Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1909-11-11

The Department of State at Wash
ington has received a report from the
American Counsul-General at Bar
celona, Spain, in regard to the band
towns and cities of Spain, who make
a practice of writing to persons in
the United States respecting the inn
prisonment of a relative and the
guardianship of child.
The Counsul-General states that
the alleged prisoner generally des-
cribes himself as a political prisoner
from Cuba; he is at the point of
death and has but one friend-the
prison priest-through whose good
Offices he is enabled to smuggle an
occasional letter out of the prison
fort.
The prisoner is rich. He has
fortune in cash on deposit in the
United States, but the certificate of
deposit is concealed in a secret re-
ceptacle of his valise; the valise
itself has been taken possession of by
the court at Carthagena, which tried
and condemned him, and will be held
until the prisoner or his representa-
tive has satisfied the cost of the trial.
The prisoner has an only daughter
dying in his prison, his one thought
has no friend or relative in Spain
to whose care he can commit her
In this emergency his thoughts turn
to the distant relative in the United
States whom he has never seen and
Of whom he knows only through
hearsay or the family tree. VIII
the distant relative assume the
guardianship of the darling daughter,
and the darling daughters fortune Of
about $4,000? If the distant re-
lative accepts the trust, one-fouth
of the prisoners entire fortune will
be the material reward. The good
priest will go at once to the United
States and take the darling daughter
with him. There is but one condi-
tion-the ready money which the
prisoner brought with him to Spain
has been exhausted the distant re-
lative is therefore requested to SEND
enough to liberate the valise contain
ing the secret receptacle and the GER
tifeate of deposit. This money is tt
be sent to the good priest at an adj
dress indicated, and, having received
it, the good priest will at once Sc
cure the valise and start for Ameri
ca. the "land of the free and brave,
with the darling daughter.
The above is generally the frs
letter of the SERIES 1t is quickly fol
lowed by another in which the pris
oner pathetically states that hi
strength is rapidly failing and tn
end is near. He beseeches his dea
distant relative to assume the trus
and be a loving father to the darlin
daughter The third letter is iron
the good priest himself, who il
brief. touching terms, and hopelessl
bad English, announces the death o
the unhappy prisoner; the goo
priest adds that the darling daughte
is under his care. He is ready t
put his promise into execution an
start for the United States as 500
as he shall receive the necessar
funds from the distant relative TIL
good priest frequently incloses wit
his letter a bogus newspaper clippin
announcing the death in prison a
Barcelona of the famous Cuban pa
troit sometimes called August
Lafente); the newspaper notice ais
speaks cunningly of the confiscate
valise and the darling daughter.
It is a simple scheme, but pre-
sented in such plausible way ths
almost any unsuspecting "distar
relative" of European extractio
would be more or less deceived b
the glad prospect of falling heir
the agreeable custody of a darlin
daughter with a big fortune, and
one-fourth interest therein as an az
ditional recompense.
Naturally the first impulse of tn
distant relative is to ask lawyt
or a judge or some authority wh'
course he ought to pursue in tn
premises, but as he thinks of doin
this his attention is taken by ii
warning in the prisoners letter b.
seeching him not to mention Il
matter to anv living soul lest II
secret of the valise and the hi
den receptacle be indiscreetly b
trayed.
The valise. after all, with its col
cealed certificate Of deposit, is Il
key to the situation and possessic
must be taken of it before anythir
- IL. ~