +<p>The latter was then in Denver. Mr. Pinkerton instructed Mr. James +McParland, Denver superintendent of the Pinkerton Agency, to send for +him, and say to him that he had understood that he (Hooker) could +throw some light on the robbery, and that a large sum of money would +be paid him for the information he gave. Mr. Pinkerton explained to +Mr. McParland that Hooker would lie to him and endeavor to get the +money by giving him false information, but to listen patiently to what +he had to say and lead him on as far as possible without giving him +any money. This done, Mr. Pinkerton further predicted that Hooker +would go back to his cronies and boast of the way he was fooling +Pinkerton and how much money he expected to get; and that eventually, +through his boastings, he would prove the means of locating Burke, +<i>alias</i> McCoy.</p> + +<p>And so, precisely, it fell out. Some of Hooker's companions were +Pinkerton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> detectives, although Hooker did not know them as such, and +they in time reported back that Burke was really the Pollock robber; +that after committing the robbery he had gone back to Omaha, and from +there had gone to Denver. From Denver he went to Salt Lake, and +visited a prisoner in the Salt Lake penitentiary with whom he was +intimate, gave this prisoner some money, and went from Salt Lake west +to the Pacific coast.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton next instructed that the record be examined for daring +"hold-ups" that might have occurred in the country lately traversed by +Burke. It was then found that a faro-bank at Colorado City, a small +place between Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs, had been entered +late at night by a masked robber, who compelled the dealer and other +persons to hold up their hands, took the money in the drawer, and +escaped; that later on a similar robbery had been perpetrated at San +Bernardino, California;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> that later still the pool-rooms of James +Malone, a noted gambler at Tacoma, Washington, had been treated in the +same manner; and, finally, that a light or pane of glass in a jewelry +store at Sacramento had been broken in and a tray of diamonds snatched +from the window by a daring thief. And all of these deeds, Mr. +Pinkerton learned ultimately through Hooker's talk, had been done by +Burke.</p> + +<p>The watch on Denton at Omaha developed little, if anything, except +that a close companionship existed between him and the Omaha +pawnbroker.</p> + +<p>During the summer of 1893, learning that an intimate friend of +Burke's, a burglar who had been in prison with him in the Utah +penitentiary, was confined in jail at Georgetown, Texas, Mr. Pinkerton +decided to go and interview this man, and see if he could get any +trace, through him, of the robber. In the meantime he instructed the +detectives at Omaha<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> and Denver to keep a particularly close watch on +Jack Denton and Hooker.</p> + +<p>On Mr. Pinkerton's arrival at Austin, Texas, he found awaiting him +despatches from Superintendent McParland of the Denver agency, stating +that through Hooker's talk they had learned that "Kid" McCoy, or +Burke, had been arrested at Eagle, Colorado, with a kit of burglar +tools in his possession, and was then in jail at Leadville, Colorado.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton at once telegraphed to have conductor Ashmore and Mr. +Shaw, the well-digger, go to Leadville and see if they could identify +the prisoner. Word was also sent to New York for Mr. Pollock to do the +same. He also instructed Superintendent McParland at Denver to send +his assistant, J. C. Fraser, to watch the case, so that if McCoy gave +bail, or attempted to escape from the Leadville jail, they could be +ready with a warrant for his arrest on account of the Pollock +robbery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p> + +<p>Having wired these instructions, Mr. Pinkerton proceeded on his +journey to Georgetown, Texas, where he called on McCoy's former prison +associate in the Utah penitentiary, but was unable to get him to tell +anything about McCoy, though he volunteered, if Mr. Pinkerton would +furnish him a bond and get him out of his Texas scrape, to go to Omaha +and compel the "fence" who had received the diamonds to turn back the +property. But the rule of the Jewelers' Protective Union was to get +the thief first and the property afterward; so no treaty was made with +the Texas prisoner.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton now went to Kansas City, and found awaiting him there +despatches from Superintendent McParland of the Denver agency, stating +that conductor Ashmore and Messrs. Shaw and Pollock had positively +identified the prisoner James Burke, <i>alias</i> "Kid" Mc<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>Coy, as the man +who assaulted Mr. Pollock and robbed him of his diamonds.</p> + +<p>Burke winced perceptibly when he saw conductor Ashmore and Mr. Shaw, +and went fairly wild when confronted by Mr. Pollock. Requisition +papers were obtained from the governor of the State of Iowa on the +governor of Colorado, and the Colorado offense being a minor one, +Burke was turned over to Assistant Superintendent Fraser and another +detective, to be taken to Logan, Harrison County, Iowa. Before leaving +Leadville, Mr. Fraser was confidentially warned by the sheriff of the +county that he could not be too careful of his prisoner; for that +Burke, through a friend of the sheriff, had made a proposition to the +latter to pay him a thousand dollars if he would secretly furnish him +with a revolver when he left the jail, his design being, with this +revolver, to either "hold up" or kill the two detectives who had him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> +in custody and make his escape from the train.</p> + +<p>On trial at Logan, Iowa, the man was easily convicted, and was +sentenced to imprisonment for a term of seventeen years.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="The_Rock_Island_Express" id="The_Rock_Island_Express"></a>The Rock Island Express</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img class="img1" src="images/image_002.jpg" width="400" height="537" alt="ROBERT A. PINKERTON" title="" /> +<span class="caption">ROBERT A. PINKERTON</span> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p> +<h2>The Rock Island Express</h2> + + +<h3>I</h3> +<div class="figleft"><img src="images/image_t.jpg" alt="T" width="31" height="40" /></div> +<p>he through express on the Rock Island road left Chicago at 10:45 P. +M., on March 12, 1886, with twenty-two thousand dollars in fifty- and +one-hundred-dollar bills in the keeping of Kellogg Nichols, an +old-time messenger of the United States Express Company. This sum had +been sent by a Chicago bank to be delivered at the principal bank in +Davenport, Iowa. In addition to the usual passenger-coaches, the train +drew two express-cars: the first, for express only, just behind the +engine; and, following this, one for express and baggage. These cars +had end doors, which offer the best opportunity to train robbers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +Messenger Nichols was in the first car, and was duly at his work when +the train stopped at Joliet, a town about forty miles west of Chicago. +But at the next stop, which was made at Morris, Harry Schwartz, a +brakeman, came running from Nichols's car, crying, "The messenger is +dead."</p> + +<p>The messenger's lifeless body was found lying on the floor of the car. +The head had been crushed by some heavy weapon, and there was a +pistol-wound in the right shoulder. Apparently he had been overcome +only after a hard fight. His face was set with fierce determination. +His fists were clenched, and the hands and fingers cut and scratched +in a curious way, while under the nails were found what proved to be +bits of human flesh. The pistol-wound was from a weapon of 32 caliber; +but it was not the cause of the man's death. This, unmistakably, was +the blow, or blows, on the head, probably after the shot was fired. +All who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> knew messenger Nichols were surprised at the desperate +resistance he seemed to have made, for he was a small, light man, not +more than five feet five in height, nor weighing over one hundred and +thirty pounds, and of no great credit among his fellows for pluck and +courage.</p> + +<p>The express-car was immediately detached from the train, and left at +Morris, guarded by all the train-crew except Schwartz, who was sent on +with the train to Davenport. After the first cursory inspection no one +was allowed to enter the car where Nichols lay; and nothing was known +precisely as to the extent of the robbery. The safe-door had been +found open and the floor of the car littered with the contents of the +safe.</p> + +<p>An urgent telegram was at once sent to Chicago, and a force of +detectives arrived at Morris on a special train a few hours later. +Search-parties were at once sent out in all directions along the +country roads, and up and down the tracks.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> Hundreds of people joined +in the search, for the news of the murder spread rapidly through the +whole region, and not a square yard of territory for miles between +Morris and Minooka station was left unexplored. It happened that the +ground was covered with snow, but the keenest scrutiny failed to +reveal any significant footprints, and the search-parties returned +after many hours, having made only a single discovery. This was a mask +found in a cattle-guard near Minooka—a mask made of black cloth, with +white strings fastened at either side, one of which had been torn out +of the cloth as if in a struggle.</p> + +<p>Meantime Mr. Pinkerton himself entered the car and made a careful +investigation. His first discovery was a heavy poker, bearing stains +of blood and bits of matted hair. It was hanging in its usual place, +behind the stove. The significance of this last fact was great, in Mr. +Pinkerton's opinion; from it he concluded that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> the crime had been +committed by a railroad man, his reasoning being that the poker could +have been restored to its usual place after such a use only +mechanically and from force of habit and that an assailant who was not +a railroad man would have left it on the floor or thrown it away.</p> + +<p>Coming to the safe, Mr. Pinkerton found that the twenty-two thousand +dollars were missing, and that other papers had been hastily searched +over, but left behind as valueless.</p> + +<p>Among these was a bundle of canceled drafts that had been roughly torn +open and then thrown aside. Mr. Pinkerton scarcely noticed at the +moment, but had occasion to remember subsequently, that a small piece +of one of these drafts was missing, as if a corner had been torn off.</p> + +<p>All the train-hands were immediately questioned, but none of their +stories was in any way significant, except that of Newton Watt, the +man in charge of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> second car. He said that while busy counting +over his way-bills and receipts he had been startled by the crash of +broken glass in the ventilator overhead, and that at the same moment a +heavily built man, wearing a black mask, had entered the car and said, +"If you move, the man up there will bore you." Looking up, Watt said +further, he saw a hand thrust through the broken glass and holding a +revolver. Thus intimidated, he made no attempt to give an alarm, and +the masked man presently left him under guard of the pistol overhead, +which covered him until shortly before the train reached Morris, when +it was withdrawn. He was able to locate the place where the crime must +have been committed, as he remembered that the engine was whistling +for Minooka when the stranger entered the car. This left about thirty +minutes for the murder, robbery, and escape.</p> + +<p>Returning to Chicago, Mr. Pinkerton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> investigated the character of the +man Watt, and found that he had a clean record, was regarded as a +trusty and efficient man, and had three brothers who had been railroad +men for years and had always given perfect satisfaction. Watt's good +reputation and straightforward manner were strong points in his favor, +and yet there was something questionable in his story of the +mysterious hand. For one thing, no footprints were found in the snow +on the top of the car.</p> + +<p>Brakeman Schwartz, the only man on the train who had not yet been +questioned, "deadheaded" his way, in railway parlance, back from +Davenport the following night on conductor Danforth's train, and +reported to Mr. Pinkerton the next morning. He was a tall, +fine-looking young fellow, about twenty-seven, with thin lips and a +face that showed determination. He was rather dapper in dress, and +kept on his gloves during the conversation. Mr. Pinkerton received<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> +him pleasantly, and, after they had been smoking and chatting for an +hour or so, he suggested to Schwartz that he would be more comfortable +with his gloves off. Schwartz accordingly removed them, and revealed +red marks on the backs of his hands, such as might have been made by +finger-nails digging into them.</p> + +<p>"How did you hurt your hands, Schwartz?" asked Mr. Pinkerton.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I did that handling baggage night before last," explained +Schwartz; and then he related incidentally that as he was on his way +back to Chicago, the conductor of the train, conductor Danforth, had +discovered a valise left by somebody in one of the toilet-rooms. Later +in the day Mr. Pinkerton summoned the conductor, who said that the +valise was an old one, of no value; and, having no contents, he had +thrown it out on an ash-pile. The only thing he had found in the +valise was a piece of paper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> that attracted his attention because it +was marked with red lines.</p> + +<p>Examining this piece of paper carefully, Mr. Pinkerton saw that it had +been torn from a money-draft, and at once thought of the package in +the express messenger's safe. Now it is a remarkable fact that no +human power can tear two pieces of paper in exactly the same way; the +ragged fibers will only fit perfectly when the two original parts are +brought together. There remained no doubt, when this test was made in +the present case, that the piece of paper found on conductor +Danforth's east-bound train had been torn from the draft in the +express-car robbed the night before on the west-bound train. The edges +fitted, the red lines corresponded, and unquestionably some one had +carried that piece of paper from the one train to the other. In other +words, some one connected with the crime of the previous night had +ridden back to Chicago<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> twenty-four hours later with conductor +Danforth.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton at once ordered a search made for the missing valise, +and also an inquiry regarding the passengers who had ridden on +conductor Danforth's train between Davenport and Chicago on the night +following the murder. The valise was found on the ash-heap where the +conductor had thrown it, and in the course of the next few days the +detectives had located or accounted for all passengers on conductor +Danforth's train, with the exception of one man who had ridden on a +free pass. The conductor could only recall this man's features +vaguely; and, while some of the passengers remembered him well enough, +there was no clue to his name or identity. As it appeared that no +other of the passengers could have been connected with the crime, +efforts were redoubled to discover the holder of this pass.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>II</h3> +<p>So great was the public interest in the crime and the mystery +surrounding it that three separate, well-organized investigations of +it were undertaken. The Rock Island Railroad officials, with their +detectives, conducted one; a Chicago newspaper, the "Daily News," with +its detectives, another; and the Pinkertons, in the interest of the +United States Express Company, a third.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton, as we have seen, concluded that the crime had been +committed by railway men. The railway officials were naturally +disinclined to believe ill of their employees, and an incident +occurred about this time which turned the investigation in an entirely +new direction and made them the more disposed to discredit Mr. +Pinkerton's theory. This was the receipt of a letter from a convict in +the Michigan City penitentiary, named Plunkett, who wrote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> the Rock +Island Railroad officials, saying that he could furnish them with +important information.</p> + +<p>Mr. St. John, the general manager of the road, went in person to the +penitentiary to take Plunkett's statement, which was in effect that he +knew the men who had committed the robbery and killed Nichols, and was +willing to sell this information in exchange for a full pardon, which +the railroad people could secure by using their influence. This they +promised to do if his story proved true, and Plunkett then told them +of a plot that had been worked out a year or so before, when he had +been "grafting" with a "mob" of pickpockets at county fairs. There +were with him at that time "Butch" McCoy, James Connors (known as +"Yellowhammer"), and a man named "Jeff," whose surname he did not +know. These three men, Plunkett said, had planned an express robbery +on the Rock Island road, to be executed in precisely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> the same way, +and at precisely the same point on the road, as in the case in +question.</p> + +<p>The story was plausible, and won Mr. St. John's belief. It won the +belief, also, of Mr. Melville E. Stone of the "Daily News"; and +forthwith the railway detectives, working with the newspaper +detectives, were instructed to go ahead on new lines, regardless of +trouble or expense. Their first endeavor was to capture "Butch" McCoy, +the leader of the gang. "Butch" was a pickpocket, burglar, and +all-around thief, whose operations kept him traveling all over the +United States.</p> + +<p>The police in various cities having been communicated with to no +purpose, Mr. Stone finally decided to do a thing the like of which no +newspaper proprietor, perhaps, ever undertook before—that is, start +on a personal search for McCoy and his associates. With Frank Murray, +one of the best detectives in Chicago, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> other detectives, he went +to Galesburg, where the gang was said to have a sort of headquarters. +The party found there none of the men they were after, but they +learned that "Thatch" Grady, a notorious criminal with whom "Butch" +McCoy was known to be in relations, was in Omaha. So they hurried to +Omaha, but only to find that Grady had gone to St. Louis. Then to St. +Louis went Mr. Stone and his detectives, hot on the scent, and spent +several days in that city searching high and low.</p> + +<p>The method of locating a criminal in a great city is as interesting as +it is little understood. The first step is to secure from the local +police information as to the favorite haunts of criminals of the class +under pursuit, paying special regard in the preliminary inquiries to +the possibility of love-affairs; for thieves, even more than honest +men, are swayed in their lives by the tender passion, and are often +brought to justice through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> agency of women. With so much of such +information in their possession as they could gather, Mr. Stone and +his detectives spent their time in likely resorts, picking up +acquaintance with frequenters, and, whenever possible, turning the +talk adroitly upon the man they were looking for. It is a mistake to +suppose that in work like this detectives disguise themselves. False +beards and mustaches, goggles and lightning changes of clothing, are +never heard of except in the pages of badly informed story-writers. In +his experience of over twenty-five years Mr. Murray never wore such a +disguise, nor knew of any reputable detective who did. In this +expedition the detectives simply assumed the characters and general +style of the persons they were thrown with, passing for men of +sporting tastes from the East; and, having satisfied the people they +met that they meant no harm, they had no difficulty in obtaining such +news of McCoy and the others as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> there was. Unfortunately, this was +not much.</p> + +<p>After going from one city to another on various clues, hearing of one +member of the gang here and another there, and in each instance losing +their man, the detectives finally brought up in New Orleans. They had +spent five or six weeks of time and a large amount of money, only to +find themselves absolutely without a clue as to the whereabouts of the +men they were pursuing. They were much discouraged when a telegram +from Mr. Pinkerton told them that "Butch" McCoy was back in Galesburg, +where they had first sought him. Proceeding thither with all despatch, +they traced McCoy into a saloon, and there three of them,—John Smith, +representing the Rock Island Railroad; John McGinn, for the Pinkerton +Agency; and Frank Murray, working for Mr. Stone,—with drawn +revolvers, captured him, in spite of a desperate dash he made to +escape.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> + +<p>McCoy's capture was the occasion of much felicitation among the people +interested in the matter. Mr. St. John and Mr. Stone were confident +that now the whole mystery of the express robbery could be solved and +the murderer convicted. But McCoy showed on trial that he had left New +Orleans to come North only the night before the murder and had spent +the whole of that night on the Illinois Central Railroad. It also +appeared that McCoy's associate, Connors, was in jail at the time of +the robbery, and that the man "Jeff" was dead. Thus the whole Plunkett +story was exploded.</p> + + +<h3>III</h3> +<p>Some time before this the man who had ridden on the free pass, and +given the detectives so much trouble, had been accidentally found by +Jack Mullins, a brakeman on conductor Danforth's train. He proved to +be an advertising solicitor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> employed by no other than Mr. Melville +E. Stone, who would have given a thousand dollars to know what his +agent knew; for the advertising man had seen the conductor bring out +the valise containing the all-important fragment of the draft. But he +had not realized the value of the news in his possession, and Mr. +Pinkerton took good care to keep him from that knowledge. One hint of +the truth to the "Daily News" people, and the whole story would have +been blazoned forth in its columns, and the murderer would have taken +warning. Not until he had seen the man safely on a train out from +Chicago did Mr. Pinkerton breathe easily; and it was not until months +later that Mr. Stone learned how near he came to getting a splendid +"scoop" on the whole city and country.</p> + +<p>The identification of the pass-holder removed the last possibility +that the valise had been taken into the train by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> any of conductor +Danforth's passengers. And yet the valise was there! How came it +there? In the course of their examination two of the passengers had +testified to having seen Schwartz enter the toilet-room during the +run. Brakeman Jack Mullins stated that he had been in the same room +twice that night, that the second time he had noticed the valise, but +that it was not there when he went in first. Other witnesses in the +car were positive that the person who entered the room last before the +time when Mullins saw the valise was Schwartz. Thus the chain of proof +was tightening, and Mr. Pinkerton sent for Schwartz.</p> + +<p>After talking with the brakeman in a semi-confidential way for some +time, the detective began to question him about Watt, his +fellow-trainman. Schwartz said he was a good fellow, and, in general, +spoke highly of him. Mr. Pinkerton seemed to hesitate a little, and +then said:</p> + +<p>"Can I trust you, Schwartz?"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Well, the fact is, I am a little suspicious of Watt. You see, his +story about that hand overhead does not exactly hang together. I don't +want to do him any wrong, but he must be looked after. Now, my idea is +to have you go about with him as much as you can, see if he meets any +strangers or spends much money, and let me know whatever happens. Will +you do it?"</p> + +<p>Schwartz readily consented, on the assurance that the railroad people +would give him leave of absence. The next day he reported that Watt +had met a man who wore a slouch-hat, had unkempt red hair, and in +general looked like a border ruffian. He had overheard the two talking +together in a saloon on Cottage Grove Avenue, where the stranger had +discussed the murder of Nichols in great detail, showing a remarkable +familiarity with the whole affair. Schwartz had a sort of Jesse James +theory (which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> he seemed anxious to have accepted) that the crime had +been committed by a gang of Western desperados and that this fellow +was connected with them.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton listened with interest to all this, but was less edified +than Schwartz imagined, since two of his most trusted "shadows," who +had been following Schwartz, had given him reports of the latter's +movements, making it plain that the red-haired desperado was a myth, +and that no such meeting as Schwartz described had taken place. +Nevertheless, professing to be well pleased with Schwartz's efforts, +Mr. Pinkerton sent him out to track the fabulous desperado. Schwartz +continued to render false reports. Finally, without a word to arouse +his suspicion, he was allowed to resume his work on the railroad.</p> + +<p>The "shadows" put upon Schwartz after this reported a suspicious +intimacy between him and Watt, and a detective<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> of great tact, Frank +Jones, was detailed to get into their confidence, if possible. He was +given a "run" as brakeman between Des Moines and Davenport, and it was +arranged that he should come in from the west and lay over at +Davenport on the same days when Schwartz and Watt laid over there, +coming in from the east. Jones played his part cleverly, and was soon +on intimate terms with Schwartz and Watt, taking his meals at their +boarding-house and sleeping in a room adjoining theirs. They finally +came to like him so well that they suggested his trying to get a +transfer to their "run," between Davenport and Chicago. This was +successfully arranged, and then the three men were together +constantly, Jones even going to board at Schwartz's house in Chicago. +About this time Schwartz began to talk of giving up railroad work and +going to live in Kansas or the far West. It was arranged that Jones +should join him and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> Mrs. Schwartz on a Western trip. Meantime +Schwartz applied to the company for leave of absence, on the plea that +he wished to arrange some family matters in Philadelphia.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton, being informed by Jones of Schwartz's application, used +his influence to have it granted. When the young man started East he +did not travel alone. His every movement was watched and reported, nor +was he left unguarded for a moment, day or night, during an absence of +several weeks, in New York, Philadelphia, and other Eastern cities.</p> + +<p>To one unfamiliar with the resources and organization of a great +detective system it is incomprehensible how continuous "shadowing" day +after day and week after week, through thousands of miles of +journeying, can be accomplished. The matter is made none the simpler +when you know that there must be a change of "shadows" every day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> +However adroit the detective, his continued presence in a locality +would soon arouse suspicion. The daily change of "shadows" is easy +when the man under watch remains in one place; for then it is only +necessary to send a new "shadow" from the central office early each +morning to replace the one who "put the man to bed" the night before. +But it is very different when the subject is constantly traveling +about on boats or railways, and perhaps sleeping in a different town +each night. Without the network of agencies, including large and small +bureaus, that the Pinkertons have gradually established all over the +United States, the "shadowing" of a man in rapid flight would be +impossible. As it is, nothing is easier. Schwartz, for instance, spent +several days in Buffalo, where his actions were reported hour by hour +until he bought his ticket for Philadelphia. As he took the train a +fresh "shadow" took it too, securing a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> section in the same +sleeping-car with him, and taking his meals at the same time Schwartz +took his, either in the dining-car or at stations. No sooner had the +train left the station than the Pinkerton representative in Buffalo +reported by cipher-despatch to the bureau in Philadelphia, whither +Schwartz was going. The exact form of the despatch, which well +illustrates a system in constant use in the Pinkerton bureaus, was as +follows:</p> + +<p class="p4">"<span class="smcap">R. J. Linden</span>,</p> + +<p class="p3">"<span class="smcap">441 Chestnut Street</span>,</p> + +<p class="p5">"<span class="smcap">Philadelphia, Pa.</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Anxious shoes sucker Brown marbles man other dropping eight +arrives put grand fifty marbles articles along or derby coat +ship very tan seer wearing these have and is ribbon ink dust +central Tuesday for dust to rice hat and paper vest +yellow ink get must jewelry morning depot on.</p></div> + +<p class="p1">"<span class="smcap">D. Robertson.</span>"</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> + +<p>In despatches of this sort important information regarding criminals +is constantly flashing over the wires, with no danger of any "leak."</p> + +<p>Thus, from one city to another, and through every part of the country, +any criminal may be "shadowed" to-day as Schwartz was "shadowed," one +set of detectives relieving another every twenty-four hours, and the +man's every word and action be carefully noted down and reported, +without his having the faintest suspicion that he is under +observation. The task of "shadowing" a person who is traversing city +streets is intrusted to men especially skilled in the art (for art it +is) of seeing without being seen. This is, indeed, one of the most +difficult tasks a detective is called upon to perform, and the few who +excel in it are given little else to do. Where a criminal like +Schwartz, upon whose final capture much depends, is being followed, +two, three, or even four "shadows" are employed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> simultaneously, one +keeping in advance, one in the rear, and two on either side. The +advantage of this is that one relieves the other by change of +position, thus lessening the chance of discovery, while, of course, it +is scarcely possible for several "shadows" to be thrown off the trail +at once. An adroit criminal might outwit one "shadow," but he could +scarcely outwit four. A "shadow," on coming into a new town with a +subject, reveals himself to the "shadow" who is to relieve him by some +prearranged signal, like a handkerchief held in the left hand.</p> + +<p>The result of the "shadowing" in Schwartz's case was conclusive. No +sooner was the brakeman out of Chicago than he began spending money +far in excess of his income. He bought fine furniture, expensive +clothing, articles of jewelry, presents for his wife, and laid in an +elaborate supply of rifles, shot-guns, revolvers, and all sorts of +ammunition,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> including a quantity of cartridges. The "shadows" found +that in almost every case he paid for his purchases with fifty-or +one-hundred-dollar bills. As far as possible these bills were secured +by the detectives from the persons to whom they had been paid, +immediately after Schwartz's departure. It will be remembered that the +money taken in the robbery consisted of fifty-and one-hundred-dollar +bills.</p> + + +<h3>IV</h3> +<p>In addition to this, it was found, by the investigations of detectives +at Philadelphia, that Schwartz was the son of a wealthy retired +butcher there, a most respectable man, and that he had a wife and +child in Philadelphia, whom he had entirely deserted. This gave an +opportunity to take him into custody and still conceal from him that +he was suspected of committing a higher crime. The Philadelphia<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> wife +and child were taken on to Chicago, and Schwartz was placed under +arrest, charged with bigamy.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton went to the jail at once, and, wishing to keep +Schwartz's confidence as far as possible, assured him that this arrest +was not his work at all, but that of detectives Smith and Murray, who +were, as Schwartz knew, working in the interests of the railroad +people and of the Chicago "Daily News." Mr. Pinkerton told Schwartz +that he still believed, as he had done all along, that Watt was the +guilty man, and promised to do whatever he could to befriend Schwartz. +The latter did not appear to be very much alarmed, and said that a +Philadelphia lawyer was coming on to defend him. The lawyer did come a +few days later, when a bond for two thousand dollars was furnished for +Schwartz's reappearance, and he was set at liberty. Matters had gone +so far, however, that it was not considered safe to leave Schwartz out +of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> jail, and he was immediately rearrested on the charge of murder.</p> + +<p>Whether because of long preparation for this ordeal or because he was +a man of strong character, Schwartz received this blow without the +slightest show of emotion, and went back into the jail as coolly as he +had come out. He merely requested that he might have an interview with +his wife as soon as possible.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton had evidence enough against Schwartz to furnish a strong +presumption of guilt; but it was all circumstantial, and, besides, it +did not involve Newton Watt, whose complicity was more than suspected. +From the first Mr. Pinkerton had been carefully conciliatory of the +later Mrs. Schwartz. At just the right moment, and by adroit +management, he got her under his direction, and by taking a train with +her to Morris, and then on the next morning taking another train back +to Chicago, he succeeded in preventing her from getting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> the advice of +her husband's lawyer, who was meantime making the same double journey +on pursuing trains with the design of cautioning her against speaking +to Mr. Pinkerton. She had come to regard Mr. Pinkerton more as a +protector than as an enemy, and he, during the hours they were +together, used every device to draw from her some damaging admission. +He told her that the evidence against her husband, although serious in +its character, was not, in his opinion, sufficient to establish his +guilt. He told her of the bills found in Schwartz's possession, of the +torn piece of the draft taken from the valise, of the marks on his +hands and the lies he had told. All this, he said, proved that +Schwartz had some connection with the robbery, but not that he had +committed the murder, or done more than assist Watt, whom Mr. +Pinkerton professed to regard as the chief criminal. The only hope of +saving her husband now, he impressed upon her,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> was for her to make a +plain statement of the truth, and trust that he would use this in her +husband's interest.</p> + +<p>After listening to all that he said, and trying in many ways to evade +the main question, Mrs. Schwartz at last admitted to Mr. Pinkerton +that her husband had found a package containing five thousand dollars +of the stolen money under one of the seats on conductor Danforth's +train, on the night of his return to Chicago. He had kept this money +and used it for his own purposes, but had been guilty of no other +offense in the matter. Mrs. Schwartz stuck resolutely to this +statement, and would admit nothing further.</p> + +<p>Believing that he had drawn from her as much as he could, Mr. +Pinkerton now accompanied Mrs. Schwartz to the jail, where she was to +see her husband. The first words she said, on entering the room where +he was, were: "Harry, I have told Mr. Pinkerton the whole truth. I +thought that was the best way, for he is your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> friend. I told him +about your finding the five thousand dollars under the seat of the +car, and that that was all you had to do with the business."</p> + +<p>For the first time Schwartz's emotions nearly betrayed him. However, +he braced himself, and only admitted in a general way that there was +some truth in what his wife had said. He refused positively to go into +details, seemed very nervous, and almost immediately asked to be left +alone with his wife. Mr. Pinkerton had been expecting this, and was +prepared for it. He realized the shock that would be caused in +Schwartz's mind by his wife's unexpected confession, and counted on +this to lead to further admissions. It was, therefore, of the highest +importance that credible witnesses should overhear all that transpired +in the interview between Schwartz and his wife. With this end in view, +the room where the interview was to take place had been arranged so +that a number of witnesses could see and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> hear without their presence +being suspected; and the sheriff of the county, a leading merchant, +and a leading banker of the town, were waiting there in readiness.</p> + +<p>As soon as the door had closed and the husband and wife were left +alone, Schwartz exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"You fool, you have put a rope around Watt's and my neck!"</p> + +<p>"Why, Harry, I had to tell him something, he knew so much. You can +trust him."</p> + +<p>"You ought to know better than to trust anybody."</p> + +<p>The man walked back and forth, a prey to the most violent emotions, +his wife trying vainly to quiet him. At each affectionate touch he +would brush her off roughly, with a curse, and go on pacing back and +forth fiercely. Suddenly he burst out:</p> + +<p>"What did you do with that coat—the one you cut the mask out of?"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, that's all right; it's in the woodshed, under the whole +woodpile."</p> + +<p>They continued to talk for over an hour, referring to the murder and +robbery repeatedly, and furnishing evidence enough to establish beyond +any question the guilt of both Schwartz and Watt.</p> + +<p>Meantime Watt had been arrested in Chicago, also charged with murder, +and in several examinations had shown signs of breaking down and +confessing, but in each instance had recovered himself and said +nothing. The evidence of Schwartz himself, however, in the interview +at the jail, taken with the mass of other evidence that had +accumulated, was sufficient to secure the conviction of both men, who +were condemned at the trial to life-imprisonment in the Joliet +penitentiary. They would undoubtedly have been hanged but for the +conscientious scruples of one juryman, who did not believe in capital +punishment. Watt has since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> died, but Schwartz, at last accounts, was +still in prison.</p> + +<p>About a year after the trial Schwartz's Chicago wife died of +consumption. On her death-bed she made a full confession. She said +that her husband's mind had been inflamed by the constant reading of +sensational literature of the dime-novel order; and that under this +evil influence he had planned the robbery, believing that it would be +easy to intimidate a weak little man like Nichols, and escape with the +money without harming him. Nichols, however, had fought like a tiger +up and down the car, and had finally forced them to kill him. In the +fight he had torn off the mask that Mrs. Schwartz had made out of one +of her husband's old coats. It was Watt who fired the pistol, while +Schwartz used the poker. Schwartz had given Watt five thousand dollars +of the stolen money, and had kept the rest himself. He had carried the +money away in an old satchel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> bought for the purpose. A most unusual +place of concealment had been chosen, and one where the money had +escaped discovery, although on several occasions, in searching the +house, the detectives had literally held it in their hands. Schwartz +had taken a quantity of the cartridges he bought for his shot-gun, and +emptying them, had put in each shell one of the fifty- or +one-hundred-dollar bills, upon which he had then loaded in the powder +and the shot in the usual way, so that the shells presented the +ordinary appearance as they lay in the drawer. The detectives had even +picked out some of the shot and powder in two or three of the shells; +but, finding them so like other cartridges, had never thought of +probing clear to the bottom of the shell for a crumpled-up bill.</p> + +<p>Thus about thirteen thousand dollars lay for weeks in these +ordinary-looking cartridges, and were finally removed in the following +way: While Schwartz was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> in jail, a well-known lawyer of Philadelphia +came to Mrs. Schwartz, one day, with an order from her husband to +deliver the money over to him. She understood this was to defray the +expenses of the trial and to pay the other lawyers. Superintendent +Robertson remembers well the dying woman's emotion as she made this +solemn declaration, one calculated to compromise seriously a man of +some standing and belonging to an honored profession. Her body was +wasted with disease, and she knew that her end was near. There was a +flush on her face, and her eyes were bright with hatred as she +declared that not one dollar of that money was ever returned to her, +or ever used in paying the costs of her husband's trial. Nor was one +dollar of it ever returned to the railroad company, or to the bank +officials, who were the real owners.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="The_Destruction_of_the_Renos" id="The_Destruction_of_the_Renos"></a>The Destruction of the Renos</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p> +<h2>The Destruction of the Renos</h2> + +<div class="figleft"><img src="images/image_t.jpg" alt="T" width="31" height="40" /></div> +<p>he first, and probably the most daring, band of train robbers that +ever operated in the United States was the notorious Reno gang, an +association of desperate outlaws who, in the years immediately +following the war, committed crimes without number in Missouri and +Indiana, and for some years terrorized several counties in the region +about Seymour in the last-named State. The leaders of this band were +four brothers, John Reno, Frank Reno, "Sim" Reno, and William Reno, +who rivaled one another in a spirit of lawlessness that must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> have +been born in their blood through the union of a hardy Swiss emigrant +with a woman sprung from the Pennsylvania Dutch. Of the six children +from this marriage only one escaped the restless, law-despising taint +that made the others desperate characters, this single white sheep +being "Clint" Reno, familiarly known as "Honest" Reno, and much +despised by the rest of the family for his peaceful ways. Even Laura +Reno, the one daughter, famed throughout the West for her beauty, +loved danger and adventure, was an expert horsewoman, an unerring +shot, and as quick with her gun as any man. Laura fairly worshiped her +desperado brothers, whom she aided in more than one of their criminal +undertakings, shielding them from justice when hard pressed, and +swearing to avenge them when retribution overtook them after their day +of triumph.</p> + +<p>During the war the Renos had become notorious as bounty-jumpers; and +at its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> close, with a fine scorn for the ways of commonplace industry, +these fierce-hearted, dashing young fellows, all well-built, handsome +boys, cast about for further means of excitement and opportunities to +make an easy living. Beginning their operations in a small way with +house-breaking and store robberies, they soon proved themselves so +reckless in their daring, so fertile in expedients, so successful in +their coups, that they quickly extended their field until, in the +early part of 1866, they had placed a wide region under contribution, +setting all forms of law at defiance.</p> + +<p>John Reno and Frank Reno, the elder brothers, were at this time the +dominating spirits of the band, and they soon associated with them +several of the most skilful and notorious counterfeiters and +safe-burglars in the country, among these being Peter McCartney, James +and Robert Rittenhouse, George McKay, John Dean, <i>alias</i> "California +Nelse," and William<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> Hopkins. The band soon came to be named with the +greatest dread and awe, good citizens fearing to speak a word of +censure, lest swift punishment be visited upon them. The Reno +influence made itself felt even in local politics, corrupt officials +being elected at the instigation of the outlaws, so that their +conviction became practically impossible.</p> + +<p>The Renos, toward the end of 1866, began a series of train robberies +which were carried out with such perfection of organization, such +amazing coolness, and such uniform success as to attract national +attention. The first of these robberies took place on the Ohio and +Mississippi Railroad, being accomplished by only four men, Frank and +John Reno, assisted by William Sparks and Charles Gerroll. Other train +robberies followed in quick succession, the same methods being used in +each, with the same immunity from capture, so that people in this +region would say to one another, quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> as a matter of course, "The +Reno boys got away with another train yesterday."</p> + +<p>But while indulging in its own acts of outlawry, the Reno band +strenuously objected to any rivalry or competition on the part of +other highwaymen. A train robbery was perpetrated on the +Jeffersonville Railroad early in 1867. The Renos had no connection +with this robbery. It was accomplished by two young men named Michael +Collins and Walker Hammond, the two men escaping with six thousand +dollars, taken from a messenger of the Adams Express Company. But +their horses had carried them only a short distance from the looted +train when they found themselves surrounded by the formidable Renos, +who had quietly watched the robbery from a place of concealment, and +now unceremoniously relieved the robbers of their plunder. Not content +with this, and as if to intimidate others from like trespasses on +their preserves, the Renos used their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> influence to have their rivals +arrested for the crime by which they had profited so little; and both +were subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to long terms in the +Indiana penitentiary. The Renos, meantime, although they were known to +have secured and kept the six thousand dollars, were allowed to go +unmolested, and continued their depredations.</p> + +<p>Up to this time the Reno gang had confined their operations, for the +most part, to Indiana; but now they began to make themselves felt in +Missouri, where a number of daring crimes were committed, notably the +robbing of the county treasurer's safe at Gallatin, in Daviess County. +In this last act John Reno was known to have been personally +concerned. The case was placed in the hands of Allan Pinkerton.</p> + +<p>Taking up the investigation with his accustomed energy, Mr. Pinkerton +traced John Reno back to Seymour, Indiana, where the gang was so +strongly intrenched<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> in the midst of corrupt officials and an +intimidated populace that any plan of open arrest was out of the +question. Recognizing this, Allan Pinkerton had recourse to the +cunning of his craft. He began by stationing in Seymour a trustworthy +assistant, who was instructed, on a given day and at a given hour, to +decoy John Reno to the railroad-station on any pretense that might +suggest itself. Then he arranged to have half a dozen Missourians, the +biggest and most powerful fellows he could find, led by the sheriff of +Daviess County, board an express-train on the Ohio and Mississippi +Railroad at Cincinnati, and ride through to Seymour, arriving there at +the time agreed upon with his assistant. Along with them was to be a +constable bearing all the papers necessary to execute a requisition.</p> + +<p>When the train reached Seymour there was the usual crowd lounging +about the station, and in it were John Reno and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> Mr. Pinkerton's +lieutenant, who had entirely succeeded in his task. While Reno was +staring at the passengers as they left the train, he was suddenly +surrounded and seized by a dozen strong arms; and before his friends +could rally to his aid, or realize what was happening, he was clapped +in irons, carried aboard the train, and soon was rolling away to +Missouri, under arrest.</p> + +<p>Reno's friends stoutly contested the case in the Missouri courts, +arguing that the prisoner had been kidnapped and that the law had +therefore been violated by his captors. The courts decided against +them on this point, however; and John Reno, with several less +important members of the gang, was tried and convicted. He was +sentenced to twenty-five years of hard labor in the Missouri +penitentiary.</p> + +<p>This was the first break in the ranks of the band, the first instance +in which they had suffered for their crimes. But the bold spirit of +the organization was still<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> unbroken. Three brothers still remained to +replace the one who was gone; and so far from learning caution, the +band launched forthwith into still more daring and frequent offenses. +Trains were "held up" right and left; robberies were committed; and +early in 1868 the gang made a famous raid across the country through +Indiana and Illinois, robbing safes in county treasurers' offices in a +number of places. In several instances some of the members were +arrested; but they always managed to have the prosecution quashed, or +in some way to escape conviction. In the spring of 1868 their +operations became so outrageous, and the situation so serious, that +Allan Pinkerton was again called upon to do something in the cause of +public safety.</p> + +<p>In March of this year the safe of the county treasurer at Magnolia, +Harrison County, Iowa, was robbed of about fourteen thousand dollars; +and Allan Pinkerton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> detailed his son, William A. Pinkerton, and two +assistants, to run down the burglars. Arrived at the scene of the +robbery, the detectives found that the thieves had made their escape +on a hand-car and had gone in the direction of Council Bluffs. At this +time in Council Bluffs there was a low saloon, kept by a man who had +formerly lived in Seymour and who was known as a bad character. It was +decided to keep a sharp watch on this resort, Mr. Pinkerton reasoning +that since Seymour was the friendly refuge of the Renos, it was +altogether likely that the outlaws would have a friend, and perhaps an +abettor, in the saloon-keeper who had once lived there. After two +days' watching, the detectives observed a large man of dark complexion +enter the saloon and engage in close conversation with the proprietor, +having with him, evidently, some mysterious business.</p> + +<p>Investigation disclosed this man to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> Michael Rogers, a prominent +and wealthy citizen of Council Bluffs, and the owner of an extensive +property in the adjoining counties. Puzzled, but still persuaded that +he had found a clue, Mr. Pinkerton put a "shadow" on Rogers, and +hurried back to Magnolia, where he learned that on the day preceding +the robbery Rogers had been seen in Magnolia, where he had paid his +taxes, and in doing so had loitered for some time in the treasurer's +office. This also looked suspicious. But, on the other hand, search as +he might, the detective could find nothing against Rogers's character, +every one testifying to his entire respectability.</p> + +<p>Still unconvinced, Mr. Pinkerton returned to Council Bluffs, where he +was informed by the man who had been "shadowing" Rogers that several +strange men had been seen to enter Rogers's house and had not been +seen to come out again. The watch was continued more closely than +ever, and after four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> days of patient waiting, Rogers, accompanied by +three strangers, was seen to leave the house cautiously and take a +west-bound train on the Pacific Railroad. One of these men, a brawny, +athletic fellow nearly six feet tall, and about twenty-eight years of +age, Mr. Pinkerton shrewdly suspected was Frank Reno, although he +could not be certain, never having seen Frank Reno. Feeling sure that +if his suspicions were correct the men would ultimately return to +Rogers's house, Mr. Pinkerton did not follow them on the train, but +contented himself with keeping the strictest watch for their return. +The very next morning the same four men were discovered coming back to +the house from the direction of the railroad. But at that hour no +train was due, which was a little curious; and another curious point +was that they were all covered with mud and bore marks of having been +engaged in some severe, rough labor. The hour was early; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> dwellers +in Council Bluffs were not yet astir. A little later the city was +thrown into a fever of excitement by the news that the safe of the +county treasurer at Glenwood, in Mills County, about thirty miles +distant, had been robbed the previous night. No trace had yet been got +of the thieves, but everything indicated that they were the same men +who had robbed the safe at Magnolia. One remarkable point of +similarity in the two cases was the means employed by the robbers in +escaping, a hand-car having been used also by the Glenwood thieves; +and they, too, were believed to have fled in the direction of Council +Bluffs. Investigation soon made this absolutely certain, for the +missing hand-car was found lying beside the railroad, a short distance +from the Council Bluffs station.</p> + +<p>Putting these new disclosures beside his previous suspicions and +discoveries, Mr. Pinkerton was further strengthened in his distrust of +the man Rogers; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> although the local authorities, to whom he +revealed his suspicions, laughed at him, declaring that Rogers was one +of the most respectable citizens of the State, he resolved to attempt +an arrest. Proceeding to Rogers's house with all the force he could +command, he placed a guard at front and rear, and then, with a few +attendants, made his way inside. The first person he met was Mr. +Rogers himself, who affected to be very indignant at the intrusion.</p> + +<p>"Who have you in this house?" asked Mr. Pinkerton.</p> + +<p>"Nobody but my family," answered Mr. Rogers.</p> + +<p>"We'll see about that," answered Mr. Pinkerton; and then, turning to +his men, he ordered them to search the premises.</p> + +<p>They did so, and soon came upon the three strangers, who were taken so +completely by surprise that they made no effort at resistance. They +were about to sit down to breakfast, which was spread<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> for them in the +kitchen. A comparison with photographs and descriptions left no doubt +that one of the three was Frank Reno. A second—a man of dark +complexion, tall, and well built—proved to be Albert Perkins, a +well-known member of the Reno gang. The third was none other than the +notorious Miles Ogle, the youngest member of the band, who afterward +came to be known as the most expert counterfeiter in the United +States. Ogle at this writing is in the Ohio penitentiary, serving his +third term of imprisonment. At his last capture there were found in +his possession some of the best counterfeit plates ever made.</p> + +<p>While they were securing the four men the detectives noticed that +smoke was curling out of the kitchen stove, accompanied by a sudden +blaze. Mr. Pinkerton pulled off a lid, and found on the coals several +packages of bank-notes, already on fire. Fortunately the notes had +been so tightly wrapped together<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> that only a few of them were +destroyed before the packages were got out. Those that remained were +afterward identified as of the money that had been stolen from the +Glenwood safe. There was thus no question that these were the robbers +so long sought for. A further search of the house brought to light two +sets of burglars' tools, which served as cumulative evidence.</p> + +<p>The men were carried to Glenwood by the next train. They were met by a +great and excited crowd, and for a time were in danger of lynching. +Better counsel prevailed, however, and they were placed in the jail to +await trial.</p> + +<p>With the men in secure, safe custody, there was no doubt of their +ultimate conviction; and every one was breathing easier at the thought +that at last the Reno gang was robbed of its terrors. Then +suddenly—no one will ever know how it happened—the prisoners made +their escape. Great was the surprise and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> chagrin of the sheriff of +Mills County when, on the morning of April 1, 1868, he entered the +jail, only to find their cells empty. A big hole sawed through the +wall told by what way they had made their exit. They left behind the +mocking salutation, "April Fool," scrawled in chalk over the floors +and walls of the jail.</p> + +<p>A large reward was offered for the capture of the robbers, but nothing +was heard of them until two months later, when an express-car on the +Ohio and Mississippi Railroad was boarded at Marshfield, Indiana, by a +gang of masked men, and robbed of ninety-eight thousand dollars. The +messenger made a brave resistance, but could not cope with the +robbers, who lifted him bodily and hurled him out of the car, down a +steep embankment, while the train was running at high speed.</p> + +<p>All the facts in the case pointed to the Reno brothers as the authors +of this outrage, for by frequent repetition their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> methods of robbery +had become familiar. Allan Pinkerton, furthermore, obtained precise +evidence that it was the work of the Renos from secret agents whom he +had stationed at Seymour to watch the doings of the gang. Two of these +agents engaged apparently in business at Seymour, one setting up as a +saloon-keeper in a rough part of the town, another taking railroad +employment, which kept him constantly near the station. A third made a +wide acquaintance by passing for a gambler and general good fellow. So +successful were they that Allan Pinkerton was soon in possession of +facts proving not only that the Marshfield robbery had been committed +by the Renos, but that another train robbery which followed was +executed by John Moore, Charles Gerroll, William Sparks, and three +others, all members of the Reno organization. Moore, Gerroll, and +Sparks were arrested shortly after, and placed on a train to be taken +from Seymour<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> to Brownstown, the county-seat. But they never reached +their destination. As the train stopped at a small station some miles +from Brownstown, a band of masked men, well armed, rushed on board, +overpowered the officers, hurried the three outlaws away to a +neighboring farm-yard, and there strung them up to a beech-tree, while +an old German who owned the farm looked on approvingly.</p> + +<p>This was the first act of retributive justice done by the Secret +Vigilance Committee of Southern Indiana, an organization as +extraordinary as the situation it was created to deal with. The entire +population of that part of Indiana seemed to have risen in +self-defense to crush out lawlessness. A second act followed several +days later, when three other men who had been concerned in the latest +train robbery, having been captured by the county officials, were +taken from their hands and condemned to the same fate as their +companions.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> Each one, as he was about to be swung off, was asked by +the maskers if he had anything to say. The first two shook their heads +sullenly, and died without speaking. The third, standing on a barrel +with the rope round his neck, looked over the crowd with contemptuous +bravado, and addressing them as a lot of "mossback Hoosiers," said he +was glad he was not of their class, and was proud to die as a good +Republican. The barrel was kicked away, the rope stiffened with his +weight, and there ended the career of the sixth member of the band.</p> + +<p>Hard times followed for the surviving Renos. Realizing that their +power was broken, they fled in various directions. The three brothers, +Frank, William, and "Sim," though still at large, were not left long +to enjoy their liberty. A large price was placed on their heads, and +betrayal came quickly. William and "Sim" were arrested soon after, in +Indianapolis, and turned over to the local<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> authorities, who, in order +to avoid the Vigilance Committee, took the prisoners to New Albany, in +an adjoining county, where they were placed in jail.</p> + +<p>The Vigilance Committee, growing stronger and more determined every +day, now scoured the whole country for other members of the gang or +for persons believed to be in sympathy with it. They literally went on +the "war-path" through this whole region of Indiana, and it went ill +with any poor wretch who incurred their suspicion. Like the +"Whitecaps" of a later day, they sent warnings to all who came on +their black-list, and administered by night, and sometimes by day, +such promiscuous floggings and other forms of punishment that the +tough and criminal element of the region was entirely cowed, and +feared to raise a hand in defense of the Renos, as it had previously +done. Up to the time the Vigilance Committee was formed not a member +of the Reno gang had been convicted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> in that locality, largely because +the people were afraid to testify against them. They knew that if they +should testify, their stock would be killed, their barns burned, and +they themselves waylaid and beaten. This was the reason offered for +the formation of the Vigilance Committee of Southern Indiana. Whether +a justification or not, the committee must certainly be credited with +having rid the State of a monstrous evil.</p> + +<p>In the excitement of other events the Pinkertons had not forgotten the +men who had escaped from the Glenwood jail. They finally traced Miles +Ogle and Albert Perkins to Indianapolis; and there Ogle was captured, +but Perkins escaped. Frank Reno was discovered a little later at +Windsor, Canada, where he was living with Charles Anderson, a +professional burglar, safe-blower, and "short-card" gambler, who had +fled to Canada to escape prosecution. Reno, operating with Anderson, +made a practice of registering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> as "Frank Going" if the enterprise in +which he was engaged was prospering, and as "Frank Coming" if it was +not prospering. He and Anderson were now arrested on a charge of +robbery and of assault with intent to kill, in the case of the express +messenger hurled from his car at Marshfield, Indiana. Under this form +their offense became extraditable; and after a long trial before the +stipendiary or government magistrate, Gilbert McMicken, at Windsor, +the men were ordered for extradition. Aided by the ablest lawyers, +they carried their case, however, to the highest court in Canada. But +the decision of the lower court was affirmed; and in October, 1868, +the men were surrendered into the hands of Allan Pinkerton, who was +delegated by the United States government to receive them. It was due +to the patience and persistence of Mr. Alfred Gaither, the Western +manager of the Adams Express Company, and his then assistant, Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> +L.C. Weir, now president of the company, and to the general policy of +the company to permit no compromise with thieves, that, regardless of +cost and time, the prosecution was continued until it issued thus +successfully.</p> + +<p>Michael Rogers was also discovered to be in Windsor at this time, and +he was known to have had a hand in the Marshfield robbery; but he +escaped arrest, and remained securely in Windsor for a year or two. +Later, though, he reached the penitentiary, being brought to grief by +a burglary done at Tolono, Illinois. On coming out, he joined the +notorious McCartney gang of counterfeiters, and had many narrow +escapes. The last known of him, grown an old man, he was living +quietly on a farm in Texas.</p> + +<p>Made at last secure of Reno and Anderson, Allan Pinkerton chartered a +tug to carry them to Cleveland, and thus avoid the friends who, as he +had reason to know, were waiting across the river in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> Detroit to +effect a rescue. When the tug had gone about twenty miles, it was run +down by a large steamer and sunk, the passengers, including the +prisoners, being saved from drowning with the greatest difficulty. The +prisoners were carried on to Cleveland by another boat, and from there +were hurried on by rail to New Albany, where they were placed in jail +along with "Sim" and William Reno.</p> + +<p>The final passage in the history of the Reno gang occurred about a +month later, in the latter part of November, 1868, when one day a +passenger-car was dropped off at Seymour, Indiana, some distance from +the station. There was nothing remarkable in this, nor did the car +attract any attention. That night a train passing through Seymour took +up the car and drew it away. A few people about the station when the +car was taken up remembered afterward that this car was filled with +strange-looking men,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> who wore Scotch caps and black cloth masks, and +seemed to be under the command of a tall, dark-haired man addressed by +every one as "No. 1." Although there were at least fifty of these men, +it is a remarkable fact, developed in a subsequent investigation, that +the conductor of the train could remember nothing about the incident, +declaring that he did not enter the car and knew nothing of its being +attached to his train. It is certain the company of masked men did +everything in their power to avoid attention, scarcely speaking to one +another during the ride and making all their movements as noiseless as +possible.</p> + +<p>The train reached New Albany at two o'clock in the morning. The car +was detached, and was presently emptied of its fifty men as silently +and mysteriously as it had been filled. A few hurried commands were +given by "No. 1," and then the company marched in quiet order to the +jail. Arrived there, they summoned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> the jailer to open the doors, but +were met with a firm refusal and the shining barrel of a revolver. +There followed an exchange of shots, in which the sheriff received a +ball in the arm, and two local police officers were captured. Without +loss of time the jail doors were battered down; the company entered, +and taking the three Reno brothers and their friend, Charles Anderson, +from their cells, placed nooses that they had ready around the men's +necks, and hung them to the rafters in the corridors of the jail. +Then, having locked the doors of the jail, leaving the prisoners +secure, they made their way silently back to the New Albany station, +reaching there in time to catch the train that drew out at 3:30 <span class="smcap">a. m.</span> +The same special car in which they had come was coupled to this train, +and dropped off at the switch when Seymour was reached. This was just +before daybreak on a dreary November morning.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p> + +<p>Who these fifty men were was never discovered, although, because of +the fact that Reno and Anderson had been extradited from Great +Britain, the general government made an investigation. It was rumored, +however, and generally understood, that the company included some of +the most prominent people in Seymour, among others a number of +railroad and express employees. It was found that at the time of the +lynching all the telegraph wires leading from New Albany had been cut, +so that it was noon of the following day before the country learned of +it.</p> + +<p>The newspapers described the leader of the party as a man of unusual +stature, who wore a handsome diamond ring on the little finger of his +right hand. Later some significance was attached to the fact that a +well-known railroad official who answered this description as to +stature and who had always worn a handsome diamond ring previous to +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> lynching, ceased to wear his ring for several years afterward.</p> + +<p>After the execution of her brothers, it was rumored that Laura Reno +had taken an oath to devote the rest of her life to avenging them; and +for a moment there were threats and mutterings of reprisals from +allies or surviving members of the gang. But these latter were not +heard again after a certain morning, the third day after the +execution, when the people of Seymour, on leaving their homes, were +startled to see on the walls and in other public places large posters +proclaiming that if any property was injured or destroyed, or any +persons molested or assaulted, or if there was any further talk in +regard to recent happenings, some twenty-five persons, therein frankly +named, who were known to be sympathizers with the Renos, or to be more +or less intimately connected with them, had better beware. And as for +the sister's deadly oath, she did no act<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> in proof of the violent +intentions imputed to her, but instead subsequently became the wife of +a respectable man and settled down to a useful life, though a much +more commonplace one than she had previously known. John Reno, after +serving fifteen years in the Missouri penitentiary, was released, and +is said to be at present living on the old farm. "Clint" Reno, or +"Honest" Reno, always stayed at the old homestead, and has never been +willing to speak of his brothers or of what happened to them. Seymour, +purged of the evil influences that corrupted it, has grown into a +thriving and beautiful little city, and is to-day one of the model +towns of Indiana.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="The_American_Exchange_Bank_Robbery" id="The_American_Exchange_Bank_Robbery"></a>The American Exchange Bank Robbery</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p> +<h2>The American Exchange Bank Robbery</h2> + +<div class="figleft"><img src="images/image_l.jpg" alt="L" width="33" height="40" /></div> +<p>ate in the afternoon of Friday, May 4, 1888, two messengers left the +American Exchange National Bank, at the northeast corner of Cedar +Street and Broadway, New York City, and started down the busy +thoroughfare for the office of the Adams Express Company, a few blocks +distant. They carried between them, each holding one of the handles, a +valise made of canvas and leather, in which had just been placed, in +the presence of the paying-teller, a package containing forty-one +thousand dollars in greenbacks, to be transmitted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> to the United +States Treasury in Washington for redemption.</p> + +<p>Although the messengers—Edward S. Crawford and old "Dominie" +Earle—were among the bank's most trusted employees, their honesty +being considered above suspicion, they were nevertheless followed at a +short distance by bank detective McDougal, an old-time police +detective, whose snow-white beard and ancient style of dress have long +made him a personage of note on Broadway. Detective McDougal followed +the messengers, not because he had any fear that they were planning a +robbery, but because it is an imperative rule of all great banking +institutions that the transfer of large sums of money, even for very +short distances, shall be watched over with the most scrupulous care. +Each messenger is supposed to act as a check on his fellow, while the +detective walking in the rear is a check on both. In such cases all +three men are armed, and would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> use their weapons without hesitation +should an attack be made upon them.</p> + +<p>The messengers walked on through the hurrying crowd, keeping on the +east sidewalk as far as Wall Street, where they turned across, and +continued their way on the west sidewalk as far as the Adams Express +Company's building, which stands at No. 59 Broadway. Having seen them +safely inside the building, the detective turned back to the bank, +where his services were required in other matters.</p> + +<p>Passing down the large room strewn with boxes and packages ready for +shipment, the two messengers turned to the right, and ascended the +winding stairs that in those days led to the money department, on the +second floor. No one paid much attention to them, as at this busy hour +bank messengers were arriving and departing every few minutes. Still, +some of the clerks remembered afterward, or thought they did, that +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> old man, Earle, ascended the stairs more slowly than his more +active companion, who went ahead, carrying the valise alone. Both +messengers, however, were present at the receiving-window of the money +department when the package was taken from the valise and handed to +the clerk, who gave a receipt for it in the usual form: "Received from +the American Exchange Bank one package marked as containing forty-one +thousand dollars, for transfer to Washington"; or, at least, so far as +has ever been proved, both messengers were present when the package +was handed in.</p> + +<p>The two messengers, having performed their duty, went away, Earle +hurrying to the ferry to catch a train out into New Jersey, where he +lived, and Crawford returning to the bank with the empty valise. The +valuable package had meantime been ranged behind the heavily wired +grating along with dozens of others, some of them containing much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> +larger sums. The clerks in the money department of the Adams Express +Company become so accustomed to handling gold, silver, and bank-notes, +fortunes done up in bags, boxes, or bundles, that they think little +more of this precious merchandise than they might of so much coal or +bricks. A quick glance, a touch of the hand, satisfies them that the +seals, the wrappings, the labels, the general appearance, of the +packages are correct; and having entered them duly on the way-bills +and turned them over to the express messenger who is to forward them +to their destination, they think no more about them.</p> + +<p>In this instance the forty-one-thousand-dollar package, after a brief +delay, was locked in one of the small portable safes, a score of which +are always lying about in readiness, and was lowered to the basement, +where it was loaded on one of the company's wagons. The wagon was then +driven to Jersey City,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> guarded by the messenger in charge, his +assistant, and the driver, all three men being armed, and was safely +placed aboard the night express for Washington. It is the company's +rule that the messenger who starts with a through safe travels with it +to its destination, though he has to make a journey of a thousand +miles. Sometimes the destination of money under transfer is so remote +that the service of several express companies is required; and in that +case the messenger of the Adams Company accompanies the money only to +the point where it is delivered to the messenger of the next company, +and so on.</p> + +<p>The next morning, when the package from the American Exchange Bank was +delivered in Washington, the experienced Treasury clerk who received +it perceived at once, from the condition of the package, that +something was wrong. Employees of the Treasury Department seem to gain +a new sense, and to be able<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> to distinguish bank-notes from ordinary +paper merely by the "feel," even when done up in bundles. Looking at +the label mark of forty-one thousand dollars, the clerk shook his +head, and called the United States Treasurer, James W. Hyatt, who also +saw something suspicious in the package. Mr. Blanchard, the Washington +agent of the Adams Express Company, was summoned, and in his presence +the package was opened. It was found to contain nothing more valuable +than slips of brown straw paper, the coarse variety used by butchers +in wrapping up meat, neatly cut to the size of bank-notes. The +forty-one thousand dollars were missing.</p> + +<p>It was evident that at some point between the bank and the Treasury a +bogus package had been substituted for the genuine one. The question +was, Where and by whom had the substitution been made?</p> + +<p>The robbery was discovered at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> Treasury in Washington on Saturday +morning. The news was telegraphed to New York immediately, and on +Saturday afternoon anxious councils were held by the officials of the +American Exchange Bank and the Adams Express Company. Inspector Byrnes +was notified; the Pinkerton Agency was notified; and urgent despatches +were sent to Mr. John Hoey, president of the express company, and to +Robert Pinkerton, who were both out of town, that their presence was +required immediately in New York. Meanwhile every one who had had any +connection with the stolen package—the paying-teller of the bank, +other bank clerks, the messengers, detective McDougal, the +receiving-clerks of the Adams Express Company, and the express +messenger—was closely examined. Where and how the forty-one thousand +dollars had been stolen was important to learn not only in itself, but +also to fix responsibility for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> the sum lost as between the bank and +the express company.</p> + +<p>Three theories were at once suggested: the bogus package might have +been substituted for the genuine one either at the bank, between the +bank and the express office, or between the express office and the +Treasury. The first assumption threw suspicion on some of the bank +employees, the second upon the two bank messengers, the third upon +some one in the service of the express company. Both the bank and the +express company stoutly maintained the integrity of its own employees.</p> + +<p>An examination of the bogus package disclosed some points of +significance. Ordinarily, when bank-notes are done up for shipment by +an experienced clerk, the bills are pressed together as tightly as +possible in small bundles, which are secured with elastic bands, and +then wrapped snugly in strong paper, until<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> the whole makes a package +almost as hard as a board. Around this package the clerk knots strong +twine, melts a drop of sealing-wax over each knot, and stamps it with +the bank's seal. The finished package thus presents a neat and trim +appearance. But in the present instance the package received at the +Treasury was loosely and slovenly wrapped, and the seals seemed to +have been put on either in great haste or by an inexperienced hand. +Moreover, the label must have been cut from the stolen package and +pasted on the other, for the brown paper of a previous wrapping showed +plainly in a margin running around the label. The address on the +package read:</p> + +<p> +"$41,000.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"United States Treasurer,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 6em;">"Washington,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">"D. C."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>All this was printed, except the figures "41,000," even the +dollar-sign.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> The figures were in the writing of Mr. Watson, the +paying-teller of the bank, whose business it was to oversee the +sending of the money. His initials were also marked on the label, with +the date of the sending; so that on examining the label Mr. Watson +himself was positive that it was genuine.</p> + +<p>All this made it tolerably clear that the robbery had not been +committed at the bank before the package was intrusted to the two +messengers; for no bank clerk would have made up so clumsy a package, +and the paying-teller himself, had he been a party to the crime, would +not have cut the label written by himself from the genuine package and +pasted it on the bogus one; he would simply have written out another +label, thus lessening the chances of detection. Furthermore, it was +shown by testimony that during the short time between the sealing up +of the package in the paying-teller's department and its delivery to +Dominie Earle,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> who took it first, it was constantly under the +observation of half a dozen bank employees; so that the work of +cutting off the label and pasting it on the bogus package could +scarcely have been accomplished then without detection.</p> + +<p>Earle and Crawford, the bank messengers, were submitted to repeated +examinations; but their statements threw no light upon the mystery. +Both stuck persistently to the same story, which was that neither had +loosed his hold on the handle of the valise from the moment they left +the bank until they had delivered the package through the window of +the express company's money department. Accepting these statements as +true, it was impossible that the package had been tampered with in +this part of its journey; while the assumption that they were not true +implied apparently a collusion between the two messengers, which was +highly improbable, since Dominie Earle had been a servant of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> bank +for thirty-five years, and had never in that long term failed in his +duty or done anything to arouse distrust. Before entering the bank's +employ he had been a preacher, and his whole life seemed to have been +one of simplicity and honest dealing.</p> + +<p>As for Crawford, who was, indeed, a new man, it was plain that if the +Dominie told the truth, and had really kept his hold on the +valise-handle all the way to the express company's window, his +companion, honest or dishonest, would have had no opportunity to cut +off the label, paste it on the bogus package, and make the +substitution.</p> + +<p>Finally came the theory that the money package had been stolen while +in the care of the express company. In considering this possibility it +became necessary to know exactly what had happened to the package from +the moment it was taken through the window of the money department up +to the time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> of its delivery at the Treasury. The package was first +receipted for by the head of the money department, Mr. J. C. Young. +Having handed the receipt to the bank messengers, he passed the +package to his assistant, Mr. Littlefield, who in turn passed it on to +another clerk, Mr. Moody, who way-billed it in due form for +Washington, and then placed it in the iron safe which was to carry it +on its journey. Two or three hours may have elapsed between the +receipt of the package and the shipment of the safe, but during this +time the package was constantly in view of five or six clerks in the +money department, and, unless they were all in collusion, it could +scarcely have been stolen by any one there. As for the express +messenger who accompanied the safe on the wagon to the train, and then +on the train to Washington, and then on another wagon to the Treasury +building, his innocence seemed clearly established, since the safe had +been locked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> and sealed, according to custom, before its delivery to +him, and showed no signs of having been tampered with when opened in +Washington the following morning by another representative of the +express company. The messenger who accompanies a through safe to its +destination, indeed, has small chance of getting inside, not only +because of the protecting seal, but also because he is never allowed +to have the key to the safe or to know its combination. Recently, as a +still further safeguard, the Adams Express Company has introduced into +its cars an equipment of large burglar-proof and fire-proof safes, +especially as a guard against train robbers, who found it +comparatively easy to break open the small safes once in use. In the +present instance, of course, there was no question of train robbers.</p> + +<p>One important fact stood out plain and uncontrovertible: that a +responsible clerk in the money department of the Adams<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> Express +Company had receipted for a package supposed to contain forty-one +thousand dollars intrusted to the company by the bank. This threw the +responsibility on the company, at least until it could be shown that +the package as delivered contained brown paper, and not bank-notes. In +accordance with their usual policy of promptness and liberality, the +Adams people paid over to the American Exchange Bank the sum of +forty-one thousand dollars, and said no more about it. But their +silence did not mean inactivity. Their instructions to their +detectives in this case, as in all similar cases, were to spare +neither time nor expense, but to continue the investigation until the +thieves had been detected and brought to punishment, or until the last +possibility of clearing up the mystery had certainly expired.</p> + +<p>Hastening to New York in response to the telegram sent him, Robert +Pinkerton examined the evidence already collected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> by his +representative, and then himself questioned all persons in any way +concerned in the handling of the money. Mr. Pinkerton, after his +investigation, was not so sure as some persons were that the package +had been stolen by employees of the express company. He inclined +rather to the opinion that, in the rush of business in the express +office, the false package, badly made up though it was, might have +been passed by one of the clerks. This conclusion turned his +suspicions first toward the two bank messengers. Of these he was not +long in deciding Dominie Earle to be, in all probability, innocent. +While he had known of instances where old men, after years of +unimpeachable life, had suddenly turned to crime, he knew such cases +to be infrequent, and he decided that Earle's was not one of them. Of +the innocence of the other messenger, Crawford, he was not so sure. He +began a careful study of his record.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p> + +<p>Edward Sturgis Crawford at this time was about twenty-seven years old, +a man of medium height, a decided blond, with large blue eyes, and of +a rather effeminate type. He went scrupulously dressed, had white +hands with carefully manicured nails, parted his hair in the middle, +and altogether was somewhat of a dandy. He had entered the bank on the +recommendation of a wealthy New-Yorker, a young man about town, who, +strange to say, had made Crawford's acquaintance, and indeed struck up +quite a friendship with him, while the latter was serving in the +humble capacity of conductor on a Broadway car. This was about a year +before the time of the robbery. Thus far Crawford had attended to his +work satisfactorily, doing nothing to arouse suspicion, unless it was +indulging a tendency to extravagance in dress. His salary was but +forty-two dollars a month, and yet he permitted himself such luxuries +as silk underclothes, fine patent-leather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> shoes, and other apparel to +correspond. Pushing back further into Crawford's record, Mr. Pinkerton +learned that he had grown up in the town of Hancock, New York, where +he had been accused of stealing sixty dollars from his employer and +afterward of perpetrating a fraud upon an insurance company. Putting +all these facts together, Mr. Pinkerton decided that, in spite of a +perfectly self-possessed manner and the good opinion of his employers, +Crawford would stand further watching. His general conduct subsequent +to the robbery was, however, such as to convince every one, except the +dogged detective, that he was innocent of this crime. In vain did +"shadows" follow him night and day, week after week; they discovered +nothing. He retained his place in the bank, doing the humble duties of +messenger with the same regularity as before, and living apparently in +perfect content with the small salary he was drawing. His expenses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> +were lightened, it is true, by an arrangement voluntarily offered by +his friend, the young man about town, who invited him to live in his +own home on Thirty-eighth Street, whereby not only was he saved the +ordinary outlay for lodgings, but many comforts and luxuries were +afforded him that would otherwise have been beyond his reach.</p> + +<p>Thus three months went by with no result; then four, five, six months; +and, finally, all but a year. Then, suddenly, in April, 1889, Crawford +took his departure for Central America, giving out to his friends that +he was going there to assume the management of a banana plantation of +sixty thousand acres, owned by his wealthy friend and benefactor.</p> + +<p>Before Crawford sailed, however, the "shadows" had informed Mr. +Pinkerton of Crawford's intention, and asked instructions. Should they +arrest the man before he took flight, or should they let him go? Mr. +Pinkerton realized that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> was dealing with a man who, if guilty, was +a criminal of unusual cleverness and cunning. His arrest would +probably accomplish nothing, and might spoil everything. There was +little likelihood that the stolen money would be found on Crawford's +person; he would probably arrange some safer way for its transmission. +Perhaps it had gone ahead of him to Central America weeks before.</p> + +<p>"We'll let him go," said Mr. Pinkerton, with a grim smile; "only we'll +have some one go with him."</p> + +<p>The Pinkerton representative employed to shadow Crawford on the voyage +sent word, by the first mail after their arrival in Central America, +that the young man had rarely left his state-room, and that whenever +forced to do so had employed a colored servant to stand on guard so +that no one could go inside.</p> + +<p>Nothing more occurred, however, to justify the suspicion against +Crawford until the early part of 1890, when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> persistent efforts of +the detectives were rewarded by an important discovery. It was then +that Robert Pinkerton learned that Crawford had told a deliberate lie +when examined before the bank officials in regard to his family +relations in New York. He had stated that his only relative in New +York was a brother, Marvin Crawford, who was then driving a streetcar +on the Bleecker Street line. Now it came to the knowledge of Mr. +Pinkerton that Crawford had in the city three married aunts and +several cousins. The reason for Crawford's having concealed this fact +was presently brought to light through the testimony of one of the +aunts, who, having been induced to speak, not without difficulty, +stated that on Sunday, May 6, 1888, two days after the robbery, her +nephew had called at her house, and given her a package which he said +contained gloves, and which he wished her to keep for him. It was +about this time that the papers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> contained the first news of the +robbery, and, her suspicions having been aroused, she picked a hole in +the paper covering of the package large enough to let her see that +there was money inside. Somewhat disturbed, she took the package to +her husband, who opened it and found that it contained two thousand +dollars in bank-notes. Realizing the importance of this discovery, the +husband told his wife that when Crawford came back to claim the +package she should refer him to him, which she did.</p> + +<p>Some days later, on learning from his aunt that she had spoken to her +husband about the package, Crawford became greatly excited, and told +her she had made a dreadful mistake. A stormy scene followed with his +uncle, in which the latter positively refused to render him the money +until he was satisfied that Crawford was its rightful possessor. A few +days later Crawford's young friend, the man about town, called on the +uncle,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> and stated that the money in the package belonged to him and +must be surrendered. The uncle was still obdurate; and when Crawford +and his friend became violent in manner, he remarked meaningly that if +they made any more trouble he would deliver the package of money to +the Adams Express Company and let the company decide to whom it +belonged. This brought the angry claimants to their senses, and +Crawford's friend left the house and never returned. Finally +Crawford's uncle compromised the contention by giving his nephew five +hundred dollars out of the two thousand, and retaining the balance +himself, in payment, one must suppose, for his silence. At any rate, +he kept fifteen hundred dollars, and also a receipt in Crawford's +handwriting for the five hundred dollars paid to him.</p> + +<p>Other members of the family recalled the fact that a few days after +the robbery Crawford had left in his aunt's store-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>room a valise, +which he had subsequently called for and taken away. None of them had +seen the contents of the valise, but they remembered that Crawford on +the second visit had remained alone in the store-room for quite a +time, perhaps twenty minutes, and after his departure they found there +a rubber band like those used at the bank. The detectives also +discovered that on the 15th of May, 1888, eleven days after the +robbery, Crawford had rented a safety-deposit box at a bank in the +Fifth Avenue Hotel building, under the name of Eugene Holt. On the +18th of May he had exchanged this box for a larger one. During the +following months he made several visits to the box, but for what +purpose, was not known.</p> + +<p>On presenting this accumulated evidence to the Adams Express Company, +along with his own deductions, Robert Pinkerton was not long in +convincing his employers that the situation required in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> Central +America the presence of some more adroit detective than had yet been +sent there. The difficulty of the case was heightened by the fact that +Crawford had established himself in British Honduras, and that the +extradition treaty between the United States and England did not then, +as it does now, provide for the surrender of criminals guilty of such +offenses as that which Crawford was believed to have committed. +Crawford could be arrested, therefore, only by being gotten into +another country by some clever manœuver. The man best capable of +carrying out such a manœuver was Robert Pinkerton himself; and, +accordingly, the express company, despite the very considerable +expense involved, and fully aware that the result must be uncertain, +authorized Mr. Pinkerton to go personally in pursuit of Crawford.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton arrived at Balize, the capital of British Honduras, on +February<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> 17, 1890, nearly two years after the date of the robbery. +There he learned that Crawford's plantation was about ninety miles +down the coast, a little back of Punta Gorda. Punta Gorda lies near +the line separating British Honduras from Guatemala, and is not more +than a hundred miles from Spanish Honduras, or Honduras proper, +directly across the Gulf of Honduras.</p> + +<p>Difficulties confronted Mr. Pinkerton from the very start. People were +dying about him every day of yellow fever, and when he started for +Punta Gorda on a little steamer, the engineer came aboard looking as +yellow as saffron, and immediately began to vomit, so that he had to +be taken ashore. Then the engine broke down several times on the +voyage, and the heat was insufferable.</p> + +<p>As the boat steamed slowly into Punta Gorda it passed a small steam +craft loaded with bananas. "Look," said one of the passengers to Mr. +Pinkerton, not aware<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> of the nature of Mr. Pinkerton's mission, "there +goes Crawford's launch now."</p> + +<p>Landing at once, the detective waited for the launch to come to shore, +which it presently did. The first man to come off was Marvin Crawford, +whom Mr. Pinkerton recognized from a description, although he had +never seen him. Then he saw Edward Crawford step off, dressed smartly +in a white helmet hat, a red sash, a fine plaited linen shirt, blue +trousers, patent-leather shoes, and so on. Mr. Pinkerton approached +and held out his hand.</p> + +<p>"I don't remember you," said Crawford; but his face went white.</p> + +<p>"You used to know me in New York when I examined you before the bank +officials," said the detective, pleasantly.</p> + +<p>Crawford smiled in a sickly way and said, "Oh, yes; I remember you +now."</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton explained that he had traveled five thousand miles to +talk with him about the stolen money package.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> Crawford expressed +willingness to furnish any information he could, and invited Mr. +Pinkerton to go up to his plantation, where they could talk the matter +over more comfortably. Seeing that his best course was to humor +Crawford, Mr. Pinkerton consented, though realizing that he thus put +himself in Crawford's power. They went aboard Crawford's launch and +steamed up the river, a very narrow, winding stream, arched quite over +through most of its length by the thick tropical foliage, and in some +parts so deep that no soundings had yet found bottom. The plantation +was entirely inaccessible by land on account of impassable swamps, and +the crooked course of the river made it a journey of twenty-three +miles from Punta Gorda, although in a straight line it was only six +miles away.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton was surprised at the unpretentious character of the +house, which was built of cane and palm stocks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> and roofed with palm +branches. Originally it had been one large room, but it was now +divided by muslin sheeting into two rooms, one at either end, with a +hall in the middle. Almost the first thing Mr. Pinkerton noticed on +entering was a fire-proof safe standing in the hall. It was of medium +size and seemed to be new. He knew he was powerless, under the laws of +the country, to search the safe, but he made up his mind that while he +was in the house he would keep his eyes as much as possible upon it. +That night he did not sleep for watching. But Crawford did not go near +the safe until the next morning, when he went to get out some +account-books. While the door was open Mr. Pinkerton saw only a small +bag of silver inside, but he felt sure from Crawford's manner that +there was a larger amount of money there.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton remained at the plantation for forty-eight hours. On the +second day he had a long interview with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> Crawford, questioning him in +the greatest detail as to his connection with the robbery. Crawford +persisted in denying that he had had any connection with it, or had +any knowledge as to what had become of the stolen money. Argue as he +would, Mr. Pinkerton could not beat down the stubbornness of his +denials. All direct approaches failing, at last he tried indirection. +He spoke of Burke, the absconding State treasurer of Louisiana, who, +along with a number of other American law-breakers, had fled to +Central America. "Burke had a level head, hadn't he?" said he.</p> + +<p>"How do you mean?" asked Crawford.</p> + +<p>"Why, in going to Spanish Honduras. You know the United States has no +extradition treaty there under which we could bring back a man who has +absconded for embezzlement or grand larceny. Burke is as safe there as +if he owned the whole country."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Is that so?" said Crawford, looking significantly at his brother +Marvin, who was present.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Mr. Pinkerton, "it is. I only wish the fellow would come +up here into British Honduras; then we might do something with him."</p> + +<p>Here the subject was dropped.</p> + +<p>Next Mr. Pinkerton exhibited to Crawford a sealed letter written by +James G. Blaine and addressed to the chief magistrate of British +Honduras, pointing to the seals of the State Department to assure +Crawford of the letter's genuineness, and hinting mysteriously at the +use he proposed making of this document and at the probable effect +that would follow its delivery.</p> + +<p>With this the interview closed, and Mr. Pinkerton announced his +intention of going back to Punta Gorda. Crawford had practically told +him to do his worst, and he had not concealed his intention of doing +it. Nevertheless their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> relations continued outwardly pleasant, and +Mr. Pinkerton was treated with the hospitality that is usual in +tropical countries. He saw no sign of any disposition on the part of +either of the Crawfords to do him harm, but he kept his revolvers +always ready, and gave them no chance to catch him napping.</p> + +<p>Toward evening of the second day Crawford and his brother got the +launch ready, and took Mr. Pinkerton down the river back to Punta +Gorda, where they said good-by. At parting Crawford made a brave show +of treating the whole matter lightly. "I may see you in New York in a +couple of months," he said to the detective as they shook hands.</p> + +<p>"If you see me in New York," said Mr. Pinkerton, "you will see +yourself under arrest."</p> + +<p>On landing, Mr. Pinkerton proceeded, with all the obviousness +possible, to call at the house of the British magistrate, which was so +situated that Crawford from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> the launch could not fail to see him +enter. This seems to have confirmed the impression he had been +striving to create, that British Honduras, though in truth a perfect +refuge for a criminal like Crawford, was none. Crawford, apparently +thoroughly frightened, and thinking he had not an hour to lose, +steamed back in all haste to his plantation, gathered together, as +subsequently appeared, his money and other valuables, and then, under +cover of night, dropped down the river again, put out to sea +forthwith, and crossed the Bay of Honduras to Puerto Cortés, in +Spanish Honduras, the country of all Central America in which Mr. +Pinkerton preferred to have him. In short, Mr. Pinkerton's stratagem +had worked perfectly.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton's reason for wishing to get Crawford into Spanish +Honduras was not because the treaty arrangements were more favorable +there than in British Honduras, but because the Pinkerton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> Agency +enjoyed unusual personal relations with the Honduras government. +Several years before, when President Bogram had in contemplation the +federation of Central American States under one government, he had +applied to the Pinkerton Agency for reliable detectives for +secret-service work. In consequence of this the present head of the +Honduras secret force was no other than a former Pinkerton employee +who had been recommended by the New York office to the Honduras +government, and upon whom Mr. Pinkerton knew he could rely absolutely. +Another man equally disposed to favor him was Mr. Bert Cecil, a member +of the cabinet, and at the head of the telegraph service, and thus in +a position to render most valuable service in the apprehension of +Crawford.</p> + +<p>As soon as Mr. Pinkerton learned of Crawford's flight, he hurried in +pursuit, crossing the bay to Livingston, in Guatemala. In so doing he +risked his life,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> first by putting out to sea in a little dory, and +then by trusting his safety to a treacherous Carib boatman, who, when +they were several miles out, evinced a strong disposition to take +possession of the detective's overcoat, in order, as he explained with +a cunning look, to turn its silk lining into a pair of trousers. At +this, Mr. Pinkerton carelessly produced his revolver, which had a +quieting effect upon the fellow, and the voyage was completed in +safety. But soon after landing Mr. Pinkerton suffered an attack of +fever, and being warned by the doctors to return to a Northern +latitude, he got the government machinery in motion for the +apprehension of Crawford, had photographs of the former bank messenger +spread broadcast through the country, and then having cabled the New +York bureau to send responsible detectives to take his place, he +sailed for New Orleans.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton was succeeded in Central<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> America by detective George H. +Hotchkiss, one of the best men in the country, who arrived in Balize +on the 18th of March. A telegram from Pinkerton's former employee, now +chief of the secret police in Honduras, informed him that Crawford had +been seen in San Pedro, Spanish Honduras, on the previous Saturday, +and was being closely pursued by Spanish soldiers accompanied by +Pinkerton men. Hotchkiss sailed at once for Puerto Cortés, where he +learned from the American vice-consul, Dr. Ruez, that Crawford had +left San Pedro hastily the previous Monday night. On further +investigation the detective discovered that a San Francisco bully and +former prize-fighter, "Mike" Neiland, had called at Crawford's +boarding-house on Monday, and warned him that detectives were pursuing +him from Puerto Cortés on a hand-car. Neiland had pretended to be +Crawford's friend, and said he would keep him out of the hands of the +detectives.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> Crawford, very much frightened, grabbed up some of his +luggage and left the house with Neiland. It was generally believed +that Neiland had designs on Crawford's money, and would not hesitate +to kill him, if need were, in order to get it.</p> + +<p>Hotchkiss immediately requested Mr. Bert Cecil, at Tegucigalpa, the +capital, to cover all telegraphic points, and, if possible, have +Crawford and his companion arrested on some trivial charge. The day +after he reached San Pedro, on March 22, he received a telegram saying +that Crawford and Neiland had been arrested and taken before the +governor at Santa Barbara. They had been searched, and about +thirty-two thousand dollars had been found on Crawford's person. The +money was in old and worn bills that in every way resembled those in +the stolen package. Whether they were the identical bills or not it +was impossible to say, as the bank had not recorded the numbers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span></p> + +<p>On receipt of this news, Hotchkiss, accompanied by Jack Hall, a guide, +set out across the country for Santa Barbara. The journey was +accomplished, but only after the most terrible suffering and many +privations and dangers. Moreover, the fever got its deadly clutches +upon detective Hotchkiss; and when he had finally dragged himself into +Santa Barbara, he cabled the New York office: "Crawford and money held +for extradition. Am sick. Cannot remain. Coming on steamer Tuesday. My +associate takes charge."</p> + +<p>Before sailing for New Orleans detective Hotchkiss had an interview +with Crawford, in the presence of the Spanish officials, and obtained +from him a written confession of his guilt. While admitting that he +had been a party to the robbery, the absconder tried to lessen his own +crime by declaring that the plan to plunder the bank had been +suggested to him by two men, named Brown and Bowen, whom he had met +accidentally on a railway<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>-train in New York, and with whom he had +afterward become very friendly. These men had taken him to Brown's +house on Thirty-eighth Street, somewhere between Eighth and Ninth +avenues (Crawford could not locate the place more precisely), and +introduced him to a fine-looking woman presented as Mrs. Brown, who +was also in the conspiracy. They told him that he was earning very +little money for a man in such a responsible position, and that he +might easily make a fortune if he would put his interests in their +hands and be guided by their advice.</p> + +<p>The outcome of several conversations was a plan to get possession of a +valuable money package on some day when Crawford should know a large +sum was to be sent away from the bank. He claimed that on the day of +the robbery one of his fellow-conspirators, Bowen, followed behind +himself and Earle after they entered the Adams express offices, and +managed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> to substitute a bogus package for the real one while the two +messengers were going up the stairs. He did not make this attempt +until he saw the bank detective McDougal turn back up Broadway. +Crawford said that he managed it so as to precede Earle in going up +the stairs, which gave Bowen, who was standing at the first turn, in +the shadow, an opportunity to open the satchel and quickly make the +substitution. Crawford declared that the conspirators gave him only +twenty-five hundred dollars as his share of the booty, although +promising him more. This sum he put in two envelops and sent to his +aunt, the one to whom he afterward intrusted the package supposed to +contain gloves.</p> + +<p>Crawford stated further that Brown and Bowen, having been forced to +flee the country, sent him word from Paris, some time later, in a +letter written by Mrs. Brown, that the greater part of the stolen +money had been buried in a flower<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>-bed in the southeast corner of a +yard on West Thirty-eighth Street, and asked him to dig it up and send +it to them. A remarkable fact in this connection is that the yard +referred to on West Thirty-eighth Street belonged to the house of the +friend and benefactor with whom Crawford was living at the time of the +robbery.</p> + +<p>Crawford claimed to have carried out these instructions, and deposited +the package of money taken from the flower-bed in the safe-deposit +vaults in the Fifth Avenue Hotel building, where, as a matter of fact, +he was known to have rented a box. He gave as his reason for not +sending the money to Paris that he was in trouble himself, being under +constant surveillance, and thought it best to keep the money secreted +for the time. He admitted that he had carried this money with him to +Honduras, and that it was the same found on his person by the +detectives. By his description of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> Brown and Bowen, the former was a +man about twenty-five years old, of slight build and light complexion, +while the latter was ten years older, two or three inches taller, with +a sandy mustache and very fat hands. Mrs. Brown Crawford described as +about twenty-five years old, a blonde, with regular features. He had +no idea what had become of these people since he left America, having +had no further communication with them. None of the alleged +conspirators has ever been found, and they are believed to be purely +mythical.</p> + +<p>Detective Hotchkiss also had an interview with "Mike" Neiland, +Crawford's companion in flight, who described his first meeting with +Crawford at his boarding-house in San Pedro, and acknowledged that he +had deliberately frightened Crawford into running away by his story of +the pursuing detectives. He described their adventures and hardships +in trying to escape over the rough country, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> difficulties they +experienced in buying mules, their sufferings from exposure in the +swamps, and finally their capture by the soldiers. Neiland said that +Crawford gave him three thousand dollars in fifty-dollar bills, and +also allowed him to carry, a part of the time, a large package wrapped +in oil-cloth paper and sewed up tightly. Crawford had told him to +throw this package away rather than let any one capture it; for, he +said, it contained money which would send him to prison if found upon +him.</p> + +<p>As they pushed along in their flight, Crawford declared repeatedly +that he would put an end to his life rather than be taken prisoner; +and when the soldiers surrounded them he drew his revolver and tried +to blow his brains out. One of the soldiers, however, was too quick +for him, and struck the weapon out of his hand. After the capture +Crawford vainly tried to bribe the guards to let him escape, offering +them as much as ten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> thousand dollars. When the large package was +opened, it was found to contain bundles of bills sewed together with +black thread, and with about a dozen rubber bands wrapped around them, +and a stout covering of buckskin under the oiled paper. The money +amounted to thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars, all in United +States bills—fives, tens, twenties, fifties, and hundreds, but mostly +fives. Ultimately the money was returned to the American Exchange +Bank.</p> + +<p>When organizing the pursuit of Crawford, detective Hotchkiss had +arranged with the Honduras government that any letters and telegrams +that might come addressed to the absconder should be delivered to him. +Several letters were thus secured from the young man about town in New +York who had befriended Crawford so constantly in the past, and who +seemed now disposed to stand by him even in adversity and disgrace. +The letters contained counsel and reproaches,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> and seemed to indicate +that relations of unusual familiarity had existed between the two men. +Besides these letters, two cablegrams were intercepted from the same +source, both being sent through an intermediary. The first was dated +March 15, 1890, and read: "Tell Crawford go back. Papers bluff. No +treaty exists." The second, sent two days later, read: "Inform +Crawford will meet him in Puerto Cortés."</p> + +<p>It is needless to say that the young man did not carry out his +intention of joining Crawford in Honduras, for the same mail which +would have brought him Crawford's reply carried the startling news +that his protégé and friend was under arrest in Santa Barbara, a +self-confessed bank robber.</p> + +<p>The government of Honduras consented, thanks to their friendly +relations with the Pinkertons, to deliver Crawford over to one of the +representatives of the agency, and superintendent E. S. Gaylor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> who +had meantime replaced detective Hotchkiss, took him in charge. A guard +of Spanish soldiers brought the prisoner to Puerto Cortés, where he +was placed in a hotel pending his transfer to a vessel sailing for the +United States. Superintendent Gaylor himself was present to see that +everything was managed properly, and he was seconded in his oversight +by the former Pinkerton employee, the head of the secret police in +Honduras. The final arrangements had been made, the government having +taken advantage of a law authorizing the expulsion of "pernicious +foreigners" in order to get rid of Crawford. The superintendent had +actually taken passage for himself and Crawford, and selected berths, +on an American vessel that was to sail on the morning of May 2, 1890; +but the night before Crawford made his escape from the hotel, going +without the money, which remained in the detective's keeping. How he +escaped is still a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> matter of conjecture. The hotel stood on the +water's edge, and from a balcony to which Crawford had access he may +have managed to spring down to a wall built on piles. From there he +may have reached the hotel yard at the back, and escaped over one of +the picket fences that separated the hotel from the adjoining +property. There is also a possibility that the Spanish soldiers were +bribed; but this has never been proved, and is scarcely probable, as +Crawford at the time of his escape had not more than seventy-five +dollars in Honduras bills in his possession.</p> + +<p>During the following days and weeks untiring efforts were made to +recapture him. The swamps were searched for miles, and soldiers were +sent out in all directions. Mr. Gaylor believed that Crawford +succeeded in making his escape into Guatemala, which was only thirty +miles distant. He was undoubtedly assisted in his escape by the fact +that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> people in the surrounding region sympathized strongly with him +and would have done anything in their power to conceal him from his +pursuers. At any rate, the man was never recovered.</p> + +<p>Seven years have passed since Crawford's escape, and all this time he +has been left undisturbed in Central America, where he has been +frequently seen by people who know him, and where he seems to be +thriving. At last accounts he and his brother were engaged in business +on one of the islands in the Mosquito Reservation of Nicaragua, where +they were regarded as dangerous men by the government, likely to +incite revolution. So strong was this feeling on the part of the +Nicaraguan officials that some years ago advances were made to the +United States government to have Crawford surrendered, the Nicaraguan +officials declaring that they would gladly give him up if a demand for +his extradition was made by the proper authorities<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> in Washington. For +some reason the demand has never been made, and probably never will +be.</p> + +<p>Immediately after Crawford had made confession, the American Exchange +Bank, realizing that there was no longer any doubt that the robbery +was committed by one of its employees, voluntarily refunded to the +Adams Express Company the forty-one thousand dollars that had +previously been paid to it by the company, together with interest +thereon for two years, and a large part of the expenses. Therefore the +only complainant in the case now available would be the bank +officials, who, for some reason, have seen fit to let the matter drop.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pinkerton's theory of the way in which this robbery was committed +is that Crawford had an accomplice who had previously prepared the +bogus package, and who, by previous appointment, was standing on the +stairs in the express<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> office when the two messengers arrived. It has +always been a question in Mr. Pinkerton's mind whether the old man +Dominie Earle told the exact truth in his testimony before the bank +officials. Not that he suspected Earle of having been implicated in +the crime, but he has wondered whether Earle might not have been +simply negligent to the extent of leaving Crawford in sole possession +of the valise at some time after they entered the office. There is no +doubt that Earle was very anxious to catch a four-o'clock train at one +of the New Jersey ferries, in order to get home early. He may, in his +haste, have allowed Crawford to go up-stairs with the valise +unaccompanied.</p> + +<p>This would explain how Crawford found opportunity to open the valise +and make substitution of the bogus for the genuine package. Assuming +that the accomplice was standing at a turn of the stairs, which are +winding and rather dusky, it is perfectly conceivable that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> such a +change of packages might have been effected with scarcely a moment's +delay.</p> + +<p>But consenting that Earle told the exact truth, he admitted that he +lingered behind Crawford a little in ascending the stairs, and in so +doing he may have furnished sufficient opportunity for the +substitution. An old man going up rather steep stairs naturally bends +his head forward to relieve the ascent, and in such position he might +fail to see what a man close in front of him even was doing. The +trouble with this theory is that it supposes the label on the bogus +package to have been a forgery.</p> + +<p>There is still another theory suggested by Mr. Pinkerton to account +for the presence of the bogus money package in the valise when the two +messengers reached the counter of the receiving department. It is that +Crawford's confederate had provided himself with a second valise, +similar in all respects to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> the one used by the bank, and that in this +had been placed the bogus package with a forged label, making the +substitution a matter of merely changing valises, which could have +been accomplished in a second. It has also been suggested that +Crawford might have managed the whole scheme himself, by having +prepared a valise like the one he carried daily, arranged with two +compartments, in one of which was placed the genuine package received +from the paying-teller at the bank, while out of the other compartment +was taken at the express office a bogus package previously placed +there. What makes it the more reasonable to suppose that Crawford +accomplished the theft single-handed is the fact that when arrested in +Honduras the bulk of the stolen money was found on his person, while +it was known that, in addition to the thirty-two thousand dollars then +recovered, he had previously spent considerable sums in various ways. +His<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> voyage, for instance, must have been expensive; and it was found +that he had given at various times to members of his family sums +ranging from twenty to fifty dollars. This would have left out of the +original forty-one thousand dollars a very meager remuneration for a +confederate.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the most reasonable explanation of the robbery lies in the +assumption that Dominie Earle, honest, but simple-minded, did not go +up-stairs at all with Crawford, but left him at the foot of the +stairs, influenced by his eagerness to get home. Granting this +supposition, what would have been easier than for Crawford, left alone +at the foot of the stairs, to have turned back with the valise and +gone into the back room of some neighboring saloon, or other +convenient place, where he could manipulate the label and substitute +the bogus package? There is reason to think that the bogus package had +been prepared weeks before, which would have accounted in a measure +for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> its worn and slovenly appearance. The time occupied in doing all +this need not have been over fifteen minutes, which would not have +been noticed at the bank, especially as the robbery occurred after +banking hours. It is highly improbable, however, that Crawford could +have accomplished the substitution on the stairs of the express +office; for, while these are winding and somewhat in the shadow, they +are by no means dark, and are plainly in view of clerks and officials +who are constantly passing. Besides that, Crawford could not have +carried the dummy package concealed about his person without +attracting attention, for the original package was quite bulky, being +about twenty inches long, twenty inches wide, and fourteen inches +thick. The bogus package was not quite so thick, and more oblong, but +could not easily have been hidden under a man's coat. Finally, even +supposing Crawford did carry the bogus package with him in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> some +manner, he would never have dared to expose himself to almost certain +detection by cutting off the label from the genuine package, pasting +it on the bogus package, placing the latter in the valise, and hiding +the genuine one in his clothes—and doing all this on the busy stairs +of an express office where at that hour of the day a dozen men are +going up and down every minute.</p> + +<p>The sum of all these theories is, however, that, in spite of the fact +that the author of the robbery is known and the bulk of the money has +been recovered, the manner of the robbery is to this day a mystery.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's True Detective Stories, by Cleveland Moffett + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 33922-h.htm or 33922-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/9/2/33922/ + +Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Suzanne Shell, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/33922-h/images/cover.jpg b/33922-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f63041 --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/33922-h/images/image_001.jpg b/33922-h/images/image_001.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1c9060e --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/images/image_001.jpg diff --git a/33922-h/images/image_002.jpg b/33922-h/images/image_002.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2bf513e --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/images/image_002.jpg diff --git a/33922-h/images/image_a.jpg b/33922-h/images/image_a.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ae42ff9 --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/images/image_a.jpg diff --git a/33922-h/images/image_l.jpg b/33922-h/images/image_l.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..613f90e --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/images/image_l.jpg diff --git a/33922-h/images/image_t.jpg b/33922-h/images/image_t.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d30d6bd --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/images/image_t.jpg diff --git a/33922-h/images/seal.jpg b/33922-h/images/seal.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..fdfc27e --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/images/seal.jpg diff --git a/33922-h/images/title_page.jpg b/33922-h/images/title_page.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8acd746 --- /dev/null +++ b/33922-h/images/title_page.jpg diff --git a/33922.txt b/33922.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..90308a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/33922.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4090 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of True Detective Stories, by Cleveland Moffett + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: True Detective Stories + From the archives of the Pinkertons + +Author: Cleveland Moffett + +Release Date: October 15, 2010 [EBook #33922] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Suzanne Shell, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + [Illustration: WILLIAM A. PINKERTON] + + + True Detective + Stories + + + From the Archives of the + Pinkertons + + + By + + Cleveland Moffett + + + + + + NEW YORK: + + _G. W. Dillingham Co., Publishers,_ + + + + + Copyright, 1893, 1894 + S. S. MCCLURE CO. + + Copyright, 1897 + DOUBLEDAY & MCCLURE CO. + + * * * * * + + + + +CONTENTS + + PAGE + +The Northampton Bank Robbery 1 + +The Susquehanna Express Robbery 57 + +The Pollock Diamond Robbery 95 + +The Rock Island Express 121 + +The Destruction of the Renos 161 + +The American Exchange Bank Robbery 193 + + * * * * * + + + + +The Northampton Bank Robbery + + +About midnight on Tuesday, January 25, 1876, five masked men entered +the house of John Whittelsey in Northampton, Massachusetts. Mr. +Whittelsey was the cashier of the Northampton National Bank, and was +known to have in his possession the keys of the bank building and the +combination to the bank vault. The five men entered the house +noiselessly, with the aid of false keys, previously prepared. Passing +up-stairs to the sleeping-apartments, they overpowered seven inmates +of the house, gagging and binding them so that resistance or alarm +was impossible. These were Mr. Whittelsey and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. +T. B. Cutler, Miss Mattie White, Miss Benton, and a servant-girl. + +The bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Whittelsey was entered by two men who +seemed to be leaders of the band. One wore a long linen duster +buttoned nearly to the knees, also gloves and overshoes; the other +wore a jacket and overalls. Both men had their faces concealed behind +masks, and one of them carried a dark-lantern. On entering the room +the two men went directly to the bed, one standing on either side, and +handcuffed Mr. Whittelsey and his wife. Both carried revolvers. The +proceedings were much the same in the other rooms. + +After some delay and whispered consultation, the robbers ordered the +five women to get up and dress. When they had done so, they were roped +together by ankles and wrists, and taken into a small room, where +they were kept under guard by one of the band. Mr. Cutler also was +imprisoned in the same way. Then the two leaders devoted themselves to +Mr. Whittelsey. They told him plainly that they had come for the keys +of the bank and the combination of the vault, and that they would +"make it hot" for him unless he gave them what they wanted. Mr. +Whittelsey replied that it was useless to attempt to break into the +bank, as the locks were too strong for their efforts and he would not +betray his trust. At this the man in the linen duster shrugged his +shoulders and said they would see about that. + +Mr. Whittelsey was then taken downstairs, and again summoned to +surrender the keys. Again he refused. At this the man in the overalls +put his hand in the cashier's trousers-pocket and drew forth a key. + +"Is this the key to the bank?" he asked. + +"Yes, it is," answered the cashier, hoping to gain time. + +"You lie," said the robber, with threatening gesture, at the same time +trying the key in the lock of the front door of the house, which it +turned. + +"Don't hit him yet," said the other; "he is sick." Then he asked Mr. +Whittelsey if he wanted a drink of brandy. Mr. Whittelsey shook his +head no. Then the man in the linen duster renewed his demands. He +wanted the combination of the vault. Mr. Whittelsey gave him some +figures, which the robber wrote down on a piece of paper. These were +for the outer door of the vault. He demanded the combination for the +inner door, and Mr. Whittelsey gave him other figures. Having written +these down also, the robber came close to his prisoner and said, "Will +you swear these figures are correct?" + +"I will," answered Mr. Whittelsey. + +"You are lying again. If they are correct, let's hear you repeat +them." + +The cashier could not do this, and so disclosed that the figures were +not the right ones. + +"See, Number One," said the robber, addressing his comrade, "we're +wasting time; we'll have to teach him to stop lying." + +As he spoke he struck the sharp point of his lead-pencil into Mr. +Whittelsey's face so violently as to make a wound, and followed this +with several blows on the body. + +"Will you tell us now?" he asked. + +Mr. Whittelsey kept silent. Then both men came at him, wringing his +ears, shaking him by the throat, hurling him to the floor, and +pounding their knees into his chest. For three hours this torture was +continued. More than once the ruffians placed their revolvers at Mr. +Whittelsey's head, declaring they would blow his brains out unless he +yielded. Finally he did yield; the suffering was too great; the +supreme instinct of self-preservation asserted itself. Toward four +o'clock in the morning, bruised from head to foot, and worn beyond +further resistance, he surrendered the keys, and revealed the true +combination of the vault. + +Then the robbers went away, leaving two of their associates to watch +over the prisoners. One of the band, before his departure, did not +disdain to search Mr. Whittelsey's clothes and take his watch and +chain and fourteen dollars in money. The last of the band remained in +the house until six o'clock; and it was an hour later before Mr. +Whittelsey succeeded in freeing himself from his bonds. + +He hurried at once to the bank, arriving there soon after seven +o'clock. He found the vault door locked, and its dials broken off, so +that it was impossible at the moment to determine the extent of the +robbery, or, indeed, whether there had been any robbery. It was +necessary to send to New York for an expert before the vault could be +opened, which was not accomplished until late that night, twenty hours +after the attack had been made. Then it was found that the robbers had +been only too successful, having secured money and securities +estimated at a million and a quarter dollars. Much of this sum was +safe-deposits, and the loss fell on the depositors; and to some it was +the loss of their whole property. + +At this time the authorities had no clue to the identity of the +robbers, though they had left behind them numerous evidences of their +presence, such as dark-lanterns, masks, sledge-hammers, overshoes, and +the like. Their escape had been managed as skilfully as the robbery +itself. Sheriff's officers and detectives did their best during +subsequent days and weeks, but their efforts were in vain. The +president of the bank offered a reward of twenty-five thousand +dollars for the apprehension of the robbers and the return of the +property; but there were no discoveries. + +When several months had elapsed, the Pinkertons were called into the +case. They began by carefully studying certain communications that had +been received by the bank directors from persons claiming to have in +their possession the missing securities. The first of these +communications was dated New York, February 27, 1876, about a month +after the robbery. It ran as follows, the letters of each word being +carefully printed with a pen, so that there was little chance of +identification through the handwriting: + + "DEAR SIRS: When you are satisfied with detective skill you + can make a proposition to us, the holders, and if you are + liberal we may be able to do business with you. If you + entertain any such ideas, please insert a personal in the + New York 'Herald.' Address to XXX, and sign 'Rufus,' to + which due attention will be paid. To satisfy you that we + hold papers, we send you a couple of pieces." + + [No signature.] + +No attention had been paid to this letter, although two certificates +of stock accompanied it which had undoubtedly been in the bank's +vault. Three other letters of a similar nature had been received +later. To one of these the bank people had sent a guarded reply, which +had called forth the following response, dated New York, October 20, +1876: + + "GENTLEMEN: Since you have seen fit to recognize the receipt + of our letter, we will now send you our price for the return + of the goods. The United States coupon bonds and money taken + cannot be returned; but everything else--bonds, letters, and + papers, to the smallest document--will be returned for one + hundred and fifty thousand dollars. If these figures suit + you, we will make arrangements, according to our promise, + and you may have the goods as soon as preliminaries can be + arranged for the safe conduct of the business. If you agree + to this price, insert in the New York 'Herald' personal + column the simple word 'Agatha.' + + "Respectfully, etc., + + "RUFUS." + +The special value of these letters was in helping the detectives to +decide which one of several gangs of bank robbers then operating in +the country was most likely to have committed the crime. Being +familiar with the methods of each gang, Robert Pinkerton was able to +draw useful inferences from evidence that would otherwise have been +insignificant. He knew, for instance, that the notorious gang headed +by James Dunlap would be more apt than any other to thus negotiate for +the return of all the securities in a lump, since it was Dunlap's +invariable rule to insist upon personally controlling the proceeds of +his robberies until final disposition was made of them. On the other +hand, the gangs headed respectively by the notorious "Jimmy" Hope, +"Worcester Sam," and George Bliss might have divided the securities +among the members, and then tried to negotiate a compromise on the +individual portions. + +A fact of much significance to the Pinkertons was the rather +remarkable interest in the case, and apparent familiarity with it, +shown by one J. G. Evans, an expert in safes and vaults and the +representative of one of the largest safe-manufactories in the +country. + +The day after the robbery Evans had been at Bristol, Connecticut, in +the interest of his firm, who, on receipt of the news, had immediately +wired him to proceed to Northampton. His presence in Northampton was +regarded as nothing strange, for he had been there several times +during the months just preceding the robbery, and once had inspected +the lock and dials of the vault of the robbed bank. What did seem a +little strange, however, was Evans's evident interest in the +negotiations for a compromise. On a dozen different occasions he +talked with the president and other officers of the bank regarding the +robbery, and insinuated quite plainly that he might be in a position +to assist them in recovering their lost securities. A few months after +the robbery he even went so far as to tell one of the directors that +he could name the members of the gang. + +This disposition of Evans to put himself forward in the negotiations +had all the more significance to Robert Pinkerton from the fact that +it had been rumored that a series of daring bank robberies lately +committed in various parts of the country had owed their success to +the participation of an expert in safes and locks, who had been able, +through his position of trust, to reveal to the robbers many secrets +of weak bank locks, safes, and vaults. Up to this time these rumors +had remained indefinite, and no one ventured to name the man. It was +known, however, that the false expert was a man of high standing in +his calling and generally regarded as above suspicion. It was also +known that there was great jealousy in other gangs of bank robbers +because of the amazing success of the gang with whom this man was +working, and that overtures even had been made by the leaders of some +other gangs to win over to their own gangs this desirable accomplice. +Robert Pinkerton had already concluded that the gang so ably assisted +was the Dunlap gang; and he was now pretty well persuaded, also, that +the Northampton robbery had been committed by the Dunlap gang. There +was every reason, therefore, for keeping a sharp eye on the +safe-expert Evans. + +As he studied the case, Mr. Pinkerton recalled a circumstance that had +happened in the fall of 1875. On the night of November 4, 1875, the +First National Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania, had been robbed of +sixty thousand dollars, and Mr. Pinkerton had gone there to +investigate the case. He met a number of safe-men, it being a business +custom with safe-men to flock to the scene of an important bank +robbery in order to supply new safes for the ones that have been +wrecked. While they were all examining the vault, still littered with +debris of the explosion, the representative of one of the +safe-companies picked up a small air-pump used by the robbers, and, +looking at it critically, remarked that he would have sworn it +belonged to his company, did he not know that was impossible. The +air-pump was, he declared, of precisely his company's model, one that +had been recently devised for a special purpose. At the time Mr. +Pinkerton regarded this as merely a coincidence, but now the memory +came to him as a flash of inspiration that the man who had remarked +the similarity in the air-pump represented the same company that +employed Evans. + +In view of all the circumstances, it was decided to put Evans under +the closest questioning. He did not deny that he had made unusual +efforts to effect the return of the securities, but professed that it +was because he was sincerely sorry for the many people who had been +ruined through the robbery. And he professed to believe, also, that he +had been unjustly treated in the affair, though just how, and by whom, +he would not say. To the detective's trained observation it was +apparent that he was worried and apprehensive and not at all sure of +himself. + +In November, 1876, George H. Bangs, superintendent of the Pinkerton +Agency, a man possessed of very remarkable skill in eliciting +confessions from suspected persons, had an interview with Evans. He +professed to Evans that the detectives had secured evidence that +practically cleared up the whole mystery; that they _knew_ (whereas +they still only surmised) that the robbery had been committed by the +Dunlap and Scott gang, and that Evans was a confederate; that for +weeks they had been shadowing Scott and Dunlap (which was true), and +could arrest them at any moment; that there was no doubt that the gang +had been trying to play Evans false (a very shrewd guess), and would +sacrifice him without the slightest compunction; and, finally, that +there was open to Evans one of two courses--either to suffer arrest on +a charge of bank robbery, with the prospect of twenty years in prison, +or save himself, and at the same time earn a substantial money reward, +by making a clean confession of his connection with the crime. All +this, delivered with an air of completest certainty, was more than +Evans could stand up against. He broke down completely, and told all +he knew. + +The story told by Evans is one of the most remarkable in the history +of crime. He admitted the correctness of Robert Pinkerton's inference +that the Northampton Bank had been robbed by Scott and Dunlap and +their associates, and in order to explain his own connection with this +formidable gang he went back to its organization in 1872. The leader +of the gang was James Dunlap, _alias_ James Barton, who, before he +became a bank robber, had been a brakeman on the Chicago, Alton and +St. Louis Railroad. His inborn criminal instincts led him to frequent +the resorts of thieves in Chicago, and thus he met "Johnny" Lamb and a +man named Perry, who took a liking to him and taught him all they knew +about breaking safes. Dunlap soon outstripped his masters, developing +a genius for robbery and for organization that speedily proved him the +most formidable of all the bank robbers then operating in the country, +not even excepting "Jimmy" Hope, the notorious Manhattan Bank robber. +He had the long-headedness and stubbornness of his Scotch parents, +united with the daring and ingenuity peculiar to Americans. In the +fall of 1872 he organized the most dangerous and best-equipped gang of +bank robbers that the country had ever known. + +Dunlap's right-hand man was Robert C. Scott, _alias_ "Hustling Bob," +originally a deck-hand on a Mississippi steamboat and afterward a +hotel thief. Scott was a big, powerful man, with a determination equal +to anything. Their associates were what one might expect from these +two. Other members of the gang were Thomas Doty, William Conroy, +"Eddie" Goody, John Perry, James Greer, a professional burglar +originally from Canada, and the notorious John Leary, _alias_ "Red" +Leary, of whom more will be said later on. In addition to these, the +gang contained several members of less importance, men who acted +merely as lookouts, or as go-betweens or messengers. + +The first large operation of Dunlap's band occurred in 1872, when they +plundered the Falls City Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, of about two +hundred thousand dollars, escaping with their booty. This was +satisfactory as a beginning, but Dunlap and Scott dreamed of +achievements beside which this was insignificant. They began a careful +investigation through many States, to learn of banks of weak structure +containing large treasure. One of the gang finally found precisely +what they were in search of in the Second National Bank of Elmira, New +York, which institution, being a government depository, contained, as +they learned on good authority, two hundred thousand dollars in +greenbacks and six millions in bonds. + +A survey of the premises satisfied the gang that, massive though it +appeared, with its ponderous iron walls and complicated locks, the +vault of this bank was by no means impossible of access. The floor +above the bank was occupied by the Young Men's Christian Association, +one of the association's rooms being directly over the vault. There +was the floor between, and under that four feet of solid masonry, some +of the stones in it weighing a ton. And under the masonry was a layer +of railroad iron, resting on a plate of hardened steel an inch and a +half thick. All this, however, so far from discouraging the +conspirators, gave them greater confidence in the success of their +plan, once under way, since the very security of the vault, by +structure, from overhead attack lessened the strictness of the +surveillance. Indeed, the most serious difficulty, in the estimation +of the robbers, was to gain easy and unsuspected admission to the +quarters of the Young Men's Christian Association, on the second +floor. The secretary, a very prudent man, had put on the outside door +of the association rooms an improved Yale lock, which was then new +upon the market and offered unusual obstacles to the lock-picker. +Neither Dunlap, Scott, nor any of their associates had skill enough +to open this lock without breaking it, which would, of course, have +been fatal to their plan. For days, therefore, after all the other +details of the robbery had been arranged, the whole scheme seemed to +be blocked by a troublesome lock on an ordinary wooden door. + +So serious a matter did this finally become that Scott and Dunlap went +to the length of breaking into the secretary's house at night, and +searching his pockets, in the hope of finding the keys and getting an +impression of them. But here, again, the secretary had taken +precautions that defeated their purpose, for he had hidden the keys +under a carpet, where the robbers never thought of looking for them. +Disappointed in their search, they went away, making no attempt to +carry off anything, a bit of forbearance which caused the excellent +secretary much wonder the next morning, when he found that nothing +was missing, although there were plain traces of intruders. + +The Yale lock still continuing an insoluble difficulty, Perry finally +made a journey to New York, in the hope of finding some device by +which to open it. There, in the course of his search, and in a curious +way, he made the acquaintance of Evans, then a salesman in the employ +of a prominent safe-company. + +Before entering the employ of the safe-manufacturers, Evans had +conducted an extensive mercantile business for himself in a large +Eastern city, where he was regarded as a man of wealth and integrity. +He had large dealings through the South, with extensive credits; but +the outbreak of the war had forced him into bankruptcy. It was hinted +that there was some over-shrewd practice connected with his failure, +and his subsequent sudden departure for Canada gave color to the +insinuation. At any rate, he compromised with his creditors on a +basis advantageous to himself. + +On his return from Canada, Evans took up his residence in New York +City, and began to cultivate habits far beyond his income, notably the +taste for fast horses. Perry heard of Evans through one Ryan, whom he +had known as a "crook" years before, but who was then running a +livery-stable in an up-town street. As a matter of fact, this +livery-stable was merely a blind for the sale of unsound horses +"doctored up" to deceive unsuspecting buyers. But of this Evans knew +nothing, and, in good faith, had stabled one of his own horses with +Ryan. This had led to an intimacy between him and Ryan, and now, at +Perry's suggestion, Ryan encouraged Evans in his disposition to live +beyond his means. + +Before long Evans found himself much cramped financially. Being unable +to pay Ryan the money he owed him for stabling, he began to talk of +selling his horse; and one day, when he was complaining of being +short of money, Ryan said, "If I had your position I'd never lack for +money." + +Evans asked him what he meant. + +"Oh," said Ryan, "there are plenty of people who would put up well to +know some of the things you know about safes and banks." + +By degrees Ryan made his meaning more clear, and Evans grew properly +indignant. The subject was dropped for the moment, but, in subsequent +meetings, Ryan kept reverting to it. Meantime Evans found himself +growing more and more embarrassed, and one day he said, "What is it +these people want to know?" + +"Well," said Ryan, "they would like to know, for one thing, if there +is any way of beating these new Yale locks?" + +"You can't pick a Yale lock," answered Evans--"that would take too +long; but there is a way of getting one open." + +"How?" + +"We'll talk that over some day." + +Having once nibbled, Evans was not long in biting at the bait thus +adroitly held before him. He consented to be introduced to Perry, who +shrewdly showed him what an easy matter it would be for a man who knew +the secrets of safe-makers and could locate weak banks, to make a +great deal of money, without danger to himself. + +"Why," said Perry, "you can make more in one night with us, without +any one's suspecting it, than you can make in a year working for these +safe-people." + +The result was that Evans, in consideration of fifty thousand dollars, +finally agreed to provide some means of opening the Yale lock which +barred the robbers from the coveted treasure at Elmira. + +Perry, in great delight, hurried back to Elmira, and reported his +success to Dunlap and Scott. In order to bring Evans to Elmira in a +way not to excite suspicion, a letter was written to the company he +served, containing a tempting proposition regarding the purchase of +safes. Evans was at once sent to Elmira to look after the matter. He +stopped at the Rathbone House, where he was waited upon by Scott, with +whom he concerted a plan of operations. Scott was to slip a thin piece +of wood into the lock at night, so that the lock would not work. Then, +as Evans's presence in the city had been made known, it was hoped that +he would be called upon, as an expert in difficult locks, to find out +what was the matter. This would give him an opportunity to secure an +impression of the key. The plan worked only too perfectly; and within +twenty-four hours the conspirators were able to pass in and out of the +Young Men's Christian Association rooms as they pleased, without the +knowledge of any one. + +It now remained, in order to achieve the robbery, to dig down into the +vault--an immense task, for which the constant presence in Elmira of +the whole gang was necessary. It was also necessary that their +presence should not be noticed, and to that end a woman from +Baltimore, who had been associated with one of the gang in previous +undertakings, came on to Elmira and took a house in the suburbs, +giving out that she was the wife of a man whose business kept him +traveling most of the time. The house was simply furnished, and every +day, for the benefit of the neighbors, the woman made a great pretense +of sweeping the steps, cleaning the windows, and busying herself about +the yard in various ways. Meantime, inside the house, in careful +concealment, the members of the gang were living--Scott, Dunlap, "Red" +Leary, Conroy, and Perry. They never went out in the daytime, and they +left the place at night so cautiously, going one at a time, that, +although they lived here for six weeks, their presence was never +suspected. + +Every night they gathered in the rooms of the Young Men's Christian +Association after the young men had gone home, using their false keys +to obtain admission; and they remained there hours at a time, doing +what would ordinarily be the noisiest work; but their movements were +so cautious and well planned that their presence in the building was +never suspected. Every night the carpet and flooring were taken up, +and, after they had finished their excavations, were carefully relaid. +Tons of masonry and heavy stone were removed, shoveled into baskets, +and carried up to the roof of the opera-house, adjoining the bank +building, where there was small chance of the debris being discovered. +Thus the unwearying rascals worked downward through the layer of +railroad iron, and at last found themselves separated from the inside +of the vault by only the plate of steel. Success seemed within their +very grasp, when an unforeseen accident spoiled everything. + +One day the president of the bank, Mr. Pratt, was surprised, on +entering the vault, to find the floor sprinkled with a fine white +dust. An investigation was made, and the whole plot was uncovered. The +members of the gang, however, got word in time, and all managed to +escape except Perry, who was convicted of attempted burglary and sent +to the Auburn prison for five years. + +Undisturbed by the failure, Scott and Dunlap proceeded to scour the +country again in search of another bank suited to their operations, +and in February, 1874, notified the gang, which now contained some new +members, that they had "found something to go to work at" in Quincy, +Illinois. The attack on the Quincy bank was made in very much the same +way as the attack on the bank at Elmira. The Baltimore woman again +rented a house which afforded shelter and concealment to the men; +access was obtained to rooms over the vault by false keys, as before; +the flooring was taken up and put down every night without exciting +suspicion; the masonry was removed, the iron plates of the vault were +penetrated, and, finally, one night Scott and Dunlap were able to +lower themselves through a jagged hole into the money-room beneath. + +It now remained to force open the safes inside the vault; and to +accomplish this the robbers used, for the first time in the history of +safe-wrecking in America, what is known as the air-pump method, which +had been devised by Evans, and carefully explained by him to Scott and +Dunlap. Evans's employers were at this time introducing a padding +designed to make safes more secure; and Evans had hit upon the idea of +introducing powder into the seams of a safe-door by an air-pump, in +the presence of a possible customer, in order to impress him with his +need of the new padding. Evans himself was not present at the breaking +open of the Quincy bank, and he had nothing to do with the robbery +beyond furnishing instruction and the air-pump. Scott and Dunlap did +the work. + +As a first step, all the seams of the safes formed by the doors were +carefully puttied up, save two small holes, one at the top and one at +the bottom. Then, at the upper hole, Scott held a funnel filled with +fine powder, while Dunlap applied the air-pump at the hole below. By +the draft thus created, the powder was drawn into all the interstices +between the heavy doors and the frames of the safes. Then a little +pistol, loaded simply with powder, was attached near the upper hole, +and, by a string tied to the trigger, discharged from a safe distance +above. There were several attempts made before a complete explosion +was effected; but finally the safes were blown open and their contents +secured, the robbers making good their escape with one hundred and +twenty thousand dollars in money and about seven hundred thousand +dollars in bonds. No part of this money was ever recovered by the +bank, nor were any of the gang captured at this time. The securities +were, however, afterward sold back to the bank. Indeed, so cleverly +had the whole affair been managed that no suspicion fell upon either +Scott, Dunlap, or any of their associates. + +Here were fortunes made easily enough, with plenty more to be made in +the same way, and the gang were in high feather over their success. +During the summer of 1874 Scott and Dunlap lived in princely style in +New York. They attracted much attention at Coney Island during the +season, where they drove fast horses. No one suspected that they were +the leaders of the most desperate gang of bank robbers ever organized +in this or any country. + +By fall their money began to run short, and they decided to look about +for another job. In the Quincy robbery they had broken their agreement +with Evans, paying him only a small sum for the use of the air-pump +which he had furnished them. Now, however, they called upon him again, +and, partly by threats, partly by generous offers, induced him to +assist them again. A series of unsuccessful attempts at robbery were +made on banks in Saratoga; Nantucket; Covington, Kentucky; and +Rockville, Connecticut. In several instances failure came at the very +time when success seemed sure. In the case of the Covington bank, for +instance, nitroglycerin was used in blowing open the safe, and the +explosion was so violent that the men became frightened and fled in a +panic, leaving behind untouched, although exposed to view, two +hundred thousand dollars in greenbacks and one million five hundred +thousand dollars in negotiable bonds. In the case of the Rockville +bank their plans had worked out perfectly, and they had removed +everything from the top of the vault but a thin layer of brick, when +Scott accidentally forced the jimmy with which he was working through +the roof of the vault and let it fall inside. As it was too late to +complete the work that night, and as the presence of the jimmy inside +the vault would inevitably start an alarm the next day, they were +obliged to abandon the attempt entirely. + +The gang's most desperate adventure befell in connection with the +attempt on the First National Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania. This was +made late in the fall of 1875. The bank occupied a one-story building +covered with a tin roof, and the robbers decided to make the attack +from the roof. But there was a serious difficulty in the fact that in +case of rain coming any time after they had begun operations, water +might soak through the openings they had made and betray them. +Dunlap's ingenuity, however, was equal to this emergency; and each +night, after finishing their excavation, they carefully relaid the +sheets of tin that had been disturbed, protecting the joints with red +putty, which matched the roof in color. So well did they put on this +putty, that, although it rained heavily the very day after they began, +not a drop leaked through. + +On the night of November 4 only one layer of bricks separated them +from the top of the vault, and it was decided to finish the work and +do the robbery that night. Two hours' hard labor with "drag" and +"jack-screw" sufficed to effect an opening, and Scott and Dunlap were +lowered into the vault. They found three Marvin spherical safes +protected by a burglar-alarm. But Dunlap was somewhat of an electrical +expert, and was able to so surround the burglar-alarm with heavy +boards as to render it of little or no danger. They experienced much +difficulty, though, in blowing open the safes. The first one attempted +yielded on the second explosion, and they secured five hundred dollars +in currency and sixty thousand dollars in bonds. The next one was far +more troublesome, not less than ten explosions being required to make +way into it. And just as the task was at last accomplished, and they +were on the point of seizing a great sum of money, there came a +warning call from Conroy, who was doing sentry duty on the roof, and +it was necessary to fly. + +When Dunlap and Scott had been dragged out of the vault by their +associates, they were found scarcely able to run. During all the +twelve explosions of powder and dynamite they had never left the +vault, but, crouching behind the boards that guarded the +burglar-alarm, had remained within arm's length of explosions so +violent that they tore apart plates of welded steel and shook the +whole building. Worse than the shock of these explosions were the +noxious gases generated by them, which Scott and Dunlap had to +breathe. On coming out, their clothes were wringing wet with +perspiration, and they were so weak that their legs tottered under +them, and their comrades had to almost carry them for a time. But, +nevertheless, they managed to walk thirty miles that night, to Lehigh, +where they boarded a train to New York. + +It was on this occasion that there was left behind in the vault the +air-pump which Robert Pinkerton afterward recalled so shrewdly to +Evans's disadvantage. + +Coming, in his confession, to the Northampton Bank robbery, Evans said +that the gang had considered making an attempt there for several +months before the robbery was actually executed. For a time they had +designed to rob the First National Bank, where Evans had been +employed to put in new doors, but this scheme they afterward +abandoned. Enjoying the fullest confidence of the Northampton Bank +officers, Evans had made repeated visits to the bank and gained +important information for his associates. It was through his influence +that the bank directors decided to give the whole combination of the +vault to the cashier, Whittelsey, who had previously been intrusted +with only half of it, the remainder being given to one of the clerks. + +On the night of the robbery Evans was in New York, but he had gone to +Northampton a day or two after, as already stated. Then, for the first +time, he realized what immense wrong and suffering would be inflicted +upon innocent people by the robbers, and he said it was this that had +prompted him in his efforts to have the securities restored to the +owners. + +Returning to New York, he at once communicated with Scott and Dunlap +by means of "Herald" personals, and had several interviews with them +in the city during the month of February. While they were anxious to +dispose of the securities, it was plain from the first that they +distrusted Evans and proposed to lessen his share of the profits. +While pretending to approve the steps he was taking for a compromise +with the bank, they were really, without his knowledge, carrying on +secret negotiations with the same object. The suspicion on either side +grew until finally it could no longer be concealed. Meeting Scott in +Prospect Park some time after the robbery, Evans said, "When are you +going to settle and give me my share?" + +"You'll never get a cent," answered Scott; "you've given the whole +gang away." + +For some time they did not meet again. Evans continued his vain +efforts for a settlement, growing more and more anxious as the months +went by and he saw the danger to himself become more threatening. On +the 9th of November he met Scott, Dunlap, and "Red" Leary on the +outskirts of Brooklyn, and a violent quarrel occurred about the +division of the spoil. Reproaches and threats were exchanged with +stormy language, and at one time Evans's life was actually in danger. + +It was soon after this interview that Evans decided, under the +management of Superintendent Bangs, to save himself by making a full +confession. He had fewer scruples about betraying his associates, +because he had become convinced that in the previous robberies, +notably in the one at Quincy, Illinois, he had been treated most +unfairly by Scott and Dunlap. + +Evans said that for several weeks preceding the Northampton robbery +the gang had concealed themselves in the attic of a school-house which +stood four or five rods from the highway and apart from other houses. +His statement was substantiated by the discovery in this attic, after +the robbery, of blankets, satchels, ropes, bits, pulleys, and +provisions, including a bottle of whisky bearing the label of a New +York firm. + +After the vault had been rifled, the money and securities were placed +in a bag and a pillow-case, and carried to the school-house, where +they were stowed away in places of concealment that had been +previously prepared. One of these was underneath the platform where +the teacher's desk stood. Another was a recess made behind a +blackboard, which was taken off for the purpose and then screwed +carefully in place. For nearly two weeks this treasure, amounting to +over a million dollars, lay unsuspected in the school-house, the +teacher walking over a part of it, the children working out their sums +on the blackboard which concealed another part. It was left there so +long because the robbers were unable to return for it, owing to the +strict watch for strangers that was kept at the railway-station and +along all the roads. Finally Scott bought a team of horses for nine +hundred dollars, and, with Jim Brady, drove over to Northampton from +Springfield. After securing the booty, they had serious trouble in +getting away. Brady fell into the mill-race, which they were crossing +on the ice, and this accident necessitated their camping out all night +in a cabin in the woods. + +After hearing Evans's story, the question foremost in Mr. Pinkerton's +mind was where the stolen securities had been concealed. From what +Evans said, and from what he knew himself about the methods of the +gang, he was satisfied that Dunlap possessed this secret, and would +intrust it to no one unless absolutely compelled to do so. The +likeliest way of compelling him was to put him under arrest, which +might very well be done now that Evans had consented to turn State's +evidence. For weeks Pinkerton "shadows" had never been off Scott and +Dunlap, who spent most of their time in New York, the former living +with his wife at a fashionable boarding-house in Washington Square. + +Instructions were accordingly given to the "shadows" to close in upon +them, and on February 14, 1877, both men were arrested in +Philadelphia, as they were on the point of taking a train for the +South. + +Despite the large sum of securities in their possession, the men had +run short of ready money, and, while awaiting a compromise, were +starting out to commit another robbery. They were taken to +Northampton, and committed to jail to await trial. + +It happened as Mr. Pinkerton foresaw. Brought into confinement, Dunlap +and Scott were compelled, in the conduct of their affairs, to reveal +the hiding-place of the booty to some other member of the gang. They +chose for their confidant "Red" Leary. The securities, as subsequently +transpired, were at this time buried in a cellar on Sixth Avenue, near +Thirty-third Street, New York. The precise spot was indicated to Leary +by Mrs. Scott, who, in doing so, reminded Leary of an agreement +entered into by the members of the gang before the robbery, that any +one of their number who might get into trouble could, if he saw a +necessity, call upon his confederates to dispose of all the securities +on whatever terms were possible and use the proceeds in getting him +and others--if others were in trouble also--free. At the time Leary +scoffed at this agreement, but was perfectly willing, even eager, to +have it enforced a little later, when, by the orders of Inspector +Byrnes, he was himself arrested on the charge of complicity in the +memorable Manhattan Bank robbery, which had occurred some time before. +Having failed in a purpose of "shadowing" Leary to the place where +the securities were hidden, Robert Pinkerton decided that the best +move to make next would be to arrest Leary for complicity in the +Northampton robbery. Steps were taken to have requisition papers +prepared, and it was pending the arrival of these that Leary was held +on the other charge, for it was not thought that he had really taken +part in the Manhattan Bank robbery. + +The criminal annals of the United States contain no more thrilling +chapter than that of the adventures of "Red" Leary. He was a typical +desperado in appearance, with his shock of red hair, and his bristling +red mustache, and his ugly, heavy-jawed face, while his huge neck and +shoulders, his big head, and powerful hairy hands impressed one with +his enormous physical strength. He weighed nearly three hundred +pounds, and his "pals" used to point with pride to the fact that he +wore a bigger hat than any statesman in America--eight and a quarter. + +While much of Leary's life had been spent in deeds of violence, he had +shown on occasions such splendid bravery, and even heroism, as almost +atoned for his crimes. There are few soldiers who would not be proud +of Leary's record on the battle-field. He was among the first to +respond to his country's call in our own Civil War, being a volunteer +in the First Kentucky Regiment under Colonel Guthrie, and he was a +good soldier from the time of his enlistment up to the moment of his +honorable discharge. + +The ablest lawyers were now secured in his defense, and by every +possible method of legal obstruction they kept alive a controversy in +the New York courts until the early days of May, 1879. Meanwhile Leary +reposed in Ludlow Street Jail, where he enjoyed all the privileges +ever accorded to prisoners. In return he paid the warden the +substantial sum of thirty dollars a week; and it was evident that, +whether he had or had not been concerned in the Northampton robbery, +he had in some way obtained abundant money. He was visited constantly +by his wife. + +On the afternoon of May 7 Mrs. Leary called at about five o'clock with +"Butch" McCarthy, and the three were alone in Leary's room until +nearly eight o'clock. After that Leary strolled about in the prison +inclosure, and at about a quarter past ten keeper Wendell, who had +charge of the first tier, in which Leary's room was located, saw him +going up-stairs from the second to the third tier. Although in this +Leary was going directly away from his own room, there was nothing to +excite surprise, for Leary had been accustomed to use the bath-room on +the third tier. A quarter of an hour later Wendell started on his +rounds, according to the prison rule, to see that each one of the men +in his tier was securely locked up for the night. When he came to +Leary's room he was a little surprised to find him still absent, but +supposed he would be there shortly. But after waiting a few minutes +and finding Leary still absent, the keeper became alarmed, and began a +search. He first went to the bath-room, and not finding Leary there, +searched in other places, high and low. Then he returned to the +bath-room, and there made a discovery which filled him with +consternation. He saw in the brick wall, what at first had escaped his +attention, a gaping hole, large enough to allow the passage of a man's +body. The hole opened into a tunnel that seemed to lead downward. The +alarm was at once given, and it soon appeared that the keeper's fears +were only too well founded. "Red" Leary had escaped. + +It was found that the tunnel from the bath-room led into a room on the +fifth floor of a tenement-house at No. 76 Ludlow Street, adjoining the +jail. The wall of the house added to the wall of the jail made a +thickness of four feet and a half of solid masonry, which had been cut +through. In the three rooms that had been rented in the house by +Leary's friends were found abundant evidences of the work. + +Leary, after his escape, fled to Europe, but was afterward arrested in +Brooklyn by Robert Pinkerton and three of his men, who "held him up" +in a sleigh at the corner of Twenty-seventh Street and Fourth Avenue, +Brooklyn; and before Leary could make use of a large revolver which he +had on his person, the horse was grabbed by the head and pulled to a +standstill, and Leary was dragged out of the sleigh and handcuffed. He +was taken immediately to Northampton, and put in jail there. + +Some time previous to this the Pinkertons had located Conroy, who had +also escaped from Ludlow Street Jail, in Philadelphia; and immediately +on the arrest of Leary, Robert Pinkerton sent one of his detectives +from New York to Philadelphia, who was fortunate enough to arrest +Conroy at one of his resorts on the same night, and he was also +delivered in jail at Northampton. + +Some months previous to this the Pinkertons had also arrested Thomas +Doty, another member of the band, and lodged him in the Northampton +jail. + +In the mean time, Scott and Dunlap, now in State prison, had made a +confession as against Leary, the holder of the securities; and when +Leary was brought to Northampton, they wrote him a letter, notifying +him that unless the securities were handed over to their proper +owners, they would take the witness-stand against him and convict him, +but that if he did turn over the necessary securities they would +refuse to take the stand. This resulted in the recovery by the +Northampton Bank of nearly all the securities stolen from the bank and +its depositors, this not including, however, the government bonds and +currency stolen at the time. Some of these securities had depreciated +in value upward of one hundred thousand dollars since they were +stolen. The amount of the securities recovered represented seven +hundred thousand dollars; they had been in the hands of the thieves +upward of two years. + +After the securities were returned, Scott and Dunlap refusing to take +the stand against Leary and Doty, the authorities were eventually +obliged to release them, as Evans had also refused to take the stand +against them. Conroy, who had simply been a go-between, and not an +actual participant in the robbery, was released at the same time by +order of the court. + +The trial of Scott and Dunlap took place at Northampton in July, 1877, +a year and a half after the robbery. Evans took the stand against +them, his evidence making the case of the prosecution overwhelmingly +strong. After three hours' deliberation the jury brought in a verdict +of guilty, and the prisoners were sentenced to twenty years each in +the State prison. Scott died in prison, and Dunlap, having been +pardoned several years ago, is now living in a Western city, a +reformed man, and is earning an honest living. As far as is known, +since leaving the penitentiary he has never returned to his evil ways. +Conroy also has taken to new ways, is honest, and is generally +respected by all who know him. + +"Red" Leary came to his death in a curious way. One night in April, +1888, he had been drinking with some friends at a well-known +sporting-resort in New York, on Sixth Avenue, between Twenty-seventh +and Twenty-eighth streets. In the party was "Billy" Train, an old +bunko-man. They were all somewhat intoxicated and inclined to be +uproarious. As they came out on the street, "Billy" Train picked up a +brick and threw it up in the air, yelling: "Look out for your heads, +boys." To this warning Leary paid no attention, and the brick came +down on his head with full force, fracturing his skull. He was taken +to the New York Hospital, and died there, after much suffering, on +April 23. + +As for the safe-expert, Evans, he is engaged in legitimate business, +and is prospering. In compiling this chapter from the records, the +writer has, by request, changed some of the names of the parties, who +since that time have reformed, and are now respected members in the +communities where they reside, and the author has no desire to injure +them. + + + + +The Susquehanna Express Robbery + + +At Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, are located the great shops of the Erie +Railroad, where fifteen hundred men work throughout the year. These +men receive their wages on a fixed day toward the end of each month, +the pay-roll amounting to many thousands of dollars. It was customary, +fourteen years ago, for the company to have a sum of money sufficient +for this purpose shipped from New York by express a day or two before +the date when the wages were to be paid. Following out this practice, +on the night of June 20, 1883, the Marine National Bank of New York +shipped by the United States Express Company a sealed package +containing forty thousand dollars for the Erie Railroad Company, in +care of the First National Bank of Susquehanna. The package contained +United States currency and bank-notes, almost entirely in small bills, +none larger than twenty dollars. + +The usual precautions were observed in shipment, a trusted clerk of +the Marine Bank carrying the package to the express company's office +and taking a receipt for it from the money-clerk, who examined it +first to make sure that the seals of the bank were intact and that in +all respects it presented a correct appearance. Having satisfied +himself on these points, the money-clerk placed the package in one of +the canvas pouches used by the United States Express Company, sealed +it carefully with the company's private seal, and attached a tag +bearing the address of the company's agent at Susquehanna. + +After a brief delay the pouch was delivered to express messenger Van +Waganen, who saw it placed in one of the small iron safes used by +express companies in conveying money from city to city. The messenger +rode with the safe to the train, and then remained on guard in the +express-car, where the safe was placed, as far as Susquehanna, at +which point he delivered the pouch to Dwight Chamberlain, a +night-clerk and watchman in the joint employ of the Erie Railroad and +the United States Express Company. The train left New York at 6 P. M., +and reached Susquehanna about midnight. + +Watchman Chamberlain, having received the pouch at the station, +carried it into the ticket-office and locked it inside a safe +belonging to the Erie Railroad Company. He remained on duty the rest +of the night, and at seven o'clock the next morning a messenger from +the First National Bank of Susquehanna came to get the package. +Chamberlain unlocked the safe, took out the pouch, opened it, and +then emptied its contents on the table. To his great surprise the +package containing the forty thousand dollars was gone, and in its +place were several bundles of manila paper cut to the size of +bank-bills and done up in small packages as money is done up. + +The agent of the company, Clark Evans, was immediately notified, and +he at once telegraphed the news of the robbery to the officials of the +United States Express Company in New York, who with very little delay +placed the matter in the hands of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The +direct supervision of the work was undertaken by the late George H. +Bangs, at that time general superintendent of the Pinkerton Agency, +and a force of detectives at once started for Susquehanna. + +An important discovery was made on closer examination of the pouch. It +was found that this pouch was not the one that had been sealed up in +the express office at New York, but a bogus pouch, so much like the +other that the change might easily have escaped notice. The chief +points of difference were the tag and the seal, the former having been +addressed in a different hand from that of the New York money-clerk, +and the latter being an old seal not in use by the company at that +time. But the general appearance of the pouch was such that neither +the messenger, Van Waganen, nor the watchman, Chamberlain, could swear +that it was not the one that he had handled. + +After going over the ground carefully and cross-examining Van Waganen +and Chamberlain, Superintendent Bangs concluded that the robbery had +not been committed on the train and that the genuine money package had +reached Susquehanna and been locked in the railroad company's safe by +the night-clerk. He was strengthened in this conclusion by the +statement of Chamberlain, who admitted that, after locking up the +money, he had only been in the ticket-office at intervals during the +night. For this he was in no way to blame, as he had other duties to +perform about the station, notably those of way-bill clerk. + +Thus the robbers would have had full opportunity to approach the safe +unobserved and exercise their skill upon it, could they have secured +entrance to the ticket-office. Nor was this a difficult matter, since +the door leading into it was known to have three keys, in the hands of +various employees of the road, from whom they might have been procured +or stolen. More important still was the fact, ascertained by Mr. +Bangs, that the safe itself had three keys, intrusted to as many men, +whose duties required them to have access to the safe. It subsequently +transpired that two of these keys had been made by the men who carried +them, for their own convenience and without the knowledge of their +superiors. The door leading into the ticket-office opened from the +men's waiting-room, where people had been coming and going during the +entire night of the robbery. Such of these people as could be found +were questioned closely as to what they had observed on this night, +but they could furnish no information that threw light upon the case. + +Some significance was found in the coincidence that nine years before +there had been a robbery at Susquehanna, in which thirty thousand +dollars had been stolen from the express company's safe. The +Pinkertons knew that for years a band of professional thieves had been +traveling through the country, operating on safes that could be opened +with a key. Among them were experts in fitting locks, especially +skilled in making keys from impressions, and known as professional +"fitters." At first it was considered possible that the robbery had +been committed by these men; but, after the most careful search and +inquiry, Superintendent Bangs concluded that this was not the case and +that the pouch had been stolen by some person or persons resident in +Susquehanna, presumably by one or more of the railroad employees who +had access to the office, or by persons intimately acquainted with +some of the men who had keys to the safe. + +"Shadows" were put on all persons who might have had access to the +ticket-office and the safe; but, although this was continued for +weeks, nothing conclusive came to light. + +About this time a reorganization of the Pinkerton Agency became +necessary, through the death of Allan Pinkerton, the founder, and +George H. Bangs, the general superintendent; and Robert Pinkerton +assumed charge of the investigation at Susquehanna. He undertook the +difficult task of picking out one guilty man (or possibly two or +three) from a body of fifteen hundred workmen. For, despite lack of +evidence either way, there was no doubt in the detective's mind that +the money had been taken by some of the employees of either the +express or the railroad company. Pinkerton men were taken to +Susquehanna and given employment in various positions for the railroad +and express companies, their duty being to make friends and hear +gossip, and, if possible, in an unguarded moment, at some saloon or +boarding-house, or perhaps at the chatty noon hour in the works, +secure some important secret. Other detectives came with money in +their pockets, and, under the guise of sporting men, made themselves +popular at resorts where a poor man come dishonestly and suddenly into +money would be apt to spend it. + +Day after day, month after month, the watch was continued from many +points of view, the conversations of hundreds of workmen were +carefully noted, the gambling houses and their inmates were kept +under constant scrutiny, the lives of this man and that man and scores +of men were turned inside out, and all without any one in Susquehanna +suspecting it, the general opinion being that the robbery had been put +aside along with many other unsolved mysteries. + +A whole year passed before any promise of success came to cheer the +express company and the patient detectives. In the summer of 1884, +Robert Pinkerton, having received information that a professional +burglar, who had been arrested some weeks previous for a burglary at +Milwaukee, had valuable information about an express robbery, +immediately journeyed from New York to Milwaukee to interview the man. +He learned from the burglar that some years before he had operated +with a man named John Donahue; that about the time of the Susquehanna +robbery Donahue had been away from home, and that shortly after the +robbery he had returned with plenty of money and paid off several old +debts. Mr. Pinkerton at once recognized in Donahue a notorious thief +who, to escape justice, had taken up his residence at Fort Erie, +Canada, where he had opened a hotel. + +The burglar also gave Mr. Pinkerton a description of a man who had +visited Donahue at his hotel on several occasions, and who had the +general appearance of a workman. He suspected that this man had been +in some way concerned with Donahue in the Susquehanna robbery; he knew +that he had resided at one time in Buffalo, New York, and worked in +the shops there, and he thought that he might be then living in +Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. + +From the description, Mr. Pinkerton was able, on going to Susquehanna, +to identify the suspected man with one George H. Proctor, who had +formerly been foreman in the railroad company's shops, but had +resigned his position some months before and moved to Buffalo. In the +investigation that was at once begun it was found that Proctor had +recently been speculating largely in oil and spending money freely, +although while living in Susquehanna he was known to have had no +resources besides his salary. It was learned further that Proctor had +deposited money with three Buffalo banks and had accounts with various +firms of brokers, and also that he was paying frequent visits to +gambling-houses and in general leading a fast life. Proctor's +deposits, it was learned, had at one time amounted to about eleven +thousand dollars, but most of this sum had been subsequently drawn out +and lost in speculation. + +All of this was strong presumptive evidence against a man who was +known to have been poor a few months before, and a more significant +discovery was made a little later, when Proctor went on a trip to +Canada, evidently on important business. The detective who followed +him found that the men with whom he had dealings, and with whom he +passed nearly the whole time of his visit, were professional thieves, +well known to the police. + +In view of all that had come to light, it was decided to effect +Proctor's arrest. This was made easy by his habit of coming to +Susquehanna every few weeks to see his wife and three children, who +had remained there. During these visits it had been remarked that he +was especially intimate with employees of the railroad and express +companies who were connected with the ticket-office. + +All unsuspicious of the danger that threatened him, Proctor took the +train from Buffalo on the night of Saturday, November 16, with a +ticket for Susquehanna. Word was at once telegraphed to Robert +Pinkerton, who, in company with E. W. Mitchel, superintendent of the +United States Express Company, started for Susquehanna, reaching there +Monday morning. They learned that Proctor was still in town, but +keeping very closely to his house. It was not until ten o'clock in the +evening that he appeared on the street, his purpose in going out being +to purchase some groceries. As he came from the store Robert Pinkerton +stepped forth from his place of waiting and took him into custody. He +was taken to a private house, where Mr. Pinkerton passed nearly the +whole night in conversation with him. Before daylight Proctor had made +what purported to be a full confession. + +Proctor stated that he had moved to Susquehanna in 1880, having +resided in Buffalo previous to that time. While in Buffalo he had +occasionally of a Sunday visited Fort Erie, Canada, and there had made +the acquaintance of John Donahue. At first he did not know that +Donahue was anything more than the keeper of a hotel. He found him an +entertaining companion, a good story-teller and singer of comic songs, +and very generous with his money. They came to see much of each other, +and after Proctor's removal to Susquehanna they kept up an occasional +correspondence. Proctor, having a monthly pass over the Erie Railroad, +and being able to procure passes on other roads, made several trips to +Fort Erie, always stopping at Donahue's hotel. On one of these visits +he chanced to read aloud to his friend the newspaper account of a +clever robbery in Montreal, where a band of sneak-thieves had robbed a +paymaster of a sum of money he had in a bag to pay off employees. This +turned the conversation to criminal exploits, and Proctor related the +circumstances of the express robbery at Susquehanna some years before. +Donahue showed great interest, and inquired how it happened that the +express company had so large a sum of money at Susquehanna. Proctor +explained about the extensive railroad shops there, and incidentally +remarked that the same system of paying the hands was still in +practice. Donahue then requested Proctor to ascertain for him how much +money was being shipped each month at that time, the day of shipment, +the train, the kind of safe used on that train, and full details about +the lock--whether opened by a combination or a key. Donahue professed +that his only motive in seeking this information was curiosity, and +Proctor promised to learn what he could. + +It was about a fortnight after this that the two men met again, +Proctor having secured all the facts about the monthly transfer of +money from New York to Susquehanna. These he confided to Donahue, who +seemed greatly pleased at the report. He showed Proctor the greatest +attention, spending money freely. Then he pressed Proctor with +further questions, asking how the money was wrapped up, what kind of +pouch it was carried in, and so on. Finally he came out bluntly with +the opinion that Proctor was a fool to waste his time working in a +dirty shop when he might be living in luxury. Then, seeing that the +foreman took no great umbrage at this suggestion, he asked him if he +could get an impression of the safe-key, and also one of the key to +the door of the ticket-office. After some show of reluctance, Proctor +finally consented to try. + +Returning to Susquehanna, Proctor took advantage of his friendship +with employees about the ticket-office to get possession of the keys +long enough to take the desired impressions, and these he mailed to +Donahue, in whose service he was now fully enlisted. Donahue wrote +back, expressing satisfaction, and saying that he and another man, +named Collins, had paid a secret visit to Susquehanna, and had found +everything as Proctor had represented. A little later Proctor went to +Canada again, and was introduced to Collins. At this meeting it was +arranged that Donahue should procure a canvas bag like the one used by +the express company, and that a dummy money package should be placed +inside, so that a substitution might be effected on the arrival of the +next shipment. Proctor was to take no active part in the robbery, but +was instructed to return home and continue at his work, showing no +concern, whatever happened. + +"If there's an earthquake at Susquehanna when pay-day comes around, +you don't know anything about it, do you understand?" Such was the +final order given to Proctor, and he obeyed it implicitly. + +A month passed, and, hearing nothing, Proctor went to Canada again, +and had another talk with his two confederates. They told him that +they had gone to Susquehanna prepared to do the "job," but had +learned, accidentally, that the money that month had been sent in +gold, which would have been too heavy for them to carry away, and they +had therefore decided to wait until a month later. + +This was in May, and the following month the robbery occurred. Two +weeks later Proctor went to Canada, and received eleven thousand +dollars as his share of the plunder. Donahue and Collins explained to +him that he did not receive more because they had been obliged to give +a fourth share to another man who had worked with them. They cautioned +him not to spend a dollar of the stolen money for months to come, as +the detectives would be always on the lookout for suspicious +circumstances. They also advised him to continue at his work, under no +circumstances giving up his position within a year. + +Proctor had strictly followed these suggestions, living and working as +he had done before the robbery, and not spending any part of his +portion. Having changed the money into large bills and sealed it up in +a fruit-jar, so that the moisture could not injure it, he buried the +jar head downward in his garden. There it remained untouched for +months. But when the severe weather of the following winter set in, he +dug up the jar, and taking the money to Buffalo, deposited it in three +banks, in the name of his wife and his three children, with himself in +each instance as trustee. + +Although his trade became very irksome to him now that he had a small +fortune in his possession, he prudently stuck to it until June, 1884. +Then, a year having elapsed since the robbery, he decided that it +would be safe for him to launch out into a pleasanter life. He +accordingly went to Buffalo, where he entered into oil speculations +with a friend who claimed to have "inside information" from the +Standard Oil Company. Although fortunate at the start, the failure of +Grant & Ward brought them heavy losses, and soon their profits and +their original capital were swept away. Proctor assured Mr. Pinkerton +that, at the time of their talk, he was ruined, and that he had +intended, during this very visit to Susquehanna which ended in his +arrest, making application for his old position as foreman of the +boiler-shops. + +Having heard Proctor's confession, Mr. Pinkerton took counsel with the +officers of the express company. They, believing that Proctor had been +only a tool in the hands of two smart professional criminals, agreed +with the detective that the ends of justice demanded rather the +apprehension of his confederates than his punishment alone. Proctor +professed great penitence for his wrong-doing, and declared himself +willing to do whatever was in his power to make amends. + +The first step necessary to the capture of Donahue and Collins was to +get them both into the United States at some point where they could +be arrested at the same time. Donahue was still in Canada, where he +could not be taken. Mr. Pinkerton arranged with Proctor to write to +Donahue that he had discovered another safe which offered a tempting +opportunity, hoping in this way to induce him to cross the line into +the United States. To give color to the story it was necessary to +accord Proctor apparent freedom of movement; but he pledged himself +not to leave Susquehanna without Mr. Pinkerton's permission, and to +keep the detective informed by letter and telegraph of all +developments. At the same time detectives were sent to Canada to keep +watch over Donahue. + +Collins, in the meantime, had been located in Albany, but no attempt +was made to arrest him until Donahue could be brought over the line. +Should he cross without notifying Proctor, the men "shadowing" him +were to cause his arrest. It was arranged with Proctor that, in case +his letter failed of its purpose, he should go to Canada himself, +persuade Donahue to send for Collins, and then induce the two to come +back with him, when they would be arrested the moment they crossed the +line. + +On the 29th of November Robert Pinkerton received word by telegraph +that Proctor had left Susquehanna suddenly in the night, telling the +agent of the express company that he would return the next day. This +looked very much as if Proctor had played him false, since it had been +expressly stipulated that he should not go away without Mr. +Pinkerton's permission. Days went by, and Proctor did not return. Then +word came from one of the Pinkerton men at Fort Erie that Proctor had +arrived at Donahue's hotel and had been joined there by Collins. This +was a serious setback for the detectives. Not only were the three +robbers safe from arrest where they were, but being fully aware of +the danger threatening them, and being men of shrewdness, it was fair +to presume that they would now move with great caution. + +It soon became evident that Donahue and Collins were thoroughly +alarmed by the news Proctor had brought them; for they at once took +energetic steps to mislead any one who might be watching them. Having +retired as usual one night, they arose later, and drove in a wagon to +a station on the Grand Trunk Railroad, where they boarded a freight +train for Toronto. After a brief stay in that city they went on to +Montreal, where they tried hard to lose themselves, but were +unsuccessful, and returned to Fort Erie. + +Meanwhile Mr. Pinkerton discovered that the story told him by Proctor +was entirely untrue. So far from having been an honest man before the +robbery, it came to light that he was already at that time a hardened +criminal, having committed burglaries both in the United States and +Canada, and having been sentenced, under another name, to a term in +the Massachusetts State prison. While in prison he had contrived to +make keys that would unlock his own cell and those of three other +prisoners, and the four had thus made their escape. One of them was +the notorious Charles Bullard, who was at that time serving a term of +twenty years for the robbery of the Boylston Bank of Boston. Proctor +had also offered the privilege of escape to Scott and Dunlap, the +Northampton Bank robbers, who were confined in the same prison, but +they had distrusted his plan, and refused to avail themselves of it. + +It was now necessary for the detectives to devise a new plan. Robert +Pinkerton knew that some three years earlier Donahue had been +concerned in the robbery of a bank at Winnipeg, and also in the +robbery of a hardware store at Quebec. His brother, William Pinkerton, +he also knew, had a personal acquaintance with Donahue, from having +arrested him a number of years before. He therefore sent for William +Pinkerton to come to New York from Chicago, and on his arrival +proposed to him that he go to Fort Erie, get an interview with +Donahue, and tell him of Proctor's treachery in betraying Collins and +himself; impress upon him that Proctor was a dangerous man to have +dealings with; and try to induce him to lend his aid in delivering +Proctor and Collins over the line, just as Robert Pinkerton had sought +to have Proctor do in the case of Donahue and Collins. Donahue was +known as a "stanch" man,--that is, one who is true to his +friends,--and it was thought probable that he would refuse to take +part in any such scheme. But in that event William Pinkerton was to +threaten him with arrest for the old robberies at Winnipeg and Quebec. + +This plan was carried out by William Pinkerton with greater success +than had been expected. At first Donahue stoutly refused to betray a +comrade, but the danger threatening himself was made to appear so +great that finally, seeing no other way out of his difficulties, he +consented to do what was asked of him in regard to Proctor. Against +Collins, however, he declined to give any aid. By working on Proctor's +natural fear of arrest, he easily persuaded him that the immediate +departure of all three of them--himself, Proctor, and Collins--for +Europe was advisable. It was arranged that they should not sail from +Quebec or Halifax, since the steamers from those points were likely to +be watched by detectives, but that they should leave Fort Erie +stealthily by night, make their way separately to Montreal, and meet +there. + +This plan was carried out, and within a few days the three were in +Montreal, all apparently of one mind in their desire to escape the +country, though in reality Proctor was the only one of the three who +thought himself in danger. Donahue had taken Collins into his +confidence, and Collins was quite of Donahue's opinion that they were +doing the proper thing in saving themselves by surrendering a man who +had shown himself willing to betray them. + +It had been agreed between William Pinkerton and Donahue that at +Montreal tickets should be purchased to Europe by way of Portland, +Maine, and that the party should leave Montreal at a certain time by +the Grand Trunk road. The line of this road runs for a number of miles +through northern Vermont, and it was customary for the train the men +were to take to wait over for an hour at Island Pond, a little place +just across the Canadian line. Here, as it was arranged, Robert +Pinkerton was to be waiting, ready to take Proctor into custody, and +also (though in this part of the arrangement Donahue, of course, was +not consulted) Donahue and Collins, should they be so imprudent as to +stay on the train until it crossed the line. To the forwarding of this +latter end, indeed, a special stratagem was resorted to. Conceiving +that Donahue and Collins, in order the more completely to allay +Proctor's suspicion, might remain with him until the last station was +reached on the Canadian side, the detectives arranged that on this +particular night the train should not stop at that station, but push +on at full speed to the American side. + +On a certain Tuesday night, Donahue, Collins, and Proctor took the +10:15 P. M. train at Montreal for Portland. No sooner had they left +the station than a Pinkerton representative, who had "shadowed" them +aboard, telegraphed the fact to Robert Pinkerton at Island Pond. +Proctor went early to his berth in the sleeper. In another berth, not +far distant, never closing his eyes through the night, but lying there +fully dressed, with weapons ready, was a Pinkerton detective, whose +instructions were to accompany the three robbers as long as they were +together, and to stay with Proctor to the last. + +It was five o'clock in the morning when the train drew up at Island +Pond. On the platform stood Robert Pinkerton, carrying a requisition +from the governor of Pennsylvania on the governor of Vermont for the +arrest of Donahue, Collins, and Proctor, charged with robbing the +United States Express Company of forty thousand dollars, at +Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. The first man to leave the train was the +"shadow," who informed his chief that Proctor was sound asleep in +berth No. 12. Donahue and Collins, he said, had left the train long +before it reached the last station on the Canadian side, so that the +plan for their capture had fallen through. Mr. Pinkerton went aboard +the sleeper at once, and going to berth No. 12, pushed aside the +curtains. He could not see distinctly for the darkness, but borrowing +a lantern from one of the trainmen, let the light fall on the face of +the person within, and saw it was Proctor, slumbering in complete +unconsciousness that his hour of reckoning had come. A gentle push in +the ribs awakened him with a start. Recognizing Mr. Pinkerton, he said +with admirable coolness: + +"You have spoiled the whole business. If you had not come in here to +arrest me, I would have had those men across the line next week." + +When he said this, Proctor supposed that Donahue and Collins were +asleep in an adjoining berth; but, even to save himself, he never +thought of betraying them, which goes to show that he was a "stancher" +man than Donahue and Collins had been led to believe. For some time he +endeavored to maintain his old character with Mr. Pinkerton; but on +the way to Susquehanna, realizing the hopelessness of his case, he +acknowledged the deception he had practised, and his full +responsibility with the others in the Susquehanna robbery. He also +admitted his previous criminal record. + +At Susquehanna, Proctor was placed in jail to await trial, and there +Mr. Pinkerton visited him some time later. Something in the prisoner's +manner convinced the detective that all was not as it should be, and +he urged the sheriff to put Proctor in another cell and search his +clothes and his cell thoroughly. This was done, and there were found a +number of keys that fitted the locks of various doors in the jail, and +also a large key fitting the gate from the jail-yard into the street. +Proctor's rare mechanical skill had enabled him to make these keys in +his cell, from impressions furnished him by a woman who had been +allowed to visit him. Being a good talker, Proctor had won this +woman's sympathy, and had also made a strong appeal to her +self-interest by promising, on his escape, to share with her a large +sum of money he had buried. + +At his trial Proctor pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to twelve +years' imprisonment in the penitentiary at Cherry Hill, Pennsylvania. +Here, again, he was caught in the act of making keys to aid him to +escape. He laid various other plans for regaining his liberty, indeed, +but all were frustrated. His imprisonment worked no reform in him. +After he had served out his sentence, some burglaries committed in +Maine brought him again under arrest, and, having been identified as a +convict from the Massachusetts State prison, he was taken back to that +institution, to serve out his unexpired sentence. + +The United States Express Company had not relaxed its efforts against +his associates after Proctor's capture. Donahue and Collins returned +to Montreal, well satisfied with the work they had done, and thinking +themselves safe from pursuit. But President Platt instructed Robert +Pinkerton to take every measure possible against them, and it was +decided that as Donahue could not be reached and punished for the +robbery at Susquehanna, he should be made to suffer for the early +robbery at Quebec already referred to. Donahue's complicity in this +robbery was proved by the discovery of a part of the stolen goods in +his hotel at Fort Erie. Through the efforts of the express company and +the Pinkertons he was now arrested, and on trial was convicted and +sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the Kingston penitentiary. +After his conviction Donahue told the detectives that he was a fool to +have had anything to do with such a dangerous project as an express +robbery, but that the opportunity at Susquehanna was so tempting that +he could not resist it. After his arrest the express company attached +all of his property, and, although they did not succeed in getting a +judgment against him, they fought him in the courts until his wife, +acting for him, was obliged to mortgage all their possessions up to +the last dollar, so that they never derived any substantial benefit +from the stolen money. + +As for Collins, he remained a fugitive from justice for some time +after the conviction of Proctor and Donahue. Several years later, +however, seeing himself constantly threatened by the express company +and the detectives, he decided to placate his enemies by stepping out +from the ranks of the law-breakers and trying to lead an honest life. +And he has succeeded, as the Pinkertons have reason to know; and his +case goes to prove what is borne out by wide experience, that even the +most desperate criminals are sometimes capable of genuine reform. + + + + +The Pollock Diamond Robbery + + +There were thirteen men in the smoker of a train on the Sioux City and +Pacific Railroad when it drew out of Omaha at six o'clock on Friday +evening, November 4, 1892, and started on its eastward run. Among +these thirteen, sitting about half-way down the aisle, enjoying a good +cigar, was Mr. W. G. Pollock of New York, a traveling salesman for W. +L. Pollock & Co., of the same city, dealers in diamonds. In the inside +pocket of his vest he carried fifteen thousand dollars' worth of uncut +diamonds, while a leather satchel on the seat beside him contained a +quantity of valuable stones in settings. + +On the front seat of the car, just behind the stove, sat a +stolid-looking young man, who would have passed for a farmer's lad. He +seemed scarcely over twenty, having neither beard nor mustache, and a +stranger would have put him down as a rather stupid, inoffensive +fellow. Compared with Mr. Pollock, he was slighter in build, although +an inch or so taller. As he sat there staring at the stove, the +passenger in the seat behind him, J. H. Shaw, an Omaha well-digger, a +bluff, hearty man of social instincts, tried to draw him into +conversation; but the young fellow only shook his head sulkily, and +the well-digger relapsed into silence. Presently, as the train was +approaching California Junction, the young man on the front seat rose +and started down the aisle. Curiously enough, he now wore a full beard +of black hair five or six inches long. No one paid any attention to +him until he stopped at Mr. Pollock's seat, drew a revolver, and said +loud enough for every one in the car to hear him: + +"Give me them diamonds." + +Then, without waiting for a reply, he shifted the revolver to his left +hand, drew a slung-shot from his coat-pocket, and struck Mr. Pollock +over the head such a heavy blow that the bag of the slung-shot burst, +and the shot itself fell to the floor. Then he said again: "Give me +them diamonds." + +Realizing that the situation was desperate, Mr. Pollock took out his +pocket-book and handed it to his assailant, saying: "I have only a +hundred dollars; here it is." + +Pushing back the pocket-book as if unworthy of his attention, the man +coolly aimed his revolver at Mr. Pollock's right shoulder and fired. Then +he aimed at the left shoulder and fired. Both bullets hit, and were +followed by two more, which went whizzing by the diamond-merchant's head +on either side, missing him, perhaps by accident, but probably by design, +as the men were not three feet apart. + +By this the other people in the car had disappeared under the seats +like rats into their holes. To all intents and purposes Mr. Pollock +was alone with his assailant. The latter evidently knew where the +diamonds were secreted, for, ripping open his victim's vest, he drew +out the leather wallet in which they were inclosed, and stuffed it +into his pocket. Wounded though he was, Mr. Pollock now grappled with +the thief, who, using the butt of his revolver as a cudgel, brought +down fearful blows on Pollock's head. The latter, however, getting +into the aisle, fought the robber up and down the car; but a crushing +blow at last laid him senseless on the floor. + +With perfect self-possession and without hurry the thief walked back +down the aisle to Mr. Pollock's seat, and took one of the two leather +bags lying there, by mistake choosing, though, the one that did not +contain the mounted diamonds. Then he went to the end of the car, +pulled the bell-rope, and, as the train began to slacken its speed in +response to this signal, jumped off the steps, rolled down a bank +fifteen feet high, and disappeared. + +Sharing, apparently, in the general consternation and terror inspired +by the young fellow, the conductor, instead of holding the train to +pursue the thief, signaled the engineer to go ahead, and no effort was +made for a capture until the train reached California Junction, +several miles farther on. Meanwhile the panic-stricken passengers +recovered, at their leisure, their composure and their seats. Had but +one of his fellow-travelers gone to the assistance of Mr. Pollock, the +robber might easily have been overpowered. As it was, he all but +murdered his man, plundered him of his diamonds, and escaped without +the slightest interference. When his pistol was picked up, near the +spot where he left the train, it was found that in the struggle the +cylinder had caught, so that it would have been impossible to +discharge the two chambers remaining loaded. Thus eleven able-bodied +men were held in a state of abject terror by one slender lad, who at +the last was practically unarmed. + +At California Junction the wounded diamond-merchant was carried from +the train, and that same night taken back to Omaha. Mr. Pollock, being +a member of the Jewelers' Protective Union, a rich and powerful +organization, established some years ago for the protection of jewelry +salesmen against thieves, was entitled to its aid. + +When the detectives reached the scene of the robbery, the robber had +vanished as completely as if he had been whisked off to another +planet. To be sure, farmers in the neighborhood brought rumors of the +stealing of horses, of a strange man sleeping in the woods, and of a +desperate-looking character seen limping along the road. But all this +came to nothing, except to establish, what seemed probable, that the +diamond-thief had fled back to Omaha. A patient and exhaustive search +in Omaha resulted in nothing. The man was gone, and the diamonds were +gone; that was all anybody knew. + +What made the case more difficult was the uncertainty as to the +robber's personal appearance; for some of the passengers testified to +one thing, and some to another. The black beard was a cause of +confusion; only one witness besides Mr. Pollock remembered that the +man wore such a beard. Mr. Pollock, however, was positive as to this +particular, and it seemed as if he ought to know. It was also +impossible to decide, from conflicting statements, whether the robber +had a mustache or not, and whether it was dark or light in color. The +fact is, the passengers had been so thoroughly frightened at the time +of the assault that the credibility of their testimony was much to be +questioned. + +Mr. Pollock reported that for several weeks previous to the robbery he +had suspected that he was being followed. He also reported that on the +day of the robbery he had been in the shop of the largest pawnbroker +in Omaha, and that while he was there two noted Western gamblers had +entered the shop and been presented to him as possible customers. He +had made a trade of some diamonds with one of the men, and, in the +course of the negotiations, had shown his entire stock. While the +trade was in progress a negro on the premises had noticed, lounging +about the front of the shop, a man in a slouch-hat who suggested the +robber. From these circumstances it was decided that the robbery might +be the work of an organized gang, who had been waiting their +opportunity for many days, and had selected one of their number to do +the actual deed. + +All his life it had been Mr. Pinkerton's business to study criminals +and understand their natures. He knew that a crime like this one was +much beyond the power of an ordinary criminal. Let a robber be ever so +greedy of gold, reckless of human life, and indifferent to +consequences, he would still think many times before declaring war to +the death upon twelve men in a narrow car, on a swiftly moving train. +This was surely no novice in crime, reasoned Mr. Pinkerton, but a man +whose record would already show deeds of the greatest daring; a brave +fellow, though a bad one. And even among the well-known experienced +criminals there must be very few who were capable of this deed. + +Mr. Pinkerton, therefore, set himself to studying the bureau's records +and rogues' gallery to first pick out these few. Page after page of +photographs was turned over, drawer after drawer of records was +searched through, and at last a dozen or more men were decided upon as +sufficiently preeminent to merit consideration in connection with the +present case. + +Photographs of these dozen or so were speedily struck off, and +submitted by the detectives to all the men who had been in the +smoking-car at the time of the robbery, to the conductor of the train +and the trainmen, to other passengers, to farmers and others who might +have seen the robber while making his escape, and to various people in +Omaha. The result was startling. Conductor D. M. Ashmore, without +hesitation, selected from the dozen or more portraits one as that of +the robber. Mr. Shaw, the Omaha well-digger, who had sat just behind +the robber, selected the same photograph, and was positive it +pictured the man he had tried to talk to. Other passengers also +picked out this photograph, as did various persons who had caught +sight of the man as he escaped. + +The portrait thus chosen by common accord was that of Frank Bruce, one +of the most desperate burglars of the younger generation in the +country, and it seemed only necessary now to find Bruce, to have the +problem solved. Many days were spent, and hundreds of dollars, in +searching for him. Dozens of cities were visited, and every +conceivable effort made to get on his track; but it was not until his +pursuers were almost weary of the chase that he was finally discovered +living quietly in Chicago, on Cottage Grove Avenue, near Thirty-sixth +Street, where he was operating with another high-class burglar, +"Billy" Boyce. + +Requisition papers were at once procured from the governor of Iowa on +the governor of Illinois, and men were sent to take Bruce into +custody, when the "shadows" reported that he and Boyce had left for +Milwaukee, where, of course, the requisition papers were valueless. +Fortunately, that same night they attempted a burglary in Milwaukee, +for which they were arrested and held for ninety days. This gave the +Chicago detectives abundant time to identify Bruce as the missing +robber. + +Mr. Pinkerton himself went at once to Milwaukee, saw Bruce in the +jail, heard his story, verified its essential facts, and within two +days, to his own complete disappointment, and in spite of himself, had +proved a complete alibi for Bruce. To satisfy himself in this +connection, Mr. Pinkerton brought conductor Ashmore and Mr. Shaw to +Milwaukee, and pointed Bruce out to them; and, after looking carefully +at him, both men declared they had made a mistake in choosing his +portrait, and that Bruce was not the robber. + +With Bruce clear, the detectives were again without a suspect, and +almost without a clue. Just here, however, Mr. Pinkerton recalled that +on a trip to the West, some three years previous, to investigate the +case of a man arrested at Reno, Nevada, on a charge of "holding up" a +faro-bank, and while stopping over in Salt Lake City, Utah, he had run +across some sporting men in that city with whom he was well +acquainted, and on his telling them where he was going and what his +business was, one of them, whom Mr. Pinkerton had known for years, had +said: "Why, the man at Reno is innocent. The men who committed that +robbery are in this city. One of them is a smooth-faced boy, about +twenty years of age, and the other is a heavy-set, dark-complexioned +fellow, with a dark mustache. They are the intimate friends and +companions of Jack Denton, the well-known gambler of Salt Lake; and +only a short time ago, at Salt Lake, they entered a house one night, +going in through a rear door, and compelled two ladies, who were just +returned from a ball, to give up a large amount of diamonds." + +Though not interested in this particular robbery, Mr. Pinkerton had +mentally jotted down the intimacy of Jack Denton with this class of +people; and he recalled it now in connection with the fact that Jack +Denton was one of the two gamblers to whom Pollock had exposed his +diamonds at the pawnshop in Omaha. He at once decided to secure +definite information in regard to the boy who had been with Denton at +Salt Lake three years earlier. Proceeding immediately to Salt Lake +City, and making cautious inquiries, he learned that the boy in +question, since he first heard of him, had been arrested and convicted +of robbery at Ogden, Utah, and sentenced to one year's term in the +penitentiary. An investigation at the penitentiary disclosed that the +young man had given the name of James Burke, had served out his +sentence under that name, and had been released about one month +previous to the Pollock robbery. + +Denton, in the meantime, had left Salt Lake and gone to Omaha, there +to make his home. The boy Burke, argued the detective, had naturally +followed his friend to that place. An accurate description of Burke +was got from the records of the Utah penitentiary, and some idea of +him and his friends was derived from the officials of the prison. But +where to find him in the whole great West was a question. + +Inquiries at Salt Lake developed the further fact that Burke had had +one intimate friend there, a man named Marshall P. Hooker. Hooker had +now, however, left Salt Lake and removed to Denver. For a man of his +class, Hooker was unusually talkative, and was known by "crooks" +throughout the country as "Windy" Hooker. Plans were made for keeping +a watch on him and on Jack Denton, in the hope, by "shadowing" the +movements of these two, of ultimately locating Burke. + +Through the free talk of Hooker, reported back to the detective, it +was soon learned that Burke was known by the alias of "Kid" McCoy, and +that he had recently been operating on the Pacific coast in "holding +up" faro-banks, and had also been concerned in two large robberies, +one at Lincoln, Nebraska, and the other at Sacramento, California. His +whereabouts at that time, however, were unknown. + +Much time had now elapsed since the robbery, and the sensation caused +by it had died out. Jack Denton and his friends seldom spoke of it, +and Hooker never spoke of it unless the subject was introduced to him. +Both men were extremely shy of strangers, and it was almost impossible +for a detective to draw them out, as anybody who introduced the +subject of the robbery was at once looked upon with suspicion. For the +purpose of creating further talk upon the subject, Mr. Pinkerton +caused to be inserted in the Omaha papers an advertisement as follows: + + "Five hundred dollars will be paid for any information + leading up to the identification of the party who robbed + William G. Pollock on the Sioux City and Pacific train, + November 4, 1892. + + "WILLIAM A. PINKERTON, + + "Paxton House, Omaha, Nebraska." + +This at once attracted the attention of the local newspaper-men, and +when Mr. Pinkerton arrived in Omaha he was interviewed by all the +papers in the city in regard to the robbery. Thus interest in the +robbery was at once renewed. Denton and the other persons under +suspicion commenced talking of the matter again, none more freely than +Hooker. + +The latter was then in Denver. Mr. Pinkerton instructed Mr. James +McParland, Denver superintendent of the Pinkerton Agency, to send for +him, and say to him that he had understood that he (Hooker) could +throw some light on the robbery, and that a large sum of money would +be paid him for the information he gave. Mr. Pinkerton explained to +Mr. McParland that Hooker would lie to him and endeavor to get the +money by giving him false information, but to listen patiently to what +he had to say and lead him on as far as possible without giving him +any money. This done, Mr. Pinkerton further predicted that Hooker +would go back to his cronies and boast of the way he was fooling +Pinkerton and how much money he expected to get; and that eventually, +through his boastings, he would prove the means of locating Burke, +_alias_ McCoy. + +And so, precisely, it fell out. Some of Hooker's companions were +Pinkerton detectives, although Hooker did not know them as such, and +they in time reported back that Burke was really the Pollock robber; +that after committing the robbery he had gone back to Omaha, and from +there had gone to Denver. From Denver he went to Salt Lake, and +visited a prisoner in the Salt Lake penitentiary with whom he was +intimate, gave this prisoner some money, and went from Salt Lake west +to the Pacific coast. + +Mr. Pinkerton next instructed that the record be examined for daring +"hold-ups" that might have occurred in the country lately traversed by +Burke. It was then found that a faro-bank at Colorado City, a small +place between Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs, had been entered +late at night by a masked robber, who compelled the dealer and other +persons to hold up their hands, took the money in the drawer, and +escaped; that later on a similar robbery had been perpetrated at San +Bernardino, California; that later still the pool-rooms of James +Malone, a noted gambler at Tacoma, Washington, had been treated in the +same manner; and, finally, that a light or pane of glass in a jewelry +store at Sacramento had been broken in and a tray of diamonds snatched +from the window by a daring thief. And all of these deeds, Mr. +Pinkerton learned ultimately through Hooker's talk, had been done by +Burke. + +The watch on Denton at Omaha developed little, if anything, except +that a close companionship existed between him and the Omaha +pawnbroker. + +During the summer of 1893, learning that an intimate friend of +Burke's, a burglar who had been in prison with him in the Utah +penitentiary, was confined in jail at Georgetown, Texas, Mr. Pinkerton +decided to go and interview this man, and see if he could get any +trace, through him, of the robber. In the meantime he instructed the +detectives at Omaha and Denver to keep a particularly close watch on +Jack Denton and Hooker. + +On Mr. Pinkerton's arrival at Austin, Texas, he found awaiting him +despatches from Superintendent McParland of the Denver agency, stating +that through Hooker's talk they had learned that "Kid" McCoy, or +Burke, had been arrested at Eagle, Colorado, with a kit of burglar +tools in his possession, and was then in jail at Leadville, Colorado. + +Mr. Pinkerton at once telegraphed to have conductor Ashmore and Mr. +Shaw, the well-digger, go to Leadville and see if they could identify +the prisoner. Word was also sent to New York for Mr. Pollock to do the +same. He also instructed Superintendent McParland at Denver to send +his assistant, J. C. Fraser, to watch the case, so that if McCoy gave +bail, or attempted to escape from the Leadville jail, they could be +ready with a warrant for his arrest on account of the Pollock +robbery. + +Having wired these instructions, Mr. Pinkerton proceeded on his +journey to Georgetown, Texas, where he called on McCoy's former prison +associate in the Utah penitentiary, but was unable to get him to tell +anything about McCoy, though he volunteered, if Mr. Pinkerton would +furnish him a bond and get him out of his Texas scrape, to go to Omaha +and compel the "fence" who had received the diamonds to turn back the +property. But the rule of the Jewelers' Protective Union was to get +the thief first and the property afterward; so no treaty was made with +the Texas prisoner. + +Mr. Pinkerton now went to Kansas City, and found awaiting him there +despatches from Superintendent McParland of the Denver agency, stating +that conductor Ashmore and Messrs. Shaw and Pollock had positively +identified the prisoner James Burke, _alias_ "Kid" McCoy, as the man +who assaulted Mr. Pollock and robbed him of his diamonds. + +Burke winced perceptibly when he saw conductor Ashmore and Mr. Shaw, +and went fairly wild when confronted by Mr. Pollock. Requisition +papers were obtained from the governor of the State of Iowa on the +governor of Colorado, and the Colorado offense being a minor one, +Burke was turned over to Assistant Superintendent Fraser and another +detective, to be taken to Logan, Harrison County, Iowa. Before leaving +Leadville, Mr. Fraser was confidentially warned by the sheriff of the +county that he could not be too careful of his prisoner; for that +Burke, through a friend of the sheriff, had made a proposition to the +latter to pay him a thousand dollars if he would secretly furnish him +with a revolver when he left the jail, his design being, with this +revolver, to either "hold up" or kill the two detectives who had him +in custody and make his escape from the train. + +On trial at Logan, Iowa, the man was easily convicted, and was +sentenced to imprisonment for a term of seventeen years. + + + + +The Rock Island Express + +[Illustration: ROBERT A. PINKERTON] + + +I + +The through express on the Rock Island road left Chicago at 10:45 P. +M., on March 12, 1886, with twenty-two thousand dollars in fifty- and +one-hundred-dollar bills in the keeping of Kellogg Nichols, an +old-time messenger of the United States Express Company. This sum had +been sent by a Chicago bank to be delivered at the principal bank in +Davenport, Iowa. In addition to the usual passenger-coaches, the train +drew two express-cars: the first, for express only, just behind the +engine; and, following this, one for express and baggage. These cars +had end doors, which offer the best opportunity to train robbers. +Messenger Nichols was in the first car, and was duly at his work when +the train stopped at Joliet, a town about forty miles west of Chicago. +But at the next stop, which was made at Morris, Harry Schwartz, a +brakeman, came running from Nichols's car, crying, "The messenger is +dead." + +The messenger's lifeless body was found lying on the floor of the car. +The head had been crushed by some heavy weapon, and there was a +pistol-wound in the right shoulder. Apparently he had been overcome +only after a hard fight. His face was set with fierce determination. +His fists were clenched, and the hands and fingers cut and scratched +in a curious way, while under the nails were found what proved to be +bits of human flesh. The pistol-wound was from a weapon of 32 caliber; +but it was not the cause of the man's death. This, unmistakably, was +the blow, or blows, on the head, probably after the shot was fired. +All who knew messenger Nichols were surprised at the desperate +resistance he seemed to have made, for he was a small, light man, not +more than five feet five in height, nor weighing over one hundred and +thirty pounds, and of no great credit among his fellows for pluck and +courage. + +The express-car was immediately detached from the train, and left at +Morris, guarded by all the train-crew except Schwartz, who was sent on +with the train to Davenport. After the first cursory inspection no one +was allowed to enter the car where Nichols lay; and nothing was known +precisely as to the extent of the robbery. The safe-door had been +found open and the floor of the car littered with the contents of the +safe. + +An urgent telegram was at once sent to Chicago, and a force of +detectives arrived at Morris on a special train a few hours later. +Search-parties were at once sent out in all directions along the +country roads, and up and down the tracks. Hundreds of people joined +in the search, for the news of the murder spread rapidly through the +whole region, and not a square yard of territory for miles between +Morris and Minooka station was left unexplored. It happened that the +ground was covered with snow, but the keenest scrutiny failed to +reveal any significant footprints, and the search-parties returned +after many hours, having made only a single discovery. This was a mask +found in a cattle-guard near Minooka--a mask made of black cloth, with +white strings fastened at either side, one of which had been torn out +of the cloth as if in a struggle. + +Meantime Mr. Pinkerton himself entered the car and made a careful +investigation. His first discovery was a heavy poker, bearing stains +of blood and bits of matted hair. It was hanging in its usual place, +behind the stove. The significance of this last fact was great, in Mr. +Pinkerton's opinion; from it he concluded that the crime had been +committed by a railroad man, his reasoning being that the poker could +have been restored to its usual place after such a use only +mechanically and from force of habit and that an assailant who was not +a railroad man would have left it on the floor or thrown it away. + +Coming to the safe, Mr. Pinkerton found that the twenty-two thousand +dollars were missing, and that other papers had been hastily searched +over, but left behind as valueless. + +Among these was a bundle of canceled drafts that had been roughly torn +open and then thrown aside. Mr. Pinkerton scarcely noticed at the +moment, but had occasion to remember subsequently, that a small piece +of one of these drafts was missing, as if a corner had been torn off. + +All the train-hands were immediately questioned, but none of their +stories was in any way significant, except that of Newton Watt, the +man in charge of the second car. He said that while busy counting +over his way-bills and receipts he had been startled by the crash of +broken glass in the ventilator overhead, and that at the same moment a +heavily built man, wearing a black mask, had entered the car and said, +"If you move, the man up there will bore you." Looking up, Watt said +further, he saw a hand thrust through the broken glass and holding a +revolver. Thus intimidated, he made no attempt to give an alarm, and +the masked man presently left him under guard of the pistol overhead, +which covered him until shortly before the train reached Morris, when +it was withdrawn. He was able to locate the place where the crime must +have been committed, as he remembered that the engine was whistling +for Minooka when the stranger entered the car. This left about thirty +minutes for the murder, robbery, and escape. + +Returning to Chicago, Mr. Pinkerton investigated the character of the +man Watt, and found that he had a clean record, was regarded as a +trusty and efficient man, and had three brothers who had been railroad +men for years and had always given perfect satisfaction. Watt's good +reputation and straightforward manner were strong points in his favor, +and yet there was something questionable in his story of the +mysterious hand. For one thing, no footprints were found in the snow +on the top of the car. + +Brakeman Schwartz, the only man on the train who had not yet been +questioned, "deadheaded" his way, in railway parlance, back from +Davenport the following night on conductor Danforth's train, and +reported to Mr. Pinkerton the next morning. He was a tall, +fine-looking young fellow, about twenty-seven, with thin lips and a +face that showed determination. He was rather dapper in dress, and +kept on his gloves during the conversation. Mr. Pinkerton received +him pleasantly, and, after they had been smoking and chatting for an +hour or so, he suggested to Schwartz that he would be more comfortable +with his gloves off. Schwartz accordingly removed them, and revealed +red marks on the backs of his hands, such as might have been made by +finger-nails digging into them. + +"How did you hurt your hands, Schwartz?" asked Mr. Pinkerton. + +"Oh, I did that handling baggage night before last," explained +Schwartz; and then he related incidentally that as he was on his way +back to Chicago, the conductor of the train, conductor Danforth, had +discovered a valise left by somebody in one of the toilet-rooms. Later +in the day Mr. Pinkerton summoned the conductor, who said that the +valise was an old one, of no value; and, having no contents, he had +thrown it out on an ash-pile. The only thing he had found in the +valise was a piece of paper that attracted his attention because it +was marked with red lines. + +Examining this piece of paper carefully, Mr. Pinkerton saw that it had +been torn from a money-draft, and at once thought of the package in +the express messenger's safe. Now it is a remarkable fact that no +human power can tear two pieces of paper in exactly the same way; the +ragged fibers will only fit perfectly when the two original parts are +brought together. There remained no doubt, when this test was made in +the present case, that the piece of paper found on conductor +Danforth's east-bound train had been torn from the draft in the +express-car robbed the night before on the west-bound train. The edges +fitted, the red lines corresponded, and unquestionably some one had +carried that piece of paper from the one train to the other. In other +words, some one connected with the crime of the previous night had +ridden back to Chicago twenty-four hours later with conductor +Danforth. + +Mr. Pinkerton at once ordered a search made for the missing valise, +and also an inquiry regarding the passengers who had ridden on +conductor Danforth's train between Davenport and Chicago on the night +following the murder. The valise was found on the ash-heap where the +conductor had thrown it, and in the course of the next few days the +detectives had located or accounted for all passengers on conductor +Danforth's train, with the exception of one man who had ridden on a +free pass. The conductor could only recall this man's features +vaguely; and, while some of the passengers remembered him well enough, +there was no clue to his name or identity. As it appeared that no +other of the passengers could have been connected with the crime, +efforts were redoubled to discover the holder of this pass. + + +II + +So great was the public interest in the crime and the mystery +surrounding it that three separate, well-organized investigations of +it were undertaken. The Rock Island Railroad officials, with their +detectives, conducted one; a Chicago newspaper, the "Daily News," with +its detectives, another; and the Pinkertons, in the interest of the +United States Express Company, a third. + +Mr. Pinkerton, as we have seen, concluded that the crime had been +committed by railway men. The railway officials were naturally +disinclined to believe ill of their employees, and an incident +occurred about this time which turned the investigation in an entirely +new direction and made them the more disposed to discredit Mr. +Pinkerton's theory. This was the receipt of a letter from a convict in +the Michigan City penitentiary, named Plunkett, who wrote the Rock +Island Railroad officials, saying that he could furnish them with +important information. + +Mr. St. John, the general manager of the road, went in person to the +penitentiary to take Plunkett's statement, which was in effect that he +knew the men who had committed the robbery and killed Nichols, and was +willing to sell this information in exchange for a full pardon, which +the railroad people could secure by using their influence. This they +promised to do if his story proved true, and Plunkett then told them +of a plot that had been worked out a year or so before, when he had +been "grafting" with a "mob" of pickpockets at county fairs. There +were with him at that time "Butch" McCoy, James Connors (known as +"Yellowhammer"), and a man named "Jeff," whose surname he did not +know. These three men, Plunkett said, had planned an express robbery +on the Rock Island road, to be executed in precisely the same way, +and at precisely the same point on the road, as in the case in +question. + +The story was plausible, and won Mr. St. John's belief. It won the +belief, also, of Mr. Melville E. Stone of the "Daily News"; and +forthwith the railway detectives, working with the newspaper +detectives, were instructed to go ahead on new lines, regardless of +trouble or expense. Their first endeavor was to capture "Butch" McCoy, +the leader of the gang. "Butch" was a pickpocket, burglar, and +all-around thief, whose operations kept him traveling all over the +United States. + +The police in various cities having been communicated with to no +purpose, Mr. Stone finally decided to do a thing the like of which no +newspaper proprietor, perhaps, ever undertook before--that is, start +on a personal search for McCoy and his associates. With Frank Murray, +one of the best detectives in Chicago, and other detectives, he went +to Galesburg, where the gang was said to have a sort of headquarters. +The party found there none of the men they were after, but they +learned that "Thatch" Grady, a notorious criminal with whom "Butch" +McCoy was known to be in relations, was in Omaha. So they hurried to +Omaha, but only to find that Grady had gone to St. Louis. Then to St. +Louis went Mr. Stone and his detectives, hot on the scent, and spent +several days in that city searching high and low. + +The method of locating a criminal in a great city is as interesting as +it is little understood. The first step is to secure from the local +police information as to the favorite haunts of criminals of the class +under pursuit, paying special regard in the preliminary inquiries to +the possibility of love-affairs; for thieves, even more than honest +men, are swayed in their lives by the tender passion, and are often +brought to justice through the agency of women. With so much of such +information in their possession as they could gather, Mr. Stone and +his detectives spent their time in likely resorts, picking up +acquaintance with frequenters, and, whenever possible, turning the +talk adroitly upon the man they were looking for. It is a mistake to +suppose that in work like this detectives disguise themselves. False +beards and mustaches, goggles and lightning changes of clothing, are +never heard of except in the pages of badly informed story-writers. In +his experience of over twenty-five years Mr. Murray never wore such a +disguise, nor knew of any reputable detective who did. In this +expedition the detectives simply assumed the characters and general +style of the persons they were thrown with, passing for men of +sporting tastes from the East; and, having satisfied the people they +met that they meant no harm, they had no difficulty in obtaining such +news of McCoy and the others as there was. Unfortunately, this was +not much. + +After going from one city to another on various clues, hearing of one +member of the gang here and another there, and in each instance losing +their man, the detectives finally brought up in New Orleans. They had +spent five or six weeks of time and a large amount of money, only to +find themselves absolutely without a clue as to the whereabouts of the +men they were pursuing. They were much discouraged when a telegram +from Mr. Pinkerton told them that "Butch" McCoy was back in Galesburg, +where they had first sought him. Proceeding thither with all despatch, +they traced McCoy into a saloon, and there three of them,--John Smith, +representing the Rock Island Railroad; John McGinn, for the Pinkerton +Agency; and Frank Murray, working for Mr. Stone,--with drawn +revolvers, captured him, in spite of a desperate dash he made to +escape. + +McCoy's capture was the occasion of much felicitation among the people +interested in the matter. Mr. St. John and Mr. Stone were confident +that now the whole mystery of the express robbery could be solved and +the murderer convicted. But McCoy showed on trial that he had left New +Orleans to come North only the night before the murder and had spent +the whole of that night on the Illinois Central Railroad. It also +appeared that McCoy's associate, Connors, was in jail at the time of +the robbery, and that the man "Jeff" was dead. Thus the whole Plunkett +story was exploded. + + +III + +Some time before this the man who had ridden on the free pass, and +given the detectives so much trouble, had been accidentally found by +Jack Mullins, a brakeman on conductor Danforth's train. He proved to +be an advertising solicitor, employed by no other than Mr. Melville +E. Stone, who would have given a thousand dollars to know what his +agent knew; for the advertising man had seen the conductor bring out +the valise containing the all-important fragment of the draft. But he +had not realized the value of the news in his possession, and Mr. +Pinkerton took good care to keep him from that knowledge. One hint of +the truth to the "Daily News" people, and the whole story would have +been blazoned forth in its columns, and the murderer would have taken +warning. Not until he had seen the man safely on a train out from +Chicago did Mr. Pinkerton breathe easily; and it was not until months +later that Mr. Stone learned how near he came to getting a splendid +"scoop" on the whole city and country. + +The identification of the pass-holder removed the last possibility +that the valise had been taken into the train by any of conductor +Danforth's passengers. And yet the valise was there! How came it +there? In the course of their examination two of the passengers had +testified to having seen Schwartz enter the toilet-room during the +run. Brakeman Jack Mullins stated that he had been in the same room +twice that night, that the second time he had noticed the valise, but +that it was not there when he went in first. Other witnesses in the +car were positive that the person who entered the room last before the +time when Mullins saw the valise was Schwartz. Thus the chain of proof +was tightening, and Mr. Pinkerton sent for Schwartz. + +After talking with the brakeman in a semi-confidential way for some +time, the detective began to question him about Watt, his +fellow-trainman. Schwartz said he was a good fellow, and, in general, +spoke highly of him. Mr. Pinkerton seemed to hesitate a little, and +then said: + +"Can I trust you, Schwartz?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, the fact is, I am a little suspicious of Watt. You see, his +story about that hand overhead does not exactly hang together. I don't +want to do him any wrong, but he must be looked after. Now, my idea is +to have you go about with him as much as you can, see if he meets any +strangers or spends much money, and let me know whatever happens. Will +you do it?" + +Schwartz readily consented, on the assurance that the railroad people +would give him leave of absence. The next day he reported that Watt +had met a man who wore a slouch-hat, had unkempt red hair, and in +general looked like a border ruffian. He had overheard the two talking +together in a saloon on Cottage Grove Avenue, where the stranger had +discussed the murder of Nichols in great detail, showing a remarkable +familiarity with the whole affair. Schwartz had a sort of Jesse James +theory (which he seemed anxious to have accepted) that the crime had +been committed by a gang of Western desperados and that this fellow +was connected with them. + +Mr. Pinkerton listened with interest to all this, but was less edified +than Schwartz imagined, since two of his most trusted "shadows," who +had been following Schwartz, had given him reports of the latter's +movements, making it plain that the red-haired desperado was a myth, +and that no such meeting as Schwartz described had taken place. +Nevertheless, professing to be well pleased with Schwartz's efforts, +Mr. Pinkerton sent him out to track the fabulous desperado. Schwartz +continued to render false reports. Finally, without a word to arouse +his suspicion, he was allowed to resume his work on the railroad. + +The "shadows" put upon Schwartz after this reported a suspicious +intimacy between him and Watt, and a detective of great tact, Frank +Jones, was detailed to get into their confidence, if possible. He was +given a "run" as brakeman between Des Moines and Davenport, and it was +arranged that he should come in from the west and lay over at +Davenport on the same days when Schwartz and Watt laid over there, +coming in from the east. Jones played his part cleverly, and was soon +on intimate terms with Schwartz and Watt, taking his meals at their +boarding-house and sleeping in a room adjoining theirs. They finally +came to like him so well that they suggested his trying to get a +transfer to their "run," between Davenport and Chicago. This was +successfully arranged, and then the three men were together +constantly, Jones even going to board at Schwartz's house in Chicago. +About this time Schwartz began to talk of giving up railroad work and +going to live in Kansas or the far West. It was arranged that Jones +should join him and Mrs. Schwartz on a Western trip. Meantime +Schwartz applied to the company for leave of absence, on the plea that +he wished to arrange some family matters in Philadelphia. + +Mr. Pinkerton, being informed by Jones of Schwartz's application, used +his influence to have it granted. When the young man started East he +did not travel alone. His every movement was watched and reported, nor +was he left unguarded for a moment, day or night, during an absence of +several weeks, in New York, Philadelphia, and other Eastern cities. + +To one unfamiliar with the resources and organization of a great +detective system it is incomprehensible how continuous "shadowing" day +after day and week after week, through thousands of miles of +journeying, can be accomplished. The matter is made none the simpler +when you know that there must be a change of "shadows" every day. +However adroit the detective, his continued presence in a locality +would soon arouse suspicion. The daily change of "shadows" is easy +when the man under watch remains in one place; for then it is only +necessary to send a new "shadow" from the central office early each +morning to replace the one who "put the man to bed" the night before. +But it is very different when the subject is constantly traveling +about on boats or railways, and perhaps sleeping in a different town +each night. Without the network of agencies, including large and small +bureaus, that the Pinkertons have gradually established all over the +United States, the "shadowing" of a man in rapid flight would be +impossible. As it is, nothing is easier. Schwartz, for instance, spent +several days in Buffalo, where his actions were reported hour by hour +until he bought his ticket for Philadelphia. As he took the train a +fresh "shadow" took it too, securing a section in the same +sleeping-car with him, and taking his meals at the same time Schwartz +took his, either in the dining-car or at stations. No sooner had the +train left the station than the Pinkerton representative in Buffalo +reported by cipher-despatch to the bureau in Philadelphia, whither +Schwartz was going. The exact form of the despatch, which well +illustrates a system in constant use in the Pinkerton bureaus, was as +follows: + + "R. J. LINDEN, + + "441 CHESTNUT STREET, + + "PHILADELPHIA, PA. + + "Anxious shoes sucker Brown marbles man other dropping eight + arrives put grand fifty marbles articles along or derby coat + ship very tan seer wearing these have and is ribbon ink dust + central Tuesday for dust to rice hat and paper vest + yellow ink get must jewelry morning depot on. + + "D. ROBERTSON." + +In despatches of this sort important information regarding criminals +is constantly flashing over the wires, with no danger of any "leak." + +Thus, from one city to another, and through every part of the country, +any criminal may be "shadowed" to-day as Schwartz was "shadowed," one +set of detectives relieving another every twenty-four hours, and the +man's every word and action be carefully noted down and reported, +without his having the faintest suspicion that he is under +observation. The task of "shadowing" a person who is traversing city +streets is intrusted to men especially skilled in the art (for art it +is) of seeing without being seen. This is, indeed, one of the most +difficult tasks a detective is called upon to perform, and the few who +excel in it are given little else to do. Where a criminal like +Schwartz, upon whose final capture much depends, is being followed, +two, three, or even four "shadows" are employed simultaneously, one +keeping in advance, one in the rear, and two on either side. The +advantage of this is that one relieves the other by change of +position, thus lessening the chance of discovery, while, of course, it +is scarcely possible for several "shadows" to be thrown off the trail +at once. An adroit criminal might outwit one "shadow," but he could +scarcely outwit four. A "shadow," on coming into a new town with a +subject, reveals himself to the "shadow" who is to relieve him by some +prearranged signal, like a handkerchief held in the left hand. + +The result of the "shadowing" in Schwartz's case was conclusive. No +sooner was the brakeman out of Chicago than he began spending money +far in excess of his income. He bought fine furniture, expensive +clothing, articles of jewelry, presents for his wife, and laid in an +elaborate supply of rifles, shot-guns, revolvers, and all sorts of +ammunition, including a quantity of cartridges. The "shadows" found +that in almost every case he paid for his purchases with fifty-or +one-hundred-dollar bills. As far as possible these bills were secured +by the detectives from the persons to whom they had been paid, +immediately after Schwartz's departure. It will be remembered that the +money taken in the robbery consisted of fifty-and one-hundred-dollar +bills. + + +IV + +In addition to this, it was found, by the investigations of detectives +at Philadelphia, that Schwartz was the son of a wealthy retired +butcher there, a most respectable man, and that he had a wife and +child in Philadelphia, whom he had entirely deserted. This gave an +opportunity to take him into custody and still conceal from him that +he was suspected of committing a higher crime. The Philadelphia wife +and child were taken on to Chicago, and Schwartz was placed under +arrest, charged with bigamy. + +Mr. Pinkerton went to the jail at once, and, wishing to keep +Schwartz's confidence as far as possible, assured him that this arrest +was not his work at all, but that of detectives Smith and Murray, who +were, as Schwartz knew, working in the interests of the railroad +people and of the Chicago "Daily News." Mr. Pinkerton told Schwartz +that he still believed, as he had done all along, that Watt was the +guilty man, and promised to do whatever he could to befriend Schwartz. +The latter did not appear to be very much alarmed, and said that a +Philadelphia lawyer was coming on to defend him. The lawyer did come a +few days later, when a bond for two thousand dollars was furnished for +Schwartz's reappearance, and he was set at liberty. Matters had gone +so far, however, that it was not considered safe to leave Schwartz out +of jail, and he was immediately rearrested on the charge of murder. + +Whether because of long preparation for this ordeal or because he was +a man of strong character, Schwartz received this blow without the +slightest show of emotion, and went back into the jail as coolly as he +had come out. He merely requested that he might have an interview with +his wife as soon as possible. + +Mr. Pinkerton had evidence enough against Schwartz to furnish a strong +presumption of guilt; but it was all circumstantial, and, besides, it +did not involve Newton Watt, whose complicity was more than suspected. +From the first Mr. Pinkerton had been carefully conciliatory of the +later Mrs. Schwartz. At just the right moment, and by adroit +management, he got her under his direction, and by taking a train with +her to Morris, and then on the next morning taking another train back +to Chicago, he succeeded in preventing her from getting the advice of +her husband's lawyer, who was meantime making the same double journey +on pursuing trains with the design of cautioning her against speaking +to Mr. Pinkerton. She had come to regard Mr. Pinkerton more as a +protector than as an enemy, and he, during the hours they were +together, used every device to draw from her some damaging admission. +He told her that the evidence against her husband, although serious in +its character, was not, in his opinion, sufficient to establish his +guilt. He told her of the bills found in Schwartz's possession, of the +torn piece of the draft taken from the valise, of the marks on his +hands and the lies he had told. All this, he said, proved that +Schwartz had some connection with the robbery, but not that he had +committed the murder, or done more than assist Watt, whom Mr. +Pinkerton professed to regard as the chief criminal. The only hope of +saving her husband now, he impressed upon her, was for her to make a +plain statement of the truth, and trust that he would use this in her +husband's interest. + +After listening to all that he said, and trying in many ways to evade +the main question, Mrs. Schwartz at last admitted to Mr. Pinkerton +that her husband had found a package containing five thousand dollars +of the stolen money under one of the seats on conductor Danforth's +train, on the night of his return to Chicago. He had kept this money +and used it for his own purposes, but had been guilty of no other +offense in the matter. Mrs. Schwartz stuck resolutely to this +statement, and would admit nothing further. + +Believing that he had drawn from her as much as he could, Mr. +Pinkerton now accompanied Mrs. Schwartz to the jail, where she was to +see her husband. The first words she said, on entering the room where +he was, were: "Harry, I have told Mr. Pinkerton the whole truth. I +thought that was the best way, for he is your friend. I told him +about your finding the five thousand dollars under the seat of the +car, and that that was all you had to do with the business." + +For the first time Schwartz's emotions nearly betrayed him. However, +he braced himself, and only admitted in a general way that there was +some truth in what his wife had said. He refused positively to go into +details, seemed very nervous, and almost immediately asked to be left +alone with his wife. Mr. Pinkerton had been expecting this, and was +prepared for it. He realized the shock that would be caused in +Schwartz's mind by his wife's unexpected confession, and counted on +this to lead to further admissions. It was, therefore, of the highest +importance that credible witnesses should overhear all that transpired +in the interview between Schwartz and his wife. With this end in view, +the room where the interview was to take place had been arranged so +that a number of witnesses could see and hear without their presence +being suspected; and the sheriff of the county, a leading merchant, +and a leading banker of the town, were waiting there in readiness. + +As soon as the door had closed and the husband and wife were left +alone, Schwartz exclaimed: + +"You fool, you have put a rope around Watt's and my neck!" + +"Why, Harry, I had to tell him something, he knew so much. You can +trust him." + +"You ought to know better than to trust anybody." + +The man walked back and forth, a prey to the most violent emotions, +his wife trying vainly to quiet him. At each affectionate touch he +would brush her off roughly, with a curse, and go on pacing back and +forth fiercely. Suddenly he burst out: + +"What did you do with that coat--the one you cut the mask out of?" + +"Oh, that's all right; it's in the woodshed, under the whole +woodpile." + +They continued to talk for over an hour, referring to the murder and +robbery repeatedly, and furnishing evidence enough to establish beyond +any question the guilt of both Schwartz and Watt. + +Meantime Watt had been arrested in Chicago, also charged with murder, +and in several examinations had shown signs of breaking down and +confessing, but in each instance had recovered himself and said +nothing. The evidence of Schwartz himself, however, in the interview +at the jail, taken with the mass of other evidence that had +accumulated, was sufficient to secure the conviction of both men, who +were condemned at the trial to life-imprisonment in the Joliet +penitentiary. They would undoubtedly have been hanged but for the +conscientious scruples of one juryman, who did not believe in capital +punishment. Watt has since died, but Schwartz, at last accounts, was +still in prison. + +About a year after the trial Schwartz's Chicago wife died of +consumption. On her death-bed she made a full confession. She said +that her husband's mind had been inflamed by the constant reading of +sensational literature of the dime-novel order; and that under this +evil influence he had planned the robbery, believing that it would be +easy to intimidate a weak little man like Nichols, and escape with the +money without harming him. Nichols, however, had fought like a tiger +up and down the car, and had finally forced them to kill him. In the +fight he had torn off the mask that Mrs. Schwartz had made out of one +of her husband's old coats. It was Watt who fired the pistol, while +Schwartz used the poker. Schwartz had given Watt five thousand dollars +of the stolen money, and had kept the rest himself. He had carried the +money away in an old satchel bought for the purpose. A most unusual +place of concealment had been chosen, and one where the money had +escaped discovery, although on several occasions, in searching the +house, the detectives had literally held it in their hands. Schwartz +had taken a quantity of the cartridges he bought for his shot-gun, and +emptying them, had put in each shell one of the fifty- or +one-hundred-dollar bills, upon which he had then loaded in the powder +and the shot in the usual way, so that the shells presented the +ordinary appearance as they lay in the drawer. The detectives had even +picked out some of the shot and powder in two or three of the shells; +but, finding them so like other cartridges, had never thought of +probing clear to the bottom of the shell for a crumpled-up bill. + +Thus about thirteen thousand dollars lay for weeks in these +ordinary-looking cartridges, and were finally removed in the following +way: While Schwartz was in jail, a well-known lawyer of Philadelphia +came to Mrs. Schwartz, one day, with an order from her husband to +deliver the money over to him. She understood this was to defray the +expenses of the trial and to pay the other lawyers. Superintendent +Robertson remembers well the dying woman's emotion as she made this +solemn declaration, one calculated to compromise seriously a man of +some standing and belonging to an honored profession. Her body was +wasted with disease, and she knew that her end was near. There was a +flush on her face, and her eyes were bright with hatred as she +declared that not one dollar of that money was ever returned to her, +or ever used in paying the costs of her husband's trial. Nor was one +dollar of it ever returned to the railroad company, or to the bank +officials, who were the real owners. + + + + +The Destruction of the Renos + + +The first, and probably the most daring, band of train robbers that +ever operated in the United States was the notorious Reno gang, an +association of desperate outlaws who, in the years immediately +following the war, committed crimes without number in Missouri and +Indiana, and for some years terrorized several counties in the region +about Seymour in the last-named State. The leaders of this band were +four brothers, John Reno, Frank Reno, "Sim" Reno, and William Reno, +who rivaled one another in a spirit of lawlessness that must have +been born in their blood through the union of a hardy Swiss emigrant +with a woman sprung from the Pennsylvania Dutch. Of the six children +from this marriage only one escaped the restless, law-despising taint +that made the others desperate characters, this single white sheep +being "Clint" Reno, familiarly known as "Honest" Reno, and much +despised by the rest of the family for his peaceful ways. Even Laura +Reno, the one daughter, famed throughout the West for her beauty, +loved danger and adventure, was an expert horsewoman, an unerring +shot, and as quick with her gun as any man. Laura fairly worshiped her +desperado brothers, whom she aided in more than one of their criminal +undertakings, shielding them from justice when hard pressed, and +swearing to avenge them when retribution overtook them after their day +of triumph. + +During the war the Renos had become notorious as bounty-jumpers; and +at its close, with a fine scorn for the ways of commonplace industry, +these fierce-hearted, dashing young fellows, all well-built, handsome +boys, cast about for further means of excitement and opportunities to +make an easy living. Beginning their operations in a small way with +house-breaking and store robberies, they soon proved themselves so +reckless in their daring, so fertile in expedients, so successful in +their coups, that they quickly extended their field until, in the +early part of 1866, they had placed a wide region under contribution, +setting all forms of law at defiance. + +John Reno and Frank Reno, the elder brothers, were at this time the +dominating spirits of the band, and they soon associated with them +several of the most skilful and notorious counterfeiters and +safe-burglars in the country, among these being Peter McCartney, James +and Robert Rittenhouse, George McKay, John Dean, _alias_ "California +Nelse," and William Hopkins. The band soon came to be named with the +greatest dread and awe, good citizens fearing to speak a word of +censure, lest swift punishment be visited upon them. The Reno +influence made itself felt even in local politics, corrupt officials +being elected at the instigation of the outlaws, so that their +conviction became practically impossible. + +The Renos, toward the end of 1866, began a series of train robberies +which were carried out with such perfection of organization, such +amazing coolness, and such uniform success as to attract national +attention. The first of these robberies took place on the Ohio and +Mississippi Railroad, being accomplished by only four men, Frank and +John Reno, assisted by William Sparks and Charles Gerroll. Other train +robberies followed in quick succession, the same methods being used in +each, with the same immunity from capture, so that people in this +region would say to one another, quite as a matter of course, "The +Reno boys got away with another train yesterday." + +But while indulging in its own acts of outlawry, the Reno band +strenuously objected to any rivalry or competition on the part of +other highwaymen. A train robbery was perpetrated on the +Jeffersonville Railroad early in 1867. The Renos had no connection +with this robbery. It was accomplished by two young men named Michael +Collins and Walker Hammond, the two men escaping with six thousand +dollars, taken from a messenger of the Adams Express Company. But +their horses had carried them only a short distance from the looted +train when they found themselves surrounded by the formidable Renos, +who had quietly watched the robbery from a place of concealment, and +now unceremoniously relieved the robbers of their plunder. Not content +with this, and as if to intimidate others from like trespasses on +their preserves, the Renos used their influence to have their rivals +arrested for the crime by which they had profited so little; and both +were subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to long terms in the +Indiana penitentiary. The Renos, meantime, although they were known to +have secured and kept the six thousand dollars, were allowed to go +unmolested, and continued their depredations. + +Up to this time the Reno gang had confined their operations, for the +most part, to Indiana; but now they began to make themselves felt in +Missouri, where a number of daring crimes were committed, notably the +robbing of the county treasurer's safe at Gallatin, in Daviess County. +In this last act John Reno was known to have been personally +concerned. The case was placed in the hands of Allan Pinkerton. + +Taking up the investigation with his accustomed energy, Mr. Pinkerton +traced John Reno back to Seymour, Indiana, where the gang was so +strongly intrenched in the midst of corrupt officials and an +intimidated populace that any plan of open arrest was out of the +question. Recognizing this, Allan Pinkerton had recourse to the +cunning of his craft. He began by stationing in Seymour a trustworthy +assistant, who was instructed, on a given day and at a given hour, to +decoy John Reno to the railroad-station on any pretense that might +suggest itself. Then he arranged to have half a dozen Missourians, the +biggest and most powerful fellows he could find, led by the sheriff of +Daviess County, board an express-train on the Ohio and Mississippi +Railroad at Cincinnati, and ride through to Seymour, arriving there at +the time agreed upon with his assistant. Along with them was to be a +constable bearing all the papers necessary to execute a requisition. + +When the train reached Seymour there was the usual crowd lounging +about the station, and in it were John Reno and Mr. Pinkerton's +lieutenant, who had entirely succeeded in his task. While Reno was +staring at the passengers as they left the train, he was suddenly +surrounded and seized by a dozen strong arms; and before his friends +could rally to his aid, or realize what was happening, he was clapped +in irons, carried aboard the train, and soon was rolling away to +Missouri, under arrest. + +Reno's friends stoutly contested the case in the Missouri courts, +arguing that the prisoner had been kidnapped and that the law had +therefore been violated by his captors. The courts decided against +them on this point, however; and John Reno, with several less +important members of the gang, was tried and convicted. He was +sentenced to twenty-five years of hard labor in the Missouri +penitentiary. + +This was the first break in the ranks of the band, the first instance +in which they had suffered for their crimes. But the bold spirit of +the organization was still unbroken. Three brothers still remained to +replace the one who was gone; and so far from learning caution, the +band launched forthwith into still more daring and frequent offenses. +Trains were "held up" right and left; robberies were committed; and +early in 1868 the gang made a famous raid across the country through +Indiana and Illinois, robbing safes in county treasurers' offices in a +number of places. In several instances some of the members were +arrested; but they always managed to have the prosecution quashed, or +in some way to escape conviction. In the spring of 1868 their +operations became so outrageous, and the situation so serious, that +Allan Pinkerton was again called upon to do something in the cause of +public safety. + +In March of this year the safe of the county treasurer at Magnolia, +Harrison County, Iowa, was robbed of about fourteen thousand dollars; +and Allan Pinkerton detailed his son, William A. Pinkerton, and two +assistants, to run down the burglars. Arrived at the scene of the +robbery, the detectives found that the thieves had made their escape +on a hand-car and had gone in the direction of Council Bluffs. At this +time in Council Bluffs there was a low saloon, kept by a man who had +formerly lived in Seymour and who was known as a bad character. It was +decided to keep a sharp watch on this resort, Mr. Pinkerton reasoning +that since Seymour was the friendly refuge of the Renos, it was +altogether likely that the outlaws would have a friend, and perhaps an +abettor, in the saloon-keeper who had once lived there. After two +days' watching, the detectives observed a large man of dark complexion +enter the saloon and engage in close conversation with the proprietor, +having with him, evidently, some mysterious business. + +Investigation disclosed this man to be Michael Rogers, a prominent +and wealthy citizen of Council Bluffs, and the owner of an extensive +property in the adjoining counties. Puzzled, but still persuaded that +he had found a clue, Mr. Pinkerton put a "shadow" on Rogers, and +hurried back to Magnolia, where he learned that on the day preceding +the robbery Rogers had been seen in Magnolia, where he had paid his +taxes, and in doing so had loitered for some time in the treasurer's +office. This also looked suspicious. But, on the other hand, search as +he might, the detective could find nothing against Rogers's character, +every one testifying to his entire respectability. + +Still unconvinced, Mr. Pinkerton returned to Council Bluffs, where he +was informed by the man who had been "shadowing" Rogers that several +strange men had been seen to enter Rogers's house and had not been +seen to come out again. The watch was continued more closely than +ever, and after four days of patient waiting, Rogers, accompanied by +three strangers, was seen to leave the house cautiously and take a +west-bound train on the Pacific Railroad. One of these men, a brawny, +athletic fellow nearly six feet tall, and about twenty-eight years of +age, Mr. Pinkerton shrewdly suspected was Frank Reno, although he +could not be certain, never having seen Frank Reno. Feeling sure that +if his suspicions were correct the men would ultimately return to +Rogers's house, Mr. Pinkerton did not follow them on the train, but +contented himself with keeping the strictest watch for their return. +The very next morning the same four men were discovered coming back to +the house from the direction of the railroad. But at that hour no +train was due, which was a little curious; and another curious point +was that they were all covered with mud and bore marks of having been +engaged in some severe, rough labor. The hour was early; the dwellers +in Council Bluffs were not yet astir. A little later the city was +thrown into a fever of excitement by the news that the safe of the +county treasurer at Glenwood, in Mills County, about thirty miles +distant, had been robbed the previous night. No trace had yet been got +of the thieves, but everything indicated that they were the same men +who had robbed the safe at Magnolia. One remarkable point of +similarity in the two cases was the means employed by the robbers in +escaping, a hand-car having been used also by the Glenwood thieves; +and they, too, were believed to have fled in the direction of Council +Bluffs. Investigation soon made this absolutely certain, for the +missing hand-car was found lying beside the railroad, a short distance +from the Council Bluffs station. + +Putting these new disclosures beside his previous suspicions and +discoveries, Mr. Pinkerton was further strengthened in his distrust of +the man Rogers; and although the local authorities, to whom he +revealed his suspicions, laughed at him, declaring that Rogers was one +of the most respectable citizens of the State, he resolved to attempt +an arrest. Proceeding to Rogers's house with all the force he could +command, he placed a guard at front and rear, and then, with a few +attendants, made his way inside. The first person he met was Mr. +Rogers himself, who affected to be very indignant at the intrusion. + +"Who have you in this house?" asked Mr. Pinkerton. + +"Nobody but my family," answered Mr. Rogers. + +"We'll see about that," answered Mr. Pinkerton; and then, turning to +his men, he ordered them to search the premises. + +They did so, and soon came upon the three strangers, who were taken so +completely by surprise that they made no effort at resistance. They +were about to sit down to breakfast, which was spread for them in the +kitchen. A comparison with photographs and descriptions left no doubt +that one of the three was Frank Reno. A second--a man of dark +complexion, tall, and well built--proved to be Albert Perkins, a +well-known member of the Reno gang. The third was none other than the +notorious Miles Ogle, the youngest member of the band, who afterward +came to be known as the most expert counterfeiter in the United +States. Ogle at this writing is in the Ohio penitentiary, serving his +third term of imprisonment. At his last capture there were found in +his possession some of the best counterfeit plates ever made. + +While they were securing the four men the detectives noticed that +smoke was curling out of the kitchen stove, accompanied by a sudden +blaze. Mr. Pinkerton pulled off a lid, and found on the coals several +packages of bank-notes, already on fire. Fortunately the notes had +been so tightly wrapped together that only a few of them were +destroyed before the packages were got out. Those that remained were +afterward identified as of the money that had been stolen from the +Glenwood safe. There was thus no question that these were the robbers +so long sought for. A further search of the house brought to light two +sets of burglars' tools, which served as cumulative evidence. + +The men were carried to Glenwood by the next train. They were met by a +great and excited crowd, and for a time were in danger of lynching. +Better counsel prevailed, however, and they were placed in the jail to +await trial. + +With the men in secure, safe custody, there was no doubt of their +ultimate conviction; and every one was breathing easier at the thought +that at last the Reno gang was robbed of its terrors. Then +suddenly--no one will ever know how it happened--the prisoners made +their escape. Great was the surprise and chagrin of the sheriff of +Mills County when, on the morning of April 1, 1868, he entered the +jail, only to find their cells empty. A big hole sawed through the +wall told by what way they had made their exit. They left behind the +mocking salutation, "April Fool," scrawled in chalk over the floors +and walls of the jail. + +A large reward was offered for the capture of the robbers, but nothing +was heard of them until two months later, when an express-car on the +Ohio and Mississippi Railroad was boarded at Marshfield, Indiana, by a +gang of masked men, and robbed of ninety-eight thousand dollars. The +messenger made a brave resistance, but could not cope with the +robbers, who lifted him bodily and hurled him out of the car, down a +steep embankment, while the train was running at high speed. + +All the facts in the case pointed to the Reno brothers as the authors +of this outrage, for by frequent repetition their methods of robbery +had become familiar. Allan Pinkerton, furthermore, obtained precise +evidence that it was the work of the Renos from secret agents whom he +had stationed at Seymour to watch the doings of the gang. Two of these +agents engaged apparently in business at Seymour, one setting up as a +saloon-keeper in a rough part of the town, another taking railroad +employment, which kept him constantly near the station. A third made a +wide acquaintance by passing for a gambler and general good fellow. So +successful were they that Allan Pinkerton was soon in possession of +facts proving not only that the Marshfield robbery had been committed +by the Renos, but that another train robbery which followed was +executed by John Moore, Charles Gerroll, William Sparks, and three +others, all members of the Reno organization. Moore, Gerroll, and +Sparks were arrested shortly after, and placed on a train to be taken +from Seymour to Brownstown, the county-seat. But they never reached +their destination. As the train stopped at a small station some miles +from Brownstown, a band of masked men, well armed, rushed on board, +overpowered the officers, hurried the three outlaws away to a +neighboring farm-yard, and there strung them up to a beech-tree, while +an old German who owned the farm looked on approvingly. + +This was the first act of retributive justice done by the Secret +Vigilance Committee of Southern Indiana, an organization as +extraordinary as the situation it was created to deal with. The entire +population of that part of Indiana seemed to have risen in +self-defense to crush out lawlessness. A second act followed several +days later, when three other men who had been concerned in the latest +train robbery, having been captured by the county officials, were +taken from their hands and condemned to the same fate as their +companions. Each one, as he was about to be swung off, was asked by +the maskers if he had anything to say. The first two shook their heads +sullenly, and died without speaking. The third, standing on a barrel +with the rope round his neck, looked over the crowd with contemptuous +bravado, and addressing them as a lot of "mossback Hoosiers," said he +was glad he was not of their class, and was proud to die as a good +Republican. The barrel was kicked away, the rope stiffened with his +weight, and there ended the career of the sixth member of the band. + +Hard times followed for the surviving Renos. Realizing that their +power was broken, they fled in various directions. The three brothers, +Frank, William, and "Sim," though still at large, were not left long +to enjoy their liberty. A large price was placed on their heads, and +betrayal came quickly. William and "Sim" were arrested soon after, in +Indianapolis, and turned over to the local authorities, who, in order +to avoid the Vigilance Committee, took the prisoners to New Albany, in +an adjoining county, where they were placed in jail. + +The Vigilance Committee, growing stronger and more determined every +day, now scoured the whole country for other members of the gang or +for persons believed to be in sympathy with it. They literally went on +the "war-path" through this whole region of Indiana, and it went ill +with any poor wretch who incurred their suspicion. Like the +"Whitecaps" of a later day, they sent warnings to all who came on +their black-list, and administered by night, and sometimes by day, +such promiscuous floggings and other forms of punishment that the +tough and criminal element of the region was entirely cowed, and +feared to raise a hand in defense of the Renos, as it had previously +done. Up to the time the Vigilance Committee was formed not a member +of the Reno gang had been convicted in that locality, largely because +the people were afraid to testify against them. They knew that if they +should testify, their stock would be killed, their barns burned, and +they themselves waylaid and beaten. This was the reason offered for +the formation of the Vigilance Committee of Southern Indiana. Whether +a justification or not, the committee must certainly be credited with +having rid the State of a monstrous evil. + +In the excitement of other events the Pinkertons had not forgotten the +men who had escaped from the Glenwood jail. They finally traced Miles +Ogle and Albert Perkins to Indianapolis; and there Ogle was captured, +but Perkins escaped. Frank Reno was discovered a little later at +Windsor, Canada, where he was living with Charles Anderson, a +professional burglar, safe-blower, and "short-card" gambler, who had +fled to Canada to escape prosecution. Reno, operating with Anderson, +made a practice of registering as "Frank Going" if the enterprise in +which he was engaged was prospering, and as "Frank Coming" if it was +not prospering. He and Anderson were now arrested on a charge of +robbery and of assault with intent to kill, in the case of the express +messenger hurled from his car at Marshfield, Indiana. Under this form +their offense became extraditable; and after a long trial before the +stipendiary or government magistrate, Gilbert McMicken, at Windsor, +the men were ordered for extradition. Aided by the ablest lawyers, +they carried their case, however, to the highest court in Canada. But +the decision of the lower court was affirmed; and in October, 1868, +the men were surrendered into the hands of Allan Pinkerton, who was +delegated by the United States government to receive them. It was due +to the patience and persistence of Mr. Alfred Gaither, the Western +manager of the Adams Express Company, and his then assistant, Mr. +L.C. Weir, now president of the company, and to the general policy of +the company to permit no compromise with thieves, that, regardless of +cost and time, the prosecution was continued until it issued thus +successfully. + +Michael Rogers was also discovered to be in Windsor at this time, and +he was known to have had a hand in the Marshfield robbery; but he +escaped arrest, and remained securely in Windsor for a year or two. +Later, though, he reached the penitentiary, being brought to grief by +a burglary done at Tolono, Illinois. On coming out, he joined the +notorious McCartney gang of counterfeiters, and had many narrow +escapes. The last known of him, grown an old man, he was living +quietly on a farm in Texas. + +Made at last secure of Reno and Anderson, Allan Pinkerton chartered a +tug to carry them to Cleveland, and thus avoid the friends who, as he +had reason to know, were waiting across the river in Detroit to +effect a rescue. When the tug had gone about twenty miles, it was run +down by a large steamer and sunk, the passengers, including the +prisoners, being saved from drowning with the greatest difficulty. The +prisoners were carried on to Cleveland by another boat, and from there +were hurried on by rail to New Albany, where they were placed in jail +along with "Sim" and William Reno. + +The final passage in the history of the Reno gang occurred about a +month later, in the latter part of November, 1868, when one day a +passenger-car was dropped off at Seymour, Indiana, some distance from +the station. There was nothing remarkable in this, nor did the car +attract any attention. That night a train passing through Seymour took +up the car and drew it away. A few people about the station when the +car was taken up remembered afterward that this car was filled with +strange-looking men, who wore Scotch caps and black cloth masks, and +seemed to be under the command of a tall, dark-haired man addressed by +every one as "No. 1." Although there were at least fifty of these men, +it is a remarkable fact, developed in a subsequent investigation, that +the conductor of the train could remember nothing about the incident, +declaring that he did not enter the car and knew nothing of its being +attached to his train. It is certain the company of masked men did +everything in their power to avoid attention, scarcely speaking to one +another during the ride and making all their movements as noiseless as +possible. + +The train reached New Albany at two o'clock in the morning. The car +was detached, and was presently emptied of its fifty men as silently +and mysteriously as it had been filled. A few hurried commands were +given by "No. 1," and then the company marched in quiet order to the +jail. Arrived there, they summoned the jailer to open the doors, but +were met with a firm refusal and the shining barrel of a revolver. +There followed an exchange of shots, in which the sheriff received a +ball in the arm, and two local police officers were captured. Without +loss of time the jail doors were battered down; the company entered, +and taking the three Reno brothers and their friend, Charles Anderson, +from their cells, placed nooses that they had ready around the men's +necks, and hung them to the rafters in the corridors of the jail. +Then, having locked the doors of the jail, leaving the prisoners +secure, they made their way silently back to the New Albany station, +reaching there in time to catch the train that drew out at 3:30 A. M. +The same special car in which they had come was coupled to this train, +and dropped off at the switch when Seymour was reached. This was just +before daybreak on a dreary November morning. + +Who these fifty men were was never discovered, although, because of +the fact that Reno and Anderson had been extradited from Great +Britain, the general government made an investigation. It was rumored, +however, and generally understood, that the company included some of +the most prominent people in Seymour, among others a number of +railroad and express employees. It was found that at the time of the +lynching all the telegraph wires leading from New Albany had been cut, +so that it was noon of the following day before the country learned of +it. + +The newspapers described the leader of the party as a man of unusual +stature, who wore a handsome diamond ring on the little finger of his +right hand. Later some significance was attached to the fact that a +well-known railroad official who answered this description as to +stature and who had always worn a handsome diamond ring previous to +the lynching, ceased to wear his ring for several years afterward. + +After the execution of her brothers, it was rumored that Laura Reno +had taken an oath to devote the rest of her life to avenging them; and +for a moment there were threats and mutterings of reprisals from +allies or surviving members of the gang. But these latter were not +heard again after a certain morning, the third day after the +execution, when the people of Seymour, on leaving their homes, were +startled to see on the walls and in other public places large posters +proclaiming that if any property was injured or destroyed, or any +persons molested or assaulted, or if there was any further talk in +regard to recent happenings, some twenty-five persons, therein frankly +named, who were known to be sympathizers with the Renos, or to be more +or less intimately connected with them, had better beware. And as for +the sister's deadly oath, she did no act in proof of the violent +intentions imputed to her, but instead subsequently became the wife of +a respectable man and settled down to a useful life, though a much +more commonplace one than she had previously known. John Reno, after +serving fifteen years in the Missouri penitentiary, was released, and +is said to be at present living on the old farm. "Clint" Reno, or +"Honest" Reno, always stayed at the old homestead, and has never been +willing to speak of his brothers or of what happened to them. Seymour, +purged of the evil influences that corrupted it, has grown into a +thriving and beautiful little city, and is to-day one of the model +towns of Indiana. + + + + +The American Exchange Bank Robbery + + +Late in the afternoon of Friday, May 4, 1888, two messengers left the +American Exchange National Bank, at the northeast corner of Cedar +Street and Broadway, New York City, and started down the busy +thoroughfare for the office of the Adams Express Company, a few blocks +distant. They carried between them, each holding one of the handles, a +valise made of canvas and leather, in which had just been placed, in +the presence of the paying-teller, a package containing forty-one +thousand dollars in greenbacks, to be transmitted to the United +States Treasury in Washington for redemption. + +Although the messengers--Edward S. Crawford and old "Dominie" +Earle--were among the bank's most trusted employees, their honesty +being considered above suspicion, they were nevertheless followed at a +short distance by bank detective McDougal, an old-time police +detective, whose snow-white beard and ancient style of dress have long +made him a personage of note on Broadway. Detective McDougal followed +the messengers, not because he had any fear that they were planning a +robbery, but because it is an imperative rule of all great banking +institutions that the transfer of large sums of money, even for very +short distances, shall be watched over with the most scrupulous care. +Each messenger is supposed to act as a check on his fellow, while the +detective walking in the rear is a check on both. In such cases all +three men are armed, and would use their weapons without hesitation +should an attack be made upon them. + +The messengers walked on through the hurrying crowd, keeping on the +east sidewalk as far as Wall Street, where they turned across, and +continued their way on the west sidewalk as far as the Adams Express +Company's building, which stands at No. 59 Broadway. Having seen them +safely inside the building, the detective turned back to the bank, +where his services were required in other matters. + +Passing down the large room strewn with boxes and packages ready for +shipment, the two messengers turned to the right, and ascended the +winding stairs that in those days led to the money department, on the +second floor. No one paid much attention to them, as at this busy hour +bank messengers were arriving and departing every few minutes. Still, +some of the clerks remembered afterward, or thought they did, that +the old man, Earle, ascended the stairs more slowly than his more +active companion, who went ahead, carrying the valise alone. Both +messengers, however, were present at the receiving-window of the money +department when the package was taken from the valise and handed to +the clerk, who gave a receipt for it in the usual form: "Received from +the American Exchange Bank one package marked as containing forty-one +thousand dollars, for transfer to Washington"; or, at least, so far as +has ever been proved, both messengers were present when the package +was handed in. + +The two messengers, having performed their duty, went away, Earle +hurrying to the ferry to catch a train out into New Jersey, where he +lived, and Crawford returning to the bank with the empty valise. The +valuable package had meantime been ranged behind the heavily wired +grating along with dozens of others, some of them containing much +larger sums. The clerks in the money department of the Adams Express +Company become so accustomed to handling gold, silver, and bank-notes, +fortunes done up in bags, boxes, or bundles, that they think little +more of this precious merchandise than they might of so much coal or +bricks. A quick glance, a touch of the hand, satisfies them that the +seals, the wrappings, the labels, the general appearance, of the +packages are correct; and having entered them duly on the way-bills +and turned them over to the express messenger who is to forward them +to their destination, they think no more about them. + +In this instance the forty-one-thousand-dollar package, after a brief +delay, was locked in one of the small portable safes, a score of which +are always lying about in readiness, and was lowered to the basement, +where it was loaded on one of the company's wagons. The wagon was then +driven to Jersey City, guarded by the messenger in charge, his +assistant, and the driver, all three men being armed, and was safely +placed aboard the night express for Washington. It is the company's +rule that the messenger who starts with a through safe travels with it +to its destination, though he has to make a journey of a thousand +miles. Sometimes the destination of money under transfer is so remote +that the service of several express companies is required; and in that +case the messenger of the Adams Company accompanies the money only to +the point where it is delivered to the messenger of the next company, +and so on. + +The next morning, when the package from the American Exchange Bank was +delivered in Washington, the experienced Treasury clerk who received +it perceived at once, from the condition of the package, that +something was wrong. Employees of the Treasury Department seem to gain +a new sense, and to be able to distinguish bank-notes from ordinary +paper merely by the "feel," even when done up in bundles. Looking at +the label mark of forty-one thousand dollars, the clerk shook his +head, and called the United States Treasurer, James W. Hyatt, who also +saw something suspicious in the package. Mr. Blanchard, the Washington +agent of the Adams Express Company, was summoned, and in his presence +the package was opened. It was found to contain nothing more valuable +than slips of brown straw paper, the coarse variety used by butchers +in wrapping up meat, neatly cut to the size of bank-notes. The +forty-one thousand dollars were missing. + +It was evident that at some point between the bank and the Treasury a +bogus package had been substituted for the genuine one. The question +was, Where and by whom had the substitution been made? + +The robbery was discovered at the Treasury in Washington on Saturday +morning. The news was telegraphed to New York immediately, and on +Saturday afternoon anxious councils were held by the officials of the +American Exchange Bank and the Adams Express Company. Inspector Byrnes +was notified; the Pinkerton Agency was notified; and urgent despatches +were sent to Mr. John Hoey, president of the express company, and to +Robert Pinkerton, who were both out of town, that their presence was +required immediately in New York. Meanwhile every one who had had any +connection with the stolen package--the paying-teller of the bank, +other bank clerks, the messengers, detective McDougal, the +receiving-clerks of the Adams Express Company, and the express +messenger--was closely examined. Where and how the forty-one thousand +dollars had been stolen was important to learn not only in itself, but +also to fix responsibility for the sum lost as between the bank and +the express company. + +Three theories were at once suggested: the bogus package might have +been substituted for the genuine one either at the bank, between the +bank and the express office, or between the express office and the +Treasury. The first assumption threw suspicion on some of the bank +employees, the second upon the two bank messengers, the third upon +some one in the service of the express company. Both the bank and the +express company stoutly maintained the integrity of its own employees. + +An examination of the bogus package disclosed some points of +significance. Ordinarily, when bank-notes are done up for shipment by +an experienced clerk, the bills are pressed together as tightly as +possible in small bundles, which are secured with elastic bands, and +then wrapped snugly in strong paper, until the whole makes a package +almost as hard as a board. Around this package the clerk knots strong +twine, melts a drop of sealing-wax over each knot, and stamps it with +the bank's seal. The finished package thus presents a neat and trim +appearance. But in the present instance the package received at the +Treasury was loosely and slovenly wrapped, and the seals seemed to +have been put on either in great haste or by an inexperienced hand. +Moreover, the label must have been cut from the stolen package and +pasted on the other, for the brown paper of a previous wrapping showed +plainly in a margin running around the label. The address on the +package read: + +"$41,000. + "United States Treasurer, + "Washington, + "D. C." + +All this was printed, except the figures "41,000," even the +dollar-sign. The figures were in the writing of Mr. Watson, the +paying-teller of the bank, whose business it was to oversee the +sending of the money. His initials were also marked on the label, with +the date of the sending; so that on examining the label Mr. Watson +himself was positive that it was genuine. + +All this made it tolerably clear that the robbery had not been +committed at the bank before the package was intrusted to the two +messengers; for no bank clerk would have made up so clumsy a package, +and the paying-teller himself, had he been a party to the crime, would +not have cut the label written by himself from the genuine package and +pasted it on the bogus one; he would simply have written out another +label, thus lessening the chances of detection. Furthermore, it was +shown by testimony that during the short time between the sealing up +of the package in the paying-teller's department and its delivery to +Dominie Earle, who took it first, it was constantly under the +observation of half a dozen bank employees; so that the work of +cutting off the label and pasting it on the bogus package could +scarcely have been accomplished then without detection. + +Earle and Crawford, the bank messengers, were submitted to repeated +examinations; but their statements threw no light upon the mystery. +Both stuck persistently to the same story, which was that neither had +loosed his hold on the handle of the valise from the moment they left +the bank until they had delivered the package through the window of +the express company's money department. Accepting these statements as +true, it was impossible that the package had been tampered with in +this part of its journey; while the assumption that they were not true +implied apparently a collusion between the two messengers, which was +highly improbable, since Dominie Earle had been a servant of the bank +for thirty-five years, and had never in that long term failed in his +duty or done anything to arouse distrust. Before entering the bank's +employ he had been a preacher, and his whole life seemed to have been +one of simplicity and honest dealing. + +As for Crawford, who was, indeed, a new man, it was plain that if the +Dominie told the truth, and had really kept his hold on the +valise-handle all the way to the express company's window, his +companion, honest or dishonest, would have had no opportunity to cut +off the label, paste it on the bogus package, and make the +substitution. + +Finally came the theory that the money package had been stolen while +in the care of the express company. In considering this possibility it +became necessary to know exactly what had happened to the package from +the moment it was taken through the window of the money department up +to the time of its delivery at the Treasury. The package was first +receipted for by the head of the money department, Mr. J. C. Young. +Having handed the receipt to the bank messengers, he passed the +package to his assistant, Mr. Littlefield, who in turn passed it on to +another clerk, Mr. Moody, who way-billed it in due form for +Washington, and then placed it in the iron safe which was to carry it +on its journey. Two or three hours may have elapsed between the +receipt of the package and the shipment of the safe, but during this +time the package was constantly in view of five or six clerks in the +money department, and, unless they were all in collusion, it could +scarcely have been stolen by any one there. As for the express +messenger who accompanied the safe on the wagon to the train, and then +on the train to Washington, and then on another wagon to the Treasury +building, his innocence seemed clearly established, since the safe had +been locked and sealed, according to custom, before its delivery to +him, and showed no signs of having been tampered with when opened in +Washington the following morning by another representative of the +express company. The messenger who accompanies a through safe to its +destination, indeed, has small chance of getting inside, not only +because of the protecting seal, but also because he is never allowed +to have the key to the safe or to know its combination. Recently, as a +still further safeguard, the Adams Express Company has introduced into +its cars an equipment of large burglar-proof and fire-proof safes, +especially as a guard against train robbers, who found it +comparatively easy to break open the small safes once in use. In the +present instance, of course, there was no question of train robbers. + +One important fact stood out plain and uncontrovertible: that a +responsible clerk in the money department of the Adams Express +Company had receipted for a package supposed to contain forty-one +thousand dollars intrusted to the company by the bank. This threw the +responsibility on the company, at least until it could be shown that +the package as delivered contained brown paper, and not bank-notes. In +accordance with their usual policy of promptness and liberality, the +Adams people paid over to the American Exchange Bank the sum of +forty-one thousand dollars, and said no more about it. But their +silence did not mean inactivity. Their instructions to their +detectives in this case, as in all similar cases, were to spare +neither time nor expense, but to continue the investigation until the +thieves had been detected and brought to punishment, or until the last +possibility of clearing up the mystery had certainly expired. + +Hastening to New York in response to the telegram sent him, Robert +Pinkerton examined the evidence already collected by his +representative, and then himself questioned all persons in any way +concerned in the handling of the money. Mr. Pinkerton, after his +investigation, was not so sure as some persons were that the package +had been stolen by employees of the express company. He inclined +rather to the opinion that, in the rush of business in the express +office, the false package, badly made up though it was, might have +been passed by one of the clerks. This conclusion turned his +suspicions first toward the two bank messengers. Of these he was not +long in deciding Dominie Earle to be, in all probability, innocent. +While he had known of instances where old men, after years of +unimpeachable life, had suddenly turned to crime, he knew such cases +to be infrequent, and he decided that Earle's was not one of them. Of +the innocence of the other messenger, Crawford, he was not so sure. He +began a careful study of his record. + +Edward Sturgis Crawford at this time was about twenty-seven years old, +a man of medium height, a decided blond, with large blue eyes, and of +a rather effeminate type. He went scrupulously dressed, had white +hands with carefully manicured nails, parted his hair in the middle, +and altogether was somewhat of a dandy. He had entered the bank on the +recommendation of a wealthy New-Yorker, a young man about town, who, +strange to say, had made Crawford's acquaintance, and indeed struck up +quite a friendship with him, while the latter was serving in the +humble capacity of conductor on a Broadway car. This was about a year +before the time of the robbery. Thus far Crawford had attended to his +work satisfactorily, doing nothing to arouse suspicion, unless it was +indulging a tendency to extravagance in dress. His salary was but +forty-two dollars a month, and yet he permitted himself such luxuries +as silk underclothes, fine patent-leather shoes, and other apparel to +correspond. Pushing back further into Crawford's record, Mr. Pinkerton +learned that he had grown up in the town of Hancock, New York, where +he had been accused of stealing sixty dollars from his employer and +afterward of perpetrating a fraud upon an insurance company. Putting +all these facts together, Mr. Pinkerton decided that, in spite of a +perfectly self-possessed manner and the good opinion of his employers, +Crawford would stand further watching. His general conduct subsequent +to the robbery was, however, such as to convince every one, except the +dogged detective, that he was innocent of this crime. In vain did +"shadows" follow him night and day, week after week; they discovered +nothing. He retained his place in the bank, doing the humble duties of +messenger with the same regularity as before, and living apparently in +perfect content with the small salary he was drawing. His expenses +were lightened, it is true, by an arrangement voluntarily offered by +his friend, the young man about town, who invited him to live in his +own home on Thirty-eighth Street, whereby not only was he saved the +ordinary outlay for lodgings, but many comforts and luxuries were +afforded him that would otherwise have been beyond his reach. + +Thus three months went by with no result; then four, five, six months; +and, finally, all but a year. Then, suddenly, in April, 1889, Crawford +took his departure for Central America, giving out to his friends that +he was going there to assume the management of a banana plantation of +sixty thousand acres, owned by his wealthy friend and benefactor. + +Before Crawford sailed, however, the "shadows" had informed Mr. +Pinkerton of Crawford's intention, and asked instructions. Should they +arrest the man before he took flight, or should they let him go? Mr. +Pinkerton realized that he was dealing with a man who, if guilty, was +a criminal of unusual cleverness and cunning. His arrest would +probably accomplish nothing, and might spoil everything. There was +little likelihood that the stolen money would be found on Crawford's +person; he would probably arrange some safer way for its transmission. +Perhaps it had gone ahead of him to Central America weeks before. + +"We'll let him go," said Mr. Pinkerton, with a grim smile; "only we'll +have some one go with him." + +The Pinkerton representative employed to shadow Crawford on the voyage +sent word, by the first mail after their arrival in Central America, +that the young man had rarely left his state-room, and that whenever +forced to do so had employed a colored servant to stand on guard so +that no one could go inside. + +Nothing more occurred, however, to justify the suspicion against +Crawford until the early part of 1890, when the persistent efforts of +the detectives were rewarded by an important discovery. It was then +that Robert Pinkerton learned that Crawford had told a deliberate lie +when examined before the bank officials in regard to his family +relations in New York. He had stated that his only relative in New +York was a brother, Marvin Crawford, who was then driving a streetcar +on the Bleecker Street line. Now it came to the knowledge of Mr. +Pinkerton that Crawford had in the city three married aunts and +several cousins. The reason for Crawford's having concealed this fact +was presently brought to light through the testimony of one of the +aunts, who, having been induced to speak, not without difficulty, +stated that on Sunday, May 6, 1888, two days after the robbery, her +nephew had called at her house, and given her a package which he said +contained gloves, and which he wished her to keep for him. It was +about this time that the papers contained the first news of the +robbery, and, her suspicions having been aroused, she picked a hole in +the paper covering of the package large enough to let her see that +there was money inside. Somewhat disturbed, she took the package to +her husband, who opened it and found that it contained two thousand +dollars in bank-notes. Realizing the importance of this discovery, the +husband told his wife that when Crawford came back to claim the +package she should refer him to him, which she did. + +Some days later, on learning from his aunt that she had spoken to her +husband about the package, Crawford became greatly excited, and told +her she had made a dreadful mistake. A stormy scene followed with his +uncle, in which the latter positively refused to render him the money +until he was satisfied that Crawford was its rightful possessor. A few +days later Crawford's young friend, the man about town, called on the +uncle, and stated that the money in the package belonged to him and +must be surrendered. The uncle was still obdurate; and when Crawford +and his friend became violent in manner, he remarked meaningly that if +they made any more trouble he would deliver the package of money to +the Adams Express Company and let the company decide to whom it +belonged. This brought the angry claimants to their senses, and +Crawford's friend left the house and never returned. Finally +Crawford's uncle compromised the contention by giving his nephew five +hundred dollars out of the two thousand, and retaining the balance +himself, in payment, one must suppose, for his silence. At any rate, +he kept fifteen hundred dollars, and also a receipt in Crawford's +handwriting for the five hundred dollars paid to him. + +Other members of the family recalled the fact that a few days after +the robbery Crawford had left in his aunt's store-room a valise, +which he had subsequently called for and taken away. None of them had +seen the contents of the valise, but they remembered that Crawford on +the second visit had remained alone in the store-room for quite a +time, perhaps twenty minutes, and after his departure they found there +a rubber band like those used at the bank. The detectives also +discovered that on the 15th of May, 1888, eleven days after the +robbery, Crawford had rented a safety-deposit box at a bank in the +Fifth Avenue Hotel building, under the name of Eugene Holt. On the +18th of May he had exchanged this box for a larger one. During the +following months he made several visits to the box, but for what +purpose, was not known. + +On presenting this accumulated evidence to the Adams Express Company, +along with his own deductions, Robert Pinkerton was not long in +convincing his employers that the situation required in Central +America the presence of some more adroit detective than had yet been +sent there. The difficulty of the case was heightened by the fact that +Crawford had established himself in British Honduras, and that the +extradition treaty between the United States and England did not then, +as it does now, provide for the surrender of criminals guilty of such +offenses as that which Crawford was believed to have committed. +Crawford could be arrested, therefore, only by being gotten into +another country by some clever manoeuver. The man best capable of +carrying out such a manoeuver was Robert Pinkerton himself; and, +accordingly, the express company, despite the very considerable +expense involved, and fully aware that the result must be uncertain, +authorized Mr. Pinkerton to go personally in pursuit of Crawford. + +Mr. Pinkerton arrived at Balize, the capital of British Honduras, on +February 17, 1890, nearly two years after the date of the robbery. +There he learned that Crawford's plantation was about ninety miles +down the coast, a little back of Punta Gorda. Punta Gorda lies near +the line separating British Honduras from Guatemala, and is not more +than a hundred miles from Spanish Honduras, or Honduras proper, +directly across the Gulf of Honduras. + +Difficulties confronted Mr. Pinkerton from the very start. People were +dying about him every day of yellow fever, and when he started for +Punta Gorda on a little steamer, the engineer came aboard looking as +yellow as saffron, and immediately began to vomit, so that he had to +be taken ashore. Then the engine broke down several times on the +voyage, and the heat was insufferable. + +As the boat steamed slowly into Punta Gorda it passed a small steam +craft loaded with bananas. "Look," said one of the passengers to Mr. +Pinkerton, not aware of the nature of Mr. Pinkerton's mission, "there +goes Crawford's launch now." + +Landing at once, the detective waited for the launch to come to shore, +which it presently did. The first man to come off was Marvin Crawford, +whom Mr. Pinkerton recognized from a description, although he had +never seen him. Then he saw Edward Crawford step off, dressed smartly +in a white helmet hat, a red sash, a fine plaited linen shirt, blue +trousers, patent-leather shoes, and so on. Mr. Pinkerton approached +and held out his hand. + +"I don't remember you," said Crawford; but his face went white. + +"You used to know me in New York when I examined you before the bank +officials," said the detective, pleasantly. + +Crawford smiled in a sickly way and said, "Oh, yes; I remember you +now." + +Mr. Pinkerton explained that he had traveled five thousand miles to +talk with him about the stolen money package. Crawford expressed +willingness to furnish any information he could, and invited Mr. +Pinkerton to go up to his plantation, where they could talk the matter +over more comfortably. Seeing that his best course was to humor +Crawford, Mr. Pinkerton consented, though realizing that he thus put +himself in Crawford's power. They went aboard Crawford's launch and +steamed up the river, a very narrow, winding stream, arched quite over +through most of its length by the thick tropical foliage, and in some +parts so deep that no soundings had yet found bottom. The plantation +was entirely inaccessible by land on account of impassable swamps, and +the crooked course of the river made it a journey of twenty-three +miles from Punta Gorda, although in a straight line it was only six +miles away. + +Mr. Pinkerton was surprised at the unpretentious character of the +house, which was built of cane and palm stocks and roofed with palm +branches. Originally it had been one large room, but it was now +divided by muslin sheeting into two rooms, one at either end, with a +hall in the middle. Almost the first thing Mr. Pinkerton noticed on +entering was a fire-proof safe standing in the hall. It was of medium +size and seemed to be new. He knew he was powerless, under the laws of +the country, to search the safe, but he made up his mind that while he +was in the house he would keep his eyes as much as possible upon it. +That night he did not sleep for watching. But Crawford did not go near +the safe until the next morning, when he went to get out some +account-books. While the door was open Mr. Pinkerton saw only a small +bag of silver inside, but he felt sure from Crawford's manner that +there was a larger amount of money there. + +Mr. Pinkerton remained at the plantation for forty-eight hours. On the +second day he had a long interview with Crawford, questioning him in +the greatest detail as to his connection with the robbery. Crawford +persisted in denying that he had had any connection with it, or had +any knowledge as to what had become of the stolen money. Argue as he +would, Mr. Pinkerton could not beat down the stubbornness of his +denials. All direct approaches failing, at last he tried indirection. +He spoke of Burke, the absconding State treasurer of Louisiana, who, +along with a number of other American law-breakers, had fled to +Central America. "Burke had a level head, hadn't he?" said he. + +"How do you mean?" asked Crawford. + +"Why, in going to Spanish Honduras. You know the United States has no +extradition treaty there under which we could bring back a man who has +absconded for embezzlement or grand larceny. Burke is as safe there as +if he owned the whole country." + +"Is that so?" said Crawford, looking significantly at his brother +Marvin, who was present. + +"Yes," said Mr. Pinkerton, "it is. I only wish the fellow would come +up here into British Honduras; then we might do something with him." + +Here the subject was dropped. + +Next Mr. Pinkerton exhibited to Crawford a sealed letter written by +James G. Blaine and addressed to the chief magistrate of British +Honduras, pointing to the seals of the State Department to assure +Crawford of the letter's genuineness, and hinting mysteriously at the +use he proposed making of this document and at the probable effect +that would follow its delivery. + +With this the interview closed, and Mr. Pinkerton announced his +intention of going back to Punta Gorda. Crawford had practically told +him to do his worst, and he had not concealed his intention of doing +it. Nevertheless their relations continued outwardly pleasant, and +Mr. Pinkerton was treated with the hospitality that is usual in +tropical countries. He saw no sign of any disposition on the part of +either of the Crawfords to do him harm, but he kept his revolvers +always ready, and gave them no chance to catch him napping. + +Toward evening of the second day Crawford and his brother got the +launch ready, and took Mr. Pinkerton down the river back to Punta +Gorda, where they said good-by. At parting Crawford made a brave show +of treating the whole matter lightly. "I may see you in New York in a +couple of months," he said to the detective as they shook hands. + +"If you see me in New York," said Mr. Pinkerton, "you will see +yourself under arrest." + +On landing, Mr. Pinkerton proceeded, with all the obviousness +possible, to call at the house of the British magistrate, which was so +situated that Crawford from the launch could not fail to see him +enter. This seems to have confirmed the impression he had been +striving to create, that British Honduras, though in truth a perfect +refuge for a criminal like Crawford, was none. Crawford, apparently +thoroughly frightened, and thinking he had not an hour to lose, +steamed back in all haste to his plantation, gathered together, as +subsequently appeared, his money and other valuables, and then, under +cover of night, dropped down the river again, put out to sea +forthwith, and crossed the Bay of Honduras to Puerto Cortes, in +Spanish Honduras, the country of all Central America in which Mr. +Pinkerton preferred to have him. In short, Mr. Pinkerton's stratagem +had worked perfectly. + +Mr. Pinkerton's reason for wishing to get Crawford into Spanish +Honduras was not because the treaty arrangements were more favorable +there than in British Honduras, but because the Pinkerton Agency +enjoyed unusual personal relations with the Honduras government. +Several years before, when President Bogram had in contemplation the +federation of Central American States under one government, he had +applied to the Pinkerton Agency for reliable detectives for +secret-service work. In consequence of this the present head of the +Honduras secret force was no other than a former Pinkerton employee +who had been recommended by the New York office to the Honduras +government, and upon whom Mr. Pinkerton knew he could rely absolutely. +Another man equally disposed to favor him was Mr. Bert Cecil, a member +of the cabinet, and at the head of the telegraph service, and thus in +a position to render most valuable service in the apprehension of +Crawford. + +As soon as Mr. Pinkerton learned of Crawford's flight, he hurried in +pursuit, crossing the bay to Livingston, in Guatemala. In so doing he +risked his life, first by putting out to sea in a little dory, and +then by trusting his safety to a treacherous Carib boatman, who, when +they were several miles out, evinced a strong disposition to take +possession of the detective's overcoat, in order, as he explained with +a cunning look, to turn its silk lining into a pair of trousers. At +this, Mr. Pinkerton carelessly produced his revolver, which had a +quieting effect upon the fellow, and the voyage was completed in +safety. But soon after landing Mr. Pinkerton suffered an attack of +fever, and being warned by the doctors to return to a Northern +latitude, he got the government machinery in motion for the +apprehension of Crawford, had photographs of the former bank messenger +spread broadcast through the country, and then having cabled the New +York bureau to send responsible detectives to take his place, he +sailed for New Orleans. + +Mr. Pinkerton was succeeded in Central America by detective George H. +Hotchkiss, one of the best men in the country, who arrived in Balize +on the 18th of March. A telegram from Pinkerton's former employee, now +chief of the secret police in Honduras, informed him that Crawford had +been seen in San Pedro, Spanish Honduras, on the previous Saturday, +and was being closely pursued by Spanish soldiers accompanied by +Pinkerton men. Hotchkiss sailed at once for Puerto Cortes, where he +learned from the American vice-consul, Dr. Ruez, that Crawford had +left San Pedro hastily the previous Monday night. On further +investigation the detective discovered that a San Francisco bully and +former prize-fighter, "Mike" Neiland, had called at Crawford's +boarding-house on Monday, and warned him that detectives were pursuing +him from Puerto Cortes on a hand-car. Neiland had pretended to be +Crawford's friend, and said he would keep him out of the hands of the +detectives. Crawford, very much frightened, grabbed up some of his +luggage and left the house with Neiland. It was generally believed +that Neiland had designs on Crawford's money, and would not hesitate +to kill him, if need were, in order to get it. + +Hotchkiss immediately requested Mr. Bert Cecil, at Tegucigalpa, the +capital, to cover all telegraphic points, and, if possible, have +Crawford and his companion arrested on some trivial charge. The day +after he reached San Pedro, on March 22, he received a telegram saying +that Crawford and Neiland had been arrested and taken before the +governor at Santa Barbara. They had been searched, and about +thirty-two thousand dollars had been found on Crawford's person. The +money was in old and worn bills that in every way resembled those in +the stolen package. Whether they were the identical bills or not it +was impossible to say, as the bank had not recorded the numbers. + +On receipt of this news, Hotchkiss, accompanied by Jack Hall, a guide, +set out across the country for Santa Barbara. The journey was +accomplished, but only after the most terrible suffering and many +privations and dangers. Moreover, the fever got its deadly clutches +upon detective Hotchkiss; and when he had finally dragged himself into +Santa Barbara, he cabled the New York office: "Crawford and money held +for extradition. Am sick. Cannot remain. Coming on steamer Tuesday. My +associate takes charge." + +Before sailing for New Orleans detective Hotchkiss had an interview +with Crawford, in the presence of the Spanish officials, and obtained +from him a written confession of his guilt. While admitting that he +had been a party to the robbery, the absconder tried to lessen his own +crime by declaring that the plan to plunder the bank had been +suggested to him by two men, named Brown and Bowen, whom he had met +accidentally on a railway-train in New York, and with whom he had +afterward become very friendly. These men had taken him to Brown's +house on Thirty-eighth Street, somewhere between Eighth and Ninth +avenues (Crawford could not locate the place more precisely), and +introduced him to a fine-looking woman presented as Mrs. Brown, who +was also in the conspiracy. They told him that he was earning very +little money for a man in such a responsible position, and that he +might easily make a fortune if he would put his interests in their +hands and be guided by their advice. + +The outcome of several conversations was a plan to get possession of a +valuable money package on some day when Crawford should know a large +sum was to be sent away from the bank. He claimed that on the day of +the robbery one of his fellow-conspirators, Bowen, followed behind +himself and Earle after they entered the Adams express offices, and +managed to substitute a bogus package for the real one while the two +messengers were going up the stairs. He did not make this attempt +until he saw the bank detective McDougal turn back up Broadway. +Crawford said that he managed it so as to precede Earle in going up +the stairs, which gave Bowen, who was standing at the first turn, in +the shadow, an opportunity to open the satchel and quickly make the +substitution. Crawford declared that the conspirators gave him only +twenty-five hundred dollars as his share of the booty, although +promising him more. This sum he put in two envelops and sent to his +aunt, the one to whom he afterward intrusted the package supposed to +contain gloves. + +Crawford stated further that Brown and Bowen, having been forced to +flee the country, sent him word from Paris, some time later, in a +letter written by Mrs. Brown, that the greater part of the stolen +money had been buried in a flower-bed in the southeast corner of a +yard on West Thirty-eighth Street, and asked him to dig it up and send +it to them. A remarkable fact in this connection is that the yard +referred to on West Thirty-eighth Street belonged to the house of the +friend and benefactor with whom Crawford was living at the time of the +robbery. + +Crawford claimed to have carried out these instructions, and deposited +the package of money taken from the flower-bed in the safe-deposit +vaults in the Fifth Avenue Hotel building, where, as a matter of fact, +he was known to have rented a box. He gave as his reason for not +sending the money to Paris that he was in trouble himself, being under +constant surveillance, and thought it best to keep the money secreted +for the time. He admitted that he had carried this money with him to +Honduras, and that it was the same found on his person by the +detectives. By his description of Brown and Bowen, the former was a +man about twenty-five years old, of slight build and light complexion, +while the latter was ten years older, two or three inches taller, with +a sandy mustache and very fat hands. Mrs. Brown Crawford described as +about twenty-five years old, a blonde, with regular features. He had +no idea what had become of these people since he left America, having +had no further communication with them. None of the alleged +conspirators has ever been found, and they are believed to be purely +mythical. + +Detective Hotchkiss also had an interview with "Mike" Neiland, +Crawford's companion in flight, who described his first meeting with +Crawford at his boarding-house in San Pedro, and acknowledged that he +had deliberately frightened Crawford into running away by his story of +the pursuing detectives. He described their adventures and hardships +in trying to escape over the rough country, the difficulties they +experienced in buying mules, their sufferings from exposure in the +swamps, and finally their capture by the soldiers. Neiland said that +Crawford gave him three thousand dollars in fifty-dollar bills, and +also allowed him to carry, a part of the time, a large package wrapped +in oil-cloth paper and sewed up tightly. Crawford had told him to +throw this package away rather than let any one capture it; for, he +said, it contained money which would send him to prison if found upon +him. + +As they pushed along in their flight, Crawford declared repeatedly +that he would put an end to his life rather than be taken prisoner; +and when the soldiers surrounded them he drew his revolver and tried +to blow his brains out. One of the soldiers, however, was too quick +for him, and struck the weapon out of his hand. After the capture +Crawford vainly tried to bribe the guards to let him escape, offering +them as much as ten thousand dollars. When the large package was +opened, it was found to contain bundles of bills sewed together with +black thread, and with about a dozen rubber bands wrapped around them, +and a stout covering of buckskin under the oiled paper. The money +amounted to thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars, all in United +States bills--fives, tens, twenties, fifties, and hundreds, but mostly +fives. Ultimately the money was returned to the American Exchange +Bank. + +When organizing the pursuit of Crawford, detective Hotchkiss had +arranged with the Honduras government that any letters and telegrams +that might come addressed to the absconder should be delivered to him. +Several letters were thus secured from the young man about town in New +York who had befriended Crawford so constantly in the past, and who +seemed now disposed to stand by him even in adversity and disgrace. +The letters contained counsel and reproaches, and seemed to indicate +that relations of unusual familiarity had existed between the two men. +Besides these letters, two cablegrams were intercepted from the same +source, both being sent through an intermediary. The first was dated +March 15, 1890, and read: "Tell Crawford go back. Papers bluff. No +treaty exists." The second, sent two days later, read: "Inform +Crawford will meet him in Puerto Cortes." + +It is needless to say that the young man did not carry out his +intention of joining Crawford in Honduras, for the same mail which +would have brought him Crawford's reply carried the startling news +that his protege and friend was under arrest in Santa Barbara, a +self-confessed bank robber. + +The government of Honduras consented, thanks to their friendly +relations with the Pinkertons, to deliver Crawford over to one of the +representatives of the agency, and superintendent E. S. Gaylor, who +had meantime replaced detective Hotchkiss, took him in charge. A guard +of Spanish soldiers brought the prisoner to Puerto Cortes, where he +was placed in a hotel pending his transfer to a vessel sailing for the +United States. Superintendent Gaylor himself was present to see that +everything was managed properly, and he was seconded in his oversight +by the former Pinkerton employee, the head of the secret police in +Honduras. The final arrangements had been made, the government having +taken advantage of a law authorizing the expulsion of "pernicious +foreigners" in order to get rid of Crawford. The superintendent had +actually taken passage for himself and Crawford, and selected berths, +on an American vessel that was to sail on the morning of May 2, 1890; +but the night before Crawford made his escape from the hotel, going +without the money, which remained in the detective's keeping. How he +escaped is still a matter of conjecture. The hotel stood on the +water's edge, and from a balcony to which Crawford had access he may +have managed to spring down to a wall built on piles. From there he +may have reached the hotel yard at the back, and escaped over one of +the picket fences that separated the hotel from the adjoining +property. There is also a possibility that the Spanish soldiers were +bribed; but this has never been proved, and is scarcely probable, as +Crawford at the time of his escape had not more than seventy-five +dollars in Honduras bills in his possession. + +During the following days and weeks untiring efforts were made to +recapture him. The swamps were searched for miles, and soldiers were +sent out in all directions. Mr. Gaylor believed that Crawford +succeeded in making his escape into Guatemala, which was only thirty +miles distant. He was undoubtedly assisted in his escape by the fact +that people in the surrounding region sympathized strongly with him +and would have done anything in their power to conceal him from his +pursuers. At any rate, the man was never recovered. + +Seven years have passed since Crawford's escape, and all this time he +has been left undisturbed in Central America, where he has been +frequently seen by people who know him, and where he seems to be +thriving. At last accounts he and his brother were engaged in business +on one of the islands in the Mosquito Reservation of Nicaragua, where +they were regarded as dangerous men by the government, likely to +incite revolution. So strong was this feeling on the part of the +Nicaraguan officials that some years ago advances were made to the +United States government to have Crawford surrendered, the Nicaraguan +officials declaring that they would gladly give him up if a demand for +his extradition was made by the proper authorities in Washington. For +some reason the demand has never been made, and probably never will +be. + +Immediately after Crawford had made confession, the American Exchange +Bank, realizing that there was no longer any doubt that the robbery +was committed by one of its employees, voluntarily refunded to the +Adams Express Company the forty-one thousand dollars that had +previously been paid to it by the company, together with interest +thereon for two years, and a large part of the expenses. Therefore the +only complainant in the case now available would be the bank +officials, who, for some reason, have seen fit to let the matter drop. + +Mr. Pinkerton's theory of the way in which this robbery was committed +is that Crawford had an accomplice who had previously prepared the +bogus package, and who, by previous appointment, was standing on the +stairs in the express office when the two messengers arrived. It has +always been a question in Mr. Pinkerton's mind whether the old man +Dominie Earle told the exact truth in his testimony before the bank +officials. Not that he suspected Earle of having been implicated in +the crime, but he has wondered whether Earle might not have been +simply negligent to the extent of leaving Crawford in sole possession +of the valise at some time after they entered the office. There is no +doubt that Earle was very anxious to catch a four-o'clock train at one +of the New Jersey ferries, in order to get home early. He may, in his +haste, have allowed Crawford to go up-stairs with the valise +unaccompanied. + +This would explain how Crawford found opportunity to open the valise +and make substitution of the bogus for the genuine package. Assuming +that the accomplice was standing at a turn of the stairs, which are +winding and rather dusky, it is perfectly conceivable that such a +change of packages might have been effected with scarcely a moment's +delay. + +But consenting that Earle told the exact truth, he admitted that he +lingered behind Crawford a little in ascending the stairs, and in so +doing he may have furnished sufficient opportunity for the +substitution. An old man going up rather steep stairs naturally bends +his head forward to relieve the ascent, and in such position he might +fail to see what a man close in front of him even was doing. The +trouble with this theory is that it supposes the label on the bogus +package to have been a forgery. + +There is still another theory suggested by Mr. Pinkerton to account +for the presence of the bogus money package in the valise when the two +messengers reached the counter of the receiving department. It is that +Crawford's confederate had provided himself with a second valise, +similar in all respects to the one used by the bank, and that in this +had been placed the bogus package with a forged label, making the +substitution a matter of merely changing valises, which could have +been accomplished in a second. It has also been suggested that +Crawford might have managed the whole scheme himself, by having +prepared a valise like the one he carried daily, arranged with two +compartments, in one of which was placed the genuine package received +from the paying-teller at the bank, while out of the other compartment +was taken at the express office a bogus package previously placed +there. What makes it the more reasonable to suppose that Crawford +accomplished the theft single-handed is the fact that when arrested in +Honduras the bulk of the stolen money was found on his person, while +it was known that, in addition to the thirty-two thousand dollars then +recovered, he had previously spent considerable sums in various ways. +His voyage, for instance, must have been expensive; and it was found +that he had given at various times to members of his family sums +ranging from twenty to fifty dollars. This would have left out of the +original forty-one thousand dollars a very meager remuneration for a +confederate. + +Perhaps the most reasonable explanation of the robbery lies in the +assumption that Dominie Earle, honest, but simple-minded, did not go +up-stairs at all with Crawford, but left him at the foot of the +stairs, influenced by his eagerness to get home. Granting this +supposition, what would have been easier than for Crawford, left alone +at the foot of the stairs, to have turned back with the valise and +gone into the back room of some neighboring saloon, or other +convenient place, where he could manipulate the label and substitute +the bogus package? There is reason to think that the bogus package had +been prepared weeks before, which would have accounted in a measure +for its worn and slovenly appearance. The time occupied in doing all +this need not have been over fifteen minutes, which would not have +been noticed at the bank, especially as the robbery occurred after +banking hours. It is highly improbable, however, that Crawford could +have accomplished the substitution on the stairs of the express +office; for, while these are winding and somewhat in the shadow, they +are by no means dark, and are plainly in view of clerks and officials +who are constantly passing. Besides that, Crawford could not have +carried the dummy package concealed about his person without +attracting attention, for the original package was quite bulky, being +about twenty inches long, twenty inches wide, and fourteen inches +thick. The bogus package was not quite so thick, and more oblong, but +could not easily have been hidden under a man's coat. Finally, even +supposing Crawford did carry the bogus package with him in some +manner, he would never have dared to expose himself to almost certain +detection by cutting off the label from the genuine package, pasting +it on the bogus package, placing the latter in the valise, and hiding +the genuine one in his clothes--and doing all this on the busy stairs +of an express office where at that hour of the day a dozen men are +going up and down every minute. + +The sum of all these theories is, however, that, in spite of the fact +that the author of the robbery is known and the bulk of the money has +been recovered, the manner of the robbery is to this day a mystery. + + * * * * * + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's True Detective Stories, by Cleveland Moffett + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 33922.txt or 33922.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/9/2/33922/ + +Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Suzanne Shell, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/33922.zip b/33922.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3b135f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/33922.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6bf7a88 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #33922 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33922) |
