Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1889-02-28
ress and 9akotaiaa
EGAN RAN Him down.
How the Conspiracy Against the
Irish Leader Was Detected.
PIG0TT A CLEVER FoRGER

Tire Process by which He, Made the spu-
rious Lsttcrs-A Young Priest and
His Precious Load-Regret
Expressed by The Times.
LONDON, Feb. 21.-From a gentleman
high in authority in the prosecution of
the Parnell-Times case, a representative
of the United Press heard the true story
of how the conspiracy against Parnell
was detected. II constitutes one of the
most romantic narratives in the history
of politics. Without the evidence by
which the conspiracy was exploded, The
Tiifies undoubtedly would have won its
case, Notwithstanding the s%puriousness
of the letters. Up to July of last year
Parnell, his counsel and colleagues were
wholly at sea, and every effort to dis.
cover the forger and get at the bottom
of the case had proven futile. AT this
time evidence was sent from the United
States by a young Catholic priest, Rev.
Father Dorney of Chicago, to whom it
had been entrusted by Patrick Egan and
Alexander Sullivan, its compilers. Its
value was inestimable, and no one was
aware OF its existence save Egan, Sulli-
van and Father Doyney, until it was
delivered to ParneIl in person.
The discovery that Pigott was the for
ger wa made by Egan in Lincoln, Neb.
while Parnell, his detectives and experts
were vainly trying to find a clue in
Great Britain, Egan was sorely per
picked by the forged letters, fac SMILES
of which he got in The London Times.
The signature of those attributed to
him was remarkably good. Expressions
and odd authorizations peculiar to him
were in the text. He considered every.
body possible who could have been the
forger, but could not arrive at a conclu-
SION. He remembered that Pigott had
been implicated in forgeries many year
before, but the idea that he might be
concerned in these seemed absurd. In
sr%rutinizing the forged fac SMILES,
however, he finally discovered that one
signed with his own name was written
ayowedly at a certain address in Paris,
and the recollection flashed upon him
that Pigott was the only man to whom
he had ever given it. Pigott had writ
ten him asking for q confidential ad-
dress to which he might send important
information, and Egan, concluding to
learn what ii was, secured this address,
~ Dt'NS ~ MY y Nv IGos E
Egan, who is methodical in habit,
had saved his correspondence for years.
lie searched his volumes of letters until
he found Pigotts. BY comparing them
with the nandw ritlng on the forged let
tors ne saw that he had the forger. He
submitted the letters written by Pigott
to experts, together with fac SMILES of
the forged letters They Immediately
detected characteristic peculiarities
whichwere confirmed under microscope,
Egan had Pigott's letters and the for
geries Photographed and 5taT ttea o Chi
cago, where he placed all the papers be-
fore his friend, Alexander Sullivan, who
is also q solicitor. A brief was drawn
up by him and Sullivan in the latter's
office in Chicago. 1t related the chief
incidents in Pigott's career. and showed
that he had beeii a forger before. Years
before, when Pigott tried to sell The
lrisl,man (newspaperl to Parnell and
Egan, he furnished m inventory, D
emily authenticated by well known
Dublin accountants, showing the value
of the property. Egan proved that the
inventory was false, and that Pigott
had forged the accountants signature
to it.
Pigott was also caught in another
similar transaction. In the office of his
paper was q mar who contributed to
tn. Boston Pilot under the non.da.nL,n
of Leo. After his death a relative dis
covered that Patrick Donohue, then
editor of the Pilot, had remitted to Leo
a draft which his family never received,
and that Pigott had opened the letter,
taken the draft intended for Leo, forged
his endorsement and drawn the money.
Pigott was compelled 10 disgerge.
a- Nh. - -
INC. He had 3,eanwh;la ascertainad
the process by which Pigott made the
sn,,rions letters He found amona I;s
naners some letters written Nv HIN +,
which entire sentences anpeared that
vera also IN the forced letters p;aoit
had traced these sentences carefniIv
word for word. Tben he internolatei
or added other sentences or phras IA
nomnleteIv chahcinss the nnaan;na ~
the whole letter while nrsserving tba
intaeritv Of nortions Datas ware
also chanped to make criminal inta,.nra
tation anr,I;cable to iIlegal eyants Erar
also fond letters written hy parSail
which had been similarlv nsed phatn'
pranhs of ali these and Pigott,s bego;ns
and blackmailinp letters wera eneIoaad
with fine ORIGINALS IN \ nack ageS wifi =
meinara,dnm renallina In Barnaii ali
circIlmsfa,a,es ~attandinp the WRITING ~
@reception of each.
This was the nrecim,s niece of Loa.
rage the voIne priest conyeved 10 pas.
neil. Until H Same the Times case ,yas
MS inyulnerable as fraudulent. M HIM
Of the Contents of the PACKAGE eyer ba.
came public until ParnelI Iimself in nm
interyiew lie had with Pico.t IN the
presence Of Iabouchere and Lewis.
" AZ,