The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1884-03-06
couNTERFE1TmG I'M PRISON
How a Counterfeit Plate Was Carried Ont
Of q Penitontdary.

How a Counterfeit Plate Was Carried Ont
ola Penitentdary.
New York Sun.
when I was head keeper in Sing
Sing" said Police Captain Washburn,
"a man named Ulrich was serving a
term for counterfeiting. He was an en-
graver by trade, and so good work
man that the warden employed him in
making dies. Ulrich wac taken every
day to large cell especially used in
the prison for that class of work. Be-
fore being locked in he was searched,
and at meal times, aud at the hour of
going to his own cell at night he was
searched again. By day keeper stood
outside his cell, watching him through
a loop-hole in the strong door. o.
rich was faithful and attentive
to his work, and did it well.
When the warden was informed by q
prisoner that Ulrich was engraving q
plate for counterfeit bank note he was
surprised. just then, you see, the
Wings were in possession of the prison,
and the Democrats were trying to turn
them out The warden and I we're
Wings, and we didn't propose to let any
body know that counterfeting had been
going on in the prison. We allowed
Ulrich to continue his work as usual.
After the prisoner had been locked up
one night, we went to the work-room,
sounded the walls, floor, and ceiling,
and examined his tools. We couldn't
find anything, and concluded that we
had been misinformed. We didn't know
then what skillful man Ulrich was.
He hadn't made his reputation. One
day three Scotland Yard detectives came
to the prison. They had been sent over
by the Bank Of England to talk with
Ulrich. was present at the interview,
and learned for the first time that Ulrich
had been employed by the Bank Of Eng
land in its paper mills. He got the Sc
cret of the manufacture and water
marks, ran away, and forged Bank of
England notes appeared. It was four
years after that the detectives heard of
his arrest here for counterfeiting. They
offered Ulrich all manner of inducements
to tell them how he had managed
to get the paper from the mills.
He laughed at them and said he had
stolen no paper, Putting his hand on
silk handkerchief on the neck Of one
of the detectives, he said: ''Give me
that, and certain chemical preparations,
tools, and presses, and I will make you
a perfect Bank of England note They
went away disappointed.
AFTER learning what formidable
fellow Ulrich was we watched him closer
than ever. He never gave sign that he
suspected we had been warned. One
day the convict who had first informed
the warden asked to see him, and told
| him that Ulrich's counterfeit plate had
left prison. It had been covered with
tallow, wrapped in oi-silk taken from
the prison hospital, and sent to New
York in a pickle barrel. Pickles we're
made by contract in the prison. You
may just bet your life that the warden
and I were scared. We watched the
newspapers, and it was not long before
weread the announcement that a remark
| able we'll executed counterfeit So note
of the Connecticut State Bank had been
] discovered. You may rest assured that
| neither the warden nor [ let the secret
] out until long after we left the prison.