The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-11-06
The way he did his work was as

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paper. which is of about the same
thickness and looks very much like
the special paper prescribed by the
secretary of the treasury. This he cut
into the exact size Of the genuine note.
He then immersed it in a weak solu-
ton OF coffee, which made it look old,
though not too old. 1t gave it an p
pearance as if it had been in circula-
ton about a year and had been handled
very often. 1t made it look soft and
mellow, though not ragged or worn.
While it was still wet he laid it up
on a brand new genuine note, so that
the edges fitted exactly, and placed
the two upon a pane Of glass. Every
word, every letter, every hair line in
the frame work and the seal of the
United States stood out with startling
clearness. Now, while the bond paper
was still damp, he took his pane Of
glass and placed it against the window
frame at an angle of forty-five degrees.
Here he had an excellent light, which
threw the fine tracery of the genuine
note into strong relief.
With an extremely hard and finely
pointed pencil he reproduced upon the
damp bond paper all the parts, even
the most minute of the genuine note.
Then, after having carefully copied
the note, he waited for the paper to
dry. When perfectly dry he went
over the lines with his pen and ink
and hnrn hic ~, n rxo1orc chill hio NO
thence and his shrewdness were all
brought into play.
If o will examine the border of a
$40 bank or government note you will
find that it is made up Of the tiniest
lines and shadings that human skill
could devise. To copy this border
faithfully would take six months of
steady work. But who ever looks at
the border of a note? Who ever takes
the trouble to see whether it is merely
a shaded blur or is made up Of almost
imperceptible lines?
Ninger knew this. He made no at
tempt to reproduce the hairlike lines
of the government e~ngravers. He re-
produced, however, a border which, at
first sight, made exactly the same eff
feet upon the eye as that Of the genu-
inc note. His was made in a few min
utes.
1t took the ~engravers months to do
it. Holding them SIDE by side, there
is no trace of resemblance between the
two. At a distance of two or three
feet you could not have told the differ
ence between them.
With the portrait, however, Ninger
took more pains. His imitation of the
portrait of Alexander Hamilton of the
$40 note that is in the possession of the
government officials would almost de-
ceive an expert.
When he had finished his pen-and-
ink work he went over the whole lot
with a camel's-hair brush to put in the
colors. These colors we're wonderful
limitations of the original. The silk
threads which in the original notes are
worked into the pulp Of the paper
Ninger initiated with the pen with red
and blue ink.
His greatest triumph, however, was
shown in his imitation of the treasury
seal. Every obligation of the govern
ment issued as money bears upon it's
face a red imprint of n of the most
intricate seals that ingenuity could
contrive. Ringers imitation of this
could bear the closest scrutiny and yet
deceive the eye.
The color that he employed was not
exactly that used by the treasury Off
Gals, for the tint of car1nine used on
original notes is difficult to obtain.
But very few people ever notice the
peculiar color Of the true seal, and
Ninger felt perfectly safe in using any
kind of red that he could lay his hands
N.
When he had completed the seal he
crumpled the whole counterfeit Ill his
hands and carried it around in his
pocket several days to impart to 1t, as
much as he could, the appearance vi
wear and usage. A week or so suficed
to give it that greasy, worn look of an
old note, and then, it is safe to say,
ninety-nine out of every hundred peo-
pie would have accepted it as genuine
money without a moments hesitation.
Ninger was an early riser and al
ways began his work at Z o'clock. He
continued at it without interruption
until noon, when the dinner-bell
would summon him to lunch. Before
going downstairs, however, he would
carefully put his room in order, hiding
all his apparatus and leaving no trace
that might betraY the nature of his