The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1889-01-05

OlkJh ~ Il 111N Dx1AVD ~!
CAUGHT IN A TRAP.
A Good Story Told by Secret
Service Detective.
How y 81 Queer Man" of Note Was Ar.
rested-An Expedition in Which Good
Luck or Accident Was on the Side
of Law and Justice.
In the spring of 1863 every denomination
O: "shin- plaster currency bad been
counterfeited and circulated, and every
issue of greenbacks, from the dollar bill to
the twenty, had been reproduced by the
! "queer" men, says writer Ill the Detroit
Free Press Counterfeiting fcurished as
never before nor since. Any thing that
looked like money would go, especially in
the country towns.
! The gang which was working the 81 and
81 plates was located at Sandusky, but We
did not get this pointer until they had aoat-
ed outa good many thousand collars. Inc
case was assigned to me, and l proceeded
to Sandusky in the gulse OF an army con
tractor. had no details whatever, but, by
keeping my eyes open and plcllng up
| note here and there, satisfied myself that
our information was correct Then
selected the most popular drug store in the
place, told the proprietor my business, and
arranged TO make {. capture. Men "shov~
| ing the queer" will cali at drug store
sooner than any other place OF business.
| because they can purchase from such
variety, and can carry the purchase away
in the pocket. This druggist had been Bit
| ten several times, and was anxious TO help
nab some one I felt that it was emily
question of time when some of the spurious
would be offered again, and was r1gnt.
On the fifth day after took up my station
in the store, Notwithstanding middle
aged man rushed in, holding Ills hand to his
cheek and exclaimed:
"For Heavens sake give me something
for the toothachel am almost crazy!'
The clerk hurried to put up something,
the stranger danced around and groaned
and moaned, and when he received tho
bottle he handed out q ten-dollar bill ana
said:
"Quicl-1've got to catch the trainl'
The clerk glanced at the bill and began. to
make change, but stopped to take a second
! j
had taken FIVE steps the man was off like q
flash. I pursued, but he lodged me in the
crowd. invent back and looked al the bill,
ind 10! il was IL counterfeit, but one so
nearly like the genuine as to deceive almost
any one except a cashier. For the next
three days I did some tall hustiing, and the
result was to drive the gang out OF San
flusky without having the luck to arrest
ANYBODY. There were four OF them and
they had Job office which turned out work
for the public. The fellows had put out at
least $4,000 in the West having several
! plates OF different denominations, and the
| worst Of it was they got off with the plates
Almost purely by accident learned that
one Of the gang had brother living near
Rocky river, a few miles out Of Cleveland,
and it was possible he might so into hiding
there for a time. As this was the only trail
had determined to look the ground over.
Going up to Cleveland, ] got q horse and
buggy for a country drive aud started tor
Rocky river was only wei! ciear OF The
! CITY when saw g. heavy thunderstorm CON-
ing TIP and had to look for shelter. had to
! drive couple Of miles to lind it. It was an
old barn on the lower end OF & farm. It.
was in a tunlble-down condition, but there
was Il shed under which I could put the
| i
storm which ragged for an hour and q half
round q corner Of the barn svlli:h did not
leak, and for the FIRST half .,nur I iscaccely
glanced around me. When [ did come to
size I'D the interior, about the first thing l
saw was a paper package resting on a
beam run ming ACROSS the barn. Il could not
have been seen from any ether position III
the barn, and { may say it was the Qneer
sound given out by the drops cf water as
they tell on the paper which caused me to
look up.
had the package down after dirty
climb, and As opened it. out felt the plates
of the counterfeits used at Sandusky--
every one of them. There were plates fos
81, SO, S. and $40 bill, and for ten, twenty
i've and ifty-cent shinplasters. aud the ink
from the last impressions had not been en-
tirely cleaned off. While was swellin g
with the Importance of my discovery the
storm passed over, and while engaged IN
doing up the package bugssJJ stopped at
the gap in the highway fence and one OF the
two men in it jumped down and came run
ming into the barn. He did not see me at
first, but started to climb up after the pack
age on the beam. knew then that he was
one of she gang, and grabbed him, lie
was a stout fellow, and we had q savage
tussle Tor it, but finally got t;le irons ON
| his wrists and made him prisoner. AS soon
as seized him he shouted to warn his COM
panion, and before our struggle ended the
man was mile away. The one caught
was Sam Dixon, a "queer man. of note and
known to us better under the alias of "Sly
Sam.'' He was the chap who counterfeted
the Brazilian currency and got rid of $4,000
worth before any row was raised. He kept
close mouth and would not peach on any
of the gang Even when he got his SEN
tence, which was for twelve years, he
calmly remarked:
"Well, business will go on at the old
stand just the same"
FLYING MACHINES.
The Impossibility of a Successful Invention