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Si. oo a Year, In Advance. FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY, AND FOR TRUTH. Slnsle Copy, 5 Cent.
VOL. XV. PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY. APRIL 1, 15)01. ' NO. 2.
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BEFORE IT
. If. you have a gray-haired mother
In the old home far away,
Sit down and write the letter
You put off day by day.
J)on't wait until her tired steps
Reach heaven's pearly-sate.-Hut
show her that you tliiuk. of her
Before it is too late.
I ' k
If vou've a tender message,
Or a tovinpr word to say.
Don't wait till you forget it.
Hut whisper it to-day.
,Vho knows what bitter memories
May haunt you if you wait?
So make your loved one happy
Before it is too late.
Ingenious Detection of
a R.og'ue.
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III
By Lawrence Leslie.
iN'E of the cleverest ft?;ts
in the detection, pursuit,
nnd. capture of criminals
that has been developed for
years, was performed, by
of the New York detective
, police force some yrars since.
About that time the officers of the
City Bank of. .Now York discovered
that they bad-been swindled out of
$75,000 by moans of a forged-check
for that amount, purporting to have
been, draw n by Commodore Vander-
bilti) Nearly anonth passed before the
fraud was discovered, and in the mean
time several other checks for large
amounts, drawn9 by the same party,
had been honored; so itwas almost im
possible for any of the employes to
remember with satisfactory distinct
ness any of the circumstances con
nected with the payment of the fraud
ulent document. However, it was
placed in the hands of a shrewd detec
tive, aucLho wont to work, to find a
:Iew, and'trace out the mystery.
The officer's nrst suspicion was that
soirKi. of the clerks of the banks had
I)een in collusion, with the forger, and
doubtless shared the prptlts of his
crime. After two weeks' scrutiny of
the character, habits and associations
)t the various clerks, thattheory was
abandoned, and it only remained for
him to gather from them, if possible.
Kome clew, however slight, of the bold
operation. His first inquiry was if
any one. not in the habit of presenting
checks, had been seen doing so within
the past month. Only two, of the clerks
had any memory on the subject, and
theirs was o! the most shadowy and
unsatisfactory character. One remem
bered seeing a stout, elderly man drive
; a strikingly beautiful black horse and
tine carriage up to the bank, enter the
.office, and transact some business, lie
knew not what, and depart, since
Which lie had not seen him.
The other clerk, after a thorough ex-
n'mination and numerous questions put
to assist or quicken his memory, at
last concluded that he. did recollect a
. strange man, who entered the bank one
- day about the time the forged check
was presented, and had a check cashed
for a large-amount. A peculiarity in
the man's necktie attracted his attend
tion and lie looked him full in the face
and retained' a vivid recollection; of
u every feature. lie was an amateitr
artist, aud especially expert in pen
' drawing. Taking a sheet of paper and
,-jn old pen which was. lying upon the
- desk, he quickly produced a portrait,
" which he declared to be an accurate
likeness of the man lie suspected.
The officer did not look upon those
clews, if such they might.be called.
' as promising much hope of success.
He first exhibited the drawing to the
-clerk who had,, seen the suspected
vogue drive up with the fine black
horse, and he confidently identified it.
.Here at last was some encourage
ment.' The first attempt' was to trace
the horse and carriage, and discover
' who owned or who had hired such a
rig. The effort was 'unsuccessful; the.
-officer, however, was convinced that
the man, whoever he might be. was an
- admirer of fast and styli.Mj horses, and
ho "therefore--commenced a search
mong the establishments devoted to
he stabling and sale of such animals,
hoping that he would find some one
vho could Identify Ihe party. After
.going to nearly all such establishments,
exhibiting the portrait, he came upon
a man who 'recognized in the drawing
me William Livingston, whom be had
known a year or two, but ru had dis
appeared within the past nv:r.t!), after
jyins" W sou'c old d?bts sunt buying
0
Lil
ft a
IS TOO LATE.
,We live bltt in the present,
The future is unknown;
To-morrow. i.-i a mystery,
To-day is all our own.
Th chance that fortune leads to ua
May vanish while we wait,
Ho ppend your life's rich pleasure
Before it is too late.
The tender word unspoken,
The letters never sent.
The long-forgotten message?.
The wealth of love unspeut,
For these some hearts are breaking',
For these some loved ones wait;
So show them that you care for them
Before it is loo late.
New World.
all.
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one or two fancy horses. Further in
quiry brought out the fact that Liv
ingston was in very, .straitened circum
stances but a few months previously,
and how he could honestly obtain the
means to pay bis old debts -and gratifj
his love for horseflesh was not so clear
and gave fresh encouragement to the
persevering detective. To follow Liv
ingston Avas necessary, but how could
he be traced? ' He had disappeared,
and no one knew when or -whither.
What, then, was to be done? 'Should
the trail be abandoned and the case
given up as one of the mysteries' that
baffled solution? J "
Never, said the indefatigable officer,
and ho went to work wih4 desperate
energy to unravel the tangled' skein.
He finally reached the following con
clusions: The perpetrator of the forg
ery was Livingston; he was a good
deal of a horse fancier, and would
doubtless spend a considerable portion
of his dishonest gains in the purchase
of fine stock; and, further, that the
stock would be purchased in New
York, as that market promised a bet
ter selection, and the criminal con
sidered himself entirely safe- from de
tection. ..
The first step, therefore, was to learn
if any one had recently made any ex
tensive purchases of such stock, and
if so. to run them down and see .who
they were.
For weeks the search was without
reward, but at last the case bright
cued. A man was found of whom sev
eral horses has been purchased by a
njan much resembling Livingston, but
hero giving the name of reck. The
horses were shipped to Buffalo, whither
"Mr. Peck" stated that he was going.
Here was the long-sought clew, and
the ot&cec lost no time in visiting Buf
falo, to learn further Mr. Peck's pres
ent abode. Another disappointment
met him here. The freight books
showed that the horses had been re
ceived two or three months previous
ly, and taken away, but nothing fur
ther was known concerning them or
Mr. Peck.
'Nothing daunted, however, the In
quiry was pursued, and finally the
horses ' were traced to a stable, but
were now owned by a Mr. Welch. Sev
eral other animals were purchased,
and the wholo then shipped to Chica
go. From the description the officer
awl Welch were one and the same per
son;' and the pursuit began to wax in
teresting. '
'Arriving- at Chicago, he. found that
the horses had been taken, away, but
the most careful inquiry revealed noth
ing more. As they had not been re
shipped, the otfieer concluded that they
had bccD driven . into the country.
There were some breeding mares
among the stock, and he concluded that
the party, whoever he was, designed
to opi n a stock farm. Finding all oth
er efforts to trace the horses vain, he
attempted to learn if any farm suita
ble for such purpose had been pur
chased recently, and if so, by whom.
At one of the real estate agencies, he
found, that 11 man from, the East,
named William Livingston, had been
looking for such a place, aud had -finally'
purchased, but where was not
known, certainly not in Cook County,
us an examination of tho records
proved: but the officer reasoned that
it 'could not be far from Chicago, as
the stock' was apparently driven
instead of being shipped.
If. reasoned the oilieer, Livingston,
who was without doubt, fhe criminal,
had purchaod a farm of this charac
ter, he must Vuy a large quantity of
tools, harness, saddles, wagons ' and
like goods for its use. i ..A careful
search among dealers in these articles
revealed the fact that a liberal quanti
ty of such goods had recently been
bought by a. Mr. William Livingston
and sent to Du Page County, about
forty miles from . Chicago, where he
had bought four small farms and con
solidated them into one handsome
stock farm. Believing detection im
possible after the lapse of so long a
time, he had boldly' taken his own
name, and.- though almost within the.
clutch of the officer of justice, was yet
entirely, unconscious of his danger.
The game was found; now for its
capture. Taking four or five police of
ficers from Chicago, all in citizens'
clothes, the party went out to the
farm, and inquired for William Liv
ingston. The "elderly-, short, stout
gentleman," who had figured so con
spicuously in the officer's search, ap
peared, and the correctness of the peu
and ink- sketch impressed the officer
as remarkable.
Tho party represented themselves as
from Chicago, who, having heard of
his fine farm, had come down to see
for themselves, and perhaps purchase
some of his choice stock.
They were cordially received, hos
pitably entertained, shown over the
place, and finally dined and wined in
the spacious mansion. On rising from
the table the New 1'ork officer re
marked: - .
"Well, Mr. Livingston, do you like
this place and this quiet life as well
as life in New York':"
The man Avas startled, looked sharp
ly at the officer, and answered:
"What do you mean? I was never
in .New York in all my life." .
"Well, theu," retorted the officer.
"you will have an excellent opportun
ity to go there. William Livlngsto'n,
I arrest you." ,
Livingston turned as pale as a ghost
and gasped out:
"What for?"
"For the forgery of a check on the
City Bank of New York, for $75,000,"
replied' the officer, drawing a pair of
handcuffs from his pocket and advanc
ing toward him.
"Stop, sir!" exclaimed the culprit.
"Stop, sir! This is an outrage," and
he glanced around the room for some
weapon with which he could defend
himself. He was quickly surrounded,
however, and the irons fasteued upon
him.
For a time he raged furiously, mak
ing fearful- threats against his captors;
but the storm soon spent itself, and
he was able to talk over the matter
calmly. He represented that a rela
tive, who had recently died, had left
him va considerable sum of money,
with which he had purchased the farm
and stock.
On searching him. however, a roll of
bills amounting to $10,000 was found
in an inner pocket, many of them being
entirely new, and on the City Bank
some of the very notes which had been
paid out on the fraudulent check some
months before. After this discovery
he was more quiet, and willingly ac
companied his captors to New York.
The cash found on his person, the
farm and stock were taken possession
of by the victimized bank and man
aged so judiciously that more than
$05,000 wa s realized, leaving the bank
a sufferer for less than .$10,000.
Livingston was soon after brought
to -trial, convicted and, escaped with a
sentence of four years and a half. At
the expiration of his sentence, a few
years ago, he again .went West, aud
when last heard from was running a
small stock farm in Iowa.
The case in all its phases ranks
among the most curious and Interesting
in criminal annals. The slight clew-
so persovoringly followed, the little
incidents which pointed so unerriugly
toward the culprit, aud the sagacity
with which all these little hints were
followed to the end, places the detec
tive art among the most notable and
useful oC tlie sciences. New York
Weekly.
Angling For Muskitlouge
Opposite Brockville, in the St. T,av
rcnee,.a party of Montreal anglers had
the good, fortune to kill two ruuska
longe. both exceeding thirty pounds hv
weight, a few days ago. Of course
much larger ones are occasionally
taken in ihe St. Lawrence, and I have
before me a letter telling of a muska
longe taken in Lake Bemidji. Minn., a
few weeks ago, which is said .to have
uioasurod four feet seven inches In
length, and to have tipped the scales at
Ul'ty four pound. But two in one day
weighing over thirty pounds each us a
catch not to bo dpised.- Forest and
stream. - -xki&Xfrfjx
.. THE PRINTING TELEGRAPH '
Telautograph Blossoms Forth a a
ICeality in Berlin.
The printing telegraph, or telauto
graph, which was so enthusiastically
advocated several years ago as an ad
junct of office equipment, for the trans
mission of written orders, and other
business requiring a record, has blos
somed forth in Berlin as a reality. The
German Postoffice Department, which
controls the telephone and telegraph
facilities as well, is said to have con
tracted with a concern known as the
Ferndrucker Company, giving the lat
ter the use of its wires for the conduct
of sucha business. An outfit is rented
from this company at a given rate per
annum, which gives the subscriber the
privilege of communicating at all
times, through the medium of a cen
tral exchange, with any other sub
scriber on the system. A connection is
first secured through the central office,
and then by simply operating a type
writer keyboard the message is trans
mitted and printed on the receiver at
the distant end of the line, a record be
ing made on the sending instrument
which serves as a duplicate copy. It
is expected that a general introduction
of the system will greatly facilitate
the delivery of telegraph messages, as
these can be transmitted at once to the
recipients over the Ferndrucker ap
paratus. In a great many cases where
it is found impossible to raise the party
desired by. 'phone the writing system
can be employed to advantage, as, no
matter whether anyone is there at the
moment to receive it or not, a perma
nent record is made, which is avail
able when the person desired comes in.
The annual subscription for the service
is given by Consul Gucnther. of Frank
fort, at ?119. Philadelphia Record.
Tree Planting by ltailrond Companies
The renewed interest manifested by
railway managements in treo culture
for producing railway ties, beginning
some two or three years -ago, seems to
be bearing fruit. AVe have previously
published . the details of work which
has been undertaken by a .number of
roads, iiicludi ug. among others, the Ill
inois Central, the Boston and Maine,
the. K&igan Central, the Pennsyl
vania Bailroad. the Big Four, the liio
Grande Western and the West Vir
ginia Central and Pittsburg. ' The Bos
ton and Maine Bailroad is growing
chestnut trees, the Pennsylvania yel
low locust and the other roads named
have planted catalpa trees. All of
these roads had groves of trees grow
ing last year. At that time the Penn
sylvania Bailroad had planted a grove
of l."00 locust trees, near Newton
Hamilton, Pa., and this year it has
added to its forestry plantations a
grove of 43,000 locust trees at Cone
wago. Pa. It is the intention to
plant 200,000 trees during the com
ing year. The plan for the following
years is to plant about 300,000 trees
annually. Railway and Engineering
Review. . . ,A. :
Cud loosing Thttir LWfri.
It in said that when a man finds he
has a liver, he has instant cause for
unhapplness. But the Norwegian cod
fish are losing their livers, aud there
is likely to be unhapplness in the
world unless they take some. means of
finding the organ. The scarcity of cod
liver oil, a great tonic for persons with
weak lungs, is owing not to the fact
that fewer cod fish are caught, but
that the fish have little or, no livers
any more. This is thought to. be
caused by lack of sufficient nourish
ment, as the tiny sea creatures on
which the cod feed are disappearing
from the Norwegian waters. The livera
of the fish when caught are found to
be shriveled badly and in some cases
totally lacking. Where formerly it
took only about 15.000 cod to make a
barrel of cod liver oil, it now requires
at least 40,000.
The Japnc Minltr.
Viscount Ilayashi, the new Japanese
Minister to Loudon, is a man of broad
culture and fine ability. He lias trans
lated into- his own language many for
eign works on political, economical and
religious subjects, and all have bad
wide circulation. He speaks English
with just a trace of accent. Viscount
Hayashl belongs to one of the feudal
families,, which, before the revolution
of .1808, ere the ''military and govern
ing classes, but he himself was born
with liberal, progressive views, and -is
in complete sympathy With the demo
cratic opinions now to the fore in
Japan.
. There were 121 small earthquakes lu
Austria in In the preceding
3-ear the uuuTuer .was 137. .... w'
STRIPPED HIM OF CLOTHES 1
Lightning Played a Queer Prank WMf
a Colorado Victim. .
A blinding flash, a loud and sudden
crack of thunder, a sensation aa ol
someone striking you in the face and
then darkness and unconsciousness
That is how it feals to be stracK
by lightning. It is the way Art Brueri
a conductor for the Manitoti anS
Pike's Peak road, who had his cloth
ing torn from his body by lightninst
last week, describes the sensation. '
Although Bruers clothing wa3 torn
to shreds, his conductor cap removed
from bis haad, the fleece lining t
his underwear set on fire and a bine ,
streak burned across his chest from
shoulder to shoulder, he ' recovered
consciousness a few minutes later andf .
was able to bring his- train from the
summit of Pike's Peak to the cos TQ&d
station at Manitoti.
The incident was ono of the most
peculiar freaks df lightning on record
It has been knVwn to perform strange
antics, but never before has it strips
ped a man completely of his outer
clothing, tossed his hat into the air,!
left an indelible stamp on hi3 body;
rendered him unconscious for a few
minutes and then left him almost un
hurt, with no burns except a long
thin line of blue on his chest and sel;
fire to the fleece lining or tlje under
wear without burning or 6cAchtngf
any other article of his wearing; v, '
parel.
Bruer believes ho was born lucky .
In the present instance this was bet
ter than to have been born rich. The
chancos of a man's life being spared?
in such a case are so small as to be
almost infinitesmal. At the time he
was struck by the lightning he was
standing on the steps' tf the coach,
holding the brass railing with both
hands, preparing to start on its jour
ney down the peak. The passengers
were all aboard and everything was
in readiness for the downward start. '
Suddenly there wasv a blinding flasK
and a deafening crash of thunder. A1
blue streak of forked lightning shot
across the peak on its way from one
cloud to another. En route it en
countered the form of Bruer and his
body formed the circuit which shot
the bolt into the top cf Pike's Peak
After the passengers had recovered'
from their momentary fright they,
saw the insensible form of Bruer
lying on the ground.
They hastened to him to pick him
up, as they supposed, dead, when, to
their astonishment he sat upright
and looked bewildering about him.
To inquiries ha replied that ho was
not hurt, "only stunned," but one man
discovered that his fleece lined un
derwear was burning. The fire wa
extinguished and the Navajo blanket
borrowed. The clothing which ha
been torn by the electricity was pick
ed up and brought t6 Manitou. Col
orado Springs Gazette.
.... a. :.
A Badge of Statehood.
There were two women standings
ride by side at a stall in the Terminal
Market yesterday awaiting their turn
to be served. Each carried a big wil
low basket on her arm, and as the
proprietor finished with one customer
one of the women lifted the ' cover
from her basket and said:
"Two quarts of those white onions
please."
The man looked at her somewhat
stupidly for a moment and then said;,
"Oh, you mean a quarter peck."
Tho woman assented and the other
woman with the basket looked at her
curiously for a moment and then
asked: "You're from New York or
the Eastern States, aren't you?"
"Yes, from New York State." said
the ether woman. .
"I knew it. They always figure by
quarts in those States until they get
up to a full peck, and here and in New
Jersey and Ohio I know it is all 'quar
ter peck' or 'half peck.'"
"Isn't it funny," said the other wo
man. "But were you ever South or
in the Washington markets?" ,
"No," said the other, "I never have
been." - .
"Well." said the New York State
woman, "that's ihe most curious of
all. Everything goes by small meas
ure aud large measure. It has -such
a. delightfully indefinite, sound; like av
prize package or a lottery in whicJ
you may draw something big or noth-i
ing at all." Philadelphia Press.
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