One night in 1873, at Chicago, while Mr. Pinkerton was on his way
home, he recalls seeing Walter Sheridan, "Philly" Pearson and Charlie
Hicks on a street car. He followed them to the Chicago & Alton
Railroad station, where he saw them purchase tickets for Springfield,
Ill. The following day the vault of the First National Bank of
Springfield was robbed of $35,000 by Pearson, while Sheridan engaged
the attention of the bank officials, and Hicks remained on guard
outside. Later Hicks was arrested, taken to Springfield, convicted and
sentenced to eight years in Joliet prison. Pearson fled to Europe.
Later Sheridan was arrested at Toledo, O., for this robbery, at which
time Mr. Pinkerton identified him, and $22,000 of the stolen money was
recovered. Sheridan was mixed up in a great many crimes, but in the
last years of his life was looked upon as being cleverer as a first
class bank "sneak" than in any other line, although he has been a
successful leader of bands of note counterfeiters.
"Billy" Coleman, undoubtedly one of the most expert "sneaks" of modern
times, who, between 1869 and 1904 was arrested thirteen times, and
who spent almost half of his lifetime in prisons, is now serving in
the Auburn, New York, state prison, a four and one-half-year term for
the theft of $30,000 worth of jewelry from a safe in the Clark Estate
building at Cooperstown. The stolen jewelry belonged to Mrs. Ambrose
Clark, a daughter-in-law of Mrs. Potter, wife of Bishop Potter.