Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-09-28
A NICE PAIR.

A Gentle Statement of the Way the Thurs
tons, of Bismarck, Do Business-A Man
VINO Swears His Brother Is Rascal, and
then Shares In the Swag.
The following notice appeared in the
local news of the Bismarck Tribune of
the 23d inst:
THURsToNs.
W. II. Thurston g. Co., closed few days
ago by their creditors, have arranged with all,
and are now in business again, under auspices
more favorable than before. Their creditors
we're unnecessarily alarmed, and their tempo
rary failure was only the result that would
come to any house crowded Unexpectedly and
without cause. They will be glad to meet as
before their old friends and patrons, and they
solicit cOntinuanc of their favors.
And the Tribune might have added
'thereby hangs tale" AS a sample
of the way some people do bust.
ness, it can be stated that W. H
Thurston came to St. Paul and called
upon Mr.. P. H. Kelly, who was his heav.
lest creditor, and represented that he hao
goods in stock to the amount of 50 900
that he had accounts to the amount Of
$4,000, and notes for $4,000 more. He
further stated that he was on his way tC
see his wife's guardian, at Rockford, ILL.,,
to secure $1,000 which was due her, and
that he would pay Mr.. Kelly that amount
on his return.
The sequel proved that his story was
utterly false. He was apparently travel
ing in order to enjoy few luxuries. We
are credibly informed that on his way
down he halted at Fargo to indulge in a
debauch with questionable characters,
and also that his Fargo experience was
repeated at Chicago when making the
| trip for the pretended but non-existing
funds at Rockford.
On returning from Illinois instead of
stopping at St. Paul, as an honest man
would, he sneaked up to Minneapolis
where he met his brother, the mayor of
Bismarck, who stood ready to assist him
in his scheme for swindllng his creditors.
This brother was not long lost relative
which required the exposure of the straw
berry mark on the left breast to identify.
He could not only be recognized as Bis
marck Thurston, but he depicted the
character of his brother in the following
affidavit:
AZ In district court, Third judicial dis
trict.
Z. B. Thurston against W. 81. Thurston, do
ing business as W. H. Thurston & Co. Aft
davit for attachment.
TERRITORY OF DAKOTA, 90
County of BurleIgh. '0'
r. B. Thurston came before me personally,
and being first duly sworn doth say that he is
said plaintiff in the above entitled cause; that
,,,l Iafo sc. tod 49, oyo:n -, n
sum exceeding five dollars, and that the
| amount of such Indebtedness is seventeen hun
dred dollars, over and above all legal set offs;
and that the same IS due upon contract ex-
penses for labor performed, and said afiant
has good reason to believe and does believe
that the defendant is about to dispose of and
secrete his property with intent to defraud his
creditors. And said affiant makes this affiia-
Wit for the purpose of applying for writ of
dant, and prays that such writ may issue &C
cording to the statute in such case provided
herein. And further saith Lot.
r. B. THURsTON.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 26th
lay of August, A. D. 1881.
[Notarial JOHN A. sToYETT,
Seal. Notary Public, Dakota Territory.
The testimony of Maj. R. B. Thurston
against his brother, w. H. Thurston,
will be accepted as true by those who
know them When Mr. Kelly went to
Bismarck, this brace of rascals, in con-
nection with Deputy Sheriff Griffin, Sc
lected one Hallenbeck as one Of the ap-
praisers of his exempt property. The
law allows $1,000 exemption, but under
Hallenbeck's style of appraisal it would
amount to $3,OO0,as he started in with the
Palace saloon owned by the Thurston' s
and only inventoried it at $500. AS soon
as the appraisal Of the saloon was COM
pleted W. 81. Thurston wanted to take
possession and open at once, saying that
the saloon now belonged to him, and he
was ready to go ahead and take the rest
of the exemption out of the few odds and
ends of groceries which had not
been run out of his stock
Another neat game which was devel-
oped was the fact that all the good &C
counts were balanced on the 26th of Au-
gust. though Mr.. Kelly subsequently
learned most of them had not been paid.
They kept an account with the farm,
which was in the name of the wife of W.
RI. Thurston, and that account, compris-
ing several pages, was entirely torn from
| the ledger.
Persons who desire further information
or who may wish to open accounts with
the Thurstons, "under auspices more ia
vorable than before" can apply to P. Fl.
Kelly, Esq, of this city. They may thus
be able to ascertain the probable amount
they will secure on the dollar when the
next swindle occurs.
THE COURTS.