The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-09-28

greenback variety. issue Of March 10.
1862, which notes had had wide cir
culation. thanks to the energy of the
men with whom Mccartney was in
league
But this is another depression ex-
cept as to the settlement of Mozart
ney in Nauvoo, this act having result
ed in the establishment in Nauvoo of
headquarters for a prolific gang of
"coney" men and women. Pete" Nc
Cartney in 1864 had married Martha
Ann Alderman, whom he had first
met in Cincinnati several years before.
She was the daughter of an old Ger
man counterfeiter whose widow with
her two daughters had lived in Gin
cinnati for several years. Martha was
pretty and extremely skillful in the
printing of counterfeits, her father
having employed her in that work
when she was as young as IL years
CT age.
The Mccartney band at Nauvco had
gained gradually in numbers and the
extent of their operations since Pete
had settled there, and among his con-
feGerates was DR.. Milton Parker, who,
at the time was detailed to the
Boyd-Driggs case. was in an eastern
penitenitiary for counterfeiting. But
Mrs. Parker continued to live in
Nauvoo and was a handsome and in
telligent woman. There also lived
at Nauvoo a counterfeiter named
Louis Sleight and his partner, John
Frisbie, known to the secret service as
the leaders of the "Sleight and FRS.
bic" gang. Knowing full we'll that
nearly all the western counterfeiters
of note at one time or another visited
Nauvoo, determined, in the absence
of better or more definite clews, to go
to Nauvoo and look around. It did
not take long to discover that briggs
had been making visits to Nauvoo,
but, so far as could be learned. the
magnet that had drawn him thither
was the beauty and charm of Mrs.
Parker rather than any business plans
he might have been working out in
connection with Sleight or the other
members of the counterfeiting band
that flourished in the historic Nor.
mon settlement.
This was the first tangible clew that
had been uncovered in weeks of
search through three states, and de-
termined that it was from the resi-.
dence of Mrs. Parker T.. Nauvoo that
briggs s.Uu!d be followed.
From further cautious inquiry At
Nauvoo l found that briggs had re-
Gently made a visit to Mrs. Parker
and on leaving had gone ostensibly
to Clinton, la. Familiar as was
with the manner in which such GRIM
inals as briggs bought tickets for un-
intended destinations, doubled on
their tracks and went to great pains
otherwise to throw the secret service
men off their trail, l decided to go to
Clinton.
In the latter part of June, 1875, an
elderly man and his wife, a good
looking woman many years younger
than her husband, made their appear
ance in Clinton and rented two
houses. The man gave the name of
j. K. Watson and told the men with
whom he negotiated for the houses
that he was retired cattle
raiser. He was a Scotchman, dark
skinned, of rather heavy physical
mold, and wore q full beard. He
dressed as we'll as or slightly better
than a man il his alleged vocation
would be expected to dress. His gen.
eral 'demeanor tended toward the
sanctimonious. He often attended
church and was fluent at prayer and
in religious discourse. Funds he had
in plenty, and he gave substantial evi.
dence of his business solidity by de.
posting $4,000 in the Clinton bank.
ITO Be Continued.l