The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-01-23

L
hrm friends, trusting and confdinx 10
eaen other and In no one else, which prop-
esition ! sSreed TO ana religiously kent.
ana Brown kept the agreement SO well
also as to gain my entire confidence and
respect which Indeed has only been
shaken since the lsaacs escape came 10
light and ! learned the truth about his
crime and conviction, therefore. through
the medium OF the public press
During my ASSOCIATION with Brown IN
huntsville he for some time talked to me
about various plans which he proposed
OF making large sums of money by fraud
and crime and suggested to me that Il
might be possible for me to Join and
share therein, but finally convinced him
that i would not have anything whatever
to do with such practices and talked TO
MIN about the pleasure OF living quiet.
undisturbed honest and self-respecting
life, and more especially about the duty
ne owed his family and sister. who is an
Invalid and for whom he always seemed
70 entertain very great affection, that
his general conversation eventually as
stunned very different tone and coincid-
ed more fully with my own ideas and de-
sires and | really fell in with his propo-
sition that when we could obtain our lib
erty we should unite In an endeayor to
rebuild our good names and fortunes by
going TO the State OF Washington. where
some honest and legitimate business. for
which undertaking believed and believe
now that we are both mentally we'll uual-
flied. Shortly after he Brown, had as
sumod the tone OF conversation which
agreed SO entirely with my own wishes
and desires he began to talk to me at
! odd times about his friend George Isaacs
and related to RE at great length how
the aforesaid Isaacs had been convicted
hv perjured testimony procured at the
Instance of an express company. who had
great pecuniary interests Ringing upon his
convictions how he had been tried merely
as an accCmplice and convicted, when
the persons who actually committed tbs
crime had gone free after being brought
to trial; he also stated that the man
who had been killed had made state
ment on his deathbed that Isaacs had no
part In the crime and that his widow had
since made affidavit that she had nvver
believed him guilty. l s4n unable to recall
all the statements he made, but the above
which | recollect distinctly is the most
material portion and as ! had come to
have very great and unusual confidence
In Brown | believed implicitly in his
statements about lsaacs, and 1t aroused
within me strong sympathy for the man
and a desire to see his wrongs as l be-
lieved them to be, rlghted.
About six or seven weeks prior to Brown
receiving his pardon from your excellency,
and when he already knew that the matter
was under consideration, he stated thns
he had made Isaacs a promise that he
would secure his release SO soon as he
had regained his own liberty, and stated
that as Isaacs was we'll TO do and could
easily spare II, he should exact for his
service such sum as would enable he
and | to carry out our plans for engaging
in business in Washington and stated that
I h lnI 4 ~ Il
could and would pay the sum of $4,000 for
the service; he then assured me that so
soon as he received the money. his first
care would be for the material comfort
and welfare of my wife and children who
were then, as now almost destitute and
in great need of help, and he added also
that he should lend my wife every aid he
had in his power towards securing my par
don in the regular aud legitimate way;
this, however, was after he had opened to
me more fully his plans In regard 10 free
/ ing lsaucs and after / had refused his
/ offer TO secure my own freedom In the
/ same way and at the same time that he
4 acted for Isaacs as l told then would
much prefer being a convict to being a
/ fugitive, for I could never endure the
thought OF hetng permanently separated
I from my family.
Browns first plan was that prior to his
/ release | should supply him with the
4 necessary discharge blank after attaching
the superintendents seal thereto. also tho
/ blank for letter OF transmittal which must
accompany the pardon and discharge when
they are sent from the superlntendent's
office his intention then was to forge
the superntendent's signature to the dis
charge. having his own rs a guide with
which to make il perfect and at THAI time
I he stated to me that he knew a printer
whom he could get 10 duplicate the pardon
blanks so that he could forge a pardon
and when that was all done he propose l
to send some one to Huntsville TO mail
all the papers to the assistant superln-
| tendent at Rusk, where Isaacs was then
! confined; but when / pointed out to him
/ the fact that he would not only have to
commit four forgeries. viz: the superin-
tendent's signature twice. the secretary
of states signature once and that of youi
excellency once and showing him furth
| that when the fraud was discovered. as II
! inevitably must be- il would react on me
and most probably cause me great suffer-
| ing and that ] could not consent TO hrs
carrying out that plan, and further that
/ | would not furnish him with the ueosssar
\ blanks with which TO attempt III; but
having in mind both the supposed wrongs
of Isaacs and the great need of my own
| wife and children which / believed he
would alleviate If successful I consented
to say nothing which would cause his plans
to miscarry providing he could devise a
plan for sending such a pardon as would
pass from Austin to the superintendent
office in he regular way; this he assured
me he could do and believed after reiec-
ton that It was the better plan. AS he be-
lieved 1t would be impossible TO forge so
many signatures and have them all per-
feet enough TO pass detection, he then
proceeded TO inquire particularly about
( how the superintendent mail was received
and as to what kind Of envelopes We're
used for the transmission OF pardons: I
/ thareupon exhibited to him one Of the en- :
/ velopes in question. which, at the time.
/ Law in the waste basket, having been
4 tossed there that day; he took the en-
velop and put II In his pocket
Some days prior TO his being pardonei,
he informed me that he believed he could
take a pardon which had been legitimate
~ ISSUED and by the use OF acids rsnos-
ing what had been written in ths hody o.
the blank substitute other matter In its
place so perfecily as to defy detection ami
that he had decided TO try thai plan
either using his own pardon or one which
he might be able to procure from man
named ---, who had been pardoned
some time before. .; the only OBJ
stacle to this plan was the fact that whsn