The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-03
THREE HUNDRED POUNDS.
rhut is the Weight of the Alleged
Serpent.

Especial 10 Inc Lei dsO.t
RrrTvrE. Mont. April Mrs. Eliza
beth Reddin, of Salt Lake, through
her attorneys, Miles ]. Cavanaugh and
Francis Brooks, today commence a suit
in the district court against William
L. Ledford, of Butte. for $4,000 dam
eres. for seduction under promise OF
marriage.
Tedford is a married man it'll
family of growa-up boys and girls, and
has always lived with his wife. In the
mast two years he became quite prom
tnent in Butte, because of his rapid &C
cl,rnuiation of a big fortune through
the COPPER precipitation business. He
is a man about so years of age, weighs
.,ver 300 pounds, and is notable hg-
IRE on the streets because of his inn
mense size and ungainly appearance
Miss Reddin is tall brunette, hand
some and about % years old. She re-
1ates that Ledford is an old friend of
her family and q distant relative of
her father and they were intimate
while both families
LIVED AT LEADVILLE
about fifteen years ago. but she had
not seen him from that time until last
,ummer. when he visited her Salt Lake
aome and was worth S175,0O0 in cash
md had a valuable farm in kentucky;
that he had had trouble with his wife
md they became divorced. He wanted
another wife. and asked the girl to
marry him. After repeated vows of
sove. professions of affection, repeated
promises of marriage, urgent impor-
tunities, fattery and false articles, she
saws. in her complaint, he induced and
seduced her to surrender her virtue
and chastity to his embraces. He was
very devoted to sier, spent money freely
upol her. took her on excursions to
Saltair. Garfield Beach and other at
tractive Utah resorts and finally left
her with a good supply of money and
returned to Butte to settle uD some of
his affairs before the marriage. as he
said. promising to return to her soon
and fulfil his promise. Soon after his
arrival in Butte he ceased to communi-
cate with her, and she had great diff
Guilty in hearing from him. Upon one
pretext or another he deferred his re-
turn to Salt Lake and wrote her sever
al anonymous letters. Miss Reddin
finally BECAME suspicious and deter
mined to come 10 Butte to investigate.
She arrived week 1go yesterday and
it did not take her tong to ascertain
the true state of affairs, and then she
consulted the attorneys. Miss Reddin
says Ledford has made several offers
of settlement, but she refused to con-
slider them as, she says. money is. not
what she is after. She wants satisfac-
ton for her disgrace as well as finan-
cial balm for her wounded feelings.
LEDFoRD TALKS.
In statement over his own sigma
ture, Ledford tonight said: Miss Red
din is nothing but an adventures. and
that her suit is the result of his refu-
saIsto permit her to blacken him. Led
ford says Miss Reddin's father for a
long time had been in his employ and
lived in his family before he NedfortO
went to Salt Lake last summer, and
the girl knew he was married. He docs
not deny having been intimate with
her at Salt Lake, and says he did lay
her some money on his return home.
She annoyed him constantly for money
but he refused to answer her letters.
Last Friday she arrived in Butte and
sent a messenger three times to mis-
home. asking him to meet her at a
house OF ill-repute Ledford says ne
met her aae then she demanded more