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MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS
AND THE
DETECTIVES.
ALLAN PINKERTON'S
GREAT DETECTIVE BOOKS.
1.--MOLLIE MAGUIRES AND DETECTIVES.
2.--STRIKERS, COMMUNISTS, AND DETECTIVES.
3.--CRIMINAL REMINISCENCES AND DETECTIVES.
4.--THE MODEL TOWN AND DETECTIVES.
5.--SPIRITUALISTS AND DETECTIVES.
6.--EXPRESSMEN AND DETECTIVES.
7.--THE SOMNAMBULIST AND DETECTIVES.
8.--CLAUDE MELNOTTE AS A DETECTIVE.
9.--MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS AND DETECTIVES.
10.--GYPSIES AND DETECTIVES.
11.--BUCHOLZ AND DETECTIVES.
12.--THE RAILROAD FORGER AND DETECTIVES.
13.--BANK ROBBERS AND DETECTIVES.
14.--BURGLAR'S FATE AND DETECTIVES.
15.--A DOUBLE LIFE AND DETECTIVES.
These wonderful Detective Stories by Allan Pinkerton are
having an unprecedented success. Their sale far
exceeding one hundred thousand copies. "The
interest which the reader feels from the outset
so intense and resistless; he is swept along
by the narrative, held by it, whether
he will or no."
All beautifully illustrated, and published uniform with this
volume. Price $1.50 each. Sold by all booksellers, and
sent _free_ by mail, on receipt of price, by
G. W. CARLETON & CO., Publishers,
New York.
MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS
AND THE
DETECTIVES.
DON PEDRO AND THE DETECTIVES.
POISONER AND THE DETECTIVES.
BY
ALLAN PINKERTON,
AUTHOR OF
"THE EXPRESSMAN AND THE DETECTIVE," "THE MODEL TOWN
AND THE DETECTIVES," "THE SPIRITUALISTS AND THE
DETECTIVES," "THE MOLLIE MAGUIRES AND THE
DETECTIVES," "STRIKERS, COMMUNISTS,
TRAMPS AND DETECTIVES,"
ETC., ETC., ETC.
[Illustration]
NEW YORK:
_G. W. Dillingham, Publisher_,
SUCCESSOR TO G. W. CARLETON & CO.
LONDON: S. LOW, SON & CO.
MDCCCLXXXVII.
COPYRIGHT
BY
ALLAN PINKERTON,
1879.
SAMUEL STODDER,
STEREOTYPER,
90 ANN STREET, N. Y.
TROW
PRINTING AND BOOK BINDING CO.
N. Y.
CONTENTS.
MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS AND THE DETECTIVES.
CHAPTER I. PAGE
A daring Express Robbery.--Mr. Pinkerton appealed
to.--Cane-brakes and cane-fed People.--Annoying delays
and Amateur Detectives. 9
CHAPTER II.
Difficulties.--Blind Trails and False Scents.--A Series of
Illustrations showing the Number of Officious People
and Confidence Men that often seek Notoriety and
Profit through important Detective Operations. 21
CHAPTER III.
"Old Hicks," a drunken Planter, is entertained by a
Hunting-Party.--Lester's Landing.--Its Grocery-Store
and Mysterious Merchants.--A dangerous Situation.--The
unfortunate Escape of Two of the Robbers. 32
CHAPTER IV.
The Captured Ruffians are desired for Guides, but dare not
join in the Search for the Outlaws.--One of the
Robbers is Taken, but subsequently Escapes from the
Amateur Detectives.--Another Clue suddenly fails. 44
CHAPTER V.
A Rich Lead Struck at Last. 50
CHAPTER VI.
The Mother of the Farringtons, being arrested, boasts that
her Sons "Will never be taken Alive."--Another
Unfortunate Blunder by Amateur Detectives.--An
interesting Fate intended for the Detectives.--William
A. Pinkerton captures the Murderer of a Negro in Union
City, proving "a very good Fellow--for a Yankee." 56
CHAPTER VII.
The Scene of Action transferred to Missouri.--The Chase
becoming Hot. 68
CHAPTER VIII.
A determined Party of Horsemen.--The Outlaws surrounded and
the Birds caged.--A Parley.--The burning Cabin.--Its
Occupants finally surrender. 80
CHAPTER IX.
Barton's Confession.--The Express Robberies, and the
Outlaw's subsequent Experiences fully set forth
therein.--A Clue that had been suddenly dropped taken
up with so much Profit. 91
CHAPTER X.
A terrible Struggle for Life or Death upon the Transfer-boat
"Illinois."--"Overboard!"--One less Desperado.--Fourth
and Last Robber taken. 104
CHAPTER XI.
The last Scene in the Drama approaching.--A new Character
appears.--The Citizens of Union City suddenly seem to
have important business on hand.--The Vigilantes and
their Work.--The End. 114
DON PEDRO AND THE DETECTIVES.
CHAPTER I.
A fraudulent Scheme contemplated.--A dashing Peruvian Don
and Donna.--A regal Forger.--Mr. Pinkerton engaged by
Senator Muirhead to unveil the mystery of his Life. 125
CHAPTER II.
Madame Sevier, Widow, of Chicago, and Monsieur Lesparre, of
Bordeaux, also arrive at Gloster.--Mr. Pinkerton, as a
Laborer, anxious for a Job, inspects the Morita
Mansion. 143
CHAPTER III.
Monsieur Lesparre, having a retentive memory, becomes
serviceable to Don Pedro.--Diamond fields and droll
Americans.--A pompous Judge in an unfortunate
Predicament.--The grand Reception closes with a happy
Arrangement that the gay Senor and Senora shall dine
with Mr. Pinkerton's Detectives on the next evening. 159
CHAPTER IV.
Madame Sevier and Her Work.--Unaccountable Coquettishness
between Man and Wife.--A Startling Scheme,
Illustrating the Rashness of American Business Men and
the Supreme Assurance of Don Pedro. 170
CHAPTER V.
The third Detective is made welcome at Don Pedro's.--The
Senor is paid the first half-million dollars from the
great Diamond Company.--How Don Pedro is "working" his
diamond mines. 189
CHAPTER VI.
An unexpected Meeting and a startling Recognition. An old
friend somewhat disturbs the Equanimity of Don Pedro.
The Detectives fix their Attention upon Pietro
Bernardi. 205
CHAPTER VII.
Pietro Bernardi and the Detective become warm Friends.--A
Tete-a-tete worth one thousand dollars. 219
CHAPTER VIII.
Don Pedro anxious for Pietro Bernardi's absence.--"Coppering
the Jack and playing the Ace and Queen
open."--Bernardi Quieted, and he subsequently departs
richer by five thousand dollars. 232
CHAPTER IX.
Important Information from the Peruvian Government.--Arrival
In Gloster of the Peruvian Minister and Consul.--In
Consultation.--"Robbing Peter to pay Paul."--Mr.
Pinkerton's Card is presented.--Juan Sanchez, I arrest
you, and you are my Prisoner.--Mr. Pinkerton not "For
Sale." 249
CHAPTER X.
The Fete Champetre.--A grand Carnival.--The disappointed
married Lover.--A vain Request.--Unmasked!--An
indignant Deacon.--Don Pedro taken to Peru in a
man-of-war, where he is convicted and sentenced to
fifteen years Imprisonment. 265
THE POISONER AND THE DETECTIVES.
CHAPTER I.
Mr. Pinkerton at a Water-cure becomes interested in a
Couple, one of whom subsequently causes the Detective
Operation from which this Story is written.--A wealthy
ship-owner and his son.--The son "Found dead."--Mr.
Pinkerton secured to solve the Mystery.--Chicago after
the Fire. 283
CHAPTER II.
The Detectives at work.--Mrs. Sanford described.--Charlie,
the Policeman.--Mrs. Sanford develops Interest in
Government Bonds.--Chicago Relief and Aid
Benefits.--Mrs. Sanford's Story of Trafton's Death. 298
CHAPTER III.
The dangerous Side of the Woman's Character.--Robert A.
Pinkerton as Adamson, the drunken, but wealthy
Stranger, has a violent Struggle to escape from Mrs.
Sanford, and is afterwards robbed.--Detective Ingham
arrested, but very shortly liberated. 319
CHAPTER IV.
Connecting Links.--Mrs. Sanford's Ability as an Imitator of
Actors.--One Detective tears himself away from her,
and another takes his Place.--Mrs. Sanford's mind
frequently burdened with the subject of Murder. 340
CHAPTER V.
A moneyed young Texan becomes one of Mrs. Sanford's
Lodgers.--The bonds are seen and their Numbers taken
by the Detectives.--Mrs. Sanford arrested.--She is
found guilty of "Involuntary Manslaughter," and
sentenced to the Illinois Penitentiary for five
years.--Mr. Pinkerton's Theory of the Manner in which
Trafton was murdered 356
PREFACE.
In presenting to the public another volume of my detective stories, I
would call the attention of the reader to the fact, that these stories
are literally written from facts and incidents which have come under my
own observation, or been worked up by officers acting directly under my
instructions.
The Mississippi River has for many years--more especially since the
close of the war--been infested by a class of men who never would try to
get an honest living, but would prey upon their neighbors or attack the
property of southern railroads and express companies; these marauders
could be seen any day prowling along the banks of the Mississippi, in
fact, the shores and immediate neighborhood were peopled by just such a
class, who cared not how they obtained a living; for the crimes they
committed, they often suffered infinitely worse punishment, more so than
any suffering which could have been entailed on them from leading a poor
but honest life.
The story of the "MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS AND THE DETECTIVES" is written to
illustrate incidents which took place in the southern section of the
country at no very remote date.
"DON PEDRO AND THE DETECTIVES" is another story of detective experience,
which came under my own observation and management; it is a truthful
narrative, and shows that some men are worse than known criminals, and
can squander the money they have obtained by false pretenses, in a very
lavish manner.
"THE POISONER AND THE DETECTIVES" is a well-known bit of detective
experience, which, when read, will be recognized by any one who ever
takes an interest in crime, and the bringing to justice its
perpetrators.
The reader must remember that fictitious names are used in all of these
stories, otherwise the facts are plainly and truthfully told as they
occurred.
ALLAN PINKERTON.
_April, 1879._
THE MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS
AND
THE DETECTIVES.
CHAPTER I.
_A daring Express Robbery.--Mr. Pinkerton appealed to.--Cane-brakes
and cane-fed People.--Annoying Delays and Amateur Detectives._
The southern and border states, since the close of the war of the
rebellion, have been the frequent scenes of extensive and audacious
robberies. This has been largely owing to the sparsely-settled condition
of certain districts, to the disorder and lawlessness generated by the
war, and to the temptations offered by the carelessness of many persons
having large sums intrusted to their care in transit through lonely and
desolate localities.
The express companies have always been favorite objects of attack by
thieves of every grade, from the embezzling cashier to the petty
sneak-thief, and some of the operations connected with the detection of
this class of criminals are among the most difficult and dangerous that
have ever been intrusted to me. Probably a no more reckless and
desperate body of men were ever banded together in a civilized community
than those who were brought to my attention in 1871 by the Southern
Express Company's officers in Memphis; and I consider the successful
termination of my efforts in this case as of the greatest value to the
people of the South and West. The whole affair was conducted with such a
limited force, and under such adverse circumstances, that I take pride
in here recording the history of the affair and my connection with it.
Though I maintained a general supervision of the operation, my eldest
son, William A. Pinkerton, was the person having immediate charge of the
matter, and to his energy, perseverance, and sagacity is mainly
attributable our success.
Some time in the latter part of July, 1871, an express messenger on the
Mobile and Ohio Railroad was overpowered by three men at Moscow,
Kentucky, and his safe was robbed of about sixteen hundred dollars. The
manner of effecting the robbery was a very bold one, showing the
presence of men of experience in crime. The loss was not heavy, but the
company made every effort to discover the robbers, in the hope of
bringing them to a severe punishment as a warning to other criminals. In
spite, however, of the efforts of two of my men, who were immediately
sent to the scene of the robbery, the guilty parties escaped into the
almost impenetrable swamps along the Mississippi River, and the chase
was reluctantly abandoned, as it was impossible to tell where they
would come out or cross the river. The amount stolen was not
sufficiently large to warrant the expenditure of much time or money in
the pursuit of the thieves, and my men were soon wholly withdrawn from
the operation. In order, however, to guard against a repetition of such
a raid, an extra man was placed in each express car to act as guard to
the regular messenger. It was considered that two men, well armed, ought
to be surely able to protect the company against further loss, and
everything ran smoothly until October 21, 1871. At this time, the money
shipments by express were very heavy, as a rule, and orders were given
that special care should be exercised by all the employes having money
packages in charge.
The northern-bound train on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad was due at
Union City, Tennessee, about half-past seven o'clock in the evening. At
this point the northern and southern-bound trains usually passed each
other, and stopped long enough for supper, the train arriving first
being the one to take the side track ready to pull out. Saturday
evening, October 21st, the northern-bound train arrived on time, stopped
at the station long enough to let the passengers go to supper, and then
took the side track to await the arrival of the train bound south. As
soon as the side track was reached the conductor, engineer, fireman,
brakeman, and express messenger went to supper, leaving the train
deserted except by the express guard, named George Thompson, and a few
passengers. The local express agent came up at this moment, gave his
packages to Thompson, receiving his receipt therefor, and returned to
the station. This action was directly contrary to the rules of the
company, which forbade the messenger to leave the car during his whole
run, or to go to sleep; also, the guard was forbidden to transact any
business, or to have possession of the safe key. Martin Crowley, the
messenger, had given his key to Thompson, however, to enable him to
attend to the business of the local agent while Crowley was away at
supper. In accordance with Thompson's request, Crowley sent a negro
porter to the express car with Thompson's supper on a tray, and the
porter, after handing the tray to Thompson, turned to walk away. As he
did so, he saw two men spring into the partly open door of the express
car, and, almost immediately, the train began to back. The negro knew
that something was wrong, and he hurried to the station to give the
alarm. By the time he arrived there, however, the train was backing at a
moderate speed, and was well beyond the reach of pursuit on foot.
Meantime, the guard, having received his supper from the negro porter,
turned his back to the door to set the tray down. Before reaching the
desk, he heard a noise at the door, and turning, he was confronted by
two men, one of whom held a revolver at his head, while the other seized
his throat. Thompson was a young man, and, not being accustomed to meet
such hard characters, he was badly frightened. He immediately gave up
the safe key and helped one of the men to unlock the safe. Having taken
all the money out of the safe, one of the robbers took also the contents
of Thompson's pocket-book; but here the other man interfered, insisting
that the guard's money be returned to him, which was done. No
conversation took place, but when the safe had been carefully examined
and all the money it contained taken, one of the men stepped to the door
and swung a lantern once or twice. The train, which had been backing at
a moderate rate of speed, now stopped, and the two men jumped off,
telling Thompson to stay where he was and keep quiet. When the
conductor, engineer, and other persons, whom the porter had alarmed,
reached the train, they found everything in order except the safe, into
which poor Thompson was vainly peering in the hope of discovering that
some portion of the funds might have been overlooked. The men had
disappeared in the thick woods, and no trace of them was found except a
small carpet-bag containing potatoes and bread. The amount missing from
the safe was about six thousand dollars in currency.
Although the robbery was at once reported to Mr. M. J. O'Brien, the
General Superintendent, by telegraph, no action seems to have been taken
until the following Wednesday--four days later--when Mr. O'Brien sent me
a brief telegram announcing the robbery, and requesting me to come to
Union City in person, if possible, and if not, to send my eldest son,
William A. Pinkerton. The telegraph was used freely for the next two
days, and while my son was gathering clues and making his preparations,
we learned most of the facts by letter. William arrived in Union City on
Saturday, just one week after the robbery had been committed, and he
instantly began to gather information from every available source.
Except the statements of the negro porter and Thompson, the guard, as
condensed in the account heretofore given, little information could be
obtained, as so few persons were about the train when it began to move
off. While two or three had seen the men who had entered the car, no one
had seen who had run the locomotive, and there was, therefore, no
certainty as to the number of persons engaged in the job. One passenger
had seen two men walking toward the engine in a suspicious manner, and,
as his description of these two was entirely different from that given
of the men who had entered the car, it was fair to presume that they had
been a part of the gang. Still, no one had seen them get on the engine,
and it was not certain that they had had anything to do with the affair.
At the end of three days, however, William had collected sufficient
information to satisfy himself that either four or five men had been at
work together; and, by collating the various descriptions he received,
he obtained a pretty fair idea of the party.
The first thing which struck him was the similarity of this robbery to
the one which had occurred exactly three months before at Moscow,
Kentucky. The appearance of the men and their actions had been precisely
like those of the Moscow party, and it was evident that they had been
emboldened to a second venture by the ease with which they had carried
through their former scheme. One thing was imperative: the capture of
the whole gang would be necessary to insure the safety of the express
company's property in the future. Indeed, it was a mere piece of good
fortune that the loss in this instance was not irreparable, for the
amount of money carried on the southern-bound train was eighty thousand
dollars, and the robbers would have obtained this large amount if the
southern-bound train had chanced to arrive first. The robbery was
clearly one which no common tramp or sneak-thief would have dared to
attempt, and William saw immediately the difficulties of his work.
Before proceeding with the incidents of the operation, I must give some
idea of the country and the people living there, since no-one would
otherwise comprehend one-half of the obstacles and dangers which were
involved in a search for the criminals in that vicinity.
The southwestern part of Kentucky and the northwestern part of Tennessee
are about as desolate portions of the world as are inhabited by a
civilized people. There seems to have been some convulsion of the earth
at this point, which is sunk so far below the general level of the whole
country as to make it a perpetual swamp. The annual overflow of the Ohio
and Mississippi lays the country under water for a distance of many
miles, while even in the dryest season, the morasses, sunken lakes, and
dense cane-brakes, render it almost impassable, except for people who
have been thoroughly acquainted with the locality for years.
The sunken lakes are natural curiosities in themselves, and, although
they have attracted considerable attention from scientific men, no
satisfactory explanation of their causes and phenomena has been found.
The country is full of game and the water is alive with fish, so that
the necessities of life are easily obtainable. The cane-brakes are
wonderful growths of bamboo cane, and they sometimes cover strips of
country as much as seventy miles long. In the spring-time, the water
rises to such a height that a skiff can navigate freely above and
through the tops of the cane; but in dry weather, the stalks grow so
closely together that the brake becomes impenetrable to man or beast,
except by winding tortuously around the clumps through the comparatively
thin portions of the undergrowth. To search for any one wishing to
remain concealed therein is like the proverbial attempt to look for a
needle in a hay-stack, since a man can pass within ten yards of another
without seeing him or being aware of his presence. The only roads which
traverse these places are mere cattle paths, which begin at no place and
run nowhere; and, unless a man be thoroughly acquainted with the
country, he can never tell where any given path will lead him.
The people around the towns, such as Hickman, Union City, Dyersburg, and
Moscow, are a highly respectable and well-educated class; but in the
low, swampy country, in the cane brake and along the river, they are
not, as a rule, a very agreeable class to live among. Of course, here,
as in all other places, there are many intelligent, reliable, honorable
men, but the great mass of the cane-brake population are ignorant and
brutal. The term which they apply to their stock is also eminently
appropriate to designate the people: they are "cane-fed." It is the
custom to turn the cattle into the cane to feed when it is young and
tender, and, as the amount of nutriment thus obtained is not very large,
the "cane-fed" animals bear about the same relation to grain-fed stock
that the people in that vicinity bear to the residents of healthy,
prosperous, and educated communities. The larger portion of the
population may be classed as "poor whites," and they constitute a
peculiar variety of the human species. The men are tall, loose-jointed,
and dyspeptic; they bear a marked resemblance to the vegetable
productions of the vicinity, being rapid of growth, prolific, and
generally worthless. Their education consists mainly of woodcraft and
rifle-shooting; their proficiency in both of these branches is sometimes
astonishing, and it is frequently said of their most expert hunters that
they seem to have been born shot-gun or rifle in hand. Accomplishments
they have none, except the rare instances where a few tunes upon the
banjo have been learned from the negroes. Their tastes are few and
simple,--whisky, snuff, hog, and hominy being the necessities and
luxuries of life; that is, whisky and snuff are the necessities, all
other things being secondary considerations. In their sober moods, they
are frank, rough, and courageous; yet, even then, there is little about
them to excite other feelings than those of pity and aversion. When full
of bad whisky, however, they are apt to become quarrelsome and brutal,
so that no man can feel sure of his safety in their company. An affront,
real or imaginary, will then be apt to cause bloodshed, even if the
insulted party has to bushwhack his enemy from a secure covert on the
roadside as he is returning to his home. Every man goes armed, and,
though fair fights in broad daylight are rare, cold-blooded murders are
not infrequent. The law is seldom invoked to settle private differences,
and, in fact, the functions of the legal officials are practically very
limited in their influence. If a coroner ever sits upon a corpse, it is
understood that he has done his whole duty by recording a verdict that
"the deceased came to his death at the hands of some person or persons
unknown."
The women, like the men, are tall, thin, and round-shouldered. Up to the
age of sixteen they sometimes are quite pretty, though sallow and
lifeless always; after that period, they become gaunt, emaciated, and
yellow. Whisky hath charms for them, also, but their favorite
dissipation is snuff-dipping. They marry very early and bear children
nearly every year, so that the size of many of these West Tennessee
families is often enormous. The father exercises patriarchal control
over his whole household until the daughters are married and the sons
old enough and strong enough to defy the parental authority as enforced
by a hickory rod. The wife never escapes the application of this potent
instrument of marital discipline; and, indeed, should a husband fail to
make frequent use of it for the correction of his better half, he would
probably soon learn that his dutiful spouse could find a use for it on
his own person.
Throughout this whole district, the people suffer from fever and ague
for nine months of the year, and dyspepsia seems hereditary. Their
physicians, however, usually require no further education than is
requisite to attend fractured limbs and gun-shot wounds, the whole
school of medicine being limited to three specifics: quinine, calomel,
and whisky.
As before stated, it should be understood that the foregoing description
applies to the majority of the inhabitants of the low swamp lands only,
and not to the residents in and about the towns; even in the cane
country itself are to be found occasionally men of education, ability,
and good character, and to several of them William was largely indebted
for assistance and information.
There was one redeeming feature also to the character of the "cane-fed"
population; in the main they were honest, and they would do all in their
power to break up a thieving gang, even if they had to hang a few of
its members as a warning to the rest. I was thus able to trust them to a
certain extent, though the fear which they had of this band of
desperadoes rather kept their naturally honest impulses in check for a
time.
William was thoroughly acquainted with the character of the people, and
he knew what a difficult task had been set before him, especially as he
was allowed no other detectives of my force to assist him, the express
company being desirous of conducting the operation as economically as
possible. Among the large number of men employed directly by the company
were two or three good men, but the majority were even worse than
useless, and the expense of the affair was finally much greater than as
if only my own men had been employed. Besides the fact that William was
thus continually working with strange men, he was harassed by large
numbers of amateur detectives, to whose stories the company's officers
too often lent a ready ear. Indeed, every express agent in Tennessee,
Kentucky, and Missouri seemed impressed with the idea that he was a
naturally gifted detective, and many were the annoying delays which
resulted from their interference.