BIG SUMS OF MONEY CARRIED THROUGH THIEF-INFESTED DISTRICTS WITHOUT
LOSS--A REMARKABLE TRIP TO LEADVILLE IN 1878--GEN. COOK SAVES A MINING
COMPANY SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS BY HIS PROMPTNESS.
Along in the '60's and early '70's when Colorado was not covered with a
network of railroad and telegraph lines as it is to-day, bankers and
others who wished to transmit large sums of money from one point to
another were often put to sore straits for some means to accomplish their
object. The stage coaches which carried mail, passengers and express to
nearly every part of the state, were too risky. Holdups were of frequent
occurrence, often it was thought through the connivance and assistance of
the drivers themselves. Then, too, they were slow and uncertain; a washout
or snowslide might detain them for days at a time.
Accordingly it became necessary to secure the services of men who were not
only honest and trustworthy themselves, but who were known to be "handy
with a gun," and who would risk their lives if necessary for the
protection of the property entrusted to their care. It was because of this
that the Rocky Mountain Detective Association was often called upon when
any particularly large sums of money were to be carried from Denver to
mountain towns. One or two cases are called to mind, not only by the
implicit confidence displayed by the bankers in Gen. Cook and his aides,
but also by the faithful manner in which they discharged the responsible
duties which they were called upon to perform.
In January, 1870, Kountze Bros., of the Colorado National Bank of Denver,
who are still the leading bankers of the whole western country, were
running a branch bank at Central City, known as the Rocky Mountain
National. A well known mill man, whose name has been forgotten, came in
one day to secure an additional loan of $2,500 on his mill, which was
already mortgaged for $25,000. The local manager, of course, refused to
make the loan, and the fellow went out of the bank with the threat that he
would "fix 'em." And he came pretty nearly doing so, too. He rode around
to the various camps, telling the men that if they had any money in the
bank at Central they had better get it out in a hurry, as the bank was
practically "busted." "Why," he said, "I couldn't get $2,500 on my mill
from them." As his property was popularly supposed to be worth $30,000 or
more, this of course frightened hundreds of timid depositors, and a run on
the bank was begun at once.
The local manager hurriedly dispatched a messenger to Denver for aid. Mr.
Charles Kountze, one of the firm, hastily counted out $50,000, and placing
it in a grip, sent for Gen. Cook to accompany him to Central. Placing the
grip under the buggy seat, and a couple of good guns where they could be
easily got at, Cook and Kountze drove out of Denver at 11 o'clock at
night, and arrived in Central the next morning after a hard drive. A wild
mob surged around the bank as soon as the doors were opened, and though
the tellers were paying off depositors as rapidly as possible, Kountze
feared that there might be trouble, and employed Gen. Cook to remain in
the bank as a guard that day. At the close of banking hours they hitched
up their rig and drove back to Denver, reaching the city about 1 o'clock
that night. As they crossed the Platte bridge, Kountze said to Cook:
"Dave, you'll have to go right back again to-night."
Although fatigued with two long drives over rough mountain roads and
nearly sick from cold and loss of sleep, Gen. Cook did not hesitate, but
securing a fresh team, started back once more, this time accompanied by an
employé of the bank named Potter, who carried the grip containing $75,000.
They reached Central in good time, and by 2 o'clock the next afternoon
confidence in the bank's stability was again restored, and the run was
over. Gen. Cook received not only a substantial pecuniary reward for his
three days' and two nights' hard work, but the lasting gratitude of the
bank officials as well.
During the exciting times in Georgetown in May, 1875, which grew out of
the Dives-Pelican mining suits, and culminated in the murder of Snyder,
the superintendent of the Pelican mine, by Jack Bishop, the Dives mine
superintendent, the Pelican people employed Gen. Cook, C. B. Hoyt, the
present warden of the State Reformatory at Buena Vista; W. F. Smith and
other members of the association as a body guard for their legal counsel,
Senator Henry M. Teller and ex-Congressman James H. Belford, who flatly
refused to go to Georgetown unless accompanied by an armed guard to
protect them from the excited mob.
Learning that Gen. Cook was going to Georgetown, President Moffat asked
him to carry $75,000 in currency to their branch bank at that place, as he
feared that a run might be started on the bank during the excitement. Gen.
Cook agreed to this, and he and J. L. McNeal, an employé of the bank, put
the money in a buggy and drove up there one night, reaching Georgetown in
safety.
During the trial, one of the opposing counsel took occasion to make a
sarcastic reference to the "armed body guard of man-killers" that the
Denver lawyers had brought with them, and he and the lawless element that
then dominated Georgetown got the worst roasting from Congressman Belford
that they had ever heard in their lives. The Pelican people won their
suit, and the trouble finally quieted down, although the murderer, Bishop,
was never apprehended.
In the latter part of June, 1878, a company that was working the
Goneabroad and Small Hopes mining claims at Leadville under lease and
bond, made an exceedingly rich strike, the first made in the camp. They
made the strike only a week before the expiration of their lease, and
unless they could raise the $20,000 on the date when their lease and
option expired, the valuable property, worth at least $300,000, would pass
into the hands of the original owners. The company sent a man to Denver to
make arrangements to borrow the needed sum, in which he was successful,
returning to Leadville with a certified check on the Colorado National
Bank for $20,000. To their surprise, the owners refused to accept the
certified check, and announced that nothing but the money would do. By
this plan they expected that they would obtain possession of the mine, as
the time had so nearly expired that they thought it would be impossible to
get the money there in time. Parker, one of the lessees, hastened back to
Denver to secure the currency, if possible. President Kountze of the bank
did not know Parker, but told him if he could get Dave Cook to carry the
money through he would be willing to trust him with it. Otherwise he did
not care to take the risk. Parker hunted up Gen. Cook, and arrangements
were made to start at once. This was the 4th of July and the lease expired
on the 5th--the distance to be traveled was 145 miles over rough mountain
roads--a seemingly impossible feat. Gen. Cook hunted up Frank Smith, and
just about noon they, with Parker, in a light rig, started on their long
drive. They drove rapidly all afternoon, all that night and until noon the
next day, when they reached Fairplay, stopping only long enough to change
horses. Almost worn out with the long ride and loss of sleep it appeared
that they could not possibly reach Leadville before the bank closed, and
if they could not, all was lost. Parker gave up in despair. Gen. Cook,
however, resourceful as usual, hunted up Sheriff John Ifinger, and found
out from him that it was possible they might get through in time by taking
a short cut on horseback across the Mesquite range through Mosquito pass.
Gen. Cook gave him $50 to guide them, and offered to pay for all horses
killed in making the attempt. The party secured good saddle horses and
left Fairplay at twenty-eight minutes after 1 o'clock. Spurring their
horses across the more level parts of the trail, dismounting and leading
them up steep, slippery paths, and around walls of rock overhanging cañons
hundreds of feet deep, where the slightest misstep would have proved
fatal, they at length crossed the pass, and just three minutes before 3
o'clock, when they supposed the bank would close, rode up to that
institution with the money.
The chagrin of the owners who had felt so certain of regaining possession
of the property was only equaled by the joy of the lessees. They
overwhelmed Cook and Smith with attentions, and during their stay in
Leadville nothing in the camp was too good for them, and they were given
a handsome reward besides.
These are only a few of the many cases in which the Rocky Mountain
Detective Association has been called upon to perform difficult and
seemingly impossible tasks, and to its credit be it said, it has never yet
been "found wanting," but has ever performed every duty.
A FARM HAND'S AWFUL CRIME.