The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-04-22
ADANGEROUS WOMAN.
The Narrative OF a Secret Ser
vice Detective.
A Oounterfeiter's Wife who Successfully
Assumed Numerous DISCUSSES

A Oounterfeiter's Wife who Successfully
Assumed Numerous DISCUSSES
In January, 1868, the Secretary of the
Treasury was notified that new and
dangerous counterfeit on a Cincinnati
National bank had been put ahoat in
Boston. The Detective Bureau being no.
tilted in turn was detailed on the case
and left for Boston the same day. About
81, 900 of the queer had been foated in
one day, and the work had been done by |
woman. At one place she had pur-
chased 5000 worth of diamonds; at an
other $3.50 gold watch; j; at another dia-
mond 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
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 a .well-known family. After day
spent in taking notes and making deduc-
tions came to the conclusion that there
was only one woman in the case, and that
she had assumed disguises. Boston was
thoroughly searched for her, and l had
not yet found clue when the chief tele-
graphed me that she had appeared in
Philadelphia, I reached that city to find
that she had purchased $1,000 worth of
diamonds at one place and $500 worth at
another, paying, of course, in the coun-
terfeit bills. The first jeweler described
her as a snowy woman with gold in her
upper front teeth. The second jeweler
described her as very plain and demure,
and he was sure that she had no gold in
her teeth.
l, had set out under the belief that l
had only one woman to deal with, and I
would not now admit there were two.
looked Philadelphia high and low for fe-
males bearing the description, and at the
end of four days received another tcle-
gram from headquarters. She had ap-
peared in Pittsburgh, where she had
made three different purchases of jewel
ers. l fastened to the Smoky City as
soon as possible, and 10! the three de-
scriptions given were so entirely different
that one was almost sure there were three
women at work floating off the counter
feits.
/ One jeweler had been masnea Oh
customer, anu nuu 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 jewclcr wasn't mashed, but h'
was an old detective, and he noticed tina
she had brown eyes, dark hair, mole OF
her chin, and plain, white teeth. Thert
was nothing affected about her. Tht
third jeweler could swear that she hat
black hair, gold in her lower teeth, ;
slight squint to one eye, and stamm ered
bit as she talked.
HUNTED Pittsburgh for three days, bu
met with no success. Believing sh,
would next turn up at Indianapolis,
started for that city without orders, tax
ing a sleeping car on night train. l
was woman who had the lower bertl
next to mine, and as looked her over
made up my mind that she was schoo
teacher and an old maid. She had rec
hair dressed plainly, and paid not tn
> slightest attention to any one. Whel
: the porter came to make her berth h
placed rather bulky satchel belongin!
to her on the scat at my feet, and sh
found a temporary seat at the other ent
, of the car. The jar of the cars jostle'
> the satchel to the floor after bit, and
e as stopped over to pick it up, foun'
the floor covered with wigs, cosmetics
e small brushes, pieces of crayon and falls
e teeth. There were three wigs of differ
e ent colors, and two upper and two undo
' sets of teeth. In one the gold was in tn
' upper; in the other it was in the lower
/ Well, you may believe that with m
: mind full of the mysterious woman an
I her disguise, was not long in concludin
$ that had stumbled upon the perso
q wanted. l replaced the article
o in the satchel and walked over t
/. her and made know my errand. Sh
f gave me terrible tongue lashing an
{ called on the passengers for protection
g but when revealed my identity an
j emptied the contents of the satchel on
@ seat, she gave in. We got off at Steu
4 benville, and, when l had her searched
; over 81, 900 in the counterfeits wa
n brought to light, but her purchases wer
d not to be found, she having shipped ther
: to confederates. She was the wife of tn
G notorious "Black Dan," and the pair wer
d the most dangerous couple in Americ
at that time. We got her husband in
week or two, and, while he got ser
tence of twenty-five years, she got o.
, with seven.-Detrot Free Press
;
g AHard Question in Arithmetic.