The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-06-24

The United States officers are on the
lookout for Frank NJ. briggs, who has
been a teacher in the territorial school
for deaf mutes, and the charge filed
against him is fornication.
Ray Westphal. of Battle Creek, Utah
county, aged nineteen years, is the
complaining witness and she charges
briggs with having effected her ruin
under promise of marriage and then
breaking his word of honor.
Yesterday Deputy Marshal Henry, or
Provo, was in the city for the purpose
of making the arrest He was armed
with the necessary warrant but briggs
had gone to Park City. The warrant
sets out on complaint of the girl that
on July II, 1892, briggs seduced her.
This matter has been brewing for
some little time past and the eulmina-
ton created but little surprise in Utah
county, where all the parties interested
have resided for years.
The accused is a young man twenty
three years of age of good educauqAf
and superior abilities and stood high
in the estimation of his friends and his
superiors in the University of Utah.
The story is that for two or three years
he has been paying his addresses to
Miss Westphal and that he had sought
and obtained her consent to marry him
but no one had surmised that the re-
lations between them had been other
wise than strictly proper.
Latterly the young mans love seemed
to have cooled and it was alleged that
he was paying attention to another
young lady. DR.. Westphal, a brother
of Miss Westphal, learning of the tardi-
ness of the young lover in fulfilling his
promise and hearing that briggs had
made statements rejecting on the char
acter of his sister, and had urged as an
excuse for not marrying her that she
was not a proper girl to be his wife
went on the warpth after young briggs
and it is alleged at the point of re-
volver compelled him to procure
marriage license and promise to marry
his sister without further parIey. The
wedding was to have taken place at
Pleasant Grove on Thursday night, the
guests and minister and the bride be-
ing assembled at the house of the
young lady'S parents, but the groom
failed to appear and the ceremony Of
course did not take place.
Miss Westphal then swore to the
complaint charging briggs with forni-
cation, and the officers were put on
the trail
briggs parents, in stating their side
Of the case, say that the whole pro-
to marry the GIRL that after he decided
finally not to marry he, he waited at
Pleasant Grove one day expecting the
Westphal people to serve papers on
him, but when they failed to do so he
came to the conclusion that they pro-
posed to drop the whole matter Ac-
cording to previous arrangements he
then went to Salt Lake and Park City
to attend to some business matters. Any
promise of marriage ever made to the
girl, they say, was made under threats
of personal violence. and 1t was
through threats that the license was
taken out. His parents and friends
forbade the marriage and he acted
under legal advice when he refused.
briggs parents say that when wills
perings of the trouble first reached
them, about ten days ago, they saw the
girl and she voluntarily made the fol-
lowing affidavit:
Pleasant Grove, June Is, 1894.
To Whom it May Concern.
This is to certify that as far as my
knowledge and acquaintance with
Frank M. briggs has been he has al
ways been a true gentleman, and NOR
ably pure and virtuous. I know of no
di-F'0~0r-able act of his life
(SigneO. RAY WESTPHAL.
NtuunesSeS,
B. w. briggs,
r. z. briggs.
Further developments are anxiously
awaited.