St. Paul daily globe., 1885-12-16
THE HENNEPIN JAIL.
Crooks Characters Sons of Their Work
Related-Ourious Way of Battling De-
tection-Patience Personi6ed.
Sentenced for Crime He Did Not Commit
"A Tough Oitizen-Fatty's Daring
Burglary-His Fate.
Southwestern CroOk--ssFlfm-F FL am
ming'--A Horse Thiefs Anteced-
ents--An Episode.

m1nS''--A "A Horse In1e17S AnteceQ.
ents--An Episode.
In all counties containing cities so consid-
cradle in size as Minneapolis there are GER
| tain to be held, at times, criminals OF
greater or less notOriety; also many whose
lesser crimes have not made their perpetrat-
ors SO generally known to the public. though
| the heads of police departments and the de-
tective force are perfectly familiar with
them. To theSe-the criminals, not the
1 guardians of the peace-the reader will now
be introduced, without the fOrmalities usu-
ally attendant upon that ceremony. But
first, little explanation: When you hear a
stranger say that he has planted" some
thing, or if he alludes to ''raising a plant, u
do not delude yourself with the vain idea
that he is a market gardener, nor yet hor-
ticuturiSt, for he is more likely crook.
discussing the hiding place of stolen prop,
erty, or the recovering of it from where it
is concealed. For obvious reasons the full
names of prisoners will not be given here,
| but all necessary purposes will be answered
by the plan adopted below, or by giving
only the soubriquet under which the individ-
ual conceals his identity.
SAMPLE NO. |
A saloon in South Minneapolis was burg
| larized last spring and a quantity of bot
tied liquors. tobacco and cigars was taken,
also a watch. Two of the three men who
did the Job were afterward arrested and
l came to know them both very well. He
who planned the job was young man OF
good physique. about i've feet eight inches
in height, 1.-the, active and muscular with
! bright, daring, restless eyes. He had a
habit of casting his eyes down and nerv-
Ously dry-WaShing his hands when in
thought; was great reader of novels and
of Shakespeare'S plays, upon which he con-
verSed tuently and with certain degree of
crude appreciation. He has really mar
velous memory and can repeat page after
page of Hamlet" Richard ILL.," ETC..
with strict accuracy as to the text, but
| rather incOngruous effect in the delivery.
| He is a good singer. too. and it was one of
the few pleasant moments of the night
hours when. all being quiet, l could lie on
my narrow hammock and hear him, from
an adjoining cell. trllling forth that fin e
old Irish ballad, The Glen of Aherloe. :"
His ''capper' in con. games. his outside
worker or side kicker" in some other va
rieties of crooked business, and his inValu-
| able aid in burglaries, was known in the
| Jail as
and he is Sample No. 2. He camefrom the
/ East, where he was born, in or near Pitts
burg | believe. and. from all could learn,
in the very slum and depths of vice, crime
and wickednesS. The South Minneapolis
job well illustrates some of Boyd's promi-
nent traits and | will relate the affair as
learned it from themselves. Boyd entered
| the place through window at the back,
and was to let Riley and another-whose
name they would not tell in at the front
door. Fatty'S first visit was to the bar,
where he braced up for the job by taking
several drinks in the dark so that he might
get enough before Riley was present to in
terfere; then he went to the front door, but
| the key was gone. The pro-
prietor slept above, and Fatty,
scarcely more than mere boy,
mind you. coolly proceeded to that persons
ROOM. Finding him asleep, Fatty, with
the true instincts and inbOm delicacy of the
thoroughbred gentleman, forbore to disturb
him, but. with gentle patience, searched
his pockets and got the key. Finding a
watch in the course of his search and beng
| SllOlG vi lilllC. lQSt llltu, lt IOOh III dlOllS
with the key. Then he paid another visit
to the bar and. after many libations, let IN
the others and they went through the place.
Riley took charge of the watch. But fol
this and his incautious management of the
bibulOus Fatty, they might both be free to-
day. For. on the way up town they cached
or planted the stuff in lumber yard neal
the railway track: as Boyd was stiff
drunk he was placed in an empty box car tC
sleep it off and was soon afterward al
rested.
At the same time that Fatty was arrested
in the lumber yard. another man. supposed
to be his partner IN the burglary. was
''pinched' in suspicious proximity to him.
and while evidently searching for a''plant,
for his supposed particpancy with No.
and Fatty in the above-related burglary but
l have it pretty straight that he was so fal
from being concerned in that affair that he
was not known to either Fatty or his part
ner. nor had they ever met before unit
that eventful night in the lumber
yard. Neither knew of the others exist
ence until they We're ''pinched." An in
stance of No. Is patience and ingenuity
One of his jobs here was the larceny of g
suit of clothes from a dwelling. When ar
rested he was wearing the identical suit. The
cloth from which it was made was all of one
| piece. Entirely through the whole fabric
was woven fine thread of peculiar color
Through every mesh in the goods this thread
was run, and yet the suit could not be iden-
titled when compared with piece cut from
the original cloth of which it was made
| The attempt was a fat and melancholy
tizzle, for the crafty fellow had picked out
every scrap and vestige of that tell-tale
thread. and stoutly maintained that he had
bought the clothes in Omaha. He got two
and a half stretches-crook term for years
and Fatty two stretches in Saltwater
AS for
NO. 8,
although he got two years for crime be
never committed he expressed himself
we'll satisfied being glad it was no worse
| being fearful of arrest for a crime OF
greater magnitude done in another city
He is said, by those who best know him, tC
be desperate man when in his cups, and apt
| to resort to deadly weapons upon the
slightest provocation. He is wel-known il
Bismarck, Oak. and also in Fort Benton
and Helena Mont. He is a graphic racon-
! teur. ahd it is W Orth a week IN jail to heal
him relate his experience with a Montana
! mob at Helena. who made sure they had 2
l4OrSe-thief dead to rights" in his person,
and were bound TO see how much he would
weigh at the end of rope. Hearing his
vivid narrative of what took place on that
to him thrilling occasion. delivered with al
most. dramatic intensity, yet with perfect
naturalhess, one could almost fancy him
self in the same awkward fix. In stature
/ No. was short and in build was spare.
with wiry, hard knit frame He had q
rather sinister cast in one eye. but was
pleasant and agreeable enough in his inter.
course with others in the jail.