The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1904-04-16
Ingenious Detection of
a Rogue.
By Lawrence Leslie.

ciuSlOnS: The perpetratOr of the fOrc
cry was Livingston: he was goo,
deal OF horse fancier, and woul,
doubtless spend considerable portion
or his dishonest gains in the purchas,
OF fine stock; and. further, that tn,
stock would be purchased in New
York. as that market promised a bet
ter selection. and the criminal con
sidered himself entirely safe from de
lection.
The first step. therefore, was to learn
if any one had recently made any ex.
! tensive purchases Of such stock, and
II so, to run them down and see who
they were
For weeks the search was without
reward. but at last the case bright
ened. A man was found Of whom sew
eral horses has been purchased by a
man much resembling Livingston, but
here giving the name OF Peck. The
horses were shipped to Buffalo, whittier
Mr.. Peck stated that he was going.
Here was the long-sought clew, and
the officer lost no time In visiting Buf-
falo, to learn further Mr.. Peck's pres
ent abode. Another disappointment
met him here. The freight books
showed that the horses had been re-
ceived two or three months previous
ly. and taken away, but nothing fur
ther was known concerning them or
Mr.. Peck.
Nothing daunted. however, the in
Quiry was pursued, and finally the
horses were traced to a stable but
were now owned By a Mr.. Welch. Sew
eral other animals were purchased.
and the whole then shipped to Chica-
60. From the description the officer
was convinced that Livingston. Peck
and Welch were one and the same per-
son, and the pursuit began to wax in
teresting.
Arriving at Chicago, he found that
the horses had been taken away, but
the most careful inquiry revealed moth
ing more. As they had not been re-
shipped. the officer concluded that they
had been driven into the country
There were some breeding mares
among the stock. and he concluded that
the party, whoever he was. designed
to open a stock farm. Finding all 9th
er efforts to trace the horses vain. he
attempted to learn if any farm suita.
bic for such a purpose had been pur.
chased recently, and if 50. by whom.
At one Of the real estate agencies he
found that man from the East.
named William Livingston. had been
looking for such a place. and had fin
ally purchased. but where was not
known, certainly not in Cook County.
rs an examination of the records
proved: but the officer reasoned that
t could not be far from Chicago, as
The stock was apparently driven
instead Of being shipped.
If. reasoned the officer. Livingston. !
s-ho was without doubt the criminal.
ad purchased a farm Of this charac-
er. he must buy large quantity Of |
'ols, harness. saddles. wagons and |
Ike goods for its use. A careful |
search among dealers in these articles |
'avealed the fact that liberal quaint. |
y Of such goods had recently been
bought by Mr.. William Livingston
md sent to Du Page County, about
'orty miles from Chicago. where he
lad bought four small farms and con-
them into one handsome
tock farm. Believing detection i'm
,ossible after the lapse of so long
ime. he had boldly taken his own
lame, and. though almost within the
lutch Of the officer Of justice, was yet
ntirely unconscious of his danger.
The game was found; now for its
'apture. Taking four or five police Of
lcers from Chicago. all in citizens
lothes, the party went out to the
arm. and inquired for William Liv-
ngston. The elderly. short, stout
Gentleman" who had figured so con-
in the officers search. ap-
'eared. and the correctness Of the pen
md ink sketch impressed the officer
8 remarkable.
The party represented themselves as
rom Chicago, who, having heard Of
lis fine farm, had come down to see
or themselves. and perhaps purchase
ONE Of his choice stock.
They were cordially received, hos
itably entertained. shown over the
lace, and finally dined and wined in
he spacious mansion. On rising from
he table the New Iork officer re-
marked:
well. Mr.. Livingston. do you l!ksi,