The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 58, No. 33, Ed. 1 Saturday, December 3, 1910 Page: 4 of 8
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The Skeleton in the Closet
A TRUE STORY OF THE SECRET SERVICE
By COL.
Former Chief
H .
u .
C
s .
W M I
Secret
T L E Y
Service
J>
ygfyli \D ME T I ho Ju.lm- fro- ,
quently ami f <11 quite
well acquainted with'
him He was a polltl- |
clan of note anil a mem- I
bcr of tho president'#
cabinet. Because of his .
prominence and his one-
time Important eonnec- j
tlon with tho govern-
ment, I shall forbear tho !
mention of ills ntniA It would be fa- !
miliar to <-very roudor.
One day I received a message from
biru requesting tne to call at his office
•1 my earliest convenience. Present*
Ins myself I was given a private In-
terview. After a little preliminary
conversation tho Judge said that he
wanted to talk to me in regard to u
personal matter He needed my assist-
anco in an affair of much concern to
himself and wife, lie then related at
some length the history of his family
troubles There was a skeleton Iti Ills
closet He had sent for tue believing
that I might be able to devise some
measure of relief
"My wife," he said, "Is very mucu
worried and quite prostrated with
grief. She is in such a nervous state
ol mind i fear she will break down
altogether ." Ills eyes filled with tears
as he explained the cause of their
great trouble. "She was a widow with
an only son when I married her. This
son, notwithstanding his moral train-
ing and tender care, has turned out to
be an unmitigated villain and a con-
stant . menace to our peace of mind.
He seems to be heartless and devoid
of decency and respect for our posi-
tion Besides, he Is a thief Only n
short time ago he was arrested in Chi
cago, taken to Baltimore and charged
with committing a robbery In a house
of ill repute. I was compelled to set-
tle the case or suffer the disgrace of
an exposure. Wine and women are
his hobbies He Is reckless in Ihe use
of money and w ill resort to any means
to obtain It. Even now I am furnish-
ing the money wherowith to gratify
his vicious appetite. God knows what
he will do next! We are living in con-
stant fear that, he will do something
to publicly disgrace us. Now, If there
Is any way that he can be got out of
the country without publicity, if you
can devise nny plan to get rid of hlni
without killing him or sending him io
the penitentiary. It will meet with my
approval 1 think it Is a case where
severe measures would be entirely
Justifiable. Just think of it! The
scapegrace has gone so iar In hi- de-
pravity as to escort a woman of known
bad character to his mother's recep-
tions."
My sympathies once aroused and a
promise made, i felt bound to take
some action. It appeared a difficult
undertaking The fellow was to be
got rid of, but Just how was the
question that puzzled my brain I had
read of many strange disappearances
of persons who were never afterwards
heard of, but the manner of their dis-
appearance was not always clear. It
may have been a voluntary act, mental
aberration or the result of a crime. 1
prided myself upon my skill in de-
vising ways and means to accomplish
an end, but the case In hand, after
some deliberation, appeared somewhat
like perpetrating a wrong deed for
the purpose of accomplishing a good
result.
If the story told by the Judge was
true, there would be but little difficul-
ty In landing the rascal in the peni-
tentiary for the crimes he was com-
mitting almost dally; but a measure
of this kind would mean exposure and
disgrace. To put him away by foul
means was out of the question lie
may have deserved a sharp medicine,
and the world may have been better
off without him, but there was no
thought of doing him bodily harm.
The Idea was to dispose of him and
slide him out of the country tenderly.
The Judge wanted to get rid of him,
but could suggest no way. It was a
delicate case to handle. I knew that
the Judge was a conscientious and hu-
mane man and that he meant no
wrong, and It was difficult for me to
understand the course I could safely
puTBUe
As I turned to leave the Judges
office his wife entered ihe room. I
was introduced, and cast my eyes
upon her face It did not appear quite
new to me. Could I be mistaken? Hal
1 met h'*r before? As the possible rec-
ognition did not appear mutual I wus
unable to place her
The Judge turned away to con verso
with his disbursing clerk The wife,
who had evidently been informed in
regard to the purpose of my Interview
with the Judge, requested me to be
seated Plating her hand upon in.
srm she smiled pleasantly, while as-
suring me of her faith in my ability to
do something to help them out of the
deep trouble they w>*re In She spoke
bitterly of her son and of the many In
digntilo* he had heaped upon her.
Hhe wanted to lie freed from him.
The manner in which he was to be
disposed of did not seem to give her
much concern She wished him hau-
lahod in some faraway country; II he
«vi>r>* cJoud. she would feel relieved.
VTliile relating her troubles she
chained to mention -the name of her
first hu."band Ou the instant I recog
•ised ber as sn old acqualutsuce. i
had known her when she was a rosy-
eh eked young woman some twenty
five years before. She was then living
with her husband In a little town in
northeastern Ohio This was before
she became tho wife of the Judge. Her
first marriage was said to be i runa-
way match sin? was a remarkably
beautiful woman then, but there wis
a cloud hanging over her life. I can-
not say what it might have been that
caused gossiping women to shake
their heads and whisper s she passee
by. Shortly after she gave birth to a
son she left the village. I do not know
Just where she went, but It was short-
ly afterwards rumored that sho had
been granted a divorce.
She was now cutting a largo figure
In society and often spoken of as the
handsomest woman in the capitol city.
Her husband, tho Judge, was up to
this time quite succi .isf'.il in political
life. Possessed of considerable brain
force and much amiability of charac-
ter, he might have risen still higher
had not. the Intrigues set on loot by
ills ambitious wife contributed to pu.i
him down. Sho planned schemes to
exalt him and to acquire wealth. In
making iheso efforts she aroused the
Jealousies of others and made tho
Judge quite unpopular with the leading
politicians. Her misdirected zeal not
only crushed ih,. political prospects oi
her husband, but finally resulted In ex-1
polling her from Washington society.
1 was furnished a photograph of her
profligate stepson, lis was a llne-
looklng young man, with wavy hair,
keen blue eyes and rosy cheeks; in
fact, much like his mother in her
make big hauls ' The Judge's stepson
look to a suggestion of tills kind like
a duck io water and was highly elated
on account of tho proposed trip, lie
no doubt Imagined a broader field for
the exercise of Ills own peculiar talent.
On their arrival at New York they
registered under assumed names at
the Merchants' hotel on Courtland
street.
For several days following they
strolled about the city, taking In the
sights and waiting for something to
turn up. While walking along Broad-
way, near the old Astor hotel, they
chanced to pass a middle-aged man
who was gazing about in au uncertain
sort of way. His dress and manner
gave him the appearance of a green
olio from the rural districts, pre-
sumably from some place out west.
"Here," said Heed in an undertone,
"Is the very fellow wo are looking tor.
Let us try a hand on him. 1 will make
h 1 tn think I have met him before."
Hoed now stepped up and ac?osted the
green ono with an air of assumed fa-
miliarity. Seising him by tho baud
ho said: "How do you do. Mr. Ulk'k?
I am so glad to see you." The verdant
man responded: "You are mistaken,
sir; my name is Jones, and I live at
Fort Wayne, Indiana." "Never mind
the name," said Heed, "I got tho
names mixed, but I remember now
where I met you. You used to run a
livery stable at Kokotno."
"Yes, t did."
"Then of course you remember inc.
I am tho man that sold pumps and
kept my team at your stable. You
K
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! youth. His face was Indicative of
; criminal tendencies. 1 was told that
! he was a difficult man to approach,
that ho did not care for tho compan-
' ionship of men. This being the case
1 was at a loss to determine how to
j reach him. It was necessary to Intro-
duce a stranger In order to carry out
! the plot I had In view.
After pondering over the matter for
some days I hit upon an expedient
that I believed would dispose of the
young man without public exposure or
resorting to crime. There was In my
employ at this time a man whom I
shall call Heed. If ever there was a
born confidence man he was the one;
an actor that could assume a part, live
It and play It through with a face as
solemn as the graveyard; never vi-
cious, but ever apparently in earnest
' wulle practicing a deception for mis-
leading only those who ought to be
misled. I had found him on all occa
I slons to be a valuable asslsUint in
1 furthering the ends of Justice.
i Heed hailed from the south, hud
! Just arrived In the city and was in
quest of a private lodging place. The
Judge s stepson was now occupying an
elegant suite of rooms In a fashionable
location. He was so ompletely capti-
vated by Heed s assumed manners and
apparent wealth that he was delighted
at the opportunity afforded to secure
a roommate. The detective accepted
the offer made by his new friend and
soon found himself In quite a novel
and dangerous situation He was the
companion of a thief whose exploits
were liable to Involve both In trouble
He had led his roommate to believe
that lie was himself engaged In quet- '
tionable transactions and that New
York was the place to operate in
" There," said he, "are chances In I
and I have taken many drinks to-
gether."
"Oh, yes," drawled Mr Joues;
"what on earth are you doing in New
York?"
"Just looking around and having a
good time. Let's go and tak« some-
thing."
"Come along, Jones Let us go
around to our hotel," sold Reed. The
trio wont to the Merchants. Jones ac-
cepted an invitation to go to the room
of his friends.
"What Is your favorite drink?"
a;'kcd Heed.
"Plain brandy," said Jones.
'i will go down and bring up a bot-
tle.' As Heed moved away he winked
slyly to the Judge's stepson. After an
absence of some thirty minutes or
more Heed returned with tho brandy,
lie pulled the cork. While Jones was
looking out of the window ho slipped
a small vial out of his pocket and, giv-
ing ills partner an opportunity to see
it, he turned the contents Into the
bottle of brandy. He gave the bottle
a shuke and set It down on the table.
The Judge's stepson's face flushed and
there wa;< a tremor In his voice. He
seemed to comprehenu the noxious
power of he venomous Ingredient that
had been poured Into he bottle. Heed
appeared sell possessed I proficient
tn the art of deceiving anu hold i>. a
bad enough to commit any crime,
while the young man was evidently
greatly frightened not because of any
compunctions of conscience, but for
the reason that he was, as was after-
wards shown, a natural born coward
He possessed none of the elements
and rugged force of an assassin. He
seemed to have a nervous apprehen-
sion that he was wading In water too
deep and dangerous. Ho was heart-
less enough, but somehow lacked tlM
uerve to perform
Step by step Jones became drowsy.
The stepson strove io rally him to his
senses. Jones closed his eyes. What
might have teen a pnatitoiu o* over-
heated imagination now became s
fearful reality. The stepson was now
almost paralyzed with fear as Jones
slipped from his chair to the floor
Was he dead or alive? Ho uttered
a low und suppressed moan as his lank
and livid body was laid upon ihe bed
and stripped of all Its valuables. The
st"pson, thoroi'ghiy In earnest, wanted
to take Jones' overcoat, but Read said
it would be dangerous, as it might
lead to detection.
I now leave the horrors of this occa-
sion to the imagination of the render
The two survivors suddenly loft the
hotel and crossed over to Jersey City
and took lodging at Taylor's hotel,
where they registered under assumed
names, as they bad done previously at
the Merchants'. It was late in tha
evening when they went to bed
They had lett the Merchants' hotel
late in the afternoon. Jones, the sup
posed drugged countryman, war. i.ot
quite as dead as the Judge's stepson
thought him to bo. He, too, was u
skilled pretender
Soon after bis entertainer:- had ta-
ken their departure he, possum-like,
came to life, got up and took a drink
from the brandy bottle that was left
upon the table, and made his way at
once to the government secret service
office, where he told tho story of his
adventure and received further In
struct Ions. This so-called Jones w as a
detective of marked ability. He could
assume almost any character and de-
ceive the best educated criminal, yet
withal an honest, faithful servant lo
the government.
At an early hour on the following
morning at Taylor's hotel Heed pre-
tended to be taken suddenly sick with
a cramp In his stomach. He left Ills
roommate and went below. A short
time afterwards he rushed back Into
the bedroom and informed the Judge's
stepson with a trembling voice that
they must get out of the place In a
hurry or they would bo arrested. lied
said that while downstairs 'ie had torn
a slip from a newspaper. Ho handed
it to the Judge's stepson, who, on
glancing at it hastily, at once sprang
out of bed
It was a sensational article and bore
the appearance of having been clipped
from a newspaper As a matter of
fact, however, It had been printed at
the New York Tribune job office. It
was a nice piece of deception and read
as follows:
A Brutal Murder and Robbery.
Another of those outrageous and
dastardly murders which have so
recently startled the community
occurred In this city yesterday af-
ternoon, the particulars of which
are aH follows; It appears that
shortly after dark last evening a
well dressed man, apparently
thirty-five years of age, was found
by the police lying near the foot
of Courtland street In an Insensi-
ble condition. Ho was taken to the
police station, where restoratives
were administered, and when be
had revived sufficiently he stated
that bis name was P H. Jones and
that he was from Fort Wayne,
lnd.
Mr. Jones was removed to the city
hospital last evening, where bo be-
came delirious and died about nine
o'clock. The police are on the
track of the murderers, who are
supposed to be from Baltimore or
Washington, as the clerk at the
hotel states that they came In Just
after the arrival of the Washing-
ton train The clerk Is positive he
can Identify them
A frightful ghost bad risen and was
standing In Its moat horrible form be-
fore the now half-crazed stepson. The
rope of the hangman was looming up
before his eyes, lie did r.ot even
take time to wash his face, so great
was his anxiety to leave New York be-
hind him Even the very air he
breathed seemed tainted with tho foul
odor of his crime. It was thought to
be dangerous to travel by rail at first,
and they started away on foot, and
finally concluded to make their way
to New Orleans.
Heed was, of coin so, tho ruling
spirit and was carrying out the plan
they had agreed upon. They doubled
back and forth with tho object of put-
ting imaginary pursuers off the track
Heed was seeking delay for the pur-
pose of gaining time. When tho pair
arrived at New Orleans about the first
thing that met their eyes was a hand-
bill posted In the depot describing th«
fugitives and offering a reward lor
their arrest and conviction Stnrlng
at tho bill with beads of perspiration
starting upon his brow the Judge's
stepson nearly collapsed. He was
careworn, downhearted and ready to
speed away as swift as steam could
mrry him. In the course of time the
fugitives arrived at Brownsville, Tex.
From this point 1 received a note from
Heed saying that they Intended to
cross the Hio Grande and work their
way to the City of Mexico.
To the minds of the detectives who
played their part In this case th*
whole affair appeared a farce.
After a time Reed returned from
Mexico, lie had given his companion
tho slip and was quite positive In his
opinion that the Judge's stepson would
never dare show his face In the Uni-
ted States, lie declared the man was
about the greatest coward he had ever
met with
Heed was correct In his opinion, an
tho fugitive, so tar as I know, has
never been heard of. lie certainly did
not appear In Washington to further
annoy the Judge and his wife. He may
still be running from a Nemesis that
will never overtake him.
(Copyright, 1*10. bjr W. O. Chapman.)
WAS SIRE OF TEXAS
Moses Austin, Grandfather of the
Lone Star State.
Former Republic Asked to Care fo'
Missouri Home and Tomb of Fa
moui Pioneer Who Made Pos-
sible Its Founding.
1'otos!. Mo.—Washington county of
ticiitls have recently appeulou to Texas
sta'e officials to arrangt tor that com-
monwealth to care lor the grave and
home of Moses Austin in ibis city.
Moses Austin was lather of Stephen F,
Austin, hoiioied as the luthel' -.if Texas
As truly as Stephen F. Austii. wan the
father of the former republic and tho
late stale, Moses Austin was Its grand
lather, for ho did the preliminary
wark, made ihe treaty and planned tho
colony that made possible the work
of his son us founder of the repub-
lic.
It Is believed here that the recent
removal oi the body of Stephen F Aus-
tin from a lonely grave In a Texas
village to a slme-bullt tomb in the cap-
itn 1 city that wiio named for him, and
tne memorial services in several cities,
will arouse sufficient interest in (hu
Austiu lamlly to result In arrange-
Hunts being made to care for the al-
most dismantled tomb and the decay-
ing log cabin here.
The cabin stands on one corner of
the public square ut tills city. It is all
that is left of the once pretentious
Durham Hull, Moses Austin's early-day
home At tin* time of the Louisiana
purchase there was no more elaborate
private estate in the whole Mississippi
valley than Durham Hall, where tho
owner entertained such notable men a<
Aston Hurr, Andrew Jackson and
Thomas II. Benton
Moses Austin, under a grant from
in Spanish government, opened the
flrst lead mines and built the first lead
inciter in Missouri lie was at the
bead of the first bank established iu
St. Louis and was a member of the
iir.-1 M..sonic settlement period
He conceived the idea of settling
Texas with Americans, and It was
under . treaty negotiated by him
with the Mcxiean government that the
: . t American colony was established
r
Had Cost England Many Millions.
London, llarmuzd Hassam, the a«
syrian scholar and explorer, whose
- Ill
war
the
cruel treatment by King Theodor*
volved England In a $15,000,000
wltti Abyssinia, which ended In
suicide of the African rub r. .lied
few days ago 111 tho English village of
Hove, where he had been many years
In peaceful retirement lie was born
In northern Mesopotamia, opposite the
site of the ancient Nineveh, and went
to Englund early In life, becoming
connected with the lirltlsh museum.
Iu June, 1X04, after having held a
Brltisn political position at Aden, at
ihe Indian ocean end of the Red sea
ho took charge of the English mission
to King Theodore or Abyssinia, who
had imprisoned und maltreated the
llrltlsli consul and several other Ru
ropealis He demanded the release of
the prisoners At tirsf he was treated
with consideration, but afterward he
and two of his companions were shut
up In tie fortress of Magdala and
were kept there almost two years in
chains They suffered from misery,
cold and hunger, and were In constant
fear of death. When Great Britain
sent to Abyssinia a punitive expedition
under Ixird Mauler, King Theodore
shot himself to death to avoid the hu
mlilatlon of capture
NOTHING SORDID ABOUT HIM
Poet Was Looking for Appreciation
of the Ages That Stretched Into
the Future.
The editor looked nt the poetry
and then he turned back to the poet.
For a moment Ills customary us-
suratice lulled him. The poet was so
thin and seedy and hollow eyed.
'See here, iny friend," he said In
as gentle a voice as he could assume
on short notice, "I don't want to dls
courage you, but while your stuff
here Is fairly good and perhaps a
little belter It Is a standing rule of
this purer never to buy poetry."
The poet drew himself up with a
sudden snort
"Why. suffering I unite." lie cried,
"you didn't suppose troin my appear
unce that I was out for the filthy
slinoleons, did you? Why, bless your
journullKi'ic soul, all I m working for
Is a plain niche In the (lull of
Fame!"
BABY'S SCALP CRUSTED
"Our little daughter, when three
months > Id. beg'in to break out on th<
bead and we had the in • ( doctors to
treat her. but they did not do her ny
good They said she had oozem t
scalp was a solid scale all tivt Ihe
burning and itching was so severe that
she could not rest, day or night. We
had about given up all hopes when wa
read of the Cut leu n die Wo at
once got u cake of Cutlcura Soap, a
box of Cutlenru O ntnn nt and one bot-
tle of Cutlcura <1> -olvcnt, und fol
lowed direction! eareiullv After th<t
first dose of the Cutlcura Resolvent
we used the C'.iticura Soap freely and
applied the Cutlcura Ointment. Then
she began to Improve rapidly and In
two weeks the scale came off her
bead nd new hair began to grow In
a very short tii::o she was well She lit
now sixteen years of age and a pic-
ture of health We us-d the Cutl-
cura Remedies about five weeks, reg-
ularly, and then we could not tell sho
hud been affected bythedl ease Wo
used no oiln r treatment after wo
found out wlr t the Cutb ra Rcmei||e-|
woud do 'or her J Pi.-!; and Ella M.
Fish, Mt Vernon, Ivy . Oct 12, 1900
A3 REPRESENTED.
V4
Austin and His Home.
In Texas Ihe eon-umallon of these
plans nei-esnltiited an overland trip
from Potosl to Han Antonio, the hard-
ships of which resulted In the death
of the projector
Stephen F Austin continued the
work of his father, led the American
colony Into the -outhwoHt wilderness
and helped the Texan* to establish
republic.
Moses Austin's body lien In a rick
ety, weed covered tomb In the Presby-
terian churchyard, not a block distant
from the log cabin A marble slab, not
mote than is Inches square mm in a
rustic tomb of hand-Ill wn rock, boars
this simple Inscription
MOSES AUSTIN. '
DIED 18?C.
\\ hen the condition of the tomb was
called to the attention of Washington
county officials, it was their opinion
that Texas residents would be pleased
to have the tomb better cared for,
hence the letter to a state official stat
Ing its condition
If *
>> ■ #
i
Patient -Look here, doctor; you
said if I took a bottle of your tonic
I v.oulil have a remarkable appetite.
Why, t only <at one soda cracker
each week
Doeinr Well, don't you call that a
r> nutrkable appetite?
END STOMACH TROUBLE NOW
Dyspepsia, Gas, Sourness or Indiges-
tion Go Five Minutes After Taking
a Littls Diapepsin.
If your meals don't fit comfortably,
or you feel bloated after eating, and
you believe It Is the food which fills
you; if what llttio you eat lies llko
lead on your stomach; if there Is dif-
ficulty lu breathing, eructations of
sour, undigested food and acid, h"art-
burn, brash or a belching of gas, you
can make up your mind that you need
something to stop food fermentation
and cure Indigestion.
A large case of Pape's Dlapopnln
costs only fifty cents at any drug
store here In tow n, and will convince
any stomach sufferer five minutes alter
taking a single doso that Fermenta-
tion ami Sour Stomach is causing the
misery of Indigestion.
No matter if you call your trouble
Catarrh of the Stomach, Dyspepsia,
Nnrvounieas or (iastrltls, or by any
other name always remember that a
certain cure Is waiting at your drug
store the moment you dedde to begin
Its use.
Pape's Diapopsln will regulate any
out-of-order Stomach within five mln
utes, and digest, promptly, without ati.v
fuss or discomfort, all of any kind ol
food you i at.
These large 50 cent cases contain
more than sufficient to thoroughly
cure nny chronic case of Dyspepsia.
Indigestion. (iiiHtrltls or any other
Stomach trouble.
Should you at this tromenf be sut
firing from Indigestion, Has, Sour
news or any stomach disorder, you can
surely get relief within five minute
Desperat* Situation,,
"There's no use trying to deny II "
remarked Mrs Is-Flatt, "this Is th*
worst cook we've had yet There
positively Isn't a decent thing to eat
on the table."
"That's light " rejoined DeFlatt
"But," eontinmd his wife, "there's
one thing In her favoi She can't bJ
beat when It conns to washing"
"Pity wo can't eat the washing
slgi.ed the hungry h' band
Mr*. WInalotT-it Nmitnilia "vrtip,
irnri-Wldri'ti tonitiinai ■« fl«-in tin- mmiu rhVu'Mln-
auu<iii ik>ii, l.*7«i>a>ln,cur(ii *IIV1>-II|I<. u. ix.iua.
0
Too often a piano stool Is the hciH
of discord
I
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Cain, Thomas C. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 58, No. 33, Ed. 1 Saturday, December 3, 1910, newspaper, December 3, 1910; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth205984/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Bastrop Public Library.