Year: 1875

The following mysterious letter, says
The New York Herald, was received at
the Herald Office day Or two ago =
New YORK, Jan. %, rs.
Mr.. JAMES GORDON BENET-Dear SIR:
Enclosed you Will find sample OF
money that was found to-day in ball
of rags in rag shop AL West 39th st.
this money Is cut as a sample with the
center out and the center missing the
amount found is fourteen pounds of
these mostly five this is queer but there
is no queers among them Please make a
nots of this in your journal. G. S.


A reporter of the Herald, who was de
tailed to solve the mystery called at the
rag shop in question, which is located
In West Thirty ninth street, between
Ninth and Tenth avenues, but the abode
of mystery was closed for that evening.
Then visit was paid to the Twentieth
precinct station house in West Thirty
seventh street, which is in charge of
Captain Washburne. The captain was
sbsent on police business, but Sergeant
Westervelt, who was in charge of the
desk, heard the strange story with as
tonishment, and detailed Officer Lam
bertson to accompany the reporter in
aearch of the mysterious bank notes.


"Why," said Officer Lambertson, a
big, strapping fellow, Everybody
around here has lots of money. Little
boys are going around the streets with
$4,000 and $4,000 in their pockets,
and it is ali good money, but they don't
know what to do with it, as the middle
part of the bills that have the medallions
engraved are all cut out, and there has
not been anything found but the corners
of the S5 bills, and the bottom and top
strips of the 81 and So bills are cut
Iengthwise.


While walking through Thirty ninth
street the reporter and the policeman
met man named George Squier, who
come out of butcher shop, which is
located in tenement block, and he an
nounced that he was the writer of the
letter to the Herald. He stated that he
received samples of the bills, which
were of the denomination of ones two S
and five's on national bank of the State
of New York, but what particular ma
tional bank could not be ascertained, as
the bills were all cut as if by machinery
and with regularity. These bills he
had got from small boy, who had in
turn got them from small boy, who had
in his turn got them from the rag shop
opposite in Thirty ninth street, which is
kept by man named Ward, who bears
a respectable character and employs q
number of men who live in the neigh
borhood. He also stated that a work
ingman named Drew lived upstairs,
who was employed with Mr.. Ward, and
that he had large amount of mutilated
bills. The reporter assembled to the
third story of the tenement house and
found the Drew family, who seemed to
be honest, poor people, Mr.. Drew well
coined the reporter and produced a
small salt bag full of mutiIated bills,
which contained-if the bills were in a
whole state-about $4,000 This bag
was given to the reporter aud he offered
to give receipt IN return, but Mr..
Drew declared that he didn't want re-
ceipt or anything else. Take it wild ye
it'll only make trouble for decent
people-take it to the d1vn wild ye.


These mutilated bills are all of the
State of New York, but Of what national
bank is not yet known. The SIS bills are
manufactured by the Continental Bank
Note Company, and the ones andetwo' s
have the name of the American Bank
Note Company at the bottom of each
bill. The name of the cashier is James
Frost, and the president name is James
Speaker. On some of the SIS bills, on
the bottom parts, it was observed that
there was name partly erased by the
use of acid, and the name looked as if it
might originally have been 'sWolcott u
The reporter was at the time that these
discoveries were made, accompanied by
a number of police, and the greatest ex-
citement ragged in the street, and various
remarks were made by the large crowd
to the effect that it would not do that
butcher any harm if he would mind his
dirty informer." Fourteen pounds
weight of the mutilated bills were found
in the rag shop, and were distributed by
Mr.. Ward, the proprietor, to any one
who would come and take them. These
fourteen pounds weight OF fragments re-
presented over s., ZOO, 900, and the ques-
tions now arises, Why were these mutila-
ton of good and genuine notes made
unless it was to conceal some gigantic
scheme of villany Ward, the proprle-
tor of the rag shop, refused TO tell why
or how he got the money, but stated
that it had come among lot of loose
rubbish that he had bought some days
ago. And here it remains for the ever
vlgllant detectives and the American and
Continental Bank Note companies to in
form the public what banks these mutt
lated fragments belong to, and of what
bank Mr.. James Frost Is cashier and
Mr.. James Speaker President Until
they speak the mystery will not be
solved, and all the little dirty faced boys
In the upper part of the Twentieth
Ward will feel like young milionaires
carrying dubious treasures in their
pockets.