Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-03-02
STORY OF THE CRIME
ETIDENOE COR IN AMERICA 70 EN.
TRAP THE FORGER PTGOTT.

# -
nell-The Precious Little Package whicl
a Catholic Priest Conveyed from Chi
a to ParneIl in London.
LONDON, February 26.-From q gentle
man high in authority in the prosecution
OF tAs Parnell- "Times'' case, Q representa-
tive Of the associated press, to-day, heart
the true story Of how the conspiracy
against Parnell was detected. It con
s~titutes one OF the most romantic nara
tives in the history Of politics. Without
evidence by which the conspiracy was ex
ploded, the "Times" would undoubtedly
have won it's case, notwithstanding thu
s~puriousnsss Of the letters.
Up to July OF last year Parnell, biz
counsel and colleagues were wholly at sea,
and every effort to discover the forgery
and get at the bottom of the case had
proved futile. At this time evidence wal
sent from the United States by q young
Catholic priest, the Reverend Father Dor
nsy OF Chicago, to whom it had been en-
trusted by Patrick Egan and Alexander
Sullivan, it's compilers. Its value was in
estimable, and no one was aware OF its ex'
.istence save Egan, Sullivan and Father
Dorney, until it was delivered to Parnell in
person.
THE DISCOVERY
that Pigott was the forger was made by
Egan in Lincoln, Nebraska, while Parnell.
his detectives and experts were vainly try
ing to find q clue in Great Britain. Egan
was sorely perplexed by the forged letters,
fac SMILES OF which he got in the London
"Times." The signatures to those attribu'
ted to him were remarkably good express
sions, and the odd abbreviations peculiar
to him were in the text. He thought oi
everybody who possibly could be the forger,
but could not arrive at a conclusion. he
remembered that Pigotth had been connected
in forgeries many years before, but the idea
that he might be concerned in these seemed
absurd.
In scrutinizing the forged fac SMILES,
however, he finally discovered that one
signed with his own name was written
avowsdly at q certain address in Paris, and
a recollection flashed upon him that Pigott
was the only man to whom he had ever
given it. Pigott had written him asking
for q confidential address to which he might
send important Information, and Egan,
10 l6HTu WudU Az Wdct 6OSu4OO
this address, which proved
THE KEY TO THE FoRaERIEs.
Egan, who is methodical in habit, had
saved his correspondence for years. He
searched his volumes OF letters until he
found Pigott's. By comparing them with
the handwriting on the forged letters, he
saw he had the forger. He submit.
ted the letters written by Pigott to
experts, together with the fac SMILES
of the forged letters. Immediately
there were detected characters and Pc
culiarities which were confirmed under a
microscope. Egan had Pigott's letters
and the forgeries photographed, and he
Tor Chicago, where he placed all the
papers with his friend, Alexander Sullivan,
who is also q solicitor. A brief was drawn
up by him and Sullivan in the latter's OF
in Chicago. 1t related the chief Incl.
dents in Pigott's career, and showed that
he had years before, when Pigott had tried
nell and Egan, furnished an inventory
apparently authenticated by ~well-known
accountants, showing the value Of
the property. Egan proved that the in.
ventory was false, and that Pigott had
forged the accountants signatures to it.
CAUGHT IN ANOTHER TRANSACTION.
Pigott was also caught in an another
transaction. These facts Egan
to writing. He had, meanwhile,
the process by which Pigott
made the spurious letters. He found
among his papers some letters written by
him in which entire sentences appeared that
were also in the forged letters. Pigott had
traced these sentences carefully, word for
word, then he interpolated or added other
sentences and phrases, changing the mean
of the portions. Dates were also
to make criminal interpretations
applicable to the alleged event.
Egan also found letters written by Par
nell, which had been similarly used.
Photographs of all these and OF Pigott's
and Matchmaking letters, were filed
with the originals in q package with memo.
randa, recalling to Parnell all the circum-
attending the writing or reception
Of each. This was
THE PRECIOUS PIECE OF LUGGAGE
young priest conveyed to Parnell. Until
it came, the Times" case seemed as invul-
as it was fraudulent. No hint OF
the contents, of the package became public
until Parnell himself, in an interview he
had with Pigott in the presence OF La
bouchere and Lewis, asked Pigott certain
questions which disclosed to the eulprit
chat evidence had been secured against him.
Pigott either reported this to the
Times, or was watched by it's detectives.
and traced into Psrnelrs presence. Then
be had to partially confess, and the attor-
ney general and his colleagues then com
pelled LeCaron to testify, and be as ma
as possible, swearing that Parnell
declared he favored armed revolution, and
chat Alexander Sullivan got him (LeCaron)
into a secret revolutionary organization.
This was for the purpose oil breaking the
10 rec of Parnell's information OF the &C
c cunt of P igoJt's anteceden,s, but Pigott
had no suspicion OF the overwhelm-
ing completeness Of the knowledge
conveyed in the package to Parnell and
did not realize, until he got into Sir Charles
Russell's clutches, that no ca'umny could
impair the fatal effect upon him and on the
Times case of what Parnell knew.
Had Egan not made the discovery, the
truth of the letters could only have been
denied, but their falsehood could not have
been demonstrated, and the situation
would have been a "rimes" victory, and a
for the 'Times" would be the ruin
Parnell, the Home Rule party, and to
the indefinite discredit OF the Liberals.
The Amy and Silversmith.
--Lua a.~a,snc So &ho oIuor%icipU