Daily Arizona silver belt., 1907-08-28
PERR|N'S RECORD
 IN THIS SECTION
Doctor Convicted of Land Fraud in Frisco Was Largest Cattle Owner in Arizona at One Time-Story of Deal ings Would Make Good Book.

The conviction of Dr. Edward B. Perrin of lands frauds is of interest to Arizonans. He is the heaviest land owner in Arizona, but his operations have been confined to the northern DOT tions of the territory, He was also, at one time, one of the largest cattle and sheep men in the country, but thieves "stole him blind. When the writer was superintendent of the territorial | prison the doctor came there for the purpose of interviewing cattle thief he had been primarily interested in convicting. The fellows name was Hutchinson. For two years he had been | foreman on the great cattle and sheep ranges of the Perrin Land &s sCattle company. The doctor was anxious to learn how 2,500 head of sheep had been taken from a certain corral and spirited away. He promised Hutchin- son all the joys of an early paradise if he would "put him next to the way the thing was done. At first Hutchin- son refused to "peaeh, ;" and when he was urged by the writer to do so, he said: "You do not know Dr. Perrin as well as l do. His promises are not made to keep But finally he told him that it was not 2,500 head of sheep that were taken at the time referred to. but 5000; that they had never been in the corral, but had been herded be- low. They were driven into the tim Der and divided among the thieves. As they did not have enough to make a good division, they went back and stole 800 more. These were mostly disposed of to the butchers in Prescott and sur rounding camps. Perrin stated that he had at one time about loo COW ponies on the ranch, but they had been stolen down to about six or seven. Hutehin- son told him that sixty had been driven to California in one band and sold.
 Among other bits of information he gave the doctor was of bunch of eighty beeves that had been sold to par ties in Jerome. At the time those beeves were taken to Jerome there were three men and woman, all employees of the doctor, interested in the tran, saetion. As they spent money freely wished to return east, they forged the doctor s signature to a draft and Chad money to burn. The doctor was par ticularly anxious to know the names of the parties that were present at the time of the forgery and when told the old man shed tears, for amng the names was one of his most trusted employees. Before leaving the doctor pressed Hut crimson to tell him about what was the value of the property taken while he was foreman. After considerable hesi. tation he said "about $l2,000,' but in later conversation with the writer he said that $ll2,000 would not cover the loss, as the doctor might know if he could get true statement of the condition of his herds. Evidently he did know, for he said that his great herds of cattle and sheep had almost en- tirely disappeared and he had nothing but the "baca float" left and probably that would have been gone also but for the rocks that held it down. The doe. tor felt particularly grieved over the loss of pair of valuable mules owned by his son and driven to a blackboard. The son was advised one day that some of the missing COW ponies were to be found in a certain wood He drove to the edge of the wood, tied his mules and entered to look for the horses. Of course they were not there, hut when he returned to his blackboard the mules were gone. They had been stolen dur ing the short time he was away from them.
 Among his many grievances the doe tor told of being in one of the towns on the A. & F. railroad when a train load of sheep came in to go through. Being interested in sheep, he went down to look at them. To his surprise he found three carloads with his brand on them. As he could do nothing there. he went on the same train to the next town, where he swore out a complaint and had the sheep turned into corral in charge of an officer They were all there when "night drew her sable cur tain round, " but the next morning they were gone and he never heard of them afterwards.
 If it were possible to put into print a true story of the actual losses the doctor sustained while cattle and shaen ranching in northern Arizona, it would make book stranger and more inter- esting than fiction. But according to the late decision of the courts the doc. tor was the most accomplished rustler of them all. In company with man named Benson he stole 12,000 acres of government land, the only one thing, as he himself said, the other fellows could not steal.-Tueson Post.
 Van Wagenen, next door to the post-