Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-11-21

+ noula,ls devotion, because I have seen Of her
si turn yraor TO her lifelong friends for the sake
= lilo man she loved. And l. cannot tell what
Grain will snap Womans heartstrlngs. because this
mar5lad committed crime against the United States
government for which he was serving ten Years
fern in Drison.
Early in December, 1873, was summoned from
Nav York to Washington by the chief of the secret
serycc He gave me letter to Allan Pinkertnn and
told M he wanted me to undertake what might be-
cone a long and dangerous mission. Wisconsin and
Illinois were infested with countcrfeiters Mr. Pin1er.
tan knew woman who was willing TO beiray the
wisconsin band. Her Mrs. Napoleon
Ronaparte I4attl.s She herself was the wife of a
co,nterfeiter and Il convict. And her home was In
the Nttle village Of Monroe
TWO days later was in Mr. Pinkertons office In
chicago He read the letter brought to him from
the chief Of the secret service and then looked up
at me.
Mrs Isatta tells me-" he said shat She has great
deal of information regarding the counterfeiters who
are operating in wisconsin, She is eager to give this
information to the government. Her husband is
federal prisoner. you know. She wants to apply lor
his purdon and she thinks if she can do something for
the government from time to time that white mark
will be set down for Bone she calls her husband
In other words she wants to enforce her plea for his
pardon by showing of services performed for the
eminent by herself know nothing of what she may
He did SO, and I left for Monroe the night.
The next morning looked up Mrs. Latta and found
that she lived fororn little cottage at the edge of
the town. She herself came to the door and handed
her the letter Of Introduction from Mr.. Pinkerton,
which she read while stood on the doorstep.
I shall never forget the impression she made upon
me- She was n good type Of the tall angular, raw
boned frontier woman of forty years ago. She was
perhaps forty-fve years old. Her black hair only
1,rIth
told the story OF anxiee her and her dis
appontnrents. Yet there world Of patience in
them. Something in their glance, however, told me
she could not always be patient, that there We're times
when her placdity became transformed into the fury
that rends and spares not. And so it proved.
After she had read the letter she invited me in. The
room into which Isstepped low and dark. AS far
MS could discover twas the only room in the house
except the bedrooms. In the centre was a big wood
burning heating stove the red sides of which modified
though they did not make comfortable the cold blasts
or the wisconsin winter that blew in through the in
Vulnerable creyices And beside the stove sat two
men, one i youth OF twenty, who was told was her
son Frank and the other her nephew, Clayton Robin
son, who was perhaps thirty years old
Before entering upon the discussion of the subject
that had come to investigate she sent her out of
the room explaining to me afterward that she did not
care to have him hear what was to be said. Then she
told me her nephew--"Clate." she called him
would tell everything wanted to know.
turned to him and asked him what he could tell
me-
Il can tell YOU" he said, where you can find some
rolls with which counterfeit plates made, and per-
haps the bedpiece OF the press
Can you tell ME where can find the plates from
which the notes are prnted2
NO; never So them
who owns the rolls and the be1pece of the press
II don't know"
knew he was lying but kept at him. He cung
persstenty to his statement experimenting it only
to the extent of saying that the rolls We're buried In
the woods. Finally said to him
You and your aunt want to do something to help
your, uncle who is in prison. 1t would do him abso-
lutely no good to turn these things without
telling me who owns them In fact IL you were to tell
where the rolls buried without revealing the
name OF their owner should be compelled to arrest
YOU The government would take the ground that any
man who knew where counterfeiting material
secreted also knew to whom they belonged. WhatI
want to get is not much things as persons want
the men who are making counterfeit money!
We threshed the matter over for hours Mrs. Lltta
sometimes Joining in the conversation, but the best
/ could get out OF Clate promise that he would
Try to find out that night who owned the rolls. And
as evening had drawn on, made an appointment for
eleven o'clock the next morning and returned to my
hotel.
When went to the house the next Gay Mrs. l4ata
was greatly agitAted
II don't know what has become Of Clate,'' she said
lie got up at five o'cock this morning and drove
away. He didn't tell me he going, and don't
know where he has gone.
She suspected, however. that he had gone 10 the
little town Of Boscobel, where he had relatives II
he did not come home by night. she said she would
go to Boscobe and see if he had been there.
Matters looked bad Mrs. Latta insisted that she
herself knew nothing OF the men sought SO told
her would go to Chicago Where had some work
TO do she promising meantime to do some nyestigat-
ing on her own account and to keep me informed of
whatever she might learn.
But didn't go to Chicago just then. lwent TO the
nearby town of Jnnesvlle and the next morning took
the same train to Boscobe that knew Mrs. Latta
would take if she kept her word to see Where Glae
Robinson had gone. She was on the train. l&rOde
III the most distant coach from her and got of on
one side while she alighted the other also shad-
owed her to the house in which Robinson relatives
lived, and rode back with her on the same train