The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-13
AN INCIDENT
showing the Danger That secret Ser
vice Agents Are Forced TO Face.

wee Agents Are Forced 10 race.
Chief Wilkie in Golfers Weekly.
Occasionally it happens that it becomes
necessary for a deal to be made directly
with the handlers Of spurious money, and
in these cases it takes a man of nerve
and keen wit to bring it to a successful
issue. Such transactions are always
fraught with great personal danger. Per
haps this may be best illustrated by brief
ly outlining the experience of operatives
Of the division IN breaking up the notori-
Gus "Bish" Ware gang in Western Penn
sylvania, Ware, who had been known as
a desperate in the mountains about AL
toona for many years. finally formed
combination with one Slippery Jim"
Funk, as bad a man as himself, to en-
bark in the enterprise of showing counter
felt coins. His connection with this sort
Of work was unsupported until in a mo-
ment Of bravado he exhibited a quantity
OF new bogus coins in small mountain
town. An operative of the secret service
division, after some weeks of patient
work, succeeded in approaching Ware and
Funk with proposition to purchase a
quantity of their product. 1t was not an
OF actually making the trade. Suspicious
always of possible pitfalls, they INDUCED
IN series of tests TO establish to their
satisfaction the character of the man with
whom they had to deal. Appointments
were made apparently in good faith for
the exchange of the bogus metal. packages
osiensbly containing the coins were
brought 20 the place of meeting for the
deliberate purpose of drawing the fire
II / may so express it, of government Of
hcers, should this really be a trap. Ar
rests on any of these occasions would
have been fruluess, for the packages CON
talned nothing but blocks of wood Pa
uence and good judgment on the part of
the officers prevented precipitate action,
aud succeeded in lulling the suspicion of
the coiners. Finally an appointment was
made al a small hotel at Tyrone, Penn.
To Operative Abbott had fallen the dan
gerous task of meeting the men and car
rylng on the deal. Operative Perkins,
with an assistant secured room at the
hotel on the opposite side of the han
from that occupied by the coiners and
Abbott. 1t was arranged that Abbott
should, by some ruSe, get one of the men
to leave the room after the coin was act
ualy i'm sight, and the arrests were to
be made as soon as this was accomplished
slippery Jim and Abbott were first in
their room, and a little later were Joined
by Dish" who carried an ordinary leath-
er travelling satcheI
This which weighed something over a
hundred pounds, was handed over 10 Slip
perry Jim and he and Abbot took seats
at opposite sides Of a small table. each
with his revolver under his right leg on the
chair ready for any emergency, while
"Bish,' with his gun in his hand. stood
guard at the door, 1t was a trying moment
TOR the officer when Funk opened the grip
and took from it roll after roll of con,
neatly made up IN packages of $40. The
time mad nearly come to act. and he read
death in the faces of the two criminals
one of The men must be got rid of tenn
porarly, but how? His mind worked rap
Idly, and as he look the rolls from Funk
one by one a plausible plan presented it
SELF which was at least worth a trip. The
counting went on slowly until nearly the
whole amount had been transferred
Look here" sad Abbott suddenly. 81
can't take chances on this stuff coming
loose and rafting around in my grip. |
am taking long chances in this thing, and
l don't want TO Slip up, jim" addressing
the man across the table, take this half
dollar and run across to the dry goods
store and get me a piece of muslin. III feel
safer with these rolls done up in cloth"
wait until we get through" said jim
the count went on. ana at its conclusion
Bish' stepped 10 the table, and, with an
Ihrusting his revolver into his pocket he
dashed cut of the room and down the
stairs. The moment the door closed, Abb
bot declaring his identity as an officer
tackled Funk. In less than a minute Funk
had the upper hand of the officer and the
muzzle of his pistol was pressed against
his forehead. Abbott managed to get one
of his fingers under the hammer of the
weapon and prevented its use, though
Funk was SLOWLY choking be Iifa O,,t Df
him, when Perkins and his assistant broke
into the room and quickly had the desper-
ado OVerpowered and handcuffed. They
stepped back into the han just as "Bish"
came dashing back with the cloth in his
hands. Perkins ordered a surrender and
the answer was two pistol shots, 50 close
that the flash almost blinded him. The fire
was returned, and Ware, apparently I'M
harmed made for the stairs, reached the
street ran short distance, turned into an
alley, and there dropped dead, having been
shot through the hung.