El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-08-06
c. J. Christie. Not Courtney.

There are only few more develop
meuts in the Courtney case today.
Among the arrivals on the west
bound Southern Pacific on the 10th
day of July was one who went to the
Commercial Hotel and registered as
James Courtney and claimed to be q
captain in the lst royal engineers Of the
English army.
Courtney, as we will call him for the
present, was Roman Catholic and went
to the church of that denomination.
Being a stranger he met Father Cahill.
He told the father he was in straight
ened circumstances and asked III he
could get some assistance. The father
not having any means for such assis-
lance referred the captain to James
Clifford, who is a pillar Of the church.
The captain on going to Mr.: Clifford
from the father, told Mr.. Clifford the
mission of his visit and was given some
assistance.
The captain was most well inform
ed man OF the world and from his con-
versational powers soon won q good
many friends here.
On asking for assistance from Mr..
Clifford he stated that he had come
from England and was on his way to
China on special government business.
Having had rheumatism on leaving
England he was given the privilege OF
coming by Hot Springs, Arkansas, and
stopping over at that place for the ben
eft which he could derive from the
medicinal properties Of those waters.
Among other things the captain said
about Hot Springs was that while
there he met some men whom he had
supposed to be gentlemen: after hav-
ing known them for a week or ten days,
one night they proposed game OF
draw poker aud he Courtney suppos-
ing they were gentlemen accepted.
They were regular crooks, or at least
they heeced him out of about S3400 in
one night, and that was the reason he
was in such Strengthened circum-
stances. 1t was his purpose to lie over
at this point until he could receive
some money which he had wired for.
The captain said he wanted to go to
some other hotel if Mr.. Clifford would
recommend a place and the first money
which Clifford gave him was supposed
to be for the purpose of securing him
good lodgings in the Center Block.
The captain IL seems did go to the
Center Block hotel but only stayed one
night, then went back to the CONNER
cial, as he had been there up to the
time of his arrest, Notwithstanding
that all of his friends supposed that he
was staying at the Center Block.
In the mean time the captain bad
told Mr.. Clifford and James Conklin
that he owned some mining stock in
New York and he wished to go before
some notary public and give mining
stock broker, S. j. Gage, in Newt Y ork
u power OF attorney to sell ten shares
of this stock which was in the pos
session OF Gage so as to give him the
necessary funds to repay the amount
which he had borrowed. He would
then continue his Journey.
o Messrs. Conklin and Clifford took the
captain to Lawyer 2. II. Clark, and
the captain made an acknowledgements
giving power of attorney to the said
Gage to sell the mining stock which
Gage had in his possession, and which
was the property OF the said Courtney.
After the captain had made the sc-
acknowledgement, Mr. Clifford saw hiIl
mail the document addressed to Gage,
on the T. =. train, and therefore the
papers went to Gage. In due time p.
ing that he (Gage) knows no such
man by the name of Courtney, but that
he had known q man of the same de-
scription as that given in the letter in
closed in the same envelope with the
acknowledgement, but that the name
the man was under when he knew him
was G. J. Christie, and that he had no
mining stock belonging either to
Courtney or Christie, but during last
winter he had had some business trans
actions with the man Christie aud
every one OF the transactions was of a
disastrous nature.
AS the captain came here from Hot
Springs, 1t was learned in letter from
the proprietor OF the Arlington hotel
that the captain las he was registered
there As Courtney had left there
owing him some money and that he
still held the captains trunk for Sc
curity. Now "a Chief Lockhart is not
here Tom Bendy, who is acting as chief,
wrote to the proprietor for all the par
ticulars OF the business of the captain
while he was at Hot Springs and also
asked him 10 search the trunk for
papers To actually identify this man
Courtney or Christie, whichever hi