Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1877-11-01
Caught on Bridal Trip.
An Episode in the Career of
Cooper, the Handsome For
ger = The History of o
Man Who Recently
Caused a Commo-
~ tion in
California
Detectives Making

r. Cooper, whose sudden dissp-
pearance from stock circles recent
ly caused such commotion, was
not married, as was asserted, to
the daughterof prominent Wash.
lington official, but that the discov.
cry of his forgeries on the Coy
ernment and his flight occurred
on his wedding day, in the year
1867. The event created a SEN
sation in Washington circles. A
naval officer residing in this city
has been interviewed ty repor-
ted, and relates the following con-
cerning the detaulting broker: y
The whole thing comes to me
now like q dream. / never was
more astonished in my life than
when / learned that Cooper who
had been cutting up these didoes
here is the same handsome, dash.
ing little fellow we sent from
Washington in 1867. Cooper
came to work in the Navy d part:
ment as 81 400 clerk, | think,
in 1866. He had been an acting
Ensign on the staff of Admiral
S. P. Lee, who at the close of the
war commanded the Mississippi
fotilla. Lee, who knew his tami-
ly (they were all from Tennessee)
got him into the Navy Depart
ment, where, by his elegance of
manner, his frank, open hearted
way, and his marked taleRts, he
became a favorite with everybody.
He was one of the smartest fel.
lows | ever saw, wrote a magn Fl
cent hand, and was quick of com
prehension and as active as steel
trap. There was one officer
around the Department who did
not like Cooper. That was old
Admiral Joe Smith. The old man
was one of your plain but stern
old men of the olden time, and
Cooper's fancy dress and winning
ways couldn't make the least i'm.
preston on the old sailor. "That
boy amt just right" he used TO
say, she's too smart" One of
Cooper's duties was to enter Pay
masters acquisitions for money in
a big record book, and IN this way
be got perfectly familiar with the
method Of dra wing money on the
navy pay account. One day the
Chief Clerk was drawing some
money acquisitions, when in came
Paymaster Spalding, who was
then ON duty, / think. 10 PhiAdel-
phia. This Spalding is the same
one who is now so we'll known
here, and who was then on a run
to Washington. The Chief Clerk
and he exchanged compliments,
and the former went on looking 0.
yer the acquisitions. All at once
the Chief Clerk said: "Why, Spal-
ding, what do you want of any
money? You had 100000 only
couple Of weeks ago" SpaldiDg
said he hadn't drawn for any.
The Clerk said "Why. here is a
requisltion for you for $4,000"
"Guess not" said Spalding ''let's
see it." Spalding looked at it a
moment aud said /: "Well, that's
funny. That's my signature, and
that's my clerks writing, and
there's the commandant's approx
al. And yet III take my oath !
don't know anything Of any req
uisition." 1t was finally suggest
ed by Spalding that in his absence
his clerk might have an unexpect-
ed demand for money, and had
filed out requisitiou, signed iu
blank, and sent it on. So he ask
ed the Clerk to hold it over until
he heard from him. In a day or
two Spalding came tearing back
to Washington, saying that some
thing was wrong.
He then asked to see the requi
sition, and after a long examina-
tion pronounced it a forgery, but
so expertly done and faithfully
worked out in all its details as al
most to defy detection. Then the
next thing was to find the guilty
party. For weeks detectives were
secretly on the hunt, but Cooper
was not even suspected.
One day it was discovered that
other forged acquisitions had gone
through the Department and had
actually been paid, and the search
became livelier than ever. In a
few days a dispatch came from a
banking house in Philadelphia
Treasury draft No.-.SlOO, 600,
payable to order Of Paymaster +.