The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-05-27
A DANGEROUS WOMAN.
An Interesting Incident from the Life Of
q Secret Service Detective.

An Interesting Incident from the Iifs Of
a Secret Service Detective.
In January, 1868, the Secretary OF
the Treasury was notified that new
and dangerous counterfeit ON Cincin-
natl National bank had been put afioat
in Boston. The Detective Bureau being
notified in turn / was detailed on the
case and left for Boston the same day.
About $4,000 of the queer had been
foated in one day, and the work had
been done by woman. At one place
she had purchased $500 worth of dia-
monds; at another $3.50 gold watch;
at another q diamond bracelet. The
goods in all cases were such articles as
could be sold again for at least half
their value.
Each victimized party described her
differently. At the first place she was
a blonde, plainly dressed. At the next
she was a brown-haired woman in
mourning; at the third she had black
hair, was showily dressed and claimed
relationship to well-known family.
After a day spent in taking notes and
making deductions came to the con-
clusion that there was only one woman
in the case and that she had assumed
disguises. Boston was thoroughly
searched for her and 1 had not yet
founda clue when the chief telegraphed
me that she had appeared in Philadel-
phia. Preached that city to find that
she had purchased 81, 600 worth of dia-
monds at one place and $500 worth at
another, paying, OF course, in the coun-
terfeit bills. The first jeweler described
her as snowy woman with gold in her
upper front teeth. The second jewelcr
described her as very plain and demure
and he was sure that she had no gold
in her teeth.
| had set out under the belief that [
had only one woman to deal with, and
I would not now admit there was two.
L looked Philadelphia high and low for
females bearing the description, and at
the end of four days received another
telegram from headquarters. She had
appeared in Pittsburgh, where she had
made three different purchases of
jewellers. 1 fastened to the Smoky City
as soon as possible, and lo the three
SlNOh WC1O oO CItii otA-
ferent that one was almost sure there
were three women at work floating off
the counterfeits.
One jeweler had been mashed ON his
customer, and had therefore taken par
ticular notice that her eyes were blue,
her hair brown and her height medium.
She had gold in her upper front teeth,
and was affected in her ways and
speech. The second jeweler wasn't
mashed, but he was an old detective,
and he noticed that she had brown
eyes, dark hair, mole on her chin and
plain, white teeth. There was nothing
affected about her. The third ieweler
could swear she had black hair, gold in
her lower teeth, slight squint to one
eye and stammered bit as she talked.
/ hunted Pittsburgh for three days,
but met with no success. Believing
she would next turn up at Indianapolis,
/ started for that city without orders,
taking sleeping car on night train.
1t was a woman who had the lower
berth next to mine. and as I looked
her over made up my mind that she
was school teacher and an old maid.
She had red hair, dressed plainly. and
paid not the slightest attention to any
one. When the porter came to make
her berth he placed a rather bulky
sachel belonging to her on the seat at
my feet, and she found temporary
seat at the other end of the car. The
jar of the cars jostled the sachel to the
floor after bit, and, as stopped over
to pick it up, found the floor covered
with wigs, cosmetics, small brushes,
pieces Of crayon and false teeth. There
were three wigs of different colors, and
two upper and two under sets of teeth.
In one the gold was in the upper; in
the other it was in the lower.
Well, you may believe that with my
mind full of the mysterious woman and
her disguise, was not long in con-
cluding that had stumbled upon the
person wanted. / replaced the articles
in the sachel and walked over to her
and made known my errand. She gave
me terrible tongue-lashing and called
on the passengers for protection, but
when / revealed my identity and
emptied the contents of the sachel on q
seat, she gave in We got off at Steu-
benville, and, when had her searched,
over $4,000 in the counterfeits was
brought to light, but her purchases
were not to be found, she having
shipped them to confederates. She
was the wife of the notorious "Black
Dan," and the pair were the most dan
gerous couple IL America at that time.
We got her husband in a week or two,
and, while he got sentence of twenty
two years, she got off with seven
| Detroit Free Press.
A Negligent Cook.