Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1865-08-10
From tn s. P.lI riauecT.f
THE MAN WITH The VELVET
COAT
The History Of Grand Rascal-A
Story of Bigamy, Forgery and En-
beZZleme nt.

bezzlement.
Oar citizens nav have noticed for 4 few weeks
past. in the streets, genteri looking indvdual-
Il stranger, eyideatly--and, from peculiarly in
rs dress. generally known a. The Man in the
Velvet Coat" He usually wore sort of a violet
c0lortd velvet coat. and carried It cane-his whole
cut somewhat savoring of flncy sporting man, or
upper crust gambler. To the few who managed
hy accident 20 become acquainted with him, he
wa known a. the ''IIon. John ". Harris,'' for
merlv OF Texas. and gentl,mln OF great wealth,
stopping at the lnternat.Onll with his wife. This
apparently quiet and respectable man. however, is
the hero OF strange sort OF cfime--the pcrVcator
OF series OF villainies rarely equled iot holiness
and Geprayiiv, which we will endctvOr To nsiFlte,
commencing At the beginning OF his career OF ras-
cslity
In l-53, a man came to the city Of Springfield,
Ohio, calling himself 3enj. ". Allen. lie was
destitute ct means, but in some WAY managed 10
&c. a hundred dollars, when he disappeared. At
ter time he returned, bringing VIII him cousiI
cradle money. How !; WIS obtlii Il. no one ever
knew-nor was ANYTHING known ABOUT BIN or his
past history, indeed. H. started a small brokers'
shop. and managed to secure the confidence OF the
people OF Springfield 10 such an extent that M II
deposits we're made with him, and finally he TX
tended aCd enlarged his business, until he came TO
transact considerable banking. lie was well
ms with some OF them and being considered BY
them as sound" and good" His birkiIs hOasc
vas called The Exchange Bink' OF Springfield.
In the winter OF Ic6}-l he proposed Tor the
hand of an estmable and accomplished young lady
OF Spring field daughter of a man of wealth, and
very resDcctible. As his character and standing
seemed what they should be, he "as accepted, and
thew were married in Febru iry, 1861. They lived
very happily for few months, when the first step
in crime taken 10y Allen
The Bunk o. the Ohio Valley, located at Gin
clnnlfi. had occasion II send a package OF about
II 900 to Alien, and on the day To send "A
package Of $4,000 to bunk "a. lnlitnapo.is -
By al error of the clerk who mlde up anl sent the
packages. the larger amount sent to Allen,
AMI the smaller one to the bank. Ills was in
June. l,6I
Whether Allen was a depravcd and bad nan at
heart previous To this we cannot say. liz told N
off ccr terwards, Who asked him why he did il,
that wht he .OuLL the mistake the bank had made
hat | e could make 9,0J9. he was overcome bv
tie temptation, and fell. Men DO not AWAY, fall
- easily and suddenly. however. The heart ani
c,I,scieIcr must have been prepared for i. But
4 zen did Weld 10 it, though. II gathered W ali
the mccy OF his depo>itors, forged acc ptances on
his father law and other wealthy business men
OF Spring field for large am 1uEts With these h.
m ule a hurled visit to Cincinnati, and got hem
ci-hed at the banks where he acquainted, and
with his i'll gotten booty, dccamped between two
dars. 1t is not known how much he took with
lin but il is reported at < 800. This i prDDI-
bly, too large an estimate, but il must have been
considerable sum. His wife and family were
overwhelmed with shame =. the aifiir. They nov
1--we In Cincinnati we learn.
A forger, ii thief. a vacabond, fleeing from JUS
tice, Allen was now adrlt on the world. seeking
only to escape detection The Valley bank and
other parties swiudled by him, had accomplished
detectives on his track, but although under vari-
liz "uiseS and allases--cieht IN ALL we learn
he vas traced to St. Louis and Chicago, and in
the ell regions, and Saratoga, and other places;
they did not 90 where he might have been easily
nabbed and that st. Paul.
He came here some time during last summer.
aS an invalid pleasure seeker, and remained
some time He subscribed to the n Y. Herald
at Combs, and that gentleman managed, through
his daily visits, TO become well acquainted with
him, but Allen kept up his assumed character
quite clevCr'y.
lie stopped at one of our first class hotels, asso-
cistine with the multitude of pleasure seekers and
invaids who thrOnged st. Paul. spending much of
his time with the tender sex-much OF his money
for wine, INDUCING frequently in amorous dalliaucc
. upon the shores of Lake Como where, it is said.
he and his charmer (anothcr mans wiie) were
wont to recline meath the sylvan shade, gambol
on its messy banks, and lave their limbs in its
limnd tide.
His next appearance was last winter al the Fifth
Avenue Hotel, New York, where, under the name
of the "IIon. Jno. w. Harris late of Texas"
man reputed to be worth a million, lie readily
made his way into society, His manners, his pro-
fuse expenditure of wealth, and his style. all tend
ed to support his assumed character, and it WAS
not difficult to he introduced from TO another.
Am II those with whom he became acquainted. was
young lady of great personal attractions and ac-
complishments. and very young. To this young
lady he lad seige. with such success, that on the
24h of Nav last, they were married. His ''ref
erences" were among the circle Of acquaintance
he had made at the hotel but seemed unimpcach-
able, and no doubts of his honor were entertained.
lie mt once started for st. Paul with his bride.
and arrived here on June 3D. engaging from friend
BelOte. of the International Hotel. the most ele
CANT apartments he could sscuIe, regardless of
expense" OF course mine host Be'Ote paid all
attentions TO a mar worth million, and who spent
his money freely. and among the few acquaintances
he made the Hon. Mr.. Harris was regarded as n
fortunate man. Friend Combs sold him the Her
aid again, and Harris bid fair to remain here all
summer. But he didn't.
lie had opened a bank account at the First Ma
tional and besides some money, deposited small
tin safe or "cash box which he labeled, ard said
contained SOL 900 in United States bonds. All
his dealings with them were intended (for pur-
pose explained hereafter) to impress them with
belief that he was man OF great means. tie once
or twice drew on the First National, some other
bank in New York, and his draft was duly honor
ed. 5iGet 1F Ja4Ife
If Allen expected to esca G detection and pun
ishment after he committed he crimes he stands
charged with. he must have been fool and a
knave. 1t was impossible. Keen detectives were
following him, and in spite Of his shiitings and
DISCUSSES, one OF them the willy fox TO earth
week since, ending NJ. Harris splendid career