"Will you go with me and see Dr. Smith?" I asked.
"Well, I do not know whether I will or not. I don't know who you are,"
he replied. Whereupon I laid my hand on his shoulder and said, "You will
either accompany me to Dr. Smith's office, or I will send for a patrol
wagon, take you to police headquarters and have you locked up."
"Are you an officer?" he asked.
To which I replied, "Yes, I am the Chief Special Agent of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad Company."
"Oh, well," said he, "that is different. I will go with you and see Dr.
Smith."
It was drizzling rain the morning of this occurrence, was quite chilly
and the streets and sidewalks were wet and slippery and dirty, as the
streets of St. Louis were not kept as clean at that time as they are
now. I took the fake check and Dingfelter and myself started for Dr.
Smith's office, which at that time was in the Missouri Pacific general
office building on the corner of Sixth and Locust streets. We walked
west on Pine from Fourth. When we reached the corner of Sixth and Pine
streets I gave Dingfelter a signal, which had been pre-arranged. This
signal was for him to hit me a good, stiff punch, as the fighters call
it. There was a large, clumsy patrolman, wearing a raincoat, standing
under an awning near the corner saloon. I was walking on the left-hand
side of Dingfelter, and when I gave him the signal he cut loose with his
right hand, which landed just over my right eye and a little back of it.
I had instructed him to hit me hard, and if he succeeded in knocking me
down and I became groggy from the blow he was to stumble and fall
himself, so as to give the big, clumsy police officer time to reach us.
The officer was standing about ten feet from us when Dingfelter struck
me, but I knew how slow he was and I wanted to be sure and give him an
opportunity of getting hold of Dingfelter. I went down all right, and in
fact, was a little dazed from the effects of the blow. Dingfelter
stumbled and fell, and the policeman made a dash (such as a heavily
loaded ice wagon going up hill would make) and succeeded in reaching
him, not, however, until he had arisen, and I also had got to my feet.
He got to Dingfelter about the same time that I did. The latter made a
good fight and tore off most of the uniform of the policeman and my
coat, vest and collar. All of us went down in the street and rolled
around in the mud. Our ears and faces were filled with mud, before we
finally succeeded in subduing Dingfelter, but I am satisfied if he had
tried his best he could have gotten away with both of us, as he was a
powerful man.
My office was on Eighth street, just north of Pine, and this fight
occurred just two blocks from my office, and after we had subdued
Dingfelter I suggested that we take him there, so as to give us an
opportunity of washing ourselves while we were waiting for a patrol
wagon to take the prisoner to police headquarters. This we did, and on
arriving at my office we turned the prisoner over to my chief clerk and
one of my operatives, who happened to be there, while the policeman and
myself began digging the mud out of our ears and washing our faces.
After washing I found that my right eye was very much discolored, and
where my face had come in contact with the pavement there were a number
of small cuts and scratches, which were somewhat inflamed, and I really
had a sore face.
The operative who I have mentioned before, whose name was Phillips, on
seeing my face said to me, "Why, you sure ought to go and see a doctor
at once. Your eye is in bad shape, and you need medical attention
immediately. Let me go up to police headquarters with this fellow. I can
attend to the matter for you."
I thanked him, and said that I wished he would do so. I told him what
had occurred at the bank, and instructed him to make a complaint against
Dingfelter accordingly. In due time the patrol wagon arrived and the
police officer and Phillips escorted Mr. Dingfelter to police
headquarters. At this time Hughie O'Neil was chief of detectives, and
Major Lawrence Harrigan, was chief of police for the city of St. Louis.
As soon as Dingfelter was hustled into the detectives' office in the
Four Courts, Chief O'Neil and a squad of his men immediately set about
searching him. They found in one of his inside pockets a letter,
addressed, sealed and stamped, but apparently which Dingfelter had
forgotten to mail. It was directed to San Francisco. They also found
about seventy-five or one hundred dollars, and some other articles, all
of which were taken from him and placed in the police department
archives for safe keeping. The letter was eagerly opened and read. This
letter was quite lengthy, and was just such a letter as one crook would
write to another. There was then, and had been for some time previous, a
gang of bank swindlers working the cities of the Pacific Coast, and the
newspapers had been printing a great deal about the operations of this
gang several weeks prior to the time of which I write; and for this
reason the detectives of St. Louis were led to believe by the finding of
the letter that they had struck something which might lead to the
capture of the bank swindlers. The contents of the letter appeared in
the afternoon papers. Some of these papers censured me for having failed
to discover this letter.
After reading the comments of the papers regarding this letter, I would
have considered myself very stupid, indeed, for having missed the
letter, were it not for the fact that I knew that I had not had an
opportunity to search Mr. Dingfelter up to the time he assaulted me and
the officer on Pine street, and then I also knew it had taken me about
two hours to compose and dictate that same letter.
Dingfelter was locked up, of course, and the time was set for his
preliminary hearing, to be several days later. In the meantime the St.
Louis papers were devoting lots of space to Dingfelter and his alleged
crime; a relief to the newspaper readers, as they had begun to grow
tired of reading day after day about Maxwell and what his attorneys
expected to do for him. From the time of Dingfelter's arrest up to the
time of Maxwell's trial, the newspapers scarcely mentioned the latter's
name. Some of them occasionally mentioned my name in rather a joking
manner, because I had been stupid enough to miss that letter. When
Dingfelter was called for his preliminary hearing he was promptly
remanded to jail to await the action of the Grand Jury.
He was besieged by lawyers who were anxious to defend him, but he
declined their offers, telling them when the time came he had lawyers
selected to defend him, and steadfastly refused to divulge their names.
The second day after his arrest Dingfelter was allowed to mingle with
the other prisoners in what was called the "bull ring." An allotted time
is given to the prisoners each day in this place for exercise. Maxwell
noticed that almost immediately after his arrest the newspapers were
giving Dingfelter all the notoriety, and had dropped himself, so he
hastened to make the acquaintance of one so notorious when they met in
the "bull ring." This was the only opportunity of meeting him, and from
the first time that Maxwell saw Dingfelter he never lost an opportunity
of talking with him, and he stuck to Dingfelter like the proverbial fly
to the horse. The first time Maxwell approached Dingfelter he rushed up
to him and said, "You are Dingfelter, I believe." Dingfelter replied
that he was and Maxwell then said, "They seem to have a strong case
against you." "You will have to excuse me, sir, I don't want to be
considered impolite," Dingfelter replied, "but I must decline to talk to
any one in this place about my case, as you call it. I don't believe it
would be a good thing for me or any other person to talk about a charge
that is pending against them in a place of this kind. I shall be glad to
talk with you on any other subject, however, but I trust that you will
hereafter refrain from asking me any questions regarding the charge now
pending against me in court, and then, I don't know you."
Maxwell hastily said, "Oh, I am Maxwell. I am the fellow who is charged
with the murder of that man Preller, who was killed in the Southern
Hotel, and whose body was found in a trunk. I was arrested at Auckland,
New Zealand, and brought back here to St. Louis to stand trial, but I
have been assured by my attorneys that I will be acquitted. They have no
proof against me, and just as soon as I can get a trial, why, of course,
I will go free."
"So you are Maxwell," said Dingfelter. "I have been reading in the
papers about you, and if you will pardon me for saying it, it seems to
me that you have already been talking too much about your case. If you
are not guilty of the crime with which you stand charged, why you ought
to be acquitted, and I hope you will be."
After this first interview between Maxwell and Dingfelter, he and many
other prisoners looked upon Dingfelter as being a wise and unusually
smart prisoner. Dingfelter was in jail forty-seven days, and during all
that time Maxwell never let an opportunity pass without talking to him.
I received daily reports from my operative, a task which I found very
difficult, and it became more difficult by reason of the Southwestern
Railroad strike, which broke out on March 4, 1886, and continued during
Dingfelter's stay in the St. Louis jail. Being Chief Special Agent for
the Gould system, my time was occupied in protecting the railroad
company's property, and in apprehending people who were continually
committing illegal acts. I was occupied almost day and night in this
work.
From Dingfelter's daily reports I learned that Maxwell had admitted that
he had killed Preller for the purpose of obtaining seven one hundred
dollar bills that he knew Preller to have, as he had shown him the money
in the Adams House at Boston, before they separated there. He also had
pawned the plunder for the money which had brought him to America, and
that he had made Preller believe that he was connected with the titled
family of Maxwell, that his right name was Hugh M. Brookes, and that he
would like to place himself under the guidance and advice of an able
crook, as he believed Dingfelter to be, when he gained his liberty, as
he was sure he would, in the near future. He told Dingfelter in detail
how he had killed Preller by administering an overdose of morphia,
hypodermically; of how, after dinner on the fatal Sunday, Preller had
complained of a pain in his stomach; that he, Maxwell, saw that was his
opportunity for carrying out the plan he had already formed for taking
Preller's life in order to secure the money; that he had provided
himself with a large quantity of morphia and the hypodermic syringe, and
that he had also procured four ounces of chloroform, for the purpose of
administering it to Preller immediately before death, to prevent the
body from becoming rigid, as it does immediately after death, "as," said
Maxwell in his explanation to Dingfelter, "I had to conceal his long
body in the trunk, which was so much shorter, and I did not want to cut
off his limbs, fearing that the trace of the blood would betray me."
On receiving Dingfelter's report relative to the use of the morphia in
the murder, I at once reported the fact to Messrs. Clover and McDonald,
who immediately arranged with two of the most prominent doctors in St.
Louis to examine the body of Preller for traces of the morphia. Messrs.
Clover, McDonald, the doctors, an official of Bellefontaine Cemetery,
and myself, went to the cemetery, where Preller's body had been buried,
exhumed the body, and the doctors made the necessary examination,
keeping what they discovered to themselves, and they did not divulge
anything about it until called on to testify at Maxwell's trial, when
they said that the traces of the hypodermic syringe were plainly visible
on the arm, and that traces of morphia were found. When Maxwell was
arrested a quantity of morphia was found among his effects, and also the
hypodermic syringe, but up to this discovery neither had been considered
in connection with the murder, as it had been taken for granted that
Preller's death had been caused by chloroform. Of course, the exhuming
of the body, and the arrangement that had been made were known to no one
but Messrs. Clover, McDonald, the two doctors, the cemetery official and
myself, and was treated as a profound secret.
Meanwhile, after Dingfelter had been in jail and had obtained the
information we wanted from Maxwell, I decided that it was unnecessary to
keep him there longer, so I arranged to have Dingfelter released on
bail, which had been fixed at three thousand five hundred dollars. I had
ex-Judge Henry D. Laughlin, of St. Louis, sign Dingfelter's bond. I did
this without Judge Laughlin's knowledge that I even knew who Dingfelter
was. Upon his release I immediately sent him to New York, where he
entered into correspondence with friends of Maxwell's. Just before being
released he asked Maxwell if he could keep a secret, and Maxwell said
that he could, whereupon Dingfelter said:
"I expect to leave this place soon."
"How are you going to get out?" asked Maxwell.
"Ah," said Dingfelter, "that is none of your business. You said you
could keep a secret, and the first thing you are doing is to pry into
my business by asking how I am going to get out. After I am gone from
here, of course, you will know it, but if you do not know how I propose
to get out it will be impossible for you to tell any one about it. For
that reason it is better that you should not know anything further than
what I have already said."
Maxwell apologized and promised not to be so inquisitive again.
Dingfelter then said:
"Now, Maxwell, after I am on the outside and away from this place, if I
can do anything for you consistently I shall be glad to do it."
"You can do a whole lot for me," Maxwell answered, "by getting two of
your friends to come here when my trial is called and have them testify
that they met Preller and myself in Boston, and that they accompanied us
to the depot when we were leaving Boston; that at the depot I proposed
that the party take a parting drink; that Preller, these two men and
myself, went to a cafe, and that I ordered two bottles of champagne, and
that when I paid for it I displayed a roll of seven one hundred dollar
bills; that I explained that I wanted to change one of these hundred
dollar bills so that I might have some smaller change to pay expenses on
my way to St. Louis. If they will testify to this it will account for
the six one hundred dollar bills I took from Preller."
Dingfelter asked, "Are you sure that your lawyers will not get these
friends of mine into trouble or let the police get next to them if I can
get them to come?"
Maxwell assured Dingfelter that his friends would be perfectly safe in
coming to St. Louis, and that the police would not get next to them,
providing, of course, that the parties were not already known to the
police. He took a card bearing his name from his pocket and tore it in
two halves, giving one half to Dingfelter and retaining the other
himself, saying, "Be sure and give these witnesses half of the card,
which will serve to identify them to my attorneys when they arrive here,
as that half of the card will match the half that I will retain, the
edges of the torn card will match and will answer the purpose of an
introduction."
It was about five o'clock in the evening when Dingfelter was released
from jail on bond, and at that hour the courts in the building had
adjourned for the day, and the newspaper correspondents and all others
had left the building except the few attaches who were on duty. Thus
Dingfelter left the jail unobserved. On his release from the jail he
came to my house by a circuitous route, where he remained until a late
hour that night, when he left to take a train for New York. I instructed
him to open a correspondence with Maxwell on his arrival in New York, so
as to get positive instructions from Maxwell as to what the witnesses
were to testify to when they appeared on the stand in his defense. He
carried out these instructions to the letter. His letters reached
Maxwell through his attorneys, and Maxwell's letters reached him through
the same source, and in due time, all the letters were sent to me with
his report. They kept up this correspondence at intervals until
Maxwell's trial was called. I told Dingfelter to appear in St. Louis on
the morning of the trial, which he did. On arriving here he went to a
private lodging house, and being a stranger in the city, his presence
was unknown to any person but himself and the circuit attorneys, Clover
and McDonald.
When his trial was called, Maxwell took the stand in his own defense,
and testified that he had administered chloroform to his friend Preller
on the fatal evening at the Southern Hotel for the purpose of allaying
the pain that he was suffering from, as both Messrs. Clover and McDonald
had predicted he would testify. Maxwell went on to state that Preller's
suffering was caused by an acute attack of stricture, from which he had
been suffering more or less for some time.
On hearing this testimony from Maxwell, it was decided to again exhume
the body of Preller so that the two doctors could make another
examination of the remains, and either corroborate or disprove Maxwell's
testimony, as this was one of the most vital points in the trial. When
the body was exhumed the doctors removed the organs, taking them to
their laboratory, where the examination was made, and they later came
into court and testified that their examination had shown beyond a doubt
that Preller had never suffered from stricture.
Frank Dingfelter was among the first witnesses called by the
prosecution. In answer to his name, he entered the court room from the
private office of the circuit attorney, and after being duly sworn, took
his seat on the witness stand. After sitting down he turned his face
towards Attorney McDonald, who was conducting the prosecution for the
state. Maxwell got a full view of Dingfelter for the first time since he
had seen him in the jail. From where I was sitting I could get a good
view of Maxwell's countenance. I was watching him closely, and when he
saw Dingfelter he recognized him instantly. He turned ashy pale and
nearly fainted, and would have fallen out of his chair were it not that
he was partly supported by one of his attorneys who was sitting beside
him. He hurriedly communicated to his attorney that he had recognized
Dingfelter, whereupon the attorneys for the defense became very much
excited. Dingfelter was asked by Attorney McDonald the following
questions:
Question: What is your name? A. John F. McCulloch.
Q. Where were you born? A. Wilmington, Delaware.
Q. How old are you? A. Thirty years.
Q. What is your business? A. Detective.
Q. By whom are you employed? A. Thomas Furlong.
Q. Do you know the defendant in this case (pointing to Maxwell)? A. Yes,
sir.
Q. Where did you first become acquainted with him? A. In the city jail.
Q. Were you a prisoner in the jail? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What were you charged with? A. I believe it was forgery.
Q. When and where were you arrested? A. I was arrested at the Mechanics
Bank on the corner of Fourth and Pine streets, this city, by Thomas
Furlong, who was afterwards assisted by a police officer, whose name I
do not know.
Q. Why did Furlong arrest you? A. He was commanded to do so by the
paying teller of the Mechanics Bank.
Q. Why did the teller cause your arrest? A. Because I presented a check
bearing what purported to be the signature of D. S. H. Smith, local
treasurer of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. The paying teller
told Furlong, in my presence, that the signature was a forgery.
Q. Did you know it to be a forgery? A. I did not.
Q. Where did you get this check? A. Mr. Furlong gave me the check and
instructed me to present it at the bank, as I did, and told me that he
would be at the bank when I presented it.
Q. Was Mr. Furlong there? A. Yes, he came into the bank while I was at
the teller's window. That was when Mr. Warner, as I believe the
teller's name is, told him to arrest me.
Q. Then you do not know whether the check was a forgery or not? A. No,
sir. I was only obeying the instructions of my employer, Mr. Furlong. I
guess he can tell you all about that check.
The court room was crowded, and as soon as Dingfelter stated that he was
a detective one of the city detectives rushed out of the court,
pellmell, to the office of the Chief of Police, which was in the
opposite end of the building, and informed the Chief of what had
occurred. The Chief rushed into the court room, and from that time on
consternation seemed to prevail among all the authorities around the
Four Courts building.
Dingfelter was kept upon the witness stand for about two days, and
during his entire direct testimony, nearly every question asked him by
the prosecuting attorney was objected to by the attorneys for the
defense. After McCulloch, as I will call him by his right name
hereafter, had been excused from the witness stand, I was called. After
being duly sworn and the preliminary questions asked, I was told, by the
prosecuting attorney, to state to the court and jury how I had been
approached by Mr. Clover and himself, and what I had done in connection
with the case. I gave a detailed account of my work from the start up to
that moment, being interrupted occasionally by an objection from the
defendant's counsel. When I had finished my direct testimony, all of
which has already been related, the counsel for the defense began to
cross-examine me. My cross-examination consumed nearly a day and a half.
The defendant's counsel first wanted to know how long I had been in the
detective business. I answered that I had first become engaged in the
business in September, 1862. The attorney said, "Then you have had a
great deal of experience?" I answered that I had, and then he said,
"Where did you get this check?" exhibiting the check in question. I
asked permission to examine the check, which was granted by the court,
and after looking at it carefully I answered, "This is one of the blank
checks that I took from Dr. Smith's office in the manner already
described."
Question: Then you stole this check from Dr. Smith's office? A. I took
that blank check from Dr. Smith's office without his knowledge or
consent.
Q. Who filled out this check and signed Dr. Smith's name to it? A. That
check was filled out by one of my employes. I stood alongside of him
while he filled it out. He did it under my instructions, and if he had
refused to do it I would have discharged him and he knew it; and if the
law has been violated in any way I am responsible for it.
The attorney for the defense insisted that I give the name of the person
who filled out the check, but the court overruled the question on the
ground that I had assumed the responsibility. The counsel for the
defense then said, "You know that you were violating the law by having
this check made out as you did, did you not?"
I replied, "Under certain conditions, it might have been a violation of
the law."
Counsel for the defense asked, "You know that it was a forgery and
forgery is a crime under the law?" My answer was the same as before,
that it would have been forgery under certain conditions. But he
insisted on me answering him direct "yes" or "no." At this Prosecuting
Attorney McDonald appealed to the court, stating that the witness could
not answer the question with a direct "yes" or "no" unless permitted to
explain what the certain conditions referred to were. The court
permitted me to explain under what conditions the making of the check
would not be considered forgery. To which I replied that inasmuch as
that intent is the essence of crime, and that as there was no intent to
obtain money or other valuables by means of this check on my part, who
was responsible for the making of it, and that I was at the bank on the
morning that McCulloch presented the check for the purpose of preventing
the teller from cashing the check, if he, perchance, had not noticed
that the signature of Dr. Smith was not genuine, and for the further
reason that I had promptly apprehended the man who had presented the
check at the bank for having done so. This was all a matter of court
record.
Here I wish to say that almost every person in the courtroom, after
hearing my testimony as to my obtaining the blank checks and causing one
to be filled out and presented at the bank, were of the opinion that I
had gotten myself into serious trouble. Many clung to that opinion until
they heard my explanation, and the competent court attorneys saw at a
glance that I was safe when I explained that intent was what constituted
a crime.
I have been asked many, many times since the arrest of McCulloch and my
tussle with him, why I caused him to knock me down and to strip the
policeman and myself, leaving us in almost a nude condition, and which
compelled me to go around several days with my right eye and one side of
my face discolored--as some of them said, "in mourning"--and my answer
has always been that I had decided everything I did in connection with
the case was absolutely necessary so that I might obtain the true facts
of the case, which were very essential for the proper prosecution of the
perpetrator of this heinous crime, as he was the only living person who
knew the real facts. I knew that Maxwell was enjoying the notoriety the
newspapers were giving him, and I also knew that the public was growing
tired of reading about him, and, therefore, believed that if I could
paint my operative as a more desperate criminal for the time being, by
the notoriety he would obtain through the papers, it would have the
effect of attracting Maxwell's attention to him, so that he might bask
in the light that was being attracted to McCulloch. And, as it turned
out, my predictions proved true. I deemed it necessary to have McCulloch
slug me and make the fight that he did with the police officer and
myself in order to allay any suspicion that might arise in the mind of
the Chief of Police or any of his men. The Chief was an alert and
experienced officer, and if he suspected for a moment that McCulloch was
not what he represented himself to be, or that he was connected with me,
he would have undoubtedly exposed our scheme, and thereby destroyed our
efforts, which were for the honest purpose of serving the ends of
justice.
Both McCulloch and myself were acting parts, and from the result it
seems that the parts were acted well. I could have gotten the blank
check from Dr. Smith, I have no doubt, merely by asking for it, but he,
of course would have wanted an explanation from me, and if I had
explained why I wanted them he would have been obliged to state the
facts on the witness stand when called before the Grand Jury, and this
would have been fatal to my scheme. Had I told my operative Phillips,
who lodged the first complaint against McCulloch, or Dingfelter, as he
called himself, he would have been compelled, under oath, to have stated
the truth. This, too, would have been fatal. My keeping the matter a
secret, resulted in every person telling the truth, or what they
believed to be the truth. I myself, did not appear either at police
headquarters or at the preliminary hearing, nor before the Grand Jury,
and was not called upon to testify until Maxwell was on trial.
Marshall F. McDonald was sitting in his office one day alone, about a
month after Dingfelter had been in jail and had made such good progress
with Maxwell, when William Marion Reedy, better known then as Billy
Reedy, entered his office. Reedy was, at that time, a reporter for the
Globe-Democrat, and was very popular. He knew every official around the
Four Courts and in fact, every man in St. Louis who was worth knowing.
He was a warm friend and great admirer of Mr. McDonald, and on entering
his office and noting that he was alone, he said, "Mac, why don't you
select the right kind of a fellow and have him locked up in Jail with
Maxwell. He might succeed in getting the facts as to Preller's murder
from him."
Mr. McDonald was startled to hear this suggestion from Mr. Reedy, but,
being a man of steady nerves, he managed to conceal his surprise. He
told Reedy that he did not believe that anything could be accomplished
by locking a man up in jail for that purpose. "For," said Mac, "there
are nearly four hundred prisoners in that jail and a man might be there
for months before he could get to Maxwell, and then it is quite likely
that his attorneys have already advised him not to talk to any person
about his case."
Reedy said, "It occurred to me that it might be a good thing to do, and
I therefore made the suggestion to you for what it is worth, but, as you
do not think it worth while to try it, just let it go."
He left the office, and just as soon as McDonald could don his hat and
coat and leave his office unobserved, he hastened to me. I saw at a
glance that he was excited and believed something unusual had happened.
I greeted him and asked him to be seated, and then said, "Mac, what is
the matter?" He extended his long right arm and exclaimed, "Why, the
whole thing is up."
"What's up?" I asked, "Mac, what do you mean?"
"Why, Billy Reedy came into my office a little while ago and suggested
that I pick out the right kind of a fellow and have him locked up in
jail so that he might work on Maxwell," he said.
"Is that all Reedy said?" I asked.
He then went on and detailed as nearly as he could recollect just what
Reedy had said. I asked him what he had said to Reedy and he told me. I
then said, "Do you think that Reedy noticed your excitement when he made
the suggestion to you?"
"No, he could not have," he replied, "I was not excited, I never get
excited."
"You were excited when you came in here, and if Billy Reedy noticed it
when he made that suggestion it might set him to thinking, and inasmuch
as you did not take kindly to the suggestion, he might possibly make the
suggestion to Chief Harrigan," I said.
"Oh, no," replied Mac, "Billy would not make any suggestions to the
chief. He is my friend and I appreciate the feeling that prompted him to
make the suggestion, but confound it, I wish he had not thought of it."
I said, "Mac, we know that Billy Reedy is a bright young fellow, and a
great news gatherer, and a loyal friend of yours. I do not believe he
will say anything more about it, and now I think the best thing to do is
to quietly await developments."
My advice was followed, and I do not believe that William Marion Reedy,
who is now proprietor and editor of the St. Louis Mirror, has ever known
just how much that friendly suggestion of his worried his friend
Marshall F. McDonald. I have told in my story how McCulloch remained in
jail and got the facts from Maxwell, and our scheme was not spoiled by
Mr. Reedy's suggestion, for he never repeated it to any other person.
The testimony at the trial was overwhelming against Maxwell, and the
jury before whom this case was tried quickly returned a verdict of
guilty of murder in the first degree, and Hugh M. Brookes, alias
Maxwell, was hung for one of the most cold-blooded murders of the age.
The St. Louis police department had an exhibit in the Educational
Building during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, which
consisted of photographs and police records of criminals, burglars,
tools and various weapons. This exhibit also had the noose with which
Brookes, alias Maxwell, was hung, and his photograph and the picture of
the two St. Louis officers who brought him back from Auckland, New
Zealand. There were thousands of people who viewed this exhibit, and I
deem it proper to tell the public that the police department had
positively nothing to do with obtaining the evidence that convicted
Maxwell. They had really nothing to do with his arrest, other than
sending out his description. He was arrested through the efforts of
Capt. Leas, Chief of Police of San Francisco, Cal. His conviction was
due to my efforts and the work of my operative, McCulloch, and to
Messrs. Clover and McDonald. Mr. Clover paid the expenses from his own
pocket and Mr. McDonald deserved a great deal more credit that he was
accorded for the masterful way in which he handled the prosecution, but
not one of these names were mentioned in the exhibit at the World's
Fair. Mr. Clover paid about six hundred dollars out of his own personal
funds for the expenses incurred in obtaining the evidence, and I got a
black eye and a swollen jaw as my compensation.
Dingfelter, while in the jail, also made the acquaintance of two
brothers by the name of Johnston, who had been arrested in New Orleans
and brought to St. Louis for safe keeping by the United States
authorities, on the charge of having had a large number of Brazilian
bonds printed. These bonds were counterfeit, utterly worthless to any
one who purchased them. The government secret service had captured a lot
of these spurious bonds and had brought the prisoners to St. Louis until
they could be tried in the Federal Court.
The Johnstons took a liking to Dingfelter and told him all about their
scheme, where they had gotten the printing done, by whom, and all the
other facts of their crime. Dingfelter did not solicit any confidences,
but they, supposing him to be a shrewd crook, thought their secret was
safe, until Maxwell was on trial and Dingfelter, as he was known to
them, took the stand and testified, giving his right name, John F.
McCulloch, and his business, that of a detective. As soon as the
Johnston brothers learned who and what Dingfelter was, they sent word to
the United States authorities that they had admitted to Detective
Dingfelter everything pertaining to their guilt, and they were willing
to plead guilty to the charges pending against them in the Federal
Court. This they did when they were arraigned for trial.