The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1884-08-21
pEDDllyG PADRE ISLAND.
nrvIvlHu hrtxAs LAND FRAUD.
Mythical rites a. TssHs Property rlhtrd
on the MARKET ~ DHiins sharks
~WindiinE InfsigH 'upi
talists Iuiirhtrnrd.

Tho New York Herald nj rcccui date
under the above head, contains the fol.
lowing concerning Padre Island, hnd A.
There arc parties residing In this city
who lny claim Ia 10, aud who ara ia all
probability negotiating ils sale, the cN-
tract from the Herald given below may
he nt Interest 1" them as we'll ~ Ia the
public,
- speri0us swindlc has been quietly
aud successfully prosecuted in this CITY
luT some Time past said MIR, Baxter
Moves, n broker aud negOlialoT, Of No.
IN broadway, Ia a Herald reporter yes
teTdaN, "lhere II an island oI the Gulf
coast of Texas, known ~ Padre island.
Ii contains about in,tsI acres, which
would make pretty good ranch land,
kind of property which II beginning Ia
hc valuable ia Texas, For the past two
ar three wears, various sets of ndVon-
turers, who have everything Ia gain
aud nothing Ia lose, have infested
Now York, hesioging the offices Of capi-
lalislS and promoters of companies, en-
deaNoring Ia sell the title Ia Padre
Island at tempiiugly low figures, Their
scheme has nearly always beon To get
New Workers In laN ~ island AZ what
seems Ia bs u chcsS g., and then sell
10 In London In a -, icalc of English
capitalists, who m, NgoadN buyers at
Texas ,nd other American grazing lands
aud are always looking for investments
%! that kind,
"Now, the swindlc lies In the fact hat
neither these men nor anybody else, 81
Ear ~ can learn, can give legal title
u the island, IL has been In dispute for
generations, and nobody knows Just who
owns IL, Here Is lctlcr 10 me from j.
II, &. White, the postmaster of Corpus
Christi, Texas, In which he says, la an
swcr To my inquiries;
There is hardly u man who lives or
ever did live In Western Texas who
does not claim the whole on part of
Padre Island, or the Big sand Bar"
"Alier | had been. repeatedly APP
preached 10y these men Ia gct capitalists
Interested la their schemes consulted
my friend Mr.. Charles II. Mallory, of the
Texas line of steamers, and by his nd'
vice | wrote To Mr.. Milllin Kennedy, II
wealthy land owner in Texas, whose re
ply comes through the PoslmHstc In the
language | have quoted. Mr.. Kennedy
says he has received thousands of such
letters as mine.
"Tho Adventures show what they call
a little deed, which Is secured in this
way: They have some of their confcd-
crates in Texas execute u quit claim
deed for the island, which any man may
do. This deed Is duly recorded, and
then The Town Clerk is asked for a certi-
fled copy of the deed. This is shown in
New York and forwarded To London.
Such title is absolutely worthless, but
IL has deceived many people.
don't know of any Americans
who have put their money into the
thing, but / do know of Englishmen
who have put from L 900 TO 10000 into
the scheme in the belief that the
property was worth over half Il million
dollars aud il WIS necessary to nav
something down To secure the refusal of
il. have no doubt that over 100000 has
been sunk in Padre Island in this way
in England nj various times. ! suppose
no public complaint has been made he
fore because the losers are all rich men,
and the amount asked for from each has
generally been small-about El,OOO."