The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-08
LOST WILL IS FOUND
Returned as Mysteriously as It
Disappeared.
SERIOUS CHARGES MADE
1t Is Alleged That 1t Was Stolen to Pre-
vent the Discovery Of Forgery.
Estate Mortgaged to It's
Full Value.

The will of the late John George
riously disappeared from the records
of the district court about a year and
four months ago, has been returned
as mysteriously as it had disappeared,
and the parties interested are now
trying to discover the person who Sc
creted the will all this time, what OBJ
ject he had in view and whether or
not it is the will of John George
Schmidt or a forgery. A few days ago
the clerk of the district court receiv-
ed through the mails plain envelope
with a typewriter address to Judge
of Department L." and it contained
the missing will. There was nothing
on the envelope to indicate who sent
it, though it bore the Butte post marks.
Schmidt died in Butte in August,
1896, and by his relatives it Is claimed
that several different wills have at
various times figured in the estate,
and have disappeared. Charges of
forgery and other acts of fraud have
been made, but their effect was lost
owing to the fact that no one could
expect to gain much by forgery, as
all the property of the estate, which
is located in Beayerhead county, Is
mortgage6 for all it is worth to Henry
Filing.
One of Schmidt's relatives in Butte
applied for letters of administration on
the estate when he learned that
Schmidt had left will which was in
the keeping of a well known Butte
business man. A copy of the will was
obtained and the original placed in the
hands of an attorney. Later 1t WAS
r. w
inal were compared they did not cor
respond in a number of important par
ticulars. The matter was placed in
the hands of an attorney for invastlsa-
ton and the copy of the original was
placed in his hands.
Some time after that the relative,
being dissatisfied with the action of
his attorney got the copy back, and,
SO he claimed, found that an entire
page of it had been rewritten to cor
respond with the will which, he al
legged, was not in it's original form.
The will had in the meantime been
filed in court, but about the time all
the dispute about it was going on it
was ordered sent to Beaverhead coun-
ty, where the property of the estate
was located, and where an administra
tor had been appointed. The will and
other papers were registered and mail
ed to the clerk of Beaverhead county
and the latter receipted for them, but
when he looked for the will it was not
among the papers, but in place of it
was an alleged copy. All efforts to
find the original were fruitless. Some
one, it was concluded, had stolen it,
but for what purpose could not be
surmised unless it was to prevent the
discovery of a forgery. No other rea-
son could be imagined. It was given
up as lost for good and the clerk of
the court and other parties interested
were very much surprised when after
the lapse of nearly a year and half,
the lost will is returned.
1t has not been yet determined
whether it is the original will or not,
but probably will be when the proofs
for its probate are heard in Beaverhead
county, to which place it has been
sent