The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-02-23

cHAuNcEY JOHNSON.
mar was apparently utterly without fear whom
the glamor OF crime WAS upon him. For ,hicvi,e
was a sort OF passion with him. ma was shoyn in
one OF his bank robberies. wh,r, n. esbed on,
with a bent wire roll after roll of hill. before
the eyes OF the paving teller and a numh,r n,
other persons. and, ha wing safely pocke,cd nhou,
$40, 1000, kept on I'm the face OF almost certain do.
! lection. with the fatuitv ~ III. .ouhl.r who
having made n coup. throws ALI his winri,cs On
n single number. in The aes,c-.,o 90, s5o,oo ,,a,
once moro fate will turn IN his ,-oa,
81 couldn't stop.' he e,pI,I,.d rh., a.
rested. nd have ken, on tiu al m. nact.n..
! were gone ~ I hadn't bee, caucb, ana a..
probably I'd have tried IN hooL ,ho Lii -"
The description bv which. Of lar. y..r. roi,.
forced nv A ,bo,ooranb IN. c.,,.., na...-
tecu'es OF TINS city were expected to recognize
Johnson whenever he came their way was IA
follows:
seventy years old in 1898; slim built, 5 feet
gig In. tall, weighs ll9 pounds: hair, originally
black, but turning gray: brown eve. Ions ,hin
,oc. s.I,,u 'o"s, nm
race. saiiow complexion; India ink mark on
right hand between thumb and forcnnger." For
several Years befor. hi. death no wor. 49,.
,s,s. III $500 nS a ~ wore mus
neat and well dressed.
Similar dissertations OF him AR. n, Al, IN ~.
police records OF almost every large city in the
country. That the police OF this CITY ana M,
ALWAYS recognize him i. shown nv an ,rc,san,
49,, o"o"" " u" ine'uoht
related further on. For several years there has
been n standing ordo- to arrest him on suspicion
60, -. |ppr = io,k' Al Such
times when he hasn't been arrested on general
custody on spec,ac. and worry ,r.or.n,Ir mso
bim..,, az, aa.,n Tha "e4u"'s oset
full of his name.
or Johnson's early life. as is true ot mos, frat.
''HSs Pro'"-slonai crlhi'hais. niue IL known. He
was not Of the class who drift, from trampiom
into the criminal lists or who vary IN. M. y, a
- Inn VI u ,"ry ,ho lie OF a
Bowery ioafer by occasional sall!cs into burglary
or highway robbery. From the time when he
ar,t became known he was a ns,mro, cr,r,iraI
bringing All 'hs ior'eSo u quick VIII, a great
natural shrewdness; a Sonsummnte art Of simp-
ness from which he hoped to become a million.
airc. For he did not at first steal merely to
early ambition,
One OF these days" he would say to his cred.
hsns. Of ar mA Says s' a sI pises o. a"a m a o l"rS' , i'Sfk u III
make you fellows open your eyes. You'll be
iIhsns,nl 70 do 6HsinSss with me then, Chauncey
and racing horses. That's my mark"
Johnson always called himself a bookkceper,
opportunities while in prison OF showing his pro.
nciency In this line. HOY long he had been
his fret mishap was due to b%ungiing, which he
afterwarl characterized as the mistake oil an I'M
skilled workman; so IL In probable that he WAS
not then AN old hand. ~ that style OF thing, any.
way. He undertook TO rob a silk house in Reade
street under the very eyes OF the Waterman, and
was arrested. For this he was sentenced TO Ave
years In State prison. Upon being released he
80 about planning the robbery OF the Hatters'
Bank In Bethel, Conn. He succeeded In break
ing into the hank and getting the money, but
covered. He was sent to prison for another Ave
years.
That settles bank breaking for NO. said
Johnson. ITS too heavy for my line. I'm go
ing to quit the business"
This was not a promise Of reform. 1t meant
more suitable method OF thievery, and he found
It. on his release. In sneak thieying. No other
man In this country has ever got away with 40
much money by sneak thievery AS Chauncey
johnson. Tho principle on which he worked was
to 20 where money was kept in large quantities
and keep his eyes open. Owing to the extreme
responsibility Of his appearance he never aroused
suspicion while hanging about "A place. One OF
the places he frequented was n certain hank In
Philadelphia, and II was here that he conceived
Inside the paying t%cller's window were
lunches OF. bills, neatly done up. and sup
posedly safe out OF reach OF the crowd
behind the grating. johnson observed the rolls
and studied the grating. He was satisfied that
he could get those bills, and by way OF prepare
filled In the space behind with rolls OF paper,
and p~ractisod fishing for them with a small wire
bent into the form OF IA hook. Having become u
proficient angler he went to the bank, stood in
line, and began to hook up his valuable rsh.
This was probably the most skilinl performance,
great delicacy as well as absolute calmness OF
nerve. Had he been content with the packages