Desperate Efforts

DESPERATE EFFORTS 

To Obtain Wealth Left by a Former Dexter Boy.

ONE WILL WAS FORGED

Several Deeds Were Also Proven False.

Another Will Has Appeared Drawn by the Notary Who Drafted the Forged Deeds--A Sister Forgot She Had Relatives.

The story of the litigation arising over the Allport estate reads like a romance. In fact it illustrates the moves of clever individuals to get unlawful possession of a large estate. The story has already been told exclusively in the Argus of the Ann Arbor papers but as it has been given fresh interest by the "discovery'' of another will and as it has additional interest owing to the fact that one of the five heirs is Mrs. C. W. Miller, of Dexter, and also as John D. Allport himself lived in Dexter before he went to the wild west to seek his fortune, the story will bear recapitulation. The estate is worth several hundred thousand dollars and includes a quarter interest in the Minnie Healey mine, one of the richest copper mines in Montana. Allport was an old bachelor and was not in very frequent communication with his family, whom he had left when young. He died in 1896. The further steps in the romance were as follows:

A sister, Mrs. Caroline V. Kelley, of Denver, Colo., petitioned for administration setting up that she was the sole heir to the property, ignoring the fact that she had two sisters, Mrs. C. W. Miller, of Dexter, Mrs. J. M. Farleigh, of Chicago, a brother Devincey Allport, of Clare, and a niece surviving a sister who had died. Her petition was granted.

While she was settling up the estate, Fagen Bush, of Chicago, a clever swindler known in police circles as "Monkey Charley'" with others at tempted to get possession of the Minnie Healey mine by means of forged deeds. Mrs. Kelley fought their claims and the deeds were clearly shown to be forgeries.

Through the publicity of this suit the other sisters and brother of Allport learned of his death and appeared at Butte, Montana, and had the estate reopened and proved their claims. Mrs. Kelley was tried for perjury but was acquitted as she claimed she thought her brother and sisters were dead.

Then turned up a will with a fairy story bequeathing everything to Mrs. Kelley. The will was contested as a forgery and so clearly was its forgery shown that the attorneys defending the will acknowledged it to be forged and withdrew it about a month ago.

The heirs were about to consummate a sale of their interest in the Healey mines when this week is produced a second will three years after Allport's death. It was drawn by the notary B. C. W. Evans who drew the forged deeds offered by Fagan Bush. One of the witnesses to this last "discovery" M. S. Geigerich produces it with the explanation that he had forgotten all about it until he accidentally discovered it last Sunday. This will purports to give everything to Mrs. Kelley.

The other heirs will contest it on the same grounds that they did the first. They think it odd that wills should keep turning up in favor of a party who attempted to gain possession of an estate by falsely representing herself as the only heir.

Mrs. C. W. Miller is at present at Butte, Mont., where she went on business connected with the settlement of the estate.

The Argus was yesterday shown a copy of the letter which accompanied the first will shown to be forged and it is considerable of a literary curiosity it is here given verbation :

San Francisco, Cal., June 30, 1897.

Jim Talbot

Unknown pard I take the first step to scratch you a few lines in behalf of my old friend Jack Allport, who I lately heard passed in his chips in June 1895, as I and my pard Jake Lawrence was coming from a prospecting trip on the east kootey bound for old Mexico we camped a while with my old time friend Jack he was mighty glad to see me as we had not met for many a day besides he was feeling pretty mean and low spirited on account of getting the worst of it, he said with a railroad engine, after leaving I was going by Denver South he asked me if I wouldn't deliver a paper to his sister Cady, I think he called her, I remember it as I thought Caddy of tobacco was a odd name for a girl, said he did not know where he might turn up his toes of account of his little difficulty with the engine, and he had always promised to leave his gold dust and things to her who he banked a whole pile on from his talk, but he did not want any one to know about it till after he gave up the ghost, I agreed to deliver the bill at headquarters in Denver. Jack could not handle the pen to any account because he said a rib or two was cracked, and Jake being pretty handy making ink marks undertook the job of scratching down on paper what old Jack told him from some writing he read from; then we all sad like put our fists to it like it were old Jacks death warrant and to overcome the blue feeling it caused we all took several bracers, and the next morning early Jake and me said so-long to Jack and pulled out south, when we got to Salt Lake we heard of a new camp beyond Pioche and concluded to go by it as it would be shorter, so I left Jacks papers in S. L. and went on to Mex, not striking anything to speak of there that winter, we made up to take in the Yukon River county, wanting to carry out my old time pards wishes. I went round by Denver intending to tell the sister how things happened, and to express the papers to her from Salt Lake, in Denver looked high and low but could not find any trace of the lady named in Denver, so I went on to S L. and got the paper, came on here and stowed it away again for safe keeping and went on up to the Youkon with Jake, we struct some new diggins up there and are doing pretty well, I had to come down here after a lot of grub and things and I happened to run across old Bill Jones we use to know in early days down from Utah, he told me Jack was planted for good some time back, poor old Jack we were pards away back in the sixties, when he could ride a pony as long as the best of them and buck the tiger to the queens taste; well its all passed, when Jones spoke of him I thought of the trust he asked me to carry out; but I aint got time now to look up the sister as I must get back with the grub and things to Jake and the boys, and knowing you were a friend of Jacks as I remember him speaking about you in good terms as how you were on the square, was a old timer and had rised to be a banker, and I writ your name down then thinking to see you about a prospect I struck up on the East Kootney, so I guess you will do to trust in this little last deal for a old time friend. Yon can fix it up or look up the sister bettern me any way, so I send you this paper that Jack left with me and ask you as a old timer to see the sister gets it, or its put through straight, so old Jacks wishes will be fixed as he wanted them. Do this and I will be your friend to the end, as I was his. The envelope the paper was n got worn out, soon as Jake and me get our new ground worked out well have a big stake and will quit the Youkon and on our way east will hand up in Butte a while to see you and if everything is fixed as old Jack wanted it.

Yours pard,

H. OSBORN