The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1875-05-13
MMwAUKEE, April, 10Th

MlLWAU LEE, ApTll, IJtu.
The capture Of gang of counter
feiters at Boscobel, in this State, last
Friday, happily makes an inroad on
q mysterious nest of williams that for
years operated in this State and Iowa.
Any one who has noticed the thefts
and other lawless proceedings in East
srn and Northeastern Iowa for num-
ber of years. must be surprised at the
number of instances in which the
perpetrators have been traced to
some point between the Galena lead
regions and the Baraboo Valley
Some time last autumn, for example,
a series of mysterious thefts occurred
in and around DE Witt, finally cul-
minating in some horse stealing, the
thief being traced TO this mysterious
quarter in Western Wisconsin. Nu-
msrous daring thefts have occurred
in Northern Iowa, and the perpetra-
tors have been traced closely and the
trail lost as soon as they crossed the
Mississippi in the vicinity Of McGreg-
or or Lansing. Detectives here have
long remarked on the difficulty Of
tracing villainies after they reached
the points already indicated in the
Western part Of this State.
If you visited Boscobel you would
be impressed with the fact that it is
quiet, inland town, totally unlikely
to contain great, concerted plans of
theft and fraud, and yet the neigh
borhood has been startled by the dis
covsry of concealed crime more fire.
quently than any other in the State.
The reason seems to be that ut
very early day an unsual number Of
villains concealed themselves in the
lead regions on the south, and in the
"Baraboo barrens," as they are call
ed, on the north, and numbers of
them put on the appearance of civility
as the country settled up, and still
remained; and when the railroad
passed through to the river, it made
Boscobsl convenient middle ground
for them to meet upon, and a point
from which they sailed forth on pre-
datory excursions into other States,
both up and down the river. Detec-
tives everywhere are aware of the
operations in counterfeiting gold and
and silver carried on in these quar-
ters in the times of the early counter
felt mania in the West, and, knowing
ones say that not few cases of foul
murder have also been there conceal
ed.
The counterfeiting gang now un-
der arrest have operated with head
quarters at Bascobel for three years,
and probably longer. Kale Ellis
with several aliases) who was chief
of the band, has had eight years ex-
perience, and is not only skillful
manufacturer but shrewd "shover."
Frank Brown is distinguished for his
sly aptitude in the latter capacity,
and there is scarcely town on the
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad
in Iowa, that will not recall him as
having stopped at their principal ho-
tel ostensibly engaged in selling pat.
ent wagon lifters "a mere cover to
conceal the more lucrative business
of Showing the queer The other
two parties, Robinson and his wife,
are less known to fame. Robinson
was a harness maker at Boscobel,
and the workroom of the gang was
in his dwelling rooms over his shop.
After the detectives got an un-
doubted clue to their location, they
worked for nearly u month before
making the final swoop, and when
they did descend upon them the
whole four were taken asleep in bed,
and were made secure before they
could even offer resistance. All their
presses, dies, paper, ink and engrav
ing tools were taken, together with
$4,000 in manufactured so cent pieces
and paper enough to turn out S20,-
600 more. 1t was an entirely clean
sweep, and the evidence is so con-
elusive against them that it seems
that nothing more is Necessary. They
have all plead guilty to the crime,
and have been held in sums ranging
from $4,000 to $4,000. And thus is
broken up one Of the most trouble
some and dangerous gangs in the
Northwest.-Dacenport Gd=ette.