AMT BOOK'S CAREER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 88

AMT BOOK'S CAREER.

THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OP A NOTORIOUS CRIMINAL. ! (Protected).

By R. W. Eobsox.

! iv. i Having served four months' imprisonment, and, in the eyes of the law, ex- ! piated her Oamaru sins, Amy Bock was discharged from gaol in May, 1894. And here there is a blank. Discerning policemen and industrious chroniclers have failed to put on record the manner in which she occupied her talents during the 12 months immediately ensuing. It is impossible to state positively where she was and what she was doing between the date just given and August of the following year, when she once more made an appearance in Dunedin. It may be that during this time she was engaged in honest employment, to *its of which she was occasionally subject, but there are reasons for supposing that she was in the North Island for a time, and that she effected at least one neat coup. AMY'S PICNIC. It would seem that when crossing Cook Strait a lady en route to Dunedin met the amiable swindler, and struck up a friendship with" her. The agreeable manners of the young lady so impressed the Dunedinite that she invited her to travel with her in the same car on the express, and when they reached Dunedin nothing would satisfy Mrs but that Amy should spend a few days with her in her pretty suburban home. Of course, the obliging Amy agreed, and she made herself as popular with the lady's relatives as she had become well-liked bythe lady herself. The time passed pleasantly enough until the spirit of restlessness seized Amy again, and she began to hatch further cunning schemes. One day the household decided to go picnicking to Waitati, and, of course, Amy was to be one of the party. All arrangements were made, but at the last moment she complained of a fearful headache. She said she believed she would not go to Waitati after all, much as she wished it : she would stay at home and look after the house, and the servants might take the opportunity to have the day off. The others, with geniuine regret, fell in with the proposal. Amy, also, had been making arrangements for the picnic, but they had been kept strictly private. No sooner were the merry-makers safely away and the servants out of the house than she placed herself in communication with a moneylender, who, apparently, was thereby occasioned no surprise. Within a remarkably short space of time the house had been visited, and certain documents and a large portion of the furniture inspected. There were also documents signed, then and there. The picnickers returned to find Amy's headache better, and that young lady in excellent temper. None except the money-lender and herself knew anything of the sum of money that had entered into her possession since the morning. Shortly after that the young lady brought her visit to a close. Business, she said, called her urgently away, and, amid expressions of mutual regret and esteem, she took her departure. The hospitable family had only the pleasantest recollections of their late protege — until one day a quietly-dressed, shrewd-eyed man called at the house. He had some thing to say about certain repayments being due on money lent on furniture. There were explanations, followed by expressions of horror, indignation, and disgust in rapid succession in that usually peaceful villa, and there was some talk of the police. But, under the circumstances, it was natural that nobody connected with the affair ardently longed to give it publicity, and Amy's late, host and the financier came to some arrangement whereby Amy was permitted to go free with her gains. " MISS CAMERON " IN DUNEDIN* On August 8, 1895, Mrs Louisa Greig, who kept a small boarding-house at the lower end of Hanover street, Dunedin, r«ceived a call from Amy. The latter said her name was Miss Cameron, and that she was a lady of independent means. She applied for and was provided with board and lodging. At the end of a week Mrs Greig looked to her new lodger for a payment, and finally mentioned the matter to her. " Of course," said Miss Cameron, " 1 had not noticed that it was due. I shall got you some money to-day — and, at the same time I will see about disposing of a piano and furniture that I have here in Dunedin." Miss " Cameron " accordingly went out that day — but she did not return to her anxious landlady. The latter <\aited a reasonable time, and then went to the police. The myrmidons of the law nought for her lodger high and low, but Amy had hidden herself well, and it was not until the middle of September that she was discovered in Waikouaiti, and brought to Dunedin. She appeared in the Police Court as an old and clever triend, and was described by the reporters of that day as a " dangerous character." She pleaded guilty, and was sent to gaol tor three months, with hard labour. "MISS SHERWIX" IX WAIMATE. She was discharged from gaol at the end of the year 1895, and seven years passed before she again found herself within the four bare walls of a prigon. No one can say what thoughts she had or what influences were brought to bear on her during this last sojourn in durance vile; but the fact remains that, immediately on her release, she became an inmate of the Mount Magdala Home, and lumained theie ior five years, evidently \n ith a determination to live a clean life

and overcome her tendency towards crime. Little can be said abcut her ouring the time she remained at Mount Magdala. We have it that she was not by any means a d-'sagveeable person, that while not at all •' prepossessing in appearance, she still possessed an engaging personality," and that •' she showed her versatility by organising theatrical performances, which she produced very excellently." About the end of 1901 Amy Maud Bock was in Waimate, being then known as Miss " Sherwin," and acting as housekeeper for a well-known and wealthy sheep- farmer of that locality. Her habit of making herself popular was as much in evidence here as ekewhere, and she had, it is said, a host of friends in Waimate. She " had also, it would appear, a host of creditors, for she had a happy knack of running accounts with the trusting tradesmen of that little South Canterbury town. But shopkeepers have a way of becoming somewhat insistent when a few months have passed without due recognition of polite hints, and " Miss Sherwin *s " creditors were . no exception, and duns became unpleasantly frequent. She had done some posing, too, in that little section of Waimate society to which she had been admitted, and one or two trifling miscalculations which she had made had jesulted in certain of her new friends becoming thoughtful and somewhat suspicious. And then, one day, after borrowing a large sum of money from an old lady who believed in her and her tale that she was going away for medical treatment, she suddenly disappeared. Naturally, her unhappy creditors asked after her with some anxiety, and a Waimate solicitor, who was engaged to collect a number of debts, eought_ information of her whereabouts with a good deal of enthusiasm. To him presently came a letter. Its writer was allegedly one Sherwin, and he stated that his sister, lately a housekeeper at Waimate, , was eick unto death in the Christchurch Hospital. He would write again later on in re the matter of the debts. The humane creditors stayed their hands. Then came another letter from the brother. With grief unfathomable, he gave advice of his dear sister's death in the hospital. As for the accounts held by the solicitor, he thought they might be sent on to him, and he would endeavour to pay them off. He vas not a wealthy man, but he thought it only right that he should try to discharge his dead sister's obligation?. The gratified solicitor at once complied, and sent copies of all the accounts to Sherwin frere. He received acknowledgment of their receipt in due course, and accompanying this letter was the first and last remittance received by the solicitor. Diligent as were his inquiries, he never heard again from the conscientious brother of the late lamented housekeeper. POULTRY FARM TRANSACTIONS. As it was very soon after this that Amy was next heard of as housekeeper for a* resident at Sheffield, and as she had then changed her name to " Miss Shannon," it is reasonable to suppose that she had taken that position soon after leaving Waimate. Some time towards the end of 1903 she complained that her eyes were causing 7 ier anxiety, and she left her position in order to reside for a time in Christchurch, so that she might avail herself of the services of an eye specialist. Being a well-educated woman, an excellent pianist, and th© mistress of many social accomplishments, she made a number of good friends, and she was introduced by a mutual acquaintance to Mr Alfred Buxton, a well-known Christchurch resident. His house became her home during her sojourn in the city. Enterprising pressmen recently sought out Mr Buxton, and the stories concerning " Miss Shannon " and her schemes told by that gentleman have already appeared in many New Zealand newspapers. It appears that she made numerous friends among Mr Buxtons acquaintances, to whom she represented herself to be a person of considerable private means. Sh« backed up a statement that she was negotiating for the purchase of . a poultry farm at Mount Boskill, Auckland, with letters and telegrams addressed to herself from all over the country, and when, in the most plausible manner in the world, she said that she required just another £40 to complete the deal, she borrowed £40, with very little difficulty, from two of Mr BuXtons friends. Then, doubtless to give her story colour, she set off for Wellington, arriving on a Sunday, and having with her one of her adoring friends. This, it may be said, was in January of 1903. Amy's friend took her to the house of a Mr Thomas Pelham, a cab proprietor, who then lived in College street, Wellington, and she was 'ntroduced to Mrs Pelham as " Miss Shannon." They stayed with Mrs Pelham during Sunday night, and told that 'ady about the property that was to be purchased from "Mr Atkinson "at Mount Boskill. The \ two left Wellington the following morning by steamer. Over a week afterwards Amy returned and called on Mrs Pelham. A WELLINGTON CLIENT. "Well, have you seen the poultry farm?" inqrii-ed the latter. ' - "Miss .-i .!<]<:» stated that she had, and that :' v >s a very njee place. Bub while at \io.«ni II. i.- kill .-he had seen. another p.i" vlmh would have suited her well. 1, .< .'.<.• touM take it because of ti" ,u i.m^emc-nt already made with Mr A. ,ni.->on. This second property was really .in ul<-al farm. There were, seven acre of g^jund, a four-roomed' house, a sn all stable, and a shed, accommodation f< .• fowls, and three good incu--bators. There were 1000 fowls on thqc property, a: -1 the place and stock couldf be purchase. l for £375 — £40 down andf 10s a week ■ forwards. " Why no I buy the place for that Boy, of yours you were telling me about?" suggested thi -isitor. " I believe I could get it for yea on favourable terms." ! Mrs Pejh&u) seemed struck with th»

idea, and after talking it over with ( "Miss Shannon," she said she would < think about it. t Amy returned to Christchurch, and at once wrote to Mrs Pelham. She said that I she, too, had been thinking over the < matter of the poultry farm, and, if Mrs Pelham would send her £25, she would 1 herself make the amount up to £40, and purchase the property for her. This and ( much more Amy wrote, as only she can • write, and Mrs Pelham, never doubting • the young lady's probity, immediately sent ofi, by post office order, the sum of i £25. Amy acknowledged the receipt of the money by telegram. Mrs Pelham next received a letter and a blank receipt form., "Miss Shannon" stated that she was after all £10 short of the amount required, and she wondered whether Mrs Pelham could manage another £10. She said that Mrs Pelham would have to be sha/p, because there were already two other people after the place. If the money were sent she could fill in the receipt for £35. < Mrs Pelham sent the £10 by telegraph, and at the same time asked when Amy was coming to Wellington. She received no reply that she considered satisfactory, and on February 18 she wired : When are yon coming? ■ Anxious." The answer was prompt : "By boat leaving here Wednesday next." NEMESIS AT LAST. In the meantime "Miss Shannon" was back in Mr Buxtons circle of friends; and, if all accounts be true, was making the very most of her poultry farm nego- ' tiations. From another Christchurch gentleman, Mr Ernest H. Little, 'whom she interested *in her speculation, she obtained a sum of £15. An incident that occurred about this time is an excellent illustration of her methods. One of Mr Buxtons sons entrusted her with £12 to bank for him. She returned from the city, and mentioned to Mrs Buxton that she had lost the receipt, but would get another from the bank. Thereupon she went to the bank, deposited £o, and obtained the sHtj Mrs Buxton was with her on this expedition into town, and when they -.-oturned home she handed Mr Buxton a .ciled-up piece of paper, saying it was the c caret, and retired to her rconi. Mr Juxtcn found that the thing he had re- ■ f-hed was a laundry receipt. Amy apologised for her mistake, and produced vr.e bank document, altered now from £«i \o £12. Eventually it was found that tic money was not in the bank. Aniy calmly explained that she had given the 312 to a young man to deposit lor her, iind he had apparently kept £9. If he vere prosecuted, the shock would kill ms ueiicate mother, and, to prevent*, that-, she vould uay the £9 out of her own pocket. She did, £O, and a few days later left Ghvistchurch for Wellington. Mrs Pelham's telegrams betrayed a mind that^ was not at rest, and Amy felt that action was necessary in that quarter. The bank-slip incident was discussed by Mr Buxton' and his friends with growing suspicion and alarm, and when inter-, change of ideas on the subject dit-closed to Mr Buxton the knowledge that certain of his friends had been seriously victimised by his plausible guest, he decided that it was his duty to act, and act promptly. By doing a little amateur detective work he traced Amy to Wellington, and finally located her at the lror.adero Hotel. She had arrived in Wellington before the Wednesday specified in her telegram, and she wrote to Mrs Pelham telling her/ 6O She sajd fihe was going to reside with friends in Karori, and afterwards would become Mrs Pelham.'s guest. She asked in this letter whether Mrs Pelham wished her own name or her eon's name inserted in the deeds. Mrs Pelham, however, was finally persuaded that her wisest course was to put everything into the hands of the police, and the latter were eearching for Mi^s Shannon at the time that Mr Buxton ran her to earth at the Trocadero. Detective Boddom arrested her, and told her that ehe' was charged with having obtained money from Mrs Pelham by means of false pretences. „, " What Mrs Pelham do you refer to .' asked Amy, grandiloquently. She was told. . Then the old Amy appeared. It is quite true," said she, sadly. "I am very sorry. I have only a few pounds of the 1 money left. I will plead guilty, as Ido r not wish to put Mrs Pelham to any further ' trouble." ... Police inquiries proved that Mr Atkinson" and his poultry farm at Mount .Koskill were myths. , Mr A. L. Herdman (now-M.P.) appeared for Amy in the lower court, when fine pleaded guilty to the Pelham fraud, and also to the charge of obtaining £lo by false pretences from Ernest H. Little. In March, 1905, she received two years imprisonment on the, first charge and six ,-■ months on the second, the eentences running concurrently. AMY PLEADS ." NOT GUILTY " Time off for good conduct reduced the sentence somewhat, and at the end of i October. 1904. Amy was digchareed from scaol. She went south to Chnstchurch at once, and within a day or two had taken the position of a domestic servant 1 in the household of Mr John Gardiner, a ' farmer in a big way at Rakaia, one went at this tune' under the name of "Chanel." A week or two after her arrival the housekeeper. Miss Marion 1 IV>berteon, filled in a cheque for £<s, obtained Mr Gardiner's signature, and handed the document to Amy so that she ' might pay an account with it. The latter gave the cheque to Arthur Ashby, a fellow servant, and asked him to cash it and obtain certain goods for her in the township. A man called Ernest Wright cashed the cheque for Ashby, and : in due course it came into the possession of one George Hardy, who paid it into his account at a bank. When the latter institution lepudiated the cheque there was a hurried search for " Miss Chanel.

3oald the latter explain how the cheque zsme to be altered from £2 to £12? "Good gracious!" exclaimed Amy. ' That's very extraordinary ! It must have been left lying about and been traced Dyer by one of the children." She was arrested, and brought before the Police Court. There "with some vehemence she denied her guilt. ' She declared she had received from Ashby only £1, a half-sovereign, and some silver in addition to the goods, and that he had himself confessed to her that he had altered the cheque. She was committed to the Supreme Court, evidence was taken, and, still protesting her innocence, she was found guilty vby the jury after 40 minutes' retirement. She asked then- to be sent to Magdala Home. But Ma* Justice Denniston said that he saw no reason why prisoner should be leniently treated. Her crime was a bad one, and had been aggravated by the charge made against her fellow 6ervant. He sentenced her to three years' imprisonment. This is the only occasion upon which Amy Bock has been tried by a jury. She has been, very often before the courts, but, with this one exception, has always oleaded gailtv to the charges brought against her. To-day she still declares that she is innocent of the charge of forgery tiought against her at Rakaia. WITHIN RECENT TIMES. Although she was sentenced to three yeans in February of ISOS concessions made l for go-d conduct allowed Amy her freedom in June of 1907. She accepted a position in a boarding-house in Christchuroh, and lived there quietly enough for a time. Beyond telling a- boarder a pitiful tale of a poverty-stricken friend on the West Coast,* and getting £12 from him, ehe apparently did not exercise her peculiar talents in the direction of making money— not, indeed, until some time early in 1908, when she decided to come to Dunedin. There ie a story told which concerns certain gentlemen of Christchurch, the daughter (supposed) of a celebrity, a motor car and a run to Dunedin, the loan of money, and a sudden disappearance in Dunedin; but it is not possible to cay that it was at this particular time (May, 1905) that this little episode in Amy's career occurred. Apparently she decided that while in Dunedin she would keep out of the public eve, and she engaged herself to Mr John Roy, of Roslyti, in the capacity of domestic servant. Her conduct was in all respects exemplary, -and Mr Roy 'was thoroughly satisfied with her. The few people who met her remarked on her agreeable manners and lady-like bearing, and none had any su&picion of her real character. She was then known as Agnes Vallance. On Christmas Day, 1808, Mr Roy and his family left for a brief holiday m the country and Amy remained sin charge. She did then what she had frequently done before when similarly placed— went to a money-lender, and, alleging the furniture in the hocee to be her own property, borrowed money, rgiving a bill of sale as security. ___ Having in this way secured some iou, \my, in January of the present year, disappeared, and was next heard of, in April last, as " Percy Carol Redwood, when, masquerading as a man, she " marked" Miss Nessie Ottaway, of Port fllolyneux. . , . . This', then, concludes a very brief history of the more notorious crimes of Amy Maud Bock, some time of Sale, Victoria. Many peculiarly interesting incidents ot her career have been referred to, but there are many more that will never gam publicity, for the very good reason that peoDle who have been cruelly duped do not" like the world to know it, and are reserved and silent when Amy Bock anecdotes are being recounted. There were other stories again that might have been told in these articles, but space limitations forbade. As for Amy herself she is now in Dunedin Gaol, and is declared to be an "habitual criminal '—a term ( that indicates many things, chief among ■ which is the indeterminate sentence, bne has now-the writer is told-become deeply religious, and declares that the allurements of designing a clever crime have for her no fmther charm. borne- , times, it is said, she mil sit for along , time deep in thought then suddenly throw back her head and laugh heartily "What is it, Amy?" someone will ask. " Oh. nothing." she replies, still laugh- , ing. " I was just thinking."