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.)
