Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1906-01-18

slfcs, ntv informant had kiven as one
of the motives for the proposed crime
| the desire for the release of Ben Boyd,
which 1 knew TO be consideration OF
the utmost importance to the men
whose operations had been so abrupt
}ly curtaied by the plate cutters in.
generation.
The moment was one for action,
even at the risk of finding later that
! the secret service had been led into
unnecessary activity by misinforma-
! ton. My informant had learned that
certain st. Louis men, whose names
he did not know, were parties to the
plot. Previously similar plot, en-
anating from the same sources, had
been revealed to Chief of Police Will
kinson, of Springfield. In this plan
James Kinealy had evidently been the
promoter and had decided to use the
Lincoln counterfeiting contingent as
his agents. Thomas J. Sharp, editor
of the Statesman; Nathin l.. Curtis,
his assistant, and Vive G. Williams, a
bartender of Lincoln. as the first step,
opened a saloon in Springfield, which
they made their counterfeiting head
quarters as well as the place from
which they could gather, without ex-
citing suspicion, such information as
they needed to aid them in their work
of stealing the body of Lincoln.
From the facts that the Gum of ram
som money proposed in Lnis plot and
the later sum were the same and that
-, snto e n1 he IN, hot A
plots were closely allied, there was
little doubt that one man had con-
ceived the scheme to release Boyd, and
there was also little doubt that the
one man was James Kinealy. lie was
capable of concocting and trying to
carry out such a plot.
The dream of the easy acquisition OF
$780, 900 led the counterfeiters who had
opened the saloon in Springfield into
the lavish expenditure of money and
dissipation. IN one of these bouts
Thomas Sharp confided to woman
of the town of Springfield that he ex-
pected soon to become one of the bene-
ticiaries of the 100000 ransom fund
and intimated to her the plan by
which the money was to be secured.
This woman informed Chief Wilkinson
Of the drunken boasts of her admirer.
Wilkinson Immediately took steps to
place additional guards over the Lin
coin tomb and took such other pre-
cautions as indicated to the conspiT-
ators that their plan could not be car
ried out. 1t was in this first plot that
the leadcn casket containing the body
Of Lincoln was to be sunk in the SAM
CANON river till it's hiding place
should he revealed by Ben Boyd.
After coming into possession of tho
information concerning the second
plot | seut Swegles back to Hughes to
keep in touch with the movements OF
the conspirators as closely as possible,
He succeeded so well in tE.s that he
was chosen to be ore of the men to
engage actively in the work, and the
details of the plan were intruated to
him without reservation. He was to
furnish the light spring wagon in
which the casket was to be conveyed
from Springfield. The plan to sink tho
casket in the Sangamon river, pro"
posed in the first plot, had been aban"
doned, and instead the body was tc
be hauled swiftly from Springfield By
relays of horses into the sand dunes
OF northern Indiana and buried. The
conspirators calculated that the shift
ing of these dunes due to the action
Of the wind would soon oblitorate all
trace of wagon tracks and signs OF
burial and mane a hiding place abso.
lutely past the power Of any man to
find.
The ghouls were to keep track of the
place of burial by taking measure
ments from some natural object, such
as a tree, transmitting the key 10 the
burial spot to Ben Boyd in Joliet.
The negotiations for the return of the
body, in exchange for his own release
and the payment OF 100000 ransom,
were to be conducted by Boyd on be-
half of the counterfeiters. In order 10
render the opening of these negotia-
tions the easier the conspirators cal
culated, a plan would have to be de-
vised by which the federal authorities
could be easily convinced that Boyd
could actually furnish the information
concerning the location of the body
in short, they foresaW that Boyi
would have to be in position to provs
to the authorities that he had accurate
knowledge of it's whereabouts.
In order 10 overcome this obstacle
it was decided that a copy o. an Eng
lish or some other foreign newspaper
should be secured, a foreign paper h,--
ing decided upon so that Boyd coula
convince the government representa-
tiyes that the copy OF the paper uf
which ne had part was not one thst
could have been obtained in any other
way than the one claimed by him.
This newspaper was 10 be torn intc
two pieces, in an irregular fashion
one piece was to be left in the Lin.
/ colin tomb where II was certain IN la