The morning call., 1892-07-03

DtI1ly SdtISHrU
that ne as detective / consented to do
tho writing. Then he took me to Wells
office. With Wells l went 10 Notary Public
Cobb's office and signed the mortgage, and
wells signed 1t as witness When / asked
Wells what it all meant he said he would
explain later. The next day he said he had
obtained loan upon forged mortgage.
Up to that time had firmly believed that
Pitcher was detective, and had 10 suspi-
cion that anything was wrong. | should
explain that l went to Wells office three
times before the mortgage was signed. After
IL was signed and l began TO complain
Wells said that il l did not 60 to Moore S
ofhce and get the money he would have
me arrested Wells and Pitcher promised
to give me $4,000, but after the $1,000 was
explained 10 me that was getting an equal
division. He said had to pay commis is
sion Of $500: that he would have to give
$1,000 to The Recorder to keep the mortgage
OF the records and $1,000 to some politicians.
| w ellis kept the balance"
Captain Lees. who had entered the hos
pltai, interrupted the interview to explain
that Wells had procured j. T. Little to find
man who would loan the money and tnat
Little engaged man named Trayers. who
procured Crane. Little received 500 aud
Travers $50. Both were responsible men
and acted in coed faith. They were there
fore ignorant of tile swinde. OF course
Wells story about giving $1,000 to the Re-
e0rGer and as much more to politician
was only concocted TO prevent the woman
from getting third of the SSC00.
Oracle laughed at this explanation and
said she would have taken $500 after the
forgery was committed rather than receive
nothing. When Wells gave me the $500
In his office, she continued. "he told me
| tie work had done was crooked and that
had better leave town. After l left Wells
Office met Pitcher and told him | would
remain silent for the sake of his wife and
three children. When l left here | went
directly to the State of Washington"
Have you ever been back here before to-
day." asked Captain Lees. Il heard YOU
had been here and l want to be certain.''
mo. l remained up north and did not
come bacK'to this city until Detective Cody
brought me-"
Wells is nervous little man. with a
freckled face and dark brown muStaehe.
he was very nervous and his teeth were in
cllned 70 chatter as he told his version of
the bold swlndle. When CALL reporter
showed him photograph of Oracle he at
once declared that she was not the woman
for whom he negotiated the loan from
Crane. mo, no." he said, 'this is not the
woman. She has neither the scar nor the
mole upon her face. but otherwise the pic
ture rese mbles her very much" Previously
when confronted with the woman and
when she so positively identified him he
had RS positively denied ever having seen
her before.
Asked for statement of his connection
with the affair Wells rubbed his head nerv-
ously and said: "I am respectable real
estate dealer, with wife and three chill
dren. For 10 years have been In business
here aud have never been in serious trouble
Ii is true that Ragsdale had me arrested
Dut the charge against me did not stick
Well, now ior the present charge against
me. In March, 1890, woman came TO my
office q 23S kearny street and represented
that she was Miss Emma i. Dick She
said she had property at Ellis and Franklin
streets which she desired 10 sell. After
moved TO $40 kearny street she cane there
with another woman. Size asked me il |
had done anything about selling her prop
eTty and / said no. She said she desired
me 10 negotiate a loan. Then l asked her
for an abstract OF title. Soon after hunted
around TO get the loan and finally turned
her over To man named Parsons. He
procured his partner, B. c. Beyin, TO attend
TO the matter"
did you 60 to Notary Cobb's Office when
the mortgage was signed?"
''No. did not l don't know anything
about that part of the transaction"
In what way was Pitcher connected
with the matter?"
In no way that | KNOW Of ] never had
anything 10 do with Pitcher. To proceed
with my story. Parsons said be could pro-
cure loan at rate of interest less than
per cent. / went with Parsons TO get the
money. Moore said that he had sent a
check 10 the bank for the money! Soon p
man came from the bank and 5000 in gold
was counted out. The woman a paid the in
terest and gave me $500 as my commission
and put the balance In sack. She went
with me to my Office. Then she left me,
saying she was going TO deposit the money
in a Market-street bank. When she left my
office she took car, and l have never seen
her since"
The police believe the woman and dis
qf dafa
say that they have positive proof that
Pitcher haunted Wells office for years and
that Pitcher and Wells used the woman as
tool to carry out the daring forgery aud
and paying the commissions Pitcher and
Wells divided the remainder equally be-
tween themselves.
The detectives engaged upon the case
were greatly elated at the final capture of
the culprits. IL was a difficult matter TO
fathom because when the fraud had been
discovered the culprits had disappeared and
only mesger descriptions OF them could be
OBJ aimed.
Our chase for the forgers," said Captain
Lees, was long one. butssuccess finally
crowned our efforts. Ii was six or seven
days after the crime was committed before
We located Oracle Gilbert as the woman
who persOnated Miss Dick. We traced her
TO Olympia in January, 1891, and sent de-
tectiVe with Mr.. Moore TO get her When
second time in the State of Washington,
but she again eluded us. The third time
she was located at South Benz and Detective
Cody went there with the necessary re-
QUESTION papers. When arrested she made
no denial OF her identity, and made con-
fession duplicating Pitcher and Wells. This
confession has been verified"
Information of her husbands death was
conveyed 10 Mrs Pitcher in Oakland by
Detective Bee. She irembled like a leaf
while he was telling her the story, and before
be was through she wept and sObbed hys-
tercally. She accompanied him to this city
and sat In the CorOneT's Office last night
while the doctors upstairs were making an-
topsy If the body.
Mrs. Pitcher could not be convinced that
her husband had committed suicide She
said that he had not been well Of late and
mad frequently complained Of kidney dis
ease, She was certain that one member of
his family had died Of heart disease and
thought IL possible that the trouble in which
he suddenly found himself had caused an
attack of the same complaint.
Deputy Coroner BridgwOod asked whether
Flicher had ever carried poison with him.
She did not think he had, and based her be-
lief on the fact that she had frequently
searched his clothing for deadly drugs.
Alter repeated questioning, Mrs. Pitcher
admitted that her husband. shortly after he
had been released from prison, told her that
rather than go back to such place he
would kill himself. She claimed to have no
knowledge of the part he had played in the
recent transgression.
A careful autopsy OF Pitchers remains
was made by DR.. Williams. He found All
the organs OF the body in normal condition.
Not an lota OF evidence existed To show hat
the man had died of heart or any other dis
ease. The stomach and contents will be
analysed at once. The physician believes
that Pitchers death was caused by poison-