The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1902-08-20


contest for the rich strip of mahogany
land along the west slope of the Cor
dilleras in Peru. Though she lost her
father, ruthlessly struck down from
ambush in the bitter strife, and her
mother. who died from grief and de-
spondency, she won husband and
fortune. But for the timely and stanch
assistance of George Flores 1t is
doubtful whether she ever could have
won against the Vaccinations of the
rich and influential men who We're
determined to capture the great ma
hogany tracts valued at S6OO,OOO.
When. disguised as a boy, she was
wounded in trying to recover the
Valdes deeds in order to prove her
title. It was Flores who aided her TO
escape the hirelings who had her
surrounded When the Valdes deeds
were recovered it was Flores who
shrewdly preserved them till they
were called for by the courts. though
detectives and cuttnroats were ran
sacking the possessions of everybody
connected with the case, threatening
Wpdh-HtdTleu anu tNth
those that were thought to know the
whereabouts of the papers. Despite
all their efforts the deeds were pre-
served and presented to the court at
the opportune moment, and the we'd
ding of Jessie Banning and George
Flores dramatically closed the long
and exciting contest.
Jessie Banning might be called an
American girl, though she was born
in Peru. Very early in life she was
taken to California by her mother and
attended the public school In San
Francisco, where she formed many
acquaintances. 1t was through her
mother that she inherited the title to
the great stretch of valuable forest
lands which were so long in dispute.
Joe Banning, her father, was very
well-known in the Mendocino noun
tain ranges. In the early '70s he sold
his timber claims in that region and
went to San Francisco for rest and
to see what chances offered for in
vestments in new lines. There he met
pretty black haired Anita Ramirez,
who had come from Peru on a visit
to an aunt, and he fell desperately in
love with her. Marriage quickly fol-
lowed. He took a wedding trip with
her to Peru to visit her relatives and
''see what kind of country 1t was,
anyway" Being timber expert, he
became keenly alive to the prospects
in that country in furnishing fine
woods. and when he saw the rich belt
that his wife disputed title to he was
ready to jump into the contest with
all his American energy, pluck,
shrewdness, and every cent at his
command. The coterie of spectators
who were trying their hardest to COB
BILE the tract were not afraid OF this
new champion. They argued he was a
foreigner, unused to the ways OF the
country. unfamiliar with its laws, and
at pinch, there was always way or
dealing with opponents who became
too truculent or too successful.
With indomitable energy and per
severance he at last got his wifes
claims in such shape that his friends
declared he must win when the evil
dence was presented to the courts. The
last missing link in the title was the
Valdes deeds, and these, after long
and tireless search he had at last OBJ
tained. After an arduous two years
struggle his triumph seemed at hand.
Then it was the other side showed
how they proposed to escape from their
desperate corner. Banning, with his
wife, was passing out OF a crowded
nobody noticed who pressed next him.
Sudder!y he grasped the arm Of his
wife more closely, exclaimed, II am
stabbed" and fell to the ground. 1t
was a mortal wound he died three
days later. Several arrests followed,
but the real culprit was never caught.
This sensational episode in the con-
test was followed by the burglary Of
his house and the theft of the Valdes
deeds. Mrs. Banning collapsed under
al, the strain. Taking her little
daughter, she fed from Peru and again
came to San Francisco to visit her
sister. But her heart was broken. She
pined away and in three years died.
Jessie was kept at school till she grad
uated, then she went back to her rela-
tives in Peru. Then for the first time
she began to hear the stories about the
strife over tho tracts. of val
uable woods and the reasons
why her father had been MUIR
lered. The cowardly act incensed
her. She spent all her spare time going
over the records and the evidence, and
when she realized the mass of crime
and swindling operations that had rob-
bed and crushed out the lives of her
parents she resolved to make it the
effort of her life to get justice and
bring the guilty paroles to punishment.
So with little money, but with all her
fathers pluck, this frail girl took UP
the contest. 1t was good fortune more
than chance that sent George Flores to
her standard when she began her con-
test against the unscrupulous enemies
of her father. Flores had been squeezed