The San Francisco call., 1909-02-14
BY A. L. DRUMMoND FORMERLY c

"The question now is,9 said the chief, what are
you willing to do to buy your liberty? What criminal
do you know that you can squeai on:
"We,' he said, 4 know George Albert Mason.
He has been handling some of those counterfeit Chi
cago fves He will be in New York next week Ii
you have man who knows Mason and whom Mason
doesn't know | can show him how to make the ar
rest
Mr. Washburne had heard other things about
Mason since the occurrence of the stabbing afray in
St. Louis and was eager to capture him SO was
ordered to accompany the former chief to New York,
and David H. Crowley and William w Kennoch
were instructed to accompany me We found the
former chief living the Park hotei, on lower Broad
way-now the Broadway Central. lie had room on
the third floor and we took the second. Mason
upon his arrival in the city to call at the former
chiefs room, and we were to capture him
When the day came to make the catch Chief Wash
burne came up from Washington and with the rest
of us TO the room in the Park hotel AS | was
not known to Mason, | wandered around the corr-
dors, occasionally going down to the Office waiting
for him appear A little after noon he came to the
front door, walked up the stairs and went to the
former chiefs went to our room and told the
chief and the two others of his arrival Mason re-
mained in the room perhaps 10 minutes. When he
went down stairs followed him, with the other three
a few steps behind
After reaching the ground floor Mason started to go
down stairs to the barber shop. He had descended
perhaps three steps when reached over the banis-
ter, grabbed him by the right arm and threw my
weight him. With his left hand he tried to reach
revolver that in his right hand coat pocket but
before he could do so Chief Washburne had his own
revolver in Masons face and the other two detectives
were swinging on his left arm.
Surrender or I'll blow your head off," shouted the
chief, as he pressed the muzzle of his gun little
closer to Masons face
You'll not blow anything off Get out of herep
shouted Mason.
fight went on Mason was powerful man and it
was all the four of us could do to overpower him and
put the handouts on him All the while we were
fighting he was hurting volume of profanity
the like of which have heard from that day to
this Nothing that he could lay his tongue to seemed
bad enough to call
AS soon as we had the handouts on him began
to search him One of the first things found was
envelope On one side was address, but before
could read it Mason, manacled as he was grabbed
the piece of paper and bit that part which bore
We had to choke him until he black in
the face before he would give it UP.
The half chewed paper bore the and New
York address of Kitty Wells Kitty is dead now and
the present generation does not know her even by
reputation, so it may be of interest to give some
facts pertaining to her.
Kitty Wells originally a London barmad.
Charles Billiard noted bank burglar took fancy
to her and married her She obtained divorce and
next heard of when she startled the world by
marrying Juan Terry the Cuban sugar king Terry
her in London, fell quick victim to her wiles