Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1905-08-26

poured over the west and middle west
in the early '70s. In those days scrip
in denominations Of 10, rs and so
cents was in use extensively, and this
scrip had been counterfeited till the
owner of this fractional money never
knew whether his money was good or
bad. In addition to this a five-dollar
note of the Traders national bank of
Chicago had been counterfeited most
cleverly, and these notes were as
thick in the middle west as falling
leaves in autumn.
Further, to add to the troubles of
the treasury department and the Sc
cret service, treasury note of the
denomination of 500 had been
Showed" a short time before. This
bore the head Of Abraham Lincoln,
and was as nearly perfect counter
felt as human skill and patience could
have evolved. A $50 treasury note
was also gaining circulation. From
expert examination of these counter
felt scrip and notes we found that the
work had been done by men of the
highest Skill In detail, material and
workmanship, the notes, from the
viewpoint of the "coney" men, were
masterpieces. The geometrical lathe
work on the treasury notes was fully
as perfect as on the original notes is
sued by the government. There was
one conclusion, therefore, to be
drawn-that the work was that of
highly skilled men, working months
and, perhaps, years on the plates by
hand or with the crudest machinery.
In the engraving, or cutting, of
plates for paper money the workmen
in the employ of the government en-
ploy the most elaborate and expensive
machinery and other paraphernalia
that the counterfeiter could not en-
ploy without laying himself open to
innumerable chances of detection.
Our quarry, then, undoubtedly con-
sisted of men who had spent years
under efficient tutors in the art of en-
craving. We also knew that but one
of them was doing the actual engrav-
ing, this lesson having been learned
from experience.
Before counterfeit money finds it's
way into the pockets of unsuspecting
men and women three, and ofttimes
four groups of men, each with their
speciality, have to do with it. The en-
graver of counterfeit plate does the
cutting and nothing else, making the
plates, and sells them for a specified
sum to the dealer. Here the cutters
connection with the business ends,
and that of the dealer commences.
The latter sometimes does his own
printing, but oftener has it done by
turning the finished product over to
the dealer, together with the plates.
Then begins the work of the "shov-
ers." In this part of the business two
men always work as team, one Of
them being the "shover" proper and
the other the "boodle-carrier." In
town in which a team is working the
two men are supposed to be strangers,
and never allow themselves to be seen
together.
One note at time is given to the
Shower" who makes trifling pur-
chase, gets his change in good
money meets the "boodle-carrier" Sc
cretly, gives him the good change and
is given another bill 1t is not my
purpose, in this narrative, to deal with
the methods of counterfeiters in ply
ing their trade, but the foregoing
depression into some of the tricks of
the trade will be found to illuminate
various points in the story to follow.
In the spring of 1875, then, after
Chief Washburn had returned to
Washington, l found myself confront
ed with the problem of running to
earth two, and probably more, men of
great cunning, with practically no
clews to work on but the names of
the suspects My task was set and my
future depended on my unraveling
the problem. In addition to this job
/ was working on information con-
corning the operations of bands at
Boscobel, Wis, and St Paul, Mimi,
and with the three my hands were
full
am free to say that for a time in
the BoydBriggs case was cropping in
the dark. A single crime confined to
one spot as a murder, always fur
nishes clews of some kind on which
to work; the location of two men of
vague description who are supposed
to have been parties to the circula-
ton of counterfeit money which has
made it's appearance in scores of places
widely scattered at practically one
time, is another matter. At that time
John Peter Mccartney, particularly
cunning and dangerous counterfeiter,
was at large. Mccartney was born in
1924 in Shelby county, Ill, and adopt
ed the career of a counterfeiter early
in life. In 1864 he had settled in
Nauvoo, ILL.,, and while there en-
graved the plates from which were
printed the counterfeit of the ten-dol-
lar United States treasury note of the
greenback variety, issue of March 10,
1862, which notes had had wide cir