Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1899-06-01

900 acres, which to-day lies in Arizona
and New Mexico and contains some
fourishing towns and is worth $780,
100000.
Suit was formally entered in the
United States Court of Claims. EN-
inent counsel offered their services to
Reavis on a contingent fee. The gov
eminent sent searchers to Spain.
Croker, Mackay, Huntington, all lent
Reavis money to fight what they re-
garded as q just claim. Conkling,
Cochran and Ingersoll agreed to serve
as counsel. Ed Stokes let the man and
his wife run up $4,000 board bill at
the Hoffman House. Contiding mer-
chants added clothes, horses and car
riages, jewels. Strangest of all, there
arose all over the country 100 other
claimants, all Peraltas and all de-
scendants Of the original baron. Yet
the baron's descendants were only the
creatures of Reavis' brain.
1t was after the civil war that Reavis
conceived his conspiracy. He was 35
years old. He had forged a little-a
pass in the army, a title deed to some
land, a note-and hadn't been found
out. So when a DR.. George M. Willing
told him Of a great tract of land in Ari-
iona and New Mexico to which he bore
a clouded title he decided to look into
it. DR.. Willing had claimed the title,
and at his death his wife wanted to
look it up. She asked Reavis, who had
been dabbling in real estate in st.
Louis, to take charge Of it. But it was
worthless. Reavis then made UP his
mind to find someone else to whom the
title could be ascribed. He found her
In an unknown Mexican girl. No one
knew the history of her birth. From
baby she had Indian children for play
mates. A ranchero's family raised her
and sold her into bondage.
Reavis took this beautiful child to
San Francisco, and John w. Mackay
was so impressed with his story that
he allowed him $500 a month with
which to go to Spain to prosecute his
search for evidence. SO Reavis went,
posing as a newspaper correspondent,
eager to write accounts of Spanish Gu
riosities, so dear to the American peo-
pie, then friendly to Spain. Reavis
found that the Peralta family was ex-
tinct-just the thing to further his
schemes!
In curio shop Reavis got valuable
link in the chain Of evidence-two old
ivory miniatures of a husband and
wife. His practiced eye told him that
they had been painted in the eigh-
teenth century. They were just what
he needed.
"On these as a foundation" says this
strange man, Il built the mythical
structure which all but stood against
the efforts of the government and the
vast expenditures of money to tear it
DOWN.
Reavis came back and married the
beautiful Mexican and told her that
the miniakRres were those Of her great
grandmotMeJ. Then pushing aside all
the forgeries prepared to back up the
Willing claim, Reavis started in anew.
He traced the lineage Of the Peraltas
He found 1t to be an old family. The
name meant high pear" from the
Spanish "pera," pear, and alta" high.
The family became a titled one when
dukedom was conferred upon En-
rique GARLIC several hundred years
ago. Tie last one was Baron Miguel.
Now for mythical hero, the grand
father of the Mexican girl! This was
easy. Reavis selected another extinct
Spanish family named Silva, married