The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 6, 1898, Page 22

(5] [&] ks IVE LOVER—By Virna Woods. | : Houghton, Mifiin & Co. For | sale by Doxey. HE theory of dual consclousness has expon: ction and bave furnished us with of the existence of two i itual units within th v, and it is an un fic fact that the brain is | exceptional condi- of the indiy The most s diseased condition n made Stevenson, who, in h mous “Dr. Je and Mr. Hyde,” pushed the theory to extreme limits of possibility. it will be remembered, tk itation of this by ange of actual transferen The mena he ts of sci on into the realms of imagination, of course no one ever dreamed of taking Jekyll and Hyde, fascinating romance though it be, serfously. Conan Doyle has also, in one detective stories, made brilliant me. , in taking up the so in all serfous- that | well-worn topic, s a scientific basis for her little | plot. So she looks up Ribot's “Diseases | of the Memory” and other standard | works on the brain and gives us a whole | in which th being, whil completely oblivious of his doings in the other. This little bit of scientific knowledge provides the authoress with a motif for | | | | | round | feeling. makes the amid fa- The hero, her plot, and she certainly most of it. The scene is laid miliar C: ornia surroundings. Rex Carringto a wealthy young resi- dent of Lo gel In his other S he is Gottfried Jager, a poor 1 between the two cha to surround himself with some singular complication: A 3 we: very Carrington, the petted son of a mother, he lives a life of debauchery, and when he gets drunk, a frequent oc- currence, he turns automatically into the sober, hard-working artist .d. He dwells in humble lodgings, paints hard for his daily bread and gene r conducts himself respectably until, af an inter- val of uncertain length, his brain swings and brings him back again to the personality of the vicious Rex Probably this sort of thing might have gone on forever, and no one been any the wiser had not Gottfried, unknown of cc to Rex, taken it into his head to fall ardently in love with a charming tle music teacher, Constance Wilbur. courtship between the two ; prettily one stror out as the drawn character in the book. Ther an unfortunate moment, Gottfried pal a portrait of his lady love and having in the interval ¢ to Rex, falls in love with the from himself at a fabulous price. This leads to some rather humorous compiications, for the two rivals, striving vainly to meet each other, indulge in much abusive correspondence. They. even go so far as to challenge each other to mortal combat, but naturally the dual never eventuates. Of course to keep up this farcical condition of affairs an ac- stand; Yetted by the Law Oime and JYya/n, but Saved by Fis Devoted Wite. ILL the wife of “Rebel” George Knowlton succeed in clearing him from the meshes of the law again? Time and again has that wily old con- | fidence operator been brought to the bar of justice, and time and again has his faithful wife procured means to | help him out of jeopardy; time and again has he been behind the bars with long terms in store for him, and time and again has his steadfast and un- daunted wife besieged lawyers, jurors, Judges and witn she had ob- | tained a pardon or a commutation of | sentence. - The last notable case of a pardon was when “Rebel George” was convicted of swindling a half-demented old Canadian in Sacramento out of his small savings of a lifetime. Press, | public opinion, evidence and everything | appeared to be against the prisoner, | but his plucky wife never stopped in | her labor for his release till she car- | ried his pardon, signed by Governor | Stoneman, to his cell and turned him | loose again to work his nefarious games | on the unwary. Up in Siskiyou County the officers of | the law think they have netted “Rebel” | George hard and fast on the charge of | swindling a Klondike prospector out of several hundred dollars. How many times “Rebel George” has been brought | to the prisoners’ dock on just this kind of a charge cnly the criminal calendars | of a score of cities East and West can | tell. How many hundred simple gud- | geons he has fleeced nobody knows. Probably George himself cannot recol- lect them all any more than he can rec- | ollect the numbers of aliases he has used in business. For forty years he has plied the trade of confidence opera- tor up and down the land, and in that time he has made a record as an in- corrigible crook. Through it all his wife has stood by him as steadfastly as she | {8 standing by him in his present plight. Captain of Detectiv Bohen says | “Rebel George” rerest confi- dence man in the West. ief Detect- | ive C. C. Crowley of the Southern Pa- cific Company regards him as the fore- most confidence operator in the world. ‘With his quiet and sometimes al- most clerical dress, his long beard and ordinarily modest and retiring manner, one would invariably take ‘“Rebel George” for a respectable old miner or rancher. Even experts in crimin- ology would rarely select him as a no- torious swindler. Curiously enough, one of the early schoolmates of “Rebel George” was W. A. Pinkerton, the well known Chicago detective. According to the police records the . career of “Rebel George” is hardly | more than a succession of confidence games. When he wasn't in the meshes of the law the police gave him credit for being at the bottom of most of the mysterious confidente games they could not solve. “Rebel George” first came to light among the crooks who “worked” the| [ quency. Remarkable towns that sprang up along the new railroads working westward. That was a trifle over thirty years ago. Not only did they ‘“‘work” the newcomers in these little boom towns, but they assiduously plied their nefarious trade on the emigrant tralns bound west. At that period these trains were crowded with men who had their sav- ings wrapped around their bodies or secreted in some portion of their cloth- ing. Card games, dice games, pledging false articles, any kind of game even to plain robbery was played on the unwary and simple minded of these traveling folk; whatever game would relieve them of their little stores of money. At one time the set of sharpers was composed of such men as Canada Bill, George Duval, Tom Tracy, Dave McCord and “Rebel George.” With the westward construction of the Union Pacific from Omabha, Knowlton’s operations increased in fre- In a short time the authori- ties considered him as hard a char- acter as any with whom they had to deal. He was a man fully 6 feet in height, of powerful build, and bore the reputation among his associates of havin wolfish propensities. Knowl- ton was feared by the weaker mem- bers of the various ‘“gangs,” as on different occasions he had severely beaten his victim after robbing him. Another habit of Xnowlton was to frequently beat his assoclates in crime out of the plunder. : This habit ac- quired for him the sobriquet of “Rebel George.” Some of hisgother aliases were Morgan, Rae, arvey, Alexander and Bailey. Knowlton is the name under which he most fre- quently travels. Drifting from the Northwest to the Southwest, “Rebel George” worked through New Mexico and Arizona. About this time Knowlton joined forces with the murderer, confidence man and gold brick swindler, Lou Houcke. That worthy killed a commer- cial traveler on a train not far from Columbus, O., after beating the drum- mer out of all his money. He escaped arrest and made his way to Arizona. The next trouble of serious nature that Knowlton met with was in Chey- enne, Wyo., in 1883. There he was in- dicted by the Grand Jury for working a confidence game in which he assumed gis favorite guise, that of a rich fur uyer. “Rebel George” left Cheyenne before however, and landed in Sacramento. Here Knowlton assumed the alias:of Roe, and perpetrated a heartless trick on an aged Canadian over 70 years old. The old man was leaving Sacra- mento to return to his former home in Nova Scotifa. With him he carried $160, which was all the money he pos- sessed in the world; it represented the savings of years of toil. ‘*“Rebel George” made the old man believe that he also was going to Nova Scotia, and finally the scoundrel inveigled his vic- tim to buy of him a worthless $1000 bond, taking the last cent of the poor old man’s hard earned little hoard in exchange for it. When the old man realized that he had been robbed the shock was too great for his aged mind. His reason gave way and he spent the remainder of his days in a lunatic asylum. ““Rebel George” victed of the crime. After-his pardon Knowlton attempt- was speedily con- nd purchases it | complice is needed and the authoress finds one conveniently to hand in a valet named Perkins. The following passage will give a fair idea of how she manages this difficult piece of business “Gottfried had tried repeatedly to see Rex, Carrington, and that young gentle- man himself had left more than one mes- sage for Gottfried at the dealer’s, but so far they had failed to meet. Notwith- standing the efforts of Perkins to Keep his master out of trouble Gottfried had at length succeeded in sending a chal- lénge, which Rex had insolently accepted. He had declared it beneath the dignity of a gentleman to meet on terms of equality a low-bred German dauber in paints, but | he wanted to show his adversary that his countrymen were not the only men that could wield a sword. His pride and the contempt he felt for his antagonist had prevented him from denying the unjust | imputations of the latter, but he was | determined more than ever to win the | beautitul girl who had posed for the Madonna away from the painter, who | was evidently her lover and whom he | denominated a cad.” Naturally these complications cannot |last forever. The frequent disappear- | ances of Gottfried bring his fiancee, Con- ance, into sad trouble, which reaches an | acute crisis when she discovers that the man is already engaged to a wealthy pa- troness of hers. This habit of reckless engagement eventually ruins the Rex- Gottfried combination, the finale being reached when Gottfried is actually ar- rested for murdering himself in the per- son of Rex Carrington. To attain this result the authoress works up her plot with a good deal of ingenuity. Rex Carrington, after one of his habitual bouts of drunkenness, makes | s to a low lodging-house, whither aithful valet, Per- disappears, and in the morn- ed Jager emerges, in posses ngton’s money and jewelry 1d probably Gottfried would have been hanged, like »nan Doyle's hero, for murdering him- f, had not an impecunious German doc- tor, with plenty of leisure, taken the trouble to study the question of amnesia. The trial is nearing its end, the evidence for the prosecution seems overwhelming, when Gottfried’s counsel electrifies the court with a piece of declamation which is one of the strongest things in the book. Addressing the jury he s I shall en- deavor to prove to you the innocence of my client, not by casting discredit upon the evidence that has already been given for every word of it is needed to substan- tiate the facts I shall show in the evi- dence for the defe 1 shall not try to prove an alibi nor break a single link in F ing Gott sion of ( The cas arrin, > is quite clear, the chain of circumstantial evidence against the accused. r from doing 0, gentlemen of the jur are to you openly in the presence of the court t I believe every word of the witnesses ready appeared before you to her shall 1 urge the plea of anity. which would be a tacit admi on of the crime. So far from ing us of any of these devices, I 1 endeavor to prove the innocence of my client by the strongest evidence pos- sible in the case, I mean by producing in | court the supposed victim of the crime of | which he stands accused.” | " Of course there is tremendous excite- ment at this announcement, and the coun- temporar:; | sel makes the most of his opportunity. | “Gentlemen of the jury " he exclaims, in | 1ow, vibrating tones, ‘“Geoffrey Hunter yre you at the bar | Carrington stands be! of this court, arraigned for the murder| of himself.” The result is a triumphant acquittal of the prisoner, and Gottfried, his neck hav- ing been saved, changes back into the wicked Rex. The latter has now discov- ered all about the dual substitution busi- ness, so he purposely counterfeits Gott- fried in order to make love to the charm- ing Constance. But the clear 'light of true love instantly penetrates such a shallow device, an Rex has to white- wash himself by a long sojourn abroad before Constance will accept him as a substitute for Gottfried. Of course such a story can have but one ending and the curtain is rung down to the sound of the conventional wedding bells. A MODEST AUTHOR. TIM AND M field. IRS. TIM—By R. T. Lance- L 'he American News For sale at Doxey’s. This little book is a sort 'of social skit told in a very amateurish way. The” au- thor has evidently heard of Mrs. Caudle’s famous curtain lectures, for he gives us something of a similar kind, applied to Amerfcan town life. Mr. Pim acquires the fatal club habit and entirely neglects his home. Mrs. Tim talks to him until the reader grows tired of the whole busi- ness, and then, by way of revenge, takes to frequenting feminine clubs and socfe- ties. This evens up matters, and of course there is a reconciliation at the end. The book is modestly. described on the covers as ““Witty, Sarcastic, Instruc- tive.” This is the only humorous remark to be found in the whole volume. Fur- ther we are told that it is *‘the hit of the season.” Whom did it hit, and when and how? Wild, mendacious statements | of this kind are sufficient to ruin any | book at the outset of its career, and the | author would do well to cultivate a little | self-suppression. AN ITALIAN IN ENGLAND. 'D‘THE CRO! THE DAGGER A Joseph Hatton. New York: £ ¥enno & Co. For sale at the Em- porium. Mr. Hatton is always thoroughly at| home when dealing with English country life of the old-fashioned order, and in this case he has added piquancy to his story | by imtroducing a strong contrast. An| Italian artist is brought into a peaceful | Derbyshire village in order to execute an altar piece for the Manor House, one of those fine old dwellings of the Haddon Hall type, of which there are still a few to be seen in the English counties. A stronger racial contrast could hardly be imagined, and the peaceful Derbyshire villagers, accustomed to the primitive rural life of the seventeenth century. not at_first take kindly to the v dark-browed aliens from across the seas. But love knows no distinction of race and class, and the artist and his Italian com- panions commence flirtations with the vil- lage belles, and all materials for intrigue and murder are at hand. Mr. Hatton handles his fully, one Italian murders an innocent Englishman com ing hanged for the offe F New SS—By R | subject skill- another, and near be- ortunately, as always happens in the good old melo- ) drama, the murderer confes: on his death-bed, and everything ends happily with the conventional marriage bells. FOR PASSING NOTICE. PAUL RALSTO! Mrs. Mary J. Holmes. New Yo G. W. Dilling- ham & Co. For sale at the Emporium. W MAN-By Ellis Paxson Ober- Philadelphia: The Levytype Company. These are two novels above the standard of therefore, require but pa ul Ralston, Mrs. Holmes commonplace incidents of a mining into nearly 400 closely printed pages: such as it is, turns upon the ibare theme of murder and a . arrest, the hero, who occupies the title role, being, of course, the victim of malicious misrepresertation. Of Mr New Man,” the | hich rise barely | ediocri d, notice. In | expands some | amp The 1 less sai If this modern | Adam be the work of the modern Eve, | she had better betake herself to her spindle and di ff in all haste.. Of plot there is none, and it is difficult to-discover | what attempt at story underlies the au- | thor's pages of didactic verbiage. The | moral seems to be that, if a man refuses | to marry from a mistaken sense of duty | to his descendants, his placid ladylove will | T not suffer many pangs in consequence of her celibacy; and they may meet after | many years and be happy ever after as | platonic, intellectual friends. FOR THE PRETENDER'S CAUSE. SPANISH JOHN—By Willlam_McLen- nan. New York: Harper & Brothers. | Many readers will doubtless be familiar with this spirited romance of the wars, it having run its course as a serial through the pages of Harper's Magazine. It is the story of a Highland youth, ope of the McDonnells, who espouses the cause of the Pretender, James III, and in his service fights many battles and incurs many dangers. The youth joins the famous Regiment Irlandia and fights for Spain in Italy He is a born fire-eater, and apparently it does not make much dif- | ference for whom he is fighting; the harder the blows the happier he is. There are some good battle pieces in the vol- ume, and the artist, F. de Myrbach, adds | OQB—\Q @%MM ] dialect, a fault which renders many tales of country life quite unintelligible. LITERARY NOTES. G. P. Putnam’s Sons announce that they expect to begin in the near future the publication of a serles of volumes prepared by Moses Coit Tyler, professor of history in Cornell University, which will be issued under the following sub- ject title: “A Century of American Statesmen: A Biographical Survey of American Poli- tics From the Inauguration qf Jefferson to the Close of the Ninetenth Century.” Volume IL—Jefferson, Hamilton, Burr, John Randolph, Josiah Quincy, Madison, Monroe, Gallatin, Marshall, John Quincy Adams. Volume IL.—Andrew Jackson, Calhoun, Webster, Clay, Van Buren, Polk, Zachary Taylor, Cass, Benton, Franklin Pierce. Volume 1I1.—Giddings, Seward, Chase, MISS VIRNA WOODS. itement by | SOME SHORT STORIES. TRS—By Margaret New York: Harper & her good tales in | . in a pleasant | of American | country life. The scene is mainly laid in | the South, and in Jimty w have the story of a real old Virginian gentleman | who endeavors to make his way amid | the incongruous surroundings of New | York. More amusing is the story of a| goose-chase, in which an eccentric visi- | tor to a farming neighborhood allows a flock of geese to decide which of two girls somhe which There this volume, chatty way, with eplsodes are de he is to marry. The author tells these stories in clear forcible English, and | above 4l she refrains from too much | Sumner, Jefferson Davis, A. H. Stephens, | Douglas, Buchanan, Lincoln. Volume IV.—Grant, Andrew Conkling, Blaine, B. F. Butler, Carl Schurz, 1d, Sherman, Cleveland, Harrison, McKinley. As will be inferred from the title, the work, which is to be in several volumes, is based on the idea of presenting a rapid survey of the great events of American history during the century now drawing | to a close, by presenting in ‘vivid outline the lives and characteristics of the. chief statesmen who, whether for good or for ill, have Influenced American _political life since March 4, 1801. To each states- man included in the plan will be devoted a single chapter, wherein the scale and method of the portrait will be somewhat like that of the same author’s work in his little book called “Three Men of Let- ters.” t Johnson, Professor Tyler has also in preparation a volume which will present the “Liter- ary History of the American Republic During the First Half Century of Its Independence, 1783-1833.” This work wiil form a continuation of the volumes pre- viously published on the literature of the colonial and revolutionary periods. A story about Tennyson, which is a little too perfect to be true, is told by the London Daily Telegraph. 1t is to the ef- fect that the poet one day entered a public reading-room and sat down in a large agmchair before the fire. Much to the amazement of the other occupants of the room, he then proceeded to elevate his feet until they rested on the chimney- piece, in the fashion we are led to believe is “real American.”” No expostulations on the part of his friends respecting the in- elegance of the position were of the | slightest avail. Suddenly a brilliant in- spiration seized one of them—the father of one bf our leading actors of to-day. Going close to Lord Tennyson, he whis- | pered in his ear: “Take your feet down, or | they’ll mistake you for Longfellow.” In an instant the poet's boots were on the floor and he assumed the ordinary posi- tion of an Englishman. The interesting announcement comes by an authoritative last in way of England that Life of Guy Maup: preparation, and tha of French and English collaborators, namely: M. Hughes Rebell and Mr. R. H. Sherard. Mrs. Annfe Hurd Dyer is translating into Japanese the two novels by James Lane Allen, entitled “A Kentucky Cardi- > and “Aftermath.”’ Both books dis- so fine a feeling for nature and so | delicate a sense of beauty that it is | thought they will appeal peculiarly to the | Japanese mind. Daudet is said to have left behind him a considerable amount of unfinished work, including short stories, reminiscences, a novel which was to have borne the title “Quinze Ans de Marriage,” and a work of a personal nature, containing an ac- count of his sufferings during the past fifteen years, which he called “Ma Dou- jeur.” It is announced that a biography of Daudet is now in preparation by his son Leon. | Daudet's widow and son intend to pub- lish a collection of the late author’s let- ters. M. Jules Claretie says of Daudet: Singular as it may seem, Alphonse Dau~ | det, who has been so often compared | with the illustrious author of “David | Copperfield,” frequently declared that he | | had read mnothing or very. little of Charles Dickens. So he often told me, and I expre: d to him my surprise at | hearing it. His favorite reading was Chateaubriand, and the Chateaubriand of the *“Memoirs d'Outretombe.” He had no need to read romances to write the ro- mance of life. He had only to look before him, and this is what he did. Though he was short-sighted he saw and noted everything; the craving for truth carried him so far that he catalogued and | placed in his gallery portraits of the per- sons he jostled in everyday life. “I study even my relative " he remarked to me some time ago, “and I can't help putting them in my books.” The first issue of a new monthly for ad vertisers, entitled *“Profitable Publicity is very handsomely gotten up, both as to typographical and artistic effect. The ar- ticles for the month are from well-known | advertising men of the Coast. If this kept up to this standard it should v valuable to up-to-date progressive men; its editor is Edgar Joha Arnold, whose former work, “Just Be- tween You and Me; a Talk on Advertis- ing,” we reviewed some months ago. It will be remembered that some few months ago there was published in this country an ingenious and entertaining series of letters on America, under the title of “The Land of the Dollar.” This work was by G. W. Stevens, who is cor- respondent of the London Daily Mail, and perhaps the most entertaining correspon |'‘@ent on the English press to-day. It is now announced that the author of this successful book, Mr. G. W. Stevens, is to | publish his lettérs on the Graeco-Turkish | war, written from the scene of the con- | flict, under the title of “The Conquering Turk.” No more graphic and illuminating jetters on this war have ever been writ- ten, and it is predicted that there will be this country. ed to make a livelihood by honest means, in keeping with the promises of good behavior his wife had made for him. He received a position as trav- eling salesman for a Sacramento firm and was highly recommended by his emloyers as a singularly eflicient sales- man. But a drummer’s life was too tame for him. At Pendleton, Or., Knowlton robbed a man of several hundred dollars, and rms unable to escape the hand of the aw. This victim was relieved of his cash by the simple old “top and bottom" me. For this job Knowlton was convicted and compelled to serve an eighteen month sentence in the Oregon State GEORGE KNOWLTON, Alias “Rebel George,” and Some of the Incidents He Is Said to Have Taken Part In. Penitentiary at Salem. The wife knew nothing of her hus- band's fall from grace. Not hearing from him in a long time she started a search for him, and at last discovered that he was again behind the bars. When Knowlton had served his time he made no pretense of reform- ation, but went to Seattle and com- menced his confldence games as un- concernedly as of old. Assisted by a confidence man named John Russell, Knowlton swindled a man out of $6000 by selling him a gold_brick. Both crooks escaped from the State. and for some time “Rebel George’’ was ‘not heard from. It was afterward dis- covered that he had gone to Mexico or Central America. It was only a|. | - | )% A ¥ [ matter of time, however, before he would drift back into the old haunts of earlier days, and, knowing this, the detectives bided their time and waited for him. Finally he was captured in St. Louis, and there is an interesting story in regard to his capture. The St. Louis authorities arrested an elderly man of intelligent appearance on a swindling scheme connected with the sale of furs. The police did not know who their prisoner was, but felt sure that they had more than an ordi- nary crook locked up. At that time a convention of Chiefs of Police was be- ing held in St. Louis. Among other notables in attendance was W. A. Pink- erton of Pinkerton’s National Detective ‘Agency. During the convention Pink- | areer of ““FRebel”’ Seorge, Confidence Hfan. erton visited the City Prison. At the suggestion of a member of the St. Louis force he stepped down the corridor to take a look at the fur-swindler of whom the lgcal detectives were all suspicious. As he reached the cell, he exclaimed, “Hello, George,” and the answer came as readily, “Hello, Bill.” The prisoner was “Rebel George,” Pinkerton's schoolmate. “Well,” sald the detective, “where in sin have you been? We have been looking for you for some time.” And the outcome of the discovery was that “Rebel George” was taken to ‘Washington, convicted of the crime for which he was wanted, and sentenced to serve two years in the State's prison at ‘Walla Walla. Again “Rebel George' turned toward the Pacific Coast. On his way to Cali- fornia about four years ago he en- countered a man with $10,000 coming West to settle. As their acquaintance grew George stated that he was going West to join his partners, who were interested with him in one of California’s richest gold mines. Soon after the travelers arrived in Oakland, Knowlton and two associates had their plans laid to relieve the tour- ist of his money. The Easterner was told of an Indian, who was one of the original owners of the mine, and had been compelled to sell out and accept a brick of virgin gold in exchange for his interest. The tourist further learned that the ignorant Indian would part with the gold brick for an amount of money far below its actual value. In response to an_invitation from George and his confederates the stran- ger went with them to the Oakland City Cemetery one night. There they met the Indian, one of the gang ably impersonating “Poor Lo,” with the aid of a Siwash makeup and a pair of In- dian blankets. After considerable par- ley, the bogus redskin consented to show his treasure to the stranger. They retired to a secluded spot in the grave- yard, and after digging in the ground for a few moments, the Indian pro- duced the cube of yellow metal. The brick was placed on the before the Easterner, and Kn%‘:;‘:gg bored into it with an auger. The bor- ings were carefully brushed into an en- velope as they fell, and when enough borings had been obtained, the envelope was sealed and the victim’s name writ- ten on it. The envelope was then handed to him for safekeeping, or at least, he supposed it was. The truth of the matter was, that at an opportune moment, when a quick exclamation from the Indian drew the gudgeon’s attention, an envelope con- taining real gold borings was substi- tuted for the one in which the borings from the gold brick had been placed. The next day an assay of the gold, no matter by whom it was made, would ®f course have been satisfactory. For safety, hoyvever, 2 member of the gang, | introduced as a Government assayer, did the work. The victim parted with his money, and in exchange for it re- ceived the brick, which proved to be of brass, “Rebel George” was arrested, but the case involved such a large amount of money that it was not difficult to avoid prosecution. Very few men are will- ing to refuse an offer of several thous- and dollars’ restitution merely. for the | Clever Gricks by Which Fe Flecced His Vie- tims Out of Cheir Woney. satisfaction to be gained in placing & man behind the bars. Frequently such a letter as the fol- lowing has been received by one of Knowlton’s gold brick victims: “My dear friend, you have been swindled by those who were apparently so solic- itous for your welfare. But a word to the wise is sufficient. Should you re- port your loss, you will be unable to find us, for we have left the country. Friends and neighbors, when they hear your story, will call you a fool or sim- pleton. Your family will judge you mentally incompetent to handle your business and private affairs, and have a guardian appointed for you. Silence about this matter will be to you more than golden.” Minor business then ocecupied Knowl- ton’s attention until he was heard from in Los Angeles, less than a year ago. There, with the aid of a companion, Anthony Mullen, alias Tony Kelly, “Rebel George” obtained several thou- sand dollars from J. W. Leord, for whom the town of Lordsburg was named, and G. Bowen, a wealthy Eng- lishman. This was tHe most elaborate scheme Knowlton ever worked. He fitted up a fine office in the Southern metropolis, and represented himself to be recently from the Alaskan gold fields. He was introduced to Lord and Bowen by peo- ple of high standing in the community, who were confident that he was an honest old miner. “Rebel George” interested Lord. He pretended to have mining property of value in the northern country, but he did not care to sell any of it, he said. He claimed he had been in Alaska for years, and knew little of office ways— he was a mining man, and satisfied to be one and nothing more. Would he form a company? he was urged. Well, some day he might en- tertain such a proposition. If any one should take an interest with him, he would prefer people of standing, who would give a showing of stability to a company rather than people with money alone. Yes, he had brought some gold with him, and it was good gold, too. Perhaps he might sell some of that to raise a little money to be used at the mines. In fact he would rather like to sell a few nuggets and would do so, to desirable parties, at a considerable discount on their actual value. And so the sale was made, but just exactly how and under what circum- stances, why secrecy was a factor in the sale, who made the assays, or why the “suckers” refused to prosecute after Knowlton and Muller were ar- rested, has never been made public. Reasons there were, no doubt, but W:g?- they were has never been discov- ered. Lord and Bowen were like th B land victim, and although theec(;:lf:— dence men were captured in Seattle ‘and returned to Los Angeles the prose- cution fell through. Lord said from the witness stand that he considered ‘“Rebel George” his best friend on ac- count of the large amount of exper. ence which the cogndence man him, : 2 a considerable demand for the work iny