St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-08-04
F0RGER in THE TOLLS.
After an Exciting Chase
Through North and Gen.
trail America.
Left His Family in This
Country Which Caused
His Detection.
Two Of the Bass Lake
Suspects Give Them
selves UP.
One Days Transactions
in the Capital Of
Minnesota.

The Northern Pacific train will bring
in from Portland, Ore, to-day James III.
Porter, the Chicago forger who worked
the First National bank of that city two
years ago. He will be accompanied by
Pinkerton detective and Mr.. Burke,
the latter private detective of the
AnglO-Americon Packing company.
The Pinkerton agency has been to con-
siderable trouble in finding Mr.. Porter,
and the story of his crime and arrest
reads like novel.
A nicely dressed man presented three
checks to the first National Bank of
Chicago the afternoon of Feb. 6, 1886.
The checks bore the forged signatures
OF X. ID. Fowler, president of the Anglo
American Packing company, and were
made payable to w. I'll. Forde IL Co.
They amounted to $1,000. This modest
individual was referred by the paying
teller to Mr.. Street, the second assistant
cashier, who informed the gentle
man that the paper was irregu-
lar and would have to be properly
certified to before payment could be
made. Mr.. Street omitted to inform the
paying teller what he had done, and
soon afterward the man returned with
the checks and a certificati0n, which
also bore Mr.. Towler's signature, and
went direct to the paying teller
AND OBTAINED THE MONEY.
1t was discovered next day that in
stead of the checks having been signed
and certified to by Mr.. Fowler, in
reality they constituted a very clever
forgery. Porter was Mr.. Fowler's book
keeper, and the matter was traced home
to him, but where is he? The same day
that the forgery was committed
p pober p se5 Se up n his Fannie
sisting of wife and three children, de-
parted from Chicago. The expressman
who moved his trunks said that he took
them to the Grand Trunk depot.
1t was aScertained by Mr.. Burke and
Detective Finn, of the town of Lake,
that Porter and his family were
ticketed through to Montreal, and
the PinkertOn agency accordingly
telegraphed to the Montreal agent to
arrest the party as soon as they arrived.
Messrs. Burke and Finn were positive
they were on the right track. but when
Mr.. Finn, accompanied by Mr.. Street,
went to Montreal, they saw they were
mistaken.
Meanwhile W. A. Pinkerton, who had
returned from New Orleans. concluded
that Porter must be the man he had
heard of
IN THE GULF CITY
the morning of February s, Detective
CASTOR, of New Orleans, found Mr..
PinkertOn, and explained to him that
sleeping car conductor running from
Chicago to New Orleans had teiegraphed
him to meet the Chicago train. On the
trains arrival the conductor pointed out
the suspected man, who acted very
queerly indeed, as the fellow who had
a n of Enl
When the conductor had gone into
the waSh-rOOm on the morning of their
arrival at New Orleans he had noticed
that the mans mustache was false,
for it had fallen off, and the fellow, con-
siderably confused, hurriedly replaced
it. The New Orleans authorities did
not arrest the man, although
advised to by Mr.. Pinkerton,
but promised to keep an eye
uDon him. So when, on Feb. 10, MIR.
Pinkerton reached Chicago, and learned
all about the forgery, he wired to the
New Orleans authorities to detain the
man. The answer he got was that the
suspect had taken a steamer for Colon,
South America, but was not accom-
panied by his family. This prompted
Mr.. Pinkerton to look up his family He
learned that after Porter had taken his
baggage to the Grand Trunk depot he
hired another eXpreSsman to take it to
the Northwestern depot, and that tick
cts were sold to party corresponding
with Porter and his family, for Port
land, Ore. Telegraphic communication
was opened with Chief Of Police S. b.
ParriSh,O z ortland, but to no avail so
far as Porter was concerned, although
HIS FAMILY ARRIVED THE SE.
AdviceS were received after while
from the PinkertOn agent at CVlon to
the effect that Porter was there The
purser of the ship had become quite
well acquainted with Porter, who, he
said, had talked of going into the wine
business, and seemed to have lots of
money.
Porter soon went through his money.
Mr.. Pinkerton heard of this, and ar
ranged with Chief of Police Hennessy,
of New Orleans, and the purser of the
ship for passage to Colon, but then it
was learned that Porter had left Colon,
and no trace of him was had until about
two weeks ago, when he turned up in
Portland, and Joined his family. Requi-
SitlOn papers were at once taken ont,
and MesSrs. Burke and Pinkerton de-
tective went to Portland and found him
already arrested by Chief Parish
Porter is about thirty years old, short
and round in stature. has light blonde
small side whiskers and the appearance
and CONVEX Sational gifts of a gentleman.
He is the son of respectable Dublin
family. and one of his relatives is
prominent banker in Dublin. He got
into some trouble in Ireland and came
first to San Francisco, where he left a
wine house few thousand dollars
short.