Omaha daily bee., 1884-08-16
The DEVILS CHILDREN.
Three Fellows Arrested for Turning
Tricks on the UnWaTY,
The Shooting Of the Night Watch
Of the Milwaukee Road.
other Doings Of the Gang,

IHE BEE on wednesday COnIalneu an
account of Daniel Smith being conf
denced out 1886. The police here
seemed to take little stock in Smiths
story, and thought the fellow was sort of
cranky. Perhaps they did not want to
believe it, as the description given by
him of the fellows who feeced him was
sufficiently accurate for the police to
recognize the fellows as being old.timers,
members of a gang which has been work.
ing in this vicinity for a long time, and
who could have been easily taken if the
police here had wanted 80 to do. 1t
seems that Lew Zero who is in tho en-
ploy of the Chicago, Milwaukee d St.
Paul road as a detective, had been laying
for this gang of confidence men. Zero
recently came here, and has two broth
ers here, who are assisting him in
his work, one of them Will ID. Zero, tho
other Charles Zero, the night Waterman
In the G. M. as. +. yards. Zero went
at work on this confidence gang,
and found that after victimizing Smith
out of 1886, they walked to the river,
took a boat and thus went across to
Omaha. Smith, the victim, remained
here and kicked to the police in vain.
One of the gang of confidence men re-
turned to this side to watch Smith and
see when he left, and when 1t would
be safe to 60 to work again. In order to
throw them off their guard Zero got his
brother Will to start off with Smith on
the Sioux City train. AS o as he had
left, the confidence man who had been
watching him, hurried across the river to
Omaha to inform his fellows that the
trouble was over and the coast clear.
The same gang had before this been
trying to get Valentine, the detective at
the Union Pacific depot in Omaha, to
stand in with them, but he had declined,
but finally he pretended to yield, in order
to make their capture more certain, and
told them he would not interfere
with them. They accordingly
gave him $40 as his share Of the 1886, of
which Smith was robbed. The gang
went to work on the Denver train Thurs
day night. Zero, Valentine and several
of the Omaha officers so planned together
that they captured three of the party in
the cars. On realizing that they were
gobbled n of them dropped a check,
and also a blank check, to get them out
of the way. They were picked up, how
ever, and the men locked up. The check
dropped in the car was in the same hand
writing as that by which Smith was VIC
timized, and in many other respects was
sipgularly similar. The check on which
Smith was victimlzed read:
s. 200. MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi, Aug. 2, 1884.
II COMMERCIAL BANK:
Pay to Q. M. Morgan or bearer twenty.
seven hundred dollars.
Nc. AZ. ROPER & Co.
The check dropped in the car read as
$1,000. MINNEAPOLIS, MINI, Aug. IL, 1884.
II UNION NATIONAL BANK:
Pay to O. nj. Arthur or bearer twenty |
seven hundred dollars.
No. AZ. ROPER & Co,
A blank check OH the Kansas CITY
bank was also dropped In the car, and
picked up by the officers.
The fellows gave their names as John
Robinson, w. r. Hale and John
Williams. Being satisfied that
they were the ones that beat
Smith out of his 1886, Zero yesterday
had the necessary papers made out, in
formations being filed with Justice
Schurz, and started for Des Moines to
get a requisition on which he expects to
bring the trio to this city for trial. Fero's |
mother returned yesterday with the VIC
tim, Smith, the trip out of the city being
simply a ruse to throw the gang off the
track. 1t looks as if the gang was going
to get squeezed out this time. 1t is to be
hoped that if on examinationthey ppea
to be guilty, that they will notbe allowed
to get out OF 1t as easily rs others have
before. Heretofore fellows have given
bail to appear before the district court,
and then jumped their bail, thus avoid
ing getting sent over the road. The bail
Is generally a few hundred dollars, and if
this is forfeited and paid, (t is not al
ways paid, howeve-) it takes those fell
lows only a few tricks to more than make
up the amount.
ANOTHER GANG.
There is still another gang of these fell
lows working more or less in this vicin.
ity. OF this gang the one called Bloom
is perhaps the best known by a number
of the officers and perhaps all, knowing
him. Two other members of the gang
are known as Tom Pennygrass and Chas.
Andrews, or "Snide Fake" Charlie.
About three months ago Bloom succeeded
in victimizing to a slight extent George
w. Bayliss, who keeps a store on South
Main street. Bloom at that time
represented himself as being a
Captain Williams, from Kentucky, and
convinced Bayliss that he knew a mum.
Der of the latter's friends and relatives
there. After gaining his confidence he
wanted Bayliss to cash a draft for him, |
but the latter having but littls cash
in the drawer, he could not favor him,
but lent him 81, 90. The fellow gave
as security a plain ring, supposed to be
gold, but proving to be brass. Time
passed on, and Thursday morning of this
week a g~entlemanly looking man appear
ed at the store ana fell in conversation
with Mr.. Bayliss' daughter, and tried to
get her to cash a check, or let him have
money on one. Mr.. Bay
liss coming in recognized in
the man non other than his old friend
Capt. Williams. The fellow had changed
his appearance, his gray whiskers were
sheared off and his moustache dyed
black. The fellow denied being the
Kentucky captain, and after a little dis.
pute he skipped out toward the depot
and doubtless took a train.
ONE OF THE ERo WINGED.
The Zero family seem to be having a
liValv tima of H. Gharlaa Who Ia