Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1843-06-17

600 in gold and United States Bank bills, which
were equivalent at that time to specie and they
left the city about the close of the year 80, for
the Havana, where Dart succeeded in negoti-
atng from the house of Knight g. Co., loan
Of S35,OOO, thus swelling their cash capital TO
SS5000. They bought and landed in Texas,
on the Brazos River, some time in February sc
about 300 extremely likely and valuable young
negroes, none being under 10 and very few
over 90 years Of age. While in the Havana
an incident occurred, which plainly indicated
what, in a suitable field ofacton, might be the
! future career Of Edwards not satisfied with the
large gang of negroes which Mr.. Dart had
| fairly purchased for him, he decoyed likely
negroe boy on board of the vessel, and there
concerted him with the view of kidnapping
him his owner discovered it and was about
to apply to the authorities, when the thing came
to the knowledge of Mr.. Dart, who by grca, en-
ertion hushed the matter up, by paying the SUN
of Si7OO.
Arrived in Texas, Edwards pretended to
commence the business fplanting-bought an
Indifferent tract of land for the section of coun-
try in which he proposed to commence his la
bors, and at very high price on a credit--he
! knew nothing of planting, nor did he take the
! requisite pains to inform himself-nor did he
seem disposed to give the least personal care or
attention to the matter, being seldom on the
plantation himself and employing overseers not
for their fidelity and ability but for their cheap.
ness; but there was one thing he did under
stand, however, and which he lost no time in
! indulging in, and that was splurging he wore
the best clothes, rode the finest horses, and
often travelled with a servant his appearance
in the little villages in the country was sure TO
produce great sensation, from the superiority
of his equipments over common travellers.
lie spent large portion of each year in the
United States, and at last for the purpose of a
musement. greater expansion of mind, and
more complete improvement in the grand art
of fnancierng, he resolved TO cross the Allan.
tic and had the taste to select the occasion of
the crowning Of Brtan's youthful Queen
Meantime Dart, who was living in the United
States. principally at Rodney, Mississippi, could
get no account of how things were going on
in Texas, and was in the deepest ignorance of
the condition of his partnership affairs in that
country. He knew but one thing with certain
", and that was that he had not received one
dollar of profit whatever. Under these crcum.
stances, Edwards being not yet returned from
Europe, he determined (lS3s) to visit Texas,
and personally investigate the state of his bnsi-
ness and property in that country. He did so,
and found every thing in so deranged and EN-.
barrassed a condition, that he employed law.
yer and seQuestercd the whole property a
last means Of obtaining his share ofthe same,
. and at the same time securing Knight CO.,
for whom he very honorably entered upon re.
cord a confession ofjudgemeut for the $4,000
which had been borrowed for the concern in the
= Havana, Soon afterwards Edwards returned
: and hearing upon his arrival in the United
T. States ofDarts energetic proceedings in Texas
not at all abashed he in due time makes his
. appearance in Texas, armed with two forged
= deeds-the one relating to the land and negroes
| and the other TO the inferior transactions Of the
+, partnership-by which it appeared that Ed
e wards was the owner Of everything. The for
D geries had been made by taking two letters o.
e Darts written to Edwards from Rodney, Mis-
5 sissippi, and extracting every thing but Darts
signature by means Of some chemical agent
d and as in the process the texture of the paper
s had been destroyed, the deeds were written BY
e means Of the principle Of the manifold letter
Q writer, in which no fluid is employed, Dar
S boldly proclaimed the forgery, but as Edwards
!. had greatly the advantage of him in cOolness
e and dignity of manner, the general impression
!. was greatly in Edwards favor, particularly a:
e Dart was thought TO be weak man in bushes,
n matters, and Edwards was known TO be eX
e tremely keen. In the meantime, Edwards haC
Y the deeds recorded in the counties of Harrl
IS and Brszoris, and proclaimed Dart as laborlns
n under monomania upon the subject OF IN
e Texas estates, and wondered why his flend
e did not take care Of him, and offered to subscrib
n literally towards his support in some fit recepa
r Gle for lunatics.-But the sagacity and perse
e, verance Of Darts lawyers at last establshe
in the forgery, and Edwards tor the uttering j
I'D Brazoria county was incarcerated to await hi
n trial at the regular term of the court, for tn
ne crime of forgery, punishable by the laws
n. jail in Brazoria by Habeas Corpus and remove
,s TO Texana, where the question Of bail was, by
ss circuit Judge of Texas, determined in his fave