It must be confessed that the information upon which I undertook my present expedition was sufficiently slight; but I had the advantage of personally knowing Jones, and therefore, if I could light upon him, should not be easily bammed ¹³¹ with an assumed name, if he had recourse to such an artifice. I had the motive besides (and with me it was a powerful one) of breaking up the whole gang, which seemed to be extensive in its operations in every species of illegal traffic and acts of violence.