The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-01-21

7xD8r4g BieagotsskN esx.1spe 4d81: Cur
fesdrFs have been formed bys egsara OF
The arrest Of Elisha Cow esat ASn1as1oifg
for Obbtng tbssmai3 u 3 The uarsnpoft Cd
zefte u January f8 gfSes che follewfBg ftirs,
ther particniass::: II appears thats s1spIei6n
of sWrong-dotagi on this Che 1R0eR Slandl
|ronte BY some one wa nroussd I'm October
Stewart, fDesehauts 10 this city,. mailed q
letter cortaining go to q pastyat DowneY.
but forty four miles west oc here, and the
letter did not reach is destination. Post
master Rnssell called for the services III ID
special agent. but no one was at liberty llst
then, and 30 the! matter YVES allowed to rest
for q while, with suspic icaf still resting on
Cowies, for the letter went to bis car. But
something over q north since Postal clerk
De Mott. who worked with. Cowles,. noticed
Cowles feeling of letters as he was asort..
ing them, and now and then, drop one,
aside. Suspecting all was not right, he
watched his chief very closely for several
days. Atiast be saw letter put one side,
and. when Cowles did notsee him, took notice
Of its superscription. Il was addressed to
a person in town GA the line Of the road.
De Mott looked over the package for that
ofiee when 1t was ready for the mailbag,
and this letter was not in it. De Mott
wrote to Superintendent Wright, of the pos
tai service, at Chicago, who instructed the
special agents Stuart and Furay TO repair to
Davenport, consult with Postmaster Russell,
and go to work, And they commenced the
week before last, and until dag before yester.
day every thing was straight in Cowles's car
so far as they knew, for all their decoy-let-
tiers passed through his hands safely. Stuart
operated from this end of the road and Flu
raw from the west end. Last Monday Stuart
mailed several money-letters at the Dayen-
port office, all with different post-marks.
Among them was one to banker in Calfor-
MIA containing Sl5. 1t failed to reaca Omaha.
So on Wednesday morning, at Avoca, when
Cowles entered his car he found Stuart and
Furay already in possession oft. He greeted
them with pleasant sood-morning," and
passed into another apartment. Stuart fol-
toWeo MIN, and asked for a drink of water.
| CoWles returned to show him the pail, and
then started for the other room. Stuart fol-
lowed him again and then told his bust
ness. Says Cowles: &C You'll have to prove
that before arresting me-" Replies Stuart :
"We want no parleying about this we have
| indubitable proof that you have been rob.
bing the mails. For one thing, YOU took
SIS from letter yesterday" Gone minute
more and you wouldn't have caught me, .
replied Cowles, turning pale. Then, know.
| ing that be would be searched, he took
from his satchel q letter he had intended
10 deliver to his son in Kellogg, which con-
tained the identical money that was placed
in the California letter. He also took from
his pocket the stolen letter and its envelope
and surrendered them. He told the agents
that he had been stealing money-letters for
year and half, and that he intended to make
q good thing Of it, rake in something big
very soon, and then resign the place. HI
saidhe commenced the business in the sum
mer of 1872, soon after the Department
forced him to pay one-haf the value of thu
contents ofa missing registered letter, the los
of which lay between him and q postmastel
on the route--the latter paying $50 and ht
$50. He could not tell the number of letters
| he had rifed and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. only
two or three day, and sometimes fifteen t
twenty. His usual practice was to take let
tiers on the eastward run directed to eastern
publishers, as it would be almost Impossible
| to trace the loss of letters directed to dis'ab
points east or west. He usually enclosed
the stolen money in an envelope with note
and delivered it to bis wife or one of nj
children, who would be waiting to see bin
at Kellogg, where they lived. Only on Mon
day nigh. Cowles's assistant saw him oper
! two letters at his desk, abstract the money
and afterward throw envelopes and letter;
into the S owe. He had become astonlsh'
ingly bold in his operations.
4