Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-12-02

SEATTLE, WASH, Nov. H., '97.

SEATTLE, Wasn., NOV. L., ~.
Rasmus Hanson, Grayling, Mich.
Dear Sir:-Pardon me for address.
ing you 90 soon. Since my writing
you last week, I saw q Mr.. Mills, who
is q relative of Mr.. Ed. Douglass, Ia
your employ, and who has been an
every day friend of mine here. / felt
% badly about the news regarding
Mr. Staley, that i told him the whole
situation. After my finishing he
said: ~Mr. Bell. believe you tell
the truth. You must write your
friend Hanson regarding your deal
ings with the Grayling Exchange
Bank. He says y.,u are suspicioned
Of being a party to the Ascending of
Mr.. Staley.'
To commence with, / will admit
that have done business with the
bank in q very careless manner, be-
cause placed explicit confidence In
Mr.. Staley, and have scarcely ever
reckoped over the interests when
renewed my notes, believing Mr.. Sta.
ley to be like father. Now will
endeav0r to explain why the bank
holds my notes for such large
amount. My dealings with the
bank have always been the same as
any business transaction not known
to every one, but all trust deeds, &C.,
are and have been of public record in
Crawford, Kalkaska, Oscods, Otsego
Chippewa, Marquette, &C., some of
them as long ago as 1887. In the last
named year I was owing the bank
"a, 400, 90; that was about the time
bought the 5000 acre tract near De-
tour, In Chippewa County. That
purchase was very promising, as we
were offered 100000 for the pine
timber. The estimate I myself
made, together with Mr.. Dodge,
made 1t appear, that it was we'll
worth at least $40, 100000. But here
commenced the trouble. We had
not made . mistake in estimating or
calculating, but we got hold of a
thief for q jobber; the timber cut up
to our estimate but the jobber stole
nearly all of 1t. This gave me my
death blow. was paying tho bank
q per cent per mouth for the money
and did 90 for at least 81 years. Since
that time have struggled and
struggled, have made some good bar
gains. such as the lands bought and
sold In Roscommon county, and other
places, but could not keep pace with
the accommodating interest. Then
came my sickness, that for many
long months l could not attend to
any business, and you can see why
my notes run up. The last money
I have had is the time Nels p. Sal.
ling and Mr.. Staley helped me in
the shoe business. l decided to Nels
Sailing my interest In the lands I
owned jointly with Mr.. Nicholson,
Marius Hanson. et-al, and my son
Frank decided me an interest Ia
some land to secure Mr.. Staley, since
that time, / think, he sent me five
dollars at three different times.
As security for the notes / have
given him, or rather Messrs. Staley g.
Trench, full warranty deed, ex-
cepting taxes, and have not a single
thing to show for IL. The lands l
decided to them are all of my Mar
quette comfy interests, except those
conveyed to Nels p. Sailing. The
Marquette lands are the ones where
the value lies. They also have war
ranty deeds, except taxes, on the
Chippewa County lands, and much
more, but as I said, the Marquette
county lands are the ones that con-
stitute the real value. OF course all
property Is dormant for time, but
they are surely valuable, and
although I am now a pauper, I shall
yet redeem my property.
The last deed gave Staley &
Trench was correction deed, and Is
recorded in Marquette county which
conveyed to them all Marquette
county property, excepting the lands
decided to Nels Sailing.
Now Mr.. Hanson, to hear that my
old fellow townsmen believe that 1
would join hands with any one to
help rob my old friends, was more
than could stand. They must lose
sight of the fact that / voluntarily
turned over everything I possessed,
to satisfy my creditors. I gave a
deed of my home to pay a debt to a
poor widow. / gave up everything
Of my own free will, and not forced
In one instance. You all know of
my sickness, which could not help
but pull me down. / trusted ex-
plicitly in Mr.. Stsley, and the notes
i last signed, were largely the &C
interest on interest, int