The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-01-31
OSBORNE'S COLLAPSE.
Another High Roller Joins the Ranks
OF the Departed.
The Successful Operations of a Smooth
Real Estate Dealer-Nany Victims
Mourn His Departure.

Another real estate man has Joined the
departed.
The latest dealer in dirt to flash out of
town was Henry John Osborne, who had
an Office in the Auer G Murphy block.
Osborne's career is full of romance,
love and duplicity in business. He came
here three years ago and at once en-
listed clientage as promoter OF mining
and real estate schemes, and he had the
air of man OF affairs. He was tall, we'll
built, and wore checquered trousers of
light shade that were considered little
loud by the genteel. but he could talk
solid sense by the hour. But his tastes
were fashy, and in the choice of a horse
he selected high headed gray that would
cut dash and attract the attention OF
the crowd. Osborne was fond of the
ladies, and the ladies were fond OF him,
as he spent his money freely and gave
them ''such a nice time.o For three
years he flourish, seemingly, like green
bay tree, but like all young men who set
too swift pace for their funds current, he
ran to the end of his string.
He cultivated the good graces of his
landlord and laudlady, Mr.. and Mrs.
Black, and gained their confidence. Mrs.
Black had considerable business to trans
act and she trusted Osborne well enough
to make him her agent in the
purchase of piece of property.
She had sold the Enterprise House to
Mccain & Pierce and received in part
payment therefor 50, 900 in promissory
notes, secured by mortgage. According
to the statements of Mr.. and Mrs. Black,
Osborne had been aching to get his hands
on these inviting gilt-edged pieces of
paper and trumped up a scheme to pur-
chase piece OF property for Mrs. Black.
He induced her to sign over the notes to
him. Instead of applying them to this
purpose he sold them to Waterman & Co.
and pocketed the money. Mr.. Black kept
asking him for the deed, but he kept put
ting him off by saying the papers had not
yet been signed. This aroused Blacks
suspicion that all was not right, and he
finally traced the notes to where they had
been hypothecated, thus discovering o.
borne's perfidy. He got wind of this a
couple of weeks ago, but believing that if
he were to press the matter Osborne
would be forced to leave the town, he gave
him until Feb. 1 to settle up.
Osborne was now so deeply in the hole
that he saw no way OF extricating himself
except to skip the town and seek pastures
new. He started out to borrow money
right and left and ne was successful in
pulling his friends for good snug sums.
The barber. who keeps tonsorial shop in
the basement of the building is said to
have loaned 5000 without any questions,
and ii clerk in Dunford' S shoe store handed
out $50 without a murmer. The colored
man who keeps a boot black stand at the
Godbe-Pitts corner was feeched out of
$3.50, which he paid on monthly INSTALL
ments on couple of lots to which Osborne
had not title to convey.
The the greatest of Osborne's transac-
kir,v,o 5c~ -,k -, ha+ O11 fhnra No
end to his resources for swindling. He
went to j. S. Jensen, the First
South street ieweler, and told him
that couple OF ladies, school
teachers friends of his) wanted
| to buy watches on monthly lnstallments
and that he would go their security. Mr..
Jensen allowed the watches to go on these
terms and Osborne secured two chronom-
etors worth $40 by paying $40 down. One
of these he is said to have given to his best
| girl, and the other he is believed to have
sent to his daughter, for this "single'
man was not so single after all, but man
of family, as will be shown further on.
Mrs. Black, it appears, had been max
ing advances to Osborne for some time.
He borrowed 500, giving his note and a
mortgage on house he said he owned in
Rock Springs addition, and 5000 which he
secured on a piece of ground near the
penitentiary.
He held stock in the Lemhi Gold Min
| ing & Smelling company and on the plea
of raising money for this company sold
/ 81 200 note to Mrs. Black, on which E.
P. Parson' S name appears as joint maker.
Another note of $500 bearing Osborne's
and Parsons signatures, is held by Mrs.
Black. She was also made the victim of
$500 in accounts, which were outstanding
against his Office furniture.
On Saturday Mr.. Black called at Os-
borne's Office for final settlement, but the
willy plunderer had packed his papers
and taken his departure. He gave it out
that he was going to Denver, but this Is
! believed to have been a ruse to throw his
pursuers off the track.
To save what she could out OF the
wreck, Mrs Black yesterday secured an
attachment on the mining shares which
Osborne held in the Silver City Gold and
Silver Mining company, and in the Lemhi
Gold Mining and Milling company. How
much she will recover is not known as
there is some question as to Osborne's
ever possessing a clear title TO the prop
erty upon which he incorporated the
Lemhi company.
Osborne came to this city from Newton
Falls, O., where he followed his favorite
profession, that OF real estate agent. He
was known to the good people of this
Ohio village as stJohn Withersby," but
on coming to Salt Lake he found it pru-
dent to alter his name. In Ohio he was
married man. with wife and a daughter
in her teens. In Salt Lake he passed as
man and -~1ada love RI mora cyirIs