Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-05-14
SEVERAL INSURANCE ooMpA.
MES AFTER HIM.


upon his life. Consequently the publica.
ton that he had been found alive and
well In Oregon yesterday morning was
much discussed BY Insurance men yester-
day- lie publicution was premature
FOR the ninth or tenth time officials Of
one OF the insurance companies Ia which
Hillmhn held policies have received news
which made 1t seem to them almost Ger
tiin that Ilillman has been located. The
companies claim 20 know for q certainty
that the. man is alive. The story from
Oregon Is considered the more probable
as llillmnn has a sister living in Walla
Walla, Wash, who was closer TO him
than any other living relative aud she
has been under secret surveillance for
years, because Ii was thought that sooner
or later the brother would visit her.
ID. q. Gillette OF the Mutual life said
yesterday: II consider the story alto
gefher probable, but | do not know that
II is true. So far as our company *
concerned. we are making no search for
llillman. When We proved conehisively
that the body brought forward a. Hill.
mans was not his, that was all we cared
for, beyond desire, of course, TO punish
q fraud. That We proved and have no
fear Of the outcome Of our suit now pend
ing In the Uulted States supreme court
Nothing Gahorinu ever wrote rivalled
In wierd interest the story OF Yves"
, lhillNNN luNuiNlnhf Conspiracy
as insurance men call II. llillman was
born in Indiana In 1915, aud was about
thirty-four years old at the time he was
reported TO have been killed accidentally
near Medicine Lodge, Kan, in 1870.
In October. ISIS he married Sally
Quinn. At that time he was insured for
$4,000 la the Mutual Life Insurance
company Of New York and the Connect
cut Mutual life -Four months lafer he
80 thn Maine Wignitu
prairie schooner ostensibly to es-
tablish a ranch. A few weeks later he
returned to Lawrence Kan, and paid up
another quarters premium on his poll
cics and took out 5000 more in the New
York life He had never been yacci-
mated, and until that had been done the
Now York life would not issue policy
He was vacciDated, and after fort
night again started ont on his trip, ac-
companicd by his partner In the cattle
driving business. john IL. Brown, aud a
young man of the name Of Wnltere, a
cigar maker whom he had hired to 80 GU
a ranch
Nov weeks later Brown returned and
md u story TO the eifect thnt while camp
ling out near Medicine Lodge he ha9 ne,
cidently shot Hillmnn through the head
and killed him and had buried hun. Ihen
il was that Hillinan's friends aud neigh
bors at Lawrence first learned OF MS
having his life heavily insured Levi
Baldwin. II cousin of Hiillman's wife anu
d close friend Of the alleged dead man,
came forward with the policies which ne
claimed to have taken ont As BALDWIN
was n bankrupt ut the time the matter
was looked upon with suspicion, The
authorities decided TO hunt up the BODY
to see that no swindle had been perle-
trnted. The body was taken TO Law
renee.
The first sensation after that was in
the disappearance of Brown, VINO ran
AWAY The next was the appearance
of mother, brother, sister and sweet
henri Of Young Walters, all Of whom
positively identified the body as that Of
Wnlters Walters was ~ years old,
dark complexion and q feet . inches In
height and with sound teeth. Huffman
INnH 3 feel 8 in height, "a years old aud
with irregular teeth Hillmans VIE
identified the body Us that OF her husband
hy n scar from the vaccination which
had been performed a few weeks, prior
TO his death, Physicinns claimed that
the scar on the dead mans arm was the
result of u vaccination made less than
two weeks before death. The face ana
hnir of the dead man had been burned
beyond recognition
Then began the bitter legal fight which
has not yet ended. Brown got scared
Missouri that for 5000 he would tell the
whole story. They secured an affidavit
from him TO the effect that the whole
matter had been planned months beiore.
Hillnan's first start towards Nlchita
had been made In the expectation OF
finding n corpse on the plains on the
trail Of some Of the long immigrant
trains. as result OF exposure 10 hs
''northers" or from other cnuse-a not
unfreauent occurrence ut that time OF the
year In that locality. He failed and re-
turned TO Lawrence TO get corpse. lie
hired Walters. paying him much larger
wngcs than other mrn Ia the same line
OF work received. lie insisted on Wal.
tors being yaecnate1. telling nm ihht
unless he was he ran great ask among
the Indians. where smallpox WAS ire
ouent and virulcnt WnlterS finally con-
sented and llillman vaccinated the
Young man from the virus Of his own
arm with the point Of his knife.
Two trials were had at Le1venworth
before .lndge David j, Brewer In the
United States circuit court and IN both
cases The Jury failed to agree. In the
meantime Baldwin. Mrs. Hillnlans cons-
In. ran away, and Mrs. Baldwin. accord
ing 10 statements made by the insurance
companies got frightened aud agreed to
surrender the policies which Were in her
hands II she was promised immunity
from arrest, This she did. She received
no consideration for the policies and the
contract was but a verbal one, and her
LAWYERS persuaded her that 1t was NOT
valid, and again she went on with her
suit, which she won.
Neay evidence was discovered tehding
10 show that Hillman was alive and ~
1'exns. DIR. Phillips testified under oath
tbat In 1878 Levi Baldwin had SAID 10
him: doc, wouldn't II he good scheme
10 get your life insured for all you could
and then get some one TO represent you
a. dead and skip out for some safe place.
IL could be done like q top" II was on
iy sn,rt time after this that Baldwin
and HHlman took out the insurance poll
So the case was carried mp 10 the
United States supreme court, where II Is
now pending The Insurance companies
and The authorities have gone win 2
drsg-net over Tho West for Hillman, and
though they claim to have found many my
traces Of him he was never capgnl; ny
authorities want him for the murder OF
Frederick Adolph Walters, the young
Ciyar-maker whom Brown IN his hrst a.
ddayit called Joe Berkeley. mat nus
statement. and the fact that on lalt
trial brown made an affidavit In when
he sald his first statement was untrue
las eliminated his evidence from the
case. and 80 far as the Insurance fenl'
panies are concerned the case now nngee
on the positive indcntiiicati1n Whien they
claim 10 have made Of the cori1c ~
Man, ~ ra.f ~ lIllmuu.