Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-09-30
COON AND COCRAFT.
A Couple That Played Pretty
Sly Game.
SINFUL BUT PROFITABLE DOINGs.

Love-Lorn SWANS Who PatrCnixed .
Lottery Where All the Prizes were
Bianks-Some Specimens of the Mo-
dus Operandi of Roping In the vic-
tims-Rise and Fail of a Matrimonial
Conspiracy-The PIotters Jailed.
BUFFALO. n. Y, Sept ga peculiar
case came to light in the United States
court here last week when Judge Coke
| was called upon to pass sentence upon
Georgia Anna Cocraft and franklin Coon
| for obtaining money fraudulently
through the mails. Both pleaded guilty.
Georgia got three months in the Erie
county penitentiary aud Coon was sent
| to the Binghamton peuitentiary for four
months Georgia is n pretty little woman,
but Coon is a sneaky looking chap
An Unsavory Couple.
The history of their past is singular.
Mrs Cocraft met Franklin Coon about a
year ago somewhere in Columbia county,
where Coon was angaged in the printing
business. Mrs. Cocraft was then residing
with her husband in Providence, r /.
Coon agreed to desert his wife and child
and live with the woman in Bingham
ton, \. Y. There he set up printing of
flee and stationery store. Here the couple
concocted scheme to make some money
by IA cunning little advertising device
Their Little schenre Worked.
They sent lis advert I>tment 70 several
| matrimonial papers: "Pcr, olal-Age, "a;
height, feet, inc re-; weight, l4U
ioir ii
t. form the acqu tintaGce OF and CORE
srond with a gentleman from 26 TO IS
years of age with view to r1aarimony.
| Address Anna Coon, Binghamton, n. Y"
Answers few thick aud fast Georgia
| AM Coon began a correspondence with
several men on the subject of matrimony
Pictures were exchanged with a score or
| more of lovers. Georgia selec ell Arthur
| b. Fulton, of He ena, Mont, for the first
victim, and in letter TO him she pro
fessed her fondest love for him She de-
scribed herself as being very poor and an
| orphan.
| She Told Moving Tale.
She told Fulton she WAS employed In
| shirt factory, and the only objection to a
| speedy marriage was that she mad no
to send her money enough to purchase a
suitable dress and enough to pay her ex
penses to Helena, telling him that she
would start Immediately. She sent him
| photograph of beautiful woman that
she had purchased of photographer for
% cents. Fulton was highly pleased and
| he readily promised to send the money
After some further correspondence he
| sent an express order for Sl55, which
| Coon and Annie divided When Fulton
wrote and asked his "dear, darling An
ME" as he called her. why she did not
come, he received reply to the effect
that she WAS very i'll and could not come.
| He Was stuck n Photograph.
j. +. Cline, of Seattle. Wash, was writ
ten to next He fell in love with the pho
tograph sent to him-one of professional
actress. Cline said he was burning with
a desire to wed the beautiful Annie He
would gladly send money enough for two
wedding utfits, and as proof of his de-
votion he sent II check for $50 Georgia
wrote that she would require more money,
and later the Seattle farmer sent AN addi
tional sum of $40 The most loving letters
were exchanged, and poor ignorant Cline
did not realize that he was being worked"
He sent her money at three different
times Georgia forgot to go to Seattle
| More HopefaI Than Wise
| She wrote and told Cline that she was
| i'll from oveTwork, and was unable to
| travel. Cline did not give up hope He
| wrote several more letters, Int stopped
| writing when he got big package of re-
turn letters, with note, saying that An
ME had moved out of town Georgia
| wrote to scores of other men with the
| same result in many cases. She called
herself Miss f. Cook, Miss Fannie Coon,
Miss Ella Randall. and several other
names. All meant the same thing. Coon
himself was not idle all this while He
writes small, girlish hand, and answered a
number of the letters in n sensational way,
| describing himself rs a modest and pretty
| young woman, anxious to get married. He
| signed the name of Annie Coon to all his
| letters.
| Winkler Was Badly GuIied.
David j. Winkler, of Grand Rapids,
| Mich, was the first to answer Winkler
said he had money and Was ready 10
marry and begin keeping house. He is In
the employ of the Northern Pacific.
| Winkler never suspected he was writing
TO man. After Coon received his dec
laration of love he exchanged photo
| graphs with him, sending an actress pict-
ure, with which Winkier was greatly
pleased. Coon wrote that he worked in
one of the factories and was very poor,
| and did not have money enough to buy a
| wedding dress Winkler was asked to
| forward enough to purchase one. He
hurried to the express Office and sent $l20
| by return mail.
Some Other Victims.
Coon wrote back that he was not ready
| to go. Winkler wrote that he was willing
to send more money if it was needed. He
| sent the money, but he never heard from
Annie again.
Coon then turned his attention to W
G. Hart, of .Washburn, Wis The "poor
girl racke: was played with good success
again. Coon sent "A beautiful photograph
and Hart sent some money. Some funny
correspondence passed between the two
men.
Justin E. Joslin, of Laurens, n Y, fell
a victim to Annie, but he wrote that he
was poor, and Annie had no use for him
after that.
A Case of Mutual Suspicion
The post office auth )rties at Bingham.
ton thought that Georgia and Coon re-
ceived too many letters and watched
them. Coon and Georgia suspected that
they were watched and so separated. Coon
staying at Binghsmton and Georgia GO
ing to Providence, r. ]. When confront
ed with the authorities suspicious he
L l.