The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-26
TO END OF EARTH.
Murderer Fled 81 900 Miles, But Was
Eventually Run Down.

Murderer Fled 81 900 Miles, But Was
Eventually Run Down
There have been many long pursuits
OF criminals, great in the distance tray
eIed. the obstacles overcome and the
persistence of pursuing officers, but
that OF Sergeant Wood Of the Natal,
South Africa, police, is doubtless a
record breaker, says the Chicago
Chronicle. The man sought by Ser
geant Wood was charged with embez-
cling large sums of money at PETER
maritZburg- He got away from South
Africa and went to New York. Al
though the detective had information
as to where his quarry was hiding, yet
he had first to visit London 10 obtain
the necessary extraditiOn papers. Then
he hurried to America, and, with the
assistance Of the United States police,
ran down his man BY the time he had
reached harrisburg he had been trav-
cling hard for nearly three months, and
had covered nearly LOCO miles
One of the SteTnest chaSeS of recent
years was after Logs Darrell, formerly
sergeant in the Seventh United States
cavalry Darrell enlisted at the begin
ming of the Spanish-American war and
distinguished himself in Cuba There he
fell in love with a pretty Spanish girl
and beggared himself in buying finery
for his sweetheart. To obtain more
money he robbed and murdered a COM
panion-in-arns named Crouch He
then fed
A detective named DUpuy was put on
the murderer's track. and, finding a
cieW, 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 Brit
ism mule transport for South Africa
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 Biera, in Portuguese East
Africa.
There he waited like a spider for a
fly, and just as Darrell was fancying
himself safe from pursuit he bounced
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
$3.50 IN the chase.
One of the most astonishing criminals
England ever produced was a man
named Benson, who began operations
in London with two confederates. He
organized a series of swindiing COM
panies in the city, while he himself,
pretending to be an invalid lived in the
greatest luxury in the Isle of Wight.
l.
was foremost in charita BILE works, and
went into the very best society. BY
dint of bribing certain officers of the
la he lived for some years on the pro-
ceeds of his swindles. But one day the
crash came. He was arrested. SEN
fenced, and got a long term in Ports
mouth Jail
No sooner was he out than he was
at his old tricks again. These culrni-
mated in SVx-ifza-lsr7d he,
aged to gain the affections Of the
daughter Of an English officer. Through
her he induced her father to trust him
with the investment of his entire cap
ital, some S35, 900. He bolted with the
money. Chased across Europe, a de-
tective caught him at Bremen. To
avoid scandal the victim promised not
to prosecute 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 S160.
Followed across the Atlantic, Benson
escaped to Mexico, where he made e5.-
600 by passing himself off as PATHS
agent and selling forged concert tick
cts. BY this time his photograph was
in almost every police bureau in the
world. Yet he lodged and twisted IN
der dozen aliases and was heard of
in almost every South American state
before clever New York detective ran
him down in Rio after a two years
hunt.
Even then he cheated justice Landed
in prison in New York. he walked up-
stairs, chatting amiably to his jaiier.
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 never exhibit more reIent-
less energy than in hunting down a
coiner. y cOiner's crime is against the
government, and so the whole forces
of the state are against him. The Unit
ed States suffers far more from coiners
than England does, and is proportion
ately keen to run down such offenders
Early in 1900 a man named Hastings
was surprised in his workshop. from
which he had issued many thousands
OF small silver coins, but he was too
quick for his would-be captors. and es-
capped. No fewer than seven secret
service men were put on his track. The
remarkable fact is that Hastings never
attempted TO leave the states.
Ellfer, one OF the detectives. got a
hint that a stranger was in the woods
He took a blanket and some food and
hid himself in a thicket Very early in
the morning Hastings passed, CARRYING
a bag of food Ellfer tracked him to
hrs refuge, and saw that the forger
was armed He waited some distance
away in hiding When night came
Hastings cane out with a dark Ian
tern and searched every bush near his
hiding place. At last he was satisfied
and went back So soon as F1Ilfer felt
sure the man was asleep, he crept up
and had the handouts on him before
he could awake. On the way to iail
Hastings told his captor that he had
seen him on ten different occasions.
and had once. in Cincinnati. been with
in three feet of him in a theatre.