The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-25
DETECTIVE KELLY'S RIDE.


Two Days and Nights Over the Noun
tains If Quest of a Noted Counter
feiter.
From the Philadelphia Neps
In the latter part of December, 1887, Fran
els R. Kelly, ex-chief of detectives of Phila-
dephia, was employed by the United
States government in detective service on
the Pacific slope, with headquarters at San
Francisco. For some time reports of the
manufacture of counterfeit money had
been coming in from the northern part of
California, close to the Oregon line. Yreka,
mining town of about 500 inhabitants,
was flooded with the bogus money, consist
ing of imitation silver dollars, half dollars
and quarters. Samples of the queer were
sent to San Francisco, where the mint
officially pronounced them wonderfully COR
rect limitations. They had the ring, the
size, the weight, and almost as finely exc
cuted surfaces as the genuine coins. The
experts could hardly detect them, except by
analysis No one was suspected as being
the connterfeiter and the case had a dark
look. Orders came from Washington for
MIR. Kelly to work up the case, and, If posi-
BILE, capture the counterfeiters, their tools,
and supply of bogus money.
1t was the dead of winter, and while win
ter on the California coast is like an Eastern
spring in the Sierra Nevada mountains, it
was bitterly cold. Yreka was mining town.
1t was two days and two nights ride by
stage from BEDDING, where the Northern
California railroad then terminated. To
reach it, even in summer, was a toilsome
journey. Not half a dozen persons from
San Francisco attempted the task in winter.
But the United States mail stages ran
through from Redding regardless of the
season or the weather. and, as Detective
Kelly'S orders were peremptOry, he found
himself one bitterly cold morning on the
box with the stage driver, outside the town
of Redding, bound for the region where the
counterfeit coins were circulat .ng.
The first few hours passed pleasantly
enough. Mr.. Kelly chatted with the driver,
who told gruesome stories about highway
men, little suspecting that he was talking
to man whose whole life had been spent
in dealing with desperate criminals. Mount
Shasta's magnificent peak, mantled with
everlasting snow, was in plain sight, SEEM
ingly close at hand, and during the entire
forty EIGHT hours ride it was never out of
view. The stage road ran through noun
| tans. Half the time it was in the shade of
| forests pine. Every twenty miles there
was a change of no Ses, the fresh six or four,
as the case might be, all ready harnessed to
| be hitched to the stage as soon as the Others
were led out. The detective smoked, gained
| a good deal of information about the coun-
| try, and at noon got down with the driver
| at mountain station to eat a splendid hot
| dinner of venison, pheasants, mountain
trout, and canned California fruits
| There was change of drivers after din
| ner. There was another change after sup
| per, which the solitary passenger upon the
mail coach had at a little station far up in
the Sierras. The night driver went by the
name of ''Forepaugh," because he had once
driven horses for the well-known circus
proprietor of that name. When Detective
Kelly climbed upon the stage box by
"Forepaugh's" side he was stiff, tired and
sleepy The night was very dark, but a
| great rejecting lamp hung beneath the
front wheels lighting the road for rods in
| advance. The horses went easily up the
hills, but down they fairly few, and the old
stage coach swayed from side to side like a
ship in a gale. Overcome by the fatigue of
| the day, Mr.. Kelly, at the first night relay
station. crawled into the body of the coach,
and, lying down upon heap of mail sacks,
| tried to go to sleep.
1t was no use. The cold was intense. The
| coach pitched terribly. The detectives
| back was soon covered with bruises. He
| caught hold of the straps, and his arms
| were wrenched half out of their sockets.
! What terrible road. 1t seemed at times
pleasanter clinging to the drivers box, even
with the prospect of falling off and pitching
| into a guley, or over a precipice while
asleep. Mr.. Kelly determined to crawl out
the window of the coach, get on the roof,
and so reach the seat by 'Forepaugh."
A minute after he hal made this resolu-
ton he reached out the window, grasped
the top railing, which ran all the way
around the roof of the coach, and drew
| himself slowly up. Then he crawled down
toward the driver and dropped upon the
| seat.
"The devilr' calculated Forepaugh,
almost springing from bis seat.
I'm all right said the detective.
'You are, are you, you fool! / thought
you were an agent If Tom, the conduc-
| tor. had been on tonight he would have
| shot YOU dead as you crawled from the
back of the roof Oh, you're all right. OF
course you are. But you'll never have such
luck again"
The criminal corraller shuddered as he
Thought how nearly his thoughtlessneSs had
come to costing him his life.
Thirty-six hours later, half dead from
want of sleep, exposure and the lncessant
jolting, the detective got off the box at
Yreka.
After a solid sleep of twenty hours, Mr..
Kelly began in careful way TO examine
his ground. He found that there was sus-
picion that man named Williams, living
in hut in a canon few miles from town,
was co Inected with the counterfeiters.
Hundreds of dollars worth of counterfeit
money was afoat in the town.
Early the next morning, with two Deputy
Sheriffs. the detective rode out to Williams
rancherie, as his cabin was called. They
drew within thirty PAGES of the door, when
the Suspect" poKed out his bushy head and
cried:
"Hallo!"
"HalIo! What's the way to Red creekF'
asked the San Francisco detective.
As Williams slipped out OF the door and
was about to answer three revolvers COW
cred him. at which he threw up his hands
While the other two Deputy Sheriffs kept
Williams under their pistols Mr., Kelly
went in the cabin cautiously, looking for
other men. None were there.
Under the floor, which was made to hit
in the centre, was found complete set OF
counterfeit er's tools, plaster of Paris moulds
and several hundred dollars IN finely exc
cuted counterfeit coin. There was large
ouantity of block tin, anthony, bismuth
and ground glass, which, melted together,
made the counterfeiting metal.
Williams was taken back to San Fran,
cisco-by the stage TO Redding- handcuiIeu
and shackled 70 Do ective Kelly lie
pleaded guilty, and was recognized as an
old offender who had passed under lne