Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude
ecstatic. Each in fancy saw himself decked out in a magnificent diamond
pin and ring, spinning along Harlem lane behind a particularly fast pair
in a stylish rig. This was their day vision. At night each saw himself
in certain resorts ordering unlimited bottles, or seeing New York by
gaslight at the rate of $100 a minute, and the Britishers paying for it
all. But the lawyers and the Pinkertons between them played Irving and
headquarters for fools and knaves. Day after day one of the lawyers
visited Mulberry street, and, being tutored by Pinkerton, gave deceptive
points to Irving, who, with his two chums, was completely hood-winked
and never suspected the game being played on them.
But as I have got somewhat ahead of events in London I will return there
and very briefly narrate what was taking place there. Nearly every day
Noyes was brought before the Lord Mayor and officially examined, but,
acting under advice of his lawyer, he was strictly non-committal. The
detectives and officials were convinced he knew all about it, and tried
by both threats and promises to make him talk. Baron Rothschild and
others of the directors visited him again, but our friend was deaf, dumb
and blind, and they were foiled. In time two Pinkerton detectives had
arrived in London, and by a series of lucky hits soon began to let in
some light on the business.
In searching Noyes the English police had found his garments were made
by a certain London tailor who had several establishments. They brought
the foremen and salesmen down to see him, and none could identify him;
but the American detectives went over the ground again, and discovered
that the London officers had missed one branch store. This was the one
Noyes had patronized. They remembered him as a customer who had, when
ordering garments, given the name of Bedford. This in itself was a bad
point against Noyes, and the New York men wanted very much to make him
talk, and had they been permitted to adopt the vigorous American methods
they might have succeeded.
A salesman remembered seeing Noyes or Bedford one day walking in Mayfair
with a gentleman who really was Mac, of whom he gave a good description,
and taking the clerk the detectives started out to make a house-to-house
investigation. Now, No. 1 Mayfair, the first house they entered, was the
residence of a famous London doctor by the name of Payson Hewett, and
Mac had been a patient of his. But Hewett knew absolutely nothing about
him save only his name and the address he gave, Westminster Palace
Hotel. The detectives were elated, and flew to this hotel, but as Mac
had never been a guest they could learn nothing; still they had cause
for rejoicing. Here was Noyes giving a fictitious name to a tailor and
in company with an elegantly dressed American, who gave a fictitious
address to his surgeon. And they were well satisfied that whenever the
matter was dug out it would be found that the elegantly dressed
stranger, as well as the clerk, had a hand in the business. Payson
Hewett stated that Mac said he was a medical graduate from an American
university, and said that, no doubt, he spoke the truth, as he had a
perfect knowledge of medical subjects.
Here they were getting matters down pretty fine, and cabled all the
facts to America with orders to look Mac up, also his friends. This
information was the fruit of hard work--many blind trails had been
followed that ran nowhere.
In the mean time George and Mac had determined to return to America. The
last thing Mac did before leaving his lodgings in St. James' place was
to roll up in three rolls $254,000 in United States bonds and send the
trunk containing them by express to Major George Mathews, New York. He
wrapped them in a nightshirt belonging to me, which in some way had got
into his baggage. Then he bought a ticket to Paris and sent his baggage
over, waiting in London a day or two longer before going himself.
George determined to go to Ireland, and to Ireland he went, and I shall
let him in a later chapter tell in his own language the stirring events
in Ireland and Scotland that finally ended in his arrest in Edinburgh
some weeks later. Mac, before sending his baggage away, had intended to
sail from Liverpool by the Java of the Cunard line, and he cabled Irving
at Police Headquarters to meet him on the arrival of the steamer. Mac
went to Paris, stopping at the Hotel Richmond, Rue du Helder, under his
right name, never for a moment thinking he could possibly come under
suspicion.
In the mean time the Pinkerton men continued their house-to-house
visitation of the fashionable lodging houses to hunt out Mac. This, in
huge London, was a Titanic task, but they exhibited a marvelous activity
in tracing out clues. In a lucky moment for the Pinkertons, a
subordinate inquiring at every number in St. James' place if an
American gentleman was lodging or had lodged there was informed by one
landlady that Mac had been a lodger, but had left a few days before. As
soon as this important report arrived they flew to St. James' place and
found the landlady a warm friend of the man they were looking for. The
detectives were forced to tell her their business. She was indignant
that any one should so wrong Mac, and ordered them out of the house.
They brought the bank solicitors and other important people to see her
before she would consent to be questioned; when she did, her information
was important indeed. She had seen very little of George, but much of
me, though she had never heard my name, but still the detectives knew
from her description that the man she described was the F. A. Warren
they wanted, and whom to get meant fame and comparative fortune for
them.
The rooms had been unoccupied since Mac left and a careful search was
made for clues, but nothing was found until she was asked for the
waste-paper basket. The basket proved to be a bag, and when turned out
some pieces of blotting paper appeared, which, held in front of a
mirror, of course would reflect the writing the same as on the written
sheet, and on holding the last of the lot to the glass they were
thrilled through when the Pinkertons saw reflected there:
Ten Thousand......................Pounds Sterling.
F. A. WARREN.
which, when compared with a canceled check of mine, then in the
possession of the bank, exactly fitted it. Here was a piece of evidence,
which, if it could be brought home to Mac, was a chain to bind him fast
and sure.
Pinkerton and his man started at once for Paris, and going to the
American bankers, where most Americans register on arrival, they found
Mac's name as large as life, registered at Andrews & Co.'s as stopping
at the Hotel de Richmond.
Pinkerton was not long in reaching Rue du Helder, and learned that Mac
had left for Brest the night before. In short order he was at the Paris
agency of the steamship company, and found that Mac had purchased a
ticket to New York by the Thuringia, which was due to sail that very
hour from Brest. He did not let the grass grow under his feet between
the ticket and telegraph offices, and there he telegraphed the
authorities to arrest Mac, but he had a speedy reply that the Thuringia
had sailed half an hour before his telegram came. On second thought he
quite possibly was not sorry Mac had got off to New York, as it would
lengthen out the bill and scatter some of the bank's money in New York.
He therefore cabled to his office in New York particulars as to Mac's
departure, and then he turned all his attention to discovering who this
F. A. Warren could be. Mac had cabled Irving that he was coming by the
Thuringia. Pinkerton, feeling that there was no secrecy required about
his man being on the steamer, gave the fact to the press, and Irving
discovered, very much to his chagrin, that all the world shared with him
his secret as to Mac's whereabouts, and that if he would save his
reputation he would have to be on hand, not as a friend and confederate,
but in his official capacity and make a genuine arrest--that is, unless
he could arrange to have Mac taken off the steamer in a small boat as
soon as she came into the lower bay and before the police boat, with its
load of officials, came alongside. This Irving and his two subordinates
resolved to attempt, so he took into his counsels a great chum of his
and a well-known burglar by the name of Johnny Dobbs. To him was given
the job of getting Mac off the steamer, but he made a serious blunder.
Instead of hiring and manning two boats, one to relieve the other, he
got only one. For a day or two they came within hailing distance of all
incoming steamers, but were ashore on Staten Island, taking a rest, when
bright and early one morning the Thuringia slipped into the harbor.
There was a man in the boat with Dobbs who knew Mac, and the plan was to
meet the steamer, and as Mac was sure to be on deck on the lookout, to
shout to him to jump overboard and they would pick him up and make for
shore. Once ashore and warned they would not have seen him again.
After the Thuringia came into the harbor, Irving kept the police boat
waiting over an hour. Then, supposing his friend was safe ashore, he
boarded the ship. There were five United States Marshals on the police
tug, the bank lawyers and some of the private inquiry officials.
Irving, accompanied by White and Stanley, jumped aboard the big ship,
after giving orders to the captain of the tug not to let any one off
until he gave permission. Mac saw the tug and recognized his three
friends, but was in no way alarmed until Irving, shaking hands with him,
hurriedly explained the state of affairs. Mac took them to his cabin and
gave them $150,000 in bonds, $10,000 in greenbacks, which he had bought
of the brokers in London, besides English bank notes and two or three
valuable diamonds. Then taking out several bags of sovereigns he said:
"Now, boys, help yourselves. Load yourselves down and keep them from the
enemy." What a picture those fellows loading up with that golden store
of sovereigns would have made! They knew the marshals and detectives
they held entrapped aboard the tug would be furious, and morally sure
that Irving & Co. had plucked their bird. Therefore any appearance of
pockets bulging out might lead to disgrace, so, while they hated to
leave any, for their fingers itched for all, yet they were forced to
that cruel self-denial.
One amusing piece of impudence on Irving's part occurred when looking
with greedy eyes on the eight-carat diamond Mac wore on his finger, he
said: "My God, Mac, I wish I had brought along a paste diamond. You
could wear the ring and give me yours in exchange." The ring having been
seen by so many he feared to chance taking it. No doubt his enforced
denial for long sat heavy on Jimmy's soul. What a penchant all our
honest detectives have for gems, and where do they get them?
In the mean time a storm was raging among the rival officers, who did
not relish being duped, and finally by threats forced the captain to
bring the tug alongside the steamer. Then they rushed on board to find
Irving & Co. with their prisoner awaiting them.
The marshals went to the cabin and found some L4,000 or L5,000 in
sovereigns, but when Mac was searched nothing was found on him but $20
in greenbacks. He was turned over to the United States officials and
landed in Ludlow Street Jail, pending an examination before the United
States Commissioner with a view to his extradition.
How the Pinkertons unearthed the $254,000 wrapped in old clothing in
Mac's trunk at the European Express Office, 44 Broadway, would take too
much time to tell here, or how circulars were sent out to the banks and
trust companies warning them to hold all funds deposited by any of our
party, or how Pinkerton and his men recovered large sums in various