Railroad, where fifteen hundred men work throughout the year. These
men receive their wages on a fixed day toward the end of each month,
the pay-roll amounting to many thousands of dollars. It was customary,
fourteen years ago, for the company to have a sum of money sufficient
for this purpose shipped from New York by express a day or two before
the date when the wages were to be paid. Following out this practice,
on the night of June 20, 1883, the Marine National Bank of New York
shipped by the United States Express Company a sealed package
containing forty thousand dollars for the Erie Railroad Company, in
care of the First National Bank of Susquehanna. The package contained
United States currency and bank-notes, almost entirely in small bills,
none larger than twenty dollars.
The usual precautions were observed in shipment, a trusted clerk of
the Marine Bank carrying the package to the express company's office
and taking a receipt for it from the money-clerk, who examined it
first to make sure that the seals of the bank were intact and that in
all respects it presented a correct appearance. Having satisfied
himself on these points, the money-clerk placed the package in one of
the canvas pouches used by the United States Express Company, sealed
it carefully with the company's private seal, and attached a tag
bearing the address of the company's agent at Susquehanna.
After a brief delay the pouch was delivered to express messenger Van
Waganen, who saw it placed in one of the small iron safes used by
express companies in conveying money from city to city. The messenger
rode with the safe to the train, and then remained on guard in the
express-car, where the safe was placed, as far as Susquehanna, at
which point he delivered the pouch to Dwight Chamberlain, a
night-clerk and watchman in the joint employ of the Erie Railroad and
the United States Express Company. The train left New York at 6 P. M.,
and reached Susquehanna about midnight.
Watchman Chamberlain, having received the pouch at the station,
carried it into the ticket-office and locked it inside a safe
belonging to the Erie Railroad Company. He remained on duty the rest
of the night, and at seven o'clock the next morning a messenger from
the First National Bank of Susquehanna came to get the package.
Chamberlain unlocked the safe, took out the pouch, opened it, and
then emptied its contents on the table. To his great surprise the
package containing the forty thousand dollars was gone, and in its
place were several bundles of manila paper cut to the size of
bank-bills and done up in small packages as money is done up.
The agent of the company, Clark Evans, was immediately notified, and
he at once telegraphed the news of the robbery to the officials of the
United States Express Company in New York, who with very little delay
placed the matter in the hands of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The
direct supervision of the work was undertaken by the late George H.
Bangs, at that time general superintendent of the Pinkerton Agency,
and a force of detectives at once started for Susquehanna.
An important discovery was made on closer examination of the pouch. It
was found that this pouch was not the one that had been sealed up in
the express office at New York, but a bogus pouch, so much like the
other that the change might easily have escaped notice. The chief
points of difference were the tag and the seal, the former having been
addressed in a different hand from that of the New York money-clerk,
and the latter being an old seal not in use by the company at that
time. But the general appearance of the pouch was such that neither
the messenger, Van Waganen, nor the watchman, Chamberlain, could swear
that it was not the one that he had handled.
After going over the ground carefully and cross-examining Van Waganen
and Chamberlain, Superintendent Bangs concluded that the robbery had
not been committed on the train and that the genuine money package had
reached Susquehanna and been locked in the railroad company's safe by
the night-clerk. He was strengthened in this conclusion by the
statement of Chamberlain, who admitted that, after locking up the
money, he had only been in the ticket-office at intervals during the
night. For this he was in no way to blame, as he had other duties to
perform about the station, notably those of way-bill clerk.
Thus the robbers would have had full opportunity to approach the safe
unobserved and exercise their skill upon it, could they have secured
entrance to the ticket-office. Nor was this a difficult matter, since
the door leading into it was known to have three keys, in the hands of
various employees of the road, from whom they might have been procured
or stolen. More important still was the fact, ascertained by Mr.
Bangs, that the safe itself had three keys, intrusted to as many men,
whose duties required them to have access to the safe. It subsequently
transpired that two of these keys had been made by the men who carried
them, for their own convenience and without the knowledge of their
superiors. The door leading into the ticket-office opened from the
men's waiting-room, where people had been coming and going during the
entire night of the robbery. Such of these people as could be found
were questioned closely as to what they had observed on this night,
but they could furnish no information that threw light upon the case.
Some significance was found in the coincidence that nine years before
there had been a robbery at Susquehanna, in which thirty thousand
dollars had been stolen from the express company's safe. The
Pinkertons knew that for years a band of professional thieves had been
traveling through the country, operating on safes that could be opened
with a key. Among them were experts in fitting locks, especially
skilled in making keys from impressions, and known as professional
"fitters." At first it was considered possible that the robbery had
been committed by these men; but, after the most careful search and
inquiry, Superintendent Bangs concluded that this was not the case and
that the pouch had been stolen by some person or persons resident in
Susquehanna, presumably by one or more of the railroad employees who
had access to the office, or by persons intimately acquainted with
some of the men who had keys to the safe.
"Shadows" were put on all persons who might have had access to the
ticket-office and the safe; but, although this was continued for
weeks, nothing conclusive came to light.
About this time a reorganization of the Pinkerton Agency became
necessary, through the death of Allan Pinkerton, the founder, and
George H. Bangs, the general superintendent; and Robert Pinkerton
assumed charge of the investigation at Susquehanna. He undertook the
difficult task of picking out one guilty man (or possibly two or
three) from a body of fifteen hundred workmen. For, despite lack of
evidence either way, there was no doubt in the detective's mind that
the money had been taken by some of the employees of either the
express or the railroad company. Pinkerton men were taken to
Susquehanna and given employment in various positions for the railroad
and express companies, their duty being to make friends and hear
gossip, and, if possible, in an unguarded moment, at some saloon or
boarding-house, or perhaps at the chatty noon hour in the works,
secure some important secret. Other detectives came with money in
their pockets, and, under the guise of sporting men, made themselves
popular at resorts where a poor man come dishonestly and suddenly into
money would be apt to spend it.
Day after day, month after month, the watch was continued from many
points of view, the conversations of hundreds of workmen were
carefully noted, the gambling houses and their inmates were kept
under constant scrutiny, the lives of this man and that man and scores
of men were turned inside out, and all without any one in Susquehanna
suspecting it, the general opinion being that the robbery had been put
aside along with many other unsolved mysteries.
A whole year passed before any promise of success came to cheer the
express company and the patient detectives. In the summer of 1884,
Robert Pinkerton, having received information that a professional
burglar, who had been arrested some weeks previous for a burglary at
Milwaukee, had valuable information about an express robbery,
immediately journeyed from New York to Milwaukee to interview the man.
He learned from the burglar that some years before he had operated
with a man named John Donahue; that about the time of the Susquehanna
robbery Donahue had been away from home, and that shortly after the
robbery he had returned with plenty of money and paid off several old
debts. Mr. Pinkerton at once recognized in Donahue a notorious thief
who, to escape justice, had taken up his residence at Fort Erie,
Canada, where he had opened a hotel.
The burglar also gave Mr. Pinkerton a description of a man who had
visited Donahue at his hotel on several occasions, and who had the
general appearance of a workman. He suspected that this man had been
in some way concerned with Donahue in the Susquehanna robbery; he knew
that he had resided at one time in Buffalo, New York, and worked in
the shops there, and he thought that he might be then living in
Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.
From the description, Mr. Pinkerton was able, on going to Susquehanna,
to identify the suspected man with one George H. Proctor, who had
formerly been foreman in the railroad company's shops, but had
resigned his position some months before and moved to Buffalo. In the
investigation that was at once begun it was found that Proctor had
recently been speculating largely in oil and spending money freely,
although while living in Susquehanna he was known to have had no
resources besides his salary. It was learned further that Proctor had
deposited money with three Buffalo banks and had accounts with various
firms of brokers, and also that he was paying frequent visits to
gambling-houses and in general leading a fast life. Proctor's
deposits, it was learned, had at one time amounted to about eleven
thousand dollars, but most of this sum had been subsequently drawn out
and lost in speculation.
All of this was strong presumptive evidence against a man who was
known to have been poor a few months before, and a more significant
discovery was made a little later, when Proctor went on a trip to
Canada, evidently on important business. The detective who followed
him found that the men with whom he had dealings, and with whom he
passed nearly the whole time of his visit, were professional thieves,
well known to the police.
In view of all that had come to light, it was decided to effect
Proctor's arrest. This was made easy by his habit of coming to
Susquehanna every few weeks to see his wife and three children, who
had remained there. During these visits it had been remarked that he
was especially intimate with employees of the railroad and express
companies who were connected with the ticket-office.
All unsuspicious of the danger that threatened him, Proctor took the
train from Buffalo on the night of Saturday, November 16, with a
ticket for Susquehanna. Word was at once telegraphed to Robert
Pinkerton, who, in company with E. W. Mitchel, superintendent of the
United States Express Company, started for Susquehanna, reaching there
Monday morning. They learned that Proctor was still in town, but
keeping very closely to his house. It was not until ten o'clock in the
evening that he appeared on the street, his purpose in going out being
to purchase some groceries. As he came from the store Robert Pinkerton
stepped forth from his place of waiting and took him into custody. He
was taken to a private house, where Mr. Pinkerton passed nearly the
whole night in conversation with him. Before daylight Proctor had made
what purported to be a full confession.
Proctor stated that he had moved to Susquehanna in 1880, having
resided in Buffalo previous to that time. While in Buffalo he had
occasionally of a Sunday visited Fort Erie, Canada, and there had made
the acquaintance of John Donahue. At first he did not know that
Donahue was anything more than the keeper of a hotel. He found him an
entertaining companion, a good story-teller and singer of comic songs,
and very generous with his money. They came to see much of each other,
and after Proctor's removal to Susquehanna they kept up an occasional
correspondence. Proctor, having a monthly pass over the Erie Railroad,
and being able to procure passes on other roads, made several trips to
Fort Erie, always stopping at Donahue's hotel. On one of these visits
he chanced to read aloud to his friend the newspaper account of a
clever robbery in Montreal, where a band of sneak-thieves had robbed a
paymaster of a sum of money he had in a bag to pay off employees. This
turned the conversation to criminal exploits, and Proctor related the
circumstances of the express robbery at Susquehanna some years before.
Donahue showed great interest, and inquired how it happened that the
express company had so large a sum of money at Susquehanna. Proctor
explained about the extensive railroad shops there, and incidentally
remarked that the same system of paying the hands was still in
practice. Donahue then requested Proctor to ascertain for him how much
money was being shipped each month at that time, the day of shipment,
the train, the kind of safe used on that train, and full details about
the lock--whether opened by a combination or a key. Donahue professed
that his only motive in seeking this information was curiosity, and
Proctor promised to learn what he could.
It was about a fortnight after this that the two men met again,
Proctor having secured all the facts about the monthly transfer of
money from New York to Susquehanna. These he confided to Donahue, who
seemed greatly pleased at the report. He showed Proctor the greatest
attention, spending money freely. Then he pressed Proctor with
further questions, asking how the money was wrapped up, what kind of
pouch it was carried in, and so on. Finally he came out bluntly with
the opinion that Proctor was a fool to waste his time working in a
dirty shop when he might be living in luxury. Then, seeing that the
foreman took no great umbrage at this suggestion, he asked him if he
could get an impression of the safe-key, and also one of the key to
the door of the ticket-office. After some show of reluctance, Proctor
finally consented to try.
Returning to Susquehanna, Proctor took advantage of his friendship
with employees about the ticket-office to get possession of the keys
long enough to take the desired impressions, and these he mailed to
Donahue, in whose service he was now fully enlisted. Donahue wrote
back, expressing satisfaction, and saying that he and another man,
named Collins, had paid a secret visit to Susquehanna, and had found
everything as Proctor had represented. A little later Proctor went to
Canada again, and was introduced to Collins. At this meeting it was
arranged that Donahue should procure a canvas bag like the one used by
the express company, and that a dummy money package should be placed
inside, so that a substitution might be effected on the arrival of the
next shipment. Proctor was to take no active part in the robbery, but
was instructed to return home and continue at his work, showing no
concern, whatever happened.
"If there's an earthquake at Susquehanna when pay-day comes around,
you don't know anything about it, do you understand?" Such was the
final order given to Proctor, and he obeyed it implicitly.
A month passed, and, hearing nothing, Proctor went to Canada again,
and had another talk with his two confederates. They told him that
they had gone to Susquehanna prepared to do the "job," but had
learned, accidentally, that the money that month had been sent in
gold, which would have been too heavy for them to carry away, and they
had therefore decided to wait until a month later.
This was in May, and the following month the robbery occurred. Two
weeks later Proctor went to Canada, and received eleven thousand
dollars as his share of the plunder. Donahue and Collins explained to
him that he did not receive more because they had been obliged to give
a fourth share to another man who had worked with them. They cautioned
him not to spend a dollar of the stolen money for months to come, as
the detectives would be always on the lookout for suspicious
circumstances. They also advised him to continue at his work, under no
circumstances giving up his position within a year.
Proctor had strictly followed these suggestions, living and working as
he had done before the robbery, and not spending any part of his
portion. Having changed the money into large bills and sealed it up in
a fruit-jar, so that the moisture could not injure it, he buried the
jar head downward in his garden. There it remained untouched for
months. But when the severe weather of the following winter set in, he
dug up the jar, and taking the money to Buffalo, deposited it in three
banks, in the name of his wife and his three children, with himself in
each instance as trustee.
Although his trade became very irksome to him now that he had a small
fortune in his possession, he prudently stuck to it until June, 1884.
Then, a year having elapsed since the robbery, he decided that it
would be safe for him to launch out into a pleasanter life. He
accordingly went to Buffalo, where he entered into oil speculations
with a friend who claimed to have "inside information" from the
Standard Oil Company. Although fortunate at the start, the failure of
Grant & Ward brought them heavy losses, and soon their profits and
their original capital were swept away. Proctor assured Mr. Pinkerton
that, at the time of their talk, he was ruined, and that he had
intended, during this very visit to Susquehanna which ended in his
arrest, making application for his old position as foreman of the
boiler-shops.
Having heard Proctor's confession, Mr. Pinkerton took counsel with the
officers of the express company. They, believing that Proctor had been
only a tool in the hands of two smart professional criminals, agreed
with the detective that the ends of justice demanded rather the
apprehension of his confederates than his punishment alone. Proctor
professed great penitence for his wrong-doing, and declared himself
willing to do whatever was in his power to make amends.
The first step necessary to the capture of Donahue and Collins was to
get them both into the United States at some point where they could
be arrested at the same time. Donahue was still in Canada, where he
could not be taken. Mr. Pinkerton arranged with Proctor to write to
Donahue that he had discovered another safe which offered a tempting
opportunity, hoping in this way to induce him to cross the line into
the United States. To give color to the story it was necessary to
accord Proctor apparent freedom of movement; but he pledged himself
not to leave Susquehanna without Mr. Pinkerton's permission, and to
keep the detective informed by letter and telegraph of all
developments. At the same time detectives were sent to Canada to keep
watch over Donahue.
Collins, in the meantime, had been located in Albany, but no attempt
was made to arrest him until Donahue could be brought over the line.
Should he cross without notifying Proctor, the men "shadowing" him
were to cause his arrest. It was arranged with Proctor that, in case
his letter failed of its purpose, he should go to Canada himself,
persuade Donahue to send for Collins, and then induce the two to come
back with him, when they would be arrested the moment they crossed the
line.
On the 29th of November Robert Pinkerton received word by telegraph
that Proctor had left Susquehanna suddenly in the night, telling the
agent of the express company that he would return the next day. This
looked very much as if Proctor had played him false, since it had been
expressly stipulated that he should not go away without Mr.
Pinkerton's permission. Days went by, and Proctor did not return. Then
word came from one of the Pinkerton men at Fort Erie that Proctor had
arrived at Donahue's hotel and had been joined there by Collins. This
was a serious setback for the detectives. Not only were the three
robbers safe from arrest where they were, but being fully aware of
the danger threatening them, and being men of shrewdness, it was fair
to presume that they would now move with great caution.
It soon became evident that Donahue and Collins were thoroughly
alarmed by the news Proctor had brought them; for they at once took
energetic steps to mislead any one who might be watching them. Having
retired as usual one night, they arose later, and drove in a wagon to
a station on the Grand Trunk Railroad, where they boarded a freight
train for Toronto. After a brief stay in that city they went on to
Montreal, where they tried hard to lose themselves, but were
unsuccessful, and returned to Fort Erie.
Meanwhile Mr. Pinkerton discovered that the story told him by Proctor
was entirely untrue. So far from having been an honest man before the
robbery, it came to light that he was already at that time a hardened
criminal, having committed burglaries both in the United States and
Canada, and having been sentenced, under another name, to a term in
the Massachusetts State prison. While in prison he had contrived to
make keys that would unlock his own cell and those of three other
prisoners, and the four had thus made their escape. One of them was
the notorious Charles Bullard, who was at that time serving a term of
twenty years for the robbery of the Boylston Bank of Boston. Proctor
had also offered the privilege of escape to Scott and Dunlap, the
Northampton Bank robbers, who were confined in the same prison, but
they had distrusted his plan, and refused to avail themselves of it.
It was now necessary for the detectives to devise a new plan. Robert
Pinkerton knew that some three years earlier Donahue had been
concerned in the robbery of a bank at Winnipeg, and also in the
robbery of a hardware store at Quebec. His brother, William Pinkerton,
he also knew, had a personal acquaintance with Donahue, from having
arrested him a number of years before. He therefore sent for William
Pinkerton to come to New York from Chicago, and on his arrival
proposed to him that he go to Fort Erie, get an interview with
Donahue, and tell him of Proctor's treachery in betraying Collins and
himself; impress upon him that Proctor was a dangerous man to have
dealings with; and try to induce him to lend his aid in delivering
Proctor and Collins over the line, just as Robert Pinkerton had sought
to have Proctor do in the case of Donahue and Collins. Donahue was
known as a "stanch" man,--that is, one who is true to his
friends,--and it was thought probable that he would refuse to take
part in any such scheme. But in that event William Pinkerton was to
threaten him with arrest for the old robberies at Winnipeg and Quebec.
This plan was carried out by William Pinkerton with greater success
than had been expected. At first Donahue stoutly refused to betray a
comrade, but the danger threatening himself was made to appear so
great that finally, seeing no other way out of his difficulties, he
consented to do what was asked of him in regard to Proctor. Against
Collins, however, he declined to give any aid. By working on Proctor's
natural fear of arrest, he easily persuaded him that the immediate
departure of all three of them--himself, Proctor, and Collins--for
Europe was advisable. It was arranged that they should not sail from
Quebec or Halifax, since the steamers from those points were likely to
be watched by detectives, but that they should leave Fort Erie
stealthily by night, make their way separately to Montreal, and meet
there.
This plan was carried out, and within a few days the three were in
Montreal, all apparently of one mind in their desire to escape the
country, though in reality Proctor was the only one of the three who
thought himself in danger. Donahue had taken Collins into his
confidence, and Collins was quite of Donahue's opinion that they were
doing the proper thing in saving themselves by surrendering a man who
had shown himself willing to betray them.