The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-02-20
A FORGERY RECALLED


The Convict who Signed Gen. rants
Name to HIS Own Pardon.
TOPEKA, Feb. 18.-GsorQs Lewis, colored.
formerly a member OF the Ninth cavalry,
who has been serving = long sentence in the
psnitentiary for forgery. was arrssssd on
another charge Of the same kind 90 he Was
leaving Ne prison gate Saturday after hav-
ine completed his last s%entence. There
VA nothing remarkable In this except that
his arrest recalls = story Of forgery that 10
without parallel ip the history Of crime. NJ
least in the west. Lewis had been a mes.
y IN washington, detailed on duty a
he committed the first forgery that led TO
his imprisonment. He had been In prison
less than q year when he procured
through the assistance of friends .
blank pardon. suoh az 10 used by the presi-
dent Of the Unitsd States. This he nllsd
out and signed the names Of Prssidsnt
Grant, and the then assistant secretary OF
war. Having completed this work hs Snug
gled II into the prison mail. opportunities
Tor which were plenty. as he had been de-
tailed a. clerk in the warden's ofics. In due
time the friend in Warrington to whom il
had been sent telegraphed the warden that
the pardon had that day been transmitted,
signing the name of the presidents private
secretary to the dispatch. When the ex-
pected pardon was received by Warden
Smith. the signatures were compared with
others known to ce genuine. not shat there
Was suspicion. but merely as a matter Of
precAution. a. had been customary. The
pardon was pronounced correct, and Lewis
was called in and informed of it's receipt
aud notified that he was = free man. Had
hs been satisfed with his freedom he would
soon have been at liberty. and de-
lection of the forgery might not have
occurred for years.. Whom the warden told
him to prepare to change his clothes for
those OF a citizen, LOWS asked that he might
have the pardon in compliance with q mar
ginal note on tho paper. This request.
showing . knowledge of a document that
had not been shown him. excited the sus-
picion of the deputy warden. who desired
to know what he wanted IL for. The an
swer was ready, For purposes Of identid-
cation" He was ordered back to his cell.
and the warden then tslsarsphed to Gen.
Grant inquiring II the pardon had been
issued on such a date. In less than four
hours the answer was returned that il had
not been issued then, and that If such .
document had been received II was fraud
ulsnt.
Confronted with this message Lewis de-
died all knowledge of the transaction for a
time, but the dark cell caused him to Don
TESS. II was only then that another and
equally bold forgery came to light, which
was a part Of his scheme for providing for
himself when free. He had In some man
ueT seCuI6O q OIalS on n virginia DARK,
payable at one of the Leavsnworth ma
tional banks. The amount on the draft
was 81. which he skillfully raised to $40. 600.
This he sent to the First National OF Lsav-
snworth with an order thas $500 be paid
upon the amount and the balance depos-
tied in q Richmond. Va, bxnk to his
credit. The $500 was paid and the deposit
made as directed, but it was soon discov-
cred that the draft had been raised. Lewis
had miscalculated only two or three days
in tbs time he had arranged for the pardon
TO arrive. He had intended, as soon as re-
leased, to take the pardon with him for
rurpesss of Identification. secur the $19,-
800 and then leave the United states.
After the complete exposure Of all his
schemes he was asked to write tho name of
Gen. Grant, which he did so perfectly that
the most expert could not distinguish It
from the genuine signature, placed beside
It. Lewis claimed that he could reproduce
the signatures Of most of the public men
in Washington of that time from memory.
This last arrest was for forgery and OBJ
tanning money under false pretenses. being
the uttsrance Of the draft for $4,000. He
will receive the full penalty of the law. and
will pass the remainder OF his days in the
Kansas penitentiary, which is used aa a
military prison a. we'll as for state convicts.
His TO geries were committed in the prison
Office. where his work as clerk gave him
opportunities and brought him into COM
munioation with outsiders. His confsdes-
ates were mover discovered.