The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-06-18

Copyright, 1905. by Marion G. Scheit-
liz.
Part I.
N October. 1876. the United States and
Europe were startled by the attempt
Of a band Of Illinois criminals TO
steal the body Of Abraham Lincoln,
bury it in the shifting sand dunes Of
northern Indiana and have its recovery
effected through the agency of a con-
Wet then in the Joliet penitentiary.
The plot had two pUrposes-the release
OF the convict through the agency of d
public grateful for his aid in recover
ing the sacred remains of the great
emancipation, and the securing of $780,
600 i'm the form Of ransom, either from
the federal government OF from a funG
which the COnSDiratOTs believed would
be- quickly raised to recover the body.
This pIoJ-the most ghoUlish and dar-
ing of its kind i'm hiStOry-is but a
faint memory To the present G~nera-
ton. To the men of those days the
flashing over the world of the news
that ghoulS had marked the Lincoln
tomb for dissertation came as a shock
the memory of which viii ever remain
with them. North and South alike, IS
Gignation and heaped Unspeakable ana
themas on the members Of the band
that conceived and sought TO carry the
plot to its base end But even at that
time. while the country was at the
white heat of Indignation and details
of the affair were eagerly sought by
the public the long and tangled chain
of criminal events that had its Culmi-
nation in the attempted body snatch
ing" was comparatively unknown to
the public at large.
In a general way it was known that
a band of criminals had attempted TO
use the theft Of the Lincoln body to
secure the release of a pal" and. in
CidentalIy, TO make money 1t was
known that the plot had been frus-
trated and the body Of the beloved Lin
coin rendered secure from any future
attempt Of the same kind. This sat
iSiied the public and the whiTi of work
aday life swept the incident from pOpu-
lar attention ] now propose to tell.
after nearly thirty years, the criminal
operations, plots and counter plots that
led 10 the great Lincoln bOdy-snatch-
ing case
It was on the 5th day Of February
1879 that a quiet-mauuered man ap-
peared at Palmer House IN Chicago
and registered as E Washburn. Wash
iuEtou. y. c." While having a wide
acquaintance in Chicago the guest on
this occasion. kent much to himself
Almost Immediately on his arrival
received from him an urgent message
In meet him at mis- hotel. and I prompt
iy responded, as the call came from
the chief OF the United States secret
service No time was wasted by Chief
WashbuTu in getting to the meat OF
what he had to say. and, after nearly
fr1 Of III
words as follows:
'TyrreH. there are two men the gov
eminent must get. They are Nelson
briggs and Ben Boyd by name. al
though between them they have dOz-
ems of aliases. BOYD is the most ex-
pert cutter OF counterfeit plates in the
United States and briggs is the most
extensive dealer in 'cOney' money in
the country. Benson in this depart
ment has spent $1,000 in trying 10 To-
cate them. but has not succeeded 81
far. If you can get them dead 10
fights you viii break the backbone
e. cOunterfeiting in the United States.
Are they as important as that" I
asked
Yes" answered Chief Washburn.
they are the most important 'coney'
men in existence today. We know
nothing about them except that Boyd
and briggs are their right names The
rest is for you"
Ny chief gave me such information
as had been E7thered-practical
nothing. as he himself had said-and
returned 10 Washington. There may
be men who still remember the flood
OF counterfeit money that bad been
poured over the West and Middle Nest
in the early '76s. In those days scrir
I'm denominations Of 10. . and 30 cents
was in use extensively. and this SCriu
had been counteTfeited till the owner
Of this fractional money never knew
whether his money was good OF bdc
In addition To this a s. note or the
Traders National bank OF Chicago had
been COUnteTfeited most CleVerly. and
these notes were as thick in the Mid
Gle West as falling leaves in autumn
Further to add to the troubles Of the
treasury DEPARTMENT and the secret
service. a treasury note Of the den0mi-
nation os 500 had been showed q
short time before This bore the head
of Abraham Lincoln. and was az near
" perfect a counterfeit as human ski
and patience could have evolved 4
$50 trea sury note was also gaining cir
culatiOn. From expert examination OF
these counterfeit scrip and notes VS.
found that the work had been done
nv men Of the highest skill. In de-
tail. material and workmanship the
notes. from the viewpoint o. tht
s'coney-' men. were masterpieces The
eeometrical lathe work on the treas
4I7-vs notes was fully as perfect as OF
fne original notes issued by tire gov
eminent There was one cOf.ctuSior
therefore. 10 be draWn-that The worl