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The Markham Gang was a notorious criminal organization located primarily in Ontario, Canada, in the middle of the 19th century. Evolving from organizations originally founded to support the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837, the Markham Gang used its private communications network of couriers across what was then Canada West to build a criminal empire that spread into neighbouring states. Like the organization that spawned them, the Markham Gang was made up primarily of well-to-do farm owners and their families. The gang was broken up in 1846 with one hanging, four life imprisonments and many lesser convictions, but the survivors were almost all released within five years and returned to society. The name of the gang, an invention of the press, came from the final series of arrests which took place in Markham. ==Activities== Most of the gang's activities could best be described as petty theft, including stealing watches, blankets and clothing on lines, harnesses from barns, and even "pilfering from hen's roosts" (stealing eggs).〔''Account'', pg. 2〕 To make the system pay, the gang organized pickups to collect the stolen goods and carry them far from the site of the theft, where they could be safely sold without suspicion. No member was allowed to take any items to their own homes, and search warrants failed to turn up any incriminating evidence as a result. Items worth more money, like watches, could be transported as far as Canada East, where they would be exchanged for counterfeit money at the rate of $100 for each $10 of goods. The counterfeit money, known as "boodle", was then distributed to the lower ranking members of the gang. The boodle was passed off locally by these members, who were careful to carry only one counterfeit bill and always be able to make good any payment if the bill was questioned.〔''Account'', pg. 3〕 Boodle was also produced locally by members of the gang, notably Matthew Udell.〔Butts, pg. 17〕 Higher-ranking members of the gang also added horse and cattle stealing to their activities.〔 Organizing via the same networks used for distribution of smaller goods, the members would arrange to steal two horses on the same night. They would then meet, switch horses, and ride home the same night. That way they were in their home town in the morning, with a horse that was from so far away they could not have travelled to that town and back in one night. In one instance they added another twist to the action; having been told where "his" horse had been sold in Newcastle, Thomas Alsop went to the farmer with an affidavit stating it had been stolen, along with a description that unsurprisingly matched his accomplice, Henry Johnson. The farmer, worried about being in possession of stolen goods, immediately turned the horse over to Alsop, who then sold it further abroad. Johnson then pulled the same trick against the farmer Alsop had sold his horse to in Brantford. Both were able to use this trick several times in a row, ultimately reaching the US border and selling them for the last time there.〔 Couriers were also used to scout out locations for more complete robberies, by plying their trades among the farms and then communicating the locations of worthwhile goods up the hierarchy. The gang made sure that the non-professional "special constables" that were the only semblance of police outside Toronto or Kingston, were either part of the gang or threatened off. With no inter-country recording of crimes, the pattern of activity was never spotted in spite of it being widespread.〔Butts, pg. 18〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Markham Gang」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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