Secret Band of Brothers | Page 5

open the eyes of honest men, and greatly endanger, if not
destroy, their craft. That I had letters, written by themselves, they
knew--nor dare they deny it--letters which might lead to a conviction of
crime, that would raise them to a position somewhere between heaven
and earth. They may rest assured that I have documents that place more
than one thousand of them in a relative position to law and society.
CHAPTER II.
In a previous work of mine, called "GAMBLING UNMASKED," an
allusion is made to an evident conspiracy against my life, sometime
before I became a confirmed gambler. Goodrich was the name which I
gave, as the chief actor. This same doubly refined villain, it will be
remembered, by all who have read the above work, was foremost to aid
in my arrest when I made good my escape to the Pine woods, lying
back of New Orleans. The reader will likewise recollect, that I could
not, at that time, account for such manifestations of unprecedented
malignity, on the part of one from whom I might rather expect
protection than persecution. But the secret is out, and I now have the
power to give clear and truthful explanations.
This Goodrich, who resides at the present time in or near New Orleans,
and who holds the rank of gambler-general in that city of Sodom, was
an old and advanced member of the "Secret Band of Brothers."
Knowing, as he did, that I was engaged in assisting the honest part of
the community to convict two brothers who were plotting my downfall,
as a sworn member of the above fraternity, he was solemnly bound to
do all in his power to aid in the consummation of my personal ruin.
That the world might know something of this Goodrich, (though the
half cannot be told,) I gave, in my autobiography, several incidents, in

which he acted a prominent part. What I then said will answer for an
introduction.
That he was connected with an organized association of gentlemen
blacklegs will not be denied. The proof is abundant. Nor was he an
apprentice, a mere novitiate; but long schooled in vice and ripening
year by year, he swelled quite beyond the bounds of ordinary meanness,
till he became a full-grown monster of his kind. Not content to gather
riches by common roguery, he sought out the basest instrumentalities
as more congenial to his real disposition. His chief riches were obtained
by dark and murderous transactions; and had he a score of necks, with
hempen necklaces well adjusted, I doubt whether he could pay the full
forfeiture to the law.
From my first acquaintance with him at Louisville, with blood-thirsty
vigilance he sought my destruction. Here began the risings of his
malice, and this was the cause. In the year 1830, I gave information to
the city police in relation to Hyman, who, at that time, was the keeper
of a hotel. It was while at this house, that Goodrich became my
determined and implacable foe. I had been duped by two brothers,
Daniel and James Brown, who were then confined in the calaboose for
passing counterfeit money. Large quantities were also found in their
possession. I was their confidant, so far as prudence would allow them
to make any revelations. That they were guilty of the crime with which
they had been charged, no honest man could doubt, after being made
acquainted with the circumstances. Yet they would swear most stoutly,
even in my presence, that they were innocent, and that they had been
deceived. I could not but believe they were guilty, after having
witnessed so many of their iniquitous actions. Often have I been told by
the wife of one of them, that they could call to their assistance, if
necessary, a thousand men. Who they were and where they were, so
ready to uphold these abandoned men, I had, at that time, no
knowledge.
At length their situation became desperate. Already had they passed
one year within the walls of a gloomy prison, without the privilege of a
trial. They were required to give bail in the sum of twenty thousand

dollars each. No satisfactory bonds could be procured. The whole
community were incensed against them. They had for a long time
trampled upon private rights and warred against the best interests of the
people. They had set at defiance all laws instituted for purposes of
justice and protection, and they could not but expect a stern rebuke
from all the friends of morality and good order. The only prospect
before them, upon a fair trial, was a sentence of twenty years to the
penitentiary. This was by no means cheering, especially to those who
had lived in ease and affluence, whose bodies were enervated by
voluptuousness and hands made tender