Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-08-04
NOTABLE MAN HUNTS
HOW CRIMINALS HAVE BEEN CHASED
TO THE ENDS OF EARTH.

TO The ENDS OF EARTH.
Benson, Who Posed as Nine. PATHS
Agent, Cheated Justice by Death.
Relentless Energy of the Police In
Tracking Counterfeiters.
There have been many long pursuits
Of criminals. great in the distance tray
eled, the obstacles overcome and the
persistence Of the pursuing officers, but
that of Sergeant Wood of the Nata..
South Africa police is doubtless c
record breaker. The man sought by
Sergeant Wood vas charged with EN-
beZzling large sums Of money at Pie
termaritzburg. He got away from
South Africa and went to New York.
Although the detective had informa.
ton as to where his quarry was hid.
ing, yet he had first to visit London to
obtain the necessary extradition pa
pers. Then he hurried to America and
with the assistance of the United States
police al down his man. By the time
he had reached M%aritzburg he had been
travelling hard for nearly three months
and had covered nearly 21.OOO miles.
One of the sternest chases Of recent
years was after Logs Darrell. formerly
sergeant in the Seventh United States
ming of the Spanish-American war and
distinguished himself at Cuba. There
he fell in love with a pretty Spanish
girl and beggared himself in buying
inery for his sweetheart. To obtain
more money he robbed and murdered
a companion in arms named Crouch.
He then fled.
A detective named Dupuy was put
upon the murderer's track and, finding
a clew, started for New Orleans. He
| was right in his surmise that Darrell
had gone there, but when he arrived
| the bird had flown. He had left on a
British mule transport for South Afri-
ca. Dupuy took train for New York.
fast boat for Southampton, rushed by
rail across Europe, caught a boat of
the German East African line and
finally arrived at Beira. in Portuguese
| East Africa.
There he waited like a spider for a
fly, and just as Darrell was fancying
himself safe from pursuit he pounced
| upon him. Later on the detective de.
posted his prisoner safely in Castle
William Jail in New York. He had
Travelled in all $1,000 miles and spent
$4,250 in the chase.
One Of the most astonishing Grim
mails England ever produced was a
man named Benson. who began oper-
ations in London with two confeder.
| ates. He organized a series of swim
ding companies in the city, while he
himself, pretending to be an invalid,
lived in the greatest luxury in the Isle
OF Wight. He posed as a great phi
l~anthropist. was foremost in charitable
society. By dint of bribing certain
officers of the law he lived for some
years OF the proceeds of his swindIes.
But n day the crash came. He was
arrested, sentenced and got a long term
In Portsmouth Jail.
No sooner was he out than he was at
his old tricks again. These eliminated
in Switzerland, where he managed to,
gain the affections Of the daughter of.
an English officer. Through her he in
duced her father to trust him with the
investment Of his entire capital, some
$4,000, He bolted with the money
Chased across Europe, a detective
caught him at Bremen. To avoid scan
dial the victim promised not to prose.
cute If Benson would give up the
money. The latter did so and left for
America. Hardly was the vessel out
Of sight before it was discovered that
the bundle of scrip the thief had
handed over was worth at most $160.
Followed across the Atlantic, Ben
o escaped to Mexico, where he made
$4,000 by passing himself off as Nine.
PATHS agent and selling forged con-
cert tickets. By this time his photo.
graph was in almost ever police bu-
reau in the world. Yet he lodged and
twisted under a dozen aliases and was
heard of in almost every South Amer
lean state before a clever New York
detective ran him down in Rio after a
two years hunt.
Even then he cheated justice. Land
ed in. prison in New York, he walked
upstairs. chatting amiably to his jailer.
Suddenly he made a spring and jumped
clean over the banister. He was picked
up with a broken back and died that
night.
The police lever exhibit more relent-
less energy than in hunting down a
coiner. A %coiner's crime is against
government, and so the whole forces
Of the state are against him. The
United States suffers far more from