The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-15

a locksmlth and was taken up by two
noted criminals. George Bliss and
Fairy" Mcclure. whom he met in a
New York gambling house. They used
him in robbing a New Jersey bank.
and the success of the venture was
due primarily to his skill. He progress
ed rapidly and as his ability became
known in the crook" world his serv-
ices were in constant demand. He
probably engaged in twenty robberies
before his name became known to the
authorities. He had scarcely attained
his majority when he was planning out
big robberies for himself. At that time
the only safe in general use in banks
and business houses in this country
was that made by the Lilly company.
Shinburn figured that man who could
master the secret of the Lilly combi-
nation lock could loot every Lilly safe
in the country. He decided to go and
work for the Lilly company. Bliss
and Mcclure agreed to keep him in
funds while he studied. Such an ex-
pert machinist as Shinburn had no diff
ficulty in getting the job he wanted.
1t took him over year to obtain all
the knowledge he needed for the sue
cessful consumma ton of the Sc
ries of robberies he had plan
ned, but he kept at work
with patience. The most important dis
covery he made at the time was that
person with acute hearing could. by
putting his ear near the lock of Lilly
safe and turning the dial. discover at
what numbers the tumblers dropped
into place. He made a careful study of
difficult combinations, and is credited
with discovery that is alleged to have
driven the Lilly safe out of the mar
ket. He removed the combination from
a. safe and then placed an impression
able piece of paper under 1t. Then he
turned the dial slowly and found that
whenever a combination number was
reached the impression on the paper
became more distinct. By using a mi
croscope Shtnburn was able to tell
what the combination numbers WERE
With this mass of valuable informa-
ton Shinburn and his associates plum
dered Lilly safes all over the coun-
try, finally driving the Lilly company
out of business. Time and again the
man was arrested, and several convic-
tons are on record against him, but
no prison was ever strong enough to
hold him for long. With the police of
the country after him Shinburn went
to New York city and invested a large
sum of money in the stock market. He
was warned to fly, as the authorities
were closing in on him, but he calmly
waited to see how his investment
rise in the market brought
him a fortune, and with over
a million dollars of stolen money he
sailed for Belgium, with which coun-
try the United States had no extradi-
ton treaty at that time. He purchas-
ed the title and estate of decrepit no.
bleman and blossomed forth as Count
Shinburn. He spent thousands of dol
lars on entertainments. the magnitude
of his operations on the Bourse stag
gered the native spectators, and his
enormous winnings and losings were
commented on all over Europe For
fifteen years he kept up this gait. then
came a series Of misfortunes, and the
great bank burglar was pennIless once
more. He went to Paris, met some flu
gitive American crooks there and
planned the robbery Of the Provincial
Bank at WHERE'S, Belgium. The
merest accident in the world resulted
in the arrest of Shinburn and his pals;
he was sent to jail for five years, but
escaped in month. Some of the big
jobs that Shinburn Engaged in were
the robbery of the Lehigh and Wilkes
barre Coal Company's office at White
haven, Pa. of $4,000 in cash by tun-
neling his way to the vault from an
uuJOlllAlh the IODDtIY Oh the
Walpole, N. H., bank of $4,000; the
robbery OF the st. Adams, Vt, bank
OF $4,000; the robbery Of the Ocean
Bank on Greenwich street. New York,
of $1,000000 in money and securities.
the robbery OF the West Maryland
Bank OF $4,000 and a score of others.
Shinburn has shot dozen men. been
shot several times himself, and has
broken TAIL fully dozen times II
was over five years ago that Shin
burn. an old man then, ran up against
modern science. II was at the Mid
dleburg, N. Y, Bank. He and his as
sociates fought their way to the doors
Of the vault and had blown away every
obstacle with ro-glycerine before
they realized that they had set off a
burglar alarm. Shinburn escaped on a
handcar but was arrested later in
New York city.
Chauncey Johnson, a man who stole
over s2,000.000 in his time, died penni-
less not long ago while serving a term
In prison for stealing a pocketbook
from a woman in a New York city book
store. lie took the pocketbook because
he was in genuine need. In his time
he was one Of the most skillful and
successful thieves I'm the country, but
the field for his peculiar talents had
disappeared. He stole 100000 from the
Hatter's Bank OF Bethel, Conn, and