Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1891-01-17
A CLEVER RU, L.

During tic year fH,r' The West was
tlcud~& W.;h codnt2t felt coin. 1t NaS
50 well nlanuflGturvd thai it i'as%ed
readily. The evil at last became so
great that the nited States authorities
requested slsilIful detective might
be sent TO ferret out the nest of COIN
els. was fixed upon to perform the
duty.
| had nothing to guide me. The
fact. however, that Chicago was the
city where the counterfeit coin was
most abun"ant led me to suspect that
the manufactoly mi ght be somewhere
within its limits. 1t was, therefore,
to the capital Of the West that | first
proceeded. | spent five weeks in that
beautiful city. but without gaining the
slightest clew to the counterieltcrs.
| began to grow discouraged, and
really thought | should be obliged to
return home without having achieved
any result. One day | received a let
ter from my wife requesting that |
would send her some money, as she
was out of funds. | went into bank
ans' asked for d aft, at the same time
handin~ a sum of money to pay for it,
in which there We're several half
dollars. The clerk pushed three Of the
half dollars back to me.
Countcrfeit.' said he.
"What," said l. do you mean to
tell me those half dollars are counter
feit%n
"I do.'
care YOU certain ?"
"Pe1 fe"t'y certain. They are re-
malSahly well executed, but they are
deficient in we; chit. See for yours elf"
And he laced one Of them in the
scales again>t a genuine ha'f dollar on
the other side. The latter weighed
dcVp the folmer.
THAT is the best executed counter
fcit coin | ever saw in my life | ex-
Gained eXamin ng them closely. Is
all the coun erfcit money in circulation
here Of the same character as this ?"
90, dear, no." replied the clerk, " it
is not nearly so well done. These are
the work of Ned Willett, the famous
New FORK counter feiter.
81 know them well, for | have
hardlcd a great deal in my time.
Here is some of the money that is in
circulation here" he added, taking
several half dollars from a drawer.
L 'u FCt litt llIiillIS Is IpI Hldil.N v ttS
perfect as Ned Willett's, although it is
pretty we'll DONE too"
! COM arcd the two together, and
found t'.at he was right. | supplied
the place of the three counterfeit half
dollars with good coin and returned
the former to my pocket again.
A few days after this / received in
fol nation which caused me to take a
journey tn a village situated about
thirty miles from Chicago. | arrived
there at night and took up my quarters
at the only tlveln in the place. 1t was
a wretchnd dwelling, and kept by an
old man and woman. the surliest
couple | think it has been my lot to
meet. In answer to my inquiry as to
whether | could have lodging there for
the night, I noticed that the host gave
a peculiar look at his wife, and after
some whispering I was informed in the
most ungrasious manner possible that
| could have bed.
I have frequently. in the course of
my life, been Obliged to put up with
wretched accommodation, so | did not
allow my equanimty Of temper to be
destroyed by the miserable fare set
before me. and the still more miserable
sleeping aFartment into which | was
usheled after | had concluded my
repaSt.
The chamber was small in size. and
WAS certainly we'll ventilated, for [
could sec the stars peeping through the
roof. The bed simply bag of straw
thrown into one corner of the room,
without sheets or covering of any kind.
This last fact, however, was not of
much consequence, as it was summer
time and oppresSively hot.
stood for more than an hour gazing
out of the opening which served for a
window. Before me was spread an
immense prairie, the limit of which |
could not see. The tavern in which |
had taken up my abode appeared to be
iso!atel from all other dwellings,, and
save the croak of the tiee frog and the
hum of the locust, not a sound reached
my ears. 1t was beautiful moonlight
night, and so bright that | could see to
read the smallest print.
At last | began to grow weary, and
throwing myself on my pallet | was
soon plunged into deep slumber.
How long | slept | know not, but was
awakened by a dull sound, which re-
sembled some one hammering. in the