Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1895-04-25
DEALT IN WOLF SCALPS.
A Grand Forks Man Charged
With SWIndlinR the
State.

This County Bought 5000
Worth--Prisoner Brought
Here.
Sheriff Taylor, Of Bismarck, lodged
with the county authorities Friday morn.
ing. w. II. Leonard, of Grand Forks, who
is wanted in Stutsman and other coun.
ties for importing wolf scalps from other
states and collecting bounty in this. The
arrest was made Wednesday night in
Grand Forks at about midnight. The
prisoner was brought to Fargo and there
lodged in Jail and this morning brought
to this city. The scheme is said to have
been worked most successfully by Leon
ard in numerous counties, and it is be-
lieved that the state is out several thou
sand dollars-how much will only be
known when a comparison OF notes oc-
ours.
Auditor Vennum, who attends to the
Issuance o. orders in payment of the
wolf bounty in this county, met the
authorities at the train this morning and
identified the prisoner as man who
under the alias of Henry Miller had Sc
cured the bounty in this county on q
large number of wolf scaips. With Leon
ard was strong leather sstchel which
wse filled with some odoriferous article
which smells strongly like wolf scnlps.
This will be retained for future refer
ence. BY reference to the records, Mr..
Vennum says, it will be seen that Leon
ard, alias Miller, was here Nov. 10th, '94,
and secured the bounty on ten ecalps.
He was here again on Jan. 10Th and &C.
cured payment on 13 more. Thirty
other scalps were presented to the county
at different times later and the bounty
paid on them. TIE man took particular
pains at one time to recount to those in
the court house how he was 90 successful
in catching wolves and told OF the swift
hounds which he had. He said he was
living IN Wells county close to the line
and caught the wolves in this county. 1t
IS suspected that the scslps were bought
Of some eastern furrier at few cents
each and shipped IN.
Notwithstanding that Leonard
nsd shaved OF hls moustache last
night while confined in the Cass county
jail l-he used razor which the officers
search of his person failed to discover
he was immediately identified by Mr..
Vennum az Miller. He was asked by
Mr.. Vennum why he hadn't brought
along his "hounds," but the prisoner said
he utterly failed TO recognize him-dld-
Mt think he ever saw him before, and
expressed entire ignorance on the SUBJ
]ect.
The prisoner was seen in the Jail Friday
morning but was not very communlca-
tive. Ae said he was the proprietor of
the Mcclellan house IN Grand Forks, To-
Gated On International Ave. Had run
the house since the latter part OF Oct,
'94. He denied all connection with the
alleged crime and SAID be had spent
most of the winter in Grand Forks; pass
ed through here in February only. He
refused to talk about himself prior to
October last. He was found in the Jail
reading the Code and looking up his
case for himself. He wanted Jailor Pot
ter to bring him all of the session laws.
Leonard says he is about 30 years old,
unmarried and was raised on farm.
The bounty on wolves is 81 in this
county; So paid by the state and 50 by
the county.
The register OF the Headquarters hotel
shows that w. 81. Leonard stopped there
on various occasions, among which were
Jan. 10Th and March 29th ..
A dispatch from Grand Forks throws
additional light on this case. It says:
GRAND FORKS, N. D., April 19.-W.
II. Leonard came here from South Da-
kota last fall, leased a hotel, fitted it up
with new furniture throughout and
hired man to run the hotel for him.
Leonard has been in the city but day
or two at a time, making numerous
trips away. He was arrested on COM
plant Of officers from Burleigh county,
on charge of swindling various west
ern counties by getting bounties from
county commissioners for wolf scalps,
it is alleged that he purchased in large
quantities in Chicago and farmed them
out through the western cornties. The
officers claim he made $1,000 out Of the
scheme. A package addressed to him
It Sterling was opened and found to
,ontain wolf scalps.
Sheriff Taylor came in this Saturday
from Leeds having captured one of the
two men supposed to have been opper-
sting with W. H. Leonard in the wolf
scalp bounty swlndle. States Attorney
Allen of Bismarck succeed in capturing
the third man Of the gang at Bottineau
aud will be in on one IN the morning
with his prisoner.
q 4