The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-07-16
PREY OF
( NOSELESS
FARMLAND
B SHEL OF LETTERS
SHOW GULLIBILITY
OF WOMEN
CARRY ON NCoRREspONOENCE;;
OBJECT, MATRIMONY
Author Of Their disappointment
Lodged In Federal
jail Here

From q bushel Of letters now stored
In q vault at the Federal building
there will eventually be learned much
about the gullibiity OF women In the
United States. The letters are those
addressed TO j. r. Cummings, the nose.
less farmland OF pottawatomie coun-
ty who, with the single qualification
OF writing q good hand, attracted the
netice OF women all oyer the coun-
try and caused several to take long
journeys
Cummings Is In jail here ON a
charge Of using the mails for fraudu-
lent pu.poses He was captured az
ter sensational hunt. but he does
not yet seem to realize the serious
ness OF his predicament nor the
amount OF trouble he has caused
Cummings In his letters 10 the
women posed as a male factor Of
great wealth He wrote TO several, 1t
Is known, that white he is not con.
sidered rich in this part of the coun-
try he Is worth somewhere between
s65,d00 aud $4,000 Fusther. he rep
reserted himself as young and good
looking IN majority OF letters, so
far as examined he made mtnlifcent
offers for housekeepers The offers
generally were $25 week for house
keeping, with the intimatlon that II
The housekeeping proved good there
might be a marriage Some we're
plain offers OF marriage
Hadn't Money Enough to Flag
Bread Wagon
In the language of Postoffice IN.
epector A A. Acheson. who brought
him In, Cummings did not have money
enough TO flag Il bread wagon when ne
was caught In a WILD section OF Pot.
tawatomie county. so far aa ls
known he never had any property or
nioney above few dollars.
These false representation aud the
regular use OF the mails 10 deIude a
large number Of females will be the
basis OF charges against him IN the
Federal court The letters held up
by the postmaster and turned over to
AeheAon, fill small mall bng.
These have been collected IN a
short while, since Acheson has been
on his trail
Cummings was captured near Keo-
klik Falls Inspector Achcson, Deputy
Sheriff Tighlman and Detective J y.
Cole Of shawnee, traced him to Wild
place on a stream. lhe inspector
waded the creek and popped up sud
denly w front OF a tent occupied BY
Cummings. The man sought was
calmly cleaning Winchester when
the officers nabbed hlm. lie was eYi-
dently ~ eparing for trouble and still
maintains that II the officers had
given him Any show at all there would
have been three dead men and that
be would stIll be attracting the wo-
men N
When the Game Was "oueered.v
The game OF Cummings, whatever
ii was, came 20 a halt when two OF
his correspondents appeared in Shaw
nee In search Of the wealthy gentle
man mho writes such nice letters.
Mics Eta Gentry, from somewhere
up in Illinois and Mrs. Lillian Rus
sell OF Joplin, sIo. arrived about the
same time. 1t seems that Miss Cen
try got the first glimpse or the gen.
tleman and that she hurried TO town
In great rage and told Chief Hawk
about it, She found Cummings dis
tinctly unhandsome In all respects aud
With large flonrlshing career cat
Ing away where his rcsc bad been
MFs Russell was likewise enragcd
Both were pretty well out Of money,
but Mrs. Rusaell was located by an
old acquaintance. who married her
Miss Gentry secured employment.
The Power of Advertising. s3....
The case Is a puzzle. For several
months, evidently. Cummings carried
on correspondence. started By a small
"ad in western paper Several
letters passed between him and some
of his victims TIE women with
whom he cofrespon led are located IN
al parts Of the com " and seemingly
ly III every stage Of life. Some OF the
letters are on fashionable stationery
and addressed III the hcighth of style
while many bear illlterate fraeings.
The case Is a puzzle from the fact
that a motive seems 10 have been
lacking II appears impossible that
Cummings hoped ever to fool any
body into marriage and there are no
siens that he tried TO exfort money
eas any sort Of premises His ment-
. - sts.tez.s :. vs.sa l..oiesle ss1a. lle
thought be waa playing wholesale
II..If4