Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-02-27

loe light sf Thomas Ss7in. Alias J
T. voorhees,, from Port T0snsend,
brings once more into pablie visx 9
sharpsr ahose name vas 81 ons time
fanihaFly known inroagh0ai The eoun.
Try and whose career vas remarkable
for the brilliaRos and sudacity Of bis
l schemes
Three years $50 Thomas Sevin vas
tue Mayor OF the city Of Adrian, Miehi-
gan de vas but tvepty-tvo years ola.
and vas Familiarity known As the kid
Mayor" He was q psrsussivs and
ready talker. 9 shrevd Judge Of hanan
nature. and master hsHd at winning
the oonhdsnce Of others. He had al
ready b0ilt up 9 lag practice said to
have been worth several thousand dol
lsrs year. and his moueyed friends
trusted hin with the handling of money
70 almost Unlimited amounss. He Vas.
az one of his friends once remarked,
"the snartest kid on this continent, :
and be knes IL he lived high, drove
fast horses. and scattered money with
lavish hand.
Suddenly be collapsed. DE departed
from Adrian in the darkness of night,
and thai place has known him no more.
IL was sosn Ressrally known that an at.
tempt had been made to swindle the
city government out of the sum Of one
hnndrsd thousand dollars. Fraudulent
city bonds had been issued BY Neyin
and signed BY him as Mayer. he then
took tue bonds to New York and was
only prevented from Negotiating them
and securing the money by mysterious
telegram which warned the bankers to
beware of them. He left them in New
York and retained 20 Adrian: bat find
ing that his exposure was imminent he
fed. After his disappearance other
fraudulent transactions came 10 liekt
and II became known that he departed
with an amount of money not his own,
which 10 vario1sly estimated at from
$4,000 TO $4,000. He had undoubtedly
had eonfederates in the attempted bond
svindle, bat sficient proof could never
be secured to proceed against them.
Not Q great while after this, j. b.
Voorhees, appeared on the Sound. first
at Whatcom and then at Port Town
send. He was an entertaining and cap
tlvatiug young man. who in his eonv sr-
sation gave evidence Of both reading
and travel. He formed q partnership
With prominent Port Townsend Law.
yer. and quickly became Q we'll known |
figure at the bar as well IS q prime |
fsvorite in social circles. He was ex-
tremely popular, and appears to have
been q weleeme visitor in the most re.
fined homes in Port Townsend.
Lately, however. number of Michi- |
gan people have visited Washington
Territory. This was unfortunate for
the brilliant and prosperous young
Voorhees,, for many Of them recognized
10 him tbs no less brillisst Neyin, the
defaulting Adrian Mayor. Whether any
of them tsld him that he was recognized |
10 not known, bat il has for some time
been an open secret among ex-residents |
of Michigan in the Territory that Voor. |
bees and Nevin were one and the same. |
Among those whe recognized him was |
a gentleman Of this city, lately a |
resident Of Detroit, who had known the |
kid Mayor" intimately. He did not, |
however, give any intimation that he l
recognized his old acquaintance; think |
ing IL best not to expose the young man |
so long as he seemed to be endeavorinR |
to lead an honest life. The gentleman |
in question, however, recently feturRed 1
to Michigan On q visit. He was there |
accosted by one Of Nevin's old friends |
with the remark, "You saw Tom Nevin
in Washington Territory. didn't your
The question was passed off with a loo
ulsr disclaimer; but it is probable that |
the friend. who had evidently been in |
with khe ahsconler,
warned him that his whereabouts was
known to persons who had returned to
Michigan.
Whether IL was on account of this warn
ing. or for some other cause as vet IN
known, Nevin suddenly decided to make
another disappearance. He according
ly raised Q small sun of money by
the name Of a Port Townsend
Business man, assumed another came,
and on Thursday, the 18th, took pas
sage on the Mexico for San Francisco,
leaving his Michigan friends to wonder |
where the kid" would turn up next.
One of the most peculiar things CON
nected With this eight Ia that although |
II occurred week ago, no intimation |
Of the facts was given either through |
the Port Townsend papers or otherwise, |
until last Monday. In the meantime |
the Mexico had arrived at San Francis
90 and Nevin had made good his escape. |
Had il not been for this inexplicahle |
silence, measures could have been taken |
which would have made certain the cap |
ture Of the brilliant criminal on the |
arrival Of the ateamer at San Francisco. |
As it is, she kid Mayor" is probably |
laughing at the gullibility of his old
friends and looking quietly around for |
some other community in which to ex-
ercise bis peculiar powers.