National Detective Review from Wichita, Kansas • 1

DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE INTERESTS OF POLICE AUTIIOKITIES AND DETECTIVES OF THE UNITED STATES. Vol. 3. No. 4 WICHITA, KANSAS, APRIL, 1889.

$2.00 Per Year. Detective Shackleford At The Front. him and turn him over to the police this, too, without iu the least injuring his reputation as a "square man" with the other They have an undisguised contempt for a crook who expects to keep all he gets away with. They look upon him just as a skillful theatrical manager would look upon some shortsighted speculator who got a house full of money and held on to it without giving the audience any "show" in return. on and around the picture, and on the reverse of the sheet is written, in the smallest possible hand, a detailed history of the subject of the photograph, and a concise account of his methods as well as his achievements.

Strange as the statement may seem, the public know nothing of the work of a really clever crook, and the police themselves know very little more. The explanation of his ignorance is a very simple one. A crook whose methods are exposed is a second rate crook, if he lets the light of day strike his operations he is no more a first rate crook than a errd NEW DETECTIVE AGENCY. of $120 by a certain saloon proprietor's wife, and she and her husband were arrested and placed under bond. The detective watched every transaction, and when Abercombie stepped into a store and bought a small ladies' watch for $20, Shackleford thought that he had spent enough money, and that afternoon he secured the services of detective John Trice who called Abercombie out of a saloon and told him that he had a clew as to who had robbed him of his $120 the night before, and thai, he (Abercombie) would go with him to his room he would furnish him with the clew.

To this proposition Abercombie readily assented, and while there, Capt. Shacklerord stepped in, presented his card and told him that he must accompany him back to Georgia. This seemed to wilt Abercombie, and he said that he would return without a requisition if permitted to see his brother; tins the detective agreed to do, and the two started for Tenneville, arriving there the following day. The two brothers endeavored to play several schemes on the detective in order to secure the escape of the prisoner, but to no purpose, and badly disappointed Abercombie who was immediately summoned for trial upon his arrival at Teunville. r.r'.ev.val witnesses, for the, dpfense.

There are certain portions of the South quite sparsely settled even in the vicinity of several large cities; more especially outside of the city of New Orleans, which affords anything like what might be called modern facilities for the capture of criminals, but while this is true, it frequently occurs that stnewd detective work is being accomplished there as well as tvery where else. Home of the cases worked are equal to any of the best managed cases of metropolitan cities in the north; detective Geo. Shackleford is perhaps one of the shrewdest and quickest men in the business, and is the manager of our business at Macon, Ga. Capt. Shackleford has recently workep a case of peculiar interest for the reason that it required the patience and shrewdness taken In combination with the quick brain of a skillful detective.

The case alluded to is one that originated at Tenneville, a little towD on the Central railroad. On the night of the 18th of last December the safe ofW. C. Matthews, treasurer of the Central railroad was robbed of $3,100. The beinff entrusted to dt tcc- The Only Chartered Detective Secret Service In The State Of Nebraska.

sharper who is detetectedcan be called a good hand at "jumping the But a private detective, or a "confidential inquiring agent," as he is more grandiloquently styled in England, if he has had access 'to the information possessed by the police, and has had a wide experience in "compromises," really does get a good deal of curious knowledge. An "artist," as for convenience an adroit crook may be called to distinguish him from the blunderers who allow ihemselves to be known to the police, requires two conditions in a "plant." In the first place there must be something big to get away with; in the second place the attendant circumstances must be such that night, Saturday and all Snnday, captured thirty-one of the gang and landed them in the Perryville, Mc Dow-ell county and Mercer county jails. The raid was a complete surprise to evryone along the line so well had the secret been kept. The arrests were made with very little trouble except a gang on Elkhorn, from Wyoming county. The Detectives were scattered along the line for three or four miles.

Baldwin and Wallace found where twelve of the Wyoming gang were staying in a hut. The Detectives went to try to arrest them, although they had been cautioned against them as they were considered dangerous men. When Baldwin and Wallace reached the cabin they found four men and summoned them as witnesses against another party as they were afraid I they put them under arrest they would have trouble with their friends who were down the line between where they were and the place of trial. All went well until near Turky Gap where twenty-eight of the Wyoming county crowd, who were just coming from dinner, were met. The four men stopped and said they would not go any farther.

Baldwin said to the leader that he guessed he would see about that. The leader, M. M. Rutherford, at once stepped oack and started to draw his pistol; Baldwin jerked his from his belt and cocking it in his face told him tothrow up his hands or die. After a second's thought Rutherford threw them up and Baldwin then handcuffed him, but while working with Rutherford came very near losing his life.

A man who was a friend of the four men arrested drew his pistol and started to shoot Baldwin through the back of the head, but before he could shoot Wallace told him to drop the pistol or he would kill him and at the same time called to Ballwin to look out. Baldwin turned with his pistol at Halsey's breast and took his pistol from him. Only the quick action of Wallace saved Baldwin's life. The Detectieves then arrested Halsey and took the other men and walked them into Elkhorn Station. The Wyoming men made a great many threats about taking the prisoners away from the officers, but i i i peijureu iuenieivB uu uih bwuu and were arrested and lodged in jail as accessories to the robbery.

Abercombie will be given a term in the penitentiary. Detective Shackleford is deserving of much credit for the skillful manner in which he performed his duty. We ish to call the attention of our readers to the fact that Messers D. O. Connell, P.

O'Connell and Alfred E. Blaufuss have organized a detective agency at Omaha, Nebraska. The Omaha Bee, the leading paper of that city and tiie state, says that from this day foward the State of Nebraska Secret and Detective Service will work under a charter granted by the legislature, and its members will not have to pay the $10 license fee suggested by Chief Seavy. The association is the outgrowth of the Nebraska association of which the incorporators of the present service are members, but becoming dissatisfied with its workings, branched out by themselves. The work of the Omaha branch of the association is well known throughout the state, and is of a nature that has gained the support of a number of the leading business men.

Heavy bonds were required and promptly furnished. Several important state cases will at once be worked upon. The charter was received at the head office yesterday, and suitable men will be appointed in each county of the state in addition to the above mentioned officers who by the way, are expert detectives. Wishing the new agency a brilliant record, we remain, fraternally, A ROOK of CRIMINALS. LONDON'8 "rogue's GALLERY'-THE a-DROIT CROOK AND HIS BROKER.

the man who is robbed will be more than willing to cry "quits" and keep his mouth shut in consideration of his getting back a part of the money. Now this is, in statuary language, "compounding a felony," and it is obvious that the man who has been robbed and who is only getting back his loss does not want to run the risk of being prosecuted in addition to his calamity of being done out of his money. So he does not go to the police at all, and they, therefore, only know about the crooks who are "chumps" enough not to keep to windward of the cold, stale smell of a jail by always studying out the feasibility of a compromise before they "make the riffle." They are in London and in every large European cities a class of pri-yate detectives who make a profession of arranging these "compromises," who are neither more nor less than "middlemen" between the public and the predatory classes in a word, crooks' brokers. The avocation Is, of course, open to the grave objection that its practice is essentially a continual breaking of the law; and yet, inasmuch as it enables the victim' to get back at any rate a part of their money, there is something to be said on behalf of these brokers, rhey know the crooks and the crooks know and trust them. If a crook National Detective Review.

failed to carry out their threat. The work done by Baldwin was a success, and will in a great measure, stop the sale of liquors along the line of the railroad. Moonshiners Caught! tive Shackleford, the railroad authorities could not furnish the slightest clue, and in fact had no grounds to suspect any particular person. It was evident however that the robbery had been committed by somebody. The detective made up his mind that a young man by the name of Abercombie who had resigned his position as night operator a short time after the robbery and was preparing to take the train for Macon was the burglar.

The detective following on same train to Atlanta where Abercombie took the night train to Birmingham, so did the detective. Abercombie tarried two days in the latter place during whicn time he never escaped the eye of his surveillant. Then the young mau taok the train for a little place called Leeds, thirty miles from Birmingham where he hired a buggy and took a six mile drive into the country to his old home; returning the following morning when he took the train to Atlanta, and after retiming there three days, again boarded the train this time for Macon, arriving there Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning the two left for Columbus; another route to Birmingham, arriving at the former place the same evening. Monday morning the shadower and the shadowed left for Birmingham.

Abercombie told the conductor on the way that he was on his way home to see his father; when the train stopped at Childersberg station for dinner he began to feel safe, and, like many other fools, wanted to spend his money and invited the entire train crew to dinner. This display of finances caused the detective's fingers to fairly ache, but not being the least suspected he preferred to wait uutil the fruit was well ripe. Tuesday morning Ambercombie was on a train for Birmingham accompanied by two of his friends; it was after arriving there that he let loose in earnest; spending most or his time during the day at a saloon, and the theatres at night. Counting out two hundred dollars, he turned it over to a friend of his by the name of Davis to keep for him. On the same evening he claimed to have been robbed Good Work Done by Detective Baldwin, Who Bags Thirty-One Illicit Whisky Sealers.

A NARROW ESCAPE. While with chief oflicer tl her majesty's criminal investigation department at Scotland yard, Parliament street, recently, I was shown what I regard as the most extraordinary book in the world, a book which has never been published and never will be published. Its sanctity is so strictly preserved that even when the authorities want to see something in it, they only show him the one page which will enable him to discover whether the man described on it is the mau against whom he has a complaint. But by a combination on one side and good nature on the other it was the present writer's privilege to examine the record during the whole of an afternoon when he was wailing at the ofiice to identify a gentleman from Philadelphia. This book is the English substitute for the "rogues' gallery" at police headquarters in New York.

It is not, perhaps, as useful an arrangement as that of the tinted frames in Mulberry street, for the inquirer is only shown a few such photographs as the police believe ill be likely to be useful in enabling him to identify the man he is after. But on the whole it is perhaps a better plan, for the huge number of ugly faces crowded together in the "rogues gallery" confuses the eye so much that it is not at all uncommon for a man to select half a dozeuwidely different faces one after the other as that of his despoiler. However this may be, the huge album in London is much more interesting, inasmuch as each photograph is pasted on a broad page u. s. Detective Register.

Every detective and every detective agency should not be without a copy of the new United States detective directory (published byGiflin Becker), which is a handsomely bound book of 72 pages giving the names and address of all detectives and detective agencies throughout the United States, Canada, England Germany and France. This great work is just completed; having been compiled since January 1st, 1889, and is correct in every particular. Owing to the large demand for this directory, we are enabled to retail them (to detectives only), at three dollars and fifty cents each, sent C. O. D.

if desired. We are sole agents for the above mentioned book. Address all orders will make a "fair" deal aLd let the man he has played get a "fair whack of the less, of course, the agent's commission, the broker will never round on the the crook. No money could hire him to do it, for if he were once known to have betrayed one of his clients in this way, he would be of no further use to his honest clients, and would loose liis business connections in a moment. On the other hand, however if the crook is obstinate enough to "hog" it all, or, as sometime happens, lie goes on a "bender" and blows in all the money, gets drunk and loses it, or, in in turn robbed of it, as, by the irony of fate, has sometimes happened to the writer's knowledge, or lets the object of his affections coax it all out of him.

the agent will pounce on Detective W. G. Baldwin, of this city was employed by the operators of the Bluestone and Elkhorn extension of the New River Bailroad, about the 1st of February to break up the moonshiners, along the route, who have for the last twelve mouths given the managers of Che road a good deal of trouble. Baldwin went there during the recent strike and mixed considerable with the strikers, playing the part of a newspaper reporter, going over the entire line three or four times each week. After becoming thoroughly posted on the line and getting the evidence against the gang, he, on last Friday made his raid on the Elkhorn branch, to Review Pub.

Lock Box 113. and after working Friday, Friday.