New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-05-26
A STRANGE CAST
OF HERED|7Y,
BY I. De WITT BOWMAN.

plebe1an origin. He was short. rec
faced, thickset, rotund and with griz.
Ely gray hair. He wore on his face q
perpetual sour expression. l confess
that, although was given to under.
stand that I owed him everything. !
hated him.
And had every reason to hate him.
for he hated me. He was always
surly to me and never even in odd mo-
ments showed any affection for me.
Only In one way did he manifest any
interest in me. He would occasionally
have fits Of generosity with me, giving
me money quite freely, but always i'm
pressing it upon me that he was very
good to do so and that I should ap-
preciate his kindness. He also seemed
to be troubled with continued fear
II losing me.
The only knowledge he possessed
was that Of figures. He wrote a good
clerical hand, and remember that
such accounts as l happened on that
were made by him had methodical
look.
When I was twelve years old l one
day found Mr.. Coulter In conversation
with lean, hungry looking man, who,
when entered, asked, "1s this the
boy?" and Mr.. Coulter grumbled low
Eyes" The man looked at me curl
ously, and when he went away l saw
him putting lot Of bills in his pocket
book. he came after that from time
to time, and on several occasions when
l happened to see him depart he had
evidently received something. His Wis
Its were always accompanied by bad
humor on the part of Mr.. Coulter, and
once overheard high words between
them
The most remarkable bit of treat
ment l received from Mr.. Coulter was
a good education. When came to be
eighteen longed to go to college and
begged very hard to be sent to uni
versity. He demurred, but at last con-
sented, telling me that should always
remember that he had pinched himself
to send me. At college formed the
pleasantest associations and often
spent my vacations with my college
chums. Mr.. Coulter was greatly vexed
at this, but as l was growing to be
more of man every day, and he was
growing old and seemingly a trife
afraid Of me, usually had my way.
At leaving college wished to study
the law, but for some reason Mr.. Coul-
ter took a strong dislike to my adopt
ing this profession, and in this in
stance, holding the purse strings, he
conquered.
One day while was thinking what
would do to make myself indcpend-
ent l had occasion to hunt for a letter
I had mislaid. Mr.. Coulter was not in
the house, and rummaged all over
1t. Finally got into the garrett There
were several trunks there, all locked,
and an old desk. Protruding from an
under portion Of the desk noticed the
corner of a paper. l pulled it out and
read it. There was nothing in it that
knew anything about, but the hand
writing attracted my attention at once.
Indeed, it was so like mine that for
time supposed had written it and
wondered how it could have come to
be where it was. put it in my pock-
ct and studied it. The next time Mr..
Coulter left me alone in the house
went back to the garnet and hunted
till found letter in the same hand
writing. This time was astonished
It appeared to have been signed by
me. At any rate, it was my name and
my handwriting. 1t had been written
to Mr.. Coulter from abroad and gave
instructions in the matter Of certain
properties possessed by the writer and
evidently managed by Coulter.
/ folded the letter, put it in my
pocket, took it down to my ROOM
locked the door and never gave over
making theories with regard to the
matter till | struck the right one. The
writer Of the letter was evidently my
father or near relative Without
ever having seen his handwriting, he
redity had determined that as grew
to manhood should adopt it. l then
and there determined. maintaining
perfect secrecy between myself and
Mr.. Coulter, to make an investigation.
unearthed a great swindle. The
steps / took to do so would form
separate story. The tracks Of the man
who had done the swindling had been
SO adroitly covered that was obliged
to proceed step by step and very slow
~. ! knew in few months all /
ever came to know, but to untangle my
discoveries SO as to turn them into
proof required a year. When I had
united the last knot went one day
into Mr.. Coulter's study and, laying
lot Of papers on his desk before which
he sat, said:
Take your choice between signing
those or going to the penitentiary."
He looked up at me white as sheet,
then, taking up the papers, signed
every one Of them without reading
them, putting me in possession Of a
large fortune.
Ny father, widower, had died
abroad. leaving me. baby, in his sis