The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-02-24
Three Counterfeiters were Re-
Gently Capture In italy
Here is q Sketch'of THcnn.

forger. He ent-ro ! the business TWEEN
Is Years ago, when le, Phi! i~iargreaycs.
Col James Buchanan Cross, and the
Il rotherton brothers made an extensive
rad upon the provincial bank, wind
IL. up with I biz forgery Ia San Fran
c;..o Capt. Lees, of San francisc
arrested the Brothertons, and the.
were tried, convicted aud sentenced t.
Imprisonment in State prison for fifteel
year. The others including Wiki.
escaped. | may say here that the SINH
larity III their names Is a great annoy
ance to Nr. George Wilkes, OF the
.Spu1t u tie Times, and it Is loosely
said that Mr. Wilkes stands ready at
any moment to pay $1,000 to the man
who viii summary despatch his grace
less n~amcsake. Nilks Is a man of fine
appearance, and is in his Ard year. He
IL well educated, and has the address
and the habits of an accomplished man
OF the world. Before he became a for
ger he was an employee Of the Erie
Railway. A taste for gambling led him
into association with professional for
gers, and he fell. He was a participant
in the famous forgeries on the Bank OF
England eight years 90. He had for
his principal associates the BldweI
brothers, George Melon Id, Edwin
Noyes Hills, and George Engels. But
he discovered that the Bidwells and
Mcdonald were drinking 70 excess aud
keeping fast company, making the risk
OF detection almost inevitable, and he
and Engeis withdrew their capital, and
were safe in this country when the for
geries were discovered. The Bidwells,
DcDonald, and Hills were al arrested, and,
after conviction, were sentenced to lm
prisonment for life. He was concerned
IN the forgeries of Roberts and Gleason
IN this city, in 1872, and in a series OF
small ~lorgerics by which mercantile
houses suffered. Mail bags were stolen
from the open wagons from which they
were then carried from boats and cars,
and the commercial paper that they
contained was doctored so as to make
it available. Edward Kelly, Mathew
Callahan, ami William Du!recs, who
We're only Wiiks's tools, were convicted
and sentenced to State prison, but, as
usual, Wilks escaped. Altogether,
Wiiks may be regarded as one Of the
most dangerous iOrgcgS IN the world.
Though engaged constantly i'll Immense
operations, be covers his tracks so care
fully that his tools suffer and he es-
capcs. 1t IS d remarkable fact that, III
d successful career extending over
twenty years, he has uniformly escaped
bugbear OF detectives, and the dctec
tive who lays him by the heels may
well claim IL high rank in his profession,
Wilks belongs 10 a Lightly respectable
family livins III the central part Of this
State. 4 few years ago he married
Fannie Ninton, i well -kuowG character
in San Francisco.
Peter Burns is a Philadelphian.
He was originally a burglar. He got to
dealILE III counterfeit money some years
ago, and then he drifte1 into forgery.
lie was a pupil Of Col. James Buchanan
Gross, who, in his day, was probably
the most expert professional torger in
the world. lie is believed by detectives
to be dead. just before the outbreak
Of the war Gross, Burns, and a forger
named Lee made a tour of the South
ern States. Wherever they found a
bank thtt WAS loosely managed they
tapped !; for a round sum. They re
tdrued 10 Pl Philadelphia ut the beginning
ofthe war, and Cross was captured on
an old charge. Cross and his compan-
ions had .ambled and nearly all that
that they had made and there was no
money to retain counsel for Gross. He
had a fine looking mulatto body ser
want that he bought in TIE South.
The man was much attached to Cross,
and he agreed L. 90 down South with
one Of CROSS friends and be sold so
that Cross could obtain Il lawyer, the
understanding being that Cross would
buy him back after he was acquitted.
The agreement was carried out. but the
the price of the poor fellow liberty did
not save Cross. He vas convicted and
sentenced to the Eastern Penitentiary
tcr a number OF years
When Cross had been in prison sew
eral months he smu.gled cat u letter to
a friend, asking him to 20 to Washing
ton, and mail to the United States
Marshal OF the First District of Penn
~sylvania the enclose document. The
friend COMPELLED. and several days later
the marshall received what purported
to DC an order from Secretary Cameron,
directing him to proceed forthwith to
iiaIi iStVt- - ouu Apply W lLC pONCluOl
for a pardon for James Buchanan Cross,
on the ground that he was prepared to
give the Secretary Of War valuable in
formation in regard to the movement
Of Southern troops. The order was
written on official paper, and the Mar
shall, who was well acquainted with the
signature of the Secretary, had no doubt
as to its g%enuineaess. The pardon was
issued, and Cross Was released, But,
in Il postscript to the order, the Secre-
tary requested the Marshal to give
Cross every facility in reach Washing
ton. The Marshal happened to be 60
ing to Washington that night. and he
asked Cross 10 accompany him. Cross
declined; but the Marshal, anxious to
please IA man who stood we'll with the
Secretary of War, pressed Gross, and
he was Obliged to yield. Cross said that
he would like to have dinner before the
train started, and the Marshal politely.
but to Cross disgust. directed a deputy
to show him the way to the best restau-
ran, Of the neighborhood. The deputy
understood that Cross Was in his Gus
tody, aud watched him SO closely that
he did not have an opportunity to get
away. Then Cross offered the deputy a
bride to look another way, and the dep
uty, becoming suspicious, arrested
| Cross and took him back to the Peni-
Tertiary. There it was discovered that
Secretary Cameron order was a clever
forgery by Cross. He had to serve out
/ his term.