Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-04
MULLEN AND HIS MEN.

A Heavy Haul OF COunterfeifeFs I'm
virginia, on the Tennessee Line
FinaI Success of an Eight Years
Hunt.
Washington Special to the Chicago Times.
Within the last few days one Of the
most imTOrtant hauls of cOUnterfeiteTs
in the history of the secret service
has been made. For years, in the
mountains Of the Blue ridge, in the
locality where the three States Of Virginia,
North Carolina and Tennessee come to-
gether, there have been one Of the most
laWless gangs that have ever infested any
locality in the country. The peculiar to-
biography Of the country is only too we'll
adapted TO the growth and immunity of
lawless gangs. The country is thinly set
tied, is covered with tangled forests and
mountainous receSses, which have afforded,
in times past, the best of hiding places for
the breakers Of the law. The secret service
has long been at work trying to run down
the counterfeiters, who have for so long
done a most thriving business, undisturbed.
The cOunterfeiterS have been engaged
ONLY in the manufacture of counterfeit gold
and silver coins. These cOunteTfeiters have
been so long undisturbed that they have all
of them acquired wealth. Nearly every man
arrested is a landed proprietor, and well-tO-
do in theFwOrld. A special agent Of the
secret service has been down in this cOun-
try for the last three months, acting with
the counterfeiters, buying money from them,
and living among them rs one of them.
During this time that he has been there be
has gathered the information upon Whiun
all Of the important arrests have been made.
He has forwarded, from time 10 time, in
formation to the secret service bureau here,
which indicated that he was making most
fattering progress in ingratiating himself
into the confidence Of the cOuHteTfeiters,
Last week he completed his work. He
had all of the operators spotted, to the
number of some twenty odd men. The
secret-service department here then sent
seven picked men down to Arlington, Va,
the place from which the raid was started.
Here some sixty deputy marshals were
sworn in, mounted, and divided into seven
squads, with a secret-seTvice man at the
head Of each squad. They left Arlington
last Friday night, the 26th of March, and
set out for q seYentY-five- mile tour through
the heavily-WOOd6d, mountainous region
where the cOunterfeiters were located.
They arrested in all some twenty men
within a radius of about 100 miles. They
experienced some resistance IN making
arrests, but the descent was 50 sudden and
the plans so well laid that the countefeiters
were taken completely off their guard, and
therefore fell comparatively easy victimss
The grand prize Of the hunt was cap
tured Sunday night. The chief Of the
gang. Jack Mullen, a noted desperate, has
long defied all power to trace him down to
arrest him. He was found in a soil airy
cabin in Wise county, Va. His cabin was
surrounded late Sunday evening and he was
taken in bed. Mullen is a powerful, ath-
| letic devil, and before a hand could be laid
upon him he had crawled out Of bed, seized
q chair, and attempted to cub his way
| through the crowd of deputies to case
! where his arms were concealed. He in
| ficted nearly fatal injuries upon one Of
| his captOrs before he was finally taken.
Mullen was then ironed and taken in
1 with the rest Of the prisoners. He is a
| very wealthy man, owns 1000 acres or
/ land in that vicinity, and has been for
| long time a terror to all law-abiding citi-
| zens in that locality. He was a bushWacker
| during the war, in the rebel service, and
was one Ofthe most blood thirsty and reCk-
/ less OF the mountain guerilla forces. He
| has been very sullen and ugly since his ar
rest, and requires close watching to pre-
vent his attempting his escape. His cap
| ture is one of the most direct blows at
| coin-counterfeiting that has been made for
/ wears. He had one of the strongest gangs
Of cOunterfeiteIs, whose membership en-