San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-08-12


acres. His theory was that the old wom-
an Caruthers had never been married
that her son, Finice, was an lllegltl-
mate child, and therefore could not in
herit, and that the property descended
under the law to her collateral heirs, of
which there We're great number, as he
claimed, and from these were the deeds
he placed ON file.
about the same time another and
the most important question of all arose
Two old pioneers residing in Oregon,
named James Moore and Green David
son. insisted that the old lady's name
was not 'Caruthers, but Thomas.
Their theory was that her maiden name
was Elizabeth Caruthers, and back about
1920 she married man of the name of
Joseph Thomas in Tennessee; that this
son, Finice, was the fruit of that mar
rage that Thomas deserted her shortly
afterward; that he was well known
character ON the levees at St. Louis and
was a great wrestler-an athlete-and
was there known by these men as
Wrestling Joe;' that he subsequently
became a great mountaineer, hunting
and trapping in the Rocky mountains,
again returning to the levees at st.
Louis. They said they believed he was
living, and that they could find him
They went back to Missouri, Jseturned
to Oregon with an old man, then, &C.
cording to their theory, more than 80
years of age, and asserted that he was
the husband of the old woman and as
such was the sole heir to all the property.
by this time the other litigation re-
ferred to had been disposed of. had
personally become quite intimate with
the son, Finice Caruthers, before his
death, in 1860, and had talked with him
more or less about his history. l was
satisfied that could, by talk with the
old man, determine as to whether he
was fraud or not. After nearly half
days conversation with him, in which
! piled him with all manner of ques-
lions, became fully convinced that he
was the man he claimed to be; that he
was the husband of Elizabeth Caruthers
II then commenced suit for the prop
erty based on that theory in the circuit
court of the state of Oregon, the sole
questions involved being whether this
old mans name was Thomas, whether
he was the man he claimed to be and
whether he had married the old woman
in Tennessee. took testimony in sew
eral of the southern and western states
some six or eight witnesses were taken
all the way to Oregon from Illinois and
Missouri. The defense in their answer
simplifed the inquiry very much by de-
claring not only that this man was not
Joseph Thomas, but that he was anoth-
er man, whom they named, giving his
birth and part of bis early history. For
tunately was able to prove that this
man was hanged by vigilance commit
tee for horse stealing in Illinois. Be
sides the testimony was overwhelming
to the effect that Joe Thomas was the
man he claimed to be.
well, the jury brought in verdict
favorable to my client. They declared
Wrestling Joe Thomas to be the real Joe
Thomas and the husband of the early
settler of Portland. 1t was famous vic
tory, and the property involved in that
case is now worth more than $40, 000,-
O0O."
He Believes Something In Luck.
John L. Wilson has told me in his
own way the story of how he rose from
clerk in the pension Office at Washington
to be United States senator from the
state Of Washington. my father was
one of the leading lawyers of Indiana, ="
said Mr.. Wilson. 1--WE lived next door
to the Voorhees, family, and young Voor-
hees and myself grew up as chums.
Though my father was a Republican
senator, Voorhees, procured an appoint
ment as clerk in the pension Office for
me. worked there some time, but am
willing to admit 1 did not like it. 1t
was drudgery. Ny superiors in Office, as
well as my associates, were kind and
pleasant, but somehow l couldn't get
over the feeling that was a sort of
horse to be harnessed up in the morn
ing and after had turned out a certain
lot Of work was permitted to go and get
my feed. / used to have longings to go
west and start in for myself. talked
about it to my fellow clerks. They used
to tell me the best thing l could do was
to let well enough alone and stick to my
comfortable and very regular salary. ]
replied that any man with brains and
energy could make as much in private
business as he could in the pension office,
and have more independence. Finally
made up my mind to cut loose from the
pension Office altogether. Ny friends as
sured me Twas making a great mistake,
and would soon repent of my choice and
come back looking for the old job. de.
clared that when l returned to the ma.
tional capital it would be as a member
of congress. That was bluff, pure and
| simn1e ThOncyh had some ambitions