The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-05-20
A ROMANTIC ROGUE.
WOOS AND WEBS A WEALTHY
WIDOW.

A FoRGER AND coUNTERFEITER woos wID-
ow AND is TRANSFERRED FROM THE BRIDAL
CHAMBER TO THE JAIL-A HARRASSING
HONEYMOON.
This sensational story of romance and re-
atty is from the Chicago Times: The name
of "Wade," borne by an individual ofpleas-
ing address and abilities far above medioc-
rity, next to the detectives, is as familiar to
bankers of Chicago and elsewhere, as that
of Smith, Brown, Jones, or any other man.
To the one class he is known as "coney''
man; to the other as the teacher of the art OF
detecting counterfeit money. So proficient
is he in either profession" that his ability
to adapt himself to circumstances and ply
each vocation with an adroitness passin z
the understanding of both his pupils
and his victims is uDquestioned. A
short time ago WADE" so called, was ar
rested in this city on bench warrant issued
by the United States Court at Pittsburg,
and transported to that city, where, under
the name of 'Millege" w. Johnson he awaits
trial for forgery. He has run the gamut of
genteel crime, ii any department of felony
can be so nominated, and after q pursuit of
several years, has been gotten "dead to
rights" as the law officers call it, and will,
unless he is able to compound his crime,
pass several years under the humane influ-
ences at work within the walls of state
penitentiary. Johnson is native of Nova
Scotia, and in that far off region became
INITIATED INTO MYSTERIES,
the practice of which has made him infa-
nous and an object of public condemnation.
Rumor has it that his life there was not cast
in pleasant places; business complications,
law suits, and to crown these burthens an
aflaire de ceur, had the effect of rendering
him desperate, and induced him to launch
his bark on the turbid waters OF crime,
which has landed him in a haven of misery
and disgrace. From Nova Scotia he emil
grated to the Dominion of Canada, doubt
less intent on redeemipg his past record by a
life devoted to honest pursuits. In this
cold, practical, unsympathetic dependency,
his success was of character not calculated
TO impress him with favorable experience,
for, from all accounts, gaunt want forced
him to crime or change OF base. He
accepted the latter alternative, and by
book or crook, either as an unappreciated
deadhead or as a laborer, he managed to
reach the city of Boston, in which center he
hoped to achieve a cOmmendable victory.
His first experience in the "hue" was passed
in guiding the ligh-mettled racers of horse
railroad, to and from distinct points in the city
for a consideration lncommensurate with
aesthetic tastes and incllnations. From the
platform of street car he promoted himself
to the seat of the peddler's wagon aud tor a
season dealt in class of notions so accept
able to every Yankee heart, and with a
moderate success. But the small returns
that met his endeavors were not sufficient
to crafty his craving, and he had recourse
20 various petty ats of
CRIME TO FILL THE VACUUM.
In turn, bailiffs and detectives scented his
whereabouts, and he was forced to flee the
city to escape their vigilance. His associs-
ton had been with the class OF pariahs who
frequent the byways of all large cities, and
by their "art" receive tribute from ignor-
ance and credulty, which supplies them
with a means of life and pleasure. AS be-
fore remarked, Johnson is man OF educa-
ton. and the innate disgust bred in him by
association with that class torebade his con-
sorting with gutter snipeS aud men of small
Jobs. He formed the acquaintance of a
leader of a gang of counterieiters, and by
his accomplishments so won on the
''koneac 6ers," confidence. thst he was in
PRODUCED into many of the intricate ways of
the business. While thus mentored, he de-
veloped the possession of q knowledge of
the ''craft" that was almost intuitive, and
among other accomplishments, an ability to
between counterfeit money
and its opposite. With this stock in trade,
were on his track, he emigrated from Bos-
ton, and engaged in a speculative tour
among the cities of Canada and the East.
When opportunity presented itself, he en-
gagged in teaching bankers and other moneyed
men the art he acquired during residence
among the social drift at Boston. After a
tour embracing the cities of New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Cincin-
natl and st. Louis, with an encouraging
profit, he finally established himself at
and prepared the ways and
means that be fondly thought would culmi-
nate in placing him in comparatively COM
portable circumstances. He retained book
In which his pupils had inscribed their
names, expressive OF his ability aud hon.
ssty, and il became the innocent agent by
which he was introduced into the financial
circles of any city in which he temporarily
sojourned. This, coupled with his
SENTEEL ADDRESS AND RATHER RETIRING
MANNERS,
gained him an audience of bankers and CAPT.
alists in Pittsburgh, by whom he was re-
,sived and treated as an expert, from whom
correct knowledge would be gained that
would secure them against the approach of
he 'coney" mans exactness. He tarried
iereabouts for some time, inspiring conf !
ience and securing patronage. Among the
riends he attracted by his excellence and
BON hOmmo, was gentleman named Wade, |
whose name ne appropriately, who was
)roiuse in his attentions and expressions OF