The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-06-26
undianapolis Star.)

NoN
The stool pigeon" of today COM
monty is known as the tool Of the
law, a decoy used by police. detec-
lives or other officers to draw out
criminals or petty offenders by
standing in" with them and exposing
and giving evidence against them in
court. or even. in some instances sug-
costing schemes to a suspect who it is
believed will fall for them and thus
definitely disclose his real character.
Some ourts discountenance this
method of obtaining a conviction. and
occasionally it happens that where
"stool-pigeon' evidence has been
nearly altogether relied upon the
court censures the police and the
stool and releases the defendant il
the charge against him is a minor
one. Nevertheless the practice goes
on. and will continue, no doubt. as
long AS there are crooks to run down
and crimes 20 ferret out. for. as one
Of the hest police detective chiefs in
the country. himself a man Of hon
orable reputation. once retorted to a
judge who had censured him bitter
ly for using a stool pigeon in a case
where all other ordinary methods OF
detection had failed:
Your honor. as YOU must know,
and as l know. this man (the prison.
cr) and his kind lie awake 365 nights
in the year studying how they can
TOOL the police or evade the law or
bumfoozle the courts once they are
arrested; surely. in the name of de-
cency and the law. it should be per-
missible to reverse the game and
fool these disreputahle offenders oc-
~casionally by trapping them in any
way we can. don't think the pris-
oner's conception of Justice and hon
or has heen seriously affected by the
means used to prove him guilty of
the offense charged, as We have done
in this case"
But this article is not about the
stool pigeon" of today particularly,
nut about the origin of the term it
Sell, Its common meaning of a half
century and less ago and some inter
estlnS facts of that period in relation
thereto. II original stool pigeon
came into use in the DAYS when count
less millions of migratory wild pig
cons or passage pigeons infested this
country. The stool pigeon" was n
tame or captured wild pigeon tied to
Il block or stool fastened on the end
of Il long pole and moved up and
down from a place Of c~oncealment to
draw the wild birds on so they could
be shot or netted.
Thomas Hobbs. :; successful Mo-
neer hunter and trapper. now living
at Carmi. ILL.,. is one of the many
old timers who recall the stool pig
con as Il decoy. and he ak interest
pigeons were plentiful.
n stool pigeon" he said a few
days ago. was ordinarily used to
draw the birds into a net, much like
a big fish seine. which was some
times used. First you sought a large
open field. where YOU could see a
long distance in either direction.
then YOU built a hiding place of fod-
der corn. Inside the fodder shock.
where the trapper was TO be conceal
ed. was driven a stake several feet
nigh, to which was fastened one end
of a rope about $50 feet long, he
other end being attached to a stake
the $50 feet distant, so that the rope
was stretched taut at a height of FIVE
or six feet. The net was about 30
feet long and - feet wide. and it
was fastened to a rope 100 feet from
your hiding place. rolled up against
the rope like n stovepipe. with a
slantins stick frame at either end of
the net. from the rope down to the
ground. so arranged that when the
taut rope was ierked the net would
roll down the frame and spread out
over the ground like a sheet.
WIN our net set we We're ready to
fix up the stool pigeon. A long pole,
like A fishing pole. was obtained and
on the end Of il was fastened a block
of wood five or six inches high. ON
this stool the captive pigeon was
tied securely about 10 feet from the
net. The pole was balanced on a
stake w feet high to which 1t was
tied. and to the handle end was fast
ened a rope in sue a way thai the
pole could be worked up and down
ny pulling the rope extending into
the hiding place. Wheat was then
scattered over the ground under the
net.
Having sighted a flock of pigeons
approaching a half mile or so distant.
YOU got o u fly pigeons ready-that
is. captive pigeons. to which long
strings We're attached. When the
flock was within 500 or 700 yards it
was time to throw up n of the fly
pigeons and let it circle about till
the flock saw it.. Then two or three
more %captives would he sent up, and
as the flock drew nearer the working
of the stool pigeon started. raising
to several feet by means of the pole.
then letting it dow swiftly. so it
would appear hat the bird had been