Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-12-14
A PRECIOUS ~aUARTETrE.
The Big Dash Four Daring Bank
Robbers Cut in Europe.
Rare Specimens Of American Tour
Ists."


Philadelphia Times.l
ApropOs of the announcement that
the receiver general of the Bank of
Canada has discovered in Canada
Charles w. Billiard, alias Piano
Charlie "a sobriquet bestowed upon
him on account Of his skill upon that
instruments gentleman said yester-
day. Il can relate some Of the
achievements of themost daring coali-
ton Of bank robbers the country has
ever known. | have the narrative
from the lips of Isaac Marsh, one of
the gang, now in the Estern peniten-
tiary. Their operations were on such
a colossal scale as to be almost incred-
ible were they not.fully substantiated.
There have been at times five men in
this nefarious combination, all cool,
adroit, accomplished r~ascals, fertile in
resource and indeftigable in attain
ing their object. These were Mark
or Macmillan Shinburne, Isaac
Marsh, Charles w. Billiard, Adam
Worth and Robert Cochran. The
four first named led off in 1867 by the
famous plundering of the Ocean Bank
of New York City, taking away a cool
$5O0,0OO, following this up with the
equally daring gagging of the mes
senger and the robbery of 100000
from the safe of an express train on
the New York Central railroad in
1868. They fed to Canada, but failed
to find in the land of the Blue Noses
that immunity from arrest they had
hoped for, and they were e%xtradited,
but during the trial at White Plains,
New York, a gang of New York burr
glars, led by Billy Forester, who was
suspected of the murder of Benja-
min Nathan, dug into the old shell of
a jail one dark, t~empestous night, and
next morning, when the warden went
around with breakfast and peered into
the cells of his prize prisoners, three
big holes, through which daylight
streamed into the narrow apartments
showed where his guests had taken
French leave. In 1870, the people Of
Boston awoke one morning to hear
that during the night previous about
$450,000 had vanished from the vaults
of the Boylston bank. Worth, Bull
lard, Marsh, Cochran and Shinburnt
had executed this job. They haC
hired a room adjoining the bank anC
dug into the vault. After the rob
berry, Marsh, Worth, Shinburne anC
Billiard took fight with the booty 70.
the continent Of Europe, where the,
set up, each in his especial character
as nabobs.
HOW WE LITTLE FISHES SWIM.
"Shinburne located himself nea
Stuttgart, Wurtemburg, and by pecu
liar manipulations and for a cash con
/, sideration had himself dubbed Count
He set up a baronial chateau, bough
a large tract of land, kept his hunters
} and many travelled Americans wer
his guests, and found lavish entertain
} ment. Previous to his connection
|, with the coalition, Shinburne was al
escaped felon from the Concord On
HI Jail, where he was serving out
: term of Imprisonment for Robin
. the the bank at Keene, Nel
2 Hampshire, ten years ago. His es
: capes from prison have been numer
T, Gus. After leaving Concord, he forme
/ a partnership with Scott, now in tn
0 Auburn On. Y.) prison, and some 9th
ers, and robbed a clearinghouse a
White Haven, Carbon county, Pa, o.
e the Lehigh Valley railroad. They e'
0 capped with their booty, butwere after
wards arrested, when they distir
4 guished themselves by another DARN
\ escape from a hotel in Wilkesbarr,
4 by night, while in the charge Of off
g GERS. Shinburne was also the leade
= of the party who robbed the bank .
n Millington, Nd.
e "a reward of $4,000 for the arres
f of the thieves and the recovery of I'll
t money led to Shinburne's appreher
e sion in New York. He turned oy,
: $4,000 to the detectives, but the ban
never saw the balance Of its deposit
After obtaining the title of Count
e Germany, he sent a trusty messeng,
Is to the United States to ascertain VIII
d financial consideration was neoessai
d to procure the passage of certain Law
by State Legislatures by which no a
+ rests could be made for felony aft,
the lapse of a certain number Of year
v. and that an escaped conyict's time OF
5. of prison should be deducted from h
sr sentence, the same though he HI
Y. served it in his cell. He offered s.
II 600 to have laws Of this charact
Sc passed in the States of New Ham
r shire and Pennsylvania, such as 70
merly existed in the State of Nc
d, York. There was not enough pressu
employed at Harrisburg to have
as measure Of this particular charact
st put through, but it is charged tn
or precisely the same end was attain,
n, by what is known as the ffteen-d
ne requisition law, passed quietly in d
O. last Legislature. 1t has already fac
,ss itated the escape of a number of n
ms t%orious criminals, who were willing
d. return TO other cities without requi
N. tons. Billiard and Worth opened
ne gambling-house in Paris on a SC;
he, that put Monaco to the blush. Co
he nocted with it was an elegant cafe, a
lis here Billiard, under the alias of Wei
us actually entertained Che unsuspecti
lal president Of the express c6mpa
he whose messenger he had assisted
rob. With shrsWd foresight agaii
contingencies, the partners cuItiyat
he the acquaintance Of an attache of I
he American Legation al Paris, who ke
an them posted concerning ~deyelopmel
De- that might be prejudicial to their /
ing erty. When they learned through d
TO advisor that a requisition had be-
he sent to France for them, they sud-,
he " shook Che. dust of Paris from tn
he feet and fed to America again, a
80 4 - 49, ~