The herald., 1897-10-09
Land Scheme Being Ex-
plotted in Court
SYSTEMATIC LAND SWINDLE
THE CRANDALL DAMAGE SUIT
PETERS OUT
4. E. Davis Being Tried for Being
Concerned in the Greene For
gery-Fish Damage Suit
The gentle art of fishing since the days


The gentle art of fishing since the days
of old Isaak Walton, of sainted memory,
has ever been a source of Infinite pleasure
to an innumerable host of people. But
some there have been who We're so enthu-
siastic in whipping the streams that
they sought, so far as they might to in
troduce the nomenclature of the fisher
man at all events, to the business of ev-
ery-day life And so fishing for suck
ers' from being mere vulgarism has be-
come an accurate and definite term for
those who as in the case of the lone fish
erman pull in everything in sight and
give nothing in return.
And all of this apropos of a case that
has materalized in Department four be-
fore Judge Van Dyke. The suit was in
stituted quite a long time go by Mrs.
H. E. Hoxie against E. 1. Bryant TO COM
pei him to take from her bogus mort
gage. and return to her $500 which in her
innocence she paid over.
The plaintiff is being represented by
the law firm of Works & Lee. c. T. How
land and M. w. Conklng. and the de-
fendant by the law firm of Goodrich &,
McCutchen, and is being heard without
jury.
There are two sides to THE contest-the
civil and the criminal. Mrs Hoxie
went before the grand Jury some years
ago and as result Bryan was arrested,
but in consequence of some technical
flaw he escaped the tolls. Now the civil
eide Of the case is being heard.
1t Is claimed that on May 18th, 1894,
E. I. Bryant was in possession of note
made by Emma B. Lewis to him, dated
April 5th, 1894. and due one year after
date, for the sum of $500. This note was
secured by mortgage on lots one and
two Of block Al of the subdivision of the
Rancho Providencia and Scott tract,
comprising about 40 acres of land. This
land consisted of wash land, being a de-
posit of gravel, sand and rocks and hav-
ing practically no soil valuable for culti-
walton. This being SO, and Miss Lewis
hopelessly insolvent the note and mort
gage were not of any great value. But
1t is claimed that Bryant with consider
able ingenuity contrived to sell the note
and mortgage to Mrs. Hoxie by series
of Misrepresentation for the sum of
$500. At that time the purchaser who is
lady quite advanced in years, did not
know much about California business
methods, having recently come from
New York state.
SO skillfully, however, were the several
transactions in connection with the deal
made that not until two months after
October 5th, 1894, when the interest on
the note amounting to $2S75, became due,
did Mrs. Hoxie succeed even in locating
Miss Lewis, the maker of the note, and
when she did Miss Lewis told Mrs. Hoxie
that she did not propose to pay any part
of the principal or interest on the note,
and furthermore conveyed to her the
not particularly gratifying intelligence
that she had been SWindled by Bryant,
and that she owned no other land than
that covered by the mortgage. 1t was
not until January 90 1895, that Mrs Hox-
lie became fully and thoroughly informed
as to the bunco scheme that had been
played upon her. Thereafter on Feb
ruary 5th. 1895, she rescindedl the contract
and gave notification of the fact to Bry-
ant Offering to resore everything of val
ue (O she had received under the con-
tract, and rendered the note and mort
gage to him, demanding at the same
time the repayment of the $500 she had
paid. But he refused. That little turn
in real estate had been written off his
books, presumably, and Mr.. Bryant had
no desire to restore the status quo o-ante
or course the various allegations are
not conceded by Bryant. In his an swer,
while making general denial, he stated
that he had never seen the land but sis
informed and believes" that ten acres
of the land is good arabic land worth
about $50 per acre, and that the re-
mainder is wash land worth about $40
per acre.
But Mrs. Hoxie has suffered not only
by being defrauded out of $500, but has
had her sympathies falsely aroused, and
yesterday she very earnestly and, at
times, rather amusingly alluded to the
fact while giving her testimony.
She stated that in the first instance
Bryant called upon her in order to in
terest her in the matter of two mort
cages he held on certain lands. He ap-
pealed to her sympathy by telling her
that he had to sell in order to get some
money to pay the heavy expenses irci-
dent to the illness of his mother. Mrs.
Hoxie told him that her money was in
the hands of r. D. List for investment.
and probably that gentleman had al
ready made some business arrange
ments. Bryant asked for note to Mr..
List and got it. Next day he returned
and told Mrs. HoXie that List was salts
fed that the note and mortgage he Of
fered was a good loan. Thereupon Mrs
Hoxie went down town to Bryant's Of
flee to see about the matter. The de-
fendant's brother Wesley Bryant hap
never seen the land that secured the
note, and when Mrs. Hoxie expressed
surprise he replied:
"Oh, we know the character of the
land; its part Of the Lankershim ranch. -
II had told Mr.. Bryant" continued
Mrs. Hoxie, while telling her story, that
my means were limited and that had
to be very careful in investing, and he
then suggested / go down and see the
property. l thought he would drive me
down, be he didn't. He said there was
q person-quite gentleman, who knew
the land, and who would drive me down
towards Burbank and show it to me-
While EXPLAINING his business dealing
over the property with Miss Lewis he
said that she had paid him 120 acres of
land and two notes for $500 each, or an
aggregate value of $3460. He also said
that she was a woman Of means, and had
much land in Texas besides what she
had conveyed to him; that she intended
Building a residence on the forty acres
represented in the mortgage and, was
Oofnu IN miami nut frees and in s.o do,rr