Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-02-14
HIS EXPERIENCES IN WATCHING A
GANG OF EXPERT CRACkSMEN.

for that purpose secured rooms in the same
block with the Ocean bank, the officers Of
which allowed him to keep his money and
bonds in the bank safe. In this way he OBJ
tanned information which he determined TO
take advantage of for his own benefit. He
decided to rob the bank.
lie was acquainted with an expert burglar,
then in England, and, in order to divert sus-
picion from himself, he sent for him, and the
expert came over, bringing with him two
young men, his nephews. As soon as they ar
rived in New York, they set a stool pigeon at
work to find out the best way for carrying
out the scheme Of robbing the bank. At the
same time a party of Illinois burglars had a
stool pigeon at work for the same purpose.
The two met and discovered each others
plans. After some conversation it was deemed
best to report to headquarters, and this was
done; the parties met and decided to detail
three men from each party to perform the
work Of robbing the bank. In order to get
the janitor out of the way they paid him
$500, and then had no trouble in committing
the robbery. The robbers secured over 500
900 in money, besides a large amount in
United States bonds.
When the two gangs got together in coun-
Gil, Andy Mckay, of Springfield, one Of the
most notorious burglars, and a great talker.
proceedcdgto explain to the old Englishman
the manner in which he opened the Lille
safe. He said: 1.-THE center pin is loose. I
pull it out about a half inch; then strike it
hard with a sledge hammer; it breaks like
glass; then | take a p~rick-punch that will not
get fast in the hole; one man holds the prick
punch, and another strikes it hard with the
hammer and drives it through the lock; an
Ofhar hard h1ow oa1,csS If tn crrirp tho ctror
that holds the lock on; then l take the
crooked tunnel, poor in the powder, insert
the fuse, set it with a match and get out of
the way" The old Englishman replied in q
peculiar drawing way: "That would make
a noise, wouldn't itg" Eyes," said Mckay.
"but we throw q wet blanket over it, and
that prevents the noise" The Englishman
replied: II don't make any noise; 1 don't
make any more noise than a mouse would
eating a cracker"
The way the old Englishman robbed a safe
was this: He used a diamond drill, with
which he bored on one side of the center pin,
and inserted a wire in the hole. Then all he
had to do was to turn the knob once around.
Every time it struck the wire it would raise
the lug out of the slot, and then the door was
opened.
The Illinois burglars persuaded the English
burglars to come to Chicago. The old gen
tleman and one of his nephews put up at the
Sherman House for six weeks; the others
took rooms at the Revere house. Ny stool
pigeon gave me a "spot" on the old burglar
at once, and went with me to the hotel as
many as ten or fifteen times to get 'spot" on
the other young man; but 1 never could sue
coed in seeing him. They got up a ''site'' on
the state treasury safe at Springfield, and
also on the state treasury safe of Minnesota,
and on a private bank at St. Pau.
I wrote a letter to the Hon. George II.
Harlow, secretary of state, at Springfield,
telling him the robbers of the Ocean bank in
New York were in Chicago, and were pre-
pairing to rob the state treasurer's safe at the
state capital, but would probably wait until the
county treasurers had made their annual re-
turns. After that ''look out for quail tracks"
About three weeks later l received a letter
from Gen. Bates, treasurer of Illinois, asking
me to come to Springfield by the first train.
I started for the Sherman house, and, finding
my men gone, took the late train, reaching
Springfield at daylight the next morning.
After breakfast l called upon Mr.. Harlow,
who went at once and gave me IN introduce
ton to Gen. Bates. The general told me his
suspicious, and l went out to look for my
man. Within half an hour I ran across the
young man, and followed him all day.
He would occasionally step into a confec-
TONER'S and buy candy and peanuts, and
then he would visit a saloon and purchase a
bottle of pop. Finally he went down by the
capitol, where the streets were not built up
much, and l was obliged to follow OH u
parallel street, and get a look at him occa-
sionally through al opening among the scat
tered buildings and trees. At length l re-
traced my steps to the new capitol building,
near which l hid myself in a thick cluster of
bushes, staying there until after shutdown,
when he came back, and l followed him to
the Leland house. remained the rest of the
week, but saw nothing further of him. Now,
see how I got beat. He had his brother,
whom l had never seen, following ne all day.
They had a team and a wagon with a double
box. Their plan was to put the money they
got in the lower box and fill the upper one
with bags of oats. They then could travel
through the country without exciting sus-
picion.
After they were frustrated at Springfield
they went to St. Paul, MINI. After I got
back to Chicago I was one day walking on
the sidewalk, when l saw a mar coming to-
ward me whom 1 took to be the one I had
Swallowed all day at Springfield. AS he came
up I saw it was not the one I thought, but a
man by the name of Reed, whom I Knew
very well. I had hired him at an early day
to teach the school in Blackberry Center. He
married Peter Johnson's daughter, and re-
moved to st. Paul, Mimi, where he engaged
in the banking business. AS he came up to
me I said to him: Friend Reed, you fright
ened me. When I saw you coming I thought
you were one of the Ocean bank robbers"
I told him chat party had a ''site' on the
state treasurer's Office of Minnesota, and also
q private bank at st. Paul SNOW you nave
frightened me, :" he replied. Our folks told
me the morning 1 came away that a, man
came into the Office whom they at first
thought was me-. He was there twenty min
utes before they saw their mistake. Mr.. Reed
then went to the telegraph office, and wired
the bank to look out for the man they mis-
took for him, for he was one of the Ocean
bank robbers. l wrote the sheriff at st.
Paul that the robbers of the Ocean bank had
a ''site'' upon the safe of the state treasurer
of Minnesota, and to look out for them.
Shortly after that I had business at st. Paul,
and while there called upon the sheriff. He
told mo that the robbers bothered them
nearly two weeks, during the old Of the
moon. l kept track of those men. They
never. robbed another safe while in the west.
They finally, returned to Boston, and took
passage for England, taking along with them
Mall u.