St. Paul daily globe., 1892-05-06
Although a st. Paul Man Acted
as His Pail Bearer Years
Ago.
A Doctor Turns Up in Duluth
After Thirty-four Years
Absence.
How He Is Interested in Real
Estate Now Worth About
100000.
A Story That Reads More Like
Fiction Than a Tale of
Truth.
Special to the Globe.

DULUTH. Minn., May 25.-One of the
most remarkable cases Of a lost man
turning up after an absence of thirty
four years came to light today. DR..
John B. Leduc, of Montreal, came to
Duluth last Monday and registered at
the st. Louis hotel. He was accom-
panied by French lawyer named l.. l..
Corberl. Leduc signed his name so
that it was hardly legible, and gave his
address as Valleyfeld. 1t seems that
away back in the year 1855 one John B.
Leduc secured as a homestead the
southwest quarter of section 10. town
Ship so, range ID, being l60
acres of land within two miles of
Duluth and now valued at nearly $780,
600. In 1857 he mortgaged the land to
E. W. Anderson. who in turn assigned
his interests to George W. Norton. In
1858 Leduc left Duluth. and from that
time had never been heard from again
until last Monday. In 1872 Mr.. Norton.
who was nonresident. living at LOUIS
vile, KY. and very rich, foreclosed the
land by action, securing service of the
summons by publication. The amount
of the mortgage was very small, not
over few hundreds dollars. With the
steady growth of Duluth, the land has
Grown i'm value
and several land grabbers have often
cast covetous eyes at it. Nobody, how
ever, attempted to dispute the validity
of'the title until last fall, when one J. B.
Dow. of st. Paul, who had accumulated
quitclaim deeds from all the known heirs
of Leduc, including half-breed Indian
woman, Leduc's reputed wife, who is
still living in the Cloquet reservation,
and then went TO Charles JOY, st. Paul
banker, and made certain disclosures
which satisfied Jog that the title could
be successfully contested. Dow then
proceeded, backed financially by Joy, to
take measures to recover the land. The
first thing he did was to build house
on the property, surround it with a
.barbed-wire fence, and put a man
named Octave Champagne and his fam
lily in possession. He then circulated a
story that about the year 1868 John B.
Leduc, who was at the time engaged in
smuggling whisky from Port Arthur,
Ont, north. shore of Lake Superior,
to Superior, Wis, was one day, while
CARRYING on his illegal business, caught
in storm off Two Harbors and
drowned; hence the mortgage foreclos-
ure proceedings of 1872, being brought
Against a Dead Man.
are absolutely void and Leduc's heirs
are entitled to the property. Dow goes
still further. He claims that Eeduc's
body was fished out of the water and
buried amid the tears and lamentations
of bis relatives at Two Harbors. Dow
acted as one of the palibearers. George
w. Norton's heirs have brought action
to quiet title by his attorney, Judge j.
r. Carey, United States court commits
sioner, the same man who, by the way,
thirty-four years ago brought the ac-
ton to foreclose. 1t now leaks out that
Judge Carey, being convinced that Le-
due was alive in 1872, the date of
the foreclosure, lately took a trip to
Montreal and was there surprised to
tising Indian remedies. Judge Carey
called on the man, asked him few
questions to satisfy himself that Leduc
was still alive, and then departed.
This action of Judge Carey aroused the
curiosity of Dr.. Leduc, who straight
way went to lawyer, and the result
was quiet trip to Duluth. Leduc took
good care not to return Judge Carey'S
call, but went with his lawyer to
Nessrs. Tear. Davies u Bureau, resident
attorneys, and then proceeded to the
court house, where they carefully ex-
amined the records, probably to find
flaws in them. Leduc remained in town
till last night, when he quietly slipped
away. The most comical part of the
whole affair is that the skeptical Judge
Carey was taken to the graveyard and
shown the "last resting place" of the
Iamented Leduc. Even then the judge
would not believe it.