6
STORIES
OF THE
SECRET
SERVICE
BY
Capt. Patrick D. Tyrrell
——————
112
STORY No. I
THE LINCOLN
TOMB
ROBBERS
Being an Account of the Attempted
Desecration of the Grave of the
Martyr President at Springfield in
1876. and the Capture and Conviction
of a Gang of Counterfeiters That
Preceded It.
By CAPTAIN PATRICK D. TYRRELL
—., —_—_—^o
£Ccpyrlght, 1005, by Marion G. Seheitlic.]
PART I.
In October, 1876, the United States
and Europe were startled by the at
tempt of a band of Illinois criminals
to steal the body of Abraham Lin
coln, bury it in the shifting sand
dunes of northern Indiana and have
its recovery effected through the agen
cy of a convict then in the Joliet peni
tentiary. The plot had two purposes
—the release of the convict through
the agency of a public grateful for his
aid in recovering the sacred remains
of the great emancipator, and the se
curing of $200,000 in the form of ran
som, either from the federal govern
ment or from a fund which the con
spirators believed would be quickly
raised to recover the body. This plot
—the most ghoulish and daring of its
kind in history—is but a faint mem
ory to the present generation. To the
men of those days the Hashing over
the world of the news that ghouls had
marked the Lincoln tomb for desecra
tion came as a shock, the memory
of which will ever remain with them,
North and south alike, as well as Eu
rope, shared the deep indignation and
heaped unspeakable anathemas on the
members of the hand that conceived
and sought to carry the plot to its
base end. liut even at that time,
while the country was at the while
heat of indignation and details of the
affair were eagerly sought by the pub
lic, the long and tangled chain of
criminal events that had its culmina
tion in the attempted "body-snatch
tng" was comparatively unknown to
the public at large.
In a general way It was known that,
a band of criminals had attempted to
use the theft of the Lincoln body to
secure the release of a "pal" and, in
cidentally, to make money. It was
known that the plot had been frus
trated and the body of the beloved
Lincoln rendered secure from any
future attempt of the same kind. This
satisfied the public and the whirl of
Workaday life swept the incident from
( ' A^|
v yk iLv
CAVT. PATRICK D TYRRELL.
popular attention. I now propose to
tell, after nearly 30 years, the crim
inal operations, plots and counter
pilots that led to tin? great "Lincoln
bodv snatching case."
It was on the sth iluy of February,
1K75, that a quiet mannered mau ap
peared at the Palmer house In Chi
cago ami rulitiwi aa • e Washbwra,
Washington, I). C." While having a
wide a< maintain e in Chicago the
fciiest, on this o. - ■ ion, kept much to
liiiiHi-lf Almost Immediately ,^ a ijj,,
arrival I rocein-d from him an urgentl
nun sage lo meet him at his hotel, and
1 promptly r> <ponde«l. as the call
came from the chief of the United
Slate* ~r. t serviee. s 0 time wast
wasted by Chief Washburn lit (4<ttlnt
lo the neat of what he had tu say,
and, after nearly a third of a een
tury, I recollect his words a* folluw I
"Tyrrell, there are two mau the kov
eminent u.u t tt< i They *rc Nels-.n I
l'riKK> and 11 it titiyd by tiaius, si-1
though between tlliin they ha».
dxeiii of allows. Huy«l Is the mo t
cuti# i it couatari<it plait* | t > |
the United States and Driggs Is ttie
most extensive dealer in 'coney'
money in th<* country. Benson of this
department lias spent $3,000 in try
ing to locate them, but lias not suc
ceeded so far. If you can get them
dead to rights you will break the
backbone of counterfeiting in the
United States."
"Are they as important as that?"
I asked.
"Yes," answered Chief Washburn,
"they are the most important 'coney'
men in existence to-day. We know
nothing about them except that Boyd
and Driggs are their right names.
The rest is for you."
My chief gave me such information
as had been gathered—practically
nothing, as he himself had said—and
! returned to Washington. There may
I be men who still remember the flood
| of counterfeit money that had boen
[ poured over the west and middle west
jin the early '7os. In those days scrip
1 in denominations of 10, 25 and 50
j cents was in use extensively, and this
I scrip had been counterfeited till the
| owner of this fractional money never
knew whether his money was good or
i bad. In addition to this a five-dollar
! note of the Traders' national bank of
Chicago had been counterfeited most
cleverly, and these notes were as
thick in the middle west as falling
leaves in autumn.
Further, to add to the troubles of
the treasury department and the se
cret service, a treasury note of the
denomination of SIOO had been
"shoved" a short time before. This
bore the head of Abraham Lincoln,
[ and was as nearly perfect a counter
] feit as human skill and patience could
■ have evolved. A SSO treasury note
was also gaining circulation. From
j expert examination of these counter-
I feit scrip and nfltes we found that the
| work bad been done by men of the
1 highest skill. In detail, material and
I workmanship, the notes, from the
j viewpoint of the "coney" men, were
| masterpieces. The geometrical lathe ,
| work on the treasury notes was fully
j as perfect as on the original notes is
| sued by tho government. There was
I one conclusion, therefore, to be
drawn—that the work was that of
j highly skilled men, working months j
I and, perhaps, years on the plates by '
] hand or with the crudest machinery, i
Iu the engraving, or cutting, of j
plates for paper money the workmen
wr «
'v" 'i
NELSON DRIGGS
i In the employ of the government om- j
ploy the most elaborate and expensive 1
machinery and other paraphernalia 1
that the counterfeiter could not em- 1
ploy without laying himself open to !
innumerable chances of detection, j
Our quarry, then, undoubtedly con- |
sisted of men who had spent years ,
under efficient tutors in the art of en
graving. We also knew that but one
of them was doing the actual engrav- j
ing, this lesson having been learned '■
from experience.
Before counterfeit money finds Its
way into the pockets of unsuspecting
men and women three, and ofttimes
four, groups of men, each with their
specialty, have to do with it. The en
graver of a counterfeit plate does the
cutting and nothing else, making the
plates, and sells them for a specified
sum to the dealer. Here the cutter's
connection with the business ends,
and that of the dealer commences.
The latter sometimes does his own
printing, but oftener has it done by
confederates, who do nothing else,
turning the finished product over to
the dealer, together with the plates.
Then begins the work of the "shov
ers." In this part of the business two
men always work as a team, one of
them being the "shover" proper and
the other the "boodle-carrier." In a
town in which a team is working the
two men are supposed to bo strangers,
and never allow themselves to be seen
together.
One note at a time Is given to the
"shover," who makes a trilling pur
chase, gets his change in good
money, meets the "boodlecarrier" se
cretly, gives him the good change and
is given another bill. It Is not my
purpose, In this narrative, to deal with
the nieihods of counterfeiters in ply
ing their trade, but (he foregoing
digression into some of tho "tricks of
the trade" will be found to illuminate
various points In the story to follow. 1
in the spring of 1875, tin n, after
Chief Washburn had rilitm 1
Wash igton, | found niv - If - onfront
ed with the problem of rtinniug to
earth two, and probably more, men of <
ureal cunning, with pra-tleally n-, 1 |
clews to work on but the names or I
the tsuspeiiH. My wa »< t and my 1
future d»i"Mil'l on my unravellae I
the problem In addition to thi, job I
I was working on information eo*-li
enriiiii't the operatlou» of ban It a 1
Uori< ob«l, Wis., an i tit. Mlun , j n
un I with the threu my hands wer* |
full.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1905.
I am fme to say that for a time in
I the Boyd-Briggs case I was groping in
| the dark. A single crime confined to
j one spot, as a murder, always fur
nishes clews of soma kind on which
to work; the location of two men of
I vague description who aro supposed
, to have been parties to the clrcula
i tion of counterfeit money which has
| made its appearance in scores of places
! widely scattered at. practically one
time, Is another matter. At that time
John Peter McCartney, a particularly
cunning and dangerous counterfeiter,
! was at large. McCartney was born in
1824 in Shelby county, II!., nnd adopt
! Ed the career of a counterfeiter early
lin life. In 18G4 he had settled in
Nauvoo, 111., and while there en
graved the plates from which were
printed the counterfeit of the ten-dol
, lar United States treasury note of the
v|j
■<~M 1...._
BENJAMIN BOYD.
' greenback variety, issue of March 10,
ISO 2, which notes had had wide cir
| culation, thanks to the energy of the
men with whom McCartney was In
league.
But this Is another digression ex
cept as to the settlement of McCart
ney in Nauvoo, this act having result
j ed in the esta'oli.snment in Nauvco of
lieadquarters for a prolific gang of
| "coney" men and women. "Peto" Mo
| Cartney in 1804 had married Martha
Ann Ackerman, whom he had
met in Cincinnati several years befcto.
She was the daughter of an old Ger
man counterfeiter whose widow with
her two daughters had lived in Cltt
cinnati for several years. Martha waa
pretty and extremely skillful in t.hs
printing of counterfeits, her father
having employed her in that wont
when she was as young as 11 j'oarj
of age.
The McCartney band at Nauvoo hal
gained gradually in numbers ami tin
extent of their operations since "Pete '
had settled there, and among his con
federates was Dr. Milton Parker, who,
at the time I was detailed to the
Boyd-Drigg3 case, wa3 in an eastern
penitenitiary for counterfeiting. But
Mrs. Parker to live in
Nauvoo and was a handsome anil In
telligent woman. There also lived
at Nauvoo a counterfeiter named
Louis Sleight and his partner, John
Frisbie, known to the secret service as
the leaders of the "Sleight and Frin
bie" gang. Knowing full well the.t j
nearly all the western counterfeiters
of note at one time or another visited I
Nauvoo, I determined, in the absencfl '
of better or more definite clews, to tfO
to Nauvoo and look around. It d)d
not take long to discover that Drlgga
had been making visits to Nauvoo,
but, so far as could be learned, tl'O
magnet that had drawn him thither
was the beauty and charm of Mil.
Parker rather than any business pi ins
he might have been working out la
connection with Sleight or the other j
members of the counterfeiting band
that flourished in the historic Mor
mon settlement.
This was the first tangible clew that
had been uncovered in weeks ot ,
search through three states, and I At- j
termined that it was from the rest- j
dence of Mrs. Parker in Nauvoo that
Drigtrs should ba followed.
From further cautious inquiry at
Nauvoo 1 found that Driggs had re
cently made a visit to Mrs. Parker
and on leaving had gone ostensibly
to Clinton, la. Familiar as I was j
with the manner in which such crim
inals as Driggs bought tickets for un- j
intended destinations, doubled on
their tracks and went to great pains
otherwise to throw the secret service
men off their trail, I decided to yo to
Clinton.
In the latter part of June, 1873, on
elderly man and his wife, a goud
looking woman many years younger
than her husbanJ, made their appear- |
nneo iu Clinton and rented two '
houses. The man gave the name of |
J. K. Watson and told the men with
whom lie negotiai.d for the houses
that he was a retired cattle
raiser. He was a Scotchman, dark
skinned, of rather bea\y physical
mold, nnd wore a full beard. He
dressed as well as or slightly better |
than a man iu his vocation
would be expected to dress. Ills gen
oral demeanor tended toward the
•wi-timonious. He oft'-n attended 1
church and was fluent ut prayer nn I ,
'ii n ligloui dl''course. Funds he bad
:'i plenty, a:: I he uave . ub t mtlai evi
dence of his buslii" , Holldlty by ile
po-iting In 111 ci.iit.m bank |
(Ti» lift Cuntlnutd.J
Mauled Life.
Nordy—llclki, old man, you look
HWI.
Hun. Yes, my * f><* «way tor the
turn uter.
Nor*. U' '!"»*,! Miua l»u t~ i
Journal.
GLUTTONOUS SIOUX.
INDIANS SAID TO BE EATING
THEMSELVES TO DEATH.
Tlie Once Great Tribe Reduced to a
Kemnant and Very Largely
Through Inordinate
Appetite.
If Thomas A. Edi. on referred to
the American Indians when he said
| that people were eating themselves to
dea.li. he could find plenty of coi
loboration ot his theory on the reser
vations. Overeating is doing more to
bring about the extinction of the Sioux
and Yankton Indians than race sui
ci.lc. fire water and all the diseases
: whlc'i hauni the wigwam of the red
i man.
I lie great tribe of Sioux Indians Is
disappearing. The members, it is de
, c a. 'I, are literally eating themselves
|to death on account of the plenty
; about them.
| With the new railroad being built
j through the White river valley the
| Indians will be enabled to secure sup
| Piles with greater ease. They are
; likely to become greater feeders than
i they are now. and thus to hasten tho
time of their disappearance from tho
, rese ''vatlons in South Dakota
II corroborative evidence was not
; easily obtained, it v/ould scarcely bo
accepted as irue that in the course
I of a night of feasting, dancing and
| story telling the average. Indian will
i con..nine from 10 to 1.1 pounds of meat.
and it he has an abundance of food
! can make his own selection of
the parts to be eaten he will swallow
without Inconvenience not less than
i 20 pounds of meat in a single night.
Carloads of canned meats are con
■ stim°:l by the overfed Sioux Indians,
! anil Kome tanned goods have become
I almost as sacred a dish with the red
nif'ii as the fat dog stew of old, for
; which the Sioux tiibe is famous.
I Among the varieties of canned goods
| eaten to excess, ihe oyster holds first
| i>la:e. A hungry Indian will eat half
| a dozen cans and drink the liquor.
Besides the harm done by eating ex
! f essive amounts ol food, the fact that
i' is not properly prepared makes it
. the more injurious. There is no va
j riety or style about Sioux Indian
| cookery, no French methods, no ne
■ cessity for titillating appetites already
j over keen.
A i>ot full of meal and water is put
; on llle fir e by the squaw and allowed
| to heat, but there is no definite time
loi the meal to cook and no point in
j the cooking process when it is done,
i 1 he dinner is ready whenever her lord
j conies in and grunts about being
j hungry.
J It the Indian is especially hungry
he may begin on the contents of the
; ketile by ihe time the meat is fairly
j warm. There is never any fault-find
ing about the way in which the food ■
I is prepared, and whether it is half
: raw or done to rags, no objection is
j made by the head of the family.
The Indians know the choicest tid- i
bits ot every animal, and how to !
< cook them. The hunt at this time of I
| 'be ycar gives the Sioux Indian the jj
| fullest enjoyment of his appetite, and I
| during the next three months the j
j average buck will devour enough meat I
to .satisfy four ordinary men. £
j Condiments are in great demand by |
■ (he Indians, and the Sioux Indians !
probably consume more black and «
red pepper per capita than any other j|
| people in the United States. Their I
former favorite condiment was the j
gall of an elk. I
Ihe Sioux Indians are responsible i
for the reputation which nearly all I
tribes have of eating dog meat, but |
there are few other tribes which ever j
served dog meat, even at the feast I
of important ceremonies. The Ch y- fi
i enne.s, Shoshones and Arapahoes n* "r K
touch dog meat.
Black Hair Strongest.
Black hair is stronger than golden
tress.\s, and will sustain almost double I
'lie weight. Recently a German scien
tist has been experimenting, and has
found thai it. is possible to suspend a
weight of four ounces by a single hair,
provided the hair be black. Blond
hair will give way at varying weights
dependent u|M>n th<> exact tint. A
yellow hair will scarcely support two
ounces, a brown will hold up three
without breaking, while a very dark
brown will sustain an additional half
ounce. The greater vitality <f the
black hair is declared to be the reason
tor ihe preponderance of blond bald
heads, and according to this experi
menter, a person with jet black hair
will slill enjoy a full growth. whL'e
the biond will have been laid lor
seven and a half ycj,rs.
From Nebraska Epicure.
The bosom of the mallard duck,
tewed down until there are no juices
going to waste, a baited potaio abou;
'be size of a goose egg. two slice.- o?
Host'tu brown bread, right out of the
oven, and spread with butter that has
no athletic reputation, a p onl I or
ra.sp'terij jelly, u t-up of Young lly
>n. ol moderate strength a piece if
pumpkin pi<". man's .i/»> and you hit •
a dinner that ought to keep you in a
-ood humor until curfew rings.—N -
braska State Journal. j
Mountains Lowered.
All Hie mountains | n Switzerland j
"dd< nly I .it I-. duc.il in height j
i out ten fi ll • in | sju ii,,. up (
of i certain rock In the |.*i.t- ~112
ti«li\:i W.I I'll , |„. 7i; S,, ;
■' >el iii.l iit i'. , :
I • t* all the uin in 1 1 sin t h<- c untry
*> r.' < <il III*l»d It i||. dis I
»v.' y w »t made mi un,ii h~|
b n made in iuliik iH<- Im ilti m |, i(l 1
aud ilia it i nit-" r« | Am i
thja Ii was marked.
! Balcom fi Lloyd. 1
I ====== I
1 P
| I
D 1
lt( WE have the best stocked
jjj general store in the county
|p and if you are looking for re
j{ liable goods at reasonable J;
112! prices, we are ready to serve
| you with the best to be found. |
p Our reputation for trust
i worthy goods and fair dealing ]!
p is too well known to sell any i)i
p but high grade goods.
| T!
p Our stock of Queensware and yi
® Chinaware is selected with M
E i s
great care and we have some
[I of the most handsome dishe3
| ever shown in this section, If
I| both in imported and domestic
makes. We invite you to visit
us and look our goods over.
11
I 1
I 1
| p
I Balcom & Lloyd, j
112 S^** *• * ** w 'w * *
it-** *** *'* & **■ * * **
LOOK ELSTWHERE BUT DON'T FORGET
H THESE PRICES AND FACTS AT
II M
i! II LaBAR'S || I
M " 14
M „. , M
jp| We carry m stock - T —S*
the largest liue of Car-
11 pels. Linoleums and j'B
12 Mattings of all kinds S !!
If ever brought to this BiinnTnTlllß
town. Also a big line -
A very large line ot * FOli THE
Lace Curtains that can- ~ Pf
M COHFOBTM LWING ss
Art Squares and of fine books in a choice library jj[]|
y Rligs of all sizes at.d select the Ideal pattern of Globe- S*
M kind, frotn the cheap- Wernicke "Elastic" Bookcase. 53
M est to the best. Furnished with bevel French
) j pl-ite or leaded glass doors. jj
Dining Chairs, cAt= o*
M Rockers and GEO. J. LaBAR,
jkJ* High Chairs. Sole Agent for Cameron County. fcj*
lg A large and elegant L——— ——^^
line of Tufted and
>< Dr °p -head Couches. Beauties ;nd at bargain prices.
jk M * lll K J
kj |3O Bedroom Suits, tfOr |4O fVdeboiud, < uar- (fOH
solid oak at 4)ZO tertdiak... 3C
l? S2B Bedroom Suits, CO I |32 Sid«bi ard, ijuur- COC ??
Pf solid oak at tered cak J.'D 55
m Bcil rof.m Buits, Ofi s'22 Sldeboaid, quar- CIC
solid oak at tered oak 4)iQ J
14 A largo line of DresseiH from Chiffoniers ol* all kir .la and N
$S up. all prices.
~ 1 —— j(j
d The finest line of Sewing Machines on the market, m
the "DOMESTIC" aid "1-I.LKII GK.' All dicp- fj
heads and warranted. J2
A fiut line of Dishes, cotuiuou gra<le and China, iu
'j sets and by the piece. If
As I keep .t full line of everything that goes to DG
l| make up a good Kurnitute store, it is useles> to euuui- M
If erate them all. |i
I'lease call and see I« r \ottrself that 1 am telling
I g you the ttutli, and ii you don't buy, there i> no harm kg
done, a> it is no trouble to shew j,ood>. ??
ii GEO. J .LaBAR. «
TJ3Vi>E3XTT^L7:rwXrgrc^.
A Jia A ni