The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-01
THE MINER AND HIS PAST
CRIMINAL RECORDS IN NEW
GOLD LANDS
Most or Them hurled, but Some OF Them ne
vivcd In tho Cause OF Justice-Two Forty-
miners whose sins Pound Them Out-An rn-
corruptibie Iawser-wniia n. Daiton's End

AAhNNh
WASHINGTON, July 31.-'If within the next
two years or so all Of the detectives In the
United States who have made unsuccessful
searches for embezElcrs, absconders, and other
high-class f~ugitives Of a similar Sort said IN
old Forty-ninor down the river tho other day.
"wore to make q run to tho gold fields of Alas
ka, I'll wager they'd make a round.up that
would astonish them. It was shown during tho
earliest years Of the gold excitement in Cali
fornia that ncwly discovered mining regions
have an indcscribable fascination for men who,
having stolen large sums OF money in their own
communities, have been compelled to make .
run for II. II the fact had been sufficiently
well known then, there would have boon a
whole lot Of vacant claims Of men who struck
California during tho very best OF It and took
out Of tho ground, many Of them, enough gold
to repay thor obligations ten times over
which some Of them did, and some didn't. Tho
Klondike country will be filed with money
takers from every corner of the United States,
whose double purpose in going there will DO to
get enough dust out Of the placers to square
themselves with tho people they have stolen
from, besides enrichine themselves legitimatcly.
There were not a great many apprchensions
Of embezzlers from tho East In California dur
ing the gold days, but there were some. Tho
most notable was tho capture of the bank en-
bezzler, John 8. Desire, who had stolen In the
course OF years nearly $4,000 from q bank In
Charleston, 8. o., and who, when he saw that
his discovery was drawing nigh, made a final
haul and jumped around for California by way
OF Panama. He was caught at Sacramento In
1851 by a lawyer from Charleston who had
been armed with police powers by tho Gov
ernor OF South Carolina, and Desire was GER
tninly the hardest loser when It happened that
ever came over the hills. 1t was not such q
wonder. either, that no felt like u hard-hit man
when tho lawyer from Charleston appeared
with tho warrant and requisitlon papers for his
arrest, for Desire was one Of tho first men to
strike it rich early In 1850 In the Shasta country.
He had taken out something like $500, 900
when his captor turned up. and no had hun
dreds Of thousands more in sight. We all
thought out there that Desire got rather the
worst of it when every offer he made his law
yer captor for a compromise was rejected. 1t
appears that the money he had stolen from tho
Charleston bank while he was it's cashier had
been the savings Of a large number Of small
investors. and the bank was SO done up by tho
theft that it had to quit when the discovery
came after Desires flight. This had SO en-
bittered the plundered depositors that when
it was learned that Desire was in California
under the name of Matthias, they sent tho
lawyer after him with instructions tho. at any
Carolina for heavy punishment. The lawyer
".See here said Desire when the I I,Sn: an
peared ct his place In Sacramento and showed
his Iapers. I'm in the hole In Charleston to tho
isn't itr
The lawyer nodded.
the amount, That squares It, doesn't itT ~
Z" No. said the lawyer; Pm under ~instruc-
tons to take you hack; I'm going 70 do it,
supposed Now, here's a check for $50. 600
it will be h9nored at that bank right across the
that I appropriated for cotton speculation; and
hers another eheck-also to be cashcd imme-
diligence with which you have or are going n to
treat my request
But I'm not; I'm going to take you back
"'Damnation, man. are you crazy. or WHAT
exclaimed Desire. But, once again An OF the
have already offered you is another sioo, 900.
Tax: ses,,. 1T slli &c &c back %S ITO. to ch hs,t To- and make
YOU need draw no more BRIEFS
Desire. you must get ready to come back
WIN Besides Rs; aesp the $40 sss t loSG, I'm give YOU n half.
The steamer sails in three days. and the
c cisSa leg 1eaves to-morrow morning for San Fran
: Ny friend. DO you know that l could en-.
nothing would ever DO done about itT asked
".Not very well, Desire, when there are
see th aa you do O. n" "nch thing; pack up:'
spite of the wealth and the deeds to his claim
few years later. The lawyer went to Congress
and died lighting for the Confederacy.
appropriately something like $4,000 rom a
private banking firm % which he was a mem:
Der, and then struck for California by way Of
inc Horn on a sailing vessel, left his bones out
there, Dalton killed him and then blew, his
pretty fair strife on his placer claim, and was
easily within reach OF St00, 900 when the de-
tee,iy9 tEFred up, But Dalton's success had
dissipation. with the result that he got into tho
habit OF spending more Of his time ,caroysing
which he generally left to the supervision OF a
friend with an adjoining claim while he was on
midst of one of these San Francisco debauches
when the New Orleans detective arrived on tho
pansma steamer in the fail Of 1855. his head
IL did not take this detective, Charles McClin.
took, long after landing to find out Dalton's
concluded there was no particular hurry about
completing his job, especially as there was no
steamer. which did no. 20 oIfe oT two vaee Week. pS and md
80 he decided TO take in San Francisco a little
h Mn ne was q man who drank pretty
in those days. So for I've days he hauled around
~ tS"h' ptotty won IOduGu up Ill inc time,
meeting new drinking and gambling mates
every, day, and having rather too much fun
with himself in general than was exactly right
for a detective who was on SO important a
o the night Of the fifth day OF McClin-
tock,s cerouse he. with two men he had met in
a barroon,. walked into the saloon OF the Golden
Gate, Hotel; The detective had been at tho
bran'y 30 long that his head was bad and he
was a little ugly. But he walked up TO the
bar With the two men, and they ordered drinks.
While they were drinking n hne-looking man
wlIn n ROD0 deal 0f tnyyntrV n IN hia fargnn
strolied IN with a couple of other well-groomed
McClintock, the detective, and Invitations TO
drink were exchanged. The fine-looklng man,
who appeared 10 be tho chief OF the party, was
about two parts, drunk, and no ordered wine.
not noticed before, and who seem,ed to be in he
t~aciturn stage of drink.
" Pardon he said with some politeness, adj
dressing the detective, but l don't believe /
-" MGClintock's my name said tho detec-
tive. What's yours, II l may inquirer
gold country was the reply.
oh, by God, is that SOY exclaimed McClin.
A~E