Arizona republican., 1898-11-01
GOLD BRICK SWINDLERS.
Two Engiishmeu Who Nearly Fell
 Victims to inc Old ScheMe.
Magazine.

New Yclk, Oct 31.-J. Algerncr . Wood and R ginald Baiss, both of Bel ], videre, England, are two of the hap
 Piest young Englishmen now visiting
 this country, and their happiness is ], due to tIle work of Captain McClusky
 of the detective bureau in saving fol them S10,0G0, which tn-y were on the point of turning over tc a gold brick salesman who is now under lock and
 key at police headquarters. The pTis-
 oner is Robert Roe, alias Norton, alias Martin, B years old, who refuses to say where he lives. Rec was remand
 ed in the Center street; police court
 to await trial
 About t,he middle Of July MT Wood
 received lettsr at his home in Eng
 land addressed to his father, the late Major Alexander Wood, postmarked Astoria, Oregon, U. s. A. Major Wood passed away nine months ago, and
 therefore his son, who is one of tho executors Of the estate, opened it. The letter was a seductive affair, and was written to the majcr apparently by a friend whom he had sent to British Columbia to locate some gold mines. The letter, in speaking of the claim, said that: We cleaned up nearly 940,- GOO worth of gold" The letter also re- quested Major Wood to send some trustworthy representative to meet the writer, Edward Martin" in the Unit ed States.
 Mr Wood recc1lacted that he had heard his father speak of some mining man whom he assisted, and he at once cabled the unknown MT. Martin that Major Woods sen will meet you in Lcndon." An answer came suggesting a meeting in New York instead Mir Wood arrived at the Windsor hotel here about two weeks ago, and received 6 telegram from Martin making an en- gagement fer the Temp trance hotel, Niagara Falls. He found Martin most entertaining man of middle age. Martin seemed distressed to hear cf Major Woods death, and said he would have to consider the matter of turning over any of the gold. Young MT. Wood then cabled tc his friend, Reginald Baiss, to come to this country imne- diately. Meanwhile Martin showed him some of the gold which purpocted to have come trcm the mines, including splendid bar of alleged solid geld.
 MT. Wood returned to New York and met his friend, MT Baiss, who arrived OI IAC U Oi4ID4 4cs. by lAS IS- O- HIS fathers will, young Wood could not draw mCTe than $2,5G0 at a time with out the signature of his co-executor, but hsI knew his friend Baiss would ad- vance him any amount
 Baiss and Wood went to Niagara Falls, and Martin showed them a bar CT gold weighing seventy pounds. Mar tin was anxious that they should test t-v of bar He furnished them With Q drill and thsy got some borings which Mar tin gathered up and handed to Wood.
 The two friends returned to this city and went to the assay cfice, where it was reported that the gold assayed more than eighteen carats fine At that rate the bar they had seen would be worth at the least calculation S23 600 i'll American money. Martin wanted Sl0,OO0 for his share. They returned to Niagara Falls to complete the transac- tlon, and MT. Baiss telegraphsd to his father in England fer $10,O0O MT. Ba1ss senior replied that he would send the money, but wanted the transaction completed in New York.
 So last Friday all three came to this city and want to the Windsor hotel. Before the transaction was completed the two friends called on a lawyer to whom MT. Wood had an introduction. | They told him what luck they had and ! he advised them to see Captain Me | ClusEy. The moment the captain heard the story he told the young men they had just missed being the victims of an old scheme. The bar was not gold. | and the borings of base metal the man had changed for the genuine geld when he made up the little package for the young men to have tested. The i captain sent Detectives Brown and | Frazee to the Windsor hot5l to arrest the man.
 The detectives found the man in the | dining room. Brown at cace recog- | nized him as a criminal he had arres,- cd more than two years ago for swiI.d- ling. Beside Martin was satchel with i the big bar of gold which the de,ac- tives had hard work in lifting Mar tin was arrested in 1896 and was sen tenced to one and half years in pris- i on, undsr the name of o. N. Norton. | He is new held on the charge of at grand larceny. It is thought | that Martin saw 2 notice of Major |