The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-01-12
GRAVEYARD GHOULS.
A Resurrectionist Visits FreepOrt on a
Heliish Errand.

For the past week. or ten days the city
of Freeport has been aglow with excite
ment over several sensational affairs, but
the latest one caps the climax, and is
nothing less than the ferreting out of a
scheme of contemplated grave robbery.
The affair can be best described by the
following article from the Bulletin, the
daily paper of that prosperous town:
THE GHoULs IN FREEPoRT.
Some two or three weeks ago man
came to Freeport, who, according to the
description given of him, is thought to
have been the same Newton j. Shinkle
who has made himself SO notorious within
the last few years. His business was
grave robbmg, the bartering in human
bones for gain. He met certain young
man of this city to whom he revealed his
scheme, and for price, asked his aid in
carrying it out The young man was to
take him to some one who could be relied
on to do the dirty work digging up
and the shipping to Chicago of human
bodies. This was on Sunday evening.
The two men and the professional ghoul
called on Fred Baker mot deputy sheriff
Fred Baker, at his home in the southwest
part of the city. There Shinkle or who
ever the stranger was, offered Baker $50
for every body that he would ship to an
address that he would give him in Chicago
BAKER HESITATED
10 ent,r into The business and said tina:
there would Ae good deal of trouble to
it, but the boss .ghoul replied that it was
very easy thing to do. The way to
manage the business, he said, was to dig
a hole into the grave near the head of the
coffin, hook to the neck or shoulders and
pull the body out easily. There would be
no need of opening the entire grave. The
body could then be boxed and shipped
If he did not want to do the digging and
| shipping himself, the man said to Baker
that he would give him So for every body
that was sent him if he would get some
one else to do the work Baker did not
think it profitable business to enter into
and did not do it, in which he acted wisely,
to his credit be it said
THE MEETING PLACE.
| The young man who was acting as the
| ghOul's confidential agent was to meet
Baker at j Recker's saloon at a certain
time the next day, when they were to
have arranged further in the matter The
confidential man called at the saloon and
| left word for Baker that he was going to
! DUBUQUE that night, but that was all he
said, and went away. The skeleton buyer
kept himself very shady while he was in
| Freeport which was only a short time
| He did not tell his name to Baker, mol
did he leave his address.
| CHIEF sANDERSON ON GUARD.
By some manner of means the thing
| leaked out and got to the ears of the ever
watchful Chief of Police Sanderson, who
| lost no time in ferreting the matter out
Surprising that an immediate attempt
might be made to rob the city cemetery OF
| its dead he counseled with Mayor Mana
mara and States Attorney Cochran to de
wise plan by which to catch the hellish
| plotters, and would no doubt have sue
cceded had they made the attempt The
chiefs plan was to let them commence to
dig little, then nab them and put them
in the cooler, on the road to the peniten
tiary. Men were put on guard in waiting
FLOR disturbers of the dead, but they did
not come and were not arrested. Fol-
some reason they gave up the idea Of
robbing Freeport graves, thinking
doubtless, they could do better else
where
The young man who WAS acting as Thu
ghoul's accomplish was in a most dis
reputable and dangerous business If HI
is now free man it would be well for hin
to turn his attention to some other occu
patton, and thus keep out of the clutches
of the law and an curaged populauce
| The Bulletin does not suppress his nam,
in order to shield him. but simply because
1t is impossible at present to identify hin
positively.