The San Francisco call., 1898-03-08

of bills of discovery and are backed ''In the matter of the estate of J. L. Franklin, deceased.' In reality they form the introduction, the prelude, to Va lawsuit which presages sensation upon sensation and a romance whose scenes are laid in many climes.
 In December, 1897, J. L. Franklin, capitalist and philanthropist, after a protracted and painful illness, died in the bosom of his family, surrounded by all the comforts and loving atten- tions that love and affection can bestow. Before the year had closed his will was filed and letters testamen- tary were granted to Pauline Frank lin. the widow of the deceased. Trust ing to the faith and loyalty of his wife, Franklin bequeatlied the bulk of his property to her, recommending merely the interests of his children. In this last will and testament several lega- cies are recited-to Lena Porter $500, to MoIlie Wilson $500 and to Benjamin J. Franklin $500, all children of a for mer wife. Subsequently, in a codicil attached to the will, the portion of Benjamin J. Franklin was reduced from $500 to $10, and herein lies a tale 
 accessories of a modern drama. These children it is who are dissatisfied with their inheritance, and they have called in the process of the law to settle their demands.
 Far off in the wild and primeval for ests of British Columbia, when that country was not yet the field for an active and energetic commercial peo- nle Julius l.. Franklin, with the spirit
 
 ceed. was engaged in the profitable hut no less perilouS occupation of fur trading He was adventurous and hardy and the personal dangers he en- countered only Whetted his appetite for action on a more extensive field. Travelling from one post to another. buying and selling the skins that the Indians brought in, he was success full inlitator of the early career of the founder of the house of Astor. In this mode of life Franklin met with all the sachems of the tribes and they be- came his friends. Living the life or the nioneer. breathing the freedom of this natural world, the hampered spirit or civilization was cast aside and the young adVenturer married one or the princesses of the soil.
 This Pocahontas was reputed par agon of Indian beauty, the VerltaoIe nearl of all the tribe With the mar
 
 Franklin and his dusky bride were made one They lived happily together and from the union sprang three chill dren-Benjamin L. Franklin, Lena Franklin, now Mrs. Porter. and Molle Franklin, now Mrs. Wilson
 Franklin pere moved to Portland from the province of Victoria and there changed the order of his diving. In place of the unrestricted freedom or the forest, he allowed the convention alities of society to direct his new lire He conformed to the new regime just as he had formerly shaken off the shac- kles of convention imposed by the SO ciaI system of the civilized world. His children were reared according to the first instincts of the father; they went to school, imbibed the first lessons or their new surroundings and assimilated the new conditions.
 The dark-skinned wife even at thls period has gone out of the life of the young maker of romances. From this time on she is never heard of Whether Franklin secured a divorce from her or whether she died is not positively known, but the latter is the general presumption. Franklin was, however, extremely devoted to his children at this time. The stay in Portland was of no long duration. Seeking larger fields, driven on by the spirit of unrest