The Shasta courier., 1871-04-08
COURIER.
Jim Goods and the Robbers.

Jim Goods and the Robbers.
There is very able lawyer in Sacram-
ento, who at one time accomplished piece
Of dangerous detective work, which was
worthy of Vidocq himself
In 1864, the rebel Democracy of this
State conspired to raise an insurrection,
and were engaged in recruiting for the
Confederate army, and especially in Santa
Clara Valley. Ii this State they operated
under the name of the Knights Of the
Golden Circle, and Brown, of the Democ-
ratio Press, was said to be in with them.
In Oregon, gang of The sort were called
"The Jones Family" and were similarly
engaged there. The California rebels had
their rendezvous in the mountains, some
ten miles west of San Jose, and in order
not to be disturbed by too contiguous
neighbors they burned Maclay's tannery,
which was near the foot Of the mountain.
There was some dispute among these
Constitutional Democrats; the recruiting
business did not progress satisfactorily, and
the enterprise was abandoned some went
home and to work, and another party took
to the road and robbed Wells Fargo's Ex-
press, in Ell Dorado county. Our hero,
the Sacramento lawyer, and himself good
Democrat, was employed by the Express
Company to help catch the robbers, and
to assist the Ell Dorado District Attorney
to prosecute and convict them; and this
is how he started in:
Having disguised himself, Goods started
for Santa Clara, knowing that the secesh
farmers there most of whom belonged to
the Methodist Church South, knew all
about the rebel camp in the mountains,
and who was engaged in the conspiracy
At San Jose he bought some tools and
started up the valley as a clock mender,
carrying bottle of good democratic
whisky, and staying all night with the far
mers of the suspected district, and drink
ing with and getting out of them all the
information he could. At length he en-
countered clock that was out of kelter,
and knowing nothing about the business,
was getting into tight place; but the
cunning fellow went at the job, took the
clock all to pieces, and then told the far
mer that he had lett some of his tools
down the valley, and could not fix the
clock until he had procured the necessary
implements. In the meantime, he had
obtained the desired information, started
after the tools, and-is still missing from
that domicil The demoralized clock
is probably still unreconstructed.
Having played out the clock -mending
business, he next obtained some religious
books, and kept on as colporteur, and, of
course, had to be correspoDdinely pious,
talking religion with the old folks, and
clandestinely making sleeps eyes at the
girls. At length he ascertained the pre-
else locality Of the rebel camp, and then
the dangerous part of the business began.
He then assumed the role of rebel
soldier, out from the East on a recruiting
expedition; and having procured guam
tity of whisky and pack of cards, started
up the ravine for the camp. There he
succeeded in passing himself off success
fully, played cards and drank whisky with
them nearly all night, took account of
their appearance, found out some of their
names, and near daylight, when the whisky
had worked well, absconded and made his
way out of the valley and back to head
quarters. Within few days he had sew
eral of them arrested and in irons at the
Placerville Jail; one was hanged, and sew
eral were sent to the State Prison.
At the trial in Placerville, the detective,
while in his real character of a lawyer,
was recognized by some of the seccsh pri-
soners and witnesses from Santa Clara. and
their astonishment was very great "Why,
goldarn me if that ar fellow over wander
wasn't at my house and wanted to mend
my old woman's clocky said one. "i es,
and he were at my place sellin' Nv good
books, and he ask bless'in' at my table,
d-n imp said another; and so the hoof-
and horners kept on speculating on the as
tonishing tranformation Of the prosecuting
attorney, who had played them such "a
dog gone mean trick"
The incidents above related were known
to us directly after their occurrence, but
for reasons unnecessary to be now fully
explained they were not published. The
hero of the adventure was Democr.t and
a candidate for office, and we did not wish
to injure him with his party; moreover,
his life might have paid the penalty Of his
daring courage and sagaoity, if these par
ticulars had then been made Known
Oakland News.