Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-09-09

piece was to be sent to Boyd in prison |
After the discovery of the work of the |
ghouls Boyd was to let it be known
that he could solve the mystery and,
to prove ne told the truth, could pro-
duce the missing part OF the foreign
paper which, of course, would demon
strate to the authorities that the tomb
robbers had sent Boyd the paper and
with it the key to the location of the
body.
In it's details the plot was carefully
worked out. So far had Swegles
Ger &, IN order to be able to make such |
preliminary surveys and arrangements
as might be found necessary
On the theory that. with the infor-
nation in hand, there could be no diff
Guilty in preventing the conspirators
from carrying out their plan, there
had been no dissent among the govern
ment employees as to the wisdom of
going further and permitting the
tomb robbers to progress far enough
with their work to enable the law off,
GERS to capture the criminals red
handed. Robert T. Lincoln, son of the
martyr president, and Leonard SWEET
had been kept fully informed of the
conception and development of the
plot and had agreed that the capture
of the counterSeiters in their initial
grave-robbing effort would be prefer
able merely to frightening them out
of the attempt, a course that had been
pursued in the instance Of the plot of
eight months before. At conference
at which Mr.. Lincoln was present the
services of Elmer Washburn, who had
In the meantime been superseded in
the chiefship of the secret service;
John Mcdonald, who had assisted in
the capture of Ben Boyd, and John
McGinn and George Hay, Pinkerton
men, were provided for to assist in the
capture of the vandals. Owing to the
Importance of the case Allan Pinker-
ton had assigned his best two men,
Mr.. Lincoln protested against the
plot being allowed to proceed to the
point where profane hands might
actually be laid on his fathers coffin,
but Mr.. SWEET insisted that an overt
act must be committed by them before
the yandals could be successfully pros
ecuted, and our plans were not
changed.
This conference was held in the aft
ernoon, and at nine o'clock the evening
of the same day Mullen, Hughes and
Swegles swung aboard the front plat
form of the front coach Of the Alton
train just as it moved out of the CHI
cago station. McGinn, Hay and !
boarded the last sleeper Of the same
train, after having satisfied ourselves
by careful shadowing that the profess
sional counterfeiters, now amateur
| tomb robbers, were aboard. Washburn
and Mcdonald were to go to Spring
| field on the next train and arrive there
a. four o'clock on the afternoon of the
day set for the robbery. We arrived
at Springfield two hours late and reg.
istered at the st. Nicholas hotel under
assumed names. We found that Null
len and Hughes, also under false
names. had registered at the St
| Charles hotel, small house not fal
from the st. Nicholas. They had re.
tired to gain rest before entering on
l
to be called at ten o'clock in the morn.
Ing.
An hour before that time | received
a call by appointment from John T
Stuart, of the Lincoln guard of honor
in whose Office Abraham Lincoln had
read law. We proceeded at once tc
the Lincoln monument, in Oak Ridge
cemetery, where was introduced te
John G. Power, custodian OF the Lin.
coin tomb, with whom I made thor.
ough examination and mental survey
Of the monument structure and sur
rounding grounds. A spot was select
ed at which one of the detectives coult
be stationed from which he could heal
the robbers at work on the sarco
phagus. Custodian Power was tolt
that during the afternoon two mer
whose descriptions were given would
appear at the tomb and that any ques
lions asked by them should be an
swered with the customary courtesy
accorded visitors to the monument.
It was about three o'clock in tn.
afternoon that Hughes and Swegle!
appeared, paid the usual fee and en-
tered false names in the visitors reg
lister. Hughes asked many questions
which were fully and truthfully an
swered Mullen, as we found later
had remained in the city to collec
such tools as he thought necessar,
for forcing open the tomb and marble
sarcophagus. At Ave o'clock Detec
tive Hay was dispatched to the GENE
terry to inform Custodian Power tina
the other officers were coming, ant
two hours later, after conference IL
the hotel where the work of each mar
Had been assigned to him, we reached
the monument.
wormed himself into the confidence OF
the conspirators that on the night OF
the first OF November they met in his
room to complete the details of the
plot. Five days later l learned that
Tuaadav hod haop ohooar