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Robbingt True Story of t By COL. H. Former Chief U 4 WAS on duty as specia agent of the United State. government at New Or leans in the summer 6 1862. Maj. Gen. Benja min F. Butler was depart ment commander and rul ing this then turbuleni city with an iron hand Everything down there including the weat! i was sizzling hot. Thugs and thievef were being severely dealt with. Mar tial law was in force and summar3 punishment was being meted ou by the provost judge. Several hous robbers had been hanged by or der of General Butler and theri must have been a ticklish sensatio! about the necks of the unruly. It was one of those blazing hol mornings for which New Orleans is famous that Major -, a United States paymaster on duty in that city left his office In the custom house car Tying a portemonnale containing jus $20,000 In gold coin. The major wa! one of those economical men wh< thought a penny saved was as good a a -penny earned. Gold at this time was at a premium, hence a saving coul be made by making an exchange 0 gold for paper currency. Besides, he may have thought paper money more convenient for -the soldiers' use. A! he passed down the custom house steps he paused a moment as if to de termine the course to pursue. He hailed a passing cab, and entering i he instructed the driver to take hin: to the bank of Jacob Barker on CamI street. The cab drew up directly it front of the main entrance. The paymaster went inside. Step ping around the end of the countei he met and shook hands with a stock 1ly built man whose locks were lon and white. This was. Jacob Barkez whose name at this time was familiai to every banker in the United States. Uncle Jacob blinked a welcome as the shining pieces w(:re spread upon the tablo. Two young me. now came forward to make the coltnt and pile up the treasure. The wo-,k completed, bundles of greenbacks were crowded into the portemonnai to xake the place of the gold coin. Then there was a side transaction and a package that looked like money was stowed away in the avmas r's rd tTn &et ca did not notIce Ctediver was casting longing ees upon the bulging portemonnale. * He was then taken to the post office, which was located in the custom house. He got out of the cab and stepped inside, where he remained just long enough to unlock and re mnove the mall from his letter box. Re turning to the street he was greatly ~4astonished and nearly paralyzed with 45 excitement to discover that the cab ~ in which he had left the $20,000 had Sdisappeared. He looked up and down ~the street stupidly at first. Recover inlg himself he madly rushed around the corner. There was no cab In sight He then started on foot at a - lively pace for the office of the pro yost marshal general on St. Charles street . I chanced to be in the provost mar shar'e!ce at this - time. I listened to tepyaster's story and was the frst undertake the recovery of the mnyIt was one of those smooth easy robberies with little or no clue for a starting point. 1 started out on what seemed to be a rather difficult case, less than an -bour after the theft. I had an abiding faith that If I could meet the guilty man face to face while - the affair was yet warm on his mind I could pick him out from the many cab drivers In the city. The paymaster thought the driver of the- cab an Irishman, but was not quite certain. He knew that he had Sbeen separated from his money and that was about all the information he could give. The capturing of the thief and recovering the money seemed now to rest upon the telltale eyes. .It was now noon-day and feeding time. The most of the cabs were off the streets, but I -chanced to secure one, and I started out to visIt the many cab stands in the city. When I 4 met a driver of one of these vehicles I looked him over carefully, but saw nothing In the face of any of them to arouse suspicion. My mind might have been a little romantic in those days, but I thought the thief would have a disturbance on his face by which I would be able to pick him out. When at last I had met nearly all the cabbies in the city, and discovered #nothing upon which to base suspicion, the driver with whom I was riding chanced to speak of a man who had quite .recently started in the cab busi ness. His stable was at his own Shome on St. Peters street. He knew the place and I told him to drive to it. Arriving there. I entered the yard and discovered wheel tracks that appeared to be freshly made. There was a Ssmall stable in the rear of the lot near which was a pile of litter. The top of this pile had recently been disturbed. With a pitcb-fork I overhauled some of it. I can give no explanation why I did this. I made no discovery. I then ascended the stairs leading up on the outsidle gf the house to the portico. a entered a living room in the sec ePaymaster he Secret Service * C. WHITLEY S. Secret Service I ond story. There was a woman lying upon the bed. She appeared quite feeble and had recently given birth to a child. "Who lives here?" I inquired. She answered, "Patrick O'Rafferty." "What is his business?" "A cab driver." "Did your husband come to his din ner?" "No, he has not been here since he left this morning." I then said, "My good woman, I am a government officer, and am here to search your house for concealed arms. "You can search as much as you s please, but you will find nothing of the kind in this house." I cast my eyes about and saw that I was in a home -that seemed destitute of the common comforts of life. I stepped into an unfurnished adjoin ing room and swung open the door of a small dark closet. There were only a few articles of clothing hanging upon the wall. Feeling about in the hope ot discovering something, I chanced to put my hand on a pair of Attukapas pants that were damp about the waist. My suspicion was aroused a little then, and considerably more so'since I was informed by Mrs. O'Rafferty that there had not been a man in the house since early morning. She . #'n 4Let >1K/ x Z /tre at me astog ryn ocm preen the sitaton dstad athme rastoug tyig to omn prhenhd sohe situatio.Temitr abot tewaisgto orr thernt whanyt furnthe houseatonl a ecsedr me asbere Wh cudiad ltthe odn it? kee acrned tha'aferngasImt hsae dstand the resnnh the leewotfrfom sh umhouldsep ando decieed unles shierha omae obect thee mtoisue.O aboui t the aisignthed ptI wast fortunataine thatn O'Raffertys atsuis sranga onto thlve oteyarc fro theicusto huserdn and sietedpthe drisvey to tk hmhr atbonycharged ariv ig atel the igaterpo baAs myrtunat met idI knermy an.i 1Nsprng ot of proothe conanc yi brisly upv clere himma I bollhren his judge. His statement differed materially from the one made by his wife. On questioning him he said he had been' at home in the middle of the day. Had fed his f'orse, cooked his own dinner and waited upon himself. Talked with his wife and changed his pants. He could give no reason why he made the change, except that he did so. He stoutly denied carrying the paymaster and swore by all the saints in Chris tendom that he hadn't carried a pas senger on that day. Icould not budge him in the least; the more I crowded him the keener was his denial. He deeply resented the charge I had made and braced up to me in a spirit of defiance. He was Irish sure enough. Being tinctured considerably with the same blood my self, and with the United States gov ernment at my back, I had the ad vantage of him. Yet be might have downed me had it not been for the pants. This discovery as simple as it was loomed up as a matter of great importance. I arrested him and locked him up in the First district station. I was confident he was the thief, but when he was brought into the pres ence of the paymaster I was almost knocked off my base when the major was unable to recognize the prisoner, besides which he had the amazing stupidity to admit it in hIs presence. H' was evidently one of the negative. ly conscientious. He refused to make a charge. Consequently I took the responsibility of holding the prisoner and locking him in a cell where he was not allowed to converse with any outsider. After a few days of confinement he appeared quite down-hearted and begged to be permitted to see his wife. The meeting between the husband and wife at their home was quite af fecting, yet there was no development that would suggest guilt. I now de termined to give O'RaffertY a little jolt for the purpose of frightening him Into a confession. In the corridor, at a little distance from his cell, a person inquired: "What are they going to do. with O'Rafferty?" In as earnest a manner as I could command I answered that he was to be hung on the following morning at nine o'clock, by order of the commanding general. O'Raffert7, of course, heard the conversation that was intended for his ears. There was at this time a prevailing fear among many that General Butler was liable to hang almost anyone. My ruse had its effect, as O'Rafferty now began to sob and groan. I stepped in side his cell and made an effort to console him, assuring him that I was very sorry, but that nothing could be done to help him unless he would give up the money. He was a Catholic and begged that he might see a priest. I thought he wanted to make a confession, and went at once to the custom house to consult Major -, and chanced to meet the postmaster, who was Gen eral Butler's brother-in-law. When . explained the situation and the possi bility of a confession, he said it would do no good to let him confess to a priest, who would divulge nothing that was told him, and suggested Major Farr, chaplain of a Connecticut regi ment. "Don't try to fool a Catholic." I said, "but let us secure a real priest." Upon my agreeing to take charge of JJ - I4 9)S # I FNW this part of the program, It was final ly concluded that a priest should be sent for and that he was to meet the prisoner in a room In. the custom house. There was a number of large wardrobes, or armoires as they were called In New Orleans, in the room. These were used for storing books. Some of them were removed from one, giving room for a man to enter. When the good father and O'Rafferty came and took a seat near this armoire, they surely did not notice that its door was just a little ajar. Father M- soon came out of the room. There was an expression of sadness upon his face, but he said nothing that could throw any light upon the robbery; yet it was quite ap parent that something unusual had happened. Something had, and I now possesse4 the clue -I needed. It was dark when I arrived at the corner of White and Clio streets and knocked at the front door of a small dwelling house, which was soon opened by a middle-aged man. I In formed him that I was a government officer and that I had come there to arrest both him and his wife and seize their house, which would be forfeited to the government. I told him that O'Rafferty had confessed everything. He now turned to his wife and exclaimed in an excited man ner: "What did I tell you. Margaret? You see the bad business your brother has got us Into?" "Where's the money?" I demanded. "It's under the house, and I will bring it to you." "Be lively about It," I said In a com manding tone. He now went into the kitchen where he raised a small trap n the floor. Reaching down, he pulled out a corn sack. Hastily examining Its contents I found It contained about $6,500 in paper money. I demanded he keys of his house and they were banded to me. The bigger the bluff the greater the scare, I thought. I took the man and his wife to the First istrct police station where they were locked up together in a comfort able room. A messenger was at once dispatched to bring Father M-. When found he was at the house on the corner of White and Clo streets endeavoring to arouse the occupants. Ee came immediately to the police station, and I acquainted him with the act that a portion of the money had been recovered, and the persons In whose possession It had been found were in custody. He was unquestion may well he presumed that Father M-, having received O'Rafferty's confession, was in the act of reach ing out for the restoration of th( stolen money when accosted by the messenger. Believing himself to bc the possessor of the only informatior that would lead to this importani event, he was of course somewhal puzzled at what had taken place. but he convinced me that he was quite anxious to render any assistance ir his power to recover the rest of the money. At my request he went in to talk with the man and his wife. I assured him that they would be re leased and not further molested if they would give up the stolen money. I went farther than this and said that if he could promise me that the money would be returned within the next twenty-four hours I would at once release the two prisoners. After in terviewing them, he came outside and requested me to let the man and hie wife go home. He said everything would be well at 12 o'clock on the fol lowing day, and his request was com plied with. The good father was greatly concerned about what was to become of O'Rafferty. "This." said he. "is the first great sin of this young man's life. On ac count of the sickness of his wife he has been greatly pressed for money. In a moment of weakness he yielded to temptation." The father did not say it, -but I Inferred that with him a full confession and restitution meant re pentance, forgiveness and a pardon from God. In this particular case, however, a law made by man stood in the way. How was it to be overcome? I realized that affairs were very much mixed at this time, and that there were many otherwise honest people who might find a ready excuse for a thief from the United States government. While a condition of this kind could not be plead as a bar to O'Rafferty's punishment, it might be offered In palliation of the crime; he might have remained an honest man had not the opportunity been thrust upon him. I had made promises to the good father and might have imagined the confession of the culprit a solemn absolution of his sin; hence my deep sympathy and determination to procure his release. The balance of the money was all returned by the priest as promised, but the difficult point in the case was yet to be accomplished. How was O'Rafferty to be let out? I might have unlocked his cell door and allowed him to walk out, but he would not be free, as he would be liable to be ar rested by other officers. He had now openly told the simple story of the robbery and there was nothing further to detect. He said he had no thought of steal ing the sack when the paymaster stepped out of the cab, but when left alone the idea flashed through his brain to drive to his home with it, where he made an attempt to bury it in the litter pile. Abandoning this plan, he drove to his brother-in-law's house. On arriving there he found his sister washing clothes In the yard. He told her in a hurried manner that he had brought a big lot of money and that he would leove It with her to take care of. He put the portemon naie in a box under the shed in the yard and covered it with hay. There were two of the husband's brothers sleeping in the house at the time; they were bakers by trade, working nights and sleeping In the day time. When they got up In the afternoon the sack containing the money was pointed out to them. They cut it open and divided its contents, as near as they could guess, into three equal parts. Leaving one-third for the sis ter, they hid the other two-thirds for themselves. Poor O'Rafferty, who real ly did not know very much about the contents of the sack, was left out In the cold. The city of New Orleans was under martial law at this time, and offend ers were being handled severely in the provost court. The judge was: puritanical in principle and clothed with almost unlimited power. He wag4 considered quite unapproachable, yet I determined to visit him at his house on behalf of O'Rafferty. I found him a much more generous man than 1 Ihad thougt,- him to be. He listened attentively when I told him the story of the robbery and the part the priest had taken in recovering the money. I put up the best plea I could for the prisoner and his sick wife. I was cer tain that the judge was Interested and his heart softened. He said he would take the case under advisement, bug said nothing to indicate what his de cision might be. A trial In a provost court at New Orleans in that day was a rather brief affair. It consisted mostly of an accusation and a sentence. When O'Rafferty was arraigned, he pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing the $20,000. In a few brief moments the judge made an order for his confine ment at Fort Jackson for a period of years. I felt quite sore on account of this decision, but was a little sur prised when he called me up and thrust the order for the prisoner's commitment In my hand, I saw that I was charged with his delivery to the commanding officer of the fort, a fea ture ofs the program that was certain ly not in my line, and I jumped at the conclusion that the responsibility for his release was resting upon my shoul Two days afterwards i returned the order of commitment with a report of the prisoner's escape indorsed upon Its back. The judge smiled his seem ing approval. O'Rafferty's release may have been illegal, but I believe it was justified by the pardon he re cved through the intercession of the good father. ( Copyright, by W. G. Cha.pman.) NOT AS BAD AS IT SOUNDEDI Wonderful Highland Dia!ect Respon sible for Wrong Impression Given Divine. Andrew Carnegie, at a dinner in New York, talked about the Scotch I dialect. "It's a hard lingo to understand," he said. "It often causes awkward mis takes. 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