Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude
without any difficulty, and stopped at that. He met his two friends and
divided the $5,000 with them. Then, as a natural consequence with that
class of men, all got drunk, and before the next morning had spent,
loaned or gambled away every dollar of the $5,000.
I remember perfectly the tremendous sensation created when a rumor of
the robbery spread in Wall street and over the city, and what mystified
and intensified the matter was the fact that no complaint had been made
to the police. When Mr. Lord was interviewed by them and by reporters he
would not admit that he had been robbed, and said if he had been he
would prefer to lose the money rather than have a fuss made about the
affair.
This was really the first of many great bond robberies, and it struck
the popular fancy; but if it stirred Wall street greatly, who shall
describe the frenzy of excitement that broke out at 300 Mulberry
street--Police Headquarters--when the first vague rumors of a gigantic
robbery were fully confirmed, and it became known that Hod Ennis and his
gang had a million and more of plunder?
All rings and pulls and gangs were smashed, combined and recombined
again, while each and all were in an agony of fear lest the booty should
be returned to the owner--minus a percentage divided between the gang
and the ring, or sold to some clever fence, who would plant them away
safely and sell them in Europe from time to time, keeping all for
himself and they to have no share. What visions of diamond pins, of
eight or twelve carats, all Brazilian stones; of swift, high-stepping
horses; of the heaven of Harlem lane on Sunday afternoons, with a bottle
or two under the vest, haunted the sleep of all the detective force. I
say the police knew Hod Ennis and his gang had stolen the bonds, for in
those days there was not a gang of confidence men, card sharpers, bank
burglars, counterfeiters or forgers traveling the country but that the
gang and every member of it was well known to the Police Department of
each of our large cities. Whenever a job was done a score of detectives
all over the country could say such and such a gang did the job, and
they were almost always right.
Whether there was "something in" for the force to arrest and convict or
not, as a matter of fact the thieves were sooner or later hocus-pocussed
out of their share, either by the police, by some untrustworthy fence,
or by some lawyer who was pitched upon to work back the securities on a
percentage. In case the thief succeeded in saving part of the proceeds
he immediately lost it at faro or in revelry, and then risked his
liberty for more.
I know two men who to-day walk the streets of New York, the types of
conservative respectability, members of many fashionable clubs, who, in
the sixties, were known as fences, and were always ready to invest cash
for stolen bonds. Both of these men compromised with their conscience by
beating down the price and giving the thieves but a moiety of their
value. Both of them have their fads; one is a connoisseur in violins,
the other has a penchant for orchids, and has much local fame for the
rarities in his collection.
Before midnight of the day of the robbery it became known to the force
and many of the hangers-on of the gambling saloons and barrooms of the
Eighth Ward that Hod Ennis and his gang had money, and it was surmised
that it must be from the Lord business. In the mean time Bullard took
the bag of bonds up to Norwalk, Ct., and placed them for safe-keeping
with a trusty friend, first taking out one hundred bonds of five hundred
each and fifty of one thousand each, and, returning to the city, divided
them with his comrades. During his absence the photographs of the three
men had been shown at Police Headquarters to the two clerks, but they
were unable to identify them.
Within the next few days the $100,000 in bonds were completely
dissipated; some were sold to buyers of stolen goods for a percentage of
the value, some were lost at the gambling games--mostly at Morrissey's,
or at Mike Murray's on Broadway, near Spring street, and probably some
went Mulberry street way. Matters were thickening, and, fearing arrest,
Ennis fled to Canada, Bullard to Europe and Rose went West to
California. Eventually Ennis was convicted of a crime committed some
time before. He was sentenced to a long imprisonment, and came out an
old, broken-down man, without a dollar and without a friend. Rose was
sentenced to five years for another crime, and then disappeared. Bullard
settled down in Paris. He afterward returned and planned the Boylston
Bank affair in Boston. With his share of the plunder he went back to
Paris and opened an American bar at the Grand Hotel and flourished for
some years; but, wanting money, he committed a robbery in Belgium, was
arrested, and is now serving a long sentence for the same; no doubt, if
he survives, he will emerge friendless, penniless, a stranger in a
strange world.
If I were inclined to indulge in reminiscences, what a catalogue could
be given of men who had, like myself, drifted into the Primrose Way, and
all, or nearly all, have paid a terrible penalty for their
wrongdoing--none more terrible than myself. As for our violin virtuoso,
he seems to have conquered fate. So, too, with the connoisseur in
orchids; but let us wait until the end before we say all is well with
them.
Some time later on, meeting one of these detectives, now dead, who then
ranked as the best in New York, in the confidence of the bankers, he
said: "I am getting old and am now working for reputation, and
consequently am not taking any more percentages. Of course, I don't
molest any of my old friends, but those who are not under protection I
run in and send them up the river (Sing Sing) as fast as I get them to
rights."
This need not be considered a condemnation of all detectives, for there
were, even in my time, a few honest ones of the Pinkerton and John
Curtin class--the latter being now one of San Francisco's most reliable,
who, by unusually considerate judgment, has made honorable citizens of a
very large number of clerks whom he had been called upon to detect and
arrest. This he accomplished by extracting a confession in writing,
filing it among his secret papers, then saying to the trembling clerk:
"I shall have you reinstated in your position, but if you go wrong again
this confession will be made public."
The following incident will further enlighten the reader as to the way
things were done in those good old days:
When Boss Tweed was in the full zenith of his power and glory and of the
wealth so easily acquired by certain methods, his daughter was married.
All of the then chiefs and district officers of Tammany, city officials,
judges and heads of departments vied with each other in the presentation
of wedding gifts, among which was a check for $100,000 from the father.
Seldom has any bride received a more magnificent tribute, for, coming
from such sources, they were nothing less than a tribute. Especially was
this the case with one much-admired gift which was contributed by us
just after an illicit operation of $40,000 in Wall street, $4,000 of
which was paid to Irving.
In the column list of wedding gifts in the next morning's papers was:
"One solid silver punch bowl, value $500, presented by Superintendent
Kelso." Shortly after paying Irving the $4,000 percentage we met him one
evening at the St. Cloud Hotel. Mentioning the approaching Tweed
marriage, he suggested that it would be the thing, and make us more
solid with the Superintendent of Police, for us to make a fine present
to "the old man," one that he could use as a gift to the bride. As $500
was not much to our party in those days, we assented, and handed over
that amount.
Tiffany's was then located down Broadway, and among other things on
exhibition in the window was a large, handsome silver punch bowl. This
was purchased with our money, which was known to have been obtained by
forgery, and presented to Superintendent Kelso. A few days later the
bowl reappeared in the window of Tiffany's thus inscribed:
+-----------------------------------------+
| |
| TO CATHERINE TWEED. |
| |
| Presented by |
| |
| JAMES KELSO, |
| |
| Superintendent of Police. |
| |
| "May loyalty and love know no end." |
| |
+-----------------------------------------+
CHAPTER V.
WHEN BOSS TWEED WAS NEW YORK'S OWNER AND JIM FISK, PROPRIETOR OF OUR
JUDGES.
What a look of relief and triumph swept over the faces of Irving,
Stanley and White when I gave my consent to their proposal to take the
stolen bonds to Europe and negotiate them there. We understood each
other now, and casting aside all reserve, their tongues wagged freely,
and they eagerly told me how confident they were of my ability to
dispose of the bonds successfully, and also of my good faith; and,
furthermore, told me I was the only man they would have trusted. Of
course, they had no security save my word, for under the circumstances
they could hardly ask me for a receipt, and even had I given one it
would have been valueless had I chosen to retain the proceeds of the
bonds. Thus, becoming the important member of the firm, I told them to
produce the securities and I would sail immediately. It was finally
settled that I should go by the steamer Russia of the Cunard line, which
was down for sailing at 7 a.m. Wednesday, and they were to deliver the
bonds to me on Tuesday night. Upon my demanding cash to pay expenses,
their faces fell, but quickly brightened when I told them to give me a
thousand-dollar bond and I would borrow that amount from a friend, using
it for security. There was no danger of the number of the bond being
inspected, and, of course, I would pay the note upon my return and
receive the bond again.
They told me many amusing lies as to how the securities came into their
possession, and as to who were the rightful owners. The truth was, as I
afterward learned, they were a part of the stolen Lord bonds.
Bonds issued by our Government and held in Europe, chiefly in Holland
and Germany, were so enormous in volume and passed so freely from hand
to hand, that it was easy for a well-dressed, business-appearing man to
sell any quantity, even if stolen, as by law the innocent holder could
not be deprived of them. One great advantage a dishonest man had at that
date in Europe, especially an American, was that if he dressed well they
considered he must be a gentleman, and if he had money that was a proof
of respectability--one they never thought of questioning, nor how he
came by it; then, again, it was an article of their creed that all
Americans are rich.
The next morning (Tuesday), Irving met me near the Exchange, and, with
some trepidation, drew from an inner pocket an envelope containing the
thousand-dollar bond. Without waiting to examine it, I walked off,
saying: "I'll be back in ten minutes." He was evidently alarmed, and,
like all rogues, suspicious of every one. He probably had some wild idea
that I was laying a trap for him. In his ignorance of money methods he
thought it would be a long, perhaps difficult, negotiation to borrow
money on the bond, but, of course, I made short work of it; and "Jimmy"
was more than delighted when within the ten minutes I walked in with ten
one hundreds in my hand. A trifle like this made a great impression upon