The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-13

for twelve days, when Judge Hilton.
offered a reward Of $50, 900 for the ar
rest and conviction of the five per
sons believed to have been engaged in
the robbery, or $4,000 for the arrest
and conviction of any one Of them"
This reward was based on the best in
formation obtainable that five men had
done the work. In this the New York
police were correct, and it was the
only feature of the entire case in which
the eastern detectives were correct.
Alleged clews by the score reached
police headquarters and private detec-
tive agencies Cranks throughout the
country forwarded their theories and
dishonest persons sought to claim part
of the reward in advance for Informal
ton they claimed to possess.
A Washington, D. c, resurreetionist
known as DR." Curtis was placed I'M
der surveillance on general principles.
Two crooks Hank Whalen and
William Burke, were arrested, and, un-
der stress of sweat box methods, con-
fesSed that they had buried a stir
in New Jersey. Hot on the supposed
Stewart trail, the New York police
took the pair to Jersey, to find they
had buried a kit of burglars tools,
known to the craft as a stiff Blood
hounds were taken to st. Marks, and
they Immediately took up the scent OF
decomposed human flesh, traced to the
point where the body had been hoisted-
over the tall iron fence and then lost
It From Shamong and Port AFSn-
mouth, n. J., came alleged ciews that
evaporated quickly. One OF the smart
est New York detectives advanced The
theory that the body had not been re-
moved from the churchyard at all, but
had been buried in another vault This
caused a thorough search Of the bury
ing ground. The most absurd theories
were worked out to failure and impos-
S1bie clewS followed but not a single
tangible trace of the body or of the
men who had stolen it was found.
During this time I was in the secret
service, working in the middle west
but read with .avidity all tnat the
papers published concerning the Stew
art case. There was no question in my
mind that the robbery was the work
OF accomplished criminals. as they had
shown much cleverness in the details
ftheir work. For instance, a small
tag bearing the letter ''R'' was follnd
rectly opposite was a similar tag A
straight line from tag to tag crossed
the Stewart vault. The same arrange
ment was found to have been used to
nix line intersecting the first, and the
point of intersection was directly over
the Stewart vault, showing the thieves
probably had an intimation of the re-
moval of the memorial slab in daylight
and had provided for the loca ting OF
the Stewart vault without reference
had BEEN made 70 fit the lock in tho
pig iron ga<e: in short, the task had
been undertaken with thorough pre-
Daredness.
In the months preceding the attempt
10 steal the body of President Lin
coin had been in close communica-
ton with two men who were deep in
the councils OF the resurrectionists and
had heard from them the full discus
sion of plans for the Lincoln iob Some
OF the suggestions made, in these coun-
ellis were not adopted at Springfield
but they had impressed themselves
deeply in my memory On my first
reading Of the Stewart case in the
Chicago newspapers my mind naturally
reverted to the Lincoln plot. and as
the details of the New York crime be-
came more definite and reliable I stud
led them carefully in the light of the
information had concerning that plot
Gradually 1 began to see. as / thought
indications of the application to the
New York crime of methods used or
discussed in the Springfield case.
The more information / cleaned and
the. deeper l delved into Comparison the
more strongly became convinced that
the New York conspiracy had been
Matched by my acquaintance in the
west. 1t was N-line of research along
which an ambitious detective nat,lraIlv
would grow enthusiastic: but I fries'
hard 10 keep my Imagination from tax :,
ing command of my judgment and NOT
10 IND a parallel where no parallel ex-