The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-09-21

At Ogden they came to arrest me. l
saw them, they even talked to me, and
l remembered with horror that l had
the gold from the Reno bank in bag
stamped with the banks name in my
pocket
81 fled into the country and, return
ing before daylight, laid in cheap
lodginghouSe for two days and then,
jumping on an eastern train at night,
I started for Omaha. There l went
into the cattle business and depos1t1ng
my gold, with lot of paper, got credit
of several thousand dollars, which
drew out as rapidly as possible, and
twelve days after leaving the coast
I carried $4,000 to Mike Mcdonald and
gave it to him.
For safe keeping?" asked the listen
er.
Precisely; Mr.. Mcdonald keeps a
gambling house." replied Whiteman.
Then Whiteman went to New York,
and after being guest OF a hotel paid
his bill with more paper, taking $175.-
For this Armstrong and Reidy, the de-
tectiVeS, arrested him. News or his
capture was carried to San Francisco
and his eXtradiction was demanded.
Whiteman squared the hotel account,
but the Californians were urgent for
his presence, and his faculties were
strained to resist the issuance of the
governors assent. At this time Flow
er was governor of New York and
Whiteman had an interview with him
to plead his own cause.
ST am not afraid to go to California
on the charge that is before you," said
Whiteman to the governor, but 1 am
afraid of other charges that may be
brought. Will you exact from this Of
ficer promise that upon this charge
alone I shall be tried, and will you
issue the requisition papers to include
this charge alone?
Certainly" said the governor, and
he did so.
Then Whiteman obtained from the
bank in New York a promise not to
send a teller to his trial and blithely
rode across the continent to meet the
issue. He was Immediately indicted
and put upon trial, and upon cases
1nterlinking with the one upon which
extradition had been secured was con-
victed and sentenced to ten years.
Meanwhile Gov. Flowers promise
had been effective and the governor of
California had been appealed to, and
he notified the courts if the man were
sent to San Quentin prison he would be
pardoned the next day. The faith Of
his state was pledged in the agreement
of it's representative made with Gov.
Flower. An appeal to the supreme
court was not opposed by the district
attorney. In year the decision was
handed down and Whiteman was re-
leased.
In this affair Whiteman had to sum-
mon to his aid all his resources. The
experience would have had a reform
atory effect upon any ordinary man.
1t had no such result in his case, how
ever, and he returned to Dansville to
plan new schemes upon banks and ho-
tells. In his respectable and prosper
Gus periods he had not neglected his
native place and his friends were many
and were all willing to aid him. They
knew all about "Lon," as he Is famil-
iarly known, and did not regard him
as a Victim of circumstances. They
knew his rascalities, but like TenneS-
sees pardner, they knew also all the
good points of that young man.
Had Sort of Pride in Him.
AS a delightful companion, free
handed, with the prestige of being the
sole male survivor Of the richest and
most prominent family in the neigh
borhood, they welcomed him home af-
ter his escape from the laws clutch
with something akin to local pride.
He might not have become the kind of
man they had hoped, but he had be-
come man of note. There was no
mistake of that. They had become ac-
customed to his coming home safe.
They expected him.
Here is a sample excerpt from a
DansvilIe paper: Lion Whiteman is
reported by the Associated Press dis
patches to be under sentence of ten
years in California This seems to be
reliable authority, but we will bet dol
lars to doughnuts that Lon will be
walking the streets of Evansville be-
fore the snow flies"
Lon didn't disappoint them; he was
there.
Such was his influence and friend
ship that the police of the New York
central office, who so often wanted him
for something, and the Pinkertons,
who are even a more difficult set of
men, freely acknowledge that it is no
use trying to arrest him in this town,
He simply has himself arrested; there
is a dummy warrant always ready.
and he is committed to Geneseo jail.
where he remains until the detectives
are gone. They have, therefore, to wait
till he comes to New York to pick him
up.
Once they wanted him very badly.
A man had opened an account at
bank in New York city, paying in a
check as CDR. Cronin, of Brooklyn
about to change his practice to New
York. The check was for collection,
but Saturday, Sunday and holiday
interviewed before it could be heard
from. The account had been accepted
by the cashier, a deposit safe had been
rented and an Introduction obtained
from the cashier to the paying teller,
all in good form On Tuesday, early,
the pseudo DR.. Cronin appeared with
a check for $1,000, which was promptly
honored.
On the same day Whiteman's bill
was paid at the Imperial hotel in New
York and he was off for Evansville, and
in his room at the hotel was another
guest.
This incident had great bearing on
Whiteman's subsequent trial The
! books of the hotel showed the presence
of another person in his ROOM
There was no question as to the
fact that Whitenan had been in New
York about that time. Superintendent
Dougherty of Pinkertons had met him
on Tuesday morning in front of the
bank. He had also seen him at the
hotel the night before and talked with