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Baltimore City Police History Insight

OUR POLICE

A HISTORY

OF THE

BALTIMORE FORCE

Folsom

BALTIMORE 1888

………………………………………………………………………………………

OUR POLICE.

A HISTORY OF THE BALTIMORE FORCE

FROM THE FIRST WATCHMAN TO

THE LATEST APPOINTEE,

EDITED BY

d e F R A N C I A S FOLSOM.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS AND ETCHINGS.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

18 88.

………………………………………………………………………………………

COPYRIGHT BY

J. M. BEERS.

PRINTED BY

J . D. E H L E R S & CO.

AND

GUQGENNEIMER, WEII, & CO.

………………………………………………………………………………………

PREFACE.

POLICEMEN are the heroes of peace as soldiers are heroes

of war. In many respects they are the soldiers’ superiors. They

pass stricter examinations, they observe more rigid rules, and

their exploits are without the glory that attaches itself to military

life. Their duties- are proverbially exacting. They must run

constant physical risks and endure all kinds of weather. To

unfaltering patience and fortitude they must add personal bravery

of a high and continuous order. They must not only discover

crime but they must prevent it. They must not only arrest

criminals but they must protect the innocent by keeping track of

the wrong-doers, be a restraint upon the idle and vicious.

Whether a burglar-alarm sounds, a fire breaks out or a baby

gets lost, it is towards the policeman that all thoughts immediately

turn. They are our friends in danger, our protectors

always.

The police of many cities have marked characteristics,

but the Baltimore force occupies an enviable position, being a notably

able and efficient organization. It suppressed the riotous

elements that at one time ruled here and has made this city one

of the safest and most orderly in the world. One can venture into

any alley or street at any time of the day or night without fear

or harm. “Crooks” of all kinds are as shy of Baltimore as

they are of the penitentiary itself. The city is free from great

crimes. Everywhere order and safety prevail. To the police

the credit belongs.

The history of the police is to a large extent the history of

Baltimore. It embraces the careers of prominent citizens, the

accounts of important political changes, the interesting records of

criminal sensations, the full details of great events and all those

valuable incidents which the cut-and-dried historian in his prosy

(III)

………………………………………………………………………………………

TV PREFACE.

collection of dates and skeleton facts has either overlooked or disregarded.

In no volume have the police of Baltimore been given

the attention that by all the considerations of merit and importance

belongs to them. Nothing has been published in permanent

form to show the extent of their labors or to give the people an

adequate idea of their history and careers. This book, then, has

a large field all to itself and those who read it will be surprised

at the abundance of interesting fact and anecdote which is put forth

for the first time in its pages. It is a particularly fitting season to’

> give this material an enduring form. Many old policemen and

aged citizens whose reminiscences are priceless, are still alive to

tell of the old times. Valuable data procurable now will have

disappeared in a few years. The period now is when the police

force has reached a position of general and undoubted excellence,

and the history of its past—sometimes picturesque, sometimes

exciting and always interesting—must be written before the

records and the recollections have lost their freshness and

accuracy.

But it is not with the past alone that this volume concerns

itself’ for in the story of the present it will show how little

the citizen realizes of the varied experiences of light and shadow,

the romance and the darker side of the familiar blue-coated

guardian’s lot.

That the work will receive a kindly welcome is a hope that

should be shared by every friend of humanity’s friend—the

Policeman.

………………………………………………………………………………………

CONTENTS.

PREFACE, ill

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, – – – – – – – – – – xiv

ROSTER OF THE FORCE, – – – – – 533

INDEX, – – – – 544

CHAPTER I.

BALTIMORE’S EARLIEST OFFICERS.

(1606-1784.)

DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF THE PATAPSCO.—”WHETSTONE

POINT” MADE A TOWN AND PORT OF ENTRY (1706). — THE

TOWN OF BALTIMORE CREATED (1729).—THE EARLY CONSERVATORS

OF THE PEACE.—THE SHERIFF, CONSTABLES AND

PUBLIC EXECUTIONER.—AN OFFICE NOT SOUGHT AFTER.—A

CASE IN POINT WHERE THE OFFICE SOUGHT THE MAN.

CRUEL PUNISHMENTS INFLICTED ON MALEFACTORS.—BRANDING

WITH IRONS. THE PILLORY, STOCKS AND DUCKING-STOOLS.

BALTIMORE’S PILLORY AND WHIPPING-POST AT THE OLD

COURT HOUSE. , – Pp. 1 – 14

CHAPTER II.

(1784-1853.)

THE GUARDIANS OF THE TOWN ORGANIZED BY LEGISLATIVE

ENACTMENT.—ALL MANNER OF TAXES TO SUPPORT THE PEACE

OFFICERS.—AT THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION.—BALTIMORE

BECOMES A CITY.—INCREASING THE NUMBER OF WATCHMEN.

ESTABLISHMENT OF WATCH-HOUSES AND ERECTION OF CELLS.

THE POLICE FORCE IN 1848. Pp. 1 5 – 2 3

vii

………………………………………………………………………………………

Till CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.

(1853-1860.)

THE REORGANIZATION OE THE FORCE.—THE DUTIES OE ITS

OFFICERS.—FOUR POLICE DISTRICTS AND THREE HUNDRED

AND FIFTY PATROLMEN.—NO LONGER HIGH CONSTABLE, BUT

MARSHAL. FIRST POLICE HEADQUARTERS. THE PAY AND

UNIFORM.—THE POLICE AND THE MAGISTRATES.—NO PUNISHMENT

OF CRIME.—THE REORGANIZATION OF 1860.—MARSHAL

KANE AND HIS ADMINISTRATION. – – – – – Pp. 2 4 – 44

CHAPTER IV.

CIVIL WAR AND THE NEW FORCE.

THE ENTRANCE OF THE NORTHERN TROOPS.—MARSHAL KANE’S

PRECAUTIONS. PROTECTING THE MILITARY. THE MARCH

THROUGH THE STREETS. “KEEP BACK, MEN, OR I’LL SHOOT.”

—THE COMMISSIONERS AND MARSHAL ARRESTED.—UNDER

MILITARY RULE. THE RIVAL POLICE BOARDS. GOOD ORDER

AGAIN.—THE REORGANIZATION OF 1867.—THE FIRST BOARD.

Pp. 45-74

CHAPTER V.

FLOOD OF 1868, AND RIOT OF 1877.

BALTIMORE INUNDATED.—BRAVE WORK BY POLICEMEN.—COMMISSIONER

CARR’S GALLANTRY.—HIS TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE

IN THE FLOOD AND HIS RESCUE.—POLICEMF.N WHO AIDED

THE DESTITUTE.—THE POLICE SPECIAL 1’UNI AND ITS DISPOSITION

BY THE COMMISSIONERS. THE CD KGES IN THE

BOARD.—THE RIOTS OF 1877, AND THE MORA1 VHEY TAUGHT.

—THE POLICE FORCE IN 1885. PP. 7 5 – 1 16

………………………………………………………………………………………

CONTENTS. ix

CHAPTER VI.

THE PRESENT POLICE COMMISSIONERS.

HOW THE BOARD IS NOW CONSTITUTED.—ITS DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—

HOW THE COMMISSIONERS CARE FOR THE

MEMBERS OP THE FORCE.—SKETCH OF PRESIDENT EDSON M.

SCHRYVER.—TREASURER ALFRED J. CARR’S DUTIES AND

ACHIEVEMENTS AS COMMISSIONER.—INCIDENTS IN HIS CAREER.

—COMMISSIONER JOHN QUINCY ADAMS ROBSON’S LIFE AND

HIS SERVICES TO THE STATE OF MARYLAND.—A SKETCH OF

SECRETARY GEORGE SAVAGE. – – – – – – PP. 1 1 7 – 1 47

CHAPTER VII.

THE MARSHAL.

THE INTERESTING CAREER OF MARSHAL FREY.—ONE OF THE

BRAVEST AND BEST KNOWN OFFICERS *IN THE COUNTRY.

THE CONSPICUOUS CRIMES HE HAS UNEARTHED.—HOLLOHAN’S

MURDEROUS ATTACK UPON HIM.—HIS MAGNANIMITY AND HIS

COOLNESS IN DANGER.—INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE

SOUTHERN DISTRICT POLICE.—THE ATTACK ON MRS. SARRACCO.—

THE WHARTON-KETCHUM POISONING CASE.—THE

MURDER OF MRS. LAMPLEY.—THE CUMBERLAND RIOTS AND

MR. FREY’S BRAVERY.—HOW HE CONTROLLED THE MOB.—

A RAID ON THE BALTIMORE BANKS BY FORGERS.—THE

UNGER-BOHLE TRUNK CASE. – – – – – – PP. 1 4 8 – 1 75

CHAPTER VIII.

DEPUTY MARSHAL JOHN LANNAN.

HIS RISE FROM PATROLMAN TO DEPUTY MARSHAL.—A TRIP TO

CHINA.—THE MINNESOTA AND A TYPHOON.—CLEARING OUT

DISHONEST SERVANTS.—RUNNING DOWN NEW JERSEY BURGLARS.—

A MURDERER IDENTIFIED INTUITIVELY.—THE RATS

………………………………………………………………………………………

X CONTENTS.

HAD GNAWED HIS HANDCUFFS.—THE RIOTS OF 1877.—THE

CENTRAL STATION A HOSPITAL.—THREE DAYS AND NIGHTS

CONTINUOUS SERVICE.—A VERY SHARP NEGRO.—A DEPUTY

MARSHAL’S DIAMOND BADGE.—THE ONLY BURKING CASE IN

AMERICA. – – – – – Pp. 176-211

CHAPTER IX.

THE DETECTIVE FORCE.

ORGANIZATION OF THE SECRET SERVICE.—CHIEF DETECTIVE

CRONE.—CAPTAIN CADWALLADER.—CAPTAIN SOLOMON II. FREBURGER.—

WHAT SOME OF THE MEN HAVE DONE.—JOHN S.

PONTIER.—DETECTIVE CUNNING AND PLUCK.—ROBBING HARNDEN’S

EXPRESS.—JOSEPH C. MITCHELL.—AN EXPERT LOCKSMITH.—

THE ARREST OF HERR GOLDBACH.—A ROMANCE AT

BARNUM’S HOTEL.—THEODERICK B. HALL.—REAL AND BOGUS

DETECTIVES. – – Pp. 212-231

CHAPTER X.

THE DETECTIVE FORCE.—Continued.

ALBERT GAULT.—A REMARKABLE RECORD.—QUICK WORK WITH

SKILLFUL BURGLARS.—RESCUING FROM THE FLOOD.—CLEVER

CAPTURE OF JOHN KING.—CHRISTINE ELBRIGHT.—ARREST OF

TOLLIVER HARRIS, THE NEGRO TERROR OF VIRGINIA.—AMONG

THE MOONSHINERS.—TERRIBLE CONFLICT WITH AN ESCAPED

PRISONER.—DETECTIVE GEORGE W. SEIBOLD.—RISEN FROM

THE RANKS.—PURSUING THE CONFIDENCE MEN.—A COLORED

FEMALE FAGIN.—THEIR CHILD RESTORED AFTER EIGHT YEARS.

—A PRIESTLY SWINDLER.—DETECTIVE SEIBOLD AS A FAKIR.—

CLEVER WORK IN ELLICOTT CITY.—BARN BURNING IN HOWARD

COUNTY.—HOW AN AGED TRAMP REPAID FARMER RHINE’S

KINDNESS. – Pp. 235-275

………………………………………………………………………………………

CONTENTS. SI

CHAPTER XI.

THE DETECTIVE FORCE. (Concluded)

WILLIAM HENRY DROSTE.—THE LAST WORK ON THE MERRIMAC.

A BAD EXPERIENCE AS A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. THE

EMANCIPATION CELEBRATION. — A BOGUS BILL-OF-LADING

THIEF. CATCHING THREE FORGERS. THOMAS BARRANGER.

PURSUING A CONVICT.—A DEAF MUTE AS A HORSE-THIEF.—

CAPTURING CHARLES H. HOCH. STEPHEN J. O’NEILL. FETTERED

BY STOLEN GOODS.—A YOUNG BUT NOTORIOUS BURGLAR.—

A STRUGGLE TO THE FINISH.—AQUILLA J. PUMPHREY.—

A CASE OF MUTUAL SUSPICION.—SWINDLING AS A MISSIONARY.—

JOHN E. REILLY.—A BRAVE DEED.—COMPLIMENTED

‘ BY THE DEPARTMENT. – – – – – – – – Pp. 2 7 6 – 3 02

CHAPTER XII.

COMMANDERS OF DISTRICTS.

ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORY. THE LATE CAPTAIN WILLIAM

DELANTY. CAPTAIN FARNAN OF THE CENTRAL DISTRICT.

THE ASSAULT ON CAPTAIN CLAYTON.—MURDER OF LOUIS

SCHMIDT.—TOOK HIM TO THE STATION DESPITE THE MOB.—

CAPTAIN CADWALLADER OF THE WESTERN DISTRICT.—THE

KILLING OF HENRY MESNBRING.—HOW MURDERER FOSTER

WAS ARRESTED.—DETECTING THE MURDERERS OF DOUGLASS

LOVE. HE CUT HIS NECK ” I N HALF.” CAPTAIN AULD OF

THE EASTERN DISTRICT. RUNNING DOWN A GANG OF BURGLARS.—

THE RIOTS OF 1861.—AN EXPERT CHECK SWINDLER.

Pp. 303-360

………………………………………………………………………………………

xii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIII.

COMMANDERS OF DISTRICTS (Concluded.)

CAPTAIN CLAIBORNE OF THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT. NAILING THE

FLAG TO FORT SUMPTER’S STAFF.—A RECORD TO BE PROUD

OF. CAPTAIN EARHART OF THE NORTH-WESTERN DISTRICT.

DRIVING OUT THE “GANGS.” HARRY GILMOR’S SPURS.—

STRONGEST MAN ON THE FORCE—CAPTAIN BAKER OF THE SOUTHWESTERN

DISTRICT.—A DASTARDLY CRIME.—THE MURDER OF

EMELINE MILLER.—CAPTURING BOARDING HOUSE THIEVES.—

CAPTAIN BARBER OF THE NORTH-EASTERN DISTRICT. HIS

CARE FOR PRISONERS.—A ROBBER’S SHREWDNESS—STEALING

TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND SHOESTRINGS. – – Pp. 3 6 1 – 4 22

CHAPTER XIV.

THE POLICE GYMNASIUMS.

THE LACK OF AMBITION IN THE OLD FORCE.—AN INCIDENT IN

SCALING FENCES. FIRST ORGANIZATION IN THE CENTRAL

DISTRICT. STARTING A GYMNASIUM WITH $ 1 0 0 . ENGAGING

PROFESSOR KIMBALL. SOCIETY AND ATHLETICS COMBINED.

THE FIRST EXHIBITION A GREAT SUCCESS. INTERIOR OF

THE CENTRAL STATION GYMNASIUM. IN THE NORTH-WESTERN

GYMNASIUM. CAPTAIN EARHART AS AN ATHLETE, AND HIS

FONDNESS FOR HEAVY WEIGHTS. HOW A FINE EXERCISING

HALL WAS FURNISHED.—THE EASTERN DISTRICT EXERCISING

HALLS, BOTH OLD AND NEW. A FINE GYMNASIUM FROM A

SMALL BEGINNING.—THE NORTH-EASTERN ATHLETES AT WORK.—

ORGANIZING A POLICE ASSOCIATION, AND ITS LIST OF RULES.

WHAT ATHLETICS HAS DONE FOR OUR POLICE. P P . 4 2 3 – 4 6 1

………………………………………………………………………………………

CONTENTS. X l l l

CHAPTER XV.

THE PATROL-WAGON SYSTEM.—THE TELEPHONE AND ALARM

TELEGRAPH. MR. COLTON’S AND MARSHAL GRAY’S TRIP TO

CHICAGO. ADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM. THE HARBOR

PATROL.—ITS WORK AND THE RESULTS OF IT.—POLICE CHARITIES

AND THE NOBLE WORK OF THE MEMBERS OF THE

FORCE. THE LIFE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION. – P P . 4 6 2 – 4 8 5

CHAPTER XVI.

CHARLES BECKER, THE FORGER.

LITTLE CARL ON THE BANKS OF THE SPREE.—IN AMERICA.

LEARNING TO ENGRAVE.—IN LOVE WITH CLARA BECHTEL.

AN OMINOUS WISH. THE FIRST CRIME. ROBBING THE BALTIMORE

THIRD NATIONAL BANK VAULT. IN A TURKISH

PRISON. THE ESCAPE AND THE MURDER OF MRS. CHAPMAN.

SWINDLING THE UNION TRUST COMPANY. A SCHEME TO DEFRAUD

THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT. THE 1 , 0 0 0 FRANC NOTE

FORGERY. FOR NEARLY SIX YEARS A PRISONER. ” YES,

PET, I’LL TRY TO BE GOOD.” – – – – – Pp. 486-509-

CHAPTER XVII.

A FORGERS’ RAID.

THE HISTORY OF THE OPERATIONS OF BROCKWAY’S GANG OF

FORGERS IN BALTIMORE IN 1880.—REMARKABLE CONSPIRACY

TO ROB THE CITY’S GREAT BANKING INSTITUTIONS. THE

SWINDLERS GET AWAY WITH MORE THAN $10,000 FROM TWO

BANKS.—PURSUIT AND CAPTURE OF THE CRIMINALS.—THE

FORGERS IN PRISON AT LAST.—THE DROP GAME. P p . 5 1 0 – 5 32

………………………………………………………………………………………

ILLUSTRATIONS.

FRONTISPIECE—MARSHALS OF BALTIMORE.

The Ducking-Stool 8

The Tillory and Whipping-Post 9

Old Watchman and His Box 14

Charles Howard 31

William H. Gatchell 35

Charles D. Hinks 39

Hon. George William Brown 47

Hon. John W. Davis 51

Samuel Hindes 55

Nicholas L. Wood .’. 59

William T. Valiant 63

James Young 63

Lefevre Jarrett 67

Hon. William EL B. Fusselbaugh 71

Hon. James K. Carr 77

Thomas W. Morse 85

John Milroy 89

Col. Harry Gilmor 93

Gen. Jas. B. Herbert 97

Hon. George Colton 101

Maj. J. D. Ferguson.. 105

John T.Gray Ill

Edson Marion Schryver, President of the Board of Police Commissioners 121

Alfred J. Carr, Esq., Treasurer of the Board of Police Commissioners 127

J . Q. A. Kobson, Police Commissioner 139

George Savage, Esq 143

Jacob Frey, Marshal of Police 149

John Lannan, Deputy Marshal 177

Rogues’ Gallery 213

William Delanty 305

John Mitchell 305

George W. Zimmerman 305

Thomas F. Farnan, Captain Central District 309

Old Middle District Station-IIouse 314

James II. Busick, Lieutenant Central District 320

Frank J. Toner, Sergeant Central District 320

James Harvey, Sergeant Central District 320

Louis Kirsch, Sergeant Central District 320

xiv

………………………………………………………………………………………

ILLUSTRATIONS. XV

Martin P. Schimp, Sergtant Central District 320

William Barker, Sergeant Central District 320

W. B. Bcve, Sergeant Central District 320

Henry Shoemack, Sergeant Central District 320

“William H. Frazier, Lieutenant Central District 321

W.G.Scott, Sergeant Central District 321

Jas. A. Kippard, Sergeant Central District 321

Edward F. Meehan, Sergeant Central District 321

Ambrose A. Ryan, Sergeant .’ …Central District 321

J. J. Gilbert, Sergeant Central District 321

Charles Bernhardt, Sergeant Central District 321

George Clautice, Sergeant Central District 321

Lewis W. Cadwallader, Captain Western District 327

First Western District Station-House 334

F. Hamilton Scott, Lieutenant Western District 338

J. H. Clowe, Sergeant Western District • 338

William Kalbfleisch, Sergeant …..Western District 338

John Driscoll, Sergeant Western District 338

Benj. T. Allen, Sergeant Western District 338

Philip Berger, Sergeant Western District 338

John Joseph Fullem, Lieutenant Western District 339

J. H. Henneman, Sergeant Western District 339

Patrick E. Tierney, Sergeant Western District 339

Philip Whalen, Sergeant Western District 339

E. J. Hoffman, Sergeant Western District 339

Benj. F. Auld, Captain Eastern District 343

William R. Johnson, Lieutenant Eastern District 354

Michael F. Black, Sergeant ‘. Eastern District 354

J’. Andrew Roycroft, Sergeant Eastern District 354

Francis W. Jones, Sergeant Eastern District 354

Daniel E. Diggs, Sergeant Eastern District 354

Jas. K. P. Langley, Sergeant Eastern District 354

George League, Lieutenant Eastern District 355

Edward Schleigh, Sergeant Eastern District 355

Henry Poole, Sergeant Eastern District 355

Thos. T. Green, Sergeant Eastern District 355

Thos. E. Buckless, Sergeant , Eastern District 355

Station-House Clerks 358

Charles H. Claiborne, Captain Southern District 363

Geo. W. Aaron 367

W. H. Cassell 367

Benj. F. Kenney 367

Daniel Lepson 367

Calvin Sunstrom, Lieutenant Southern District 372

Philip Flood, Sergeant Southern District 372

Henry Streib, Sergeant, Southern District 372

………………………………………………………………………………………

Xvi ILLUSTRATIONS.

Bernard Ward, Sergeant

George Dull, Sergeant

John A. Parks, Sergeant

A. C. Blacldston, Sergeant

David H. Bruchey, Lieutenant

W. H. Bowen, Sergeant

Louis Chaillou, Sergeant

Thomas B. McGee, Sergeant

Peter Kiley, Sergeant

Jos. D. Collins, Sergeant

Edward Schultz, Sergeant

Wm. C. Bayne, Sergeant

George W. Earhart, Captain

Wm. McK. Watkins, Lieutenant…

John B. Saunders, Sergeant

Cornelius L. Knott, Sergeant

John A. G. Schultz, Sergeant

Littleton B. Wessels, Sergeant

Matthew E. Quinn, Sergeant

Frank J. Flannery, Lieutenant

Charles P. Dorn, Sergeant

John Carlos, Sergeant

Daniel H. Cline, Sergeant

Theo. J. Foster, Sergeant

John Baker, Captain

Thomas A. Fitzgerald, Lieutenant.

Timothy A. Broderick, Sergeant….

Chas. A. Shoemaker, Sergeant

Michael Lanahan, Sergeant

C. H. Williamson, Sergeant

Harvey P. Morhiser, Sergeant

William B. Minor, Lieutenant

John Butler, Sergeant

Wm. T. Russell, Sergeant

Peter Montague, Sergeant

Henry C. Smith, Sergeant

Philip J. Barber, Captain

Daniel Shettle, Lieutenant

Wm. J. Carrick, Sergeant

Basil S. Wellener, Jr., Sergeant

F. T. Crate, Sergeant

P. F. J. Bosch, Sergeant

Jas. H. Carroll, Lieutenant

Thos. F. Hogan, Sergeant

Augustus Chaillou, Sergeant

George William Schafer. Sergeant

.Southern District 372

.Southern Distric 372

.Southern District 372

.Southern District 372

.Southern District 373

.Southern District 373

.Southern District 373

.Southern District 373

.Southern District 373

.Southern District 373

.Southern District 373

.Southern District 373

.North-western District 377

.North-western District 386

North-western District 386

North-western District 386

.North-western District 386

.North-western District 386

North-western District 386

.North-western District 387

North-western District 387

.North-western District 387

.North-western District 387

.North-western District 387

.South-western District 393

.South-western District 402

.South-western District 402

.South-western District 402

.South-western District 402

.South-western District 402

.South-western District 402

.South-western District 403

.South-western District 403

.South-western District 403

.South-western District 403

.South-western District 403

.North-eastern District 407

.North-eastern District 418

North-eastern District 418

.North-eastern District 418

.North-eastern District 418

.North-eastern District 418

.North-eastern District 419

.North-eastern District 419

.North-eastern District 419

.North-eastern District 419

………………………………………………………………………………………

ILLUSTRATIONS. XVU

Benj. “VV. York, Sergeant North-eastern District 419

Henry Mittendorf, Sergeant North-eastern District 419

Central Station Gymnasium 430

In the Gymnasium Central Diitrict 435

North-Western Gymnasium Athletes 440

Police Athletic Club, North-eastern District Champions, 1887 451

Central District Police Base Ball Club 457

Police Patrol Signal Box, Baltimore and Charles Streets 465

Police Patrol Signal Box, with Officer Signalling Station 467

Central Station Outfit—Police Patrol Service 471

Police Patrol Wagon Central District 475

Police Patrol Wagon Eastern District 480

Police Patrol Wagon Western District 482

Bank Burglars’ Outfit 496

………………………………………………………………………………………

ANNOUNCEMENT.

The historical material for this work was obtained chiefly

from the official records of the police department, though

much information was had from other sources.

For the early history the writer has drawn on the records of

the legislative assemblies and city councils, other historical

works, old guide-books, directories and papers which were

placed at his disposal.

To the ex-commissioners and ex-marshals who are now

residents of Baltimore, the writer is under obligations for

much information, and also to the present Board of Police

Commissioners and Marshal Jacob Frey, for like assistance, as

well as the means to verify the correctness of the work.

The illustrations are mainly ” I v e s ” etchings, and were

reproduced from photographs. The groups of officers are

from negatives from the studio of N. H. Busey, who, with

Jas. S. Cummins, W. Cetz and others, made the photographs

from which the portraits were obtained.

BALTIMORE, January 1, 1888

………………………………………………………………………………………

OUR POLICE.

A HISTORY OF THE BALTIMORE FORCE FROM THE FIRST WATCHMAN

TO THE LATEST APPOINTEE.

an AFTER i.

BALTIMORE’S EARLIEST OFFICERS.

(1606-1784.)

DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF THE PATAPSCO. “WHETSTONE

POINT ” MADE A TOWN AND PORT OF ENTRY (1706). THE

TOWN OF BALTIMORE CREATED (1729). THE EARLY CONSERVATORS

OF THE PEACE. THE SHERIFF, CONSTABLES AND

PUBLIC EXECUTIONER. AN OFFICE NOT SOUGHT AFTER. A

CASE IN POINT WHERE THE OFFICE SOUGHT THE MAN.—

CRUEL PUNISHMENTS INFLICTED ON MALEFACTORS. BRANDING

WITH IRONS. THE PILLORY, STOCKS AND DUCKING-STOOLS.

—BALTIMORE’S PILLORY AND WHIPPING-POST AT THE OLD

COURT HOUSE.

Baltimore’s police and Baltimore’s history are inseparable.

To treat of the former the latter must also be developed, more

particularly where it touches and affects the rise of the police

system, showing how the force of to-day kept pace with the

progress of Baltimore from the time it was but a little scattering

hamlet under the cliffs and among the marshes along the

banks of the Patapsco, down to the present, when, as a mighty

metropolis she takes her place in the foremost rank of great

American cities. It will be of interest to revert to those early

days in her history and see from what small beginnings great

results come.

The eyes of the white man first rested on the site of Baltimore

in 1606. In that year Captain John Smith ” some time

Governor of Virginia,” made his sixth voyage cf discovery

(1)

………………………………………………………………………………………

2 OUR POLICE.

and penetrated the Patapsco river. Twenty-two years later Lord

Baltimore cast a careless glance over the land on which it was

destined would arise a city, the greatness of which should become

a mighty monument to his name and fame. This was in the year

1628, when Lord Baltimore at the time of his visit to Virginia

explored the country now called Maryland, and which was afterwards,

on June 20, .1632, conferred upon him by royal charter.

In the year 1634, Leonard Calvert, who had been appointed

Lieutenant-General and Governor of Maryland by his brother,

Lord Baltimore, together with another brother, George Calvert,

and about two hundred colonists, arrived in the new

province and settled at St. Mary’s.

It was not, however, until the year 1659 that any steps were

taken towards the systematic settlement of Baltimore county,

although it is not unlikely that some of the more adventurous

spirits, following in the track of Captain John Smith and

Lord Baltimore, had pushed ahead and settled about the head

waters of the Patapsco. In the year named Baltimore county

was established. Its limits, as then fixed, were far more

extensive than at present and embraced all of Harford and Carroll

counties and large portions of Anne Arundel, Howard and

Frederick. At that time the entire population of Maryland was

about twelve thousand and that of the newly created county but

about two thousand.

In the month of July, 1659, patents for land in the neighborhood

of Baltimore were issued to Robert Gorsuch, Hugh

Kensey, Richard Gorsuch, Thomas Humphreys, John Jones,

Thomas Powell, Howell Powell, William Ball, and Walter

Dickinson, each of whom was granted from 200 to 500

acres. Captain Thomas Howell, Captain Thomas Stockett

and Messrs. Henry Stockett and John Taylor, Commissioners

of the county, took up patents, and on July 20, 166L

held a court at the house of Captain Howell who was the presiding

Commissioner. Mr. John Collett was their clerk.

Charles Gorsuch, a member of the society of Friends, was

the next settler to take up ground, and he on February 24,

1661, patented 50 acres. This land afterwards, on June 2,

………………………………………………………………………………………

OUR POLICE. 3

1702, passed into the possession of Mr. James Carroll, who

called it ‘ : Whetstone Point.” On the extremity of this stands

Fort McHenry. In 1668, ”Cole’s Harbor,” consisting of 550

acres, divided into nearly two equal parts by the stream,

” Jones’ Falls,” was granted to Thomas Cole. On this land

the town of Baltimore was originally laid out.

So the infant settlement continued to grow. Each year added

new settlers to the number who took up their plantations. The

principal planters were also merchants who traded with London

and other ports of England, and the large plantations, with their

groups of storehouses and other buildings, assumed the appearance

arid performed the office of little towns. Many of the earliest

courts and councils were held in these plantations. The

governors, privy-councilors and county court judges were all

planters.

For a long time ” Cole’s Harbor” afforded ample space for the

accommodation of Baltimore but the settlement gradually extended

its limits until all the surrounding lands and farms,

under various names, were finally taken into its boundaries. In

1706, by Act of Assembly, “Whetstone Point” was made a town

and declared a port of entry, the first within the present limits

of Baltimore.

The following year, ” Taylor’s Choice,” on Gunpowder river,

was made a town, and the county seat of Baltimore county. A

court-house was built and the name changed to Joppa.

Up to 1729, no name had been given the settlement upon the

northwestern branch of the Patapsco. In that year its inhabitants

emulating the example of some of their neighbors, desired

the village to be erected into a town. ” Moales Point” was first

selected as the preferable site of the future city but the projectors

were disappointed, fortunately, in securing this location,

the bill having that object in view being defeated in the Legislature

through the instrumentality of Mr. John Moale, a member

and the owner of the land in question. Being excluded from

this, the land of their choice, those interested in forming the

new town were driven to seek the site for the future metropolis

under the hills and amid the marshes of the northwestern branch

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4 OUR POLICE.

of the river. Accordingly a petition was prepared for the Assembly

by the County Commissioners or justices, and other persons

which, on July 14, 1729, was presented in the Upper House,

” praying that a bill may be brought in for the building of a town

on the north side of Patapsco river, upon the land supposed to

belong to Messrs. Charles and Daniel Carroll.” On August 8,

1729, the bill prayed for became a law under this title,

” An Act for erecting a town on the north side of Patapsco, in

Baltimore county, and for laying out in lots, sixty acres of land,

in and about the place where one John Fleming now lives.”

The commissioners appointed to lay out the town were Major

Thomas Tolley, William Hamilton, William Buckner, Dr. George

Walker, Richard Gist, Dr. George Buchanan and Colonel William

Hammond. They were all justices of the county except Dr.

Walker. These commissioners were practically appointed for life,

as they were empowered to fill their own vacancies. They were

authorized to purchase sixty acres of land on the tract known as

“Cole’s Harbor,” and to lay out the same into sixty equal lots

to be erected into a town. In January of the following year this

was done and the commissioners, assisted by Philip Jones the

county surveyor, laid off the town, whose original bounds made

the form of an ancient lyre.

The town was divided by Long, now called Baltimore street,

which was intersected at right-angles by Calvert street, then not

named; and Forrest street now Charles street. There were

also six lanes, which are now South, Second, Light, Hanover and

Belvidere streets, and three other lanes which retain their

original names of Lovely, St. Paul and German streets.

On January 14, the office of the commissioners was opened

for “taker’s-up,” the proprietor, Mr. Carroll, choosing lot No.

49 on the east side of Calvert street, next the river bank, Mr.

Gist taking one on the opposite side of Calvert street. Among

the others taking lots were Messrs. Walker, Jones, Jackson,

Hammond, Price, Buckner, Sheridine, Powell, Ridgely, Trotten,

North, Hewitt, Gorsuch, and Harris—all inhabitants of the

vicinity. Thus was the embryo city started upon its career.

The peace and good order of the new town was for many years

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OUR POLICE. 5

entrusted wholly to the officers charged with that duty throughout

the county. These were Commissioners of the County or Justices

of the Peace, and were also Justices of the County Court; a

tithing-man in each manor, a constable in each hundred, a sheriff

and coroner in the county and a public executioner for inflicting

all corporal correction and punishment.

The Justices of the Peace or Commissioners of the County,

terms used synonymously, forming the County Court, were

appointed by the Lord Proprietary or in his absence by his

Lieutenant-General. The tithing-man, whose duties were those

of a petty constable, was appointed by the Lord of the Manor,

and the High Constables of every hundred by the Commander

of the hundred. It was the duty of the constable to execute

all precepts and warrants to him directed, and had in all

things “the like power and authority within the said hundred as a

high constable of any hundred in England hath or ought to have

within his hundred by the law or custom of England.” A refusal

to serve incurred the forfeiture of five hundred pounds of tobacco,

the currency of those days. The Chief Judge of the County

Court appointed the sheriff and coroner of the county, one person

discharging the functions of both offices. The penalty of

a refusal to discharge these responsible duties was the forfeiture

of two thousand pounds of tobacco. The appointment to the

least desirable office within the county, that of public executioner,

was thus provided for: “And the said sheriff shall choose

one of his servants (and in case he hath no servant to accept

thereof, the Lieutenant-General and Council shall appoint some

person) for the execution of all corporal correction, shame or

other punishment to be inflicted on the body or person of any

one; and if the person so chosen and appointed by the Lieutenant-

General and Council shall refuse to execute the said office,

the Lieutenant-General, upon complaint thereof made unto him,

shall or may censure (a term applied to the speech of the Judge

in giving his judgment in any criminal case) the person so refusing

by corporal shame or correction as he shall think fit.”

That it was difficult to fill this office notwithstanding the pains

and penalties attached to a refusal, appears by the following,

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6 OUR POLICE.

where a malefactor is appointed to the post as one of the punishments

for his crimes.

The Assemby in addition to its legislative powers sometimes

exercised judicial functions. At one of the early sessions of that

body the Secretary of State had, on the first day of the session,

issued his writ to the “Sheriff of St. Mary’s,” to “have the

body of John Dandie, smith, before the House of Assembly at

nine of the clock this morning, to answer such crimes as on his

lordship’s behalf shall be objected against him.” What these

“crimes” were does not appear, but sentence of death

was passed upon the unlucky smith. On May 10, “upon

the petition of a great part of the colony for the pardoning

of Dandie, the Governor exchanged the sentence of death

into three years’ service to the Lord Proprietary; wherewith

the said Dandie was well content”—the record gravely

concludes. By a subsequent document, a further pardon

for John Dandie, it appears that in addition to his three years

service, one of the conditions attached to the commutation of his

death sentence was that he act as public executioner, the record

reading as follows: “Amongst other penalties he was adjudged

to be a public executioner within this province, but, for his good

service and particular fidelity to Governor Calvert, he was thereby

remitted from all former penalties whatsoever.”

A disinclination to perform the duties of the public executioner

is not surprising when some of the penalties to be inflicted upon

transgressors in those days are known. By “An Act for felonies,”

introduced into the Assembly in 1639, the following

offences were to be adjudged felonies, punishable with death :

” Homicide; bloodshed, committed by assault upon the person

of the Lieutenant-General; to shed the blood of any Judge sitting

in Court; burglary, robbery, polygamy, sacrilege, sorcery,

petit treason and rape.” It was also made “felony within this

province to commit idolatry, which is the worshipping of a false

god;” or to commit “blasphemy, which is a cursed or wicked

speaking of God;” or ” to sell, give, or deliver to any Indian, or

to any other declared or professed enemy of the province, any

gun, pistol, powder or shot, without the knowledge or license of

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OUR POLICE. 7

the Lieutenant-General, or to teach any Indian or other declared

enemy of the province the use of the said arms or the making

thereof.”

The offender in any of these felonies was to suffer the pains of

death by hanging and forfeit to the Lord Proprietary all the

lands in the province whereof he was seized at the time the offence

was committed and all goods and chattels which he possessed at

the time of his conviction: ” Provided,” the law goes on to state,

” that in petit treason the punishment of death shall be inflicted

by drawing and hanging of a man and by burning of a woman;

and in sorcery, blasphemy and idolatry by burning.” Accessories

before the fact were to be punished as principals.

Of the minor offences, the Justices of the Peace were given

jurisdiction and the power to deal with the offenders summarily.

Among these was ” withdrawing one’s self out of an English

plantation to inhabit or reside among any Indians not christened,”

for which the offender could be imprisoned until he found

” security to perform the order of the Judge therein.” Swearing

was punished by a fine of five pounds of tobacco or one shilling,

sterling; drunkenness, “which is drinking with excess to the

notable perturbation of any organ of sense or motion,” entailed

a fine of thirty pounds of tobacco or five shillings, sterling, ” or

otherwise shall be whipped, or by some other corporal shame or

punishment corrected for every such excess, at the discretion of

the Judge.”

The law of 1723, which embodied the substance of several

previous laws on the subject of blasphemy, provided that the

offender who should be convicted of this crime, consisting of

wittingly, maliciously and advisedly, by writing or speech, blaspheming

or cursing God or denying the Saviour’s divinity, the

Trinity of the Godhead of any of the three Persons, or their

unity, or uttering any profane words about the Trinity, should

be bored through the tongue and fined ,£20 or imprisoned for

six months for the first offence; for the second offence be

branded ” B ” in the forehead and fined £40, or imprisoned

one year; and for the third offence death. Coiners (counterfeiters)

were to be whipped, pilloried and cropped for

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8 OUR POLICE.

the first offence; for the second, to be branded in the cheek

and banished. Cursing or profane swearing in the presence

of any magistrate or other public officer, was to be punished

with a fine of 2s. 6d. for the first oath and 5s. for every succeeding

oath. Persons drunk in the presence of magistrates or other

public officers were fined 5s. If these fines were not paid the offender

was put in the stocks for three hours for each offence,

or received not exceeding thirty-nine lashes. Horse-stealing was

THE DUCKING-STOOL.

punished with death, as were burglaries of dwellings, warehouses

or tobacco houses. The penalty for Sabbath breaking was a fine

of two hundred pounds of tobacco and where the offender kept

an ordinary, a fine of two thousand pounds. Forgeries or any

sort of falsification in connection with the inspection of tobacco

were punished with thirty-nine lashes and two hours in the pillory.

In 1663, an Act was passed providing irons for burning malefactors

and for erecting a pillory, stocks, nnd ducking-stools in

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OUR POLICE. 9

each county. The ducking-stool for. scolding women was, however,

abandoned in 1G7G, that section of the Act being repealed;

but the stocks, the pillory, the whipping-post, with its handcuiFs

and the branding-iron, long remained “institutions” of the time.

In fact, the stocks, the pillory and the gibbet did not pass out

of vogue in Maryland until about 1810 when the penitentiary

system was adopted. About 1770 all of the cruel punishments

named above were used. Offenders were publicly exposed in the

THE PILLORY AND WHIPPING-POST.

most frequented thoroughfares; their ears nailed to the pillory

and cut off, the malefactors being whipped afterwards through

the public streets; the tongue bored with a red hot iron or

the nose slit, or the person branded with the initial letter of the

offense for which he suffered. Thus, ” S . L.,” branded on

either cheek, indicated that the culprit was so marked for being

a li seditious libeller ” ; ” M ” meant manslaughter ; ” T ” on the

left hand, thief”; ” R ” on the shoulder, rogue and vagabond

and ” P ” on the forehead, perjury. The most general form of

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10 OUR POLICE.

whipping was what was called “flogging at the cart’s tail ” when

the criminal was tied to the back of a cart, slowly driven, and

flogged through the town by the public executioner. Of course,

the spectacle was attended by crowds acting as a noisy escort.

In 1748 an old and gray-headed man who was convicted of blasphemy

at Baltimore County Assizes, had his tongue bored

through and was sentenced to remain in jail until the fine of

.£20 was paid.

In Baltimore was located the last pillory and whipping-post in

Maryland. They were on the spot where the Battle Monument

now stands, forming in fact one of the main posts of

the underpinning of the old court house. Underneath this

building, one above the other, was the pillory and whippingpost,—

a two-storied instrument of justice. It was here, in 1819,

the last man was pilloried in Maryland. The last public

whipping in this State, previous to the recent wife-beating law,

was of a postmaster, convicted in the United States Court at Annapolis

of tampering with the mails. There being no whippingpost

at the time in the town, the culprit was tied up to one of the

columns under the portico of the State House and the punishment

inflicted.

The new town had no police supervision independent of the

county officers of Baltimore County for many years. The powers

of the commissioners appointed in 1729 were enlarged by Acts of

Assembly until they had control of purely local affairs. Thomas

Long, in 1687, was the first Sheriff of Baltimore County. In

1705 Auquilla Baca was Sheriff, and he was succeeded by Francis

Dalahide in the following year. In 1682 John Boring was

Presiding Justice of the County Court, but in 1708 Colonel

James Maxwell assumed the office, and so continued twenty years.

During this time the Sheriff’s office was filled successively by

James Presbury, John Dorsey, John Stokes, Edward Hall,

Francis Holland and William Smith. In September, 1745, the

assembly consolidated Jones town and Baltimore town under the

name of the latter. The bridge over Jones Falls was declared

public and was to be kept at the charge of Baltimore county.

Seven commissioners were appointed with enlarged power-; they

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OUR POLICE. 11

•were Mayor Thomas Sheredine, Doctor George Buchanan, Captain

Robert North, Colonel William Hammond, Captain Darby

Lux and Messrs. Thomas Harrison and William Fell. They

were empowered to enforce the former Act of Assembly relating

to the towns, have them carefully surveyed and the lots

bounded and numbered. Then came the building of a fence

about the town in order to keep swine and geese from the

streets, one of the first precautions against nuisances ever taken

by the town; but these fences speedily disappeared, because in

1750 there was an excessively cold winter and the logs of which

the palisade was composed were burned for fuel. The town grew

gradually, adding to itself one by one the necessities of a settlement.

Near the court house, which has been already referred

to, was erected the jail. This building was two stories high, built

of stone, and was used until 1802. The sanitary condition of

this jail seems to have been sadly neglected within the next few

years. It is recorded that the American Congress, in 1776,

then in session in Philadelphia, upon the approach of the royal

troops towards the Delaware adjourned to Baltimore. At their

first meeting in this city, a resolution was passed declaring “that

the apartments in the jail of the town of Baltimore be repaired

and put in such a condition as not to endanger the health of

those who may be confined in them ; and the prisoners from the

State of North Carolina be removed thence to different rooms in

the court house, or wherever else they can be procured and there

safely locked up and secured.”

As Baltimore developed into a flourishing community evil

doers were attracted to it, and if the statements of one of its

citizens over the signature ” Philodemus,” made in a communication

to the Maryland Journal and The Baltimore Advertiser,

(now the Baltimore American) on September 9, 1773, are to be

relied upon, the town was very much in need of police protection.

This is an extract from the letter: ” The late frequent robberies

must certainly alarm every trading inhabitant in this town and

set them on their guard against the nocturnal meetings of

hardened villains who thirst after the well earned property of

the honest and upright dealer.” He then goes on to tell of the

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12 OUR POLICE.

peculiar wickedness of one Monsieur Mercier, a Frenchman,

and afterwards continues : ” I must here beg leave to animadvert

on the apparent neglect of our petty officers of the peace, who, if

I mistake not, are obligated by their oath to be watchful and

diligent, to preserve good order in our streets and to disperse

all idle and tumultuous assemblies, at which blasphemy and vice

usually preside. .1 have often observed, with horror, the numerous

conventicles of iniquity held in and about our market house,

chiefly on the Sabbath day, even in the hours of divine service,

by a gang of idle vagrants, who, despising all the duties of

religion, employ the time set apart for prayer in acts of a most

heinous nature, viz. : cursing, swearing, drunkenness, and debauchery.

May we not reasonably conclude that the day spent

in so riotous and unhallowed a manner will be succeeded by

midnight robbery and plunder.”, The way to remedy these

evils in the writer’s opinion, was the establishment of a watch

and lighting the streets in the night time.

” I cannot conclude,” ho adds, “without expressing my most

sanguine wishes that the inhabitants of the town, heartily uniting

in a common cause, would generously set on foot and Strenuously

exert themselves to promote an ample subscription for erecting

lamps at proper- distances in our streets and constituting a

body of vigorous, trusty watchmen, for the public convenience

and security in the ensuing winter. A scheme of such utility

will, I hope, meet with immediate notice and when executed

must assuredly be attended with the most happy consequences.”

It wras the custom in the early days, to sell convicts as servants,

to the highest bidder, in order to reimburse the county for the

expense of convicting them. There seems to have been a glut

in the slave market in 1775, as the sheriff of Baltimore announced

a sale at public auction, “without reserve.” This advertisement,

in the Maryland Journal, reads as follows:

BALTIMORE, JUNE 14, 1775.

“ON SATURDAY, THE 24TH INSTANT, WILL BE SOLD BY PUBLIC” VENDUE,

AT THE PRISON OP THIS COUNTY, A NUMBER OF CRIMINALS, for payment

of their Fees. I will give indentures on them for a term not exceeding

five years, according to the sums they are indebted. I am determined to dispose

of their times for whatever sums they will fetch, be they more or less, which

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OUR POLICE. 13

I expect will induce persons to purchase, as they will probably go off slower

than other servants.

” ROBERT CHRISTIE, JUN., SHERIFF.

“N. B.—TJiose who are inclined to purchase before the day of sale may

apply at the sheriff’s office.”

; These convicts were not particularly trustworthy servants, as

they were more bent upon securing their liberty than serving

their masters. It was not until two years after the appeal was

made for some action on the part of the citizens towards establishing

a watch in Baltimore, that any steps were taken towards

a systematic policing of the town. In 1775, however, a townmeeting

was held with the object of taking measures to establish

a night-watch. Each male inhabitant capable of duty under this

organization, signed an agreement, by,which he bound himself

to conform to the police regulations adopted by the general meeting

of the citizens and sanctioned by the commissioners, and to

attend personally when summoned to serve as a watchman, or

provide a substitute acceptable to’ the committee. This committee

had some of the functions of the present Board of Police Commissioners.

The town was divided into districts and in each of

these was stationed a company commanded by a captain of the

watch. The first captains of the watch, or police, of Baltimore,

under this primitive arrangement, were James Calhoun, captain

of the First District; George Woolsey, Second District; Benjamin

Griffith, Third District; Barnct Eichelberger, Fourth District;

George Lindenberger, Fifth District; and William Goodwin,

of the Sixth District. At Fell’s Point, Isaac Yanbidder was

captain, with two assistants or lieutenants. Each captain had

under his command a squad of sixteen men, every inhabitant

being enrolled and taking his turn. The streets were patrolled

by these watchmen from 10 P. M. until daybreak, the patrols

calling aloud the time each quarter of an hour. This was a force

amply sufficient to look after the safety of the town had all its

members done their duty. But as there was no legal obligation the

force soon became inefficient. It was not long before the necessities

of the town demanded a regularly salaried guard and in

1784 the legislature authorized the town commissioners to organize

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11 OUR POLICE.

and control a police or regular night-watch. One of the most

congenial duties of these men at about this time was the announcement,

in addition to the naming of the hour, of the surrender

of Lord Cornwallis. One can imagine with what a

sonorous and exultant cry they sang out: “Three—o’clock,—

and Cornwallis is ta—ka—en”; for by those watchmen the good

news was first announced to Baltimore.

OLD WATCHMAN.

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OUR POLICE. 1″)

CHAPTER II.

(1784-1853.)

THE GUARDIANS OF THE TOWN ORGANIZED BY LEGISLATIVE

ENACTMENT. ALL MANNER OP TAXES TO SUPPORT THE PEACE

OFFICERS. AT THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION. BALTIMORE

BECOMES A CITY. INCREASING THE NUMBER OF WATCHMEN.

ESTABLISHMENT OF WATCH-HOUSES AND ERECTION OF CELLS.

THE POLICE FORCE IN 1848.

The history of the Baltimore Police as a thoroughly organized

force of men to guard the city dates from the Act of 1784, and

because this organization forms such an important epoch in the

history of ” Our Police,” a rather full quotation of the Act which

empowered it will be of interest; it is entitled “An Act for the

Establishment and Regulation of a Night AVatch and the erection

of lamps in Baltimore town, in Baltimore County.”

The preamble refers to the necessity of providing the night

watch and then tbe Act goes on to empower the commissioners

of the town, or a major part of them, to meet at such times and

places as they should think proper and to provide for everything

necessary for the proper lighting of the town. Subsequently the

Act empowers the commissioners from time to time ” to order,

appoint, hire and employ as many watchmen as they shall judge

necessary, and shall then and there direct and order what wages

shall be given them, and if any of the said watchmen die within

the time for which they were appointed, be negligent in

their duty or be guilty of any misbehavior, it shall and may be

lawful for the commissioners aforesaid, or a major part of them,

at any intermediate time of the year, to remove any of the said

watchmen so appointed, and to employ, hire and appoint one or

more persons, fitly qualified, in the room and stead of him or

them so dying, neglecting duty, or misbehaving as aforesaid.”

The Act also conferred upon the commissioners all the powers

and jurisdictions of justices of the peace ; and they could appoint

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16 OUR POLICE.

any number of persons to be constables provided they were of

good character. The said officials were instructed ” as soon

as they conveniently can direct and set down in writing, at what

stands it is fit for the said watchman to be placed; how often they

shall go the rounds, and also appoint the rounds each watchman

is to go, and shall from time to time, make such further and

other orders and regulations for the better government of the said

watchmen as the nature of the case may require.” The commissioners

were not to be let off with this but were directed to

furnish a copy of all their transactions affecting their subordinates

to the watchmen. One or more of the constables was required

to attend to the court house, or some other convenient place to

be designated by the commissioners, and keep watch from September

10 to March 10, in every year, from eight o’clock in the

evening to six o’clock in the morning; and during the remaining

six months from nine o’clock in the evening to four o’clock in the

morning; “and the constables shall,” the text continues, “in their

several turns and courses of watching, use their best endeavors to

prevent fires, murders, burglaries, robberies, and other outrages

and disorders within said time, and to that end shall, and they are

hereby empowered, directed and required to arrest and apprehend

all night-walkers, malefactors and other suspected persons, who

shall be found wandering and misbehaving themselves, and shall

carry the persons so apprehended as soon as they conveniently can

before one or more justices of the peace or a commissioner in said

town to be examined and dealt with according to law; and shall

once or oftener at convenient times of the night, go about the

several stands in said town, and shall take notice whether the

watchmen perform their duties in their several stations, according

to the regulations made for that purpose.” In case any watchman

neglected his duty, the constable was required to immediately

notify the commissioners, that the watchman might be “admonished

or discharged.” The constables were to observe all regulations

formulated by the town officers, and in case of their misbehavior

or neglect they could be admonished or discharged as

peremptorily as the watchmen. The constables’ compensation

for night duty was fixed by the commissioners. If any constable

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OUR POLICE. 17

neglected his turn to keep watch at the hours appointed by the

act, or did not watch full time, or did not visit the various stands

at least once every night, he was fined twenty shillings.

The watchmen were given the same powers of arrest as the

constables. In case any fire broke out, or in any other great

emergency, they were required to alarm each other and then

arouse the inhabitants in their respective rounds, ” which when

done,” the act adds, “they shall repair to their respective stands,

the better to discover any other fire that may happen, as well as

to prevent any burglaries, robberies, outrages, or disorders; and

to apprehend any suspected persons, who, in such times of confusion,

may be feloniously carrying off the goods and effects of

others.” The watchmen were then formally given all the powers

exercised by the constables.

– Among the early freaks of Baltimore’s young men was that of

smashing lamps, and the Legislature when it provided for the

erection of lamps sought to control this destruction by declaring,

that “if any person shall wilfully or maliciously break, throw

down, destroy, or extinguish any lamps that shall be hung up to

light the streets, lanes, or alleys in said town, or shall wilfully

damage the posts, irons, sentry boxes, or other furniture thereof,

every person so offending, and being convicted by the oath or

affirmation (a recognition of the Quakers) of one or more credible

witnesses before any commissioner or justice of the peace of said

town, shall forfeit and pay three pounds for each and every such

offence.” If a lamp was broken unintentionally the unfortunate

one could, by giving notice of the damage within twelve hours

to the commmissioners, escape further penalty than paying the

cost of repairs. When any slave was found guilty of smashing

or injuring lamps he was given thirty-nine lashes on his bare

back, unless his owner paid the fine or repaired the damage.

The arrest of these opponents of former street lighting gave the

constables and watch much to do, and then, as now, the post of

policeman was no sinecure. The pay of the men was secured by

the town commissioners levying a tax, “not exceeding one shilling

and six pence, current money, on every hundred pounds worth of

property assessed within the said town.” But this tax also

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18 OUR POLICE.

included the necessary expenditures for the erection of street

lamps. This memorable law was, according to the terms, to

continue in force for three years. It was given new life in 1787

and in 1795, by legislative action; and in 1796 declared to be a

perpetual law, subject to such alterations as might be made by

the corporation or the legislature. The powers of the act and

such others as related to the town’s guardians were formally

bestowed upon the ” Corporation of the City of Baltimore.”

This act of 1784 seems to have met every requirement for the

protection of good citizens for a number of years, and so peaceable

and orderly were the inhabitants that but three constables

were needed during business hours and only fourteen watchmen

at night. In 1792 the amount of tax levied proved to be inadequate

to support a necessarily increased force of constables and

watchmen and so the town officials thought a house tax would

supply the deficiency. This was levied, but the citizens were not

slow in showing their distaste for this measure and the tax was

repealed, a general assessment being collected for the payment of

the peace officers. In 1793 an important change was made in the

act of 1784, when the legislature deprived the town commisioners

of their authority in police matters. The justices of the Court

of Oyer and Terminer, which then administered the criminal law

for Baltimore County, were authorized to appoint the constables

and watchmen and assess the county with the expense of their

employment. They were also authorized to levy a dog tax, “not

exceeding seven shillings and sixpence on every dog belonging

to any inhabitant of said town,” to part defray the expenses of

the watch. During this administration by the magistrates, assistant

justices were employed to attend the station-houses and

dispose of the peace cases. An extract from the county comptroller’s

report, dated December 15,1796, shows the amount paid

to these assistant justices and constables for their attendance in

weekly rotation at the stations and for superintending the nightlywatch.

Some of its items are: “Paid to assistant justices, £182

10s.; allowance to twenty-two constables for their attendance on the

court, taking up vagrants and disorderly persons, and serving

criminal processes, £198 10s. 3d.; wages paid five captains and

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OUR POLICE. 19

forty-four privates for the Baltimore night-watch from October 1,

1796, including fire-wood, candles and house rent for the Fell’s

Point watch, .£1,905 Os. 4d.” The same report shows that

,£1,597 10s. had been paid “for erecting and lighting three

hundred fire lamps.” By this time lamps had been erected in

various parts of the town and thenceforth their number was

steadily increased.

The Revolutionary war ended, leaving Baltimore a prosperous

and rapidly-growing town. Its population had greatly increased,

its officers had established a regular watch, its streets were lighted

and its inhabitants were no longer content to continue as an unincorporated

community; so a town meeting was called in 1784

to consider whether it would not be expedient to apply to the

Legislature to incorporate the town. This meeting did not have

result, but two years later an attempt was made to remove the

State capitol from Annapolis to this city. The attempt was

defeated, however, in the Legislature by a vote of twenty ayes to

thirty-two noes. In December, 1793, the Assembly was induced

to pass a conditional bill of incorporation ” to erect Baltimore

Town, in Baltimore County, into a city, and to incorporate the

inhabitants thereof.”

But this enactment provided that it should go into effect on

January 1, 1795, ” if the same should be confirmed by the General

Assembly at their session in November, 1794.” This the

Legislature failed to do, and the desired incorporation again

failed. Persistency, however, won the day, and on December

31, 1796, after a succession of failures, the cherished object was

attained. The new city was divided into eight wards, each containing

nearly an equal number of inhabitants. This division

was to continue, the boundaries being readjusted from time to

time to secure fair representation according to the population,

until the number of inhabitants reached 40,000, when the city

should be divided into fifteen wards. The Council was to consist

of two branches,—the First and Second. The First was to consist

of two members from each ward, and in the Second, each ward

was represented by one. The corporation was given power to

establish night-watches and patrols and to erect lamps in the

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20 OUR POLICE.

lanes, streets and alleys. The act of November, 1784, regulating

the night-watch, was declared to be a perpetual law, subject

only to such alterations, amendments and revisions as might

be enacted by the corporation or the State Legislature.

On January 16, 1797, councilmen to the Second Branch were

chosen by ballot and electors selected to elect a mayor. These

electors met on February 20, following, and chose James Calhoun

first Mayor of Baltimore, and the members of the First

Branch of the Council. The Mayor called the City Councils

together at the court house on February 27, to enact such laws

under the act of incorporation as they thought proper for the

city government.

The first ordinance passed by the councils affecting the police

was approved on April 3, 1797. It provided that three persons

should be appointed commissioners of the watch, and to supervise

the lighting of the city. They were authorized to employ

for one year “as many captains and watchmen as have been

employed in the night watch the year past” for the.same remuneration.

The commissioners were also required to take security

from the captains and watchmen for their good behavior, to prescribe

regulations for their government, and to define their hours

of duty. The assistant justice of the County Court was empowered

to receive the report and superintend the conduct of the

watch. An officer known as the city or high constable, was

created by the ordinance of March 19,1798. It was his duty ” to

walk through the streets, lanes and alleys of the city daily, with

mace in hand, taking such rounds, that within a reasonable

time he shall visit all parts of the city and give information to

the mayor or other magistrate, of all nuisances within the city,

and all obstructions and impediments in the streets, lanes, and

alleys, and of all offences committed against the laws and ordinances.”

He was also required to report the name3 of the

offenders against any ordinance and the names of the witnesses

who could sustain the prosecutions against them, and regard the

mayor as his chief. The yearly salary of the city constable was

fixed at $350, and he was required to give a bond for the performance

of his duty. The value of such an officer was soon

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OUR POLICE. 21

proved, but the territory which he had to cover was too extensive

for him to properly discharge his duty and the councils, by an

ordinance of February 26, 1799, authorized the appointment

of a city constable in each ward. This ward constable was thus

a policeman, and the term of city constable was not properly

his although his duties were defined by the ordinance to be the

same as those of the city or high constable.

Notwithstanding Baltimore had secured an organized police

force, and the corporation had the fullest powers to enforce an

observance of the laws, when the nineteenth century began, the

citizens were inclined to be somewhat unruly. Affairs became

so unmanageable, that in 1801 a town meeting was held for the

purpose of devising some plan for preventing the frequent thefts,

robberies, disturbances and fires that had become so common.

The town was the rendezvous of a number of evil characters;

but this was not surprising as the new city had made remarkable

increase in population. A census taken in the year 1800, showed

that Baltimore then had 31,514 inhabitants, an increase of 18,011

in ten years. At this meeting a committee of three persons from

each ward was appointed to plan a reorganization of the nightwatch.

At a subsequent assembly on April 30, this committee

advised that the patrol be increased. The recommendation was

approved, and by the vigilance of the watchmen disorder was

suppressed for a time. On March 9, 1807, a general ordinance

was passed defining the duties of the city commissioners. They

were given large powers. Among other things, with the Mayor

they were authorized to employ as many captains, officers and

watchmen as they might, from time to time, find necessary, but

the expense should not exceed the annual appropriation for the

service. The board was also required to make regulations and

define the hours of duty of the watch ; see that they attended to

their duties with punctuality, receive their reports and cause them

to be returned to the Mayor’s office.

It may have been that the commissioners, to whom, with the

Mayor, the control of police matters was entrusted, were hampered

by the proviso that the expense should not exceed the annual

appropriation; but whatever the cause, within only a few

years Baltimore again had cause to complain of its police protection.

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22 OUR POLICE.

In 1810 ward meetings were held and representatives were appointed

to a general meeting. At this a plan was proposed and

adopted for the reorganization of the watch, which was also

adopted by the authorities. A sub-committee was appointed to

which was given general control of the organization. Under this

scheme there were thirty captains, each being responsible for a

territory distinctly defined, and each captain had under him a

squad of eight men, thus making in all a force of two hundred

and seventy police. This system remained in operation for more

than twenty-five years. By an act of the Legislature in 1812,

the Mayor was empowered to appoint, as he found it necessary,

not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred bailiffs to

aid in preserving the peace. The Mayor was also directed to

prescribe the duties, designate the badges and weapons and provide

for the compensation of these bailiffs so as to best secure

the objects of their appointment.

On March 9, 1826, the Mayor was given control of the police

of the city by an ordinance which provided that there should be

appointed, annually, two captains and two lieutenants of the

watch for the Eastern District; two captains and four lieutenants

of the watch for the Middle District and two captains and

two lieutenants of the watch for the Western District. They

were expected to perform such duties as the Mayor might, from

time to time, direct. The latter was also given power to appoint

as he chose any number of watchmen and to dismiss them at his

pleasure. He was also to prescribe their duties. A ” Supplement

” to this ordinance, which was passed on March 9, 1835,

provided for the appointment of twelve lieutenants of the watch,

constituted policemen ” to preserve the peace, maintain the

laws and advance the good government of the city.” These

lieutenants were required to reside in certain districts by the

Mayor and have conspicuous signs on their houses bearing their

names and office. In addition to their police duties, they were

required to act as city bailiffs about the markets, Their compensation

was fixed at $20 a month for their night work as

lieutenants of the watch and they received an additional sum of

$220 a year for the services mentioned by the ordinance.

At about this time watch houses were built in various parts of

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OUR POLICE. 23

the city. The Middle District was located at Saratoga and

Holliday streets; the Western District in Green street near

Baltimore and in Belvidere street. The last named watch house

had a belfry, and in April, 1835, an appropriation was made for

a similar addition to the Green street watch house; and in this

year Mayor Jesse Hunt took occasion to call the attention of the

councils to the ” lamentably defective” police arrangements of

the city. In March, 1836 the compensation of the watchmen

was increased to $1 for each night they served. On May 22,

1838, the councils substantially re-enacted the ordinance of 1835,

providing, however, that if any watchman while in the performance

of his duty should be wounded or maimed he should receive

half-pay during the continuance of his disability, or for a period

not exceeding two months. They were also paid for attendance

at court. This ordinance provided as well for the annual appointment

of three justices of the peace to receive the reports of the

night-watch. One of these justices was required to reside in

each district. The yearly salary of each was $100. In 1843 two

cells were put in the Western watch house while in the Eastern

house there was but one. In the same year the Baltimore Sun

declared that the custom of the watch calling the time notified

thieves of the locality of the patrol and gave the former an

opportunity of safely conducting their operations. This custom

was consequently abandoned. The Southern District was established

under an ordinance dated on February 18,1845. Two captains

and four lieutenants were appointed for it, and the boundaries

of the other districts were rearranged. The Baltimore police,

as constituted in 1848, consisted in the daytime of one high constable,

one regular policeman for each ward, who was also lieutenant

of the night-watch in his district, and the night watchmen.

Besides these there were two extra policemen for each

ward, who were called into service as occasion required. This

system of day police was changed from time to time to keep pace

with the increase in the number of wards in the city, until the

wards numbered twenty. There was, however, no material alteration

in the system until 1857, when a complete reorganization

took place under the authority of an act of the Legislature passed

in 1853.

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24 OUR POLICE.

CHAPTER III.

(1853-1860.)

THE REORGANIZATION OP THE FORCE.—THE DUTIES OF ITS

OFFICERS. FOUR POLICE DISTRICTS AXD THREE HUNDRED

AND FIFTY PATROLMEN.—NO LONGER HIGH CONSTABLE, BUT

MARSHAL.—FIRST POLICE HEADQUARTERS.—THE PAY AND

UNIFORM.—THE POLICE AND THE MAGISTRATES.—NO PUNISHMENT

OF CRIME.—THE REORGANIZATION OF 1860.—MARSHAL

KANE AND HIS ADMINISTRATION.

The next important change was made under the provisions of

this act; the ordinance of January 1, 1857, introduced an entirely

new order of things, and placed Baltimore’s Department

of Police on practically the same footing as those of the other

large cities of the country. It declared that after March 1,

1857, the existing watch and police systems should be abolished,

and all ordinances for the establishment and regulation of the

same be repealed. The new force consisted of one marshal, one

deputy marshal, eight captains, eight lieutenants, twenty-four

sergeants, three hundred and fifty police officers, five detective

police officers and eight turnkeys. The men were required to

do duty day and night, and were given all the powers then

vested by law in the city bailiffs, police officers, constables and

watchmen. The city was divided into four police districts, whose

stations were at the watch-houses. The Marshal, with the concurrence

of the Mayor, was given authority to establish the

limits of the stations, divide them into beats, making allowance

for a proper force to retain at the station houses. lie had power

also to alter at will the limits of the districts and beats.

The Legislature of the State took memorable action on March

16, 1853, in passing a bill to ” provide for the better security

for life and property in the City of Baltimore.” This enactment

empowered the Mayor and the City Councils to increase,

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OUR POLICE. 25

and in every way strengthen the police, whether officers, bailiffs,

night-watchmen, or in any way connected with the organization

of the force. When any of these guardians of the peace were

injured either in person or apparel, while in the discharge of

his duties, the act required that he be fairly indemnified. This

statute also provided that the police force should be armed, that a

commission and badge be furnished each member, and that it

should be no defence for any one who resisted or assaulted an

officer to claim that his commission or badge was not exhibited.

This statute repealed the act of 1812. It was provided, too, that

the Marshal should bo annually appointed and be regarded as the

head of the police. He was given entire control of its officers

and members, subject to the authority of the Mayor. He might

at any time make rules and regulations for the government of

the force not inconsistent with the city’s ordinances, and was

required to report to the Mayor every day all that he was required

to notice in discharge of his duty, the members of the

force he had suspended, the men unfit for duty, and to deliver

the reports and muster-rolls of the captains. In any emergency

he had authority to direct the whole police force, or any part of

it, to serve at any place in the city. An office was provided for

this new official in the central part of the city, and he was allowed

a secretary, to be appointed by the Mayor and City Councils; a

bond for §5,000 being required from him for the faithful performance

of his duties.

The secretary to the Marshal was required to record daily all

suspensions of policemen by his chief, and to keep an account of

all moneys received by the Marshal or deputy-marshal from the

captains, or other sources; draw up the Marshal’s monthly reports,

and act generally as clerk; and, finally, to enter all complaints

lodged at the office against the police or against any other

parties for breaches of duty or violations of ordinances or State

laws. His duties were substantially those of the secretary to the

present Board of Police Commissioners. The deputy-marshal

was also appointed annually, and to him fell the duty of assisting

the Marshal in the execution of his duties under the latter’s

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26 OUR POLICE.

directions. In case of the sickness or absence of the chief his

deputy took his place.

The captains, two for each district, were appointed annually.

The Marshal assigned one captain to duty between six A. M.

and six P. M., and the others to serve the latter half of the day,

or for such other hours of alternate duty as the Marshal might

designate. The captains, during their respective periods of duty,

had general charge of the station-house and other arrangements

of the police district. The assigned captain, or his lieutenant,

was required to be always accessible at the station, and was expected

to keep a muster-roll of the police of the district, and call

it at the hours of relief. This muster-roll for the preceding day

was sent to the Marshal’s office, with the captain’s report in

writing, of any delinquency on the part of a member of the police,

any excuses made by either men or officers for absence from duty,

the unfitness of any member for his office, or any charge that

might be made. It was part of the captain’s duty to suggest in

writing, to the Marshal any alterations in the limits of the district

that might seem necessary, or in the number or limits of the

beats. Books were required to be kept in each station for the

entry of all arrests, disposal of prisoners, nuisances reported,

ordinances enforced, complaints and applications of citizens and

all other police matters. A copy of all this was to be transmitted

with the muster to the Marshal’s office.

The lieutenants, also two to each district, assisted their respective

captains in the performance of their duties, and acted in

their place in case of the latter’s absence or sickness. Six sergeants

were assigned to each police district, two for each platoon

of police officers, and after roll call or the hours of relief, led

forth their platoons and stationed the patrolmen on their proper

beats. The sergeants also patrolled their district during their

hours of duty. In case of the absence or sickness of a lieutenant,

the Marshal or captain in charge could assign one of the sergeants

to take his place.

The annual appointment of 350 patrolmen, who were distributed

among the four police districts under the direction of

the Marshal, was also provided for. The force of each district

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OUR POLICE. 27

was divided into three platoons, designated as platoons “A,”

” B ” and ” C . ” The district was divided into beats corresponding

in number with the force of one platoon, after the deduction

had been made from it of a proper number of men to remain at

the station-house for sudden emergencies, and a policeman assigned

to each beat. Under this system the force was so distributed

that one-third of the police was on duty at day, and

two-thirds during the night. At the same period the Detective

Department was organized. The Mayor was directed to appoint

five detective police officers who should not wear uniform, to be employed

in the detection of crimes. They were required to serve

under the Marshal’s directions. Two turnkeys were appointed

for each district, and the Marshal was authorized, after submitting

their names to the Mayor for approbation, to assign ten

persons as substitutes for police officers in each district, captains

being allowed to put a substitute in the place of a police officer

who might be sick or absent. The substitutes, while on duty,

were furnished with a badge and number, but were not required

to wear a uniform and were paid for the time of actual service.

A room was provided in each station for the use of four superintendents

of lamps, who were appointed by the Mayor, and from

whom the supplies to the lamp-lighters were distributed.

The adoption of a uniform by the officers and patrolmen was

made compulsory, the uniform being bought by the men. The.

summer costume of the sergeants and policemen consisted of a

black cap with number, a dark blue single-breasted coat with

standing collar, and a star three inches in size, worked in white

worsted on the outside of the left breast of the coat, in such a

manner that it could not be obscured by any part of the clothing.

Dark blue trousers were worn. The winter uniform consisted of

a black hat or cap with the number, a dark blue pilot overcoat,

and dark blue trousers, and a glazed black leather belt, with the

word ” Police ” lettered on it in bold Roman capital letters one

inch in height. The belt, number, and ” battoon,” were the only

articles provided at the expense of the corporation. The men

were required to always wear their uniforms in public, whether

on duty or not. The “battoon,” carried in the belt, was twenty-

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28 OUR POLICE.

two inches long and one and three-quarter inches thick. Revolvers

and other arms were procured to be used for emergencies.

The hours of service were not limited, the men being liable to be

called out for duty at any time. The marshal had power to

suspend any member of the police, and the Mayor could dismiss

absolutely from the force. The salary of the Marshal was fixed

a,t $1,500 a year; deputy marshal, $1,000 ; Marshal’s secretary,

$600; captain, $13 a week, lieutenant, $11.50 a week; sergeant,

$10.50 a week; police officers and detective police officers, $10 a

week; and turnkeys, $7 a week. Four justices of the peace were

appointed, one for each police district, whose duty it was to visit

the station three times a day, for the examination and disposal of

cases against prisoners. Under the new system the watch boxes

were abandoned and sold. At the introduction of this new system

Benjamin W. Herring was High Constable, and became Baltimore’s

first Marshal. Stephen II. Manly was his deputy. The

captains of the several districts were: Eastern District, T. W.

Sparklin and Edward Morris; Middle District, John T. Brashears

and John Mitchell; Western District, John N. Linaweaver and

“William G. Brown; Southern District, John S. Manly and John

F. Wood. The men were distributed as follows: Eastern District,

seventy-five patrolmen, forty-four of whom were on night duty,

twenty-two day duty and nine held in reserve, Middle District,

125 patrolmen, seventy-six on night duty, thirty-eight day duty

and eleven in reserve; Western District, seventy-five patrolmen,

forty-six on night duty, twenty-three day duty and six in

reserve; and in the Southern District, seventy-five patrolmen,

forty-four doing night duty, twenty-two day duty and nine in

reserve; thus making 210 men patroling night beats, and onehalf

that number on day ones. In order to give more efficiency

to the night service, the beats in the suburbs of the city were

enlarged with the purpose of concentrating more readily an

effective force whenever a sudden call might be made for it.

The same plan was adopted with the men detailed for service

during the day. Police headquarters were located in the building

then occupied by the Water Commission, in North street,

near Fayette, where Marshal Herring had two rooms.

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OUR POLICE. 29

On March 1, 1857, Marshal Herring issued the following order

to the captains of police :

” The system will commence this morning with the designated force of ) our

district in the following order: One-third for day and two-thirds for night

service. The day men to go on duty at 6 A. M. and remain on until 8 P. 11.,

at which time the night men will relieve the day men, and remain on until

relieved by the day men, at 6 o’clock A. M. It is understood that the men are

in no case to leave their beats unless compelled to do so in the discharge of

their duty. In going to their meals only a portion will leave at a time, the

balance remaining until their return, which must not exceed one hour. Two

Sergeants for day and four for night duty in each district will patrol their

districts and see that their men are at their posts. The captains, lieutenants

and turnkeys will relieve at six o’clock, morning and evening. The reserve

force will be taken from the divisions as provided for in the card previously

circulated. In case of absence from roll-call, a substitute will immediately

take the place of the absentee, morning or night. The above regulations must

be strictly complied with until further orders.”

Marshal Herring, in his statement to the Mayor for the year

1857, reported 8,949 arrests during the year, twenty-five of the

prisoners being charged with the offence of shooting at police

officers, principally committed at the November elections. In

1858 there were 10,877 arrests.

While the new organization was unqualifiedly more efficient

than former ones, in the course of a few years it lost the power

to preserve the public peace. Among its members were many

adherents of the American or “Know-nothing party.” When

this political ilk first attracted attention and the rowdy clubs

made themselves conspicuous by their violence, the police made

every effort to maintain order; but the force was gradually filled

with ” Know-nothing” recruits, who, instead of maintaining the

peace, became willing tools of violence and riot. Thus, in many

instances, the men sworn to enforce an observation of the law

became the chief instruments in subverting it. For several years

the city was given up to a mob. At every election, riot swept

many quarters of the city. Because of these facts a committee

of the Reform party in 1859 drafted a number of bills, known as

the “reform bills,” and among these was the police bill. In

order to remove the force from the control of the municipal

officials the bill provided for the organization of a Board of Police

………………………………………………………………………………………

30 OUR POLICE.

Commissioners. The Legislature made this measure an act on

February 2, 1860. Its first section provided, in nearly its own

terms, that while the City Council of Baltimore might pass ordinances

for preserving order, securing property and persons from

violence, danger, or destruction, and for promoting the great

interests and insuring the good government of the city, it could

pass no ordinance which in any manner should conflict with the

powers of the Board of Police; nor should the city or any officer

or agent of the corporation, or of the Mayor, in any manner obstruct,

hinder, or interfere with the Board of Police, or any

officer under them. The Mayor’s powers regarding the police,

which had been conferred by former statutes, were repealed.

Provisions were made for the establishment of a board of police,

consisting of four commissioners and the Mayor. The commission’s

members were to be citizens of the United States, as well

as residents of the city for twelve months next preceding their

appointment. Their terms of office were four years. The commissioners

promised, under oath, “that in any and every appointment

or removal to be by them made to or from the police

created and to be organized by them under this article they will,

in no case and under no pretext, appoint or remove any policeman

or officer of police or other person under them, for or on

account of the political opinion of such policemen, officer, or

other person, or for any other cause or reason than the fitness or

unfitness of such person.”

One of the commissioners was designated from time to time to

act as treasurer. A majority constituted a quorum for the transaction

of business, and the failure or refusal of the Mayor to act

did not impair the right of the commissioners to organize and

proceed with their duties. In case of a vacancy in the board

during the Legislature’s recess, it could be filled by the remaining

commissioners until the meeting of the General Assembly. The

commissioners could hold no other public office. The first commissioners

designated in the act were Charles Howard, William

H. Gatchell, Charles D. Hinks, and John W. Davis, two of

whom were to serve for two years, and two for four years, their

terms of duration to be decided by drawing lots. The duties of

………………………………………………………………………………………

CHARLES HOWARD.

………………………………………………………………………………………

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OUR POLICE. 88

the Board were declared to be ” at all times, day and night, within

the boundaries of the city of Baltimore, as well on water as on

land, to preserve the public peace, prevent crime and arrest

offenders, protect the rights of jiersons and property, guard the

public health, preserve order at every public election, and at all

public meetings and places and on all public occasions, prevent

and remove nuisances in all streets, highways, waters, and other

places; provide a proper police force at every fire for the protection

of firemen and property; protect strangers, emigrants, and

travelers at steamboat and ship landings and railway stations;

see that all laws relating to elections and to the observance of

Sunday, and regarding pawnbrokers, gambling, intemperance,

lotteries and lottery policies, vagrants, disorderly persons, slaves

and free negroes, and the public health, are enforced, and also

enforce all laws and all ordinances of the Mayor and City Council

of Baltimore not inconsistent with the provisions of this article or

any other law of the State, which may be enforceable by a police

force.”

In case the board should have reason to believe that any person

within the city intended to break the peace beyond the city

limits, upon the Chesapeake Bay, or any river, creek, or other

place on land or water within the State, it was made their duty

to have such persons followed, and to take the most effective

measures for the suppression and prevention of the outrage, and

to arrest the offenders. The board was required to appoint,

equip, and arm a permanent police force, the number at the first

organization, exclusive of officers, being fixed at three hundred

and fifty, with power to reduce the number or increase it to not

more than four hundred and fifty, as experience might warrant.

For extraordinary emergencies the board might raise such additional

force as its judgment demanded. No person could be

appointed or employed as a policeman or officer of police who had

been convicted of, or against whom any indictment was pending

for an offence the punishment of which was confinement in the

penitentiary. Among the necessary qualifications for appointment

was citizenship of the United States, ability to read and

write, good character, and physical strength and courage. The

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84 OUR POLICE.

law made this provision also: ” That no Black Republican or

endorser or approver of the Helper Book shall be appointed to

any office under said Board.”

The policemen were appointed for five years, and could be removed

only for just cause after a hearing before the board.

Policemen whose term of service should expire, and also had

faithfully performed their duty, were to be preferred by the board

in making their new appointments. The number of men and the

disposition of the new force were not greatly changed. The

Marshal and deputy-marshal were continued, and the appointment

of eight captains, eight lieutenants, twenty-four sergeants, and

eight turnkeys was provided for, the officers being subject to

removal by the board. The pay of the ordinary policemen was

fixed at $10 a week, payable semi-monthly. The board was empowered

to appoint five detective policemen, paid the same as

patrolmen. The Marshal’s salary was $1,500 per annum; the

deputy-marshals, $1,000; captains, $13 a week; lieutenants,

$11.50; and sergeants, $10.50, payable semi-weekly. Whenever

a vacancy occurred in any grade of officers, except that of

marshal and deputy-marshal, the law required that it should be

filled from the next lower grade. The board was authorized to

make rules and regulations for the appointment, uniforming

and disciplining and government of the police, for the relief

and compensation of members injured in the discharge of their

duties, and the support of families of men and officers killed in its

performance. Such an allowance, however, could not exceed

twelve months’ pay. No member of the force was allowed to

receive any gratuity without the consent of the board, and any

money he was permitted to receive was to be paid to the commissioners,

which, ” together with the proceeds of fines, forfeitures,

penalties and unclaimed property which came into the

possession of the board or be recovered by them under the provisions

of this article, or any other law,” formed a fund which

the board could apply towards allowances to policemen and

their families, and for extra pay to any member of the force who

might be awarded it for gallantry and good conduct on extraordinary

occasions. This provision was the foundation of the

………………………………………………………………………………………

WILLIAM H. GATCIIELL.

………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………

OUR POLICE. 87

present Police Pension Fund, which has become so flourishing. The

board was authorized to use a common seal, and the fire-alarm

and police telegraph, and all station-houses, watch-boxes, arms,

accoutrements, and other accommodations, which had been provided

by the Mayor and Council for the use and service of the

police. In case of the refusal of the Mayor or Council or any

officers or agents to allow such use, the board could apply to the

Superior Court of Baltimore, in the name of the State, for a

mandamus to compel a compliance. The law also made it the

duty of the sheriff, whenever called upon by the board, to act

under its control for the preservation of the peace. It could

order him to summon the posse comitatus, and hold and employ

the posse under its direction. It could also summon the military

force of the city to aid in preventing threatened disorder, or in

suppressing insurrection or disorder on election days and other

times, the military then being subject to the directions given

them by the board. Whenever the exigency warranted it the

board could assume command of all the conservators of the peace

in the city, sheriff, constables, police, and others, and the latter

were required to act under the orders of the board. In case of

the refusal of any of these to obey any lawful command of the

board they were liable to the following penalties : the sheriff to a

penalty of $5,000, and other peace officers to a penalty of $500,

and any private citizen to a penalty of $150. Any officer of tbe

military force of the city failing to obey the board was liable to a

penalty of $500, and any non-commissioned officer or private to

a penalty of $150.

Upon the organization of the Board of Police it was required

to inform the Marshal or deputy-marshal of police that it required

his attendance and obedience to its orders, under penalty, and

the whole existing force should then pass under the exclusive

management and control of the board, the latter having power of

removal or suspension, and to fill vacancies, until it should

declare the organization complete. Upon this public declaration

all ordinances of the City Council were annulled and declared void

so far as they conflicted with the new law, or assumed or conferred

upon the Mayor or any other person any power to employ

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38 OUR POLICE.

or control any police force organized under such ordinances.

The board was required to annually estimate the sum of money

necessary for each current fiscal year enabling it to discharge its

duties, and certify the same to the Mayor and City Council, who

were expected to assess and levy the amount upon all assessable

property of Baltimore, and collect the same as other city taxes.

A penalty of $1,000 was imposed upon “any officer or servant

of the Mayor and City Council,” who should forcibly resist or

obstruct the enforcement of the provisions of the act providing a

permanent police for the city. Justices of the peace were to be

designated to sit at the respective stations for hearing cases.

The board was required to keep a full journal of its proceedings,

which should be open to the inspection of the General Assembly,

or any committee appointed by it for that purpose. The board

was also ordered to report to the Assembly at each session of

the latter.

The last section of this important law declares that nothing in

it should ” b6 taken to destroy or diminish the liability or responsibility

of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore for any

failure to discharge the duties or obligations of the corporation,”

the board of police being constituted the authorities for all such

purposes to the same effect as if created and appointed by the

Mayor and Council; “Provided, however,” it is again cautiously

stated, “that nothing m this section shall be construed to give to

the said Mayor and City Council, or any officer of said corporation,

any control over said board or any officer or policeman appointed

thereby.” This act took effect on the day of its passage.

The act of February 14,1860, conferred upon the Board of

Police the additional powers of general supervision of elections.

It was required to divide the wards of the city into election precincts,

and exercised a large control over the voting. The personnel

of the first board was excellent. Mr Howard, the

president, was a genial gentleman of independent means, possessing

the confidence of the entire community. He was a

Democrat in politics. Mr. Gatchell was also a Democrat, but

neither he nor Mr. Howard figured prominently in party affairs

Mr. Hinks was an active Republican, and was afterwards Mayor

………………………………………………………………………………………

CHARLES D. IIINKS.

 

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OUR POLICE. 41

of the city. All of these gentlemen are now dead. Of the original

board there are living Mr. John W. Davis and Judge

George W. Brown, then Mayor and ex-officio member of the

Board of Police.

This police bill excited the most violent opposition from the

city authorities, who, with others, contended that the act was

unconstitutional. On the passage of the bill the Mayor dispatched

a message to the Council asking leave to test its legality,

saying, in his opinion, that the ” Reform bills were without the

authority of law, and cannot be recognized by the courts.” On

February 6, the Commissioners of the Police Board appeared in

the clerk’s office at the Superior Court and subscribed to the required

oath of office. Three days later a formal demand was

made through their counsel, Reverdy Johnson, S. Teackle

Wallis, J. Mason Campbell and William H. Norris, upon the

Mayor and City Council for the delivery, under the law, of

the station-houses, police equipments, etc. Mayor Swann, on

the 10th, formally notified the board of his refusal to comply

with the demand. The commissioners then made application to

Judge Martin, of the Superior Court, for a mandamus. The

decision of the court was not made until March 13, when it decided

that the act constituting the board was constitutional. The

Mayor and City Council appealed from this decision, and the

decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals on April 17. The

great body of the people of Baltimore were favorable to the new

police law, and this final decision declaring its legality gave the

greatest satisfaction. The commissioners immediately organized

a new police force, and entered upon their duties on May 1,

1860. A new uniform was adopted for the policemen, and the

force was known as the Metropolitan Police. Colonel George

P. Kane was appointed Marshal, and Thomas Gifford, deputymarshal.

Marshal Kane, who accepted the position at a great

personal sacrifice, and who was perhaps the best man in the city

for the task confided to him, raised the force to the highest point

of efficiency.

The new force, organized by him, uniformed and thoroughly

drilled, was the most efficient the city had ever known. Old

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42 OUR, POLICE.

abuses were done away with, and the citizens began to look upon

the recent epoch of riot and violence as a terrible nightmare, and

this feeling of security might have losg continued but for the

troubles incident to the beginning of the civil war.

Mr. Herring, who preceded Colonel Kane as Marshal, was the

connecting link between the old police organization, when there

Was constabulary and a high constable, and the efficient force

which Colonel Kane developed. Mr. Herring had served four

years as high constable under Mayors Jerome and Hinks. Basil

James was deputy high constable. During Mayor Smith Holland’s

administration Mr. Herring did not hold office, but upon

Mayor Swann’s election and the re-organization of the police, he

was made Marshal. His deputy was Stephen Manly. Mr.

Herring served until 1861, when the control of the police was

removed from the municipal authorities, and the new order of

things went into effect. Marshal Herring was born in New

Castle, Delaware, on April 1, 1810. He came to Baltimore

while a young man and engaged in the grocery business, which

he followed until elected to the position of High Constable.

In 1861, when the city police force was disbanded, he went to

Pennsylvania, and subsequently settled in Philadelphia. In that

city he was engaged in business for more than twenty years, and

in 1882, having acquired a competency, he returned to Baltimore,

to pass his declining years in the city where his youth was spent.

Notwithstanding his more than seventy-seven years, Mr. Herring

is an active and robust man, and defends the old police force, of

which he was chief. He recently said to the writer:

” The criticisms on the police of those days are unjust. There

was not a better body of men in the country. We had the old

volunteer fire department to deal with, and the firemen gave us a

great deal of trouble. The real fault of the lawlessness at that

time rested not with the police, but with the courts and magistrates.

The magistrates were elected by the wards at that time.

Many of the roughest element in society belonged to the fire

companies, and the men seeking magisterial office depended upon

that class for election. When the police arrested one of these

men for any crime he would be released on straw-bail, and within

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OUR POLICE. 43

twenty-four hours we would perhaps have the same man to again

lock up. The officers were not upheld in the discharge of their

duties. We often arrested forty or fifty persons in one night,

every one of whom were released the next morning by the

magistrates. They would take the sureties from anybody that

offered them. The citizens did not understand the true facts of

the matter and blamed the police. They saw the lawlessness

and riot, and thought the police ought to correct them. The

officers got discouraged. The roughs defied the police, knowing

how secure they were. To show their recklessness look

at the case of the shooting of policemen Rigdon and Benton.

Cropps, Currie and Gamble would never have murdered the

officers or been hanged if they had been properly dealt with in the

first instance. They had been arrested for crimes time and time

again, but nothing was done with them. They were allowed to

do as they pleased, until they thought any crime, even the murder

of policemen, could be committed with immunity to themselves.

Then officer Jordan was shot in Old Town. There was

a riot in Jackson Hall, and hearing of it, I took some officers

and went over there. As we approached the hall the crowd

within began firing from the windows, and officer Jordan fell,

shot dead. Rioting was very common. I was many times out

on Baltimore street with forty or fifty men all night, just to keep

the firemen from fighting.

” I , myself,” continued Mr. Herring, “arrested one of the

worst characters in Baltimore, ‘Bud’ Coulston, for firing two

shots in the day time into the public school at Fayette and Holliday

streets. I took the prisoner before a magistrate who

immediately released him on ‘ straw’ bail. There were hundreds

of such cases. Captain Brown’s men, of the Western District,

arrested one man, in a little more than a year, one hundred and

forty-seven times. He was a notorious rough, one of the worst

men in the city, but he was never brought before the courts for

trial. The Deputy State Attorney frequently came to my office

and committed five or six prisoners to jail, and find the next

morning that all had been released by their friends, the magistrates,

on the fiction that they had given security or ‘bail.’

 

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44 OUR POLICE.

Much has heen said about the police and election days. Why,

the officers made arrests at the polls, took their prisoners to jail,

and within two hours would find them hack about the polling

places. There were numbers of these cases. The people did

not understand it all, and some clamored for a change. If the

courts and magistrates had done their duty, the control of the

police should never have been taken out of the hands of the

Mayor. We had a rough time, but it was not the fault of the

police, and had the force been assisted by the execution of the

laws, we would not have had so much trouble. There were no

gymnasiums in those days; the men had enough gymnastic exercise

without. They were compelled to fight almost every prisoner

and drag him to the station. Frequently the officers literally

had their coats torn off their backs. If an arrest were made in

a crowd the prisoner’s friends would interfere, and prevent the

officer from properly discharging his duty. During the latter

part of my administration the volunteer firemen were disbanded

and the paid fire department established. An improvement in

the order of the city was at once manifest; but about the time we

were beginning to straighten things out the force was disbanded

and the new Police Board went into operation. The force was

disbanded, but many of the men, bad as some would have you

believe they were, were re-appointed, and remain to this day

good and efficient officers of police. The men did not at the time

like the change.”

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OUR POLICE. 45

CHAPTER IV.

CIVIL WAR AND THE NEW FORCE.

THE ENTRANCE OP THE NORTHERN TROOPS.—MARSHAL KANE’S

PRECAUTIONS.—PROTECTING THE MILITARY.—THE MARCH

THROUGH THE STREETS.—”KEEP BACK, MEN, OR I’LL SHOOT.”

—THE COMMISSIONERS AND MARSHAL ARRESTED.—UNDER

MILITARY RULE.—THE RIVAL POLICE BOARDS.—GOOD ORDER

AGAIN.—THE REORGANIZATION OF 1867.—THE FIRST BOARD.

Marshal Kane was fitly chosen for his position. It was the

recollection of his administration which made the reorganization

of the force after the stirring times of the civil war, one which

demanded the best executive ability in the city, and made the

present admirable system possible. But Mr. Kane, while he was

anxious to serve his fellow citizens with the very best of his

powers, did not propose to sacrifice himself absolutely, and so in

November, 1860, after his charge had been fostered into a sturdy

life, tendered his resignation as Marshal, but the citizens made so

general a protest against its acceptance that he was induced to

withdraw it. In the latter part of November, Mayor George

William Brown became, ex officio, a member of the Board of

Police; William F. McKewen was clerk of the Board. The

force as thus constituted continued to protect the city until the

military authorities took possession of it in 1861. In the memorable

troubles of the 19th of April in that year the police earned for

themselves, by their coolness and courage, a national reputation,

Marshal Kane particularly distinguishing himself by his brave

efforts to protect the passing soldiers from harm. The first

Northern troops on their way to Washington, a force of about

six hundred Pennsylvanians, passed through the city on the 18th

of April. The route of march from the depot, at the intersection

of Cathedral and Howard street, to Mount Clare depot, was lined

with an excited crowd which hooted the soldiery, but was kept

from violence by the thoroughness of the police arrangements.

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46 OUR POLITE.

Simultaneously with the passage of the first Northern troops

came the news that Virginia had seceded, and the danger of passing

soldiers through the city was so apparent that a dispatch was sent

by the Northern Central Railroad Company to Governor Curtin,

of Pennsylvania warning him of the peril of repeating the

attempt. Governor Hicks and Mayor Brown issued a proclamation

warning the people to refrain from violence. On April 19,

information was received that a large body of Federal troops, on

their way to Washington, would soon arrive at the depot of the

Philadelphia railroad. No intimation of this had been previously

received by the police, although the Marshal repeatedly

telegraphed to Philadelphia for information. Marshal Kane

hastily called out a force to protect the soldiery. At eleven

o’clock a train of thirty-five cars, containing about two thousand

troops of the Sixth regiment of Massachusetts, the First

and Fourth of Pennsylvania, and the Washington Brigade of

Philadelphia, arrived at the depot. Six rounds of ball cartridge

per man had been furnished the Massachusetts men in apprehension

of trouble. Marshal Kane, accompanied by Mayor

Brown, had gone to the Camden station of the Baltimore and

Ohio Railroad, where a train was preparing to take the men to

Washington. As the change of cars occurred at this point, it

was here that an attack was feared, and a strong police force

was massed about the station. The line of march, about a mile

from the Philadelphia depot to the Camden station, was bordered

with citizens more or less excited. The first car, containing

Massachusetts men, and drawn by horses, then the

means of transit of all trains through Baltimore, started from the

depot at half past eleven o’clock, and was shortly followed by

eight other cars. The constantly increasing crowd groaned,

yelled and hooted, but still offered no violence. The appearance

of the crowd was, however, so alarming that the soldiers threw

themselves on the floors of the cars, so that none of them were

visible from the outside. The nine cars reached the Camden

station in safety, and, although there was a larger and more

angry crowd assembed there, no violence was offered, and the

troops were safely transferred to the Washington train. The

………………………………………………………………………………………

HON. GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN.

………………………………………………………………………………………

^ ………………………………………………………………………………………

OUR POLICE. 49

tenth car had gone but a little distance from the depot, when it

was delayed in its passage—according to one account, was thrown

off’ the track by obstructions, and had to be replaced with the

help of a passing team. A stone was thrown at it by some one

in the crowd, and in an instant a shower of paving-stones and

other missiles descended on the car, the windows were broken, and

some of the soldiers were struck. Near Gay street a number of

laborers were at work repairing Pratt street, and had taken up

the cobble-stones. A cart full of sand was dumped upon the

track, and the loose paving-stones piled on top, and, as a more

effectual means of obstruction, a number of large anchors, lying

near the head of Gay street dock, were placed across the track.

In several places the rails were torn up. The next lot of cars,

being stopped by the obstructions, were hauled back to the station.

Their passage had now become impossible. Thus, about

four companies of troops, or about 220 men, were blocked. A

report spread through the crowd that they had abandoned the

attempt to pass through the city and taken an eastward bound

train. Presently a report was circulated that, instead of returning,

the troops were preparing to march through the city, and in

an instant a rush was made for the depots. There, the soldiers

were found preparing to march. The crowd assembled rapidly,

its anger increasing with the delay. Several attempts were

made by the mob to break into the cars, but these were

checked by the strong body of police. Presently six car-loads

of soldiers left the train, and despite the threats of the crowd,

succeeded, with the help of the police, in forming a double file.

The troops massed on President street, while the crowd pressed

upon them, cheering for Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy, and

groaning for Lincoln and the North. The order was given to .

march, but the crowd blocked the way. The troops then wheeled

and tried to move in the opposite direction, but the crowd again

held them in check. Finally, they were formed into columns

of fours, with an escort of police in the front and the rear, and

the crowd reluctantly gave way to the police. Then the march

was begun towards the Camden street station. Throughout that

terrible day, nothing was more remarkable than the admirable

………………………………………………………………………………………

50 OUR POLICE.

behavior, discipline and courage of the police, and the respect

with which the mob regarded them. Amid all the excitement

they were never directly attacked, not even when they drove the

furious mob back inch by inch, or tore men by force out of its

hands. As the soldiers advanced along President street the turbulence

of the crowd increased. One of the hands of rioters bore

a Confederate flag, which was saluted with deafening cheers, and

carried a considerable distance. A man rushed towards the

flag, and pulling down the staff nearly tore away the banner,

when he was seized by the throat and would have been killed,

had not the police rescued him. Stones were thrown in great

numbers, and at Fawn street two of the soldiers were knocked

down and seriously injured. One of them was seized and

roughly handled until the police forced their way to him and

carried him off. The troops then quickened their pace to a run,

bending their heads to avoid the ftying stones. The police did

their utmost, but it was useless to arrest men when not an officer

could be spared to put them in jail. The presence of the police,

however, was of great service, and they rescued two more soldiers

from the crowd. The rioters were armed only with such stones

and missiles as could be picked up, and a few pistols. They made

no attempt to use the muskets taken from the fallen soldiers, but

handed them over to the police.

During this time, Marshal Kane, the Police Commissioners

and Mayor Brown, with a large body of police, were at the

Camden street station. A large crowd had assembled there,

but was restrained by the police from committing any serious

breach of the peace. Shortly after the arrival of the nine

car-loads of troops who had passed safely to the Camden station,

the alarm was given that the mob was about to tear up

the rails in advance of the train on the Washington road.

Marshal Kane ordered some of his men to go out as far as

necessary, and protect the track. About this time, also, the

first intelligence reached the Mayor and police officials at the

Camden station, that troops had been left behind, and that

the mob was tearing up the tracks on Pratt street, so as to

obstruct the progress of the cars. Police Commissioner Davis

………………………………………………………………………………………

HON. JOHN W. DAVIS.

………………………………………………………………………………………

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OUR POLICE. 58

immediately summoned Marshal Kane to the point of danger-,

and Mayor Brown proceeded alone. Sergeant McComas and

four policemen had been stationed at the foot of Gay street,

where the anchors had been placed, but they were prevented from

removing the obstructions by the rioters. Mayor Brown, upon

appearing, ordered their removal, and his authority was not resisted.

Near the Pratt street bridge Mayor Brown encountered

the four companies of Massachusetts troops marching in doublequick

time. The soldiers were firing wildly, sometimes backward,

over their shoulders. The mob was pursuing, throwing stones

and firing an occasional pistol shot. The uproar was furious,

but as Mayor Brown approached the head of the column, some

persons in the crowd called out:

” Here comes the Mayor !”

Joining the officer in command, he announced who he was, and

marched with him. Mayor Brown objected to the double-quick,

and it was immediately stopped. The Mayor’s presence had

some effect for a short time, but very soon the attack was renewed

with greater vigor. As the mob grew bolder, the rioters

rushed at the soldiers and attempted to snatch their muskets.

With one of these weapons a soldier was killed. Men fell on

both sides, the soldiers firing at will. The troops could not discriminate

between the rioters and the bystanders, and the latter

seemed to suffer most from the firing, for the mob was pursuing

the troops. The latter could not face about with ease, and so

shot towards their flank. At South street several citizens who

had been standing in a group, fell, wounded or killed. Near

Light street a soldier was fatally wounded, and a boy on a

vessel lying in the dock was killed. About the same place,

some soldiers, at the head of the column, fired into a group on

the sidewalk, the shots taking effect. At this point, between

Light and Charles streets, Marshal Kane, with about fifty policemen,

was seen running from Camden street station. These

police formed at the rear of the troops and in front of the

mob, and kept it back with drawn revolvers. Marshal Kane

called out:

“Keep back, men, or I’ll shoot!”

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54 OUR POLICE.

This gallant movement was successful, and the mob recoiled.

One of the ringleaders tried to pass the line, but the Marshal

seized him, and declared he would shoot him if he persisted.

Marshal Kane and his men nearly ended the fight, and the

column passed on under the protection of the police, without

serious molestation, to Camden station, where the detachment

that had first passed through in the Washington cars was waiting

the arrival of the other troops to start. At the station there

was more rioting and confusion, but nothing serious occurred.

Police Commissioner Davis assisted in protecting the soldiery

while they were entering the cars. Some muskets were pointed

out of the windows by the troops, but Commissioner Davis

earnestly objected to this as likely to bring on a renewal of the

fight, and consequently the blinds were closed.

At about a quarter of one o’clock the train of thirteen cars,

filled with troops, moved out of the station to Washington, followed

by the hisses and groans of the multitude. At the outskirts

of the city, shots were fired from the windows of the cars,

and Robert W. Davis was killed. During the day four of the

Massachusetts regiment were killed and thirty-six wounded.

Twelve citizens were killed.

When the Massachusetts troops had departed, the band of the

regiment and some unarmed Pennsylvania troops, who had not

yet left the President street station, were in danger. A mob

assembled and there was insufficient police protection. Stones

were thrown, and some of the Pennsylvanians were hurt; a numbor

were panic-stricken and scattered through the city. Marshal

Kane again appeared with an adequate force, and quiet was

restored. Arrangements were subsequently made with the railroad

by which the remaining troops were returned towards Philadelphia.

During the afternoon and night a number of straggling

soldiers sought the aid of the police, and were cared for at the

stations.

Notwithstanding the brilliant achievements of the new police

organization, the last vestige of the civil authority directing it

was doomed soon to be swept away. The military took possession

of the city, and on the morning of June 27, Marshal Kane

………………………………………………………………………………………

SAMUEL IIINDES.

………………………………………………………………………………………

5C*

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OUR POLICE. 57

was arrested at his home and taken to Fort McHenry. Mr.

Kane had given pronounced expression to his views in regard to

the expediency of massing troops at Washington, and had thus

made himself liable to the summary action by the military in

the city. On the same day General Banks suspended the

Board of Police, and ordered John R. Kenly to assume command

of the police in the city. On July 10, General Banks

appointed George 11. Dodge to be Marshal of Police in place of

Colonel Kenly. He entered upon his duties the same day,

with James McPhail as deputy-marshal. They occupied the

property of the city provided for the regular police, and the

troops which had been quartered in the heart of the town were

withdrawn and sent back to the camps. The Board of Police

(Commissioners was arrested on the morning of July 1st, by men

of Col. Morehead’s Philadelphia regiment. The troops proceeded

first to the house of John W. Davis, who had so distinguished

himself in protecting the Northern soldiers on April 19,

arrested him, and sent him to the fort, under guard. They next

arrested Charles D. Hinks, Charles Howard, the President of

the Board, and William H. Gatchell. All these gentlemen were

conveyed to the fort, and then sent to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor,

where they remained for more than a year. The Clerk of the Board,

William McKewen, who has since figured prominently in local politics,

and is now clerk of the city court, was also arrested, but afterwards

discharged by Marshal Kenly, no charge having been

made against him. General Banks then appointed a police

board, composed of Columbus O’Donnell, Archibald Sterling,

Jr., Thomas Kelso, John R. Kelso, John W. Randolph, Peter

Sauerwein, John B. Seidenstricker, Joseph Roberts and Michael

Warner. Between Thursday night and Friday morning, a number

of military arrests were made, and among the prisoners was

Mayor George William Brown. It was intended to send him, with

others, to the Dry Tortugas, but, as it fortunately happened, there

were no vessels in the port suitable for the service. Clerk William

McKewen, was re-arrested on October 15, and thus the last

vestige of the authority of the Baltimore Police Board was

temporarily disposed of.

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58 OUR POLICE.

The bill appropriating one hundred thousand dollars for the

payment of the police organization of Baltimore, ” employed

by the United States,” was introduced into Congress on July

21, and “railroaded” through. Representative Henry May

characterized the measure as ” a bill to provide for the wages

of oppression.” All discussion was cut off by moving the

“previous question.” In the Senate the act was adopted with

equal precipitancy, notwithstanding the protests of both the

Maryland Senators. This Congressional appropriation not

being sufficient for the purpose, the City Council, at its

session of 1862-63, made an appropriation of twenty-two

thousand dollars to supply the deficiency. In 1862 the military

signified its willingness to turn over the police department

to the civil authorities of the State, as the Legislature,

which had the power to appoint a Board of Police Commissioners,

was at the time in full sympathy with the Federal Government.

The Legislature, therefore, on February 18, 1862,

passed a bill repealing the former Police Bill of 1860, but substantially

re-enacting its provisions, with the exception of the

number of Commissioners, which was fixed at two, who, together

with the Mayor of the city, John Lee Chapman, formed

the Police Board. The oath of fealty to the Government of

the United States was required from the Commissioners and

all the officers of police appointed by them. Messrs. Samuel

Hindes and Nicholas L. Wood were appointed to the office. This

Board qualified on March 6, 1862, and organized and entered

on its duties on March 10. On the 29th, the Government force

of police was turned over to the Police Board, and on April 1,

it was paid and disbanded. A large majority of the force selected

by the new Board was the same as appointed by the Provost-

Marshal. The new organization began its service on April

3, 1862.

W. A. Van Nostrand was the Board’s appointment to the

Marshalship. He filled the office during that most troublous

period in the city’s history—from 1862 to March, 1864. His

deputy was William H. Lyons. Besides being Marshal of Baltimore,

Mr. Van Nostrand filled the position of United States

………………………………………………………………………………………

NICHOLAS L. WOOD.

………………………………………………………………………………………

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OUR POLICE. 61

Provost-Marshal oftlie Middle District, consisting of West Virginia,

Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Now Jersey. He served

under Generals Dix, Wool, Schenck, Tyler and Wallace. Marshal

Van Nostrand was born on Long Island, N. V., on April

4, 1819. He came to Baltimore in 1853. By occupation, he

is a shipsmith. The only other public office which he has held,

besides those named, was that of Representative of the First and

Second Wards, in the years 1858-59, in the second branch of

Councils. Before the disbanding of the Volunteer Fire Companies,

in 1861, he was an active fireman, and was for five years

President of the Franklin Fire Company.

” I t has been said by several historians,” declared Mr. Van

Nostrand, recently, “that Baltimore was for a time, after the arrest

of Marshal Kane, the Police Commissioners and Mayor Brown,

under martial law ; but such was not the case. At no time was

the civil authority suspended. When Mayor Brown was arrested,

Mr. Chapman immediately qualified and assumed the office. The

Courts, City Councils and the city government were administered

without interruption. After Marshal Kane’s arrest, Mr. Dodge

was appointed by the military authorities to take charge of the

police, but the functions of the police were continued. Barricades

were afterwards established, through which no one was

allowed to pass after nightfall without a pass; but this was a

military necessity, not at all incident to martial law; a precaution

taken against carrying information to the enemy of the number

of United States troops in and about the city. It was a trying

time, but the military authorities and the police acted in

concert, and while martial law was threatened on several occasions,

it was never declared.”

In 1863, John A. Thompson, City Registrar, was made Treasurer,

under the provisions of the new law. On March 17,1864,

Thomas H. Carmichael succeeded Mr. Van-Nostrand as Marshal

of Police. The Deputy-Marshal was John S. Manly. Mr. Carmichael

had been in the police service since March 1, 1857, when

he was appointed Lieutenant of the Middle District by Mayor

Swann. This position he filled until the creation of the Police

Board, in 1861. When Mr. Kenly took charge of the police as

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62 OUR POLICE.

Provost-Marshal, he tendered to Mr. Carmichael the Captaincy

of the Middle District; but this the latter declined, preferring to

resume his old duties of Lieutenant. At the same time he was

made Chief of the United States Detectives stationed in Baltimore,

and had the direction of fourteen men. When Mr. Van

Nostrand was made Marshal, Lieutenant Carmichael was promoted

to be Captain of his District, and continued in that capacity

until he was again promoted to the Marshalate by Messrs.

Hindes, Wood and Mayor Chapman. He served until March 15,

18G7, when the new Board was organized. Marshal Carmichael

was born in Baltimore, on December 16,1829. After the severance

of his connection with the police department, he was appointed

Harbor-Master of this port. He has also filled the posi

tion of deputy-warden of the city jail. From 1869 to 1875, he was

Captain of the Watch at the Custom-House, and subsequently

was the officer at the Government Buildings for a period of nine

years.

Messrs. Hindes and Wood continued Commissioners until

1866, when charges of official misconduct were preferred against

them, and after an examination by the Governor, they were removed,

William T. Valiant and James Young being appointed

to their places. The reasons for their removal were rather political

than anything else, nothing dishonorable in the discharge

of their duties being proved against them. They were both Republicans,

although neither was prominent in political affairs.

Messrs. Hindes and Wood refused to deliver to the new Commissioners

the police establishment, and continued to exercise control

over the police force. The new Commissioners, however,

established their head-quarters at another point, and began

measures for the exercise of their functions. The power of the

Criminal Court was invoked against them, and they were arrested

on the charge of unlawfully conspiring to obtain possession of the

offices and property of the police department. Messrs. Valiant

and Young refused to give bail, and they were imprisoned in the

city jail.

Messrs. Valiant and Young were brought before the Court

on November 8th, and on the 13th, Judge Bartol released the

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JAMES YOUNG. WM. T. VALIANT.

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OUR POLICE. 65

Commissioners, the latter taking possession of their office and

entering upon the performance of their duties. The Marshal

presented himself to the Board during the day, and made a formal

surrender of his command; and on the 15th, Messrs. Hindes and

Wood delivered their documents to the new Commissioners, and

turned over the station-houses and the other property of the State

appertaining to the Commission. In this way was settled one of

the most exciting episodes of the” history of the police under the

perfected system. The new Board began its work by appointing

Colonel John T. Farlow Marshal of Police, and Captain John

T. Gray, of the Central District, Deputy-Marshal.

Marshal Farlow received his appointment on April 22, 1867,

and served until April 17, 1870, when he resigned. lie was

born at Fell’s Point, East Baltimore, and lived there all his

life. He was a ship-carpenter by trade, but early in life engaged

in mercantile pursuits. For a time he discharged the duties of

United States Steamboat Inspector at this port, but that was the

only public office ho filled up to the time of his appointment as

Marshal. After his resignation from the police, he was elected

Magistrate, and assigned to the Eastern Police District, in which

position he died. On the occasion of his funeral the police paraded,

details from each district taking part in the funeral procession.

It was on March 15, 1867, that the new Board of the Police

Department was organized under the State law. The Legislature

had elected as Commissioners Lefevre Jarrett, James E.

Carr and William II. B. Fusselbaugh. Upon the meeting of the

Board, Mr. Jarrett was elected to be President, and Mr. Carr,

Treasurer; George W. Taylor was appointed to be Secretary, he

remaining in the service of the Commissioners until August, 1867,

when he was succeeded by Thomas E. Martin. The executive

heads of the force were as during the Valiant-Young regime.

Bet’. een the organization of the latter Board and the reorganization

of 1867, there had been two changes. Colonel Farlow

had been removed for political reasons, Thomas H. Carmichael succeeding

him. But in 1867 the latter was in turn removed, and

William A. Van Nostrand appointed. Then Marshal Van

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66 OUR POLICE.

Nostrand was followed by Colonel Farlow. The police force of

1860 not having been paid, a resolution was introduced into

the City Couucil to appropriate $112,000 in payment of this

debt, and $1000 as a gift to Mayor Chapman for his services

on the Board. This resolution was a bomb-shell in

the Council, and occasioned the bitterest denunciations of all

kinds; but the honesty of the intentions of the Police Board was

not for a moment questioned by its bitterest opponent. The

resolution was defeated, and thereupon R. C. Barry and

S. Teackle Wallace, as the Police force counsel, made a

formal demand upon the City Registrar for the money.

This was refused, and the suits, numbering 389, were docketed

before Judge Smith, of the City Court for the recovery

of the claims. The costs, with attorneys’ fees, amounted to

$5,000. The suits were finally compromised and the claim

settled. The Legislature of 1867 did much to increase the

power of the Police Commissioners. Since the trouble of 1861,

there had been, as has been related, all sorts of changes in the

composition of the Commission, and the public had been inclined

to regard the members of it with askance, but when the

Board was reorganized, the old laws of 1860 were again acted

upon by the Legislature, and the Board was again clothed with

almost unlimited powers. In fact, the acts which now define

the duties of the Commission, bear the date of 1867. The substance

of these laws have been already commented upon. Of the

Board of Police Commissioners under the reorganization of 1867,

Messrs James E. Carr and William H. B. Fusselbaugh are still

(1887) living.

Mr. Carr took his seat as Commissioner on March 4, 1867,

and he was at once selected as Treasurer. He served for two

terms of four years each in this capacity, being re-elected a Commissioner

by the Legislature of 1871. The duties devolving

upon this Board were exceedingly difficult, the city being at the

time almost a social and political chaos. The Board had to cope

with the lawlessness, which was the legitimate outcome of the

war. Persons of all classes at the time carried arms, and the

enforcement of the act of the Legislature disarming all persons,

………………………………………………………………………………………

LEFEVRE .TAEEETT.

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OUR POLICE. 89

was one of the difficult tasks the Board was compelled to labor

with. Proceeding upon its task with fearless vigor and determination,

it was not a great while before the Board succeeded in

quieting all discordant elements and obtaining security for the

people of Baltimore. During the term of this Board the Freedmen

held a grand jubilee and procession in Baltimore on the anniversary

of their emancipation, in which procession more than

30,000 negroes were in line. The feeling against the negro,

among a certain class, ran very high at that time, and a bloody

collision between the races was feared. The manner in which

the city was kept in almost perfect tranquility reflected the

greatest credit upon the efficiency of the department.

Mr. Carr was born at Carroll’s Manor, Howard county, in this

State, in 1829. His mother, who was left a widow removed to

this city while he was still an infant. After receiving a common

school education in Baltimore, he became engaged in various pursuits

until, shortly before the war, he entered the hat and cap

manufacturing business, on Howard street. Since he attained

his majority, Mr. Carr has taken a most lively interest in politics.

He has always been a staunch Democrat, and has enjoyed

a large influence among the leaders of his party, both in the

State and in this city. At the beginning of the late war, the condition

of Mr. Carr’s health precluded the possibility of his entering

upon active military service, and he remained in Baltimore

during all those troublous times. It was shortly after his election

to the Police Board that that most dreadful calamity, the

flood of July 24, 1868, overtook this city. In that crisis the

bravery of Commissioner Carr in rescuing the victims of the catastrophe,

became a matter of national fame. Harper’s Weekly,

at the time, in a long article on the floods, quoted the following

editorial notice from the Baltimore Sunday Telegram, of July

26, 1868:

” It is a true saying, that in times of great public calamities, some man rises

to the position of a great public benefactor, and such was the case yesterday

with Police Commissioner James E. Carr. He at iirst sight apprehended the

character of the calamity, and he immediately sent for boats and organized a

sufficient force of policemen to manage them. He soon had work enough to

do. He led the van in his boat in places of great peril, and rescued women

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70 OUR POLICE.

and children from death. Two parties he rescued from Davis street were in

the upper story of the house, holding each a child above their heads, with the

water to their necks and fast increasing. In his task he was frequently thrown

into the water,but he continued, setting an example to his men, which they

all most willingly followed. At one time he was swept off by the current,

and the news swept throughout the city, causing profound regret wherever

heard, that he was lost, but he was fortunately rescued, to continue again until

necessity ceased for his good Work. Too much praise can scarcely be awarded

to the Police Commissioners and the police for the manner in which they

labored.”

One of the afternoon newspapers in Baltimore, the Evening

Commercial, at the time published the fact of Mr. Carr’s death,

and the first knowledge his family obtained of his perilous undertakings,

was the crying upon the streets by newsboys, of ” the

drowning
of Commissioner Carr.” Shortly after the flood, the

ladies of Baltimore, in recognition of Mr. Carr’s bravery, presented

him with a beautiful dressing-gown, smoking-cap and slippers,

worked in gold thread. It was not long after the flood before

Mr. Carr began to realize the effects of his experience, for

he was attacked by inflammatory rheumatism, and was kept

housed for more than seven monthsi Ex-marshal George P. Kane

upon coming into offiee as mayor in 1878, appointed Mr. Carr

to be Judge of the Appeal Tax Court, in which position Judge

Carr served with marked ability, until March, 1882, when the

Hon. William Pinkney Whyte, then Mayor of Baltimore, recognizing

Judge Carr’s worth as an executive officer, appointed him

Commissioner of Street Cleaning, a department of the municipal

government that hud just been created. Judge Carr organized

this department, and having gotten it into thorough working

order, retired at the end of the year and entered again into active

business life, where he remained until March, 1884, when

the Hon. Ferdinand C. Latrobe, who was again elected Mayor of

the city, tendered Judge Carr a seat upon the Bench of the Appeal

Tax Court, in which capacity he is still serving, having

been re-commissioned by the Hon. James Hodges, who succeeded

Mr. Latrobe as Mayor. Recently, at the death of Judge H. Clay

Dallam, Judge Carr was elected Chief Judge by his colleagues.

Judge Carr’s wife, who is still living, was Miss Amanda

………………………………………………………………………………………

HON. WILLIAM H. B. FUSSELBAUGH,

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OUR POLICE. 73

Wright, a daughter of John Wright, one of the ” Old Defenders”

of Baltimore in the war of 1812. His whole family

of seven children, three sons and four daughters, is still living.

One of the former, the Hon. Alfred J. Carr, now holds the same

office which his father held just twenty years ago, and another,

Mr. James E. Carr, Jr., is a well-known lawyer.

Judge William H. B. Fusselbaugh, now of the Appeal Tax

Court bench, was a member of the Board of Police Commissioners

from the reorganization of the force, in 1867, until 1881. He

was elected by the Legislature to membership in the Board at

the same time with Judge Carr and the late Lefevre Jarrett, and

shared with them the great labors and responsibilities connected

with the reorganization of the police force after its long and turbulent

career under the war regime. At the close of his first

term, in 1871, Commissioner Fusselbaugh was re-elected by the

Legislature for a term of six years, and in the same year he was

made President of the Board, a distinction which he retained

until the close of his connection with the police department. In

1877 he was again re-elected, this time for four years, the law

having been changed since his previous appointment. At the

close of this term he retired to private life again for some years.

Judge Fusselbaugh was born here on September 18, 1825. He

was educated at private schools in this city and then went into

the oil and paint business with his father, whom he succeeded,

at the latter’s death, in 1847. He continues this business, and

his store at Gay and Exeter streets is one of the oldest mercantile

establishments in Baltimore. Judge Fusselbaugh has always

taken a lively interest in political affairs, and has always been a

Democrat. The first political office he held was that of member

of the Board of Tax Control and Review, to which he was appointed

by the Legislature, in 1852. In March, 1886, after

Judge Fusselbaugh had been in private life for five years, he

was offered the position on the bench of the Appeal Tax Court,

which he now occupies.

Commissioner Jarrett was a prominent business man of Baltimore

at the time he was appointed by the Legislature a member

of the Board. He conducted for many years one of the largest

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74 OUR POLICE.

tailoring businesses in the South in Baltimore street, next door

to the office of the Daily American. He was born in this city,

on November 28,1824, and died suddenly, while still in office, on

February 25, 1870. His funeral was the occasion of one of the

greatest popular demonstrations ever witnessed in Baltimore at

the burial of one of her citizens.

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OUR POLICE. 75

CHAPTER V.

FLOOD OF 1868, AND RIOT OF 1877.

BALTIMORE INUNDATED.—BRAVE WORK BY POLICEMEN.—COMMISSIONER

CARR’S GALLANTRY. HIS TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE

IN THE FLOOD AND HIS RESCUE.—POLICEMEN WHO AIDED

THE DESTITUTE.—THE POLICE SPECIAL FUND AND ITS DISPOSITION

BY THE COMMISSIONERS. THE CHANGES IN THE

BOARD.—THE RIOTS OF 1877, AND THE MORAL THEY TAUGHT.

—THE POLICE FORCE IN 1885.

The city was afflicted on Friday, July 24, 1868, with a

calamity, -which formed a fitting close to what was perhaps the

most eventful decade in Baltimore’s history. It was the memorable

and disastrous flood which proved so conclusively of what brave

men the police force was composed, and how efficient was their

organization. For several days previous to the flood the rain

had fallen in torrents, saturating the earth and swelling the

streams among the hills of Baltimore and Howard counties.

The land, therefore, was almost incapable of absorbing any more

of the moisture, when on Friday morning the rain came as if in

realization of some awful plan of nature, and in pursuance of

the preparation which preceded it.

The cause of the flood has been variously attributed to the

overflowing of Lake Roland; to the breaking of a water-spout in

the neighborhood of the Queen Spring Valley, and to a number

of other things equally unsatisfactory. But as similar floods

occurred at various places along the Atlantic slope of the Alleghenies,

the inundation is doubtless to be attributed wholly to the

heavy fall of rain which began on the morning of July 24, and

lasted until 1 o’clock of the same day. The part most difficult

to explain, is the rapidity with which the streams rose. The

Patapsco river at Ellicott City and Jones Falls, rose at the rate

of five feet in ten minutes ; the water came down those streams

like a great wave on the sea-shore. The river at Ellicott City

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76 OUR POLTCE.

rose ten feet before a drop of rain had fallen there, and was at

one time forty feet high. In this city the rise was so rapid that

a gentleman entering a cigar store from a dry street returned

with a lighted cigar to find himself knee deep in a rapidly rushing

stream. A passenger car, while crossing a street, was caught

by the flood, and with its passengers was swept several blocks

toward the river. The market men were caught at their work,

and only had time to get on their benches and stalls for safety,

and these were washed away with their occupants. Terrible as

was the catastrophe in Baltimore, it was much worse in Ellicott

City. Had it occurred at night the loss of life that it must have

caused is fearful to contemplate.

It was about ten o’clock in the morning when the water first rose

above the banks of Jones Falls, and began to flood the low streets

of this city. Slowly, at their beginning, the floods covered Harrison

street, but in a moment they rushed down Harrison street,

increasing in volume at each minute, until the bed of the street

was filled with a swollen and powerful stream, whirling on in its

surface the shattered remains of ruined homesteads, wrecks of

furniture, and, in fact, almost everything in ordinary and common

use. When it reached Baltimore street the stream divided

into three currents. One rushed like a torrent to the right, the

other to the left, and the third ran with more slowness down the

center of the market. Above the roar of the vortex could be

heard the shrieks of women and children, and the cries of men

for help, as they were whirled along with the furious current.

Even carriages, with their occupants, were caught up and carried

along. For some hours after the awful scenes of destruction had

begun in the center of the city, the greater part of the population

of the upper portions, kept indoors by the pouring rain, had no

idea of the dreadful occurrences below. An extra edition of the

Evening Commercial, published at about two o’clock, gave them

their first intimation of the disaster. When the flood first appeared

on Harrison street the police busied themselves aiding

the residents of the street to carry their household goods to places

of safety. In a few moments, however, they were obliged to turn

their attention towards rescuing the people themselves. Alarms

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HON. JAMES E. CARR.

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OUR POLICE. 79

were rung, and men called in from all the stations, to the scene.

Numerous boats were promptly ordered from the wharves by

the Police Commissioners, and were hurried to the inundated

district. They were manned by experienced boatmen and policemen.

Most of the boats were launched from the Holliday Street

Theatre, and were sent thence, under the direction of Commissioner

James E. Carr, through Calvert, North Holliday, and

other streets, for the purpose of removing families and furniture

to places of safety. On the streets, running at right angles with

Harrison street, the streams were by no means so turbulent as in

the thoroughfares running parallel with Jones Falls, and they

experienced but little of the fierce current that dashed through

the latter. Many persons refused the proffered aid, preferring

to guard their property. In the neighborhood of North, Davis

and Bath streets thieves were busy plying their trade. They

were principally young negroes. The police captured a number

of them, who were afterwards convicted and sentenced to long

terms of imprisonment. One citizen appealed most piteously to

Commissioner Jarrett to send policemen to his house, into which

he had seen some men swim. The Commissioner and a party got

into a boat and pulled in the direction of the house, mooring their

boat at a second-story window, through which an entrance was

made. A search of the premises discovered that his money,

amounting to $570, was gone. Shortly afterwards it was ascertained

that his wife, fearing the flood, had secured the money on

her person without informing her husband. At about four

o’clock in the afternoon an exciting scene took place on Saratoga

street, between Gay and Holliday streets. A boat, in which

were Commissioner James E. Carr, Sergeant Charles McComas,

Wm. Henry Collier, and a colored man, had gone to the second

story of a tenement on the east side .of Saratoga street, nearly

opposite the Central District station-house, to remove several

children. Immediately in front of the house was lodged a large

quantity of driftwood, consisting of beams and logs, alongside of

which the current was running with fearful rapidity. In attempting

to stem the tide and effect a landing on the driftwood,

which the rescuing party thought to be securely lodged against

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80 OUR POLICE.

the houses, an oar was dropped overboard, and Mr. Carr, in attempting

to recover it, was flung forcibly into the seething yellow

water. Sergeant McComas, in trying to catch him, was also

precipitated into the stream, together with the colored man.

Confusion ensued, and the three men floated helplessly along

with the tide, Commissioner Carr very rapidly, for he had been

thrown out into the current. The others succeeded in reaching

the pile of driftwood, but the Commissioner was whirled away

out of sight, notwithstanding his powerful efforts to swim into

stiller waters. A shout at once went up that Commissoner Carr

was drowned. He had been seen to disappear under the water,

and everybody supposed his corpse would be found after the

flood subsided. The Evening Commercial quickly published the

rumor in an extra edition. An hour later it was happily proved

to be incorrect, for the Commissioner was rescued at the corner

of Fayette and Harrison streets. He had been washed from

Saratoga street into Harrison street, catching at various fixed

articles, and endeavoring to pull himself out of the water, but

being unable to do so. At one time he caught hold of a balcony,

but was forced from it by the inhuman owner of the house,

lest be should break off the balcony ! From Fayette street he

was seen by a number of citizens, however. One of them, an

expert swimmer, tied a rope around his waist, and while the other

end of the rope was held by some persons standing in the shallow

water, he swam out to the middle of the street. Recognizing

the Commissioner, who was at that time almost exhausted,

after an hour’s battle with the waves the citizen made to him

the Odd Fellows’ signal of distress. The Commissioner let go

his hold on the house to which be was clinging, and allowed

himself to float down the stream toward his rescuer. He was

quickly pulled out of the water. The news then spread, amid

much rejoicing, that Commissioner Carr had been rescued, which

the latter hastened to give visible proof of to his friends by

hurrying as soon as he recovered, back to the place where they

had seen him disappear.

His two companions in distress, Sergeant McComas and the

colored man, who had succeeded in reaching the pile of debris,

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OUR POLICE. 81

had floated a short distance further down the stream. Their

position was an extremely dangerous one, but they were rescued

by Detective Richards, who got into a boat and steered it towards

the men, persons holding it from the second story windows of a

house by a long rope. When the imperiled men succeeded in

escaping into the boat, the craft was hauled back against the tide.

A somewhat amusing incident occurred at the Gay street

bridge. Mayor Banks was inspecting the scene of the flood late

at night, after the waters had fallen to such an extent as to be

confined within the limits of the banks of Jones Falls. A great

crowd of people was still on the streets. Noticing a large

number on the Gay street bridge, which seemed liable to fall at

any moment, he ordered a policeman to clear the structure.

The officer, not recognizing the Mayor, turned on him fiercely:

” Do you want that bridge cleared?” he cried.

” Yes, and at once,” replied the Mayor.

“Well, clear it yourself, then!” said the policeman, as he

seized Mayor Banks by the collar, and swung him forcibly into

the crowd.

Nothing could be more abject than the man’s apologies, when

he discovered whom he had assaulted.

Captain Frey, now Marshal of the police force, then in charge

of the Southern District, who had been ordered at the beginning

of the flood to report at the Holliday Street Theatre, with as

many men as he could get together, was soon returned to his

own district, when it was learned that the floods had invaded

his precinct also, and that the bridges were in danger. His men

remained at work all day and all night, recovering property and

bodies as they floated down the stream. They took several

thousand dollars’ worth of goods from the water and eighteen

corpses, most of which had been washed down from Ellicott city.

His men worked for several days afterward, looking for property

and bodies among the debris. In the middle precinct also, a

number of bodies were recovered and a large amount of property

returned to its owners. Several thieves, who took advantage

of the disaster to rob unprotected houses, were also caught and

punished.

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82 OUR POLICE.

It was not until the night after the inundation that the dilapidated

old Middle station was sufficiently cleared of the fiveinch

deep deposit of mud that covered it, to permit of its occupation,

and then Captain Mitchell and his officers only used the

upper floor. On the following day the citizens of Baltimore,

with their proverbial liberality, set about to relieve the distress

of the victims of the flood. The police carried private alms where

they knew immediate relief was needed, until the Citizens Relief

Committee opened its headquarters for the distribution of

aid.

Among the methods of raising money for the relief of the

suffering, was a benefit given at the Holliday Theatre on Saturday

evening, August 1, on which occasion John E. Owens played

“Major Wellington de Boots,” in ” Everybody’s Friend.” The

tickets for the benefit were sold by the police. When the returns

were handed in, they showed a total of $3,601.50. There were

but four districts in the city at this time, it will be remembered.

The money was immediately handed over by Marshal Farlow to

manager John T. Ford, to whose generosity the benefit was due.

That gentleman, in company with Mayor Banks, proceeded at

once to the office of the Relief Committee, and gave over

the entire amount, not deducting any part on account of his

expenses, etc.

A few weeks later, when the excitement had subsided, and the

devastated district was beginning to be restored, the City Councils

passed resolutions of thanks to the police, for their service

during the terrible Friday of the flood. %

The first report of the new Board of Commissioners, made tithe

State Legislature, was dated January 18, 1870. It included

the transactions of the department during the years 1868 and

1869. There had been comment of slightly unfavorable character,

upon the number of policemen employed. The critics declared

that the number was excessive, and that taxation was unnecessarily

increased. The Commissioners called the attention

of the Legislature to the fact that Baltimore then had a population

of very nearly 400,000 persons, and that the entire police

force consisted of only 503 members. These policemen, the

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OUR POLICE. 88

Board asserted, were apportioned among twenty wards, giving an

average of not more than twenty-eight of the regular force to

each of them to serve both night and day, with no suitable

reserve for emergencies. This explanation by the Commissioners

was so sweeping that there was no further comment made upon

the excessive number of policemen. Any criticism thereafter

was rather in the contrary direction. The Board, during the

first two years of its service, had many things brought to its attention

which demanded reform. Among these was the prevalence

of prize-fights in the vicinity. Northern ruffians were in

the habit of coming to Baltimore county, and here settling their

claims of prowess in the most brutal fashion. They evaded the

law giving the Police Commission power to arrest or ‘? shadow”

men from the city, by making their rendezvous outside of the

city limits. The Commissioners appealed to the State, and had

the law so modified that prize-fighting soon became a reminiscence.

Another evil was the increase in the number of private

detective agencies in town. Under the most favorable circumstances,

these organizations are provocative of blackmailing.

Every good police official looks at them with doubt, and they are

in many cases used by the criminal as feelers, to ascertain what

the authorities are about. The detective service of the police

department had just about got itself into an excellent state of

efficiency in 1850, and the Commissioners were anxious to relieve

it from every embarrassment, so again the Legislature was ap-

ealed to. The State authorities responded, and gave the

department the same power of control over these agencies as it

had over all other bodies engaged in the discovery or prosecution

of crime. It was in October, 1867, that the Board forbid all

processions through the streets of any organizations not part of

the army or navy of the United States, without first procuring

permits. This action was occasioned by a sad experience the city

had early in the month. During a parade of a negro company,

some persons in a crowd of onlookers began to jeer and torment

the paraders. One of the colored men lost his control, and

drawing a revolver, fired into the crowd, killing a young white man

named Charles A. Ellermeyer. The paraders were attacked by

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84 OUR POLICE.

the indignant citizens, and a riot was prevented only by the

prompt appearance of a large force of police.

It was on February 25, 1870, that death deprived the Commission

of the services of Mr. Lefevre Jarrett, who had done

very much to promote the efficiency of the police force. Old

members of the service remember him, even now, with an affection

which attests, in a remarkable degree, too, his honesty,

ability and activity. At the time of Mr. Jarrett’s death one

year of his first term remained and he had been elected for a

second term of four years. The legislature being then in session

elected the Hon. John W. Davis to fill the unexpired first

term. Thomas W. Morse was chosen by the Legislature to fill

Mr. Jarrett’s unexpired second term, and he took his seat on

March 15, 1871 succeeding Mr. Davis.

At the time of his election, Mr. Morse was the representative

of the First Legislative District of Baltimore in the General

Assembly, having taken his seat on January 1, 1868,

and Chairman of the Committee on Corporation of the House of

Delegates. He was re-elected in 1870. As Police Commissioner,

he served four years, from March 15, 1871, to March 15, 1875.

At the expiration of his term, the Police Board appointed Mr.

Morse Police Justice of the Northeastern District, which had

then been but just formed. At that time the appointment of

the Police Justices rested with the Board. After one year of

service, the appointing power having been transferred to the Governor,

Mr. Morse was twice reappointed by Governor Carroll for

terms of two years each. Governor Hamilton renewed Mr. Morse’s

commission, he being the only Justice reappointed out of the

six incumbents. In the autumn of 1884, Mr. Morse was elected

Chief Clerk of the second branch of the City Councils, which

office he filled for one year. He was born in the city of Baltimore,

on October 30, 1829. He served an apprenticeship as a

wood-carver, and became a member of the firm of Hays & Morse.

From 1860 until 1873, he was in business by himself, when he

lost his property by fire. Mr. Morse is now a member of the

firm of Thomas W. Morse & Co., furniture dealers, on Baltimore

street.

………………………………………………………………………………………

HON. THOMAS W. MORSE.

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OUR POLICE 87

The detective force under tins new Board, reached the plane of

efficiency from which it has not since descended. During the

latter part of 1870 and 1871, it succeeded in making about 200

arrests, and securing the return of property valued at nearly

$46,000. The Board also completed the police station of the

Middle (now Central) District, in North street, and plans were

adopted for the building of additions to the remaining three stations.

It was in April, 1870, that Marshal Farlow retired, and

the Deputy-Marshal, John T. Gray, succeeded him. On the 19th,

Captain Jacob Frey, of the Southern District, was advanced to

the position of Deputy-Marshal, and thus the executive branch

of the service changed its personnel at about the same time as the

Commission did. The spring of 1872 was a memorable one in

the history of the financial branch of the Police Board. The

District Stations had not been pleasant places for the lodgement

of the reserve squad of policemen, nor healthful for those officers

who were obliged to spend most of their time within their doors.

The Commissioners had been brought to notice this by the increase

in mortality in the force, and they determined to take some

prompt action to remedy it. There was a large amount of money

in the special fund, which they regarded as available for this purpose.

They purchased in 1872, the plot of land in Pennsylvania

avenue upon which the Northwestern Station now stands for

$10,000. Work was at once begun upon the station-house.

Plans were made and passed upon, and work was about to begin

on the other new buildings, when the Board was advised that it

had no authority for its action. The Legislature was appealed

to, the Commissioners showing in their report of 1874 that on

December, 1873, the fund amounted to $43,684.84. Out of this

it was proposed to erect an additional station in the Northeastern

District. The Legislature immediately gave the Commissioners

the desired power, and also ended the system of the payment of

Police Justices by fees instead of salaries, diverting the large income

from fines, etc., for violations of the law, into the treasury

of the police department. This act of the State authorities added

so greatly to the resources of the Board, that from then until

now, a great proportion of the improvements in the department

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88 OUR POLICE.

have been made with this money, without resorting to special

appropriation. The Legislature of this year made, also, an important

change in the terms of service of the Commissioners. It

enacted that while numerically the Commission should remain

the same, the terms of office of the members of the Board should

be varied. “One of them,” the act reads, “shall be elected

and appointed for two years; one for four years, and one for

six years, who shall hold office until their respective successors

are elected, or appointed and qualified. * * * * As the

terms of office expire as designated above, they shall be filled or

appointed for six years each.” It was under this new law that

Mr. John Milroy and Colonel Harry Gilmor were appointed.

Commissioner Milroy was born in this city on April 21, 1823,

and died while a member of the Police Board, on May 22, 1886.

His private business, up to the time of his election as Police

Commissioner, was that of a brickmaker. He and John W.

Davis owned an extensive brick-yard, in South Baltimore, which

was sold out ther time he first assumed office on the Police

Board. His first appointment was in 1874, for two years,

which he served and then retired. But about fourteen months

later, on the resignation of Commissioner Colonel Harry Gilmor,

Governor Carroll appointed him to fill that gentleman’s unexpired

term. In 1878, the Legislature elected him for a term

of six years, and he continued, therefore, to serve without intermission

until his death.

Colonel Harry Gilmor was born at Glen Ellen, the homestead of

his father, the late Robert Gilmor, in Baltimore county, on January

24, 1838. His mother was Miss Ellen Ward, daughter of Judge

William Ward, of Wilmington, Del. He was educated by a

private tutor, and lived at his father’s farm until the breaking

out of the war, when, with a number of other adventuresome

young Marylanders, who were advocates of rebellion, he went

South and joined the Confederate army. His gallant career during

the war is a matter of national history, and finds no part in

this work. At the close of the war, Colonel Gilmor returned to

Baltimore and engaged in business until 1872, when he was elected

a Police Commissioner, his term beginning in 1873. During

………………………………………………………………………………………

JOHX MILROY.
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OUR POLICE 91

his service he was mainly instrumental in introducing tactics and’

discipline into the city police force. The good effects of his innovations

were evidenced during the riots of 1877, at which time-

Colonel Gilmor’s hravery and coolness did much towards protecting

property and life from the mob. lie served until 1878, when

ho resigned and was succeded by Mr. Milroy. Colonel Gilmor,

in 1875, lost one of his eyes, the ball being excised without chloroform.

During the long and painful operation he showed great

nerve, never wincing under the lancet. In the autumn of 1882

a cancerous affection appeared on the side of Colonel Gilmor’s

face, the result of a wound in the jaw which he received during

the war. After several months of intense suffering he died on

March 4, 1883. His funeral was one of the greatest ever seen

in Baltimore. Shortly after the close of the war Colonel Gilmor

wrote his book, ” Four Years in the Saddle,” which Prince

Hohenlohe, of Prussia, pronounced one of the greatest cavalry

stories ever written, and ordered it translated into German.

A monument to the memory of Colonel Gilmor was recently

erected by the police force and the Confederate soldiers of Baltimore.

At noon on March 15, 1875, Messrs. James E. Carr and

Thomas W. Morse, the retiring Commissioners, gave place to

their successors, a thorough examination of accounts was proceeded

with, and the new Commission began the duties of its

office under the most favorable auspices. It was given powers

no former Board had exercised, having control of the disposition

of the special fund and the privilege of rewarding

deserving policemen with liberality, and the power to pension

members of the force who had served the department for sixteen

consecutive years with one-third of their current salary. All

of these powers had been conferred by the Legislature of 1874.

The new Board immediately began a crusade against gambling

houses and other places of notorious resort, and succeeded in

securing the commendations of every respectable citizen for the

results of its endeavors. In this work the Commissioners were

ably assisted by Judge Robert Gilmor, of the Criminal Court. An

act of General Assembly approved in April, 1876, required that

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92 OUR POLICE.

the census of the voting population of this city should be taken by

the police department preparatory to a redivision of the wards

into precincts, ‘which should contain as nearly as possible 500

voters each. This was excessively important work for the department

to undertake in connection with the performance of its

regular duties, but the task was accomplished nevertheless in two

months, the number of recorded voters being 69,642. The redivision

which ensued required an increase of thirty-five in the

number of the precincts in the twenty wards of the city, making

the whole number 115. A second census was taken by the police

department in August, 1877, and it was then found that the actual

number of voters was considerably less than the old number, being

but 66,525. The creation of the new precincts was followed by

excellent results ; citizens were enabled to deposit their ballots

without delay or other inconvenience, order was more easily

maintained and a distribution of classes was attained whereby the

opportunity for and the provocation to discussion at the polls were

reduced to the minimum. At the elections since then, even the

memorable one of 1876, the greatest public interest was aroused

but the peace was not infringed upon in the slightest degree and

the best of order prevailed at all the voting places.

In 1876 the Board continued to devote its energies to making

the surroundings of the hard life of a policeman as pleasant

as possible. It bought a plot on the northwest corner of

Pine street and Pin alley for $7,300, as the site for the “Western

Police Station : and paid for the Northeastern Station improvement

32,845.37. At noon on March 15, 1877, Mr. John

Milroy formally retired as a member of the Commission, and

General James R. Herbert, who had been elected to succeed him

began the performance of his duties.

General James R. Herbert was a member of the Board of

Police Commissioners from 1877 until his death on August 5,

1884. He was treasurer of the board. He was one of the most

popular gentlemen in the State of Maryland from the time he

entered upon his public career. He was born on August 18,

1833, at Woodstock, Howard County, Md., descending from one

of the oldest families in this part of the country. After being

………………………………………………………………………………………

COLONEL HARRY GILMOR.

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OUR POLICE 95

graduated from Hallowell College, Alexandria, he traveled abroad,

and returning to Baltimore embarked in the produce commission

business. Among the first to take his place at the front as a

Confederate when the late war broke out, his gallant conduct on

the field and his great military ability resulted in his rapid promotion

from the ranks through a succession of steps until he

reached the grade of Brigadier-general. He commanded the

Militia during the riots of 1877. His term in the police board

began on March 15, 1877. In 1883 he was re-elected, but death

overtook him after he had served less than a year and a half of

his six years term.

Within three months after Mr. Milroy retired the city was given

over to bloodshed. The riots of 1877 were in some senses even

more serious than those of ] 861, for Baltimore at the later period

was the most prosperous city south of Philadelphia, and any

trouble among any classes of its citizens was bound to have an

evil influence. The details of the terrible struggle which the

police had with the rioters will be found in the chapter which is

devoted to the deeds of Marshal Frey. In this place it will be

fitting simply to use the lessons learned from the experience, as

set forth in the report of the Police Commissioners to the State

Legislature. This is as follows :

The ability of the force to deal with our turbulent and dangerous classes as

well as the numbers, nature and disposition of those classes was very palpably

demonstrated upon the occasion of the unfortunate riots of last July. Long

periods of immunity from popular outbreaks and scenes of turbulence and

violence are apt to make people forgetful of the slumbering elements that

lurk in large communities, and confidence so engendered too often begets a

fatal carelessness. It is easy when danger is not apparent to disdain the

means of protection, but the occurrences of last July showed how great was the

peril and how urgent the sudden necessity of that hour; and it was a

matter for common thankfulness that the strength, courage and discipline

of the police force rendered it equal to the emergency and saved the city from

the horrors that were experienced in less well-protected places. There was at

that time a spirit of lawlessness abroad that portended the gravest danger, and

which could be only dealt with by decisive, prompt and vigorous action. • The

whole police force was brought to bear upon it. Some hundreds were arrested

and incarcerated in the face of the boldest defiance and most desperate resistance

; organized raids were made upon bodies of outlaws threatening to burn

and pillage suburban points of the city, and finally the spirit of the mob was

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96 OUR POLICE.

quelled and the danger averted. It was a mob composed not of mechanics or

laborers, nor in any sense was it representative of the labor interest or of the

dissatisfied unemployed ; it consisted of the class already alluded to, supplemented

in a measure by tramps, and was precisely that element with which it

is the province of the police to deal.

While the whole uniformed police force as well as the detective force—

which latter rendered the most important and valuable service—was on duty

at the points where the greatest danger appeared, the Board of Police Commissioners

called into requisition the services of 118 citizens, and commissioned

them as special policemen under the provisions of section 810 of the police

law. This employment involved a cost to the city of $2,302.50. Among those

who responded promptly to the summons and who performed active duty

without pay may be mentioned Messrs. James II. Barney, E. Wyatt Blanchard,

C. Morton Stewart, John Donnell Smith, Gilmor Hoffman, Frank Frick, William

M. Pegram and William A. Fisher.

The police organization continued to grow in efficiency, adding

strength, courage, trustworthiness and solidity as the time

progressed. The discipline was exceedingly rigid, but it was

fraught with great things for Baltimore, for it made the police

machine, although complicated, as all exquisite results of the

human mind must be, still so capable of being wielded by its

officers that no occasion could arise and find it in any sense

unprepared. The members of the force besides actually working

an average of twelve hours a day—the day force thirteen hours,

the night men eleven hours—are always liable to extra calls for

special duty. They were never permitted to go without their

uniforms unless ordered upon special duty. The policemen’s

holiday comprised only those three days in the year when he had

leave of absence. During all the rest of the time he remained

under command, and was required to be always at the call of his

superiors. His actual average daily service, including the time

for him to go to the station and return to his lodgings, averaged

thirteen hours a day—fourteen hours for the men on day duty,

twelve hours for the night men—and this it is to be remembered

was for 362 days in every year. The artisan, tradesman, merchant

or clerk who is employed eight hours a clay during six

days in the week, works 2,504 hours in the year, but the average

of the policeman’s service is 4,344 hours. The service then as

now and as it will always remain, is trying and dangerous. At

………………………………………………………………………………………

GEN. JAMKS R. HERBERT.

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OUR POLICE. 99

the beginning of April, 1878, the Western police station was

completed and occupied at a cost of $41,909.70. The structure

was deeded to the city. On April 12 of the same year, Mr.

John Milroy again became commissioner, filling the chair resigned

by Colonel Harry Gilmor.

The work of the police department was conducted without any

conspicuous or in any sense noteworthy change until 1880, when

there was a change in the composition of the board, Mr. William

II. B. Fusselbaugh, the president, retiring. Mr. Fusselbaugh

was on March 15, 1881, succeeded by Mr. George Colton, one of

the most influential men in the State politics. Commissioner

Colton was born in Portsmouth, England, on October 31, 1817.

His father, John Colton, was a soldier in the English army and

was one of those who stood the draft for the battle of Waterloo.

In 1819 John Colton emigrated to the United States, bringing

young George with him. He settled at Leonardstown, in St.

St. Mary’s county. At the age of twelve years George Colton

was left an orphan. In his early life Mr. Colton had but few

opportunities of education. He was apprenticed to the tailor’s

trade, serving six years, and devoting his leisure hours to reading

and study. He started in business for himself at Leonardstown,

and was quite successful until 1847, when he lost all his accumulations

by fire. He then came to Baltimore after compromising

with his creditors for sixty cents on the dollar. Fourteen years

later he paid them the remaining forty cents.

During the administration of President Polk, Mr. Colton was

Postmaster at West River, and in 1852 he was appointed inspector

in one of the State tobacco warehouses in this city, where

he remained for seven years. During that time he became well

and favorably known to most of the leading men of the State.

In 1860 he was appointed Purveyor of the Baltimore City and

County Almshouse. In 1865 Mr. Colton purchased the Maryland

Republican, published at Annapolis, one of the oldest newspapers

in the State, having been first issued in 1809. Under

his management it became exceedingly influential. For many

years Mr. Colton has been prominent in politics, and at the

close of the war he was recognized as one of the leaders of the

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100 OUR POLICE.

Democratic party in Maryland. From 1868 to 1874 he was

representative in the General Assembly from the Nineteenth

Ward of Baltimore. He was State Printer from 1868 to 1882.

For ten years he served as a Director of the Baltimore and Ohio

Railroad, besides holding several minor offices in the company.

He has also been Visitor to the Industrial School of Orphan

Girls and Trustee of Bay View Asylum.

On August 16, 1881, the board dismissed its clerk, Mr. Marriott

Boswell, for cause, and unanimously elected Mr. George Savage,

secretary of the board. At about this time the Police Commissioners

had a census taken of the voting population of the city

of Baltimore with the following results: whites, 66,824; colored,

11,924; making a total of 78,748, and showing an increase in

the voting population since 1879 of 7,239. On March 15, 1882,

the Legislature empowered the Police Board to grant each policeman

seven days on leave of absence each year, instead of three

as before, and gave them the privilege of drawing full pay for

any time off duty, when their absence was caused by sickness or

death in their families. The Legislature also empowered the

Commission, on April 3, to appoint one captain and twenty-five

men in addition to the force then existing. This appointment

was secured by Captain Lewis W. Cadwallader, who was assigned

to the command of the detectives. He is now in charge of the

Western district. Just previous to the elections in November,

1882 and 1883, there had been much newspaper speculation on

the possible action of the police in the contest. President Colton

issued a series of general orders which called the attention of thepolice

to this, and warned every member that if they should lend

themselves in any way to further in the slightest degree the political

ambitions of any person or persons who were running for

office, the offender would be summarily dismissed. The admitted

fairness of all elections in this city during these contests and since

has been unqualifiedly due to the admirable conduct of the police

force at the polls, and the avoidance of any trouble at the balloting

places is unquestionably due to the same cause. In the early

part of 1883, this city was subjected to a small-pox epidemic, sowide-

reaching that for a time the utmost consternation existed

………………………………………………………………………………………

HON. GEORGE COLTON.

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OUR POLICE. 103

even among the wealthier classes. During this time many members

of the service, especially in the Eastern and Southern districts,

acted heroically in giving aid and lending assistance to the

sufferers. No officer in the department failed to do his duty in

these trying times. Numbers of them went voluntarily into the

houses of suffering, carrying food and medicine to the plaguestricken.

On March 15, 1883, General Herbert presented his

credentials recommissioning him as a member of the board for six

years, and upon taking his seat was re-elected treasurer of the

board. In September, 1883, the board was called upon to record

upon its minutes the death of Captain Franklin Kenney of the

Eastern district, and ordered the department into mourning for

ten days.

There were few eventful occurrences in the transactions of the

Police Board from the re-election of General Herbert to his

death on August 5, 1884. The General had secured the affections

of his colleagues as well as those of every man on the force,

and his loss was deeply lamented. John W. Davis was appointed

by the Governor to fill General Herbert’s place and he qualified

on August 9, Mr. Milroy being elected Treasurer of the Board.

In September, 1885, Mr. Davis resigned and Mr. J. D. Ferguson

being selected by the Governor, took his seat after qualifying

on September 26, 1885.

At the time J. D. Ferguson took his seat in the Board he was

a member of the Board of Supervisors of Elections of Baltimore,

to which office he had been commissioned April 28, 1884, and

which he resigned to become a member of the Police Commission.

He served until the following March, when Commissioner Bobson

was elected his successor. During his incumbency Mr. Ferguson

took a deep intc.ost in his duties, and prepared the report of the

Board to the Legislature for 1885—86, which contained many

valuable suggestions as to the conduct of police affairs, many of

which have since been carried out. Owing to the illness of Mr.

Milroy, the Treasurer of the Board, Mr. Ferguson also discharged

his duties. Mr. Ferguson was born in South Carolina, on May

30, 7 837, and was admitted to the bar in his native State in

1851. He served throughout the war in the Confederate army.

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104 OUR POLICE.

On September 2,1863, he was commissioned Major and assigned

to the Second Division of the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded

by General Fitz Hugh Lee, now Governor of Virginia.

General Lee made him his Chief-of-staff, in which capacity Mr.

Ferguson served until the end of the war. He was imprisoned

in Fort Delaware and after his discharge returned to South Carolina,

where he engaged in rice-planting until 1867. In that year

Mr. Ferguson came to Baltimore, where he resumed the practice

of his profession. For fifteen years he was Secretary of the

Maryland Jockey Club. When the Academy of Music was built

Mr. Ferguson was offered the position of Manager, and for five

years he conducted its affairs in a skillful manner. He is now

United States Bank Examiner for Maryland and Delaware.

It might be interesting to record here the condition of the

police force of this city at the period about which we are writing.

The entire number of men enrolled as capable for patrol service

was only 499, not making allowances for such members as were

for the time incapacitated by sickness or on leave of absence.

This inadequate force was expected, and actually fulfilled the expectations,

to guard a city of 400,000 inhabitants, 7,665 acres

of houses, and nearly 350 miles of streets and alleys. It was

according to the State law ” to preserve the public peace, prevent

crime, arrest offenders, protect the rights of persons and property,

guard the public health, preserve order at all primary and other

public meetings, prevent and remove nuisances in all streets,

highways, water courses, etc.; provide a proper police force at every

fire, protect strangers and emigrants and travellers at all landings

and railway stations, see to the enforcement of all laws relating

to elections, the observance of Sunday, pawn-brokers, gambling,

intemperance, and lotteries, vagrants, disorderly persons,

and the public health, and to enforce all ordinances of the Mayor

and City Council, properly enforceable by a police force.” For

some time before this Commission assumed office, the police officials,

and particularly President Colton, were frequently made

aware of the inadequacy of the methods used for transferring

prisoners, or transporting police to scenes of disturbance with

any rapidity. The growth of the city made the necessity of

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MAJOR J. D. FERGUSON,

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OUR POLICE. 107

providing some means to add to the prompt work of the patrolman

more apparent, and so, on October 26, 1885, the police alarm

telephone and patrol wagon service was established, the Board

choosing the Central District as the one best adapted in which to

prove the efficiency of the new service. A full description of

this service will be found in another chapter. From the outset

this branch of the department worked excellently and added

enormously to the power of the police force to do prompt work.

From the Central District the system was gradually extended to

two others, and soon large forces of police were available from

jiearly every part of the city. On December 6, 1885, the Board

resolved, at the suggestion of President Colton, to change the

system of patrolling posts then in vogue. Most of the offences

of policemen tried before the Commissioners consisted of improperly

patrolling beats, or the graver one of sleeping on post.

Being satisfied that this arose largely from the plan according to

which the force wTas worked, and which divided it into a day and

night force, exacting thirteen hours of continuous duty from the

former and eleven from the latter, the Board arranged for and

put into practice the system prevailing in New York and other

cities. The system was supposed to do away with the unjust

distinction between day and night men, removing at the same

time the unseemly pressure often brought by citizens to have a

favorite officer transferred from the harder night to the easier

day service.

 

Perhaps the most important duty of the special ones the police

 

•was and now is required to observe is that which has to do with

 

the elections, and especially to preserve the security of the elective

 

franchise. Elections in this city in 1885 were conducted at 180

 

polling places, usually small rooms in central locations in each

 

election precinct. In these rooms were the three judges and two

 

clerks required by law. On election days the force was divided

 

into details at the various voting places, and the Board felt that

 

to allow, at the closing of the polls, to all who might choose to

 

attend, unrestricted access to the small room, as required by law,

 

would not only impede the judges and clerks in the discharge

 

of their duty, but would also put it beyond the power of the

 

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108 OUR POLICE,

 

i

 

policemen in charge to suppress any serious disturbance in the

 

room. Under these circumstances the Board issued the following

 

order:

 

INSTRUCTIONS TO POLICE OFFICERS IN CHARGE OF VOTING PRECINCTS.

 

1. If any breach of peace occurs while the voting is going on, arrest the

 

parties engaged. If you cannot arrest all at the time, arrest as many as you

 

can and procure warrants for the remainder.

 

2. Ascertain, if possible, during the morning of the day of election, the

 

names of the two persons from each party who will apply for admission to

 

the- room where the votes are counted when the polls are closed.

 

3. When you have learned who these persons are, if you think any of them

 

are persons liable to create a disturbance while the votes are being counted,

 

take the first opportunity of communicating with the marshal or deputymarshal,

 

and tell them what you think, and they will take steps to remedy

 

the difficulty.

 

4. When the three judges, two clerks and two designated men from each

 

party are in the room where the votes are to be counted, lock the door and see

 

that no other persons come in during the count, and take care:

 

First. That the judges and clerks are not interfered with in their mode of

 

counting the ballots, and that no breach of the peace takes place.

 

Second. That the two representatives.from each party have no words either

 

with the judges or clerks or with each other, but confine themselves simply toobserving

 

what is being done by the judges, without indulging in any threats

 

and comments. If any of the representatives of the different parties act ii>

 

violation of these instructions, place him or them under arrest.

 

Remember. That your duty is to see that peace is preserved and that no

 

violence is done to the ballot box, but not to interfere with the judges of

 

election, or to undertake to do their duty for them.

 

JACOB FREY, Marshal.

 

These regulations were observed strictly by the police forceand

 

there were no disturbances recorded at the polls that year,

 

nor has there been since then. It was on October 13, 1885 that

 

Marshal John T. Gray resigned his position as the executive head

 

of the police force and was elected to be Clerk of the Court of

 

Common Pleas. He resigned at Mr. Colton’s suggestion, as the

 

latter did not believe that a man commanding 600 armed men

 

should retain that power and strive for an elective office. The

 

marshal had served since April 21, 1870. Upon Mr. Gray’s

 

retirement the following promotions were ordered by the board:

 

Jacob Frey, deputy-marshal, to be marshal; John Lannan,

 

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OUR POLICE. 109

 

captain, to be deputy-marshal; Thomas F. Farnan, lieutenant,

 

to be captain.

 

Marshal Gray was born on a farm near Belair, in Harford

 

county, Maryland. His father was a trader and farmer. The

 

boyhood of the future marshal was spent between the duties of

 

agriculture, country shop-keeping, and the acquisition of such an

 

education as was to be obtained at the private school near his

 

home. He had scarcely completed his school days when his

 

father died, leaving him an orphan, Mrs. Gray having been dead

 

a number of years. The young man moved to Baltimore and

 

spent nearly two years in the city, when he enlisted as a volunteer

 

for the Mexican war, which had just broken out. The battalion

 

which he joined was commanded by Lieutenant-colonel W. H.

 

Watson, and consisted of 400 young men from Maryland and

 

the District of Columbia. They embarked at once on the Steamship

 

Massachusetts from Alexandria, and in seventeen days were

 

landed at the military station on the Island of Brasos, in the mouth

 

of the Rio Grande river, where Mr. Gray’s battalion became a

 

part of General Zachary Taylor’s army, which undertook that

 

awful mid-summer march of 350 miles from Brasos to Monterey,

 

through the stifling alkaline plains of Mexico, when for weeks

 

there was not a day on which the thermometer hanging outside of

 

the headquarters tent failed to register over 100° in the shade.

 

Hundreds of soldiers in that army, notwithstanding the fact thatit

 

was composed mostly of ^outhern men, fell by the wa}v

 

Finally, after a journey lasting nearly two months and a half,

 

the army reached its destination and gave battle to the Mexicans.

 

The fight ended finally in a glorious triumph for the United

 

States troops, but the joy of victory was marred for the Maryland

 

battalion by the death of its gallant commander. Mr. Gray was

 

close by Colonel Watson when the latter fell.

 

Monterey was the only important conflict in which Mr. Gray

 

took part. He had enlisted for twelve months, and after remaining

 

in the army a little longer than his time returned to this

 

city. The first position he found was a clerkship in a shoe-store

 

at East Baltimore and Front streets. He was then less than

 

twenty-one years old. He remained in this position until 1850

 

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110 OUR POLICE.

 

•when the proprietor of the shop was seized with the gold fever,

 

and selling out everything rushed off to California. Mr. Gray

 

then secured another position in the same business in which he

 

remained until May, 1860, when he was appointed lieutenant of

 

police. This was under the first Metropolitan Police Board, socalled.

 

For a number of years Mr. Gray had been prominent

 

in municipal politics, and he was at this time a well known

 

personage in Baltimore. His magnificent physique fitted him

 

admirably for a police position, and his appointment by the newly

 

created board gave very general satisfaction throughout the city.

 

He was assigned at once to duty in the Eastern district, but

 

before five weeks had passed he was promoted to the captaincy

 

of the Central district then, even to a greater extent than at

 

present, the most important district in the city. The old

 

central district station was at Holliday and Saratoga streets.

 

Speaking about it recently, Mr. Gray said: “It was one of

 

the worst buildings I have ever seen put to police use by

 

any city. The building was not only so old that it was almost

 

ready to tumble down, having been one of the ancient watchhouses

 

built when Baltimore was a village, but it was in such

 

need of ordinary interior repairs that it was a constant eyesore

 

to us who had to frequent it. But the greatest sufferers

 

were the poor prisoners. The lock-up of the station consisted

 

of two long narrow rooms each about forty feet long by fifteen

 

feet wide, and located in the rear of the building. The drainage

 

was so defective that sensitive nostrils could smell the place from

 

a square away. One of these prisoners’ rooms was for women

 

and one for men, and into them every kind of prisoner was put.

 

White and black were mixed together, and a man arrested on the

 

•charge of violating a corporation ordinance was thrown in with

 

a murderer fresh from a bloody brawl. After a while I got the

 

police board to give me permission to erect a partition dividing

 

the men’s quarters into two parts, one much more endurable than

 

. the other being apart from the source of the foul odors. In

 

this newly made apartment I placed all the less guilty class

 

of prisoners who were brought in. I was rewarded afterwards

 

in an unexpected way for this. It came about thus: At the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

JOHN T. GRAY.

 

• *

 

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[lh

 

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OUR POLICE. 113

 

opening of the war, upon the arrest of Marshal Kane, the police

 

board and pretty much the whole of the city government, the

 

Provost-marshal who assumed command of the police ordered

 

the force to report to him for duty. A large proportion of the

 

men refused to acknowledge his authority. I was among the

 

number. Consequently my name was dropped from the rolls of

 

the department. Whether it was this step or some other action

 

of mine I do not knoAV, but the war authorities here thought my

 

tendencies were rebellious, and without an explanation for the

 

action I was taken into custody one day and locked up in the

 

Central Station prison. I happened to be put in the apartment

 

I had caused to be partitioned off for the better class of prisoners

 

at the time I was captain. There were many other prisoners in

 

the station at the same time, arrested as I was, not knowing upon

 

what charge they were incarcerated, nor how long they were to

 

be imprisoned. After about a week I was released as suddenly

 

and as unaccountably as I had been arrested. But I think if I

 

had been put in the other cell I would probably have died before

 

the week ended.”

 

Before the trouble between the National Government and the

 

Baltimore municipal authorities Captain Gray witnessed some

 

exciting events. He was in command of the principal part of

 

the police force which protected the Union troops from the

 

assaults of the mob in the terrible riot of April 19, 1861.

 

During these riots Captain Gray did not go home for four

 

days and four nights, scarcely sleeping at all during that

 

time. After being dropped from the roll at the beginning of

 

the war, Mr. Gray went into the shoe business again until

 

April 27, 1867, when the new Board of Police Commissioners

 

appointed him Deputy Marshal of the Police under Marshal

 

Parlow. Upon the resignation of the latter, two years afterward,

 

he succeeded him. As Marshal of Baltimore Mr. Gray

 

achieved a national reputation by the reforms he instituted and

 

by the skill with which lie handled his force on many critical

 

occasions. The great Emancipation Jubilee of the negroes in

 

1870 was the first serious occasion upon which Marshal Gray’s

 

skill as a policeman showed itself prominently. This was the

 

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114 OUR POLICE.

 

celebration by the negroes of their emancipation. In Baltimore,

 

as well as in all the other Southern cities, certain classes of the

 

white population still harbored a bitter feeling against the negroes,

 

intensified by the offensive manner in which many of the latter

 

had conducted themselves since their emancipation. The lawabiding

 

citizens, therefore, looked with trepidation upon the preparations

 

of the colored folk for this jubilee, and Marshal Gray

 

took every precaution for the prevention of an outbreak. The

 

day came and one of the most enormous civic parades ever witnessed

 

in the United States took place. Fully ninety per cent,

 

•of all the negroes in Baltimore and the surrounding country took

 

part, either in the parade itself or as applauding spectators.

 

It is estimated that not less than 30,000 negroes were in line.

 

The parade marched past a certain point from before noon till

 

well into the night before the last platoon had gone by. The

 

populace of both races were apparently willing to fight and a

 

general collision seemed imminent all day, but the police were

 

everywhere, with their eyes on every man who seemed belligerently

 

inclined. The moral influence of the force seemed to subdue

 

the would-be rioters, and though a few unimportant brawls

 

took place, the jubilee passed oif without serious trouble anywhere

 

in the city. Marshal Gray received flattering commendations

 

from the newspapers and from citizens for the admirable

 

manner in which the peace of the city was preserved during the

 

critical period.

 

After the Emancipation Jubilee a military spirit seemed suddenly

 

to seize the negro population of Baltimore. Dozens of

 

military companies were formed, which drilled every evening in

 

the streets, much to the annoyance of quiet people. After the

 

war an immense number of old-fashioned muskets were stored in

 

the city by the United States Government. Of the old army

 

muskets alone there were more than 12,000 stand. By some

 

means these arms all fell into the hands of the negroes and they

 

used them for their military companies. These organizations

 

banded into regiments and numbered themselves the First,

 

Second, Third, etc., Maryland Colored Regiments, although

 

they were never admitted to the National Guard, nor recognized

 

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OUR POLICE. 115

 

by the State military authorities. The South being at that time

 

in a state of reconstruction the negroes were suffered to commit

 

many offenses against the public peace which would never have

 

been attempted or permitted on the part of the whites. Before

 

long the negro regiments began the practice of taking full possession

 

of every street they entered. They would march with

 

fixed bayonets through the principal streets and clear everything

 

before them from curb to curb. Wagons, carriages, and horsecars

 

had to be turned back before them or else they were driven

 

back under bayonet charge. One evening in May, 1871, the

 

colored troops came down Baltimore street with fixed bayonets

 

as usual, turning people and vehicles into side streets, when three

 

young men who were talking together on the curb refused to

 

move on and clear the way for the procession. A charge was

 

made upon them and they were forced to flee around the nearest

 

corner. As they went several of the negroes fired a volley at

 

them, and one of the young men, a son of a well-known German

 

citizen, fell dead. He was shot through the heart. It turned

 

out that he was a Republican in politics and had been a great

 

friend of the negroes. They alleged that he threw a stone into

 

the ranks of the procession, but this was positively denied by

 

every bystander. The funeral of the young German was the

 

occasion of a large popular demonstration. Public indignation,

 

long since aroused by the offensiveness of the colored military

 

organizations, found voice in a general demand for their immediate

 

suppression. As the negroes were in a certain sense under

 

Federal protection, this was a difficult matter to accomplish.

 

The Police Board, however, made an order forbidding public

 

parades through the streets by any military organization not connected

 

with the National Guard or National Government. When

 

this order was read in the meeting places of the colored companies

 

it was received with hoots and jeers of derision. The night

 

that the order was issued, learning that the negroes were about to

 

parade as usual, Marshal Gray sent to the headquarters of the

 

“Lincoln Guard,” the “crack” company of the city, and warned

 

them not to parade. Captain Delanty was laughed at when he

 

delivered the order, and his voice drowned by the howls of the

 

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116 OUR POLICE.

 

negroes. He then stood outside of the building with his policemen.

 

The negroes formed in the street, but at the first step

 

they took after the captain gave the order to march, the police

 

rushed up and arrested a large number of them. The others

 

ran back into the building. The police sent those they had captured

 

to the station house. They then entered the building and

 

after a short struggle captured the arms of the remainder. Their

 

muskets gone and their leaders in jail, the militiamen becamedisheartened

 

and broke up their company. On learning the fate

 

of their principal company, a number of other organizations surrendered

 

their arms, and in the course of a few months practically

 

all the muskets formerly used by the negro troops had been

 

captured by the police. The arms were afterward sent to Fort

 

McIIenry, as they were the property of the United States.

 

In the great labor riots of 1877, when from Friday morning

 

until Sunday afternoon the mob of 12,000 or 15,000 men surrounded

 

the Camden Station, Marshal Gray and 300 police protected

 

over a mile of railroad property from the fury of the

 

rioters, and finally by a clever and gallant coup arrested eightyone

 

of the ringleaders and scattered the mob just as it was on

 

the eve of a furious attack upon the Camden Station and its

 

guardians.

 

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OUR POLICE. I l l

 

CHAPTER VI.

 

THE PRESENT POLICE COMMISSIONERS.

 

HOW THE BOARD IS NOW CONSTITUTED.—ITS DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—

 

HOW THE COMMISSIONERS CARE FOR THE

 

MEMBERS OF THE FORCE.—SKETCH OF PRESIDENT EDSON M.

 

SCHRTVER.—TREASURER ALFRED J. CARR’S DUTIES AND

 

ACHIEVEMENTS AS COMMISSIONER.—INCIDENTS IN HIS CAREER.

 

—COMMISSIONER JOHN QUINCY ADAMS ROBSON’S LIFE AND

 

HIS SERVICES TO THE STATE OF MARYLAND.—A SKETCH OF

 

SECRETARY GEORGE SAVAGE.

 

The present Police Board consists of Mr. Edson Marion

 

Schryver, Alfred J. Carr, Esq., and Mr. John Quincy Adams

 

Robson. Their powers are perhaps greater than are possessed

 

by any other public officers in the city of Baltimore, exercising,

 

as they do, an almost undisputed sway over nearly 800 men,

 

whose sworn duty it is to protect the property and rights of the

 

citizens. Not alone is the power vested in their office to arrest

 

evil doers, to preserve the morality of the city by a proper

 

enforcement of State and municipal laws, and to keep the force

 

in a high state of efficiency, but the supervision of all elections

 

is conducted by the board. The balloting for city, county,

 

State, and national officers is done under their watch, lest an

 

unfair election occur. They exercise the functions of committing

 

magistrates, having the power to hold for an offence or to

 

discharge from custody any person whom they consider themselves

 

justified in thus imprisoning or releasing. Their decisions

 

in all police matters, particularly governing the force of which

 

they are the head, are final, no city officer being permitted to

 

intervene with his authority between them and their subordinates.

 

Their qualifications for office are somewhat peculiar, as stated

 

by statute. To quote from the definition of their powers and

 

duties as announced in the State laws, they must be ” three

 

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118 OUR POLICE.

 

sober and discreet persons, who shall have been residents of the

 

city of Baltimore for five consecutive years next preceding the

 

day of their election.” A bond is given by each of them, for

 

$10,000 for the faithful discharge of their duties, and the State

 

Legislature which elected them, has the privilege of removing

 

them for cause. In case the Legislature is not in session the

 

Governor may exercise his prerogative.

 

It is this almost unqualified power which when exercised by

 

men of trained intelligence, as is the case at present, makes the

 

department which they govern so potent for good. They are

 

responsible for all their actions. The composition of the Board,

 

an uneven number with voting power makes the tie ballot,

 

which has worked such harm in one city at least (New York)

 

impossible. The Board exercises a sort of paternal influence

 

over the force of men under them. It is this interest which

 

has made the police of Baltimore the finest body of men for

 

such service in the country. Visitors to this city have frequently

 

and justly remarked that courtesy, sobriety and courage are

 

the three attributes of the Baltimore policeman. In each of

 

these appears the hand of the Police Board. Men are required

 

to answer all questions put to them by civilians with civility,

 

and should there be a lapse in this regulation-politeness the

 

offender is severely punished. Intoxication is a comparatively

 

unknown vice among the members of the force. No man

 

from the Marshal to the latest appointed patrolman is permitted

 

to drink malt or distilled liquors while on duty. If

 

this rule is disregarded the punishment is not a reprimand,

 

but prompt dismissal with an unfailing closing of all hope of

 

re-instatement. The men are trained in bravery because of

 

their daring gymnastic exercises, the introduction of which

 

into the discipline of the force is due to the far-seeing intelligence

 

of the present Commissioners’ immediate predecessors.

 

These exercises give a premium to agility, to comparative fearlessness,

 

to a perfect development of all the muscles, so that

 

in case an offender against the laws resists arrest, clubbing is

 

rarely resorted to, but the refractory prisoner is overcome by

 

forces that are decided saviors to broken heads and bruised

 

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OUR POLICE. 119

 

bodies—strong arms and a determined will. When a prisoner

 

is clubbed in this city, it is only in case of an attack upon

 

the life of the officer; unless the policeman can show this

 

in extenuation for a battered prisoner it is likely to go hard

 

with him before the Police Commissioners. The Board has so

 

forced upon its department an observance of this restriction

 

to clubbing that the districts pride themselves upon their

 

record of not having an officer tried for beating, for various

 

long and honorable periods.

 

The developments which have finally brought the force to its

 

present excellent condition of efficiency, have taken place under

 

all of the various Police Boards since 1867, but it is proper to

 

state that the greatest advancement has been made within the

 

last ten years, and particularly within the last five. Indeed,

 

more improvements have been instituted within the last half

 

decade than during the whole of the previous fifteen years since

 

the present system of police control was inaugurated. Reform

 

always gathers momentum as it proceeds. The fortuitous circumstances

 

which has made this progress possible, however, has been

 

the almost unbroken harmony which has ever characterized the

 

deliberations of the Commissioners of Police. Petty squabbles

 

have been unknown within the organization of the Board and

 

jealousies and political rivalries, if they have existed, have been

 

put away in face of the one great object of ever increasing the

 

efficiency of the department. Although conservatism is still

 

recognized as a virtue by the present Police Commissioners, they

 

have not hesitated to entertain the most radical projects in the

 

direction of improvement or to contemplate reasonably the most

 

serious changes of method proposed for a more perfect accomplishment

 

of ends desired. They have always courted suggestions

 

from citizens and never fail to adopt those that seem to be of

 

utility.

 

The Board’s offices are in the lower part of the Municipal

 

Building, an edifice of which this city is justly proud. There

 

are two large apartments, one the trial-room, where the Commissioners

 

transact most of their official business, the other a consultation-

 

room, where executive sessions and important conferences

 

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120 OUR POLICE.

 

with members of the force are held. The Secretary’s offices

 

adjoin the trial-room, and there is where the routine business

 

of the Commission is transacted. All the offices of the heads

 

of the police department adjoin each other, and thus a systematic

 

arrangement is maintained by means of which there can

 

occur no straying of messages or orders nor loss of time. While

 

in most cities on this continent the governing power, the Commission,

 

seems intangible and somewhat cloudy to the patrolman,

 

here it is clear and as well defined as it is possible under human

 

provisions to have it. The Board meets every morning in

 

the year, except Sundays. The members of the Commission are

 

always on hand between certain hours in the forenoon, to listen

 

to complaints, petitions and all matters affecting the welfare of

 

the force. The captains of the various districts appear to present

 

their reports every morning, and so if the Commissioners

 

desire to communicate any matter to them it is done without the

 

usual delay of telephoning special orders and similar formal and

 

useless procedure. While the Board is not permitted without

 

Legislative authorization to increase the number of men on the

 

force, it is empowered to create additional sergeants, and so to

 

reward good work with advancement. It has the power also

 

to fill all vacancies in the active force, though by a wise provision

 

of the State law all appointments to the higher positions

 

must be made from within the department. Marshal Frey’s

 

appointment to the force was as Captain, and Deputy-Marshal

 

Lannan attained his office by a gradual and just advancement

 

from the position of patrolman. In instances where certain

 

officers have distinguished themselves in some important crime

 

for the punishment of which a reward has been offered, the

 

Commissioners may at their discretion award the prize to the

 

deserving person or may present him with extra pay, taken

 

from the funds of the department, but all rewards must be first

 

paid to the Board. In case at any time the Board may deem

 

it expedient to add to the number of police districts in the

 

teity, it is authorized to do so and to distribute the force in such a

 

way as will best protect the citizens. Not alone does this power

 

of controlling the peace officers embrace the police force, but the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

EDSON MARION SCHRYYER,

 

President of the Board of Police Commissioners.

 

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OUR POLICE. 123

 

commission may in case of need call upon the sheriff for a posse

 

comitatus and control its movements, and in event of its not

 

proving of sufficient strength, summon the militia to arms and

 

command its manoeuvres. A failure on the part of the Sheriff,

 

a member of his posse, a commandant of the troops or any person

 

called upon by the Commissioners to help preserve the peace, the

 

statutes declare to be a misdemeanor. The Board may also

 

enroll extra policemen under pay in case of great emergency, as

 

in the riots of 1877.

 

The present Board of Police Commissioners is organized as follows:

 

Mr. Edson M. Schryver, President; Alfred J. Carr, Esq.,

 

Treasurer, and Mr. John Q. A. Robson; the Secretary to the

 

Board is Mr. George Savage. President Schryver is a tall, finelooking

 

man, whose early training as a soldier shows in his erect

 

carriage and his promptness to confront any difficult question of

 

organization and discipline with determination leading to its quick

 

solution. To this clear power of analysis, President Schryver

 

adds the judgment of a business man who has been absolutely the

 

builder of his own fortunes. His coolness in any animated discussion

 

never fails to preserve the proper equipoise and bring

 

about an agreement that is made additionally forceful by his suggestions.

 

It was on January 26, 1843, that President Schryver

 

was born, in Circleville, Pickaway county, Ohio. His rudimentary

 

education was obtained in the public schools of his native town,

 

and he made while a boy friendships which have continued unbroken

 

to the present. In September, 1861, he was entered as a

 

student in Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, but the war feeling

 

was growing at that time with such intensity as to embrace even

 

the youngest in the divided sections of the country. Young Schryver

 

could not resist the attractions of the field and bivouac. His

 

parents pleaded with him not to abandon his fair prospects at

 

the University, but uselessly. He took the decisive step which

 

made a soldier of him and introduced him as an actor in the

 

stirring scenes of which the civil war was composed. He enlisted

 

in the 114th Ohio regiment (volunteers) and was ordered directly

 

to the front. The route of the troops was down the Ohio river

 

to the Mississippi river and thence to Memphis. Sherman was

 

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124 OUR POLICE.

 

organizing his army for an attack upon Vicksburg, and it was

 

in this historical campaign that the young recruit saw his first

 

fighting. On December 1, 1862, the Northern troops embarked

 

on their journey to Vicksburg. .Mr. Schryver’s regiment did

 

not proceed directly upon the fated city. It went with Sherman’s

 

command up the Yazoo river and began its operations

 

in the Walnut hills where for a time the fighting was hot,

 

every advantage gained by either side being bitterly contested.

 

This series of skirmishes lasted until December 26, when the

 

Union forces retreated, and re-embarking on the Yazoo river

 

sailed to its junction with the Mississippi. Thence they went

 

to the White river, into Arkansas, and up the Arkansas river

 

to Arkansas Post, a military station not far from Little Rock.

 

There the Northern soldiers met 8,000 Confederates under

 

General Churchill, and after a spirited attack of forty-eight

 

hours captured the post. Almost immdiately after this victory

 

the Northern soldiers were attacked by the fevers which made

 

the region about Arkansas Post practically uninhabitable. Mr.

 

Schryver was stricken with the disease, but with indomitable

 

determination fought it and so avoided being sent to the army

 

hospital, which at that time owing to insufficient attendance, was

 

even more fatal than the field. The cry was still ” On to Vicksburg,”

 

and thence the survivors of the White river campaign

 

were hurried. It was about this time that Grant took command.

 

Mr. Schryver was present during the memorable siege and conducted

 

himself with distinction. Several times he had won promotion

 

by his gallantry, but probably owing to his political faith,

 

he being a Union Democrat, the Government neglected him. But

 

finally, in June 1865, his merits were so conspicuous that the

 

Secretary of War commissioned him first lieutenant and assigned

 

him to the post of assistant commissary of musters

 

(muster officer). While serving in this capacity Mr. Schryver

 

mustered out 6,000 men. He continued to act until June 16,

 

1866, when he received his discharge from the service.

 

The young lieutenant went to his native town bearing with him

 

the honors that come to a soldier who has done his duty on all occasions.

 

A short time after his return, on April 13, 1868, Mr.

 

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OCR POLICE. 125

 

Schryver married Miss Louisa Burns. The result of this union

 

was eight children, six of whom are still living—one son and five

 

daughters. While at Circleville, Mr. Schryver became the confidential

 

clerk of Morris Steeley & Co., then an important milling

 

and distilling firm of that city. He soon was advanced to a partnership

 

and volunteered to take charge of the interests of his

 

house in this city. Large amounts of money had been paid in

 

commissions here, and Mr. Schryver rightly thought that not alone

 

could these be saved but the volume of the business could be

 

largely increased by a resident partner. So the branch was

 

established and soon became nearly as important as the home

 

house. But the affairs of the firm did not continue as smoothly

 

in Circleville as they did in Baltimore, and in April, 1873,

 

Morris Steeley & Co. failed. This did not affect the branch

 

in this city. Mr. Schryver succeeded in winding up the affairs

 

here without any loss. A month after the failure the young

 

soldier-merchant formed a copartnership with Henry Wagner, of

 

this city, and the firm was known as Wagner & Schryver, doing

 

business in the grain and general produce trade. This firm

 

continued until February, 1876, when Mr. Wagner died. On

 

April 1, 1876, Mr. Schryver joined his business interests with

 

those of J. G. Harryman, and did business under the firm name

 

of Harryman & Schryver. This copartnership continued its

 

operations until 1882, when Mr. Schryver selected his bookkeeper,

 

Mr. M. B. Scholl, as a business associate, and did business

 

as the firm continues to do at present, in their offices in the

 

Chamber of Commerce Building. The dealings of Schryver &

 

Scholl are almost entirely in grain. Mr. Schryver has been a

 

member of the Corn and Flour Exchange since 1872. He became

 

a Director in 1879, and served on the Board for eight years.

 

He was then elected a member of the Executive Committee and

 

served for two years, adding continually to the power of the

 

Exchange. He was then elected second Vice-President and

 

served two years in that office, being subsequently advanced to

 

first Vice-President. Two more years were spent in this office,

 

and in May, 1885, the President resigned and Mr. Schryver

 

succeeded him. In January, 1886, he was elected President at

 

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126 OUR POLICE.

 

the head of the regular ticket. He served ODe year and then

 

retired in order to assume the duties of the position of Police

 

Commissioner which nowbrings him so much credit. In his annual

 

report as President of the Corn and Flour Exchange, Mr. Schryyer

 

made a telling address which was widely commented upon.

 

The following will give an idea of its character :

 

” There are questions also connected with the situation affecting the values

 

and the marketing of our surplus products, as we find it at present, which

 

demand and should receive the careful and most profound consideration of the

 

political economist and statesman. However much we, as individuals of

 

divergent views on important questions,, may differ regarding the policy of the

 

general Government, there is no doubt that such wise enactments by our

 

National Legislature should be passed and international treaties agreed upon

 

and perfected as will tend to encourage reciprocal trade between our own

 

-country and the countries of the world with which we have heretofore had,

 

and should now have, very intimate business interchanges. We cannot hope

 

to encourage buyers from other lands for our products in these times of keen

 

competition unless our policy toward those buyers is such as to render our

 

business relations with them reciprocal; and the fact that the countries of the

 

world which are the importers of food products are seeking and finding their

 

supplies from other sources than America, is the best evidence that something

 

is needed to remedy the trouble and restore to us the prestige in the exportation

 

of food supplies which we once enjoyed. Let the remedy be sought and

 

applied immediately.”

 

It was on February 19, 1886, that Mr. Schryver was elected

 

to be Police Commissioner by the Legislature to succeed Mr.

 

George Colton. The contest for the position was a warm one,

 

but Mr. Schryver had too many friends to allow his defeat, and

 

he won by a flattering majority. On March 15 he began his

 

duties as Commissioner and was at once elected President by his

 

colleagues.

 

Alfred J. Carr, Esq., is the Treasurer of the Board and is

 

most active in the discharge of the duties of the Commission.

 

l ie is young yet, but in his life he has crowded the experience

 

of a man of the world, the erudition of a lawyer, the

 

thoroughness of a scholar and the determination to gain the

 

objects of his efforts of a man of action. This last Mr. Carr

 

especially is. Notwithstanding that he is a lawyer of wide

 

reputation, he yet devotes sufficient of his time to the interests

 

of the Police Board to make him regarded among the force as

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

ALFBED J. CABB, Esq.,

 

Treasurer of the Board of Police Commissioners.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

• I

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 129

 

a power in the deliberations of the Board. Some of this devotion

 

to his duties he inherits from his father, ex-Commissioner

 

of Police, now Judge James E. Carr. But the most of

 

his energy, his far-sightedness and his uprightness, are his own,

 

and he makes them observable in whatever action he takes.

 

His service as Police Commissioner means a vast deal of sacrifice

 

on his part. But he regards serving the public as a man’s

 

highest duty, and though the honor of filling his present position

 

was, after a fashion, thrust upon him, so devoted is he that he

 

has willingly neglected his profession to a considerable extent.

 

Mr. Carr’s reforms in the Police Board have startled the shrewdest

 

politicians in Baltimore. He has urged and obtained the

 

adoption of at least two radical changes which have done so

 

much to make the Baltimore police the finest in the country.

 

He has made the men on the force regard him with an affection

 

that is not all due to the love with which they remember his

 

father. But most of all, Mr. Carr entered upon the duties of his

 

•office with the high aim of never allowing any part of the police

 

organization to prostitute its powers without a formal as well as

 

•energetic protest from him, and to assure to the public the privilege

 

of hearing of every transaction of the Board through the

 

medium of the press, first hand; for Mr. Carr believes that a

 

public officer is a public servant and his every action should be

 

made known.

 

As Treasurer of the Board he has great power, but owing

 

to his conservativeness and legal training there is every assurance

 

that he will exercise it with rare judgment in the future

 

as in the past. Mr. Carr’s duties in this office as defined by

 

State laws are as follows :

 

” The Treasurer of the Board of Police Commissioners before

 

entering upon the duties of his office shall, in addition to the

 

bond given as Commissioner, enter into bond in the State of

 

• Maryland, as hereinbefore directed, with one or more sureties in

 

the penalty of $10,000, conditioned for the faithful discharge of

 

the duties imposed upon him as Treasurer, and for the faithful

 

application and payment over, pursuant to the order and direction

 

or the Board, of all moneys which may come into his hands

 

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130 OUR POLICE.

 

as such Treasurer, and shall, every six months, on the first of

 

January and July in each and every year, during his continuance

 

in office, render to his associates in said Board a true and

 

faithful account of the receipts and disbursements of all moneys

 

received and disbursed by him, by order of the said Board, with

 

the vouchers thereof during said period, which account shall be

 

verified by the affidavit of the said Treasurer; and the said Board

 

shall thereupon examine said account, and if they find the same

 

to be correct, they shall certify said account, and forward the

 

same to the Governor of the State, to be filed in the office of the

 

Secretary of State. The said Board shall retain a copy thereof,

 

with the certificate attached, to he filed among the papers of their

 

office.”

 

Mr. Carr is in every sense of the word a Baltimorean; born,

 

brought up and educated amid the associations of this city,

 

he is equipped with a knowledge of what his townsmen desire

 

and how to satisfy that desire. The Commissioner made his entrance

 

into the cares of his life on October 7, 1851. He passed

 

a rather delicate childhood, but his fondness for active life grew

 

upon him as he increased in years so that when he was old enough

 

to enter school he was agile as any of his mates. His first student’s

 

experiences away from home were in private and public

 

schools in this city, after which he was sent by his parents to

 

St. Timothy’s Hall, near Catonville. Subsequently he entered

 

the Virginia Military Institute, the historic academy at Lexington,

 

Virginia, and then settled upon the profession of law as

 

the calling of his life. When he left the military school, he became

 

a student in the office of Bernard Carter, Esq., of this city,

 

where he began earnest study. He also attended the law department

 

of the University of Maryland, where, however, he remained

 

but one year, the routine of instruction proving too slow for him.

 

After three years’ hard work in Mr. Carter’s office, the young

 

student’s preceptor made motion to have him admitted to the bar, •

 

and after an examination at which Mr. Carr distinguished himself

 

he was admitted to practice on February 7, 1872.

 

It was in November of this year (1872) that Mr. Carr made

 

up his mind to see a good part of his native country, so he went

 

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OUR POLICE. 131

 

to New Orleans and made a short visit in that picturesque city.

 

Thence he traveled to Galveston and passed three weeks, going

 

subsquently to Bryan and Heme. He crossed the country from

 

the latter town to Belton, arriving on January 1, 1873. He

 

remained at Belton for some time, doing considerable law business.

 

His success in his profession while in this town, was such

 

that at the solicitation of the Hon. X. B. Saunders, he entered

 

partnership with him. Mr. Saunders was one of the most prominent

 

lawyers of the State, and it was upon his motion that Mr.

 

Carr was admitted by Judge J. P. Austerhaut to practice in

 

Texas. While a member of Mr. Saunders’ firm, Mr. Carr practiced

 

in Bell, Hamilton and Comanche counties and frequently

 

went out on a circuit, at one time going as far south as Live Oak

 

county. In October, 1873, Mr. Carr retired from partnership

 

with Mr. Saunders, having acquired a considerable amount of

 

money and being anxious to continue his trip towards the North

 

and home. So he journeyed for pleasure, taking things as they

 

came after the most comfortable fashion, through the north of Texas,

 

the Indian Territory and to St. Louis which he reached in December,

 

1873. From St. Louis he came straight back to Baltimore

 

and began the practice of his profession in his native city.

 

The year 1875 found Mr. Carr a warm supporter of the

 

candidacy of William T. Hamilton for governor. The political

 

contest for this nomination was a bitter one, and Mr. Carr’s friend

 

failed to secure the naming by the convention, but Mr. Carr

 

became particularly prominent as the counsel for the contesting

 

delegates from several wards in this city, achieving a reputation as

 

a shrewd pleader, that went through the State. Four years later

 

he again became the enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Hamilton.

 

So earnest were his efforts, as were those of his friends, that

 

Mr. Hamilton’s nomination was secured and he gained the

 

governorship by a magnificent majority. During this administration

 

Mr. Carr remained the staunchest supporter and one

 

of the most trusted advisers Governor Hamilton had about

 

him. Notwithstanding his political activity, Mr. Carr did not

 

neglect his law practice and he continued his professional career

 

with remarkable success. Beginning in 1880 and continuing

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

132 OUR POLICE.

 

since then, Mr. Carr made a study of theatrical copyright law,

 

winning what appeared to be the most hopeless suits in this

 

branch of practice. It was as a theatrical copyright lawyer that

 

Mr. Carr has gained his enviable reputation which extends

 

throughout the Atlantic States and Missouri and Washington.

 

Among the best known of the suits he has been engaged in were

 

the contests over the copyright of ” lolanthe,” “Merry War,”

 

“Mikado,” “Colleen Bawn,” “Fun on the Bristol,” and the

 

“Black Crook.” In 1883 Mr. Carr was entered as a candidate

 

for a nomination to a seat in the First Branch of the City Council

 

from the Nineteenth Ward, but owing to the treachery of some

 

avowed friends he was not nominated. This experience was

 

partly due, no doubt, to the fact that Mr. Carr always remained

 

a free-lance in politics, scoring abuses wherever he saw them and

 

so, while earning the esteem of all good citizens, he aroused the

 

opposition of the controlling powers. From this brief entry into

 

the arena politics until he was appointed Police Commissioner,

 

Mr. Carr has continued his practice as a lawyer.

 

In 1884, during the Cleveland-Blaine campaign, Mr. Carr

 

was, as he now is, a member of the Crescent Club of this city.

 

The club rooms at that time were at West Baltimore near Green

 

street, and the organization numbered about 200 members.

 

When the time neared for the Chicago convention a meeting was

 

called and plans were discussed for sending its representatives.

 

Mr. Carr arose during the discussion and supported the plan

 

of having a special palace car for the delegation. The club

 

men went to the convention in a coach covered with decorations

 

bearing the words “Crescent Club of Baltimore,” and created

 

considerable sensation in the towns and cities through which it

 

passed. This political pilgrimage gave the Crescent Club a

 

national reputation. The work of the organization during the

 

presidential campaign was carried on at its own expense, the

 

management being in the hands of a committee of which Mr.

 

Carr was chairman. It held great mass meetings at the halls

 

and theatres in this city. One at Concordia hall was attended

 

by 15,000 persons; overflow meetings being held on the outside

 

•of the building. Among the speakers at this meeting -was

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

ODR POLICE. 13S

 

Thomas F. Bayard, Congressman Perry Belmont of New York

 

and Mr. Walker of West Virginia. During this time Mr.

 

Carr was “stumping ” the city and the adjacent counties in behalf

 

of Cleveland. At the inauguration of the President the

 

Crescent Club sent a delegation of 700 men to Washington, and

 

made the finest show of any civic organization in the great parade.

 

By this time the old quarters of the association had become too

 

small for it, so great was its prosperity, and at one of its meetings

 

Mr. Carr offered a resolution which empowered a committee to

 

purchase suitable property for a club-house. Mr. Carr was

 

appointed chairman of this committee and took a leading part in

 

the purchase of the Clabaugh property at the southwest corner of

 

Paca and Payette streets. A stock company was formed and

 

paper was issued to the amount of about $45,000; the house was

 

practically rebuilt, and the building as it now stands represents

 

an outlay of nearly $96,000.

 

On June 5, 1886, Governor Henry Lloyd appointed Mr. Carr

 

to be a Police Commissioner of this city. The office was obtained

 

without any effort on Mr. Carr’s part, and was given him because

 

of the efforts of his friends who had recommended him to the

 

Governor. Nearly four hundred letters had also been sent to

 

Mr. Lloyd from all classes of Democrats and Republicans in this

 

city, urging him to choose Mr. Carr for the position. No sooner

 

had Mr. Carr taken his seat in the board than he began to suggest

 

and carry through exceedingly important reforms. The first of

 

these and the most important, because it affected every member

 

of the police force, was the change Mr. Carr secured in the patrol

 

service. He found a system based upon that which is now used

 

in New York. An officer was expected to serve, six hours, have

 

six hours rest, then the same length of duty and rest again. He

 

thoroughly investigated the matter and concluded that the system

 

meant almost certain rapid death for the men and a disorganization

 

of the force. The matter had been brought to the attention of

 

the Legislature, and there much indignation was exhibited because

 

of the evils of the service. An investigation was proposed;

 

but no sooner had Mr. Carr assumed his duties than he began

 

making a thorough study of all the police systems in this country,

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

134 OUR POLICE.

 

through correspondence and departmental reports. The result of

 

his investigation was a new plan of patrolling service, which was

 

adopted on September 2,1886. by a vote of two to one, Mr. Robson

 

voting with Mr. Carr. The following is the official record:

 

“Ordered, That the following shall be the working of the force

 

on and after September 15, 1886: The force shall be divided

 

into divisions, A, B, and C. Division A shall go on duty at 8

 

A. M. and remain until 7 P. M., with one and a half hours

 

allowed for dinner, between 12 M. and 3 P. M.; Division B

 

shall go on duty at 7 P. M. and remain until 4 A. M.; Division

 

C shall go on duty at 4 A. M. and remain till 8 A. M., and at

 

12 M. and remain till 3 P. M. This division shall be divided

 

into four sections, and each section shall do one week’s reserve

 

duty at the station, from 7 P. M. until 4 A. M. Round sergeants

 

(day) shall be on duty from 8 A. M. to 7 P. M.; night, 7 P. M.

 

to 4 A. M. Lieutenants, turnkeys, and regular reserve men

 

shall relieve each other at 7 A. M. and 7 P. M. The Baltimore

 

street and railroad depot reserve shall go on duty at 8 A. M.

 

and off at 7 P. M., with one and a half hours for dinner.”

 

This system is used at present and is giving entire satisfaction

 

both to the community and the members oi the force.

 

It was Mr. Carr who was chiefly instrumental in securing the

 

introduction of the police helmet now worn in this city; he had

 

always regarded it as the only proper hat to be worn by uniformed

 

policemen, and he determined to have it introduced here. Before

 

this the uniform hat in winter resembled a Derby; in summer it

 

was of brown straw, with high crown and broad brim. On

 

August 6, 1886, at a meeting of the board, Mr. Carr offered the

 

following, which was adopted by a vote of two to one, Mr. Robson

 

balloting in the negative :

 

Ordered: That the police helmet (black in winter and pearl

 

for summer wear) be, and is hereby adopted for the use of the

 

police force, and that each officer have a rubber cover with their

 

respective number or letters painted on the same, and that the

 

marshals, captains, and lieutenants shall wear caps. Station

 

house clerks while on duty are to wear such caps with the word

 

“clerk ” thereon.

 

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OUR POLICE. 135

 

Thus another reform was introduced, not a great one it is true,

 

but one which added to the appearance of the men. The hygienic

 

effect was excellent also, giving the policemen’s heads a chance

 

to secure proper ventilation. While these two reforms are due

 

to Mr. Carr’s determination to add to the efficiency of the force

 

in every way, they by no means represent the vast amount of

 

other work he has undertaken to ameliorate the condition of the

 

policeman. He interests himself in their surroundings, particularly

 

in the stations, and endeavors to make the hours when they

 

are on reserve as pleasurable as possible.

 

Another innovation in which Mr. Carr was chief mover was

 

the admittance of representatives of the press to the meetings of

 

the board upon all occasions. Previous to his appointment these

 

meetings had been for the most part closed, and if the public

 

desired to obtain some idea of what the board was doing it was

 

obliged to get the information second hand. Mr. Carr properly

 

thought that the newspapers as the mouth piece of public opinion

 

should be able to base that opinion upon trustworthy information

 

and so moved that they be admitted. Mr. Carr, as treasurer of

 

the Commission, has charge of the general and special funds.

 

These funds include the moneys which are paid into the department

 

as appropriations by the city and as fines for evil doings of

 

all sorts.

 

Commissioner Carr is married, having wedded Miss Young,

 

daughter of Alexander Young, on October 17, 1876. He has

 

one child, Alexander, who was born on October 27, 1879. He

 

is a prominent Free Mason, and is a leader in social circles.

 

The history of the special fund over which Mr. Carr has

 

control is briefly as follows : Previously to the organization of the

 

Metropolitan Police force the constables were paid so much for

 

each arrest made and each prisoner “jailed ” after commitment.

 

The magistrate was paid by warrants and docket fees. When

 

the new organization was perfected the fees going to the constables

 

were assigned to the board, and gradually accumulated. The

 

treasurers of the various commissions made no effort to dispose of

 

this money save by putting it in the banks and allowing it to add

 

interest to itself. The police board determined to make this

 

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136 OUR POLICE.

 

accumulation of money of some use to the’ members of the force.

 

So it was authorized by the Legislature to use it for aiding

 

policemen temporarily when they became physically incapable of

 

attending to their duties or for pensioning them when their ailments

 

were such as to make continuous service impossible.

 

Notwithstanding this outlay the fund continued to increase, and

 

as the city was in need of more and improved police stations the

 

board applied to the Legislature for authority to use this money

 

in building them. This authorization was obtained in 1874.

 

The Legislature then authorized the appointment of as many

 

justices of the peace at large as there were stations in the

 

city, and directed the Governor to assign them to preside at their

 

respective posts with salaries of $2,100 a year each. Thus the

 

payment of police justices by the fee system was abolished and

 

the justices’ former remuneration was diverted into the police

 

special fund. In 1885 the commissioners adopted the patrol

 

wagon system and made contracts for its establishment, proposing

 

to pay for it out of this money. But the board discovered that

 

it had no authority to thus dispose of the fund, and it was obliged

 

to apply to the Legislature of 1886 for power to establish the

 

system. In passing an Act for this purpose, the Legislature also

 

revised the pension system, requiring its disbursements to be

 

also paid from the fund. By this measure any member of the

 

force after having been a policeman for sixteen successive years

 

and declared by the board to be physically disqualified, could be

 

retired on a pension equal to one-third of his annual pay then

 

being received. From the fund was purchased the land and the

 

building erected for the Western Police Station in Pine street;

 

the house of the Northwestern squad in Pennsylvania avenue;

 

the Northeastern station in Chew street; the Southwestern

 

station at Pratt and Calhoun streets ; the Central in North street.

 

Extensive alterations were made in the Southern station in Sharp

 

street and the Eastern station was completely remodeled, stables

 

and patrol wagon house being added. The money for all these

 

purchases and the maintenance of the patrol system Avas defrayed

 

from this fund, together with the rental of a patrol

 

house for the Central squad and the payment of pensions

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 137

 

granted to officers. In the use of this money, which is directly

 

derived from the punishment of the violators of the law, the

 

commissioners have avoided calling upon the taxpayers for means

 

to accomplish the improvements made. Of course the department

 

has found itself obliged to get into debt, but at the present time

 

(September, 1887) it does not owe a dollar. The patrol system

 

it is proposed to extend as rapidly as the fund permits to the

 

remaining three districts, the Northeastern, the Northwestern,

 

and the Southwestern. This will involve an expenditure of

 

$43,000. The Western district has just been fitted with the

 

patrol apparatus at a cost of $11,000, and the system is being

 

operated there.

 

Mr. John Quincy Adams Robson is the eldest member of the

 

board, but he bears the years he has spent in the service of the

 

city and State with a promise that he has still a long time left to

 

devote to the interests of his fellow citizens. His pleasant smile

 

is familiar to almost every policeman on the force, and he takes a

 

personal interest in the men, for Mr. Robson was a policeman

 

himself once, and he fully sympathizes with a patrolman’s life, so

 

full of vicissitudes and work. He believes that when a man

 

becomes a public officer he should devote all his time, intelligence,

 

and energy to his task, and Mr. Robson conscientiously does this.

 

He is always on hand when the meeting of the commissioners is

 

called, invariably makes new suggestions, results of his day’s

 

observation among the rank and file of his department, and when

 

offenders are brought before him lightens the lash of justice with

 

advice for the future. Mr. Robson is a fine looking gentleman,

 

and converses with much grace on the most varied subjects. He

 

is an astute politician, having deeply studied the great national

 

questions of the day, and being absolutely familiar with the

 

intricacies of local political controversy. He has much weight

 

in State affairs, as is evidenced by his appointment to one of the

 

most important positions in the city—that of Police Commissioner.

 

It was on the charming Eastern shore, in the town of Easton,

 

Talbot county, that Mr. Robson was born, on October 1, 1828.

 

His native town has always been his favorite home besides Baltimore,

 

and might have been still his abiding place had it not been

 

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138 OUR POLICE.

 

for that determined endeavor to ” get ahead ” which has marked

 

Mr. Robson’s career. His elementary education was secured in

 

the public schools of his native town, and he obtained in them

 

the reputation of being one of the hardest workers in the school.

 

But after young Robson had secured sufficient education to fit

 

him for the struggle to come, he chose a trade instead of a profession.

 

He thought he would like to learn shoemaking, and his

 

parents apprenticed him to his calling. The lad worked as hard

 

at this as he did at school, passing the hours when he was not in

 

the shop in company with such books as his limited means could

 

purchase. Thomas Chilcutt, in whose shop the lad was employed,

 

soon picked him out as an exceptionally bright boy, and gave

 

him all the instruction he could, to perfect him in his trade. In

 

1844, at the age of sixteen years, young- Robson came to Baltimore,

 

and continued his apprenticeship in the store of W. C.

 

McMullan, where he remained until he reached his majority.

 

Then he went back home and worked at his trade until 1852,

 

when he returned to this city. It was then that the real work

 

began. Previous to this time his life had been spent in preparation,

 

but now he was ready with full equipment. He had no

 

resources but his trade, but at that time good shoemakers were

 

scarce and young Robson was a master of his trade. Thus he

 

soon secured by working hard sufficient capital to start a shop of

 

his own, and he began in his determined way to do all he could

 

to make it a success. This beginning of his business life was

 

in 1856. The store was in Baltimore street near Central avenue,

 

and there Mr. Robson remained, struggling hard to do without

 

the capital necessary to carry such a venture to success, until

 

1860. Then he lost courage; he abandoned trade, and having

 

made the acquaintance of several men of influence, applied with

 

their endorsement, to be appointed patrolman on the newly

 

organized police force. He served through those stirring times

 

at the beginning of the war and was one of that brave body of

 

men who protected the lives of the Northern troops, in 1861,

 

from the infuriated mob, and so earned the reputation of being

 

the most courageous police in the country. But when General

 

Dix took command of the soldiers in Baltimore, and the Police

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

HON. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS BOBSON,

 

Commissioner of Police.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

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OUR POLICE. 141

 

Commissioners and Marshal Kane were sent to Fort McHenry,

 

thus disorganizing the force, Mr. Robson went back to his trade

 

and served as a journeyman.

 

It was during the years between 1860 and 1866 that he secured

 

his wide acquaintance with local politics. He lived in the first

 

legislative district, and soon knew almost every man in it. He

 

was the kind of man who showed the stability of his character

 

to men he met, and so won their respect and esteem. He

 

improved himself in business, increased his knowledge continually,

 

and so won his friends to his support, that in 1866 he was elected

 

by a considerable majority from the first district to the Maryland

 

legislature, taking his seat in 1867. The representatives, of

 

whom he was one, gave the State a new Constitution which

 

enfranchised all the people and occasioned much public approval.

 

While in this session Mr. Robson advocated the organization of

 

the Baltimore City Court, and it was owing to his determination

 

to secure such a tribunal that the Legislature established it.

 

Judge T. Parkins Scott was elected its magistrate, and when Mr.

 

Robson left the Legislature he was appointed (May, 1867) by

 

Judge Scott one of its officers. In this position Mr. Robson

 

remained fifteen years, and he was regarded as one of the most

 

popular court officers in the city. After the death of Judge Scott,

 

in 1872, Mr. George William Brown was elected in his place, and

 

Mr. Robson remained in office till May, 1882. Mr. John F.

 

Hunter, then sheriff, promptly appointed Mr. Robson to be deputy

 

sheriff, and in that capacity he served one year. In 1883 he was

 

again nominated and elected to the Legislature, where he rendered

 

valuable service to the State in 1884. It was while he

 

was at Annapolis during this session that he was appointed by

 

Governor McLane to be police justice for the North-eastern District,

 

and in that capacity he served until 1886. General Herbert,

 

then one of the Police Commissioners, died that year, and it was

 

necessary to fill the vacancy immediately. But the Legislature

 

seldom acts hurriedly in such matters. There were many candidates

 

for the office, but they were all weighed carefully and many

 

were found wanting. The Assembly finally elected Mr. Robson to

 

fill the unexpired term of General Herbert on February 19, 1886.

 

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142 OUR POLICE.

 

He will serve until 1889. On March 15, 1886, Mr. Robson

 

formally took his chair as a police commissioner and since then has

 

performed his duties with untiring energy and unswerving effort

 

to preserve the dignity of the office.

 

Mr. Robson’s social relations are very pleasant. He was

 

married on December 14, 1854, to Miss Ann B. Clark of St.

 

Mary’s County, and he has now three daughters to add to the

 

pleasures of his home life. Mr. Robson is one of the governors of

 

the Calumet Club ; member of the Democratic Association of the

 

Sixth Ward; a member of the Royal Arcanum of the old Volunteer

 

Fb e Department, and member of the State Democratic Central

 

Committee.

 

Although Mr. Robson has not been long a commissioner, he has

 

participated in and advocated one great reform in the service,

 

lie voted in favor of the change from the six hour system of

 

police patrol. Mr. Robson believes as firmly in the police force

 

of this city as he does in himself. Under the management of the

 

board of which he is a member, the city is protected in a way

 

few other municipalities in the world are guarded. There are

 

fewer burglaries here than in many other cities of half its size in

 

the United States. Strangers may ask a policeman for directions

 

to some point of interest without running the risk of being clubbed

 

to death; and the use of liquor is unknown to the members of the

 

force during their hours of duty.

 

A measure that the present Board has recently decided upon

 

is one which permits the members of the force to use service

 

stripes on their uniforms. On April 14, 1887, Marshal Frey

 

called the Board’s attention to the regulation of the New York

 

Board of Police ordering the use of these stripes on the policemen’s

 

sleeves. He consulted with the Commissioners and the latter

 

ordered that a stripe of blue cloth with black edges be placed

 

upon each policeman’s sleeves for every five years he had served

 

the city. The commissioned officers of the force were empowered

 

to wear gold lace stripes. This regulation has, like the introduction

 

of the uniform helmet, added to the appearance of the men,

 

and goes a great way towards making them anxious to obtain

 

the honorable distinction of long service.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

GEORGE SAVAGE, ESQ.,

 

Secretary to the Board of Police Commissioners,

 

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OUR POLICE. 145

 

The present Secretary of the Police Board is Mr. George Savage,

 

a gentleman of much ability, cultivation and courtesy. He

 

cares for the work of the Board, keeps its records, compiles its

 

reports, guards and is responsible for all the valuables •which find

 

their way into the hands of the police, and acts as assistant to

 

the Treasurer. Mr. Savage was born on May 10, 1845, at

 

Laurel Grove, Henrico county, Virginia, one of the most picturesque

 

spots of that beautiful country. His birthplace gave

 

its name to the battle in the civil war known as the Battle of

 

Savage’s Station. His father was George Morton Savage, a

 

country gentleman, and for seventeen years the Presiding Justice

 

of Henrico County Court. Mr. Savage’s mother was Miss Mary

 

E. Reynolds, of Charleston, S. C. Until he was twelve years

 

old he received instruction from governesses at his home, and he

 

then went to academies in Virginia. In 1860 he entered as a

 

student at Richmond College and soon became a leader among

 

his college-mates. He remained in that institution until the

 

breaking out of hostilities, and then entered the service of the

 

Confederate States as a courier in the Quartermaster’s Department.

 

He subsequently served as a clerk in the office of the

 

Treasurer of the Confederacy. Upon reaching his eighteenth

 

year, although he was exempt from military service, he resigned

 

his clerkship and joined the Otey Battery, a Richmond artillery

 

company, and while carrying an important order on the field of

 

the Battle of the Crater, at Petersburg, in 1864, he was severely

 

wounded. When he recovered sufficiently from his injuries he

 

returned to his company and fought with it until it surrendered

 

at Appomatox Court House.

 

Mr. Savage’s application for membership in ” The Society of

 

the Army and Navy of the Confederate States in the State of

 

Maryland” bears this endorsement: ” I bear willing testimony

 

to the faithful discharge of duty by George Savage. His

 

soldierly bearing attracted the attention of his commanding

 

officers and caused his appointment to a position at headquarters,

 

and an honorable scar will bear witness to his bravery as long as

 

he lives.—D. N. Walker, formerly captain of the Otey Battery,

 

later commanding battalion.” The sergeant (Alex. Grant, Jr.)

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

146 OUR POLICE.

 

of the detachment with which Mr. Savage served concurred in

 

the above.

 

Mr. Savage then entered journalism as a profession, doing

 

much creditable newspaper work in Richmond. In 1868 he

 

removed to this city, where he became exceedingly well known

 

as a reporter of criminal trials. He was connected with the

 

Gazette and the Grerman Correspondent. In 1875 Mayor F. C.

 

Latrobe, entirely unexpectedly to Mr. Savage, appointed him

 

his secretary, and he continued as such for six or more years.

 

The following letter will show in what high esteem he washeld

 

by Mayor Latrobe:

 

MAYOR’S OFFICE, CITY HALL.

 

Baltimore, September 14, 1881.

 

GEORGE SAVAGE, ESQ.

 

MY DEAK SIB:—I have yours of August 23d, tendering your resignation

 

as Secretary to the Mayor. In accepting this resignation I beg you will receive

 

my acknowledgments for the faithful and efficient manner in which you

 

have performed all the duties of your office. You were ever at your post and

 

neglected no interest connected with your department. I must also thank you

 

for your warm friendship manifested in so many ways for me personally.

 

While regretting much to lose your services before the end of my administration,

 

I am glad that you have obtained the honorable position you now hold

 

in the office of the Police Commissioners.

 

Wishing you every success, and assuring you of my warm personal regard

 

and friendship, I am,

 

Very sincerely yours,

 

FEE DIN AND C. LATBOBE.

 

In 1877 Mr. Savage was graduated from the Law School of the

 

University of Maryland, after having been elected President of

 

his class. Upon his leaving the University he practiced law

 

for a time with John E. Semmes, a nephew of the famous commander

 

of the Alabama, and in 1879 he entered into partnership

 

with Archibald H. Taylor, his well-known firm now being Savage

 

& Taylor. In August, 1881, a vacancy unexpectedly occurred

 

in the secretaryship of the Police Board. Mr. Savage was then

 

in Canada. Without his knowledge he was unanimously elected

 

to fill the vacancy, and has served the city of Baltimore since

 

then with a fidelity to his duties that has won him general

 

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OUR POLICE. 147

 

respect and esteem even from his political opponents. Mr. Savage

 

during the last Presidential election spoke repeatedly for Cleveland,

 

and his speeches were warmly applauded. He has never

 

married. He is a Mason, being a member of Concordia Lodge,

 

No. 13.

 

Though he has led an exceptionally active life, Mr. Savage

 

has found time to acquire a knowledge of the German language

 

and has several times delivered public addresses in that difficult

 

tongue. He is especially popular with the Germans of Baltimore,

 

and is a member of the Baltimore Schuetzen and the Germania

 

Msennerchor societies. The firm of Savage & Taylor has

 

for years been the regularly retained counsel for the Baltimore

 

Schuetzen Society, the wealthiest German organization in the

 

Monumental City. Mr. Savage continues to be a diligent student

 

of the German language and literature. He has also become

 

well-known for his oratorical abilities. In 1882 he delivered an

 

eloquent address at a banquet given in Trenton, New Jersey, by

 

Aaron Wilkes Post, G. A. B., to visiting ex-Confederates, and

 

his addresses on Baron DeKalb delivered in 1886 before the

 

United German Singing Societies of Baltimore, and on Robert

 

Burns before the Caledonian Club of Baltimore in 1886, and

 

latterly his oration at the unveiling of a monument in Hollywood

 

Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, erected to the memory of the

 

Otey Battery dead, have added to his reputation.

 

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148 OUR POLICE.

 

CHAPTER VII.

 

THE MARSHAL.

 

THE INTERESTING CAREER OF MARSHAL FREY.—ONE OF THE

 

BRAVEST AND BEST KNOWN OFFICERS IN THE COUNTRY.—

 

THE CONSPICUOUS CRIMES HE HAS UNEARTHED.—HOLLOHAN’S

 

MURDEROUS ATTACK UPON HIM.—HIS MAGNANIMITY AND HIS

 

COOLNESS IN DANGER.—INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE

 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT POLICE.—THE ATTACK ON MRS. SARRACCO.—

 

THE WHARTON-KETCHUM POISONING CASE.—THE

 

MURDER OF MRS. LAMPLEY.—THE CUMBERLAND RIOTS AND

 

MR. FREY’S BRAVERY.—HOW HE CONTROLLED THE MOB.

 

A RAID ON THE BALTIMORE BANKS BY FORGERS.—THE

 

UNGER-BOHLE TRUNK CASE.

 

No one who does not know of Marshal Jacob Frey would

 

think from a casual look at him that he was one of the best and

 

bravest police officers in the country. His appearance is that of

 

an unusually intelligent and agreeable gentleman whom a stranger

 

would not hesitate to choose as an associate ; but he is a great

 

deal more than that. There is not a cooler or a gamer man

 

living than he. Although below the average height, he is so

 

strong, so quietly determined, and so thoroughly in earnest that

 

he is universally esteemed by good citizens and as thoroughly

 

feared by the bad ones. He is the one man in a hundred thousand

 

who knows in emergencies what to do and how to do it.

 

When Hollohan attempted to kill him at Annapolis, and inflicted

 

wounds which would have knocked all moderation out of the ordinary

 

man, Marshal Frey merely stayed the arm of his assailant

 

and magnanimously entreated the intensely excited spectators in

 

the court room not to harm the prisoner.

 

And yet Mr. Frey did not start out in life with any ambition

 

to be a police officer. He went through the public schools,

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

JACOB FREY,

 

Marshal of Police.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

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OUR POLICE. 151

 

•was graduated at the High School, and entered the stove business.

 

He afterward became a manufacturer of stoves.

 

Jacob Frey was appointed captain April 23,1867, and assumed

 

•command of the Southern district. Its force was not distinguished

 

by superior efficiency. It was looked upon as one of the least

 

worthy of the four districts, and when anything of unusual importance

 

occurred men were sent from the Central office to work

 

it up. Big cases were never entrusted to the Southern district

 

police. Captain Frey appreciated this, and in his quiet way

 

determined to remedy it. He was resolved to show that he

 

and his force were able to attend fully to their duties. He

 

made no boasts but let his record speak. In a short time the

 

force of the Southern district showed new energy and proficiency.

 

It was equal to every emergency, and the poor estimate

 

of its importance which had been held at headquarters passed

 

•entirely away. The Southern district men became as thoroughly

 

trusted as any of their rivals. Several bits of good work fell

 

under Captain Frey’s supervision and he managed them admirably.

 

One of these cases was the cold-blooded murder of

 

Captain Johnson and his mate in Tangier Sound, by four colored

 

men who had shipped on board of an oyster-boat at Baltimore.

 

It occurred in the spring of 1867. Mr. Martin, secretary to the

 

Police Commission, was from Somerset county, and of course the

 

people down there at once turned to him to detect and arrest the

 

murderers. He very naturally wanted every effort concentrated

 

upon the case. Two of the negroes escaped to the eastern shore

 

of Virginia and were captured, but the other two—Frank Rounds

 

and George Bailey—covered their tracks more successfully.

 

Weeks passed and no clew to their whereabouts was obtained.

 

Captain Frey continued his diligence, however, and months afterwards

 

succeeded in locating Rounds in Guilford’s alley, where he

 

was promptly arrested. Months after this Captain Frey found

 

Bailey in the Baltimore City Jail, to which he had been committed

 

as a common thief. The Captain took both prisoners to

 

Princess Anne, where they were convicted. They were hanged

 

on March 5, 1868.

 

Another case which Captain Frey handled with unusual sue-

 

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152 OUR POLICE.

 

cess was the attack made by ” J o e ” Woods, a negro, upon Captain

 

Clayton, whose vessel lay at Smith’s dock. The present

 

commander of the Central district, Captain Farnan, made the

 

arrest, and the story of the crime is told in the sketch of his

 

life.

 

Captain Frey, although successful to an unusual degree in his

 

work, was not entirely satisfied with its financial aspect. The pay

 

was only $22 a week, and was a great deal less than his income

 

in business had been. He had left his establishment in the hands

 

of an employe, and he found that his business interests were neglected.

 

He consequently decided to give up police work and

 

return to the more lucrative if more prosaic business of manufacturing

 

stoves, but the Police Commissioners would not hear

 

of such a thing. President Jarrett was particularly emphatic

 

in his protestations, and Captain Frey was finally induced to

 

remain. On April 19, 1870, the Commissioners selected a

 

Deputy-Marshal. They cast their unanimous vote for Captain

 

Jacob Frey. He accepted the place, gave up his private business,,

 

and from the start devoted his energies and great abilities

 

to the work of his responsible position. There has not been an

 

important event in the police history of Baltimore since that

 

.time in which he has not prominently participated.

 

The murderous assault, on Monday night, April 24, 1871, upon

 

Mrs. Carlotta Sarracco, the wife of an Italian music teacher, who

 

lived in a charming little cottage just beyond the city limits, east of

 

Charles street and near the Blind Asylum, greatly aroused the

 

indignation of the citizens of Baltimore. The Sarracco cottage

 

was a bower of flowers. Mr. Sarracco was a Tuscan, and brought

 

with him from that beautiful part of Italy many of the tastes which

 

make the people of Tuscany so artistic and lovable. He and his

 

wife were devoted to each other. His profession enabled him

 

to spend much of his time at home, and all of his leisure he

 

devoted to his wife and his flowers. He had several pupils in different

 

parts of Baltimore county, and he was sometimes compelled

 

to spend the night away from home. One of these occasions

 

was on the night of the assault. Mr. Sarracco went to

 

Hagerstown where he was to fill an engagement, and he left

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 153

 

his wife, the only other person in the house being a colored

 

boy-of-all-work named Jeremiah Mahomet, a bright lad about

 

seventeen years old. The day had been passed by Mrs. Sarracco

 

in house-cleaning, and as the rooms in the upper part of the

 

house were still damp, she resolved to pass the night on the lowerfloor.

 

She made up a couch with some mattresses in the diningroom

 

and retired. She was a sound sleeper and she took theprecaution

 

before going to bed to tell Mahomet that he should

 

respond instantly at any noise he might hear in the house. This

 

the boy promised to do.

 

It was nearly midnight when a big hand was pushed stealthily

 

through the* vines which half closed the windows of the diningroom,

 

The latch of the sash was carefully forced back with a

 

thin-bladed knife, and noiselessly the form of a negro entered the

 

room. It was moonlight without and against that brilliant background

 

the man stood, a blot of intense black against the splendor

 

of the night. The negro, his eyes opened to their widest, his;

 

hands outstretched in the obscurity of the room, moved forward.

 

He struck his bare feet against the rocker of a chair. A low

 

curse relieved him and again he moved forward, his eyes fixed

 

upon the rear of the room where Mrs. Sarracco was lying. It

 

took the negro several minutes to pass across that ten feet of.

 

floor. Every creak of the boards beneath his feet would startle

 

him; as the mice would run about within the wall the negro

 

would stop and glance fearfully over his shoulder, dreading

 

lest he were discovered. At last he stood over the bed. Therewas

 

little pause then. He pushed his hand beneath Mrs. Sarracco’s

 

pillow, but discovered no valuables there. Then believing

 

that she might wear some jewelry about her neck, he laid his

 

hand upon a necklace which Mr. Sarracco had presented to his

 

wife a short time before. The burning touch awakened the

 

sleeping lady. She saw the low forehead and gleaming eyes of

 

the negro close to her face. With a cry of horror she sprang

 

up and cried out:

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Hush, or I’ll kill you,” hissed her assailant.

 

The threat was sufficient to indicate the ruffian’s purpose..

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

154 OUR POLICE.

 

Mrs. Sarracco leaped from her bed and grappled with the negro.

 

She -was a woman of large frame and was stronger than most

 

•of her sex. The conflict was a terrible one. The negro and

 

his expected victim rolled about the floor of the room fighting

 

like demons. Mrs. Sarracco bit and scratched the man until

 

the blood streamed from his face and neck. Finally, finding

 

himself matched in strength, the negro drew a keen razor, a

 

weapon which at that time was just becoming popular with

 

colored desperadoes, and made several severe gashes upon the

 

face of his victim, she bravely holding on to him and screaming

 

for help all the time. The man succeeded in disengaging his

 

hand once more and made another slash at the lady’s throat,

 

cutting downward toward the breast bone, and just grazing

 

the windpipe. He then wrenched himself away and jumped

 

out of the rear window through which he had entered. Before

 

he went, however, he knocked his victim down by a blow of

 

his fist. By this time the colored boy in the basement, having

 

been awakened by the screams of his mistress and the noise of

 

the struggle, came running up-stairs. As he entered the diningroom,

 

the burglar was making his exit through the window.

 

He dropped his hat as he went. The boy at once raised an

 

alarm and assistance soon arrived. Doctors Page and Grindrat

 

were roused and came at once to dress Mrs. Sarracco’s wounds.

 

Their promptness probably prevented her bleeding to death.

 

After a long illness, the gashes she received in the encounter

 

healed.

 

Deputy-Marshal Frey hearing of the occurrence at an early

 

hour, went out to the scene, reaching the house at five o’clock

 

in the morning. He found the room in which the conflict took

 

place in a state of great confusion, showing the terrible ordeal

 

through which Mrs. Sarracco had passed. The furniture was overturned

 

and the pools of blood on the wooden floor indicated the

 

course of the struggle. On the window sill through which the

 

burglar escaped, quantities of blood were left, and the walls were

 

bespattered with gore. Deputy-Marshal Frey immediately put

 

his men at work on the matter. The hat which the negro had

 

•dropped in his flight was an unerring clue to his identity, for

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 155′

 

both Mrs. Sarracco and her servant-boy recognized it as belonging

 

to a colored man, named John Thomas, -who had worked for

 

the lady a few days previously. The boy Mahomet and the man

 

had worked together in Mrs. Sarracco’s garden, and the boy

 

declared that Thomas had said to him, that from the way Mrs.

 

Sarracco talked he thought she must have considerable money.

 

Mr. Frey’s first inquiries were for the residence of Thomas.

 

Nobody knew where he lived, except that he had gone towards

 

the city each night when through with his work. In the Baltimore

 

directory there were no less than twenty ” John Thomas’s,”

 

so that the search for the burglar bore a rather discouraging aspect

 

at the beginning. The description of the man was as follows

 

: He was a young fellow, about twenty-two years of age,

 

about five feet six inches tall, dusky brown and of rather pleasing

 

features, with woolly hair and small side whiskers. Deputy-

 

Marshal Frey set detectives near every house in which the directory

 

said a John Thomas lived. They watched all day long and

 

all night. On Wednesday three John Thomas’s were arrested,

 

none of whom proved to be the right one. On Wednesday evening

 

the Deputy-Marshal himself set watch on the building No-

 

28 Ross street, in which one John Thomas lived. At about

 

eleven o’clock he was rewarded by seeing a man who answered

 

the description of the would-be murderer enter the house. This

 

man proved to be the right one. He was locked up in the Central

 

District station-house until five o’clock the following afternoon,

 

when his examination took place before Police Justice Haggerty.

 

In the meantime Deputy-Marshal Frey had succeeded

 

in getting a confession from the man, by confronting him with

 

the evidence against him—his hat and the razor with which the

 

cutting had been done. The razor had been found near Mrs.

 

Sarracco’s house after a long search by policeman Widdefield on

 

Tuesday evening. It was clotted with blood, and was discovered

 

in the dust just outside of the gate, where it had evidently

 

been thrown by the man in his flight. The prisoner when put

 

upon the witness-stand showed that he had not escaped from the

 

conflict with his victim unscathed. His face and eyes were

 

badly scratched and bruised. The clothes he wore on the night

 

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156 OUR POLICE.

 

of the assault were shown in court. They were covered with

 

large spots of blood. He was shown the razor and asked if it

 

belonged to him.

 

” Yes, it’s mine,” he replied; ” it belonged to my father.”

 

The hat found in the dining-room was put on the prisoner’s

 

head and the boy Mahomet identified him as the man who had

 

worked with him in the garden the week before. Thomas demanded

 

a trial by jury, notwithstanding his confession. He was

 

convicted and sentenced tp twenty-one years’ imprisonment in

 

the Maryland State Penitentiary, where he died after serving

 

about one-third of his sentence. During the trial a sad accident

 

happened to Mrs. Sarracco. One day as she was leaving the

 

Court House she fell down the stone steps of the building and

 

fractured her skull. She died from the effects of her wounds a

 

short time afterward.

 

A celebrated case which Deputy-Marshal Frey worked up and

 

which was a sensation of national proportions, was that of Mrs.

 

Ellen G. Wharton, charged with killing by tartar-emetic General

 

W. Scott Ketchum. Mrs. Wharton was the wife of an officer in

 

the United States Army. She came to this city about 1863.

 

Independently of her husband’s position, by reason of her own

 

character, her perfect cultivation of manner and her devotion as

 

a wife and mother, she won her way into the best social circles

 

of the city, and such a thing as scandal of any kind had never

 

been connected with her name. In the latter part of June, 1871,

 

the particulars of a horrible crime from Connecticut had shocked

 

the whole country. An educated woman named Sherman, who

 

moved in the best circles, had poisoned three husbands and several

 

families, The case excited great interest in Baltimore, and

 

when this interest was at its height it began to be rumored that

 

a tragedy of a somewhat similar character had been enacted in

 

North Eutaw street. For days the newspaper reporters were all

 

at sea. “The police had the case in hand, but they would say

 

nothing until they had probed the mystery thoroughly. Then

 

the following details came out: A retired officer of the United

 

States Army, General Ketchum, left Washington on June 24

 

with the avowed purpose of going to Baltimore to collect $2,600

 

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OUR POLICE. 157

 

•which he had lent to Mrs. Wharton, the widow of a brother

 

officer for whom he had the most friendly regard. He did come

 

to Baltimore and was taken ill at Mrs. Wharton’s house a very

 

few hours after he reached there. Doctor P. C. Williams, a

 

•well-known physician, attended him and discovered the symptoms

 

of metallic poisoning. General Ketchum lingered until

 

June 30, when he died. On the recommendation of Doctor Williams,

 

who was convinced that there was foul play in the matter,

 

the corpse was removed to a place where the cause of the

 

death could be ascertained. Portions of the body were analyzed

 

and twenty grains of tartar-emetic, a violent metallic poison, were

 

found in the stomach. Mrs. Wharton a few days afterward repaired

 

to Washington, and applied to the administrators of General

 

Ketchum for $4,000 which she alleged she had deposited

 

with the General. She was courteously but very decidedly repulsed,

 

and the question was asked why she had not paid the

 

$2,600 which General Ketchum had lent her ? She replied that

 

she had paid it on June 17, and had torn the note up. The General’s

 

books, however, showed that she had paid interest on the

 

25th of that month.

 

Other circumstances seemed to condemn Mrs. Wharton. On

 

the same day when General Ketchum was poisoned, Mr. Eugene

 

Van Ness, Mrs. Wharton’s confidential adviser, called to see

 

her and was taken ill with the same symptoms that affected

 

General Ketchum. For six days he languished between life

 

and death, but happily he was saved by the acuteness of his

 

wife, who discovered sediment in the glass which held his

 

nourishment. The police under Deputy-Marshal Frey worked

 

up this case so thoroughly that not a link was missing in the

 

•chain of evidence. They showed where and when Mrs. Wharton

 

had purchased quantities of tartar-emetic, and on the stand

 

Mr. Frey gave a long account of his interviews with Mrs.

 

Wharton. The case was tried at Annapolis and consumed forty

 

days. At every session the court-room was crowded, and the

 

greatest interest was taken in the proceedings throughout the

 

country. Nearly all the expert medical ability of Baltimore

 

was brought into requisition, and the eminent counsel on both

 

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158 OUR POLICE.

 

sides left no stone unturned. Dr. Edward Warren, the founder

 

of Washington Medical College and dean of the institution

 

advanced the opinion at the trial that General Ketchum had died

 

of cerebro spinal meningitis. This was the first time that that

 

disease had ever been brought to the attention of the public in

 

Baltimore. Its becoming known under such circumstances caused

 

much comment among the people. The result, a verdict for

 

acquittal, was doubtless a great disappointment to the public, for

 

Mrs. Wharton was then generally believed to be guilty.

 

A crime which stirred Baltimore to its depths as it was never

 

stirred before was the Lampley murder. It took place on the

 

night of January 2, 1873. John Lampley and his wife, both

 

aged, resided in the eastern section of the city. The old gentleman

 

had amassed a considerable fortune. He generally kept

 

from $1,000 to $1,500 in his house and this fact was known to

 

his relatives. His wife’s grand-daughter was the wife of Joshua

 

Nicholson, and being on intimate terms with the Lampley family,

 

Nicholson knew where the money was kept. Nicholson and

 

Thomas R. Hollohan worked together in a tin can factory, and

 

here began the acquaintance which made them partners in a

 

most heinous crime and an ignominious death. On the night of

 

the murder Mr. Lampley had gone to the theatre, for the first

 

time in thirty years, leaving his wife, who was seventy years

 

of age, alone in the house. AVhen some of the relatives returned

 

later in the evening she was found murdered and the

 

house robbed of $1,155 in notes and silver coin. The only

 

clue was a chisel found in the alley-way with which a trunk

 

containing the money had been broken open. A bundle of

 

cakes, two pieces of pie and two apples that were found on a

 

table wrapped up pointed to Nicholson, on the supposition that

 

the pastry had been prepared for his two children by Mrs.

 

Lampley, their great grandmother. The working up of this case

 

was’ in the hands of Deputy-Marshal Frey, and the thoroughness

 

with which he did the work was a most excellent tribute to

 

his ability. On the day following the dreadful crime, the unmarred

 

corpse of the aged victim was lying in the parlor of its

 

former neat though modest home in Mulligan street near Bond

 

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UUK POLICE. 159

 

street. The room was filled -with weeping women and silent

 

men, for the sudden taking away of the oldest neighbor’s life in

 

such a manner had cast more than a shadow of sorrow upon the

 

community. Towards evening Detective Pontier, who had been

 

assigned to the case by the Deputy-Marshal, stepped in upon the

 

gathering and glanced carefully at the different faces that composed

 

the group nearest the coffin. As he was turning away his

 

attention was attracted by a young woman beckoning to him.

 

“You are the detective, are you not?” she asked, in a low

 

tone.

 

The policeman replied in the affirmative.

 

” Well, I want to speak to you a moment alone. Follow me

 

into the yard.”

 

The detective followed the young woman as she requested.

 

When they they were out of hearing distance from the other

 

people she said:

 

” Go into the parlor again ; at the head of the corpse you will

 

see a good-looking young man ; if you are after the murderer of

 

Mrs. Lampley, keep your eye on him.” Thus saying the woman

 

withdrew.

 

Detective Pontier returned to the parlor. Seated at the head

 

of the coffin was a young man who might answer the description

 

of good-looking. He was gazing with a pensive countenance

 

upon the floor, from which he did not raise his eyes while the

 

detective was watching him. A moment afterward the door

 

opened and a man entered whom Detective Pontier knew well.

 

He was John English, one of the leaders of the ” Plug Ugly”

 

gang, and bore the reputation of being a bad character. He was

 

the son-in-law of the murdered woman. The detective called

 

English to him and taking him one side, asked him :

 

” Who is the young man at the head of the coffin ?

 

English started and gazed into space for a moment. Then

 

turning to the detective he replied impressively :

 

” You’re on the right track, I’m afraid. That man is Josh

 

Nicholson, the old lady’s grand-daughter’s husband.”

 

The detective had heard of Nicholson before as being a person

 

in ill-repute with the police, though he had never before been

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

160 O.UR POLICE.

 

brought into contact with him. Turning again to English he

 

said:

 

” I “will go into the backroom and engage in conversation -with

 

a lady. Come in and see who she is, and when I come out, tell

 

me.

 

And Detective Pontier went into the rear room and conversed

 

with the young woman who had spoken to him before.

 

When he returned to the parlor English told him that he had been

 

talking with Nicholson’s wife.

 

“Are you sure ?” demanded the officer, not believing it possible

 

that a woman would have spoken concerning her husband as

 

she had.

 

” Perfectly sure. I know her well,” replied English.

 

The detective kept his own counsel, but called the following

 

day for a further talk with Mrs. Nicholson. When he arrived

 

at the house the woman herself opened the door to admit him,

 

and called him to a room on the second floor so as to be out of

 

hearing.

 

” I think my husband and a man whom he brought home to

 

dinner with him yesterday are the murderers of my grandmother,”

 

were the woman’s first words. She spoke impressively

 

but without a tremor in her voice. ” Go down stairs now and

 

you will find him alone in the parlor. Ask him who the man is

 

who was with him yesterday, and make him speak loud, so that

 

I can hear what he says. I will listen outside the door.”

 

The detective went to the parlor and found Nicholson there as

 

his wife had said.

 

” This is pretty bad business, ain’t it, Josh?” began the policeman.

 

“Awful,” replied Nicholson, with a deep sigh. “She was a

 

kind old grandmother to me.”

 

“Who was the man you brought home to dinner with you yesterday?”

 

asked the detective suddenly, changing the subject.

 

Nicholson colored.

 

” I brought home with me ?” he stammered, ” why I—oh, that

 

was, er—er, that was—Tom Callahan.”

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

/

 

OUR POLICE, 161

 

Mr. Pontier seemed to take no notice of the man’s embarrassment

 

at the question, but continued:

 

“Where does he live ?”

 

” I really don’t know,” replied Nicholson.

 

“Well, -where does he work?”

 

” I don’t know that, either,” returned the young man.

 

At this the detective turned away, and Nicholson, evidently

 

glad to escape further questioning, went out of the room into the

 

kitchen in the rear. As soon as he was gone his wife, who had

 

been listening to the conversation, stepped from behind the door

 

and said, excitedly:

 

” Everything he has told yon is a lie ! That man’s name is

 

Hollohan, and he works at the same bench with Josh in the

 

canning factory.”

 

The following day Pontier arrested Hollohan on suspicion, but

 

Marshal Gray, considering the evidence against him insufficient,

 

refused to hold the man. The detective continued his search for

 

clues, but the only one that was found for a long time was the

 

chisel with a peculiar handle cut from a raw twig, which was found

 

in the snow by a policeman, and with which, it was believed, the

 

closets and the bureau drawers had been opened by the murderers

 

in their search for the plunder. Deputy-Marshal Frey had

 

this chisel taken to every hardware shop, to every blacksmith,

 

to every carpenter and to every ship-builder in town, in the hope

 

that he might find somebody who would recognize it. But in

 

vain. At last, after about a month’s search, its owner was

 

found. He was a deaf and dumb boy, the son of the lady who

 

kept the boarding-house in which Hollohan lived. The boy had

 

been presented with a tool-box and had replaced the first handle

 

of the chisel with the one made of the piece of raw twig. He

 

had lived in the room which Hollohan occupied, previously to the

 

man’s coming to board with his mother, and when he moved out

 

of the room he left his tool-box behind with a few other articles

 

in the closet. Having thus brought the chisel so near to Hollohan

 

the Deputy-Marshal directed Pontier to arrest him again,

 

and the man was locked up. Nicholson was also arrested.

 

Efforts were begun to get a confession from one or both of the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

J62 OUR POLICE.

 

men. With Nicholson Mr. Pontier was successful. The man

 

told the whole horrible story of the heartless crime. When he

 

learned that his companion had confessed, Hollohan admitted

 

that he was one of the murderers, only giving a different version

 

of the story. This is Hollohan’s story :

 

” While working at my trade last autumn, at No. 99 South

 

Bond street, I made the acquaintance of Nicholson. About a

 

month after, he invited mo up to his house and introduced me to

 

his wife. At the time I was very much pleased with my new

 

acquaintance. A week or so after he asked me to take a ride

 

with him down to Lower Canton ; he had English’s horse and

 

buggy. He then told me about this old gentleman, Mr. Lampley,

 

having a large amount of money in his house—$3,000 or

 

$4,000. He then said:

 

” ‘ Tom, we can make a good raise without any trouble.’

 

” He told me how it could be done. He said that Mr. Lampley

 

went into the country on Sunday a-fishing, and did not get

 

home until late at night. He said he once lived in the house,

 

and knew where the money was kept. He knew that I had been

 

in trouble once before, and he was no ways bashful in asking me

 

to assist him. I consented to go with him. The day was appointed—

 

it was one Sunday night—to carry out his plans.

 

When he said that we would have to ‘ croak the old woman’

 

(those are the very words he used), I suggested a better plan.

 

I told him that if we hurt the old lady we would be running

 

greater risk. I said that we could get the money without using

 

any violence, if he would dress in disguise; that we could talk

 

the money out of the old lady. To that Nicholson would not

 

consent, giving as his reasons that if the old lady was robbed,

 

every one of the relatives would suspicion him, and that if he

 

‘ croaked her,’ no one would think that he would do it. I would

 

not agree with him, so we gave it up that day. But he mentioned

 

it to me about a week before Christmas. He still wanted to

 

‘ croak’ the old lady. I did not agree with him, and we gave

 

the thing up for that time. I told him it was useless to run

 

such a great risk when we could get the money without. He

 

said the old lady would recognize him ; that I could not do it by

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 163

 

myself with safety. Nicholson did not say anything to me on

 

that subject until the afternoon of January 2,1873. I accidentally

 

met him at No. 99 South Bond street. He invited me up

 

to his house. I went there. While there I was introduced to

 

Mr. John Lampley by Mrs. Nicholson. I afterwards accompanied

 

Nicholson to his father’s house, on Forrest street, near Central

 

avenue. On our way there he told me what a splendid chance

 

we could have to-night to get that money. He thought the old

 

man would go to the theatre with John English, the latter’s wife

 

and little boy. He was not certain that Mr. Lampley would go,

 

but if I agreed to go with him that night hesaid he would meet me

 

at half-past 6 o’clock at Bond and Baltimore streets. We met

 

there at the appointed time. He then told me that the old man

 

had gone; so I agreed to go with him to help carry his plans

 

out. We arrived at Mr. Lampley’s house at about 7 o’clock.

 

No one was there but this old lady. She was sitting in her

 

working chair, a-sewing. Nicholson entered without knocking.

 

She spoke to him very kindly. I followed him. Josh gave me

 

an introduction. He said I was a friend of his ; that I wanted

 

her son John to do some papering for me. Nicholson asked this

 

question to ascertain where John was. We talked then a little

 

while, when Mrs. Lampley got up and went to the cupboard and

 

took from there a brown paper bag of cakes, telling Nicholson

 

that she had put them up for his little children, that she intended

 

to send them over to Nicholson’s house that morning. Then she

 

treated Nicholson and myself to some wine, saying that it was

 

home-made. Nicholson stood behind her. I was standing by

 

her side. Josh gave the signal. I grabbed her by the throat.

 

At the same time Nicholson struck her with his fist in the stomach.

 

We then carried her into the other room and laid her on

 

the carpet—she was dead. Nicholson ran out and fastened the

 

gate and closed the window shutters. Everything was arranged

 

between Nicholson and myself before we entered the house.

 

Josh took the light and went up-stairs to get the money. I remained

 

with Mrs. Lampley in the dark, and if John Lampley

 

came in, I was to get away with him. I had my pistol with

 

me.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

164 OUR POLICE,

 

“Nicholson made a considerable noise in prying the trunk

 

open. I ran up-stairs where he was, to caution him about making

 

so much noise. He said :

 

” ‘Tom, I have got it opened.’

 

” He then handed me the silver; he took the paper money.

 

I did not remain up-stairs but a minute; we both went down together.

 

He placed the lamp upon the table and turned down the

 

light. lie then handed me all the money. He took his umbrella

 

with him. It was very dark and raining, and we went through

 

the stable. Josh opened the gate that led out into a ten-foot

 

alley. After we got out in Dalls street, he remarked that he

 

was very sorry that those cakes were left upon the table. I asked

 

him where the chisel was. He said he had thrown it into the

 

alley. We separated at Eden and Fayette streets. He said he

 

was going home. I then went down to mj boarding-house. The

 

money was not divided until a week after; in fact the silver was

 

never divided. We considered that it was dangerous property to

 

handle at that time. I gave him $515 of the greenbacks the

 

evening of the eighth of January. Since we have been arrested

 

I told him to have one of his friends get $300 that I had hidden

 

in this city. They went for it, but said they could not find it.

 

I am satisfied they got it. I wanted to get it to fee a lawyer. If

 

I had had my own way, the old woman, Mrs. Lampley, would be

 

alive to-day. There is one party that has been accused wrongfully

 

and that is Albert 0. Tucker. He did not know anything

 

about it, nor never had any of the money. He is a man I would

 

trust. I do believe if he had known of it he would have

 

talked me out of the notion. I make this statement in justice to

 

him. I have not screened myself. Everything that I have done

 

I have stated. I know that I have broken the laws of God and

 

man, and I am willing to give up my life; but I want Brother

 

Nicholson on the same platform.”

 

The reference here to Nicholson was prompted by the latter’s

 

unsuccessful effort to turn all the guilt on Hollohan.

 

The trial of this case at Annapolis was one of the most celebrated

 

and dramatic hearings ever occurring before the Maryland

 

courts. The testimony was of the most startling character, filled

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OTJlt POLICE. 165

 

with pathetic incidents, and having in it sufficient to cause the

 

most intense feeling in the court-room. When the evidence had

 

all been placed before the court, and Mr. Revell, who appeared

 

for the State, was delivering his closing argument, Hollohan kept

 

his gaze fixed upon Deputy-Marshal Frey, who was sitting near

 

the attorneys’ table chatting with some newspaper men. Mr.

 

Revell made such a stirring speech that the attention even of the

 

court officers was attracted to him, and they neglected watching

 

the prisoners as carefully as they were expected to. Without

 

a sound of warning Hollohan sprang from the prisoners’ box,

 

and leaping over tables and chairs rushed up to the Deputy-Marshal

 

and dealt him a murderous blow on the top of the head with

 

a stocking which he had filled with pieces of iron and stone. Mr.

 

Frey reeled backwards for a moment—but only for one instant.

 

The crowd in the court-room rushed forward and the wildest

 

excitement ensued, during which Hollohan dashed for the window

 

and Nicholson for the door. Citizens pursued both ruffians,

 

those after Hollohan crying:

 

“Kill him! kill him!”

 

With the blood streaming over his face and clothing from the

 

wound the murderer had inflicted, Mr. Frey leaped towards Hollohan,

 

and placing his hand upon his shoulder exclaimed:

 

” Stand back, gentlemen; this man belongs to the State; he

 

has not been sentenced yet. Do not hit him.”

 

This magnanimity on the part of the deputy-marshal was regarded

 

as extraordinary by the people of Maryland. He was

 

widely praised, even Hollohan saying just before he was

 

hanged:

 

” I was aggravated against him, but when they were crying

 

out: ‘Kill him! kill him!’ around me, and when I was overpowered,

 

I heard him say : ‘ Do not hit him.’ I was sorry I had

 

struck him, for it proved him to be a brave and magnanimous

 

man.” Hollohan also said that his attack was directed mainly

 

against chief-detective Crone.

 

The trial was ended by the conviction of the murderers, and

 

they were hanged on Friday, August 1, 1873.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

166 OUR POLICE.

 

The experience which brought out more fully than anything

 

else the competence of the Baltimore police force, was that received

 

in the railroad riots of July, 1877. At a time when the

 

people lost their heads, the policemen in general and deputymarshal

 

Frey in particular, were cool, brave and determined.

 

The strike was caused by a reduction of ten per cent, in the pay

 

of the firemen on the freight engines of the Baltimore and Ohio

 

Railroad. The men claimed that they were already working at

 

starvation wages, and could not afford to labor for less. The company

 

declared that the depression in the general business interests

 

of the country compelled the reduction, and made it unable to pay

 

high wages. The firemen left their work on the morning of

 

Monday, July 16, 1877. There were about a hundred of them

 

at first. In many instances they went out on their trains a few

 

miles from the city, and when the engines stopped to take coal

 

they left their places, refusing to go any farther. At first the

 

strike seemed easy to manage, but as the first day wore on and

 

news came that the trouble had reached Martinsburg, and that

 

the militia had been called out there, things became more serious.

 

The police were promptly on hand. They were stationed in

 

twos and threes, at various points between Baltimore and the

 

Relay House, and a squad of twelve was at Camden Junction.

 

The first day passed quietly, although few of the freight trains

 

left the city, but on the second day—Tuesday—the excitement

 

began in the afternoon. A freight train of eighteen loaded cars

 

from the West, bound for Locust Point, was partly wrecked by

 

means of a misplaced switch at a trestle near the foot of Leadenhall

 

street, Spring Garden, and the engine and several cars were thrown

 

into a gulley. News, too, arrived of the fight at Martinsburg, in

 

which two firemen were shot. At night the employes of the

 

Baltimore and Ohio Company held a meeting and decided to support

 

the strikers, but first to try conciliation with the company.

 

Conciliation failed and the strike went on. On Wednesday, the

 

third day of the troubles, the West Virginia authorities called on

 

President Hayes for troops, and a proclamation was at once issued

 

by the President. Troops were promptly sent. Of course all this

 

had its effect in Baltimore, but on that day there were no hostile

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 167

 

demonstrations here. The freight business amounted practically

 

to nothing, but the passenger trains arrived as usual. The Company

 

decided “not to recede from its position, and a reward of

 

$500 was offered by it for the arrest of the person or persons who

 

caused the Spring Garden wreck. On the fourth day the troubles

 

continued in Martinsburg, but, there was no outbreak in

 

Baltimore until the next day. Baltimore was more excited than

 

it had been since the war.

 

About 3 o’clock in the afternoon of Friday, when the news

 

had been received that the strike at Cumberland threatened to

 

assume general proportions, Governor Carroll held a consultation

 

with the officers of the Baltimore and Ohio Company, and became

 

convinced that the presence of the military at Cumberland was

 

necessary for the preservation of peace and order. A half hour

 

later he issued an order to Brigader-General Herbert, commanding

 

the First Brigade, M. N. G., ordering him to proceed to Cumberland.

 

Simultaneously he issued a proclamation calling upon the

 

rioters to desist. Soon afterwards General Herbert held another

 

consultation with Governor Carroll to consider whether the military

 

should be summoned to their respective armories by a ” military

 

call” from the bells. Governor Carroll objected to this, and

 

General Herbert-tried to get the men at the armories by the ordinary

 

means, but not succeding very well, again asked the Governor

 

that the bells be rung. This was done, and a great misfortune

 

it proved. At twenty minutes of 6 o’clock the call—

 

1—5—1—was sounded from the City Hall and fire bells. The

 

people knew what it meant, and in a very short time the streets

 

around the armories were filled with men and boys of all ages

 

who sympathized with the strikers. It was about the time that

 

the work in the factories was over, and all the workmen helped to

 

swell the crowds. In front of the armory of the Sixth Regiment,

 

at Fayette and Front streets, the mob numbered at least 2,000.

 

Strangely enough, the officers of the regiment sent word to the

 

police headquarters, asking that policemen be sent to clear the

 

way, so that the regiment could march on to Camden station.

 

The old system then in vogue scattered the policemen, so that not

 

enough of them could be collected in time for the work, and in

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

168 OUR POLICE.

 

two hours the crowd was so large that no force was able to

 

handle it.

 

The troubles at the Sixth regiment armory began at about

 

seven o’clock. A brick-bat was thrown into one of the windows.

 

Four policemen—Officers Albert Whitely, James Jamison, Oliver

 

Kenly, and Roberts—were stationed at the door, and in spite of

 

the volleys of stones and missiles and jeers that followed they

 

manfully stood their dangerous guard, although the four militia

 

men who had been with the policemen had been called in.- The

 

hour set for marching was 8.15 o’clock, and the crowd had

 

become maddened and aggressive. The companies, however,

 

determined to pass the rioters. When they appeared on the

 

street there was a riot so general that it drove the men back

 

again into the building. The next time they came out they had

 

orders to fire. The first company fired high, but the attack became

 

so heavy on the following companies that they discharged

 

their weapons into the crowd. From that instant all along the

 

march to Camden station the firing was continuous and general,

 

resulting in the killing of about a dozen people and the serious

 

wounding of as many more.

 

The Fifth regiment did not use its guns, although it was

 

severely attacked and had every provocation to fire. The men

 

marched admirably through showers of stones and other missiles.

 

There were 250 of them. At the junction of Camden and Eutaw

 

streets a solid mass of rough-looking men blocked their passage.

 

They came to a halt for a moment, and although the bricks were

 

falling fast, Captain Zollinger counselled his men not to fire.

 

Then he ordered them to prepare to double-quick with their fixed

 

bayonets into the depot. Drawing his sword, Captain Zollinger

 

shouted to the mob to give way, that the command might pass.

 

A brawny man opposed the captain, who promptly knocked him

 

down, and amid the hoots and yells and several shots from the

 

crowd the regiment charged into the depot. Soon after the regiment

 

had reached the station the building was set on fire and

 

the rioters attempted to interfere with the firemen, but fortunately

 

in this they did not succeed, and the flames were extinguished.

 

The valiant service that the police did in these exciting hours

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUB POLICE. 169

 

has never been publicly acknowledged except by brief paragraphs

 

in the newspapers. In every instance they awed the

 

mob, while the soldiers incensed it. One policeman was equal

 

to a dozen soldiers. Until long after midnight the police protected

 

the military and guarded all the depot buildings. It

 

was the police who protected the firemen and the engines and

 

hose, and thus saved the buildings. They were fired upon by

 

the mob, and some -were wounded, but they wounded a number

 

of the mob, and in addition made numerous arrests. The

 

result of the great excitement was that the order sending the

 

soldiers to Cumberland was rescinded, and a proclamation to that

 

effect was issued by Mayor Latrobe.

 

During these days the efficiency of the police was tried and

 

proved. Deputy-Marshal Frey had command in and around

 

Camden station. For nearly seventy hours he went without

 

sleep. Single-handed, long before any officers could be assembled,

 

on the Friday previous to the arrival of the military, he

 

cleared the platform and front pavement of several hundred

 

excited men, and when reinforced arrested two of the ringleaders

 

and took them to the Southern police station himself.

 

On Saturday night crowds again collected around Camden station.

 

About 9 P. M. a fire-alarm excited the rioters so that they rushed

 

towards the lines that the police had formed. Shots were fired

 

by the rioters, and several officers fell wounded. Then it was

 

that Deputy-Marshal Frey told the men to keep steady, and a

 

moment afterwards, their pistols being drawn, the command of

 

” Take aim—Fire ” was given. They fired low, and as they fired

 

they rushed forward, and each officer grabbed a prisoner. Fifty

 

arrests were made; several men were killed and a number

 

wounded. There was another outbreak at 11 o’clock and fiftythree

 

more arrests were made. On Sunday morning large crowds

 

again collected around the Camden Station, and they were closely

 

pressing upon the picket lines of the Fifth regiment. Deputy-

 

Marshal Frey, not liking the looks of things, sent for a squad of

 

twenty policemen. When they arrived the Deputy-Marshal took

 

charge of them in person. He told the crowd that he was going

 

to ” clear that street,” and he advised all peaceably disposed

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

170 OUR POLICE.

 

persons to go home. Many of them did so, but many more

 

remained. Turning to his men, the Marshal gave orders to

 

“Forward,” and in a very short time the rioters were driven

 

away. They knew the Deputy-Marshal, and they were afraid

 

of him.

 

When the riot had assumed such threatening proportions every

 

effort was made to protect the city. United States soldiers from

 

New York and other cities were promptly ordered to Baltimore.

 

General W. S. Hancock arrived with eight companies of troops

 

from New York harbor, and two war vessels with 560 men, fully

 

equipped, anchored in the Patapsco. Several hundred special

 

policemen were sworn in by the Police Board. Among them

 

were such well-known citizens as William M. Pegram, Alexander

 

M. Green, C. Morton Stewart, Frank Frick, E. Wyatt Blanchard,

 

James H. Barney, J. L. Hoffman, Robert G. Hoffman,

 

W. Gilmore Hoffman, John Donnell Smith, William A. Fisher,

 

Frederick von Kapff, and Washington B. Hanson. They were

 

supplied with the regular badges, and they did good work. The

 

regular policemen were unfaltering in their duty, and most of

 

them did not sleep during more than fifty hours. The great show of

 

strength by the police and troops overawed the rioters, and the

 

troubles were gradually quieted. The following Saturday freight

 

trains, each guarded by ten soldiers, moved out on the road.

 

The strikes in other cities continued, more or less, but within two

 

weeks they were over. Trouble on the Northern Central road

 

was happily averted. The jury of inquest which sat upon the

 

man killed by the Sixth Regiment was very thorough in its

 

investigations, and after several days consumed in taking testimony

 

it rendered a verdict which found the rioters guilty of the

 

troubles, but charged the regiment with shooting too hastily and

 

too indiscriminately. It found fault because there were not more

 

policemen on hand around the armory. This, however, was

 

purely the fault of the military authorities in not giving sufficient

 

notice to the Marshal. The part that the police force took in the

 

memorable conflict will ever stand a monument to its courage

 

and efficiency.

 

One of the most curious bank cases in the criminal history of

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 171

 

the city was that of July, 1880. Cleary, Bell, and Wilson, expert

 

burglars, came to Baltimore in June for the purpose of ” cleaning

 

out” the town as far as they could. By selling Government bonds

 

they secured the checks of well-known brokers and made from

 

them counterfeit lithograph blanks. Only one thing remained

 

for them to do, and that was to ascertain from each firm the

 

correct number of its checks for the day, so as to have everything

 

regular on the face of the forged drafts. They did this by

 

selling another government bond to each firm. The first bank

 

victimized was the Merchants’ National, at Gay and Second

 

streets. On Friday, July 17, just before the close of business

 

hours, an elderly man, of about fifty years, dignified and businesslike,

 

went into the Merchants’ National Bank and presented to

 

Mr. Morris, the paying teller, a check for $2,630, drawn in

 

Mr. J. Harmanus Fisher’s name, on his own peculiar blank,

 

with government stamp in the center, and all correct. The

 

money was promptly paid over. On Saturday morning the man

 

returned with another check for $3,920. This too was paid

 

after close scrutiny, and after being passed upon casually by a

 

clerk from Mr. J. IT. Fisher’s office who happened to be in the

 

bank at the time. Later on in the day a third check was brought

 

in and cashed for the same party. The suspicions of Mr. Morris,

 

the teller, were aroused, and he took the checks to Mr. Fisher’s

 

office, where they were pronounced forgeries.

 

This was not an end of the schemes, however. On the same

 

Friday morning a young man went into the banking house of

 

Messrs. Middendorf & Oliver, and tendered for sale a $100 4

 

per cent. bond. It was readily bought, and at his request he

 

was given a check for $50 and the remainder in cash. About

 

an hour later another stranger sold another bond to the same firm

 

and got a check in payment. A half hour afterwards a third

 

person made a similar sale with the same result. About two

 

o’clock a handsomely dressed young fellow walked into the Third

 

National Bank, went up to the outer desk, indorsed his name on

 

the back of a check and handed it to Mr. W. B. Medairy, the

 

paying teller, to be cashed. Mr. Medairy looked at it. It was

 

issued by Middendorf & Oliver, and was for the sum of $1,294.50,

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

172 OUR POLICE.

 

and indorsed on the back by W. Henry Murdock. All appeared

 

to be correct, but Mr. Medairy said that the handsomely dressed

 

young man would have to be identified.

 

“Oh,” said the young man, “then I’ll step around to get the

 

indorsement of the firm to my signature.”

 

He did step around and was gone just about long enough to

 

go to the office and back. He returned with the alleged indorsement

 

upon which the ink was not half dry. The money was

 

paid. The same afternoon about five minutes past three o’clock

 

another man ran hurriedly into the same bank and asked to deposit

 

some money. He offered a check on Middendorf & Oliver

 

for §1,396, drawn up in due form with his alleged name (D. M.

 

Kimball) on the back, authenticated apparently by Messrs. Middendorf

 

& Oliver. The teller refused at first to cash the check

 

as business hours had closed, but the man was so importunate

 

that ho finally cashed it. The fellow took the whole amount

 

and left nothing on deposit. When Mr. Medairy balanced his

 

books he found a discrepancy, and he went around to Messrs.

 

Middendorf & Oliver to see about it. Then, of course, the forgeries

 

were discovered. The swindlers tried their same game on

 

the Western National Bank, but they were foiled by the unusual

 

caution of Mr. Charles Nolting, the paying teller.

 

Deputy-Marshal Frey worked up this case. The result was

 

that George Bell, Henry Clcary, and Charles Farren were arrested

 

in New York on July 27, and were arraigned on the day

 

following. Bell and Cleary were recognized by the Baltimore

 

bankers, but Farren was discharged. Both Bell and Cleary had

 

interesting criminal records. Bell is still in the penitentiary

 

in Baltimore. Cleary was released on March 17, 1887, and

 

went South. Wilson, who was afterwards found to be connected

 

with the gang, is serving a nine years term at Kingston, Ontario.

 

Deputy-Marshal Frey brought Bell from New York on August

 

18, 1880, and the latter was promptly tried and convicted in the

 

criminal court of this city. There were previous charges in other

 

cities against the two other men.

 

A complete history of this crime is contained in a subsequent

 

chapter.

 

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OUR POLICE. 173

 

Marshal Frey profited largely by the experience he received

 

in the riots of 1877, and ever since that time he has kept the

 

force always prepared for emergencies. In the spring of 1886

 

nearly every largt, city in the country had its labor troubles,

 

and the most difficult affairs to handle were the strikes of the

 

street-car men. In April it became evident that there was going

 

to be a strike in Baltimore. Mr. Frey expected it, and was

 

fully prepared for it three days before it began. So complete

 

were his arrangements and so thoroughly did he have everything

 

in hand, that on the day of the strike, Wednesday, April 14,

 

noon, by the time the cars got into their depots, he had policemen

 

at the stables and all along the line of the roads. In

 

fact, the people did not know that a strike had occurred until they

 

saw the officers. Marshal Frey says that a Baltimore crowd is

 

very easily managed so long as it is kept in good humor, and so

 

long as hot-headed persons are prevented from getting together

 

with the idea of arousing excitement and disturbance. He acted

 

on this theory during that strike. The people were kept moving.

 

Whenever any excitement began the crowd producing it was

 

promptly broken up. In this way the trouble passed over without

 

serious outbreaks of any kind, and although it lasted two weeks,

 

good order was maintained as though nothing unusual was

 

going on.

 

The linger trunk mystery is too fresh in the public mind to

 

need long description. On Sunday morning, January 23, 1887,

 

a trunk was received at the Adams Express warehouse on North

 

street, addressed to ” John A. Wilson, Baltimore. To be called

 

for.” No one called for it, and on Wednesday it began to smell

 

so bad, that manager James Shuter determined to open it. He

 

did so, but such a horrible stench issued from it that everybody

 

was driven away. Mr. Shuter at once telephoned to headquarters,

 

and Captain Farnan sent to the office the patrol-wagon, in

 

in which were officers Slaysman, Jefferson Lutts and John Doyle.

 

They took the trunk to the Central Station. Captain Farnan

 

and some of the officers in the station re-opened it to ascertain its

 

contents. They took out a calico shirt, a torn woolen shirt and

 

a coat which had been cut in half. The heavy brown paper was

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

174 OUR POLICE.

 

then opened, and there was a sight that even the policemen could

 

hardly stand. Packed in the box was the trunk of a human body.

 

The body looked as if it had been doubled up, with the legs under

 

the back, so as to make it fit into the receptacle. On one side of

 

the trunk were the left arm and the feet, which had been cut off.

 

The other arm was tucked under the body. Cards on the man

 

and inscriptions on the trunk were the only clues to the mystery.

 

Marshal Frey sent the following telegram :

 

INSPECTOR BYRNES,

 

•Police Headquarters, New York:

 

The headless body of a man was found in a trunk at Adams Express office

 

this P. M. It came from your city; was delivered to Adams by Westcott Express

 

on Saturday last. Adams will be notified to communicate with you.

 

We will hold body as long as possible. In the trunk were found some cards

 

of Henry Siegel, 205 Throop avenue, Brooklyn. On the shirt is found the

 

name of C. Kaufhold.

 

JACOB FREY, Marshal.

 

Inspector Byrnes and his men worked up the case at once, and

 

the mystery was soon solved in the arrest on January 27 of

 

Edward Unger for the murder of August Bohle. Inspector

 

Byrnes drew out of him a confession by suddenly confronting

 

him with the bloody evidences of his crime. The sensational

 

feature of the trial which followed was the description of the

 

killing by Unger. He acted the whole tragedy before the jury,

 

and it had a powerful effect. Unger got off with a twentyyears’

 

sentence, but as he is an old man this practically amounts

 

to a life term. At the close of the case Inspector Byrnes paid

 

this tribute to Marshal Frey: ” He is one of the very foremost

 

police officers in the country. It was half-past nine Wednesday

 

night when the details he sent were given me, and so complete

 

were they, fully covering every necessary point and line

 

of information, that by their aid I was able to spot my man

 

and arrest him eighteen hours after. Baltimore is lucky in

 

having Marshal Frey at the head of its police department.”

 

Marshal Frey has been unusually succesful in getting confessions

 

out of criminals. His work in the ” burking” case last

 

year, the particulars of which will be found in the next chapter,

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OCR POLICE. 175.

 

when he led the accused man, Ross, to narrate the particulars

 

of his crime, are well remembered. A somewhat similar case was

 

that of the negro, George H. Williams, alias William Henry, who

 

assaulted Mrs. Mary J. Ridley in Druid Hill Park, on May 2-i

 

1887. Henry confessed to the Marshal and said that he had attacked

 

the lady for purposes of robbery. There are dozens more

 

of interesting cases which Marshal Frey has handled with his

 

usual success. Those, however, that have been cited show the

 

extent, and excellence of his work and prove his right to be

 

considered one of the best and bravest policemen in the country.

 

The celebrated Udderzook-Goss insurance case was prosecuted

 

under Marshal Frey’s direction. Udderzook was an insurance

 

agent in this city. He entered into a conspiracy with Goss to

 

defraud several companies for which he was agent. Udderzook

 

insured Goss for a large amount, and the two then caused a body

 

to be burned at a fire on York road, which Udderzook pretended

 

to recognize as that of Goss. The conspiracy was discovered

 

and facts were ferretted out by Marshal Frey which led to the

 

arrest of the two men, and the confession of Goss.

 

Mr. Frey’s commission as Marshal dates from October 15,1885.

 

He was married in 1858. He has four children and he occupies

 

a comfortable home in one of the prettiest sections of Northwest

 

Baltimore. He is in the prime of life, and with the past for a

 

prophet, there can be no doubt as to the brilliancy and usefulness

 

of his future.

 

The Marshal’s clerk since 1870 has been Dr. George W.

 

Wentz, He was appointed under Marshal Gray and was continued

 

in office under Marshal Frey. Dr. Wentz was born in

 

this city on March 6, 1836. He was graduated as a physician

 

but did not practice, preferring the profession of journalism,

 

which he followed until his appointment as Marshal’s clerk, to

 

accept which office he resigned his position on the staff of the

 

old Baltimore Grazette.

 

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176 OUR POLICE.

 

CHAPTER VIII.

 

DEPUTY MARSHAL JOHN LANNAN.

 

HIS RISE FROM PATROLMAN TO DEPUTY MARSHAL.—A TRIP TO

 

CHINA.—THE MINNESOTA AND A TYPHOON.—CLEARING OUT

 

DISHONEST SERVANTS.—RUNNING DOWN NEW JERSEY BURGLARS.

 

A MURDERER IDENTIFIED INTUITIVELY. THE RATS

 

HAD GNAWED HIS HANDCUFFS.—THE RIOTS OF 1877.—THE

 

CENTRAL STATION A HOSPITAL.—THREE DAYS AND NIGHTS

 

CONTINUOUS SERVICE.—A VERY SHARP NEGRO.—A DEPUTY

 

MARSHAL’S DIAMOND BADGE.—THE ONLY BURKING CASE IN

 

AMERICA.

 

The vice-commander of any body of men must needs divide

 

with his immediate official superior the responsibilities and honors

 

of his position. This is particularly the case in police and

 

military organizations, and especially so among the police of this

 

city. To the deputy marshal then, be that credit which comes

 

of honest endeavor to protect the lives and property under

 

his guardianship; that honor which is brought by years of

 

faithful service in a position where faithfulness means safety

 

to thousands of human beings. John Lannan is Deputy Marshal,

 

and ranks second in the active force. He was born in

 

the City of Limerick, Ireland, on June 19, 1834. When he

 

was but four years old his parents came to this country, and

 

made Baltimore their home. Since then, while Mr. Lannan has

 

not forgotten his Celtic nativity, he has regarded the United

 

States as his country, and this city as his chosen home. He received

 

his early education in the public schools, and remained a

 

pupil until he was 16 years old, when he entered the Baltimore

 

and Ohio Railroad shops at Mount Claire. Four years were

 

sufficient to make him skilled in his trade, and he then went

 

to Philadelphia, Pa., where he worked for some time as a journeyman.

 

But the attractions of the navy were strong for the

 

American youth at that time, and young Lannan succumbed to

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

JOHN LANNAN,

 

Deputy Marshal of Police.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

m

 

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\

 

OUR POLICE. 179

 

them. While in Philadelphia he enlisted in the service and was

 

assigned to the engineers’ department on board the frigate

 

Minnesota, commanded by Captain Dupont.

 

The young mechanic’s first voyage was an eventful and historical

 

one. The Minnesota carried William B. Reed as American

 

plenipotentiary to China. Mr. Reed was to negotiate with

 

the Imperial Government the provisions of the treaty of 1858.

 

Young Lannan had ample opportunity on this trip to see the

 

world. The Minnesota left Hampton Roads in the early part of

 

1857, and touched at the Cape of Good Hope, Island of Java,

 

the Island of Ceylon, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manilla, the

 

Philippine Islands, Nagasaki, Japan; and then went to the

 

mouth of the Pei-ho river, the entrance to Pekin, capital of the

 

Empire. The story of the Minnesota’s stay there is a matter of

 

history, but the narrative, as coming from Mr. Lannan, an eyewitness,

 

is of considerable interest. It is as follows :

 

The English and French had declared war upon the unfortunate Celestials,

 

and their war vessels blockaded the commerce of the river. It was only a few

 

days after our arrival that the gun bouts bombarded the five forts defending

 

the entrance to the capital. We were non-combatants, as the Chinese, notwithstanding

 

that they had refused to treat with the English and French, were

 

content to sign our treaty and pay the indemnity demanded for the destruction

 

of property belonging to American citizens in China. Our ship was astern of

 

the blockading squadrons, and although the battle haze somewhat obscured

 

the view, we were still able to watch the Europeans shell and storm the forts.

 

One incident is particularly impressed upon my memory. While the storming

 

party was attacking one fort, the magazine exploded and killed a great number

 

of the fighting men. The scene was an extraordinary one. After this battle

 

was terminated in an overwhelming victory for the Europeans, the treaty with

 

our country was signed and we steamed away for Shanghai and went thence to

 

Bombay, Muscat, Singapore, and home to Boston.

 

The Minnesota did not sail altogether in summer seas. She

 

encountered many severe storms, but one of them was particularly

 

disastrous to the frigate. Here is Mr. Lannan’s description

 

of it:

 

While we were in the Chinese Sea we encountered one of those terrible

 

typhoons which, when survived, form an epoch in a man’s life. The terror of

 

the warring elements upon even the most courageous is overwhelming; the

 

uselessness of anything mortal seeking to struggle against the sweep of

 

that terrible hurricane, which even blows the sea into the flatness of a lake,

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

180 OUR POLICE.

 

is so manifest, that it makes the instinct of self-preservation sink for a time

 

into forgetfulness. The storm came gradually. We could see the waves

 

which the wind had beaten into a foam approaching us with the speed

 

of race horses. On came the hurricane roaring upon the surface of the

 

ocean, screaming and howling through the counter-currents overhead. Absolute

 

darkness was about us, save for that dreadful line of foam.- With

 

the howl of a demon it was upon us. We heard an ominous creaking

 

and groaning below deck. The main-mast had been started in its steps.

 

There was danger of it going adrift in the hold and smashing the engines, or

 

going overboard and fouling the screw with its rigging. The danger was too

 

immediate to be trifled with, and all hands were ordered to ” Save Ship.”

 

There amid the howling tempest the brave men worked to defeat the storm.

 

After a struggle, the like of which I have never seen equalled, a hitch was

 

taken, more as a last chance than with great hope of it being useful, from the

 

swaying main-mast to the capstan fore and aft, and thus steadied the enormousspar.

 

This precaution was effective. It saved the ship and our lives.

 

Upon reaching Boston, young Lannan was honorably discharged

 

from the service. But the restlessness which is brought

 

by an experience at sea had gained possession of the young man,

 

and he made up his mind to go to the far West. He started in

 

1859 and went overland to California. Some time afterward

 

he went to Nevada and remained there until 1865. Returning

 

East, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, he resumed his

 

trade in Philadelphia and finally got back to Baltimore. In

 

1869 Mr. Lannan made an application to be appointed as

 

patrolman on the police force, and President Jarrett, with his

 

colleagues in the police board, Commissioners Carr and Fusselbaugh,

 

assigned him to the Western District. His first patrol

 

duty was on October 21, of that year.

 

Mr. Lannan’s advancement has been as rapid as his services

 

to the city have been honorable. He was promoted to be

 

sergeant on June 1, 1870, and secured his lieutenant’s shoulderstraps

 

on June 6, 1872. He was on April 8, 1874 promoted

 

to the command of the Northwestern District and was transferred

 

to the Central District on October 18, 1874. He was reappointed

 

captain on April 8, 1878 and April 8, 1882, and was advanced

 

to the position which he now fills on October 15, 1885.

 

Since the day, when as patrolman, Mr. Lannan first assumed

 

the duties of a member of the force he has been exceptionally

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 181

 

active. During the first two years, the evil characters learned

 

to avoid his post, especially after two important arrests which

 

he made in 1871. One was of a highway robber who forfeited

 

his bail before trial and ran away, and the other of a burglar

 

who afterward spent some time in prison before he was released

 

on a technicality. In the early part of 1872, the police were

 

informed of a large number of robberies being perpetrated in

 

the residence districts of the city. Articles of value were

 

missed from houses in the most mysterious fashion, and although

 

the shrewdest detectives on the force were put upon the case,

 

they failed to get the most insignificant clew. Sergeant Lannan,

 

at about this time arrested Jennie Tyler, a colored woman, who

 

had engaged as a domestic servant at No. 231 North Carey

 

street. The articles stolen from that house were traced to her,

 

and for a time there was a general belief that she had committed

 

the other robberies. She was sentenced to prison for fifteen

 

months, but the robberies still went on. Shortly after this

 

arrest, Sergeant Lannan was standing on a corner talking to

 

patrolman Flannery and in the course of the chat he asked

 

Flannery whether he had succeeded in getting any clews to the

 

robberies, then the talk of the town. Flannery replied that he

 

had not. Just then, Sergeant Lannan noticed a particularly fine

 

looking colored girl, tastefully dressed, coming down the street.

 

As she turned the corner her skirt attracted the sergeant’s

 

attention; it was decidedly fuller than customarily worn by women

 

•of her figure.

 

His suspicion seemed worthy of investigation and the two policemen

 

arrested her. They subsequently traced her to a house in

 

Stockton alley, which was discovered to be the thief’s storehouse.

 

It was packed with stolen property, much of which the woman had

 

never, apparently, taken any measures to dispose of. Some of

 

this property was never identified. The woman’s name proved to

 

be Louisa Moore, and her thievings extended over a period of

 

nearly eight months. Property was proved to have been stolen

 

from Nos. 234Lanvale street, 184 North Carey street, 209 North

 

Carey street, 182 Lafayette avenue and 687 West Fayette street.

 

Louisa was convicted of her crimes and sentenced to five years in

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

182 OUR POLICE.

 

the penitentiary. Subsequently the Sergeant arrested Josephine

 

Hughes, another colored woman, for stealing valuable property

 

from No. 41 North Gilmore street, while she was employed as a

 

domestic and had her sent to the penitentiary for two years.

 

Since then robberies by servants have been rare in this city.

 

In all these cases the Sergeant was assisted by patrolman

 

Flannery of the Western District.

 

The next two cases in which Mr. Lannan was interested were

 

made noteworthy by the fact that a gray coat played a particularly

 

prominent part in the detection of the criminals. Joseph

 

Harvey, a colored man of notoriously bad connections, broke into

 

a residence at No. 551 Eutaw street on May 10, 1873, and stole

 

much valuable property. Mr. Lannan, who had been promoted

 

to be lieutenant by that time, undertook to discover who the culprit

 

was. The burglar had been seen leaving the house by a

 

citizen who remembered that he wore a gray coat of a peculiar

 

pattern. Lieutenant Lannan and Sergeant Berger traced the

 

fellow by means of this coat. When tried he was also charged

 

with having stolen the preceding year a large quantity of furs

 

and other property during a fire in Clay street. He was sent

 

to the penitentiary for four years. About a year after, this

 

the police were informed that a gray coated negro burglar was

 

playing havoc in the Western District. Harvey had neither

 

been pardoned nor freed in any other manner, and yet the new

 

burglar’s way of working was almost precisely the same as his.

 

Again Lieutenant Lannan took charge of the case, and with

 

patrolman Flannery’s assistance ” ran down” John Mitchell, a

 

burglar and thief, whose record was even more villianous than

 

Harvey’s. The gray coat was the same one which had sent Harvey

 

to the penitentiary. It had been given in charity to the negro

 

after Harvey’s sentence. Mitchell is now serving his fourth term.

 

In November, 1874, the police were informed by the chief of

 

police of Washington, D. C, that a bold attempt had been made

 

to swindle the National Metropolitan Bank of that city by means

 

of forged checks. The scheme was a clever one, and at that time

 

comparatively new. The forger filled out the check and then left

 

it at the office of the leading express company “for collection.”

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 183

 

This plan worked excellently for the forger, in one instance the

 

order being cashed by the bank without hesitation. But the

 

bank authorities were not long in discovering the swindle, and

 

when other checks came they refused payment. The forger was

 

warned, in some way, in ample time to get away from the capital

 

and flee to Baltimore. Captain Lannan was given the case

 

to work up. He and Sergeant Ryan, of the Central District,

 

obtained an accurate description of the man in Washington,

 

followed his “trail” to this city, and arrested him on the street.

 

The forger was discovered to be James Maynard alias Frank

 

McGuire, and was sent to the penitentiary for four years.

 

In May, 1885, two notorious ruffians made their way to this

 

city, after having committed crimes almost without number in the

 

north. They had escaped from the New Jersey State Prison,

 

and the authorities of that State offered a reward of $400 for

 

their capture. They were both Germans and spoke but little

 

English. The elder, Henry Schoppe alias Dorflinger, was a

 

man of great physique; the other, Frederick Buerder alias

 

Phillip Barnhart, was smaller in stature, but equally desperate.

 

Schoppe had twenty-nine years to serve in New Jersey, and

 

Buerder two-and-a-half years, when they escaped. They found

 

the northern States too hot to hold them, and so they journeyed

 

south.

 

A very short time after this the police of this city were

 

informed that Mr. Maccubbin’s house in Howard County had

 

been robbed of $600 worth of silverware, a wedding present.

 

Mr. Maccubbin immediately offered a reward of $100 for its recovery.

 

Captain Lannan was inclined to think that the wo”rk

 

had been done by “professionals,” but as yet he had no idea of

 

the escape or whereabouts of Schoppe and Buerder. The usual

 

efforts had been made to secure clues, but without much success,

 

when Sergeant Droste informed the Captain that a jeweler had

 

shown him some silver knives which had been left at his place of

 

business by a man who wanted to sell them, and who said that he

 

would return for the jeweler’s answer in a short time. The

 

Captain at once suspected that he was getting something definite,

 

and told Droste that he would hold the silverware, and that the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

184 OUR POLICE.

 

best thing he (Droste) could do would be to go back to the

 

jeweler and ” n a b ” the man as soon as he returned. Droste

 

did as he was directed, and this move led to the arrest of Schoppe

 

and Buerder. But the men would not acknowledge that they

 

had stolen the silverware. Captain Lannan, although he was

 

•certain that he had the Maccubbin burglars, could not see any

 

way ahead of him to secure the stolen property. As he was

 

walking along the street somewhat dejectedly he heard his name

 

called from a street car. He saw a friend who showed him a

 

circular which had been issued by the New Jersey authorities,

 

giving an accurate description of his two prisoners as the men

 

who had escaped. The thing was sufficiently sudden to be startling,

 

and Captain Lannan went right back to the station. Calling

 

Droste, he said:

 

” I think we’ve got them. Bring in the men and I’ll fix

 

them.”

 

Droste brought the prisoners as his eojnmander directed and

 

Captain Lannan walked behind them and read the circular aloud.

 

Its description was so accurate of Schoppe that he almost choked

 

in his struggle to hide his emotion. Finally he turned to the

 

captain, the latter said:

 

” You two belong up in Jersey.”

 

The men made no attempt to deny this, and then Captain

 

Lannan told them that it would be better for them to tell where

 

they had secreted the silver and so escape punishment in Howard

 

county than to stand trial, get sentenced there and after their

 

term had ended go back to New Jersey and begin their confinement

 

all over again. This they acknowledged to be wise and

 

Buerder agreed to accompany the officers to Loudon Park Cemetery

 

where he said the plunder was buried. The police department

 

was disposed to be economical at that time, and Captain

 

Lannan, Sergeant Droste and their prisoner took the street cars

 

towards the cemetery. When they reached the end of the

 

railway they had to walk about six miles under a broiling sun.

 

The burglar seemed to be eager to tell where his plunder was,

 

but for a time it seemed as though he had forgotten. Things

 

were becoming rather discouraging when Captain Lannan saw

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 185

 

a stripped sapling standing above a mound. It did not seem to

 

be growing, so he went up to it and pulled it out. He saw in

 

the hole, which proved to be the rotted stump of a big tree,

 

something which resembled a valise. Kicking away the earth

 

and rotted wood his suspicions were confirmed and he found a big

 

bag containing the stolen silver. Thus were two notorious

 

criminals who had escaped from a prison two hundred miles

 

away captured by a policeman’s sagacity, and a burglary made

 

comparatively harmless because of the discovery of the stolen

 

property and the punishment of the criminals, for Schoppe and

 

Euerder were returned to their New Jersey prison.

 

Very shortly after this crime Captain Lannan had occasion io

 

exercise that detective instinct which he has so often used to such

 

good purpose. Late one night the police received a telegraphic

 

message from the Chief of Police of Scranton, Pa., asking for

 

the arrest of one John Dougherty, for the murder of Michael

 

McCoy, a mine boss’s son, and for seriously injuring another

 

man in the affray, which ended in the murder. The description

 

of Dougherty was of the briefest, and the only reason the

 

Scranton police had for believing Dougherty had come to this

 

city was that he had purchased a ticket entitling him to come.

 

The case was given to Detective Albert Gault, and he read the

 

•description to his former commander, Captain Lannan, at the

 

Central Station. The two policemen strolled over towards the

 

Marshal’s office from the Central Station, and as they passed the

 

corner they noticed a number of boys standing in a crowd.

 

There were several men looking at the lads. One of the crowd

 

instantly attracted the captain’s attention. He turned to Gault

 

and said:

 

“Well, Al, I guess there’s your man.”

 

So far as the description went it tallied with the appearance of

 

the loiterer. Soon the boys parted and the man walked slowly

 

toward the two officers. Captain Lannan told Gault that he had

 

better speak to him, and as the man got clear from the crowd

 

Gault went up to him and held out his hand, saying:

 

” Why Dougherty, how are you ? ”

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

186 OUR POLICE.

 

The man looked somewhat surprised for the moment and then

 

answered with affected unconcern :

 

” Oh, pretty well; but who the deuce are you ? ”

 

” I keep a little shop in Scranton, you know,” was Gault’s

 

reply, ” and I have frequently seen you.”

 

Then followed a general conversation which concluded by

 

Gault suggesting :

 

” That was a- pretty bad row you got into in Scranton before

 

you left. McCoy, the man you stabbed, is dead.”

 

Dougherty turned as pale as a sheet and exclaimed : ” Good

 

God ! you don’t say so.”

 

Captain Lannan’s instinct had not failed him. Gault’s companion

 

was the murderer. The man was taken to the Marshal’s

 

office and there awaited the arrival of the Scranton Chief of

 

Police. He was subsequently convicted and sent to the Pennsylvania

 

state prison for a long term.

 

In January, 1877, Thomas C. Walker, known as the ” pennyweight

 

thief,” was arrested by Captain Lannan. The criminal

 

had made attempts to rob almost every jewelry store in this city,

 

and his endeavors were attended with considerable success. He

 

was an expert in distinguishing gold of small alloy from baser

 

combinations, and chose only the most desirable articles in the

 

jeweler’s stock. On January 31, he was sentenced to the penitentiary

 

for five years. A trifle more than two years after this

 

arrest Captain Lannan succeeded in arresting, single handed,

 

Michael Troutwein, a notorious burglar and thief, who wascharged

 

with an attempt to rob a house at No. 110 Calvert street.

 

Before Troutwein had succeeded in stealing anything he wasdiscovered

 

by the persons in the house, and locked in the room

 

where he w,as found. Knowing that he was “cornered,” he

 

made desperate attempts to escape, breaking his way through the

 

door by means of the heavy “jimmy” which he carried. When

 

he was captured by Captain Lannan, the ruffian made a determined

 

fight, and it was only after extreme measures had been

 

used that he was subdued. Troutwein is now in the penitentiary

 

serving a term for burglary. In 1877 Captain Lannan made a

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 187

 

still hunt for a silk burglar. The “crook.” disappeared, but

 

with Sergeant Roinhardt he unearthed a kit of burglars’ tools,

 

and its owners, George King alias Dunn and Joseph Myers, who

 

had been brought here to do a special big “job.” Maryland law

 

requires that the intent be proven. The men were discharged,

 

and they fled the city.

 

Shortly after this the dry goods store of Whitelock Bros., in

 

Aberdeen, Harford county, was entered one stormy night, and a

 

large quantity of valuable property stolen. Private detectives

 

were put upon the case, but while they confirmed the statement

 

that something had been stolen, they were unable to discover

 

any material clews. The burglars had become astonishingly

 

reckless after they had committed the crime, and instead of

 

endeavoring to confine their thievery to one place, they went to

 

a farm-house in the same county, and there stole a horse and

 

wagon, which they loaded with their booty. The impudence of

 

the thieves aroused the interest of the entire State, and the police

 

chief of this city was determined to ferret the rascals out, should

 

they be bold enough to come to this county. Captain Lannan

 

was sent for, and given the details of the burglary. In company

 

with Sergeants Kirsch and Schimp, and Detective Gault, he

 

traced the horse and wagon so successfully, and got such an

 

accurate description of the men, that he soon “located” the

 

rogues. After that it was comparatively easy work. Captain

 

Lannan discovered that there were four negroes concerned in the

 

crime, George Banks, William Sorrell, George Emerson, and

 

Lewis Wells. When their houses were “spotted,” some of the

 

goods stolen from Whitelock Bros.’ store was found, but the

 

owners’ marks had been obliterated, and the merchants said they

 

could not positively identify them. Banks, however, the leader

 

of the “gang,” was tried and convicted, and when he saw that

 

he was to be punished for his crime, despite his perjury, he admitted

 

his guilt, and in his confession he implicated the others.

 

But Banks did not escape punishment because of his story. With

 

the exception of Sorrell, these men were desperate criminals,

 

who would stickle at nothing. They were imprisoned in the

 

Harford County Jail, and attempted to escape by filing their

 

irons. When the suspicions of the jailers were aroused, and

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

188 OUR POLICE.

 

Banks was asked to explain the condition of the handcuffs, lie

 

made the somewhat amusing excuse :

 

” De rats has been gnawing dem ! ”

 

Banks was subsequently sent to the Penitentiary for twelve

 

years. In 1854 he was sentenced to prison for seven years, and

 

in 1857 ho set fire to the weaving department of the institution.

 

For this he was removed from immediate confinement, tried,

 

convicted, and sentenced to be hanged. But the Governor

 

commuted this sentence to life imprisonment. In 1868 he

 

was pardoned, and one year afterwards was caught in crime

 

and sent to the Maryland Penitentiary for fifteen months. He

 

was afterwards arrested in Cambridge, Dorchester County,

 

but he escaped from prison by cutting the bars Avith tools his

 

friends smuggled in to him. In 1871 he was again arrested and

 

sent to the Penitentiary for two years. When he was once asked

 

by Captain Lannan whether he had been actually guilty of every

 

crime for which he had been punished, he replied with perfect

 

frankness:

 

” Yes, sir; ebery one.”

 

Bank’s companions in the dry goods burglary are all dead.

 

Emerson was killed in a Texas street-fight.

 

In September, 1874, the dwelling districts of this city were

 

kept in constant terror by the daring of an unknown negro thief

 

who left no trace behind him in the houses he visited, and who

 

never failed to select jewelry as his booty. This fellow’s crimes

 

became so widely spread that Captain Lannan determined to

 

•capture him, if possible, in the act. So, assisted by patrolmen

 

Costello and George Hays, of the Northwestern District, Captain

 

Lannan ” laid for him.” The thief was in the habit of entering

 

houses by the open windows, ransacking them and entering

 

ladies’ bed-rooms to steal whatever jewelry he found upon their

 

dressing tables. He had already robbed No. 429 Madison avenue,

 

No. 392 Eutaw place, No. 335 Linden avenue, No. 203

 

Bolton street, and No. 404 Eutaw place. He had just got

 

through his work in one of these places when the officers were

 

upon him. He tried to defend himself, but the policemen drew

 

their revolvers and threatened to kill him unless he surrendered.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 18&

 

He gave his name as Isaac Durham; he was sentenced to the

 

Penitentiary for twenty years.

 

This case had scarcely been disposed of when the captain’s

 

attention was demanded by an assault with intent to kill committed

 

by Joseph Katzenberger upon Daniel Connolly. The

 

former stabbed the latter repeatedly and for a time it looked as

 

if the wounded man would die. Katzenberger was arrested

 

by the captain almost immediately after the assault and was sent

 

to prison. He is now serving an eight year sentence for murdering

 

a young girl named Barbara Miller. This murder was

 

entirely unprovoked, Katzenberger stepping up to her and sticking

 

a knife into her stomach. He said lie was jealous of the

 

girl. In September, 1875, Lewis Seymore, a negro, assaulted

 

and killed Thomas Maxwell, also colored, because of jealousy.

 

Captain Lannan took the case, which for a time was a somewhat

 

mysterious one, and ” ran down ” the murderer with a promptness

 

which greatly added to his reputation as a detector of

 

criminals. Seymore has served two terms in the Penitentiary.

 

It was while Captain Lannan was in command of the Central

 

District, in 1877, that the miners’ trouble occurred. Certain

 

classes in the city did not approve of the action of the Governor

 

in ordering Maryland troops to the scene of the disturbance,

 

and many threats were made that no Baltimore militia would be

 

allowed to leave any of the depots. The Sixth Regiment assembled

 

in its armory at about 8 o’clock on July 20. The Central

 

Police under Captain Lannan were out on post, and although he

 

was continually receiving reports of the massing of the people

 

along Baltimore street, and had taken precautions to avoid any

 

disturbances in the crowd, he had no reason to expect the outcome

 

of that terrible night. Suddenly a patrolman dashed into

 

the police station and half-articulately reported :

 

” They are stoning the Sixth’s armory.”

 

Instantly in the Central Station all was in energetic preparations

 

for the worst; the reserves were summoned and Captain

 

Lannan with a few men went to the armory. When he saw

 

the state of things there he made report to Marshal Gray and

 

then returned, after seeking to stop reserves being sent to the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

190 OUR POLICE.

 

Camden Station. Although Captain Lannan had asked the

 

troops to wait until he could get sufficient men to open the crowd

 

for them, the soldiers sallied forth, because of peremptory orders

 

from the Brigadier-General. As Captain Lannan approached

 

Baltimore street he heard the rattle of musketry and a soulquavering

 

cry of horror from the crowds gathered about the

 

armory at Front and Fayette streets, taken up, carried along and

 

intensified into a roar of indignation by the crowd along the

 

line of march, which was rapidly assuming the desperation of a

 

mob. The report that the mob had attacked the armory was

 

true, and the soldiery had fired upon their assailants, bringing

 

death or severe injuries also to many peaceable citizens who had

 

been attracted by simple curiosity. It was in this volley that

 

Thomas V. Byrne, of No. 274 North Gay street was shot through

 

the head and instantly killed. The fusilade had one effect, it

 

prevented many persons going to Camden Station to add to the

 

mob there. But men in the crowds lost all idea of how madly

 

they were acting, and loudly threatened to burn the armory over

 

the regiment’s head. It was a grave moment for the men of the

 

Central district. Within their precinct were the most valuable

 

buildings, and a mob’s wrath is blind, seeking appeasement in the

 

torch and rope.

 

But a diversion was soon caused by the sound of drums and

 

fifes. Two companies of the Sixth regiment had left their armory

 

and started down Front street. The mob was still an angry one,

 

and it attacked the militiamen with brickbats and cobble stones.

 

The soldiers showed patience with this madness of their fellow

 

citizens. But at last, compelled in self-protection, they returned

 

bullets for stones, firing indiscriminately upon the crowd. Then

 

the Central Station gradually began to assume the appearance of

 

a hospital. One by one, in couples, the wounded, dying and

 

dead were brought in and laid upon the floor of the main room.

 

A man who was shot at Grant and Baltimore streets was brought

 

to the station with a big paving stone in his pocket, and had been

 

seen to attack the militia. Patrick Gill, living at Front and

 

Plowman streets, had been shot through the hips at Baltimore

 

and Front streets, and died a few minutes after being taken to the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 191

 

Central Station. Louis Linewitch, Cornelius Murphy, William

 

Howard, John H. Frank, Otto Menaca, George M. McDonald

 

and John Bernhardt had been killed by the militiamen’s musketry

 

along Baltimore street and between Front and St. Paul streets.

 

They were all brought to Captain Lannan’s station, and after

 

being claimed by their friends, moved to their homes. The only

 

body not claimed was that of Gill. He had no friends in this

 

country. The wounded, Mark J. Doud, William S. Young,

 

Jacob Wagner, W. E. Callender and John Neville, were subsequently

 

removed from the station to the Washington University.

 

A wounded boy, named John North, was sent to his home at No.

 

18 South Front street; Carey Williams, who was fatally injured,

 

was taken to his home, No. 175 East Pratt street. James

 

O’Rourke, of No. 19 Albemarle street, and George Klump, of

 

No. 31 Forrest street, were also badly hurt and removed to their

 

homes. William Brighton, of No. 38J North Baltimore street,

 

was slightly wounded in his left cheek by a spent ball. Michael

 

Ehrman, of No. 224 North Bond street, the last wounded man

 

brought to Captain Lannan’s station, was seriously hurt, but he

 

afterwards recovered. For three days and nights Captain Lannan

 

and his men were on duty, and they guarded the business part of

 

the city. There again was the splendid organization of the police

 

force shown. They withstood the severe strain of those three

 

dreadful days without a murmur, and served as efficiently immediately

 

after their vigil over the lives and property of the citizens,

 

as they did before.

 

There had been few robberies in the Central District for some

 

time, and affairs were going along very smoothly, Captain

 

Lannan congratulating himself that his efforts to clear out the

 

“crooks” had met with success. November, 1884, however,

 

brought about a new condition of things. Citizens of much prominence

 

began calling at the Central station, and informing Captain

 

Lannan that their houses had been entered during the night,

 

and robbed of valuables. Efforts were immediately made to get

 

full descriptions of the robbers from their victims, but with only

 

negative results. Finally a card was found in the street, containing

 

several memoranda, which were suggestive of its owner-

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

192 OUR POLICE.

 

ship by one of the robbers. The card was immediately given to

 

Captain Lannan, and thus was furnished his first trustworthy

 

clue. With the assistance of Sergeant Ryan, the captain made

 

close investigation of the locality where the card was found; and

 

finally, after unremitting work, located two persons, who seemed

 

to be worthy of suspicion. But one of the suspected persons

 

had apparently got warning that the police was on his track, for

 

when, on the evening of November 29, Captain Lannan and Sergeant

 

Ryan arrested John Peters, alias George Lake, alias

 

George Durbee, they did not succeed in finding Peter’s “pal,”

 

the notorious burglar, Warren Clay. After Peters arrest, a gold

 

watch and chain, which had been stolen from D. D. Mallory,

 

who had been robbed of $200 worth of jewelry, was recovered.

 

When Peters was photographed, and when he was told that

 

his picture would be probably sent north, he first admitted the

 

robbery, and then confessed that he and Clay had escaped

 

from the Crow Hill penitentiary, in King’s County, New York,

 

where he (Peters) was serving a term of five years. His description

 

of his escape was vivid. A conspiracy had been entered

 

into by several of the prisoners to “run the guards,” and after

 

reaching the East river, to take to boats during the night, and

 

so escape to New York. The attempt was made. The prisoners,

 

at their exercise hour, tried to overpower the keepers; but the

 

latter proved too strong for them. All the conspirators were

 

captured save Peters and Clay, who broke through the guard, and

 

got away, notwithstanding that the prison authorities opened

 

a heavy fusilade upon them with their Winchester repeaters.

 

The two men hid themselves in a barn some distance outside of

 

Brooklyn, and remained secluded, dreading to make the slightest

 

noise, for two days and nights. They extracted what sustenance

 

they could out of the hay and oats in the barn ; and, then made

 

desperate by the pangs of hunger, ventured forth into the night,

 

to seek some means of crossing to New York. They found a

 

skiff, but only one oar; and with this they sought to paddle

 

almost three-quarters of a mile against a swiftly flowing current.

 

They discovered that they had undertaken to do more than they

 

could oarry out, and they succeeded, after almost perishing from

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 193

 

their exertions in their half-starved condition, to paddle back to

 

shore. Finally, with the assistance of friends, they made the

 

attempt again, and reached New York, whence, provided with

 

money and clothing-, they came to this city prepared for new

 

crimes. Peters was sentenced to seven years in the penitentiary,

 

from which he has made two desperate but unsuccessful attempts

 

to escape.

 

Hardly five months had elapsed since Peters was captured

 

when dwellings were entered in various parts of this city and

 

valuable property stolen. Reports of burglaries came streaming

 

in to the police, until it was concluded that a band of criminals

 

from some northern town was “working” Baltimore. Finally

 

the Marshal issued instructions that every man on the force

 

should regard himself as personally responsible for the capture

 

of the offender, whether his depredations were confined in one

 

district or seven. The number of robbed dwellings had reached

 

thirty-eight, when Sergeant Clautice and Patrolman R. Brown

 

reported to Captain Lannan that they had a clue and, they

 

thought, a good one. They described their man as a negro of

 

medium height, dressed so shabbily as to be conspicuous. They

 

declared that he avoided all companions, had made but one friend

 

and certainly had no “pal.” Captain Lannan instructed Clautice

 

and Brown to ” shadow ” the fellow. Then they reported

 

that he was either the shrewdest or most honest negro they ever

 

met, for he drank nothing, showed no jewelry and had offered

 

nothing for sale. Meanwhile the robberies continued.

 

On April 19, Captain Lannan sent for a man who was to

 

become acquainted with the only person with whom the suspected

 

negro was known to associate, and gave him his instructions.

 

The very next day the captain got positive information from his

 

decoy that the “suspect” was doing the stealing and that he sold

 

his plunder to one Harris Weinbaum. Captain Lannan and Sergeant

 

Toner went down to Weinbaum’s place and made an inspection

 

of it. The former detailed Sergeant Ryan to watch the receiver’s

 

house while Toner kept surveillance over the suspected

 

man, who by that time was known to be Robert Butler. On April

 

23, Toner captured Butler after a desperate resistance and found

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

194 OUR POLICE.

 

the proceeds of a robbery still in his possession. When the

 

prisoner was brought to the Central Station, Captain Lannan

 

•went immediately to Butler’s room and there found sufficient

 

evidence to convict him of four robberies. When Weinbaum’s

 

house was searched a great quantity of stolen goods was recovered.

 

Both Butler and Weinbaum were convicted and sentenced to long

 

terms of imprisonment in the Penitentiary. In July, 1887, Weinbaum

 

having grown to be nearly eighty years of age and very

 

feeble, the Governor responded to the importunities of his friends

 

and pardoned him, upon their promise that they would remove

 

him from the State at once and not suffer him to return until the

 

time of his sentence of twenty-one years had expired. For this

 

excellent piece of detective work the Board of Police Commissioners

 

awarded two weeks’ extra pay to Captain Lannan, Sergeants

 

Toner and Clautice and Patrolman Richard Brown.

 

The relations which existed between Captain Lannan and the

 

officers and men of the Central District were so pleasant that

 

when their commander was promoted to be Deputy-Marshal, the

 

force determined to make him a present which would additionally

 

impress upon him the love and esteem with which they regarded

 

him. So on the eve of his accession of his new office the men of

 

the Central District presented Deputy-Marshal Lannan with a

 

badge of office. It is of gold and represents a buckled ribbon

 

about a star. Upon the ribbon are the words ” DEPUTY MARSHAL

 

OP POLICE.” The ribbon contains twelve large diamonds

 

and the central star fifteen more. The centre of the star is a

 

diamond weighing nearly three karats. Deputy-Marshal Lannan

 

always wears this badge, by permission of the Police Board,

 

because of his appreciation of the esteem with which his assistants

 

regard him.

 

Not long after Mr. Lannan was appointed Deputy Marshal,

 

he became interested and took a personal part in one of the most

 

fiendish crimes ever committed in this city. It had been one of

 

the most unpleasant days of the winter. The storm of rain,

 

sleet, and snow began Thursday night and continued throughout

 

Friday, December 10, 1886. The policemen on their beats

 

anxiously awaited the relief; persons who were compelled to

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

CHESAPEAKE BANK

 

OH B A L T I M O RE

 

DEPOSITED BY

 

Baltimore, – 19

 

PLEASE STATE NAME OF BANK ON WHICH CHECKS ARE DRAWN.

 

ENDORSE ALL CHECKS.

 

NOTES

 

COIN __

 

CHECKS

 

BANK.

 

DOLLS.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 195

 

travel from one place to another dodged the fierce blast of the

 

“wind and turned their heads from the skurrying sleet and snow.

 

Pig alley was almost blocked by the storm. The tumble-down

 

shanties were whitened by the snow, and the smoke which arose

 

from the chimney of Mary Bloxom’s house had no sooner

 

escaped from the flue, than it was beaten down again into the

 

miserable rooms beneath. The dusk is not long coming in December.

 

On that Friday it fell like a pall upon Baltimore,

 

blotting out, with the aid of the driving snow, most of the big

 

monuments which tower from the hills in the heart of the city,

 

and making the slums places of dread even to their most confirmed

 

denizens. In the big room on the lowest floor of Mary Bloxom’s

 

house sat a white woman nearly sixty years old, mumbling to

 

herself about her hard life and that ” bad un, the big un.” The

 

woman was clad in a dark dress on whose skirt was sewed a piece

 

of red flannel, making a combination which was somewhat curious.

 

As she kept on mumbling about the ” big un ” a tap came on the

 

door and a rather pretty little colored girl entered and running

 

towards the old woman said :

 

“Aunt Emmy, me an mammy is going out for while. Do you

 

want your baccy ? ”

 

The old woman nodded, and taking the plug in her right hand

 

she proceeded leisurely and musingly to cut it up. The little

 

girl had departed. Old Emmy was alone again, and once more

 

she began to mutter to herself and then to shiver in an uncanny

 

sort of way as though ” some one was walking over her grave.”

 

Finally her head bent lower and she half whispered: ” I feel

 

nasty—I wish some of the boys would come home.” Still she

 

continued crumbling her tobacco and so she did not notice that

 

the door was open and a powerfully built negro had entered.

 

The stranger carried a long handled hammer in his hand and

 

moved stealthily. The rickety old floor creaked and the woman

 

nodded her head lower, murmuring : ” This place is overrun.”

 

The negro had dealt his blow. The heavy weapon had

 

descended on the old woman’s head, and she staggered under the

 

shock, her gray head hanging towards her left shoulder. She

 

shrieked:

 

v

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

196 , -OUR POLICE.

 

” For God’s sake, John, don’t do that! ”

 

But down rained the blows until the gray hairs were driven

 

into the brain and one side of the head was as a jelly. Then the

 

lifeless body fell to the floor, and the ruffian kneeling beside it

 

drew a knife which he plunged twice into the left breast in the

 

region of the heart. The fearfully mutilated head gave one or

 

two turns upon the bare floor and silence came.

 

But the murderer did not pause. He bundled the body into

 

the closet, drew a mattrass over it and set about cleaning up the

 

stains. A knock came upon the door and it was opened. A

 

middle-aged negro woman entered and asked :

 

” Wy, sonny, what’s matter?”

 

” Nose bloodin. Get out o’ here—you,” was the reply.

 

The woman went away and the murderer continued his work.

 

Soon he left the room, but in about three hours returned carrying

 

a bag beneath his arm. Dragging the body from its place of

 

concealment he stuffed the still quivering trunk and limbs within

 

the bag and dragging it towards the door opened it.

 

” Hawkins, Hawkins,” he whispered.

 

” Yaas, John,” came the reply. ” Did yer get her?”

 

” Yaas, she’s in de bag.”

 

The two negroes then tossed the ghastly load upon a wheelbarrow

 

and began to wheel it down the alley. Scarcely had they

 

gone more than a hundred paces when the man called Hawkins

 

dropped his handle, exclaiming :

 

” No more o’ dat fur me. Wheel it yousel’.”

 

The younger man uttered an expression of disgust at his companion’s

 

cowardice and went on with his load, Hawkins leading by

 

some paces as a look-out, watching for the appearance of policemen

 

on their beats. The storm grew more severe and beat in

 

the negroes’ faces, covering their clothing and the bag which

 

hid such a terrible crime with the purest white. Then the men

 

left the sidewalk and chose the railway track. Even the wheeler

 

of the barrow began to get nervous, and when Hawkins waved

 

his hands in warning, the former allowed the barrow to give a

 

lurch, and over went the burden of crime into the street. There

 

was nothing to be done but to load up again, and there in the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 197

 

midst of the city the two fiends lifted the still bleeding form,

 

and tossed it like a load of potatoes upon the barrow. Again

 

the terrible journey was resumed. The murderer was the porter

 

of his victim’s body and Hawkins still led the way, waving a

 

white handkerchief when he saw the way was clear.

 

Through the blinding rush of snow and sleet a big building

 

loomed up; it was that of the Maryland University College, at

 

Green and Lombard streets. A stop was made here and again

 

the murderer sought to induce his companion to lend a hand.

 

” No;” replied Hawkins, ” I won’t have nudding to do wif it;

 

do it yousel’.”

 

The narrow alley which led to the rear door of the College

 

was choked with snow which had drifted high against the buildings

 

on either side. The murderer slung the form of his victim

 

over one shoulder, and with the perspiration from his long porterage

 

streaming from his brow and steaming from his clothing he

 

went to the college door and knocked.

 

A villainous looking negro appeared and saluted the murderer

 

with :

 

” Hello, John Thomas ; have you got it ?”

 

The dreadful burden was shifted from the murderer’s shoulders

 

to the floor of the dissecting-room; the murderer asked when he

 

should receive the reward for bringing a body for dissection

 

($15), and was told ” to-morrow noon,” and the door closed on

 

the man who had had an experience the like of which should

 

have been sufficient to have made the hardest heart quiver with

 

horror and the dullest imagination people itself with demons.

 

There lay the body of the murdered woman, and Perry, the

 

dissecting-room attendant, who had received it at the door stood

 

over it. The form was stripped and the head shaved to prevent

 

identification, then the body was placed on the floor to remain

 

throughout the night. As the hours passed away huge rats

 

came from their hiding-places and gnawed the left side of the

 

face of the dead, so that even though the head had not been

 

shaved, it would in all likelihood been unrecognizable. When

 

the morning came, Perry returned and prepared the remains for

 

the hands of the demonstrator. He cut open the chest for the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

198 OUR POLICE.

 

purpose of injecting the embalming fluid. With the crushed

 

head, the gnawing of the rats, the shaving of the body and the

 

work of the embalmer’s knife had fled almost every possibility of

 

ever identifying the remains.

 

At about 11 o’clock on Saturday morning Marshal Frey and

 

Deputy-Marshal Lannan were seated in their office at police headquarters.

 

The doorman disturbed their conversation by announcing

 

Dr. Harlan, the demonstrator of the college. The physician

 

addressed the Marshal, informing him that a body had been

 

brought the night before to his institution which bore marks sufficient

 

to cause very grave suspicions. Dr. Harlan then proceeded

 

to describe the corpse. It had been received by Anderson

 

Perry. All this information was sent by the Marshal to the

 

Western District, through Detective Seibold, to Captain Cadwallader,

 

and the latter was instructed to have the body of the murdered

 

woman taken to the station and there facilities prepared for

 

its identification. Police were scouring the city for clues but

 

without result, and so the case practically rested until Sunday,

 

when the officers of the Western District found a little girl

 

named Sarah Bloxom, daughter of the woman who kept the house

 

on Pig alley. The little girl was taken to the station and there

 

positively identified the body of the murdered woman as that of

 

Emily Brown. The clothing, particularly the dark skirt with a

 

red flannel patch the little girl was sure of. She said that Anderson

 

Perry had lived in the same house with the woman, and

 

that on Friday morning the latter had cooked his breakfast for

 

him. Perry was promptly arrested by Sergeants Tierney and

 

Henneman of the Western District and taken to the Marshal’s

 

office. When he arrived he was asked if he knew the man or

 

men who brought the body to him. He declared that it was

 

brought by an unknown negro who wore a low brown hat;

 

farther than that he would say nothing. After he had been

 

again urged to tell what he knew of the crime, he peremptorily

 

refused, and was taken by the Marshal to the Central station.

 

Afterward, however, the Marshal directed Deputy-Marshal Lannan

 

to see what he could get out of the negro. The latter

 

approached him and said:

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE 199

 

” Perry, neither the Marshal nor myself believe a word you have

 

said. You know there isn’t a colored man in town who would

 

carry a dead body through the streets at night for the purpose

 

of selling it unless he had made arrangements beforehand.”

 

But the negro would say nothing. “Lock him up,” said the

 

Deputy-Marshal to the turnkey of the Central Station, ” and if

 

he wants to see me, send for me.” Hours elapsed, and Perry sat

 

in his cell meditating over the incidents of the awful crime in

 

which he was involved. He called the turnkey and sought to

 

get some encouragement from him. It was no use, for the Marshal

 

had given strict injunctions to refrain from conversing with

 

the negro. Finally he asked the turnkey :

 

” Think I want to see Mr. Lannan.”

 

” What do you want?” said the turnkey.

 

” I want to see ‘im,” was the reply.

 

“All right.”

 

Deputy-Marshal Lannan had just seated himself at dinner when

 

a patrolman from the Central Station called on him and told him

 

Perry wanted to see him. The Deputy rushed post-haste to the

 

cell of the refractory negro, and inquired:

 

” Perry, did you wish to see me 1 ”

 

“Yaas, sir.”

 

” Well, who brought the body to you ? ”

 

” Have you got John Thomas Ross ? ”

 

” I don’t know,” was Mr. Lannan’s evasive reply. ” I think

 

they have got some one up at the Western, but whom, I don’t

 

know. Who is John Thomas Ross ? ”

 

” Why, he’s Mary Bloxom’s son by another husband. He

 

did the old woman.”

 

This was startling information, and Perry was hustled into a

 

private room in the Central Station, and there told the same

 

story to Marshal Frey. Then Deputy-Marshal Lannan was

 

directed to take charge of any further work on the outside. It

 

was then that his long experience as a detective came into play.

 

The thing was to find the man accused by Perry. There are

 

sources of information always kept open by the police, and some

 

of these were used by Mr. Lannan. He heard that Ross was

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

200 OUR POLICE.

 

friendly with a woman living in the upper part of the city, and

 

hoped to find him there, but he was not inclined to go to this

 

place first until he had exhausted all other means, for should

 

the man not be found there then, he might alarm the criminal

 

and cause him to flee the city. He had asked Perry where

 

Ross was in the habit of drinking, and learned that he sometimes

 

went to a certain negro boarding-house up town. Deputy-

 

Marshal Launan, accompanied by Captain Cadwallader and

 

Detectives Seibold, O’Neil and Droste, went to the place, and

 

there, after sharp questioning, learned that Ross and a man

 

named Hawkins had been coming in and going out of the place

 

all day. They had taken very many drinks. Rut Ross was not

 

there then. He had left before sundown.

 

‘• Rut,” said the lodging-house keeper, “Hawkins is up-stairs

 

now, I guess.”

 

Another trail was struck. At first it seemed good policy not

 

to alarm Hawkins, so that when Ross returned he would suspect

 

nothing and both men could be captured together. Rut the risk

 

of delay was too great. Immediate action was necessary. Mr.

 

Lannan and Captain Cadwallader concluded to arrest him. The

 

former said, ” Go up-stairs and tell Hawkins a man wants to

 

see him.”

 

Soon Hawkins appeared. He was in his shirt sleeves and Mr.

 

Lannan was standing under a gas lamp. Hawkins went up to

 

Captain Cadwallader and inquired : ” That’s Captain Lannan,

 

ain’t i t ? ” When informed his visitor was that officer, Hawkins

 

made no effort to escape, but went up to him and said:

 

” “Well, Cap, what can I do fur you ?”

 

” Where is John Thomas Ross ?”

 

“Dunno,” was the surly reply.

 

” Take him to the Western,” promptly ordered the Deputy-

 

Marshal, and Seibold took the hand-cuffed negro to the lock-up.

 

Meanwhile the city was being thoroughly searched under the

 

Marshal’s directions for the fugitive. As Mr. Lannan had made

 

up his mind to go to Ross’s friend’s house, a patrolman came

 

running towards him exclaiming :

 

“We’ve got John Thomas Ross for you !”

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 201

 

Meanwhile the officers who had been scouring the city in belief

 

that they were on the murdererVtrail had returned towards the

 

lodging-house where he was expected to meet Hawkins. Beneath

 

the light of a street lamp, a square away from the place,

 

the officers saw the assassin standing waiting for his friend’s

 

return. He was captured according to Mr. Lannan’s orders,

 

after a slight resistance, by O’Neill, Droste and Seibold, and

 

taken to the police headquarters. Nothing was said to him until

 

he arrived at the Marshal’s office, where he finally confessed to

 

the Marshal and O’Neill after he had been confronted by Perry.

 

It was hard work to get his story. First he declared that “we”

 

—meaning his accomplices-—had agreed to stick by each other

 

through thick and thin. Then he thought he would confess to

 

the Marshal, but he changed his mind several times before he

 

told this story:

 

” For three weeks before the murder Uncle Perry (Anderson

 

Perry) was continually after me to do up Miss Emma. I told

 

him I wanted no part in the affair. Shortly after Uncle Perry

 

first spoke to me upon the subject I was standing on the corner

 

near my house when Uncle Perry came up to me and invited me

 

to drink. I accepted, and while we were at the bar Uncle

 

Perry said : ‘ Why don’t you do that job ?’ I said : ‘ Go ‘way,

 

Uncle Perry, ‘taint for me.’ Then he said : ‘Man alive! You

 

can do it mighty easy.’ I said: ‘Don’t say any more, Uncle

 

Perry.’ After this he left me and I went off to do odd jobs for

 

white folks. The next morning Uncle Perry met me at about

 

the same place and repeated his request of the day before. He

 

said I could make the money ($15 for the old woman’s body)

 

easily, and I should not hesitate about the matter. I again told

 

him it was no use ; I had never done anything of that kind before

 

and he was only wasting his time with me. ‘ Have you had your

 

morning nip V he then asked me. I answered no ; but I added

 

that I expected to get a drink as soon as I had performed some

 

work assigned me. ‘Oh come on and take a drink with me,’ he

 

continued, ‘and you will feel better.’ I consented, and we adjourned

 

to a saloon where I suppose I must have drunk as many

 

as twelve whiskeys; at any rate I know I was drunk when I got

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

202 OUR POLICE.

 

on the street. With each drink Uncle Perry asked me to do

 

this job and with each drink I refused. This was on the day

 

that the old woman was done away with. Uncle Perry made

 

me take a walk with him, and when we returned to the saloon

 

he gave me another drink, after which we adjourned to the street

 

again and moved in the direction of Mrs. Bloxom’s house. Just

 

as we got in front of the house Uncle Perry said: ‘ Go on, boyr

 

and do the business.’ I asked him why he did not do the business

 

himself, and his answer was: ‘ I ‘m too old, but,’ he added,

 

‘ when I was your age I always had a hundred dollars in my

 

pocket, and you can have the same amount now if you will keep

 

a club.’ ‘What will I do with a club, Uncle Perry,’ I asked.

 

‘Why, just loaf around the University late at night, and tap

 

some old drunken man on the head, and then sell his body to the

 

doctors.'”

 

“Did he say he had ever done such a thing?” inquired the

 

Marshal and Deputy-Marshal, almost in one breath.

 

“He ‘lowed me to believe that he had,” Ross replied. Then

 

he continued : ” This talk was near the Bloxom house, and when

 

we had finished, Uncle Perry again urged me to do up the old

 

woman. He explained that it would be all over in a minute and

 

then I could get the money. I stooped down, picked up a brick

 

lying in front of me and went into Miss Emma’s room. She was

 

sitting down. I ran up behind her and, without saying a word,

 

struck her in the temple with the brick I held in my hand. [It

 

was brought out at the trial that Ross had used a hammer.] Then

 

I left the house and Hawkins went in. If it had not been for

 

Uncle Perry I would not have been here now. He is to blame

 

for it all.”

 

Such was the result of Marshal Frey’s and Deputy-Marshal

 

Lannan’s night’s work. They had captured all three of the

 

murderers within what was comparatively a marvelous short time.

 

Ross was brought to trial in the Criminal Court before

 

Judge Duffy and was promptly convicted of murder in the

 

first degree. He was sentenced to be hanged, but his counsel,

 

who had displayed great activity and astuteness during the trial,

 

succeeded in getting a stay and carried the case to the Court of

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 203

 

Appeals on their exceptions. Perry elected to be tried without a

 

jury. Judge Duffy found the evidence against him insufficient to

 

convict, and he was released. Then an order of nolle prosequi

 

was entered in the case of Hawkins, because the evidence

 

upon which he was held was the same as that which had failed

 

to convict Perry.

 

The Court of Appeals refused to reverse the action of the lower

 

Court, and the duty of signing Ross’ death warrant was performed

 

by Governor Lloyd on July 7, 1887.

 

Some persons in Baltimore who had interested themselves in

 

the murderer’s behalf, prepared an application to the Governor

 

for a commutation of the death sentence, and on the day upon

 

which the death warrant was signed, city missionary James

 

Freeman called at the executive mansion and presented the petition

 

to Governor Lloyd. It bore the signatures of about 250

 

business men and others in Baltimore. Among the signers were

 

Sanders & George, Gilpin, Langdon & Co., W. K. Carson, Swindell

 

Bros, and J. Q. A. Herring. The petition stated that ” We,

 

the undersigned, petition your Excellency to commute the death

 

sentence of Ross, the colored man sentenced by his Honor Judge

 

Duffy to be hung, to imprisonment in the penitentiary for life?

 

as we believe it would be unfair to hang him and let his companions

 

in crime go free.” When Governor Lloyd told the missionary

 

that the fatal document had already been signed, the

 

latter remarked that in presenting the petition he had done his

 

duty, and withdrew.

 

The following day Sheriff Fledderman received a portentous

 

looking package closed with the great seal of the State. It contained

 

the Governor’s command that the sentence of the court

 

of justice be executed in the case of John Thomas Ross. The

 

sheriff repaired at once to the city jail. He was accompanied

 

by his deputies Davis and Eggleston. Warden John Waters

 

received the solemn party. Dr. W. W. White, physician to the

 

jail was present. Ross was conducted from his cell to the Board

 

room by chief deputy Charles F. Edwards and deputies Warner,

 

Dwyer, Stanton, Carter, Hasson and Darling.

 

“Are you John Thomas Ross?” asked the sheriff.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

204 OUR POLICE.

 

“Yes, sir,” was the reply.

 

”You have been tried by a jury of your countrymen, found

 

guilty and sentenced to be hanged, and now it devolves upon me

 

to read the death sentence and hereafter to execute it as sheriff

 

•of Baltimore city. I ask you to listen carefully and weigh every

 

word that I shall read. The warrant is as follows:

 

“Whereas, John Thomas Ross, colored, was convicted in the

 

“Criminal Court of Baltimore at the September term, in the year

 

one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six of murder in the first

 

degree of Emma Brown; and whereas, the said court sentenced

 

him to be hung by the neck until he be dead; now, therefore,

 

these are to will and require, as also to charge and command you,

 

that, at or before the hour of two o’clock P. M. on Friday, the

 

twenty-sixth day of August next you take the said John Thomas

 

Ross from your prison and him safely convey to the gallows in

 

ihe city aforesaid, the place of the execution of malefactors,

 

iind then and there the said John Thomas Ross hang by the neck

 

until he be dead. For all which this shall be your sufficient

 

power and authority. Given under my hand and the great seal

 

of the State of Maryland, at the City of Annapolis, on this

 

seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord 1887, and of the

 

independence of the United States the one hundredth and twelfth.

 

“HENRY LLOYD.

 

” By the Governor.

 

“E. W. LECOMPTE, Secretary of State.”

 

Sheriff Fledderman folded the paper with a nervous sigh.

 

During the reading of the document Ross fixed his eyes intently

 

upon the great red seal of the State of Maryland. He seemed

 

•deeply impressed. Although he exhibited no emotion there was

 

:an entire absence of that levity which had hitherto characterized

 

the prisoner’s conduct.

 

A solemn pause followed the reading of the death warrant.

 

Finally the sheriff turned again to Ross and advised him to give

 

up all hopes in this life and throw himself upon the counsels of

 

his spiritual advisers. The negro nodded his head thoughtfully.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUE POLICE. 205-

 

He had seen several ministers, including the Rev. James T.

 

Jardnier, a Catholic priest.

 

Warden Waters and the sheriff then assured Ross that they

 

would do anything in their power to add to his comfort. He

 

asked that his friends be allowed to see him, and the request wasgranted.

 

As the fatal day approached, the interest taken by many sympathetic

 

people in the condemned negro greatly increased.

 

Continued efforts to save him from the gallows were made.

 

Finally Dr. John Morris, a well-known physician, having emphatically

 

expressed his belief in Ross’s mental weakness, the

 

Governor was persuaded to grant a reprieve of two weeks to permit

 

of an examination of the prisoner by competent experts in insanity.

 

Several of Baltimore’s foremost physicians were called upon to

 

make the examination. The result was far from favorable to Dr.

 

Morris’ theory, the general opinion being that Ross was a negro

 

of more than average intelligence. At learning the result of the

 

investigation, the Governor made it known that he could hold out

 

no further hope of reprieve, and at seventeen minutes of one

 

o’clock on Friday afternoon, September 9, 1887, the burker was

 

swung from the gallows in the yard of the Baltimore city jail.

 

The execution was a seven days’ wonder throughout Maryland,

 

and was then forgotten.

 

A few years since, a contemplated raid upon the Baltimore

 

banks by some professionals of the first class was frustrated

 

through the keenness and decision of Mr. Lannan. It was a

 

bright autumn morning in 1879. The air was crisp and invigorating,

 

and just keen enough to keep pedestrians moving

 

rapidly. A busy throng hurried back and forth through the

 

labyrinth of streets in what is known as the “banking quarter” of

 

Baltimore. At the corner of South and Baltimore streets a few

 

lingered for a moment to glance at the bulletin board in front of

 

the Sun office, and then hastened on again about their business.

 

John Lannan, who was at that time captain of the Central police

 

district, was making his accustomed tour through the banking

 

quarter. Many gave a smile or nod of recognition as they passed

 

his well-known athletic form and thoughtful face. In front of the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

206 OUR POLICE.

 

South street side of the Sun office the captain saluted veteran

 

policeman “Joe” Burnett. The latter was standing on the outer

 

edge of the sidewalk with folded arms and lowered head, contemplatively

 

glancing from under his gray eyebrows at all that

 

passed.

 

” Good morning, captain,” spoke the policeman, as he returned

 

his superior’s salute.

 

“Anything to report?” asked the captain.

 

“Well—no, except that I don’t like the looks of those two fellows

 

down in front of the Franklin bank,” replied the officer,

 

turning his head in the opposite direction as he spoke. Burnett

 

had been on that post for nearly twenty-five years, and he was

 

acquainted with every face that did business in South street. A

 

stranger was always more or less an object of suspicion to him.

 

Captain Lannan glanced down the street. Two men were

 

standing in front of the Franklin bank, apparently reading a

 

newspaper. To get a closer look at the men the captain sauntered

 

down past them. As he did so he noticed that the

 

paper in their hands was a New York daily. He also noticed

 

that instead of reading the paper, which they held before their

 

eyes, they were talking rapidly and gazing acutely at some of

 

the buildings in the neighborhood. But more than this, there

 

was something familiar about the countenance of the older of the

 

men which caused the captain’s mind to run back over the array

 

of photographs in the rogue’s gallery at headquarters. After

 

passing a short distance beyond the strangers Captain Lannan

 

turned and walked by them again. They saw him coming and

 

turned their faces away. At the sight of the side face of the man

 

who had attracted his attention before, an expression of recognition

 

passed over the captain’s countenance. He walked up to

 

policeman Burnett, who still stood at the corner, apparently looking

 

in every direction except at the two strangers.

 

“They’re up to something, Joe,” said the captain, “and I

 

think they know we’ve been watching them. Walk slowly

 

around the corner so as not to excite their suspicion, and then

 

hurry to headquarters and send around a man in citizen’s clothes.”

 

The policeman had scarcely moved off to obey the order when

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 207

 

the two strangers suddenly folded up their paper and came toward

 

the corner. They brushed by the Captain, who pretended to

 

pay no attention to them, and turned up Baltimore street. Letting

 

them get about half a square ahead, Captain Lannan placed

 

himself in tbe midst of a little crowd of people moving in the

 

same direction and followed them. At Calvert street they stopped

 

a moment. It was evident that they knew they were being

 

watched. Suddenly the younger of the pair started to rapidly

 

cross Baltimore street, going diagonally back in the direction of

 

North street. The Captain’s first impulse was to step out and

 

stop him, but on second thought it occurred to him that this was

 

probably what the fellow wanted, and that he was trying to let

 

his companion, who was the one the Captain noticed at first, slip

 

away. In this case it was likely that any incriminating evidence

 

in the possession of the two was on the person of the older

 

man. The latter by this time had also started to cross Baltimore

 

street, going up Calvert street. Captain Lannan hastened to

 

follow and arrived at the corner just in time to see him disappear

 

into a hotel. The Captain passed on to the corner of Fayette

 

and Calvert streets. Here he stopped and watched the doorway

 

into which his man had gone. As he did so the younger one

 

suddenly passed him, coming up from behind and brushing

 

against his arm.

 

Seeing detective Pontier approaching at this moment, Captain

 

Lannan still made no effort to detain the fellow, for being in

 

uniform he would have created excitement had he made an arrest:

 

then, too, he desired to locate the men’s lodgings’ and

 

examine their effects, if possible. The younger man walked on

 

and entered the same doorway through which his companion had

 

gone.

 

” Do you see that man ?” asked the Captain of Pontier as he

 

pointed quickly to the young fellow who was at that moment

 

turning into the building into which he went. Detective Pontier

 

saw him.

 

“Well, go in there and arrest him and whomever he is talking

 

with. I’ll wait here until you come out and see that you get

 

the right parties.”‘

 

A few minutes later the detective emerged from the building

 

with the two men in custody. They were brought to head-

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

208 OUR POLICE.

 

quarters. On the person of the older man were found various

 

memoranda concerning the location of several of the principal

 

Baltimore banks. The younger man gave his name as Randolph

 

Smythe and the other as Charles Adams. They were stopping

 

at a first-class hotel. Their room being searched, documents were

 

found which indicated that a plan was on foot to rob one or more

 

banks in this city, and it was discovered that ‘Adams” was noneother

 

than the notorious Langdon W. Moore, the bank burglar.

 

Moore and some of his confederates had formed the plan for

 

robbing the banks, and had applied to Smythe, who was a wellknown

 

“speculator,” for the necessary capital to carry their

 

schemes into effect. The latter had come to Baltimore, and was

 

looking over the ground before embarking his money in the enterprise.

 

As no burglars tools were found in the thieves’ possession,

 

and no crime could be proven against them, the police could

 

do nothing further than to send them out of the city.

 

Moore is at the present time serving a sentence of sixteen yearsin

 

the Concord, Mass., State prison, the result of a trial which

 

took place a few months after his arrest in Baltimore. His conviction

 

was for robbing the post-office at Charlestown, Mass.

 

The story of Moore’s career is most varied and interesting.

 

He was born in 1830 in a New Hampshire village. His father

 

was a farmer in moderate circumstances. His family moved to-

 

East Boston when the boy was fifteen years old. After receiving

 

a good education he went to work at the age of twenty years in

 

a currying establishment, and afterwards in a boot and shoe store

 

on Pearl street. In about four years he succeeded in getting

 

enough capital to start a grocery store in South Boston. After

 

three years more he sold out this place and opened another on

 

Eutaw street. Finding this second venture an unprofitable one

 

he paid all his creditors in full and went into the express business.

 

He afterwards went to New York and kept a liquor shop on

 

Broome street for three years, then moving to Mercer street near

 

Canal. Two years after this, in 1857, he purchased a farm of

 

ninety-four acres, at Natick, Mass., which he increased later to

 

170 acres. He ran the farm for nine years, at the same time

 

keeping several liquor shops and restaurants in New York city.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 209

 

Finally, in 1866, ho sold all his property and retired to Paulsboro’,

 

N. J., where he lived as a gentleman of leisure. Fifteen

 

days before he sold his farm at Natick, he and Harry Howard,

 

better known as “English Harry,” robbed the Concord National

 

Bank. Moore was arrested in Paulsboro’ charged with this

 

crime, but he compromised with the authorities by giving up his

 

share of the plunder, amounting in all to over $200,000, and

 

agreeing to place “English Harry” in their hands. He was

 

unable to accomplish the latter part of the bargain, however,

 

although he tried to.

 

He next appeared in Jersey City as a ” speculator,” in both

 

the legitimate and the illegitimate sense of the word. He

 

bought and sold horses, boats, houses, or anything that gave him

 

a chance to turn a dollar, and furnished the capital with which

 

many dishonest enterprises were carried out by others. He did

 

not get into the hands of the law, however, until he was arrested

 

after the robbery of the Lime Rock National bank of Rockland,

 

Me. This robbery took place on the night of May 3, 1870.

 

Eight persons in all were engaged in the crime, including Moore

 

and ex-policeman Keiser of Rockland. Keiser’s part was to get

 

the policeman on the beat out of the way, and to get the other

 

burglars out of town after the robbery. The ex-policeman succeeded

 

with the first part of his programme, and the safe was blown

 

and about $23,000 in money found. Keiser then drove the men

 

out of town with his team and concealed them in the woods,

 

where he was to call for them the following night. But being

 

arrested on suspicion almost as soon as the burglary was discovered,

 

he confessed, and took the authorities to the hiding place of

 

his confederates, all of whom except one were arrested. Moore

 

pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to four years imprisonment.

 

On account of his good behavior, and, it is intimated, through

 

political influence, he was pardoned before his term had expired.

 

After this Moore returned to New York, where he re-engaged

 

in the liquor business. He took part in many heavy bank burglaries

 

and other crimes, and was arrested a number of times,

 

always managing to keep out of prison, however, until his conviction

 

for the Charlestown robbery. On a number of occasions he

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

210 OUR, POLICE.

 

saved himself by turning State’s evidence. It is said that Moore

 

was at one time worth over §500,000. His wife 13 known to the

 

police a3 “Becky” Moore. She is herself no stranger to crime.

 

Moore married her at Bayonne, N. J., in 1866. She was the

 

widow of “Dad” Cunningham and the daughter of old Bill

 

Sturges, an English sneak and pick-pocket. At one time while

 

Moore was in jail in Boston awaiting trial for robbery, she went

 

to live with a man named Thompson, a professional “alibi

 

prover.” Moore being acquitted in Boston returned to New York,

 

but was unable to find his wife and children. He then learned

 

that they wore with Thompson. Going to a saloon at the corner

 

of Clinton place and Sixth avenue, which he knew they frequented,

 

he met Thompson and attacked him with a knife. He

 

nearly cut his victim’s eye out, and slashed his cheek so that the

 

man bears an ugly scar to this day. Moore was arrested, but the

 

Grand Jury refused to indict him. His wife rejoined him after

 

this, and they went to Chicago together, returning in a few

 

months to New York, where they took a house in East Twenty-sixth

 

street. This was in January, 1879. Here a large number

 

of heavy bank burglaries were planned. The designs against the

 

Baltimore banks, which Captain Lannan by his keenness and

 

decision frustrated, were among them.

 

No two faces about the police headquarters are better known

 

than those of the affable and discreet messengers of the Marshal’s

 

office, policemen Tritel and Milroy.

 

Jeremiah W. Tritel has been on the police force since October

 

12, 1868. He was appointed to the Central district squad, and

 

for five years covered a patrol along the water front. During

 

this time he is known to have taken from the water, often at great

 

personal risk, between forty and fifty persons. In 1873 he was

 

detailed to the Marshal’s office in the capacity of messenger,

 

which position he still fills.

 

The other messenger at the Marshal’s office is policeman W.

 

Alexander Milroy. He was born in Baltimore on March 7,

 

1835. In 1875 he was appointed a patrolman in the Southern

 

•district, where he remained four years, until transferred to his

 

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OUR POLICE. 211

 

present detail. Mr. Milroy is a brother of the late Commissioner

 

of Police, John Milroy.

 

Mr. W. Clarence Allen, the messenger to the Board of Commissioners,

 

was born in this city on February 9, 1858. He was a

 

messenger in the employ of the Adams Express Company previously

 

to his appointment, on July 20, 1886, to his present

 

position. Mr. Allen, according to the records of the department,

 

is a patrolman, detailed at the office of the commissioners. His

 

duties include the registering and filing of all applications to the

 

Board of Commissioners, the care of recovered stolen property,

 

etc., and such other clerical work as may occur.

 

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212 OUR POLICE.

 

CHAPTER IX.

 

THE DETECTIVE FORCE.

 

ORGANIZATION OF THE SECRET SERVICE.—CHIEF DETECTIVE

 

CRONE.—CAPTAIN CADWALLADER.—CAPTAIN SOLOMON H. FREBURGER.—

 

WHAT SOME OF THE MEN HAVE DONE.—JOHN S.

 

PONTIER.—DETECTIVE CUNNING AND PLUCK.—ROBBING HARNDEN’S

 

EXPRESS.—JOSEPH C. MITCHELL.—AN EXPERT LOCKSMITH.—

 

THE ARREST OF HERR GOLDBACH.—A ROMANCE AT

 

BARNUM’S HOTEL.—THEODERICK B. HALL.—REAL AND BOGUS

 

DETECTIVES.

 

If Baltimoreans have reason to congratulate themselves upon

 

the possession of one of the most efficient police organizations in

 

the world, this fact is due in great part to the remarkably good

 

work of the detective department. In this branch of the service

 

it is intelligence, not numerical strength, which has brought

 

such results to the management of the department. Every man

 

on the secret service staif has been proved by long experience,

 

and by delicate operations. It has been his opportunity repeatedly

 

to distinguish himself; and it is safe to say of every

 

one of Baltimore’s detectives that he has done it. The present

 

force of these special officers is, so far as thorough training in

 

the special department of police work to which it is assigned,

 

one of the best equipped of similar organizations throughout the

 

country. This efficiency is due to at least two causes: One is

 

that the marshal of police has the general management of the

 

detectives under his immediate supervision. The direct management

 

of the force is in the care of a captain, who is personally

 

responsible to the chief for the work of the subordinates. Baltimore

 

has been fortunate recently in having two such men as

 

Captains Cadwallader and Freburger at the head of the detective

 

squad. The former’s services brought the detective branch of

 

the police force to such a degree of efficiency, that when he left

 

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OUR POLICE. 215

 

the command to assume control of the district he now has, the

 

detectives were all thoroughly conversant with their duties—

 

knew what to do on almost any occasion which might arise, and

 

how to do it. This was the condition of the squad when its

 

present commander was advanced to his present rank.

 

While, generally speaking, the detective force of Baltimore is

 

nearly as old as the first police organization, there having always

 

been special policemen detailed to “work up” mysterious cases,

 

still the first recognized organization of secret officers was completed

 

in April, 18G7, when Mr. William C. Crone was appointed

 

chief. Mr. Crone was a man widely known in this city, having

 

been a deputy sheriff and a private detective of some celebrity.

 

The squad then consisted of ten men, and Mr. Crone’s official

 

rank was Chief Detective,—as the office now is known, Captain.

 

He, after the marshal and deputy-marshal, controlled the disposition

 

of the force. Mr. Crone continued in office until September,

 

1881, when he was succeeded by Captain Cadwallader, for

 

whom the office of Captain of Detectives was created by an act

 

of the Legislature. On October 14, 1886, Captain Cadwallader

 

was assigned to the Western police district, and Captain Solomon

 

II. Freburger succeeded him. Since Captain Freburger’s

 

accession to the office there have been several great crimes in

 

which his detectives have taken prominent parts, ferreting out

 

the criminals, and discovering evidence for the courts. All this

 

work was done under his supervision, and the credit belongs to

 

him, as the chief of his department.

 

It was on November 5, 1847, that Captain Freburger was

 

born. His birth-place still stands in Exeter street, near Baltimore

 

street, East Baltimore. His father’s name was John Freburger.

 

The lad received his rudimentary education in the

 

public schools of the city, remaining in them until he was sixteen

 

years old, when he made up his mind to become a machinist,

 

and entered the Baltimore and Ohio Railway shops at Mount

 

Clare as an apprentice. After he had learned his trade he

 

remained for some time as a journeyman, and then went West.

 

He worked for various periods in Chicago, Bloomington, St.

 

Louis, and Lancaster, Pa.; and after an absence of about two

 

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216 OUR POLICE.

 

years returned home again. For the second time he began work

 

at the Mount Clare shops, and was employed there for about

 

eighteen months, until, in 1874, he was appointed assistant

 

engineer at the pump-house of the High Service Water Works

 

at Druid Hill Park. The work in this capacity was much

 

too confining for Mr. Freburger, so, on May 1,1875, he resigned

 

his position and accepted that of a detective on the Baltimore

 

police force. Since this date Mr. Freburger’s career has been

 

closely identified with the history of the department. He was.

 

the direct cause of the breaking up of a large and dangerous

 

band of burglars, which made the house-holders of this city retire

 

at night with the expectation of arising the following morning

 

without a bit of jewelry or silverware in the house. So valuable

 

were these services, that in 1884, in the Marshal’s report to the

 

Legislature appears the following:

 

In the early part of this year (1883) quite a number of cases

 

of housebreaking and robbery took place in the western and

 

northwestern sections of the city, and in some instances those

 

engaged in these offenses eluded immediate arrest, but very nearly

 

everyone of them was eventually arrested; the majority of these

 

have been convicted and are now serving terms in the State prison,

 

while others are awaiting trial. The detective officers and other

 

members of the force engaged in ferreting out these criminals and

 

bringing them to trial deserve much credit for consummate skill

 

and untiring industry.

 

In 1877 Captain Freburger was on duty as a detective at the

 

Camden Railway Station during the terrible strike riots. He

 

was complimented by the Board of Police Commissioners and by

 

Marshal Gray for his faithful and efficient services during those

 

trying times. The captain is a man of fine physique, and gives

 

evidence of great strength in every movement of his body. His

 

face is open and pleasing, and the heavy black moustache which

 

shades his mouth makes his countenance very attractive. His

 

appearance is such as would not reassure a criminal who was

 

the object of his pursuit.

 

Detective John S. Pontier is a native of this city. He was

 

born on June 4, 1836. After receiving a rudimentary educa-

 

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OUR POLICE. 217

 

tion in the public schools, and in St. Patrick’s and St. Vincent’s

 

parochial schools, he learned the carpenters’ trade. He

 

did not work long at this, however, for his brother, who was

 

the head of the firm of Pontier & Haslett, dealers in foreign

 

fruits, etc., in Howard street, offered him a clerkship in his store,

 

which he promptly accepted. A few years later Sheriff Creamer

 

appointed him to a position in the Sheriff’s Office, which he

 

continued to hold during Sheriff Dutton’s term, or until about

 

1862. In 1866 he was appointed to the detective squad. He

 

was well-acquainted, personally, with the officers of Adams’ and

 

other express companies, and to any case in which these corporations

 

were interested he was usually assigned. One of his

 

early pieces of work was the investigation of the robbery by

 

express messenger II. Clay Potts, who stole money and papers

 

amounting to $60,000 from the Southern Express Company, in

 

August, 1867. The safe of the company, containing $45,000

 

in money and $15,000 in signed requisitions upon the Government

 

for the charges by the company for the transportation of

 

troops, etc., after the war, was placed in the charge of Potts,

 

from Mobile, Ala., to Corinth, Miss. When nearing Corinth, as

 

the train slowed up to the station where the young man was to

 

deliver over his safe and the keys to the next messenger, Potts

 

opened the strong chest and taking out the valuable packages,

 

threw them from the car into a swampy place beside the track.

 

As soon as the train stopped and he delivered the keys to the

 

other messenger, he ran back to where he had thrown the

 

packages; picking them up he made his way to the other side of

 

a branch of the Tennessee river, which was close by. There he

 

found a hollow tree near the waters’ edge into which he threw

 

the requisitions and $40,000 of the money. He then hurried

 

back before his crime should be discovered, and took the next

 

north bound train. For some days he was lost sight of. Meanwhile

 

the express company had a recent portrait of the young

 

man engraved and thousands of circulars printed bearing the

 

picture and a description of Potts, and offering a large reward

 

for his capture. These were distributed among all the employe’s

 

of the company and sent to the police throughout the country.

 

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218 OUR POLICE.

 

About a fortnight after the robbery, one of the messengers of the

 

Adams Express Company, Mr. Charles Ehrman, saw Potts in a

 

railroad car1 near Cumberland, in this State, where it was known

 

that the young man had relatives living. It was afterwards

 

learned that he intended going there, but seeing what he thought

 

an unusual crowd about the depot, his guilty conscience made him

 

timid and he remained on board the train. Ehrman watched

 

the young man carefully for some time, and at last becoming

 

convinced of his identity tapped him on the shoulder with the

 

question:

 

” Is your name Potts, sir ? ”

 

Taken by surprise, Potts answered in the affirmative.

 

” Then you’re under arrest,” said Ehrman. This capture took

 

place near the Relay House station, and Potts was brought at

 

once to Baltimore and placed in the hands of the police. More

 

than $4,000 was found on his person. Upon proper requisitions

 

from the Governor of Alabama, Detective Pontier was detailed

 

to take the young man back to Mobile. On the journey southward

 

the detective succeeded in learning from Potts where he

 

had put the money he had stolen. He stopped off at Corinth

 

with his prisoner and the two went to one of the hotels in the

 

place. A local constable having heard of the important prisoner

 

who was in town, offered his services in guarding him. While

 

they were seated in their room, the proprietor of the hotel

 

knocked on the door and whispered that a crowd of men was in

 

the bar-room and that they were talking about rescuing Potts,

 

who was well-known in Corinth. Leaving his prisoner in charge

 

of the local constable, Detective Pontier went to the bar-room,

 

where he found a crowd of rough-looking men assembled. They

 

all knew who he was, for they had seen him conduct the prisoner

 

to the hotel. Realizing that bravado was his best course, the

 

detective, who is a large muscular man, threw back his coat with

 

a swagger, and bringing his fist down on the bar with a blow

 

that made all the windows rattle in their sashes and threatened

 

destruction to every near-by piece of crockery, summoned all

 

hands to drink. The summons was obeyed without a murmur.

 

Having thus established a speaking acquaintance, the detective

 

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OUR POLICE. 219

 

carelessly seated himself on the edge of an ice-box in such a

 

manner that his two 32 calibre Colt revolvers protruded into the

 

gaze of the now respectful gathering, and said: ” I hear that

 

somebody around here was talking about taking my man away

 

from me!”

 

“Oh, n o !”

 

” That’s only talk ! ”

 

“We didn’t mean no sich thing as that,” murmured one and

 

another of the crowd deprecatingly.

 

“Well, I just came down to say,” returned the detective,

 

” that he and I are going to sleep in the same room to-night,

 

and I invite any and all of you to try and get in. But don’t

 

forget to bring a surgeon along with you when you come.”

 

And, tapping his weapons significantly, the officer turned on his

 

heels and went back to his room. He was not disturbed that

 

night.

 

The next morning, shortly after day-break, Mr. Pontier and

 

Potts started out to recover the hidden money and papers. To

 

their dismay they discovered that since the day of the theft the

 

stream had risen and overflowed its banks and had again receded.

 

All the trees in the neighborhood were covered with yellow slimy

 

mud, deposited during the freshet, to a heighth of several

 

feet. The marks among the underbrush by which Potts

 

expected to locate his hollow tree had been obliterated. They

 

hunted for the tree all day long until in the evening, just as they

 

were about to return to the hotel, they came upon it. The

 

detective put his hand in the hollow trunk and brought forth a

 

number of packages of paper, which, on account of the yellow

 

mud and slime were unrecognizable as bank notes. Wrapping

 

the packages carefully in a newspaper which he had brought for

 

the purpose, the detective carried the precious bundle back to the

 

hotel. Mr. Pontier then ordered a grate fire to be made, and

 

when it was thoroughly blazing he opened the packages one at

 

a time and hung the bills over the backs of chairs before it until

 

they were all dried. When the moisture was evaporated the dust

 

was easily knocked off by a snap of the finger against the bill.

 

Then repacking the notes he placed them in a valise and started

 

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220 OUR POLICE.

 

off the same night with his prisoner for Mobile, where he arrived

 

late the following day. He turned his man over to the police, and

 

took a receipt for the valise and its contents from the express

 

company’s officers. Potts was afterwards convicted of his crime

 

and was sent to the Alabama State prison for fifteen years.

 

Another express company case in which Mr. Pontier’s detective

 

skill was called into requisition was the robbery of the contents,

 

of the money pouch of the messenger of Harnden’s express in

 

this city, in the summer of 1869. In that year three men, all

 

of them well known burglars, Thomas Hoffman, Edward Dennis,

 

and William Howard, the first a very clever criminal, rented an

 

office in North Charles street, between Lexington and Fayette

 

streets, and pretended to go into the commission business.

 

Howard went to Washington and directed a package, purporting

 

to contain money, to himself at their office, and then returned to

 

this city to await its delivery. The money messenger of Harnden’s

 

express company in Baltimore at that time was an old man named

 

Richard Patterson. He was feeble and utterly unfit for the

 

position he occupied. When Patterson delivered the package at the

 

thieves’ office they were there Waiting for him. As he took the envelope

 

from his pouch, however, they saw that there were very few

 

more packages in it. He had evidently been nearly over his route.

 

The following day Howard again went to Washington and sent

 

another package, purporting to contain money, to himself as

 

before. When Patterson came this time his pouch was full. As

 

soon as he opened it the three men seized him and “bucking”

 

and gagging him left him on the floor, decamping with the pouch,

 

which contained $14,500 in money. In the course of an hour-

 

Patterson succeeded in freeing himself and ran to the office of the

 

express company to inform them of the robbery. The police were

 

immediately notified, and Detective Pontier was detailed upon the

 

case. Circulars describing the thieves and offering §1,500

 

reward for their capture were scattered broadcast over the country

 

by the company. A few days later a telegram from a

 

constable at Swanton, a mining village up in the mountains of

 

Maryland, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was received,,

 

announcing that he had two men in custody, who, he thought,

 

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OUR TOLICE. 221

 

answered the description of the burglars. Detective Pontier

 

hastened to Swanton, and found the men to he Howard and

 

Dennis. He brought them to this city, where Howard wasprevailed

 

upon to confess the crime, and tell where the money

 

was hidden.

 

” Go to Swanton,” he said to Detective Pontier, ” and behind

 

the station you will see a zigzag path. Follow this through the

 

woods to the top of the mountains. Then take the middlestraight

 

path beyond, until you come to a large tree fallen across

 

it. On your left you will see a pile of dead leaves. The money

 

is underneath those leaves.”

 

Accompanied by an officer of the express company, Detective

 

Pontier went to Swanton at once, and followed the instructions.

 

A short distance beyond the top of the mountain they found the

 

dead tree, and brushed up against its trunk was a pile of leaves.

 

On pushing away the leaves they found the packages of bank

 

notes, together with a large quantity of gold and silver coin, not

 

confined in any receptacle, but lying loosely on the ground. They

 

amounted altogether to more than $11,000. The money was

 

brought back to the city and Detective Pontier continued his

 

search for Hoffman, who was the most clever and dangerous

 

criminal of the three. The man was caught some time later in

 

a small place in one of the Western States, and brought hither

 

upon a requisition. The three were indicted and were awaiting*

 

trial when Hoffman escaped from jail by opening his cell door

 

and making his way to the roof, and thence letting himself down

 

to the ground by the leader. He opened the cells of two or

 

three other prisoners also and lot them escape with him, but did

 

not release either Howard or Dennis, against whom he was

 

violently angered for having ” Mowed.” In jumping to the

 

ground he sprained his ankle. This made it easy to trace him

 

when Detective Pontiers again was put upon his track, this time

 

accompanied by Detective Mitchell. The detectives followed him

 

to the Western Maryland railway and thence to Union Bridge,

 

the last station on the road. On entering the railroad inn there,

 

he found Hoffman sitting in the barber’s shop, talking with a boy

 

about sixteen years old, and nursing his ankle.

 

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222 OUR POLICE.

 

“Who’s the boy, Tom?” was the detectives’ greeting query.

 

” He’s ‘ Kid ‘ Johnson, I let him out with me. He was in for

 

picking pockets,” replied the thief in an unmoved tone. Then

 

he added, ” help me up stairs, detective, and put me to bed, my

 

ankle’s badly hurt.” They took the injured man up stairs, and

 

while the boy slept in a corner, the detective bathed Hoffman’s

 

ankle, and nursed it nearly all night. The next morning the

 

detectives brought the two to the city, where Hoffman was afterward

 

tried and convicted with his accomplices. Each was sentenced

 

to ten years and six months in the Penitentiary. One

 

night in prison Hoffman attacked Howard, whom he had never

 

forgiven for confessing, and nearly killed him. For this he was

 

taken out of prison, tried for assault, and had eighteen months

 

added to his sentence.

 

A third important express robbery, in which the company

 

recovered its money through detective Pontier’s skill, was the

 

case of station agent J. B. Stedman, of Harper’s Ferry, Va.,

 

who in May, 1871, stole $1,200 belonging to the Adams Express

 

Company. One morning Mr. J. Q. A. Herring, the superintendent

 

of Adams Express Company in this city, came to headquarters

 

with a despatch from Stedman, who slept in the station,

 

saying that on the previous night while he was absent at a

 

Masonic meeting, the station was broken into and robbed of

 

$1,200. Detective Pontier and Mr. Herring went to Harper’s

 

Ferry together, and looked over the scene of the robbery. After

 

a few moments the detective called Mr. Herring aside and said:

 

” The station agent did this robbery ! ” Mr. Herring was surprised,

 

but when the detective showed him marks indicating

 

positively that the windows had been pried open from the inside,

 

he agreed with him. The detective then went into the other

 

room where Stedman was standing, and accused him of the crime.

 

The man looked frightened, but denied the charge with a show of

 

indignation. The detective then showed him the marks on the

 

window and intimated that he knew of other and more certain

 

evidence. The station agent paled and began to tremble. Then

 

turning to the detective he asked in a choking voice:

 

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OUR POLICE. 223

 

” Are you a Mason ?”

 

Detective Pontier was not a Mason, but Mr. Herring was.

 

The latter was called in, and Stedman asked him to take him

 

to the hotel, as he wished to talk to him. In the hotel the man

 

confessed that he had stolen the $1,200 and placed it in a brass

 

tube, secured at both ends, which he had sent to Chicago, to be

 

kept till called for. The superintendent telegraphed to the

 

train on which the package had been sent, and had the tube

 

returned to Baltimore the following day. The money was found

 

wrapped up inside of it, as Stedman had declared. The station

 

agent was tried at Moundville, Virginia, and sentenced to five

 

years imprisonment.

 

On August 11, 1867, one of the most horrible murders that

 

ever took place in Baltimore occurred at the rear entrance to

 

Judge Campbell’s mansion, on West Franklin street, between

 

Howard street and Park avenue. One of Judge Campbell’s

 

house servants, a good-looking and respectable colored girl, had

 

a beau named John Dixon, a bad character. Dixon called to

 

see the girl on this evening, and asked her to marry him. She

 

refused to do so then, saying that if he would stop drinking she

 

would marry him later. The old colored cook, who Avas sitting

 

in the kitchen, heard this conversation. The two went out after

 

a little, as Dixon rose to leave. At the back gate he put his

 

left arm around the girl’s neck, as if about to kiss her good-night,

 

and then suddenly throwing her head back, he slashed a razor

 

across her throat, cutting her neck through to the spine. The

 

girl put her hand to her throat and stumbled blindly across the

 

yard into the kitchen, where she fell dead, the blood pouring

 

from her arteries and saturating the surroundings. An alarm

 

was raised at once, and Detective Pontier was sent to capture

 

Dixon. He found him asleep in a house on Rock street, where

 

a notorious negro preacher, known as “Blind Johnny,” held

 

forth. On his way to the scene of the crime, the negro, professing

 

ignorance, asked:

 

“What yo’ arrestin’ me fur, Mr. Pontier?”

 

“How do you know me?” demanded the detective.

 

” I used to wait on you when I belonged to Cunnel Slater,”

 

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224 OUR POLICE.

 

replied the negro. The detective then recognized the fellow as

 

the former slave of a gentleman •who owned Carroll’s Island, in

 

the Chesapeake Bay, a great ducking ground, which he used to

 

visit. He then accused the negro of the murder of the girl.

 

The fellow denied it strenuously until brought to the house and

 

unexpectedly confronted with the bleeding corpse. Then he

 

fairly collapsed. Dixon was tried, but the State being unable

 

to prove premeditation, he was convicted in the second degree

 

only, and sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment.

 

Detective Pontier also arrested Hollohan and Nicholson, the

 

murderers of Mrs. Lampley, the story of which is told in the sketch

 

of Marshal Frey. lie was in the company of the marshal, too,

 

when, in 1873, they arrested John Thomas, the assailant of Mrs.

 

Carlotta Sarracco.

 

In the summer of 1876, Detective Pontier arrested a man for

 

whom all the police in the world had been on the look-out for

 

many months. This was Louis Diebel, who, while burgomeister

 

•of the little city of Kadowitz in Polish Prussia, Germany, embezzled

 

about $15,000 of the funds entrusted to his care, and

 

disappeared. The German police offered 4,000 marks, or $1,000,

 

reward for the dishonest official’s capture, and distributed portraits

 

and descriptions of him in all languages, all over the world.

 

One of these descriptions fell into the hands of Detective Pontier

 

and he made inquiries among Germans of the city, in hopes that

 

somebody might have run across the man. It happened that

 

one of the detective’s German friends did know of a man answering

 

to the description, who was living at the old Washington

 

House, a small hotel at Camden and Eutaw streets, opposite the

 

Camden station. Mr. Pontier went thither and found that the

 

man was registered under his own name. At the time, however,

 

the embezzler was in the country bargaining for the purchase of

 

a farm. On his return to the hotel the detective arrested him

 

and found him to be the person he was in search of. The man

 

was sent to Germany by the German Consul, and the reward of

 

$1,000 was received by Mr. Pontier. According to the rules of

 

the police board the money was handed over to the commissioners,

 

but after some weeks it was paid him. Nearly $13,000 of the

 

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OUR POLICE. 225

 

$15,000 stolen by the burgomeister was recovered, it being found

 

on his person at the time of his arrest.

 

Detective Joseph C. Mitchell was born in this city on July

 

22, 1827. He is a brother of the late Captain John Mitchell,

 

formerly in command of the Middle district. He attended the

 

public schools in Baltimore, and afterwards learned the trade of

 

coach smithing, at which he worked for about six years as a

 

journeyman. He then went into the eating-house business, and

 

for many years kept restaurants in various parts of the city.

 

He was appointed a member of the detective squad on April 21,

 

1867. He never served the police department in any other

 

•capacity. Detective Mitchell is one of the only two officers now

 

remaining on the squad who were appointed at the reorganization

 

of 1867. Detective Pontier is the other.

 

In the summer of 1875, a large number of houses in the

 

wealthier part of the city were robbed by sneak thieves, who carried

 

on their operations nearly every day for a month. One of

 

the thieves was evidently an expert locksmith, for the doors of the

 

houses which were robbed were opened with skeleton keys in a

 

very skillful manner. Detective Mitchell was assigned to find out

 

who the thieves were. After inspecting their work, Mr. Mitchell

 

came to the conclusion that they were not Baltimoreans, as there

 

were not to his knowledge any local thieves capable of doing

 

such neat work. He was about to make a tour of the cheap

 

hotels with a view of seeing what strangers were in town, when a

 

negro boy whom he knew told him he had seen “Nat” Jones,

 

alias “Davy” Peyton, and James Sanford, two New York

 

thieves, in town, and that they were committing the robberies

 

that had caused so many complaints. Upon further inquiry

 

Detective Mitchell learned that the two thieves were probably at

 

the Union Hotel, on Pratt street, near Market street. On

 

August 13, he went to the hotel, and giving the clerk a description

 

of the men, asked if they were in the house.

 

“Yes, I think they’re about here somewhere now,” replied

 

the clerk.

 

Just then the detective saw his men in the reading-room, engrossed

 

in the New York papers, sitting with their feet on the

 

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226 OUR POLICE.

 

reading-room table. He went up to them, and getting in a convenient

 

position to grasp both the men, if they should attempt to

 

escape, said :

 

” The Marshal wants to see you at the headquarters.”

 

The men looked blankly at each other a moment and then

 

replying “All right,” ‘accompanied the detective. They were

 

locked up and indicted upon evidence against them that was subsequently

 

found, and upon a confession which Sanford made.

 

Their method was to hire a wagon and drive up to the house they

 

intended robbing. Then after ransacking the place they would

 

put their plunder into the wagon and drive off. While awaiting

 

trial Jones broke jail and escaped. He went to New York where

 

he lived in a tenement house in Canal street, near the Hudson

 

river. Dectective Mitchell followed him thither and was aided

 

in his hunt for the man by one of Inspector Byrne’s detectives.

 

They watched the house in which Jones lived for some days, but

 

did not once see him. Then they learned that the man never

 

came out of his room except at sunrise, when he took a short

 

walk, bought a morning paper and returned to remain until the

 

next day. So the following morning at peep of day the detectives

 

placed themselves before the house. A moment after they

 

arrived their man came out and they took him into custody. Detective

 

Mitchell brought him back to Baltimore, where he was

 

convicted and sentenced for ten years and six months. Sanford

 

was sentenced for five years. Jones served his whole term, and

 

in 1886, as soon as he was released, was taken to Boston to serve

 

out an old sentence in a jail there from which he had escaped.

 

He is still serving his time in Boston, under special guard. Joneshas

 

the reputation of being one of the most successful jail breakers

 

in the country. He escaped from seven prisons in various

 

parts of the United States before he broke jail in this city. Now

 

that he is in custody, his only hope of not spending the rest of

 

his life in confinement lies in making another and final escape,

 

for the total of unexpired sentences that he will have to serve

 

out in one prison and another aggregates more than thirty years.

 

In the centennial year Detective Mitchell became officially

 

connected with a crime that acquired a world-wide notoriety, and

 

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OUR POLICE. 227

 

which is still frequently spoken of in some circles. The great

 

Kur-Saal at Baden-Baden, in Germany, at that time, still maintained

 

its name of being one of the largest and most magnificent

 

gambling houses in the world. It was rivalled only by the gaming

 

palaces of Monaco and Monte Carlo. The Kur-Saal or Casino,

 

was conducted under semi-official auspices, and it was generally

 

understood to be the property of the Crown of the Duchy of Baden-

 

Baden. About 1876 there was much talk about closing the great

 

gambling place on account of the growing prejudice against public

 

gaming, which at that time showed itself throughout the German

 

Empire. One of the assistants of the treasurer of the establishment

 

was a young man named Ernst Goldbach. As was afterwards

 

ascertained he had for some years been systematically

 

robbing the “bank.” He lived much beyond his income as a

 

clerk, but as he had been known at times to have made large winnings

 

by his occasional ventures at the tables, no suspicion of his

 

honesty entered the mind of his superiors. On May 30,1886,

 

having learned from what he supposed to be a trustworthy source

 

that the games were to be stopped on June 1, he stole 40,000

 

thalers (about $30,000) from the safe of the “bank” and decamped.

 

The theft was not discovered until late the following

 

day, by which time Goldbach had crossed the French frontier

 

with his mistress and their son, a child of six years. A few days

 

later the German police got information which led them to believe

 

that the young man had boarded one of the North German Lloyd

 

steamships at Southampton, England, and was on his way to New

 

York. They cabled to the German consul, and he caused the

 

first incoming steamer of that line, which arrived in the port of

 

New York, to be searched for the man. The search having proved

 

fruitless, he telegraphed to the German consul in this city to

 

request the Baltimore police to search another steamship of the

 

same company which had left Southampton at the same time for

 

Baltimore. In response to the request of the consul, Detective

 

Mitchell was detailed upon the case. He procured permission

 

from the United States officials to go down the bay on the revenue

 

cutter. He met the steamer at Quarantine and boarded her. As

 

the revenue cutter drew up alongside of the mammoth craft, all

 

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228 OUR POLICE.

 

the passengers on board, numbering nearly fifteen hundred,

 

crowded along the rail to look at her. Detective Mitchell had

 

an accurate description of Goldbach, and as he looked up from

 

the deck of the cutter he saw a man in the crowd who answered

 

the description exactly, so far as features and stature were concerned.

 

“That’s my prisoner,” thought the detective, and his speculation

 

proved correct, for upon inquiry of the purser for Herr

 

Goldbach, the officer pointed the same young man out to him.

 

Goldbach was greatly taken aback at his arrest. He spoke but

 

little English. The detective took him and his mistress and

 

child into custody, and when the passengers were landed, conducted

 

them to the police headquarters. There a gold draft on

 

Brown Brothers & Co., the bankers, for $4,400 was found on Goldbach,

 

besides a large amount in German paper money and English

 

gold and silver coins. A matron on searching the man’s

 

mistress found $10,000 worth of German government and other

 

negotiable securities sewed into her clothing, and also a large

 

quantity of cash. The money about the persons of the pair

 

aggregated between $17,000 and $18,000. The prisoners, at the

 

request of the German consul, were not locked up in jail, but

 

were given apartments in a first class hotel. The explanation of

 

this strange proceeding was afterward discovered to be the fact

 

that the young man’s connections in Germany were noble and

 

very wealthy. They subsequently so arranged matters that Goldbach

 

was not required to be sent back for trial, and after a short

 

confinement here in the hotel he was allowed to go free. He

 

managed to get as far as New York, when after nearly starving

 

to death he found a situation as waiter in a large German beer

 

saloon and restaurant. At last accounts he still held this situation,

 

his mistress, who was a remarkably beautiful girl, remaining

 

faithful to him.

 

Some years ago a handsome young widow lived at Barnum’s

 

Hotel. Besides her attractions of face and form, she was known

 

to possess considerable property. Her name was Mrs. William

 

H. Young. A young gentleman from Washington came to live

 

in Baltimore, and stopped also at Barnum’s Hotel. His name

 

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OUR POLICE. 229

 

was James Ivins. He was connected with some of the best

 

families of the National Capital. Mrs. Young and Mr. Ivins

 

made each other’s acquaintance, and they soon became great

 

friends. Though Mr. Ivins subsequently took lodgings in the

 

city, he visited Mrs. Young at the hotel almost daily, and

 

frequently took her to ride in Druid Hill Park or in the suburbs.

 

The other lady guests of the hotel were getting intensely interested

 

in the pair, and the servants retailed romances concerning

 

them that added fuel to the fire of curiosity that was consuming

 

the fair fellow-guests of the beautiful widow. One afternoon

 

Mr. Ivins called. Mrs. Young was out, and he said he would

 

wait for her in her room, which was where the lady was accustomed

 

to receive him. A few moments later he went out,

 

saying he would return shortly. He did not come back, however:

 

Mrs. Young returned, and as she took Mr. Ivin’s card

 

from the servant’s salver, a smile of satisfaction passed over her

 

countenance. About six o’clock in the evening, however, she

 

rushed down stairs in a great flurry, and announced to the clerk

 

that she had been robbed of all her diamond jewelry, which she

 

had left in her bureau drawer when she went out, amounting in

 

value to $2,500. She had just discovered her loss as she was

 

attiring herself for supper. The police were notified at once,

 

and Detective Mitchell was sent to look into the case. After

 

hearing of all the circumstances, he concluded, contrary to Mrs.

 

Young’s belief that one of the servants had stolen the jewelry,

 

that the thief was none other thati the handsome Mr. Ivins.

 

When Mrs. Young learned that that gentleman had hastily left

 

town, and also remembered that he was the only person who

 

knew exactly where the jewels were kept, she was forced to agree

 

with the detective. The valuables had evidently been taken by

 

some one who knew their exact whereabouts, for nothing else in

 

the room, and no other drawer except the one from wdiich they

 

were taken was upset. Detective Mitchell, with much difficulty,

 

traced Ivins about from place to place, until finally he located

 

him in Chicago, whither he went and arrested him. Ivins submitted

 

quietly to arrest. He told where he had disposed of the

 

diamonds, and the detective recovered all but three hundred

 

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230 OUR POLICE.

 

dollars’ worth of them. The young man said he had never before

 

stolen anything nor been arrested. This was probably true, for

 

his record showed him to have never been anything worse than a

 

wild youth. He called to see Mrs. Young with nothing further

 

from his mind than stealing her diamonds. Finding the jewels

 

unguarded, however, and being in financial straits at the time,

 

an evil impulse seized him, and ho took the jewelry and fled.

 

He was held in confinement for nearly seven months, at the

 

end of which time, Mrs. Young refusing to prosecute him, he

 

was released.

 

Detective Theoderick B. Hall was born in Baltimore on August

 

20, 1838, and was educated in the public schools of this city.

 

He was apprenticed to and learned the trade of a bricklayer.

 

At the breaking out of the civil war in 18G1 Mr. Hall enlisted

 

in the First Regiment Maryland Volunteers, U. S. Army, and

 

was commissioned Lieutenant Co. C. lie served one year, when

 

he was honorably discharged by reason of disability contracted in

 

service.

 

In January, 1863, Mr. Hall was appointed to the police force,

 

and after serving one year he resigned to accept the position of

 

conductor on the City Passenger Railway, tendered him by

 

President Tyson of that company. In this capacity he served

 

thirteen years, during which time he personally apprehended

 

nine pickpockets on his car. He also assisted the detective of

 

the railroad company in arresting others. Mr. Hall became an

 

officer in the City’s detective department, April 23, 1875. It

 

was he who, in 1877, “turned up” the thieving barge captains

 

who for years had been systematically robbing the grain merchants

 

of this city. For a long time complaints had been made

 

of the enormous “shrinkage” in the barge cargoes of grain

 

shipped to consignees, but nothing could be learned to account

 

for it. Finally, in March, 1877, Detective Hall was detailed to

 

investigate the matter. After much trouble he found that Captain

 

William Dcffendorf and four other grain barge captains were

 

engaged in a scheme whereby from two to three hundred bushels

 

of grain were stolen of a night. The men had a sloop, and

 

lying up to the barges, they would load the plunder, a quota

 

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OUR POLICE. 231

 

being taken from each of the barges of grain entrusted to their

 

care, run the stolen property to Chesapeake City, exchange it

 

for flour, and then sell the flour. The first man against whom

 

Detective Hall secured any evidence was Captain Deffendorf, who

 

made a confession to the officer inculpating his comrades in the

 

crime. In order to accomplish the arrest of all, Deffendorf was

 

allowed to remain at liberty for the time being, of which he took

 

advantage to advise his confederates of their danger and the whole

 

party “skipped.” Detective Hall arrested Deffendorf stowed

 

away in a canal barge between Weehawken and Hoboken, after

 

a most exciting chase of seventeen days, which carried him nearly

 

all over the States of New York and New Jersey. Another of

 

the fugitives he arrested in Philadelphia, one in New Brunswick,

 

N. J , and another in Baltimore. The prosecution saw that no

 

conviction could be had unless one of the guilty men was used as

 

States’ evidence, and Deffendorf had consented to tell all he

 

knew. After the accused had remained in jail for eight months,

 

on the very day set for the trial of the cases Deffendorf died.

 

There being no other evidence forthcoming, the State’s Attorney

 

entered a nolle pros, and the men were discharged. One of them,

 

years afterwards, came to Detective Hall and told him that his

 

arrest was the most fortunate thing that had ever happened him,

 

as a career in crime had been checked and he had since been an

 

honest man.

 

Detective Hall, in conjunction with Detective Gault, in July,

 

1877, arrested the notorious James Huff alias Porter. Huff, or

 

Porter, had at one time been in the U. S. Secret Service under

 

Chief Brooks and had been dismissed. For five years prior to

 

his arrest Huff had been going about the country representing

 

himself as a secret service officer, and by that means defrauding

 

people under various pretenses. He had baffled Chief Brooks’

 

men, who were constantly hearing of his fraudulent practices,

 

but were unable to lay their hands on him. One night in the

 

month mentioned Marshal Prey received a telegram from Union

 

Bridge, Md., asking him to look out for Huff, as it was thought

 

he would be in Baltimore and would call at the post-office for a

 

letter. Detectives Hall and Gault were detailed to the case, and

 

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232 OUlt POLICE.

 

after considerable difficulty and four days constant vigilance they

 

succeeded in locating their man at Lloyd’s Hotel, corner Calvert

 

and Pratt streets. It was late at night -when the officers reached

 

the hotel and Huff had retired. They were, however, shown to

 

the room, and Detective Hall rapped at the door.

 

“Who’s there?” was the response.

 

“A friend,” was the reply ; ‘”open the door.”

 

” You can’t get in here,” said Huff.

 

” Open the door, or we’ll break it in,” threatened the detectives,

 

and the bogus Secret Service man unlocked the door and

 

peeked out.

 

” How do, Huff!” was the salutation of Detective Hall.

 

” My name’s not Huff; it is Porter.”

 

” Well! Porter is just the man we want,” came the reply.

 

” Oh ! I know who you are,” said Huff, ” you are a couple of

 

these fly detectives who go nosing about other people’s business!”

 

” Where did you go to guessing school ?” responded Mr.

 

Gault. “Now you’ve told us who we are, tell us who you are.”

 

” I’ll mighty soon show you,” said Huff, with an important

 

and threatening air, and going to his coat, produced a large

 

bundle of papers bearing the name of “James Porter.” The

 

papers were IT. S. Government blanks connected with various

 

departments, and while they made a brave show superficially and

 

collectively, a closer examination revealed that they were of no

 

importance whatever, but simply useful to impose upon the

 

ignorant and credulous.

 

Huff was removed to the police headquarters, where, upon

 

being searched, it was learned by maps, charts, and other papers

 

found on his person that he was one of the conspirators to rob the

 

tomb of the remains of President Lincoln. He was sent to

 

Hagerstown, and at his trial Chief Brooks and five of his men

 

appeared to prosecute him. Huff was convicted and sentenced

 

to five years in the Maryland Penitentiary. Chief Brooks sent

 

a congratulatory letter to Detectives Hall and Gault for having

 

made this important capture.

 

On December 12, 1882, Detective Hall arrested “Tom”

 

Bigelow, alias Ward, and Louise Bigelow, alias Jordan, alias

 

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OUR POLICE. 233

 

“English Louise.” They were pickpockets. Their plan of

 

working was for the woman to watch about savings banks, and

 

“spotting” some woman who had drawn a sum of money, would

 

follow her, and being joined by Tom Bigelow, who would be

 

hirking in the neighborhood, subsequently relieve the victim of

 

the money in the street car. Detective Hall had four cases

 

against them, but through the failure of the persons robbed to

 

sufficiently identify the pair, they were discharged and sent

 

out of the city.

 

Noah M. Mitchell, the colored swindler, was arrested by Detective

 

Hall on December 7,1885. Mitchell’s plan of opeiations

 

was clever and ingenious, and he showed that he was a man

 

who had enjoyed more than an average education. He would

 

go to a city and have a pamphlet printed, setting forth that

 

a society had been organized whose object it was to secure

 

a higher education for the colored people of the South. He

 

would then go to the prominent men of that city and secure their

 

endorsement of the purposes mentioned in the little book, but

 

would ask no subscription from them. This he did in Washington,

 

and secured as endorsers of the proposed object the names

 

of the President, an ex-President, Senators, Congressmen, prominent

 

lawyers and others. With these endorsements of the plan

 

he came to Baltimore, and represented himself as a solicitor for

 

subscriptions for the society, of which he was the only living exponent

 

and sole beneficiary. Among his victims there were such

 

men as Messrs. Bonaparte, Frank Stevens, Thomas Ruddle, and

 

other prominent citizens. He secured between $500 and $600.

 

He was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for two years

 

and six months.

 

William Thomas was arrested in August, 1878, by Detective

 

Hall, for attempting to blackmail a citizen through the use of

 

the mails. When the officer put his hand on Thomas’s shoulder

 

to arrest him Thomas sprang back and drew a pistol. Detective

 

Hall was too quick for him, however, disarmed him and carried

 

him to headquarters. Thomas was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment.

 

Detective Hall is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal

 

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234 OUR POLICE.

 

Church, and belongs to many of the societies connected with

 

that denomination. To many unfortunates who have been

 

arrested by him he has given good counsel and advice, and some

 

hardened criminals have through him been reclaimed to a better

 

life.

 

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k

 

OUR POLICE. 235

 

CHAPTER X.

 

THE DETECTIVE FORCE.—Continued.

 

ALBERT GAULT.—A REMARKABLE RECORD.—QUICK WORK WITH

 

SKILLFUL BURGLARS.—RESCUING FROM THE FLOOD.—CLEVER

 

CAPTURE OF JOHN KING. CHRISTINE ELBRIGHT. ARREST OF

 

TOLLIVER HARRIS, THE NEGRO TERROR OP VIRGINIA.—AMONG

 

THE MOONSHINERS. TERRIBLE CONFLICT WITH AN ESCAPED

 

PRISONER. DETECTIVE GEORGE W. SEIBOLD. RISEN FROM

 

THE RANKS. PURSUING THE CONFIDENCE MEN. A COLORED

 

FEMALE FAGIN. THEIR CHILD RESTORED AFTER EIGHT YEARS.

 

—A PRIESTLY SWINDLER.—DETECTIVE SEIBOLD AS A FAKIR.—

 

CLEVER WORK IN ELLICOTT CITY. BARN BURNING IN HOWARD

 

COUNTY.—HOW AN AGED TRAMP REPAID FARMER RHINE’S

 

KINDNESS.

 

There is perhaps no detective in the State of Maryland about

 

whom so much that is favorable is told and so many stories

 

related as Albert Gault. He is a born crime-detecter and

 

his experiences have certainly been varied and thrilling enough

 

to create a fund for sensational story-writers that would be imperishable

 

during the present generation. He has had all sorts

 

of escapes, has captured all manner of criminals, has followed all

 

sorts of clues with such attending circumstances that told in detail

 

would make him not a simple detective, but a creature of

 

romance. He had an opportunity to perve Baltimore when it

 

was perhaps one of the wickedest cities on the American continent.

 

The fact that he is still alive to tell of his deeds is sufficient

 

to prove the man’s indomitable perseverance in not allowing

 

wounds, or nearly death itself, to interfere in the prosecution

 

of his duty. He comes of an excellent family which through

 

business reverses was reduced in circumstances. He was born

 

in this city on October 13, 1837. His father was Robert Gault,

 

then a well-to-do type-founder. Young Gault attended the pub-

 

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236 OUR POLICE.

 

lie schools, but lie left them early. At the age of fourteen

 

years he was apprenticed to the firm of gas-fitters, Blair & Co., and

 

learned his trade, which he followed for fifteen years. During the

 

war Mr. Gault started business on his own account, but not

 

finding trade sufficiently remunerative he remained but two years

 

as a “boss.” Finally he decided that he would join the police

 

force, so he made his application to the police department and

 

received his appointment on December 8, 1866. He was assigned

 

to the Middle (now Central) district, under Captain John

 

Mitchell, who held his commission from the famous Young and

 

Valiant board of Commissioners. On April 22, 1875, while

 

serving under Captain (now Deputy-Marshal) Lannan, in the

 

Middle district, Mr. Gault was made a sergeant, and on June

 

29 of the same year he was assigned to work on the detective

 

squad.

 

Mr. Gault had been on the police force but a few days when he

 

fell in with a most important piece of work. At that time the

 

passenger trains from the north on their way to Washington and

 

the south were drawn through the city by horses, from the President

 

street station of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore

 

railroad to the Camden street station of the Baltimore and Ohio

 

railroad company. Gault’s beat included the neighborhood of the

 

Marsh Market, by which, on Pratt street, all the trains passed.

 

Many complaints had been received at headquarters within the

 

few weeks previous, of the depredations of sneak thieves who

 

jumped on the trains on their way through the city and stole

 

whatever they could find unguarded. The thieves operated

 

generally at night while the passengers were dozing.

 

One morning at about half past three o’clock Gault was standing

 

secreted in a doorway on the lookout for these car thieves.

 

The ground was covered with newly fallen snow; the night was

 

still and clear. The only sound that could be heard by the

 

policeman as he stood back in his hiding place was a distant

 

tinkling of bells which denoted the approach of another train on

 

its way to the Capital. Suddenly the snap of a whip and the

 

voice of a driver speaking to his horses attracted Gault’s attention,

 

and he casually poked his head around the corner to see what was

 

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OUR POLICE. 237

 

going on. Two hacks had just passed across the Lombard street

 

bridge. By the bright starlight the policeman could see that the

 

curtains in each of the carriages were drawn. The presence of

 

two carriages with drawn curtains in that locality at that hour of

 

the night was so unusual a thing that Gault determined to abandon

 

his watch for the car thieves for a while and follow the strange

 

vehicles at least until they had left his beat.

 

The carriages plowed slowly along, turning up Concord street

 

and finally wheeling suddenly into the narrow lane known as

 

Hawk street, where they stopped before a small two-story house

 

on the north side of the way. Five men instantly jumped out

 

upon the pavement, and shouldering what appeared to be heavy

 

sacks, carried a large number of them into the house. Then the

 

hacks drove off, leaving the five men in the house. All this

 

policeman Gault remarked from a position he had taken in the

 

shadow of one of the market stalls opposite the opening of Hawk

 

street. As soon as the carriages had passed out of sight the

 

policeman made his way to where they had been standing. The

 

footprints of the men were fresh in the snow and a dim light

 

could be seen in one of the rooms on the upper floor of the little

 

house.

 

Convinced that some villainy was on foot Gault, immediately

 

hunted up his sergeant and related to him what had occurred. The

 

latter scouted at the young policeman’s suspicions, intimating that

 

new officers frequently got themselves into embarrassing positions

 

by being over suspicious. Gault returned to his post. Though

 

rebuffed he was not convinced, by the sergeant’s assurances, and he

 

again examined the ground in the neighborhood of Hawk street.

 

As he passed the suspected house he heard sounds of footsteps

 

within, and the slam of a door.

 

More certain than ever that his suspicions of evil-doing were

 

well founded Gault again hunted up his sergeant. After considerable

 

argument the latter agreed to go to Captain Mitchell’s

 

house, wake him up, and submit the matter to him. The captain

 

lived close by and within half an hour he returned with the

 

sergeant. Gault then led the pair to Hawk street and showed

 

them the footprints and carriage tracks, relating all the move-

 

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238 OUR POLICE.

 

mcnts ho had observed on the part of the five men. Captain

 

Mitchell agreed with Mr. Gault that the affair bore a suspicious

 

appearance, but he hesitated to adopt tho plan which the policeman

 

urged, of making a raid upon the house at once. After some

 

minutes’ deliberation the captain determined to get a warrant

 

before entering the house. Leaving Gault on guard he hastened

 

to the residence of a magistrate and procured the desired paper,

 

with which he returned in a very short time.

 

Gault was boiling over with impatience when the captain

 

reached him.

 

” Have you got it ?” he whispered eagerly. Captain Mitchell

 

drew the document from his coat pocket by way of reply.

 

“Now break right in,” said the policeman in an excited voice,

 

” and I’ll stand out here on watch.”

 

The captain hesitated as if he did not relish the idea suggested.

 

He looked the building over and finally exclaimed : ” By Jove,

 

I’ve left my pistol home ! ”

 

” Here,” burst forth the young patrolman, as he thrust his

 

revolver into the captain’s hands, unable to control himself any

 

longer; “you take my pistol and stand outside here and I’ll go

 

in.”

 

Half demurring, the captain took the weapon, and Gault,

 

scarcely waiting to give the legal knock on the door, burst through

 

and rushed up-stairs. Two little girls were in bed in the room

 

at the head of the stair-case. They had been awakened by the

 

crash and were rubbing their eyes in astonishment when the

 

policemen addressed them. It was then almost daylight.

 

“Did you see some men come in here last night, carrying

 

bags ? ” they were asked.

 

“Yes sir,” replied the elder of the children innocently.

 

” They said they had corn for the chickens.”

 

” Where are the men now ? ”

 

“They went out the back way,” said the child. “They’re

 

coming back again. They put the bags in that room.” And

 

she pointed to the adjoining chamber.

 

Policeman Gault entered the room indicated. The shutters

 

were closed and the light was very dim within. Finally the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 239

 

officer “was able to make out all the contents of the apartment.

 

A high old fashioned bed stood in one corner. Everything

 

appeared to be in an orderly condition with the exception of the

 

freshly scrubbed floor, which was stained with the prints of wet

 

shoes. No traces of bags or packages were to be seen. The

 

footprints led toward the bed. It struck the policeman that perhaps

 

the stuff” Was hidden under it. He lifted the overhanging

 

coverlet. As he did so he started back in amazement. The

 

entire space under the bed was filled with great packages. He

 

hauled them out one by one and found them to be large rolls of

 

heavy cloth. Locking the door on the inside he climbed out of

 

the window upon the roof of the portico in front of the house

 

and called to Captain Mitchell to come up. The captain was

 

dumb with astonishment when he reached the room and saw the

 

bundles lying on the floor before him. There could be no doubt

 

that it was stolen property. After waiting half an hour in the

 

hope that the thieves would return, Captain Mitchell ordered

 

Gault to fetch a large wagon to the house, and all the packages

 

were removed to the Central station, where they were spread upon

 

the floor to await an owner..

 

About half-past eight o’clock Mr. Thompson, the proprietor of

 

a fashionable tailoring establishment on Fayette street opposite

 

the Mansion House, rushed into headquarters and and informed

 

the marshal that his shop had been robbed the night before of

 

every yard of cloth in it. The thieves had fairly stripped the

 

place bare, even taking two pairs of shears with them. On being

 

led across to the station-house the tailor recognized his property at

 

once. Thanks to policeman Gault’s sagacity and his persistency in

 

going ahead when he felt sure he was right, over seven thousand

 

dollars worth of stolen property was recovered for its owner within

 

three hours after the robbery and before the crime was discovered

 

by the victim himself.

 

The same day policeman Gault and several other officers succeeded

 

in arresting all the thieves by hunting for them among

 

the well-known haunts of such characters, in the lower part of

 

the city. They were identified by the landlady of the house on

 

Hawk street as the men who had hired her second floor, and the

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

240 OUR POLICE.

 

children picked them out as the same ones who had carried in the

 

bundles on the night of the burglary. They were afterward

 

convicted and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

 

It was on that fearful day in July, 1868, when Baltimore was

 

swept by flood, and part of the town was fairly drowned beneath

 

the waters which raged from the country about, that patrolman

 

Gault discovered that he was not merely an enthusiastic policeman,

 

but a man full of that noble desire to do good which impels

 

one to risk his life for another’s benefit. There was a great

 

crowd of terror-stricken citizens standing in High street, near

 

Front street, at about o o’clock in the afternoon of July 24. The

 

yellow flood roared and writhed and twisted itself in apparent

 

deviltry as it rushed on its path of destruction. On its breast

 

was borne all manner of things : parts of houses, great tree

 

trunks from which huge branches had been torn by the angry

 

waters, chicken coops, furniture, produce—but look ! what is this

 

floating upon the tossing waves, half hidden at times by the

 

billows, but always rising with them, always cresting them—

 

making them sacred even in their maddened rush for prey ? It

 

comes nearer the great crowd; it is upon them, abreast of them,

 

and within the cradle which rides the flood a babe looks out and

 

smiles upon the thousand men who stand awe-stricken at the

 

strange sight. There is no motion in the crow7d ; not a hand is

 

waved, not a tongue is loosened as the cradle with its precious

 

burden sweeps by, the wreckage apparently making way for

 

it. Again look! a man darts from the midst of the crowd;

 

he wears the familiar uniform of a policeman; his head is bare,

 

his hair streaming in the wind and tossing spray. Over he goes

 

into the raging waters, and amid the cheers of the crowd swims

 

towards the castaway. Tree trunks intervene; great masses of

 

wreckage interpose themselves, but nothing daunts the brave man

 

who struggles toward the object of his endeavors. Struck now

 

and forced back by some heavy drift he begins all over again, and

 

with set teeth grasps the cradle. The baby smiles at him and

 

then gives a little crowr of delight as the rescuer’s weight tilts the

 

cradle to one side. Little it knows how near it has been to the

 

end. The policeman landed many squares below the place where

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 241

 

he leaped into the flood, but the crowd had followed him, and as

 

he stepped ashore and handed the little one to a lady who was

 

standing near, the immense crowd surged about him and made

 

the air ring with cheers.

 

Three hours after this Mr. Gault, still drenched from his

 

heroic battle with the flood, again leaped into the water at

 

Harrison and Gay streets, and in the presence of fully 500

 

persons rescued John Steigel, after the latter had almost choked

 

the brave officer to death.

 

In the summer of 1870 Detective Gault gained much praise

 

by his clever capture of a pickpocket in this city. One of the

 

officials at the Union depot had put his aunt, an elderly lady,

 

and her daughter on board a train. They were going to Hartford,

 

Connecticut. Before the train left the Union depot a welldressed

 

gentleman who was stitting in a seat behind them, with

 

much politeness assisted the ladies in disposing of their baggage,

 

etc. As soon as they were comfortably seated he left the car,

 

telling them that he was going into the ” smoker ” and would

 

return. At that time it was customary for the trains from the

 

Union depot to stop at Bay View junction to take on the cars

 

that had come up from the President street station. Before they

 

reached the junction the conductor went through the train

 

collecting the tickets. Then the old lady suddenly discovered

 

that her pocket-book, containing the tickets for herself and her

 

daughter and about $20 in bills was missing. She supposed she

 

must have lost it, and returned to the Union depot much

 

chagrined with the next train. When she told her nephew

 

about the polite gentleman who had assisted her with her packages

 

the young man at once suspected that the ” gentleman ” had

 

stolen the pocket-book. He reported the facts to the police

 

headquarters. Detective Gault was assigned to look into the

 

case. When he learned that the pocket-book contained two

 

Hartford tickets, heat once determined to watch the “scalpers”

 

offices, suspecting that the thief would try to sell the tickets. As

 

the detective was loitering along Baltimore street in the neighborhood

 

where the “scalpers’ ” shops are located, he noticed a man

 

answering the description given by the ladies of the polite

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

242 OUR POLICE.

 

stranger walking along scanning the signs in front of the ticketmen’s

 

offices. Finally he walked into Mr. Spicer’s, at the corner

 

of Baltimore and St. Paul streets. After waiting; a few moments

 

for the fellow to open negotiations the detective entered and said :

 

” I want to buy a ticket for Hartford, Connecticut.”

 

The man turned towards him and remarked: ” I have what

 

you want. What’ll you give for it ?”

 

Then began considerable dickering over the price. Finally,

 

the man turning to Gault, said sharply: “Well, don’t you want

 

the ticket?”

 

“Yes,” retorted the officer, ” I want the ticket and I want

 

you, too.”

 

The man started back in amazement at first, and then laughed.

 

” Well, what a chump I am !” he exclaimed.

 

“That’s so,” said Gault; “you’ve been netted by the police

 

again.”

 

The two went to the Central station, where the ladies were

 

sitting. As the officer and his prisoner entered the old lady

 

turned to her daughter and said :

 

” Why, Annie, there is the gentleman who was so kind and

 

polite to us while on the train. I wonder what he can be doing

 

here.”

 

” This is the gentleman, ladies,” replied Gault, ” who relieved

 

you of your pocketbook this morning.”

 

John Elbright was about twelve years ago one of the most

 

prominent manufacturers of rubber goods in New York. His

 

family consisted of his wife and one daughter, whom he loved

 

with an affection so deep that it was frequently remarked by

 

his many friends. The daughter had some little money in

 

her own right. Mr. Elbright was worth nearly a million of

 

dollars. Christine, Miss Elbright’s given name, was of impetuous

 

nature, quick to take affront at the slightest occasion, and more

 

than ready to do things for which she was quickly sorry. One

 

morning at breakfast something did not please her and she spoke

 

sharply to her mother, who, quite as quick-tempered as her

 

daughter, turned in her chair and boxed the young girl’s ears.

 

Christine said nothing. An ominous frown gathered on her

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 243

 

forehead; she bit her lips until the blood trickled from them.

 

Then, with an impulsive movement, she arose from her seat, and

 

leaving her mother without a word of explanation rushed upstairs.

 

Hours passed. Christine did not appear. The night

 

approached and with supper time came Mr. Elbright home

 

again.

 

“Why, where’s Christine?” he inquired.

 

His wife told him of the morning quarrel, and suggested that

 

Christine was probably in her room pouting. Up rushed the

 

father, and after knocking at his daughter’s door and receiving

 

no answer, threw it open. Christine was gone! But she had

 

left woeful traces behind. Upon her dressing table rested her

 

magnificent black hair, which she had sheared off close to her

 

head. That was all. No letter, nothing to indicate in what direction

 

she had gone or when she would return. She was gone

 

without trace. A considerable sum of money which she had in

 

her room and all her jewelry she took with her. The father fell

 

in a swoon. Mrs. Elbright was attacked by brain fever and her

 

life despaired of. John Elbright’s life was a ruined one. Detectives

 

were employed and sent to all parts of the country to find

 

some trace of the missing one. Every hour of delay seemed

 

days to the bereaved family. But it was of no use. Money

 

could not find the object of two parents’ love. All hope of ever

 

finding her was lost. It was while in this despairing mood that

 

Mr. Elbright visited Baltimore on business, He had promised

 

his wife to devote all of his time to the search for Christine; that

 

he would not return home without some tidings of her. He visited

 

a merchant friend of his during his stay in Baltimore, and told

 

his pitiable story.

 

“Why, Elbright,” was his friend’s exclamation, “I’ve got the

 

very man you want. He’ll find her if she’s on top of the ground.”

 

The merchant was a believer in Mr. Gault, and the young

 

policeman was sent for. Again Mr. Elbright recited his tale,

 

his narration broken by sobs. Mr. Gault, too, appreciated the

 

parent’s agony, but that did not deter him from questioning the

 

sorrow-stricken father with great care. At last he discovered

 

that in Christine’s room was found, with her hair, a time-table,

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

244 OUR POLICE.

 

and that part of it having the schedule of the Philadelphia,

 

Wilmington and Baltimore railway upon it was missing. This

 

was a very small clew, but it was none the less something to begin

 

on. Mr. Gault learned, by further questioning, that Christine

 

had greatly fancied Baltimore, and he immediately came to the

 

conclusion: “Here she is.” But it is as hard to find one person

 

in a city of 400,000 inhabitants as a needle in a haystack. He

 

visited all the fashionable boarding-houses in the city, believing

 

that Christine would seek such a home.

 

The search was fruitless. He then turned his attention to the

 

religious institutions. The first one at which he applied was a

 

home under the charge of the Sisters of Charity. The sister

 

superior at once remembered a young woman of Christine’s description

 

who had entered the institution and shortly afterward

 

left it to become a governess in the homo of a well-known banker

 

in a fashionable part of the city. The detective found the girl

 

there and brought her to the marshal’s office.

 

Meanwhile Mr. Elbright remained in Baltimore. He had

 

offered Mr. Gault $1,000 if he would find his daughter, or at

 

least bring some tidings of her that he might take home, and

 

so save his wife’s life. Time hung on his hands, for he counted

 

every hour that lessened the time he still had to prosecute his

 

search. Days went by and no tidings. There seemed to be no

 

hope that his Christine would ever be found. One afternoon he

 

sat in his friend’s office. Again and again his daughter’s face

 

came before him, smiled into his, cast laughing glances into his

 

eyes, wept with him, teased him, pleaded with him. But, alas!

 

all was but recollection ; the Christine that was. And now where

 

was she ? Perhaps degraded—no, not that; not his pretty

 

Christine—his darling girl. Dead, perhaps, but not that other!

 

But still, where was she ? Had he left any stone unturned to

 

find her; was there the vaguest chance which he had not tried ?

 

He could think of none. Tears filled his eyes, his head sank

 

upon his breast, his weary brain throbbed with the great anxiety

 

to find his child—to save both his wife’s life and his own. He

 

had forgotten his surroundings ; he was alone with his thoughts.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUB POLICE. 245

 

But hark ! there are footsteps without. His friend’s voice is

 

heard :

 

” Hello, Gault! You’ve got good news, haven’t you ?

 

” Hush,” Mr. Gault replied. “Where is Mr. Elbright ?”

 

“Within here; step in.”

 

There was no need to arouse the father. He had heard the

 

conversation. There he sat with his hands stretched out upon

 

the arms of his chair, his teeth clenched, his gaze concentrated

 

upon the doorway through which Mr. Gault entered.

 

” Dead 1″ he whispered.

 

“No,” replied the policeman; “she is well, and is at police

 

headquarters. She wants to see you.”

 

” Thank God ! Thank—thank !” and the old man fell to the

 

floor in his joy. The good news was too much for him. He

 

had fainted.

 

But joy seldom kills. The aged manufacturer soon recovered

 

his senses. He went to headquarters, and in the Commissioners’

 

private room mot his daughter. They stood gazing at each other

 

a moment, and then, urged by the resistless waves of paternal

 

and filial love, rushed into each other’s arms. Then ensued the

 

most pathetic scene ever remembered at police headquarters. So

 

great was the joy of the reunited family that the father and

 

daughter lost strength to stand. The two returned to their home,

 

and the mother’s life was saved. A short time after the finding

 

of Christine Mr. Gault received a letter from Mr. Elbright,

 

covering nearly twenty pages of foolscap, in which the latter

 

sought to assure the former of the strength of his gratitude.

 

Tolliver Harris was one of the most desperate negro criminals

 

who ever made Baltimore his abode. He was a man of herculean

 

strength, the most vicious instincts, and endowed with more

 

than ordinary shrewdness and intelligence. Some years ago,

 

while Harris was living in Saluda, Virginia, he assaulted a young

 

woman, and only escaped lynching by being sentenced to be

 

hanged. But bolts and bars of the ordinary kind could not

 

restrain Tolliver. His ingenuity came into play, and one night,

 

while the keepers were congratulating themselves that they would

 

not have long to wait before Tolliver would be out of their keep-

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

246 OUR POLICE.

 

ing, the negro was quietly making his way out of the prison and

 

securing his freedom. There was great excitement in Saluda

 

the following morning, when the citizens found that the law had

 

been cheated of its victim. Circulars describing the ruffian were

 

sent into every part of the country, but without any result.

 

Tolliver’s shrewdness made him disguise himself so effectually

 

that none but persons who were familiar with his habits would

 

have recognized him. He finally came to Baltimore and lived

 

here for some time without being suspected of the crimes of

 

which he was guilty. It was not less than two years after his

 

arrest that the chief of police of Saluda wrote to the marshal of

 

police of this city, informing him that Tolliver Harris was living

 

here in comparative security. The negro’s crime was so diabolical,

 

and his record so notorious, that the police were aroused

 

into most determined energy. The marshal of police gave the

 

case to Mr. Gault, and told him to see what he could do with it.

 

Tolliver, it was known, would fight, and would sell his life

 

dearly if it was necessary. Mr. Gault had already established

 

his reputation as a man who, when he went after anything, seldom

 

returned without it, and so considerable interest was manifested

 

in the department regarding the outcome.

 

It was very hard work to obtain in any sense a satisfactory

 

clue regarding Tolliver’s whereabouts. It was simply known

 

that he was in Baltimore. Finally, Mr. Gault ” located” him

 

in the ” Brick Yard,” a section of the city inhabited at that time

 

by the most degraded negroes. One particularly unpleasant

 

night in January, while the rain was falling in torrents, Mr.

 

Gault and another officer set out on their quest. When they

 

arrived at a place near which Tolliver lived, Mr. Gault began

 

to make inquiries. But these questions were without much result

 

until he found a little pickaninny, whom he asked :

 

” Does a lady named Mrs. Harris live about here ?

 

” Oh, yaas, sah,” was the reply. ” She lib right ober

 

yender.”

 

” And is her husband’s name Tolliver?”

 

” Oh, yaas, sah, dat are hees name, sah,” was the cheering

 

reply.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 247

 

” Is he in, do you know ?”

 

” No, sah; he down among de canaal hoats, sah. ‘ He working

 

de coal.”

 

Here was a pleasant predicament for Mr. Gault. He was

 

with his companion, the only white man within a radius of many

 

squares. It is true that they were both heavily armed, but what

 

effect would that fact have upon a thousand maddened negroes,

 

who would assemble about them when they discovered the policemen’s

 

intentions. The officers had nothing to do, however, save

 

to stand without in the blinding storm and wait for Tolliver’s

 

return. This they did for nearly two hours, and succeeded in

 

getting chilled through. Finally, Mr. Gault said :

 

” I’m going into Tolliver’s house and wait for him. A tussle

 

out here in the lot wouldn’t be pleasant.”

 

Mr. Gault knocked on the door, and asked if Mr. Tolliver

 

Harris was in. The woman who appeared said that her husband

 

had not arrived home, but that she expected him almost every

 

minute. What was the gentleman’s business, and would he

 

kindly come in ? Yes, Mr. Gault would come in. And then he

 

perverted the truth in this wise :

 

” I’m down in the Custom House, and came up this way to

 

make a speech at a colored men’s meeting near here. I’ve heard

 

of Tolliver, and I called in with my brother here (indicating his

 

companion) to get Tolliver to receive a half boat-load of coal for

 

me at my house, and to fix a bin that I’ve got in my cellar.”

 

” Reckon he’ll do it,” said the woman.

 

The officers remained in the ruffian’s house fully half an hour

 

before there was any evidence of Tolliver’s returning. All this

 

time Mr. Gault passed in telling of his friendship for the negro

 

race, and rehearsing part of the speech which he said he was

 

•about to deliver. Suddenly the woman exclaimed :

 

” There they come !”

 

“Who ?” inquired Mr. Gault, with considerable anxiety, as it

 

would be a serious predicament for him to be in if Tolliver

 

should appear with a gang and discover who his visitors were.

 

“Why, Tolliver and his brother,” was the reply.

 

And sure enough two big negroes entered the room. Either

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

248 OUR POLICE.

 

one of them was physically a match for both of the detectives.

 

But nothing daunted, Mr. Gault arose and said, before Tolliver

 

had a chance to think anything about the call, what he had

 

already told Mrs. Harris, adding, however, that he wanted him

 

(Tolliver) to come right around to his house, as the meeting would

 

not wait for him.

 

” Take your brother with you, Tolliver,” Mr. Gault suggested.

 

It was necessary for the officers to get the negroes away from

 

the neighborhood of their house, because if there was any rough

 

work to be done the noise of the struggle or the reports of the

 

pistols would alarm the whole neighborhood, and the policemen

 

would never leave the place alive. Tolliver seemed contented

 

to leave the house with his brother, and so started out. The

 

four men chatted together on their way down town, but the officers

 

could not in any way persuade the negroes to walk in front

 

of them. Finally the party got down nearly to Baltimore street,

 

in the more frequented part of the city. The negroes were very

 

close behind the officers, and Mr. Gault turned suddenly, grabbed

 

at Tolliver, but the negro leaped aside towards the street, where

 

he ran into a horse and knocked the animal out into the car-track.

 

Then Tolliver ran like a deer up the street. Bang, bang, went

 

the officers’ revolvers, and Mr. Gault and his companion pursued.

 

But it was hard to ” wing” Tolliver. On, on he went, gradually

 

increasing his distance until, as luck had it, the fugitive tumbled

 

upon a gutter covering, and before he had regained his feet Mr.

 

Gault was upon him using the butt of his revolver as a club.

 

Mr. Gault hammered the negro’s head until it was a mass of

 

blood, and after a terrible struggle, in which both the prisoner

 

and his captor were nearly exhausted, got the handcuffs on

 

the captive. As Mr. Gault did this he turned and saw Tolliver’s

 

brother standing by looking on.

 

“What are you doing there ? ” the officer shouted, presenting

 

his revolver and firing three shots over the darkey’s head. Harris

 

never answered, but started on a lope down the street, every now

 

and then turning his affrighted face over his shoulder to see if

 

Mr. Gault was following. He did not stop until he got home,

 

and then he rushed in carrying the door with him. After several

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 249

 

struggles with his prisoner, Mr. Gault got him to the Central

 

station. Tolliver was sent back to Saluda, where he is now serving

 

a term of 25 years, to which his death sentence was afterward

 

commuted.

 

Mr. Gault had an exceedingly exciting experience in 1876.

 

In August of that year the citizens of Frederick City, Md., and

 

the farmers in the vicinity, complained to the Governor that

 

householders and respectable persons of all classes were held in

 

the most abject terror by a gang of ruffians which made Sugarloaf

 

Mountain its rendezvous. These complaints multiplied daily,

 

until one morning the entire county was aroused by a dastardly

 

crime committed by two members of the gang, Scot Andrews and

 

Charles Nichols. These men ravished a mountain girl of great

 

beauty, and left her on the side of the Sugarloaf for dead. This

 

crime was the climax. Governor Carroll called tha attention of

 

the Baltimore police to it, and Marshal Gray detailed Detective

 

Gault to find the men and arrest them. The search was a long

 

and dangerous one. The criminals were leaders of as desperate

 

a gang as ever dwelt in the Maryland mountains. Eut Mr.

 

Gault was sent to get them, and he no more turned back than a

 

sleuth-hound does when after his quarry. He followed these men,

 

accumulating evidence against them all the while, through Maryland

 

and Ohio, and finally into the mountain districts of the

 

latter State. He at last located them in a place named Black

 

Creek. It was a mere hamlet, consisting of a few houses, one

 

or two stores, a tavern, and a flag pole.

 

This place Mr. Gault entered as a ” drummer.” He announced

 

to the assembled villagers that he had a fine stock of Irish linens

 

and plaids, and that he was prepared to sell them cheap. The

 

appearance of a “drummer” had never occurred before in Black

 

Creek, and the hamlet immediately began to assume the importance

 

of a commercial centre. But while the villagers were discs

 

cussing the great mercantile significance of Mr. Gault’s visit, the

 

latter was closeted with the sheriff, showing him his credentials

 

as a detective, and asking for assistance in arresting the offenders.

 

The sheriff assigned one deputy to the duty of helping Mr. Gault.

 

It was then the detective’s duty to ascertain where the criminals

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

250 OUR POLICE.

 

were, what their surroundings were, and the probable trouble he

 

would experience in arresting them. These bits of information

 

he was not long in securing, and not one of them was encouraging.

 

They all pointed to the certainty of having an extremely hard

 

time of it. But with the deputy sheriff, an officer who had

 

accompanied him from Baltimore, and a guide, he sallied forth.

 

The house in which the men lived was situated on the summit

 

of a mountain, in the centre of a small clearing. The men

 

who owned the house had the reputation of being moonshiners,

 

among other accomplishments, and had acquired by long and

 

uninterrupted industry the reputation of being particularly bad

 

men. It was nearly dinner hour. Soon a woman made her

 

appearance before the house, and presenting a great cow’s horn,

 

blew a blast that aroused all the echoes for miles around. It was

 

the summons to dinner. In groups of two and three the mountaineers

 

could be seen approaching the house.

 

” Which are the strangers, Sam ?” Mr. Gault inquired of the

 

guide.

 

” There they be,” was the reply as two stalwart young fellows

 

came out of the forest.

 

“Ah !” ejaculated Mr. Gault, meditatively as he felt for his

 

revolvers. It was no use for him to try to persuade the deputysheriff

 

or guide to accompany him into the house to arrest the

 

men. They said they had families and lived in that section of

 

the country, and if they were killed in any case like this their

 

families would starve. There was nothing left for Mr. Gault to

 

do but to go into the den of criminals alone, and take out of it

 

two men who were giants in stature and extremely desperate.

 

There was no one else to do it. So he stationed his aids at the

 

front and rear of the house, among the forest trees, and then

 

waited himself until the men had all seated themselves at dinner.

 

Then he walked quietly up to the house, threw the doors of the

 

dining room open, and said loudly :

 

” Hello, Scot, how are you! ”

 

The larger of the two men leaped to his feet and stammered:

 

” H-h-how are—,” and extended his hand toward Mr. Gault,

 

who rushed to him .and snapped the “bracelets” on his wrists.

 

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OUR POLICE. 251

 

To place another pair on the hands of his companion, Nicols,

 

was the work of a moment, so surprised were they. Then the

 

detective drew his formidable looking weapons, and said to the

 

crowd:

 

” Gentlemen, these are my prisoners, and the people of the

 

State of Maryland want them. I’m going to take them home

 

with me for ravishing a young girl. They are guilty, and they

 

know it.”

 

At this a savage looking fellow arose from the head of the

 

table, and said : ” Then you ain’t a revenue officer? ”

 

“No,” was Mr. Gault’s reply. “I’m a Baltimore policeman,

 

and I have followed these men all the way from Frederick City,

 

Maryland. I want them for the crime I told you.”

 

” Then, by , you shall have them !” came the answer.

 

The prisoners were escorted down to Black Creek, and after

 

some legal matters concerning the extradition papers were attended

 

to, Mr. Gault and his prisoners boarded a train for

 

Frederick City. There they found the militia drawn up in a

 

hollow square to receive them. Andrews and Nicols were subsequently

 

tried, but such was the public terror of the gang to

 

which they belonged, and because during the trial the gang

 

threatened the jurymen with destruction of their property if their

 

verdict was unfavorable to the prisoners, no agreement was reached.

 

In the latter part of June, 1876, a Pole named Joseph Lewandowski

 

robbed one of his countrywomen named Mrs. Lenka,

 

who lived in the lower part of the city, of her life’s savings,

 

amounting to between $2,000 and $3,000. Mrs. Lenka notified

 

the police and the marshal placed the matter in the hands of

 

Detective Gault. After a long and persistent search the latter

 

learned that Lewandowski had been living in Detroit, Michigan,

 

dissipating the stolen money. The detective hurried to Detroit,

 

but only to find that his man had changed his residence to the

 

Canadian side of the Detroit river. By means of a decoy letter

 

from a Polish girl whom the thief had betrayed during his stay

 

in Michigan, Lewandowski was enticed on to United States soil

 

and promptly arrested.

 

With his manacled prisoner in charge the Baltimore detective

 

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252 OUR POLICE.

 

started for home. Lewandowski was quiet and obedient all the

 

first day of the journey and gave no trouble to his captor. On

 

the second day, however, he frequently complained of cramps in

 

the bowels. Detective Gault removed the man’s handcuffs whenever

 

he was attacked with pains and accompanied him to the

 

men’s toilet-room. He locked the irons in his hand-bag which

 

he kept in the rack over his seat. The detective found himself

 

obliged to do this as the passengers persisted in handling the

 

manacles when he left them on the seat. His pistol was also in

 

the hand-bag. A little before noon he and his prisoner returned

 

from the toilet-room. The detective reached up for the bag to

 

take the irons from it. When he turned again Lewandowski was

 

half-way up the car rushing towards the open door.

 

” Stop him! Stop him!” cried Gault, frantically, as he

 

dashed after the fleeing criminal; but no one moved.

 

The detective reached the platform just as the fellow stooped

 

down and jumped from the car. They were speeding along at

 

the rate of thirty-five miles an hour. Gault called to the conductor,

 

who was sitting at the other end of the car, to stop the

 

train. • The latter did so at once, but before they could come to

 

a stand-still, nearly a mile had been put between the detective

 

and his desperate prisoner. Gault started on a run down the

 

track. It was in the midst of the wild mountain country along

 

the border between West Virginia and Ohio. Not a human habitation

 

was in sight. The detective finally came to the spot where

 

the Pole had jumped from the train. The marks in the soft sand

 

showed plainly where the man had fallen; but he had disappeared

 

and there was no trace to indicate what direction he had

 

taken in his flight. On all sides were tall, craggy mountains.

 

Across a narrow marsh which bordered on the track was the

 

mouth of a deep ravine. Believing it most likely that the man

 

•would start for this point in trying to make his escape, the detective

 

hazarded the chance and followed in that direction. The

 

ravine finally led up a steep mountain-side. On and on went the

 

pursuer, fording swift-running brooks, dodging under the trunks

 

of fallen trees and climbing over moss-covered rocks, scarcely noticing

 

whither his way led, only scanning the woods eagerly for

 

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OUR POLICE. 253

 

gome trace of the object of his chase. For two long hours the

 

detective pushed onward, and still he found no mark of the fleeing

 

man. At last, having come nearly to the summit of the

 

mountain, he sank worn out and disheartened upon a bank of

 

moss. Deploring his bad luck he was about to turn back from

 

his fruitless chase, when suddenly he noticed on the ground a

 

little way ahead of him a fresh wad of brown tissue paper. The

 

sight made the detective leap from his resting-pace. On the

 

train he had handed Lewandowski a similar wad of paper and the

 

man had put it in his coat pocket. Running on a few rods further

 

Gault reached a small rocky plateau, the very summit of the

 

mountain. Below there stretched out a beautiful green valley.

 

The instant the detective glanced down over the scene his eye fell

 

on the form of a man walking across a small clearing by the side

 

of a brook, almost a mile away. Gault recognized Lewandowski

 

at once. The latter saw his pursuer at the same moment, and

 

tearing off his boots and coat ran like a deer. The detective tumbled

 

rather than ran down the steep mountain-side. Finally he

 

reached the spot where he had seen his prisoner. The man’s

 

coat and boots lay upon the ground where he had thrown them,

 

but there were no signs of footprints visible. Following up the

 

direction which he had seen the man take, the detective was just

 

about passing by the mouth of a second ravine, when in a muddy

 

place he spied the tracks of a man’s bare feet. With renewed

 

hope he ran on through the ravine, finally coming out upon a

 

railroad track at the other end of it, where a gang of men were at

 

work. They stood loaning against their picks and shovels and

 

looking down the track as if something unusual had just attracted

 

their attention. Gault called out to them asking if they had

 

seen anybody running in that direction'(

 

“Yes, a barefooted man just ran into the woods down there,”

 

replied the foreman of the gang. ” What’s the matter ?”

 

” He has murdered a man, and there is a $1,000 reward for

 

his arrest,” replied the detective, breathlessly, hoping to induce

 

some of the laborers to aid him in the chase by exciting their

 

cupidity. But the ruse was of no avail. Gault was obliged to

 

keep up the pursuit alone. After going about three-quarters of

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

254 OUR TOLICK.

 

a mile further he came to a farm-house. The farmer stood in the

 

yard with a hoe over his shoulder. On the porch a young woman

 

lay screaming hysterically, while two othter women were endeavoring

 

to calm her. The farmer, in reply to inquiries, told Gault

 

that a man had rushed through his house a few moments before,

 

knocking down furniture and frightening his daughter into a

 

spasm. They thought the fellow was mad. He had run through

 

the farm-yard and up the mountain in the rear. The farmer

 

could not be induced to join in the chase, so the detective was

 

again obliged to continue alone. He forged his way up the side

 

of the mountain, which was wet from recent rains. The criminal’s

 

foot-prints were plainly visible. When he had gone about

 

a quarter of a mile the detective heard the cracking of a twig,

 

and looking ahead of him he saw Lewandowski standing behind

 

a large tree. The man was panting for breath. The perspiration

 

was rolling from his body. His eyes protruded from their sockets

 

and gave his livid countenance a frightful appearance. For

 

several seconds the two men stood facing each other, both trying

 

to recover breath for the terrible struggle that was about to ensue.

 

The Pole was stout and muscular, but the detective though a

 

much smaller man was in better condition. The silence was

 

broken by the latter.

 

“Come down here and surrender,” he shouted, “or I’ll blow

 

your brains out!” And Gault reached around as if to draw his

 

pistol, although he knew he had no weapon with him.

 

The maddened criminal made some reply in his own tongue

 

and rushed at the detective. The two men clinched. Down the

 

hill-side they rolled together, struggling desperately all the time,

 

into a puddle of soft mire. Finally Gault by his superior knowledge

 

of wrestling succeeded in getting on top and forced the prisoner’s

 

face deep into the mud. Being unable to breathe, the

 

man’s struggles soon ceased, and when the detective lifted him up

 

he was in a condition of semi-consciousness. When he could

 

speak again he agreed to surrender and was led to the farm-house,

 

where his captor tied his elbows together behind his back. A

 

small flag-station of the railroad was near by, and within an hour

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

OUR POLICE. 255

 

the detective and his prisoner were again on their way to Baltimore.

 

As they boarded the train the men were in a most painful condition.

 

They were covered with blood and mire and their clothing

 

was in shreds. Gault had left his ticket and his money in

 

his satchel on the other train, and not being able to pay the fares,

 

the conductor was on the point of putting the two off the train

 

when a gentleman who knew the detective happened along and

 

lifted him out of his dilemma. At Grafton Mr. Gault recovered

 

his satchel, which had been left there by the conductor of the

 

other train.

 

The two men arrived in Baltimore the following morning.

 

The news of Lewandowski’s escape had been telegraphed on the

 

night before and the Marshal expected to receive Gault without

 

his prisoner. He was no less surprised than gratified, therefore,

 

at seeing the detective enter the office in company with the

 

Pole.

 

Gault’s own right arm was in a sling, and two of his fingers

 

were broken. Lewandowski pleaded guilty of robbing Mrs.

 

Lenka and was sentenced to five years imprisonment in the

 

Maryland penitentiary.

 

Mr. Gault’s experiences have been so many that there is not

 

space enough in a brief biographical notice to give any but the

 

briefest of them. There have been very few important cases

 

in the detective department during the last ten years in which

 

he has not figured very prominently. As an evidence of what

 

his superiors think of his ability, it is only necessary to say that

 

he has at present the most important regular assignment of any

 

man in the squad. He is detailed to guard the banks and

 

moneyed institutions of the city.

 

Detective George W. Seibold was born in Saratoga street,

 

near Fremont street, on February 15, 1839. He leceived his

 

early education in the public schools of this city. As a young

 

man he was employed in various businesses until 1863, when on

 

July 28, he received an appointment as patrolman in the

 

Western district, the headquarters of which was then the old

 

Greene street station. On December 8, 1864, he was made a

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

256 OUR POLICE.

 

sergeant, and the following winter, on December 13, was promoted

 

to be lieutenant. He served in that capacity until April

 

23, 1867, when the force was reorganized. The new commissioners

 

appointed him a reserve officer and acting clerk at the

 

Western district station, under his former captain, “William II.

 

Cassell, who was reappointed. On March 23, 1874, he received

 

a commission as a patrol sergeant, which position he held until

 

he joined the detective squad, on September 6, 1881, taking the

 

place of William C. Crone, who resigned.

 

On January 14, 1871, when a reserve officer under Captain

 

Cassell, Mr. Seibold arrested “Dr.” Ernest Schaar, a notorious

 

confidence man and swindler, whose victims were generally poor

 

persons. His method was to go to some German grocer, and

 

showing a lot of receipts and papers, say that he had a small

 

quantity of tea, coffee, or sugar in a warehouse in the business portion

 

of the city. It was, he would explain, the remnant of a large

 

stock which he had just closed out. He would bargain with the

 

grocer to sell the goods at a sacrifice, and would induce him to send

 

his wife or a boy with a basket to get the stuff, telling the man to

 

give them the money to pay him. He would then conduct the boy

 

or woman to the alleged warehouse, which was always situated on

 

the corner of two streets, so as to have a side entrance. Arriving

 

at the place, he would tell his victim to give him the money and

 

wait for him on the sidewalk till he brought down the goods.

 

Then he would go into the office of the warehouse, and after

 

asking a question or two of some clerk, slip out of the side

 

entrance to the building and disappear. The charge upon which

 

Schaar was arrested by Officer Seibold was preferred by John

 

Schutte, a shopkeeper in the eastern part of the city, from whom

 

Schaar got ten dollars in the manner described. The swindler

 

was convicted and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment in

 

the Maryland penitentiary.

 

On August 24, 1872, Detective Seibold, who was then patrol

 

sergeant at the Western Station, arrested John Connell, alias

 

William Baldwin, a clever burglar, whose portrait adorns the

 

rogues’ galleries of many cities. He was charged with breaking

 

into and robbing the dwellings of Messrs. George Biscoe and

 

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OUR POLICE. 257

 

Lewis M. Cole, near Woodbury, Baltimore County. Connell

 

was convicted at Towsontown and sent to the penitentiary for

 

five years from March 10, 1873. He was again arrested on

 

February 12, 1883, by Detectives Seibold and Droste, charged

 

with robbing the dwelling of Mrs. Olivia Kimberly, on Calhoun

 

street, and four other houses on Hollins street. He pleaded

 

guilty, and was again sentenced to the Maryland penitentiary

 

for five years. Connell always worked alone. The silverware,

 

clothing, etc., that he stole from the houses on Hollins street he

 

hid in the cellar of a vacant building in the same row. The

 

detectives arrested him while he was at supper in an eating-house

 

near the Broadway Market.

 

In the early summer of 1874, the residences of Andrew Reid

 

at No. 75 Mount Vernon Place, and Mrs. C. 0. Bassford, at No.

 

313 Park avenue, were entered, the thief carrying away large

 

quantities of clothing, jewelry, etc. Sergeant Seibold arrested

 

William H. Dorsoy, colored, on suspicion of being the burglar.

 

When searched Dorsey was found to have some of the stolen

 

articles on his person, and other stolen articles were recovered

 

from where he had secreted them. He was convicted and sentenced

 

to the Maryland penitentiary for five years and four

 

months, from October, 1874. He was arrested on July 13.

 

The long time which elapsed between his arrest and his trial was

 

caused by the obstructions which the man’s counsel put in the

 

way of the prosecuting officers. A removal of the case to another

 

county was demanded, and the trial took place in Baltimore

 

county. This was not the first time Mr. Seibold arrested Dorsey.

 

In October, 1869, the policeman, with Sergeant Cadwallader,

 

now captain of the Western district, arrested him and another

 

negro burglar, named Wilson, for entering the dwellings of J. R.

 

Clark, Thomas II. Folsom, Leander Warren, Mrs. Theodore

 

Appold, and others, and stealing more than $3,000 worth of goods.

 

Dorsey turned State’s evidence at his trial and escaped punishment.

 

His father then sent him to Navassa Island. On his return

 

in 1874, he again began to commit the burglaries which ended

 

in his arrest.

 

Sergeant Seibold, in company with officer Connery. of the

 

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I

 

258 OUR POLICE.

 

Northwestern district, on November 17, 187G, arrested William

 

Jennis, colored, alias Brooks, alias Joe Russell, a notorious

 

burglar and sneak, who was charged with burglariously entering

 

the dwellings of Mr. P. E. Kent, No. 85 North Carey street;

 

Mr. Moses Kahn, No. 26G West Fayette street; H. R. Williar,

 

North Carey street, and others, and stealing money, silverware,

 

jewelery, clothing, etc. He was tried and convicted in the

 

Criminal Court of Baltimore, and sentenced to the penitentiary for

 

six years, from January 27, 1877. Jennis was arrested also on

 

February 20, 1874, for robbing the dwelling of Mr. George W.

 

Flack, No. 142 Mulberry street. He then gave the name of

 

Joseph Russel. He was sent to the penitentiary for one year.

 

This man worked alone, and invariably entered a dwelling house

 

from the rear by climbing sheds, porches or lattice work to the

 

second story window, while the family was below at supper. He

 

always used the old fashioned blue head sulphur matches, which

 

were found plentifully strewn about the floors, in the bureau

 

drawers, etc. His work was frequently identified by these

 

matches. About six months after his last release from prison, he

 

went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and robbed several houses

 

there. He was caught, tried, and sent to Cherry Hill prison for

 

twelve years.

 

Shortly after his appointment as a detective, Mr. Seibold

 

became officially connected with the sensational case of Harriet

 

Dennis, alias a score of other names, the colored female Fagin

 

whose villanies caused so much horror in this city when they were

 

discovered, in November, 1881. Harriet Dennis was a repulsive

 

looking negress, about forty years of age. She was in the habit

 

of answering advertisements inserted in the newspapers for cooks.

 

She had a little girl with her which lent her an appearance of

 

respectability, and usually aided her in securing situations. As

 

soon as she was installed in a place she would locate the money

 

and valuables in the house and remain long enough to get an

 

opportunity to steal them. She would then hastily decamp and

 

disappear from the city, turning up some weeks afterward with

 

a new name, and repeat her operation in some other house. The

 

little girl she used as a spy to find out the location of the valua-

 

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OUR POLICE. 259

 

bles, and afterward as a guard to warn her if anybody should

 

approach while she was engaged in the stealing. This woman

 

continued her depredations in the city and in Baltimore county

 

for two years before she was finally captured. At last, on

 

November 6, 1881, Mr. Samuel Rosenthal made a complaint that

 

his house had been robbed of a watch and chain and other articles,

 

and at the same time a new colored cook whom his wife had

 

engaged the previous day had disappeared. Detectives Seibold

 

and Gault were assigned to the case. They came to the conclusion

 

that the colored cook was Harriet Dennis, notwithstanding

 

the fact that this time she had no child with her. Being led to

 

suspect from several circumstances that the negress would attempt

 

to pawn the stolen articles at a certain pawnbroker’s office, Detective

 

Seibold went to the place and disguising himself as a clerk

 

there, waited for developments. They were not long in transpiring,

 

for on the following morning the looked-for negress appeared

 

with the watch and chain. The detective waited on the

 

thief, and she showed him a note purporting to come from a woman

 

on Raborg street, asking for a loan of §20 on the property.

 

Recognizing the watch as the one belonging to Mr. Rosenthal,

 

Detective Seibold arrested the negress. On finding herself captured

 

at last, she broke into loud and violent lamentations. She

 

was conducted to the marshal’s office and searched. Amona; other

 

things found on her person was a fetich bag, or ” lucky bag,” as

 

she called it, a small leathern pouch filled with herbs, small pieces

 

of bones, fragments of leaves, etc. When this was taken from

 

her the woman burst into violent weeping again and begged piteously

 

to have it returned to her. She admitted that she was the

 

person who had committed so many robberies within the previous

 

two years. When asked where the little girl was who had accompanied

 

her on previous occasions, the woman stubbornly refused to

 

answer. She admitted, however, that the child was not her daughter,

 

but asserted that the little one was an orphan who had been

 

given to her to care for. The detectives having captured the

 

woman, were determined to complete their undertaking, and finding

 

a clew to the place where she was in the habit of taking

 

refuge after having committed a theft, they went thither and

 

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260 OUR POLICE.

 

learned that the girl was living with a respectable family in Greene

 

street, near Lombard street, in this city. At this dwelling the

 

girl was discovered and taken to police headquarters, where she

 

described in detail the actions of the woman. Among other

 

things she said that Dennis had had her arrested on Christmas

 

eve of the previous year on the charge of stealing a dollar, and

 

sent to Towsontown jail, so as to prevent her from exposing the

 

thefts, as she had threatened to. The girl had by that time

 

become old enough to understand the criminality of the deeds,

 

and she had refused to participate in them any longer. As it was

 

proved that the woman had put the money on the girl for the

 

purpose of convicting her, the prisoner was released. The girl

 

then said that the woman was not her mother, and had stolen her

 

from her parents and taught her to steal. The police records

 

were searched and a clew obtained which finally led to the

 

reuniting of the girl and her parents. It was discovered that on

 

January 20, 1873, nearly eight years previously, Ida Reilly, aged

 

seven years, daughter of John and Victoria Reilly, colored, had

 

been kidnapped from her parents’ house on the Philadelphia road,

 

by, it was supposed, a colored woman who lived next door, and

 

who had disappeared at the same time, leaving her husband behind

 

her. The parents of the child had advertised for their missing

 

daughter, and searched everywhere without success, though in

 

one instance the woman came near being detected by a piece of

 

dress pattern which she had left at her home. The parents, who

 

had given up all hope of ever finding their child, were taken before

 

the girl. The moment the mother, father, and daughter were

 

brought into each other’s presence a striking resemblance was

 

noticeable. They gazed at one another, trembling in every limb,

 

and as each point of recognition, such as a mark on the girl’s

 

throat, and her recollection of past scenes and incidents were

 

brought out, the father and mother gave utterances to their feelings

 

in illiterate, but pathetic exclamations, while the little one

 

cried and shook with joy. To establish the child’s identity beyond

 

dispute, all three persons were taken before the woman Dennis,

 

who confessed having stolen the girl, and corroborated all that

 

she had asserted concerning her parents, and Mr. and Mrs. Reilly

 

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OUR POLICE. 261

 

returned home overcome with joy, taking their daughter with

 

them. The woman Dennis was tried and convicted of stealing

 

Mr. Rosenthal’s watch, and Judge Pinckney sentenced her to

 

four years imprisonment in the penitentiary.

 

On January 19, 1882, Detective Seibold captured August

 

Schumann alias Walters, alias Miller, alias Brennan. The

 

story of his career is exceedingly interesting. He was born in

 

Germany in 1821, of a wealthy and respected Bavarian family

 

living in Berlin. He studied for the priesthood. Like many

 

other young German students, whether ecclesiastical or otherwise,

 

his habits became dissolute. One time as a favor to one of the

 

professors of his university, who was ill, he went with a large

 

draft to a bank and cashed it, returning the money to its owner.

 

Noticing how readily the bank paid the money to him, he forged

 

another draft a few days later for a still larger amount. The

 

bank cashed it without question, and the young man sailed for

 

America. Here he became acquainted with a large number of

 

priests, and lived for many months upon the hospitality of the

 

pastors of various Catholic churches, usually departing only after

 

cleverly swindling his benefactors out of a sum of money, larger

 

or smaller, as the opportunity offered. He traveled in this way

 

nearly all over the United States, and accumulated a, small fortune

 

before he was caught, and sentenced to a short term in prison for

 

a small offence in Wisconsin. Upon his release he made a long

 

tour through South and Central America, and finally went to

 

Australia. In Sydney, N. S. W., he was convicted of swindling

 

and sentenced to five years imprisonment. After serving this

 

term he returned to the United States. His second career here

 

was not so successful as his first, for he was caught several times

 

and suffered a number of sentences of from one to three years

 

before he came to Baltimore, where Detective Seibold captured

 

him.

 

In December, 1882, he gained the confidence of Father Zeigler

 

of Saint Alphonsus’ church, and left a number of papers and

 

bogus checks in the priest’s hands. On December 23, he appeared

 

at the priest’s house and said that he was pressed for

 

money. It being after banking hours the priest saw no harm in

 

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*

 

262 OUR POLICE.

 

cashing a check for §400, and did so without any hesitation.

 

On the following day when he presented the check for payment,

 

the reverend gentleman was amazed to learn that it was worthless.

 

The authorities were notified, but Schumann was no where to be

 

found, so quiet was his actions, until the middle of January

 

following. On the fifteenth of that month, he called upon Father

 

Danenhower, of St. James’ Catholic church, and requested him

 

to cash several checks. The priest pursuaded Schumann to leave

 

the papers, which he did. The former then immediately went to

 

the banking house of Messrs. Nicholson & Sons, where his suspicions

 

that the checks were worthless were verified. The police

 

authorities were notified at once. Detective Seibold was detailed

 

upon the case. After a diligent search of three days he found

 

the man in a house in Hanover street. Schumann was convicted

 

on the charge of obtaining $400 from Father Ziegler and sentenced

 

to two years imprisonment. His portrait has graced

 

Baltimore’s rogues’ gallery for many years.

 

During the years 1882 and 1883 Mr. Cowman, of the drygoods

 

firm of M. Cowman & Co., was annoyed by having his

 

store robbed at short intervals of small sums of money. These

 

robberies, he discovered, after they had continued for some time,

 

always took place at night, and the money was usually abstracted

 

from a tin box which was kept under the regular

 

money-drawer. He suspected all of his employees in turn,

 

until he satisfied himself of each one’s innocence. The peculiar

 

feature was that although the doors of the shop, having

 

been locked securely at night, were always found undisturbed

 

the next morning, the peculations continued with unbroken

 

regularity. Sometimes not more than $3 would be taken, at

 

other times as much as $ 10. Mr. Cowman at last called upon

 

the police for help. Detective Seibold was detailed upon the

 

case. For some nights he and Mr. Cowman watched the entrance

 

to the store from a position on the opposite side of the

 

street. No one was seen to enter, still it was found that

 

money had been stolen. At last the detective asked to be

 

locked up alone in the store. This was done by Mr. Cowman

 

after all the employees had left in the evening. At half-past

 

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OUR POLICE. 263

 

ten o’clock, while he was sitting in the back part of the shop

 

without any light other than that which shone in from an electric

 

lamp on the opposite side of the street, detective Seibold

 

heard a noise in a rear room. A few moments afterward the

 

transom over the door just above the officer’s head was opened,

 

and the woolly skull of a young negro appeared. An instant later

 

his body came through the opening and the fellow let himself

 

drop softly down upon the floor. Although it was almost quite

 

dark in the place at the time, the negro noticed a shadow where

 

the detective was sitting. He turned to advance that way when

 

Mr. Seibold sprang at his throat, wrenching it so as to render

 

him unconscious for a few moments. The ” nippers” were on

 

the burglar’s wrists before he recovered his senses. Dragging

 

his prisoner to the front of the store, Detective Seibold rapped

 

on the glass of the front door and Mr. Cowman unlocked it for

 

him. The negro turned out to be James Gates, who had been

 

employed by Cowman & Co. about two years previously. He confessed

 

that he had been getting through a small window in the

 

rear of the establishment ever since he was discharged, by going

 

up a small alley back of the store. Gates was convicted and

 

sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment in the penitentiary.

 

Detective Seibold went to New York city on May 26, 1884,

 

and in company with Detective Thomas F. Adams, of Inspector

 

Byrnes’ staff, arrested August Lydecker alias George Kline, the

 

confidence man and swindler, who was charged with obtaining a

 

gold watch and chain valued at $75, by means of a worthless check

 

passed on Mr. Charles F. Wagler, thejeweler in West Pratt street.

 

Lydecker was brought back on a requisition. In the autumn of

 

1886, after being released, Lydecker remained in Baltimore until

 

December 1, when he went to New York city, and on February 15,

 

1887, he went to Tiffany’s jewelry store, and representing himself

 

as a nephew of the Rev. Dr. Sayle, and upon presenting a

 

forged letter of credit, obtained a valuable gold watch and

 

chain, was caught almost immediately near the store by a special

 

officer employed by the firm. He was convicted and sent to

 

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264 OUR POLICE.

 

Sing Sing prison for eight years. Lydecker on one occasion

 

went to a prominent undertaker in Broadway, New York, in

 

great distress, and said that a particular friend of his had died,

 

and that he wanted him huried as nicely as he could afford. He

 

selected a casket and gave the undertaker the number of the

 

house in which the dead man was lying. Then telling the undertaker

 

to make out the bill, which was $55, he gave him a check

 

for $75, getting $20 change. When the undertaker went to deliver

 

the casket he found that there was no dead man in the

 

house.

 

On February 15, 1887, Detective Seibold accomplished a very

 

clever piece of work and made an important arrest in Ellicott

 

City. On the Saturday night previous to the arrest, the dwelling

 

of Mr. Isaac Strassburger, in Main street, Ellicott City,

 

was entered during the absence of the family. The thief broke

 

open a trunk containing a pocketbook in which was $200, made

 

up of one $100 bill, four $20 bills, two $5 bills and $10 in silver.

 

Chief of Police Vansant considered the robbery a very mysterious

 

one. Captain of detectives Freburger, in this city, was

 

applied to for assistance. He detailed Detective Seibold to

 

cover the case. After consulting with the Ellicott City chief

 

of police, the detective learned that suspicion pointed to a colored

 

woman named Lizzie Johnston. The woman was known as a

 

shrewd negress who, up to a month previously, had been a domestic

 

in Mr. Strassburger’s family. She lived about half a

 

mile from the city. Detective Seibold disguised himself as a

 

peddler, obtaining the outfit from a ” fakir ” who had been arrested

 

a few days before in Ellicott City. Providing himself

 

with a small tin trunk which contained spectacles, suspenders

 

and a few cheap watches, Detective Seibold started out to ply

 

his new vocation. The woman Johnston was leaning out of the

 

window when the detective rapped at a door several houses above,

 

and waited until he came to her door, and after long dickering

 

bought a silver watch for $6.

 

” Can you change a note, sir?” asked the woman,

 

” I f not too large, madam,” replied the peddler.

 

The woman went into the basement, and after remaining ten

 

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OUR POLICE. 265

 

minutes returned and gave the detective a new crisp $100 bill,

 

which she said was $10. Giving her $4 change the detective

 

left. Being satisfied that he had found the guilty party, he reported

 

the fact to State’s Attorney Joseph Maguire and Chief of

 

Police Vansant. A search warrant was obtained and the woman

 

was put under arrest. In the cellar of the house about $70 of

 

the remaining money was recovered. This included three of the

 

$20 bills and most of the silver coins. Having completed his

 

work Detective Seibold returned to Baltimore covered with

 

glory. The newspapers contained detailed accounts of his adventure

 

and he was loaded with congratulations.

 

Detective Seibold while an officer in the old Western district

 

made many very important arrests in connection with sergeant,

 

now captain, Cadwallader. The district at that time included

 

what are at present the Northwestern and the Southwestern

 

districts. Mr. Seibold is well versed in the German language,

 

and this fact has been of the greatest importance to him in his

 

career as a detective.

 

In the midst of the fertile agricultural lands of Howard

 

county, Maryland, lie the well cultivated acres of farmer John

 

W. Rhine. The old white farm-house, covered with running

 

rose-vines and trumpet creeper, is half hidden from the broad

 

Marriettsville turnpike, near which it stands, by a row of thick

 

boughed young maples that line the road in front of the door

 

yard. The 26th of April, 1886, had been a bright, warm, spring

 

day, and Mr. Rhine and his two hired men, wearied after long

 

hours of labor in the fields, retired to bed as soon as they finished

 

their evening chores. A feeling of well-earned satisfaction filled

 

the breast of the thrifty farmer as he closed the doors of his trim

 

barn and granary, and glancing through the small windows saw

 

his eight well-fed horses contentedly munching their evening oats.

 

The moon was just rising over the distant hills into the starlit

 

heavens when the last light in the farm-house was extinguished.

 

All was still save for the merry chirrup of the crickets. The

 

big black Newfoundland watch dog had buried his nose

 

between his paws on the front porch after having made a final

 

tour about the yard, when a sinister visaged old man with white

 

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266 OUR POLICE.

 

hair and a stubby gray moustache clambered stiffly over a stone

 

wall on the opposite side of the road and made his way silently

 

toward the shadow of the budding maple trees. The man had a

 

peculiar limping gait, and his clothing, as shown in the bright

 

moonlight, was old and patched, like that of an ordinary farm

 

hand. As he shuffled stealthily along under the trees the big

 

dog came out to meet him. It was evident that the animal knew

 

the man, for he did not bark at him, but walked along wagging

 

his bushy tail and looking up into the old man’s face in a manner

 

that might have indicated surprise or wonderment on the part of

 

the intelligent brute. At the entrance to the farm yard, a few

 

rods beyond the house, the man stooped and caressed the dog for

 

a moment. Then snapping his fingers for the animal to follow,

 

he led him to a kennel close by. Suspicious, yet obedient, the

 

dog allowed himself to be chained there, and then lay down

 

quietly, as the old man left him and walked toward the barn.

 

Passing around to the rear entrance he poked a stick up through

 

a knot-hole in one of the boards, and lifting the latch on the

 

inside, opened the door without a noise. A moment later the

 

sound of horses’ hoofs as they sprang to their feet in their stalls

 

was heard, and then all was quiet again until the old man reappeared

 

leading a large heavily built bay mare out into the barn

 

yard. He walked the animal around to the door of the granary,

 

where he tied her to a ring in the side of the building. Then by

 

poking a stick through a knot-hole in the door, as before, he entered

 

the granary. The sound of horses’ hoofs was again heard, and in

 

a few minutes the old man again reappeared leading a neat limbed

 

young colt, across the back of which a blanket was strapped with

 

a surcingle. Fastening the colt to the same ring to which he had

 

tied the big mare, he loosened the latter and led her into the

 

granary, where he left her.

 

Then taking the docile colt by its headstall, the man made his

 

way around the barn and down to the road, only stopping to

 

speak a few low, pacifying words to the Newfoundland dog, which,

 

at the sight of the colt, had begun to tug at his chain and growl.

 

A short distance down the road the man again tied the colt and

 

returned to the barn and granary, in each of which he remained

 

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OUR POLICE. 267

 

for several minutes. When he left he did so hastily, looking

 

cautiously about him, and then hobbling diagonally across the

 

adjoining newly planted cornfield to the spot where he had left

 

the colt. The animal suffered itself to be led close up to the

 

stone wall, from which the old man clambered upon its back.

 

They then disappeared quickly down the road.

 

It had grown late, and some young farmers, a few minutes

 

afterwards, were returning along the turnpike towards Carroll’s

 

Manor on their way home from a rural entertainment. They

 

had passed by the thrifty looking farm-yard and were speaking,

 

perhaps somewhat enviously, of farmer Rhine’s well filled barn

 

and granary, when suddenly a bright light burst out about them.

 

Each man wheeled in his tracks as if moved by the same instinct.

 

The entire roof of John Rhine’s great barn was a mass of red,

 

leaping flames.

 

” F i r e ! Fire!” shouted the young men, as they ran back in

 

the direction of the conflagration.

 

When they drew nearer they saw that the granary was also in

 

flames. They were too late to save anything. The fire fiend

 

raged in complete control of his prey. It was impossible to approach

 

either building. Both were burning fiercely from within.

 

Farmer Rhine and his family, suddenly awakened by the roar of

 

the flames, stood helplessly by in scanty clothing as they saw the

 

results of years of toil and economy wither away in the consuming

 

fire. The hired men at first hurried to dash pails of water through

 

the windows of the building, but it was a hopeless task, and the

 

heat, too, grew so intense that they were driven away. Half

 

dressed neighbors from adjoining farms began to hurry toward

 

Mr. Rhine’s house. They offered what words of consolation they

 

could, but in the intensity of his grief he scarcely heard them.

 

The roar of the flames increased as the roofs of the buildings

 

began to cave in. Burning brands flew high into the air and

 

floated away in the great column of brown smoke, till they became

 

scarcely distinguishable from the stars. Then the floors of both

 

the barn and the granary fell through. The heavy mowing

 

machine, which was standing on the barn floor, was heard as it

 

fell upon a new light buggy that had been Dut in the basement

 

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268 OXJR POLICE.

 

of the building the previous day. One of the great doors burned

 

from its hinges at the top, fell over, and the unfortunate horses

 

were seen still struggling in their horrible agony. In the granary

 

there were three horses. Some boards being burned away at the

 

top fell outward, and showed the poor animals here also kicking

 

and writhing in mortal pain.

 

The holocaust was soon over, and the neighbors with parting

 

words of sympathy dispersed to their homes. They had done

 

nothing. They could do nothing. Leaving one of the hired

 

men to keep watch, Mr. Rhine and the family sadly returned to

 

their beds to get what needed sleep they could.

 

Meanwhile the old man had ridden the colt rapidly in the

 

direction of Baltimore. It was evident that the jolting of the

 

animal caused him pain, for he grasped the animal’s mane tightly

 

to steady himself, and once in a while gave vent to a low curse.

 

When he had gone about two miles he drew his horse up on one

 

side of the road and turned his face in the direction from which

 

he had come. Thus far no one had passed him on the way. He

 

had been standing scarcely a minute when the blaze of light

 

burst out upon the sky from farmer Rhine’s burning barns.

 

Then quickly taking a firmer hold of the colt’s mane with one

 

hand, and in the other holding the halter which he had converted

 

into a bridle by tying it tightly around the animal’s under jaw,

 

he resumed his rapid ride towards Baltimore. At the outskirts

 

of the city the old man dismounted, and throwing away the blanket

 

and surcingle, began to lead the animal. The sun was peeping

 

above the tall roofs of the great city and had faded the gray

 

dawn into daylight when the first person appeared who had

 

crossed the old man’s path since he left Mr. Rhine’s farm-yard.

 

This man appeared to be a farmer. He was driving a two-horse

 

truck-wagon out toward the country. The old man stopped him,

 

and in broken English of a German accent, asked him to buy

 

the colt. But the farmer refused and drove on. The next person

 

the old man met was also a farmer, and to him, too, the colt

 

was unsuccessfully offered for sale.

 

Having been thus twice repulsed the man did not again approach

 

anybody until he reached the Marsh Market, where he

 

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OUR POLICE. 269

 

met a man named Quigley, an English gypsy, who lived in a

 

cottage at Homestead, Baltimore county. Quigley made a business

 

of trading horses, and he readily bought the colt when it

 

was offered to him for $75. The gypsy’s son, a bright, blackeyed

 

boy about eleven years old was standing by when his father

 

paid the old man the money. The latter took the roll of bills

 

eagerly, and with trembling hand unbuttoned a curious leathern

 

flap that covered his trousers pocket. He put the money in the

 

pocket, and after feeling of it carefully several times to make

 

sure it was there, laboriously buttoned the flap down again.

 

At the time when this scene was taking place the farm-yard of

 

Mr. Rhine in Howard county presented a rueful appearance.

 

The black, sooty ruins of his barn and granary lay within their

 

stone foundations, still smoking in some places. The charred

 

remains of the horses and other live stock lay half exposed in the

 

ashes.

 

It was a severe blow that had fallen upon farmer Rhine, and

 

the grief of his family was deep and poignant. But in their great

 

sorrow the calamity which seemed to sink deepest into their

 

hearts was the death of their beautiful colt, which they called

 

” Billy.” He was Mrs. Rhine’s particular pet. Her lamentations

 

were all for him.

 

“My poor Billy,” she cried; “burned to death. He will

 

never come to the door to beg for sugar again !” And the griefstricken

 

lady again burst into tears.

 

Farmer Rhine sat silently on the broad stone door-step of the

 

farm-house kitchen. A number of the neighbors dropped in to

 

see the results of the conflagration, and various speculations as

 

to the probable cause of the fire were discussed. An old maiden

 

lady who lived in a small cottage about a quarter of a mile down

 

the road advanced the opinion that it was the result of Divine

 

wrath, for she had seen Mr. Rhine trimming his grape vines on

 

the previous Sabbath. The suggestion was countenanced if not

 

exactly upheld by the Baptist dominie who had driven up in his

 

buggy. But the more practical neighbors were convinced that

 

the buildings must have been deliberately set on fire. Suddenly

 

a cry of surprise was heard from one of the farm-hands, who had

 

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270 OUR POLICE.

 

been poking over the ruins in idle curiosity with the long handle

 

of a rake which had been left standing against the barn the night

 

before, and the teeth of which had been burned away. He had

 

discovered that there were but four carcases lying underneath the

 

barn where five horses had been left the night before. The big

 

bay mare which had been in the middle stall was missing. A

 

hasty examination of the ruins of the granary showed three carcases

 

lying there, which was the right number. The incendiary,

 

then, was a thief, who had stolen the old mare and had burned

 

down the two buildings to conceal his crime ! It seemed too

 

heartless to be true. Yet there was the big bay missing while

 

the remains of the other animals were in their places.

 

Desperate with grief and indignation, Mr. Rhine hastened to

 

the nearest telephone and called up the marshal of the police in

 

Baltimore. Marshal Frey had just arrived at his office as the

 

telephone bell rang, and he answered it in person. He heard the

 

farmer’s brief story, and at once put the case into the hands of

 

detectives. Captain Lewis W. Cadwallader, a most able and

 

efficient officer, was at that time at the head of the detective bureau.

 

He immediately warned his men to look out for anybody

 

trying to sell a ” large round-bellied bay mare,” which was the

 

description the farmer had given of his missing animal.

 

Mr. Rhine came to Baltimore the same afternoon and called

 

upon the marshal. Captain Cadwallader’s detectives had returned

 

and reported that they could find no animal answering the description

 

given among the horses offered for sale in the city. Detectives

 

Freburger and Pontier said, however, that they had come upon a

 

young bay gelding in the hands of a gypsy named Quigley, who

 

lived out on the Belair road, in Baltimore county, which the

 

gypsy had purchased that morning under suspicious circumstances,

 

having paid only $75 for the animal, its real value being

 

nearer $250.

 

“You’d better go out and see the colt,” suggested the marshal

 

to Mr. Rhine.

 

“No; there’s no use in doing that,” replied the farmer in a

 

hopeless voice. ” My horse is a big bay mare. No one could

 

mistake her for a colt.”

 

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OUR POLICE. 271

 

•4

 

” But why not try it ?” persisted the marshal. ” This colt is

 

the only horse sold about here this morning by a stranger, and

 

the animal you describe is not in any stable in the city.”

 

But argument was useless. The farmer replied somewhat

 

peevishly that he had experienced enough trouble in one twentyfour

 

hours without undertaking a wild goose chase in addition.

 

He promised, however, to examine the carcases in the ruins when

 

he reached home, to make certain which horse was missing.

 

Heavy hearted, Mr. Rhine turned his face homeward.

 

As he entered the gate of his front yard his Avife met him and

 

cried excitedly: ” It’s colt ‘Billy’ that’s been stolen, not the

 

big mare!” —

 

” How do you know ?” demanded the farmer in astonishment.

 

” Why, the blacksmith was here, and he noticed that there

 

were shoes on all the dead horses, while the colt had never been

 

shod!”

 

Sure enough. The bay mare had been substituted in the colt’s

 

stall before the fire.

 

” Then the detectives were right after all,” exclaimed Mr.

 

Rhine. ” If it’s not too late; we will get back our ‘ Billy.’ ‘

 

A spark of joy lighted up the gloom that had fallen upon the

 

household, and preparations were made for the return of the

 

family pet. The thief had evidently placed the other horse in

 

the colt’s stall, so that if the loss was discovered a wrong description

 

would be given the police. Farmer Rhine was at police

 

headquarters in Baltimore next morning almost before the marshal.

 

Somewhat shamefacedly he apologized to Mr. Frey for

 

his stubbornness on the previous day, and begged to be directed

 

to the place where the gypsy Quigley lived. Captain Cadwallader

 

and detective Freburger, who had found the colt the

 

day before, went to Homestead with Mr. Rhine. As they approached

 

the place the latter recognized the colt standing in a

 

field, and gave a peculiar whistle. The animal raised his head,

 

and seeing his master, ran toward him with a neigh of joy.

 

Tears came to the farmer’s eyes as the affectionate beast stretched

 

its head over his shoulder and then sniffed at his pockets for

 

the accustomed lump of sugar. The gypsy allowed the colt to

 

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272 OUR POLICE.

 

be led away without protest when detective Seibold told him

 

how it had been stolen, and he gave a minute description of the

 

man from whom he had bought the animal.

 

* * * * * *

 

But the night of the conflagration was not the first appearance

 

of the old man on Mr. Rhine’s farm. The dastardly outrage

 

committed by the aged incendiary and thief was accompanied by

 

circumstances which made the crime doubly atrocious. It was a

 

chilly evening some months before the events above related took

 

place, when the same old man arrived, hungry, foot-sore and

 

shivering at the door of Mr. Rhine’s house. The man was so

 

old and his condition so pitiable that the kind-hearted farmer,

 

accustomed as he was to the sight of tramps, took him in and

 

gave him food and shelter. All through the winter until late in

 

the following March the old man was allowed to stay there. He

 

did light work about the place and received regular wages from

 

Mr. Rhine. On three occasions during that time he fell

 

sick and was nursed with motherly care by Mrs. Rhine. Toward

 

the close of March, just as the season was at hand when he might

 

have been of some use on the farm, the old man suddenly made

 

up his mind to go to Baltimore. The following day he left, after

 

bidding all a friendly adieu. What he did in Baltimore was

 

never known. He was of an extremely economical disposition,

 

in fact miserly, and he had in his possession the whole of the

 

wages Mr. Rhine had paid him during the winter. He was

 

probably living on this money up to the time he went out to his

 

benefactor’s farm on the night of April 20, and set his buildings

 

on fire.

 

For a long time the identity of the perpetrator of the outrage

 

was an unfathomable mystery. The detectives were certain that

 

he was some one who had lived on the farm, and were from the

 

first strongly inclined to suspect the old man, whose name was

 

Henry Leentoe. Mr. Rhine and every member of his household

 

were so positive, however, that “old Henry” would never be guilty

 

of such a crime, that the police did not publicly charge that he

 

was the guilty man. They hunted for him, nevertheless, high

 

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OUR POLICE. 273

 

and low throughout Baltimore and the State, but without success.

 

Finally Marshal Frey caused a thousand postal cards, containing

 

the description of the old man as given by the gypsy Quigley

 

and his little son, to be printed and sent to the police departments

 

in every part of the country. Several replies to the card

 

were received at the police headquarters, but none of them

 

proved satisfactory. On one occasion two detectives were sent

 

to Newberne, North Carolina, to look at a man who had been

 

arrested on suspicion in that town. But he proved an alibi and

 

was released. Finally, more than three months after the commission

 

of the crime, on the morning of July 26, 1886, the Marshal

 

found among the letters in his morning mail one bearing

 

the imprint of the sheriff’s office of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.

 

The letter stated that an aged German, who exactly answered

 

the description given of the barn-burner on the postal card

 

received from the Baltimore police headquarters, was in custody

 

at the Lancaster jail. The man was known in Lancaster county,

 

having been convicted there in 1870 of a similar crime, and sentenced

 

to twenty years imprisonment. He served the whole

 

term, less the commutation for good behavior. Detective Seibold

 

and patrolman Frank Devon were sent at once to Lancaster.

 

After interviewing the prisoner they were convinced that they

 

had run down the right man at last. In his possession were

 

found the trousers with the leathern flaps over the pockets,

 

which the son of the gypsy Quigley had described. The aged

 

prisoner was evidently accustomed to his surroundings in jail.

 

He was dogged when spoken to about barn-burning, however,

 

neither effectually denying nor admitting it.

 

The gypsy boy was sent for and the old man was brought before

 

him for identification in the midst of a dozen other aged prisoners.

 

The boy stepped up to him at once and pointed him out,

 

saying:

 

” Don’t you see he’s got something the matter with his eye,

 

the way I told you ?”

 

Mr. Rhine was then shown the prisoner, and recognized him

 

at once as “old Henry.” Not until that moment was the farmer

 

thoroughly convinced that he was the guilty man.

 

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274 OUR POLICE.

 

At the sight of Mr. Rhine the aged criminal endeavored to

 

turn away. Hardened as he was, he was unable to meet the eye

 

of the man whose kindness he had abused so atrociously. The

 

farmer did not speak. “With one reproachful glance at the prisoner

 

he turned and left the room.

 

A requisition signed by the Governor of Maryland effected the

 

delivery of the white-haired scoundrel to the custody of Detectives

 

Seibold and Freburger, who brought him to Baltimore. He

 

was shortly afterward tried in Ellicott City, Howard county, on

 

a charge of horse-stealing and convicted. The leather-patched

 

trousers found in the prisoner’s possession in Lancaster played an

 

important part in the trial. Judges Miller and Jones sentenced

 

him to fourteen years imprisonment from October 6, 1886. The

 

maximum penalty for arson in the first degree, such as old Leentoe

 

had been guilty of, is death, in the State of Maryland. His

 

best chance to escape this punishment lay in pleading guilty when

 

arraigned on the other indictment for barn-burning. His counsel,

 

assigned to him by the court, advised him thus. He therefore

 

plead guilty, and Judge Duffy, of the Baltimore Criminal

 

Court, before whom he was brought this time, sentenced him to

 

twelve years additional in the Maryland penitentiary, making

 

twenty-six years in all. As the prisoner was sixty-nine years of

 

age when sentenced, he will probably never live to see freedom.

 

The career of Leentoe, as developed at the trial in Ellicott

 

City, had been a most extraordinary one. He emigrated from

 

Germany in 1853 and lived for some years in the mountain counties

 

of Maryland, until he was convicted of horse-stealing in

 

1858, and sentenced to nine years imprisonment. After serving

 

this long term he drifted up into York and Lancaster counties,

 

Pennsylvania, where he fell into the hands of the law several

 

times for small offences and suffered short imprisonments.

 

Finally, as has been stated above, he was convicted of horsestealing

 

and barn-burning, and sent to prison for twenty years in

 

1870. This crime bore a remarkable resemblance to the one in

 

Howard county. He stole a bay horse from the stable of his

 

employer, a large farmer, one night, and then to conceal his

 

crime set fire to the building. Seventeen horses and cows per-

 

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OUR POLICE. 275

 

ished in the flames. He was met by two neighbors of the farmer

 

about a mile from the burning barn with the stolen horse in his

 

possession. He was arrested, and the horse being quickly identified,

 

was held for trial. More than two-thirds of the man’s life

 

since he landed in America has been spent in prison. He has

 

come to regard a cell as his natural home, and after his late trial

 

he said he was happier in confinement than free.

 

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276 OUR POLICE.

 

CHAPTER XL

 

THE DETECTIVE FORCE. (Concluded)

 

WILLIAM HENRY DROSTE.—THE LAST WORK ON THE MERRIMAC.

 

A BAD EXPERIENCE AS A BLOCKADE-RUNNER. THE

 

EMANCIPATION CELEBRATION. A BOGUS BILL-OF-LADING

 

THIEF. CATCHING THREE FORGERS. THOMAS BARRANGER.

 

PURSUING A CONVICT.—A DEAF MUTE AS A HORSE-THIEF.—

 

CAPTURING CHARLES H. HOCH.—STEPHEN J. O’NEILL.—FETTERED

 

BY STOLEN GOODS.—A YOUNG BUT NOTORIOUS BURGLAR.—

 

A STRUGGLE TO THE FINISH.—AQUILLA J. PUMPHREY.—

 

A CASE OF MUTUAL SUSPICION. SWINDLING AS A MISSIONARY.—

 

JOHN E. REILLY.—A BRAVE DEED.—COMPLIMENTED

 

BY THE DEPARTMENT.

 

Among the most widely known detectives on the police force

 

is William Henry Droste. His life has been an exceedingly

 

eventful one, having to do with the stirring scenes of the civil war,

 

as well as those scarcely less exciting events which occur in the

 

life of a patrolman and detective. He is a man of large physique

 

and of immense muscular development. His features are clean

 

cut; his nose betokening to the student of physiognomy an

 

incisive and inquiring intelligence. His eyes are sharp and

 

noticeably bright. He wears a slight black moustache. His

 

career as a policeman has- been a long one, and he has made

 

quite as many arrests as any other member of the force. The

 

heads of the department place the greatest confidence in his

 

judgment and sagacity.

 

Mr. Droste was born at No. 107 Hill street, the same house in

 

which he now lives, on October 16, 1838. His father’s name was

 

John II. Droste; he was a German blacksmith. Young Droste,

 

from the outset, was of adventurous disposition, and as a

 

result he did not altogether fancy the confinements of school life,

 

so when he was quite a boy his father apprenticed him to a firm

 

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OUR POLICE. 277

 

of ship joiners, Messrs. John E. Mills & Brother. He did not

 

remain long in their yard, but he clung to his trade and finished

 

his apprenticeship in the employ of Skinner Brothers. Droste

 

worked at his trade until the breaking out of the war. He

 

was a warm Southern sympathizer, and no sooner had the

 

first gun been fired than he went South. He was employed by

 

the Confederate Government as a ship-joiner and was put to work

 

upon the famous Merrimac, then building. Mr. Droste claims

 

that he did about the last bit of work on that terror of Northern

 

shipping. He placed the ” combing” above the batteries which

 

had so much to do with making her armor so effectual a defense

 

against the shots of the Federal men-of-war. When the Merrimac

 

was completed Mr. Droste went to Nashville, Tennessee,

 

where he was to do considerable work reconstructing some river

 

steamers into gun-boats. He got there just about as the battle at

 

Fort Donelson was being fought. On the Saturday previous to the

 

surrender of Donelson, Mr. Droste and a number of other men

 

were sent down the Cumberland river with orders to erect works,

 

so that further navigation could be obstructed. On Sunday, however,

 

work on these forts was stopped and the place abandoned,

 

for Donelson had fallen and the Federal troops were practically

 

masters of the entire region. Two large river steamers upon

 

which Mr. Droste had been working were burned, partly on his

 

suggestion, in order to save them from capture by the enemy.

 

Nashville, after the surrender of Donelson, became rather warm

 

for Confederates, owing to the arrival of the Northern army, and

 

so Mr. Droste went to Richmond, where he was immediately employed

 

in the construction of what was then known as the ” Ladies’

 

Gun-Boat,” but which was afterwards given the name of

 

” The Virginia.” After this work was ended Mr. Droste enlisted

 

in the Confederate army and served at the battles of Drury’s Bluff

 

and Seven Pines.

 

But even war was not adventurous enough for Mr. Droste.

 

He wanted something that was more exciting—perhaps, too,

 

more profitable. So he began blockade-running. His first trip

 

was from the Potomac river to Baltimore, in an eleven-foot

 

metal life-boat, for the purpose of getting supplies for the army.

 

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278 OUR POLICE.

 

His trip was comparatively uneventful. He returned to his starting-

 

point in a big fishing-boat, in company with four other men

 

and with a load of valuable army and navy stores. This trip

 

turned in a large amount of money. The profits enabled Mr.

 

Droste to make a much more extended trip the next time; he

 

went to New York, purchased supplies there, made the run down

 

the coast without event and landed safe and sound on the Virginia

 

shore. The next trip was somewhat disastrous. He had

 

made a run from Curtis’s creek, near Baltimore, to the Virginia

 

shore in a small boat laden with valuable supplies. He entered

 

the Potomac and made his way to the Kappahannock river, landing

 

finally in a little stream running into the larger body of

 

water. At about that time a regiment of Federal cavalry was

 

raiding the North Neck, but of this Mr. Droste was not aware.

 

He could see the morning after he came to anchor that there had

 

been trouble on the other side of the river, and he determined to

 

cross to ascertain the reasons. He found out with a promptness

 

that was not immensely amusing to him, for a squad of cavalry

 

swooped down upon him and captured both him and his goods.

 

He was taken up to the military prison at Falmouth, and after

 

being imprisoned there for a short time was paroled. He -immediately

 

went ” down country” again and got some goods which

 

his friends had saved for him, amounting in value to perhaps

 

$400; this put him on his feet again, and he made another trip to

 

New York, which was very successful. This expedition was so

 

profitable that he resolved to repeat it on a larger scale. He

 

chartered a boat called the Cora Hatch, and loaded her with

 

leather hose for the Richmond fire department and hemp packing

 

for the water department of the same city. He purchased a big

 

yawl and put it on the Cora Hatch, intending to use it for the

 

landing of the goods when the Southern lines should be reached.

 

Mr. Droste cleared New York all right and got down the coast

 

without event until the Virginia shore was reached. Then one

 

very dark night the yawl was run overboard and the goods were

 

packed into her. Mr. Droste was in the yawl helping to load

 

when he discovered, to his alarm, that she was not water-tight.

 

The men on the Hatch persisted, however, in loading her down,

 

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OUR POLICE. 279

 

and despite Mr. Droste’s protestations, piled the valuable supplies

 

so high that the yawl was actually top-heavy. Then the Captain

 

cut her adrift with Mr. Droste and two other men on board.

 

The party in the yawl thought the shore was only a short distance

 

away but they were mistaken. The darkness of the night

 

had deceived them. The boat was unseaworthy and the breakers

 

were dangerous. At every lurch the boat shipped large quantities

 

of water, soaking the supplies and threatening the men with

 

death. They tore the crowns out of their hats and tried to bail,

 

but the water came in faster than they could get it out, and they

 

felt that the probabilities of their ever seeing shore again were

 

very small. Bailing and rowing alternately they had got near the

 

shore when a big wave struck the boat and she almost filled and

 

was about to sink, when Mr. Droste tossed over the goods, losing

 

within five minutes nearly $5,000. Finally only a trunk and a

 

keg of whisky were left. Tearing open the former, Mr. Droste

 

seized the tray and used it with such good results that the boat

 

was made navigable again. But all three men were exhausted

 

from the terrible exertions they had made to save their lives.

 

The Afhisky brought them strength again and they finally reached

 

the shore nearly expiring from their long exposure. Mr. Droste

 

had just sufficient strength to enable him to drag himself to a

 

farm-house near by. There, after telling of his companions, he

 

fell to the floor, remaining unconscious for two days. His feet

 

had been frozen, and had it not been for his extraordinarily strong

 

constitution he would never have recovered from his experience.

 

He gathered together the remainder of his goods on board the

 

Cora Hatch and recovered sufficient from their sale to repair his

 

losses. Not yet disheartened he returned to New York, and on

 

his next trip cleared about $20,000. Again he went back to the

 

metropolis, and buying a large boat loaded it up with all sorts of

 

supplies. Among the men whom he consented to have return

 

with him was a young man who had been sent North by Colonel

 

Kane, afterwards Mayor of Baltimore, for the purpose of buying

 

clothing for the Confederate troops. He had a big hand-bag

 

with him containing, unknown to Mr. Droste, documents important

 

to the Confederate Government and addressed to President

 

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280 OUR POLICE.

 

Jefferson Davis. The boat made its way to the Narrows in New

 

York harbor, and had got right under the guns of the forts when

 

she was stopped and boarded by a number of detectives. Inquiries

 

followed and were answered apparently satisfactorily when

 

one of the officers suggested that a search be made. The suggestion

 

was carried out, when, to the delight of the Federal detectives

 

and the consternation of Mr. Droste, the hand-bag was

 

discovered. It was opened, its contents discovered and the men on

 

the boat were immediately placed under arrest. The unfortunate

 

owner of the bag was sent to Boston, to be tried as a spy. He

 

would have been hanged in all probability had ho not leaped

 

from a window of the train on the way there and so escaped.

 

Mr. Droste was held a prisoner on his boat for about six weeks,

 

when the war was ended and he was discharged.

 

He immediately entered business in New York as a butcher,

 

and remained until the autumn of 1805, when he went to New

 

Orleans and worked at his trade as ship-joiner for six months,

 

making considerable money and many friends. After a few months

 

he returned to Baltimore and again worked at his trade until

 

June 5, 1868, when he was appointed a patrolman on the police

 

force of this city and was assigned to the Southern District, then

 

commanded by Captain (now Marshal) Frey. Since that time Mr.

 

Droste has been concerned in the detection and arrest of so many

 

criminals that the mere enumeration of them would exceed the

 

limits of this sketch. There have been few great crimes occurring

 

in this city during the last fifteen years that he has not assisted the

 

police department in ferreting out. His name appears frequently

 

in the narratives in other chapters, and he is deservedly regarded

 

as one of the shrewdest and most experienced men under Captain

 

Freburger. His first murder case was the shooting of Samuel

 

Barrett in 1870. The hight had been given over to political

 

parades, the partisan feeling in that year running very high.

 

The Democrats were marching through all the main streets, cheering

 

for their candidates and arousing enthusiasm among the citizens

 

of like faith. At Gay and Baltimore streets a party of

 

men, all Republicans, were standing talking with Mr. Barrett

 

about the chances for victory. As the Democratic procession

 

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OUR POLICE. 281

 

marched along Barrett answered its cheers with one for his candidate.

 

The Seventeenth Ward Association happened to be passing

 

at the time and a row immediately ensued, in the midst of

 

which a pistol-shot was fired from the ranks of the procession and

 

Barrett fell dead. A meagre description of the murderer was

 

given to the police, and the case was turned over to Sergeant

 

Droste, who had obtained that rank on April 21. The Sergeant

 

followed clew after clew, which led to a notorious character named

 

“Dick” Willing, and finally fastened the crime upon him so conclusively

 

that he felt himself justified in arresting him. But the

 

court required direct evidence instead of such as Mr. Droste had

 

secured and Willing was acquitted. It was in this year that the

 

negro emancipation celebration was held in Baltimore, and Sergeant

 

Droste saw what was perhaps his severest service on the

 

force. For two days and nights he was unable to get any sleep,

 

so necessary was it for the police to guard the public from any

 

possible race riots. Sergeant Droste remained in the Southern

 

District until March 18, 1875, when he was transferred to the

 

Middle, or what is now the Central District. It was while in

 

this District that he had the greatest number of cases, as he

 

served both as reserve and patrol sergeant and so was continuously

 

occupied. He made frequent raids upon gambling houses

 

and policy-shops, and acquired an enviable distinction by always

 

succeeding in making these raids effectual, not alone seizing the

 

“lay-out,” but capturing his men. Among his arrests during his

 

service as sergeant, was that of Charles Spottswood, a notorious old

 

thief, who had a record as dark as that of any criminal in the country.

 

He had just left the penitentiary after serving out a sentence

 

of fourteen years, during which time he had made a desperate

 

attempt to escape, and when captured by Mr. Droste was fresh

 

from a daring burglary in the upper part of the city. He

 

was sent back to the penitentiary. On November 6, 1876,

 

Sergeant Droste captured Edward Lillie, alias Henry A. Watson,

 

a confidence man whose work has extended over all parts of the

 

country. When arrested he had just swindled a Baltimorean

 

out of $280, and was enjoying himself hugely with his ill-gotten

 

gains. He gave Mr. Droste no trouble in the arrest, the

 

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282 OUR POLICE.

 

description given of the swindler being so good that he was captured

 

within a very short time. On December 31, 1878, the

 

Sergeant secured the conviction of Henry Snitzer, a notorious

 

thief, for stealing a large amount of tobacco from some downtown

 

warehouses. Snitzer was tried on two indictments and sentenced

 

to the penitentiary for two years and four months.

 

Sergeant Droste was transferred from the Central District to

 

service on the detective squad at police headquarters on April

 

16, 1882. Since that time he has been steadily engaged as a

 

secret service officer, and has frequently received the thanks of

 

the department for his work. It was on January 16, 1883, that

 

Detective Droste captured one of the most dangerous criminals.

 

in the country, a confidence man named Benjamin Spandauer.

 

He pretended that he was expecting to receive a large amount of

 

money from Germany, and on” these expectations he induced an

 

old German living in this city to advance him §1,500. He also

 

fastened his claws upon a divorce case at that time, and by, as the

 

police termed it, “playing the two ends against the middle,” succeeded

 

in swindling all the parties out of a very large sum of money.

 

The descriptions furnished of Spandauer were so accurate that

 

Detective Droste had little difficulty in running the fellow down and

 

getting him a sentence of three years in prison. When he was released

 

he was promptly arrested and sent back for another crime.

 

In April, 1883, the up-town police districts were visited and

 

“worked” with much thoroughness by a gang of burglars from

 

New York. These men were in the habit of visiting the houses

 

they intended to enter, early in the evening while the families were

 

at church or at places of amusement, and within half an hour

 

ransack each place. The only clew that could be obtained was the

 

fact that in one house the detectives found a piece of watch chain

 

which had been apparently broken while the owner was endeavoring

 

to escape. Detective Droste, shortly after this clew was found,

 

arrested John Randall, James Howard, and George W. Boadley

 

as suspicious characters. Their lodgings were searched and there

 

a quantity of “stuff” was found which clearly proved that they

 

were criminals of considerable importance. In the fire-place of

 

one of the rooms was found the remainder of the watch chain.

 

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OUR POLICE. 283

 

Upon this evidence the men were sent to the penitentiary for

 

four years.

 

On September 17, 1884, Detective Droste captured another

 

New York criminal who was reaping a harvest in this city. His

 

name was James Lee, and he was known to have swindled persons

 

in almost every large city in the country. His manner of working

 

was to ring the door bell of a house which he knew had been

 

left in charge of servants while the family was in Europe, and

 

inform the person who answered the summons that the family had

 

sent a case of goods home “from the other side.” “This case is

 

now at your disposal,” he would explain. ” There are $9.98

 

still due upon it, and if you will pay that amount you may have

 

this bill of lading which will entitle you to the goods.” The

 

$9.98 was forthcoming in almost every instance. A photograph

 

of such a swindler was obtained from New York and was identified

 

by one of the victims. Detective Droste followed this clew with

 

so much celerity that within twenty-four hours he had found out

 

where Lee lived and had arrested him. Lee got a long term in

 

the penitentiary.

 

Detective Droste prides himself upon the fact that he has never

 

yet been attacked by a prisoner or received any bodily injury in

 

the discharge of his duty.

 

Detective Thomas Barranger was born in this city on March

 

14, 1845. He was educated in the public schools, and entered

 

the Police department when twenty-two years old, receiving the

 

appointment as patrolman on July 20, 1867, and being assigned

 

to duty at the Central Station. He was promoted to a Sergeancy

 

in his district on September 9, 1874, and was transferred

 

to the City Hall for detective duty on April 3, 1883. The first

 

case of importance with which Detective Barranger was connected

 

was the capture, after a most exciting chase, of an escaped negro

 

convict named Albert Fortune, from the Richmond, Virginia,

 

penitentiary. Fortune was a notorious horse thief and was

 

undergoing a long term of confinement when he conceived an

 

ingenious escape. A wall was building around the prison yard

 

and a derrick had been erected within the inclosure. By some

 

means Fortune secured a rope and file which he secreted in his

 

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284 OUR POLICE.

 

cell. He then sawed through the bars over his window and

 

throwing his rope over one of the derrick’s guys, swung himself

 

to the top of the wall, jumped to the ground and was at liberty.

 

Circulars announcing his escape were sent over the country, and

 

the police here were on the look-out for the fugitive. On the

 

morning of April 19, 1873, Officer Barranger and Sergeant

 

Frazier espied a negro on Baltimore street, who they thought

 

answered the description of Fortune, and followed him. Before

 

the man reached Liberty street he knew he was observed, and

 

ran, with Barranger and Frazier in hot pursuit. He turned into

 

Liberty street, and three or four citizens who tried to stop him

 

were knocked down. He then tried to burst open the door of a

 

house, hoping to escape through the dwelling. By the delay

 

caused by this attempt Officer Barranger was enabled to come up

 

with him, but while reaching out to grab his man the policeman

 

was thrown violently to the ground. The fugitive then ran through

 

a feed store in Liberty street, above Fayette street, up stairs

 

through a bed room, upsetting a cradle with a baby in it on his

 

way, jumped out of the second story window to the yard below,

 

scaled a fence nearly twenty feet high into Park street, and then

 

ran through several other houses and got into Lexington street,

 

where the officers ran him to cover in a soap factory, and brought

 

him to bay under a tank, after levelling their revolvers at him

 

and threatening to shoot him. He offered his captors $300 to

 

“go about their business.’,’ They turned him over to the

 

Richmond authorities. Fortune was desperate, and succeeded in

 

escaping from the Richmond officers between Washington and

 

that city. He was recaptured, however, and returned to the

 

penitentiary.

 

On July 11, 1872, Officer Barranger arrested “Dick” Moore,

 

Frank Johnson and ” J e r e ” Crosson, all colored, for highway

 

robbery. They “held up” an old colored man named Edward

 

Davis, who had just returned from Guano Island, and robbed

 

him of $74.50. Mr. Barranger happened to be coming along

 

the street and heard the cry of ” police ! ” Seeing three men

 

running, he gave chase and captured one at Ilolliday and Fayette

 

streets. The other two he arrested subsequently in South street.

 

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OUR POLICE. 285

 

The three culprits •were each sentenced to two years imprisonment.

 

On January 13, 1871, he arrested George Dexter, alias Wilson,

 

for burglary at Bernard’s restaurant, where he stole $60 worth

 

of cigars. Dexter was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

 

On July 2, 1882, he “picked up” John S. Thro, a bogus check

 

man, for passing a worthless check for $40 on Charles McCrae.

 

On the night of Saturday, June 4, 1882, Edward H. Frames

 

was shot and killed in the northeastern district. Late in the

 

evening young Frames and a companion named Weldon observed

 

two men and a woman going towards McKim’s Hill, and the

 

young men followed them. Without warning one of the men

 

with the woman turned and fired a pistol, killing Frames. The

 

case excited great interest and a large number of officers were

 

engaged on it. During the’ next day, Sunday, Officer Barranger

 

and Sergeant Ryan succeeded in locating the woman who had

 

accompanied the murderer, and she made a confession to. the

 

officers. They accordingly proceeded to arrest Charles, alias

 

” Polly ” Hopkins, whom they found at Greenmount avenue and

 

Eager streets. The next day Charles Digan surrendered himself

 

at the Marshal’s office, as the other man in the party. Hopkins

 

was tried in Baltimore County for the murder of Frames and

 

convicted, and is now serving his sentence of eighteen years.

 

Digan was tried in Baltimore City and acquitted. Miles Jackson

 

was arrested by Sergeant Barranger on February 23, 1883,

 

for burglary in the store of Robert Bogue, where Jackson was

 

employed as porter. Jackson broke into the place with a hatchet

 

in the night-time and stole silks valued at $465. He was

 

sentenced to three years imprisonment. On March 20, 1875,

 

Harry Loughlin, a notorious thief, since dead, was arrested by

 

Sergeant Barranger for stealing a gold watch worth $165 from

 

George T. Clark. He also arrested William Emry, alias ” Husky

 

Bill,” a notorious pickpocket, on September 3, 1878; George

 

Croswell on October 9, 1878, who was convicted in six cases of

 

obtaining goods on false pretences from different merchants, and

 

was sentenced to two years imprisonment and to pay $50 fine;

 

on April 12, 1879, he captured Mary Lanehart for picking the

 

pocket of Miss Amanda Smith of $27; and on July 3, 1880,

 

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286 OUR POLICE.

 

he arrested Charles Benderfield on the charge of embezzlement

 

of $500 from Kruger Brothers.

 

The notorious bank-sneaks, “Jim” Burns and “Tom”

 

McCormack made Sergeant Barranger’s acquaintance in his

 

official capacity on December 1, 1876, when he arrested them

 

here and locked them up. They were picked up before they had

 

done any work in the city, and after being detained several days

 

were sent out of town. Burns is now serving a term in a European

 

prison and McCormack is in durance somewhere in the

 

West. On the same day that he made these arrests Sergeant

 

Barranger captured George Harris, alias ” Old Boston,” and

 

James B. Norris, alias “Jimmy” Brown, also bank-sneaks, as

 

suspicious persons and made them leave the city limits. On

 

the night of September 14, 1883, during the “Oriole,” Barringer

 

noticed a man at Baltimore and Eutaw streets acting

 

in a suspicious manner in the crowd and arrested him. His

 

prisoner turned out to be John Nolan, alias McGovern, and on

 

him were found seven pocket-books which he had stolen. Six

 

cases were proved against him and ho was sentenced to four years

 

in the penitentiary.

 

On information received from the authorities of Talbot county,

 

Maryland, Detective Barranger was detailed to find William

 

Harris, alias “Jim” Wilson, who was charged with stealing a

 

team in that county. Accordingly on September 16, 1884, he

 

arrested his man in Paca street with the stolen property in his

 

possession. Harris was turned over to an officer of Talbot

 

county, who after placing hand-cuifs on his prisoner’s wrists

 

started back home with him. On his way Harris jumped from

 

the train while it was in motion and made his escape. Going to

 

a farm-house about three miles from Upper Marlborough, he

 

represented to the farmer that he was a commercial traveler and

 

had been attacked by a party of tramps who hand-cuffed him and

 

then robbed him of his goods and money. The farmer believing

 

his story had a team hooked up and sent his son and a colored

 

man as driver to carry Harris to Upper Marlborough, where he

 

said he wanted to go and have the manacles cut off his wrists.

 

Shortly after starting he knocked his two companions out of the

 

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OUR POLICE. 287

 

wagon, and driving within a mile of the town turned the team

 

loose. He then secured the services of an old negro to cut off

 

the hand-cuffs, imposing on him with the same story he had

 

told the farmer. Through this negro he was afterwards brought

 

to justice. About six months’ after he was arrested in Laurel,

 

Maryland, where he had married and engaged in business.

 

Harris was convicted and sentenced to seven years and six

 

months imprisonment. On December 29, 1883, Detective Barranger

 

arrested John Saylor, alias “Hen” Smith, for robbery

 

committed upon Wells, Fargo & Co. in California. Saylor had

 

been “wanted” for five or six months, and circulars had been

 

sent to the police throughout the country with his description.

 

Detective Barranger and Captain Cadwallader succeeded in

 

locating him at a well-known saloon in this city, and learned

 

that he intended to set sail for Europe on the following day.

 

They arrested him at Fell’s Point on his way to the ship. William

 

Lee, alias Burch, alias Layton, a bogus Custom-house officer,

 

fell into Detective Barranger’s net on February 21, 1884. Lee’s

 

plan of operations was to go to various institutions and represent

 

that a valuable cabinet of minerals had arrived from Europe for

 

the institution, which would be delivered on payment of the custom

 

duties. Eight cases were proved against him and he was

 

sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. Another criminal in

 

the same line of business was James Lee, alias “Joe” Hartman,

 

alias J. E. Cottman, alias Harman Goethe, who was arrested by

 

Detective Barranger accompanied by Detective Droste, on September

 

18, 1884. His victims were private citizens, Mrs. Ross

 

Winans being among the number. He pleaded guilty to eight

 

charges and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. Lee

 

had previously served a term in New York where he was arrested

 

by Detective Silas Rogers.

 

Thomas Mitchell was arrested by Detective Barranger on December

 

26, 1884, for burglary and sentenced to two years in the

 

House of Correction. On June 21, 1885, he arrested John

 

Smith, colored, for a burglary committed in Martinsburg, West

 

Virginia. He recovered all the stolen property. Smith was returned

 

to Martinsburg and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

 

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288 OCR POLICE.

 

One “would hardly expect to find among the ranks of desperate

 

criminals a deaf mute, but such was John Bitzer, a horse-thief,

 

whom Detective Barranger arrested on August 8,1885. The stolen

 

horse was sold at a bazaar in this city and was subsequently

 

recovered in Kent county. Barranger arrested Bitzer on a Saturday

 

night at a little inn at Tomansville, Baltimore county.

 

Congregated about the place were forty or fifty white and colored

 

men who evidently sympathized with Bitzer. The latter

 

” showed fight” when the detective undertook to arrest him.

 

“See here,” called out the bartender, when Barranger attempted

 

to put the hand-cuffs on his prisoner, ” don’t you hurt

 

that man,” and the crowd grew threatening.

 

” I ‘ l l put these hand-cuffs on him or kill him,” replied the detective

 

as he drew his revolver.

 

“Permit me to assist you,” said the awed bartender, and the

 

bracelets were adjusted and the prisoner removed.

 

A pair of “bunco-steerers” were balked in their game by Detective

 

Barranger on February 18, 1886. He observed the men

 

first in Baltimore street and thinking they were ” crooks” he

 

watched them. Presently they approached the Rev. Dr. Gouchar

 

of Baltimore county and inveigled him into a room on St.

 

Paul street above Mulberry street. Barranger immediately sent

 

word to headquarters for assistance, and Detectives Pontier and

 

Freburger came. While Detective Freburger covered the rear

 

of the house, Barranger and Pontier entered, arrested the men

 

and captured their “lay-out” and “boodle.” The prisoners

 

were “Tom” O’Brien, alias Hudson and George Post, alias Potter.

 

They gave bail and decamped.

 

A Washington confidence man named Robert Johnson, alias

 

“Bob” Murphy, was arrested by Detective Barranger on May

 

31, 1883, for obtaining by a confidence game §200 from John

 

W. Waters, in Washington. Johnson was returned to that city

 

for trial. On August 15, 1883, he arrested Came Shibe, alias

 

Trayner, for robbing Robert Comas of $200. On October 12,

 

1883, he captured Walter Gordon, colored, for stealing a gold

 

watch and chain valued at §150 from Daniel Hays. Gordon

 

was sentenced to three years in the penitentiary.

 

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OUR POLICE. 289

 

A notorious “fence” was caught by Detective Barranger on

 

March 15, 1884, when he arrested Franklin C. Bishop. For

 

a long time the cars of the Baltimore and Ohio, Northern

 

Central, and Philadelphia, “Wilmington and Baltimore Railroads

 

had been subject to the depredations of thieves, but the efforts to

 

discover them were unavailing. Finally Detectives Barranger

 

and Gault traced a stolen caddy of tobacco to Bishop’s place,

 

made a raid and recovered more than two wagon loads of stolen

 

property. With Bishop they also arrested Foley Humphries,

 

George Biley, George Billups, and ” Jake ” Emerine, all boys.

 

who had been robbing the cars and carrying the plunder to

 

Bishop. The boys were sent to the House of Correction and

 

Bishop is now serving a term of three years under a conviction

 

for receiving stolen goods in another case. After these arrests

 

the depredations on the railroad cars ceased, the whole gang

 

being broken up.

 

Early in the summer of 1886, a young man calling himself

 

J. E. Adams made his appearance in Baltimore, evidently attracted

 

by the facilities of enjoyment offered a man of means by

 

the gay city. He immediately began a life of dissipation, and

 

among a certain class soon became known for his lavish expenditure

 

of money. He rented a furnished house on Raborg street

 

above Pine street, in which he installed a woman known as Sadie

 

Gordon. Two other women were soon after placed there under

 

his protection. Drives, expensive suppers, and all the associations

 

of a fast life was the daily program of young Adams and his

 

female companions. Shortly after the arrival of the stranger,

 

information was received at police headquarters that one Charles

 

H. Hock, a clerk in the office of the West Shore Railroad

 

Company at Boston, had stolen $837 of the company’s money

 

and absconded. The case was placed in Detective Barranger’s

 

hands, and an investigation disclosed that the fast young man,

 

Adams, and the embezzling clerk, Hock, were identical, and on

 

July 9, 1886, Detective Barranger took him into custody at the

 

house on Raborg street. He was turned over to Inspector Watts

 

of Boston, and taken to that city for trial.

 

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290 OUR POLICE.

 

Detective Stephen J. O’Neill’s connection ‘with the police

 

force of Baltimore began on June 22, 1875, when he was appointed

 

a patrolman and assigned to duty in the Western District.

 

He was never connected with any other district than the Western

 

until he received his assignment to the Detective Squad on

 

November 11, 1880. Mr. O’Neill was born in Philadelphia on

 

December 12,1848. When he was seven months old his parents

 

moved to Baltimore. Since that time he has lived constantly in

 

this city. As a boy he attended the St. Peters Roman Catholic

 

school, and afterwards learned the trade of machine moulding in

 

the Mount Clare shops of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway

 

Company. His apprenticeship ended in 18G9, and at once obtaining

 

employment as a journeyman, he worked for the

 

Baltimore and Ohio Company for six years, or until his appointment

 

to the police force in 1875. In 1881, on September 6, he

 

was promoted to be sergeant, and three years later, having done

 

much meritorious service in that position, he was raised to the

 

rank of lieutenant. His commission was dated July 17, 1884.

 

Finally, having acquired a good deal of celebrity by his arrest

 

of John Thomas Ross, the murderer of Emily Brown, in the

 

notorious burking case, and a vacancy occurring in the detective

 

squad, he received an appointment as a detective on November

 

11, 1880. The story of Mr. O’Neill’s career on the police

 

force is full of thrilling encounters with noted thieves, and

 

sensational incidents in which celebrated criminals find the

 

leading parts. He is now considered one of the ablest officers

 

on the detective force.

 

In 1877, while he was a patrolman in the Western District,

 

he arrested a notorious negro ruffian named Matamora Cole.

 

Policeman O’Neill was patrolling his beat on Howard street,

 

when he saw Cole, whom he knew to be a professional sneak

 

thief, enter Hecht’s pawn-shop with a large quantity of clothing

 

on his arm. O’Neill followed the fellow into the pawn-shop and

 

found him trying to drive a bargain with the proprietor for the

 

sale of the articles. „ Convinced that the goods were stolen the

 

policeman sharply questioned the negro concerning them, and

 

not receiving satisfactory replies to his queries took him into

 

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OUR POLICE. 291

 

custody. The negro carried the clothing, consisting of coats,

 

trousers, a saddle cloth, a riding habit, etc., on his right arm,

 

while the policeman grasped his left. Suddenly the thief turned

 

and quick as a flash flung the things around his captor’s feet,

 

completely tying him up. He then wrenched himself loose and

 

started to run. Finding himself unable to move Officer O’Neill

 

drew his pistol, and firing two or three shots into the air in rapid

 

succession called to the fellow to halt. The latter, frightened at

 

the whizz of a bullet close by his ear, obeyed. By this time the

 

policeman had succeeded in ridding his feet of the incumbrance

 

about them and he recaptured his man. It was discovered on

 

reaching the station that the articles which Cole was trying to

 

pawn had been stolen by him the night before, November 21,

 

from the carriage house of Dr. George Rueling, in the rear of his

 

residence, No. 79 West Monument street. Cole was sentenced to

 

four years confinement in the Maryland State Penitentiary at

 

hard labor. In prison he gave his keepers no end of trouble.

 

He refused to work, and being forced to do so spoiled large quantities

 

of the material which was put into his hands. He was

 

finally set to cutting leather shoe soles, with a man watching him

 

constantly to prevent him from doing mischief. Finding himself

 

absolutely forced to work, he one day thrust his hand into a steam

 

cutting machine and had the tops of the fingers of his left hand

 

cut off. This expedient was unsuccessful, for as soon as the

 

wound healed sufficiently he was set to laboring harder than ever.

 

He was released in 1881, and shortly afterward was convicted

 

of another theft and recommitted to prison, where he has spent

 

the most of his time since.

 

On July 12, 1881, Officer O’Neill arrested a negro named

 

Elijah Brogdon, alias Charles Diamond, for safe-burglary. Brogdon

 

was a notorious criminal, and though but thirty years of

 

age had already served more that twelve years in the prisons of

 

Maryland and Pennsylvania. After being released from the

 

Moyamensing, Pennsylvania, prison, he came to Baltimore and

 

got employment as a porter in the wholesale hat store of Mr.

 

James E. Trott. While there he learned the combination of the

 

safe-lock, and on the night of July 11, opened the safe and

 

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292 OUR POLICE.

 

stole $100 in bills. The following morning Mr. Trott notified

 

the police of tlie robbery. Officer O’Neill was put on the case.

 

As soon as lie learned that Brogdon was employed in Mr.

 

Trott’s store he felt convinced that he was the guilty man. He

 

arrested the fellow and brought him to the station, where the

 

negro afterwards confessed. Brogdon was sentenced to the penitentiary

 

for four years.

 

The ” Oriole” of 1883 brought a great number of criminals

 

from all parts of the country to Baltimore, and the police force

 

of the city was put to its utmost resources to protect the property

 

of the citizens from the depredations of the rascals. Wherever

 

a policeman saw a professional “crook” he was ordered to arrest

 

him as a suspicious person, to be held until the celebration was

 

ended. Many such persons were incarcerated in the stationprisons

 

on the night of September 4, 1883, the gala night of the

 

” Oriole.” About midnight, when the people returned from

 

witnessing the parade, several complaints of burglary, simultaneously

 

reached the Western District station. As many as half

 

a dozen private residences within the District had been entered

 

during the parade and ransacked from top to bottom. Detective

 

O’Neill, at that time a Sergeant of Police, was detailed to investigate

 

the burglary of No. 23 South Fremont street. He

 

learned of several facts which led him to suspect three Philadelphia

 

thieves, two of whom were at the time locked up in the station,

 

having been arrested by Captain of Detectives Freburger,

 

and the third of whom was a boy of seventeen named Frank

 

Cochran, alias Frank White, as vicious a youth as has ever been

 

brought before the criminal bar in Baltimore. After searching

 

all night for this youthful burglar, Sergeant O’Neill finally located

 

him in a house of ill-fame in Raborg street, where he found

 

him asleep and arrested him. In the station the sergeant succeeded

 

in extorting a confession from the boy, and induced the

 

latter to agree to show him where the plunder he had stolen was

 

hidden. Cochran led the sergeant to an out-house in the rear of

 

No. 29 Raborg street, where he had been captured, and there

 

brought forth a quantity of jewelry, etc., which was returned to

 

its owners. At the trial of the three burglars they were

 

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OUR POLICE. 293

 

convicted and sentenced to five years each in the penitentiary.

 

They are still serving their terms.

 

One of the most violent prisoners Detective O’Neill ever arrested

 

was Edward Capp. This man was one of the phenomena

 

of wickedness who are happily known to few outside of the police.

 

He was a reckless criminal from his boyhood, and for years

 

previous to this arrest he never made any pretence of working

 

honestly. He had served many terms in various prisons, scarcely

 

leaving one place of confinement before he was caught at some

 

crime that brought him into another. Strangely enough he was

 

married to a respectable and pretty young woman, whom he

 

treated with great brutality, and several times nearly beat to

 

death. On the night of June 4 1884, he and a ” pal” undertook

 

to rob the house of Mr. Richard Sutton, the Baltimore

 

street dry-goods merchant, who lived in North Calhoun street

 

near Franklin street. The burglars entered the lower part of

 

the house and turned the gas on to light it. They let it blow

 

for some time before applying the match, and a considerable

 

amount of gas thus escaped up-stairs. Mrs. Sutton happened to

 

be awake, and smelling the gas, feared there might be something

 

the matter in her daughter’s room. She arose and was going

 

thither when she noticed a light below. Thinking it was her

 

son, who had a habit of getting up early at that season of the

 

year to go gunning, she went down stairs. On seeing two

 

strange men bending over her sideboard she screamed and raised

 

an alarm. The men rushed out of the house, but Capp’s ” pal”

 

was caught by a policeman who saw him running through an

 

alley. Detective O’Neill when he recognized the “pal” suspected

 

at once that the other burglar was Capp. He went to

 

the house of the latter in Burns’s court, near the Western

 

Schuetzen Park in South Baltimore, and there found his man

 

lying across a bed in a semi-nude condition. Capp did not move

 

as he saw O’Neill enter, and the latter understood at once that

 

the man was going to resist arrest. The policeman ordered him

 

to get up and dress, but the command was ignored. Capp’s

 

wife then begged him to submit peacefully to the officer. This

 

aroused the brute to make a violent kick at her, which had he

 

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294 OUR POLICE.

 

struck her must have inflicted severe injuries. Then the policeman

 

grappled with the fellow and a struggle began which lasted

 

more than twenty minutes without a respite. The two rolled

 

about the room, breaking furniture and almost shaking the rickety

 

house down. Capp bit and scratched and struck his captor at

 

every opportunity. Finally they reached the top of the stairs

 

and tumbled down the steep steps in each other’s embrace. The

 

fall seemed to have hurt Capp, for after he reached the bottom

 

he threw up his hands and said he would surrender. He asked

 

to be allowed to go up stairs and put on his clothing. As soon

 

as O’Neill freed him the fellow made another blow at his wife.

 

Then another struggle ensued in which Detective O’Neill came

 

out victorious and took his man to the station, being obliged,

 

however, to club him every few minutes to subdue him. Capp

 

was tried for burglary, and being convicted was sentenced to the

 

State Penitentiary for four years. A few weeks before the expiration

 

of his sentence he committed suicide by jumping off a

 

high corridor in the prison. His death ended the career of one

 

of the most desperate white criminals who have troubled Baltimore

 

in recent years.

 

Detective Aquilla J. Pumphrey was born in this county on

 

November 10, 1852. He was educated in the public schools of

 

this city, his parents having removed him hither when he was a

 

child, and he afterward learned the fruit-canning and preserving

 

business. He worked at this trade until his appointment to the

 

police force in 1875. He became a patrolman on February 12, and

 

was detailed to the Southern precinct. His first promotion was

 

to the position of station-house clerk in 1884. On June 16,1885,

 

he became a squad sergeant in the Southern district, afterward

 

being made patrol sergeant. He served in the latter position

 

until January 10, 1887, when he was appointed to his present

 

position on the detective squad. While he was a policeman in

 

uniform Mr. Pumphrey made a number of important arrests, and

 

since his connection with the detective force he has been extremely

 

active in the pursuit of criminals.

 

On October 29, 1881, at the time when he was a private in the

 

Southern station, he arrested Thomas Cooper, a noted burglar who

 

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OUR POLICE. 295

 

had robbed a large number of bouses in the new portions of the

 

city. Baltimore at that time was suffering severely from the

 

depredations of burglars, and the police seemed unable to prevent

 

the robberies that were of almost nightly occurrence. On policeman

 

Pumphrey’s beat was the old Three Tuns Hotel at Pratt and

 

Paca streets. The hotel, though formerly a very respectable

 

house, was at that time known to be a favorite stopping place for

 

thieves. One night the policeman noticed a man on the hotel

 

porch who he thought carried himself in rather a suspicious

 

manner. As soon as the man saw the officer approaching he

 

walked away. After he had done this several times Mr. Pumphrey

 

inquired of the hotel clerk who the man was.

 

” Oh, he’s a farmer from the country,” replied the clerk. “His

 

name is Thomas Cooper.”

 

Notwithstanding this information the policeman followed the

 

man whenever he saw him leave the hotel. He usually walked

 

about through the better streets, occasionally stopping to scrutinize

 

a house, but always returned to his hotel and disappeared to

 

his bed-room before one o’clock. One night the policeman saw

 

him stop before the house of Mr. Alfred S. Gardner at No. 305

 

Lombard street, and look it over carefully. The man then

 

returned to his hotel as usual, and the policeman assuming that

 

he had retired for the night resumed the patrolling of his beat.

 

A few hours later he learned from another officer that Mr. Gardner’s

 

house had been robbed. Notwithstanding the fact that he

 

had seen the man go to his hotel apparently for the night,

 

Policeman Pumphrey could not help connecting him with the

 

burglary. He hurried back to the Three Tuns Hotel and inquired

 

of the night clerk whether Mr. Cooper was in.

 

” Yes; he came in a little while ago, with a bundle,” replied

 

the clerk.

 

Feeling convinced now that the thief was none other than

 

Cooper, the policeman went to a drugstore on the opposite corner

 

where he kept a suit of civilian’s clothing. He hastily took off

 

his uniform and dressed himself in the other suit. Then placing

 

himself on watch before the hotel he was soon rewarded by seeing

 

his man come out with a small package in his hand. This package

 

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296 OUR POLICE.

 

was addressed and stamped for mailing. Cooper laid it on

 

top of the letter box at Portland and Green streets, and then

 

returned toward the hotel. As soon as he saw him enter the

 

building, Policeman Pumphrey ran back to the letter box and

 

looking at the package saw that it was addressed to a well-known

 

Philadelphia “fence.” He took the package and gave it to a

 

clerk in the drug store on the corner for safe keeping, and then

 

went back to the hotel intending to go to Cooper’s room and

 

arrest him. But just as he reached the hotel the man was coming

 

out again with a large bundle. After letting him walk for a block

 

or so Pumphrey arrested him. The fellow took his capture coolly

 

enough. In his bundle was found a lot of clothing, silverware, and

 

jewelry, which were afterward identified by Mr. Gardner as his

 

property. The small package which was captured contained about

 

$3,000 worth of bonds and checks which, together with a watch

 

and $380 in money, the thief stole from Mr. William T. Shoemaker,

 

a drover who was visiting Mr. Gardner at the time of

 

the burglary. Mr. Shoemaker had his vest containing his valuables

 

under his pillow. The burglar drew the garment from its

 

place and abstracted the watch, money, and papers without

 

awakening the sleeping man. He then went through the entire

 

house, facetiously stopping a clock at twenty minutes past two

 

in order to inform the family what time the robbery took place.

 

He had entered the building from the rear by boring two holes in

 

a window sash and then loosening the catch by putting his fingers

 

through the openings Thanks to the skill and energy of policeman

 

Pumphrey all the stolen property was returned to its owners

 

the same morning on which the burglary took place, before the

 

hour when the family usually breakfasted.

 

Cooper promptly admitted not only that he had entered Mr.

 

Gardner’s house but that he had been the author of six other

 

burglaries within the previous fortnight. Turning to policeman

 

Pumphrey in the station-house, he said:

 

” I always had a suspicion about you.”

 

“Then it was a case of mutual suspicion,” returned the officer

 

with a laugh.

 

Cooper pleaded guilty to one indictment and was sentenced to

 

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OUR POLICE. . 297

 

eighteen months imprisonment. He was one of the coolest and

 

cleverest burglars who ever visited Baltimore. Yet he was almost

 

always caught at his crimes, and he said that out of fifty years

 

of his life he had spent more than twenty behind the bars.

 

A safe burglary remarkable for its effrontery rather than for its

 

importance, was that which took place in the counting-room of

 

Mr. C. E. Eichler’s feed store at South Howard and Pratt streets

 

on October 14, 1882. At about two o’clock in the afternoon,

 

when large numbers of persons were passing along both streets,

 

a young man named Edward Stephens went by the Howard street

 

entrance to Mr. Eichler’s store, and seeing the office vacant

 

walked in. He swung back the door of the large safe, and taking

 

a small chisel pried open several of the interior drawers till he

 

found the one in which the cash was kept. He shielded his

 

actions from observation from the street only by turning his back

 

to the open window. Just as he opened the money drawer Mr.

 

Eichler’s son, a youth of nineteen, saw the fellow and ran toward

 

him. Stephens had time only to seize a five dollar bill and turn.

 

A small memorandum book chanced to be between this bill and

 

the money underneath it. Seeing himself confronted by young

 

Mr. Eichler, the thief drew a’ revolver and pointing at the young

 

man kept him off till he escaped through the door. But policeman

 

Pumphrey, who happened to be outside gave chase and

 

pursued the fellow until he finally caught him in a vacant house

 

on Eutaw street into which he had run. He was hiding in a

 

closet when caught. Stephens was convicted and sentenced to

 

two years imprisonment.

 

Another clever capture that won officer Pumphrey much praise

 

was the arrest of Josiah Brooks, a colored thief who within a

 

few days in December, 1881, committed burglaries upon Rouse,

 

Hempstone & Co., Meyer, Reinhard & Co., Burgunder & Greenbaum,

 

and Broderick & Brothers, all large mercantile houses in

 

this city. The burglaries caused the police much perplexity, as

 

the thief left no clew by which he could be traced. The burglary

 

at Broderick & Brothers was discovered shortly after it occurred,

 

and policeman Pumphrey heard of it from another officer. A

 

few minutes later as he was patrolling Dover street near Green,

 

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298 OUR POLICE.

 

it being then lialf-past five o’clock in the morning and dark, he

 

saw a young negro standing in the second story window of a

 

house smoking a cigar. He thought this a rather suspicious occurrence,

 

and he determined to investigate the circumstance as

 

soon as the negro left his house. It was ten o’clock before he

 

saw the fellow go out. Then under pretence of wishing to

 

inspect the sanitary condition of the house, officer Pumphrey got

 

into the room in which he had seen the negro smoking that

 

morning. There he found on the bed two blankets which had

 

been stolen from Broderick & Brothers, and also a number of

 

other articles, proceeds of the same burglary. Pumphrey waited

 

until the thief returned and arrested him. His name was Josiah

 

Brooks. He was only twenty-one years old, and the series of

 

robberies he had just committed were the first he had been engaged

 

in. His arrest blighted his criminal career while it was

 

still in the bud. He pleaded guilty to one charge and was

 

sentenced to the penitentiary for three years.

 

Shortly after officer Pumphrey’s appointment to the detective

 

squad the cities of Baltimore and Washington were flooded with

 

counterfeit silver dollars. Several persons who had been imposed

 

upon gave the police a description of the man who was passing

 

the spurious coins, and Detective Pumphrey was detailed to hunt

 

the counterfeiter. On March SO the detective learned that the

 

man had been working in the vicinity of Liberty and Baltimore

 

streets. He went thither at once and began to make a tour of

 

the shops in the neighborhood. In O’Brien’s saloon in Liberty

 

street he found the man trying to pass one of his coins on the

 

bartender. Recognizing the detective the counterfeiter made a

 

break for the street and started to run. He had not gone more

 

than a block, however, when Detective Pumphrey caught him.

 

At the police station he gave his name as Frederick Jordan

 

Mezza, an Italian. He had already served three terms for

 

counterfeiting.

 

The case of Arthur M. Morrison, who was arrested by Detective

 

Pumphrey on April 24, 1887, created a considerable sensation

 

in this city and in Brockton, Massachusetts, the young man’s

 

home. Morrison is the “black sheep” of a highly respectable

 

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ouu POLICE. 299

 

old New England family. His parents live in the quiet village

 

of Brockton, his father being a wealthy farmer, cultivating a large

 

tract of land just outside of the village. On April 5, Morrison,

 

•who is about thirty years old, arrived in Baltimore and registered

 

at the Carrollton Hotel. He represented himself to be a detective

 

engaged on the Rahway murder case, and hired a horse and

 

buggy from Mr. Manly, the Carrollton Hotel livery stable proprietor.

 

He drove the horse to York, Pennsylvania, where he

 

placed it in a stable, and hiring another and more valuable animal

 

drove to Pittsburgh. He was attired in black clothing of a

 

somewhat clerical cut, and on his way to Pittsburgh he called

 

upon several Methodist clergymen, representing himself to be a

 

foreign missionary on his way through the country collecting

 

money to prosecute his mission work in Africa. He preached

 

two missionary sermons in different country churches and delivered

 

three missionary discourses. In each church a collection

 

was taken for the alleged missionary, and in one of them more

 

than thirty dollars was secured. Morrison sold the horse and

 

buggy when he arrived in Pittsburgh, and was next heard of in

 

Brockton, Massachusetts, whither Detective Pumphrey went and

 

arrested him at his parents’ home. The young man was formerly

 

a student at the Middletown, Connecticut, Wesleyan University,

 

and afterward studied theology at College Hill, Massachusetts.

 

He was tried and convicted in three days, and was sentenced

 

to seven years imprisonment in the Maryland Penitentiary,

 

where he is now learning to make shoes.

 

Detective John E. Reilly was born in Baltimore on February

 

24, 1844. He was educated at public and private schools in the

 

city and afterwards entered business as a butcher. He began

 

his connection with the police Department as a patrolman on

 

May 1, 1867, and was assigned to duty at the Central Station.

 

On May 7, 1886, he was promoted to the sergeantcy, and on

 

May 5, 1887 he was made a detective.

 

While acting as patrolman Mr. Reilly greatly distinguished

 

himself for coolness and bravery in connection with the explosion

 

and fire at the Maryland Sugar Refinery at O’Donnell’s wharf,

 

in July, 1870. On the day of the occurrence he was patrolling