The Red Cloud chief., 1902-06-20
MOST COLOSSALSWlNDLE
DETAILS OF THE HUMBERT.cRAW.
FORD 100000 HOAX.
A Safe In Paris supposed to Contain
10000, 900 francs. when opened ia
Found to Hold Only s4OO and y Little
Hun Mad.H

for the last two weeks has occupied
the attention of Paris to the exclusion
of almost everything else are at hand.
On the pretnncc Of u fortune of S2i.-
100000 locked up in Il safe the perpc.
traitors of the fraud haye.b been able to
borrow in the last twenty years sums
a~ggregating n total amount of 5000.
600. When the creditors became impor.
innate the famous safe was opened
and found TO contain securities amount.
ing to about 500. II little jewelry md
some worthless papers.
The story begins in Nice i'm 1877, and
the principal actors are an American.
one Robert Henry Crawford: Thercsc
d'Aurignac. now Nine. Humbert: her
husband. who Is II son of a former
French minister of Justice: two broth.
crs and n sister Of Nine. IIumbcrt, sew.
eral lawyers, and last, but not least.
two ncphcws of Robert Henry Craw-
ford, both New Workers and both mil
lionaires. Concerning the existepce of
the Humberts and the d'Aurignacs
there Is 40 doubt, but no one seems
" w i"'' Wv" w w ~ vi
Crawford or his ncphews, although the
latter have been parties in innumcrable
suits contested in the French courts
over this fabulous fortune.
According to the legend that has
grown up, in 1877 Henry Robert
Crawford died in Nice. leaving his
whole fortune Of 12O.OOO,0o o francs to
Thcresc dAurlgnac. who had nursed
him during his last illness. She was
the daughter of n linen draper in Tout
louise. and shortly after the fortune
had been left to her she married Fred.
erick Humbert. whose father wars min.
lister of justice in De Frcycinet's cab.
met. in 1852. But before She had time
to- enjoy her windfall two ncphows of
the deceased Crawford approximations
crt ana Henry Crawford. of New York
bringing with them another will
made ON the same day ar the one which
left all To Mime. Humbcrt. This will
provided that the fortune should he
divided into three equal parts. 10 be
given 10 the two ncphcw$ and to the
younger sister of Nine. Humbert. Ma.
Tie d.Aurignac. with the condition..
however. that an annuity of 100000
francs n year he paid to the elder sis
ter. But the ncphcws Were rich al.
ready. and generous too. so they pro-
posed that the fortunes he united and
all made fair by one of them marrying
Nine. Humbrrt. When they discovered
she was already married they proposed
the union Of one of them with the
younger sister. Marie. who at this time
was u child in school. ana the offer was
rejected, Then an arrangement was
made by which Nine. Humbcrt was
made trustee of the entire fortune. 10
hold until her sister came of age. She
was to have an allowance of 1861. 900
francs Il year. and the rest of the for.
tune was to be locked up in u safe and
not be disturbed. A few years later
when Marie d'.Aurignac came of age
she refused 10 marry either of the
brothers Crawford, and since that
time, n matter Of twenty years ago,
French courts have never been without
Il Humbcrt- Crawford case.
In the meantime. no one. not even
the lawyers retained ny them. has ever
seen tie Crawford brothers. although
mp TO a comparatively short time ago
they received. or asserted they re-.
ceive0. instructions from them. and
that all the necessary lagal papers We're
signed by them. And Nine. Humbert,
unable 10 get their consent to open the
safe and divide the money, took to bOr.
rowing on the concealed assets. She
hough, q palace In the Avenue de Ia
Grandc Arrlcc in Paris. two magniti-
cent chatcauN in the country. II steam
yacht, splendid jewels and spent great
sums in various charities. the money
for which she borrowed at very high
rates from various money lenders and
banks. From one man. a NJ. Girard.
she got Sl,2iO,VOO: from another man
: l,4OO.OO0, and from several she Sc.
cured more than half Il million.
All this time she was asserting that
the safe contained 12O.OOO.OOO francs
in securities which she could not touch
without, the consent of the CrawfOrds,
and IN calm the fears of her victims she
would show them the officially sealed
envelopes containing the fortune, with
the atfidayits of the nOtarics rs to their
contents. \ few years ago cOmmunica-
tons from the mysterious Crawfords
ceased. the brothers Were completely
lost sight of, ana all that Nine. Hum
bert could do was to borrow money.
which she did most successfully, con,
sidcring that the only proof of the
istence of the fortune was her word
for IL
In 1897 Girard, one of her principal
creditors, committed suicide on account
OF his failure To collect the money he
had lent Ia her. His estate was liqui.
dated by NJ. Waldcck- Rousseau, the
present Premier. who. during the
course of his argument, asserted that
The C~raWfords, uncle ana nephcws.
had never existed, that they Were IN.
known in New York, ana that the
whole business was Il gigantic fraud.
\Imp Humbprt SpItIpI Ihis claim FIN