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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1909)
vp? By a Former Secret Service Man Ex Operative Tells of Cleverest of Coraterfeitii ITS 4 ic T, M R H,l l W Vis. J 9 V J To Fairy Sea and Elfin Court And Citadel of Pearl You may quite eatlly tstort My little 6lrt. She will explore at any time The Land of DerrtnfcDo, The ladder Into Dremlnnd tllmb All day vilth yeu. li With joy sht journeys forth tt see The Uever'Uever Land; You'll love her best when you and she Have Ptter-Pa'anedi ff! But there's one land for vthlsh you'll find Her feet are never shod, One country never to her mind The Land of Nod. V, 11. FtltdUndtr. 3 111 -i W7 Ml EAGLE FIQHT8 WITH 8HARK. A hnushty Amorlcim oaglo of tlio ccioa Known nB "imld," is (ho latoHt ii 1 1 i t?. ThlB magnificent blrd.v measuring urn i imiii n t mi r r iiiiiiip iii i Tirr itn mnifti no ir iwi iniiriit lntvn miiii'ii inn ii riii i iifnmnni nini nr IUU. I MIL III lUUL 110 WU'J OUl tha vuUrn dripping hedrntrclod. tlllltln.l tnnkilioili rt f 4lwi nln IT.. t. ----- '""n l rrn iHitt li I itii l i lldl n.uilf lrAClf Hllplf In I 1m Kfniititii.iii oil. Tho onfclo'a capturo wati unlquo, por- n in inn liiafnpv nr niuHitn.itntu... ' " r )( r in wn h r ii iriiii w ii i tt i ii ti 1 1 rtnn llir.in.llll Pmillint Wlffll II ltiwm Jlirivl- Accohatmoclc Crook, which dlvhloa rulnla. and Llilull (1. Mnninnir tniiH n nfnfv nf Ha on t ntn l Mm Mmu Sovcrnl days ago. whllo Capt. a f fin ti itnnr mirnt i f t trt t r i.iink lPiin tin a nnniniiumn r ntn I iwt . iv u it iv iiii fin ir ii u urnnii itiir lit fr i tr it air hnlt a mllo In front of tho flnit clrcllnt; nbovo, fnr up In tho III1H. J V 111 tt)IU IIUIUIUII UU 11117 rnr rni n Tiinnintu iiiwi fitnti n iiihkw ..... tnln ...... 111... .. l " ' 1 " -o Ik UIJIII IllL II tl If Vf l LI11T Mill lill'll. nnr. vnrn liiiiiii. iTiuinnii nr tin taluiiu Into a nhnrk. WUHIl IIIIUVI ft(IV Mil ttVV IT VII V JIOll Ul VU. II1U UUllIU j 1 1 111 111 li I1IU W 11 it. l.-li. 1 i. it. nroiind thorn (o fonm and throwing I . t 1. I i . 1. .. I ml . i i llinrn fnr nvnr ntwl nvnr llmv iniri'ii Him riuiiui. mm mniiinnr nn mirfnco mid iu;nn out of ulght. ino crow or mo Btonniuont crowdou tho forwnrd dock, nbsorhod In tho rco battlo between tho lord of tho t i . i buu mo lurroroi ino nun. inoi ior ti 1 1 . i . .. i i i n ... i mi liiii ULiiur iiiiuiu Liiuiu i iivtirfiitiLii iniilni' Out conflict. Hot li lli-hturu t f"imt ITimftni'Knn'n nnlnm Urn nglor wiih Blourod up naluut n l . ...I I. r.T .. 1 . ... 1 1. .. I .. llll JllOk UVIUIT VVIIU1U IIIU U1IKIU tho Hliurlc woro BtriiKKllng. Ab r wn u inwfirnn null ftuiTiiifiii nnn Crow imllod vigorously for tho ... n i . l ro Hotting tho b08t of tt, for ho s urasKiiiK i no uukio uown uuuor wator, and holding him lliorq for igB aa propollora, forcod htuisolf to Burfaco for breath. uat.as uio upat cama up tho oaglo lpkr'imt for tlio Hhoro. ii:uliUfm. him. along witn his wings. Onco or . " v co lie tried tq rlao from tho wator, hrt faathorH woro too thoroughly .r ii. sr. j Bonkod to bo of any tino for flying; Wlion tho boat wan nlongBldo ono ol tho inon ronehed'ont a paifdlo, nnd, laying It ncroHS tho oaglo'H back, Hhovod him under tho wator. Anothoi reached ovor and nolzod IiIh foot nnd hoad. Then liln cajitorB, holding lite wlngn to IiIh aldoa to keop him from struggling, drow him Into tho bont Ho ntlll showed light, hut ho was ar. oxhauutod that IiIh offortB to frco him nolf won Ineffoctlvo. Ilia ntato enmo down clnao, but did not vunturo within attacking dlstancu of tho mon. Later, giving up hor con nort hh lost, Hho vanluhed Into tho clouds. Tho big oaglo waB slurfod Into a largo bag, tho top of which waB tlod The Enole'o Claws Were Fixed In Its Body. about his neck. On Hhoro n big box wnB procured, aud, bolng put Into this, ho waa taken aboard tho Tanglor and takon to llaltlmorb. After hlB reathora woro drlod tho oaglo Boomed willing to ninko tho boat or tho altimttun, and ate heartily tho meat given him. An examination allowed that ho boro no acarB from IiIh battlo with tho shark, but ono of IiIh oyca was gone, ovldontly having boon put out In Homo provlous fight with a hawk or anothor oaglo. Ills hoad, breast aud buck woro whlto, whllo tho rost of his body waa gray. Next morning Capt. Henderson walked Into tho olllcoa or tho steam ship company in llaltlmnro nnd naked tho oIllcorH ir they could supply ac commodations for a "ennnry bird" ho had caught. Thoy replied that they could get a cago without much Iron bio, but when thoy saw that tho "canary" wsb an Immonso bald oaglo, thoy decided that the city might bo able to take butter caro or him. So ho was glvon to tho park board for tho zoological collection. Apologlxlnn for the Daby. Nolllo apologized for tho action of hor now baby sister by Baying: "You bco, Bho hasn't got any boiibo yot." Hor niotliur objected to such nn idon, and Nolllo ropllod: "Oh, of course sho'B got BOnse, but It Isn't working yet. r VrS Ar ycrjrr vrefcfrc Arc jFmmmmmUillVl nro fow mysterlcB I UT I ull'c'1 "r0 "ovor cleared 111 COI111I10'ccd Capt. I 1 Dickson, as ho Bat bo- b 'TT1"''! foro tho cheerful wood llro of his enzy study ono night Inst winter, "al though some of thorn slum bor for yours among tho things forgotten, until 'tho denouement is accident ally dovolopcd by soino person who, porhaps, novor heard of tho original matter. Such was tho enso which I havo emtio to remember as that of 'Tho Iron Tot.' It was a voasol or Ui!b humble charac ter that Until ly cleared up a great, mys tery and brought tho guilty to Justice. "A St. LouIh gang had tholr plant In a cleverly constructed cavo In a suburban district. It was an nrtlllclal cavo, dug back In tho faco or a clay aud gravel blurt. Tho entrance was through tho Bhanty of a poor Irish family, a circumstance that diverted suspicion from It and ono to which Is partly duo tho long Immunity thu gang enjoyed, "Thoro was no scrap of motal, no coins, chemicals, or othor thing used in tho art. Only tho mnchlno and n fow wrenches nnd similar tools. Tho gang had skipped out. Tho Irishman was half-witted, and his wife was too clovor to bo caught In tho traps wo laid for hor. Wo had mndo a water haul, oxcopt for tho machine, which wns destroyed. Tho cavo wnB filled up. Acting undor orders from Wash ington wo maintained secrecy about tho on tiro matter and nothing of It got Into tho newspapers. "I found ono thing In tho Bhanty which might or might not offer a clow to tho counterfeiters, u Wns an empty onvolopo bearing tho postmark of an obscuro railroad station In tho sunk land district of northeastern Arkansas I had long ugo learned that It is tho seemingly Insignificant things that loud to tho discovery or criminals, and whllo this onvolopo might mean noth ing, on tho othor hand, It might bo of tho gravest importance, It had been found beneath the shoot of metal on which tho cook stovo Btood, tho tip of ono oomor, discolored and grimy, at tracting my attention, I had secured It aud pocketed It without attracting attention. "If tho gang had novor oxlsted It could not havo disappeared more effec tually. Wo woro faco to raco with a blank wall. This mttdo us tho more anxious to enpturo tho couuterfoltors. As nothing bettor offered, tho chlt'f lym?iv Sr. r suggostod that I follow up tho clow of thu empty onvolopo. "With as cumborsomo and complete an outfit as ovcry city sportsman cnrrlcs Into tho woods with him, I loft tho trnln ono day at tho waysldo sta tion which bora tho immo of tho post mark. 8ecurlng u guldo nnd cook, In tho person of a lanky natlvo, I had ray truck hauled out to tho St. Francis river, only two mlloa distant, where I pitched camp and mndo preparations for an Indollnlto stay. "Ily making Inquiry of my visitors, 1 learned that about llvo miles down tho river woro camped, In a snug cabin built by themselves, thrco gentlemen from parts unknown. Thoy maintained tho plnco as a sort of club and had spent the spring season there. Thoy left about March and woro gono until October, when they returned ono night nnd ngaln took possession of their cabin. Our raid on tho cavo had boon inado on tho lGth of October, and this caused mo to think that porhaps the empty envelope was making good. "As tho throo gentlemon did not dolgn to visit my camp, I decided to make a call upon thorn. "I started out In a folding cunvas canoe, Into In tho afternoon, nnd ar rived In tho vicinity of thoir enmpjust at nightfall. With n. shnrp cypress troo, uldcd by a Jagged cut rrom my hunting knlfo, I succeeded In punching a bad holo In the bottom of tho canoo, and with tho boat rapidly filling with water, I lnndod Just nftor sunset at tho very door of their cabin. Tho three men were at homo nnd they welcomed mo with tho open hospitality of camp orH, Insisting that I spend tho night with them. This was Just whnt I had boon playing for. "It wns easy to see that tho mon woro crooks. Thoro is always some thing to disclose tho countorfoltor, If tho obsorvor Is only sulllclently vorsod In their ways and mannorlsms to roc ognlzo tho telltale signs. I was pretty sure, before tho evening waa over, that those woro tho men who had douo the Job In St. Louis, "Nothing nbout tho cabin was tho least bit susplclqiH. A largo iron pot bubbled Invitingly ovor tho opon firo, tho fragrant odor of boiling moat Is suing from under Its ltd when the stoam pushed tt up on ono side A steaming haunch of venslon, cooking with somo vegetables and dumplings, was produced from tho pot for our suppor, which was served soon after my nrrlval. In tho center of tho room wns a big tablo, crudely constructed of heavy oak timbers. Tho cabin was woll vjwkiii'vi' -rn h. i an. lighted, tho lamps being of expensive character and great brilliancy. Guns and fishing tackle and hunting tog gory or overy kind gave tho cabin tho atmosphere or n sportsman's club. "Tho men tnlkod freely or everything hut themselves. They spoko or many cities, but novor or tholr homes. Thoy told mo thoy were college chums who hnd always mndo tt a custom to spend n few months together each fall In the woods. Thoy were clever men nnd readily passed for tho lawyer, tho doc tor and tho merchant, tho characters they respectively piotonded to bo. The one to' whom tho other two doforrod In everything was a large, powerful man with olean-shuvon faco and a jaw like a bulldog. His faco was too shrewd to be pleasant. Ho watched mo furllvoly, a sinister, amused smllo playing about tho corners or his mobile mouth. That smllo spoko volumes. It made mo lie awako all night. It seemed to sny that ho know my real chat-actor, and there fore I thought tt host to keep on tho wntch. Tho man seemed capablo of offering mo personnl violence, nut tho night passed away without Inci dent. After breakfast, I repaired tho leak In my ennoo nnd paddled slowly up-stream, trying to figure out where I hnd seen tho big man with tho square Jaw bororo. "Whllo I was smoking a last cigar betoro retiring that evening, It came to mo where I hnd seen htm. It wus on a street car tn St, Louts, on ono oc casion when I wns Bhadowlng the Bhanty at tho cavo. Ho had boen on tho same car nnd had kept his scat whon I allghtod nenr tho hut. Ho lmd looked at mo then ns if he wanted to know mo tho noxt tlmo ho saw mo. I was assured that ho was ono of tho counterfeiters, nnd made up my mind to arrest tho throo of them tho first thing next morning. "Horo I learned a lesson In procrns tlnutlon. Whllo I hastily gobblod down my breakfast tho next day, a trappor, who camped near by and who hnd gono to tho vlllngo tho night boforo for sup plies, happened along nnd told mo n most dlsconcortlng bit or news. The throo men hnd taken French leave. Thoy had caught a through trolght about midnight, taking ltttlo or no bagsngo with them. I hastened to the village, and nlthough I worked the Blnglo tolegraph wlro to Its utmost capacity, tho throo men succeeded In making tholr escape. "Sanding a full clphor rpport to Washington, I lopalred to tho cabin In tho swamps aud mndo n careful search of It. Everything 'within wus In the Captain Dickson Relates Tale He Tells o En countering Desperado Gang and the Ultimate Consequences Man with Bulldog Jaw and His Dar ing Escape from the Grip oi the Law. H H greatest confusion. Clothing and shells, guns and flshing-tncklo were strewn about tho floor, evidencing a precipitate departure. It waa tantaliz ing to ngaln allow the criminals to es cape. I felt deeply chagrined, and ro solved novor ngaln to put off n matter or this kind. Tho men had forestalled mo by only a row hours, for I had In tended nrrostlng thorn that morning, and thero had been nothing In their conduct during my visit to their cabin to Indicate that they thought of flight. "In ono corner of tho cabin, beneath tho very bunk on which I had slept, thero was an excavation thrco feet square and ns many dcoji. Tho cover was down and dirt was Btrown over It which gavo It tho same appearance as tho dirt floor of the house. I discov ered it by a hollow hound when I tapped over tho spot. It wns empty. "I noticed tho nbsonco of tho pot which had supplied my supper, but It waa rather a subconscious notice of It. Tho fact really made no nppreclublo Impression on mo ut tho time, nor did It, In fact, until moro than a year had passed. It was then recalled by a newspaper dispatch uudor date of tho small vlllnge. "Somo of tho boys In tho vlllago had appropriated tho cabin aa n sort of clubhouse, after tho threo mon had fled. They would spend Saturdays thero, fishing and swimming and hunt ing. Immediately In front of the cabin was n steep bank, and tho river wi dened out Into a broad, doop pool which afforded good fishing and swim ming. Tho boys would throw whlto pebbles into this hole nnd dive for them from tho bank. Ono of them hnd struck his head against something hard at tho bottom of tho rlvor nnd hnd boon pulled up a corpso, his skull having boon fractured by tho Impact of tho blow. "Tho othors Investigated and found a largo Iron pot hair hurled In tho soft mud. Its cover was soaled down and Its weight hnd been so great tho boys couldn't lift It rrom Its oozy bed. The dispatch stated that tho pot was to be raised and Its contents oxnmlned. "I was In Llttlo Rock when I read this dlspntch and, without wnltlng for Instructions from headquarters, I boarded tho first train and set out for tho village. I wns In a state of fovcr Ish excitement, fearing I would arrive thoro after tho pot had been secured. I wanted to be tho first to view Its con tents. 1 felt suro I know what was In it. "Artor a Journey that Boomed lntor mlnnblo I arrived at tho vlllago nnd Inquired about tho pot. My foars had boon groundless. With tho indifference so characteristic In country pooplo the villagers hnd forgotten, nftor tho funoral of tho unfortunate young man, tho Incident of tho pot. Whllo there hud been somo talk of raising It, no ono hnd tnkon tho lead, and there tho matter had rested. "Securing a team or mules and some strong ropes and chains, I drovo out to tho cabin. Hy dint or much diving I succeeded In rustoning tho chains nbout tho pot nnd hud my U33iatnant drag It out upon tho bank. It was tho vedsol which had hung over tho fire when I hnd visited tho couatorfeiters in tholr lair. Then I romombered Its nbsence, when I had searched tho hut after their departure It was soaled with parallln and soallng wax, and, not n drop of wator had passed tho lid. "I contnlnod a completo -set of en gravers' tools, several bottlos of power ful acids, glass stoppod and sealed, n numbor or bars or sllvor. somo throo hundred odd counterfeit silver dollars, and tho dies with which thoy had been' stnmpcd out. Tho dies woro thickly coated with wax nnd woro a3 bright nnd fresh as when they boat out the talso coins In tho secret cavo. "Artor swearing my asslatant to secrecy, I returned to headquarters with my booty. "Not muny weeks lator two of tho mon woro enpturod. I had glvon tho department a mlnuto description or them, after their unceremonious de parturo, and Its vnst machinery had boon sot in motion for their npprehon slon. It Is a maxim of tho service that a man once u counterfeiter is al ways a counterfeiter. This rulo hold good wltli, referenco to two of tho mon, at least, for thoy woro captured nnd convicted or nnothor job. Tho In cidents I hnvo Just rclatod woro not Introduced la ovldonco ngnlnst them nnd consequently oscnpod tho press. Tho man with tho bulldog Jaw escaped completely at that tlmo, but I mot with him, years atter, under circumstances nolthor or us will rorgot so long au wo llvo." ICopyrlght. IMS, by W. O. Cliaptnan.) (Copyrlsht In drcut Uiltatu.)