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diff --git a/58576-0.txt b/58576-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..313400a --- /dev/null +++ b/58576-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10426 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 58576 *** + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 58576-h.htm or 58576-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/58576/58576-h/58576-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/58576/58576-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + https://archive.org/details/fiftyyearsadetec00furl + + + +-------------------------------------------------------+ + |Transcriber's note: | + | | + |Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).| + | | + |Text enclosed by plus signs is in bold face (+bold+). | + | | + |The Table of Contents is located at the end. | + | | + +-------------------------------------------------------+ + + + + + +Copyright, 1912, by Thomas Furlong. + + +FIFTY YEARS A DETECTIVE + +BY + +THOMAS FURLONG + +Late Chief of the Secret Service of the Missouri Pacific Railway, + known as the Gould System; the Allegheny + Valley Railway of Pennsylvania, + and first Chief of Police of + Oil City, Pa. + +35 Real Detective Stories + +Hitherto unpublished facts connected with some of Mr. Furlong's + greatest cases--Other interesting incidents of his + long and strenuous career which really began on + September 14, 1862, when he was detailed + from his company, (Co. G., 1st Pennsylvania + Rifles, better known + as the Pennsylvania Bucktails) + for special + service. + +Illustrated + +For sale by all reputable newsdealers, or can +be obtained by addressing + +C. E. Barnett, Chemical Building, +St. Louis, Mo. + +Post Office Box 575 PRICE, $1.50 + + +[Illustration: THOMAS FURLONG.] + + + + +PREFACE. + + +This book was not published for the purpose of displaying any literary +ability I may possess, as I have never aspired to win fame by the +wielding of a pen. Within its pages, however, I have attempted, in my +own way and in my own manner, to make clear to the reader the inside or +hitherto unpublished facts about some of the big cases I have handled +during the fifty years I have made the prevention of crime and the +tracking and punishment of criminals my profession. How well I have +succeeded, I will leave it to the reader to judge. + +I am today, I believe, the oldest detective, in point of continuous +service, in this or any other country. During my long career I have +handled many important cases, of which the reading public knows nothing +about, for the reason that the men, or corporations, by whom I was +employed, did not hire me for the purpose of furnishing newspapers with +the material with which to amuse or entertain their readers. Within +these pages I tell how the work was done, and how the clues were found +and put together. On the other hand, many cases referred to in this book +have received much newspaper publicity, but in these articles the +writers were not permitted to tell all the inside facts--how the work +was really accomplished. These facts are made public for the first time. + +In a few instances I have changed, or veiled, the names of the culprits +about whom the articles were written. For doing this I do not propose to +apologize, however. These men are alive today and are leading upright +lives. They have paid the penalty demanded by the law and society, and +I cannot see where it would do any good to again publish their early +digressions to the world. I have no disposition to willfully malign any +one, and names are only used in cases in which the facts are supported +by documents in the archives of the courts of this country, Canada and +Mexico, the scenes of my greatest activity. + +In selecting material for this book I have only used cases which were +out of the ordinary, or in the unraveling of which some original or +unique detective work was done. No attempt has been made to enlarge on +the facts at hand. The book is just a simple narration of real detective +work done on real cases handled by me--no attempt having been made to +color them as an experienced writer would do, or is done to the work or +the deductions of the phantom detectives by the writers of fiction. + +Hoping that the book will serve the purpose for which it is issued I am, + +Yours truly, +THOS. FURLONG. + + + + +SIDE-LIGHTS ON THE BUSINESS. + +ELEMENTS NECESSARY TO MAKE A GOOD DETECTIVE. HONESTY AND TENACITY +VALUABLE ASSETS. THE PROFESSION HAS ITS PARASITES. + + +All professions have their parasites and crooks. Among the lawyers you +will find men who will commit a felony for a few paltry dollars to clear +a client of a charge of petty larceny--providing he does not think there +is a chance of his being caught. + +Among the doctors you will find men (and they have diplomas with larger +red seals on them than has the commission of the President of the United +States) who make a specialty of committing illegal operations, and doing +other things that are not considered either lawful or ethical. + +Among bankers you will find men who every day violate both the laws of +the state and the government--high finance, they call it. + +The general public, however, knows and freely admits there are honest, +upright, truthful lawyers, doctors and bankers, and highly honor each of +these professions. + +But the aforesaid general public is not so charitable to detectives. The +pettifogging lawyers and irresponsible penny liners of the press have +educated it up to believing that all detectives are thieves, thugs and +black guards, just because there are some men in the business who make +the peddling of family secrets and the working up of evidence in divorce +cases a specialty. I could never quite understand why this state of +affairs should be true, for I know many men of as good moral character +and just as honest and upright in the detective business as I have found +in any of the other professions. + +Detectives are born, not made--that is the successful ones--just as are +the successful lawyers or doctors or mechanics or merchants. Education +does not always make a man a success in his chosen profession or +calling. Unless he really possesses the peculiar make-up, or fitness, +for what he chooses to make his life work, he will never reach the top +round of the ladder of fame. Education, however, will help develop these +necessary qualities, but that is all. + +In addition to all these qualifications there are others which the +detective must possess. + +He must be scrupulously honest at all times, with himself and with those +with whom he has dealings. + +He must be sober, truthful and reliable, and, in addition, at all times +and under all circumstances, a gentleman. + +Tenacity and nerve are other valuable assets. A lazy man, or a coward, +has no business in the ranks. And he must at all times be firm. + +To my mind, a real detective should possess all the elements within his +general make-up, which would be necessary to make him a success at any +of the leading professions. He should possess the keen perceptive +abilities of a trained or successful journalist, be able to read between +the lines, as it were, or recognize the value of a clue, as the +journalist does the value of a bit of news. He must be well posted on +the law, especially that part pertaining to criminals. He must have the +foresight and judgment of the successful merchant or tradesman. He must +be sympathetic and just to the same degree as is the beloved pastor of a +large congregation. And he must be an actor, one of the versatile kind +of actors, who can play any kind of a part or assume any character +without month's of rehearsing. He should at all times act natural, even +while assuming a character, for if he overdoes the part he assumes, it +is more than likely to attract unusual attention to him, which a real +detective should avoid at all times. + +Remember another thing: All crimes, nine hundred and ninety-nine out of +every thousand, have a motive. True, these motives are often veiled and +are not discernable at a mere glance. You must be a good diagnostician +to handle these veiled cases--to diagnose them, as it were, as a learned +physician diagnoses his case when called to the bedside of a very sick +patient--find the cause. When you have found the motive for a crime, the +balance of the work is usually easy. + +There is one more phase of the detective business that I want to refer +to briefly. Many men believe they were created or born for the express +purpose of becoming detectors of crime. They believe they have missed +their calling--it makes no difference by what means they are making a +living now--because they have not been "called" into the detective +business and many of them actually put in all their leisure time trying +to "catch on" to a job, either in some municipal department or with some +private agency. The truth is, not one in ten thousand of these men would +"make good" if the opportunity to do so was offered them. + +The chief of a detective agency does not go among these men who are +laboring under the delusion that they have been "called," when he wants +men to do real detective work. He selects his recruits from among +acquaintances in whom he has recognized the talents necessary for the +making of good thief-catchers or investigators. These are found in all +professions and trades. Among the men in my employ can be found men who +are capable of running the mechanical end of almost any kind of +business, from a boiler shop to a composing room in a large printing +house, or who could easily find, because of their qualifications, a good +job in any large commercial or mercantile establishment. + +In conclusion, I will add that after the natural qualifications for a +good detective have developed themselves, it takes more hard work and +study to reach the pinnacle of fame than other professions require, and +the remuneration is a great deal less, taking into consideration the +hazardousness of the business. + + + + +THE PRELLER MURDER CASE. + +TRUE STATEMENT AS TO HOW THE EVIDENCE WHICH HUNG MAXWELL WAS OBTAINED +PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME. + + +The Preller murder occurred in the summer of 1885, in one of the rooms +of the Southern Hotel, St. Louis, Mo. Clarence Preller was a young +Englishman, as was also his slayer, Hugh M. Brookes. The discovery of +the body, the apprehension of the murderer, his trial and execution, +attracted the attention of the civilized world. The true story of the +conviction of the perpetrator of this foul crime has never before been +published. + +Hugh M. Brookes was a native of Hyde Park, a suburb of London, England. +His father and mother were respectable people, and school teachers by +professions. The young man was about twenty-five or six years of age +when he committed this crime. He had never done anything but go to +school, consequently was well educated. The last school he attended was +a law school. He ran away from this institution, after stealing a lot of +property that belonged to fellow students. The plunder he secured +consisted mostly of ornaments and bric-a-brac, which he pawned at +Liverpool, England, to secure enough money with which to purchase a +first-class ticket to Boston, Mass. After boarding the vessel he met and +formed the acquaintance of Clarence Preller. + +Preller was a trusted employee of a large export establishment of +London. His duties required him to travel nearly all over the world, +or, at least, to visit the principal cities of the world. He was a young +man, being about thirty years of age, and finding Brookes, a +fellow-countryman, an agreeable companion, took very kindly to him. + +Brookes represented himself as being a titled nobleman, who had just +finished his course at college, and was making a pleasure tour of +America. He called himself Maxwell. + +[Illustration: HUGH M. BROOKES, ALIAS MAXWELL + +The young Englishman hung for murdering Arthur Preller in the Southern +Hotel.] + +During the voyage from Liverpool to Boston, Preller told Maxwell, as I +will call him hereafter, that after he had attended to a matter of +business for his firm at Boston he had to go to Toronto, Canada, where +he would be detained but a day or two. Then he would leave Toronto for +St. Louis, Missouri, where he also had some business to do for his firm, +which would require but a short time, and that from there he would go +through to San Francisco, California, and sail from there on the first +steamship to Auckland, New Zealand. Maxwell told him that he believed he +would go from Boston to St. Louis, where he (Maxwell) would await the +arrival of Preller from Toronto, then accompany him to Auckland just for +the trip. This proposition pleased Preller. + +They arrived safely in Boston, where they remained two or three days +together, and where Maxwell learned that Preller had in his possession +seven one hundred dollar bills. After Preller had finished his business +in Boston they settled their bills at the Adams House, where they had +stopped, went to the depot together and separated, Preller going to +Toronto and Maxwell to St. Louis. They had agreed that Maxwell was to +stop at the Southern Hotel in St. Louis, there to await Preller. Maxwell +arrived at that hotel and engaged a room, where Preller joined him a +couple of days later. I think it was Saturday when he arrived, and they +occupied the same apartments. + +On the following Sunday, after they had eaten their dinner and returned +to their room, Preller complained of suffering from stomach trouble. +Maxwell claimed to have some knowledge of medicine, and administered an +overdose of morphia, hypodermically. A short time after administering +the drug, and when he saw that Preller was beginning to breathe his +last, he poured more than half the contents of a four ounce bottle of +chloroform into Preller's almost lifeless lips. When Preller was dead, +Maxwell stripped the body and placed a suit of his own underwear on him. +Maxwell was small in stature, being only about five feet five inches in +height, while Preller was much larger and about six feet tall. Maxwell's +clothing was marked with the name of Hugh M. Brookes, and they were +entirely too small for the body of Preller. + +In removing the underwear Maxwell used a candle snuffer, which is very +much like a pair of scissors, only the cutting surface had a +half-circle. He cut the undergarments the full length of the limbs so +that he could easily strip them off. Then he managed to pull his own +garments on the body. He emptied out the trunk belonging to Preller, and +pressed the body into it. He had to almost double it into a circle to +get it into the trunk, but he succeeded. Then strapping and locking the +trunk, he put his own, as well as Preller's effects into his own trunk, +and retired for the night. + +The next morning, after breakfast, he called at the cashier's office, +settled his bill, and stated to the clerk that his friend Preller had +been obliged to make a short run out of town, and would be back to the +hotel in two or three days, and desired that the room be held for him, +as his trunk and effects would remain there until he called for them. +Maxwell explained that he had to leave that morning and expected his +friend Preller to join him later. + +He instructed the head porter to bring his large trunk down into the +corridor. The one he had ordered brought down contained the dead body, +but, to his consternation, the porter brought down the one in which his +and Preller's effects had been packed. He became very much alarmed, and +had his trunk taken to Union Station and checked to San Francisco, +buying a ticket for that place. He departed over the Frisco Road, and +arrived in San Francisco, where he remained one night, and the following +day bought a ticket for Auckland, New Zealand, and sailed that +afternoon. + +The weather was quite warm in St. Louis, and after a few days +decomposition set in upon the corpse in the trunk. The odor from the +room attracted the attention of the servants. They reported to the +office, the room was entered and the body found. The police were +notified at once. A good description of Maxwell was furnished by the +hotel people, and telegrams were sent in all directions, giving this +description, and requesting Maxwell's arrest. + +Capt. Leas, Chief of Police of San Francisco, received one of these +telegrams, started his detectives to investigate, and succeeded in +learning that the murderer had sailed for Auckland some three or four +days before he had received the telegraphic description of him from St. +Louis. Whereupon Chief Leas cabled the proper authorities of Auckland a +full description of Maxwell, and even the number of the stateroom he +occupied on the ship. Of course, Capt. Leas' telegram reached Auckland +several days before the ship arrived. + +When the ship arrived at Auckland, the police sent out two of their +detectives with the pilot, who was to guide the steamer on which Maxwell +had taken passage into port. They arrested him as soon as they boarded +the ship, and when the vessel landed immediately notified the St. Louis +authorities, in accordance with Capt. Leas' instructions to them. After +obtaining proper extradition papers, the Chief of Police of St. Louis +sent two of his detectives to Auckland to bring Maxwell back to St. +Louis. They went to Auckland by way of San Francisco, found Maxwell in +jail there and brought him back to St. Louis. It was a long and +expensive trip, and cost the city of St. Louis a great deal of money. + +On arriving in St. Louis the prisoner was locked up without bail, on the +charge of murdering Preller. He immediately employed two lawyers to +defend him. After having consulted with his lawyers, Maxwell became +jubilant--so much so that he became obnoxious to his fellow prisoners. +He was naturally inclined to be overbearing, and seemed to hold himself +aloof from the other prisoners. He was rather inclined to braggadocia, +and attracted a lot of attention. The daily papers devoted a great deal +of space to him, which he seemed to enjoy immensely. In fact, the +notoriety appeared to be very pleasing to him. + +[Illustration: MARSHALL F. MCDONALD + +The Famous Criminal Lawyer who prosecuted Brookes, alias Maxwell] + +A few days after he had been lodged in jail in St. Louis, Ashley C. +Clover, Circuit Attorney of St. Louis, in company with Marshall F. +McDonald, Assistant Circuit Attorney, drove out to my residence one +night. I was then Chief Special Agent for the Missouri Pacific Railroad +Company, and both Messrs. Clover and McDonald were personal friends of +mine. + +Mr. Clover stated that the object of their visit was in reference to the +Maxwell case. He went on to state that although the arrest and returning +of Maxwell from Auckland to St. Louis had cost the city of St. Louis a +great deal of money, and the case had become one of international +importance, yet he did not believe that the officers of the St. Louis +police department had made any efforts to get at the real facts in the +case. So far they had not found enough evidence to procure a conviction, +in case the defendant went on the stand and testified that the giving of +too much chloroform to Preller was an accident. Mr. Clover said that he +wanted the real facts in the case. "For," he said, "while there is +scarcely any doubt that Maxwell caused the death of Preller by an +over-dose of chloroform, yet he may have done it innocently, and if such +is the case, under our laws, he could not be convicted of the murder, +and ought not to be, in my opinion. But, on the contrary, if he dosed +him purposely and feloniously with forethought and malice, he ought to +be convicted. If he did it innocently, and I could be assured of that, I +would be pleased to ask the jury to acquit him, but, as I said before, +if he is guilty it would be my duty as circuit attorney to insist on his +conviction. And now, Tom, I want you to get the facts in this case for +me." + +To which I replied, "Mr. Clover, I really do not know anything about +this case, except what I have read in the newspapers, and, of course, +you know as well as I do that a man cannot base much of an opinion on a +case of this kind on newspaper accounts, and, therefore, I wish you +would give me a little time to think the matter over. I fully approve of +the sentiments that you have expressed in connection with the case, and +will be glad, indeed, to do all in my power to assist you." + +Both gentlemen said they wished that I would take the matter under +advisement until the following evening at eight o'clock, at which time +they would again call at my house to talk the matter over with me. + +The following evening at the appointed time they called and were both +apparently anxious to learn what I thought I could do in the way of +obtaining the facts pertaining to the case. + +After the usual greeting, and when both had been seated, I said, +"Gentlemen, I have been thinking about the case in question, and have +become satisfied that there were but two people who knew the whole facts +connected with the case, and the facts that you now desire to know. One +of these persons is now in jail, and the other is dead. In my opinion +Maxwell is the only living person who knows the facts, and, therefore, +he is the only person from whom these facts can be obtained. I believe I +can get those facts from him, but I want you gentlemen to understand +that I am in the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, and, +of course, they are paying me for all my time, but if I were not in +their employ I could not do this myself on account of my being so well +known. For that reason it would be necessary for me to select a +competent operative to do this work under my instructions. I shall be +glad to do this, or anything else that I can do to assist you in +unraveling this case, with the understanding that I am not to receive +any compensation for what I may do myself, but I shall expect you +gentlemen to pay the operative that I may use in this work the same +amount of salary that we are paying him, and his actual expenses. As I +said before, I will do all that I can, but will neither expect nor +receive any remuneration for my services." + +"Tom," replied Mr. Clover, "There is no fund provided by the city for +the employment of outside talent for such work as this in question, but +I expect to pay the expense out of my own pocket, and I shall insist on +paying you for your services in connection with this matter." + +I answered, "I will receive nothing for any work that I may do in the +matter." + +At this point in the conversation Mr. McDonald, who had been sitting +quietly, listening to Mr. Clover and myself, said, "Tom, how do you +expect to obtain the facts in this case? That's what I would like to +know." + +"Mr. McDonald," I responded, "I feel that it would be easier for me to +go ahead and do this work, than it would be for me to undertake to tell +you how I propose to do it." + +Mr. Clover then said, "Tom, I am going to place this matter in your +hands. I want you to go ahead and get this thing started as soon as +possible, as the defendant's attorneys are clammoring for a speedy +trial, and I do not wish to keep them waiting any longer than I can +help. You do this work in your own way and I will pay the bills." + +I said, "All right." + +The next day I telegraphed to Philadelphia to an operative in my employ +there. He was an entire stranger in St. Louis. I wired him to come at +once, and not to stop at my office, but to come direct to my house on +his arrival in the city, which he did. + +His name was John McCulloch. He was about thirty-five years of age, +about five feet, ten inches in height, and weighed about two hundred +pounds. He was well built, had a sandy complexion, and was rather a +good-looking fellow. He was wearing side-whiskers, or burnsides, as they +were called, and a blonde mustache, and looked very much like an +Englishman. He was truthful and honest, and of sober habits, but a +little thick-headed, or, in other words, dull of comprehension. In +instructing him it was necessary to explain each detail fully, and +sometimes it would seem as if it were necessary to take a hammer and +pound the instructions into his head, but when he once understood +thoroughly what you wanted him to do he would carry out instructions to +the letter. + +Right here it might be well to take the reader into my confidence. I had +decided to get my operative (McCulloch) into jail, where he could meet +Maxwell, without the knowledge of the local police officers. + +After explaining the nature of the case to him, I instructed him to +procure the leading daily papers of St. Louis, dating back to the time +of the murder, and to read every line that had been published relative +to the case. This he did, and it took him about three weeks. I met him +each evening during the time and rehearsed with him what I wanted him to +do, from the time he was arrested, and how he should act after his +arrest and incarceration. + +Early in February, 1886, I succeeded in getting possession of a few +blank checks from the office of D. S. H. Smith, who was local treasurer +of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company in St. Louis. Being Chief +Special Agent of the road I had occasion to visit the local treasurer's +office frequently, and being well known, not only to the local +treasurer, but to all of his office force as well, I had no difficulty +in obtaining the blank checks without the knowledge of Dr. Smith, as +the local treasurer was called by most of the people who knew him, or +any of his clerks. + +My chief clerk was a good penman, and was familiar with the signature of +Dr. D. S. H. Smith. I had him practice for some time on imitating Dr. +Smith's signature, and found that he could imitate it so clearly that it +would have been accepted as genuine by any bank teller. While I wanted a +fairly good imitation of the signature, I did not want it to be so good +that it would be received at the bank. After practicing for a time he +succeeded in making a signature which I thought would answer my purpose. +I had him fill out one of the blank checks for the amount of one +thousand one hundred and eighty-eight dollars and ten cents. I then gave +this check to McCulloch, with instructions to him to present it to the +paying-teller of the Mechanics Bank, which was then on Fourth street. He +was to present this check at 9:45 sharp, the following morning. I had +received a check, a day or two before this, which bore the signature of +Dr. Smith, and had purposely held this out, and was waiting across the +street from the bank when I saw McCulloch, whom I will hereafter call +Frank Dingfelter, as this was the name he assumed, and was the name to +which the check had been made payable. + +On entering the bank Dingfelter went to the window of the paying-teller, +Mr. Warner, and presented the check. Warner examined the check very +carefully, and by reason of its being for so large an amount, and +Dingfelter being an entire stranger to him (I, having allowed Dingfelter +time enough to have reached the paying-teller's window, entered the bank +with my check in my hand), held the check that Dingfelter had presented, +and when he saw me he excitedly motioned to me to come to his window. On +reaching the window Warner commanded me, in an excited manner, to +arrest that man, pointing to Dingfelter. + +I said, "What do you want him arrested for?" + +Warner, holding up the check said, "Why he has presented a large fake +check bearing the name of Dr. Smith, for nearly twelve hundred dollars. +Why, you know Dr. Smith's signature?" + +I replied, "Yes, here is one of Dr. Smith's checks. I know this is +genuine, for I saw the doctor sign it." + +He compared the fake check with mine, and I said to Mr. Warner, "While I +am not an expert on hand-writing, I do not believe that Dr. Smith wrote +that signature." + +Mr. Warner exclaimed, "I am positive he did not." Then turning to Mr. +Dingfelter I asked, "Where did you get this check?" + +"I got it from Dr. Smith," was his reply. + +"Does Dr. Smith know you?" I asked. + +In rather a gruff manner he answered, "Yes, he knows me." + +"Will you go with me and see Dr. Smith?" I asked. + +"Well, I do not know whether I will or not. I don't know who you are," +he replied. Whereupon I laid my hand on his shoulder and said, "You will +either accompany me to Dr. Smith's office, or I will send for a patrol +wagon, take you to police headquarters and have you locked up." + +"Are you an officer?" he asked. + +To which I replied, "Yes, I am the Chief Special Agent of the Missouri +Pacific Railroad Company." + +"Oh, well," said he, "that is different. I will go with you and see Dr. +Smith." + +It was drizzling rain the morning of this occurrence, was quite chilly +and the streets and sidewalks were wet and slippery and dirty, as the +streets of St. Louis were not kept as clean at that time as they are +now. I took the fake check and Dingfelter and myself started for Dr. +Smith's office, which at that time was in the Missouri Pacific general +office building on the corner of Sixth and Locust streets. We walked +west on Pine from Fourth. When we reached the corner of Sixth and Pine +streets I gave Dingfelter a signal, which had been pre-arranged. This +signal was for him to hit me a good, stiff punch, as the fighters call +it. There was a large, clumsy patrolman, wearing a raincoat, standing +under an awning near the corner saloon. I was walking on the left-hand +side of Dingfelter, and when I gave him the signal he cut loose with his +right hand, which landed just over my right eye and a little back of it. +I had instructed him to hit me hard, and if he succeeded in knocking me +down and I became groggy from the blow he was to stumble and fall +himself, so as to give the big, clumsy police officer time to reach us. +The officer was standing about ten feet from us when Dingfelter struck +me, but I knew how slow he was and I wanted to be sure and give him an +opportunity of getting hold of Dingfelter. I went down all right, and in +fact, was a little dazed from the effects of the blow. Dingfelter +stumbled and fell, and the policeman made a dash (such as a heavily +loaded ice wagon going up hill would make) and succeeded in reaching +him, not, however, until he had arisen, and I also had got to my feet. +He got to Dingfelter about the same time that I did. The latter made a +good fight and tore off most of the uniform of the policeman and my +coat, vest and collar. All of us went down in the street and rolled +around in the mud. Our ears and faces were filled with mud, before we +finally succeeded in subduing Dingfelter, but I am satisfied if he had +tried his best he could have gotten away with both of us, as he was a +powerful man. + +My office was on Eighth street, just north of Pine, and this fight +occurred just two blocks from my office, and after we had subdued +Dingfelter I suggested that we take him there, so as to give us an +opportunity of washing ourselves while we were waiting for a patrol +wagon to take the prisoner to police headquarters. This we did, and on +arriving at my office we turned the prisoner over to my chief clerk and +one of my operatives, who happened to be there, while the policeman and +myself began digging the mud out of our ears and washing our faces. +After washing I found that my right eye was very much discolored, and +where my face had come in contact with the pavement there were a number +of small cuts and scratches, which were somewhat inflamed, and I really +had a sore face. + +The operative who I have mentioned before, whose name was Phillips, on +seeing my face said to me, "Why, you sure ought to go and see a doctor +at once. Your eye is in bad shape, and you need medical attention +immediately. Let me go up to police headquarters with this fellow. I can +attend to the matter for you." + +I thanked him, and said that I wished he would do so. I told him what +had occurred at the bank, and instructed him to make a complaint against +Dingfelter accordingly. In due time the patrol wagon arrived and the +police officer and Phillips escorted Mr. Dingfelter to police +headquarters. At this time Hughie O'Neil was chief of detectives, and +Major Lawrence Harrigan, was chief of police for the city of St. Louis. + +As soon as Dingfelter was hustled into the detectives' office in the +Four Courts, Chief O'Neil and a squad of his men immediately set about +searching him. They found in one of his inside pockets a letter, +addressed, sealed and stamped, but apparently which Dingfelter had +forgotten to mail. It was directed to San Francisco. They also found +about seventy-five or one hundred dollars, and some other articles, all +of which were taken from him and placed in the police department +archives for safe keeping. The letter was eagerly opened and read. This +letter was quite lengthy, and was just such a letter as one crook would +write to another. There was then, and had been for some time previous, a +gang of bank swindlers working the cities of the Pacific Coast, and the +newspapers had been printing a great deal about the operations of this +gang several weeks prior to the time of which I write; and for this +reason the detectives of St. Louis were led to believe by the finding of +the letter that they had struck something which might lead to the +capture of the bank swindlers. The contents of the letter appeared in +the afternoon papers. Some of these papers censured me for having failed +to discover this letter. + +After reading the comments of the papers regarding this letter, I would +have considered myself very stupid, indeed, for having missed the +letter, were it not for the fact that I knew that I had not had an +opportunity to search Mr. Dingfelter up to the time he assaulted me and +the officer on Pine street, and then I also knew it had taken me about +two hours to compose and dictate that same letter. + +Dingfelter was locked up, of course, and the time was set for his +preliminary hearing, to be several days later. In the meantime the St. +Louis papers were devoting lots of space to Dingfelter and his alleged +crime; a relief to the newspaper readers, as they had begun to grow +tired of reading day after day about Maxwell and what his attorneys +expected to do for him. From the time of Dingfelter's arrest up to the +time of Maxwell's trial, the newspapers scarcely mentioned the latter's +name. Some of them occasionally mentioned my name in rather a joking +manner, because I had been stupid enough to miss that letter. When +Dingfelter was called for his preliminary hearing he was promptly +remanded to jail to await the action of the Grand Jury. + +He was besieged by lawyers who were anxious to defend him, but he +declined their offers, telling them when the time came he had lawyers +selected to defend him, and steadfastly refused to divulge their names. +The second day after his arrest Dingfelter was allowed to mingle with +the other prisoners in what was called the "bull ring." An allotted time +is given to the prisoners each day in this place for exercise. Maxwell +noticed that almost immediately after his arrest the newspapers were +giving Dingfelter all the notoriety, and had dropped himself, so he +hastened to make the acquaintance of one so notorious when they met in +the "bull ring." This was the only opportunity of meeting him, and from +the first time that Maxwell saw Dingfelter he never lost an opportunity +of talking with him, and he stuck to Dingfelter like the proverbial fly +to the horse. The first time Maxwell approached Dingfelter he rushed up +to him and said, "You are Dingfelter, I believe." Dingfelter replied +that he was and Maxwell then said, "They seem to have a strong case +against you." "You will have to excuse me, sir, I don't want to be +considered impolite," Dingfelter replied, "but I must decline to talk to +any one in this place about my case, as you call it. I don't believe it +would be a good thing for me or any other person to talk about a charge +that is pending against them in a place of this kind. I shall be glad to +talk with you on any other subject, however, but I trust that you will +hereafter refrain from asking me any questions regarding the charge now +pending against me in court, and then, I don't know you." + +Maxwell hastily said, "Oh, I am Maxwell. I am the fellow who is charged +with the murder of that man Preller, who was killed in the Southern +Hotel, and whose body was found in a trunk. I was arrested at Auckland, +New Zealand, and brought back here to St. Louis to stand trial, but I +have been assured by my attorneys that I will be acquitted. They have no +proof against me, and just as soon as I can get a trial, why, of course, +I will go free." + +"So you are Maxwell," said Dingfelter. "I have been reading in the +papers about you, and if you will pardon me for saying it, it seems to +me that you have already been talking too much about your case. If you +are not guilty of the crime with which you stand charged, why you ought +to be acquitted, and I hope you will be." + +After this first interview between Maxwell and Dingfelter, he and many +other prisoners looked upon Dingfelter as being a wise and unusually +smart prisoner. Dingfelter was in jail forty-seven days, and during all +that time Maxwell never let an opportunity pass without talking to him. +I received daily reports from my operative, a task which I found very +difficult, and it became more difficult by reason of the Southwestern +Railroad strike, which broke out on March 4, 1886, and continued during +Dingfelter's stay in the St. Louis jail. Being Chief Special Agent for +the Gould system, my time was occupied in protecting the railroad +company's property, and in apprehending people who were continually +committing illegal acts. I was occupied almost day and night in this +work. + +From Dingfelter's daily reports I learned that Maxwell had admitted that +he had killed Preller for the purpose of obtaining seven one hundred +dollar bills that he knew Preller to have, as he had shown him the money +in the Adams House at Boston, before they separated there. He also had +pawned the plunder for the money which had brought him to America, and +that he had made Preller believe that he was connected with the titled +family of Maxwell, that his right name was Hugh M. Brookes, and that he +would like to place himself under the guidance and advice of an able +crook, as he believed Dingfelter to be, when he gained his liberty, as +he was sure he would, in the near future. He told Dingfelter in detail +how he had killed Preller by administering an overdose of morphia, +hypodermically; of how, after dinner on the fatal Sunday, Preller had +complained of a pain in his stomach; that he, Maxwell, saw that was his +opportunity for carrying out the plan he had already formed for taking +Preller's life in order to secure the money; that he had provided +himself with a large quantity of morphia and the hypodermic syringe, and +that he had also procured four ounces of chloroform, for the purpose of +administering it to Preller immediately before death, to prevent the +body from becoming rigid, as it does immediately after death, "as," said +Maxwell in his explanation to Dingfelter, "I had to conceal his long +body in the trunk, which was so much shorter, and I did not want to cut +off his limbs, fearing that the trace of the blood would betray me." + +On receiving Dingfelter's report relative to the use of the morphia in +the murder, I at once reported the fact to Messrs. Clover and McDonald, +who immediately arranged with two of the most prominent doctors in St. +Louis to examine the body of Preller for traces of the morphia. Messrs. +Clover, McDonald, the doctors, an official of Bellefontaine Cemetery, +and myself, went to the cemetery, where Preller's body had been buried, +exhumed the body, and the doctors made the necessary examination, +keeping what they discovered to themselves, and they did not divulge +anything about it until called on to testify at Maxwell's trial, when +they said that the traces of the hypodermic syringe were plainly visible +on the arm, and that traces of morphia were found. When Maxwell was +arrested a quantity of morphia was found among his effects, and also the +hypodermic syringe, but up to this discovery neither had been considered +in connection with the murder, as it had been taken for granted that +Preller's death had been caused by chloroform. Of course, the exhuming +of the body, and the arrangement that had been made were known to no one +but Messrs. Clover, McDonald, the two doctors, the cemetery official and +myself, and was treated as a profound secret. + +Meanwhile, after Dingfelter had been in jail and had obtained the +information we wanted from Maxwell, I decided that it was unnecessary to +keep him there longer, so I arranged to have Dingfelter released on +bail, which had been fixed at three thousand five hundred dollars. I had +ex-Judge Henry D. Laughlin, of St. Louis, sign Dingfelter's bond. I did +this without Judge Laughlin's knowledge that I even knew who Dingfelter +was. Upon his release I immediately sent him to New York, where he +entered into correspondence with friends of Maxwell's. Just before being +released he asked Maxwell if he could keep a secret, and Maxwell said +that he could, whereupon Dingfelter said: + +"I expect to leave this place soon." + +"How are you going to get out?" asked Maxwell. + +"Ah," said Dingfelter, "that is none of your business. You said you +could keep a secret, and the first thing you are doing is to pry into +my business by asking how I am going to get out. After I am gone from +here, of course, you will know it, but if you do not know how I propose +to get out it will be impossible for you to tell any one about it. For +that reason it is better that you should not know anything further than +what I have already said." + +Maxwell apologized and promised not to be so inquisitive again. +Dingfelter then said: + +"Now, Maxwell, after I am on the outside and away from this place, if I +can do anything for you consistently I shall be glad to do it." + +"You can do a whole lot for me," Maxwell answered, "by getting two of +your friends to come here when my trial is called and have them testify +that they met Preller and myself in Boston, and that they accompanied us +to the depot when we were leaving Boston; that at the depot I proposed +that the party take a parting drink; that Preller, these two men and +myself, went to a cafe, and that I ordered two bottles of champagne, and +that when I paid for it I displayed a roll of seven one hundred dollar +bills; that I explained that I wanted to change one of these hundred +dollar bills so that I might have some smaller change to pay expenses on +my way to St. Louis. If they will testify to this it will account for +the six one hundred dollar bills I took from Preller." + +Dingfelter asked, "Are you sure that your lawyers will not get these +friends of mine into trouble or let the police get next to them if I can +get them to come?" + +Maxwell assured Dingfelter that his friends would be perfectly safe in +coming to St. Louis, and that the police would not get next to them, +providing, of course, that the parties were not already known to the +police. He took a card bearing his name from his pocket and tore it in +two halves, giving one half to Dingfelter and retaining the other +himself, saying, "Be sure and give these witnesses half of the card, +which will serve to identify them to my attorneys when they arrive here, +as that half of the card will match the half that I will retain, the +edges of the torn card will match and will answer the purpose of an +introduction." + +It was about five o'clock in the evening when Dingfelter was released +from jail on bond, and at that hour the courts in the building had +adjourned for the day, and the newspaper correspondents and all others +had left the building except the few attaches who were on duty. Thus +Dingfelter left the jail unobserved. On his release from the jail he +came to my house by a circuitous route, where he remained until a late +hour that night, when he left to take a train for New York. I instructed +him to open a correspondence with Maxwell on his arrival in New York, so +as to get positive instructions from Maxwell as to what the witnesses +were to testify to when they appeared on the stand in his defense. He +carried out these instructions to the letter. His letters reached +Maxwell through his attorneys, and Maxwell's letters reached him through +the same source, and in due time, all the letters were sent to me with +his report. They kept up this correspondence at intervals until +Maxwell's trial was called. I told Dingfelter to appear in St. Louis on +the morning of the trial, which he did. On arriving here he went to a +private lodging house, and being a stranger in the city, his presence +was unknown to any person but himself and the circuit attorneys, Clover +and McDonald. + +When his trial was called, Maxwell took the stand in his own defense, +and testified that he had administered chloroform to his friend Preller +on the fatal evening at the Southern Hotel for the purpose of allaying +the pain that he was suffering from, as both Messrs. Clover and McDonald +had predicted he would testify. Maxwell went on to state that Preller's +suffering was caused by an acute attack of stricture, from which he had +been suffering more or less for some time. + +On hearing this testimony from Maxwell, it was decided to again exhume +the body of Preller so that the two doctors could make another +examination of the remains, and either corroborate or disprove Maxwell's +testimony, as this was one of the most vital points in the trial. When +the body was exhumed the doctors removed the organs, taking them to +their laboratory, where the examination was made, and they later came +into court and testified that their examination had shown beyond a doubt +that Preller had never suffered from stricture. + +Frank Dingfelter was among the first witnesses called by the +prosecution. In answer to his name, he entered the court room from the +private office of the circuit attorney, and after being duly sworn, took +his seat on the witness stand. After sitting down he turned his face +towards Attorney McDonald, who was conducting the prosecution for the +state. Maxwell got a full view of Dingfelter for the first time since he +had seen him in the jail. From where I was sitting I could get a good +view of Maxwell's countenance. I was watching him closely, and when he +saw Dingfelter he recognized him instantly. He turned ashy pale and +nearly fainted, and would have fallen out of his chair were it not that +he was partly supported by one of his attorneys who was sitting beside +him. He hurriedly communicated to his attorney that he had recognized +Dingfelter, whereupon the attorneys for the defense became very much +excited. Dingfelter was asked by Attorney McDonald the following +questions: + +Question: What is your name? A. John F. McCulloch. + +Q. Where were you born? A. Wilmington, Delaware. + +Q. How old are you? A. Thirty years. + +Q. What is your business? A. Detective. + +Q. By whom are you employed? A. Thomas Furlong. + +Q. Do you know the defendant in this case (pointing to Maxwell)? A. Yes, +sir. + +Q. Where did you first become acquainted with him? A. In the city jail. + +Q. Were you a prisoner in the jail? A. Yes, sir. + +Q. What were you charged with? A. I believe it was forgery. + +Q. When and where were you arrested? A. I was arrested at the Mechanics +Bank on the corner of Fourth and Pine streets, this city, by Thomas +Furlong, who was afterwards assisted by a police officer, whose name I +do not know. + +Q. Why did Furlong arrest you? A. He was commanded to do so by the +paying teller of the Mechanics Bank. + +Q. Why did the teller cause your arrest? A. Because I presented a check +bearing what purported to be the signature of D. S. H. Smith, local +treasurer of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. The paying teller +told Furlong, in my presence, that the signature was a forgery. + +Q. Did you know it to be a forgery? A. I did not. + +Q. Where did you get this check? A. Mr. Furlong gave me the check and +instructed me to present it at the bank, as I did, and told me that he +would be at the bank when I presented it. + +Q. Was Mr. Furlong there? A. Yes, he came into the bank while I was at +the teller's window. That was when Mr. Warner, as I believe the +teller's name is, told him to arrest me. + +Q. Then you do not know whether the check was a forgery or not? A. No, +sir. I was only obeying the instructions of my employer, Mr. Furlong. I +guess he can tell you all about that check. + +The court room was crowded, and as soon as Dingfelter stated that he was +a detective one of the city detectives rushed out of the court, +pellmell, to the office of the Chief of Police, which was in the +opposite end of the building, and informed the Chief of what had +occurred. The Chief rushed into the court room, and from that time on +consternation seemed to prevail among all the authorities around the +Four Courts building. + +Dingfelter was kept upon the witness stand for about two days, and +during his entire direct testimony, nearly every question asked him by +the prosecuting attorney was objected to by the attorneys for the +defense. After McCulloch, as I will call him by his right name +hereafter, had been excused from the witness stand, I was called. After +being duly sworn and the preliminary questions asked, I was told, by the +prosecuting attorney, to state to the court and jury how I had been +approached by Mr. Clover and himself, and what I had done in connection +with the case. I gave a detailed account of my work from the start up to +that moment, being interrupted occasionally by an objection from the +defendant's counsel. When I had finished my direct testimony, all of +which has already been related, the counsel for the defense began to +cross-examine me. My cross-examination consumed nearly a day and a half. + +The defendant's counsel first wanted to know how long I had been in the +detective business. I answered that I had first become engaged in the +business in September, 1862. The attorney said, "Then you have had a +great deal of experience?" I answered that I had, and then he said, +"Where did you get this check?" exhibiting the check in question. I +asked permission to examine the check, which was granted by the court, +and after looking at it carefully I answered, "This is one of the blank +checks that I took from Dr. Smith's office in the manner already +described." + +Question: Then you stole this check from Dr. Smith's office? A. I took +that blank check from Dr. Smith's office without his knowledge or +consent. + +Q. Who filled out this check and signed Dr. Smith's name to it? A. That +check was filled out by one of my employes. I stood alongside of him +while he filled it out. He did it under my instructions, and if he had +refused to do it I would have discharged him and he knew it; and if the +law has been violated in any way I am responsible for it. + +The attorney for the defense insisted that I give the name of the person +who filled out the check, but the court overruled the question on the +ground that I had assumed the responsibility. The counsel for the +defense then said, "You know that you were violating the law by having +this check made out as you did, did you not?" + +I replied, "Under certain conditions, it might have been a violation of +the law." + +Counsel for the defense asked, "You know that it was a forgery and +forgery is a crime under the law?" My answer was the same as before, +that it would have been forgery under certain conditions. But he +insisted on me answering him direct "yes" or "no." At this Prosecuting +Attorney McDonald appealed to the court, stating that the witness could +not answer the question with a direct "yes" or "no" unless permitted to +explain what the certain conditions referred to were. The court +permitted me to explain under what conditions the making of the check +would not be considered forgery. To which I replied that inasmuch as +that intent is the essence of crime, and that as there was no intent to +obtain money or other valuables by means of this check on my part, who +was responsible for the making of it, and that I was at the bank on the +morning that McCulloch presented the check for the purpose of preventing +the teller from cashing the check, if he, perchance, had not noticed +that the signature of Dr. Smith was not genuine, and for the further +reason that I had promptly apprehended the man who had presented the +check at the bank for having done so. This was all a matter of court +record. + +Here I wish to say that almost every person in the courtroom, after +hearing my testimony as to my obtaining the blank checks and causing one +to be filled out and presented at the bank, were of the opinion that I +had gotten myself into serious trouble. Many clung to that opinion until +they heard my explanation, and the competent court attorneys saw at a +glance that I was safe when I explained that intent was what constituted +a crime. + +I have been asked many, many times since the arrest of McCulloch and my +tussle with him, why I caused him to knock me down and to strip the +policeman and myself, leaving us in almost a nude condition, and which +compelled me to go around several days with my right eye and one side of +my face discolored--as some of them said, "in mourning"--and my answer +has always been that I had decided everything I did in connection with +the case was absolutely necessary so that I might obtain the true facts +of the case, which were very essential for the proper prosecution of the +perpetrator of this heinous crime, as he was the only living person who +knew the real facts. I knew that Maxwell was enjoying the notoriety the +newspapers were giving him, and I also knew that the public was growing +tired of reading about him, and, therefore, believed that if I could +paint my operative as a more desperate criminal for the time being, by +the notoriety he would obtain through the papers, it would have the +effect of attracting Maxwell's attention to him, so that he might bask +in the light that was being attracted to McCulloch. And, as it turned +out, my predictions proved true. I deemed it necessary to have McCulloch +slug me and make the fight that he did with the police officer and +myself in order to allay any suspicion that might arise in the mind of +the Chief of Police or any of his men. The Chief was an alert and +experienced officer, and if he suspected for a moment that McCulloch was +not what he represented himself to be, or that he was connected with me, +he would have undoubtedly exposed our scheme, and thereby destroyed our +efforts, which were for the honest purpose of serving the ends of +justice. + +Both McCulloch and myself were acting parts, and from the result it +seems that the parts were acted well. I could have gotten the blank +check from Dr. Smith, I have no doubt, merely by asking for it, but he, +of course would have wanted an explanation from me, and if I had +explained why I wanted them he would have been obliged to state the +facts on the witness stand when called before the Grand Jury, and this +would have been fatal to my scheme. Had I told my operative Phillips, +who lodged the first complaint against McCulloch, or Dingfelter, as he +called himself, he would have been compelled, under oath, to have stated +the truth. This, too, would have been fatal. My keeping the matter a +secret, resulted in every person telling the truth, or what they +believed to be the truth. I myself, did not appear either at police +headquarters or at the preliminary hearing, nor before the Grand Jury, +and was not called upon to testify until Maxwell was on trial. + +Marshall F. McDonald was sitting in his office one day alone, about a +month after Dingfelter had been in jail and had made such good progress +with Maxwell, when William Marion Reedy, better known then as Billy +Reedy, entered his office. Reedy was, at that time, a reporter for the +Globe-Democrat, and was very popular. He knew every official around the +Four Courts and in fact, every man in St. Louis who was worth knowing. +He was a warm friend and great admirer of Mr. McDonald, and on entering +his office and noting that he was alone, he said, "Mac, why don't you +select the right kind of a fellow and have him locked up in Jail with +Maxwell. He might succeed in getting the facts as to Preller's murder +from him." + +Mr. McDonald was startled to hear this suggestion from Mr. Reedy, but, +being a man of steady nerves, he managed to conceal his surprise. He +told Reedy that he did not believe that anything could be accomplished +by locking a man up in jail for that purpose. "For," said Mac, "there +are nearly four hundred prisoners in that jail and a man might be there +for months before he could get to Maxwell, and then it is quite likely +that his attorneys have already advised him not to talk to any person +about his case." + +Reedy said, "It occurred to me that it might be a good thing to do, and +I therefore made the suggestion to you for what it is worth, but, as you +do not think it worth while to try it, just let it go." + +He left the office, and just as soon as McDonald could don his hat and +coat and leave his office unobserved, he hastened to me. I saw at a +glance that he was excited and believed something unusual had happened. +I greeted him and asked him to be seated, and then said, "Mac, what is +the matter?" He extended his long right arm and exclaimed, "Why, the +whole thing is up." + +"What's up?" I asked, "Mac, what do you mean?" + +"Why, Billy Reedy came into my office a little while ago and suggested +that I pick out the right kind of a fellow and have him locked up in +jail so that he might work on Maxwell," he said. + +"Is that all Reedy said?" I asked. + +He then went on and detailed as nearly as he could recollect just what +Reedy had said. I asked him what he had said to Reedy and he told me. I +then said, "Do you think that Reedy noticed your excitement when he made +the suggestion to you?" + +"No, he could not have," he replied, "I was not excited, I never get +excited." + +"You were excited when you came in here, and if Billy Reedy noticed it +when he made that suggestion it might set him to thinking, and inasmuch +as you did not take kindly to the suggestion, he might possibly make the +suggestion to Chief Harrigan," I said. + +"Oh, no," replied Mac, "Billy would not make any suggestions to the +chief. He is my friend and I appreciate the feeling that prompted him to +make the suggestion, but confound it, I wish he had not thought of it." + +I said, "Mac, we know that Billy Reedy is a bright young fellow, and a +great news gatherer, and a loyal friend of yours. I do not believe he +will say anything more about it, and now I think the best thing to do is +to quietly await developments." + +My advice was followed, and I do not believe that William Marion Reedy, +who is now proprietor and editor of the St. Louis Mirror, has ever known +just how much that friendly suggestion of his worried his friend +Marshall F. McDonald. I have told in my story how McCulloch remained in +jail and got the facts from Maxwell, and our scheme was not spoiled by +Mr. Reedy's suggestion, for he never repeated it to any other person. + +The testimony at the trial was overwhelming against Maxwell, and the +jury before whom this case was tried quickly returned a verdict of +guilty of murder in the first degree, and Hugh M. Brookes, alias +Maxwell, was hung for one of the most cold-blooded murders of the age. + +The St. Louis police department had an exhibit in the Educational +Building during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, which +consisted of photographs and police records of criminals, burglars, +tools and various weapons. This exhibit also had the noose with which +Brookes, alias Maxwell, was hung, and his photograph and the picture of +the two St. Louis officers who brought him back from Auckland, New +Zealand. There were thousands of people who viewed this exhibit, and I +deem it proper to tell the public that the police department had +positively nothing to do with obtaining the evidence that convicted +Maxwell. They had really nothing to do with his arrest, other than +sending out his description. He was arrested through the efforts of +Capt. Leas, Chief of Police of San Francisco, Cal. His conviction was +due to my efforts and the work of my operative, McCulloch, and to +Messrs. Clover and McDonald. Mr. Clover paid the expenses from his own +pocket and Mr. McDonald deserved a great deal more credit that he was +accorded for the masterful way in which he handled the prosecution, but +not one of these names were mentioned in the exhibit at the World's +Fair. Mr. Clover paid about six hundred dollars out of his own personal +funds for the expenses incurred in obtaining the evidence, and I got a +black eye and a swollen jaw as my compensation. + +Dingfelter, while in the jail, also made the acquaintance of two +brothers by the name of Johnston, who had been arrested in New Orleans +and brought to St. Louis for safe keeping by the United States +authorities, on the charge of having had a large number of Brazilian +bonds printed. These bonds were counterfeit, utterly worthless to any +one who purchased them. The government secret service had captured a lot +of these spurious bonds and had brought the prisoners to St. Louis until +they could be tried in the Federal Court. + +The Johnstons took a liking to Dingfelter and told him all about their +scheme, where they had gotten the printing done, by whom, and all the +other facts of their crime. Dingfelter did not solicit any confidences, +but they, supposing him to be a shrewd crook, thought their secret was +safe, until Maxwell was on trial and Dingfelter, as he was known to +them, took the stand and testified, giving his right name, John F. +McCulloch, and his business, that of a detective. As soon as the +Johnston brothers learned who and what Dingfelter was, they sent word to +the United States authorities that they had admitted to Detective +Dingfelter everything pertaining to their guilt, and they were willing +to plead guilty to the charges pending against them in the Federal +Court. This they did when they were arraigned for trial. + + + + +THE BIG COTTON SWINDLE. + +TRAGIC ENDING OF A BIG CASE ON WHICH A GREAT DEAL OF REAL DETECTIVE WORK +HAD BEEN DONE. + + +The cotton swindle occurred at Sherman, Texas, on the Texas & Pacific +Railroad, early in the fall of 1883. It was in the cotton shipping +season, and Sherman was a point from which a very large amount of cotton +was shipped annually, it being the principal shipping point, or outlet, +for one of the largest cotton producing districts in the state. For this +reason the eastern cotton buyers and cotton mill owners were represented +by agents at these shipping points. These agents were really brokers. It +was the practice of these brokers, as soon as they had purchased cotton, +to have it delivered at once to the railroad company for shipment, when +they would receive from the railroad company's agent a bill of lading, +setting forth the number and weight of each bale. This bill of lading, +when signed by the railroad agent, was negotiable at any bank in the +cotton producing district. The bank would take the bill of lading, +allowing the depositor ninety per cent cash on the face value and would +hold ten per cent back until the exact value of the cotton was +ascertained by the proper officials. The practice of cashing these bills +of lading was then general in the cotton-growing country, and, I +presume, it is at the present time. + +It was early in the month of January, 1884, when I was suddenly called +to the office of Capt. C. G. Warner, who was then General Auditor for +the Gould Railway System. The Texas & Pacific was one of the many Gould +lines. I occupied the position of Chief Special Agent for that system. + +On my arrival at Capt. Warner's office, he informed me that he had just +received from Sherman, Texas, a long telegraph message from one of his +traveling auditors, which stated that a large amount of cotton, which +had been shipped from that station, had undoubtedly been diverted in +transit, as the cotton had not reached its proper destination. Capt. +Warner instructed me to go to Sherman at once, where I would find the +traveling auditor, Mr. Finby, and make a thorough investigation. + +I left St. Louis on the first train, and arrived at Sherman in due time, +where I found Mr. Finby, who informed me that the company's agent, in +charge at Sherman (whom I will call No. 4) had left there on the +Saturday night previous, since which time not one word had been heard +from him. He further stated that No. 4 had told his assistant on +Saturday evening, that he was going to take a run down to Galveston on +personal business, and expected to return on the following Monday. It +then being Wednesday, and No. 4 not having returned, Mr. Finby had +become aroused and wired the head of his department at St. Louis, which +accounted for my appearance in Sherman. I at once began my +investigation, with a view of locating No. 4, the missing agent. I +remained in and about Sherman several days, during which time the +traveling auditor was busily engaged, with some of his assistants, in +auditing and trying to straighten out the accounts of the station. + +In the meantime, telegraph messages of inquiry were pouring into Sherman +from parties in New York, Philadelphia, Fall River, Mass., and +Providence, Rhode Island. These parties had purchased and paid for large +quantities of cotton, the total amount aggregating $121,000, and they +wanted to know why they had not received it. Messages of this kind had +been pouring into Sherman for a month or six weeks prior to the time Mr. +Finby had been called there. + +The officers of the railroad became alarmed, believing from the facts +learned up to this time, that the cotton for which the eastern buyers +were inquiring, had been shipped and had been diverted, and probably +stolen. If this were true the railroad company would be responsible for +the loss of the cotton to the buyers and would probably have to pay +additional damages. Thus the loss of this cotton was a serious matter +for the company. + +After I had worked at Sherman for about ten days, as hard and earnestly +as I had ever worked on a case in my life, I succeeded in obtaining +information that led me to believe that there were three other men +connected with No. 4, the missing agent, in this swindle. I had also +succeeded in locating the family and friends of No. 4, and the other +three suspects, whose names I withhold for the reason that some of them +were connected with respectable families and have near relatives living +today, who were in no way responsible for the wrong-doing of these men +and ought not to be subjected to the humiliation which the publication +of these names might inflict upon them. + +During my investigation I learned that one of these men (whom in +mentioning I will call No. 1) had a brother living in New Orleans. (I +will call the other two confederates No. 2 and No. 3, withholding their +names for the reasons I have already given.) I had decided to go to New +Orleans direct from Sherman and there quietly investigate the brother of +No. 1. I had also telegraphed to my office at St. Louis, Mo., +instructing George W. Herbert, one of my assistants, to meet me in New +Orleans, which he did. + +We located No. 1's brother in New Orleans very easily, and after I had +previously obtained information that No. 1's wife might be stopping +temporarily with her brother-in-law's family, who were living in a large +and rather pretentious mansion in that city, I began to watch the +mansion for the purpose of learning, if possible, whether or not No. 1's +wife was staying there. I had a photograph of No. 1 and also of his +wife. She was a beautiful woman. She was born and raised in the state of +Tennessee, where her mother and other near relatives resided. + +I had learned that a man answering the description of No. 1 in all +respects had registered at the then leading hotel of Sherman under the +name of J. D. Dillard, Jr. This man had reached the hotel at a late hour +at night, was assigned to a room and remained in it all the following +day, ordering his meals sent to the room, explaining to the hotel people +that he was ill. During the day No. 4 called at the hotel and quietly +visited the room occupied by Dillard, where he (No. 4) had remained an +hour or more. He went to Dillard's room without making any inquiries at +the office, merely consulting the register. + +Dillard, who was really No. 1, left his room about midnight the +following night, and took a north-bound train from Sherman. Nobody had +seen the supposed Dillard during the time of his stay at Sherman, except +the night clerk, who had not noticed him particularly when he assigned +him to his room, and a chamber-maid, a mulatto, who had charge of the +room of No. 1, or Dillard, as he called himself, had waited on him while +he was there. She had become familiar with his features and stated to me +that she would know him on sight any place. She described Dillard +accurately, after which I exhibited No. 1's photograph. She instantly +identified it as a good picture of Mr. Dillard. This is what caused me +to place No. 1's brother's house in New Orleans under surveillance. I +also traced Dillard from Sherman, Texas, to Emporia, Kansas, where the +photographs of himself and wife were identified by the proprietor of the +hotel and the employes there, at which the Dillards had stopped for a +period of a month prior to Dillard's recent visit to Sherman. Mrs. +Dillard had remained at Emporia during her husband's absence, and he +joined her at Emporia on his return from Sherman, and they departed +from there immediately for parts unknown. I traced them to Topeka, +Kansas, where the trail was lost. + +My assistant and myself kept up a steady watch on the home of the +brother of No. 1, in New Orleans, day and night, for about three weeks. +We divided the time into eight hour watches, one of us sleeping while +the other was on duty. It was one of the most difficult tasks of the +kind I had ever undertaken, for the reason that I was personally known +to the chief of police of New Orleans, who was a friend of mine. I was +also known to a number of police detectives of that city, and owing to +the prominence of the family and connections of No. 1 I did not deem it +expedient to meet any of the police authorities, as by so doing I, of +course, would feel compelled to explain to them the cause of my presence +in their city. I had no doubt that some of them would render me all the +assistance they could, but I was afraid that some of them might talk +about my presence in the city, and the friends of No. 1 might hear of +it, and thereby be the means of hindering me in my efforts to locate the +whereabouts of No. 1. For this reason it required more vigilance on my +part to keep out of sight of the police, who knew me, than what I was +bestowing to the watching of the house in question. + +During the long vigil many humorous incidents occurred. One morning, +after we had been on watch several days, I hit upon a plan to find if +there were any women about the big house, as we had seen none up to this +time, hoping thereby to locate the wife of No. 1. A few blocks down the +street a couple of good-looking young Italian girls were playing a hand +organ. The instrument was a fine new one and of exceedingly loud tone. I +quietly bargained for their services to take up their station in front +of the house I was watching, telling them to play there as long as the +police would permit them. The music and the performance of the monkeys +brought several women from the house to the veranda, but to my +disappointment, the much wanted woman was not among them. The +performance was repeated several mornings, with the same results. Mrs. +Dillard was not in the house, as we afterwards learned. + +Meanwhile the brother, a gentleman of leisure, was in the habit of +strolling each morning from his house to the postoffice, where he +usually mailed several letters. He always dropped these letters in the +general receptacle, which had an opening in the main corridor at least a +foot in length and three inches wide, and led to a large box in the +basement below the main floor. This box would hold probably a wagon load +of letters and packages, and when a letter was dropped in this mass it +was almost impossible to find it again. + +No. 1's brother was a man middle-aged, rather slow in his movements, and +very deliberate in everything that he did. He carried these letters in +an inside pocket of his dress coat, and walked with a cane. He would +approach the general mail box, placing his cane under his left arm and +carefully removing his snug-fitting glove from his right hand, would +take the letters, consisting of three or more, and in an exasperatingly +deliberate and slow manner deposit them in the box with the other mail. +He would watch them until they had disappeared down the chute and out of +sight. This operation was repeated by him daily, except Sundays, during +the three weeks, and witnessed each time by either Herbert or myself, +and had grown very tiresome to both of us. Finally I concluded that we +would prepare two letters and address them to ourselves, stamp them +properly and then cover the back of each envelope with a thick coating +of mucilage. Herbert was given one of the letters, I keeping the other. +Herbert placed himself on one side of the chute, while I took my +position on the other side, each of us being some distance away from the +receptacle. + +The main corridor of the postoffice, in the forenoon, was generally +crowded with people passing to and fro, between the hours of ten and +twelve o'clock; for this reason we attracted no special attention. We +knew about the time that No. 1's brother was in the habit of visiting +the postoffice, and, therefore, we were not kept waiting but a few +moments for his appearance. He approached the mail box in his usual +manner, and was as painfully deliberate as he had been on previous +occasions, and after he had gone through the customary maneuvers, but +before he had time to drop the three letters from his hand, Herbert +rushed up to the receptacle from the left side and I from the right, and +we both reached out our hands at the same time with the letters we held +having the mucilaged surface, in such a way that they came in contact +with the three letters he had in his hand, and forcing the letters into +the chute with ours, the mucilage sticking the bunch of five letters +together. All slid into the chute. No. 1's brother became very indignant +and muttered something about rudeness and awkwardness. I attempted a +hasty apology and disappeared around the corner to the office of the +Assistant Postmaster, whose acquaintance I had previously formed. I told +him that I had just deposited two letters in the main repository and +that I had discovered that I had placed the letters in the wrong +envelopes, and wished to get them so that I might rectify my mistake. He +at once conducted me to the main mail box below, where there were at +least a half a wagon load of letters and general mail matter. I at once +found the bunch of five letters which were stuck together with the +mucilage, and in separating them had ample time to note the different +addresses on the three envelopes mailed by No. 1's brother. One of these +was addressed to a relative of Mrs. Dillard, to her home in Tennessee. +Another was addressed to another brother of No. 1, who resided in +Atlanta, Georgia. The third letter was addressed to J. D. Dillard, Jr., +Ocean Springs, Mississippi. I knew of the relatives in Tennessee and of +the brother in Atlanta, Georgia, and also that J. D. Dillard, Jr., was +the man I wanted to locate, and for the first time learned that he was +at Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Ocean Springs was then a small winter +resort located on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, between +Montgomery and New Orleans. It was also an harbor on Mobile Bay and near +Biloxi, Mississippi. + +Upon the receipt of this information I went to Ocean Springs, Miss., +arriving there about midnight on the night that I had seen the letter +addressed by No. 1's brother to this place. There I found that the +postoffice of the town was kept in a grocery store, which was part of +the principal hotel of the town. I learned that the landlord, who was a +very genial, clever man, and proprietor of the grocery store, was +postmaster. I quietly showed him the photograph of No. 1 and his wife, +and he immediately identified them as Mr. and Mrs. Dillard, Jr. He told +me that Dillard had represented himself to him as a rich iron +manufacturer from Chattanooga, Tenn., that his wife was in ill health +and that they had been there for the past month or more and had rented a +beautiful cottage known as the Montgomery Cottage, where they were +living. This cottage was situated on a small peninsula, which extended +from the main land, dividing Biloxi Bay from Mobile Bay. It was about +two miles from the postoffice at Ocean Springs. The positive and ready +manner in which the postmaster identified the photographs satisfied me +beyond any doubt that I had succeeded in locating No. 1. I gave the +postmaster to understand that No. 1 had fallen heir to a sum of money +and property, and that neither he nor his wife had become aware of the +fact, and that I was very desirous of apprising him of his good fortune +as a surprise, and before doing so, I desired to have all necessary +papers prepared, which would require a week or ten days, and, therefore, +I was anxious to have the matter kept a profound secret until everything +was ready. The postmaster readily promised me that he would not mention +the matter to any person until I gave him permission to do so, and after +making these arrangements I felt perfectly safe in not arresting No. 1 +until I had secured the proper papers authorizing the same. + +It was necessary for me to obtain requisition papers from the Governors +of Mississippi and Texas. It would take about eight or ten days to +accomplish this, as proper complaint had to be lodged at Sherman, Texas, +request for the requisition had to be sent from Sherman to Austin, +Texas, and the request of the Governor of Texas to the Governor of +Mississippi for the extradition papers, at Jackson, Miss., where the +agent for the state of Texas had to appear in person to receive the +papers. I had myself appointed as the agent for the state of Texas. + +At the conclusion of my understanding with the postmaster of Ocean +Springs, I took a night train to New Orleans, where I met George +Herbert, and instructed him to go on the first train to Ocean Springs, +and on arriving there to represent himself as an invalid and to act the +part. He was naturally thin and had a sallow complexion, usually without +any color. + +He represented himself as having just passed through a severe attack of +rheumatism, and claimed that he had been advised by his physician to +come to Ocean Springs, where he should spend at least a month during his +convalescence. He equipped himself with two heavy walking canes, which +he carried continuously during his stay at Ocean Springs, and while he +made good progress walking, he seemed to bystanders to do so with some +difficulty, but the balmy climate of the resort seemed to benefit him +greatly, and he appeared to improve daily while there. He was instructed +by me to meander around and to get to the Montgomery Cottage, providing, +of course, if he could succeed in so doing without arousing any +suspicion, and if he did succeed in getting inside of the cottage, that +he was to make a diagram of the place and surroundings, which Herbert +could do nicely, as he was a good draftsman. He succeeded admirably. He +formed the acquaintance of No. 1, whom he met at the postoffice on the +second day after his arrival. He also met him again the following day at +the same place, when No. 1 gave him an invitation to come over to the +cottage and take a sail on the bay, as he (No. 1) had a very nice +sailing yacht, which he kept anchored in front of the cottage. Herbert +accepted the invitation and visited the cottage the following day, when +No. 1 introduced him to his wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law, who +happened to be at the cottage making a visit. He belonged in Tennessee. +Herbert was also introduced to a young woman, about thirty years of age, +who was rather good-looking, a brunette and of medium size. This woman +was introduced to him under an assumed name, as we learned within a few +days thereafter that she was really the wife of the missing agent. + +Herbert was invited to luncheon at the cottage, and took a short sail +with No. 1, No. 1's wife and the brunette lady before mentioned. The +yacht was a schooner-rigged, of about twenty tons burden, and was +skillfully manned by a man about thirty-five years of age, black curly +hair, a little bald, about five feet, five or six inches in height, +weighing probably one hundred and thirty or thirty-five pounds, dark +complexioned, and inclined to be slender, hollow cheeked, and had +somewhat of a consumptive appearance. Herbert was not introduced to this +man by his host, but thought nothing of the matter, believing the +sailing master, who was always in uniform, to be simply an employe of +No. 1. + +Herbert made a good diagram of the interior of the cottage, as well as +the entrances and the grounds and outbuildings. After that he made daily +visits to the cottage, when the weather permitted, the occupants seeming +to enjoy and encourage his visits. He had made arrangements with the +livery stable for the services of an old, but gentle horse, and an +old-fashioned buggy, in which he drove around every day. + +Herbert forwarded the diagram to me along with his daily reports during +my absence from Ocean Springs. All this time I was busily engaged in +procuring the necessary papers and making arrangements to effect the +arrest of both No. 1 and No. 4, as upon receipt of Herbert's accurate +description of the sailing master of the yacht, I had become satisfied +that the sailing-master was none other than No. 4, the much wanted +agent. + +In due time I procured the papers and proceeded to Canton, Miss., which +was the county seat for Ocean Springs. I there found Sheriff Clark of +that county. As sheriff he was commanded in the requisition papers to +render me, as agent for the state of Texas, all assistance I needed in +making the arrests. I found Sheriff Clark to be a fine, affable +gentleman of the "old school." He was an ex-Confederate captain, having +served through the Civil War, had been elected sheriff of his county at +the close of that conflict, and had succeeded himself in office up to +the time of which I write. I requested the sheriff to go with me himself +and furnish one of his deputies. + +We left Canton, which was about twenty miles north of Ocean Springs, +about ten o'clock at night, and arrived at a station five miles north of +the Springs an hour later, where we left the train, as we did not deem +it safe to get off the train at Ocean Springs. I had been informed by +Herbert, with whom I was in daily communication, that No. 1's +brother-in-law visited the depot at Ocean Springs at night so as to see +everybody who got off the night trains at that station. He also stated +that all passenger trains passing that station were seen by some person +connected with the cottage. + +I omitted stating heretofore that both No. 1 and No. 4 were good +telegraph operators, and Herbert, while inspecting the premises, had +noticed two tiny copper wires running into the cottage, and had followed +them from the cottage to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and +later discovered that these wires were connected with the commercial +wire of the Western Union Telegraph Co., that ran between New Orleans +and the north. He also found that they had a telegraph office fixed up +in one of the rooms of the cottage where they could find out all that +was passing over the wires of the Western Union Co., and take their +ease. + +The peninsular upon which the cottage was situated was thickly covered +with pine and cedar trees, and the wires were entirely hidden and could +not have been discovered by any person unless one who was engaged as +Herbert was, so that these gentlemen could while away their time +listening to what was going over the wires. + +After leaving the train, Sheriff Clark, his deputy and myself leisurely +walked down the tracks to within a quarter of a mile of Ocean Springs, +and then making a detour around the station, we reached the peninsula +south from Ocean Springs, at which point I had arranged to meet Herbert. + +It began raining the evening before we had left Canton, and continued to +rain all night. It was in the month of February, and was a cold and +chilly rain. The night was inky dark. + +When we reached the peninsula we were sheltered by the dense foliage of +the trees, and we approached the cottage to within about one thousand +feet, and then decided to remain quietly among the trees until we could +see daylight begin to appear in the east. At the first appearance of +daylight Herbert and myself reconnoitered, circling the cottage, he +going one way and I the other. We found that every one was apparently +asleep. We then went back and reported to Sheriff Clark and his deputy. +We surrounded the place, Herbert and the deputy covering the rear of the +cottage, and the sheriff and myself going to the front door and rapping +for admission, which was denied. After we had rapped for admission we +could hear the window shutters being pushed open and the inmates peered +out of the windows and discovered that the place was surrounded, or +rather guarded, on each side. Finally Sheriff Clark told the occupants +that unless they opened the door that we would force it. After some +parleying the front door was opened. The door was a double door and only +one-half of it was opened, and very suddenly No. 1's brother-in-law, a +very tall and slender individual, appeared in the open door with a +double-barreled shotgun in his hands, but before he had time to raise +the gun to a shooting position, he found himself covered with two +double-barreled guns, one in the hands of the sheriff and the other in +my hand. Upon being ordered to drop the gun he did so promptly. The +sheriff took possession of him and I started down the wide hall, which +ran directly through the center of the cottage. As I was passing the +second door from the front door No. 1 stepped out of the room into the +hall with a pistol in his hand. I recognized him and promptly arrested +him. + +I said to him, "Where is No. 4?" + +He answered, "In the room across the hall." + +I went to the room indicated and rapped, but was refused admission. I +then forced the door and found No. 4 standing in the middle of the room +partly dressed. After some trouble with No. 4 and his wife, we took them +all to Ocean Springs. We walked over there, a distance of about two +miles. It was breakfast time when we reached there, and the rain had +stopped. We went to the hotel and got something to eat, and the landlord +learned for the first time the true nature of the surprise that I had in +store for No. 1. + +There was an early train to New Orleans, and Herbert and I took the two +prisoners and left on this train for that city. I telegraphed ahead to +have a carriage meet us outside of New Orleans, and we left the train a +short distance from that city. Here we entered the carriage, which +conveyed us to the ferry boat at New Orleans. We took the ferry and went +across to Algiers. Our object in doing this was that I wished to avoid +newspaper notoriety. The newspaper men we were sure to meet in the main +station at New Orleans had we gone there. + +At Algiers we boarded a Southern Pacific train for Houston, Texas. At +Houston we took a Houston & Texas Central train, which took us through +to Dallas, Texas. + +The prisoners were lodged in jail before the newspapers had mentioned +the capture or arrest, for the reason that I knew that there were two +others connected with the swindle, who resided in Dallas, and had not +yet been arrested, who were not even suspected of having any connection +with the swindle or any other crime by the people of Dallas. + +We arrived at Dallas at night with the prisoners. The following morning +the Chief of Police, Jim Arnold, and myself picked up and arrested the +other two accomplices. These men were Hebrews. One of them had been a +respectable and prominent cotton buyer up to his connection with the +swindle. The other was an educated man and somewhat noted for having +been mixed up in crooked dealings. He was a lawyer, but was not +practicing law for a livelihood. + +The reader should remember that No. 1 was an ex-railroad agent and +telegraph operator, and had been employed as such up to about one year +and a half before he became engaged in this cotton swindle. He had +become thoroughly familiar with the railroad system of receiving and +handling cotton. + +No. 2, who lived in Dallas, was also familiar with the buying and +selling, and value of cotton, as well as the customary way of obtaining +cash from the banks on bills of lading for the same. + +No. 3 was the reputable cotton buyer, or broker, before mentioned in +this story. He also lived in Dallas. + +The arrests at Dallas added greatly to the excitement which was caused +by the incarceration of No. 4 and No. 1 the night before. + +The prisoners all waived preliminary hearings and were committed to +jail in default of bail to wait the action of the Grand Jury, which +convened a month or six weeks later. In the meantime, three of the +defendants succeeded in getting bonds and were released from jail. My +recollection now is that the bonds were fixed at $10,000 each. + +No. 3 was taken sick immediately after his arrest and continued to +steadily grow worse until he died, which was about two months after he +was arrested. + +No. 1 and No. 2 almost immediately after they had been released on bonds +fled the country, No. 1 going to Old Mexico, and No. 2 seeking refuge in +London, Ontario, Canada. + +When the cases were called for trial in court at Dallas, Texas, No. 1 +and No. 2 failed to appear, and their bonds were declared forfeited. No. +3, having died, his bond, of course, was not forfeited. + +No. 4, it appears either did not try to procure bail, or if so, did not +succeed, as he remained in jail. Meanwhile I was employed in procuring +duplicates of the bills of lading, which had been issued and sold to the +purchasers of the cotton, which caused me to visit the cities of +Philadelphia, New York, Providence, Rhode Island and Fall River, Mass. +The procuring of these duplicates proved no easy task, but I finally +obtained certified copies of all of them. These duplicates were to be +used as evidence at the trial. + +I was at Dallas on the date set for the trial, and, on learning of the +absence of the defendants, and that the court had postponed the trial of +No. 4, he being the only one within the reach of the court, I at once +reported the situation to the railroad officials at St. Louis, in reply +to which I received instructions by wire from Vice-President Hoxie, of +the Missouri Pacific to proceed at once to locate and arrest the +fugitives and take them back to Dallas, and there to turn them over to +the proper authorities, so that they might be dealt with according to +law. + +Upon receipt of these instructions, I detailed operatives Bailey and +Herbert of my staff to locate and arrest No. 1, which they succeeded in +doing after a lot of hard and good work. They arrested him at Guymas, +Old Mexico. This city is located on the Pacific Coast. They brought +their prisoner back to Dallas and lodged him in jail. + +I had assumed the task of locating No. 2. After considerable work I +discovered that he was in London, Canada, which is just one hundred +miles east of Detroit, Michigan. I visited London, where I saw No. 2, +without being seen by him. He would have known me at sight, as it was I +who had arrested him in Dallas. + +I found that he had surrounded himself with a number of sympathizing +friends in London, many of whom were fugitives from justice from the +United States, as he was. Many of them, he among them, had money and +felt safe while on Canadian soil. + +The extradition treaty then in force between Great Britain and the +United States was known as the Ashburton and Webster Treaty, and was +passed, I believe, in 1844. This treaty only permitted the extradition +of fugitives charged with one of seven crimes; murder, felonious assault +with intent to murder, arson, rape, forgery, uttering of forged paper +and perjury. + +After I had seen No. 2 in London, I communicated the facts by wire code +to Mr. Hoxie, he giving my report to ex-Governor John C. Brown, the +General Solicitor for the Gould System of railroads. His headquarters +were in the same building with Mr. Hoxie's at St. Louis. + +Governor Brown was thoroughly conversant with this case, and had a +national reputation as a lawyer, and when told by Mr. Hoxie of the +whereabouts of No. 2, he at once wired me, by code, to try my best to +induce No. 2 to accompany me across the line of Canada into either +Michigan or New York state. If I succeeded in getting him across the +boundary line I could hold him in either state until extradition papers +could be secured from the Governor of Texas. + +From the instructions Gov. Brown had wired me, I was satisfied that the +Governor was not familiar with the statutes of Canada pertaining to +extradition. If I had attempted to induce the fugitive across the Canada +line for the purpose of arresting him without legal authority I would be +subjecting myself to prosecution for kidnapping. If convicted of that +charge under the Canadian statutes, I would have been sent to prison for +a term of from two to seven years. Knowing that it was impossible for me +to obey Gov. Brown's instructions, I employed a young attorney, or +barrister, as they are called in Canada, whose name was McBride, and +while he had been practicing law but a few years, he was recommended to +me very highly for his ability and integrity. + +During my consultation with him I explained to him fully that the bills +of lading, which had been used in the cotton swindle, had been signed by +the company's agent in blank and then turned over by the agent to No. 2 +in blocks. No. 2 had then filled out each blank for various numbers of +bales of cotton, setting forth the number of bales and the weight of +each bale in the regular way. He then turned the bills of lading thus +prepared by him over to No. 3, whom the reader will remember was a +cotton buyer. No. 3 placed these bills of lading in various banks at +Sherman, Dallas and other Texas towns. He drew cash from the banks for +the face value, less ten per cent, for the purpose heretofore stated. +After explaining all this to Mr. McBride, I asked him what crime these +men had committed under the statutes of Canada. He promptly answered +without even referring to the statutes, that under the Canadian law, +they were all guilty of forgery and having uttered and published forged +paper, including the company's agent who had signed each of these bills +as agent. + +I said, "Supposing these men had fled from the United States and were +found in Canada, could they be arrested and extradited back to the +United States for trial?" + +"Yes," he said, "they surely could, under the provisions of the +Ashburton and Webster Treaty, which provides for the extradition of +fugitives who are legally charged with the crime of forgery, or of +uttering and publishing forged paper." + +"But," I said, "Mr. McBride, the company's agent signed these bills of +lading." + +He replied, "I understand from you that the agent had received no +cotton. Am I right?" + +I answered, "Yes, he received no cotton." + +"Then," said Mr. McBride, "the agent signed the bills of lading for +fraudulent purposes, and therefore his signature was unauthorized by the +company who employed him, and under the Canadian law he is a forger, +while the other conspirators would be guilty of uttering and publishing +forged paper. The penalty would be just as severe for the latter +offense, under the Canadian law, as it would be for forgery." + +I neglected to state that after I had located No. 2, at London, Ontario, +the railroad company's attorneys were informed by the judge who presided +over the criminal court at Dallas, Texas, that in his opinion the +fraudulent bills of lading heretofore described were not forgeries, as +they had been signed by the company's agent, and for this reason, I +presume, Gov. Brown instructed me as he did, he knowing that the +fugitive, No. 2, could not be extradited from Canada unless we could +substantiate a charge for forgery against him. No doubt, at the time, +Gov. Brown believed the ruling of the Texas judge was correct. All of +which I fully explained to Mr. McBride, to which he replied, "A Texas +judge has no jurisdiction in Canada, and his opinion or construction of +our law would amount to nothing here. And if you find any fugitive from +the United States in Canada, who has been connected with the swindle, +you will have to identify them as being the right parties, and then set +forth the manner in which the swindle was enacted and the amount of +money or property secured by the swindlers, and it does not make any +difference what name the Texas statutes or the Texas judge gives the +crime committed in the manner you have described to me, it would be +forgery here. You must understand that you must comply with the +requirements of the Canadian laws in order to extradite a fugitive from +Canada. If you should find your fugitive here in London you can, if you +desire, go to any other county or city in the province of Ontario and +make your complaint, have a warrant issued for the arrest of the +fugitive, bring an officer from that county or city to serve the +warrant, arrest him here and take him immediately before the magistrate +who issued the warrant, and have the prisoner committed to jail for two +weeks without bail. At the expiration of the two weeks, should you +desire an additional two weeks, you can secure same by convincing the +magistrate that you were unable to secure the presence of the necessary +witnesses to substantiate the identity of the prisoner, and his +connection with the swindle; our law will allow you these continuances. +After the prisoner had had his preliminary hearing, if the testimony +offered should be sufficient to satisfy the magistrate, he would then +fix the bond at the amount of four times the amount involved in the +swindle, which would be in this case nearly one-half million dollars." + +After McBride had finished the foregoing advice to me, I thanked him and +paid him his fee, which was only $10.00, and went to Chatham, Ontario. +Chatham is the county seat, about fifty miles west of London, and just +half way between London and Detroit, Michigan. + +I found the queen's counsel at Chatham, to whom I fully explained my +case. Whereupon, he verified and approved the advice I had received from +Mr. McBride of London. I at once filed the necessary complaint, and +procured a warrant for the arrest of No. 2. The warrant was addressed +and given to the chief of police of Chatham, who accompanied me back to +London, where I pointed out the fugitive to him. + +We arrested him immediately and took him to Chatham, where he was locked +up as a fugitive, and his hearing set for two weeks later in accordance +with the Canadian law. + +The reader will remember that when I first located No. 2 in London he +was surrounded by newly found friends there, a number of whom were +fugitives like himself. For this reason I felt it prudent to begin legal +proceedings against him in a country where both he and I were strangers +and avoid the annoyance and trouble which his sympathizing fugitive +friends were sure to cause. + +As soon as No. 2 was safely lodged in jail I wired Gov. Brown at St. +Louis, Missouri, stating that I had arrested and locked up No. 2 on the +charge of being a fugitive from the state of Texas, United States of +America, that the hearing was set for two weeks later and that while +passing through St. Louis on my way to Texas, I would stop over long +enough to report in person to him. In about two hours I received his +reply, which was a severe reprimand, and read as follows: "Why did you +disobey my instructions when you knew that I had instructed you as to +what the Texas judge had decided, and therefore, the fugitive could not +be extradited from Canada under the existing treaty, nor in accordance +with the act of Congress, which provides for said treaty. Answer." +(Signed) John C. Brown. + +To which I answered as follows: + +"Hon. John C. Brown, General Solicitor, Missouri Pacific Railroad Co., +St. Louis, Missouri:--I disregarded your instructions, finding them +erroneous, and that you did not understand the law pertaining to this +case. Have also learned that a Texas Judge's ruling are not considered +in Canada, as I find that I can legally extradite the fugitive from +Canada under the present law." (Signed) Thomas Furlong. + +After sending the above message, I borrowed a copy of the revised +statutes of Canada from the Crown Counsel, who would be called +prosecuting attorney in the United States. He marked each section of the +statutes which pertained to our case. I at once put the law book in my +grip, and started for St. Louis, arriving there the following morning. + +I immediately reported to Vice-President Hoxie, whom I found in his +office. After the usual greeting Mr. Hoxie said to me, "Tom, Gov. Brown +showed me a message that he had received from you yesterday. He appeared +to be quite angry." + +To which I replied, "I am here to explain my actions fully, and I wish +you would kindly request Gov. Brown to come to your office at his +convenience, as I think my explanation should be made to him in your +presence so that one explanation may serve both. My time is limited, as +I must go to Texas and procure certain witnesses and return with them to +Chatham, Ontario, within two weeks, the time set for the hearing." + +Whereupon, Mr. Hoxie sent for Gov. Brown, who appeared in a few moments. +After the usual salutation, I repeated the instructions I received from +him. I then stated that I had found it impossible for me to have carried +out the instructions in Canada without subjecting myself to prosecution, +and probably a sentence to the penitentiary, and I, therefore, concluded +to do the next best thing, which was to employ a competent attorney, who +advised me as to my rights and how to proceed legally under the laws of +that country. I then produced the copy of the statutes, which I had +borrowed from the crown counsel, and directed Gov. Brown's attention to +the marked sections before mentioned, which he carefully read. After he +had finished I produced and read the telegram I had received from him, +at the same time calling his attention to the question he had asked me +to answer in his message. + +He then compared his message with the one he had received from me in +dignified silence, and then without a word handed the two messages to +Mr. Hoxie, near whose chair he was standing. Mr. Hoxie read them and +then looked up at the Governor and said, "Governor, what do you think of +this matter?" + +For answer Gov. Brown deliberately walked around the table to where I +was sitting and extended his hand to me, and I arose and took it. He +turned to Mr. Hoxie and said in a pleasant manner, "Furlong was right +all the way through." Then turning to me he said, "Furlong, you ought to +have been a lawyer. I was a little angry when I received your message +yesterday, but I see that it was all right, as you only answered the +questions I had asked you." + +I left St. Louis for Dallas that night, and while there I arranged with +the Chief of Police, Jim Arnold, and other well-known citizens, to +accompany me to Chatham, Ontario, as witnesses in the case pending +against No. 2. These witnesses had all known No. 2 for years, and were +familiar with his reputation as to truth and veracity, his business +connections, etc. The witnesses and myself arrived in Chatham in time +for the hearing of No. 2. + +The judge, after hearing the evidence, committed No. 2 to jail without +bail to await extradition papers from the President of the United States +and the Governor General of Canada. No. 2 was defended in the hearing by +two noted barristers, who at once appealed to a higher court. In due +time the appeal was argued and the action of the lower court sustained; +whereupon No. 2's counsel had the case taken up to the Privy Court at +Toronto. This court affirmed the action of the lower courts, and it +being the highest tribunal in Canada its decision was final and No. 2 +was committed without bail for extradition. + +I immediately left Toronto for Washington, D. C., having already +received the necessary papers from the state of Texas. I presented these +to the Department of Justice in Washington, on the evening of my arrival +there, and they were promptly approved and sent to President Cleveland +for his signature. By the way, these papers were the first of their kind +ever signed by President Cleveland, it being but four days after his +inauguration for his first term as President of the United States. The +papers were delivered to me and I left for Chatham, Ontario, for the +purpose of taking No. 2 back to Dallas, Texas, for trial and bearing the +commission of President Cleveland to do so. + +The following day the train on which I was riding stopped twenty +minutes at Canandaigua, New York, for dinner. As I was eating my dinner +a messenger boy called out my name at the dining room door. I answered +and he handed me a telegram, which was from the high sheriff of Chatham, +and read as follows: + +"When my jailor went to the cell occupied by No. 2 at twelve o'clock to +day he found him dead. Had apparently been dead an hour. Cause of death +yet unknown. Probably heart failure." + +I wired him that I would be in Chatham on the following morning. On my +arrival there a post-mortem autopsy was made of the body of No. 2, and +it developed that he had committed suicide by taking laudanum. The +sheriff and the jailor have never been able to satisfy themselves as to +how No. 2 got possession of the poison. He had friends and relatives who +lived at Jackson, Michigan, who called at Chatham and identified the +body, and took it to Jackson for burial. + +I then returned to Dallas, Texas, so as to be present at the trial of +No. 1 and No. 4, they being the only two of the swindlers left for +trial. + +When I had first arrested the swindlers and placed them in jail at +Dallas, the Prosecuting Attorney called me to his office and told me +that the defendants had employed a number of the most able attorneys at +that bar to defend them, and he said that he thought that the railroad +company ought to permit him to select an attorney to assist him in the +prosecution of the defendants. I told him that I had no doubt but that +General Solicitor Brown would do so if he would make the request of him. + +He replied that as I was going direct to St. Louis that he wished me to +make the request for him, which I did. When I delivered his request to +Gov. Brown, he replied that Capt. Tom Brown, of Sherman, Texas, was the +railroad company's attorney in that district, an able lawyer, and he +would be glad to instruct him to assist the Prosecuting Attorney in +every way that he could, or, he would furnish him any other of the +company's attorneys in Texas, should he believe their assistance +necessary, and that he would take it up with the Prosecuting Attorney at +Dallas and make all the necessary arrangements. + +I communicated these facts to the Prosecuting Attorney. Later Gov. Brown +informed me that he (the prosecuting attorney) had selected a lawyer to +assist him who was not in any way connected with the railroad service, +and that he had suggested that this assistant should be paid a fee of +five or six thousand dollars by the railroad company for his services. +Gov. Brown further stated that the attorney selected for an assistant +was not looked upon with favor by either himself or any of his +assistants. Some of the assistants connected with the legal department +of the railroad company, under General Solicitor Brown, refused to +associate themselves with the cases if the man selected by the +Prosecuting Attorney was connected in any way with them. His services +were refused and Capt. Tom Brown went to Dallas for the purpose of +assisting in the prosecution of the two remaining accused swindlers. + +I had turned the duplicate bills of lading over to Capt. Brown and on +the morning of the trial of No. 1 and No. 4, he placed these papers in +his overcoat pocket with other documentary evidence. He was a little +late and hastened into the dining room, leaving his coat and hat on a +rack in the corridor of the hotel. When he finished his breakfast and +returned to his overcoat he discovered the papers had been stolen. When +the cases were called into court, the prosecuting attorney asked that a +nolle prosequi be entered in the cases, thus letting two of the +principals in the swindle go free. + +Thus ended the cotton swindle, the most gigantic swindle of this kind +that had ever taken place in the United States, or, I believe, in any +other country up to that time. + +Capt. Tom Brown was afterwards elected as Judge of the Supreme Bench of +Texas, and was always esteemed as an able jurist and a thorough +gentleman. + + + + +A REMARKABLE CASE. + +IDENTIFICATION OF A LITTLE GIRL FROM A DESCRIPTION GIVEN OF HER FATHER, +LEADS TO THE LATTER'S ARREST. + + +Identification of criminals from descriptions is not always an easy +task, for two reasons. First, there are but few men who can +intelligently describe a person from memory. This is an art within +itself. The second reason is, it takes so little to change the general +appearance of a man to such a degree that it is hard to pick him up from +a mere description, that is, unless the man wanted has some peculiar +feature or form that is very noticeable. The ordinary man, to change his +general appearance, has to do but little. A change of shape or style of +hat or clothing, the cutting off or growing of a mustache, or even a +haircut or shave will often serve the purpose. I have never claimed to +have what is today called "a camera eye" but I did a piece of +identification work while special agent of the Allegheny Valley Railroad +in the early '70s of which I have always been proud, for the reason that +there has absolutely never been another case like it in the police +annals of the entire country. + +During the spring 1874, a man giving the name of Joseph Chalfont applied +to Mr. Thomas M. King, the Division Superintendent of the Allegheny +Valley Railroad, at Pittsburg, Pa., for a situation as locomotive +engineer. This man, Chalfont, was a rather remarkable person, appearing +to be about thirty-six years of age. He stood more than six feet in +height, with extremely long arms and legs. His complexion was dark and +sallow, and his hair coarse and black. His neck was very long, with a +noticeable "Adam's Apple." His cheek-bones were high, and his nose +straight and long. His eyes were beady and black, being set far back in +his head and very close together; they were crowned with a bushy pair of +eyebrows, which met above the ridge of his nose. Then to make the +picture more complete, his forehead was low, giving his head a small, +bullet-like appearance. The reader can see that a description of this +man, if given accurately and with any care could be almost as good as a +photograph. + +Chalfont presented a letter of recommendation from the Master Mechanic +of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Ry., at Buffalo, N. Y. The letter +was very good, and stated that Chalfont had been in the employ of that +company for a couple of years, and that he had left its service of his +own accord, because he hoped to benefit himself by a change of climate. +Supt. King was a close observer, and a good judge of human nature. He +was badly in need of men at the time, and being rather impressed with +Chalfont's appearance and manner, he examined him as to the rules +governing the movement of trains. He stood a fair examination and was +engaged. It is usual for an engineer who has not been promoted on a +road, or who comes from another road, to spend several weeks in riding +on the engines back and forth over the portion of the road on which he +is expected to run. In this way a man could become familiar with all the +grades, switches, side-tracks, curves, signals and so forth. Chalfont +was given a copy of the company's rules and an order to learn the road. +When he had done this he was given freight engine No. 42 to haul freight +between South Oil City and Pittsburg. One day he was given a train of +empty oil tanks at Pittsburg, and started for South Oil City with them. +He arrived there in due time and turned the cars in safely. The +following evening he was given a train of forty-five full oil tanks with +orders to take them to Pittsburg. When he reached Sarah's Furnace, about +half the distance to Pittsburg, he received orders to run upon the +side-track there and allow a north-bound freight to pass him. He took +the siding as he had been ordered, and in due time the first section of +the freight met and passed him there. The engine on this section carried +two red lights, which is the warning to railroad men that another +section is following the first one, and it has the same roadway +privileges as the first section. It therefore became the duty of +Chalfont to remain upon the siding until the second section had passed +him. Instead of doing this, however, Chalfont pulled out on the main +line and started for Pittsburg. About one and a half miles south of +Sarah's Furnace there is a curve known as Hard Scrabble Curve, which is +one of the shortest and most dangerous curves on the road. Here on this +curve Chalfont's train collided with the second section which was going +north. Both engines were about the same size and weight, so when they +met the force of ninety-five empty cars going north and forty-five +loaded cars going south caused the engines to rear up in front, crushing +the machinery of both. The fire from the boilers immediately spread, and +soon the oil tanks were a mass of flame. As the heat grew greater the +tanks exploded, scattering the blazing oil over the surface of the +Allegheny River. The current was quite strong and it carried the blazing +oil down-stream for miles, spreading destruction as it went. The heat +from the oil changed the wreckage into a mass of molten metal. +Chalfont's fireman was crushed to death, as was his front brakeman. The +same fate overtook the engineer, fireman and brakeman of the north-bound +train. The bodies were cremated in the blazing oil. + +At this time oil was worth from $7.00 to $8.00 per barrel. The amount of +oil lost totals up to nearly $200,000 in value. The company's loss in +property was not less than $500,000, besides being responsible for the +loss of the five lives. All this destruction was caused by the +incompetency of Chalfont and the negligence of his conductor. + +Chalfont luckily, or rather unluckily, escaped with his life by +springing from his engine cab out upon the bluff side of the track. Here +he climbed an almost perpendicular cliff about 400 feet high. The blaze +from the oil had burned nearly all the clothing from his back, and had +singed the back of his head and neck into a blister. He escaped into the +hills. + +The officers of the company at Pittsburg were notified immediately by +wire, and a wrecking train and crew were sent to the scene post haste, +in charge of Supt. King. They arrived at the wreck early the following +morning. Here Supt. King learned what facts he could as to the cause of +the wreck. He then wired to me to come to the wreck on the first train. +I was at Oil City at the time, and left immediately, arriving at the +wreck about noon. On my arrival Mr. King walked a little distance down +the track, out of earshot from the noise of the wrecking crew, and sat +down upon a log. He then told me what he had learned and as to the cause +of the wreck. He also proceeded to describe Chalfont to me. He was so +deliberate and careful in this description that it took him nearly an +hour to do it. He had that rare faculty of being able to describe one +person to another with accuracy. He then said, "Tom, do you think you +could recognize this man from the description I have given you?" I +answered, "Yes, I believe I could. The description you have given me +reminds me very much of 'Morg' Erwin, a passenger engineer on the road." +At this Mr. King, usually very quiet and sedate, grew very excited and +clapped his hands as if in joy, exclaiming, "Why didn't I think of that +before? He looks like 'Morg' Erwin." + +I then said, "No, Mr. King, he looks very much like Erwin, but not +exactly like him. He is very much like him in some respects, though, +being taller than Erwin. Chalfont's neck is longer and his 'Adam's +Apple' is much larger and more prominent. His eyes are not so large and +are set back farther in his head than Erwin's. Chalfont's cheek-bones +are much higher, while his hair is more coarse and much like horse hair. +In short, Erwin is a more refined man than Chalfont." + +To this Mr. King replied, "Tom, I feel sure that you will be able to +identify that man on sight, and I want you to get him at all hazards. +Spare no time or trouble, but 'GET HIM.' Take him to Katanning (the +county seat of Westmoreland Co., Pa., where this wreck occurred) and +lodge him in jail." + +Mr. King then told me that I would find the letter of recommendation +Chalfont had given him on file in his office at Pittsburg. I took the +first train for Pittsburg, where I applied to Mr. Joe Reinhart, Mr. +King's chief clerk, who was later President of the great Atchison, +Topeka and Santa Fe System, and he turned the letter over to me. I then +concluded to go to Buffalo and see the Master Mechanic of the Lake +Shore, from whose office the letter purported to come. At Buffalo I +found the Master Mechanic and showed him Chalfont's letter. After +reading the letter he told me that the letter head was genuine, but the +letter itself, with stamp, seal and signature, were forgeries. He had +neither written the letter nor authorized it, but he identified +Chalfont's hand-writing. I learned that Chalfont had been a country +school teacher earlier in his life, and that he received such small pay +as such that he could not support his wife and children. He came to +Buffalo, where he applied for work in the round-house of the Lake Shore +shops there. He was given a position at wiping engines in the +round-house. Here also his salary was too small to support his family +and pay rent at the same time, so he was forced to move once a month to +avoid paying rent. One day he got into the Master Mechanic's office and +stole a part of a block of the official letter heads of the company. He +then wrote himself a letter of recommendation which he had shown to Mr. +King, and when the chance offered he stamped and sealed the letter, +after stealing the stamp one night from the office. About this time he +became so lazy and indolent that he was reprimanded by the Master +Mechanic. + +The Master Mechanic told me that he had discharged Chalfont, previous to +his going to Pittsburg, because of failure to pay his grocery bills and +his rent. The grocers and landlords were garnisheeing his wages, and as +the company did not tolerate such things, he was discharged. He also +said that Chalfont's family was somewhere in Buffalo, but he did not +know their whereabouts because they had moved so often. I thanked him +for this information and then decided to see the Superintendent of +Police. + +I called at the office of Superintendent Phillips, and asked him to give +me an officer who was more familiar with the haunts and dwellings of +railroad men in Buffalo than I was. He gladly assented and assigned +Detective Tony Collins to assist me. We started out by canvassing the +grocers, butchers and milkmen in the neighborhood where the Lake Shore +Railway men resided. During the forenoon we found many who knew of +Chalfont's family, but did not know where they were at present. About +3:00 P. M., as Collins and I were going down a side street called +Hayward St., I noticed a group of six or eight children playing before a +row of wooden cottages, or more properly, shacks. One little girl in a +dirty blue dress attracted my attention because of the likeness she bore +to Chalfont, according to my description of him. I also noticed a +grocery on the corner below us. When we got to the grocery I told the +man with me, Detective Collins, to go back to the group and ask the +little girl in the blue dress to deliver a package to his wife. He was +to tell her that he lived in the large white house down the street. I +then told him to return to the grocery with the girl so that I could get +a chance to speak to her without exciting her. He returned in a few +moments with the little girl, who looked uncommonly like a little Indian +squaw, and who proved to be the living image of her father. While +Collins was inside the store examining the vegetables I said to the +girl, "Why, hello, sis, where is your uncle Charlie now?" She smiled and +said, "Oh, do you know Uncle Charlie?" I said, "Oh, sure; I know him +well." She then said, "He is down in Pennsylvania firing on a railroad." +(Uncle Charlie was Chalfont's brother-in-law, and had gotten a position +as fireman at the same time Chalfont got his job as engineer.) I then +said to her, "Is your father home now?" She looked up and said, "Yes, he +got home a couple of days ago, but he is sick, and--oh, he said I +mustn't tell any one." I said, "That's all right, but tell me which one +of those houses do you live in?" She said, "We live in that middle one, +with the bunch of rags stuffed in the window." + +[Illustration: "Oh, do you know Uncle Charlie?"] + +I attracted Collins' attention, and told him to send the girl away on +some pretext. We then went up to the house the girl had pointed out. I +sent Collins around to the back door and I went to the front door and +knocked. Mrs. Chalfont opened the door, and when I asked for Joe +Chalfont she attempted to slam the door in my face. I pushed the door +open and entered the house. Seeing no one in the front room I walked +through it to the door of the back room. Here I saw Chalfont seated +before a window with his head and neck all swathed in bandages. As I +entered the room he said, without moving, "Well, Mr. Furlong, you have +got me." I answered, "Yes, Joe, I am sorry to say I have." This showed +conclusively that I had been pointed out to him while he was on the road +without my knowledge. Here I will state that up to the time I entered +that room I had never seen Joe Chalfont himself, nor a picture or +photograph of him. He had seen me and had heard me speaking so that he +knew my voice. I had suspected from the first that Chalfont might know +me, so when I saw the little girl, whom I believed was his daughter, I +did not stop in front of the houses in which I supposed the children +lived, but kept on to the grocery store. + +This is the only case of its kind on record in which an officer picked +out a child from a group of children and recognized her from a +description of her father, whom the officer had never seen. + +I arrested Chalfont and took him to Katanning, as Mr. King had ordered. +I then went to Pittsburg and reported in detail to General +Superintendent J. J. Lawrence. Meanwhile it dawned upon me that I had +done a rather commendable thing in arresting this man Chalfont, and I +was expecting a little praise from the General Superintendent. Imagine +my surprise, upon being ushered into his office, at his beginning to +reprimand me for arresting Chalfont. He said, "Furlong, you have gotten +this company into a lot of trouble by arresting this man." + +To this I replied, "Why sir, Mr. King ordered me to get him at all +hazards, and I simply carried out his orders." + +He then went on, in a most bitter tone, "Well, you should not have done +it. I think I shall be forced to discharge you for so doing. From your +reports from Buffalo I see that Chalfont was not an engineer, and, +therefore, an incompetent employe. That makes this company liable to +damages for the lives lost, and for all the property destroyed in that +wreck. Don't you see what you have done?" + +I was angered at his words, and said, "Col. Lawrence, if you did not +want that man arrested Mr. King should not have ordered me to get him. I +believe I am entitled to some little credit for the capture of this man, +in view of the fact that the feat is so far unparalleled. So far as +discharging me goes, that will be unnecessary, for I have already quit +the service of a company which does not approve of my work." + +To this Col. Lawrence replied, "Furlong, I beg your pardon, and want to +compliment you on your good work on this and other cases, but when this +case comes to trial all the facts of Chalfont's incompetency will be +laid bare, and it will cost us a lot of money." + +I then said, "Oh, I can fix that." + +"What can you suggest?" he asked me. + +"I will get some prominent lawyer," I said, "to sign his bond; he will +be released, and as the quarterly session is nearly three months away it +will be hard to find him in three months." + +Col. Lawrence said, "See that that is done and I will greatly appreciate +it." + +A few days later a prominent lawyer of Katanning signed a bond for +Chalfont's appearance in court. He was released and at once set out for +parts unknown. Of course, he did not appear for trial and the bond was +declared forfeited. Through professional courtesy the bond was never +collected. + +Chalfont was not heard from until the railroad strike at Pittsburg in +1877, when he again appeared in Pittsburg under an alias, and got a job +on the Panhandle Ry., running a passenger engine on the MacDonald +Accommodation. He got partly over the road on his first trip, and +failing to get the proper amount of water in the boiler the crown-sheet +blew out of the locomotive, scalding his fireman badly. He again took to +the woods and disappeared, and to my knowledge has not been heard of +since. + + + + +TRACING TRAIN WRECKERS. + +REVIEW OF A CRIME WHICH RANKS WITH THE LOS ANGELES DYNAMITING CASE FOR +HEINOUSNESS--HOW CONFESSION WERE OBTAINED. + + +What many of my friends, who are familiar with the case in all of its +details, believe to have been my best piece of real detective work +during my long career at the business, was done on what is known as "The +Wyandotte Wrecking Case" in 1886. While much has been written about +this case, yet all the real facts have never appeared in print. The +crime, which was the aftermath of the Knights of Labor strike on the +Gould Southwest System that spring, occurred on the early morning of +April 26th. Freight train No. 38 on the Missouri Pacific was pulling +slowly into Wyandotte, now Kansas City, Kansas, and on reaching a point +near the north depot on the banks of the Kaw River, the engine and +several cars suddenly left the track, rolling down the embankment and +some of them into the river. The fireman, Benjamin F. Horton, and the +head brakeman, George Carlisle, who were on the engine, were pinioned +beneath the wreckage and were dead when taken out. The engineer, J. H. +Fowler, was severely injured, dying within a few months from his +injuries. The conductor, A. Spaulding, who was in the cupola of the +caboose, was thrown from his seat to the floor and painfully bruised and +badly shaken up. The rear brakeman, whose name I do not now remember, +was the only one of the crew to escape either death or injury. + +The discovery immediately after the wreck of unmistakable evidence that +it had been caused by wreckers, and because of the prominence of the men +who had lost their lives thereby, caused a great sensation and much +indignation. The dead fireman was a member of the Brotherhood of Railway +Firemen and the brakeman a member of the Brotherhood of Railway +Trainmen. All of the newspapers, not only of Kansas City, but of the +entire country, denounced the wreckers in no uncertain terms, as did all +decent and law-abiding citizens. I will add right here that the facts +brought to light at the trial of the men charged with this crime, more +than to any other one thing, caused the disintegration or dissolution of +the Knights of Labor. In other words, it was the beginning of the end of +that once powerful organization. For the benefit of those readers who +are not familiar with the history of this order, I will state that it +had in 1886 something over a million members. It had a veritable +mushroom growth. No class of people were ineligible to membership; all +trades and professions, as well as races and tongues, provided they were +males over 18 years of age, and had the price of the initiation fee, +usually one dollar, could join. The color line was not even drawn, as it +is in most secret societies. Of course, some good honest men were on its +roster rolls, but it was dominated by a brazen gang of mountebanks, +agitators and crooked politicians and others seeking power and +prominence. To gain a point the officers of the organization would stop +at nothing. If coercion failed in its purpose, the boycott and more +harsher methods were substituted. In short, a veritable reign of terror +existed throughout the Middle West. To illustrate their methods better, +I will state that if a merchant or other person in business, through a +slip of the tongue or otherwise, made even the slightest remark +reflecting on the order, or even one of its leaders, he was a marked man +thereafter, his business ruined, and he, of course, driven from the +country. Business men were often subjected to this treatment--and +worse--for simply refusing to join the order. In many of the Western +cities it was impossible for a man who did not "jine" the order to be +elected to office, however deserving or competent he might be. + +[Illustration: Scene at the Wyandotte wreck, a crime only paralleled by +the Los Angeles dynamiters.] + +At the time the wreck occurred, I was very busy in St. Louis looking +after cases that had grown out of the great strike on the Gould System, +of which I was Chief Special Agent. The strike, which had been over but +about a month, was a long, bitter struggle, entailing much work on my +department, and had resulted in a victory for the company. I could not +get to Wyandotte to investigate the wreck until nearly a month had +elapsed. In the meantime the railroad company had offered $2,500 reward +for the arrest and conviction of the guilty parties, and $1,000 for any +information which would lead up to such conviction. After looking the +ground over, I became satisfied that this diabolical crime had been +committed by some member, or members, of the Knights of Labor, either +out of revenge or to harrass the company and divert traffic from the +road. After satisfying myself on this point, I returned to St. Louis and +requested Vice-President Hoxie to withdraw the offer of a reward for the +conviction of the criminals, as I was then, and am now, opposed to +offering rewards in such cases. Mr. Hoxie was in bed sick at the time, +but he issued the order as requested, and I promised him that I would +personally go to work on the case. A few days later, while I was engaged +in laying plans for working out a solution of the case, a bold attempt +was made to wreck another train near Tampoo, a short distance north of +where the first wreck had occurred. A couple of guards were on this +train and these men and some of the crew, who saw the wreckers, gave +chase and succeeded in arresting one of them. This man proved to be O. +J. Lloyd, a member of the Executive Board of the Knights of Labor, in +charge of the late strike. Prior to the strike he had been employed by +the Missouri Pacific Company as a switchman and had been a very active +member of the committee. + +About this time my department was badly in need of a thoroughly trained +criminal lawyer to prosecute the cases growing out of the big strike, +and at my earnest solicitation, Marshall F. McDonald, former Circuit +Attorney of St. Louis, one of the best criminal lawyers of his time, +was retained by the company for the purposes named, and given authority +by Vice-President Hoxie to employ all other counsel needed. Mr. McDonald +accordingly employed Ex-Judge Laughlin and Judge R. S. McDonald to +assist him. A few days later, these three lawyers and myself met the +Hon. Bailie P. Waggoner, General Attorney for the State of Kansas for +the company, by appointment at Kansas City. We visited the scene of the +crime. As we were on the bank overlooking the place where the engine and +cars had left the rails, I told the lawyers that I was satisfied that +Lloyd, the man in jail for the Tampoo affair, was also implicated in the +Wyandotte crime, and that I proposed to get a confession from him. + +"How are you going to go about it, Tom?" asked Judge McDonald. + +"I am going to get it through a Knight of Labor," I replied, and gave +the gentlemen a short outline of the plan I had evolved in my mind for +getting the confession. After I had finished the lawyers all thought my +scheme was a good one, but not one of them thought it could be carried +out. I will admit that, because of the peculiar situation in Wyandotte +County at that time, I knew I would have to be very careful or my scheme +would not work. The mayor, sheriff, jailor and, in fact, all of the city +and county officials, even policemen and constables, excepting Judge +Hineman of the Circuit Court, were members of the Knights of Labor, and +of the same local lodge as the prisoner, consequently were very friendly +disposed towards him. As every one familiar with such organizations as +the Knights of Labor knows, I would have had but little trouble to find +a member among them who would betray the secrets of the order for a few +paltry dollars and thus enable me to obtain the information I so much +desired from Lloyd, but I decided on another plan, as I never +considered a man who would violate his obligation to be upright and +honorable. In a word, in trusting such men one is liable to receive what +is known in slang parlance as "the double cross." + +Locked up in a safe in my office was a ritual and by-laws of the Knights +of Labor, and a book of instructions showing how to initiate new +members, together with the annual and semi-annual pass words, and the +"hailing" and "distress" signs and various signals used by the members +of the order, so I decided to set up a little Knight of Labor factory of +my own and make a member that I could trust with the work in hand. I had +an operative in my employ at that time named George Fowle. He had for a +long time been in the train service of different railroads of the +country, and I selected him as the man to be trusted with securing the +confession from Lloyd. I took Fowle into my private office, and after +instructing him carefully as to how to carry out my plans, he was +initiated into the mysteries of the order. We took our time and went +through the initiatory work carefully, so that when Fowle left for +Wyandotte the next day to play the part of Brother Alfred in the drama +that I had staged for that town, he was as well posted on the secret +work of the order as though he had just passed through the Grand +Assembly, as the governing body of the order was called. + +On arriving at Wyandotte, Brother Alfred proceeded at once to the +headquarters of the organization, where he made himself known as a +special envoy and minister plenipotentiary of the head assembly of the +order at Scranton, Pa. His mission was to investigate the conditions as +he found them in Wyandotte, so that the head officers at Scranton would +know exactly what was going on in the west. He also hinted that the +General Master Workman and Grand Treasurer Hayes had empowered him to +use his own judgment about what was to be done in the case of Lloyd, who +was in jail on the train wrecking charge. + +Brother Alfred also called on the sheriff, who was a Knight of Labor, +and after giving him the grip, asked to be allowed to consult with +Lloyd. The sheriff readily granted the request and Brother Alfred was +ushered into the jail, where he was closeted with Lloyd for more than an +hour and a half. After introducing himself to Lloyd, Brother Alfred +dispensed with all formalities and at once began a discussion of the +charge against the prisoner. "Of course, Mr. Powderly, Mr. Hayes and the +other head officers of the order and myself, know that you are all +right, Lloyd, and that you will not make a confession, but in cases of +this kind, where there are so many on the job, some one will squeal when +they are arrested, as they all will be, for the Goulds have a lot of +detectives on the case, headed by Tom Furlong, and it is only a question +of time until they are all run down. Furlong, as you know, is not only a +great detective, but he is also very unscrupulous and will not stop at +anything to secure a conviction in these cases. Now, the order at this +time cannot afford to have this crime laid at its door. If one of the +men implicated in it would confess, which some of them would be sure to +do, as I stated before, it would be a great blow to the order and cast +an odium over it that would take years to eradicate. Another thing, the +men charged with this crime could not get a fair trial here at this +time, as the people here are very sore, as are the members of the +Brotherhood of Firemen and Brotherhood of Trainmen, of which orders the +two men killed in the wreck were members. I have, therefore, evolved a +scheme to outwit these capitalistic bloodhounds, and thus save the +order. I have a lawyer over in the city from headquarters, Brother +Thomas, who will get you out of here on bond, and I will take you east +and get you a job on a railroad where Furlong cannot find you, and will +do the same thing with the other men who were with you." + +"That is true about some of the gang squealing," replied Lloyd. "We have +been afraid of at least two of them giving the snap away, and I know +they will do it if they ever fall into the clutches of Furlong and his +hirelings." + +Lloyd further expressed himself as being delighted with the scheme, and +within a few hours he was released from jail and taken by Brother Alfred +in a circuitous route through Kansas City to Independence, Mo., where +the two boarded a train for St. Louis. I had been informed of their +movements by wire, and had one of my operatives meet them at the Union +Station and escort them to the room of another operative in my employ at +17th and Pine Streets. That evening Marshall F. McDonald and myself and +a stenographer called at the room, and I was introduced to Lloyd as the +"headquarters' attorney," Brother Thomas. I corroborated all that +Brother Alfred had told Lloyd, and O. K.'d the scheme to get all of +these men in the job out of the country, and promised to do all I could +to further the scheme. Lloyd then gave us the names of his partners in +the crime. They were George H. Hamilton, Mike Leary, Robert Geers, Fred +Newport and William Vassen, all prominent and active members of the +local executive board of the Knights of Labor. + +The next morning, Lloyd, in charge of Operatives Bonnell, McCabe and two +guards, and myself, boarded a special car at Union Station, and it was +attached to west-bound passenger train No. 1. Of course, Lloyd did not +know he was in charge of officers. At Independence the special car was +placed on a siding and I went on to Kansas City. The next morning, which +was Sunday, a conference was held at the St. James Hotel between the +attorneys for the Pacific Company and myself. It was late in the evening +when the conference ended, after which I decided to at once arrest the +men named by Lloyd as his partners in the Wyandotte crime. I proceeded +to Wyandotte and procured the warrants. As the arrests had to be made +quickly, and all my experienced men in that vicinity were in +Independence guarding the special car, I secured the services of Frank +Tutt, who had been employed by me as a guard for the railroad during the +strike, to go with the sheriff and myself to make the arrests. + +The first man arrested was George Hamilton, chairman of the executive +committee in charge of the strike. We found him in ViceRoy Park, +Armourdale, where he was acting as a special policeman. When Hamilton +was pointed out to me, I approached him saying: + +"I want you, officer." + +"What for?" asked Hamilton. + +"Murder," I replied. + +Had Hamilton been cracked on the head with his own club he would not +have been more surprised. Before he could recover the club was taken +from his hand and his pistol from his pocket, and his big star from over +his palpitating heart. He made a feeble attempt to get indignant, but +failed lamentably and broke down completely, and wanted to confess. He +was taken to jail and locked up. + +We then got in the hack and were driven to Armourdale, where we arrested +Robert Geers, after breaking through several doors. While arresting +Geers we came near getting our heads blown off by an irate roomer, whose +door we had broken open by mistake. After locking up Geers, we went +across the river and stopped in front of a shack in the bottoms, and +entering it arrested Fred Newport and took him to jail, leaving his wife +and six children in tears. + +We then visited Kansas City and arrested Mike Leary. He was locked up +about 4:30 A. M. There was one man yet missing, William Vassen. We +experienced considerable trouble in locating him. He had left his home +to go to work for Wood Bros., the Kansas City ice dealers, where he was +employed as a driver to deliver ice. We obtained a list of his +customers, and finally overtook him near the Kansas City Union Depot, at +about seven o'clock. He broke down at once and wanted to confess. After +a good breakfast I took him to the St. James Hotel in Kansas City and +into the presence of the attorneys for the company. The prisoner broke +into tears, as soon as we entered the room, and made a piteous appeal to +the gentlemen to see that the wants of his sick wife and children were +attended to. "I have never been arrested before, and I was led into +this. I went into it at the point of a pistol," he said, crying +bitterly. "Damn the Knights of Labor," he continued, and expressed the +intention of making a clean breast of the whole affair. He was told by +both the lawyers and myself that he did not have to talk if he did not +want to. "I have been weighted down too long; I want to tell all about +it. I will suffer, I guess, but I deserve it." Then he made a full +confession, giving the most minute details of the terrible crime. + +It was the intention of the gang, according to the confession, to wreck +a passenger train. The tools with which the spikes were pulled, and the +fish plates removed, were stolen from a tool house of the company, +located between the depot and the scene of the wreck. + +Geers and Newport also made confessions, and all these men took the +stand at the trial of the defendants when they were arraigned the +following January. The testimony of these men was corroborated in every +detail, but the jury failed to reach a verdict, standing 7 to 5 for +acquittal. The Knights of Labor representatives, through the court +officers, who were all, excepting Judge Hineman, members of the order, +had succeeded in getting several of its members on the jury. The Knights +of Labor employed the best attorneys in the west to defend the men. +Among them were Ex-Governor Chas. P. Johnson, Ex-Senator William Warner, +Thomas P. Fenlon and others; in fact, the officers of the order spent +money very freely to bring about the desired end. + +After the mistrial, the attorneys for the defense made application for a +change of venue, and the cases were sent to Olathe. The officers of the +Knights of Labor immediately sent a swarm of organizers into Olathe and +Johnson County, and through coercion and other mysterious methods, +succeeded in getting almost every male citizen of the county into the +order. The second trial resulted in another farce, the jury again being +packed with Knights of Labor. + +About this time there was a change of management in the legal department +of the road, and the cases were all nollied at the request of the +company--even the three men who had made confessions were turned loose. + +Peculiar conditions existed in the west at that time. The laboring men +knew nothing about the real benefits of unionism. They had been herded +into the Knights of Labor like sheep into a pen, and were educated by +those who led them into believing that any kind of crime was all right +when committed during a strike, or against a firm or company against +which there was a grievance, and the latter were often, as in the case +of the big strike on the Gould System, proved to be imaginary. + +I and my men were only interested in this strike in so far as it was our +duty to see that no acts of violence were committed; in short, to +protect the company's property from vandals and thieves. The rank and +file of the order were led to believe by their leaders, however, that we +were a lot of crooks, who regarded a man's liberty and life lightly and +would violate any of the laws on the statute books to secure a +conviction in any case we were called into. And strange to say, there +are some men who believe this to be true, even to this day. + +I want to say right here, that this crime was one of the most diabolical +and fiendish crimes of the century. Had it not been for a mere accident, +a loaded passenger train would have been wrecked instead of the freight, +but, luckily, the passenger was late, and the freight was given orders +at Leavenworth to proceed into Wyandotte on the passenger train's time, +with the disastrous results told in the preceding portions of this +narrative. The officers of the Knights of Labor knew these men were +guilty, for three of them had gone on the witness stand and testified to +the facts, while Lloyd, one of the leaders, had furnished evidence to +corroborate them. + +The investigation, at the next grand assembly of the Knights of Labor, +at the insistence of a few good men in the order as to how much money +had been spent in defense of these men, revealed a big scandal within +the order. While it was true that a great deal of money had been +expended, yet it was learned that the sum was not more than one-fourth +of the amount claimed by the officers in charge of this fund. + +The amount of money expended by me for the company, in working up the +case, was very small, as all of the men who did any work on the case +were employed by the month on a regular salary and expenses. In fact, +there were not cents expended in this case, when dollars were expended +in running down the dynamiters who blew up the Los Angeles Times, the +latter crime being the only one which has occurred within my time that +could at all compare with the Wyandotte wrecking case for cold-blooded +fiendishness. It is also the only case in which big rolls of money were +expended by labor organizations, knowing that the men were guilty. + +Because of my work in this case, I incurred the lasting enmity of all +the heads of the Knights of Labor, from Terrance V. Powderly, the Grand +Master, on down the line. This was evidenced several years later. In +1889, I was tendered the position as chief of the secret service bureau +of the treasury department at Washington by President Harrison. I was +not overly anxious to accept the job, as the pay at that time was only +$3,600 per year, and I had a good business in St. Louis, as head of the +agency which bears my name, but at the solicitation of friends, I agreed +to accept the position. Somehow, the fact that I was to be the new chief +of the secret service had leaked out in Washington, and immediately the +Knights of Labor "tipped their hand," to use a slang phrase. The +President had gone to Deer Park, Maryland, to recover from the fatigue +caused by his inauguration, and his few first months of service. +Telegrams poured in on him from all points of the United States. They +came from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and +from towns I had not known were on the map. Some of these telegrams were +long and others short, but all showed the vindictiveness of the members +of the order towards me. After the President returned from Washington he +sent for me, and on my arrival at the White House, told me of the +protests. To offset these, I presented letters from Ex-Governor Johnson +and Major William Warner, chief counsel for the men I had arrested for +the Wyandotte crime, which stated in terms that could not be +misconstrued, that I had done nothing but my duty in that case, and +testifying further that I had been very respectful and magnanimous to +the prisoners on trial--in short, that I had done nothing to secure a +conviction that was not entirely honorable. + +"You are all right, Furlong, and I am going to appoint you, as soon as +this storm dies down a little," said the President. Of course, I was a +little put out by the delay, and told the President that if I accepted +the place my commission would have to be handed me not later than +January 1st. After further assurance from the President that I would +have my commission before the date mentioned, I returned home. A few +days before January 1st I was again called to Washington by the +President. I visited the White House in company with the Hon. Richard +Kerens. After a short discussion of the matter, the President told me to +go over to the treasury department and get my commission. On my arrival +there, I did not find the Secretary, Mr. Windom, in, he being detained +at home on account of sickness. My presence in Washington again revived +the rumors that I was to be appointed, and these rumors also put the +Knights of Labor to work again, with the result that the White House was +again flooded with a lot of telegrams protesting against my appointment, +and my commission was again held up. I then dropped the matter and +returned to St. Louis. + +In conclusion, I wish to state that I assumed at the time all the +responsibility for the manner in which the evidence in this case had +been secured. The plan for obtaining the confession from Lloyd, which, +in reality, was the beginning of the case against the men, was worked +out myself; Fowle, or Brother Alfred, as he was known, simply played, or +acted the part assigned him. True, he played the part fairly well, and +carried out my instructions to the letter. At the time of the arrests, +and on several occasions thereafter, a certain strike guard employed by +the company, succeeded in getting his name and picture into the papers +of Kansas City as one of the chief unravelers of the mystery surrounding +the crime, but he had absolutely nothing whatever to do with the capture +of the criminals, beyond guarding them after the arrests had been made +by Sheriff Ferguson and myself. The "dope" he handed the papers was mere +rot. There was also considerable said in the papers about the part a wig +would play in the case prior to the trial, but all who were present at +the trial will remember that the wig was not introduced in evidence. +This wig was a "pipe dream," to use a slang expression. + + + + +"MOONSHINING" IN THE OIL REGIONS. + +DESPERATE STRUGGLE ON A BRIDGE WITH A THIEF CARRYING A CARBOY FILLED +WITH NITROGLYCERINE--NARROW ESCAPE FROM DEATH OF PRISONER AND CAPTOR. + + +Early in the 70's, while I was Chief of Police of Oil City, Pa., a long, +wooden covered bridge spanned the Allegheny River at Oil City. This +bridge was at least fifteen hundred feet in length, had a driveway +through its center wide enough for two vehicles to pass each other. This +driveway was boarded up closely with siding, which separated it on +either side from the footwalks, which were about six feet in width with +a high railing on the outside. There were lights at intervals along the +footwalks, about a hundred feet apart. The main structure of the bridge +was about forty feet above the river. + +The bridge connected Oil City and South Oil City, extending from the +south end of Seneca Street in Oil City to South Oil City. South Oil City +then, as it is now, was the principal residence portion of the city, +while the north side of the river was, and is, the business portion. +This bridge was a toll bridge, and there were night and day toll +collectors stationed at the little house provided for their use at the +north end of the bridge. Their duty was to collect the toll from all +drivers of vehicles, and two cents from each pedestrian who passed their +window at the toll house. + +There lived in Oil City at that time a notorious character by the name +of Tommy Griffith, whose face and form had become familiar to all the +residents of the town, also of the adjacent country. Griffith was a +Welchman by birth, middle aged, stout and heavily built in stature; had +a wife and a large family, and resided in South Oil City, at that time +owning his own home, and was apparently fairly prosperous. He was a man +addicted to drink, and was known throughout the country as the "Prince +of Moonshiners." + +Moonshiners, in the oil region, were men who made a business of putting +explosives, which were called torpedoes, into oil wells for the purpose +of increasing the flow of oil. The oil-bearing rock, or crevices in the +oil-bearing rock, which were usually found near the bottom of the oil +wells, would get clogged with an accumulation of parafine. After the +well had been producing for a while the inlet to the well would become +clogged with this accumulation, when the owner of the well would resort +to the torpedo. These torpedoes were composed of a tin can or case, +which would hold from one to four quarts of nitro-glycerine, which is a +liquid that resembles lard oil very much, and is one of the most +powerful explosives known, if not the most powerful. The cases, or tin +cans, were round and nearly the size of the wells in diameter. The oil +wells in those days were usually four and one-half or five inches in +diameter. The cases were long enough to hold the quantity required for +the explosion, and were lowered from the top of the well by means of a +copper wire, which was attached to the percussion cap at the proper +depth in the well, then a heavy weight, the wire through its center, +would be sent down from the top over the wire and would strike the cap +on the torpedo. This would cause the explosion, and would shatter the +oil-bearing rock and jar the parafine, thereby making the opening by +which the oil found its way into the well, and increased the production +wonderfully for a period, or until the opening became clogged again from +the same causes. Then the same remedy would be applied, and for this +reason the torpedo business was a very profitable business, as this +nitro-glycerine was sold at the rate of about ten dollars per quart. + +There was, at the time I am writing of, a company known as the Roberts +Torpedo Co., who had a monopoly of all the explosives and torpedoes used +in the oil wells for the purpose before mentioned. The Roberts Company +owned and operated the factories at which nitro-glycerine was made. They +employed only men who were experts in the torpedo business, as the +handling of torpedoes was very hazardous and dangerous, the +nitro-glycerine being treacherous and liable to explode at any time, +either from concussion, friction or heat. In fact, nitro-glycerine is +liable to explode spontaneously or without any apparent cause, so that +the most expert handler of the stuff does not really know when he may +consider himself safe when near a quantity of it. The Roberts Company +also had a number of what they call magazines, which were located in +isolated spots all through the oil regions. These magazines were places +for storing quantities of the nitro-glycerine, and usually close to a +producing district, so that the operator in charge of said district +could obtain a supply of it when he required it for use in his +territory. The moonshiner made a practice of breaking into these +magazines and stealing the explosives, which usually were placed in a +square tin can which held from twenty to forty pounds. These heavy tin +cans, or cases, were called carboys, and had a heavy wire handle +attached to the top with a short spout at one corner of the top of the +carboy from which the nitro-glycerine could be poured. As I said before, +it was like lard oil, and of about the same consistency. + +These moonshiners would steal three or four carboys at a time, +concealing it in the mountains, and when they got an order from a +producer for a torpedo they would fill the order and put in the torpedo +in proper shape, as they were as expert in the handling of this +dangerous explosive as the Roberts Company's men were, as many of them +were ex-employes of that company. Prejudice existed among the smaller +producers against the Roberts Torpedo Company, as they complained that +the Roberts Company were charging them extortionate prices for +torpedoes, therefore the moonshiners were protected to an extent in +their nefarious business. + +Upon the night of which I am writing it was after midnight when I left +my office at the City Hall on the north side, and started for my home on +the south side. I started on foot, and when I reached about the middle +of the bridge before described, I heard footsteps coming towards me on +the same foot-walk that I was on. I looked up and saw and recognized the +familiar form of Tommy Griffith, as he was passing a light which was +about a hundred and fifty feet from me. He was coming directly towards +me, and was evidently intoxicated, as he staggered from side to side of +the foot-walk. First he would stagger against the enclosed side, and +then back to the outside railing. Every time he came in contact with the +bridge I could hear a slight thud. He was carrying a gunnysack upon his +shoulder, containing a carboy of nitro-glycerine, and I thought it would +explode any moment, as he was continually striking it against the sides +of the bridge as he staggered. Then again he was liable to stumble and +let it fall, which would have been fatal both to himself, me and the +bridge. I thought of all of these things in a great deal shorter time +than it has taken me to write about it. It was in the winter, and I was +wearing rubber overshoes, and for this reason I made no noise in +walking. After recognizing Griffith and his condition, I instantly +turned and started back for the north side of the bridge. I am satisfied +that I made a record-breaking sprint until I got safely to the toll +house at the end of the bridge, where I hastily told Samuel Ervin, who +was on duty as night toll collector. I insisted on Ervin remaining at +his position as usual until Griffith arrived at the window, where I felt +sure he would stop long enough to pay his toll. Ervin was sitting in a +bay window with a slide in front of him through which he could take the +toll, and he could also see every person coming or going over the +bridge. I hid myself around the angle of the bay window in such a manner +that Griffith could not see me as he approached the toll window, and +when he neared the window he presented his toll with his right hand +while he was holding the end of the gunnysack with his left hand. This +bag contained the carboy and was hanging over his back. I noiselessly +approached him from behind, and, seizing the gunnysack containing the +carboy, jerked it away from him, while Ervin held on to his collar so +firmly that he could not get away or interfere with me until I had +deposited the case of nitro-glycerine on the ground, which, of course, +did not take me very long. I then grabbed Mr. Griffith, and he being a +husky, stout little fellow, and full of pluck and whiskey, made a +struggle, but I quickly overpowered him and promptly conveyed him to the +lock-up. + +[Illustration: "Recognizing Griffith and seeing he was loaded down with +nitro-glycerine, I hot-footed it to the end of the bridge."] + +I then returned to where I had deposited the nitro-glycerine. I found +Mr. Ervin standing upon the railroad crossing, which was about +seventy-five or a hundred feet from the tool house. I was then obliged +to carry the carboy of nitro-glycerine on my shoulder to the nearest +Roberts magazine, which was located in a ravine known as Sage Run, and +about three miles from the north end of the bridge. The carboy weighed +about forty pounds, and the walking was icy and slippery, and of course +my progress was necessarily very slow. It was nearly daylight when I got +home. It is needless to say that I was very tired. + +We had been informed of the theft of more than a ton of nitro-glycerine +from a Roberts magazine, which occurred a few days prior to the night in +question, and after daylight the following morning I visited the home of +Griffith, which was situated in a good residence portion, and surrounded +by a number of good homes and families. I found in the basement of +Griffith's house the remainder of the ton of nitro-glycerine, which was +hidden under a stairway running from the kitchen of the house into the +basement. At the time I entered the house I found Griffith's children +playing and running up and down these steps under which the explosive +was standing in the original packages. There was nitro-glycerine enough +under those stairs to have blown up the entire city. + +I was then compelled to procure a team and sleigh and do the driving +myself, and to load the stuff into the sleigh and drive it to the +magazine and there unload it. I could not induce any person to assist +me, as I did not have time, being compelled to move the stuff +immediately for the safety of not only Griffith's family, but the whole +neighborhood, and, therefore, could not wait to send word to the Roberts +Co. and have them send their own men, who were accustomed to handling +it. It was one of the most trying situations I ever found myself placed +in. + +Griffith was tried in the court in due time, and was sentenced for seven +years in the state penitentiary at Allegheny, on the charge of grand +larceny. + +Col. Roberts, who at that time lived at Titusville, Pa., and was +president of the Roberts Torpedo Company, sent me a check for five +hundred dollars, which I accepted. + +Griffith served out his sentence, and returned to Oil City, where he was +living at my last account of him, and was following his old vocation, +that of moonshining, in a more moderate manner than of yore. + + + + +THE CAPTURE OF WESS WATTS. + +AFTER STANDING OFF A SHERIFF AND POSSE, THE NOTORIOUS BANDIT IS TAKEN +SINGLE HANDED. + + +During the years of 1875-6 I was Chief Special Agent of the Allegheny +Valley Railroad. One morning I was called to Brookville, Pennsylvania, +to investigate the burglary of the company's office at that point during +the preceding night. On arriving in the little town I found the office +of the company almost a wreck, the safe having been blown to pieces with +dynamite or some other explosive, and its contents, including quite a +sum of money and a number of Centennial Exposition and railroad tickets +were missing. After some hard work, I obtained a clue which led me to +believe that the job had been done by the notorious Watts gang. + +This outlaw band, which originally consisted of eight men, had long +terrorized the good citizens of Jefferson, Clarion, Forest and Elk +Counties--in much the same manner as had the James Boys and their gang +of cut-throats the citizens of western Missouri. + +[Illustration: WESS WATTS. + +Noted Pennsylvania bandit leader run down and captured by Detective +Furlong.] + +There was no crime too big or too little for them to commit, but they +made a specialty of arson, murder, robbery and safe-blowing. The +organizer and leader was Wess Watts, who, before he had adopted outlawry +as a profession, had been a gun and locksmith in Brookville, and had the +reputation of being a skilled mechanic. He was about 28 years of age, 5 +feet 11 inches in height, and weighed in the neighborhood of 190 pounds. +There had never been any question of his gameness and he was known as +the crack shot of that portion of Pennsylvania. He often gave +exhibitions of his expertness in the handling of firearms. One of his +favorite stunts was to shoot an apple from the head of his brother at a +distance of twenty paces with either a gun or revolver. + +In reporting to Mr. David McCargo, the General Superintendent of the +road, a day or so later, that I was convinced that the Watts gang was +responsible for the Brookville job, and venturing the opinion that this +gang would continue to prey upon the railroad at intervals until they +were exterminated; whereupon Mr. McCargo said, "You are hereby +instructed to bend every effort toward the suppression of this gang, and +you will be relieved from all other duties until this has been +accomplished." + +I at once took up the work, by visiting the Western Penitentiary at +Allegheny City, where I found a former member of the Watts gang, who had +been convicted of horse stealing and was at that time serving a ten-year +sentence for the same. This man's name was Lafayette Edwards, and he had +been connected with the Watts gang for a number of years and was a +member at the time of his arrest. He was about thirty-five years of age. +He had a younger brother by the name of Horace Edwards, who had been +connected with the gang until about a year previous to the arrest of +Lafayette, when he grew tired of the life he had been leading, and, as +the gang was daily growing bolder in their depredations, he was afraid +they would all be brought to justice sooner or later, so he disappeared, +no one knowing his whereabouts in Brookville. On approaching Lafayette, +at the penitentiary, I told him who I was, that I had learned of both +his and his brother's connection with the Watts gang and that I desired +to find Horace, so that I might get the facts from him as to his +knowledge of the crimes perpetrated by the gang while he was a member of +it. Lafayette Edwards said he believed that his brother would tell all +he knew, providing he would not be punished for the part he had taken +while working with the gang. I explained to him that so long as Horace +had severed his connection with the gang, that I had no doubt but that +the prosecuting officers would use his testimony against the other +members of the gang and nolle prosequi all charges against him, which is +a custom, as the prosecuting attorney in criminal cases has the right, +with the permission of the court, to annul proceedings against a +criminal, where he has been used as a State's witness. I also told him +if he would assist me in locating Horace, that I would do all that I +could, consistently, with the proper officers to have the charges +annulled against his brother. Finally he told me that Horace was engaged +as a farm hand at a point near Vermillion, Illinois. He said that Horace +had joined the church and was living an honest and conscientious life. I +went to Vermillion and located Horace Edwards, who was working as a farm +hand under an alias, and found that he had established a good +reputation, joined the church, and was respected by all who knew him. In +other words, he had made friends with everybody with whom he came in +contact during his few months' stay in that neighborhood. This +information I verified before approaching Horace. I finally called on +him and told him who I was, that I was from Pennsylvania, and that I had +seen his brother Lafayette, who was in the penitentiary in Allegheny +City, who had given me his address, and, in fact, I told him the line of +facts that I knew he would recognize as facts. I then proposed to him +that he go back to Pennsylvania with me, at my expense, promising that +I would keep him quietly in a small town near Brookville, where he +would not be known until I had apprehended the balance of the Watts +gang, and that I would pay his expenses back to Illinois, where he had +so many friends, and was favorably known, and that the people would not +become aware of his identity after his return among them. In this +connection, I wish to say that Horace had adopted his mother's maiden +name. To this Horace replied promptly that, as he had become a church +member, he would render all the assistance in his power towards bringing +his former companions to justice, and thereby preventing them from +committing further depredations. I told the parties by whom he was +employed that his presence was required as a witness in an important +case in court in Pennsylvania, and that I had come after him and had no +doubt but that he would return again in a few weeks. I took him back to +Pennsylvania, and rounded up the balance of the gang, with the exception +of the leader, Wess Watts. I learned that he had last been heard from at +Paducah, Kentucky. This I learned through the assistance of a sister of +Mrs. Watts, who was in correspondence with her. I went to Paducah and +found Mrs. Watts. From my investigations I had become so familiar with +the depredations of the gang, the dates and places where they had been +committed that I decided to approach Mrs. Watts by representing myself +as a friend of her husband and other members of the gang. At this she +became angry and excited, and told me that if she had a kettle of +boiling water convenient she would scald me, as she had no further use +for her husband or any of his friends. He had deserted her and their +child, and had run away with another man's wife. It was then my turn to +sympathize with her, which I did to the best of my ability, and of +course, denounced Wess Watts in plain words for having deserted his +wife and child in such a manner. Mrs. Watts, who, by the way, was really +a good natured woman and rather good looking, of the blonde type, about +25 years of age, finally told me that her husband had taken this other +woman, and that she had heard, a few days prior to my visit, that he and +Oliver Brooks had opened a gun and locksmith repair shop at Shawneetown, +Illinois. She said Watts and this woman and Oliver Brooks and the Brooks +woman were living together, and that they had their shingle out for gun +and lock repairing, but in reality were committing burglaries and thefts +almost nightly in the vicinity of Shawneetown. I took a boat at Paducah +for Shawneetown, which is on the Ohio river some 50 miles from Paducah. +I arrived at Shawneetown, which was then a very small place, about 3 +o'clock in the morning. The town is very low, the Ohio river being held +out of the town by a high levee along its banks. After leaving the boat +I went over the levee to the only street in the town parallel to the +river and had no trouble in locating the gun shop, by reason of the sign +over the door. Directly opposite this shop was a general merchandise +store with a large pile of empty dry goods boxes standing in front of +it. I seated myself upon one of these boxes, as it was not quite +daylight when I found the place and, as I had had some sleep coming up +on the boat, I was not sleepy. I could not go to a hotel at that time +without arousing some comment, and, therefore, concluded I would wait in +the vicinity of the gun shop and watch for developments. I had been +sitting on the box for perhaps three-quarters of an hour, and day was +just beginning to break, when I noticed a little cloud of smoke coming +out of the stovepipe (which served as a chimney) in the shanty in which +the gun shop was located. A few minutes later the door of the gun shop +was opened and I could see, from my perch on the box across the street, +that some one was sweeping. I could see the broom, but could not see who +was operating it. I watched the broom for a few minutes and then +concluded I would go over to the shop and look in and see who was doing +the sweeping. + +This shop was a one-story frame shanty, about 16 feet wide, by perhaps, +24 feet long. It was divided in the middle by a partition, making two +rooms. The front room, being the gun shop, contained a vise bench to the +right of the front door, upon which were a lot of tools, such as files, +wrenches, one or two old guns and a couple of pistols. + +Diagonally across the shop and to the left was a door opening into the +rear room, which was used as a living room. When I peered into the front +room or gun shop there was no one in the room, but the door leading into +the rear room was open and I rapped on the shop door. My knock was +answered by a man, who came from the rear room and had a broom in his +hand. He was clad in blue overalls, a knit undershirt and wore a pair of +rubbers, but no socks. I saw at a glance that it was Wess Watts, +himself. I had a very good description of him and had seen his brother, +sister and mother, and he resembled them very strongly. I noticed that +he had nothing in the shape of arms on him except the broom. I decided +then and there to arrest him. When he came from the rear room I saluted +him, saying, "Good-morning," and he replied in the same way. I then +said, "Are you the gunsmith?" He said he was. I said, "I have a job for +you. I have an old gun here, but I don't know whether you can do +anything with it or not." + +In this connection I wish to state that before I left my perch on the +boxes across the street, I placed my revolver, which was a 41-Colts, +short barrel, double action, in my right-hand coat pocket. I also had a +pair of automatic hand-cuffs, which I placed in my left-hand pocket. I +was wearing a sack coat, and when Watts replied that he was the +gunsmith, I took the revolver out of my right-hand pocket in an awkward +manner, holding it about in the middle. He turned around, in a leisurely +manner, and set the broom in the corner near the door, and while he was +doing this, I placed my gun in working position, and as he turned +extending his hand, evidently for the purpose of taking and examining my +pistol, I leveled it at his head and told him to "throw up his hands." +He hesitated for an instant, but I commanded him a second time, telling +him to throw them up at once, or I would blow his head off. He threw up +his hands, and, just at the time I commanded him the second time to +throw up his hands, a man with a bushy head of red hair peered through +the door leading into the rear room, but when he saw what was going on, +he ducked back his head, as he was in direct range with my gun. I then +commanded Watts to about face, and step forward to the door, which he +did, keeping his hands up. I was right behind him with my gun at the +back of his head, and told him to step down and out of the door. He +obeyed. I then took my hand-cuffs out of my left-hand coat pocket, and +snapped them on his wrists, while his hands were still above his head. I +then told him he could drop his hands, and marched him up the street to +the hotel, which was but a few hundred feet from the shop. In the +meantime Watts did not utter a word, but merely complied with my +commands. On our arrival at the hotel I found the night clerk or porter +in charge, but asleep in a chair in the office, and as we marched in he +awoke and appeared to be frightened at our intrusion. I told him that I +was an officer and that Watts was my prisoner. I told him we were +hungry and asked him how soon we could get something to eat. He awakened +the help and in about half an hour breakfast was announced. + +All this time Watts and I were sitting in the office gazing at each +other, not a word having been spoken by either, and when we went into +the dining room and sat down to the table, Watts looked at me and then +at the hand-cuffs as much as to say, "Aren't you going to remove these +hand-cuffs?" He did not speak, however. I shook my head, looked at the +table and food and then at Watts, as much as to say, "There it is, you +can eat it or leave it alone." I sat opposite him at the table and he +helped himself to some ham and managed to eat a pretty good breakfast +with the hand-cuffs on. + +On arising from the table it occurred to me for the first time that my +prisoner was not very well dressed to make a long journey. I espied a +large-sized, old-fashioned linen duster, and a big-brimmed straw hat +hanging on the wall of the hotel sitting room. After some dickering with +the porter I purchased them for 75c and put them on my prisoner. The +addition of these garments made Watts look more like the leader of a +rube band, than the bold, bad man that he really was. + +At that time there was a branch of the Wabash Railroad running into +Shawneetown, and I had ascertained there was a train leaving there +shortly for McLeansboro and East St. Louis. We boarded the train at 6:00 +a. m. and started for East St. Louis. After we had been on the train for +half an hour or more, Watts, who was sitting in the seat with me, and to +the left, next to the window, turned around facing me and said, "Who are +you, and where are you taking me, and what have you arrested me for?" + +I replied that I was a deputy sheriff from Vermillion and that I had +arrested him on suspicion of committing a burglary there a week before. + +He said, "Why, I was never in Vermillion in my life. You have made a big +mistake." + +"I guess I am not very much mistaken," I replied, "some of our citizens +saw the burglars when they left the bank, and have described you +accurately. Of course, if they fail to identify you on your arrival at +Vermillion, I will apologize to you, and then be obliged to pay your +expenses back to Shawneetown." + +He then said, "You say you are a deputy sheriff? Well, don't deputy +sheriffs have to give bond for the careful performance of their duties?" +I replied, "Yes, they have to give bond." + +"Well," he continued, "these people won't identify me and I will make +your bondsmen pay dearly for this outrage." + +"We'll see about this," I replied. "I can't be mistaken. I have been a +deputy sheriff for the past two years, and I have arrested two house +thieves and they were convicted, so I can not be mistaken." + +"Well, you are very badly mistaken now," he answered, and with this he +stopped talking and seemed to be at ease, as he knew he could not be +identified at Vermillion, and felt sure that he would be released. In +due time we arrived at East St. Louis, and I explained to him that I did +not care to proceed to Vermillion that night, as I had some little +business to attend to in St. Louis, and therefore, I proposed to come +over to the city, remain over night and take the first train out in the +morning to Vermillion. He seemed perfectly satisfied. I brought him +across the river and took him to the Four Courts and turned him over to +Major McDonough, who was then Chief of Police of St. Louis. I had known +Chief McDonough for years. He locked Watts up, and I, of course, had his +meals taken in to him and had him well cared for. The next morning we +took an early train for Indianapolis over what is now a part of the Big +Four system. We got along very nicely until we reached the Wabash river, +which separates Illinois from Indiana, when Watts suddenly turned to me +and in a loud and excited manner said, "Where in h--l are you taking me? +You haven't told me the truth." + +"No," I replied, "I did not tell you the truth about where I am taking +you, but I will do so now. I am taking you to Brookville, Pennsylvania." + +"Why didn't you tell me this in the first place?" he asked. + +I replied, "My reason for not telling you this in the first place was, +that after I had located you, as I supposed, at Paducah, Kentucky, I +reported the facts to Sheriff Steele of Jefferson County and asked him +to apply for the proper papers so that you might be taken back to +Pennsylvania. Sheriff Steele obtained the papers and insisted on +bringing a posse of men to assist in your capture, to which I objected +and I told him that I did not think it necessary for anybody to come +after you, but he and myself. He reluctantly consented to accompany me. +He had the papers and came as far as St. Louis. The weather was very +warm and when we arrived in St. Louis, Steele was very feverish and +complained of being sick, and was afraid that he was taking typhoid +fever, and insisted on returning to Pennsylvania immediately, which he +did. He insisted on me going back with him, but I told him that I was +going to get hell before I returned. He left me and returned home." + +"Why, he wasn't sick at all, he was just afraid of me," said Watts. "He +was afraid to meet me, for he knew if I saw him I would kill him. I +stood off Steele and seventeen of his men, all armed, in Brookville +once. Those fellows are all afraid of me. So you came down here to get +me yourself? Well, you haven't any papers for my arrest, have you?" + +"No," I said, "I haven't any papers. I have nothing but you." + +"Suppose I object to going any farther with you," he remarked. + +"In that case," I replied, "I would simply have to have you locked up +and wait until the papers arrive. They are all made out, therefore you +can raise all the objections you like. I am a deputy sheriff, and I +could have locked you up in Illinois, but I did not know what that +red-headed fellow and your other associates in Shawneetown would do, and +not wanting to be bothered with them, I decided to just bring you right +along." + +Watts then said, "You saw that fellow with the red hair, did you?" + +"Yes," I answered. + +"Where did you see him?" + +"At the time I pointed my gun at your head he peered in at the door +leading into the back room, but when he saw the condition of things, he +ducked back into the rear room," I told him. + +"Oh!" Watts said, "he is a coward. If I ever get my eyes on him I'll +kill him on sight." Continuing, Watts said, "Did you notice when you +told me to throw up my hands, that I hesitated for a second?" + +I said, "Yes, I did." + +"Do you know what I thought of when I hesitated?" he asked. + +"No, I don't," I answered. + +"Why, I thought of just jumping forward and taking that gun away from +you." + +I said, "Why didn't you do it?" looking him straight in the eye. + +He replied, with an oath, "I thought you'd shoot." + +"I guess you were right about that," I answered. + +He stopped talking for a few minutes and then began to cry. He became +almost hysterical. We were riding in the smoking car when this +conversation occurred and his sobbing and crying attracted the attention +of the passengers in the car, and it was really pitiful to see a strong, +athletic looking young man like Watts sob and cry like a child. He +finally ceased and said, "Well, I am glad you got me. I have never had +an hour's peace or rest since that night at Catholicsburg, Kentucky." + +"Why," I said, "What happened at Catholicsburg?" + +He answered, "Oliver Beach shot my father, James Watts, in our boat at +Catholicsburg, and he and Brooks put the body into the Ohio River. He +killed him with my gun. I knew they were going to do it, but I did not +take any part in the killing. Now, I am going to tell you all about +myself and my companions since I left Brookville." + +I told him that while I would be interested in hearing what he had to +say, it would be used against him at his trial at Brookville, and that I +would, therefore, prefer that he would not tell me anything about his +crimes until we got back to Brookville, and then if he felt like talking +and making a confession, he could do so to the prosecuting attorney, and +the authorities there; that my part in the matter would end upon my +delivering him to the officers, and I would rather that he defer talking +until we arrived in that city. However, he insisted on telling me about +the numerous crimes that he and his associates had committed while going +down the Ohio River, about his capture at Paducah, Kentucky; his +conviction, his pardon and the conviction and pardon of two members of +his gang from the penitentiary. + +He was especially proud of one piece of work done by the gang while +making their home in a house-boat anchored on the Illinois side of the +river opposite Paducah. Watts, Beach and Alston rowed across the river +to the Kentucky side in a four-oared skiff. It was cold and freezing. +They were looking for plunder and spied a large egg-shaped coal stove in +the office of a coal company on the levee. This stove had been filled +with coal and was red hot, and the fire had been banked for the night +with ashes, and the "gentlemen" before named, broke open the door of the +coal office, procured a wide, strong plank, run it under the red-hot +stove and took it to their house-boat, where they installed it without +permitting the fire to go out. So that they thus succeeded in stealing +and getting away with a red-hot stove, which was a verification of the +old saying that "there was nothing too hot or too heavy for them." + +In due time we arrived at Brookville, where he insisted on making a full +confession, which he did, in the presence of Prosecuting Attorney Reed, +Sheriff W. P. Steele and myself. This confession, which was voluntarily +made and sworn to before the clerk of the court, witnessed and attested +by Mr. Reed, Steele and myself, is as follows: + + +CONFESSION OF J. W. WATTS. + +Left Brookville, June 20, 1874, for Parkers Landing. Got a boat there +and went down the river. My father, James Watts, traded a gun for the +boat. We built a shanty on the boat as we proceeded down the river. The +names of the parties on that boat were: Charles Beach, Oliver Brooks, +James Watts, J. W. Watts, Sarah M. Watts and Myrta Watts. There was no +difficulty on the boat until we arrived at a point near Ironton, Ohio. +We got a woman by the name of Fanny Rose on board the boat, and from +there down to Maysville there seemed to be some trouble between Oliver +Brooks and James Watts, my father, about Fanny Rose, the girl above +named. My father had been talking of turning state's evidence, and on +Sunday, the 6th of September, 1874, he took an axe and cut a hole in the +bottom of the boat. I remonstrated with him and he was going to strike +me with the axe. The water began filling the boat, which necessitated +our landing. On the night of the 6th of September, 1874, Oliver Brooks +shot James Watts, killing him almost instantly, for threatening to turn +state's evidence, concerning what had been stolen during our trip down +the river, by the male portion of the gang on the boat. James Watts +stole nothing himself. He only lived a few minutes after Brooks shot +him. I was on another boat about sixty yards above the one James Watts +was on. I knew that Oliver Brooks was going to shoot my father, and it +made me very nervous. It made me sick and I laid down. I got up and +started down to tell my father, when I heard a gun shot, but having an +idea of what had occurred I was very much frightened, and was very weak +through fear, and did not go into the shanty on the boat, where James +Watts and Oliver Brooks were. During this Sunday afternoon Oliver Brooks +and James Watts had some difficulty, and Brooks told us all, except +James Watts, that he would shoot James Watts. Alston told Brooks that he +would get my father to play a game of cards by a window, in order that +Brooks could slip around and shoot him from the bank of the river +through the window, and he did shoot him. + +I am here to tell the whole truth, and want to keep nothing back. My +father stole nothing, but he did help conceal what the rest of us stole. + +After he was shot, and when I came up, either Brooks and Beach, or +Brooks and Alston, were gathering up stones on the bank and carrying +them into the shanty on the boat where my father was lying, and I +suppose they were taking them in to tie around his neck to sink him in +the river, from what they said before the deed was committed. After they +got everything fixed up, I heard them putting my father into a skiff and +rowing out into the river and I heard them throwing him overboard. They +used sixty or eighty feet of half-inch rope to tie the stones to him, +judging from the amount that was gone from the boat. Alston told me he +had just dealt the cards and turned trump. The old man passed, and he +(Alston) turned it down. My father said he would make it hearts, but +turned and looked towards the window from where the shot came and then +fell. Alston caught him to keep him from falling so hard. This is what +Alston told me. After they took my father out into the river and threw +him in, Oliver Brooks said he felt just as well as he did before he +committed the deed and better, too. After this there was no more +conversation about it in my presence as I would not listen to them, nor +permit them to talk to me about it. I did not go into the room where he +was killed, for five or six weeks. It was my rifle that he shot him with +and it was the best rifle I ever saw or used, but after Brooks used it +to shoot my father, I never shot out of it, or looked into the muzzle of +it, but what I saw blood, or thought I saw blood in it. Other persons +saw blood in the muzzle of the gun after shooting it. I showed it to +them without giving them any other information. There was an +understanding and mutual agreement between us that we were never to say +anything about the killing of James Watts. We pushed the boat off that +evening, after my father had been killed and thrown into the river and +went on down stream following our usual avocation of stealing, etc., and +we did not stop permanently until we got to Paducah, Kentucky. At +Paducah, all the males in our party were arrested on the Illinois side +by Marshal Geary of Paducah, Frank Farland, Wood Morrow and Bill Green, +on a charge of grand larceny, committed at Buddsville, Ky. We were +tried, convicted and sent to the penitentiary at Frankfort, Ky. I got +three years, Oliver Brooks got two years and nine months, Pete Alston +got one year and six months and Charlie Beach got three years. Brooks +got pardoned through his wife on the 14th of May, or June, 1875, and I +got pardoned on the 7th of July, 1875, and M. P. Alston on the 10th of +August, 1875. + +Brooks and his wife got Beach pardoned. Brooks' wife, as I understood +it, had illicit relations with the son of the Governor of Kentucky, and +through the influence of the son on his father, Beach was pardoned. My +wife got Governor King to write to Governor Leslis, then acting Governor +of Kentucky, and through his intercession I was pardoned. After Brooks +was pardoned out he stayed until Beach and I got out. As soon as I got +out I started for or back to Paducah, Ky., and left Brooks and Beach in +Frankfort. I left there on the 7th day of July, 1875, and have never +seen any of them since. Alston, a short time after he got out of the +penitentiary, went down the Kentucky river, broke into a store, and got +shot in the back. He was sent back to the penitentiary for five years, +and is there at the present time. Up to the time I left Brookville I was +in the habit of going out with a gang composed of Dan Miller, Frank +Watts, John Johnson, Frank Loader, Oliver Brooks, John Lyons, and his +father, and Charlie Beach. Frank Watts and myself went through +Eshelman's grocery store at Dowlingville, and at other places, I cannot +now remember. + +I make this confession of my own free will and without the expectation +of any reward or through any fear. I make it because this thing has been +lying on my mind like a lead weight, and I concluded I would tell the +whole thing just as it occurred. My wife and I had a conversation at one +time in regard to the affair and we thought of going to the officers and +telling all about it, but for some reason we did not do it. This was +when we were in Paducah. + +Made, signed and sworn to in the presence of Thomas Furlong, detective +for the Allegheny Valley Railroad Company, Wm. P. Steele, deputy sheriff +of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, and John W. Reed, Attorney-at-law, +August 22, 1876. + +Watts made the above statement with a view to shielding himself as much +as possible. He, himself, killed his father, and Mrs. Brooks so +testified. She said it was not only Wess Watts' gun that killed old man +Watts, but the gun was in the hands of Wess Watts. + +I, having been subpoenaed as a witness for the state against Wess Watts, +arrived at Brookville on the morning set for his trial. The whole +forenoon was consumed in selecting a jury. When the last juror had been +selected it was about twelve o'clock, and the court took a recess until +one p. m. At that time, his Honor, Judge Sterritt, stated that the +prisoner, Wess Watts, should be brought into court, when the testimony +for the prosecution would begin. I went to the hotel, ate my dinner and +had returned to the sheriff's office in the courthouse a few minutes +before one o'clock. While sitting there talking to Sheriff Steele an old +man entered the office, whom the sheriff familiarly greeted, calling him +Uncle John, in the following manner: + +"Hello, Uncle John. I haven't seen you for a long time. How've you +been?" + +Uncle John replied, "Quite well, but I'm getting old. Mammy wanted to +get some things in the store and we drove in this morning from +Beechwoods. I've been reading in my paper about Wess Watts and it says +that he is to be put on trial today. You know, Bill, I knew old Bill +Watts, Wess' father, before Wess was born. I've been reading all about +the boy and his gang and he surely must be a very bad and desperate man. +While I'm here in town, I'd like to get a look at him." + +To this Sheriff Steele replied, "Court will convene at one o'clock, +which will be only a few minutes now, and I've been ordered by the Judge +to bring Wess into court at that time. If you will go up and sit in the +courtroom, Uncle John, you will have a good chance to see him when I +take him in." + +Uncle John was a man more than seventy years of age, was a good citizen +and had lived in the backwoods in Jefferson county all his life. He knew +everybody in the county. His home was on a small farm about eighteen +miles from Brookville. He was a strong, hale man for his age, and had a +full, heavy, white beard. He was an inveterate tobacco chewer and a +typical backwoods farmer. + +At the close of his conversation with the sheriff, Uncle John walked to +the door leading into the hall, but, just before reaching the door, he +suddenly turned and said, "Bill, I see in the paper that Wess Watts was +captured down in Egypt by one man, and that man brought him back here +all alone. The paper said that man would be at the trial here today. I'd +like very much to see him, too." + +The sheriff (pointing to me) said, "Uncle John, here's the man who +captured Wess Watts and brought him back here." + +Whereupon, Uncle John quietly walked across the room to where I was +sitting, keeping his eye upon me all the time, till within a few feet of +me, when he said, "Young man, I wish you would stand up, I want to look +at you." + +I stood up, and the old man walked about half way around me, eyeing me +from head to foot. He then turned without saying a word and started for +the door. Before leaving, he said, stroking his long beard with his left +hand and pointing his right at me, "Bill, by jove, it didn't take much +of a man, either." + +[Illustration: "Bill, by jove, it didn't take much of a man either!"] + +Then he left the room. + +Court convened at one o'clock and everything appeared to be ready for +the beginning of the trial. The courtroom was packed with spectators as +the Watts trial had aroused a great deal of interest, and people were +attracted from local and neighboring counties to see the prisoner and +witness his trial. The sheriff did not appear with his prisoner, +however, and the judge sent an officer to notify him that the Court was +waiting. In a few minutes the sheriff appeared, with the officer, but +without the prisoner. He approached the judge's stand and informed him +that he had been unable to induce the prisoner to leave his cell, and +Watts had said he would kill any person who attempted to take him into +court. + +The jail was an old-fashioned stone jail, and the doors leading into +the cells were only about two and one-half feet wide and four feet high, +therefore, a person above four feet in height was obliged to stoop on +entering or leaving the cell. They had old-fashioned wooden bedsteads in +each cell, and Watts had torn his bedstead to pieces that morning and +had taken off one of its legs, which was about three feet long and four +inches square, and of heavy hardwood. He was a powerfully strong man, +and had declared his intention of massacring any person attempting to +enter his cell. He defied the sheriff or any of his officers to enter. +After Judge Sterritt had listened to the sheriff's report, he summoned +me to his chair and said, "Mr. Furlong, you arrested this man in +Illinois and brought him to Brookville. Now I deputize you to go to the +jail and bring Wess Watts, the prisoner, to this bar, as soon as +possible." + +I left the court with the sheriff and went to the jail, in the rear of +the courthouse, and direct to the door of Watts' cell, where I found him +standing in the center of his cell armed with the big club. I tried to +persuade him to leave his cell, and accompany me to the courtroom, but +in vain. He was obstinate and declared he would kill me or any one else +who tried to enter that cell. I found that persuasion was unavailing and +called the sheriff to one side, out of ear shot, and said, "How long +will it take you to heat a few gallons of water to a boil?" + +The sheriff said he thought there was a lot of boiling water in the jail +kitchen, as it was just after dinner. We went to the jail kitchen where +we found a large amount of hot water on hand. We secured a tin wash +boiler and put about five gallons of boiling water into it. I also +obtained a large tin dipper with a long handle. We carried the boiler of +water to the door of Watt's cell. I also armed a big, burly deputy +sheriff named Clover Smith, with an axe handle, and as Smith was +left-handed I placed him at the right hand side of the cell door, while +I placed the boiler of hot water on the left side. I then dipped up a +dipper full of boiling water (about two quarts) and with the long handle +I could reach any part of the cell with the hot water. I threw the first +dipper full at Watts, which struck his breast and upper part of his +body. As he was lightly clad, and the water struck him squarely, he +yelled like a mad lion. I threw two more dippers of scalding water at +him in quick succession, each time the water striking him fairly, and +after I had thrown the third dipper, he made a lightning-like spring for +the open door. As he was obliged to stoop so low that his head almost +touched his knees, Smith, whom I had instructed, struck him with the axe +handle, on the head, felling him to the floor, unconscious. Thereupon, +the sheriff, Smith and myself picked him up and carried him into the +courtroom and laid him on a table before the Judge's stand. There were a +number of doctors present who applied restoratives and brought him to +his senses in a few minutes. + +He was scalded slightly in spots on his neck and body, but otherwise +uninjured, except a good sized bump on the back of his head where Smith +had struck him. + +He showed no further signs of obstinacy and was perfectly easy to +control and handle thereafter until he was landed safely in the state +prison at Allegheny. He pleaded guilty of having made a criminal assault +on a school girl of about sixteen years of age. She was returning to her +home from school between 4 and 5 o'clock in the evening, her home being +on a mountain on the outskirts of Brookville. Watts met her in a lonely +spot on the road and committed a violent and criminal assault. The girl +knew him by sight. He left her by the wayside in an unconscious +condition, from which she partly recovered and managed to reach her +home a few hours later. She told her parents what had happened and that +Wess Watts was her assailant. Whereupon, the father immediately saddled +a horse and rode rapidly to the sheriff's office, and informed that +officer of the crime. + +William P. Steele was sheriff at the time, and immediately summoned a +posse of seventeen men. These men hastily armed themselves with rifles, +shotguns, and pistols and, headed by the sheriff, went to the home of +the Watts', and surrounded the house, which stood on a country road in +the outskirts of Brookville. After the house had been surrounded the +sheriff and one of his men went to the front door where they rapped for +admission. The door was opened by Wess' mother. The sheriff addressed +her as follows: "Mrs. Watts, I have a warrant for Wess' arrest. I am +satisfied that he is here, and your house is surrounded. He had better +give himself up, peaceably, at once." + +Mrs. Watts was about to reply, but before she had time to do so, the +large bony hand of her son Wess was ruthlessly placed upon her shoulder +and she was pulled back into the house, he taking her place in the +doorway. He had a belt about his waist in which could be seen two Colts +navy revolvers. He also had a Colts navy in each hand, and as he stepped +into the doorway he said, "Mother, you need not lie to shield me. I will +take care of myself." + +And turning around he addressed the sheriff thus: "Bill, I counted your +men as they surrounded the house. There are eighteen of you, and I want +to say to you that I have got twenty-four shots right here (referring to +the four six-shooters he was carrying). I know all of you fellows and, +Bill, you know as well as your men know, that I never miss a mark that +I shoot at. Now, I am going to leave this place at once and I will not +bother Brookville again, unless you or any of your men attempt to stop +me. If you do I will kill every man of you and will still have shots +left." Whereupon he extended his hands in front of him so as to brush +Sheriff Steele and his assistant to one side, and suddenly sprang +forward, ran to the gate in front of the house and then across the road +to where there was a high rail fence. He placed one hand on the top rail +and vaulted over the fence and disappeared into a patch of laurel brush +and timber. + +In the meantime the sheriff and his posse, or at least a portion of them +who were in sight of Watts, quietly stood and watched the proceedings +without raising a gun, or attempting to do so. It was after this escape +that Wess and his father, Brooks and the others made their notorious +voyage down the Ohio river to Paducah. + +In conclusion, I will add that on the morning that I arrested Watts at +Shawneetown, I had not the remotest idea of either arresting or +attempting to arrest him, as I was alone and in a strange state and had +no papers authorizing me to make the arrest, as Sheriff Steele had +retained the papers when he became ill at St. Louis. I knew that Watts +had never seen me, therefore, he could not possibly know me or my +business; but, then the terrible reputation he bore in Pennsylvania +would preclude the possibility of almost any sane man attempting to +arrest him without what might be considered proper assistance. Knowing +that he did not know me, and having an irresistible desire to see this +terrible criminal, as I had heard him called, I ventured into his shop +merely to get a look at him, believing that I could give him a plausible +excuse for my early visit; but when I saw him and that he was entirely +unarmed, and he did not really look to be as desperate, or even as +powerful a man as he had been described to be to me, I, being armed, +instantly concluded I could never expect a more favorable opportunity to +arrest him than right then and there, and, as a matter of fact, I found +myself carrying out this resolution really before the resolution had +been fully formed in my mind. I saw before me the man who was much +wanted by the Pennsylvania authorities and believed I could get him then +and there, which I did. + + + + +SOLVING A TRUNK MYSTERY. + +A VERY SLENDER CLUE FASTENS A ROBBERY UPON A BOSOM FRIEND OF THE +VICTIM--THE LOOT RECOVERED. + + +Early in 1872, while I was Chief of Police of Oil City, Pennsylvania, I +was sitting in my office in the City Hall one morning, talking to Col. +E. A. Kelley, who was at that time City Comptroller. His office adjoined +mine. The colonel was a jolly, good-natured gentleman, middle-aged, very +portly, scholarly, and of military bearing. He was a graduate of +Annapolis Naval Academy, and had spent a portion of his early life in +the United States navy. He had traveled a great deal, and was generally +well-informed. He had formed a great liking to me, and took an interest +in the police department, and especially in the detection of criminals +and the capture of them, and loved to talk with me during our leisure +moments relative to that portion of my duties as chief of the +department. + +We were thus engaged in a pleasant conversation, when two young men, who +were probably from twenty-five to twenty-eight years of age, entered the +office and inquired of the Colonel for the Chief of Police. Colonel +Kelley pointed to me saying, "There is the Chief," and arose to leave +the office. I knew that there was no cause for his leaving at the +moment, so asked him to remain, feeling that he would be interested in +the young men's business with me. + +The spokesman of the two said to me that his name was William Brewer, +and that he was the superintendent of an oil company which was operating +a large number of oil wells on the Blood farm, which was located on Oil +Creek, Venango County, Pennsylvania, and about six miles north of Oil +City. He stated that his home was in the state of Ohio, near Cleveland, +where he had bought a small farm for a home for his parents, who were +getting old, and who were now living on this farm. He said that he was +earning a fairly good salary, and that he had been saving his money so +as to make the annual payment on the farm, as he had made the purchase +on the installment plan. His next annual payment of seven hundred +dollars, including the interest, would be due in about a week from that +date. He had been laying his money away in a trunk, which he kept in his +room in the boarding-house. He stated that he had nine hundred dollars +in bank notes, which he kept in a large, leather wallet, and which he +placed in this trunk. He said that he kept the trunk locked, and on that +morning he had occasion to unlock his trunk to take out some clothing, +and to his dismay discovered that the wallet and its contents were +missing. In answer to my question, he stated that he had found the trunk +locked, and apparently intact. I believe I only asked him the one +question. He did all the talking, clearly and distinctly, had a good +face, and his general manner impressed me very much. + +His companion, who looked near enough like him to be a brother, which in +fact, I at first judged him to be, had nothing to say. After listening +attentively to his story, I was silent for a few moments, and finally +asked him how long it would take him to go to his boarding-house and +bring his trunk to my office, in exactly the same condition in which he +had found it. He replied that as the roads were quite bad he thought he +could have the trunk in my office in about four hours. I then explained +to him that as his boarding-house was outside of my jurisdiction as +Chief of Police, that I really would have no right to go there, but that +I would be glad to aid him to the best of my ability; to which he +replied that he would bring the trunk to my office as requested, and +thanked me for my trouble. + +The boys then left the office, and I noticed that they had a horse and +buggy, in which they departed. While this conversation was going on +between myself and Brewer, Col. Kelley was sitting with his arms folded, +intently interested, but silent. When they had gone I returned to my +office, and sat down, where the colonel was waiting for me. After I had +seated myself and lighted a cigar the colonel said to me, "Tom, why did +you ask those boys to bring that trunk here to your office?" I +unhesitatingly replied, "Colonel, I don't know." Right here I want to +assure the reader that my reply was absolutely the truth. I really had +no idea at the time that I asked the young fellow to bring his trunk to +my office why I did so, other than that I had seen, while in the company +of other Chiefs of Police and detectives, that they, as a rule, +invariably cast as much mystery as possible about their work when +dealing with people outside of their departments. Neither did I feel at +liberty to admit to these young men that I felt incapable of solving the +mystery surrounding the disappearance of the money. All of which I +explained to the colonel. He laughingly shook his head and said, "Tom, +you are a detective, sure enough. You are not candid in this explanation +that you have given to me, but I beg your pardon, as it is really +presumptuous on my part to ask you such questions. However, I will just +wait and watch the outcome, which I believe will be all right." I tried +to answer the colonel that I had been candid with him, but it was in +vain. + +In due time, during the afternoon of the same day, the boys returned to +my office, carrying the trunk between them. Col. Kelley was on hand, as +he had evidently been watching for them and had seen them as they +entered my office. I asked him to be seated, and said to Brewer, "I wish +that you would place that trunk in this room in as near the same +position as it was in your room at the boarding-house." + +Brewer said, "Our room is square and nearly the shape of this office, +but not so large. There are two windows in the west side of our room. +They are about five feet apart." And he placed the trunk against the +wall of the office between two windows, which were farther apart than +the windows in his room. After he had placed the trunk, I said to him, +"Now, I want you to approach the trunk just as you did this morning, +when you missed your money, unlock the trunk, and go through the same +motions that you did until you discovered the loss." + +He approached the trunk, got down on his right knee, unstrapped the +trunk, produced a key, unlocked it, turned the lid back against the +wall, then removed the tray which covered the portion of the trunk below +the lid. This trunk was a cheap one, covered with an imitation of +leather, and was comparatively new. The trunk and tray were lined with a +delicate blue paper. The tint was of such a color that it would easily +soil. The tray had sides and ends which were perhaps two inches deep, +and slid down into the lower half of the trunk from the lid, where it +rested upon two cleats at either end. It fitted the trunk snugly. There +were two straps of light colored tape, which were about an inch wide and +were fastened with carpet tacks to the center of each end of the tray. +These tapes acted as handles by which the tray could be lifted from the +trunk. Brewer had to work for some time to get the tray up out of the +trunk, for the reason that one of the tape straps had evidently been +recently jerked from its fastenings. As stated before, these tapes had +been fastened to the tray by means of four large-sized carpet tacks. +When the one strap had been jerked off the tack remained firm in the +tray, but the heads of the tacks had been pulled off. This left a sharp +point on one of the tacks, which projected from the wood about +one-sixteenth of an inch, and like a needle point. + +While Brewer was trying to remove the tray I was kneeling down at one +end of the trunk and noticed the sharp point on the tack. I also noticed +the mark of a thumb, which had been greasy and dirty, and which had been +pressed over the tack as the light paper plainly showed. + +Meanwhile, the young man whom I supposed was the brother, was standing +at the other end of the trunk opposite me, when I happened to look up +just as he turned around towards me, with his hands by his side. I +noticed that the thumb on his right hand, which was calloused and dirty, +had been cut diagonally across, leaving the cut about three-quarters of +an inch long, and about a thirty-second of an inch deep. The cut was +fresh and was beginning to gape open, although not deep enough to bring +blood. The hands of all men employed around oil wells become more or +less saturated with oil, and are rough and calloused. Generally they +present a dirty and greasy appearance. As the fellow turned and I got a +glimpse of the cut in the thumb, I rose from beside the trunk, faced +him, and instantly seized his right hand. I carefully examined the cut, +then looked at the imprint on the end of the tray, and pointing to the +stain, said to him in a sharp, commanding tone, "Where is this man's +money?" + +[Illustration: "Where is this man's money?"] + +He began to cry, and said, "If you will let me go I will get the +money." + +I asked him where the money was, and he said, "I hid it yesterday under +the carpet in the hall at the boarding-house." + +Meanwhile, Brewer had turned ashy pale, and burst into tears, +exclaiming, "My God, Chief, I am sorry to learn that he, above all other +men, has taken my money. He knew all about it. He was the only person +who knew that I kept the money where I did. We have been raised +together. He was my schoolmate and is now my room-mate. His father and +mother live in Ohio and are our nearest neighbors. It would kill them to +know that Jim would do a thing like this. His name is Jim Davis." + +I said to Davis, "Will you go with Brewer and get that money and turn it +over to him, intact?" He promised that he would do so, but he said, +"Chief, I cannot get the money from its hiding place unobserved until +after the people in the house have gone to bed, tonight." + +"That will be all right," said Brewer, "I know Jim will do as he +promises. Now, Chief, if you will not arrest him I will gladly pay you +anything that you may charge me, but please do not arrest him. I could +not appear against him in court, for if I did so it would kill his +mother, and probably my mother too." + +I replied that I would make no charges for my services, and if he was +satisfied it did not matter to me. I said, "You may take charge of him, +and if he does not turn the money over to you at once, I will take the +matter up and have him punished according to law." + +The boys left with the trunk, and the next day Brewer called upon me and +told me that Davis had turned all the money over to him, and had then +attempted to commit suicide. He had gone to a near-by drug store and +purchased a quantity of poison with suicidal intent. Suspecting that +Davis had contemplated ending his life, Brewer had detailed a trusted +and mutual friend to watch him, unknown to Davis, and who seized him and +took the poison away from him before he could use it. + +Davis and Brewer were friends afterwards and became inseparable, as they +had been before that time. If the parents of either of them ever heard +of the occurrence I am not aware of it. + +After the boys had left, Col. Kelley, who had taken in the entire +proceedings in silence, came to me with moisture in his eyes, and said, +"Chief, you are a brick." + + + + +THE GLENCOE TRAIN ROBBERY. + +ARREST AND CONVICTION OF BILLY LOWE AND GEORGE EBBERLING.--A PIECE OF +QUICK WORK. + + +Glencoe is a small station on the Missouri Pacific Railway, twenty-nine +miles west of the city of St. Louis. An east bound train which carried +both mail and passengers was boarded on the night of February 21, 1910, +by two men, who climbed on the front end of what is known by railroad +men as the blind baggage, next to the tender of the engine. These men +were unobserved until the train had passed Glencoe station, when they +climbed over the top of the tank to the engine and covered the engineer +and fireman with drawn revolvers. They were both masked with +handkerchiefs tied over the lower portion of their faces, which entirely +concealed their features below the eyes. They wore slouch hats and were +described by the engineer and fireman and other members of the train +crew who saw them--one as a short, stout built man with very black hair; +the other as a tall, square-shouldered fellow with light-brown hair, +and apparently younger than his stout partner. The stout man was +described as having handled and carried his revolver in his left hand, +while his right hand was bandaged and appeared to have been injured. He +also was reported as having acted as chief and to have given all orders, +and to have handled the locomotive as though he was as perfectly +familiar with the work as an experienced locomotive engineer. These men +compelled the engineer to bring the train to a full stop. They then made +the engineer and fireman accompany them back to the rear end of the last +mail car, when the engineer was forced to disconnect the two mail cars +from the rest of the train. Then the engineer and fireman were marched +back to the engine, and after all four men had again entered the cab, +the short man took charge of the engine, and pulled the express and two +mail cars to a point about three miles east of where the rest of the +train had been left with the crew. They stopped at this point on the +main track and began rifling the sealed mail pouches in one of the mail +cars, continuing this for several minutes, cutting open the sealed +pouches and taking therefrom all the registered mail. They finally +concluded that they were consuming too much time, as trains were liable +to approach from the east. They, therefore, seized a number of large +mail pouches filled with registered mail, and, after instructing the +engineer and fireman to back the engine to Glencoe and take up the rest +of the train again, the men left the railroad on foot, each of them +being loaded down with the registered mail pouches, which they had taken +from the car. They hid these mail bags in a stack of corn-shucks in a +cornfield near the bank of the Meramec River. They had previously stolen +a skiff, or rowboat, which they had hidden in a clump of bushes on the +bank of the river near the cornfield. They took this rowboat and made +their way down the Meramec River a few miles, where they left the boat +and made their way overland back to St. Louis. + +On the morning of February 22, I happened to be in New York City and +upon picking up a morning paper I read the account of the train robbery +and the description that had been given by the train crew of the +robbers. I immediately telegraphed to the manager of my office in St. +Louis to go and tell Mr. Dixon, of St. Louis, Postoffice Inspector in +charge of the district of Missouri, that I knew who the train robbers +were, and where they could be found, and that I would be in St. Louis +the following Saturday and that I would get the guilty men and turn them +over to him or to his assistants in case he, Mr. Dixon, and his force +had not succeeded in locating and arresting the guilty men before I +returned to St. Louis. + +On my return the following Saturday I found Mr. Dixon awaiting me. I +told him that I was satisfied, from the description of the robbers, that +Billy Lowe was the leader in the Glencoe Train Robbery. I told about +having arrested Lowe eleven years before for having taken part, with +others, in the Leads Junction Train Robbery, which had occurred on the +Missouri Pacific Railroad just east and south of Kansas City. He with +the others had held up the train and had blown the express car to pieces +with dynamite. I also told him that I had finally succeeded in obtaining +from Lowe a complete confession as to the part he had taken in the Leads +Robbery, and also the names of his associates in the crime. + +Some of his other companions were also arrested at the time. Lowe took +the witness stand and by his testimony fully substantiated the +confession that he had made to me in the presence of John Hayes, who was +then Chief of Police of Kansas City, Missouri, and D. F. Harbaugh, one +of my men at that time. Lowe afterwards reiterated this confession to +the prosecuting attorney of Kansas City. The prosecutor's name I do not +now remember. + +Lowe having taken the witness stand and having promised the Chief of +Police and Prosecuting Attorney and myself that he would thereafter lead +an honest life, the prosecuting attorney annulled the proceedings +against him and after the trial of his associates Lowe was dismissed. He +was a thorough railroad man. He came to St. Louis and obtained +employment as a switchman in the yards of the Iron Mountain Railroad, +where he met and formed the acquaintance of one George Ebberling, also a +switchman. He and Ebberling became fast friends and continued to work +for the Iron Mountain for several years, when they left the company's +service and went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they obtained employment +in the train service of the Great Northern Railway Company, and finally +worked their way to Spokane, Washington. + +In the meantime I kept track of them, believing that it would be only a +question of time until Lowe would become a train robber again. During +the years of 1908 and 1909 a number of trains were held up and robbed in +the vicinity of Spokane, and I, knowing that Lowe was there, wrote the +officers of the Great Northern Company that I believed that I knew who +the guilty parties were and where they could be found. But these +officers apparently did not deem the information I had sent them worth +answering, as I did not hear from them. + +I knew that both Billy Lowe and Ebberling were in St. Louis prior to the +Glencoe Train Robbery. They had returned early in January and I +immediately had placed a shadow on their movements, and when I read the +description of the men who had robbed the train at Glencoe I at once +became satisfied that Lowe was the man who had handled the engine. He +had visited my office the day preceding the Glencoe affair, and his +right hand was bandaged by reason of boils that he had on his wrist +just above the hand; and then the description in the New York papers was +almost a perfect description of Lowe, and also the description of the +tall man given in the paper was that of Ebberling. + +As soon as they arrived in St. Louis, Lowe had rented an office room on +the upper floor of the Granite Building, on the southwest corner of 4th +and Market streets. Lowe furnished his office and had a number of maps +and charts of mining lands in Alaska, and offered mining stocks for sale +in that country. Ebberling left St. Louis immediately after the Glencoe +robbery. + +A day or so after the robbery, a country merchant, who resides in a +small town near Kansas City, furnished the postoffice inspector with a +clue which afterwards proved that I was right in suspecting Lowe and +Ebberling of the crime. This merchant owed a St. Louis wholesale house a +bill in the neighborhood of $100.00. He had, on the day before the +robbery, remitted the amount by registered letter, keeping a memorandum +of the size, series and numbers of the bills. When he first heard of the +robbery, and knowing that his package was probably a part of the loot, +the merchant sent a copy of the memorandum to the postoffice inspector. +The inspector had several hundred copies of the memorandum printed and +forwarded to the officials of the banks within a radius of five hundred +miles of St. Louis. Within twenty-four hours after the distribution of +these circulars, one of the bills, a ten-dollar gold certificate, was +presented at the receiving teller's window of a Hot Springs National +Bank, by one of its lady depositors--the keeper of a rooming house in +that city. On being questioned as to where she had obtained the bill, +the lady told the teller one of her roomers, Mr. George Ebberling, had +given it to her in exchange for a week's room rent. + +In the meantime, I having learned that Ebberling had gone to Hot +Springs and his address there, notified Inspector Dixon, who immediately +sent one of his assistants to Ebberling's lodging place, where he +secured an adjoining room to enable him to keep a closer watch on the +suspected mail robber. The teller of the bank reported the finding of +the bill to Inspector Dixon promptly, and we immediately planned the +arrest of Lowe. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM W. LOWE. + +Train robber and thief now doing a long sentence for robbing a mail +train near St. Louis.] + +[Illustration: GEORGE EBBERLING. + +Train robber and thief who assisted Lowe in many of his robberies, also +doing time.] + +The following morning accompanied by two of Mr. Dixon's postoffice +inspectors, James Smith, Chief of Detectives of St. Louis, and two of +his men, and my Assistant Superintendent, J. S. Manning, I went to +Lowe's office in the Granite Building, having previously been advised +by Mr. Manning that the man under suspicion was in his office. I pointed +Lowe out to the city officers, who arrested him promptly. He was locked +up and after his arrest, Mr. Dixon telegraphed his inspector at Hot +Springs to arrest Ebberling immediately and bring him to St. Louis. +After Ebberling had been arrested at Hot Springs, when he was asked how +he got possession of the ten-dollar note, before mentioned, he confessed +that he had gotten it from Billy Lowe and made a further and full +confession as to how he and Lowe had robbed the train at Glencoe. + +Lowe did not make a confession, nor did he make any admission as to his +connection with the robbery; on the contrary, he strenuously denied +everything. + +In his confession, Ebberling stated that Jimmy Lowe, a younger brother +of Billy's, knew all about the robbery, and would have taken part in it +but for the fact that he became intoxicated on the evening the robbery +was scheduled to take place and could not make the trip. Ebberling also +stated that James Lowe had visited the cache in South St. Louis where +the guns and masks had been hidden, and brought them to St. Louis and +delivered them to Billy Lowe at his mother's house. + +The amount of money secured from the rifled mail pouches, according to +Ebberling, was between six and seven hundred dollars, but the pouches +which had been "stashed" in the cornfield by the robbers, and afterwards +recovered by the officers, contained a great deal more than this amount. + +Ebberling and Lowe were tried in the April term of the Federal Court at +St. Louis and were convicted--Lowe being sentenced to forty-three years +at Leavenworth, United States Penitentiary, and a fine of $3,000.00, or +the equivalent of two years in prison. Ebberling was sentenced to +eighteen years in Leavenworth Prison, and fined $3,000.00. Jimmy Lowe, +who had laid in jail for months and had taken the witness stand for the +Government, was released and is now leading an honest life, so far as I +know. + +After arriving at the penitentiary Ebberling made a further confession +in which he stated that he and W. W. Lowe had held up and robbed eleven +trains at different points on the Great Northern and the Northern +Pacific Railway lines in the vicinity of Spokane, during 1908 and 1909, +and in this statement he described so accurately the places at which he +and Lowe had hidden certain property they had secured in these robberies +that the United States authorities went to the places designated and +recovered the property. Lowe and Ebberling have since been indicted for +these robberies, proving conclusively that I was right when I wrote the +officers of the roads named that I believed I knew who the parties were +who had been holding up and robbing their trains. + +The Great Northern and the Northern Pacific had offered rewards for the +arrest and conviction of the parties who had committed these +depredations, which aggregate, I understand, $20,000.00; but, as I have +always strictly adhered to a rule that I formed early in my career, +never to work for or receive rewards that might be offered for the +arrest and conviction of any person, I did not claim the rewards offered +by the two railroads. My reason for not accepting rewards is fully +explained in another portion of this book. + + + + +RUNNING DOWN THE REVOLUTIONISTS. + +DIFFICULT PIECE OF DETECTIVE WORK PERFORMED FOR THE MEXICAN +GOVERNMENT--SENSATIONAL SCENES ATTENDING THE ARREST OF THE LEADERS. + + +Early in the Twentieth Century a movement, which had for its object the +overthrow of the Diaz government in Mexico, crystalized. The +revolutionists went about this work very quietly at the beginning, but +later became more bold, and finally the majority of the leaders in the +movement were driven from that country. Headquarters were first +established at Laredo, across the border, but afterwards at El Paso and +at Tombstone, Arizona. + +As this was a violation of the neutrality laws, at the instance of the +Mexican government the El Paso and Tombstone junta were broken up, and +its officers disappeared. Within a few months the Mexican government +learned that the revolutionists had again gotten together, and were once +more flooding that country with inflammable literature. I was employed +in 1907 by Enrique C. Creel, at that time Governor of Chihuahua, to +locate the new headquarters of the junta, and find out what was going +on. I soon went to work on the case, and found that the new headquarters +of the revolutionists had been established in St. Louis, in the 900 +block on North Channing avenue. Ricardo Flores Magon was the president, +Antonio I. Villerreal, Vice-President, and Labardo Rivera, Secretary, of +the junta. I also learned that Ricardo Flores Magon was editing and +publishing a scurrilous and inflammatory paper in St. Louis under a +fictitious name. The paper was supposed to be published monthly, and was +called the Mexican Regeneracion. Magon's staff consisted of his brother, +Enrique Flores Magon, Antonio I. Villerreal, Labrado Rivera, and a +number of lesser lights, among them Munwell Lo Pez, Manuel Sarabia, +Tomaso Sarabia, and a number of women, two of whom were sisters of +Villerreal. + +Villerreal's father, who was a very old man, sold newspapers on the +streets of St. Louis for a living. Villerreal's sisters were named +Andrea, the elder, and Teresa, the younger. + +Antonio de P. Araujo used the following aliases, German Riesco, Alberto +M. Ricaurte, Joaquin P. Calvo, Luis F. Carlo, and A. G. Hermandez. +Tomaso S. Labrado was a protege, a sort of a "man Friday" for Antonio de +P. Araujo. Araujo made his headquarters at Austin, Texas, for quite a +while, but finally established his permanent abode at McAlester, +Oklahoma, and was a live wire. + +Villerreal's sisters lived in a basement with their old father for a +while. Their place of residence was East Convent street, St. Louis. It +was the basement of a rickety old tenement house, and besides themselves +and their father, there was a woman who represented herself to be the +aunt of Ricardo Flores Magon, and gave her name as LoPaz. I never heard +of her claiming any relationship with Enrique Flores Magon, who was +Ricardo Flores Magon's brother. The old mother of Juan Sarabia, and the +wife and two children of Labrado Rivera, also lived in the same place. +Juan Sarabia was the cousin of Manuel and Tomaso Sarabia, who were +brothers. The entire furnishings of this hovel could have been moved in +two good wheel barrow loads. The whole outfit was very poor and lived in +what appeared to be abject poverty and filth. None of the members of the +junta were in any way connected with the first families of Mexico. + +To write up the characteristics, ideas, habits and the practices of the +members of the St. Louis junta, I have material enough to cover reams of +foolscap, much of which would be uninteresting to the American people. I +will, therefore, confine myself to the final locating of Magon, +Villerreal and Labrado Rivera, the originators and the ringleaders of +the conspiracy, their arrest in Los Angeles and their extradition to +Tombstone, Arizona, after they had been in jail for nearly two years, +during which time they exhausted all legal resources in attempting to +avoid extradition to Arizona, where they stood charged with having +violated the United States neutrality laws. A large sum of money was +raised and contributed by sympathizing Mexicans who resided in and +about Los Angeles, as well as by the different labor organizations, to +assist them in their defense. The laboring classes in California and +throughout the United States sympathized with these so-called +revolutionists, Magon and his party, as much as though they had been +respectable, honest working people. If the Magons, or any of his +followers, mentioned heretofore, ever did a noble or patriotic act in +their lives, either in the United States or Mexico, I have never +succeeded in learning of the fact, and from the information I obtained I +am satisfied that none of them ever attempted to earn a living by honest +labor. + +I succeeded in locating Magon, Villerreal and Rivera in a cabin in the +western part of Los Angeles, where they were entire strangers and their +real identity was known to but two people in the city. Magon had made it +a rule to never trust his fellow countrymen, or any one else. Many +Mexicans in Los Angeles knew Magon was in or near the city, and knew him +as the leader of the Mexican rebellion, but did not know him personally, +nor would he permit them to know him. + +There was a man there by the name of Modeska Diaz, who knew Magon and +his party was in the city and visited him in his sanctum, always between +midnight and daylight. Magon used this man's name, Modeska Diaz, as the +editor of his paper in Los Angeles. There was also a married woman, a +Mexican, fairly good looking, thirty-eight or forty years of age, light +complexioned and an admirer of Ricardo Flores Magon, and this admiration +was reciprocated. She visited him occasionally, always at late hours. +She and the man Diaz were the only persons in Los Angeles who were aware +of Magon's place of abode. They were also the only people in Los Angeles +who knew him personally. + +After I had succeeded in locating the cabin where these men were living, +I was fortunate in securing rooms just across the street and from my +window was able to watch everything that went on in the retreat of the +Magon party. I kept them under surveillance, day and night, for a month +before making the arrests. They left in the day time and did all their +work at night, beginning as soon as it got dark and keeping up their +work until daylight. + +I soon discovered that Villerreal was absent. He had been arrested by +the United States authorities the year before at El Paso, Texas, and +placed in jail, where he remained for months, and was finally put in +charge of a deputy United States marshal, who started to escort him +across the line, as an undesirable citizen, but en route he obtained +permission from his guard to enter a telegraph office at El Paso, +claiming that he wished to notify his sisters, by telegraph, that he was +being deported. He left the officer standing at the front door of the +telegraph office and passed through the place and escaped by the rear +door, and thereby established a great reputation for himself among the +lower classes of his fellow countrymen. The newspapers made a great +sensation of the affair, and referred to it as a hair-breadth and +miraculous escape from the United States authorities. The facts are, +that his escape was from one deputy United States marshal, a half-breed +Mexican, who was almost immediately after Villerreal's escape dismissed +from the service. It was afterwards rumored around El Paso that the +deputy had been bribed. For this reason I decided not to arrest the +others until Villerreal appeared on the scene. I felt sure that it would +be only a question of time when he would join his master, Magon, in Los +Angeles, as it would be necessary for him to make his report to Magon on +the progress in the mission that had been assigned to him in Arizona. + +Finally, on the night of August 22nd, about midnight, Villerreal was +seen to enter the cabin. Satisfying myself as to his identity, I +decided to arrest them the following day, August 23rd. + +We had discovered that the inmates of the cabin used large coal-oil +lamps, and, as I expected Magon and his companions would resist arrest, +there was a chance that the lamps might be upset and explode. This would +set fire to the place, and thereby destroy papers and documentary +proofs, and for this reason I decided to make the arrests in daylight. + +At five o'clock on the evening of the 23rd, we surrounded the cabin. I +had with me two Los Angeles police officers and two of my own men. We +found Villerreal and Magon asleep, and Rivera sitting in a chair, also +in slumberland, although he was supposed to be on guard at the back +door. Our appearance had been so quietly arranged that the parties were +completely taken by surprise and did not have time to reach their arms. +They fought hard, however, and continued to struggle all the way from +the cabin to the jail, a distance of at least three miles. A wagon +happened to pass the place at the time and I pressed it into service, +and it kept us busy to keep the prisoners in the wagon, as they +struggled and fought the entire distance, and kept up a continual +squawking, which reminded one of a flock of wild geese. None of them +spoke English, and the only things they could say were that they were +being kidnapped and the words "help" and "Liberales." + +It was just the time in the evening when people were leaving their +places of work and going home, and the streets were thronged with +people. We had to go north on Spring street, the principal street of the +city. By reason of the continual uproar created by the prisoners it +proved to be the most sensational arrest that had ever been made in Los +Angeles up to that time. + +We landed them safely in the city prison, and without any one sustaining +serious injury, except a few teeth knocked out, bruised faces and black +eyes. To my great surprise Villerreal, who had been so much lauded for +his undaunted courage, was the easiest one of the party to subdue, and +seemed to possess the least courage of anyone in the party. + +A remarkable feature of this affair was that this party of agitators +appealed to the sympathy of the working element. The laboring classes, +nearly to a man, were in sympathy with them. I know that none of them +had ever been connected with the working man's interests, nor were they +laboring men themselves. They were simply agitators and people who were +always trying to obtain something for nothing. + +Guiterrez de Lara posed as a Mexican novel writer, and claimed to have +been admitted to the bar as a lawyer in Mexico, and fled from there, +going to Los Angeles, California, where he sought refuge. He obtained a +meal ticket by marrying the proprietress of a lodging house, who was an +American old enough to be his mother. He was not known to be connected +with the revolutionary movement in Mexico, and was entirely unknown to +the Magon faction until he broke into the limelight after Magon and his +party had been arrested. De Lara was tall, inclined to be slender, had +long, black, wavy hair, which he kept carefully parted in the middle, +had some education, spoke no English, and was a typical agitator, and +opposed to all law, order or government. However, he was not suspected +by the people of Los Angeles as having either moral or physical courage. + +Manuel Sarabia, one of their number, was a printer by trade. He had gone +to Chicago during the printers' strike and took a position with M. A. +Donahue, Hammond, Ind. He was a "scab" printer for one whole winter. I +had him under surveillance all the time. Magon and the others all knew +he was a strike breaker, as he had been in communication with them from +time to time. + +Rivera, after leaving his wife and children, started west to join +Magon. He worked his way from Kansas City by stealing rides on freight +trains, and in the same way from there to Denver, Colorado. Here he +stayed around the Union depot, playing porter until the regular porters +drove him away. He next made his way to Leadville and worked there, also +as a "scab" porter. He was continuously on the lookout for detectives, +and imagined that every person who looked at him was one, when, as a +matter of fact, we knew his whereabouts continuously from the time he +left St. Louis until he joined Magon in Los Angeles. In fact, it was by +following him that we finally located Magon's place of abode. + +Munwell LoPaz was commissioned by Magon as general organizer for the +so-called revolutionary army. He went from St. Louis to San Antonio, +Texas, where he commenced organizing volunteers for the "army," and had +considerable success, until he received orders to go to Monterey, +Mexico, for the same purpose. On receiving these orders he secured the +services of Tomaso Labrada, and left him in charge of his affairs in San +Antonio, while he went to Monterey. + +One of our operatives, who was shadowing him, informed me of LoPaz's +movements. I was in San Antonio at the time. I arrived in Monterey +twelve hours after LoPaz reached there, and the following day I +succeeded in capturing him at the postoffice in Monterey. I turned him +over to the authorities, and some credentials and other papers found on +him caused the authorities to send him immediately to the City of +Mexico. + +During the four years that I was employed by the Mexican Government to +look after the Magon faction, I came in contact with a number of the +leading officers of that government, among them President Diaz, +Vice-President Corral, and Ambassador to the United States, Enrique C. +Creel, and his successor, Senor De La Barra. I found them all +gentlemen, good business men, honest, high-minded, and, I believe, +thoroughly loyal to the people of Mexico. I found that the people of +Mexico seemed to have great confidence in and respect for President +Diaz. All the officials were very popular with the exception of +Vice-President Corral. He was the most unpopular officer connected with +the Mexican government, and I have no doubt that the dislike the people +of Mexico bore for him was a great factor in creating the disfavor that +finally caused the overthrow of Diaz's administration. + +Ricardo Flores Magon was a man of brain, well mannered, inclined to be +courteous, and educated and undoubtedly intended for a leader of men, +but he was unscrupulous and irresponsible, and was an anarchist at +heart. + +Enrique Flores Magon, his younger brother, was educated, with a +disposition and manners similar to those of his brother, inclined to be +timid, verging on cowardice. + +Lebrada Rivera was forty years of age, small of stature, light weight, +and from his appearance might have been mistaken for a Japanese. He was +well educated in Spanish and was at one time connected with the +university or school at San Luis Potosi. It was claimed by some of his +friends that he had been a professor of this school, but, by his +appearance and subsequent actions he was more like a janitor or +assistant janitor. + +Villerreal was about the medium height, well built and rather good +looking, about thirty-odd years of age, had some education, and took +great care of a luxurious head of black, kinky hair, and a pretentious +mustache, which were, in my opinion, his most valuable assets. + +Juan Sarabia was between thirty and thirty-five years of age, and fairly +well educated, was quite an orator, thoroughly disloyal to his country +and a violent agitator, although he possessed more courage than any of +his associates. + +Munwell LoPaz, Manuel Sarabia and Tomaso Sarabia, represented +themselves as important factors in the revolutionary movement. They +pretended to hold official positions of great importance in the junta, +when, as a matter of fact, the importance of their positions in the +junta would compare favorably with that of a bellboy in a first-class +hotel to that of the manager, who was Magon. + +Magon, Villerreal and Rivera were finally extradited to Tombstone, +Arizona, where they were tried in the United States court, convicted and +sentenced to the Arizona state prison at Yuma for a term of eighteen +months each for having violated the United States neutrality laws, by +having organized an armed body of revolutionists at Douglas, Ariz., from +where this expedition was sent to the Cannanea copper mines, in Mexico, +about thirty miles from the south border of Arizona, with the intention +of exterminating all Americans and other foreigners who were employed in +and about the Cannanea mines. + +Fortunately for the foreigners around these mines, the Arizona rangers, +who were then an active body, pursued this mob of revolutionists, but +did not overtake them, until they had reached there and began what might +have been a massacre, but for the timely appearance of the Arizona +rangers. They put the so-called revolutionists, but who should have been +called bandits, to flight, capturing a few of the participants. It +should be remembered that the Magons, Villerreal and Rivera, while not +taking an active part in this raid, guided their adherents from a long, +and what they considered a safe, distance. + +In my judgment the penalty for the violation of the neutrality laws of +the United States are not as severe as they should be. + +Just as soon as these men had served their time out and were released +(within two months) they had reorganized and started the rebellion in +Mexico, that finally resulted in the overthrow of President Diaz's +administration. However, this was not accomplished by Magon or his +followers. It was accomplished by parties who were enemies of the Magon +faction. They quietly organized and stepped in at the opportune time to +reap the benefit of the turmoil, disruption and dissension that had been +created by the Magon faction. This faction was headed by Madero, who had +financial means and a somewhat better class of followers than Magon. + +Madero's victory over the federal army was a comparatively easy one, as +the government army had become completely honey-combed with disloyalty. +When President Diaz became aware of existing conditions there was +nothing left for him to do but leave his country to save his life. + +It is to be hoped that the newly formed administration of Madero will +bring peace and prosperity to the people of Mexico. However, at the +present time, the writer has some doubts as to the fulfillment of this +hope. + +While the arrest and capture of Ricardo Flores Magon and his associates +at Los Angeles, California, on the 23rd of August, 1907, may not +interest the American reader very much, I want to say that by reason of +the shrewdness of Ricardo Magon and the secrecy that he engendered into +his followers, the fact that none of them spoke English, and each and +every one of them had many aliases, and did all of their important +corresponding in various systems of cipher, and the further fact that +the Magon brothers continually kept their Mexican followers from getting +to know them personally, and from the secret methods employed by them on +all occasions, I consider the final location and capture of these +parties, under all of the foregoing circumstances, the most difficult, +as well as one of the most important, cases I have ever handled. + +As a matter of course, after these people had been arrested and had had +various hearings in the courts of Los Angeles while they were fighting +extradition to Arizona, the officers of this country, as well as of +Mexico, had the opportunity of becoming acquainted with their faces and +their methods, and, therefore, before they were extradited from Los +Angeles, many of the police officers and others in that city and all +along the Mexican border would tell people all about Magon and his +followers, and have been known to say that they knew all about them and +their methods; that their capture had been a very easy proposition, and +that had I not succeeded in capturing them just when I did that they +were about to have made the capture themselves, when as a matter of fact +these officers did not have the slightest idea as to the whereabouts of +this party, nor were any of these people known to any of the officers on +either side of the line, nor their methods, until after the capture and +the subsequent development in the courts. + + + + +A DALLAS MURDER AVENGED. + +PROMPT ARREST AND CONVICTION OF THE MURDERER AND SUICIDE OF THE +INSTIGATOR OF THE CRIME WHILE AWAITING TRIAL. + + +Early in the '90s, I received a telegram from James Arnold, Chief of +Police of Dallas, Texas, and Ben Cabel, County Sheriff of Dallas, +requesting me to come to Dallas immediately for consultation in a murder +case. Knowing both gentlemen well, having done business with them +before, I answered that I would start for Dallas the following day, +which I did. + +I arrived in Dallas late on Wednesday evening. I found Chief Arnold and +Sheriff Cabel waiting for me at the depot. We went to my hotel +immediately where we could have a quiet conference. For obvious reasons +I will not give the true names of the principals connected with this +dastardly crime, but will state the actual facts which led to the arrest +and conviction of the murderer, and to the suicide of the real +principal. + +The Chief and Sheriff told me the nature of the case for which I had +been summoned. They said that on Sunday night, preceding, a prominent +citizen of Dallas (whom I will call Temple) had boarded a heavily loaded +electric car, downtown, in front of one of the principal churches, for +his home. The car had at least forty or fifty passengers, most of whom +were returning home from the evening services, which Temple had +attended. Temple lived on the outer edge of the city in the better +residence portion. When the car reached his home he got off and started +towards his front gate. There were a number of shade trees in front of +his home; the street at this point was well lighted by arc lights, one +of which was suspended above the point where he had left the car. As he +stepped from the street to the edge of the side-walk, a colored man, who +had been concealed behind a shade tree, sprang out and was seen by a +number of passengers who were on the rear end of the car to strike +Temple a powerful blow on the head with something like a baseball bat. +After striking the blow, the negro dropped his weapon and his hat, and +fled into an alley, disappearing in the darkness. The people who had +witnessed the assault, hastened to Temple, who lay unconscious on the +sidewalk, picked him up and carried him into his house. Doctors were +summoned, and found that Temple's head had been split from the crown to +the level of the eyes. He was still breathing, but only lived a few +moments, never regaining consciousness. The Chief and Sheriff were sent +for and found that the weapon was a piece of 1½-inch gas pipe, near four +feet long. The blow was so powerful that it bent the pipe, midway, to +almost an L-shape. They also found the hat, which the murderer dropped, +to be a new, cheap, broad-brimmed, black hat and was of unusually large +size. It was too large for any ordinary sized head and indicated to me +that it was probably too large for the man who had worn it, and for that +reason had fallen off with the first violent move the wearer had made. +The witnesses to the crime had all had a plain view of the slayer, and +described him as a young negro, very black, about five feet eight inches +tall, well built, and apparently well dressed. They all agreed that he +had the features of a white man, thin lips, straight nose and regular +features. In fact, a number believed him to be a white man who had +blackened his face. + +During our conference I learned that Temple had a brother, who was a +prominent physician, and who lived in Springfield, Illinois. He had been +sent for by his sister-in-law, arriving in Dallas on Tuesday. The doctor +was anxious to have his brother's assassin brought to justice, if +possible, and had asked them to recommend a detective to him for that +purpose, so they had wired me to come on to Dallas. It was midnight by +this time, and I was tired. After making an appointment with Sheriff +Cabel to accompany him to the scene of the murder the next morning, I +retired. + +Next morning Chief Arnold, Sheriff Cabel and I went over the ground. I +examined the hat and the piece of pipe, which the murderer had used, and +I noticed that this pipe was new and had been cut from the end of a long +joint. It was evident to me that it had been cut to the proper length +so that he (the assassin) could conceal it in carrying it to the place +of the murder. I then began my investigations. + +There was a large colony of negroes in Dallas, as in other Texas towns, +but no one seemed to know a colored man who had a white man's features. +All the witnesses agreed that they had never seen any one who looked +like the murderer before. It was, of course, necessary for me to +discover the motive for the murder, since in all crimes of this +character there is a motive. + +I found that Mr. Temple had been superintendent of a Sunday School. He +was also in the wholesale lumber business, and was associated with two +parties in the business. One of them I will call Smith and the other +Perry. When the partnership had been formed they agreed to take out a +ten thousand dollar life insurance policy on each other's life, and to +carry these policies on the company funds. I learned that Temple had +incurred the enmity of a number of citizens; among them was a +brother-in-law, who at one time had been heard to threaten his life. +Temple had had some litigation with a saw-mill proprietor who lived in +east Texas. This litigation involved about fifty thousand dollars, and +had been in court for several years. Finally a decision had been +rendered in favor of Temple, a short time prior to his murder. The +saw-mill proprietor of east Texas had the reputation of being a good +citizen, honorable and reliable in business, but had killed two or more +people, for which he had been exonerated by the courts. From the above +the reader can understand that I had already discovered what might prove +to be several "motives" for the crime. + +At noon on the second day after my arrival at Dallas, I had eaten my +dinner and walked out of the Grand Windsor Hotel, where I was stopping, +to the corner in front of the hotel, where I stopped for a moment, as I +was undecided whether to go up or down the street first, there being +people in both directions whom I wished to see. It was raining. There +was a fine-looking young woman coming across the street towards me. As +she approached I noticed that she was a colored girl, but about as white +as myself. Her hair was kinky and of a deep reddish color. Her eyes were +large and blue. She was tall, well dressed, but had large brown freckles +about the size of a little finger nail. Her carriage was graceful, and +were it not for the freckles and kinky hair she would have been called a +beauty. Her graceful movements attracted my attention, and as I looked +at her a hand was laid on my shoulder. On looking around I beheld Doctor +Temple. He said in an undertone, "What do you think of her?" + +I said, "She is a freak of nature." + +He answered, "Yes, she is a freak of nature. I noticed her yesterday in +that building where my brother had his office. She appeared to be having +an earnest conversation with the janitor." After a few other remarks the +doctor left me and I concluded to go and see a party that I thought +could give me some information. I could not get that colored girl out of +my mind, and before I had gone a block I decided that I would go and +find out who she was, and what her business was with the janitor of the +building where the lumberman had had his office. I knew that Sheriff +Cabel would know who this girl was, as he knew every one in Dallas. I +turned around and went back to the court house, where I found the +sheriff and said, "Sheriff, I saw a colored girl near the hotel a short +time ago (here I described her) and I would like to know who she is and +something about her." + +The sheriff said, "That girl is known as Liza Johnson. You know Emma +Johnson. She's the daughter of an old colored woman who lived for many +years with Emma Johnson. Her mother died when she was a child and Emma +raised her like her own daughter. She's a good girl and Emma thinks a +great deal of her; Emma can tell you all about her, and I will take you +over to Emma's if you want me to." This he did. + +We called on Miss Johnson, and the sheriff introduced me, and told her I +was a friend of his, asking her to treat me accordingly, to which she +assented. + +I said, "I want to know something about your maid, Liza. I understand +that she has been seen in an office building over on Commerce St. and I +am anxious to learn what business took her to that building." + +She replied, "Why, I don't really know, but I reckon I can find out. +About a month ago the negroes here in Dallas had a picnic and Liza went +to that picnic. She met a young negro there and he brought her home. I +saw him, and he was good looking, well dressed, and appeared to be +fairly well educated. He was black as ink though, but had good features, +like those of a white man. He had thin lips, small mouth and a straight +nose. If he had been a white man he'd have been good looking." This was +an exact description of the slayer of Mr. Temple. Continuing, she said, +"He came here from some place down in the state. He is a stranger here +and don't mix with the other colored people. He's acting as a sort of +body-servant to his master, who has an office in that building on +Commerce St." + +I then asked, "What is his name?" + +She replied, "His first name is John, and his last name is the same as +his master's. I can't recall it." + +"Was his master's name Perry?" I asked. + +"Yes," she answered, "That's it, John Perry. But John is not in town +now. He left town last Monday. He came over and saw Liza, and told her +he was going to San Antonio to attend the races there this week. He +writes her every day, though, and she got a letter from him this +morning." + +I asked her if she could let me see the letter without Liza's knowledge. +She said, "Oh, yes, I'll send Liza over to the drug store on an errand +and I can get it then before she returns." + +She sent Liza to the drug store, and got the letter and gave it to me. +It was in the envelope and had been mailed the day before at San An--the +balance of the word not appearing, because the mailing stamp had not +touched the paper. I believe it to be San Antonio, since he was supposed +to be there. + +Upon receiving this information I asked Miss Johnson to treat my visit +in confidence, which she promised to do. I then located a plumbing shop +where I found the proprietor and his brother, about eighteen years of +age, who at once recognized the piece of pipe, which he said he had cut +from a large joint for a negro the Friday before the murder. He +described the negro fully as Miss Johnson and others had done, and said +he could identify him any place on sight. I immediately arranged with +the elder plumber for his brother to accompany me to San Antonio at my +expense, with the understanding that I was to pay him for his time. The +boy put on his best clothes and we left Dallas that night for San +Antonio, arriving there next morning. We went to the Menger Hotel, and +while at breakfast the hotel clerk brought me a telegram from Sheriff +Cabel, of Dallas, reading as follows: + +"Go to San Angelo, Texas, at once." + +Before leaving Dallas I had arranged with the sheriff and Miss Johnson +to examine all letters received by Liza. On the morning of my arrival at +San Antonio Liza received a letter from the San Angelo postoffice with +the postmark plainly stamped upon it. I took the first train for San +Angelo, which left that evening. We arrived at San Angelo next morning, +Sunday. + +San Angelo was, at the time, a small cattle shipping town, and within an +hour after our arrival I learned that the negro, John Perry, had left +San Angelo on Saturday evening, with a ticket to Lampasas, Texas. I also +learned that I could not leave for Lampasas until Sunday evening, as +there was only one daily train each day. Sunday evening we left for +Lampasas, where we arrived about 8:00 a. m. Monday morning. Lampasas was +the county seat and it was court week. The town was filled to +overflowing by reason of the court. The depot was about one-half mile +from the postoffice in the center of the city. Getting off the train the +boy and myself walked over to the hotel, and as we neared the postoffice +we noticed a large crowd around it evidently waiting for mail. The boy +from Dallas called my attention to a colored man, who was wearing a +light Fedora hat, with a blue serge suit, and was well dressed. He stood +away from the crowd near the postoffice, evidently waiting for mail. The +boy pointed to him and said, "That's the nigger that I sold that piece +of pipe to." + +We were in front of the store when he recognized John Perry, whom it +proved to be. I told the boy to stay right there until I had captured +the negro. He could then quietly follow us to the jail unobserved. I +went over near the place where the negro stood and concluded that I +would wait until he had received mail, which he was evidently expecting. +In a few moments the negroes formed a line to the window where they +received their mail. In a short time John reached the window and +received a letter. He left the line and walked around the corner of the +building, opened the letter and took from it a couple of bank notes, +hastily placed them in his vest pocket and proceeded to read the letter, +which was written in lead pencil. Meanwhile, I had gotten within reach +of him without being noticed by him or any one else, when I suddenly +threw a 41-calibre Colt revolver into his face, commanding him to throw +up his hands. To my surprise he suddenly plunged his hand inside the +waist of his trousers and attempted to draw a nine-inch barrel, +45-calibre Colts, concealed under his vest. Before he could draw it I +seized his hand and his revolver and commanded him in forcible tone to +desist. The moment I leveled my revolver on him the crowd's attention +was attracted. One of them, who was standing very close, was about six +feet tall, and really the thinnest looking individual I had ever seen. +He wore a hat with a very wide brim, making him look much thinner. He +promptly threw a 45 Colt on both of us, and with a voice as shrill as a +wild goose, yelled, "Heah, heah, I am the sheriff of this county and I +command peace." + +To which I replied, "Mr. Sheriff, take hold of this negro. I'm an +officer from Dallas and have arrested him for murdering a white man +there." + +The sheriff grabbed one side and I the other, and we started for the +jail, nearby. The crowd hearing that I had arrested him for the murder +of a white man, talked of lynching, but the sheriff, whom they knew and +respected, told them that the prisoner should be dealt with by law, and +that he intended to protect him. We took him to jail, where I searched +him. I took from him the letter which he had just received, and which he +tried to tear in pieces. I also took the two bank notes which he had +received in the letter. They proved to be two treasury notes. I placed +the fragments of the letter together, which had been mailed from Dallas +and which read about as follows: + +"I enclose you one hundred dollars, on receipt of which you must go +quietly and at once to the City of Mexico. I will join you there. +Detectives are on to us, and you must not let them catch you. It would +be fatal." (Signed) John Perry. + +I took everything of a metallic nature from him, and had the sheriff +lock him up in a cell, as I knew he would be compelled to remain in +Lampasas for twenty-four hours, until we could get a train for Dallas. + +By the time he was searched and locked up it was nearly the dinner hour, +and I instructed the sheriff to feed the prisoner, but not to allow him +a knife or any article with which he could do himself bodily harm. I +explained to him that it was very important that I get the prisoner back +to Dallas safely, as we wanted to get a statement from him as to why he +had killed Temple. + +I had just gone into the dining room to get something to eat, when a +deputy sheriff rushed into the room and called my name, to which I +answered. He said excitedly, "Come to the jail at once. That nigger of +yours has cut his damned head nearly off." + +The hotel was just opposite the jail and it took only a short time to +get there. I found the jailor, on discovering what the prisoner had +done, had pulled him out of the cell into the corridor, where he was +lying on the iron floor, with his throat cut almost from ear to ear. In +the cutting he had not severed the jugular vein, but had cut the wind +pipe. It was a tremendous gash. He could breathe fairly well, and could +speak, but with difficulty. + +Meanwhile the sheriff had summoned an old doctor, who arrived at the +jail shortly. He looked at the prisoner and said, "Why, that nigger will +die. I can't do a thing for him," and he positively refused to do +anything. I pleaded with him to sew up the wound and save the life, as +it was of great importance to the people of Dallas. It was all in vain. +We finally succeeded in getting a young doctor of the town, who came and +tenderly dressed the wound, and stated that with proper care the negro +would live. I assisted the doctor all that I could, and stayed there +with him from that time until we left Lampasas the next morning. I had +my meals brought to the jail to me. + +About the middle of the afternoon, after the wound was dressed, Perry +began to feel better, and I presume, by reason of my kind treatment of +him he told me that his young master, John Perry, had induced him to +come to Dallas for the purpose of killing his partner, Mr. Temple; that +he (his master) had paid his expenses and had been liberal in furnishing +him with spending money, also that he was to give him five hundred +dollars after he had killed Temple. He said he did not want to do it, +and tried to get out of it after he had reached Dallas, but his master +threatened to kill him unless he did so. He said he killed Temple +because he feared his master would kill him. He said that on the Sunday +night previous to the murder he was about to pounce upon another man of +Temple's congregation. This man resembled Temple so much that he was +about to kill him for Temple, and would have done so but for the fact +that his master was in hiding across the street and rushed out and +prevented his making a mistake. He also confessed that he had received +a telegram on the day that he had left San Angelo, telling him to go to +Lampasas and call at the post-office for a letter, which was the letter +mentioned above. + +Whereupon, I wrote a telegram to Sheriff Cabel, which read as follows: +"Negro has cut his throat and is dying. Give this message to the +newspapers and have them get out an extra at once, without fail. Will +wire you explanation two hours later." + +I sent this message to the telegraph office by the plumber boy. + +After I had decided to leave Dallas to arrest Perry, I wired a code +message to one of my operatives, D. F. Harbaugh, to come to Dallas on +the first train and call for a letter of instructions that I left for +him at my hotel. This letter was to the effect that he should carefully +shadow the white man, John Perry, as soon as he arrived at Dallas, and +keep him under continuous surveillance until further orders. + +Harbaugh arrived at Dallas on Saturday and began shadowing Perry +according to instructions. As soon as Cabel received my first message he +called up the newspapers and they got out an extra at once. The white +John Perry got one of the first extras. He read the account of the +colored man having killed himself, and at once left his office and +started for his lodgings, about a mile away. On his way he stopped at +every saloon en route (they numbered thirteen in all) and took a large +drink at each place. By the time he reached home he had taken at least +thirteen drinks. + +Two hours after sending the first message, I sent Sheriff Cabel a second +one, which read as follows: + +"Negro doing well; will recover. Leave here on morning train for +Dallas. Treat this confidentially and meet me at Temple tomorrow +morning. Arrest John Perry on charge of complicity in Temple murder. +Have full confession of negro which justifies this action." + +Sheriff Cabel did as directed, and met me at Temple the following +morning, where we had to change cars for Dallas. We arrived in Dallas +about 8:00 P. M. Tuesday, and during the long journey from Lampasas to +Dallas the jolting of the cars, etc., caused the negro's wound to become +inflamed, and he was suffering greatly when we reached Dallas. The +sheriff had telegraphed ahead for a physician to await us at the jail. +The negro was placed on a cot in the corridor where the doctor could +redress his wound. While the doctor was so engaged the master, John +Perry, who was a prisoner in one of the cells on the upper floor of the +jail, could plainly see all that was going on below. He recognized the +negro and immediately attempted to kill himself by butting his head +against the steel bars of his cell. The sheriff and his assistants and +myself were attracted by the actions of the white man, and at once +rushed to the cell. Here we found that the white prisoner had almost +beaten out his brains against the bars of his cell. Medical aid was +called and a guard placed inside the cell with him to prevent any +further personal violence. + +The following day the papers were full of what had occurred, and owing +to the high standing of Perry, the jail was flooded with sympathizers, +among whom were many leading citizens. Telegrams from all parts of the +state, from influential people, poured in, tendering the prisoner all +sorts of aid, financially and otherwise. An able counsel volunteered to +defend him, and society ladies began to send him luncheons and +delicacies of all kinds. + +The prisoner had offered as an excuse for trying to commit suicide that +he felt so humiliated by being charged with murdering his partner. He +declared that he was innocent and that he would be exonerated in court; +which I have no doubt he would, as the main proof against him was the +testimony of a negro, which does not usually go very far in court in the +south when it cannot be strongly corroborated. + +The colored prisoner continued to improve, and the white man seemed to +get along nicely for about five days, when a young society woman sent +him a luncheon, in which was a cut glass plate containing delicacies. +While he was eating this lunch, and the guard was at the far end of the +cell Perry suddenly struck the plate on the steel floor of the cell, +breaking it into pieces. He picked up a large, triangular-shaped piece +of glass, with edges as sharp as a razor, and plunged it into his +throat, at the same time giving the piece of glass a twist, which +severed the jugular vein, causing his death in a few minutes. Thus ended +the existence of the white John Perry. + +The colored man pleaded guilty at his trial, and was sentenced to the +state prison for life, where, I presume, he is at the present time. + +I omitted to state that after I had searched the colored John Perry at +Lampasas, and had instructed the sheriff and jailor not to allow him to +have a knife or anything of the kind with his meal, Perry had called the +jailor and told him that he had gotten a sliver in his finger, and asked +the jailor to lend him his knife to remove the sliver. The old jailor, +having evidently forgotten my instructions, gave the prisoner his pocket +knife, through the bars. As he stepped back from the bars Perry opened +the knife and cut his throat before the jailor could get into the cell +to prevent it. The skin on that darky's neck was as thick as ordinary +sole leather and very tough. I held him while the doctor sewed up the +wound, which was a hard job, but performed very nicely. + +I arrived in Dallas on Wednesday night, made the foregoing +investigation, located and arrested Perry, caused the arrest of the +white John Perry, left Dallas and returned to St. Louis, arriving there +on Friday evening of the following week, after having traveled nearly +four thousand miles, which I believe to be the quickest time ever made +in working up a case and capturing the guilty parties in a crime of this +magnitude. + +I can say that I have never doubted but that it was a case of remorse +that caused the white John Perry to commit suicide, and not humiliation. + + + + +THE TOUGHEST OF TOUGH TOWNS. + +EAST ST. LOUIS IN THE EARLY EIGHTY'S--HOW I HELPED TO REFORM THE +MUNICIPALITY--A SPECTACULAR RAID ON "SURE THING" GAMES AND "BIG MITT" +JOINTS. + + +Dodge City, Kansas, and Corinne, Utah, have places in history for being +tough towns in their infancy, but take it from me, Mr. Reader, that +neither of these much-advertised burgs, in their palmiest days, were "in +the running" for toughness with East St. Louis during the early '80s. +The average St. Louisan, in those days, was entirely different in his +make-up from the denizens of the cities further west, especially if he +was in politics, his nature being more bloodthirsty than the bandit, or +tough cowboy or buffalo skinner, who made the first named towns famous. +It was a different sort of crookedness in East St. Louis. The little +municipality was in the hands of crooks of the lowest degree. There was +no crime to which they would not resort to gain a point of advantage +over a rival. In other words, any crime was regarded as conventional, +just so the man who committed it got the "mazuma." The principal city +offices were held by gamblers and "sure-thing" men. The city councilmen +were nearly all saloon or dive keepers, while the police department was +recognized as the grandest collection of thugs, crooks and +"strong-armers" that had ever been assembled together within the borders +of one town. The fact that these alleged minions of the law were +recognized as suspicious characters by the officers of other cities, and +were shadowed whenever found out of their own bailiwick seemed to be +regarded as a good point in their favor by those responsible for their +being--the mayor and Board of Aldermen. Any crook, big or little, if he +had the price for protection, could ply his chosen profession on the +main streets of the town without molestation on the part of those sworn +to enforce the law. A "peterman" (safe blower) was held in higher esteem +over there in those days than a priest, a "porch-climber" regarded as an +artist, and the monte and confidence men placed in the same class as are +college professors and clergymen in other cities, while the men who +received the bribes were all looked upon as good fellows and smart, +wide-awake business men. + +Neither were the merchants and tradesmen all straight in those days. It +has been said of some of them that they would refuse to take money in +exchange for their wares when there was any suspicion in their minds +that the money had been earned honestly. Crooks of all classes +congregated there, because they knew they were safe from arrest. If they +were broke on their arrival, after being chased out of another town, +they knew there would be no trouble in getting some dive-keeper or +proprietor of a fence to "go to the front" for them at police +headquarters and square things so they could "go to work." It was +everyday talk that aldermen had "big mitt" men and "strong-armers" out +working on percentage. + +[Illustration: FURLONG'S "FULL HAND." + +Cartoon published in a St. Louis newspaper at the time of the East St. +Louis gambling raid.] + +As in all such places, gambling flourished--that is, gambling of the +crooked kind. The whirr of the roulette ball and the rattle of the dice +in the "bird cage" could be heard on the street, when not drowned out +by the voices of the cappers for "the old army game" (chuck-a-luck) or +the paddle wheels or sweat board. Nobody had a chance to win, however, +except the operators of the games, as they were all crooked. + +Many of the merchants openly displayed in their shop windows the tools +and devices used by the various "professions." The bully could buy brass +knucks with which to knock the block off of his adversary; the hold-up +man a sand bag to stun his victim, while he helped himself to his +valuables; the card sharper could buy his "strippers" "bug" or +"harness," while the safe blower could find any sort of "jimmy" or any +quantity of "soup" he desired, or had the money to pay for. Then there +were "fences" where a thief might dispose of anything of value he might +"find" on his excursions to the neighboring towns, which were not +infrequent. The return of one of these marauding parties from a tour was +always followed by an orgy, at which wine flowed freely, and the +ill-gotten money tossed about with a lavish hand. + +East St. Louis was then a wide-open town, with the accent on the words +"wide" and "open." + +Finally the good people of the town awoke to their responsibilities, as +they always do in cases of this kind. Headed by an ex-mayor, John B. +Bowman, editor of a newspaper, a fight was begun on the crooked +officials. And it was a fight, a bitter one. A number of aldermen who +had been under suspicion of being partially responsible for the bad +state of affairs, were beaten for re-election, and an attempt was made +to get possession of the city funds in the city treasury, which was in +the hands of Thos. J. Canty, gang city clerk, who had usurped the office +of treasurer. After much delay, he having resorted to the courts to +prevent his being ousted, he was finally ordered to turn over the funds +to the treasurer on the morning of May 21, 1884. The night before the +date set for the transfer, the vault in the City Hall, in which Canty +claimed to have kept the funds, was robbed, an entrance having been +effected by digging a hole through the brick wall which enclosed the +safe. + +A few months before the robbery, Mike Coleman, alias Charlie Clark, a +noted "peterman" of that city, had come down to St. Louis from Jefferson +City, where he had been doing time for a safe-blowing job in Monroe +County, Missouri. I had known Coleman for years and had been +instrumental in "settling" him on more than one occasion. He called upon +me at my office, which, at that time, was in the Allen Building, +Broadway and Market Streets. "I am through with crime, Mr. Furlong," he +said, "and I have secured a good job with the Hamilton-Brown Shoe +Company as a cutter, at a salary which will permit me to take care of my +wife and child, and I want to know if you will allow me to live in St. +Louis--that is, not tip me off to the St. Louis police, none of whom +know me." + +I told him I was truly glad to hear of his reformation, and that I would +not tell any one of his presence here as long as he continued to work +and behave himself. He seemed pleased to hear this, and told me he would +not only live straight in the future, but would "put me next" to any one +he knew to be crooked should they attempt to do any work in St. Louis. +He further voluntarily promised that he would report to me at my office +every Saturday afternoon. I then introduced him to my chief clerk, +Edward Dawson, and told him to report to Mr. Dawson in case I did not +happen to be in the office when he called. + +We shook hands and he took his departure. He reported to the office +every Saturday promptly for about three months, at which time I was +called south on a train robbery case, and was absent from St. Louis for +several weeks. During my absence an epidemic of safe robberies occurred +in St. Louis. As many as three "boxes" were opened in a single night. +One night the "petermen" would operate in north or south St. Louis, the +next night they would be down in the business district, or out in the +west end. The work of the gang caused a panic at police headquarters. +Chief Harrigan had his men working night and day, and the detective +force was augmented by patrolmen in plain clothes, but still the +bursting of "boxes" continued nightly. During my absence from the city I +was enabled to get the St. Louis papers once in a while. These papers +were full of the accounts of the robberies. From the description in the +papers of the way the work had been done, I was satisfied that Coleman +was either doing the work or directing it. Nearly all of the places +robbed had been entered from above. I knew this skylight stunt was one +of Coleman's specialties. He never broke a door or forced a window to +get to a box. His method was to reach a fire escape and make his way to +the roof of a building. He would then descend to the floor on which the +safe was located, and after detecting and fixing a side or back door, +through which the "get-away" was to be made in case of an interruption +on the part of a watchman or officer on the beat, would go to work. + +I returned to St. Louis one night, and in discussing the robberies with +Mr. Dawson, I learned that Coleman had not reported at the office during +my absence. The next morning I called on the foreman of the +Hamilton-Brown Shoe Company, by whom Coleman had been employed, and who +was the only man in St. Louis besides Dawson and myself who knew the +ex-convict's record. The foreman told me that Mike had left his position +about a month before, without making any explanation. He had simply +drawn his week's wages and had failed to show up again. On learning +these facts, I was more than ever convinced that Coleman had gone wrong +again. I was very busy in my office that day looking after matters that +had accumulated during my absence, and did not leave for home until +after 5:30 P. M. On my way to the car I passed a doorway, in which was +standing a man whom I recognized as Pat Lawler, the best detective on +the city force, and with whom I was on very friendly terms. On +approaching Lawler I found him to be asleep. After I had awakened him he +told me he and his partner and several other men in the department had +been on continuous duty for over 36 hours, trying to get a "line" on the +men who were "blowing up the town" as he expressed it. He then told me +that the men in the department were still at sea, having no clue as to +who was doing the work. "I am going to bed and get some rest, at any +rate," said Lawler, "and I do not care what 'the big finger' (Chief of +Police) says about it." + +I then told Lawler I believed I knew who was doing the work, or at least +directing it, and told him that if he and his partner would meet me at +Twelfth and Olive Streets at 5:30 the next morning I would help them +find the man I suspected. After telling me that he and his partner would +be at the rendezvous at the appointed time, Lawler and I parted company. + +Coleman, under the alias of Charlie Clark, was living at that time on +the second floor of a house fronting on Biddle Street, between Ninth and +Tenth Streets. The entrance to this flat was made from the alley in the +rear. I knew Coleman's wife, or the woman he claimed to be his wife. She +had formerly been the wife of Tom Gosling, a noted crook, who was at +that time in the Missouri penitentiary, doing a ten year stretch. Her +first name was Annie, and she had a son about 6 or 7 years of age. + +[Illustration: MIKE COLEMAN, alias CHAS. CLARK. + +Daring burglar and "peterman" employed to blow the City Hall vault, East +St. Louis.] + +Lawler and his partner were at the corner of Twelfth and Olive Streets +promptly at 5:30 the next morning, according to appointment. I then told +them all about Coleman, and we proceeded to the latter's flat. On +reaching the head of the stairway, I knocked at the door. Mrs. Coleman, +garbed only in a night robe, came to the door and opened it a few +inches. I stuck my foot in the door to keep her from closing it. + +"I want to see Charlie," I explained to her. + +"He is not here, Mr. Furlong," she replied, after recognizing me and +permitting us to enter. "I do not know where he is," she continued. She +then told me that Charlie had gone to drinking and had quit his job +about a week before, and she did not know where he was or what he was +doing. I knew she was not telling me the truth, as Charlie had quit his +job at least a month previous, and did not drink at all. In fact, he +never had been known to drink to excess. While we were talking I noticed +a large-sized picture of Coleman hanging on the wall. This I told the +officers to take, and commanded her to dress. + +"What are you going to do, Mr. Furlong?" she asked. + +"I am going to take you down to police headquarters for lying to me," I +replied. + +Both she and her boy began to cry and make a scene, but she finally +began dressing. While this was going on I heard a slight noise in the +front room. + +"Who is in there?" I asked, jumping to the door. + +"A couple of friends of Charlie's from Hannibal," she replied. + +Lawler and I entered this room and found a couple of men in bed. After +placing them under arrest we recognized them as a couple of crooks, both +of whom were heavily armed. Under the bed was a gunny sack, which, on +investigation, we found to contain a safe-blowing outfit, including a +sectional jimmy, a pair of "come-a-longs" (tool used to pull the knob or +"ears" off of a safe), a new hammer and other tools. These men had +evidently returned to the room late and being tired threw the sack under +the bed and went to sleep. + +Just as we were about to take our departure from the room with the +prisoners a mail carrier arrived with a letter for Mrs. Clark. I took +charge of the letter and saw it had been mailed at Springfield, Mo. I +handed it to Mrs. Clark and she opened it and read its contents. The +letter was from her husband, and stated he was in Springfield, and for +her to answer it at once as he was only going to remain in Springfield a +couple of days, and he wanted to hear from her before leaving there. We +then took our prisoners, including Mrs. Clark, to the Four Courts. Some +small pictures of Clark were taken from the large one we had found in +his home, and Chief of Detectives Burke, armed with one of these +pictures, left at once for Springfield to try and effect his capture. In +this Burke was successful, as Clark appeared at the post-office to get +his mail and was recognized and placed under arrest. Clark was brought +back to St. Louis. He would not talk to the St. Louis officers, although +the latter used every art known to them to make the prisoner "cough up." +Clark told Chief of Police Harrigan he knew nothing that would do them +any good, but that he had some information that was very valuable for +me, and asked that I be called. At that time the relations between the +chief and myself were some strained, to express it mildly, but the Chief +finally sent for me. "This thief has some information for you," said +Harrigan to me on my arrival at his office. "I do not believe he is much +of a thief, either, as I know all the good ones," continued the chief. +After shaking hands with Clark he told me the city officers could not +connect him with any of the jobs pulled off here, as he had nothing to +do with them, but declined to talk further in the presence of the chief, +we being in the latter's office at the time. As Harrigan did not seem +inclined to let me interview Clark privately I left, and returned to my +office. + +Later in the day Clark employed a lawyer, and sent him to me to tell me +that if I would get him across the river he would tell me all about that +job, meaning the looting of the City Hall vault. I referred Clark's +lawyer to Prosecuting Attorney Holder of St. Clair County, Illinois, and +later the latter made a demand on the St. Louis police for the +possession of Clark. The St. Louis officers, thinking that they might +secure at least a part of the reward which had been offered for the +apprehension of the men who committed the East St. Louis crime, took +Clark over the river, where he was locked up. I then called on him and +he told me all about the vault robbery. + +According to his story, which was later verified by his two assistants, +Clark was employed to do the job by Thos. A. Canty, acting city +treasurer, to hide an alleged shortage in Canty's accounts. The latter +was, it was claimed $60,000 short, having lost the money at poker. The +money had to be turned over the next day, and Canty could not do it, +because he could not raise that amount. Clark had been introduced to +Canty by Patrick Eagan, who was at that time running a saloon in East +St. Louis, and was one of the city's aldermen. Eagan was regarded as a +friend of crooks of the higher class, such as confidence men, safe +blowers and "big mitt" men. Coleman claimed he was told by Canty that +ten thousand dollars would be left on the top of the safe, which was the +amount he was to receive for doing the work. Coleman was also introduced +to Lieutenant Duffy, acting night chief of police of the East St. Louis +department, who was to act as lookout while the work was being done. The +ten thousand dollars was to be divided equally between Duffy, Eagan and +Coleman. A few days before the time set for doing the job Canty became +ill and was taken to Hot Springs. This did not interfere with the plans, +however, D. J. Canty, according to the testimony, taking his brother's +place in making the final arrangements for the entering of the vault. +Coleman did the real work, assisted by Eagan, while Duffy, in full +uniform, stood guard on the outside. A box, in which was supposed to be +$10,000, was found on top of the safe, as had been promised by Canty. +This box was taken by the three men to Duffy's home and its contents +poured out on the kitchen table, but instead of $10,000 there was only +$3,000. This money was divided equally among the three men, after which +all went downtown again. It was then about 2:30 A. M. Duffy, not wishing +to carry so much money around with him, placed his part in the safe of a +saloonkeeper friend, who was also an alderman. The lieutenant in his +testimony at the trial of the Cantys, two years afterwards, declared +that his $1,000 decreased to $700 during the night. In other words, some +one had touched the roll for $300. + +I told Prosecuting Attorney Holder and the Citizens' Committee about +Coleman's confession, and was employed to secure corroborating evidence, +which was done. Eagan and Duffy were arrested, convicted and sentenced +to five years each in the penitentiary. They appealed the case, but at +the next term of court withdrew their appeals, after a conference with +Prosecuting Attorney Holder, and entered pleas of guilty, and received +two years each. The Canty brothers were arrested, but notwithstanding +the fact that Coleman, Duffy and Eagan testified for the state, and +there was much corroborating evidence, the jury failed to agree, +standing seven for conviction to five for acquittal. At the time it was +alleged that money had been expended very freely to clear the brothers. + +Coleman was not prosecuted. He left the city for the west, and the next +I heard of him he was conducting a saloon on Geary Street, San +Francisco. Later he and Henry Schultz, another noted peterman, formed an +alliance and opened a half dozen "boxes" in the country surrounding the +Golden Gate metropolis. They were finally settled for one of their jobs +by Capt. Leas, of Frisco. Later Coleman was released, but was soon +afterwards killed at Houston, Texas, while attempting to rob a bank. He +was acting as lookout, while his pals were at work on the vault. The +first explosion attracted the attention of the police, who opened fire +on Coleman and his death was instantaneous; thus his long career of +crime ended. + +Chief of Detectives Burke, of the St. Louis Police Department, +afterwards claimed the reward for capturing the vault robbers, and I +believe secured a part of the money, but he was really not entitled to a +cent, as he had done none of the real work on the case. + +The next sensation in East St. Louis was the assassination of Ex-Mayor +John B. Bowman, which occurred about 6:30 o'clock on the evening of +November 20, 1885. The assassin did his work well. It can be described +in a sentence--a shot was fired, and the corpse of the leader of the +reformers was found lying near the gate leading to his residence, alone +with the secret. I was employed by the son of the dead man to try and +unravel the mystery, being given complete charge of the case. I had +known Bowman for years, and was acquainted with his past life, which had +been a very turbulent one. He had always been a fighter, one of the kind +who never knew when they were whipped. He settled in East St. Louis in +the latter part of the '60s, and acquired a large amount of property. +He was one of the few men who recognized the fact that East St. Louis +would later become a great industrial center. Because of his large +interests he took an active part in municipal affairs, which, of course, +brought him in contact with the politicians. Bowman knew all about +politics, even what is called the "practical" side of the game, but he +was a poor diplomat--one of the kind of men who always called a spade a +spade, consequently he was often in trouble with those who opposed him +or his plans. He was often deserted by men whom he had practically made +politically, because of his radical views on some question at issue. +This was the beginning of a bitter war on the person so offending, by +Bowman. He never forgave a man who had deserted him or his cause. + +On taking charge of the case the day after the diabolical crime had been +committed, I was not surprised to learn that several of the dead man's +enemies were busy preparing alibis. Another thing that impressed me as a +little peculiar was that the police department was making no effort to +find the perpetrator of the crime. After considerable hard work by both +myself and my men, I succeeded in finding a couple of parties who +claimed that they had seen the fatal shot fired. They were Christian A. +Schmidt and William Banks. These men were returning from the country, +where they had been to secure some tobacco which had been stolen from a +freight car and hidden in a hay stack. As they neared the Bowman home +they saw a flash from across the street, and saw Bowman fall. They +recognized George W. Voice, a member of the police force, as the man who +did the shooting. Later some more evidence was obtained, which, it was +thought, would corroborate the statements of Schmidt and Banks. This +corroborative evidence implicated another police officer named Patrick +O'Neil. Voice was arrested at once and taken to Belleville and locked +up. Later O'Neil called on Voice at the jail, and he, too, was placed +behind the bars, he having been indicted as an accessory that day. These +arrests caused a great sensation, not only in St. Clair County, but on +the other side of the river as well. + +At the preliminary hearing of Voice, Schmidt and Banks went on the stand +and told their story in a straightforward manner, and the defendant was +returned to jail without bail. The friends of the prisoners then began +harrassing the state's witnesses. The cases against the men were +continued from time to time until April 3, 1887, when the prosecuting +attorney dismissed the charges against the accused because he could not +obtain service upon the state's witnesses, they having left the county +because of the threats made against them. + +The outcome of the case caused great rejoicing among the crooks and +plug-uglies in East St. Louis, and they began again to show their hands. + +The Wabash Railroad, at that time one of the Missouri Pacific +properties, had rather large interests over on the east side of the +river. It was a nightly occurrence for our cars to be broken open and +looted. It was no trouble for us to locate the thief, or thieves, who +did the work, but it was another thing to have them arrested by the +officers who were receiving pay for protecting them. My activity in +trying to cause the arrest and conviction of these car robbers, and in +the other cases mentioned, earned for me the ill will of the police +department. While they never attempted to harm me, the police would pick +up my men and lock them up on trumped up charges, convict them in the +police court, which was of the "kangaroo" type, and put them to work on +the streets with a ball and chain attached to prevent them from +running +away+. After the police over there had turned a few tricks of this kind, +I decided to put a stop to it by "reforming" the police department. To +do this I had to shut off the source of revenue from which the officials +were being corrupted, for I knew, even at that date in life, that it +took bribe money to create such a condition of affairs. The men higher +up, in this case, were the proprietors of the gambling houses. They were +paying $1,000 per week for protection. This was a nice little "bit" to +be split up by a few aldermen and city officials and the heads of the +police department. + +I called on Prosecuting Attorney Holder at Belleville, and asked his +co-operation in bringing about a change in the state of affairs. I was +not very well acquainted with Mr. Holder at that time, but I knew he was +honest and a man who would do his duty. After I had entered his office +and introduced myself, a dialogue something like this, as I remember it, +took place: + +"Do you know that the gamblers of East St. Louis are putting up $1,000 +per week for protection?" I asked. + +"I have heard they were putting up money," he replied, "but I have no +real evidence as to how much." + +"Are you and the sheriff getting your part of it?" I continued. + +The question had hardly left my lips before I saw the prosecuting +attorney was beginning to make arrangements to throw me out of his +office. Before he had time to begin the work, however, I explained that +I was joking, and we both had a good laugh. Getting down to business +again, Mr. Holder told me that he would "go after the gamblers with +hammer and tongs" if he had the evidence. + +"I will get you that evidence, and pay the expenses out of my own +pocket," I replied. + +The prosecuting attorney then assured me that the sheriff could be +relied upon to do his part. I already knew this, for I had investigated +both men's character before I had decided to make the move that I had. +The sheriff was called upon, and he, too, promised to aid me in every +manner possible. After asking both officials to keep the matter a secret +until I had worked out the plans fully, I returned to St. Louis. + +I sent a number of my men across the river, and it did not take long to +get all the evidence needed. After arranging this evidence, I took it to +Prosecuting Attorney Holder and secured the necessary warrants. Sheriff +Ropiequet was called over to St. Louis and plans for raiding the houses +simultaneously were made. I secured and paid for out of my own pocket an +engine and two coaches from the Cairo Short Line Railway, and had them +in readiness to take my men and the people we were to arrest from East +St. Louis to the county seat at Belleville, after the raid. While there +were over thirty open gambling establishments in East St. Louis, I knew +I could not raid all of them at one time, so I decided to raid the four +largest, the ones whose owners were the most active in bringing about +the crooked state of affairs. On the afternoon preceding the raid, I +sent four trusted men, all armed, over the big bridge, with instructions +to separate on the other side, one going to each of the four houses to +be raided. These men were instructed to stay in the houses until the +raids were made, to prevent the gamblers from locking their vaults and +thus hiding their tools and other evidence. I then hired a big moving +van, in which I placed eighteen of my men. Sheriff Ropiequet and I +occupied the seat, I doing the driving. We had a number of fishing +poles in the wagon to give the outfit the appearance of a fishing party. +On reaching the other side I divided the men into four squads, placing a +captain in charge of each. The squad I was to lead stayed in the wagon. +After giving the other squads time to reach their houses I drove the van +to Colonel Claude Cave's famous resort. I handed the lines to the +sheriff and ran up the stairs, followed by my men. We gained an entrance +without any trouble and found the games running in full blast. The +gamblers were taken completely by surprise, but submitted quietly to +arrest. The spectators and players were not molested, but many of them +became panic-stricken when it dawned upon them that a raid was being +made, and sought to make their escape by jumping from the windows to the +alley in the rear of the building, many of them actually making their +escape in that manner. The gambling paraphernalia was taken down to the +wagon, while the gamblers and their employes were marched to the waiting +train. The wagon was then driven to the other houses, which had been +raided at the same time by the other squads of my men, and the gambling +tools found there hauled to the train. In making the raid every kind of +gambling device known to the profession was captured, including faro +boxes and layouts, dice, roulette wheels, sweat boards, keno balls and +cards, and something like four bushels of poker and faro chips. All of +this stuff was burned on the public square in Belleville after the +conviction of the gamblers. Most of the men arrested pleaded guilty, and +those who did not were convicted and the county was made some $22,000 +richer by the fines. + +The raid created a great sensation in East St. Louis. It was the biggest +stunt of the kind that had ever been pulled off over there, and I +received much praise from the law-loving people of the city for doing +the job. As I had anticipated, it ended open bribery in East St. Louis, +and later to the ousting of the crooked officials, for at the next +election the good people triumphed and succeeded in electing men who +would do their duty. + +The new Mayor was Col. M. M. Stevens, and as he had the co-operation of +an honest Board of Aldermen, it did not take him long to finish the +cleaning of the police department I had begun. My men were then enabled +to go about their work of arresting car thieves without being interfered +with by the police. + +If my memory serves me right, Mayor Stevens served six or seven terms, +and did much to make East St. Louis the city it is today. But this work +was not accomplished without much hard labor on his part and on the part +of those who assisted him, for the gamblers and crooks did not give up +without a struggle. Mayor Stevens, however, made it as law-abiding a +place during his administration as any other city in the country of its +size. + +No man deserves more credit for the ending of gang rule in East St. +Louis at that time, however, than does J. W. Kirk, editor of the Signal. +This paper fearlessly exposed all of the gang's methods, and to this +fact was really due the awakening of the public conscience over there. + + + + +THE ROHAN EXPRESS ROBBERY. + +THE THIEVES ARE TAKEN AFTER A FOUR MONTHS CHASE, AND ALL PLEAD +GUILTY--THE MESSENGER DUPED. + + +The Rohan Pacific Express robbery occurred near Rohan, Indiana, on what +was then a part of the Wabash Railroad. The Pacific Express Company had +one of their cars attached to the Wabash train, which was running +between Detroit, Michigan, and Indianapolis, Indiana. It left Detroit in +the evening and should have arrived at Indianapolis at about two o'clock +the following morning. + +One night in October, 1883, the train stopped at Rohan, a small, local +station, and the train was boarded by two men. They entered by the front +door of the express car, and overpowered Bert Lumas, the express +messenger, stuffing a large roll, consisting of two handkerchiefs, into +his mouth. After tying another handkerchief around his face, and then +tying his hands behind his back, he was leashed with a rope to the +express company's safe. They took the keys to the safe from the +messenger, after overpowering him, and looted the safe of its contents. +There were, besides much jewelry and other valuables, about $4,100.00 in +the safe. They left the car at a point between Rohan and Peru, Indiana. + +When the train halted at Peru station the expressman rapped on the car +door, and receiving no reply, he and others forced entrance into the car +door, where they found Lumas lying on his back with his arms and +shoulders tied to the safe, and unconscious. They found indications of a +struggle. There were three or four bullet holes in the side and roof of +the car, the shots evidently having been fired from within. They +discovered the safe open and the contents gone. Medical aid was +summoned, and the doctor, after considerable trouble, succeeded in +restoring Lumas to consciousness. He bore no marks of violence other +than what he had suffered from the gag that had been forced into his +mouth. This gag had almost cost him his life, as the ball was so large +that it had prevented him from breathing hardly at all. When restored to +consciousness he stated that as the train was leaving Rohan he was busy +writing out his report, and while thus engaged he was pounced upon by +two powerful men who were wearing masks. They felled him to the floor, +gagged him and bound him as he had been found, and took his keys and +robbed the safe. While they were doing this he became unconscious from +the effect of the gag. He said that they had taken his pistol, which was +lying on a table in front of him, and fired two or more shots at him, +but none of the shots took effect. I was Chief Special Agent for the +Wabash Railroad, which was a part of the Gould System. The case was +reported to me by wire the following morning. I went to Rohan at once, +and was unable to obtain any information. It seemed that the robbers had +not been seen by any one in or near Rohan. They had probably been in +hiding and boarded the train unobserved, just as it was leaving the +station. I then went to Detroit, where I saw and interviewed Lumas, the +express messenger. Lumas was a young man about twenty-six years of age, +fine looking, about six feet tall, and weighed about one hundred and +eighty pounds. He was born and raised in Vermont. He had an older +brother, who was a passenger conductor on the main line of the Wabash +Railroad, who had been in the service of the company for many years, and +afterwards remained in the service about thirty years, or until his +death. They had a widowed mother, who resided in Vermont. Bert, the +messenger, had always lived with his mother until he took service with +the Pacific Express. His standing with that company was first-class. + +While I was making my investigation at Detroit, I met Mr. Brazee, +superintendent for the Pacific Express Company of the Wabash division, +with headquarters at Decatur, Illinois. Mr. Brazee told me of Lumas' +good standing with the company, and spoke of him in the highest terms. I +told Mr. Brazee that I was inclined to believe that Lumas might have +been connected with the robbery. He vigorously discredited the idea. +"Why," he said, "Lumas, you should remember, was almost dead when he +was found in his car at Peru. The robbers, doubtless, tried to kill him, +and would have succeeded had it not been for the timely assistance +rendered by the doctors, and, of course, if he had been connected with +the robbery in any way the robbers would not have tried to kill him." + +I knew Mr. Brazee personally, and I knew him to be a kind-hearted man +and a thorough gentleman, and I appreciated very much the stand he had +taken for one of his subordinates. I interviewed Mr. Fuller, the general +superintendent of the Pacific Express Company, and all the other +officers who would have been likely to know anything about Lumas. They +all spoke of him in the highest terms, and of his brother they spoke +equally as well. I did not know that Lumas was connected with the +robbery in any way, and they speaking of him in such high terms, I did +not deem it advisable for me to inform the express authorities that I +believed the express messenger was implicated, so I decided to put a +shadow on Lumas' movements on each end of his route. I placed two of my +operatives on the work; one at Indianapolis, and one at Detroit. The +operative at Detroit was told to take up Lumas when he left his train at +Detroit, and not to lose sight of him until he left on his train for +Indianapolis. The operative at Indianapolis was likewise instructed; +thus Lumas was kept under observation at each end of the road. This was +kept up continually for about four months. The operative at Detroit had +discovered that Lumas was drinking heavily while in that city, and that +he was a habitual frequenter of saloons and places of ill repute. Our +operative at Indianapolis reported that Lumas, while there, would leave +his train and go direct to his rooming house, retire almost immediately +and remain there until time to leave for Detroit. I explained this to +myself in this way: He needed the sleep and rest after his carousing in +Detroit. My operative secured a room adjoining the room occupied by +Lumas at Indianapolis, and the other one in Detroit was just as +fortunate, and in a short time my Detroit man made the acquaintance of +Lumas, became his chum, and was with him almost continually in Detroit, +and in that way became acquainted with most of Lumas' friends. + +At this time there was a private detective in Detroit, whose name was +Pat O'Neal. O'Neal was a widower and lived with a widow sister who kept +a rooming house, and Lumas and my operative both roomed with this widow. +O'Neal did not know either of them personally, but doubtless learned +from his sister that Lumas was employed by some express company, and +that my operative was, as he represented himself, connected with some +advertising concern of the east. There was also a noted thief known as +Jim O'Neal, who was no relation to Pat O'Neal, but one being a thief and +the other a detective, they knew each other. + +One night, while my man in company with Lumas was sitting at a table in +a beer garden in Detroit, they were approached by a man about medium +size and plainly dressed. He appeared to be about forty years of age, +five foot eight inches tall, and weighed about 145 or 150 pounds. He was +light complexioned, sandy haired and smooth shaven. He evidently knew +Lumas well, for he sat down at their table, and after they had had +several drinks they engaged in a conversation in an undertone, evidently +not intended for the operative's ears. However, the operative managed to +hear a good deal of what was said. The stranger was evidently trying to +convince Lumas that everything would be all right. Lumas was heard to +say, "I have not been treated right, and this is why I have been +drinking so much of late." The other man was heard to caution him about +drinking so much, and to keep quiet, telling him that "everything would +be all right later on." After hearing this conversation, my operative +located the intruder and found that his name was Denny Downer, a +barkeeper at a prominent saloon on Griswold Street, Detroit. + +While the above conversation was going on between Lumas and Downer, Jim +O'Neal, the thief, was seated at a table very close to our party, with +some of his friends. O'Neal knew Lumas to be an express messenger, and +knew that he lived at the house of Pat O'Neal's sister, and hearing a +part of the conversation he concluded that possibly Lumas was implicated +in the robbery of his car, and when he met his namesake, Pat, the +private detective, he told the conversation he had overheard between +Lumas and Downer, whom Jim O'Neal did not know. + +On the evening of the following day I received a report telling me of +the happening, and on the next day I received a report from the +operative, telling me that he had located the intruder and learned what +his name was. On receipt of this report I at once decided that Denny +Downer, whom I had known for years as a thief, was undoubtedly one of +the parties who had participated in the Rohan robbery. I had known +Downer in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In fact, I was in criminal court in +Pittsburg on one occasion when Downer was convicted of burglary, and +received a sentence of five years. I knew his criminal record. The +description I had received tallied perfectly with that of Denny Downer, +of Pittsburg memory, therefore I felt sure of my man. + +I decided to go to Indianapolis and take with me all of the daily +reports received from my two operatives. I notified Mr. Brazee of my +intention, and requested him to accompany me to Indianapolis, telling +him that I expected important developments there. He wired that he would +join me at Decatur, Illinois, and go with me to Indianapolis. On arrival +there we secured adjoining rooms at the Spencer House, which is just +across the street from the Union Station, Indianapolis. We arrived there +in the evening, and Lumas' train was to arrive at two o'clock the next +morning. I instructed my operative at Indianapolis to be at the Union +Station when Lumas' train arrived and to bring him from his car over to +my room just as soon as he arrived. I had had one of my operatives meet +him at his train several times before and take him to see different +parties for the purpose of identifying them as one of the express +robbers, but Lumas, on each of these occasions, failed to identify them, +and he had always declared that he could not identify any person, nor +give any accurate description of the men who had attacked him in his car +at Rohan. I never expected him to identify any one, but he had been told +by the express company to go with me or any of my men any time that we +might need him for the purpose of identification, so I knew the +operative would have no trouble in getting him to come to the hotel. + +On this particular morning I learned from the dispatcher that Lumas' +train would arrive on time, and I prepared my room for his reception. I +set a table in the middle of the room and spread the daily reports of my +two operatives over the top of this table. They filled it completely. I +told the operative to tell Lumas that he had a party that he wanted him +to see, in my room. + +Mr. Brazee was occupying a room next to and opening into mine, and I +arranged to leave the door partly open, and he was to sit alongside of +the door in such a manner that he could hear everything that was said. +He considered the whole thing would be a failure, as he firmly believed +in Lumas' innocence, as did all the other officers of the express +company. + +The train arrived, and the operative got Lumas, who grumbled a little +about going to a room at that hour of the morning, but nevertheless he +came over. The operative rapped at my door, and I bade him enter. I was +sitting at the table containing the reports when he opened the door and +came in accompanied by Lumas. I asked Lumas to be seated, and told the +operative to retire to the hall until I might need him. + +I began by saying, "Lumas, I want to call your attention to these +reports that are spread out on this table. They are the daily reports of +my operatives who have shadowed you and those associated with you, for +the past four months. These reports set forth everything you have done +in those four months, and every one you have associated with. I can tell +you how many cigars you have smoked, how many drinks you have taken, +whom you have talked with, and what you talked about. I find that your +mother is a fine old lady and stands high in the community where she +resides, in Vermont. I find that you have respectable connections, and +that you were well raised. I know all about your brother and his high +standing on the Wabash Road, and that your character heretofore has been +good. Also that the officers of the Pacific Express Company have had the +highest regard for you and your integrity, and for these reasons I have +taken it upon myself to give you the opportunity of telling the whole +truth about this express robbery, but I want you to understand +distinctly that if you do not tell the truth, if you say one word that +is not the truth, I shall stop you and turn you over to the officers of +the law. But, if you do tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, +I will do all that I can to secure the extension of leniency to you for +your part in the crime. I can also say that if you tell the whole truth, +that Mr. Brazee and the other officers will be as lenient with you as +the law will allow. So now I want you to answer my questions truthfully +or not at all. Now, sir, I want you to tell me how much money you +received from the proceeds of that robbery." + +He said, unhesitatingly, "Mr. Furlong, I only received ten dollars." + +Long before I asked this question I could see moisture in Lumas' eyes, +and he finally began to cry. When he stated that he had received but ten +dollars, I said to him, "Now, Lumas, wait a moment until I call in Mr. +Brazee, who is your friend." + +Mr. Brazee had heard every word, and I went to the door and asked him to +come into my room. As he entered I also noticed moisture in his eyes. I +asked Mr. Brazee to write down what Lumas said, and he complied. + +"Lumas," I said, "who were the two men who robbed your car?" + +He replied, "Denny Downer and a friend of his whom he called Little Al. +I never did know his real name." Lumas went on and stated that he had +met Denny Downer in a saloon in Detroit and that Downer had evidently +known that he was an express messenger; that as he had gotten well +acquainted with him and had got to drinking considerable, Downer had +induced him to let him know when he would be carrying a large sum of +money, or what they called a "big run," and that Downer had explained +that he would have a party with him and would board his car at an +out-of-the-way station and bind him, without injuring him, and shoot a +few bullets through the side of the car so as to make it appear that he +had made a fight, and that they would divide the spoils and nobody would +even suspect him (Lumas) by reason of his good standing with the +company. He finally agreed to enter the plot, and learned that there was +to be a safe containing a sum of money, nearly four thousand one hundred +dollars, and some other valuables, on the day of the robbery, shipped +over on his train. This might not be considered a big prize, but it was +above the average. He notified Downer, and he and Little Al took a +train from Detroit and reached Rohan a little ahead of his train. After +the robbery, and he had returned to Detroit, Downer sent him a letter +containing ten dollars, with the understanding that he would give him +more later on, but that he had never received any more. He had become +sorry that he had gone into the plot, and had begun drinking. He further +stated that he was now positive they had tried to kill him by strangling +him with the gag. + +Mr. Brazee and the express company officials were all surprised at +Lumas' confession. I turned Lumas over to my operative, and took the +first train for Detroit, where I arrested Denny Downer. On being +arrested Downer acknowledged his connection with the robbery, and told +me that Little Al was Al Perry of Boston, Mass., a noted porch climber +and thief. + +I lodged Downer and Perry in the county jail at Wabash, Indiana, where +in the course of time both were put on trial, pleaded guilty, and were +sentenced to six years in the penitentiary at Michigan City, Indiana. + +Their sentences were made lighter by reason of their having pleaded +guilty. Lumas also pleaded guilty and was used as a witness before the +Grand Jury against Downer and Perry, and it having developed that Lumas, +who was much younger than the other two, being inexperienced in crime, +was persuaded by them to do this thing, sentence on him was suspended. + +After the robbery the express company offered a reward for the arrest +and conviction of each of the robbers, and after they had been arrested +and convicted Pat O'Neal, the private detective, filed a claim against +the express company to recover the reward. He had nothing whatever to do +with the obtaining of the information which led to the arrest and +conviction of these two men, and, therefore, his claim for the reward +was nothing more than an attempt to obtain money under false pretense. + + + + +ARREST OF LAWRENCE POYNEER. + +A CROOKED YARDMASTER'S CRIME--BOLD ATTEMPT TO THROW HIS CAPTOR OVERBOARD +FROM A STEAMER.--HIS CONVICTION, SENTENCE AND A LATER ESCAPADE. + + +Lawrence Poyneer was a young man about twenty-eight years of age in +1881. He was a railroad man and was employed as yardmaster by the Texas +& Pacific Railroad Company at New Orleans, La., where he had performed +the duties of his position in a satisfactory manner for about two years. +He finally went crooked and formed a conspiracy with the proprietor of a +cotton pickery in New Orleans to defraud his employers. There are a +large number of cotton pickeries in that city. Their business is to buy +up damaged cotton, such as has been through a fire and has been +water-soaked, or otherwise damaged. They pick this cotton over very +carefully, eliminating the parts that have been damaged by fire, or some +like cause, and sell the salvage for a good price. In other words, these +cotton pickeries conduct a business similar to that of junk dealers in +other cities. + +Poyneer ran a car load of cotton into one of these pickeries and sold it +much below its market value. It was promptly unloaded by the pickery +men, who destroyed the marks on the bales. The empty car was located +after some time and trouble, by me, but it took a long time to locate +the cotton. + +After I had ascertained what had become of the cotton and who had +bought it, I set about to find Poyneer, who had stolen it. I learned +that he had left the service of the company of his own accord, about +three weeks after the cotton in question was missed. I tracked him from +New Orleans to Palmyra, New York, where his parents resided. In Palmyra +I succeeded in obtaining a good photograph and a good description of +him. He was almost a giant in stature, being nearly six feet, six inches +in height, splendidly built, weighed two hundred twenty-five pounds, and +wore a number eight shoe. He was a fine looking fellow and an expert +railroad train service man. + +From Palmyra I traced him to Buffalo, New York, from there to St. Paul, +Minn., from St. Paul I traced him to Portland, Oregon, and from Portland +to Wallah-Wallah, Washington. From Wallah-Wallah back to Ladales, +Washington, which is about midway between Portland and Wallah-Wallah, +and on the Columbia River. Here I found him in the service of the +Northern Pacific Railroad Co., engaged in painting box cars. I obtained +the necessary requisition papers from the Governors of Louisiana and +Oregon, and arrested him at Ladales, took him to Portland (the head of +navigation on the Willamette River), where I took passage for myself and +prisoner on the steamship Columbia for San Francisco. + +There was no one on the steamer, not even the officers, who knew that +Poyneer was a prisoner. He had promised me that he would go with me +quietly and I did not place him in irons. I could not have hand-cuffed +him with any ordinary hand-cuffs for the reason of the enormous size of +his wrists. + +[Illustration: LAWRENCE POYNEER. + +The giant switchman who attempted to hurl Furlong from the deck of an +ocean steamer.] + +After we had left Astoria and were out several miles on the Pacific, we +were taking a walk for exercise on the upper deck, and when we were +nearing the stern end of the vessel, and there were no other passengers, +or even any sailors, Poyneer suddenly seized me by the neck and body and +attempted to throw me over the rail into the sea. I grabbed him tightly +around his neck and under one of his arms so tightly that he could not +shake me off. I lustily called for help and one of the cabin boys heard +me, gave the alarm, and the captain and officer on the lookout in front +of the vessel came rushing to my assistance. When he heard them coming, +he let go and tried, in vain, to make it appear that he had been joking. +I explained the situation to the captain, who promptly placed Poyneer in +irons and placed him below in what is called the brig in a ship, where +he remained until we arrived in San Francisco. There I had him taken to +the city jail, where I kept him for two or three days until I had gotten +thoroughly rested. I borrowed a set of irons from Chief of Police +Crowley, placed these irons on Poyneer, and took him on board a Southern +Pacific Railroad train, and in due time lodged him safely in the Old +Parish Prison in New Orleans. + +He was tried, convicted and sentenced to four years in prison in Baton +Rouge, where he served his term out. After this I lost track of him +until about ten years ago, just before the Olive Street Cable was +changed to an Electric Street Car Line, in St. Louis. I boarded a grip +car on Olive Street one morning, and to my surprise, I recognized +Lawrence Poyneer, acting as gripman on the car I had boarded. Poyneer +recognized me on sight, but he did not speak and seemed to be very much +confused. I left the car near the turning point. Later I was informed +that "Jones" had left his grip car at the foot of Olive Street that +morning. "Jones" was the name that Poyneer had given when he had secured +the position from the company as gripman about three weeks prior to my +having recognized him. He left St. Louis and has not been heard from +since, to my knowledge. + + + + +TICKET FORGERS RUN DOWN. + +ARREST OF LOUIS RICE AND TOM LANDS AFTER A LONG CHASE--THE FORGERS +ACQUIRED ALMOST A FORTUNE. + + +During the early '80s the officials of the passenger department of +several Western trunk lines made the discovery that they had been +defrauded out of thousands of dollars by the means of forged railroad +tickets. These tickets had been distributed or put on the market by +ticket scalpers, who then thrived in all the large cities. + +These tickets were gotten up on what appeared to be regular paper and in +regular form, with the exception of the serial and form numbers, which +were necessarily duplicated. The tickets read from Boston, New York, +Chicago, Philadelphia and other prominent points on the east to the +principal points on the Pacific Coast in the west. The forms were +pronounced perfect and the signature of the various railroad officials +were imitated admirably on them. + +The discovery of the forgeries were first made by one of the assistants +of C. G. Warner, general auditor of the Missouri Pacific Railroad at St. +Louis. The assistant auditor discovered the forgeries, he having noticed +the numbers on the tickets were irregular. + +At this time I was Chief Special Agent for the Missouri Pacific, and the +case was placed in my hands for investigation, by General Auditor +Warner. + +After a lot of tedious work, the details of which would not interest the +reader, I, with the help of some of my assistants, learned that Rice and +Lands were railroad ticket scalpers and had offices in several cities in +the middle west, from which they had supplied other scalpers with large +quantities of these forged tickets. I also learned that Rice and Lands +had established a private printing office in a small town in western +Illinois, in which the counterfeit tickets were printed; the forms of +which had been arranged by Rice, who had been a chief clerk for a number +of years for a General Passenger and Ticket Agent of one of the large +railroad systems of the West, and was, therefore, thoroughly conversant +with the details of all of the ticket business. + +Lands was a crooked lawyer, who had married into an eminently +respectable family of the State of Indiana. Rice was a single man, but +was engaged to a young lady, whose family was of considerable +prominence. He was also of a good family and had always borne an +excellent reputation, and was considered a bright, affable young +business man. + +After learning all of these facts and reporting them to the proper +officials of the Missouri Pacific System, I was instructed to locate and +arrest Rice and Lands, charging them with having made and issued the +counterfeit railroad tickets. I had but little trouble in locating +Lands, but, as I considered Rice the principal, knowing that he was the +man who had gotten up the forms of the counterfeit tickets, I decided to +quietly place Lands under surveillance, by one of my operatives, and +then took up the search for Rice, as I desired to arrest him first, +being very sure that I could apprehend Lands any time that I wanted to +do so. + +I traced Rice from Kansas City to Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco +to Portland, Oregon, but lost trace of him there, and after consuming +several days with no results, I decided to return to St. Louis, and to +visit the town in Iowa where Rice's betrothed resided with her parents, +which I did. + +After spending several days near the home of this young lady, I was +finally rewarded by learning the alias that Rice had assumed, and his +whereabouts at that time, and I immediately, as the traveling men say, +"doubled back" to the Pacific Coast, boarding a steamship at San +Francisco for Victoria, B. C., and from there went overland to a camp in +the Kassiar Mountains, British Columbia, which is about 357 miles from +Victoria. + +On arriving there I learned that Rice had left but a few days before my +arrival, and that he had undoubtedly passed me on my way to Kassiar. He +had left word with friends there that he was going back to Portland, +Oregon. He had been prospecting in the mountains for gold and had been +unsuccessful, and had exhausted his funds, so he had concluded to go +back to Portland and seek employment there. + +I, therefore, returned to Victoria and boarded a vessel for Seattle and +from there I went to Portland, where I succeeded in locating Rice. He +was working as a day laborer in a bed-spring factory. He was clad in a +suit of greasy overalls, when I found him, needed a haircut and a shave, +and did not in any way resemble the dapper and stylishly dressed Louis +Rice, whose photograph I had in my possession. + +I brought Rice back to St. Louis, and while en route he made a full +confession to me as to his and Lands' connection with the counterfeit +tickets. He told me about the printing office and gave me the names of +various scalpers throughout the country who were engaged with them in +handling the bogus tickets. + +On arriving in St. Louis I secured a lodging house for Rice in the +suburbs of the city, placed him there, by his consent, in charge of one +of my operatives. I did this so that the scalpers who were in collusion +with the fraudulent scheme would not become aware of his capture until I +would have time to arrange for indictments and arrest all the parties +connected with the fraud. I also wanted to arrest and bring Lands to St. +Louis before he had learned his partner was in custody, and proceeded to +Indiana and took him in charge. His relatives, who were well-known and +influential, immediately applied for a writ of habeas corpus, which +prevented me from removing Lands from the state until permitted to do +so by due process of law. + +The judge before whom this writ of habeas corpus was returnable was a +lifelong personal friend of the family of Lands' wife, and the judge, +therefore, released Lands from custody on the grounds that forged +railroad tickets had no intrinsic value. + +This was the first and only prisoner that I have ever had released by +such a procedure. However, Lands was sick at the time of his arrest, and +lingered along for a few months after his release, and died, which was +the ending of his part of the crime. + +In due time Rice's trial was called in St. Louis, and the judge before +whom the case was tried decided the same in this case as had the judge +in Indiana on the Lands case; and, therefore, the ticket forgers went +unpunished. + +The state laws in nearly every state in the Union have since been +revised so as to make the forgery of railroad tickets a felony, with the +same penalty attached as that of forging any other document or valuable +paper. + +The farcical termination of the case also caused the passage of laws +which have put the ticket scalpers out of business in almost the entire +country. Prior to that time, every city of any size was infested with +numerous ticket scalping offices. The men engaged in the business were +usually of the unscrupulous kind, and their crookedness caused the +railroads no little amount of trouble. + +In working up this case and apprehending Lands and Rice, I personally +traveled, in all, about eighteen thousand four hundred miles, and +consumed nearly six months' time, did a lot of hard work and incurred +considerable expense. + +I will say here that the attorneys of the legal department for the +Missouri Pacific Railroad Company were fully advised as to all the +facts connected with this case and they advised that the parties be +located and apprehended: and the work involved in the location and +arrest of Rice and Lands was as good as any work ever done by any one in +a similar case. Under the laws then existing the cases of Rice and Lands +could not be reached. + +After Rice's final release he went to the state of Iowa, where he +engaged in the insurance business. He was successful and finally married +the young lady he was engaged to, and when last heard of by the writer, +was a prosperous general insurance agent, raising a nice family and +respected in the community in which he lived. + + + + +CONVICTION OF JOHN COLLINS. + +HOW THE CLUES, WHICH LEAD TO THE ARREST OF THE YOUNG MAN FOR HIS +FATHER'S MURDER, WERE OBTAINED--KANSAS' MOST SENSATIONAL MURDER CASE. + + +No crime committed in the West in recent years was surrounded with more +mystery than was the murder of J. S. Collins, which occurred in Topeka, +Kansas, in the spring of 1898. Mr. Collins was slain while asleep beside +his wife in their home. The weapon used was a shotgun, and one or two of +the shot struck the shoulder of the wife, making slight, though painful +wounds. + +The murdered man had been a prominent insurance and real estate man of +the Kansas capitol, where he had lived for many years, and was well and +favorably known to the citizens of that city, as well as throughout the +entire state; in fact, he was considered one of the state's most +prominent citizens. At the time of his murder he was about fifty-five +years of age, had a wife, one daughter and a son, John. + +The Collins' occupied a comfortable home in Topeka. John, the only son, +was a student at the State University at Lawrence, Kansas, where he was +being prepared for the ministry. He had been a student at Lawrence for +two or three years before his father's murder. He boarded at the school +and occasionally visited his home in Topeka, usually on Sundays and +holidays. The Collins home, which was one of the best on one of the +capitol's most prominent residential thoroughfares, was disturbed early +one morning by the discharge of a gun in the sleeping room occupied by +Mr. Collins and his wife, which was situated on the ground floor. Mr. +Collins had been shot and died instantly, and his wife, as stated above, +received one or two grains of coarse shot in her shoulder. Other +occupants of the house that morning were Miss Collins, a young lady +about eighteen years of age, and John Collins, Jr. Both of them occupied +rooms on the second floor of the house. There was also a servant girl in +the house. It was in the early part of the summer and the windows were +all screened with wire. John, apparently aroused by the shot which +killed his father, dressed himself hastily and aroused the nearest +neighbors. It was at an early hour in the morning, but after daylight. + +The police were sent for, and on their arrival ascertained that the +doors of the house were all intact and carefully locked; but a window +screen in the rear of the house on the second floor was found to have +been cut, leaving a hole large enough for the passage of a human body. +This window was immediately above a one-story addition to the main +building in the rear. After the police authorities had finished their +investigation of the premises they arrived at the conclusion that the +murderer must have entered the house by means of a key, and after having +shot Mr. Collins escaped, going up the main stairs from the lower hall +to the second floor and then gone to the hall at the end of which they +found the window before described, had cut the wire screen and jumped +out of the window onto the roof of the one-story addition, and then to +the ground, a distance of about ten or twelve feet, and in that way made +his escape. + +The murder created a great sensation by reason of Mr. Collins' high +standing in the community. A number of the more influential citizens of +Topeka who were friends of his, formed a committee for the purpose of +locating the murderer and causing him, or them, to be brought to +justice. These gentlemen wired me at St. Louis, asking me to come to +Topeka to investigate the case. I went to Topeka at once, arriving +there, if I remember aright, the third day after the murder had been +committed. I reported to the gentleman who was chairman of the +committee, and at once began my investigation, by examining the premises +at which the murder had been committed. I interviewed the widow, who, by +the way, was Mr. Collins' second wife, her step-daughter and step-son, +John Collins. Mrs. Collins was a woman between thirty-six and forty +years of age, of the brunette type, rather above the medium height and +inclined to be slender. She was very attractive and considered a +good-looking woman, intelligent and refined. + +Miss Collins was also above the medium height, nice-looking, well +educated and intelligent. + +John Collins had just passed his twenty-first birthday, was about five +feet, eight or nine inches tall, light brown hair, fair complexioned, +well built, pleasing in manner and a very fine looking young man. + +After I had consumed about four days in my investigation, I became +satisfied in my own mind that the murder had been committed by some +person who belonged in the house, and that the house had not been +entered by an outsider. I had discovered that Mr. Collins had been +killed with his own shotgun, a high priced firearm, which he always kept +in a leather case, and usually placed on the upper shelf of a clothes +closet in his bedroom. This closet was unusually large and extended from +the floor to the ceiling. The ceiling being very high, an ordinary sized +man could not reach the shelf where the gun was kept without the aid of +a step-ladder, or possibly it could have been reached by a tall person +while standing on a high table. + +Mr. Collins had not used his gun for months before the murder, and it +had always been his custom after using the weapon to clean it +thoroughly, take it apart and pack it in the case. It was, therefore, +necessary for the murderer to take this gun case from the shelf, put it +together and load it with the ammunition, which was also kept on the +high shelf. All of this could not have been accomplished by any outside +person without having been discovered by some one of the inmates of the +house. + +I also learned that John Collins had left his lodgings at Lawrence on +the evening preceding the murder, going to Topeka and directly to his +home, where, he claimed, he retired for the night at an early hour. He +also claimed that he remained there until aroused by the shot that +killed his father. I also learned that the young man had formed the +acquaintance of a very estimable and wealthy young lady at Lawrence, +with whom he had become infatuated. He had paid much attention to her +for months, and finally she had informed him that her mother had +decided to purchase or lease a cottage at Long Branch, in which to +spend the summer months. I surmised that when he learned that she +intended to accompany her mother to Long Branch for the summer, young +Collins decided that his sweetheart was liable to meet some of the many +fortune hunters who frequent the resort during the summer months, thus +endangering his chances of winning her, so he had made up his mind that +he would arrange, if possible, to spend the season at Long Branch too, +so that he might guard the affections of his good-looking, or I might +truthfully say, beautiful young lady friend. + +[Illustration: J. S. MANNING. + +Superintendent of the St. Louis Office of the Furlong Secret Service +Company who did some clever work on the Collins case.] + +The elder Mr. Collins had been considered to be more wealthy than he +really was at the time of his death. He had met with financial reverses, +and really had but little more than his home in Topeka when he was +murdered, but he was carrying thirty thousand dollars insurance on his +life, ten thousand to his wife and ten thousand to each of his children. + +Having secured the above information I sent one of my operatives, J. S. +Manning, to Lawrence, Kansas, with instructions to quietly ascertain all +that he could as to the habits of the young man Collins and his +associates. Mr. Manning's investigation there developed that young +Collins had been spending considerable money in buying flowers, carriage +hire and entertainments. He had no means of defraying these expenses +other than twenty-five dollars a month allowed him by his father for +that purpose. Mr. Manning also learned that there were a couple of +colored hack drivers in Lawrence, who had been patronized by the younger +Collins. Upon receipt of this information from Mr. Manning, I sent D. F. +Harbaugh, who was then in my employ, to Lawrence. Mr. Harbaugh had lived +in Lawrence, Kansas, for a number of years before he entered my service. +He had been in the livery business there, and had been a hack driver. He +was personally acquainted with the colored drivers before mentioned, but +these men did not know that he was in the secret service work. For this +reason Mr. Harbaugh found it easy to find out everything that the hack +drivers knew about John Collins. After renewing their acquaintance +Harbaugh learned from them that Collins had approached them and entered +into a verbal contract to kill his father for a certain sum of money, +part of which he had paid at the time the agreement was made, he +agreeing to pay the balance after the murder had been committed. + +They told Harbaugh that they had no intention of attempting to murder +Mr. Collins, but had promised John they would do so to work him for what +money they could get out of him, knowing, as they did, that he dare not +expose them when they failed to carry out their agreement. The murder +was to have been committed on or before a certain date. The date passed +and Mr. Collins still lived, whereupon, John became anxious and +expostulated with the colored drivers. They told him that they were +entitled to more money than what he had agreed to pay them, and he gave +them an additional one hundred dollars, as well as a gold watch his +father had presented to him on his twenty-first birthday. This money +young Collins had secured by borrowing from his friends and through +drafts he had drawn on his father, as we afterwards learned. There was +then another date set for the murder to be committed by the hack +drivers. When that day arrived and passed young Collins again +remonstrated with the drivers for not having carried out their +agreement, and they coolly informed him that they had concluded that if +his father had to be killed that he had better do the killing himself, +that they positively would not commit the crime, and that they had never +intended to do so. Learning this, young Collins became desperate and +left Lawrence and went to Topeka, as before stated, and without doubt +killed his father with his own gun. + +When this evidence was obtained I reported it to the gentlemen who had +employed me, and they then decided to hand my report over to the +prosecuting attorney at Lawrence. At the request of the prosecuting +attorney the county commissioners at Topeka employed me to complete the +evidence, so that Collins might be arrested and prosecuted for the +murder of his father. + +John Collins was immediately arrested, placed in jail without bond, and +in due time the case came to trial. The trial caused a great deal of +interest in the community, by reason of the fact that the elder Mr. +Collins was so well known, and the killing had been done in such a +mysterious manner. The trial attracted great attention throughout the +entire country. All of the leading western papers had special reporters +present, and all the sensational features were "played up" (as newspaper +men call it) as they developed. The court room was crowded, and many +noted lawyers were also in attendance to watch the legal battle, which +at times waxed very warm, as all the counsel on both sides were very +able men. Prosecuting Attorney Jetmore was at his best, making one of +the greatest fights I ever saw to get his evidence before the jury. +Among the spectators during almost the entire trial was the late Justice +Brewer, of the United States Supreme Court at Washington, who was +visiting his daughter, who was the wife of the prosecuting attorney, Mr. +Jetmore, in Topeka at the time the trial was on. At the close of the +case Mr. Justice Brewer complimented me very highly for my work in +solving the mystery. + +During the trial a great many people got the idea that I had been +employed by the insurance companies, believing that the companies were +trying to avoid payment of the thirty thousand dollars insurance, by +proving that the son had killed his father. This opinion was erroneous. +The people who employed me in this case were citizens of Topeka and +lodge friends of the murdered man, and were in no way connected with the +insurance companies interested in the case, and were merely acting as +good and law abiding citizens, and just as soon as I had satisfied them +that John Collins was the murderer, they immediately turned the +evidence, as far as had been obtained, over to the proper state +authorities. + +The trial lasted more than a week. Collins was defended by two of the +most prominent attorneys at that bar. They labored earnestly and to the +best of their ability to clear him, but he was found guilty of murder +and sent to the state prison to await the governor's action in fixing +the date of his execution; but, in as much as it has always been the +custom in Kansas for the governor to never fix the date for execution of +a person found guilty of murder, the prisoners are usually kept in the +prison, and a sentence of death in Kansas usually means a life term in +the penitentiary. + +There has been an effort made by friends of young Collins and the family +to obtain a pardon for him, but up to this writing I understand it has +been unavailing. + +I will say here that the colored hack drivers, before mentioned, from +Lawrence, took the witness stand for the state against John Collins, and +produced the watch that he had given them, which had been presented to +him by the elder Mr. Collins upon the anniversary of John's 21st +birthday. This watch, with the testimony of the colored hack drivers, in +which they detailed the contract they had made with the younger Collins, +all of which was corroborated by circumstances that were not, or could +not be, contradicted, led to the conviction of the son for the murder of +his father. + + + + +FRED ERFERT'S FALL FROM GRACE. + +A TRUSTED EMPLOYEE OF A JEWELRY FIRM ROBS HIS BENEFACTOR--QUICK CAPTURE +OF THE THIEF AND RECOVERY OF THE LOOT. + + +The arrest of Fred Erfert, who had been a trusted clerk in the jewelry +house of John Bolland & Company, of St. Louis, occurred in the latter +part of 1892. + +Erfert had been employed by the company since his boyhood. At the time +of his arrest he was about twenty-two or three years of age, and had +become a trusted employe, and carried the keys of the establishment. He +was the first man to open the store in the morning, and the last man out +at night, closing and locking the store himself. + +The firm was rated among the first establishments of the kind in the +city, and was doing a large business. A large quantity of valuable goods +were mysteriously disappearing and could not be accounted for, and +finally the manager, Mr. Clarence White, called at my office one +afternoon, and stated the facts in the case as he knew them. He stated, +further, that Mr. Bolland had requested him to come and see me and tell +me of the state of affairs, and ask me to take the matter under +advisement, and that Mr. Bolland would call on me the following day for +a conference, which he did. + +Mr. Bolland stated to me that they had been missing goods from time to +time for the past two years or more and that these losses had grown to +alarming proportions. In an effort to clear up the mystery he had +secured the services of another local private detective agency, at a +considerable expense, but who apparently had not been able to fasten the +numerous thefts on any person. He further stated that the losses seemed +to be increasing, and that he would like to have me make an +investigation and apprehend the guilty party, or parties, if possible. +He said that in view of the amount of money he had already spent in +attempting to locate the thief he did not feel as though he was +justified in spending much more money, but he wanted me to make an +investigation and see what I could do. He stated that he had also +consulted the Police Department of the city, but they had failed to +apprehend the thief. Mr. Bolland instructed me to proceed at once, +saying that he did not believe that they had any one in their employ who +was dishonest or disloyal, to which I answered, "It is evident to me, +Mr. Bolland, that you believe all of your employes to be honest and +faithful, or you, of course, would not have them in your employ." Mr. +Bolland replied, "You need not spend any time in looking after Clarence +White, Fred Erfert or (laughingly) myself, but you may use your own +judgment as to the other employes, although I want you to understand +that I have the utmost confidence in all of them." + +A short time before this interview took place, the Bolland company had +purchased a large stock of jewelry at Sixth and Locust Streets, at a +bankrupt sale. On purchasing this stock the Bolland Company sorted out +the most desirable parts, which they removed to their own store, and +then culled out from the stock in the main store, stuff that was growing +stale, and placed it with the bankrupt stock. They then started to +auction off the surplus stock. They placed Erfert in charge of this +auction store, with a number of clerks and a professional auctioneer. +This auction was running full blast at the time of my interview with Mr. +Bolland. + +Mr. Bolland stated to me that goods were also being missed from the +auction store, as well as from their regular store. So the following +day I instructed one of my operatives to carefully observe all that he +could about the auction store, from the time the store opened in the +morning until it was closed at night, which the operative did. After he +had spent the first day at the auction store the operative reported to +me that he had noticed a number of what appeared to him to be +irregularities, especially on the part of Erfert, the manager of the +place. He reported that on the evening of his first day on the job he +had seen Erfert and the other clerks leave the store. Erfert, being the +last man out, locked the door, put the key in his pocket, and the whole +party walked to the corner of 6th and Olive Streets, where they +separated, taking different cars presumably for their homes. He said +that Erfert, however, did not take a car, but walked west a block on +Olive Street to 7th Street, then north on 7th Street to Locust Street, +and east on Locust Street to the side entrance of the auction store, +where he unlocked the door, entered the store and immediately returned +to the sidewalk carrying a couple of large and heavy packages, which +were fastened with shawl-straps. He then went back by the same route to +6th and Locust, where he boarded a car and carried these two heavy +packages, one in each hand, to his home in South St. Louis, where he +resided with his widowed mother and his sister. He entered the dwelling +with these packages. + +On learning this, I told the operative to carry out my instructions on +the previous day, telling him that in case Erfert doubled back on that +evening after closing the store, and repeated the actions of the +previous evening, that after he had emerged from the store the second +time, as he had the night before, the operative should then approach him +and say to him that I was in my office in the Chemical Building and +wanted to see him at once, and to bring him up without delay. I remained +in the office that evening, so as to be on hand in case Erfert repeated +his actions of the previous evening, and that is what he did. + +It was in the winter time and dark about 5:30 p. m., when Erfert closed +and locked the store and left the other employes, apparently starting +for home. He accompanied the others, as he had the night before, to 6th +and Olive, then left them, they going home and he making a circuitous +route, the same as the night before, and went back to the store, letting +himself in, and emerging almost immediately again, carrying two heavy +packages, heavier than those he had taken the night previous, and +fastened with the shawl-straps. After he had locked the door and had +picked up the packages, which seemed very heavy, my operative approached +him unobserved, and touched him on the shoulder, saying, "Mr. Furlong is +at his office in the Chemical Building and wants you to come over and +see him at once." + +Erfert replied, "What does he want to see me for?" + +The operative said, "I do not know. He will explain that when he sees +you." + +Erfert replied, "I am in a hurry and haven't time. I'm late anyway, and +will call and see him tomorrow." + +The operative said, "You can either go with me right now and see Mr. +Furlong, or I will call the policeman (pointing to a policeman who +happened to be standing diagonally across the street from where they +were) and have him take you to police headquarters, and probably Mr. +Furlong will go there and see you. Now it is up to you. If I take you to +police headquarters your name and picture will appear in the papers in +the morning and you will probably get a lot of undesirable notoriety." + +"I don't want any notoriety," replied Erfert, "but I can't understand +what Mr. Furlong wants to see me for tonight. However, I will go with +you, but I will put these packages in the store." + +The operative said, "No, take these packages with you. What is in them?" + +Erfert replied, "I have two fine clocks that were sent over to my store +by mistake and are too expensive to sell at auction, and I intend to +take them back to the main store, where they belong." + +"Well," said the operative, "you take them up to Mr. Furlong's office, +and after you have seen him he will probably allow you to take them to +the main store." + +The operative brought Erfert to my office, packages and all. I had known +Erfert since his boyhood, and on his entering the office I took him into +my private office. + +Here I will say that on the second day I had put another operative to +work on this case, unknown to the first operative, who had been +shadowing the first operative and had witnessed everything that had +occurred, and had reached the office a few minutes ahead of the first +operative and Erfert, so that I was fully aware of all that had +occurred. + +When we were seated in my private room, I said to Erfert, "Fred, what +have you in those two packages?" + +He answered, "They are two clocks, which were sent over to the auction +store by mistake. They are expensive clocks and I will not sell them at +auction, and intended to take them home tonight and return them to the +main store in the morning, before I opened the auction store." + +"What other stock have you on your person which was sent over to the +auction store by mistake?" I asked. + +He replied, "I have only a few stick pins, and a few other small +articles of jewelry." + +I said, "Put them on my desk." + +He did so, and the articles that he had concealed in his pockets, +according to the prices marked on them, amounted in all to nearly four +hundred dollars. There were gold rings, stick pins, and other small +pieces of good jewelry. Thinking that possibly he had not emptied his +pocket, I inspected them myself. I found a memorandum book, in which he +had kept an accurate account of all articles that had been taken from +the jewelry company, the cost price of each article to the company, and +the price he had received for a large lot of articles that had already +been disposed of. This book was written in cipher. I also found a key to +a safe deposit vault that he had in some safe deposit company. + +I then informed him that thousands of dollars' worth of stuff had been +stolen from his employers, that he had been practically raised by them, +having been in their service nearly all his life, and that the company +had always treated him well and justly; all of which he admitted, and +that now, as he had been caught red-handed, I thought that it was his +duty, and to his interest, to tell the whole truth as to what he had +taken, and do all in his power to return as much of the property as +possible. + +At this time my office was on the fourteenth floor of the Chemical +Building. My private office fronted on Olive Street, and Erfert made a +sudden lunge for the window and attempted to jump out. I prevented him +from doing this, and after talking to him for a few moments, he admitted +that he had been stealing from the company for the past two years. +Recently he had been assisted by another of the employes. His +grandfather was conducting a jewelry and novelty store in South St. +Louis, and nearly all the stock in this store had been stolen by himself +and his confederate from the Bolland establishment. He also stated that +he had a quantity of the stolen property concealed in the attic of his +mother's house, where he lived, and agreed that he would go with one of +my men at once and deliver all the stolen goods that he could to me, and +he faithfully kept his word. At the conclusion of his statement, I sent +a messenger to Mr. Bolland, telling him that I wished him to come to my +office at once, as I had succeeded in capturing the culprit. (It should +be remembered that the above all took place on the second day that I was +working on the case). + +Mr. Bolland arrived at my office about ten o'clock, accompanied by his +wife and Clarence White. I met them in the front office. + +Mr. Bolland said, "The messenger told me that you had captured the party +who has been robbing us." + +I said, "Yes, that is why I sent for you." + +"Whom have you caught?" he asked. + +I replied, "Fred Erfert is the principal party." + +Mrs. Bolland and White simultaneously exclaimed, "Why you have surely +made a mistake." + +Mr. Bolland said, "I told you not to bother with Erfert; that I believed +he was all right." + +At this juncture White (using a slang phrase) "butted in," and said, +"Why, Furlong, you have got your foot in it sure. Erfert surely had +nothing to do with these thefts, and you have made a great mistake by +even accusing him. He has been practically raised by Mr. Bolland and in +his service for many years, and we've always had implicit confidence in +his honesty." + +I replied, "Yes, I understand all of that; but Mr. Bolland employed me +to apprehend the party, or parties, who were robbing him, which I have +done. Erfert knows that he is guilty and he has fully admitted his +guilt, and I am satisfied from the evidence that I have found on his +person that he told the truth when he said he was guilty. I, of course, +realize Mr. Bolland's disappointment in finding that Erfert was the +guilty person, but I cannot help his feelings. I have simply done my +duty in the matter, and now it remains with Mr. Bolland as to what shall +be done with Erfert." + +"Where is Erfert?" Mr. Bolland asked. + +I pointed to my private office and said, "He is there and waiting to see +you. He has promised me that he will tell you what he has already told +my assistant and myself, and that he would at once return a considerable +quantity of the stolen property to you, which I have advised him to do." + +I then conducted them to the private room where Erfert reiterated the +statement that he had made to me. He admitted everything. Then I, with +some of my assistants, immediately procured a hack and went with Erfert +to his mother's house, where we found about two hack loads of stolen +goods, consisting of clocks, silver plate, fine umbrellas, and various +articles of bric-a-brac, all valuable stuff. + +I had these goods hauled direct to the Bolland store. We then visited +the store of the grandfather, in South St. Louis and recovered about +four hack loads of goods from there. By the time we had hauled the last +load away from there it was nearly daylight. + +While this loot was being removed from Erfert's house, by Erfert himself +and two of my assistants, I was standing outside guarding the hack into +which the goods were being placed. A police officer came along. He knew +me and was somewhat surprised to see me at that time of night in that +locality, and asked me, in a friendly manner, what I was doing there. I +told him that there had been some stuff stolen from a jewelry store, and +that it had been taken to this house, and I thought it advisable to +remove the goods after night so as not to attract the attention of the +neighborhood, as I felt sure that the women of the family were not aware +of the fact that the property which had been placed in their house had +been stolen. + +The policeman later reported having met me and what I had told him, to +his captain at the Soulard Street Station, and, of course, this report +reached the Chief of Police Harrigan, the following morning. Whereupon, +the chief became exasperated and ordered the policeman suspended +immediately, assigning the reason for so doing the fact that the officer +had not arrested the hack-driver and myself. He also suspended one or +two of the officers connected with the station who were on duty that +night. + +The next morning, about ten o'clock, a city detective called on me at my +office and said to me, "I have been sent down by the chief to see you. +The chief understands that you arrested a young fellow by the name of +Erfert last night, and that you recovered a lot of stolen property. Is +this report true?" + +"Part of the report seems to be true, while the larger part is not +true," I replied. "You know, and the chief should know, that I have no +legal right to make arrests, and therefore, I have made no arrest, nor +have I caused any to be made within the city of St. Louis, but I did +recover a large quantity of stolen goods last night and early this +morning. I have delivered them to the owner." + +"Where is Erfert now?" he asked. + +I replied, "I do not know where Erfert is at the present time. Why do +you want to know this?" + +"Because the chief instructed me to come down here and get him, and +bring him to headquarters at once," he said. + +"Have you any charges against him at headquarters?" I asked. + +"I don't know," he replied. "All I know is that the chief sent me down +here to get him and bring him to headquarters." + +I said, "I do not know whether there will be any charges preferred +against Erfert or not. His employer seems inclined to sympathize with +him and more especially with his family. I do not believe that he cares +to have him prosecuted for these thefts. I expect Erfert to call at my +office some time during the forenoon, and I am looking for Mr. Bolland +here at any moment. When Erfert comes I will tell him that the chief +wants to see him." + +The detective said, "No, you need not do that. I will wait here and when +he comes I will take him up with me." + +I turned to him and said slowly, "If Erfert calls at this office while +you are here, and if you have a warrant for his arrest, charging him +with any crime, you may take him to headquarters; but, unless you have a +warrant, I will not permit you to take him out of this office. I think, +perhaps, you had better go and communicate this to the chief." + +This city detective and myself had been friends for a number of years +prior to this occurrence, and I must say that I did not like the idea of +him coming to my office and attempting to have me admit to him that I +had violated the law by having unlawfully detained a citizen, thereby +laying myself liable to prosecution. However, not having violated the +law, I felt perfectly safe. I knew that the chief was over-anxious to +make me trouble as he had made others in my line of business in the +past. + +The detective left my office and went to report to his chief. In the +meantime Mr. Bolland came to my office and I told him of the visit of +the city detective and what had been said. Mr. Bolland said that he did +not care to prosecute Erfert; in fact, preferred not to do so, but, as +the police had the right to prosecute the case, he was really undecided +as to what was the best course to pursue. + +I advised Mr. Bolland to quietly take Erfert up to police headquarters +and tell the chief what he had said to me, as it occurred to me in all +probability the chief would insist on having Erfert prosecuted. + +Mr. Bolland accompanied Erfert to police headquarters, where the chief +and the detective who had called at my office took charge of him and put +him through a series of questions, which were principally concerning +what Furlong had done. They tried to make him say that Furlong had +arrested him and forced him to make a confession of the thefts, and +Erfert afterwards told me that they never did ask him whether or not he +was guilty of having robbed his employer. They bent their efforts to try +and make a criminal case against me, and had gone so far as to prepare a +statement, which they urged Erfert to sign, declaiming that I had +violated the law, instead of Erfert, by having arrested him and then +forcing him to make the statement admitting his guilt, all of which +would have been a violation of the law on my part. Erfert refused to +sign this statement on the ground that it was untrue. I will state right +here that the foregoing is a sample of how criminal cases were handled +at police headquarters about that time. However, all these efforts were +in vain, as Erfert truthfully replied to every one of their questions. +He told them that I had explained to him in the beginning of our +interview that I had no legal right to arrest him, and that I had +advised him that it was optional with him whether or not he returned the +stolen goods, but that if he did not stay with me and help me that it +would be my duty to turn him over to the police, and he then would be +written up in the newspapers and would get a lot of undesirable +notoriety that he wished to avoid. + +The chief became very much exasperated with Erfert's statement, by which +he could make no case against me. However, he later made a complaint +himself against me, charging me with running a private detective agency +without a license from the Police Board. He had a warrant issued for my +arrest. I waived a hearing, and in due time my trial was called before +Judge Murphy. I was placed on the witness stand and asked if I was +engaged in the detective business in St. Louis. I replied that I was. I +was then asked if I had a license from the Board of Police +Commissioners. I answered that I had not and had never applied for one. +I was then asked by what authority I was conducting my business. I +stated that I was conducting my business by the authority of a charter +from the State of Missouri. I was asked to produce the Articles of +Incorporation. I did, and after the Judge had carefully read them and +had examined my charter, he dismissed the case and assessed the cost of +court on the complainant. + +The Chief of Police insisted on a prosecution in the Erfert case. Erfert +was out on bond, and in due time appeared in court, pleaded guilty and +received a minimum sentence, which, if I remember correctly was two +years in the penitentiary. I understand that he was a model prisoner and +was released under the two-third rule. + +The stolen property that had been recovered amounted to several thousand +dollars. I have learned that since Erfert was released from prison he +has been leading an exemplary life and is respected in the neighborhood +where he resides. His confederate was a mere boy and was not +prosecuted, it being understood that he had simply been a tool for +Erfert, and he had not been concerned in many of the numerous thefts. + + + + +BATTLE WITH WOULD-BE BANDITS. + +HOLD-UP OF A MISSOURI PACIFIC TRAIN FRUSTRATED--JAMES WEST, ENGINEER, +AND ELI STUBBLEFIELD, EX-CONDUCTOR, CAUGHT WITH THE GOODS ON THEM. + + +With the assistance of Joseph S. Manning, of my St. Louis office, and +three special agents regularly in the employ of the Missouri Pacific +Railroad, I prevented the holding up of a passenger train on the +Lexington Branch near Sedalia, on the night of November 29, 1898. This +was only done after quite a revolver battle between my posse and the +robbers, resulting in the wounding of one of the latter. + +A few days before the attempted train robbery occurred, Horace G. Clark, +then General Superintendent of the Missouri Pacific, with headquarters +at St. Louis, summoned me to his office. On arriving there Mr. Clark +told me that a former employee of the company, who resided at Sedalia, +had just informed him that a plot had been formed by six railroad men, +including himself, James West and Eli Stubblefield, to hold up and rob +one of the company's trains at some point near Sedalia, Missouri. The +exact date and point had not been definitely fixed, but the informant +was to furnish a team and conveyance with which to take the would-be +train robbers to the point at which the holdup was to be made, and after +they had succeeded in robbing the train he was to take them back to the +city of Sedalia. He further informed Mr. Clark that when the date and +point of attack had been settled on he would at once advise him, as he, +the informant, had only agreed to furnish the conveyance and assist in +the robbery so that he might have the guilty parties caught and handed +over to the officers of the law. + +I listened to the foregoing statement and called Mr. Clark's attention +to the fact that I never placed much credence in the information given +by any man who would deliberately enter into a scheme of this kind with +his former comrades. + +Mr. Clark replied that he had known his informant, who was an +ex-engineer named Adams, as a faithful employee of the road for a number +of years, and he was in good standing with the company. Adams had met +with a serious accident, having lost one of his arms while in the +company's service, and since the accident he had engaged in a legitimate +business in which he had succeeded and had accumulated considerable +property within a few years. I had known Mr. Clark for a number of +years, and had done considerable business with him while I was chief +special agent for the Missouri Pacific road, with which company he also +held an official position. It was on account of our close friendship +that Mr. Clark had sent for me, for at this time I had severed my +connection with the Missouri Pacific road and was conducting a secret +service company in St. Louis. + +Mr. Clark said to me, "Furlong, just as soon as the time and place for +this holdup has been fixed I will notify you and I want you to take +measures to prevent that train from being robbed, and catch the guilty +parties." + +Early on the morning of Nov. 23rd, I received a message from Mr. Clark, +stating that he had just learned from Adams that the passenger train on +the Lexington Branch was to be held up and robbed that night, at a point +nine miles north of Sedalia, and instructing me to take immediate steps +to protect the train and prevent the robbery. Mr. Clark placed W. W. +Kay, his special agent, at my disposal, and, on consulting the official +time card of the Missouri Pacific road, I found that in order to protect +the Lexington Branch train against the contemplated robbery, I must +leave St. Louis at 8:45 that morning, so that I might board the +endangered train at Independence Junction, Missouri, that evening, as +that train was due to leave Kansas City on its east bound trip before +the one I was obliged to take from St. Louis arrived at Kansas City. I +found that if both trains were on time I would have three minutes at +Independence to make connections, and I succeeded by hustling--to use a +western expression. I only had time to catch the train from St. Louis, +and barely time to get word to my assistant superintendent, J. S. +Manning, who accompanied Kay and myself to Independence, where we +boarded the threatened train. + +I told the conductor in charge of the train of the instructions I had +received from General Superintendent Clark, and instructed him that when +the train was flagged and stopped not to pay any attention to the +parties who attempted to stop the train, but to devote his whole time to +keeping his passengers quiet and to keep them in their seats in the +cars, and to see that none of them raised a window and put their heads +out. I then went over to the engineer and told him what was liable to +happen, and told him that when we arrived at a certain curve, at which +the information indicated we were to be flagged, and he saw the signal, +which would be a red light shown across the track, he should stop the +train immediately, and by all means he must not run beyond the danger +signal. I told him that after he had stopped the train he and his +fireman could squat down on what is known as the hearth of the engine, +in front of the boiler, where they would both be entirely safe, and +could not be reached by bullets fired from the ground, as the sides of +the cab, up as far as the window sills, were steel, and by stooping +down below the level of the window sills both of them would be perfectly +safe from any shots that might be fired. The engineer and fireman +understood my instructions perfectly, but I noticed that the engineer, +who was a big, husky, middle-aged man, acted as though he was an arrant +coward. + +When we arrived at the first station north of the curve, which was about +two miles, I placed Mr. Manning on the front platform of the express and +baggage car immediately behind the engine. He was armed with a .44 +Colts. Detective Frank Barnett, of the Missouri Pacific, with +headquarters at Ossowattomie, Kansas, and whose home was at Sedalia, and +who had joined my party at Independence, was placed on the rear end of +the express car, armed with a repeating Winchester shot gun. I boarded +the engine and took a seat on the engine box. I placed Mr. Kay on the +fireman's box on the opposite side of the engine. The fireman gave Kay +his cap to wear and I had the engineer's cap on, so that any person on +the ground, it being after dark, would naturally suppose that I was the +engineer and Kay the fireman. The real engineer and fireman stood on the +hearth in front of the boilerhead. They could attend to their duties +standing where they were as well as though they were seated on their +respective boxes. We proceeded south from the last station in this +order. + +When we reached the curve, I being on the inside of the curve, saw the +signal first. It proved afterwards to be a white lantern with a red +handkerchief tied over it, which gave it the appearance of a real danger +signal. It was swung back and forth across the track, vigorously. I +called the engineer's attention to it, while we were at least two +hundred yards away. + +We were running then at a speed of about thirty miles an hour. I told +the engineer to slow up, get his train under control and by all means to +be sure and come to a full stop before passing the signal. There was a +slight grade to the curve, and although he shut off his steam, he did +not apply the air-brakes, so that the train slackened its speed but very +little. I saw that we were bound to pass the signal, and again commanded +him to stop the train, but he seemed to be bent on passing that signal. +It appeared that he was too frightened to think of the air-brakes at +all. Whereupon, I threw on the reverse lever myself, or "plugged the +engine" as the engineer would say, which caused the wheels to slip, +although they did not hold to the rails or stop the speed of the train +but slowly. + +Meanwhile the party who was swinging the signal light stood in the +middle of the track until the train was almost on top of him; in fact, I +thought he was going to be run down, but he did manage to leap from the +track just in time to save himself. He jumped to the left hand side, +which was the opposite side of the engine to where I was stationed. When +we passed him we were running at least fifteen miles an hour, and he +immediately opened fire on the engine with what we afterwards learned to +be a .45 Colts revolver. He riddled the upper part of the cab with +bullets. The moment the firing began I sprang from my side of the engine +to the gang way on the opposite side. It did not take me an instant to +get to that position. The gang way was just passing the fellow who was +doing the shooting and I had time then to take but one shot at him. I +knew that I hit him, for I saw him fall into the ditch. About the time +the shooting began, another would-be robber was discovered on the +right-of-way. He also began firing at the officers, sending a couple of +shots at Manning, who was on the front end of the express car, and both +of which only missed Manning's head by a margin of a few inches. + +On account of the grade the train did not come to a full stop until we +had passed the place where the signal had been shown, probably a +distance of fifteen hundred feet or three train lengths. I had +instructed Messrs. Kay and Manning and Barnett that if any shooting +occurred to open fire on any person they might see on the ground, +knowing as I did that they would obey orders. I had also told the +conductor to be sure and see that none of the passengers or his crew got +on the ground, and for this reason we dare not leave the train until it +came to a full stop. After we came to a stop Kay, Manning and myself got +off of the train and started to the place where we expected to find the +dead or wounded man whom I had shot and had seen fall into the ditch. +After we had left the train the engineer began backing up, and nearly +ran over us as the train was backing faster than we could either walk or +run. + +At Lexington, Missouri, the train had picked up an extra coach, +containing about twenty passengers, members of a local theatrical troupe +bound for Sedalia to give a performance there. They were what theatrical +people would call "barn stormers." Every one of them had a popgun of +some sort with them, and they began shooting out of the car windows. +When we reached the spot where I had seen the robber fall we found that +he had disappeared. There had been a light fall of snow, probably two +inches, on the day preceding the holdup, and the tracks of this man were +plainly visible, and there was also a streak of blood about two inches +in width, which led across the track from the east to the west to a road +running north and south. The wounded man had taken this road, which led +to Sedalia. While we were trying to find the trail we saw another man +attempting to get through a barbed wire fence, which was on the +right-of-way of the railroad on the east. His clothing became fastened +in the wire. He struggled, however, to extricate himself, and finally +succeeded, just at the time that Manning and I reached the place where +the other man had fallen. We saw him as he was getting through the +fence, and he started to run in an easterly direction through a large +newly plowed field. To make matters worse the ground was covered with +snow. + +Discovering that our wounded man was gone, and spying the other one +running across the field, we gave pursuit. Manning succeeded in jumping +over the fence, but I thought I could get through where the robber had, +believing that he had sprung the wires and it would be easy, but I also +got caught on the barbs and it was only with difficulty that I finally +released myself. By this time Manning had got quite a lead, but soon, +however, after getting away from that fence, I overtook him, and so it +was a neck and neck race between us for at least 150 yards. After +leading us a merry chase for that distance, the robber fell, and we, +having gained on him, were close to him when he fell, and we sprung upon +and disarmed him. His hands and face were covered with blood. He lay on +the ground moaning, and we believed that he was badly wounded. There was +every possibility of his being seriously hurt, because several shots had +been fired at him by Manning and myself during our chase across the +field. The "barn stormers" had taken the matter as a general jubilee, +and had begun firing at friend and foe alike. They all had shooting +irons of some sort and threw open their windows and began firing as soon +as we began to pursue the robber. Even the express messenger, who knew +that Manning and myself were running across that field, opened fire with +a Winchester rifle from his car. Just before the robber fell, a bullet, +which had evidently been fired by the express messenger, struck the +handle of the revolver that Mr. Manning was carrying in his right hand, +splintering the handle and nearly paralyzing his hand and arm with the +concussion. If the bullet had hit Manning's hand it would have ruined it +forever. + +Just as Manning and myself had grabbed and disarmed the fallen man, +Detective Barnett reached us, and jerking the handkerchief, which had +been used as a mask, from the would-be robber's face, exclaimed, "Why, +hello, Jim." We all knew then that we had captured West, whom we had +known to be in the conspiracy. "Is that you, Frank?" exclaimed West, +after which he feigned unconsciousness. West was at that time in the +employ of the Missouri Pacific, with a run out of Sedalia, where he had +resided for a number of years. He had been at one time superintendent of +a Sunday school, and stood well in the estimation of the business men of +that town. He also had a reputation among persons who knew him better +than the church people, as being a fairly good poker player, and +exceedingly fond of the game. + +Manning, Barnett and myself were finally joined by the conductor and +members of the train crew, and we succeeded in carrying West back to the +train. He appeared to be unable to walk, so we had to carry him. We laid +him down in the express car, examined him for wounds and found that he +had not been shot, but he had severed some small blood vessels on his +wrist while struggling to get through the fence and had smeared his face +and clothing with blood from these wounds. He shammed being drunk, but +he was not at all under the influence of liquor. + +Thinking that the wounded man could be found later, and not wishing to +delay the train any longer, we boarded the train and were soon in +Sedalia. I was personally acquainted with Eli Stubblefield, and being +pretty sure he was the man I had wounded, when we arrived in Sedalia I +sent Manning and Detective John Jackson, of the Sedalia police +department, out to watch his brother's house, where he made his home, in +the hopes that they could intercept and arrest him. Frank Barnett and +myself secured an engine at Sedalia and returned to the scene of the +attempted hold-up. Picking up the trail of the wounded man, from his +tracks and the blood in the snow, we followed it out to the main road +and on towards Sedalia. We came to a house occupied by a negro family, +which stood near the road. There the negroes told us that just after +they had heard the shooting a tall slender man, about middle aged, had +stopped in front of their house, coming from the north, and was going +south, and yelled to the occupants, stating that he had been hurt and +would give them ten dollars if they would hitch up and drive him to +Sedalia. They told him that they could not get a horse at that time of +night. He departed for Sedalia holding his right arm, and leaving a +trail of blood along his tracks. Satisfying ourselves that Stubblefield +was sure to show up at Sedalia, Barnett and myself abandoned the hunt, +returned to our engine and were again soon in Sedalia. We were right in +believing Stubblefield would soon show up in Sedalia, for about two or +three hours later the wounded man, who sure enough proved to be Eli +Stubblefield, turned up in Sedalia and near his home, where he was +captured by Manning and the Sedalia police officer, who were waiting for +him, according to my instructions. He was taken to the county jail, +where West had been incarcerated, and physicians called to dress his +wound. It was then learned that I had shot him in the right arm, the +ball entering and breaking the bones at the elbow. The wound soon +healed, but Stubblefield never had the use of the arm again, it always +hanging limp at his side. + +Early the next morning West was released on a bond signed by a couple +of prominent and wealthy Sedalia business men, but later in the day, on +learning all the facts in the case, the bondsmen surrendered him to the +sheriff and he was again locked up, where he remained until his trial. + +Adams, the informant, stated to me the following morning, that at the +last moment the other four who had promised to join in the robbery, had +weakened, using his expression, and therefore Stubblefield and West were +the only two he had to take out, and that after the firing had commenced +he did not wait for them, but hastily drove his rig back to Sedalia. + +In due time both Stubblefield and West were tried and convicted of the +attempted holdup, and sent to the penitentiary, if my recollection +serves me right, for ten years each. They have served their time out, +and, I believe, are at large at the present time. + +We found two six-shooters in the possession of West, and also two +revolvers in the possession of Stubblefield. Stubblefield was well known +as a freight train conductor, and was in the service of the Missouri, +Kansas & Texas Railroad Company, popularly known as the "Katy." West had +always been an engineer and had been in charge of a freight engine on +the Missouri Pacific for a number of years. The others who had promised +to participate in the train robbery were all ex-employees of some +railroad with the exception of one, who was a butcher. I withhold the +names of the other four, as they did not appear on the ground nor +participate in the robbery, and were not arrested or tried in connection +with the crime. + +I will state here for the benefit of the reader that Adams, the +informant, had been in the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railroad +Company for a number of years as a locomotive engineer, had a good +record with the company and stood well in the community where he +resided, as a sober, reliable and intelligent man, and a good citizen. +While oiling around his engine one day at a station the throttle began +leaking, thereby admitting steam to the cylinders, which caused the +engine to move suddenly while his arm was extended through the spokes of +the drive-wheels. The sudden movement of the engine tore his arm from +the shoulder and thus terminated his career as a locomotive engineer. +The railroad company settled with Adams for the loss of his arm without +a suit, paying him quite a sum of money. It was with this money that he +began business in Sedalia as a money lender. West and Stubblefield were +among his clients, each owing him quite a sum. It was while talking with +them about their indebtedness to him that West and Stubblefield first +approached the subject of robbing the train to Adams. "We will have +plenty of money to pay you all that we owe you in a few days," said one +of them to Adams, and then they asked him to join them in pulling off +the job, which he agreed to do for the reason before stated. + + + + +THE GREAT PITTSBURG STRIKE. + +THRILLING SCENES DURING THE RIOTS--ATTACK ON THE STATE +MILITIA--SENSATIONAL ARREST OF ONE OF THE RIOT LEADERS. + + +In July, 1877, during the railroad strike on the Pennsylvania Railroad, +at Pittsburg, Pa., a riot was in progress on Sunday, the 21st, which had +started on the day previous. The rioters were led by the loosest +characters in and about Pittsburg. A great many of them were +rolling-mill employes and miners from mines and mills adjacent to +Pittsburg, who were in sympathy with the railway employes, who had gone +out upon a strike on all the lines operated by the Pennsylvania Company. +All of these lines were tied up. Not a car or locomotive had been moved +for several days prior to the breaking out of the riot. The police force +of Pittsburg was disorganized, many of them being in sympathy with the +strikers. The railroad company's officers then applied to the sheriff of +Allegheny County. The sheriff being unable to cope with the rioters or +to protect the company's property, called up Gov. Harttranft, then +governor of Pennsylvania. The state militia of Pennsylvania was ordered +to Pittsburg and placed under the command of Gen. Nagley. Many of the +militia were in sympathy with the strikers and laid down their arms and +joined the rioters, whereupon the Governor ordered re-enforcements from +Philadelphia. The re-enforcements consisted of two regiments, the first +and second regiments of state militia. They arrived in Pittsburg on +Saturday afternoon, July 20, from Philadelphia, and were in charge of +Brig. Gen. Brinton. These men left the passenger coaches at Union +Station at Pittsburg, and were marched north to the railroad yards, +which were full of freight and passenger cars, up to 28th Street. At +28th Street there was a mob from eight to ten thousand men, armed with +guns, pistols and clubs, who closed in on the Philadelphia troops, +opening fire upon them and disarming a number of them with their +overwhelming force. These troops displayed great coolness and nerve +under the circumstances, but the numbers were so overwhelming against +them that they were forced to take refuge in the Pennsylvania Railroad +Company's roundhouse at 28th Street. Here they held the position until a +late hour Saturday night. In the meantime the rioters had found a number +of carloads of crude petroleum oil, which were on a side track north of +the company's roundhouse, where the soldiers had taken refuge. The +roundhouse being on a lower spot of ground than the main grade of the +yards, the track where these cars were standing formed a down grade, +running directly into the roundhouse. The mob released the brakes on two +of the cars filled with oil, there being a number among them who knew +just how to operate the cars and switches. These cars were turned loose +down the grade, were set on fire, and ran into the roundhouse, where the +oil exploded, thereby setting fire to the roundhouse, and the troops who +had taken refuge there were compelled to flee for their lives, although +they retreated in fairly good order. Their line of retreat was through a +portion of Pittsburg then known as Pipe Town. The troops were assaulted +from windows and roofs of houses with bricks, guns and pistols. Many of +them were maimed and wounded. Thus they found their way to the +Sharpsburg Bridge, which crossed the Allegheny River north of Pittsburg. +The remainder of the Philadelphia troops formed a camp on the hills just +outside of Sharpsburg, on Sunday morning, where they remained until a +sufficient number of re-enforcements had assembled in Pittsburg to +control the situation, when the Philadelphians were again ordered back +to Pittsburg. Here they remained with the other troops until the trouble +was over. In the meantime, on Saturday night, after the annihilation of +the Philadelphia troops, the rioters went through the business portion +of Pittsburg, breaking into hardware stores, pawnshops and in fact any +other establishment they were liable to find firearms or ammunition. A +reign of terror existed in Pittsburg from the fatal Saturday until late +Sunday evening. During the forenoon of Sunday the rioters turned their +attention to the other cars in the railroad yards. The writer saw men +and women breaking into cars, and in many instances saw them leaving the +yards; some instances they would have a bolt of silk, fine laces, or +other fine dress goods in their arms, with possibly a ham or side of +bacon on top. They, being heavily laden with this loot, would attempt to +climb the abrupt bluffs which bordered the railroad yards on the east +side, would lose their foothold on the steep bluffs and come tumbling +down, and women and men, bacon and silk, would be found in a heap at the +bottom. + +About ten o'clock on Sunday morning the mob found a carload of tinware +in the yards, and about the same time they also discovered two carloads +of liquor nearby. They at once captured all of the tin cups and other +vessels that would hold liquor from the carload of tinware. They also +dumped out the barrels of liquor on the ground, turned the head up and +used coupling links to knock the head out of the barrels. They then +helped themselves to the liquor with the tin vessels which they had +taken from the carload. The liquor consisted of brandy, whiskey and +other strong liquors. Having been engaged in rioting the night before, +probably not having stopped long enough to get any breakfast, they drank +this liquor like thirsty people, and were soon overcome with the effects +of it. In a short space of time the more violent of the mob fell by the +wayside, stupefied with the overdose of liquor. The citizens learning of +the general drunk, got together all sorts of wagons, carts, and other +vehicles that could be found and commenced to gather up these drunken +people, who were utterly helpless, and conveyed them to the jail and +lock-ups. These places were filled with them in a short time. In fact, +this was the first and only time in which the excessive use of strong +drink was instrumental in quieting one of the most desperate and +destructive riots ever engaged in in Pittsburg, or any other city. + +At about eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, a man by the name of James +Boyd, who hailed from Mansfield, Pa., which is a small place about seven +miles from Pittsburg, at which place his father kept a hotel, or what +was called in those days, a tavern (James Boyd had been in Pittsburg a +short time prior to the time of the railroad strike, working as a +barkeeper for Charlie DuChon, whose place of business was directly +across from the Union Station at Pittsburg), with a number of others was +seen by the writer to roll a barrel of refined petroleum oil into the +waiting room of the Union Station. There he turned the barrel up on end +and knocked out the head, then turned the barrel down again, letting the +oil run all over the floor of the waiting room. He then took a handful +of waste that he had secured from one of the engines, set fire to it and +threw it into the oil on the floor, which ignited instantly, enveloping +the entire inside of the Union Station in flames. The writer witnessed +this, and the direction taken by Mr. Boyd. That evening Boyd, with +others, set fire to a large grain elevator, which was situated just +south of the Union Station at that time. The roundhouse and general +offices of what was known as the Pan Handle Railroad were also burned in +the same manner. All this occurred on Sunday and before the carloads of +tinware and liquor had been discovered and the general drunk had +occurred. + +Boyd left Pittsburg Sunday evening, after the citizens had summoned +courage and had begun to gather up the drunken rioters, as before +mentioned. He hurried to Mansfield to his father's house. The writer +quietly followed him to Mansfield, and after locating him at that place +returned to Pittsburg. After things had quieted down, and martial law +was being rigidly enforced, the following Wednesday I went to a livery +stable where I hired a pair of horses and a light spring wagon, with top +and side curtains, which would readily be taken for a country man's +huckster wagon, with a seat in front, and also a seat in the middle of +the wagon. The side curtains were drawn down. I called upon Sol. Colson, +who was a roundsman, or what is now called a sergeant of police. He was +big, strong and courageous. I told him that I had Boyd located, and +proposed to go down to Mansfield and arrest him on a charge of arson, as +I had witnessed his actions on the Sunday previous. I will say here that +at that time I was special agent for the Allegheny Valley Railroad, +which is now a part of the Pennsylvania System, as it was at that time, +but operated separately from the other Pennsylvania Lines. I also told +Colson that many of the parties who had taken part in the riots belong +in and around Mansfield (which is now known as Carnegie) and that they +would, doubtless, be making their headquarters at the Boyd hotel. +Whereupon Colson said that he would be glad to go with me to assist in +the arrest, but that we ought to have another man with us, and he +suggested a policeman by the name of John Moran. We found Moran. Both +Colson and Moran were dressed in citizens' clothes. We placed Moran on +the rear seat of the vehicle, Colson occupying the front seat with me, +and I did the driving. It was raining when we left Pittsburg, it being +about eleven o'clock on Wednesday. We drove down to Mansfield, a +distance of seven miles, and located on the bank of a creek. + +In going from Pittsburg to Mansfield the ground is rolling and hilly, +and near Mansfield we came to the top of a hill, which is at least a +mile long and quite a steep grade from the top of this hill all the way +into Mansfield. The road being fairly straight, we could see a large +crowd of men assembled in front of and near the Boyd tavern. As we +neared the crowd I recognized many whom I had seen rioting in Pittsburg +on the Saturday and Sunday before. They were apparently prolonging the +spree that they had begun in that city, whooping, hollering, wrestling +and fighting. They were a motley crowd, and in fact what might be called +a dangerous looking crowd. We drove up to within a hundred feet of the +front of the Boyd tavern. Right here I want to say that Moran, the +patrolman we had brought with us, was not occupying the rear seat in the +wagon. He had been on duty continuously since the beginning of the +trouble, and was without doubt much fatigued. When we had gotten almost +to Mansfield I heard a thud in the rear of the wagon. Turning around I +noticed that Moran had gotten down from the seat he had been occupying +and was lying on the bottom of the wagon. Colson thought that he was +exhausted and had fallen from the seat. I went to arouse him, and to my +surprise found a pint bottle which had been filled with whiskey. Moran +had this bottle of whiskey with him and had doubtlessly drank copiously +of the contents. He was dead drunk, but on account of our close +proximity to Mansfield at the time of this discovery, it was too late +for either Colson or myself to change our plans, so we drove up to the +place before mentioned, and leaving Colson, after turning the team +around and facing them towards Pittsburg, I went into the Boyd tavern to +reconnoiter. In the barroom I found men standing at the bar three and +four deep, and trying to elbow up to get drinks. Old man Boyd (Jim's +father), Jim himself and two other barkeepers, sleeves rolled up and +perspiring--you will remember this was in July--were serving cheap +whiskey as rapidly as possible. I elbowed my way up to one corner of +the bar where Jim Boyd was working. I caught his eye and said to him in +an undertone that I had a friend in my wagon just outside in front of +the house, who had been suddenly stricken with the cramp colic, and +asked him if he would kindly fix me up a good big drink of brandy and +Jamaica ginger, and that I would appreciate it very much if he would. I +handed him a two dollar note, telling him to keep the change. He placed +the two dollar note in his white vest pocket and good naturedly said, "I +will fix something warm and bring it out right away." He fixed up a +drink, and in the meantime I went back to the wagon, and as the curtains +were all buttoned down, of course Moran was out of sight. Returning to +the wagon I hurriedly told Colson that when this man came out with the +drink I would be busily engaged fixing the harness and I would tell him +(Boyd) that the sick friend was in the wagon. When Boyd came out I told +him to hand the drink to Colson. Colson told him our friend was in the +bottom of the wagon, whereupon Boyd raised himself up on the front wheel +to see the sufferer. Colson caught him by the collar, and I boosted him +by the heels into the wagon at the same time. Colson released his hold +on the reins and I had hard work to grab the front end of the wagon, but +somehow managed to land on the front seat. Colson had dragged Boyd into +the wagon box and was holding him down on top of Moran, who was still +soundly sleeping. Colson had fallen into the wagon with Boyd and he let +the reins go down between the horses. By the time I got on the wagon the +horses were running away at full speed towards Pittsburg right through +the crowd that was standing around the tavern. + +In the meantime, the drunken rioters on the outside, thinking the team +was running away, started in pursuit. It was all the way uphill, +therefore I had but very little trouble slowing the team down to a +natural pace, as they soon became winded. + +As the team started old man Boyd and some of the soberer spectators had +noticed Boyd being pulled into the wagon, and immediately procured +horses and started in pursuit. Our team being winded on account of the +steep grade, the men on horseback were gaining on us rapidly. All this +time Colson was holding Boyd down on top of Moran, and Boyd was making a +desperate fight. He was a wiry young fellow, although no match for +Colson. However, it was just about all Colson could do to keep him in +the wagon. The writer had to do the driving and look after the team, and +was not prepared to engage with the pursuers, who were armed with +pistols and guns, but fortunately, by the time we had reached the grade, +half a mile up the hill, one of those terrible Pennsylvania thunder +showers burst forth with wind and rain, and it struck us fair in the +face; in fact, with such force that our horses stopped and would hardly +go against the storm. Of course, when this storm struck us it also +struck our pursuers, compelling them to go back. The result was that we +arrived in Pittsburg in due time with our prisoner and lodged him in +jail. + +Moran had never once become cognizant of what had happened, and was +still in oblivion when Colson and I delivered him to his wife in +Pittsburg. + +Colson was Moran's superior in rank, but in view of the fact that Moran +had always been faithful, and was overcome by fatigue through overwork +during the several days and nights preceding the occurrence just +related, did not prefer charges against him. Moran sobered up and did +many years of good service on the police force afterwards. + +This, I think, was one of the most exciting arrests I ever participated +in. Boyd was tried in the courts of Pittsburg in due time, and was +sentenced to the penitentiary for fourteen years. + +The Pennsylvania Railroad Company brought suit against the county of +Allegheny and the city of Pittsburg for damages to their property +sustained during the riots in Pittsburg. This case was later tried in +Beaver County, Pa., and the railroad company was awarded a judgment +against the county of Allegheny and the city of Pittsburg for $2,000,000 +damages. + +The railroad company, needing ready cash at the time, sold this judgment +of two million dollars to a syndicate, which consisted of Wm. H. Thaw, +of Pittsburg, and nine other representative men of Pittsburg for +$1,600,000 ready cash. The city of Pittsburg and county of Allegheny +then issued bonds for the two million dollar judgment. These bonds were +to mature in twenty years, with legal interest payable annually, so that +the purchaser of these bonds made four hundred thousand dollars net on +the purchase, as well as the interest on the bonds, all of which has +long since been payed by the tax payers of the county of Allegheny and +the city of Pittsburg. + + + + +MURDER OF CONDUCTOR FRAZIER. + +A TERRIER BEATS A PACK OF BLOOD HOUNDS ON A MAN TRAIL--ARREST AND +CONVICTION OF A PAIR OF REALLY BAD TEXANS FOR THE CRIME. + + +In 1885 an attempt was made by two masked men to hold up a passenger +train on the International & Great Northern Railroad, at a point south +of Overton, Texas. It was in the month of February and about midnight, +and the weather was quite cold, and the ground covered with about two +inches of snow and sleet in the vicinity of Overton. The train, bound +south from Longview to Galveston and San Antonio on that night, was in +charge of Conductor Frazier. + +When this train was about to pull out of the small station of Overton, +the colored porter, whose duty it was to see that no tramps or other +intruders boarded the train when leaving stations, noticed two men climb +upon what is known as the blind end of the baggage car, from the north +side, and the opposite side of the train from the station. The porter, +upon seeing the men, boarded the baggage car at its rear end, and, as +the baggage cars of that period all had doors at each end, he entered +the car by the rear door and opened the front door from the inside, he +having a key. The train had not got fully under headway as yet. He +peered out and ordered the tramps, as he supposed them to be, to get off +the train; whereupon the men, who were on the front platform of the car +turned upon him, each of them holding two large Colt revolvers. He then +noticed that they were wearing masks, and it is needless to say that he +was frightened. Slamming the door shut, he fastened it and rushed back +into the car where he met Conductor Frazier, and informed him that there +were two tramps on the front end of the baggage car, whom he had ordered +off, but that they had refused to leave and had pointed guns at him. He +did not tell the conductor that the men were wearing masks. The +conductor, believing them to be merely tramps who had gotten onto the +car for the purpose of stealing a ride, and the night being very cold +for that section of the country, he concluded that he would go and bring +these men into the smoking car, carry them to the next station and there +put them off. They would be more comfortable in the smoking car than +out on the front platform. He went to the front end of the car, +accompanied by a brakeman by the name of Powers. Frazier opened the +front door, and the men on the outside immediately opened fire on him. +He fell forward dead, and his body rolled off the train into the ditch. +They now caught sight of Powers, the brakeman, who was behind the +conductor, but as soon as the firing commenced he (Powers) turned to run +back into the coaches. They shot him in the body, wounding him +seriously. The affair was promptly reported by telegram to the +Vice-President and General Manager, Mr. Hoxie, whose headquarters were +in St. Louis, Mo. + +On receipt of this report Mr. Hoxie notified me at once, instructing me +to proceed upon the first train to Overton, and investigate the case. I +left St. Louis early the morning following the hold-up, arriving at +Overton eighteen hours later. Here I learned, in addition to the facts +before mentioned, that there was a north bound passenger train from +Galveston that night. There was a water tank about three miles south of +Overton. This north bound train was to meet and pass Conductor Frazier's +train at the water tank, and the masked men, who later proved to be John +Knight and John Price, intended to steal a ride on the south bound train +to the water tank, and there to board the north bound train from +Galveston, hold it up and rob it between the water tank and Overton, but +owing to the fact that they had been discovered on the south bound train +as it was pulling out of Overton, and that they had shot and killed +Conductor Frazier and wounded Powers, they left the train, and, taking a +circuitous route, made their way back to their homes in the little town +of Overton. Owing to the coating of snow on the ground they were easily +traced to Overton. Of course, when they reached the main street their +tracks were lost among the numerous other tracks there. Having learned +all this I concluded that these men were residents of Overton and not +tramps. I therefore went on with my investigation, which consumed about +two days of my time. + +In the meantime, as soon as it became known that Conductor Frazier had +been murdered, a special train was sent from Marshall, Texas, to Overton +with a pack of bloodhounds, which were owned and kept by the Texas and +Pacific Railroad Company, and were in charge of a man by the name of +Mundon, who accompanied the dogs everywhere they went. Mundon had a +posse of several men with him, and at Overton their numbers were +augmented by the citizens of that place. + +The dogs were taken to the spot where the masked men had left the train, +which was about a mile and one-half south of Overton. Here the dogs went +upon the tracks and followed them, in a circuitous route, to Overton, +where the dogs became more or less confused by the large number of +tracks they found on the street. However, there was one old dog in the +pack called Lee. Lee finally scented a track in the street, began +bellowing, and continued until he arrived at a high picket fence which +surrounded the home of John Price. The dogs were being followed by a +large crowd, and when the dogs arrived at the fence, which was too high +for them to jump over, old Lee kept up his howling until Mundon silenced +him. The dogs were then taken back to the spot at which Lee had scented +the first track that led him to the home of Price, where, after a lot of +barking and capering on the part of the dogs, old Lee scented another +track which he followed to the house of John Knight. + +Knight and Price were brothers-in-law, and both of them were among the +crowd who were following the dogs, and by reason of their presence the +crowd burst into jeers and laughter when the dogs led them to the houses +mentioned. Again the dogs were taken away and put on other tracks, +which led out into the country. + +While this was being done and the dogs were being followed over the +country by nearly every man and boy in Overton, I was quietly making the +investigations, the result of which I have told before. I really feared +that the dogs were liable to locate some poor unfortunate, but innocent +person, who would be more than likely to be subjected by the mob to +violent treatment. So I went to Palestine, which is a division and +headquarters of the International and Great Northern Railroad. Palestine +is about forty miles south of Overton. Here I found the colored porter, +who was a light and rather handsome mulatto. He wore short sideburns and +a mustache, of which he took great care. He had previously stated that +he would be able to pick out the men whom he had seen board the train at +Overton, and who had killed Frazier, on sight, providing they were +wearing the same clothing that they had worn on the night of the +tragedy. + +Meanwhile, I had telegraphed to St. Louis for Mike McCabe, one of my +men, and McCabe had arrived at Palestine on the same train that I was +on. I took the porter, whose name was Davis, to a colored barbershop in +Palestine where I had the barber shave off his sideburns and elegant +mustache, to which Davis protested vigorously. I then had Davis don the +suit of a common field hand and a soft hat such as are usually worn by +colored field hands in that section. After I had gotten Davis shaved and +decked up in his new outfit, the change in his appearance was so great +that I am satisfied his own mother would not have recognized him. + +I then placed him in charge of my man McCabe, who was unknown in that +part of the country. I instructed McCabe to take the first train the +following morning for Palestine to the water tank before mentioned, near +Overton, and there Davis and himself were to leave the train and walk +from there into Overton, and there to go around the town and look +carefully over every person that came in contact with them. In case +Davis could recognize one or both of them he was to quietly inform +McCabe and McCabe was to report to me at once. This program was carried +out. + +In the meantime, I had arrived at Overton before McCabe and Davis and +watched and waited for developments from them. + +A short time after McCabe and Davis arrived they were passing a +blacksmith shop when Davis, the colored man, noticed and recognized John +Price, who was in the blacksmith shop, had on an apron and was shoeing a +horse at the time. Davis instantly recognized him as one of the men, +from the opposite side of the street. It was then near noon, and the +bloodhounds and the mob following them were seen coming down the hill +into town, evidently for their dinner. Davis caught sight of and +recognized John Knight among the front rank of the mob following the +dogs. This fact McCabe promptly communicated to me. I then instructed +McCabe to send Davis back to Palestine and to instruct him to await +there for further orders from me. + +Powers, the wounded brakeman, had been taken to the railroad hospital at +Ft. Worth, Texas, where he was supposed to be lingering between life and +death from the wounds he had received. I had been informed that Powers +could also identify the men who had assailed him. As Davis had +identified Knight and Price, and his identification of them being +corroborated by strong circumstances, I concluded to arrest Price and +Knight and immediately take them to Ft. Worth, so that Powers might have +an opportunity of seeing them. I therefore telegraphed from Overton to +Major Jos. Merron, general Superintendent of the International & Great +Northern Railroad, and located at Palestine. We had a cipher code. I +requested Maj. Merron to send a special engine with a coach to Overton +that night and to arrive at about eleven o'clock, which would be after +the citizens had retired. I also asked him to send my man McCabe to me +with this special train. Maj. Merron replied that he would comply with +my request and that he would come himself and bring another man with him +if I desired. I asked him whom he proposed to bring. He wired back that +he would bring Chris. Rogers, who at that time was city marshal of +Palestine, a position he had held for a number of years, and he was a +terror to the evil doers of the community, having killed no less than +seven or eight men during his term of office. I wired the Major "O. K.," +requesting him to instruct his engineer to approach the station at +Overton quietly and without ringing his bell or blowing his whistle. The +train arrived at eleven o'clock, bearing Maj. Merron, Chris. Rogers and +McCabe. I met them and we at once went to the house of John Knight, +where I rapped for admission. My knock was answered by John Knight +himself, whom we quickly seized. Cautioning him to keep quiet, which he +did, we then proceeded to the house of his brother-in-law, Price. Here +we expected to have some trouble as Price bore a very bad reputation, he +having been mixed up in a number of shooting scrapes, and was considered +by the people of Overton "the bad man of the community." Arriving at the +Price house I sent McCabe, who, by the way, was not a very large man, +but thoroughly game, to the back of the house, while Rogers and myself +went to the front door, rapped for admission, and were promptly answered +by a man's voice from within, asking who was there and what was wanted. +I stated that we were officers of the law and had a warrant for his +arrest. I omitted to say that I had obtained warrants for both Price and +Knight, charging them with the murder of Conductor Frazier. Price +replied that if we were officers we might call in the morning, after he +had his breakfast, and that if he felt like going with us he would do +so, but that if he did not feel like going he would probably not go. + +Price lived in a small, one-story cottage or shanty, and at one end of +the sleeping room there was a large fire place, in which there was a +large fire burning, which heated and at the same time illuminated the +room. This fire place was built up against the outside of the house, and +there was a crack extending along the chimney probably one-half inch +wide. By looking through this crack, and by the light of the fire, a +good view was to be had of the interior of the sleeping room. The bed +was standing directly in front of the fire place and facing it. Over the +head of the bed was a shelf extending along the partition, and upon this +shelf Price kept a Winchester rifle within his reach as he was lying in +bed. + +When Price made the above reply, I left Rogers at the door and went to +the crack near the chimney, where I got a view of the inside of the +room, as above described. I saw Price sitting up in bed with his +Winchester in his hand, and while he was still talking I went back to +the door and hurriedly told Rogers of conditions on the inside. +Whereupon Rogers said, "Price, your house is surrounded and you had +better put that Winchester you have in your hands back on the shelf. +Come to this door and open it at once or let your wife and babies come +out before we set fire to the place and burn you out. You have been +bluffing the people of Overton, but you cannot bluff us. We are officers +and if you come to the door and surrender we will protect you. If you do +not we will get you, if we have to burn you out." His wife pleaded with +him to open the door, which he did. We took our prisoners to the special +car and immediately started for Fort Worth, arriving there late that +evening. We went to the railroad hospital, where I arranged with the +surgeon in charge to have Powers brought out of his room, which was +small, and placed in a larger room. We then had a party of probably +twenty-five or thirty railroad men, and other men who lived near the +hospital, file into the room and form a semicircle around Powers' cot. +He was placed so that by merely turning his head he could have a good +view of the people who were lined up in single file, forming the circle +before described. Knight was standing in the circle near one end of the +line and Price was stationed in the line about midway between the center +and the other end of the line. Their dress and general appearance was +very similar to many of the others present. After everything was +arranged the doctor in charge told Powers to look over the line and see +if he could recognize any persons there. Powers at once pointed his +finger at Price and said, "That is one of the men who was on that +train." He then turned his head and looked along the line, and without +hesitation pointed to Knight, saying, "There's the other." + +We then took Knight and Price to Tyler, Texas, where they were both +locked up in default of bail, to await their trials on the charge of +murder. The Knights were an old respected family of Russ County, Texas, +and Price had married John Knight's sister a few years before the +occurrence heretofore related. + +Col. Spivey, a prominent criminal attorney, was employed by the defense. +The railroad company employed Capt. Jas. Hogg and his law partner, John +M. Duncan, to assist in the prosecution. + +In due time the day of the trial arrived, Circuit Judge McCord +presiding. The defendants demanded separate trials. Col. Spivey proposed +to try Knight first for the reason that it was generally understood that +Knight being the younger man of the two had been influenced by his +brother-in-law, Price, and also that he had always borne a good +reputation prior to that time. Knight's trial lasted about two days, +when the jury returned a verdict of guilty of manslaughter. His +punishment was fixed at ten years in state prison. His counsel +immediately served notice that he would apply for a new trial, and also +asked the continuance of Price's trial until the next term of court. The +continuance motion was granted and Price was released on bail. + +While the question of Price's bond was being arranged by the lawyer and +the court, I, in company with Master of Transportation, Wm. Boyd, left +the court room and walked out into the grounds in front of the +courthouse, where we stood conversing for a few moments relative to the +result of the Knight case. I had noticed a rather singular looking young +man who had been apparently following me almost continuously during the +trial. He was a good sized man, probably thirty years of age, in his +shirt sleeves, and was wearing an extra wide-brimmed Texas hat, no +collar, and had the appearance of being slightly under the influence of +liquor, all through the trial. He promptly followed Boyd and myself from +the court house into the grounds, and appeared to be trying to hear our +conversation. I noticed him so often that I had become accustomed to +looking for him myself. I did not know him. He looked to me as if he +were looking for trouble. + +After standing within a few feet of where Boyd and myself were talking +he approached us and said, in rather a gruff manner, "Furlong, I know +you, and I want to tell you all dat you will never convict John Price, +and I am mighty glad he is going out on a bond." + +I replied to him that it did not make any difference to me whether Price +was ever convicted or not; that I had only done my duty in causing his +arrest and having him prosecuted; that the matter was now in the hands +of the court and that whatever the court saw fit to do with Mr. Price +would be satisfactory to me. + +He then said, "I was afraid that Price would have to stay in jail until +the next term of court. Now that he is going to be let out on bail I +intend to kill him before that time comes. He shot my brother some time +ago, in a very cowardly manner and without any cause. My brother will +die from the effects of the wound before long and I intend to kill him." + +I said to him, "If I were in your place I do not believe I would talk +about what you intend to do, as you are liable to get into trouble." + +"Well," he said, "I am just telling you this, and I don't propose to +talk any more about it. I just want you all to know how I feel in the +matter." + +As a matter of fact I felt greatly relieved when this man told me what +he did, as I had feared that he contemplated making trouble for me. As +he concluded his remarks he extended his hand to me, and as he was +departing said, "Watch out now, and remember what I have told you." +About four or five weeks later Price came out of his house. It was early +in the morning, and he was standing on a platform, that extended from +the rear of his house, washing his face. This platform stood about three +feet above the surface of the ground, and a man who was under the +platform crawled from his concealment and with a gun shot Price through +the head. He fell dead where he stood. A party was arrested for the +shooting but there was no conviction, and up to the present time no one +has been convicted for the shooting of Price. + +After the arrest of Knight and Price, I returned to St. Louis, Mo., +where I reported in person to Mr. H. M. Hoxie, Vice-President and +General Manager of the Gould System. When I entered Mr. Hoxie's office +to make my report of the Knight and Price affair, the Hon. John C. +Brown, then General Solicitor of the Gould Railway System, was in his +office, and he remained there by invitation to listen to my report of +the case. At the conclusion of my report Mr. Hoxie turned to Ex-Governor +Brown and said, "Governor, this is a remarkable case, and the only case +that I know of where a terrier had beaten a pack of blood hounds on a +man-trail." + +I, being Irish, presumed that I was the terrier referred to by Mr. +Hoxie, in his joking, but complimentary manner. + +All this occurred while I was Chief Special Agent for the Gould Railway +system. + + + + +FIGHT WITH A MANIAC. + +DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH A GIANT BLACKSMITH, WHO HAD SUDDENLY LOST HIS +MIND AND BECOME VIOLENT. + + +Mr. Hoffman, I believe his first name was John, was a blacksmith, and +about thirty years old, six feet in height and weighed over two hundred +pounds. He was a powerfully built man, quiet in demeanor and good +natured. He was employed in the blacksmith shop of Trax & Cramer, which +was the largest establishment of its kind in or about Oil City, +Pennsylvania. They employed a large number of mechanics and their +helpers. + +It was a very warm morning in July and the men were hard at work at the +shop, when suddenly the big man, Hoffman, attracted the attention of his +companions by his actions. He was known to them as a sober man, and his +sudden and strange conduct was a great surprise to all around him. He +became violent without any apparent provocation, and all in a moment. He +began throwing things, hammers, tongs, and large sized pieces of iron +and steel, in fact anything he could get hold of, through the shop. His +fellow workmen were unable to get to him. He began foaming at the mouth +and making a noise like the muttering of thunder in the distance. In +short, he had evidently become violently insane within a few moments. + +The City Hall was situated on the opposite side of the street, and but a +short distance north of the blacksmith shop. The messenger from the shop +was sent, posthaste, for police assistance. I was the only officer there +when the messenger arrived, and being the only one, I responded to the +call. + +On reaching the shop I found Hoffman occupying the building alone. He +was standing near the center of the shop with a sledge hammer in one +hand and a large piece of steel in the other, and apparently ready to +attack any person that might appear within his range. The other +occupants were all in the street and outside the door and out of his +reach. A large crowd of passers-by had been attracted by the excitement, +and were blocking the sidewalk in front of and near the place. + +On taking in the situation, as above described, I concluded that the +only thing that could be done was to seize and overcome Hoffman as soon +as possible, so as to prevent him from injuring himself or others. The +question then arose as to how this giant could be overcome and subdued +without injury to any one. The bystanders were all anxious to see him +captured, but there was none present that appeared willing to assist. + +I noticed at once that Hoffman was watching the crowd and that his +attention was in that direction, so I went around to the rear door and +approached him from behind, being unobserved by him. I seized him around +the waist and threw him down on the floor, but as he was like a rubber +ball and strong as a lion, and perspiring as though he had been +sprinkled with a hose, he soon squirmed himself out of my grasp and +sprang to his feet. I again grabbed him by the legs and threw him to the +floor. Although I was strong and a pretty good wrestler, I found it easy +enough to throw Hoffman to the floor, but it was impossible to keep him +there, he being so strong and active. He had scarcely any clothing on, +and by reason of this and his perspiring so freely, he was as slippery +as an eel, and I could not keep my hold on him. + +After I had thrown him down several times, which required every ounce of +strength that I possessed, I found myself becoming exhausted, and +finally in desperation I summoned all my strength and power and +succeeded again in throwing him down, and this time I was fortunate +enough to secure what the wrestlers would call the strangle hold, or +neck grip, on him, thereby succeeding in shutting off his wind. I then +yelled to the bystanders to help me, and finally a couple of them did. + +With their assistance I succeeded in holding him down until another +bystander brought a coil of clothesline from a grocery store, which was +directly across the street. I took the clothesline while the citizens, +who had volunteered to assist me, were holding him, and commenced to +wind it around his legs from his feet to his body, and then his arms, +fastening them so that he could not move. I then procured a wheelbarrow, +patrol wagons not being known then, and placed him in it and wheeled him +from the shop to the lock-up, where he was examined and pronounced +violently insane. In due time he was placed in a straight-jacket and +taken in safety to the county institution for the insane at Sugar Creek, +Pennsylvania, where he died in a few months without having recovered his +mind. + +This, I believe, was the most desperate and dangerous position I was +ever called upon to face during my whole life. + +The reader should remember that the blacksmith was almost a Hercules in +stature and strength, and being insane his strength really had no +bounds. + + + + +DECOYING A BAD MAN. + +BARNEY SWEENEY "FALLS" FOR A BIT OF STRATEGY, AFTER KILLING HIS PAL IN A +FAKE HOLD-UP DOWN IN INDIAN TERRITORY. + + +The old Indian Territory, now the eastern portion of the State of +Oklahoma, was the scene, or stage, of many daring hold-ups and brutal +murders, during the early days, but no crime committed there was +surrounded with more mystery than the one of which I am going to relate +the particulars. + +On the night of September 13th, 1882, as a north-bound M. K. & T. +passenger train was being moved out onto the main line from a siding +about a mile north of Vinita, two men climbed onto the front platform of +the smoker. "Chick" Warner, the conductor, espied them and opened the +door. Before a word had been spoken, one of the men shot the conductor +in the cheek with a small caliber revolver, making a painful and +dangerous wound. The man who is said to have done the shooting, was then +shot and instantly killed by his companion, his lifeless body falling +across the platform of the car. The man who did the killing stepped from +the train and walked back to Vinita station, where he reported to the +station agent, who also represented the express company, that the train +had been held up by the famous James brothers and Ed Miller. He named +others who had often been mentioned as members of the notorious James +gang. He stated that this gang had been camping in the woods, or brush, +on Little Cabin Creek, about four miles to the north and east of the +scene of the alleged hold-up. He had known them all personally before +coming to the territory, having been born and raised in Clay County, +Missouri, near the former home of the James boys. He also said that he +was a cousin of the Jameses. When the gang went into camp on Little +Cabin Creek, it was near to a farm where his sister lived, and where he +was staying. They met him and had told him that they intended to hold up +and rob, not only that train, but other trains on the "Katy," and +invited him to join them. He also told the express agent that he was an +expert marksman with a revolver and rifle, and that he had been +practicing shooting with his gang, and had beaten them all shooting at a +target, and that he agreed to aid them in holding up the train near +Vinita for the purpose of causing their arrest and punishment later on. + +I was Chief Special Agent of the Gould System at that time, and the M. +K. & T. was one of its leased properties. Col. Eddy, the General +Manager, wired me to go to Vinita at once and investigate the affair, +and instructing me further to prosecute all parties connected with the +crime. I arrived in Vinita the next day. I had no difficulty in +establishing the identity of the man who had done the killing. His name +was John B. (or Barney) Sweeney, formerly a resident of Clay County, +Missouri, and whose reputation was all bad. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM (BARNEY) SWEENEY. + +Murderer, train robber and monumental liar who claimed kinship with the +James Boys.] + +I ascertained that during the afternoon preceding the affair Sweeney had +been at Vinita, and while standing on the platform of the railroad +station he, with others, had seen the special train bearing General +Manager Eddy pass, south bound. The telegraph operator, of course, knew +it was Col. Eddy's train and that the Colonel was aboard, and had +conveyed the news to the spectators. + +I learned that the man who had been killed was an unknown young man who +had appeared at Vinita but a few days before the trouble had occurred. +He succeeded in making the acquaintance of a brother-in-law of +Sweeney's, who lived on a farm near the alleged camping place of the +James gang on Little Cabin Creek, and with whom Sweeney was making his +home. This brother-in-law needed help to work his corn field and +employed the young man to go to work for him as a farm hand. The young +man, who appeared to be a Swede, or Norwegian, and spoke but poor +English, accompanied this man, whose name, I think, was Powell, to his +home and there met Sweeney for the first time. I also learned that the +latter had afterwards induced this unknown farm hand to accompany him +and assist him in this attempted hold-up near Vinita. Sweeney had +furnished the unknown with a little, light calibre, toy pistol, which +was afterwards picked up near the scene of the killing. Sweeney was a +man about five feet seven inches tall, stout, stocky built, and about +twenty-eight or thirty years of age, dark complexioned, dark small eyes, +a luxurious head of black hair, a rather pretentious, long, dark +mustache, and weighed about one hundred and seventy to eighty pounds. He +was very quick and active in his motions, was a great braggart, and +whenever occasion presented itself, never failed to tell people of his +great marksmanship and how fearless he was. He was raised near Missouri +City, Clay County, Missouri, where his father owned a farm in what was +known as the Missouri River bottom. He had a sister, a young woman, who +kept house for the father, his mother having died prior to the +occurrence of which I write. + +Sweeney's father bore the reputation of being an honest, hard-working +man, while his son had the reputation in Clay County of being a +suspected horse thief, a notorious liar, absolutely unreliable and a +treacherous coward. He had been arrested and tried for the murder of a +reputable farmer of the neighborhood, who was shot and killed one +evening while sitting on the porch of his home with his infant baby in +his arms. The shot was fired from behind a thick hedge, from the +opposite side of the road, and from a distance of perhaps seventy-five +feet from where the farmer was sitting. Sweeney was seen going towards +the farmer's house a short time before the shooting had occurred. He had +also been seen returning to his home from the same direction some time +after the shooting. He was carrying a rifle. He was arrested and tried +for the murder of the man, and it was proved at the trial that he had +once threatened the life of the murdered farmer, who lived but a short +distance from his father's place, but he was acquitted, there being no +direct evidence of his guilt. However, a great many people of Clay +County believed then, as they do up to the present day, that "Barney" +Sweeney, as he was familiarly called, had been the murderer of the +farmer. + +A short time after this, by reason of his unpopularity, he left that +part of Clay County and went to live with his sister on Little Cabin +Creek. Knowing the facts about Sweeney's bad reputation, and after +hearing the story he had told about the affair at Vinita, I concluded to +place him under arrest, charging him with having shot and seriously +wounded Conductor Warner, as well as having murdered the man who he +claimed was Ed Miller, or Wilson, thinking, as I did, that I would +surely be able to find out who this unknown man was. I knew that it was +not Ed Miller, because I knew that he was dead, having been killed while +attempting to rob a bank in a little town in Minnesota. I also knew that +at this time the James boys were not in or about the Indian Territory. +Frank James was living peaceably, as a good citizen, in Tennessee. +Jesse, his brother, was also supposed to be somewhere in that vicinity. +I knew where Dick Little, another member of the outfit, was making his +home, and thus knew that Sweeney was deliberately falsifying all the way +through. To use stronger language, he was a deliberate liar. + +At the time of which I write, Captain Sam. Sixkiller, a full-blooded +Cherokee Indian, was the Chief of the United States Indian Police, and +lived at Muskogee. This police force was maintained by the United States +Government, and consisted entirely of Indians of good reputation, and it +was their duty to patrol the Indian Territory. They were armed and +mounted, and were there to protect the law-abiding Indians and other +residents and their property, especially from whiskey peddlers, of which +there were a great many plying their nefarious trade, selling the +Indians cheap whiskey at exorbitant prices, which was strictly +prohibited by the Federal laws governing the Indian Territory. + +Sixkiller and his force had all authority to arrest any person charged +with a crime, on sight or on complaint. So after deciding to arrest +Sweeney, I wired from Vinita to Capt. Sixkiller, at Muskogee, +requesting him to join me at Vinita for the purpose of arresting this +law-breaker, without mentioning Sweeney's name. + +In a short time I received an answer from Sixkiller's physician stating +that Sixkiller was confined to his bed with a severe attack of fever. +Upon receipt of this information, I reported to Luke Sixkiller, a +brother of the Chief, who lived at Vinita, and who was a member of the +United States Indian police force. I requested Luke to accompany me to +where Sweeney was living with his brother-in-law to arrest him. Luke +promptly told me that he would not dare arrest Sweeney unless his +brother, the Chief, was present. "Why," he said, "this man Sweeney is a +terror. He is a wonderful shot with either rifle or pistol, and it will +take at least a half-dozen men, well armed, to capture him. He is a +desperate man, and so we will have to wait until the Chief gets well +enough to come and help capture him." + +I had been accompanied to Vinita by one of my assistants, whose name was +William H. Bonnell. He was a little fellow, only weighing about one +hundred and thirty pounds, inclined to be tall, but slender, had plenty +of nerve, and was a remarkably good marksman, always willing and anxious +to do his duty, and would take as many chances as any man I ever knew. +He had helped me to get the information which led me to the decision of +arresting Sweeney, and on hearing that Sixkiller was sick he at once +suggested that he and I go to the Little Cabin Creek farm and capture +Sweeney ourselves. Our conference took place in the evening, and I told +Bonnell that I would sleep over the matter and would decide by morning +what should be done. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM H. BONNELL. + +For many years one of Detective Furlong's trusted operatives and noted +for his fearlessness.] + +I had seen Sweeney but once in my life, and that was about a year +before in Kansas City, he having been pointed out to me by an officer, +but I was satisfied he did not know me, so after carefully considering +the matter next morning, I decided that I would take a horse and ride +over to the Little Cabin place alone. I felt sure if Sweeney did not +know me, or recognize me, that I would be able to bring him into Vinita +alone, with less trouble than if I was accompanied by another stranger, +knowing, as I did, his treacherous and cowardly disposition. I reasoned +that if he saw two strangers approaching his brother-in-law's house he +was liable to open fire on us and might kill one or both of us before we +could reach him, and that he would be less liable to open fire on a lone +man. Bonnell demurred, saying that I would probably get killed going +over there alone, but for the reasons above stated, I decided to go +alone. + +I procured a horse from a livery stable and started. I reached the +farm-house about 9:30 o'clock in the morning. I took a course across the +open prairie, a distance of about four miles. On the other side of this +I came to Little Cabin Creek. There was a heavy growth of timber and +thick underbrush on every side. The trail to the farm led directly +through the brush timber for about two or three miles. At last I reached +a set of bars that served for a gate directly in front of a two-story, +frame farm-house, which stood in an open field, and about one hundred +feet from the bars. The thick timber and undergrowth shut out a view of +the house, and I did not see it until my horse had reached the bars. +When I reached there I discovered the house and saw Sweeney sitting on +the porch in plain sight, and a Winchester rifle was leaning up against +the building near him. I got off my horse, placing the rein over the bar +post, let down one of the bars and crawled through. As soon as I had got +inside the bars Sweeney commanded me to throw up my hands, and looking +up at him I found that he had risen and was holding the Winchester +pointed at me. I halted. He said, "Who are you and what do you want?" + +I replied, "My name is Foster, and I want to see Mr. John B. Sweeney." + +"I am John B. Sweeney," he said, "What do you want with me?" + +I answered him by saying, "I beg your pardon, Mr. Sweeney, but is that +gun loaded that you have pointed at me?" + +He laughed and replied, "What the h--l do you think I would be doing +with this gun if it were not loaded?" + +"Well," I said, "if that gun is loaded I wish you would turn the muzzle +of it in some other direction. That horse that I have down there is one +that I borrowed from the livery man at Vinita to ride over here on, and +if that gun would accidentally go off it might scare the horse and cause +him to break loose or maybe hurt me. If the horse got away I would have +a lot of trouble catching him, and if I did not catch him the livery man +would make trouble for me. Furthermore, I did not come over here anyway +to get shot. If I had expected there would be any shooting I wouldn't +have come." + +"What did you come here for?" asked Sweeney. + +I said, "Col. Eddy, General Manager of the M. K. & T. road, went south +last night, passing Vinita on his special train (said this, knowing that +Sweeney had been standing on the platform when the Colonel's train had +passed) and he wired me from Eufaula, in a cipher, to come out here and +see John B. Sweeney and ask him to come over to Vinita and meet him on +his return north to Parsons. He said in the message that he expected to +arrive at Vinita about eleven-thirty today, and that he wanted to have a +private talk with you to arrange with him for your services in assisting +in the capture of the parties implicated in the holdup that occurred at +Vinita a few days before. If you are Mr. Sweeney, and will accompany me +back to Vinita we will just about have time, by starting soon, to reach +there before Col. Eddy's train arrives. The Colonel does not want the +people at Vinita to know that you have met him, as he has been led to +understand that the people of that town do not like you, so he will run +his train onto the siding about a quarter of a mile from Vinita, and we +can leave our horses at the livery stable and walk to the side track, +each of us taking different directions, and the people will know nothing +about your having met the Colonel." + +Sweeney replied, "I know them fellows at Vinita are all afraid of me, +and if Col. Eddy will give me a job and pay me enough I will get those +train robbers for him. I will go with you." + +He called his brother-in-law and said, "Go and put the saddle on Baldy." +Baldy was his horse. He turned to me and said, "Come up and take a seat +here on the porch while I go up and get ready to go with you." + +He took his rifle and went upstairs. I took the seat he had previously +occupied on the porch, to await his coming. I asked his sister to please +give me a drink of water. I was terribly thirsty, caused, no doubt, by +looking into the barrel of that Winchester. I had only been seated a few +moments when Sweeney appeared in the doorway carrying in his left hand +his nine-inch .45 six-shooter, Colts, and in his shirt sleeves. He had +left the Winchester in the house. He said to me in a commanding voice, +"You have found the way out here, and now you can get on your horse and +lead the way back." + +While he was speaking the brother-in-law brought the horse around, +Sweeney mounted it and I let down the bars. He motioned me to lead the +way, which I did. He rode up close behind me, carrying his gun in his +left hand, and continuously telling about how he had practiced shooting +with the James gang while they had been camping near his home, and that +he had beaten them. He also pointed out a clump of bushes in which he +said the gang had camped during the several days that they had been in +that neighborhood. After we had left the covered ground and come out +onto the prairie I told Sweeney that I occupied the corner room in the +hotel at Vinita the night before. I said, "I have not settled my bill +and my grip is still in the room, and I think we had better ride to the +livery stable and leave our horses, and you had better go to my room +direct, and I will go from the stable to the telegraph office and find +out from the operator where Col. Eddy's special train is and at what +time it will arrive at Vinita. I am getting hungry and if I find that we +have time to get something to eat before the special arrives, I will +order something. I will come direct to the room and tell you what I have +learned." + +We separated, Sweeney going to the hotel and I, apparently, going to the +telegraph office, which was in the opposite direction to that taken by +Sweeney. I did not stop at the telegraph office, but went around back of +it, placing some buildings between Sweeney and myself. I crossed the +street at a point west of the depot and went around to the rear of the +hotel, where there was a flight of stairs leading from the back yard to +the second floor of the hotel from the outside. I ascended these stairs +and went to my room, where I found the door standing about half way open +and could see, through a crack between the door and the jamb Sweeney +lying down on my bed with his hat, boots and spurs on. He was taking +things easy. I entered noiselessly, holding a small, double-barrel, +Remington derringer that I had taken from my pocket as I entered the +room. I was whistling, and suddenly thrust the derringer into Mr. +Sweeney's mouth, breaking two of his upper teeth loose. I told him to +throw up his hands, and he was not long in obeying. With my left hand I +unbuckled his belt and removed it from him. It contained the holster in +which he had placed the nine-inch Colts. + +Bonnell had noticed us when we arrived, and when we separated and as I +crossed the street going to the hotel I gave him a signal to follow me. +He entered the room just as I had disarmed Sweeney. I told him to put +handcuffs on the prisoner and to take him to the calaboose and lock him +up. I had Sweeney's meals sent to the lock-up. + +When the next train arrived there, who should be on it but Capt. Sam +Sixkiller, who had left his sick bed and come up to Vinita to assist me +in making the arrest. He told me, on his arrival, that it would not do +to take Sweeney through Muskogee, as the railroad men there were aroused +and would undoubtedly attempt violence, for they had all come to the +conclusion that Sweeney was a fraud and was the man who shot Conductor +Warner. Warner was very popular among the employes of the road. So we +boarded the north-bound train and brought Sweeney to St. Louis, +transferring there to the Iron Mountain for Little Rock, Arkansas. Here +we changed cars for the Fort Smith and Little Rock Road, and thus +reached Fort Smith, Arkansas, in safety with our prisoner and without +any interference from the railroad men. + +Sweeney never uttered a word from the time I disarmed him until we had +boarded the train for St. Louis and were probably twenty miles north of +Vinita. We were in the smoking car, Capt. Sixkiller and the prisoner +ahead and I in a seat just behind them, when finally Sweeney turned his +head around towards me and said, "Mr. Foster, I wish you would please +show me that gun you stuck into my mouth." + +I took the cartridges out of the gun and handed it to him. It was not +more than five inches in length and of .41 calibre. He examined it +critically, and without turning his head handed it back to me over his +shoulder, saying in a disgusted manner, "H--l, I thought that gun was a +foot long." + +We lodged him in jail at Fort Smith in due time. He was indicted and +finally tried, but, because I was never able to find out who the unknown +farmhand was that he had killed and the motive for the crime, he was +acquitted. However, he had lain in jail for nearly a year, and on his +release he returned at once to Clay County, Missouri, and wrote a letter +to A. A. Talmage, then General Manager of the Missouri Pacific, +demanding that Mr. Talmage send him ten thousand dollars immediately, +and threatening that if he did not that he would blow up the bridge on +the Wabash Railroad and destroy property in general, and in any event he +would kill Furlong on sight. He sent this letter through the United +States mail. Mr. Talmage gave the letter to me, and I at once made a +complaint to the United States commissioner, got a warrant for Sweeney's +arrest and went to his father's farm near Missouri City, Clay County, +accompanied by a deputy sheriff, whose name I don't remember, but who +was a brave and splendid officer. Sweeney was at home. It was after +night and he had gone to bed. We rapped for admission and the door was +opened by his father, to whom we stated that we were officers and had a +warrant for the arrest of his son, "Barney." The latter was in bed +upstairs, but heard us when we rapped for admission and had come to the +head of the stairs with a shot-gun in his hand. He said, "I am here and +I will kill any man who attempts to come up those stairs." + +In an instant, and before I had time to think, the deputy sheriff, who +had been standing beside me, sprang up the stairs. I followed him as +quickly as possible, but before I had reached the top the officer had +clinched with "Barney" and had thrown him to the floor. I picked up the +gun that Sweeney had let fall, and in less time than it takes to tell +it we had captured Mr. Sweeney without a shot being fired, so I feel +safe in saying that he was an arrant coward as well as an inexcusable +liar. + +I took him to St. Louis, where he was tried and convicted for having +sent the threatening letter through the mail. He was sentenced to either +three or four years in the penitentiary. He served his time and again +returned to his father's home at Missouri City. A short time later he +held up and tried to rob a Wabash passenger train at Missouri City. In +this attempt he was shot through the ankle by a telegraph operator. He +tried to escape by running, but was captured by the train crew and the +company's telegraph operator at that city. He was tried for this offense +and sent to the penitentiary for fourteen years, and I had lost track of +him until he recently turned up in St. Louis as a witness against the +New York Life Insurance Company, in the famous Kimmel case. He claimed +to have visited the wilds of Oregon with Kimmel, a man named Johnson and +another party to search for some hidden treasure. A portion of the +treasure was found. A row over its division resulted and Johnson shot +and killed Kimmel. Sweeney avenged Kimmel's death by killing Johnson on +the spot. Both of the dead men were buried near where they fell. On +reading Sweeney's story in the papers, which was almost a repetition of +the story of the fake hold-up down in the territory, as related to the +express officials and myself, I will admit I really sympathized with the +attorney who had gone to the trouble and expense of getting Sweeney +here, knowing, as I did, that he was absolutely untruthful and +unreliable. + +I do not believe that I ever ran into as fun-loving a bunch of +railroaders as the one which attended Sweeney's trial. Ft. Smith was +crowded, as was usually the case when court was in session. At that time +there was only one "leading" hotel in town. It was a three-story, +old-fashioned structure, the top story of which was one large room, or +hall. Social functions, such as balls and other gatherings, were usually +held in this hall. When the railroad men arrived--there were about +fifteen of them, including "Chick" Warner, Ed Smith, W. B. Maxwell, +"Lute" Welch and Tom Hall, all passenger conductors on the Katy--all of +the regular rooms had been taken. The proprietor, in order to take care +of the boys as best he could, turned this large room, or hall, into a +dormitory, placing therein several different kinds of beds and cots for +them to sleep on. A large round table and a few rickety old chairs +constituted the balance of the furnishings of the room. There was not +much doing in the amusement line after dark in Ft. Smith in those days, +so the railroaders retired to their rooms early--but not to sleep. The +first seven or eight up the stairs, and there was always a race to see +who would get upstairs first, would assemble themselves around the table +and soon be busy playing a game of--well, there is no need of me naming +it, as everybody knows the name of the game that usually interests the +average railroad man most. I will add, however, that there was no +"limit." By and by, those who were lucky enough to have to "sit out" +would get sleepy and roll into their bed or cot, but they did not have a +chance to get to sleep, the "I'll pass" or "I'll raise you" of the +players keeping them awake until the game would break up, which was +usually about the time the sun commenced to shine in at the windows in +the early morning. The players would then retire and soon be snoring to +beat the band. "Chick" Warner being a big, deep-chested man, had all his +competitors skinned a mile at this snoring game. As soon as he hit the +bed his snoring machinery would get in motion. Then the real fun would +begin. The balance of the gang would throw pillows, or shoes, or any old +thing they could find at his head to wake him up. These efforts would +not always be successful, however, and the snore would either increase +in tone or volume. + +At the breakfast table one morning, after there had been an unusually +long "sitting" the gang decided to get even with "Chick" Warner, who was +still in bed, by holding an old-fashioned Irish wake at his bedside. +Charlie Walters, an express company route agent, who was an artist of no +mean ability, procured a piece of chalk and in less time than it takes +to tell it, had transformed the head of the bed into a monument with +very appropriate inscriptions thereon. Some lumber was secured and a +fence arranged around the bed, on which were placed a lot of empty beer +bottles. A candle was placed in the neck of each bottle, and after these +were lighted and the windows darkened, the bunch arranged themselves +around the "bier" and commenced a weird chant. The noise made by the +bunch attracted the attention of most of the people in the town, and the +big room was soon filled. News of what was going on soon reached the +court room and Judge Parker adjourned court and he and his officers and +the lawyers and jurors rushed to the hotel to witness the fun-making. +After an exceedingly loud and boisterous outburst of "grief" on the part +of the "mourners" Warner awoke. It did not take him long to break up +that "wake," as he at once began raising a rough house by throwing +everything he could get hold of at his tormentors. The affair was the +talk of the town for some time to come, and is to this day referred to +when two or three of the gang happen to get together. + +On the Sunday following, the citizens of the town, to show their +appreciation of the bunch as good fellows, decided to give them a +carriage ride and show them the places of interest. Judge Parker, in his +private conveyance, was to lead the procession. As none of the vehicles +had been decorated, as some of the railroaders thought they should be, +they decided to do some decorating on their own hook. An empty beer keg +was procured and with a rope it was anchored to the rear axle of the +Judge's conveyance. As the Judge's abstemious habits were known to all +the citizens of the town, the sight of the beer keg under his buggy +created a great deal of amusement on the part of the citizens when they +saw it as the carriage was drawn through the streets. The Judge did not +discover the trick that had been played on him until after the ride was +over, but he seemed to enjoy the joke as much as did the jokers. + + + + +TRAGIC DEATH OF BILL CASEY. + +INCIDENTS ENCOUNTERED WHILE WORKING ON A CASE IN THE OIL +REGIONS--CAPTURE OF A COUPLE OF CLEVER SNEAKS AND SAFE ROBBERS. + + +In 1872, a year after I had been elected Chief of Police of Oil City, +Pa. (and, by the way, I had the distinction of being the first Chief of +Police of that town), the safe in the store of Henry Fair, in South Oil +City, was robbed late on a Saturday night. This safe contained a number +of bonds, some cash and other valuable papers. The robbery was not +discovered until the following Monday morning by Mr. Fair himself, who +was the only person connected with the establishment who had the +combination of the safe. Mr. Fair found the safe locked, as usual, and +upon opening it found the bonds and cash missing from the safe. I was +immediately notified of the robbery, and upon examining the premises +found that no burglary had been committed. The safe and windows and +doors of the store were all found to be intact on Monday morning. I also +learned that the cash and bonds which were missed on Monday morning were +known to have been in the safe as late as ten o'clock upon the Saturday +evening previous. I further learned that at that hour quite a large +crowd of people were in the store, all of whom were supposed to be +customers, and at the close of my investigation there was no doubt in my +mind but that the safe had been rifled of its contents by the sneak +method. During the business hours prior to ten o'clock Saturday evening, +the safe had not been locked and the door was left standing partially +opened, so that clerks and others connected with the store might have +easy access to it during the busy hours of the day to get change, to +look at accounts, and other purposes, so it became apparent to me that +there were probably at least two persons connected with the robbery, and +that one of them had attracted the attention of the clerk nearest to the +safe, while his partner quietly slipped behind the counter and to the +safe and took the cash and missing papers unobserved. It was also +apparent to me that this must have been done almost immediately before +the store was closed for the night, as the cash box and some of the +missing bonds had been out of the safe on the manager's desk until a +short time before they were placed in the safe by Mr. Fair himself at +about ten o'clock. Upon further investigation I learned that two young +men had visited the store about ten o'clock Saturday evening. One of +them purchased a package of smoking tobacco, while the other consumed +considerable time in trying to select a pair of shoes, which, by the +way, he did not purchase. One of these young men was known as "Butch" +DeWitt, then about nineteen years of age, the other was William Heilman, +twenty-one years of age. The parents of these young men were +respectable, hard-working people and both resided in Oil City. The boys +both bore bad reputations, but up to that time were not considered +thieves. Upon learning that they were at the store at a late hour +Saturday night, I concluded that I would locate and interview them, but +upon further inquiry I learned that they had not been seen since the +Saturday night in question, and evidently had left town. I also learned +that "Butch" DeWitt had a sweetheart, whose name was Hattie Bates, who +was a professional dancer and was supposed to be at the time an employe +of Ben Hogan, proprietor of a large dance hall at Petrolia, Butler +County, Pa. + +For the information of the reader, I will say that Ben Hogan was a prize +fighter of note and a sporting character generally. He at one time +fought the celebrated Tom Allen for the heavyweight championship of the +world, near St. Louis. The fight was a draw and created a lot of bad +blood between the two factions interested. Some time after Hogan's fight +with Tom Allen he retired from the prize ring and became an evangelist, +making his headquarters at Chicago, and up to a few years ago, the last +heard of him, the writer has been informed had been very successful in +his missionary work. Prior to the time Hogan established himself at +Petrolia he had been engaged in the dance hall business at Tidicute, +Warren County, Pa., which is also an oil town on the banks of the +Allegheny River. While engaged in that business a party of roughs, who +were looking for trouble, visited his place and started a disturbance in +the dance hall, which resulted in one of the parties being killed and +two or three of his companions being severely injured. Hogan was +arrested charged with murder. Upon hearing of this trouble, and knowing +as I did the character of the parties who created the disturbance, and +that Hogan was entirely justified in protecting his premises against the +violence of this gang, who had gone to his place in search of trouble, I +assisted Hogan's attorneys by informing them as to the character and +standing of the parties who created the trouble. Hogan was acquitted +and ever afterwards was very grateful and friendly towards me, and when +I learned that "Butch" DeWitt's sweetheart was employed at Hogan's dance +hall, I hastened to Petrolia, thinking that DeWitt might visit his +sweetheart there. Petrolia was about sixty miles south of Oil City and I +arrived there on the afternoon of Wednesday, after the robbery before +mentioned. This was my first visit to Petrolia, which was a big oil town +or more like a mining camp, located in a valley on a tributary of the +Allegheny River, and the town consisted of one main street with +buildings on both sides of the street running up and down the valley, +all very close together and all frame. It consisted chiefly of boarding +houses, saloons, dance halls and gambling houses. On my arrival at +Petrolia I started up this street. I had had a description of Hogan's +dance hall, which he had built a short time prior to my going there, and +it was described as one of the largest buildings in town, and when I +arrived in front of what I considered the largest building there I +inquired for Hogan's place. The man from whom I made this inquiry +pointed out the building, which I had selected as Hogan's, which was +directly across the street from where I was standing, and told me that +that was Hogan's dance hall. There were two buildings standing along +side of each other, and as they were almost identically the same in size +and appearance, and being anxious to make no mistake, I inquired again, +and the man pointed out the building to my left, so I understood, as +Hogan's, whereupon I crossed the street and entered the front door of +the building, which was standing open. This was about four o'clock in +the afternoon. I mention this fact for the reason that everything is +usually very quiet about these dance halls until later in the evening, +as places of this kind do all of their business at night. There was a +screen, as there usually is, in front of bar-rooms, to shield the gaze +of the passers-by on the sidewalk. As I entered the house supposed to be +Hogan's, and went around the screen to my left, I found a bar standing +right back of the screen and behind the bar was a large young man with +blonde hair, rather fine looking, standing about six feet, one inch, in +height, and weighing in the neighborhood of two hundred pounds, and +about thirty years old. This man was the then notorious "Bill" Casey, +who was also a heavy weight prize fighter, and the proprietor of this +dance hall. I knew Casey upon sight, and he also recognized me. When I +went around the screen I found myself face to face with him as he was +leaning over with his elbows on the bar talking to one of his employes. +He straightened up, looked at me for an instant, and exclaimed, "Why, +hello, Chief. What in the world are you doing down here?" at the same +time extending his right hand. I shook hands with him and said, "I just +happened to be passing through Petrolia on a little matter of business, +and while on the opposite side of the street met a friend who told me +that this was your place and that I would be likely to find you here at +this time, so I just stepped in to pay my respects and shake hands with +you." To which he replied, "I am mighty glad you did. You say that you +are down here on a matter of business. You know that I am pretty well +posted among the class of people that you are generally looking for, and +if there is anything I can do for you I shall be glad to do so." I +thanked him for his offer and told him that there might be some way in +which he could assist me a little later on. He then said, "You know +Kittie, don't you?" (Kittie was his wife), I said, "Yes, I remember +her." "Wait a minute and I will call her," and he called to the rear +part of the house for Kittie. When she appeared he said to her, "Kittie, +you remember Mr. Furlong, don't you? He's Chief of Police at Oil City, +and I want you to shake hands with him." Kittie came to where we were +standing (in the meantime Bill had come behind the bar alongside of me) +and good-naturedly said, "Oh, yes, I shall never forget Mr. Furlong." +She then continued, "Mr. Furlong, Bill and I often speak of you. You did +the best thing that ever happened that time that you arrested Bill in +Oil City and he has often told me that he would always remember you with +the kindest of feelings for the reason that you did not kill him at the +time he was arrested. The manner in which he acted and the manner in +which he abused your man Fry, if you had not appeared upon the scene as +you did at that time he would have killed Fry and would probably have +been hung. You know he was drinking at the time and was acting very +badly, as he always did when he drank. He has never touched a drop of +any kind of intoxicating liquor since that time, and it has made a man +of him, and I give you credit for what you did. Bill has often said that +you had a perfect right to kill him under the circumstances and has +always felt very grateful." As she finished I said in reply, "Well, I am +very glad that you and Bill feel as you do, and I appreciate your good +will very much, although I regretted at the time what occurred, but knew +that there was nothing else to do but what I did, and I am more than +glad of the good results." + +In this connection I will say that just prior to my arrest of "Bill" +Casey at Oil City, which was more than a year prior to the time of the +foregoing interview, Casey and his wife had a quarrel and had separated. +Mrs. Casey (or Kittie), as he called her, came to Oil City and was +boarding with a woman named Mrs. Brown, who had sixteen or eighteen +other female boarders. Casey, at this time, was living at Petroleum +Center, in the oil country, and had heard that his wife was boarding +with Madam Brown. He came to Oil City in search of her and visited +Madam Brown's house one afternoon about two o'clock. Madam Brown's house +was situated in Oil City in what is known as the "Red Light District" +and was a large and well furnished establishment, in fact the finest of +its kind in the oil regions of Pennsylvania at that time. It so happened +that I was passing Madam Brown's house, when I heard a tremendous uproar +in the house; women were screaming and shouting for help, and it was a +general tumult. Some person I met on the street said to me, "You had +better go into Madam Brown's house. Officer Fry has just gone in there +and it seems as though he is in trouble," whereupon I hastened into the +place, and in one of the parlors on my right as I went in I could hear +Officer Fry calling for help. I ran into the parlor, where I found +several women, all screaming at the top of their voices, and "Bill" +Casey standing at one side of a large square, old fashioned piano, from +which he had twisted one of the legs. He held this piano leg in his hand +similar to the way in which a ball player holds his bat, and had Officer +Fry backed up into a corner alongside of the piano and was about to +bring the piano leg down upon the officer's head. Fry had his revolver +in his hand, but was unable to raise it, as Casey had him covered with +the leg of the piano. Casey was standing with his back to the door from +which I entered, and, upon taking in the situation, I pulled my revolver +from my pocket and struck Casey over the head with it just above the +right ear, which cut an ugly gash and caused him to fall to the floor. I +had dealt him a heavy blow, which took him completely by surprise, and +before he could rally and arise from the floor he was seized by Fry and +myself and subdued only after a vigorous rough-and-tumble fight. He was +locked up, but owing to the fact that his wife had been found by him in +this disreputable place, and that he was under the influence of liquor, +the committing magistrate fined him $200.00 and costs, with the +agreement, on his part, that he was to leave town immediately, upon the +payment of the fine and costs, which he did, and further agreeing that +he would never again appear in Oil City, or any place else under the +influence of liquor. That promise he always kept until the day of his +death. + +With the above explanation I feel that it is unnecessary for me to say +to the reader that I did not enter "Bill" Casey's place voluntarily. I +had not the slightest idea "Bill" Casey was there. The last time I had +seen him was at Oil City on the day of his arrest, and he had said to me +before leaving that he would get even with me if it took him the balance +of his life, so the reader can imagine my predicament better than I can +describe it, when I first found myself in the presence of "Bill" Casey +and in his own place. It would have taken a good sized rope to have +dragged me into that place had I known that Casey was its proprietor, +but on confronting him I could think of no better way than to act boldly +and act as though I had voluntarily come in to call and pay my respects, +which worked admirably. + +After ascertaining the friendly feeling of Casey and his wife towards +me, I told them that I wanted to locate "Butch" DeWitt, who was a friend +of Hattie Bates, who, I understood, was living next door with Ben Hogan. +Mrs. Casey said to me, "I know Mrs. Hogan, and we are warm friends. I +will go over and see her about this and see whether she knows anything +about the whereabouts of DeWitt or not." She did so, and in a few +minutes returned with Mrs. Hogan, who said to me, "'Butch' DeWitt and a +young thief by the name of Heilman were here the night before last. +DeWitt, you know, is a sweetheart of the Bates girl, who lives with me. +DeWitt and Heilman had some money and left here yesterday morning at +two o'clock for New Brighton, Pa., where they have a job of some kind +that they expect to do, and intend to return here in a couple of days +from New Brighton." + +I took the first train from Petrolia to Pittsburg, and then from +Pittsburg to New Brighton, Pa., where I arrived the following morning +early. At New Brighton I learned that the night before my arrival the +safe in a factory had been blown open by burglars and a quantity of +money stolen. At New Brighton I received a good description of Heilman +and DeWitt, and traced them down the railroad to Rochester, Pa., to a +hotel. Upon entering this hotel I found that they had registered under +fictitious names and were still in their rooms at the hotel. I went to +their room, forced an entrance, and found DeWitt and Heilman there. I +arrested them and took them to Oil City, and in the meantime Heilman +made a clean breast of the robbery. He told me that while he was +examining the shoes before mentioned, DeWitt sneaked around behind the +counter and took from the safe, which was unlocked, the money and bonds +that were missing. They took the currency with them and secreted the +bonds and other things stolen by them from the safe in a tin lard can, +which they had buried on a farm south of South Oil City, known as the +Faren Farm. They accompanied me to the place and we recovered the can +and its contents. These boys were convicted and sent to prison. + +The prize fighter "Bill Casey" continued as proprietor of the dance hall +and saloon at Petrolia, where he did a profitable business, and where he +had many friends among the drillers and tool dressers who were employed +at the oil wells in the district which surrounded Petrolia. He was noted +for being big-hearted, sociable and clever while sober, and it will be +remembered he had quit drinking after his arrest at Oil City. He had +accumulated a small fortune, and upon the Christmas Eve following my +interview with him, as before related, he and his wife left Petrolia for +the purpose of visiting his parents, who were living at the time at +Lockport, N. Y. They boarded what is known as a mixed train, northbound, +on the Allegheny Valley Railroad, bound for Buffalo. This train +consisted of a number of freight cars, some of which were loaded with +crude oil, a baggage car and two passenger coaches, which were at the +rear of the train. The passenger coaches were crowded to their utmost +capacity with passengers, as there were many people leaving the oil +country to spend the holidays in other regions. As the train was +rounding a very sharp curve near Scrubgrass a front axletree broke on +one of the freight cars, which precipitated the entire train, behind the +breakdown, over a high bank into the Allegheny River, which was at the +time at high water mark. The crude oil ignited, by reason of the wreck, +and set fire to everything. The oil spread out over the water, and, as +crude oil burns just as fiercely upon water as it does upon land, the +whole river was afire in a very short time from bank to bank, and the +fire was carried down stream by the current at the rate of four or five +miles an hour. Many of the passengers were drowned, or injured and +burned to death by the flames, as it should be remembered that the oil +cars were ahead of the passenger coaches, and as the train was running +upstream the flames immediately enveloped small portions of the +passenger coaches which remained above the surface of the water. Casey +managed to escape from the wreck, and, being a very powerful man, took +his wife with him and reached the bank in safety with the exception of a +few burns. There was a crippled newsboy employed upon the train, and in +the wreck he had managed to get a portion of his body through one of the +windows which was upturned and out of the water, while his lower limbs +were fastened in the wreck, and he was about to be engulfed in a body of +floating burning oil, which was rapidly approaching him, when Casey +spied him. Casey immediately left his wife standing on the bank and +rushed to the assistance of the newsboy, and while tugging away trying +to extricate the boy from the wreck Casey was engulfed by the burning +oil and lost his life, and thus died in the act of performing a humane +and heroic deed. + + + + +SUBDUING A NOTORIOUS BULLY. + +ONE OF MY EARLY EXPERIENCES WHILE CHIEF OF POLICE OF OIL CITY--HOW A BAD +MAN, WITH A LONG RECORD, WAS TAKEN TO JAIL. + + +The notorious Tom Daly of Buffalo, New York, was arrested at Oil City, +Pa., early in the summer of 1872. Daly had been regarded in and around +the city of Buffalo for years, prior to his arrest at Oil City, as a +desperate and bad character. He had a police record almost as long as +the state statutes. He was a fighter and associated and lived with the +most vile and vicious characters to be found in the city. He was never +known to work at any legitimate trade or business. He did pretend to +gamble. He drank at times to excess, and was known to the police as a +strong-arm, or hold-up, man, and was considered by the police a hard and +bad man to arrest--a task which they were frequently called upon to +perform. But as bad as his general reputation was, he had what was +called a political pull in the slums district, in which he resided. He +had a following of his own class because he was more aggressive and more +physically powerful than his associates and followers, and not for the +reason of any superior intellect on his part. + +A couple of days before his arrest at Oil City, complaint was lodged +against Daly and some of his associates by a man in Buffalo, who charged +them with having held him up and robbed him, by force, of a sum of +money. The man also stated that Daly and his confederates had brutally +beaten him, the marks of which he bore plainly. Two police officers were +instructed to arrest Daly and bring him to headquarters. As all the +officers who were located in and about the precinct in which Daly made +his home knew him personally, the two officers who were detailed to make +his arrest easily located him. When they approached him and told him +that they had been instructed to arrest him he smilingly inquired on +what charge, at the same time, as the officers were standing within his +reach, he promptly struck first one and then the other terrific blows +with his clenched fist, knocking both of them down. He then ran into a +brothel, or dive, in front of which he had encountered the police +officers. He, of course, disappeared and escaped being arrested. + +The part of the city was known, at that time, as Rock Street, or the +Five Points, and was the worst and lowest district of not only the city +of Buffalo, but probably as bad, if not worse, than any other in the +country. It consisted principally of low dance halls and drinking places +which were patronized almost entirely by the lower grade of sailors and +canal boat men. As this district was bounded on the east by the Erie +Canal and on the west by the Buffalo Creek, which is the lake harbor of +Buffalo, it was consequently a peninsula, narrow, and frequented by the +class before mentioned. + +After his escapade with the police, Daly, on the same night, made his +escape from Buffalo and went direct to Oil City, Pa., where he had some +friends and acquaintances. He arrived at Oil City the next day about +noon, where he met parties whom he knew and from whom he heard about the +prowess of a valuable bulldog, owned by a respectable citizen named +Ziegenheim, and who was connected with a meat market on Center Street. +This man Daly was about thirty-five years of age, was over six feet in +height and weighed at least two hundred pounds. He had an athletic +build, was dark complexioned and somewhat marked by the after effects of +small-pox. He had rather small dark eyes and the most villainous +expression I think that I have ever seen. He was considered an expert +boxer and was known to be a powerful man--at least by the two police +officers whom he had knocked down and escaped from in Buffalo. I had +heard of Daly and knew of his record, but I had never seen him until I +was called upon to arrest him in Oil City, and I did not know who he was +at that time. + +When Daly had learned from the friends he had met in Oil City of the +valuable fighting bulldog before mentioned, he at once went to the meat +market, where he found Mr. Ziegenheim, and tried to purchase the dog +from him for the purpose of using him as a fighting dog. Ziegenheim +informed Daly, in a polite but firm manner, that his dog was not for +sale, as it was a pet of his wife and children, and that he would not +part with the dog under any consideration, and especially not for the +purpose Daly proposed to use him. Daly became angry and assaulted +Ziegenheim, who was fully as large a man as Daly, but was a gentleman, +and not a fighter. Ziegenheim immediately sought refuge behind a large, +round table, known as a meat block, which is used in all meat markets to +cut meat on. It was probably about four feet in diameter, and by keeping +on the opposite side Ziegenheim was out of Daly's reach. Daly picked up +a large cleaver, which he was holding in a threatening manner. At this +juncture I entered the shop, having been summoned by Mr. Steele, +Ziegenheim's employer, who had run from the meat market to my office, +which was just around the corner in the same block, and told me, in a +very excited manner, that there was a big man trying to kill Ziegenheim +in the shop. + +At the time that Steele came into my office I was talking with the +Mayor, William M. Williams, and when Steele apprised me of Mr. +Ziegenheim's danger I sprang to my feet and was about to leave for the +meat market when the Mayor said to me, "Tom, you had better take a club +or a gun with you. Steele has said Ziegenheim's assailant is a big, +strong fellow." I hastily grabbed up a mace, or club, which was hanging +on a rack near where I was standing, and hastened to the shop, where I +found Daly standing in front of the meat block before described, with +his back to the door. He was holding a cleaver, as I said before, and +facing Ziegenheim, who was at the opposite side of the block. I +approached him from the rear without being noticed by him, and placed my +left hand upon the right collar of his coat as though I meant it, at the +same time commanding him to drop the cleaver. Whereupon he immediately +turned his head and looked down upon me with a very disdainful and +defiant expression. I saw in his eyes the most vile expression that I +have ever seen. I instantly realized that I was in for trouble. He was +wearing a stiff derby hat set back fairly well on his head, and it +seemed to be tight fitting. Upon noticing the expression on his +countenance I instantly struck him as hard a blow as I could with the +mace, which I held in my right hand, at the same time tightening my grip +on his coat collar and vest. However, before I struck him he made a +desperate backward lunge, evidently intending to get clear of me so that +he might get far enough away from me to strike me with his fists. But, +by reason of the strong hold I had on him I had drawn myself up close +to him, and in his lunge he was so much heavier and larger than I that +he carried me back with him, probably a distance of four or five feet. +It was while he, or rather we, were making this lunge, that I struck +him. My mace caught him, or more truthfully speaking, his hat, just +above his forehead. It forced his hat, which was a stiff one, as stated, +and drove it down over his forehead to his eyebrows. The hat was tight +and the lining was leather, and with the force of the blow the lining +cut the skin clear across the top of his forehead, and as the hat was +forced down the skin peeled down over his forehead, and of course, the +blood spurted over both of us. He fell to his knees with the force of +the blow, but immediately tried to rise, when I hit him a second time, +which felled him to the ground. I was still holding on to his collar, +and when he fell I started for my office, dragging him behind me. He was +upon his back and therefore helpless so long as I kept him moving. He +regained consciousness when he had gone about a hundred feet and began +pleading with me to let him up, which I did, with the understanding that +he was to accompany me peaceably. This he agreed to and did. + +It being at the time of the day when the streets were crowded with +people, an immense crowd was attracted by the excitement, and a great +many comments were heard, many of them condemning my action as brutal +and uncalled for. There was both a morning and an evening paper +published in Oil City at that time. The evening paper got out an extra, +which censured me severely, and was entirely in accord with the previous +comments made by many of the crowd. They were, by the way, entirely +ignorant of the facts which led me to act as I had found it necessary. + +The crowd filled the Mayor's office to overflowing, and among those +present were a few friends and former associates of Daly's, who +succeeded in getting one of the citizens, a saloon proprietor and +considered a good citizen and fairly well off, to come forward and +intercede with the Mayor, who at that time, in accordance with the laws +of Pennsylvania, was a committing magistrate. Daly's friends told the +Mayor that they would pay his fine and the costs and would see that he +left town within the hour, if he (the mayor) would let Daly go upon the +payment of the fine and costs for his having assaulted Zeigenheim. + +The Mayor assented and fined him one hundred dollars and costs, three +dollars and fifty cents, making a total of one hundred and three dollars +and fifty cents. The citizens before mentioned paid this fine and Daly +left town immediately thereafter. He gave an alias to the Mayor, and his +friends did not betray him, and for this reason the Mayor or myself did +not know who he was until after he had departed. + +Mr. St. John, who was the editor of the evening paper, and who had so +unmercifully roasted me, had always, prior to this occurrence, acted in +a friendly manner towards me. The write-up that he had given me that +evening, therefore, hurt my feelings beyond description. + +A Mr. Bishop, who was the editor and proprietor of the morning paper, +had come from Buffalo, where he was born and raised, to Oil City, and he +at once took it upon himself to investigate, through correspondents in +Buffalo, by wire, what and who this man Daly was. The result of which +was that he devoted the entire first page of his paper, on the following +morning, to Daly's complete history, setting forth his police record, +his vocation and his desperate character, as well as the full +particulars and details of his most recent encounter with the two +Buffalo police officers, his escape from Buffalo and his subsequent +arrest by me at Oil City. The article wound up with the most +complimentary comments that I have ever received, considerable space +being devoted to the fact of my having succeeded in subduing and +arresting Daly unassisted by any one. This article caused a majority of +those who had so loudly denounced my actions of the previous evening to +apologize for their hasty conclusions. Mr. St. John, of the evening +paper, was among the first to approach me with an apology for his +publication of the evening before. + +If I had known that it was the notorious Tom Daly I had been called upon +to arrest I don't believe that I could have been pulled into that meat +market with a large rope attached to my neck; but I was fully convinced +that prompt and decisive action was required on my part the instant that +I saw that vicious, and I might say, hideous expression on Daly's face. + +The result of this arrest had more to do with securing me the confidence +and respect of the law-abiding citizens of Oil City than any other one +arrest that I had ever made, and I had made many of them. + + + + +A RUSE THAT WORKED. + +HOW EVIDENCE TO CONVICT AN ANONYMOUS LETTER WRITER WAS OBTAINED.--TRAGIC +DEATH OF TWO BROTHERS AFTER THEIR ARREST AND AFTER BREAKING JAIL. + + +Early in the 1870s, Sam Ackert called at my office one cold winter +morning in the month of February. I was then Chief of Police of Oil +City, Pa. Mr. Ackert was known to me as the owner of a large oil lease, +on what was known as the Towles Farm, on the Plummer Road, about eight +miles north, and a little east of Oil City, and in Venango County. Mr. +Ackert was considered at that time, one of the largest oil operators in +that district. He was operating twelve or fifteen oil wells, all of +which were producing large quantities of oil. Some were being pumped, +while others were flowing wells. My recollection is that one of these +flowing wells was producing four hundred barrels per day. Crude oil was +selling at that time for about eight dollars per barrel at the well. +Ackert employed quite a large number of men to attend to the wells and +look after his interests in general. Some of these men were employed as +engineers, which were commonly known in the oil country as pumpers. Two +of these engineers, or pumpers, were required to operate each well, each +man usually working from 12:00 noon until 12:00 midnight. These watches +were morning and noon watches, and men so employed usually lived +adjacent to the well upon which they were employed. + +Mr. Ackert had a superintendent who had charge of the employes and who +lived on the lease. His name was Joseph Sullivan. He also had two +engineers whose names were George and Henry Book. George Book was a +young man, married and lived in a cottage on the lease. His brother +Henry was single and lived with George. George was the eldest. They were +both employed on the same well as pumpers. George was on the noon watch +each day and was considered a very good engineer. He was sober, +competent and attentive to his business; while his brother Henry had +also been considered competent and energetic, but not as reliable as +George. He had been found asleep while on duty by Supt. Sullivan, on +various occasions, for which he was reprimanded and finally discharged +from the service. + +Some months after Henry's dismissal, Mr. Ackert received an anonymous +letter through the mail. This letter threatened dire destruction to his +property by fire, or other methods unless he (Ackert) would discharge +Sullivan, his superintendent. This letter was followed by three other +threatening letters, also anonymous, which were received at intervals of +four or five days by Ackert. Sullivan being a very competent and +reliable man of good character, Mr. Ackert at first did not pay any +attention to the threatening letters, but laid them away in his desk. + +A short time after the receipt of the last anonymous letter, one of his +oil tanks, which at the time contained about four or five hundred +barrels of crude oil, was emptied one night, between dark and daylight, +by some person who had gone to the tank and opened what was known as the +lower faucet. This faucet, two inches in diameter, entered the tank +about one-half foot above the bottom of the tank, and was placed there +so that by opening it the salt water could be drawn out of the tank. All +oil wells in that particular locality, which had to be pumped, produced +a percentage of salt water, this water coming up with the oil. Salt +water being heavier than the oil, immediately settled to the bottom of +the tank, and for that reason, as the tank would become nearly filled to +its top, it was the duty of the pumpers to open this salt water faucet +and let the salt water escape from the bottom of the tank, in order to +make room for more oil above. + +On the night that this tank was emptied in the manner above described, +there was about three feet of snow on the ground. The weather was cold, +and the snow had drifted around the tank so that it was about four feet +deep above the faucet in question. I will state here that the constant +drawing off of the salt water had thoroughly saturated the ground for a +space of two or three feet square under the faucet, and for this reason, +the ground was soft and a little muddy. The saturated earth would not +freeze in cold weather on account of the large quantities of salt which +had become impregnated with the dirt. At the time this tank was emptied +by means of the opening of the faucet, the oil, which was very +inflammable, ran down into a ravine, which was thickly dotted with oil +wells and tanks for a mile or more. But, fortunately, the flowing oil +did not happen to reach any of the fires that were under the boilers of +the pumping stations. If it had, it would have instantly burned +everything within reach along the side of the ravine, thereby destroying +hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of property and in all +probability many lives. + +Mr. Ackert called upon me the morning after the occurrence above related +and told me of what had occurred, stating at the same time, that he had +no idea who was dastardly enough to perpetrate this malicious act. He +knew of no enemy on earth and was more than anxious that I investigate +the matter and locate the party, or parties guilty of the crime. He also +told me of having received and retained the anonymous letters before +mentioned. I instructed him to bring the letters to me at once, which he +did. I noticed that the letters were written on the same brand of paper +and in a legible and penmanlike manner and evidently by the same hand +and pen. By the end of the third day of my investigation I had learned +of the dismissal of Henry Book, and the difficulties he had had with +Supt. Sullivan. I had also learned that his brother, George Book, was a +good scholar, had been a country school teacher some years before in his +native county, which was Crawford County, Pa. I had also found out that +he was considered an extra good penman, and during my investigation was +informed that there had been other loots of oil well tools and other +valuable property on the Ackert and adjacent leases. + +I decided to locate the writer of the anonymous letters. Being familiar +with the manner of operating oil wells, I donned the suit of an oil +driller, which usually consists of overalls. These overalls become +spattered over with sand pumpings, giving the wearer the general +appearance of a bill-poster. The weather was very cold, the thermometer +standing below zero the night that I left Oil City to visit the Ackert +Lease and the pumping houses where I knew George Book would be on duty +until midnight. + +That evening, preparatory to my departure, I visited a meat market kept +by a Mr. Steele, on Center Street, where I purchased five cents' worth +of liver, telling Mr. Steele that I wanted it for a pet cat that stayed +around my office. I dressed myself in heavy, warm clothing, which I wore +under the overalls before described. Taking a small slice of the liver, +I placed it in the hollow of my right hand. I then placed another piece +of the liver on top of the same hand and tightly bandaged the hand with +a piece of white muslin. The liver placed on my hand as described, +soiled the tightly drawn bandage, which gave the hand the appearance of +being very swollen and inflamed. I then improvised a sling around my +neck by tying two handkerchiefs together so that I could place my right +hand in the sling at the proper time. I started from Oil City, +unidentified by reason of my costume, at about 7:00 o'clock in the +evening, arriving at the Ackert Lease a few minutes after nine. I went +direct to the engine house in which George Book was employed, found him +sitting alone there in a large easy chair, in front of the boiler, which +was being fired with natural gas and well lighted by the same, was warm +and neatly kept. Book was reading a novel when I entered, and as the +engine house was located but a few feet off the main road from Oil City +to the town of Plummer, it was not an unusual thing for oil well men to +stop at the engine house, while passing that way for the purpose of +getting warm or getting a drink. So Book was not at all surprised when I +appeared at that hour of the evening. I asked his permission to stand by +the boiler to get warm. He replied that it was cold, and that he would +be glad of my company. He eyed me closely for a while and finally said, +"Where do you work?" I replied that I had been working on the Foster +Farm, which was about fifteen miles southwest of Oil City and on the +Allegheny River. He then remarked, "How did you get hurt?" as he noticed +that I was carrying my right hand in a sling. I replied, "You have been +kind in allowing me to get warm in your engine house, and you look to me +like you would not get a fellow into trouble by giving him away, and I +will tell you all about it." I began by saying, "You see, I am a driller +and I was working under a superintendent. We had trouble over a girl and +he had a gun. He shot me through the hand." I pulled my hand out of the +sling and he exclaimed, "Gracious! You have an awful hand there and you +should have medical attention at once." To which I replied, "I am going +to have it attended to when I reach Petroleum Center. You should see the +other fellow. I shot him, but I don't know whether he is dead or not, as +I left immediately and have walked the entire distance, only stopping +long enough to get a cup of coffee at the eating-house in the depot at +Oil City." He said, "You must be hungry." His sympathy was now fully +aroused and he was really a good-hearted fellow. I then said to him, "I +have some friends at Petroleum Center who will keep me under cover and +get me a doctor, but what is worrying me most now is that I cannot write +with my left hand, and my folks live at Ft. Erie, Canada, which is just +across the Niagara River opposite Buffalo, N. Y. I have been saving my +money and sending it to my people at Fort Erie, and they have it +deposited in a bank at Buffalo to my credit. I have a few hundred +dollars there and if I could only write a letter to-night, and mail it +on the early train to-morrow morning it would reach Fort Erie to-morrow +night. My friends could then send me all the money that I need, which I +would receive the day after to-morrow at Petroleum." To this he replied, +"I am a pretty good penman, and would be glad to write the letter for +you." On saying this, he excused himself and went to his house, which +was close by, and returned in a few minutes with letter paper, +envelopes, and a nice big lunch for two and a pot of hot coffee. We ate +the lunch, and I had some cigars in my pocket. Then he started to write +the letter at my dictation. In dictating the letter I used as many of +the words as I could intelligently get in which had been used in the +anonymous letters, the contents of which I had familiarized myself with. +This letter of mine was not necessarily very long, as I discovered that +he was using the same quality of paper upon which the anonymous letters +were written. I also noticed before he had written three lines, that it +was the same handwriting, and that he was using the same ink, and no +doubt, the same pen, that he had used in writing the anonymous letters. +He addressed the envelope, sealed and stamped it. I thanked him and +departed for Petroleum Center, apparently, but in reality for Oil City, +where I arrived about six o'clock in the morning. + +During the forenoon I submitted my dictated letter, together with the +anonymous letters, to an expert who was connected with the First +National Bank of Oil City. He unhesitatingly stated that the letters +were all written by the same person. I then went back in the afternoon +to the Lease, knowing as I did that George, whom I had met the night +before, would be off duty and probably in bed. I carefully shoveled the +snow from around the faucet of the tank, and when I got down to the +ground, I found two very distinct tracks of a No. 8 boot. The boots had +been recently half-soled, the shoemaker who had made the repairs having +placed three nails in a row across the center of the half-soles. This +was his trade-mark. I soon located the shoemaker who had done this work. +He remembered having repaired the boots for Henry Book a couple of days +before the emptying of the tank. + +I then returned to Oil City, procured a warrant for the arrest of the +Book brothers, and that night about eleven o'clock I arrived at the +Ackert Lease, where I found George on duty, as he had been the night +before, and I found Henry in bed at George's house. On this occasion I +was accompanied by two of my officers. We drove out in a sleigh. After +making the arrest, we searched the house which was a one-story building +with an attic. In the attic we found wagon loads of loot, from the +Ackert Lease and adjacent leases, that was afterwards identified by the +owners, as having been stolen from time to time, as before mentioned. + +The Book brothers in due time, had a preliminary hearing and were +committed to the County Jail in default of bail. + +In the meantime Henry Book had confessed to having emptied the oil tank +and George admitted the writing of the anonymous letters. About a week +before their trial was to take place, there was a general jail delivery +at Franklin, Pa., effected one very stormy night. There were fifteen or +more prisoners who escaped. The Book brothers were among them. They +boarded a north bound freight on the A. & G. W. R. R. which is now known +as the "Erie." When at a point about twenty miles north of Franklin this +freight train collided with another train. In the wreck Henry Book was +killed instantly and George was so badly hurt that he died the following +day. Thus ended the Ackert case. + +I consumed in all not to exceed six days in connection with this case, +unassisted except upon the night of the arrests, when I was accompanied +by two of my officers, whose names were George W. Frye and Max Fulton. + + + + +CHARLIE DALTON, OUTLAW. + +SPECTACULAR ARREST OF THIS MUCH-WANTED MAN ON A CROWDED ST. LOUIS STREET +CAR + + +The arrest, in St. Louis, on the evening of March 12, 1888, of the +notorious Charlie Dalton, was accomplished in a rather unique, yet +sensational manner. Dalton had been "scouting" for a couple of years, +with a large reward offered by the state of Texas and the Missouri +Pacific Railway hanging over his head. Almost every sheriff, police +officer and detective in the country had his description and were +looking for him. The charge was murder, and the crime was committed +during the 1886 strike on the Gould properties. On the afternoon of +April 3, 1886, a freight train pulled out of Fort Worth, Texas, for New +Orleans, Louisiana. Besides the regular crew, the train carried a number +of guards in charge of Jim Courtwright, a noted western officer, who had +formerly been Chief of Police, Sheriff and Deputy United States Marshal +at Fort Worth. + +As the train neared the Fort Worth and New Orleans crossing, it was +fired on by a gang of outlaws and cut-throats, headed by Dalton, who +were in ambush behind a pile of ties on the Missouri Pacific +right-of-way. Two of the guards were killed outright and several +wounded. The crime created a great sensation throughout the entire +country, because of its dastardliness. + +The St. Louis Globe-Democrat of April 13, 1886, editorially referred to +it as the "Fort Worth Massacre." + +Dalton and some of his gang were indicted by the Grand Jury, but when +the officers began a hunt for them they had disappeared. Circulars +announcing the amount of the reward and giving a description of the men +wanted, were scattered almost broadcast over the United States, Canada +and Mexico. + +I received one of them, studied it carefully and got into communication +with the officers at Fort Worth. I had never seen Dalton, but I had seen +his brother, Geary, who was connected with the track department of the +Missouri Pacific Railroad, in St. Louis, where he lived. I noticed a +resemblance in the photo I had of Charlie to that of his brother, and +had instructed my operatives to keep a sharp lookout for Charlie, as I +had learned that his mother was then residing in Carondelet. In the +latter part of February, 1888, one of my operatives reported that he had +learned from a reliable source that the much-wanted man had been seen at +his mother's home in Carondelet. Whereupon, I took measures to have the +premises watched. I later learned that he had been making a practice of +visiting the Standard Theatre nightly. + +On learning this, I arranged with the Chief of Police of St. Louis to +detail a couple of his men to visit the Standard Theatre nightly, where +I should have one of my men, who knew Dalton, on hand, so that he might +point him out to the officers, and they were to arrest him. These +arrangements were all completed on the afternoon of March 12, 1888. + +At about six o'clock that evening I left my office for home. I then +lived at 2723 Walnut Street, and I walked to the corner of Eighth and +Market Streets, where I boarded a horse-car for home. The car proceeded +west and when we got to the corner of 10th and Market Streets, two good +sized, rough-looking young men ran to the rear end of the car and swung +themselves onto the platform, one of them lighting heavily on my right +foot and hurting me very much. His partner followed him and stood on the +lower step. This man, who had tramped on my foot, offered no apology for +his rudeness, and, in fact, paid no attention to me or the injury he +had done, but instead remarked to his partner that people ought to get +out of the way when they saw a person wanting to catch a car. His +partner said, "Charlie, we can't stay out at Geary's but a few minutes, +as you know I have got tickets for the Standard tonight and we must get +there early to get good seats." + +"We won't stay out there only long enough to say goodbye, as we leave +town in the morning," replied Charlie. + +While they were talking I took a good look at the man addressed as +Charlie, and from the conversation, and from the resemblance he had to +his brother, I concluded that the man thus addressed was Charlie Dalton. +I knew who Geary was, and I saw the resemblance that "Charlie" bore to +him. I also knew that the car would necessarily have to pass what was +then known as the Mounted Police Station, located between 27th and 28th +Streets, on Market Street, and before reaching Geary's house, and I +decided that when we got in front of the station I would arrest Mr. +Dalton and lock him up there. He was standing directly in front of me on +the platform and had me crowded up against the rear dashboard. He was a +burly fellow, considerably taller than I was, and would weigh one +hundred and seventy-five pounds. Having become satisfied that I had made +no mistake in his identity, I waited until we had arrived in front of +the police station, when I seized him by the coat collar with my left +hand, pulled the bell-cord, and after the car had slowed up I sprang to +the ground, taking Dalton with me, but as he struck the street, he +facing the car, he fell on his back, and I, still holding onto his coat +collar, reached for his pistol, which I was sure I would find, and I was +not disappointed, for there it was in the waist band of his trousers, +and proved to be a 41 Colts. Dalton then made an attempt to rise, but I +took all of the fight out of him by giving him a blow over the head +with his own weapon. + +"What is this for?" he asked. + +"Your name is Charlie Dalton and you are under arrest for murder," I +replied. + +"My name is Charlie Dalton, all right, by G-d, partner," he exclaimed. + +I then took him by the collar and assisted him to his feet. I took the +prisoner over to the police station and had him locked up, and later +wired the Fort Worth authorities that I had arrested Charlie Dalton, and +he was being held by the police of St. Louis, subject to their orders. +In due time I received a reply from the Chief of Police of Fort Worth, +requesting me to bring Dalton to that city, providing he would go +without waiting for requisition papers. Dalton, having already informed +me that he would go to Texas without requisition papers, I left with him +for Ft. Worth the following evening. On our arrival there the prisoner +was lodged in jail, and remained there a number of months without bond. + +Between the date of the crime and the arrest of the cutthroat a number +of witnesses against him had died. Others had left the state, and the +result was that when his trial was called the state was unable to +produce its evidence and the defendant was finally released from +custody. + +While it is true that I was anxious to apprehend this outlaw for the +Texas authorities, and had just finished making preparations to do so +should he visit the Standard Theatre that night, because of his known +desperate character, and the further fact that he was accompanied by a +big, husky pal, I doubt that I would have attempted his arrest +single-handed, had it not been for the incidents enumerated. I know I +would not have recognized him on this crowded car had not his rudeness +attracted my attention especially to him. The remarks of his pal settled +the question of his identity in my mind, and the pain in my foot and his +insolence aroused my ire. The arrest followed, and it has a +moral--"People should be careful as to whose toes they trample on." + + + + +CONSPIRATORS HANDED A LEMON. + +SENSATIONAL ENDING OF AN ATTEMPT TO BRIBE ONE OF FURLONG'S OPERATIVES IN +THE NOTED MILES WILL CASE. HOW THE CONSPIRACY WAS EXPOSED. + + +In the latter part of the '90s, Stephen B. Miles, a wealthy resident of +Nebraska, died, leaving an estate consisting of lands in Nebraska and +Kansas, bank stocks and bonds, and other property valued at several +millions of dollars. He was survived by a wife, from whom he had been +divorced, two sons, Joseph H. and Samuel, and a daughter, a number of +nieces and nephews and several grand-children. One of the sons, Joseph +H., was a prominent banker and business man of Falls City, Nebraska, and +also had large interests in other towns in that state. He had been a +telegraph operator in his younger days, and was highly esteemed by all +who knew him, not only as a good citizen, but a wide-awake, clean +business man. + +The other son, Samuel, was about forty years of age, and resided with +his family on one of his father's ranches over the Nebraska line in +Kansas. He had been rather wild in his younger days and had caused his +father much trouble because of his dissolute habits. + +Shortly after the death of the elder Miles, a will was found in an old +suit case, the provisions of which made Joseph H. Miles executor and +trustee of the estate, and the chief beneficiary, Samuel being left, +besides some money, a life interest in the ranch on which he and his +family were living. At the death of him and his wife the ranch was to be +deeded to Samuel's children. The will also plainly provided that Samuel +could not either entail or dispose of the land. + +The provisions of the will were very unsatisfactory, of course, to +Samuel Miles, and, at the suggestion of his counsel, he began court +proceedings to prevent the probating of it, and, not succeeding in this, +later brought suit to have the will set aside. + +In 1900 I had in my employ an operative by the name of D. F. Harbaugh. +This man had become well known and had obtained considerable newspaper +notoriety in and about Kansas City through cases he had worked on under +my instructions. One day Harbaugh was approached in Kansas City by one +of the lawyers employed to break the will, and asked if he (Harbaugh) +could find a man whose former reputation had been good, who would go on +the witness stand and testify to having drawn up and witnessed a will +made by the elder Miles, while on one of his numerous trips to St. Louis +during his life time. During the talk the lawyer told Harbaugh all about +the conspiracy that had been formed to break the will--by "finding" a +later will, and gave the names of all connected with the scheme. One of +these men was a prominent lawyer in Falls City, Nebraska, another a man +of great prominence at Omaha, and who had a big political pull +throughout the state, while another was in good standing at the bar in +St. Louis at that time. Harbaugh was further told that he would be paid +a fee of $10,000 for his part when the will was broken, and as a further +compensation the lawyer would send him to the Paris Exposition and +back, paying all expenses up to the sum of $5,000. Harbaugh agreed to +give the lawyer an answer in a few days, and left that evening for St. +Louis. + +The next morning Harbaugh told me all about the proposition that had +been made to him, and asked for my opinion as to the best thing to do. I +at once said, "There seems to be but two things to do in this case. One +is, for you to completely ignore the proposition, as there can be no +doubt as to the rascality of all the parties who are in any way +connected with the scheme. The other, and in my opinion, the right thing +to do, is for us to try and locate this man Joseph H. Miles, and +appraise him of the conspiracy that is being worked up by these lawyers +and his own brother against him. For, if we keep quiet and ignore the +matter, they will, in all probability secure a man who will accept the +proposition and we would be parties to this conspiracy for not having +exposed it." + +"Well," replied Harbaugh, "you are the boss, and it is up to you. I have +told you all I know about the matter. I told this lawyer that his +proposition was very important, and coming to me suddenly I would need a +few days to think the matter over, and it would require at least a few +days to select the right kind of a man--one that could be trusted. He +approved of this and expects an answer from me in a week or ten days." + +I at once undertook to locate Joseph H. Miles, and succeeded in twelve +hours. I found that he lived at Falls City, Nebraska, that he was +president of the First National Bank of that place, had a bank in +another Nebraska city, and had a large interest in a bank in York, Pa., +that he was a respectable citizen and prominent business man, and very +well known. After locating him I wrote him a letter, which read about as +follows: + + + Mr. Joseph H. Miles, Falls City, Nebraska. + + Dear Sir: + + If you are the son of the late Stephen B. Miles, and have a brother + by the name of Samuel Miles, and a number of nephews and nieces who + reside in Kansas and Nebraska, I have important information for + you, and will impart it personally if you will come to St. Louis. + + I would suggest that you bring your lawyer, as I believe my + information important enough to justify you in so doing. + + On receipt of this I wish that you would telegraph me, stating when + you will leave Falls City, and at what time you will arrive at St. + Louis. On arriving at St. Louis, go to the Planters Hotel, look at + the register where you will find my name, and you can then come + direct to my room, where I will be waiting for you and your + attorney. + + I am using a fictitious name, for reasons that I will explain to + you when I see you. + + Yours very truly + + +On receipt of the above letter Mr. Miles wired me promptly that he would +leave Falls City the same evening and would arrive at St. Louis the +following morning, via the Burlington Route, and would carry out +instructions as per my letter. + +I went to the Planters Hotel that evening, registered under the name I +had given Mr. Miles, and was assigned to a room on the fourth floor. + +The next morning about eight o'clock, Mr. Joseph H. Miles, accompanied +by his lawyers, Ex-Judge Gillespie of Falls City, and Ex-Judge Martin, +of the same place, and the latter's son who was a stenographer. I +admitted them, and Mr. Miles stated his name, and asked if I was Mr. +Foster, to which I replied in the affirmative. He introduced the other +gentlemen and after they were seated I began my story by saying: + +"Gentlemen, my name is Thomas Furlong, and I used the name of Foster in +writing to Mr. Miles, because my name and business are known to a great +many people in Nebraska, and a party connected with what I know to be a +conspiracy against Mr. Miles, resides, and is an old citizen of Falls +City, and would probably know my name if he heard it, and I did not know +but what he might be connected with or know people connected with the +telegraph office, and would thus learn that I had communicated with Mr. +Miles, so I deemed it advisable not to use my own name. Now, gentlemen, +before I give you the information that I have promised I wish that you +would call on any of the general managers of any of the railroads that +enter St. Louis, or the president of any bank in the city whom you may +know, and ask him as to my character and standing." + +Mr. Miles asked, "Does Mr. William Nickolson know you?" + +I replied that Mr. Nickolson knew me very well. Mr. Miles said, "Mr. +Nickolson is my correspondent here and has charge of more than a million +dollars of our estate." + +We walked over to Mr. Nickolson's bank and Mr. Miles entered the private +office, leaving me standing in the corridor outside. As he entered the +office he left the door open. Mr. Nickolson arose and greeted him, and +at the same time spoke to me. After the greeting, Mr. Miles said to Mr. +Nickolson, "I see that you know Mr. Furlong." + +"Yes," replied Mr. Nickolson, "I have known Tom for years, and he is +welcome to anything I have." + +Mr. Miles said, "Mr. Furlong told me that you knew him and insisted on +me coming down here and asking you about his standing in St. Louis." + +After a little further conversation Mr. Miles shook hands with Mr. +Nickolson and we returned to my room at the Planters, where Judges +Martin and Gillespie and the stenographer were awaiting us. I then +related in detail the story that I had recently heard from Harbaugh. +After I had completed the narrative, all of which was taken in shorthand +by the stenographer, the younger Mr. Martin, Harbaugh was sent for and +he verified the statements I had made to the gentlemen. The conference +then adjourned, the luncheon hour having arrived. All parties again +assembled in my room at the Planters at two o'clock, when Judge Martin +said, "We have been considering this statement of yours, Mr. Furlong. We +have known for some time that these lawyers you have named have been +trying to make trouble, but did not know until you told us today just +what they intended to do, and now I want to say that Mr. Miles and +myself appreciate what you have done in this matter so far, and we are +anxious for your opinion as to what you think is the best way to +proceed." + +To which I replied, "I believe the best way to proceed would be for +Harbaugh to go to the lawyer in Kansas City and tell him that he would +accept his proposition, and that he would secure a man who could be +relied on, and who would assume that he had written the will for the +elder Mr. Miles. I would then select a man that I could trust and turn +him over to Harbaugh. Harbaugh would take him to Kansas City and put him +under the guidance of the lawyer. After these conspirators had +thoroughly posted and instructed this man, whom they will expect to +deliberately commit perjury, they will probably have his deposition +taken in St. Louis. He will take the stand and be able to answer all +questions put to him until asked if he wrote the will. When he is asked +this question, being under oath, of course, he will tell the truth. In +this way we will be able to prove the enormity of the crime and the cool +audacity of the parties connected with it." + +I turned to Mr. Miles and said, "That is my opinion, but if you do not +approve of it and prefer to employ some one else to handle this case for +you, you, of course, are at liberty to do so. I felt that it was my duty +to advise you of this conspiracy and the manner in which I had received +my information." + +Judge Martin said, "Mr. Furlong, we want you to handle this case for +us," and Mr. Miles nodded his head and said, "Yes, I want you to handle +this case for me, and to handle it in your own way, and I will pay you +your regular charge, allow you the expenses incurred, and pay you extra +for your service." I told Mr. Miles that I did not expect anything of +that sort, as I did not believe in rewards and never worked for them. He +insisted, however, on paying me extra for my services, which he did, and +I divided it equally with Harbaugh. + +I instructed Harbaugh to go to Kansas City and get in touch with the +crooked lawyer, which he did. I selected a man whom I knew well and +believed to be honest. I instructed him as to what I wanted him to do, +and in due time he was introduced to the Kansas City lawyer, by +Harbaugh. The lawyer began instructing him and gave him a minute +description of the deceased Stephen B. Miles, whom, of course, this man +had never seen. He posted him as to a room in the old St. James Hotel +that had been occupied by Stephen B. Miles in one of his trips to St. +Louis. This was the place where the fake will was supposed to have been +written. The lawyer was pleased with the man I had sent and feasted and +dined him on several occasions when he was in Kansas City rehearsing the +part he was to play in the conspiracy. + +In the meantime Harbaugh had grown to be the apple of the crooked +lawyer's eye, and from the good treatment he received from this creature +Harbaugh had begun to admire him for his liberality. + +At last a day was set for the taking of the deposition of the man who +was supposed to have written the will. Due notice was served on the +respective parties interested, and at the appointed time our man +appeared at the office of the St. Louis attorney, and the taking of his +deposition began. After being duly sworn, the St. Louis representative +of the conspirators began to examine the witness in the usual way, +asking a few preliminary questions, and at last reached the question, +"Did you know Stephen B. Miles, deceased, and did you not write this +will for him?" indicating a paper he had in his hand. + +The witness said, "I have known a number of men by the name of Miles. +Allow me to describe one of them and if his description suits I will be +able to answer your question." + +I had previously requested Mr. Miles' attorneys to let the St. Louis +lawyer do all the questioning and examining, and not to object to any +question that he might put to the witness, unless it was entirely out of +reason. Therefore, they merely sat still, carefully noting everything +and objecting to nothing. + +Of course, the conspirators were anxious to get a strong deposition from +the witness, and, therefore, he was permitted to describe the man Miles, +for whom he was supposed to have written the will. The St. Louis +attorney kept nodding approval to his fine description of the dead man. +When he had fully described Mr. Stephen B. Miles to the satisfaction of +the conspirators, he took the purported will and examined it carefully, +saying, "The handwriting on that document looks like my handwriting, +but (in a loud, clear voice) I did not write this or any other will for +Mr. Stephen B. Miles, or any other person. I have never met the man +Stephen B. Miles, nor the man that I have just described. I was +instructed to give the description that I have given here by these +lawyers (pointing to the St. Louis and Kansas City lawyers, who were +both present) and I was expected by them to testify that I had written +this will, and I was promised five thousand dollars if I would." + +The reader can easily imagine the consternation that reigned among the +conspirators at this testimony from the one they trusted would be their +star witness. Our man left the stand and the further taking of testimony +was discontinued, it is needless to add. + +Mr. Miles and his attorneys believed that these conspirators had ceased +their efforts for a time, but later on they produced another man whom +they claimed had written the second will for Stephen B. Miles. He was a +young man, also a lawyer, and had at one time lived in St. Louis for a +short time, married there, and had gone to Old Mexico. He was discovered +in Mexico by the Kansas City outfit and induced to come back to Chicago, +Illinois, where his deposition was taken. He claimed to have written the +will for an old man in St. Louis, but he was either afraid to describe +him or could not do so, therefore his testimony was worthless. + +The conspirators continued to try to break the original will until it +was finally pronounced legal and valid by the Supreme Court of Nebraska, +and Joseph H. Miles' rights were thoroughly and legally established. + +During this litigation, however, two of the parties in the conspiracy +died, and the others were not prosecuted for complicity, although their +actions had put Joseph H. Miles to considerable trouble and expense. +They had made several indirect propositions to Mr. Miles looking to a +compromise, but he promptly repelled all of them. + +Harbaugh's connection with my service has long since been severed, and +he is now in the employ of Mr. Joseph H. Miles as manager of his large +stock range in Nebraska, not far from Falls City, where the writer is +informed he is doing well. + + + + +THE BIG SOUTHWEST STRIKE. + +HOW THE BLOWS WHICH CAUSED THE DEATH KNELL OF THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR WERE +ADMINISTERED.--STIRRING SCENES AND INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH THE BIG +STRIKE OF 1886. + + +If you have an ambition to lead a strenuous life, young man, and feel +that excitement would serve as a tonic for your nervous system, and you +want to gratify your ambition and secure the tonic in greater than +homeopathic doses, both at the same time, just get yourself appointed +chief special agent of a big railroad during a general strike. I am +"dopeing" you right, for I have been "on the job" on several occasions +during a strike, consequently know what I am writing about. The most +strenuous thirty days of my long career, however, were the thirty days +in 1886, when the whole southwestern system of Gould roads were tied up, +and there was nothing doing in the traffic line. While there had been +differences between the shopmen and the company for some time, these +differences were considered trivial, and neither side had expected that +they would result in a strike, consequently neither the men nor the +company were prepared for the struggle when it began--at ten o'clock on +the morning of the 4th of March. The shopmen, as well as many other +employes of the Gould roads, including engineers, firemen and trainmen, +were nearly all members of the Knights of Labor. Organizers and +professional labor agitators had been busy all along the line for +months, coaxing and coercing the men into the order. Martin Irons had +been selected as chairman of the grievance committee, and while in Texas +attending a meeting of the committee, called the strike, without +consulting the national officers of the organization, a violation of one +of the order's most stringent rules. He afterwards admitted that he +would not have called the strike had he been sober. + +[Illustration: MARTIN IRONS. + +Chairman of the Knights of Labor strike committee on the Gould System in +1886.] + +Irons was a little weazen-faced Scotch-Irishman, with a past--as most of +these professional labor agitators have. At the time of the strike he +was on the payroll as a machinist of the Pacific Company at Sedalia, +where he was living with what is now-a-days called an affinity, he +having deserted his wife and several children in Ray County years +before. He was thoroughly unreliable, a drunkard, and was hated by most +of his followers. There were two redeeming things about him, however. A +good voice was one of them. He could have earned a large salary as a +train-caller or a barker for a tent show, and he was a good actor. +Notwithstanding his repulsive appearance, and the fact that the shopmen +did not like him, he could sway them as he pleased, if granted the +privilege of addressing them--fill them with either tears or +indignation, as best suited the occasion. He never made a speech in his +life, though, during which he did not pay his respects to me and my men, +and tell how we were shadowing and hounding him day and night. He did +this to create sympathy. As a matter of fact, there never was a time +when any of Gould's c-a-p-i-t-a-l-i-s-t-i-c b-l-o-o-d h-o-u-n-d-s, to +use his own favorite expression, were ever on his trail. He was always +regarded by my men and myself as a harmless demagogue, and not capable +of doing anything that would cause us much trouble. In fact, the only +thing he ever did in which he did not leave a trail behind him as wide +as a railroad right-of-way, was the wire-tapping job he supervised +during the strike, which will be referred to later. + +As stated previously, the strike was called at ten o'clock on the +morning of March 4, 1886. The sound of the big whistle, the blowing of +which was the signal for the men to quit work, had hardly died away +before the main yards of the company at St. Louis, which were just west +of the old Twelfth St. station, were filled with a mob of at least ten +thousand Knights of Labor and sympathizers. The company's shops at +Chouteau and 29th Streets were also at once taken possession of by the +strikers and their friends. Notwithstanding the fact that many of the +employes of the company were loyal, and did not want to leave their +jobs, these demonstrations caused them to do so. A call was sent in to +police headquarters by General Superintendent Kerrigan, who was in +charge of the operation of the Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain roads, +in the absence of Vice-President and General Manager Hoxie, who was +detained at his home on account of illness, asking for police protection +for the company's loyal employes and property. Maj. Lawrence Harrigan, +then chief of police, responded to this call by detailing Sergt. Jack +Campbell, who was afterwards chief of police, and eighteen men for duty +on the company's property. The reader can easily imagine the predicament +in which this little handful of officers found themselves in attempting +to handle a mob of at least ten thousand. On orders from Mr. Kerrigan, I +secured three engines and crews, and we began to make up a train. At +this sign of activity the mob became frantic. Two of the engines were +soon derailed and disabled. I then placed my force of special officers, +which consisted of but a few men, on the remaining engine, and attempted +to continue the switching of cars in order to get out a train of +perishable goods, but we could not make any headway, as the mob pulled +the pins, threw switches, derailed cars and otherwise interfered with +the work. After a couple of hours had been thus consumed, I suggested to +Mr. Kerrigan that we had furnished enough entertainment for the mob for +one day, and told him I was going to take the engine to the round house +to keep it from being disabled. "Do you think you can succeed in doing +it, Tom?" asked Mr. Kerrigan. "I will do my best," I replied. "For +goodness sake, do it, then, and when you get through come to my office +as I want to consult with you." + +The engine, which had been abandoned by the engineer and fireman, was +standing just east of 12th St., a portion of it being under the viaduct +which spanned that thoroughfare. The viaduct was lined with spectators +and strikers and their sympathizers, many of the latter being armed with +paving stones, links, pins, etc. As I climbed aboard the cab some +miscreant hurled a paving stone at me. It came within a few inches of +landing on my head. It is needless to state that if it had struck me I +would not be writing this story. David R. Francis, at that time Mayor of +St. Louis, was viewing the situation from the viaduct, and witnessed the +attempt on my life. Turning to Robert S. McDonald, former Circuit +Attorney, and a well-known lawyer, the Mayor exclaimed, "That man +Furlong will get killed by that mob." After the incident, I espied the +engineer standing in the crowd. I called to him in a loud voice, "Come +here and let us take this engine to the roundhouse." On hearing this a +mighty shout went up from the mob, and there was much rejoicing and +clapping of hands, they thinking they had achieved a great victory--just +what I wanted them to think. The engineer climbed on the engine and we +made the trip to the roundhouse without molestation. + +After the engine had been safely placed in its stall, I went at once to +the office of General Superintendent Kerrigan. After thoroughly +discussing the situation which confronted us, I suggested that he call +on Judge Portis, at that time General Attorney of the Missouri Pacific, +and insist on him preparing a legal notice to be served on the Mayor and +Police Board and sheriff of St. Louis, setting forth that the company +was being hindered in the operation of its property within the City and +County of St. Louis, and State of Missouri, by a mob; that the company +had many hundred thousand dollars' worth of perishable property in its +cars in the yards in St. Louis, and also had plenty of competent and +loyal employes who were willing and anxious to do the work of switching +the cars and running the trains, but were prevented from doing so by +said mob. Therefore, the company, after the serving of this notice, +intended to hold the said city and county and state liable for all +damages sustained by the company by reason of said mob's interference, +as aforesaid. Mr. Kerrigan, acting on this suggestion, immediately +called in Judge Portis, C. G. Warner, general auditor, W. H. Newman, the +general freight traffic manager, and some other officers of the road, +and had me repeat the suggestion to them, which I did. The attorney did +not take kindly to the proposition at first, but at the demand of Mr. +Kerrigan the notices were prepared, and later served on the officials +named. + +The receiving of these notices by the officials awakened them to their +responsibilities. That evening a meeting of the Police Board was called +by President Blair, and at its close an order was issued to Chief of +Police Harrigan, instructing him to don his uniform early the next +morning and lead every available man in the department to the Missouri +Pacific yards, where he was to so station his men that none but loyal +employes could enter the yards. The board's orders were carried out, the +chief causing a line of men to be formed around the yards before the +strikers had entered upon the property of the company. + +At the head of a force of twenty-eight men, including a full train crew, +conductor, engineer, fireman and three brakemen, I made up a train of +ten cars and started west with them. We were not molested until we +arrived at the Compton Avenue crossing. At this point a number of +strikers under the leadership of a notorious agitator named Geary, were +seen on the track. Each striker carried a small American flag, which +they stuck up in the middle of the track at the crossing, and then every +one began signalling us to stop, shouting to us that "we did not dare +run over an American flag." + +I want to state right here, that no man in this country has a greater +respect for Old Glory than I have. I put in four years, one month and +eight days defending it on one occasion, and thus helped to make it what +it is today, and it made me feel pretty bad to see it put to the use it +was on this occasion, and it is the only time in my life that I failed +to pay the flag the respect due it. To make the story shorter, we paid +no attention to the flags, and would have run over the mob had they not +skeedaddled out of the way of that train. + +At the city limits, Sergt. Campbell, who had been riding on the engine +with me, left the train, and we continued on our journey westward. +Sitting on the running board on either side of the engine I had two men, +Billy Bonnell and Mike Gibbons, each armed with a shot gun. On the +deadwood, or cowcatcher, in front of the engine, I had two other men, +Jim McCane and W. K. Moir, each armed with revolvers, and each carrying +a clawbar. We had expected to find some spiked switches, and these +clawbars were to be used in pulling the spikes. The balance of my +guards, all armed, were placed in the caboose and on top of the box +cars. No trouble was encountered until we neared Pacific. We pulled into +the town slowly, with all brakes set, so there would be no slack in the +train, thus making it impossible for any one to dodge in between the +cars and pull the pins, thus uncoupling the cars. We knew a lot of +strikers had gone out to Pacific over the Frisco that morning, and +expected trouble on arriving at that town. We were not disappointed. The +first switch encountered had been turned for the side tracks and spiked, +as had every other switch leading from the main line. My men who were +armed with clawbars soon pulled the spikes and reset the switches and we +slowly creeped into the town. The strikers were holding a meeting in an +old brick house on the first road east of Pacific, but on hearing our +train coming the meeting was broken up and the men ran to a sand bin +located just east of the depot and took refuge behind it. As our train +pulled by this sand bin at least 100 shots were fired at the train. +Strange to say, not one of my men was hurt, but the cab and caboose and +some of the cars were badly splintered by the bullets. After pulling by +the sand bin the mob ran after the train, and one of the leaders, named +Davis, picked up a drawbar and rushed to the front of the caboose, which +he was enabled to do as we were running so slowly, and attempted to +throw the draw bar under the front wheels of the caboose, for the +purpose of derailing it. He would probably have succeeded had not +Marshall F. McDonald, the noted St. Louis attorney, who had volunteered +to act as one of my guards, saw what the man was attempting to do. The +lawyer was so enraged at Davis' audacity that he picked up a coupling +pin, which was lying on the platform of the caboose, and hit the striker +over the head with it. It is needless to add that we had no more trouble +with Davis that day, as he went down for the count, as the sporting +writer would put it. + +When we were fired upon by the mob entrenched behind the sand bin, I had +hard work to control my men, they wanting to return the fire. I had +previously told them not to fire a shot without my orders, but in the +event I was compelled to order them to fire, I had instructed them to +shoot to kill. After the first volley, and there being no return fire, +the strikers concluded the guards were afraid to shoot, and immediately +set about to uncouple the train. In this they were foiled, as they could +not pull the pins. They then tried to climb to the top of the cars for +the purpose of disarming the guards and throwing them from the train. In +this they were again foiled, for the guards, using their weapons for +clubs, beat them off. As soon as a striker's head appeared at the top of +the ladder he received a blow over it that caused him to either fall to +the ground or scamper back down the ladder. Many of them were badly +injured, either from the fall or the blow from the weapon in the hands +of the guards. One of the mob singled me out and kept peppering away at +me with a revolver. One of my men, Mike Gibbons, from his seat on the +running board of the engine, and who was armed with a shotgun, wanted to +"get" this man, but I would not let him do it. The fight was fast and +furious, however, and lasted until our train had passed through the +town. + +Our train met with no further trouble of importance until we arrive at +Chamois, the end of the first freight division. Here the foreman of the +round house had deserted his post and joined the strikers, and was +acting as leader, and not one of the company's employes were on +duty--that is, for the company. As soon as we pulled in the strikers +surrounded the train, but attempted no acts of violence, they evidently +being over-awed at the sight of the twenty-two armed guards. I made a +short but "impressive" talk to the men, using as near as I can recall +it, the following language: + +"Gentlemen, I am special agent of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. These +men you see with me here are in my department. We have no grievances +against the company and are in no way interested in this strike, except +to protect life and property. I want to convey to you, Mr. Foreman, the +thanks of the management of the company to yourself and your associates +for the good care you have taken of the company's property. I am here +now with these men to relieve you of any further responsibility in the +matter, and all of you are hereby notified to get off and stay off of +the company's right-of-way until the trouble has been satisfactorily +adjusted. If you attempt to get back on the right-of-way, or in any +manner attempt to interfere with my men while in the discharge of their +duties, or with the movement of trains, or commit other depredations, +you are liable to get shot." + +At the conclusion of my talk the strikers left the company's premises. +On investigation I found 19 "dead" engines, that is, 19 engines from +which the water had been removed. The supply water tank was also as dry +as the proverbial powder horn, and the pumping machinery disabled, parts +of the engine having been removed, and as I afterwards learned thrown +into the little creek from which the water to supply the tank was +obtained. As it was getting late in the day I went over to the hotel to +make arrangements for getting supper for my men and crew. The proprietor +told me there was nothing doing, as he did not want to take chances on +getting his building burned down by the Knights of Labor. All of the +balance of the regular eating houses and boarding houses in the town +refused to accommodate us for the same reason. They had been notified by +the committee not to do so. They would be boycotted if they did, and it +had been intimated that even greater punishment might be meted out to +them in case the committee's orders were violated. Later a good old +German lady named Mrs. Stoeppleman, who had two sons who were loyal +employes of the company, sent for me and told me she was not afraid of +the Knights of Labor, and cared nothing about a boycott or what her +neighbors might say, and she would feed us if we desired her to do so. +It is needless to add that we accepted of her hospitality. After a good +supper, I learned where the missing parts of the pumping engine had been +thrown, and two of my men, Messrs. McCane and Moir, who were both good +machinists and engineers, were set to work to repair the engine. The +water in the creek, where the missing parts of the engine had been +thrown, was about four feet deep, and was partially covered with ice. +McCane and Moir entered the icy water, while I and others held torches, +and fished out the missing parts. The engine was repaired, and by +morning we had the supply tank nearly full of water. + +Early the next morning, we fired up one of the dead engines, and +attaching it to the train of ten cars, sent it on to Sedalia in charge +of a crew and two guards. Leaving eleven men at Chamois in charge of Mr. +W. K. Moir, I made up a train of 15 loaded cars, and with the remainder +of my men started on our return trip to St. Louis. No trouble occurred +until our arrival at Pacific, where the scenes attending our arrival +there the day before were partially re-enacted. We got through Pacific +without any serious trouble, however, and arrived in St. Louis about +2:00 P. M. + +The St. Louis strikers had not been idle while I was out on the road, +however. On pulling into the Chouteau Avenue yards the first thing I saw +was that the big turntable had been put out of commission. The strikers +had deliberately run an engine into the pit, not only blocking the +turntable, but badly damaging the engine. + +The next morning (Wednesday) Mr. Kerrigan sent for me to call at his +office. On arriving I was told that the strikers had attacked the +Washington accommodation, containing three coaches loaded with +passengers bound for St. Louis, at Gray's Summit, a little station west +of Pacific, and had run the train onto a siding and "killed" the engine. +I at once repaired to the Chouteau Avenue yards, and taking an engine, +attached it to a coach, into which I placed ten picked men, all well +armed, and the run was made to Gray's Summit in fairly good time. The +strikers and sympathizers soon dispersed when commanded to do so by me. +One of my men, Jim McCane, who was an experienced engineer, disconnected +the disabled engine, taking off the side rods, and in a remarkably short +time we had coupled the disabled engine and the coaches on behind our +coach. We then ran our engine to a "Y" west of the little town, and +after turning it around brought the passengers safely to St. Louis, +where we arrived a little before dark. The rescue of this passenger +train was the entering wedge which broke the strike. + +On arriving at the roundhouse that evening, a messenger was awaiting me +with a note from General Manager Kerrigan, asking me to call at his +office at Sixth and Locust streets to consult with the officers of the +company. On arriving at Mr. Kerrigan's office I found Mr. Newman, +freight traffic manager, and Mr. Werner, the general auditor, awaiting +me. These three gentlemen were handling the strike situation for the +company in the absence of Vice-President and General Manager Hoxie. They +had learned of the conditions at the Chouteau avenue shops, of the +running of the engine into the turntable pit, and also of the large +number of men the strikers had on guard, both outside and inside of the +fence which surrounded the shops. Mr. Kerrigan, recognizing the fact +that we could do but little without engines, and as all the engines, +save one or two, were safely locked within the round house, expressed +himself as wishing to again get possession of the roundhouse. In +discussing the best means of doing this the gentlemen thought it best to +call on the police department for enough men to drive the strikers away. +I told them that it was not necessary to do that, as I could get +possession of the shops at any time. "How can you do it, Tom?" asked Mr. +Werner. "It will not take as long to do the job as it will to tell you +about it," I replied, and further told them that we would be in +possession of the shops again by daylight the next morning, if they so +desired. They told me to go ahead and get possession of the shops in my +own way. At that time I knew where I could get my hands on between forty +and sixty of my men. I sent messengers to hunt up these men, instructing +them to report to me on the Handlan lot, southeast corner of Grand and +Laclede avenues, promptly at 2:30 the next morning. They were further +instructed to slip into the rendezvous quietly, not more than one or two +going in together at a time, and all were given a pass word by which +they would be able to identify each other. At the time fixed, forty-six +men had reported, all well armed. I formed them into a double line, and +after cautioning them to be careful about stumbling or coughing, or +making a noise of any kind, marched them down Grand avenue to the +railroad track, and then down to the west gate of the fence surrounding +the shops. On arriving there and finding the gate fastened on the +inside, four men were boosted over the high fence. These men soon had +the gate open and the balance marched in. Immediately on entering the +shopyard the men split ranks, half going to the right and the other half +to the left, Jim McCane heading one squad and I the other. The strikers +had placed pickets every few rods all along the inside of the fence, but +our entrance had been made so suddenly and noiselessly that these +pickets had no time to sound an alarm. They were quickly disarmed of +their clubs, or bludgeons, and taken along with us from one station to +the other, until every picket in the yard had been captured. They were +taken to the gate and boosted out. We then entered the shops, where we +found many strikers asleep on benches and work tables. These were thrown +out of the building before they hardly had time to get their eyes open. +A good sized crowd of watchers and beer-canners were on the outside of +the east gate of the fence. These men, too, were driven from the +right-of-way. By daylight we were again in complete possession of the +shops, as I had promised my superiors we would be, without a blow being +struck or any one hurt. + +I then sent trusted men down into the city to the quarters where men out +of work usually congregate, with instructions to hire all the men they +could find and quietly get them into the shops in small groups. I did +not care what the previous occupations of these men had been, just so +they were able-bodied. It did not make any difference to me whether they +had ever seen the inside of the railroad shop before. All I wanted was +men--men who could make a noise. We soon had a sufficient number of +these men inside of the shops to serve my purpose. Engines were fired +up, fire was built in the blacksmith forges and the big engine in the +powerhouse was set in motion. In fact, to those on the outside of the +shop who could see the smoke coming out of the smoke stacks and hear the +noise, and to those who could get a peep through the gates, the shops +presented a scene of great activity. Men were pounding great molten +pieces of iron on the blacksmiths' anvils, while others were pounding +away on big pieces of boiler iron, but they were not blacksmiths or +boilermakers; they were simply playing a part assigned to them by the +master mechanic and myself. Other men represented machinists, while +others were painters, car repairers and helpers. + +Of course, all these actors and guards had to be fed, so we established +a commissary and a kitchen and brought in a lot of cots for these men +and guards to sleep on, which were placed in the building. To those who +are not familiar with the handling of strikers, I will tell why we +employed all those unskilled men. It was for the purpose of making the +strikers believe that we were fast filling their places, which it did, +for in the next day or so many of the men who went out quietly made +application for reinstatement. In many instances these applications were +acted upon favorably and the men put to work, and the backbone of the +strike was thus broken. + +As on all such occasions, many acts of violence were committed. When the +strikers learned that men were being slipped into the shops they were +very wroth. Now and then one of the strike breakers would stray away +from the shops. They were fortunate, indeed, if they did not fall into +the hands of the pickets, for if they did, and which was usually the +case, they were badly beaten. Of course, we always attempted to prevent +the men going out after they were once inside of the enclosure, knowing +what they would be up against, but we were not always successful in +keeping them inside. On the second day, after we had retaken the shops, +a coach painter named Haller, who had been employed at the shops for +several months, and who was at home at the bedside of a sick wife when +the strike was called, showed up at the shops and resumed work. At +quitting time that evening he picked up his dinner bucket and started +down the track to Jefferson avenue, as had been his custom. On arriving +at Jefferson avenue he was approached by a number of pickets, who +remonstrated with him for going to work. "I cannot afford to loaf now, +as my wife has been sick a long time," said Haller; "besides, I am +satisfied with the wages I am receiving and intend to keep on working," +and started up Jefferson avenue towards his home, which was in the 2600 +block on either Franklin or Easton avenues. The pickets began to assault +him with rocks and clubs, and he sought to escape them by running. At +every step, almost, the ranks of the mob were augmented. As Haller ran +past the strikers' headquarters, which were in Eutopia Hall, at Walnut +and Jefferson avenues, a crowd of several hundred joined in the chase. +The long run up the hill had winded Haller. Besides he had been weakened +by the blows which had been showered upon him. Seeing that he could not +make his escape on account of his weakened condition, he backed up +against a brick building at the northwest corner of the street named +and stopped. A big bully rushed up to him and struck him, whereupon +Haller jerked out a revolver and shot his assailant, who dropped dead in +his tracks. This stopped the mob from doing further violence to him. The +police from the mounted district rushed to the scene and placed Haller +under arrest. No attempt was made to arrest any of the mob. Later in the +evening he was removed to a cell in central station, from which the +company's officials, at my request, secured his release on bond. He was +later acquitted by a coroner's jury, and in a day or so thereafter was +again back at work. After that, for quite a while, I sent a guard home +with him each evening, but no attempt was made to molest him. This, I +believe, was the only fatality growing out of the strike in St. Louis. +Mr. Haller is now a prosperous business man in St. Louis, and is highly +respected by all who know him. + +Thursday afternoon the big crane at the shops was rigged up for +business, and, under the guidance of skilled men in my employ, ran out +to the edge of the roundhouse pit, into which the strikers had dumped an +engine, as referred to before in this article. This engine so blocked +the turntable that not one of the company's engines in the roundhouse +could be taken out. The engine was lifted out of the pit, and in a short +time the turntable was in working order. That same evening, I decided to +straighten out things at Pacific. To do this I had made up my mind to +place the ring-leaders of the mob which had attacked the train there +earlier in the week under arrest. I knew it would take quite a force of +men to do this, so I instructed twenty of my men to assemble quietly in +the neighborhood of St. Malachy's church, at 29th and Clark avenues, at +ten o'clock that night. They were to come to the rendezvous in ones and +twos, and instructed to do nothing that would attract attention. I had +an engine and caboose in waiting at the shops, and when the men had all +assembled they were marched to the caboose, and between 11 and 12 +o'clock we started to Pacific. On arriving at the first cut east of the +town the little train was stopped and left in the cut under guard of the +engineer and fireman, and two of my men. The engine carried no lights, +and no sound had announced our arrival near the town. In fact, we +approached it as quietly as possible. The men were divided into two +squads, one headed by Billy Bonnell and the other by myself. We then +marched into town and to the homes of the men wanted. They were aroused +from their slumber and placed under arrest. We had no trouble, except at +the home of a big blacksmith, who had been especially prominent in the +riot at the sand bin the day we ran the first train through the town +after the strike had been called. He was soon subdued, however, and +taken with the balance of the men arrested, to the caboose, which had +been left standing on the track near the edge of the town. Many of these +men were still suffering from the blows they had received at the hands +of the guards who were on the train they had attacked. Davis, the leader +of the mob, who was hit on the head with a coupling pin by Marshall F. +McDonald, for attempting to derail the caboose of the train attacked, +had his head still covered with bandages. + +After all the men had been arrested, we boarded the train with our +prisoners and ran to Washington, where we loaded them into hacks and +wagons and took them to Union, the county seat of Franklin County, where +they were placed in jail. In due time they were tried before Judge Seay, +and vigorously prosecuted by Prosecuting Attorney Gallencamp, and all of +them convicted. Davis, the leader, was given three years in the +penitentiary, while the blacksmith and several others were let off with +lighter terms, and the balance of the men, who proved to be mere tools +of the leaders, at my suggestion, were given jail sentences. Davis, +after entering the penitentiary, contracted consumption, and after +serving a little over half his time, was pardoned so he might go home to +die. He was released from prison one Saturday, returning to Pacific at +once. The following Monday he died. + +Two of the gentlemen connected with the trial of these strikers have +since made reputations for themselves. Judge Gallencamp, who prosecuted +the cases, is now, and has been for several years, Surveyor of the Port +of St. Louis, while Judge Seay, who presided, has received high honors +at the hands of the people of Oklahoma, his new home, he having served +as governor at one time. Mr. W. K. Moir, whom I left in charge of +Chamois, proved to be a valuable man for the company. He being a good +engineer and machinist he was retained there as general foreman for +several years, until the division was removed to Jefferson City. He was +then given an engine in the yards of the company at that point, but +later resigned and moved to St. Louis, where he continued to reside +until his death, which occurred a few years ago. + +The St. Louis strikers made their headquarters in Eutopia Hall, +Jefferson avenue and Walnut street, and an ex-convict named Martin +O'Neal usually presided over the meetings. I lived, at that time, at +2729 Walnut street. My wife was very sick, being confined to her bed, +and many of these strikers in going to and from their meetings always +passed by the house, and never failed to jeer at the children, if they +happened to be in the yard, and otherwise conducted themselves in a rude +manner. One striker, a tough switchman named Duffy, went so far as to +enter the yard and ring the door bell a couple of times, when he knew I +was not at home, and when the door was opened by my little daughter, had +forced his way into the house. He would then let on as though he wanted +to see me, telling my daughter that he knew all about a conspiracy to +take my life, and his call was for the purpose of putting me on my +guard. His story and rudeness always frightened my family very badly, +they thinking that possibly there might be some truth in his story. I +knew Duffy and his reputation as a general bad man, and knew he had no +business with me. I also knew he was aware of my whereabouts during +business hours, and I decided to put a stop to his visits at my private +home at the first opportunity. As luck would have it, I was at the house +the next time he called, one night about ten o'clock. I had slipped home +to spend a few moments with my sick wife, and had been in the house only +a short time, when the door bell rang. My daughter saw him enter the +yard from the window, and called me. I answered the ring of the bell by +opening the door and grabbing Duffy by the collar and jerking him +inside. I at once went to work on him with both fists. He was either too +cowardly or his surprise was too great for him to make any resistance. +After I had given him a few good stiff jabs, he began to beg for his +life. "I am not going to kill you, you cur," I rejoined, "but I am going +to teach you better than to come to my home," and I lit into him again. +After punching him until I was tired, I let up. I then issued a few +orders for the cowering wretch's guidance in the future, and also sent a +message to his followers, couched in about the following language, "You +people can go up and down this street, of course, but don't any of you +let me catch you on this side of it. Another thing, I will 'get' the +next one of your cowardly curs who jeers at this house again while +passing. I don't want any of you to ever even look at my house. If you +do, and I find it out, there will be trouble." After making him promise +to deliver the message, I again grabbed him by the collar, and pulling +the door open, booted him into the street. I always gave Duffy credit +for delivering the message, for that gang always behaved themselves when +passing the house thereafter, and always kept to the other side of the +street. + +St. Louis was not the only scene of rioting and mob violence during the +strike. At Sedalia, where the main engine building plant of the company +is located, and where about 2000 machinists and other shopmen were +employed, conditions were very bad. Sedalia was also the headquarters of +the operating department of the "Katy," one of the Gould properties, and +a division point for all Missouri Pacific lines at that time running +through Missouri. In fact, it was what might be called a railroad town. +It was also the main headquarters of the strikers. The Knights of Labor +were very strong, even most of the business men of the city belonging to +the order. The strikers had their own way for several days. Each attempt +on the part of Superintendent Sibley to move trains was the signal for +rioting. To illustrate the boldness of the strikers, I will relate one +incident. Adjutant General J. C. Jamison, of Governor Marmaduke's staff, +had been sent to Sedalia to investigate conditions there. He went to the +yards and with two police officers, boarded an engine, attached to a +train, which the officials were attempting to get out of the yards. The +engine was given steam and the train started. Before it had gone a +hundred yards, however, a mob climbed aboard the engine, stopped the +train, uncoupled the engine from the train, put on steam, and ran the +engine down the Katy track about two miles, and after letting all the +water out of the boiler, ran the engine back to the yards and into the +roundhouse. No attempt was made to harm the adjutant general and the +police officers by the mob. Immediately on the arrival of the captured +engine at the roundhouse, the leaders of the mob, who proved to be John +Perry and Fred Page, two of Martin Irons' most trusted lieutenants, were +placed under arrest by Chief of Police Barnett of Sedalia and a couple +of his officers. The arrest caused one of the worst riots ever witnessed +in the little city. The men were finally locked up, however, by the +plucky Chief of Police, but were soon released on bond. This riot caused +a change of sentiment on the part of the business men, which up to this +time had been with the strikers entirely, and within a few days enough +volunteer guards had been secured to handle the situation. Traffic was +then resumed on the roads. Many of the ringleaders were indicted by the +Grand Jury, but none of them were tried, they being allowed to leave the +county. + +At Kansas City, Parsons, Denison, Ft. Worth, Palestine, Little Rock, and +many other places much rioting was indulged in by the strikers, and much +property was destroyed, and worse, several lives were sacrificed. + +Martin Irons, after the strike, was completely deserted by the men whom +he had led, and became a wanderer and an outcast, a veritable human +derelict. His constitution had become so weakened by the excessive use +of liquor that he could not hold a job as a machinist, although he was a +good workman. He then tried lecturing, but in this he was not +successful. Later he opened a lunch counter at Kansas City. This +enterprise was also a failure. He finally wandered down into Arkansas, +and one morning was found dead in a hovel. Never was the biblical +admonition, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap," more plainly illustrated than +in the case of poor Martin Irons. + + + + +WHY I OPPOSE REWARDS. + +IT OFTEN IS AN INCENTIVE FOR UNSCRUPULOUS OFFICERS TO CONVICT INNOCENT +PERSONS--RULE REGARDING DIVORCE CASES. + + +I do not believe in rewards, and in all my long career, have made it a +rule to never work for, or receive one, no matter how great the amount +offered for the arrest and conviction of the guilty party, or +parties--this being the usual way that the heading of a reward is +written. + +Nor do I believe in or engage in procuring evidence in divorce cases. + +However, I can see no objection to the offering of a reward for the +apprehension or capture of a fugitive who is known to have committed a +certain crime against the law, and for whom a warrant has been issued, +and I believe the detective, or any other person, who makes the arrest +would have the right to accept such reward. + +Where the reward is offered for the arrest and conviction of some +person, for a crime that has been committed, and the guilty party, or +parties, is unknown, I, from personal experience, have been led to the +belief that the offering of a reward, especially a large reward, is an +incentive for unscrupulous people, and especially unscrupulous officers +of the law, to fasten the crime on some unfortunate, or perhaps some +dishonest or undesirable citizen, which can be found in almost any +community, in order to obtain the reward. These unfortunate people are +easier to convict of a crime than persons who have always borne a good +reputation. Then, again, the offering of a reward for criminals whose +identity is unknown, tends to keep a certain class of people from +divulging facts that they may know, which might, if properly utilized, +lead to the identity, arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of the +crime for which the reward was offered. + +To make it more plain, when a crime has been committed, and no reward is +offered, this same class of people are more liable to "come out from +under cover" and tell what they know about the facts in their +possession, believing them of no material value to the officers engaged +in running down the culprit. + +Experienced detectives have been very often handicapped by reason of a +reward having been offered, and, for this reason, I have always made it +a rule to pay no attention to rewards. + +While I am satisfied that it is, in many cases, necessary for the +purification and preservation of society, to thoroughly investigate +divorce cases as it is to apprehend and convict people who have +committed a theft or other crimes, by reason of the fact that there are +so many crooked and unscrupulous men, who claim to be detectives, and +who make the divorce business their specialty, in order to elevate +myself and my service from the level of this class of people, I formed a +rule, at the beginning of my career, not to have anything to do with +divorce cases. This rule I have always rigidly enforced. + + + + +WHY I AM OPPOSED TO HANGING. + +AVERSION TO THIS MODE OF EXECUTION WAS CAUSED BY AN INCIDENT WHICH +HAPPENED AT BELLEVILLE ILLINOIS, YEARS AGO--THROUGH THE TRAP WITH A +MURDERER. + + +In my younger days I was a firm believer in hanging as a means of +capital punishment, but I do not hold the same views now, and have not +for a long time. As my friends have often asked me what caused me to +change my mind on this matter, I am now going to take them into my +confidence, and tell them all about it. + +Several years ago I had some important business to transact with Sheriff +Ropiequet of St. Clair County, Illinois. I went to his office in the +Court House at Belleville. The deputy in charge informed me that the +sheriff was over in the jail yard putting the finishing touches to +arrangements for hanging a negro named Johnson, who had been convicted +of killing his wife in a most brutal manner. The deputy further informed +me that if my business was important, I had better go to the jail at +once, as the sheriff would probably be too busy later to see me until +after dinner. Acting on this tip, I at once went to the jail and was +admitted. The sheriff told me he was too busy at the time to attend to +the business, and would be until after the hanging, and invited me to +witness the execution, which was to take place in a few moments. I cared +nothing about this, as the witnessing of executions had long since +ceased to be a novelty to me, but under the circumstances, I accepted +the invitation. + +The scaffold had been erected in the yard surrounding the jail. The +platform, which was about eight feet square, rested on four upright +posts, about six and a half feet from the ground. The trap door, which +was about three feet square, was located in the center of the platform, +and fastened to one end by two hinges, opening downward. The other end +was fastened on the underside by a bolt, or trigger, the pulling of +which would allow the body to drop down through the platform. On the +center of the trap door was a soap box, on which the culprit was to +stand while awaiting the arranging of the noose, one end of which ran +around a pulley fastened to a cross-beam above the platform, so that the +rope could be adjusted to the proper length. A stairway, about three +feet wide, had been built from the ground to the platform. + +Within a few minutes, the sheriff and condemned man, accompanied by a +priest and a deputy sheriff, appeared at the door leading from the jail +to the yard in which the execution was to take place. As they marched +toward the scaffold the sheriff commanded me to join the procession, +which I did, following the party up the stairway to the platform. The +condemned man appeared cool and walked with a firm step. I took a +position to the right of him, while the sheriff stood at his left. The +priest and deputy stood just back of us. After the man who was about to +be hanged had taken his position on the box on the trap, he was asked if +he had anything to say, as is usual on such occasions. The negro made a +complete confession of his guilt, but claimed that the drinking of bad +whiskey was the real cause of his committing the crime, and admonished +all within the hearing of his voice to beware of strong drink. At the +conclusion of his talk, the deputy bound his legs and tied his hands +behind him, while the sheriff adjusted the black cap. The negro had an +exceedingly long head and neck, and as a result the cap did not cover +all of his neck, there being a space of an inch or two between the +bottom of the cap and the top of his coat collar. Just as the sheriff +placed the noose around the condemned man's neck, but before the +officers had time to tighten the rope, it came in contact with the bare +place on the negro's neck, and he fainted. The sheriff grabbed one arm +and I the other to keep the fainting man from falling from the platform. +In doing this we both stepped on the trap. The deputy became rattled and +pulled the trigger at this moment, and all three of us started down +through the trap together. Now the sheriff was a very large man, and I +was no infant myself, so when all three of our bodies reached the level +of the platform we became wedged in the opening. The noose had become +taut, just enough to strangle the negro a little, and he commenced to +kick and squirm. Finally his body squeezed on down, relieving the +pressure on the sheriff and me, and we both, too, fell through to the +ground. We were not harmed and were soon on our feet. Because of the +fact that the rope had not been adjusted to the proper length, the +negro's toes touched the ground, thus preventing the breaking of his +neck. He strangled to death, however, in a few minutes. Since this +incident I have been opposed to hanging as a means of capital +punishment. + + + + +A CROOKED DOCTOR'S CRIME. + +ARREST OF THE CULPRIT, AND HIS CUNNING ATTEMPT TO PUT HIS CAPTOR OUT OF +THE WAY IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE HIS ESCAPE. + + +In 1873, Mrs. Boardman, a widow woman with a large family of grown +children, resided on a small farm in Venango County, Pennsylvania, a few +miles east of Oil City. She became acquainted with a Hebrew doctor, who +called himself Dr. Solomon Steinman. He practiced medicine for a short +time in and about Rouseville, Pennsylvania. + +There were a number of producing oil wells on Mrs. Boardman's farm, and +she, from the royalty obtained from the products of these wells, had +accumulated quite a sum of money. The doctor, representing himself as a +bachelor, managed to grow into the good graces of the widow, +notwithstanding the fact that she was the mother of two sons who were +almost as old as himself. In a remarkably short space of time the doctor +succeeded in obtaining ten thousand dollars of the widow's money, having +represented to her that he would invest it for her in property that +would yield fabulous profits; but instead of making the investment, he +quite suddenly left for parts unknown. + +The widow's sons, on hearing that their mother had been swindled, +reported the matter to me, I being Chief of Police of Oil City. They +requested me to locate and cause the arrest of the doctor on the charge +of obtaining money under false pretense. I undertook the task of +learning his whereabouts, and it seemed impossible to get any trace of +him. He had disappeared from his boarding house, telling no person of +his intention of leaving, and no trace could be found that would +indicate where he had gone. He was at his boarding house for supper on +the evening of his departure, and quietly left, after eating his evening +meal, as though he was going to a cigar store or a barber shop, leaving +what wardrobe he had, grip and other articles, in his room, and +disappeared as effectually as though the ground had opened up and +engulfed him. + +The evening trains had all left the town before he had left his boarding +house, so that he was obliged to have left the town on foot. No one +around Rouseville had ever seen a picture of him. He was a small man, +dark complexioned, about forty-five years of age, five feet, six inches +in height, and weighed about one hundred and thirty pounds, was smooth +shaven, had black curly hair sprinkled with gray, and had a decided +Hebrew countenance. About five months after his disappearance, in +looking over one of the morning papers, I noticed a short article, +giving an account of a Dr. Lewis who had been arrested on the charge of +malpractice, at Bay City, Michigan, the day before. This article gave a +minute description of the man arrested, and from this description, which +answered the one that I had of Dr. Steinman, I concluded that I had +found the person I was looking for. I took the first train to Bay City +and found Dr. Lewis in his office, he having been released on a two +thousand, five hundred dollar cash bond, which he had placed in the +hands of the committing magistrate. I also learned that the man giving +the name of Dr. Lewis was none other than Dr. Steinman. + +He had already been indicted in Venango County, Pennsylvania, for +obtaining money under false pretense, and the prosecuting officer of Bay +City, being willing to surrender him to me, I had no trouble in +obtaining the necessary requisition papers. After getting the papers I +left Bay City with my prisoner. + +I searched him carefully and took charge of all his personal effects. We +took the train for Detroit, Michigan, arriving there in the afternoon. I +locked him up in the police station until ten o'clock that evening, when +I took him to the dock and boarded a steamer for Cleveland, Ohio. It was +the old steamer Northwestern, and our state room was on the upper deck, +pretty well forward. + +We left Detroit about ten-thirty o'clock that night, and were due to +arrive at Cleveland in the morning between four and five o'clock. We +retired about midnight. I assigned the upper berth to the prisoner, +while I occupied the lower. As I said before, I had searched him +thoroughly before leaving Bay City. + +About two o'clock in the morning, after leaving Detroit, I dozed off to +sleep, when I suddenly awakened and smelled the strong odor of +chloroform. The stateroom was dark, but I reached up towards the upper +berth and my hand came in contact with the doctor's. He was holding a +cone that he had made from a towel, and had reached down from his berth +and was holding this cone over a four ounce bottle of chloroform, and +was trying to put me to sleep for good, but the first breath that I had +inhaled, after he had placed the chloroform over my face, aroused me. I +grabbed his arm, pulled him out of his berth onto the deck in front of +the room, and would have thrown him into Lake Erie, were it not for the +fact that he yelled at the top of his voice, and aroused the lookout on +duty at the forward end of the vessel, and also the wheelman, both of +whom reached us in time to prevent me from drowning the doctor. If I had +carried out my intention of throwing him overboard, nothing could have +saved him from drowning. I then made him dress himself and took him down +to the forecastle, where the captain placed two of the crew to guard him +until we arrived in Cleveland. + +I have never learned how, or where, the doctor secured the bottle of +chloroform, as I had searched him thoroughly, and I am positive he did +not have it on him when we left Bay City, and have come to the +conclusion that he must have secured it while he was in the lock-up at +Detroit. Of course, I did not search him there. + +During the Civil War, on December 20, 1861, I received a gun shot wound +above the right knee, at the battle of Drainesville, Virginia, and +before the doctor began to dress the wound he administered chloroform to +me. The after effects of the stuff were very disagreeable and I did not +get over it for a long time, and resolved that I would never again take +chloroform under any circumstances. I really suffered more from the +nasty stuff than I did from the wound. This, I presume, accounts for the +shock the odor of the chloroform produced on me. + +I arrived with the prisoner at Oil City in due time. He was tried at the +first term of court thereafter, and convicted and sentenced to the +penitentiary for a term of ten years. + +I succeeded in locating and recovering nearly five thousand dollars of +the money the doctor had fraudulently secured from the widow. This was +returned to her by due process of law. + + + + +CAPTURE OF A CLEVER SWINDLER. + +SAM BENARD'S UNIQUE METHOD OF DEFRAUDING THE RAILROADS--HOW HE DID THE +WORK--HIS CONVICTION AFTER A LONG CHASE. + + +Between the years of 1870 and 1876 the railroads of this country had +been swindled, time after time, by some unknown person changing the +address on an invoice of goods after it had reached the railroad office. +This was done on an order which purported to come from the firm which +had shipped the goods. + +In February of 1876, a shipment of gentlemen's dress goods was sent to +A. A. Alden and Company of Franklin, Pennsylvania, by Brock and Weiner +of Buffalo. The consignment was valued at $721.19. A few minutes after +the goods had been delivered at the freight office, a man entered and +told the agent that the boxes had been marked with the name of the wrong +town; that they should go to Corry, Pennsylvania, instead of Franklin. +The agent demanded an order from the firm, before making the change. The +pretended clerk wrote out the order, signing the firm name to it, and +the address, Corry, was substituted for that of Franklin. This being +done, the supposed clerk went to Corry. Here he pretended that he was a +merchant from New York, and that he was to open an auction store in the +town. The merchant tailors did not like to have their trade injured in +this manner, so offered to buy the goods. The pretended merchant sold +them at a much reduced price, and received a check for three hundred +fifty nine dollars and sixty cents. He indorsed the check with A. A. +Alden's name, thus adding forgery to his other crimes. Then the case was +given to me. + +Two weeks went by without a clue to the swindler. I found that other +detectives had been hunting for a man who had played the same game in +other cities, but the culprit had guarded himself so well that even his +real name was unknown. From the descriptions obtained and from his +general manner of operation, it was known that the same person had been +operating on all the roads where this swindling had occurred. One day +while in Buffalo, I chanced to go into a cigar store. At this time the +newspapers were full of the swindle, and some of the people in the store +were discussing the affair. An old gentleman who was among those present +said that a young man who had been employed in the same store with +himself, about six years previously, had swindled his employers in the +same manner. This was in Rochester. I took the hint and after +questioning the old man I found that the name of his former working +companion was William Benard. I went to Rochester, and while there +obtained the names of some of his acquaintances, and finally found a +photograph of him. The description given me by the detectives tallied +with the photograph of Benard. I therefore made up my mind that Benard +was the man I wanted. After further inquiry I found that relations of +Benard lived in Detroit, Michigan. I went there and obtained information +as to the whereabouts of the swindler. I followed him through Montreal, +Canada; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Toledo, Chicago, to St. +Louis. He was known in all these places as "Jew Harry." It seemed that +it was impossible to find a detective in any one place who had not at +some time or other been on Benard's tracks. + +On my arrival in St. Louis, June 26, 1876, I went to the office of Chief +of Police McDonohue at once. I told him who I was and that I had +information which led me to believe that Benard had worked in St. Louis. +When the Chief, who was very portly, and somewhat gruff, heard this, he +straightened up in his chair, and said, "It is impossible. That fellow +would not dare to come to St. Louis. He would be afraid. He knows he +could not work any such game in this town. My police would be sure to +get him." I then told the Chief that I had reason to believe that Benard +had been in St. Louis within the last few days. This idea the Chief +fairly ridiculed. Just at this moment a rather elderly man entered the +office, in a very excited manner. He had brown hair, streaked with gray, +and wore short side-burns, or galways, as they are sometimes called. He +asked if he could see the Chief for a few minutes, so I at once rose to +leave the office. The Chief told me to remain, then asked the visitor to +state his business. + +He told the Chief that his name was H. M. Smith, and that he was a +pawnbroker, in business at Eighth and Morgan streets. He then went on to +say that a man giving the name of Solomon, representing that he was from +Cleveland, Ohio, had called on him a few days previous. He had +represented himself as a pawnbroker, and had presented the business card +of Solomon & Company of Cleveland. Mr. Smith told him that he knew of +the firm, but never had the pleasure of meeting a member of it. Solomon +then told Smith that he had a nephew who had been in business with him +for years, but that he had gone out west, in the mining district of +Colorado, and opened up a pawnshop of his own. There was then a large +demand for revolvers and pistols of heavy caliber, and that he had +ordered about two thousand dollars' worth of heavy caliber guns and +ammunition from the Simmons Hardware Company of St. Louis. After he had +placed the order with the request that it be packed and shipped +immediately, he had received a telegram from his nephew stating that he +had gotten into trouble and had been forced to leave the country; and, +therefore, could not take the order from Simmons. He requested Solomon +to call at Simmons and cancel the order. The Simmons people informed +Solomon that as the fire-arms were already packed and in the +freight-house, preparatory for shipping, they could not cancel the +order. Solomon then said to Smith, "I have no use for these pistols and +guns, and I can't ship them to my nephew in Colorado since he has left +there. I will have these goods brought up to your store and you can +examine them. Then if you find them just as I have represented, I will +let you have them at your own price. You can easily sell them and make +some money on them." + +Mr. Smith assented. Solomon then went and got a drayman and had the +fire-arms brought to Smith's office from the freight depot. Solomon got +there about the time the goods did and had the cases opened. Smith found +the goods were just as Solomon represented, so he told Solomon that he +would give him eleven hundred dollars for them, which was about half +their value. Solomon, with tears in his eyes, accepted Smith's check for +that amount, and left for parts unknown. On the morning of my arrival +and while I was talking to Chief McDonohue, Smith had received by mail, +a bill for the goods from Simmons Hardware Company which extended to him +the privilege of discounting the bill, and that upon making immediate +payment, he might deduct the usual percent. Whereupon Mr. Smith called +upon the Simmons Hardware Company, and was there informed that a man +resembling him very much, had called there and selected the bill of +goods, and had also presented Smith's business card. They thought it was +Mr. Smith, and, upon finding him all right formerly, had unhesitatingly +packed and shipped the goods as directed. + +Smith and Benard looked very much alike, wearing the same style of beard +and having about the same complexion. Smith's description of Solomon, +who was really Benard, was very accurate; and finally wound up by saying +that Solomon looked enough like him to be his younger brother. + +While Smith was telling the Chief this story I was listening, and when +he began to describe Solomon, I asked the Chief if I might be permitted +to ask Mr. Smith a few questions. + +"Why, certainly," replied the Chief. + +"Do you think," I then said to Smith, "that you would know this man, +Solomon, if you should see him again?" + +"Surely!" answered Mr. Smith. "I would know him anywhere." + +I then took Benard's picture from my pocket, and asked Smith if that +resembled Solomon. He threw up his hands, and exclaimed: + +"Why! That is him! That's an excellent picture of him!" + +I then turned to the Chief and said, "Chief, it seems that Benard was +not afraid to come to St. Louis, after all." + +I then got busy and learned that Benard had left St. Louis over the +Burlington and had gone to Quincy, Illinois, a few days before my +arrival. I then took the first train for Quincy. There I learned of a +similar swindle with a case of goods shipped to Edina, Missouri. + +I left at once for Edina. There the freight agent informed me that a man +named Solomon, and answering to the description of Benard, had called +for a case of goods; but the agent, who was a relative of the party to +whom the goods had been originally consigned, had refused to deliver +them until presented with some identification. Just about this time I +received word that Solomon was walking out of town. I pursued him, +arrested him and brought him back to town. At first he denied +everything, even his photograph, but finally consented to go with me +when I brought out other proofs. I at once applied for a requisition +from the authorities. + +After the capture of Benard at Edina, by me, Benard's lawyer insisted +that he could not be taken to Pennsylvania while he stood charged with a +felony in Missouri. Therefore, when he made his plea, I telegraphed a +friend in St. Louis to employ a good criminal lawyer, and have him +report to me at Edina. My friend employed Col. Nat. C. Claiborne, of St. +Louis. At the same time I wired Mr. Smith to come at once, or send his +son, Sam, to Edina, for the purpose of identifying Solomon. In due time +both Sam Smith and Col. Claiborne arrived in Edina. Col. Claiborne was +an old citizen, and was well known all over the state. He was acquainted +with the Judge of Knox County, and had him convene a special term of +Court and empanel a special Grand Jury. I arranged to have witnesses +appear before the Grand Jury, which immediately indicted Benard for the +Edina swindle, Col. Claiborne assisting the Prosecuting Attorney at +Edina, for the State. Benard was convicted and sent to the penitentiary +at Jefferson City, Mo., for four years. I accompanied him to Jefferson +City, where I procured a duplicate of the receipt for the body of +Benard, from the Warden of the Missouri Penitentiary, and previously a +certified copy of the proceedings at the trial and conviction in Knox +County, which I turned over to the officers of the Allegheny Valley +Railroad on my return to Pittsburgh. This satisfied them, but not so +well as if I had extradited Benard and brought him back to Pennsylvania +for trial. + +I omitted to say that on the night that Sam Smith arrived in Edina, from +St. Louis, that the small hotel was filled to overflowing and the +landlord was obliged to assign Smith to my room, which was in the front +of the second story, just over the office. About ten o'clock that night, +just as Smith and I had retired to our room, preparatory to turning in +for the night, a shower of missiles such as rocks, stones and pistol +shots were fired through the window of our room from the opposite side +of the street. Upon investigation I found that Benard had enlisted the +co-operation of some sympathizers, through a lawyer in the town, whom he +had employed to defend him, and at the instance of whom this mob was +formed with a view to frightening Smith and myself and the other +witnesses, who were to appear in the case, out of town. We were so badly +frightened that we did not leave town until Benard had been tried and +convicted, and when we left Benard left with us. + + + + +LONG HUNT FOR A DEFAULTER. + +INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH THE ARREST OF E. T. SIMMONS, WHICH IS +ACCOMPLISHED AFTER MUCH HARD WORK--HIS CONVICTION. + + +In 1873, E. T. H. Simmons was employed as book-keeper in the Oil City +Savings Bank, at Oil City, Pa. Simmons was about 28 years of age, and +married. He had borne a good reputation, was cultured, pleasant and mild +mannered, and also was known to be very industrious, and his associates +were the best young people in the community. By perseverance and his +strict attention to business he had risen from a messenger boy in the +bank to head book-keeper. He married a young and handsome lady, who was +an adopted daughter of a prominent citizen of Oil City, by the name of +Hiram Hoag. This young woman had been raised by her adopted parents in +luxury, and was stylish and naturally extravagant. After her marriage to +Simmons her extravagant habits seemed to increase, to the extent that +her husband's salary was not large enough to supply her demands. His +affection for her and his desire to satisfy her every wish led him to +steal the funds from the bank. At first he took the money in small +amounts, which he covered by falsifying the accounts. The authorities of +the bank noticed that there was something wrong in the accounts, and +immediately and quietly employed the services of an expert accountant, +unbeknown to Simmons, the head book-keeper. + +On the morning that the expert accountant appeared at the bank and took +charge of the books Simmons suddenly feigned illness, and left the bank +for his home, from which he immediately disappeared for parts unknown, +his wife remaining in her home in Oil City. + +Mr. John Mulwheeney, president of the bank, promptly engaged the +services of what was then considered the greatest detective agency in +the United States, to locate and apprehend Simmons. However, the +operatives of the detective agency referred to, after a number of months +had been consumed and a large amount of expense incurred by them, had +failed to locate the fugitive. Finally the president, Mr. Mulwheeney, +requested me to try and locate Simmons. In the meantime Simmons' wife +had quietly left Oil City, unbeknown to any person outside of the family +who had raised her, it being but natural for that family to keep her +whereabouts a secret. + +I undertook the case only after the earnest entreaty of President +Mulwheeney. As a matter of fact, I thought that the bank authorities +should have applied to me in the first place, after Simmons had +disappeared, and before they had engaged the detective agency. By reason +that the then far-famed detective agency had incurred an enormous bill +of expenses and finally failed, I bent all my energy towards the task, +and succeeded in a remarkably short space of time in tracing Simmons' +movements from the time he left Oil City. I found that he had gone to +New York City, found there that he had boarded a ship for Panama, +Central America, and learned there that he had crossed the Isthmus to +Aspewall, and again boarded a ship from there for San Francisco. At San +Francisco he landed, I learned, and had gone across the bay to Oakland, +California, where he engaged lodgings, and a short time after having +arrived there he had obtained a position on board a steamship as +assistant purser. This ship was then plying between San Francisco and +Victoria, British Columbia. + +I also ascertained that a wealthy old bachelor uncle of Simmons resided +in San Francisco, and was a large stockholder and director in the +steamship line by which Simmons was employed as assistant purser. I +afterwards learned that it was through the influence of this uncle that +Simmons had secured the position with the company. This uncle was about +seventy years of age, and was what was known as a '49er. He was among +the earliest of the mine prospectors who had gone overland to California +in the year 1849. + +At the conclusion of my investigation I found that the steamship on +which Simmons was an officer was due to arrive in San Francisco a few +days later. In the meantime, I ascertained that Simmons' wife had joined +her husband in Oakland, and that they had fitted up a comfortable little +cottage in the suburbs of that town, so I quietly awaited the arrival of +the ship Mr. Simmons was employed on. + +In due time the ship arrived, and I took up a position where I could +plainly see every one that left the ship. Finally, after all the +passengers had left, the officers began to leave the ship for their +homes, and among them I noticed E. T. M. Simmons. Simmons had changed +his uniform for a suit of plain business clothes, and it being after +dark in the evening I had but little trouble in following him +unobserved. I shadowed him until he reached his residence on Tenth +street, in Oakland, where he was met at the door by his wife and his +mother, who appeared to be on a visit at his home. I then withdrew and +learned that the ship would remain in port forty-eight hours. + +The following morning I took a train from Oakland for Sacramento, +California, for the purpose of procuring the necessary requisition +papers, which would authorize me to arrest and convey Simmons from +California back to Venango County, Pennsylvania, as the authorized agent +for the state of Pennsylvania. This I accomplished in a few moments, +having already procured all the necessary papers with the exception of +the signature of the Governor of California. I returned to Oakland the +same day, and about ten o'clock, after first having ascertained that +Simmons was at his home, I, accompanied by Detective James Coffee, of +San Francisco, whom I had requested to assist me, approached Simmons' +cottage. I requested Officer Coffee to ring the front door bell while I +took up a position on the porch at the back door. Coffee, as instructed, +vigorously rang the front door bell. When Simmons, who had gone to bed, +heard the bell he at once sprang from his bed, and wrapping his clothes +in a bundle, not waiting to put them on, ran to the back door, hastily +opened it, and ran headlong into my arms. I heard him instructing his +wife, or mother, as he left his room, not to open the front door until +he had time to get out of the back door. + +This cottage, being in the suburbs, there was a large open space of +ground at the rear of the cottage, which was thickly covered with +live-oak trees, and if Simmons had succeeded in getting away from the +cottage and among the live oaks he would have effectually been hidden by +the dense foliage, and would, in all probability, have made his escape. + +We at once took him to San Francisco, and by reason of my having known +him so well and favorably, I did not lock him up, but instead took him +to my room, where I kept him until train time, when we took the +Overland train for Omaha, Pittsburg and Oil City, where we arrived in +due time and safe, with but a single incident of importance on the trip. +Before leaving San Francisco I told Simmons that if he would stay close +to me during our trip homeward I would not place him in irons, and that +no person on the train, not even the crew, would know that he was a +prisoner. He agreed to this and everything went along swimmingly until +after midnight on the second night out of San Francisco. Simmons and I +occupied a lower single berth in the Pullman. Simmons was sleeping next +to the window, and I occupied the side next to the aisle. I had made it +a rule not to let Simmons go to sleep, and kept talking to him just as +long as I could keep awake myself. The result was that Simmons got to +the point that he was ready to drop into slumber as soon as I would +allow him to do so by stopping talking to him. In those days I could +stand the loss of sleep if it was necessary. On the second night, as I +said, while I was feigning sleep I noticed Simmons was also playing +"possum." Finally he quietly turned the bed-spread down off of himself +and then noiselessly took his wearing apparel from the hammock, which +was above him, and proceeded to creep over me into the aisle with his +clothes under one arm. I lay perfectly quiet and did not disturb him +until he had succeeded in reaching the aisle, when I suddenly grabbed +him by one of his limbs and threw him back into the berth. He +strenuously denied that he was trying to escape, and protested that he +was merely restless, and thought he would sit up a while and not disturb +me, but, as a matter of fact, he was really attempting to escape from +the train. This occurred in a desert in Utah, but after that he behaved +himself and made me no further trouble. + +After we arrived in Oil City he was locked in the county jail, in +default of bail, and when his case was called he pleaded guilty to the +charge of embezzlement and was sentenced, by the Hon. John M. Trunkey, +at Franklin, Pa., to a term of ten years in the Western Penitentiary of +Pennsylvania, which is at Allegheny City. + +However, after he had pleaded guilty and received his sentence, and +before he had been taken to the penitentiary, he received a letter from +his wife, written from Oakland, California, in which she coolly and +heartlessly informed him that as he had pleaded guilty to a charge of +felony, and had been sentenced to a term in prison, that she had decided +to avail herself of her legal privilege, under the existing conditions, +and apply for a divorce from him, which the law would grant her on the +ground that he was a convicted felon, and that she had made up her mind +to marry his wealthy old uncle, the "forty-niner" who had procured +Simmons his position on the steamship. She immediately proceeded to +carry out her plans. She wound up her letter by saying that she would +rather be an old man's darling than a felon's slave. + +The contents of this letter almost broke poor Simmons' heart. Every +person in and about Oil City, who knew him, knew that it was through her +extravagance and love of luxury that he had committed the crime, and +when the contents of this letter became known the sympathy of all who +knew Simmons was aroused in his favor, and the best people in the +community, including the officers of the bank whose funds he had +embezzled, filed a petition with the governor of the state for a pardon +for him. This petition was later signed by the prosecuting attorney and +by Judge Trunkey, himself. + +Meanwhile Simmons had been taken to the penitentiary, but he only +remained there a short time until the governor of the state pardoned +him. On his release he went immediately to California to find his former +wife, now the wife of his old uncle, and at once instituted proceedings +for the custody of their child, which he easily obtained. The child was +born a short time after his father's arrest, and Simmons had never seen +his son. Simmons obtained employment in the passenger department of a +large railroad company. This position he filled creditably for a number +of years. + +His former wife visited Oil City about two years after her marriage to +the second husband. She was accompanied by a couple of maids and a +number of trunks, which contained many costly robes and gowns. During +her stay in Oil City she called on a number of her girlhood friends and +acquaintances, but it so happened that they were all out when she called +and finding it impossible to meet them she, as the soldiers say, "hiked" +from Oil City, and so far as the writer knows has never been heard of in +that city since. + + + + +GEORGE HERSOGG'S DOWNFALL. + +FACTS REGARDING THE CONVICTION OF AN INTERNATIONAL AND GREAT NORTHERN +BAGGAGEMAN OF MANY CRIMES. + + +Early in the '80s the railroad companies of the Southwest were troubled +very much by the continued receipt of complaints of passengers from all +quarters of the United States, and some from foreign countries, and +their filing claims for articles which had been stolen from their trunks +and other baggage while in transit. + +The Iron Mountain Railroad Company and the International & Great +Northern Railroad Company were both parts of the Gould System, and +formed a through and direct line between St. Louis, Galveston and San +Antonio, Texas in the winter season both Galveston and San Antonio were +winter resorts, largely patronized by health seekers. The complaints +became so numerous that they were turned over to my department for +investigation. + +I took the matter up and after a long and tedious investigation decided +to pay special attention to one George Hersogg, who was employed as +train baggage-master, running between Longview and San Antonio, Texas. +In my investigation I had noticed that nearly every case of lost +articles from baggage were traced to the train on which Hersogg was +baggage-master, therefore I concluded to test him first. + +Hersogg occupied a room in a private boarding house when at Longview, +where he had a twenty-four hour layover. I sent one of my operatives, +George Herbert, to Longview, who represented himself as a railroad man, +and he secured a room in the same boarding house where Hersogg was +stopping. After remaining there for a few days Herbert became acquainted +with Hersogg and with his runs, and when he would be absent from his +room. Having accomplished this, Herbert became indisposed, and for that +reason was compelled to remain in his room for a few days. + +In the meantime impressions of certain keyholes had been taken, and a +number of skeleton keys had been sent to Herbert at Longview. He had +noticed that Hersogg had two rather large trunks in his room, and when +the proper opportunity presented itself he examined the contents of Mr. +Hersogg's trunks, unbeknown to the inmates of the boarding house, and to +Herbert's great surprise he found in one of the trunks a silver mounted +Smith & Wesson, pearl handled revolver, which he immediately recognized +as the property of the Hon. Joseph Harris, who, at that time, was +Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis, but was in San Antonio for +his health. Herbert also found a number of articles of jewelry, which he +knew to be the property of Mrs. Harris. In this connection I will say +that Herbert had been a member of the St. Louis police department prior +to his entering my service, and while there he had been on detached +service at the Circuit Attorney's office, in which capacity he had acted +for about two years, thereby meeting Mr. Harris daily, and seeing his +wife very frequently, and becoming familiar with both Harris' revolver +and Mrs. Harris' jewelry. + +Upon the discovery of the revolver Herbert promptly reported to me by +wire code. Up to that time we had had no report of the Harris robbery, +and, in fact, did not know that Mr. Harris had gone to San Antonio. On +receipt of Herbert's report, I at once got into communication with +Harris at San Antonio, and he verified the loss of the articles which +Herbert had reported he had found in the trunk of the baggageman at +Longview. + +Herbert also found other articles, the loss of which had been reported +from various sections of the country. The most valuable article was a +diamond and emerald ring, which contained one large diamond and two +small sized emeralds. This ring was the property of a lady who lived at +Peoria, Ill., and who had gone over the route to San Antonio some months +before the discovery of it in Hersogg's trunk. She valued the ring at +about $800.00. + +We arrested Hersogg, and he was tried in due time convicted and served +four years in one of the state prisons of Texas. + +Many of the stolen articles which were recovered were fully identified, +and returned to their owners. + +It developed that Hersogg had provided himself with skeleton keys of all +sizes and styles. Having a whole baggage car to himself, he was thus +able to open and inspect all the baggage at his leisure. He was afforded +ample time between stations in which to loot the contents of the baggage +car, and strap and lock them up again, leaving no trace on the outside +of the baggage having ever been tampered with. + +The capture and conviction of Hersogg was not only a source of relief to +the Gould System, but was an equal relief to all connecting lines. + + +(THE END.) + + + + +ORGANIZED AT ST. LOUIS, 1880 INCORPORATED 1891 + + +Furlong Secret Service Company + +SUITE 1206 CHEMICAL BUILDING + +St. Louis, Mo. + + +THOMAS FURLONG, President and General Manager. + +JOHN U. MENTEER, Vice-President and Ass't Gen. Manager. + +E. D. DAWSON, Secretary and Treasurer. + +J. S. MANNING, Superintendent, St. Louis, Mo. + +W. E. WARD, Superintendent, Chicago, Ill. + +L. I. ZIEGLER, Superintendent, Cincinnati, O. +Suite 205 Lyric Theatre Building. + +J. E. SMITH, Superintendent, Houston, Tex. + + + Correspondents and Resident Operatives in all the principal cities + of the United States and all foreign countries. + + This Company furnishes competent and reliable operatives to + railroads, corporations, lawyers and firms, to do all kinds of + legitimate detective work. + + +We do not handle divorce cases or work for rewards. + + + + +CONTENTS + + PAGE +Preface 3 + +Sidelights on the Business 5 + +The Preller Murder Case (_Illustrated_) 9 + +The Big Cotton Swindle 39 + +A Remarkable Case (_Illustrated_) 66 + +Tracing Train Wreckers (_Illustrated_) 76 + +"Moonshining" in the Oil Regions (_Illustrated_) 91 + +The Capture of Wess Watts (_Illustrated_) 98 + +Solving a Trunk Mystery (_Illustrated_) 123 + +The Glencoe Train Robbery (_Illustrated_) 130 + +Running Down the Revolutionists 137 + +A Dallas Murder Avenged 148 + +The Toughest of Tough Towns (_Illustrated_) 162 + +The Rohan Express Robbery 180 + +Arrest of Lawrence Poyneer (_Illustrated_) 190 + +Ticket Forgers Run Down 193 + +Conviction of John Collins (_Illustrated_) 198 + +Fred Erfert's Fall From Grace 207 + +Battle With Would-Be Bandits 219 + +The Great Pittsburg Strike 229 + +Murder of Conductor Frazier 238 + +Fight With a Maniac 249 + +Decoying a Bad Man (_Illustrated_) 252 + +Tragic Death of Bill Casey 269 + +Subduing a Notorious Bully 279 + +A Ruse That Worked 285 + +Charlie Dalton, Outlaw 293 + +Conspirators Handed a Lemon 297 + +The Big Southwest Strike (_Illustrated_) 306 + +Why I Oppose Rewards 328 + +Why I Am Opposed to Hanging 330 + +A Crooked Doctor's Crime 332 + +Capture of a Clever Swindler 336 + +Long Hunt for a Defaulter 343 + +George Hersogg's Downfall 349 + + + + ++-------------------------------------------------+ +|Transcriber's note: | +| | +|Obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | +| | ++-------------------------------------------------+ + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 58576 *** |