Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-14

llIC ~ HIS ~
inviting him to cal from time to time,
which the u%nsuspecting man did not fail
to do in quest of American customers. "A
Job was then 'put up to steal the dia-
mond case belonging to the merchant,
and with that end i'm view, a transatlan-
tic thief who happened to be in Paris was
induced to walk away with the case,
while Abel stalled the man off at the
other end of the The sneak
thief simply took the case from the deal
er's elbow and stepped out of the place
with it; and the owner. on turning round,
was amazed to find that it had disappear
ed. Abel assured him that no one had en-
tered the bar, and declared that the deal
CT had not his case with him when he
came in. The dealer was not the owner
of the goods, but was selling them on
commission for the account of a large
jeWelry house in Paris.
ARRESTED AND IMPRISONED.
He was arrested and imprisoned for
some weeks. Abel was himself called
several times before the Judge d'tnstruc-
ton, but he held fast to his story that the
dealer had never brought the missing
diamonds into his bar on That particular
day, and the victim at length grew so
confused hat he could not say with GER
into the bar in the Rue Scribe.
into the bar in the Rue Scribt.
Some months later Abel sold out in
Paris and returned to New York, where
he disposed Of the stolen diamonds. Opel-
ations were then attempted in Jamaica.
which / will not detail. and then came a
robbery OF 700. 900 francs in Egyptian
and Spanish bonds. effected by a gang,
Of which Abel was the chief. p the
mail train between Calais and Paris.
1T is an extraordinary thing that Abel,
who may be regarded as the most sue
cessful bank thief, diamond robber and
burglar Of his day. has not during the
whole curse Of his career served more
than two and a half years in prison. Yet
he has run the ordinary risks Of betrayal.
A certain Captain George was arrested
in Paris and sentenced to a long term Of
hard labor. This man asked for some as
sistance from Abel, which was refused.
thereupon Captain George 'sQuealed
upon his principal. and Abel was tried in
his absence and sentenced to twenty
years hard labor. Nothing dislnayed,
Abel. with four others, next attempted to
rob a bullion car at Folkstone, but the
coup failed, owing to the fortunate cir
cumstances that an iron bar in the build
ing in which the car was standing was so
placed as to prevent the thieves from lift
ing up the door, the lock of which had
been forced by them. The men engaged
in this attempt were associated also in a
remarkable robbery Of the diamond mail
in South Africa, which was effected III
1880. 1t would take me too long to eX-
plain their methods. Abel and a mana
sneak thief-passing under an aristO-
cratic pseudonym. journeyed from New
York in a sailing vessel to Port Elizabeth,
South Africa, and there succeeded in
stealing from the postofice two bags,
containing GO. 900 worth Of rough dia-
monds. in transit from the fields 10 Lon
don. 1t is a romance in itself, and de-
monstrated marvellous aptitude. Several
men ~co-operated in this job. which was
undertaken upon Abel's initiative. The
stolen diamonds were in course of time
brought to Hatton Garden, and one OF
the gang started in business as a diamond
dealer to sell the stones in the market,
and the purchasers. it is said. We're fire
quently their rightful owners
Before his haul was made, in 1878,
there was stolen from he counter of a
bank in Paris "a. 000f. in notes. A few
days afterward a brother of Abel entered
an exchange office in Rue Saint-Honore
to get English money. rendering o00f. fol
it. The agent had been warned of the
theft. recognized npon one of the notes
offered a stopped number, and arrested
the man who had passed it. He was cas-
into prison for a few months. Abel was
a spectator of the arrest and swore ven
geance against the exchange agent. Fol
five years he nursed his wrath, and i
! was not until 1853 hat his chance came
and the agent was robbed of $50 ,0O0f il
money and securities at Abel's inStiga.
ton.
During this period the leaders OF thu
gang We're selling off their diamonds
and. posing as honest traders, they mad
the acquaintance Of a dealer in rough dia
monds, who received from South Africa
by the Cape Mail regularly parcels aver
aging 10000 to El2, 900 in value. TIL,
rogues cultivated this desirable connec
ton, and while the sneak thief went will
the diamond dealer into a Turkish batl
the others got at his clothing and tool
an impression in wax of the safe key il
one of the pockets. Then they waited al
opportunity. timing a descent upon hi.
safe when a mailed parcel was expected
but, fortunately. nothing had been sen
by post on that occasion, and the burg
lars got nothing for their pains eXcep
loose cash.
PRINCE OF HIS PROFESSION.
1.-THE mana prince in his profession
whose career | am skctching for you
(said the expert,) has a self-reliant char
acter. 1t has always been his policy t,
deal with weak concentrates. with WnOn
he can play as he pleases. Any detectiv
who has had to do with the fellow cal
tell YOU that. They say there is homo
among thieves Abel has never believes
in thai maxim. He has taken advantas
of his pals SO frequently that the won
der is thai he has not suffered at thei
hands the usual fate Of the boss crimina
betrayed by the police mark or in
former. But then he has been e%ssentia
to the existence of his 'crowd'--the brain
of the whole lot. In one bank robbery i
il asserted that he 'weeded the swag' b.
which he made a personal profit of E10,
900. In diamond robbery In Paris he de
frauded his confederate by PURCHASING