The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-11-13
VIM. Ringgold Cooper Arrested

This we'll known forger and swindler
has been arrested for fogery in London
and is now in Jail awaiting trial, Coop.
| er has had an eventual career snd has
| been one OF the most daring and sue,
cessful forgers who ever operated in
this or any other country. After hay-
| ing been convicted OF fogery in Wash>
Iington, and after serving five years in
! the penitentia-y he came to Columbus,
Miss, as an insurance Agent. where he
married lady of wealth and respecta>
bility, Mrs. Green T. Hill.
The following is an account OF his
subsequent career:
He soon Squaudered his wife's prop
erty and went from bad to worse.
While in Columbus he was in the hab>
| it of visiting that portion of Bank out
side the counter allotted to customers.
Iu this way he managed to get posses :
sion of few sheets of the bankers let-
lterheads and some envelopes. He then
visited the Post Office, at which place
I he vas we'll acquainted, and pushed the
hands Of the clock some twenty minutes
ahead of the right time. Afterward the
Postmaster not being aware OF this act,
made up his mail to forward to the de-
pot. When the messenger OF the bank
arrived with his letters he was inform
ed he was too late for that days mail.
Cooper succeeded in purloining one of
these letters which was addressed to
the cashier of the Mobile Bank.
Cooper fastened to a private room,
read the contents and copied the letter,
initiating the hand writing of the Cashe
Ter of the Columbus Bank npon one of
theblank sheets he had previously stolen.
After forging the signature thereto he
placed all the checks and bills contain =
ed in the original letter in this one
which he had made. In addition to
the contents of the original letter Coops
or stated that the Bank of Columbus
had on that day sold to a Mr.. Sloau a
sight draft on them-the Mobile Bank
for $4,000 He then proceeded to
make this draft Tor $40, 900, forging the
signature of the Columbus Bank. 1t
was made payable to Sloan's order.
The forged letters to the Mobile bank
also stated that, as Mr.. Sloan was a
stranger, it would be unnecessary to re-
anirs Identification in Mobile, but for
safety and identification Sloans signa>
ture was enclosed. The pretended sig
nature was put upon one corner of the
letter. Cooper then replaced the letter
on the table in Post Office, and in due
course it was forwarded to Mobile. In
the meantime Cooper procured horse
and rode down thirteen miles to the
ma,u railroad leading to Mobile. Fort
unstely for him the train was some
hours behind time. When he arrived
he bought ticket for Mobile, and ou
reaching that city found the bank
closed. Next day he presented the
forged draft. The bank officers paid
him $4,000 in coin, giving him New
York drafts for the remainder. After
they had done this the bank officials
became alarmed and telegraphed to
Columbus to know if the draft was cor
rect. The answer that no such draft
had been drawn. Cooper was immeil- :
ateIy arrested and incarcerated. He
persuaded his wife to stand by him aud
! ioducedther to cell her property in or
der to obtain bail. In this she succeed
ed and both left for New York. whence
they sailed for San Francisco, arriving
in March 1875.
He left San Francisco in 1876 after
obtaining over S5O.000.00 by forgery,
and was lost sight of until he was ar
rested recently for $40, 900 fogrry in
London.