Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-06-20
THE REMARKABLE
BRUCE SWINDLE


One of the most remarkable mystery
cases in the annals of crime in the
British empire, was of recent occur
renee. In fact, it was only a few years
ago that it was finally settled with the
exterment of the coffin of England's
great man of mystery. thereby sub
Stimulating the fact that a mans body
had really been buried and not a 200
pound roll of sheet lead.
The chief figure in this crime was the
eccentric Duke of Portland who was
credited with being worth a fabulous
sum of money. In spite of this great
wealth and his title, he was rarely seen
In public ON account, it was said, of a
o perfectly hideous.
Welbeck Abbey was his EnglishcOun-
try estate, and he also had a magniti-
n town house in London. Under
meath both of these houses, it was
claimed that he had dug a umbe OF
subterranean passages which he used
for various purposes of concealment.
Not very far from the dukes town
house in London, lived I. C.. bruce, a
prosperous merchant. bruce was re-
ported dead in 1864 and his remains
were followed by mourning friends to
their last resting place in Highgate
cemetery. 1t was not until Is years la
ter that the Duke of Portland died. AS
he was a bachelor his vast estates went
to a number of relatives.
He had not been long dead before a
m was whispered about that T. c.
Druce and the Duke of Portland We're
the same person, and the reason given
for his Jekyll nj Hyde existence was
his aversion to his aristocratic sur
round1ngs. 1t was a that when he
wanted to get away from these, he
would disguise himself as bruce, and
become an ordinary London shop
keeper, and that as bruce he had mar
Tied twice, raising two successive fam
lilies, but as the Duke of Portland he
was a bachelor.
Finally. it is GAINED. that he found
the double life was becoming distaste-
full. so he decided to get rid Of bruce.
and In 1864 he arranged that he should
die and be buried. Then it was that
the claim was made that the sheet lead
was buried and not bruce, who was at
the Duke of Portland's mansion when
the funeral was taking place.
The story gained much credence in
the fact that when 1t became circ,l-
lated about every one claimed that they
noticed a strong resemblance between
the two personages./ either to their Pc
culiar mannerisms, and they were both
AFFLICTED with the safae sort of skin dis
eas
brought into the episode. The bruce
family decided to make a claim for a
part of the Duke of Portland's estate,
and Gs9Tge H2llamby bruce. In far. on
Austfalia, hearing Of this. Journeyed TO
England, and as the son of Druce's
child by his first marriage, he not only
laid claim to the entire fortune but to
n title of Duke of Portland as we'll.
A SON OF the second marriage was Her.
bert bruce, and he stamped the mys-
terry of the burial as Ridiculous, as he
claimed that he had seer his fathers
dead body In the coffin. The Australian
bruce had no money to fight his claim
TO the fortune n title, so a company
was formed to provide him with it.
Forty-f1ve thousand dollars was raised
by selling IS shares largely to servants
and working men, and when the trial
occurred George was able to produce
ABOUT a dozen witnesses to prove his
claim. Among these was an American.
Robert c. Caldwell, by name, who lived
on Staten Island, and who claimed that
n duke had taken him into his con-
1tdence and related to him the circu,n-
Inc OF the mock funeral. There
We're several other American witnesses.
FINALLY, in December. 1907, the bruce
coffin "a opened and the remains Of =
0ead man were found in 1T. which.
caused the Australian p%retender's case
20 go to pieces. Himself, as well as
several OF his witnesses were indicted
Tor perjury, and the hundreds of poor
people who q subscribed the defense
money, lost all they had put in hex VEN
ture. For close to 40 years England was
deeply aroused over the mystery of the
Duke Of Portland