The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-11-11

treachery in their own Tanks' tnese
crafty rogues can only be captured
and. convicted by means of carefully
baited traps, or by Wha It is generally
known as the stool-pigeon system.
Counterfeiters are divided into si1
distinct classes: First, the capitalist
or procurer; second, the engraver;
third, the printer; fourth, the whole
sale dealer; fifth, the retailer, and
sixth, the shower or circulator. inc
capitalist is the most difficult man &c
reach as he seldom handles any OF
the plates or spurious money. Hence
the chief offender in this line may
walk calmly about, defying the detec
tive, each tacitly understanding the
other in his relative. position; one
7 suspecting' and Watching,' the, othe1
patiently and ;.,titelessly:, picking up
crun1b by crumb, convicting evidence
The methods pursued by detectives
to entrap counterfeiters are rarely
better illustrated than in the following
account of the capture of William M
Quincy, alias big Bill" the Koniack
err, one of the foremost wholesale
dealers in queer" of his day. He was
born Of respectable parentage, reared
in the quietude incident to country
life, educated and supplied with a
sufficient amount of money Where"ltn
to live like a gentleman and, strange
ly enough; he chose path that lea
to his ultimate ruin.
In the excitement Of those tumultu-
Gus DAYS the city of New York was
we'll stocked with men possessed OF
a genius for conceiving and conceal
ing crime. Perhaps no other city IN
the civilized world has ever afforded
better opportunity for fleeing the
nublic. Quincy had been handling
counterfeit money for several years
but had managed to escape punish
ment He was one of the chief dis
tributors for Joshua D. Miner, VINO
was the head and front of power
full octopus whose tentacles were
stretched out in almost every section
OF the country
Quincy was by no means unattract-
i've in appearance, and there were
few men walking Broadway IN MS
day whose physique could compare
favorably with his He stood six feet
two inches in height and was CORE
spondingly we'll proportioned, while
his expansive chest and well-developed
limbs gave him the appearance OF
man possessing the muscular strength
ChQrn
and severe, or mild and pleasant, to
suit occasions In conversation he
was easy and interesting and, among
strangers, would readily have passed
for a gentleman of marked ability.
To be a leader among the counterfeit
ing fraternity seemed to have been
the browning glory of his highest am
bition.
In the spring of 1869 l was ap-
pointed chief of the government Sc
cret service and, though l had had
experience with General Butler IN
New Orleans, and later in the internal
revenue service, was unknown among
the counterfeiters.
Shortly after my appointment re-
ceived information, at my headquar-
tiers in Washington, regarding rather
unique affair that had taken place at
one of the drinking resorts on Hous-
ton street, in New York city. Will
liam Quincy, with his characteristic
push and daring, had invited a party
of "queersmen" to partake of a ban
quet at this place. There were "a
persons present at this function, three
ex-detectives being among the num-
Der.
On the following day was furnished
with the particulars of this remark
able assembly, and the ex-detective
who reported it also provided a list
of the banqueters. Among other
things I learned that my appointment
as chief of the secret service was dis
cussed at the affair, and pronounced
good joke upon the government
Quincy addressed his guests, boast
fully declaring that the new chief
might do for preacher or an internal
revenue clerk, but that he could
never cope with shrewd men like the
Queersmen."
Now is our opportunity he said,
ito reap a rich harvest" At the same
time he advised his friends that he
was going to take the new chief into
his confidence and keep him we'll
stuffed with fictitious information.
I'm the meantime" he continued, II
will draw out from him his plans and
keep myself posted as to his pro-
posed movements"
This plan pleased the fancy of the
scoundrels, and they agreed that Cur.
ney was a great man. They were
seated at the tables imbibing wine
and they drank to Gurney's health
while the ex-detectives and counter.
feiters jostled elbows and banded
jokes good-naturedly as they contem.
plated the easy times in store for
them. When sufficiently filled with
wine and enthusiasm, they capped the
climax by hurrahing for his satanic
majesty. The feast of Belshazzar was