The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-01-16
YARNS OF A DETECTIVE.
QUEER PEOPLE WHO HIDE MONEY.
The Sailor who sewed and the Farmer
Who surveyed-The Old Gentleman
Who Dropped Dead-Bonds
Afterward Found.

PuAANA away AAo NAS0A 90 II ltO
thoroughly enjoyed it. If ever person
exemplifed in every detail of garb and
manner the tradesman of modest but
assured competence, this man did who sat
looking at the reporter, with mild and
benevolent CLEAN in his kindly gray eyes.
81 am not surprised" he said, after the
reporter OF the Ne York Press, had in
troduced himself, that you should have
looked incredulous when you discovered
that 1 was the detective of whom you
were in search. AS YOU are a pretty
young man, no ofTense meant, you know,
you doubtless expected to find me per-
son of quite different appearance. Now,
didn't you?'
Yes replied the reporter, who further
showed his inexperience by accepting one
of the elderly mans cigars, which was, to
tell the truth-well, not from Cuba.
"You want me TO tell you about some
of my queer experiences; is that it? Yes :?
Well, the queerest experiences that |
have had in my career have been those in
which L have figured as the professional
searcher after hidden wealth"
''As what?'
"As the searcher for, and often the
finder, of money, bonds end other proper
ties hidden by eccentric persons who then
went to bed and died." continued the
elderly man, little tartly. as though
somewhat put out by the interruption.
''See p
YES" said the reporter humbly.
people" went on the detective, appar-
L. L
and bonds nowadays to such an extent as
they did forty years ago. as then some OF
the savings banks were pretty shaky al
fairs. Still there is more of that sort of
hiding done even now than most people
would suppose, and whenever a cashier
skips to Canada tea-pots and stockings are
again called into use as the repositories OF
earthly treasure. Moreover, there are
Just as many cranks in the world to-day
as there were then, who delight in mysti-
fying their friends and relatives and graf
living their own desire of seeing their
money from time to time. Such people
make heaps of trouble Tor their families,
but lots of money for gentlemen of my
profession. | don't know how | happened
to become a specialist in this line OF detect
i've work, but l suppose it was because l
was successful in the first case | attempted.
Let me see; that was back in the
sixties. / was ting in my office one day,
chewing the cud OF impecunious idleness
for / wasn't cry well known then
when a woman, ,essed in widows weeds,
entered. She stated that her husband
had recently died, as she and every one
else supposed, possessed of considerable
property in bonds. Despite a systematic
search nothing OF these bonds could be
Hfcnox-ara1 I
CHANGED to be acquainted, and for whom
| had once done a good turn, had recon-
mended her to me. She lived on Long
Island, and accompanied her home. AS
she had informed me learned on arrival
that an extended search had been made,
but with no satisfactory result. | learned
further that the man had not been
misery, and from that argued that he
had not used any of the complicated
methods OF concealment common to gen.
tlemen of penurious turn OF mind
found that his business had taken him
frequently away from home, and that he
had formerly been sea-faring man. A
thorough search had been made of all his
familiar haunts. ] asked about his clothes.
lord a massyw exclaimed his widow,
"JOhn wore the meanest buds you ever
see. We couldn't get him to keep decent
things on his back"
"May / see what he had?'' / asked.
was then informed that after the cloth
Ing had been thoroughly searched, and
ripped and prodded with knitting needles
1t had been given away TO poor man in
the village.
II was determined to have those clothes,
for / argued in this way: The man was
not misery, and therefore had not used
any extraordinary method of conceal
ment; he had been in the habit of making
short trips from home, and from that l
Judged he must have carried his money
with HIM. This Judgment was further
confirmed by the fact that nothing had
been discovered in any of the rooms
which he had occupied, and that he had
been sailor. Now, sailors, YOU know,
almost always carry their pay about their
persons. This fact, coupled with the
others. made me feel more than ever that
the money was somewhere in those
clothes. Finally they were brought in,
and a pretty seedy looking set of rags
they were, with one exception. Around
the edge of the coat was broad binding,
neatly sewed on, and in much better con-
dition than the rest OF the cloth.
''He kept his clothes neatly bound"
remarked.
"Yes, replied the widow, "John was a
good sewer, like most sailor men. He
used to spend heap of time over that
bindin'." To cut long story short, upon
ripping off that binding we found neatly
encased in oil silk five one-thousand-dol-
lar bonds. Good guessing, you see, was
my method in that case, and ii succeeded
better than a systematic search by per-
sons acquainted with the habits of the de-
ceased
Have you had experience in finding
treasure which men have hidden away
from their houses?
eyes, indeed. 1t is peculiar fact that
criminals will always hide money in out
of the way places, and farmers as they
grow old, if they have accumulated any
thing. are pretty apt to conceal it in the
ground near or at some spot onwhich they
have been in the habit of passing much of
their time. Some two years ago / went to
a farm up in Fulton county, New York, to
hunt for some property of which it was
known an aged farmer had died possessed.
The deceased was simple old gentleman
who had been noted for no peculiar char
acteristics. He had been careful of his
money, but not parsimonious, and his
business operations he had kept TO him.
self. There was absolutely no clew upon
which / could work, and, after trying sew
eral different lines OF search, was as far
oil from my purpose as when started.
In developing my search / had been aided
by different members OF the family