6 - - m '\s tf x STORIES OF THE SECRET SERVICE BY Capt. Patrick D.Tyrrell L/ 3 JPy STORY No. 4 ITe Biebush Band j Being an Account of the Capture, and Conviction of That Notorious Band of Counterfeiters of Which Fred Biebush Was the Leader. By CAPTAIN PATRICK D. TYRRELL L J (Copyright, 1905, by Marion G. Scheltiin.J Bridges said that soon after he first became acquainted with Biebush lie met him on a Sunday while the latter was on his way to Sunday school, the <»ld fellow always maintaining an atti tude of much apparent respectability in these matters. Biebush said to him: "Up to this time I have taken you uX your word; have you any refer ences ?" "Plenty of them," answered "Bill." '"Do you know Joe Butts and John O'Brien?" asked Biebush. Both of these ware notorious criminal characters. "Sure," said Bridges, and then pro ceded to convince Biebush that he had such a wide aud close acquaintance with noted criminals as to render him tit for initiation into the Biebush ring. Biebush thereupon turned him over to Sullivan, showing the great conli dence he had in the colored man. From Sullivan "Hoosier Bill" got several packages of half dollars, 40 in a pack age, and three rolls of bills of 5100 representative money each. These he "shoved," turning over the proper jiro portion of the good money received to Sullivan. Thielen, Sullivan and Har gate, however, were not the only mem ber.-; of the Biebush ring about whom "Hoosier Bill" gave me information. There were William Wlialen and Harry Wood, shovers, and John Evans and Mrs. Annie Welch, also shovers, but on ■a. smaller scale. Bridges was willing togo to St. Louis to serve as a witness against Biebush if the latter were tried; but in this we seemed to be cut off squarely by the Missouri statute previously referred to us one of Biebush's chief sources of security, prohibiting convicts or ex i-ouvicts from testifying. * * • "Hoosier Bill's" information concern ing Whalen and Woods merely con firmed what we knew. This pair made headquarters at Bosse's saloon, as did Thielen and Sullivan. Galligher, Ken oocli and I had placed ourselves on more or less friendly terms with Wlia ioo and Woods while we were trying to buy "coney" lrom Biebush. They hiid told Gallagher in so many words that "Old Fred" was dealing extensive ly in counterfeit money and seemed anxious to initiate Gallagher into the secret ring, a plan which had been thecked by Biebush himself. While the information 1 received Crom Bridges was of great value as in dicating the personnel of the band and Iho respective functions of each mem ber, it had not given us any positive proof, and legal proof was all we want ed. It still remained for us to find a way to prove what we knew. In the face of our failure to "rope" Biebush ■j£> to that tune it seemed like we would hav ■ to start farther back and i; ( :t some of his subordinates in such a tight place that they would allow them selves to be used as witnesses against their chief in order to save themselves, informers in criminal cases are of two triads —voluntary and Involuntary. Voluntary informers aro usually prompted by motives of revenge or pec uniary gain—more often the former. J involuntary informers are usually the smaller fry in a criminal band who are willing to furnish evidence against the loading criminals tinder promise they I will be I nienlly dealt with as a re- ! ward, but they must first be caught in j tiio tolls them elves. Because such I principals in big criminal conspiracies at Fred Biebush, for their own safety,! turn over to subordinates the perforin- ! an<e of the tangible ads, the subordl-, nates iu an extensive plot like a conn li*rfeitiiu' job may be caught aud con vlciod an I their place., always till, d, j fha •xecution of the plot not being ma terlally Interfered with. When It Is r ■■•III I that the paramount function of (be Culled Stu'i i secret service Is to protect the currency and bonds ol the government. It will be seeu ho* fu.imntl) proper it l.i to com prom lac with petty crime by a subordinate, If by so doing the authorities can catcl the big fellows and stop the perpetra •Jon of thn one blis crime Thei.fon Informer who was CIOM- enough to to be able to furnish < ouvict- ■ i-g evidence against him was what I wo sadly needed. And let me say now that most efTec tivo detective work consists in being able to find the right kind of Informers. 1 know full well that detectives gen erally are prone to throw a veil of mys tery over their work, leaving the im pression that some sort of supernatural vision has been brought to bear on the unraveling of the case in point, where as, when the full truth is known, the solution of the mysterious case is made possible by the most commonplace In formation secured from voluntary or involuntary informers. That eminent creature of Action, "Sherlock Holmes," never had to make his case good in a United States court, and If he had he would have needed a great deal of corroborative evidence that only could have come from ordinary, unromantic Informers. In this predicament I fixed on Wha len and Woods as the two men who most easily could be forced into a tight corner and who, once cornered, would be the most likely to sacrifice their su periors in crime to save themselves. So all my energies were bent In this di rection. The men were communicative , to those they trusted, fond of drink and of not overmuch intelligence. Woods was known as the husband of a woman who ran a boarding house of question able character in Venice, 111., just across the river from St. Louis. Wha len was engaged to be married to a young St. Louis woman whom he after ward married. 1 mention these details merely to show that, these men were approachable at more points than the other members of the band. It required some time to accomplish my purpose, but the time came when I felt safe in revealing my true identity I to these men and in showing them the ( trap into which they had walked. They | found themselves face to face with im- i prisonment on one hand and turning | against Biebush on the other. They : chose the latter alternative. These ne gotiations were conducted, of course, with the utmost secrecy and it was stipulated that they in no wise were j to change front toward any member of the Biebush crowd. Mrs. Woods, through her alleged husband, was also enlisted on the government side and produced one bit of information which later proved of much value —that in the Chester, 111., penitentiary was one John Mitchell, alias Jacobs, a former intimate of Biebush, who probably ! would be able to give the authorities I desired information. Mitchell, it seemed, was in Chester for the cure of the same habit that had brought "Hoosier Bill" to Joliet —that ] of getting his own horse confused with j those of other people. He had boarded j with Mrs. Woods and had revealed to | her his association with Fred Biebush j in handling counterfeit money. I con- j sidered the lead a promising one and went to Chester. I was amply repaid. I have told how Biebush escaped from the court when confronted by William Shelley, the counterfeit engraver, in 1 1870. I found it had been Mitchell who j had met him at the foot of Perry street ! with a skiff, in which the "Great South west Koniacker" made his escape to Cabaret island, and that Mitchell had been arrested for stealing the horse and buggy with which to further aid j his chief to escape the law. He had [ passed counterfeit money for Biebush In 1877 and 1878, recently enough to make the offense punishable at that time. Of course, I secured from Mitchell all the information I could, and among It was this fact: While serving a pre vious term in the Joliet penitentiary AUSTIN J. THOMAS. Mitchell had formed the acquaintance of a fellow convict named Thomas, j who was doing time for the theft of harness. Thomas had told Mitchell that j ho combined preaching with larceny and mixed the duties of sinking reviv- | alist with those of "koniacker." Sub- j sequently Mitchell had carried written \ communications from Biebush to Thomas, and the latter. Mitchell said,, was then iu St. Louis following his in congruous occupations of saving souls t and pasting bad money. • • • But little lime was required to lo- ' ea'e Thomas. A man answering our description of him was found to be preaching at the Methodist church at Morgan and Twenty-fourth street To all appearances ltev. Andrew Jackson Thomas (sometimes known as Austin J. Thomas) was a sincere pr« aelier and was doing good work In the vineyard. It was found that he v.tt living with his wife iu Finney avenue, west of Grund avenue. The couple hud no chil- , drew, and, so fur as I could learn, they lived much to them?<■!v« so far as tb ilr neighborhood was concerned. A liadow" was placed on thn house and its occupants. The poll .< beat on which the ThomuM residence w.is lo • •ted was putrob-d by Officer Welginna j of the St Louis force, a m«. ,< comp } tent o fit » i Cioni htm It whs !.until, CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 1906. hat sr.r.-.e time before a p*«idler had complained tu him that the minister's wife had given iillll counterfeit coins for vegetables. This liad happened often enough to convince even the | thick-witted peddler it was not a co- j incidence, and he told his 1 roubles to ' the policeman. The"shadow"carriedonhls Invcstiga- ; lion in the stores in which Mrs. Thom as traded, and several instances of the : passage of bogus silver pieces were ' found. I therefore decided some one should be selected to gain the minister's confidence, and almost as riuickly de cided thai the one should be Woods. Before long t lie two were doing business together. Sullivan having been the in- i termediary. Woods and Sullivan planned togo to his bouse on one occa sion for counterfeit, money, but the preacher objected to the place of trans fer. He also objected to the plan of meeting Woods in Bosse's saloon, be cause the church of which he was pas- j tor was so close to the saloon that mem bers of his congregation might see him \ entering or leaving the drinking place, j It was arranged, therefore, that Woods shouUl attend night services at the Mor- \ gan street church whenever he wished ' to make an engagement with the minis- : tcr, and they could select a meeting place while the preacher ostensibly was > exhorting the sinner Woods to repent of his evil ways and become a Christian, i It was one of these occasions I described in beginning this narrative. Woods reported to me that he was | on such terms with Thomas that he ! could secure "coney" from him without , delay at any place appointed. It was 1 j still necessary for us to place ourselves 1 ; in position to corroborate the state j ments of Woods, and in order to do thi3 j there must be a witness to one of these i I transactions. Woods was instructed to make an engagement with the preacher ; to deliver to him a package of counter- ; feit money at the customary meeting place near the "Rock" church, and a 1 few nights after the meeting I have de scribed in Grand avenue between tlio preacher and "Harry" I became a wit j ness to one of these deliveries, being | stationed so that their every move | might be observed. * * * The operations of the secret service related up to this point had covered ; months. I was determined to do the ! work so thoroughly there would be no ! chance of its coming to naught in the j courts, as so many efforts to "settle Old j Fred Biebush* 'had done. Thielen, Sul- I livan. Hargate, Evans, Mrs. Welch and ' the others were shadowed or "piped," in the vernacular of the department, with j some good results. A continued watch \ was kept on Bosse's place. This sur- < veillance, for one thing, resulted in our j catching Evans and the Welch woman i passing counterfeit money in smail j amounts. 1 was thoroughly satisfied i this money came from dies made by ! Hargate, and.for the purpose of prov- | ing it, caused the arrest of Evans and 1 Mrs. Welch and tried hard to get them j to tell where they got their supply of j money. Although they were the small- j est ducks in the Biebush puddle, they I stubbornly refused to give any informa- ' tion whatever as to where their sup plies came from. The system of "pip ing" also revealed the fact that Hargate was handling 25 and 50-cent pieces only, j So far as the minor members of the J ring were concerned, the net was being drawn around them in a satisfactory way. but Biebush was still well outside j of it. The solution of this great difll- i culty at last came through Whalen, who, after being enlisted on our side, j one day met in Bosse's saloon a stranger | from southeast Missouri. The two be- | came well acquainted, the stranger con- j tiding his criminal history and desire to j handle "ccney." It is unnecessary here I to relate the details of the deal which i was consummated between Whalen and ! the stranger, whereby the latter was ! to "rope" Biebush. Suffice it to say that j this deal was carried to a successful j close, the wary Biebush at last being j drawn into the net he had seduously avoided for so long. * * ♦ The facts as here related, with many j circumstantial and corroborative de- I tails I believed justified the making of | arrests. Fred Biebush had moved i from his Stoddard street residence to ! a place acquired by him through fore- 1 closure of a $2,500 mortgage 5% miles j west on the Olive street road. It was a ■ well-known tavern called the Seven- ' Mile house. Deputy United States Mar- ! shals Wheeler and Soest and I left the ! Lindell hotel in a carriage about five o'clock one afternoon in October, 1879, j and gave the driver directions togo to the Seven-Mile house, vriiere we arrived at dusk. There was a water trough in 1 front of the house, and as I stepped out ! of the carriage to uncheck the horses so they could drink, Biebush stepped out of the house, bare-headed. In the dim light he did not recognize J me, and I am doubtful if he would have j known me had the light been good, as lie j had never seen me, except in the dis- ' guise of a river man at the Bosse sa- j loon. Wheelerand Soest remained in the carriage. lHcbush irfndc a pleasant cas ual remark about the weather, and as lie did so 1 stepped up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You are my prisoner," I said, "and you will plcuse mike 110 noise." I pushed him firmly toward the car riage and into it. where (he deputies imniedjatelj handcuffed him. His wife, a woman u< irly as old as h . had 1 inn out of then hi* e. and, seeing iut Hus band being taken away. le ;,an io,ry pilc'iiiHly Her mother <ol;s attracted a grown daughter, who came running to the |:on hand did what sin- could tu comfort her mother. His Condition. Mr- it row ue I wonder If the new ord. r of (hint, Hill reform Mr l.u* ft. ley lo any MHMtT lU's married, 112 uuderu'u/id. Il "* ' lpro|> \uk lie 1 , a line, now —Philadelphia PrtM, POPULAR SCENIC ROUTB. Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad Company Condensed Time Table in Effect Juue 4, 1905. RKAD DOWN. READ UP. Siill - •lay Week Days. Daily ' Week I)ay9. Only r. M. A.M. A.M. A.M. I\ M. P.M. STATIONS. A.M. A.M. P. M. P.MPM ft 1H Bix 11 18 SIS Lr Addison Ar 10 ID 4 1.1 x6O 6HO «) 00 12 00 «00 Knoivillr 930 ' 400 BIM 611 917 12 11 li 14 Went Held 917 H47 765 647 tl 47 12 47 047 Gaines Junction. -.. 84! i '4 11 725 10 00 101 Ar. \ fi a i„. <ln ILv 823 711 700 10 20 500 70* L.V. ) "a'®'"".- j Ar 830 ' <OO 707 7 40 II 00 640 i Cross Fork June 739 «23 800 11 20 8 02. | Hulls 1 7 18 1102 820 11 40 6 20, Whiirton 656 ; 540 12 13 ' |.... Minnamatiomng....{ j S(JO 12 >0 Driftwood 1 , 4 62 i ! 102 Medix Run | tOB 123 I ! .....Tyler j 8 42 ; 131 1 I'enfield i 333 1 200 I DuUois ; I 300 I P. M. P. M. | P.M.I ! A.M. P.M. P.M.i | A. M. . P.M A .It P.lf 820 ; 11 45 820 | Wharton 656 (5 20 1110, 829 12 00 820 I ' Costello 644 16 08 1058, 8 38 i 12 15i I I | Ar 112 ILv 6 35, 500 10'.0| 1 00 ; 638 800 Lv I . Au!,lln [Ar j '3.10| 950 805 200 705 845 '.... Keating Summit A.M.; ,2 20 810 740 1 P. M. | A. M.i ! jA. M. P.M. A.M. | A. *(. K, M. 830 3 30; Wellsville | 8 >6 1 8 r,t 3 521 Genesee 7 11 3IS 909, 4 01! West Bingham 780 t 06! 9 27! 415 Newfleld Junction.. 7 13 1 50j 10 10 4 55j Galeton j | tl HO 105! ll| j I I 11 0"i ( 8 2sl Cross Fork June....; ! 7 301 I 540 1155 TlO Cross Fork ! « :w 440 111111 I I I I I CONNECTIONS. Additional trains leave Qaleton at 8:15 a. in.and 6:23 p. m., arrivtij at Ansonia at 9:21 a.m. and 7:00 p. in. Returning leave Ansonia at 9:35 a. m., an 1 8:3) p. iu., arriving at jaleton at 10:03 a. mand 9:05 p. m. At Driftwood with P. R. R. At Dußois with H. R. fc P. Ry. At Keating Summit with B. h A. V. Div. of Pennsylvania R. R. At Anponia with N.Y.C.& 11 R. R. for all points north aud south. At Newfleld Junction with C. & P. A. Ry., Union Station. At Genesee with N. Y & Pa., Ry. Union Station. At Addison with Erie R. R., Union Station. At Wellsville with Erie R. R. for points east and west. At Sinnaraahoning with P. R. R.—P. &E. Div. M.J. MCMAHON, Div. Pass Ag't.,Oaleton.Pa. W. C. PARK, Gen'l Supt... Oileton. Pa. E. A. NIEL, Traffic Mgr. Buffalo, N.Y. C. PETER CI.ARK. Uen'l M-tr. Buffalo, N. Y. Qgß:atiirii-eoLSA-ooT.cAMs.« w mmnn B|iOWis the timfJoPaint!h 'Above all, USE GOOD PAINT! M The oil I linseed oil! Just pure Hnseed is the "life*'—the one great requiv ■ Ite of eood paint for which there is no substitute—and the sure to pet tho, pure, fresh linseed oil J» to buy the oil and 'us 'e pjunP H ■ separately." For tvery gallon of Kinloch Painl buy one gallon of linseed oil. ■■ This makes two gallons of-paint, ready lor use. You then know that the paint ■ you're putting on your house is alive—"the genuine oil is in it,"and paint is not paint unless it contains 50* of really pure oil. Wc will further explain die virtue* K3 of Kinloch Paint if you will call and sec us. y FOR SALE BY 5 HURTEAU & FORBES g G.SCHMIDT'S/ HEADQUARTERS FOR FRESH BREAD, Pot)ii 19 r fancv (UM LI T ICE CREAM, 1 # " " CONFECTIONERY Daily Delivery. AD orders given prompt and skillful attention. WHEN IN DOUBT, TRY The*h»T«stood th««e.t of T «*. CTDnyQ # »ncf ha?i cured thousands c& m j oinuno a D s bir Ner D o,,! ' DUca " s ' fach 3 fP| iQAIU I / PCSJ * n d A clreulatlo» b< m ak e es ti on to tho whole belnp. All drains and losses are checlcec^ permanently. \jutesa patients JVyVk ? re P ro P eri 7 cur cd, their condition often worries them Into Insanity, Consumption or Death. Mailed sealed. Price %i per box; 6 boxes, with iron-clad legal guarantee to cure or refund tht moaey,ss.oo. Send for lice book. Addreis, PEAL MEDICINE CO* CUvtiftlML 0- Vir sale b/ E. C. Dodacn, Dmggi A, Eospartus*, ?*. gsr.s- sar K«KI;M ——THE Windsor Mote! I Between 12tli and 13th Stf., on Filbert St. I Philadelphia, Pa. Throe minujcsJiVAMC from the Reading I Five inhiutes thePenn'a H. I European Plan SI.OO per day and upwards. I American Plan $2.00 per day. FRANK M. SCIIEIBLBY. Manager. iiTTimn irrrrn~iniiiiiiiiiniMfini uin I A safe, certain relief for Supprtnsed I 8 I I JR ■or uionev Uefnnded. Kent prepaid f<»t ■ ■ SI.OO oer F»ox. Will «**nd them on trh.i, to ■ ■ bo paid for when relieved. Hample« tree. ■ Hun M I ■ ■■■■■ ilßHßißifnW Hold in Emporium by L. I'laggart am K. U Dediun. Foley's Kidney Cure makes kiJucys and blndtJer right W\ A** I DYSPEPSIA CORE fe.; pj L| H DIGEST S WHAT YOU EAT Bold hy H. C. KC ' D * Wi lT * COMPANY. CHICAGO. IU. Wo promptly oMnln fv n IL i [ink'u / Send model, sketch or photo of invention forr t free report on patentability. For free book, 112 S The Place to Buy Cheap S ) J. F. PARSONS' ? LUBIES DR. LaFRAHCO'S 80MPGUN0. >t»-«il3r rrvuUlor tivnii I'm*. .u nr iintl Huukl.t truu, UH. LAKKAM o, I'hliaU I i;i», I». TiMn TAHi.il !»«. rr. DOUDER9POMT & POhJ ALLEGANY H. H, Taklai; effect Mb > J7th. IWI. CASTWA KD. 10 sr« v«i * ■TATIONS. I , 1 .. T. u. r. M A. u. 1 A. «, Port Al!<"g»njr, . Lr. i I r > I 7 OS ! 11 :Ift Oulemiin *J SM .....I *» *ll it! Burtvtll#, *.l SO I 1 >0 I II 47 Roultttn, | g 401 1 7 2»L.. . 11 Ml kucwltoo's »3 4.5 .. . •» I *ll .%» ■tßk. 3 5-J I 7 IVS I 12 04. Dlni«»«<l *4 05 |*7 38 !*l'i 0» ■uniiitud) 00 ! °o i Mi I*. I Ar « M 7 43;.... 12 l»l Sr ° rt - \ Lv. 8 10! « 03| 1 «9 North Ooudersport, .... «6 15 1 00 *1 iM> Prick's, i g «5 •,? m «i ijl Colmburg, |.... .0 40! «B lVt 1 !» Boven Bridges i. .. »6 4.»..... •« 21 «1 U. Raymoodsa, 1 •7 00 •« OT 1 Iho Newnelil •» j | 1 4S Kewflelti Junction, . ..... i 737 ..... 1 # 45! 1 M Perkins ..... "7 40 .... 44 »i Carpenter's, I I 7 46 1 «" : »l 6ft Orowell's, 1 7 50 «B M, *3 SI PIT"" Ar.| 1 8 05( TOS lift I U. M.I I |>. M. wbhtwabo. - i 8 _ , STATIONS. a M.jr. m a. M.1..... tjlysse* L». 7 20" 225 910 Orowell's j*7 27 *1 32 • 9 19 ...,4 Carpenter'!, 00 »2 31 • 9 22| ....4 Perkins. »7 82 *2 37 * II 26!.....' NewfleldlJunctloD 787 242 0 82....4 Newfiold >7 41 3 46) 00 ....j Oold. 7 44 2 49' 9 40; ....J Raymond's >7 48 2 54j" 947 ....j Be*en Bridges, *8 01 »3 Oi *lO 02 ....j Oolesburg, 04 3 09 *lO 101 ....4 Frtnk'r eg 12;•» 17 *lO 201 ....4 North Ooudersport, 00 *8 28 *lO 35] ~.J „ I Ar. 8 S» ! 8 80 10 « ...&« Ooudersport, J j t. m. ( L». I 28: 800 1 30> ...J Hammonds, 1 00 ] OO I 00 ~..* Olmsted, »S S3 H 08 *1 31 .... J Mlna. 837 810 187 ....J Knowlton's, 00 »g 17 0° j .... J Kcilotte 847 621 181 i.... j Burtville 854 828 2 01....J Coleman, *» *8 31 00 ...... Poit Allegany, fpa 840 2 25!....j (') Flag stations. (°°) Trains do not stop ♦l Telegraph offices. Train Nos. 3 and 10 will carry passengers. Tains 8 nr.d 10 do. Trains run on Eastern Standard Time, □onnectlons—At Ulysses with Kail Brook R'jl for points north and south. At B. & 8. Junc tion with Buffalo i Susquehannaß. R. north fo» WellSTille, south for Galeton and Ansonia. At Port Allegany with W. N. Y. & P. R. R., north for Buffalo, Olean, Bradford and HmethportJ south for Keating Summit, Austin, Emporium c.nd PasD'a R. R., points. B.A. McCLURE Gen'lSupt. Ooudersport, Pa. jwho is | Your 1 Clothier? I | If it's R. 6EGER & CO,. I you are getting the right ■ I kind of merchandise. There |5 is no small or grand decep- g I tion practiced in their store. |J Sustained success demon- y etrates that there is I I "growth in truth"in the I 8 retailing of I NEW AND UP-TO-DATE 1 CLOTHING AT POPULAa I PRICES. R. SEGER CO. imwi 111111 nimnrni'"!'^*-"" 111 ' ■■■hbmim For Bill Heads, Letter Heads, Fine Commercial Job Work of AIJ Kinds, Get Our Figures, i PILES 3upuosltory| H V. Matt. Thompson, Pupt.fi H vbry '« all to« clftla for tbvm. ' Dr. 3 U. l>cT«r«, I ■ fiction. Dr. U l>. UuUlll. CUrkabnrx. Teou.. ■ D '• la « |<rao:lct «112 3J year*, I ka*« fuuai bo r«ra«df to H H equ.l joun." rates, kO Cama. fiaiupiM Frca. Sold H B wPwwtlsW. martim nuov, i.ancasttr. pa. B piww- "I I Sold li) by i-i T»uail asd ft. <1 Dadauu. o < EVERY WOMAM Soinotimes needs a n-liab!» monthly rejjulatim; medicioab jSf • DR. PEAL'S PENNYROYAL piLLS, Ar® prompt, safe and certain in result. The penu» In© (l)r. Tears) uever liisappoinC. §I.OO per bva\ Hold by li. O. Dtxliion, drugK^t KodoS Dyspepsia Curo what yau cat. Foley's Kidney Curo make* kidneya end bladder tight. »iLN. n AJL v_§ tho most healing aalvo In tha worl«t
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