St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-06-26
CURIOSITY IN CRIME.
A Convict Commits Forgery in
the Penitentiary.

discovered at Lansing, Kan. The con-
triver of This new thing in an old art is
a colored man named George Lewis.
He is native of the Old Dominion, a
cavalryman, educaued, and an expert
panman. He enlisted in the regular
army, and was transferred to duty as
messenger in the war department.
Some two years ago he committed for
gerry, which. being contrary to good
order and military discipline" resulted
in his being tried and sentenced to ten
years imprisonment. This the secre-
tary cut down to five years, and Lewis
is now serving his sentence.
His attempted crime, while in Jail,
was again forgery, and he came within
an ace of getting $4,000 and his liberty
by his scheme.
Being so good penman he was as
signed to the task of writing letters for
the convicts. They would sometimes
send out money drafts, usually those of
the First National Bank of Leaven-
worth, on the Mercantile National Bank
OF New York. The story of what fol-
lowed forms one of the most interesting
chapters of crime.
Feb. 10 last one of the convictS got
draft for 81 and gave it to Lewis to be
forwarded i'll letter. Lewis by some
means obtained materials and raised
the draft for 81 to $4,000. 1t was
clever piece of forgery. Lewis sent
this draft to the Fountain Savings Bank
of Richmond, of which r. Il. Hill is
cashier. He sent the draft for deposit
to his own order. He also sent Mr.. Hill
letter dated Hardness, Kan. This
letter stated that the draft which had
been forwarded represented the
price received by Lewis for ranch
in Kansas. He said that he had sold
the ranch to an English nObleman. Lord
Randlet, through the hobleman's agent,
John ii. Scott. Lewis inclosed letter
from Scott dated Trafalgar square,
Charing Cross, London, June 20. 1891.
This letter notified Lewis that his prin-
cipal, Lord Randlet. had decided to pur-
chase the ranch, and inclOSed a draft
for $4,000 for the same. This left it to
be inferred that Lewis had deposited
the English draft at Leavenworth for
collection and bought draft on New
York with the proceeds. Lewis letter
and the Scott inc1osure were typewrit-
ten.
Lewis sent to the Richmond bank an
other letter signed by Scott, in which it
was said that Lord Randlett would soon
leave England in his yacht and join
Lewis in San Francisco. This letter of
Lewis requested Cashier Hill to have
the draft for $4,000 on the Mercantile
bank certitied-that is, Cashier Hill was
TO write telegraph to the Mercantile
National bank people here in New York
and ask if the draft of the First Ma
tional bank of Leavenworth for $4,000
was all right. Cashier Schenck, of the
Mercantile, looked over the First Ma
tionaPS account and saw that the Leav-
enworth bank mad a balance of $4,000
and he notified Hill that the Leaven-
worth banks draft for $4,000 was all
right and would be honored. 1t was
forwarded and paid. BY this time it
was approaching March l. Right here
steps in an accomplish of Lewis, negro
who is known in the Lansing peniten-
tiary as Sam Bryant, but who has had
various aliases, such as Sam Reeves
and Sam Cox. He had also been a SOL
dier. He was sentenced from Shawnee
term of five years expired March 4.
After his release Bryant went
to Dodworth 81 Co., printers
at Leavenworth, presented an Or
der pnrporting to come from
Capt. Killers, United States army,
and letter-head of the judge advocate
generals Office. The letter ordered
twenty-five copies of the engraved let
ter-head to be printed as nearly fac
smile as possible. Bryant left the work
of receiving the forged letter-heads to
an accomplish. who has not yet been
discovered. The accomplice took them
to Lewis, alias Capt. Killers, and on
check of Lewis secured $3.50 of the go
600 and went on to Washington to put
through the last chapter Of Lewis swim
die.
Warden Chase received on one of the
letter heads of the adjutant generals
Office of the war department an order
on him, signed William Reeves. War
den Chase took Reeves to be q clerk in
the war department. The order ap-
peared to be certified by the assistant
secretary of war. and it notified Chase
that Lewis had been pardoned, and di-
rected HIS release. 1t is needless to say
that the order had been forged by Lewis
on one of the spurious letter heads de-
llvered to him III Jail by the second &C
complete, and by Lewis sent to Bryant
in Washington. All that Bryant had to
do was to send it back to Chase in a war
department envelope. BY way of pre-
pairing Chase's mind. Lewis had already
written to himself a letter from
"Reeves," saying that Lewis friends in
Washington were working for his par
don and that. no doubt, in few days
happy decision would be reached.
That letter he had forwarded to Bry-
ant for transmission back to him.
The letter was read by the warden, as
all convicts' letters are, and two days
later Chase received letter from Wash
ington saying that a pardon had been
made out foo Lewis and was on its way.
This telegram was signed Reeves"
fbo,
cial announcement of Lewis pardon.
Just here the plot broke down. Lewis
was a little bit too smart. In
an appendix to the official letter was
request that the warden should hand
the document over to Lewis, so that
Lewis might use it to identify himself
at the war department and get any back
pay due him. Warden Chase wrote to
the department that he did not like 10
hand over the pardon to Lewis, as 1t
was his only vcubher for the convict's
release.
He asked the war department to sug-
gest some other means of helping Lewis
to receive proper Identification. The
pardon had been issued to Lewis. The
Jig was up. Chase searched Lewis cell
and found the twenty-three unused let
ter heads.
Lewis freedom of communication
with the outside world, it may be pre-
sumpd, was coniiderably abridged after
that. The Sl9,750 lay untouched in the
savings bank in Richmond. May was
settling day between the Leavenworth
bank and the Mercantile National. The
bank in Leavenworth was debited with
| $500 too much. Telegraphic inquiries
and answers passed, and the $40, $50 was
l., l..
savings bank in Richmond. From
Lewis S13O more was recovered. Bry-
ant got away with his little bit of
| money!