The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1875-09-23
THE TREASURY ROBBERS.

The TREASURY ROBBERS.
Halleck, Gilman, and "Pe4leg" Brown
Some Interesting Facts About Them.
The Washington correspondent of the
New York Graphic writes about this
famous robbery:
For the benefit of those who are not
familiar with all the details of the dis
scovery and prosecution of the offenders
in the Treasury robbery shall make an
outline of the case to this date. The
loss was incurred early in June and
amounted to $47 600 and little over.
Nc trace was found that led to it until
3ast week dispatch was sent by a
Washington gambler to Detective Mil
Ter, of the Washington force, that
@'Pegleg" Brown, harmless, one
legged attache of gambling houses, was
at Saratoga spending $500 bills in Paris
mutual pools at the horse races. This
was looked upon by the gambler as both
big and suspicious business in that line
After some parley Detective Miller went
there and brought Mr.. Brown back.
He expressed his willingness to testify
to every thing concerning the matter
known or suspected by him. The de-
tectives found that Brown had got the
money from Mr.. William Gilman, a
gymnast and ''splendid fellow, - not a
gambler, but the proprietor of a restau-
rant. He is one of the champion four
rowers in the boat club here, and his
intimates are men who move in the best
society Of Washington, Georgetown and
Alexandria. The detectives found that
Gilman was the leader in the whole af-
fair, that he had inspired young Hal
leck, a clerk in the Treasury, to COM
NIT the robbery, and had swindled Hal
leck from the beginning to the end of
it.
Halleck, the clerk, nearly killed Cen
eral Spinner by his dishonesty. Cen
eral Spinner took him up out of the re-
spect he had for,Halleck's father, who
was minister at Mohawk Village, and
was burned to death in railroad car,
standing up transfxed in the fire, where
human eye could plainly see but human
aid could not reach. Although thirty
two years old, Halleck is attenuated,
and weighs but 120 pounds. He has a
very slight moustache, and has no warm
features to his disposition. He is the
worst scared boy in town now, and may
by force of circumstances be at least
induced to tell the truth. He has told
a dozen deliberate and different high
strung stories in this matter, but they
are palpably thin. He has, however,
confessed to the detectives that he stole
the money and gave it to Gilman; that
he got only 1920 of it, and that if Off,
man had divided squarely, as he prom
Used, the truth would never have come
out. He says the last feather that broke
the carhel's back was the action of Ott-
man in taking the third man into the
secret-Mr. ''Pegleg" Brown.
General Spinner tells me that he is
convinced now of the guilt of Ottman in
four cases of theft from his office. He
says Seth johnson, who stole $50 200,
was an intimate friend of Gilman, and
that he often went behind the bar help
ed himself from the money-drawer, did
not conceal the act from the bartender
or any one else, and that he did not
count the money as he put it in his
pocket, and was never stopped even by
Ottman when present. This has only
been known to Spinner within week.
General Spinner says he believes that
Gilman was the s'Fagin'' for the four,
johnson, Marden, Edwins, and Hal
leck; that he put them up to the thefts /;
and that, he says, is the reason they are
Selling all of Ottman's property, for
they hope to recover enough to reim-
burse the Government not only for the
SAT, 600, but the $50, 200 stolen by John
son. He says he took johnson, Ed
wins, and Marden aside frequently, and
they answered always that they lost the
money in speculations. But they never
would specify single item of specula-
ton. He says he has now greater re-
spect for the first three thieves than for
Halleck, because Halleck acted the
baby; that the statement of Halleck that
he was goaded to desperation because
he was not promoted accordining to his
merits is false; that the last time he was
promoted it was done by making his
animation failure below the minimum
of sixty appear to count sixty and two
tenths General Spinner did that be-
cause he had the old lingering sympa-
thy for the boys father, and he had
been married and needed more salary
than he was receiving.
The case as admitted stands about as
follows:
Gilman appears to have instigated
the robbery, taken the money, and
promised to divide. He paid Halleck
1920, land promised to turn the restaurant
over to him, but few days ago moved
the carpets and furniture out of the
place, and then, before he was dis
covered, bought a restaurant in Brook
lyn and made an assignment of his
restaurant here to his bartender. Thus