New-York daily tribune., 1844-03-12
THE, TRIBUNE.
passage In the Life OF Thomas Bogus,


romance than any we have lately read. he pest
(and the worst Of it is that this story, hkc b.
ron's is actually true
Correspondence OF the evening Jonrasi-
NoEwicK, Feb. q, iSii
Dear Sir reached this place Oh Ihtrscay
last and having leisure Gay oF TWO on NY
hands. amused myself by attending Tue Hou't
OF General Sessions Of Chenango, then s!'tlhg N
this village. The customary quantity OF anoct-
1nents for larceny, assault and battery and otheF
rascalities. occupied the time OF the court and
were disposed of pretty much as is usual with you
in Albany But there was one case so unique
and so entirely original, al least To me, that /
have sunnosed YOU might deem 1t worthy an IN
sertion in the Journal.
Il was the trial Of William B. Thorlngton, for
obtaining property by means ct ialse pIetences
Il appeared on trial that this Tborngton net
man named Underwood, N Soicn, Cortland
county, in September last, and n the course OF
conversation, informed him that ne was engaged
in the business OF passing counterfeit com: that
the coin was made by company Of men IN
Kingston, in Upper Canada that 1t was 50 well
counterieited thu. no man could detect 1t, the
ansids being German silver, but the outside pure
silver that this quality OF the article was worth
fifty cents on the dollar that they had another
kind made of copper, which was not worth so
much. Thorington then handed Underwood some
five or six pieces OF money, (Unted States hall
dollars which be told him was the best KIND OF
counterfeit, and requested Underwood to exam
Inc and try them.
Underwood kept them one day, when he re-
turned them all to Thorington except one piece,
which piece was presented and identified on the
trial and proved to be genuine halt dollar
Some few days after they met again, when IN
derwood was Informed that a man, named bry-
ant, would be in the town OF Llnckiean, Che
mango county, few miles from Scion, on the
eighth day Of November, with that kind Of money
to sell, when, if he wished toobuy, he might Pur
chase Punctua to the time, Underwood net
Thornton at Lincklean, and they, together, IN the
night time met third person III the road ealing
himself BRYANT, who said he had $3.50 or $1,000
of that Kind of money to sell, at fifty cents on
the dollar. They money was done up III two
specie boxes, handsomely banded and timed at
the corners, Underwood purchased one box, con-
tanning, as they told him, six hundred dollars,
without opening it, and paid ior the same lls own
note of $40 and notes against others ior SeV.
He took his box, put 1t III { bag, with chunk ol
wood IN one end 10 baiance, sluiig Il over his
horse and rode home twelve miles, when, n the
presence OF his wife, he opened 1t, and 10! the
contents were pot metal and sGnG = There was
wood swearing that he supposed he was buying
good silver money at fifty cents or the dollar, but
that it was made By some persons at Kingston
while a brother of his, who was present at con-
yersation between Underwood and Thorlngton,
testified that .i,horngton represented 1t as MADE
of German silver and of other materials not sll-
YER by reason of which it could be sold SO cheap.
The Jury found Thorington guilty Hcls young
man Of % years, and has an eye alc features
bespeaking the shrewd Yankee, and no mis-
take''
Is not this a curious mannuvre TO RAISE the
wind? 1t is hardly credible. And yet this game
has been carried on to a great extent IN Chenan-
go, Madison, Otsego, Cortland and Tompkins
counties. It's here known as the " sand game"-
and in speaking of the victims, they were char
acterized as the persons "bored." At the lowest,
$4,000 of sand and pct metal have been sold IN
this manner in these counties alone within the
last eighteen months!
There are 3 hundred different phases to the
game. Sometimes the man who wishes to sell,
shows his different samples OF what he terms
counterfeit coin, but which are IN truth the genu-
inc coins, prepared to resemble the counterfeit
One sample, they say can be had for ~ cents on
the dollar. This kind has a drGSSy appearance
given to them by shaking them III Il bag with
ance, occasioned by shaking them in similar
manner with lead, and is called worth thirty cents
on the dollar. Another sample has the greasy,
oily appearance of "bogus" money. which Is
given by some chemical preparation which
have not learned. This latter kind Is worth
from 35 to 40 cents on the dollar. But the best
kind, and the kind they always sell, has slight
copper appearance, which can only be discovered
by examining it by a strong light, SHINING horl-
zontallv upon it. This color is impaired to 1t by
boiling the pieces IN wheat bran. The operators
give to the person who wishes to purchase, 4
few pieces, requesting hum to pass them to iner-
chants and other good Judges OF money, and
call their attention to them to see If they will
detect them. The merchant, of course, takes
them and calls them good. He then concludes
TO buy; meets Tom Bogus as he is general
ly termed (who is some accompcc in disguise
in the woods in the night pays over the stipulated
amount, and receives in return q closed box;
takes it home, opens, and like poor Underwood,
finds only pot metal and sand. Generally one
of the gang buys with the victim as a partner,
and Is enabled 10 keep all right and quiet.
Sometimes the operators are Obliged to count
0ut the money 20 a purchaser VINO Will not take
closed box, on the strength ot their word. AT
such times "rom Bogus counts out the genu-
inc coin; the victim and his partner start tor
home, and on their way stop at a tavern to drink
or feed; and while IN the house the box mySterl-
ously disappears from their wagon, leaving the
victim minus his cash paid, without even the
poor privilege of grumbIing aloud.
/ have learned many good anecdotes growing
out of these queer operations, ofthe truth OF which
there can be no question. Last fall a victim IN
Cortland county, bought, in company with one
Of the gang, one thousand OF these pretended
counterfeit dollars all counted out IN his pres
encc for which he n,iH $500 down. On nolno