The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-03-12
A DOZEN WITNESSES SWEAR TO THE DEATH OF
A MAN WHO is NOW ALIVE.
A. W. Faulkner, Member Of the Louisiana
Legislature. Chief Villain and Head
Of the Conspiracy.
Vix, Chadwick and Noble Minor Lights.
THE DEAD MAN ARRESTED "A WASHINGTON
DETECTIVE CALLED IN.
Efficient ssrvicss of Mr.. Geo. s. Darling,
Agent of the Insurance Company

The annals of human crime display many and
varied phases of villainy, and show too oftenhow
men have dedicated to wrong doing energies and
abilities that legtimately applied would bring to
their possessor wealth and fame; but we doubt
If ever q bolder. more complete, or more cleyerIy
contrived scheme of villainy has been conc6cted
than that which we are about to describe and,
certainly, a conspiracy was never more patiently
and accurately traced up, or crime and its mo-
tives more thoroughly sifted, and more completely
exposed, than was the attempted fraud which has
just been brought to light.
The principal party in the transaction is An
thony Wayne Faulkner, resident in the town Of
Columbia, Caldwell parish, excaptain in the Con-
federate army, whence he was cashiered for SELL
ing furloughs to his men, and at present scalawag
representative Of Caldwell parish in tho lower
house of the black and tan Legislature. The
party that he attempted to victimze was the
Phoenix Mutual Lite Insurance Company of Hart
ford, Connecticut, and more directly its agent in
New Orleans, Mr.. Geo. S. Darling. The story Of
the villainy with all the twists and turns Of the
criminals for there several parties implicated,
is q long and very curious on. We will endeavor
to tell it as succinctly as possible.
On May l6, 1867, Mr.. George S. Darling was
appointed general agent for the Phoenix Irtusl
Life Insurance Company, of Hartford, Conn,
with his Office at New Orleans. Ou 2lst May he
received an application to insure the life of Thos.
Vix, of Columbia, Caldwell parish, for $1,000.
which application was signed by Thomas Vix. and
made out for the benefit Of his cousin, VIM. G.
Noble. II was signed by Reuben Chadwick, as
witness, and the certificate Of friend, which sp-
pears on the back Of applications, was signed by
A. w. Faulkner. All these parties, as will subse-
quently appear, were interested in the conspiracy.
Accompanying the application was the physi-
clans certificate of Vix's good health, signed by
c. G. Meredith, M. D., highly respectable physi-
clan and a gentleman who bears no port at all in
the transaction, he having given his services 10 un-
doubted good faith.
On June 20, Faulkner presented himself at Mr..
Darling's Office, corner Canal aud st. Charles
streets. to get the policy and pay the premium.
Mr. Darling had not then sent the application to
the home office. During his interview with Mr..
Darling, Mr.. Faulkner seemed very uneasy about
something, 80 much so as at once to determine Mr..
Darling to watch the policy well. The applica-
ton was sent on to Hartford and when the policy
was returned, Faulkner called again on Mr.. Dsr-
ling and paid the first premium, sl67 20. During
these interviews Faulkner represented himself as
friend of Noble, in whose favor the policy stood.
and as merely paying the money for him. Then
the first step, the getting vx insured was effected.
About the 1st of November, 1867, Mr.. Darling
received letter from Faulkner, stating that he
had received letter from Noble, who had said
that vix, the insured msn, was quite i'll. A very
few days after another letter came from Faulkner,
containing the melancholy intelligence that vix
was dead and stating that due proofs of death
would soon be sent down to New Orleans, To
corrobofate his assertion Faulkner inolosed the
following letter, which he stated he had just 70.
ceived from Noble II is beautiful specimen
ingenuity:
Captain A. W. Faulkner;
SRI am sorry to have to repsrt to you the
death of my cousin Thomas Vix, who, it seems,
has been sick for some time, and died before he
reached his destination. On the night Of the 4th
November 1867, | received note from q. b.
Grmsbaw, that he was at Rosefeld and very SICK.
went down the next morning and to my regret
found him dead. He died at Mr.. A. Carraway's
house, He says that he had all the attention that
he could give him. He refused to have physi-
clan, saying that he had medicine with hul; yet
Carraway sent for one bat could not get one. Yon
will instruct me, II you please, how to proceed to
collect the policy which hold. From his letters to
me he must have had money, but have not been
able as yet to trace it up. will try and see yoc
in the course Of a week or two.
Yours, as ever, WIN. y. NOBLE.
few days after Faulkner sent TO Mr.. Darling
| the promised proofs of the death Of Vix, the
principal, of which were the two following aiida-
/ Wits, one from Carraway, the man at whose house
Vix was asserted TO have died, the osher from X.
Chadwick, friend called in. both of whom must
| be most accomplished scoundrels. Here are the
| two documents
| STATE OF LOUISIANA,