The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-02-03
THE ALIAS OF THE CROOK
Al Well Known Detective Talks on.
the Subject Of Criminal
Nomenclature.
The Extra Names Which Are Al
ways at Their Tongues
Ends.
some Audacions and Glover Selections of
the Mon who Arc Outlawsd by
n tho World. II

n r fno WORTH. @a ~
s.Eyery crook and law-brsaker in thi
country. said Chief of Detectives William
Desmond to q st. Louis Globe Denaocra
reporter. s.sometimes finds it convenient t,
travel under an assumed name or alias
The result ia that We have to be familia
with one or moro extra names Tor eaci
criminal that We have upon the list. Nc
one man in . thousand who is brought herr
ON a criminal charge gives his real name
unless Ws happen to know him and he seet
that it's no use to lie. The reasons TO
their desire to conceal their true names arr
varied. some Of them still have . rem
nant Of self-respsct loft, and prefer not te
publicly disgrace the name which may still
be borne by their mother and sisters. But,
ia the majority Of cases the crook simply
follows his inclination to conceal all facts
about himself and prevent tbs authorities
in other cities from learning his whore
abouts. For the same reason they screw
their faces INTO arotssqus shape when "
try to get their pictures for the roRues gal
lery.
.sThere are some curious things con-
nected with the way = creek chooses an
alias. and he often unconsciously blundsrs
ON to one that il Just az much . dead give
avay' az if he should walk up to an officer
and hand him his card. There is the case
of Bert Slye, the Glendale express robber.
When Pinkerton spoke to him and called
him .Nr. Slysy he said, why, you're mis-
taken. NV name is Albert Denton, Yes,
said Pinkerton, albert Denton Slys. and
you're the man We want
ssNow, anybody would think That . man
Who had turned a trick like That would nave
better sense than to choose An alias that
pore tbs faintest resemblance TO his y
name. Yet, in the majority Of cases, the
opposite ia true, and the alias ls either
based upon the real name, or il so CON
nected with the life and dolngs OF the
criminal, that tho officers know it by heart
a. soon ~ they hear it.
ssThis man Hedspeth, who is wanted Tor
comnlicitv in the crime for which Slye 10
held. often travelled under the name u. Il;
Williams, q man that he once shot
vonnded 90 badly that he got a term in the
nan1tantiary for it. Here 10 the record Of
Nick Moran, a sneak thief: He walked in
hsra and gave me the name of John Ed
Yards. q sheriff who arrested him and sent
h;n, ovsr the road for his first offense.
Louis Bulling, who was hanged at savan-
nah. Mo-, not long & for killing his wife.
is another illustration. Ho escaped from
iaii last year and went to Chicago. There
H. sailed under the nams Paul May, which
= Che name of his little son-Paul May
Rnilinr. When the Chicago people heard
that name it was worth 2 dozen pnoso-
0raphs for purpose Of Identification. They
knew they had their man.
These men were not 80 FOOLISH az one
mioht think a. q glance" continued the
chiaf. "1Ihe criminal knows we'll he il lia.
bIss to be spoken to by an officer or arrested
IN snapicion Ut minute. So he care
fnllv prepares himself for that emergency.
Besides altering his appearance as much Is
possible, he decides upon an alias, which,
coolly md quietly given may throw the
officer off his guard. But the crook knows
that ha NAV be addressed from behind or
in an unpuarded moment, and he chooses a
name which he eannot forget, even under
the most trying circumstances. So ne
twists his real name around or chooses that
of some relative or friend, or of some one
connected with a startling or unusual event
in his life which he can easily recall. Ihsn,
when he is questioned, the name comes
rlibly to the tongue, without any suspicious
hesitation.
SLots OF people give the names of rsla-
tiyes living or dead. That usually occurs
in the cases of petty sneak thieves or small
FRY offenders who haven't thought to sup
ply themselves with an alias. When called
on for a name they blurt out the first one
that comes to mind, and usually choose
those of relatives. Here is the case OF
Skippy Rowan, a pickpocket. who gave us
the name of his cousin, John Welsh, as his
own. Another pichpocket, John Hays,
turns in the name Slattery. which right
fully belongs to his grandfather. In many
cases an offender will fall back on hi
mothers maiden name in a pinch. Some
times they reverse their names, and Charles
Edwards. bank thief, will 90 down on thu
records as Edward Charles, though he i
known to New York crooks as 'Broken-nos'
Tully.' Occasionally they are satisfied
with simply altering their true name
slightly. Here's a picture of ALDER
w. Washburn, a widely known crook ant
flim-hsm man, who calls himself Albert w
Blackburn. Frank Watson, a daring BAN
thief, varies a little and calls himself Fran
Wilson-only changing two letters bu
getting a very different name, which can b
easily recalled. Charles Myers. one of tn
greatest pickpocke:s in New Yotk, has
while w. p. Graham. a bogus expressmhn
is satisfied with Gray. Bunco-steere
Thomas Yalcott prefers the name of Tai
mutt, and Martin Standard, all-aroun'
crook, varied his to Mark Stanton, blu
didn't escape the pen Thomas Luc
takes Lewis in preference. although NOR
commonly known as Shaver Good
clever confidence man whose operations ar
bold md widely extended. Here is q pic
ture Of Albert Clegg, who has been u THE
for thirty years. The police never SUI
ceeded in getting his picture until recent,
He likes to be Known as Albert LeRg.
Here is Watt Jones. who robbed a ban
in Canada and skipped to this country. II
followed the method of Hedapeth, an
travelled us A. j. Stetson, which is tn
name of the banker he had robbed.
Sometimes, however, the crimina
boldly branches out, and in the choice of
name displays an audieity which is start
ling and sometimes amusing. Thus Emm
Meade. a wrinkled and haggard old pick
pocket. insists ON being known as Mar
Anderson. She is SO called by the inmate
of the St. Louis Jail, where she is now do
ing time. A Canadian bartender, who
making shoes in the Massachusetts peni
Tertiary, took the name of Oscar La For
tune. and, thus equipped, tried his luck q
a highway robber. He was famous for
time. but finally fell down to his p.esep
place.
Mason T. Helmbold. the 'plug-hnt Tor
GER published u volume of poems entitle
'Ihisbe's Lament Then, ID order to pa
the adventurous publishers. he forced
check on D excl. Morgan d Co., and the
went through Europe under the name {
the senior member of that firm. Charl,
Wallace launched forth as Andrew Jaokso