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United States Land Office The Alliance
10,0 0 0
READERS EVERY ISSUE
OFFICIAL ORGAN NEBRASKA STOCK GROWERS ASSOCIATION
VOLUME XXI
ALLIANCE, BOX MJTTE COUNTY, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1914
NUMBER 4
RESU
TS
H ERALD
i.
"7
V
t
hi
ilAPPY MEW 1AR 1 H Ml
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F.
MM
IS BAD, BAD
Man in Box Butte County Jail Who Swindled
Reardon is Escaped Convict, Bigamist,
Horse Thief and All Around Bad Man
i.C3NFESSInrOrSHERIFF THAT HE COMMlTXEb (fklMES
"Jtamea F. King," alias J. B. Mer-
iV alias B. Lea, alias Frank
mpp. aJsas Win. Lord, alias Geo.
"ja. Fletcher, who came to AMianoe
k December wirtii a woman he
varied In Anaconda, ' Moo tana, Oc
Vr 11, who prijended heJC they
. aired to purchase the . Simmon
, and ' who oq the- -Stir s of ; D&
ee"er peed a bad check; for $2S
0,1 Sck Riordao, i, sjccordiiug to to-
: ''tttont received here; an all a
rdUad man. .
- 'dor! 'and his wife were caught at
Sidney on Tuesday, ' December ' 9,
he I was brouaM back to A1U-
toU next day by Sheriff Cox.
Tfce glrtt was taken, to Lexington by
fcer uncll,, n Burger, a wealthy, re
spectable bunJn! man of Chat place.
According I to the repotfa received,
KtaC, whc,e rreal name la Geo. Wm.
Fletcher, Mas a wife' and two child
ren in TopKjea, Kansas, and another
wsfe tn Miijutana, It ; ta believed
More are 1 three women, and per
haps more, wao believe themselves
Ms wife. '
n was tbelieved at first to be
Lloyd S3. KnApp, aUas'Lkisey King,
wew escaped f from custody at . San
rYandeco on the: night of Septem
ber; 17, 191Z, Wbile enroute to he
paattentjary t San Quentln, Calif.
Wlien tbe-' oircJjWjr offering a re
ward waa ahowla to King he claim
ed to be the mlA and said he want
ed to go; to CiiMforuia without a
requisition.
He did not answer the
escrij)tVon
fluUy l and dt is believed
he wamted to beltnirot. tn. rviWrnn
to eet away from the anenea of his
recent crimes In Nebraska. Wyomdw?
Montana l
A description of Wing, or Merton,tftt I cant live wRhout
be was known V- the Montana
state penitentiary sL Deer Lodge,
Usntana, wh sent dQ Gal Cox ' to
together with phoigraph taken
at . the pen. Tne oisscrlption from
there reads as follows,; Name, J. B.
Merton. Received VUrmij 11, 1912.
CMme, grand larceny J Age. 31. Oo -
oitpa-tlon, arrhitefjral engineer.!
Hebt, 5 feet , WJ Inches. Weight,
ICS pounds, -wL Paroled. Orober
4, 1913. I
Ruas M. JAbop, sheriff at Sheridan,!
Wvomlr arrivAH (Mi niornrfiK
to get King, and take him back to
Wyoming, forwarded the following
La Sheriff Cox: Anaconda.
Mont.. Dec 11 lylTTt M ITfTlTl.l
nritt KhrU1an Wra. Mr dear!
air: I hope you will pardon me the
Nfeerty I am taking in dropping you
ts.eae few lines, and I hope you wiH
rave me the information I am aakingl
tor. I happened to be at Deer LotUe
em December 2, and I saw the mes-
sees you had sent to Frank Conley,
warden of the state prison, inquiring
about B. B. Lee, alias John B. Mer-i
ton, who had stolen a team of hors
es, forged a check and beat boarfl
tall. John B. Merton has served
two terms at the state prtnon at
Deer Ijodge, Montana. On October
4, 1913, he wwa paroled, and his par-
iG
MAN
r
s
ore .will expire June 8, 1914J
Please
advise me i, you have him ;'a cus
tody. I thought 1 would f ) :you
tWs Information, as I epos! fcr he
Is no good, lie violated h parole
here and left' a good friend ; mine
in the, hole wad beat hi be trd bill
wnd $10 in bash from the 1 rdlady,
and left, the -Mate. I remai , Very
truly yours, JV J& Clifford, at te par
ole commissioner. 4
Writes te His'' Latest "V ,f
On" Friday, December 12, King
wrote a letter to his latest 'wife"
at Terington. where she ha. been
with her uncle after King wo? taken
into cusotdy at Sidney. This
was copied. It shows how
lettor
King,
the crook, was writing as Klx g, the
husband, asking wifey to get uncle
to loan $75 to get him out of 1 rnihle
here. j
The letter follows: AlHanc , Ne
braska, Friday, December 12. 10:30
p.m.' Dear Honey Wife: I guess
the tittle ahort letter I sent wWi
my long one was good news, vusnt
It dear. I just had time to be ibbl
thou i few Vines as the sheriff was
waiting and was going to take 1 tny
other letter whiith 1 had wrttt be
fore 1 knew anything about th oth-
er. He came In with i my
silper
and be told me them, so now
you want to get after uncle Podjind
don't give him any peace until?1. h4
gets It fixed. . If be don't theyilvilj
give me about five yean they fiayj
I can easily pay him back $75 4I 1
don't want to be apart from yonl'to
' five - lone years. Honey. It wtrild
m sure to be away from pou
'.'or long a tto.e. Might Juj
J well be dead as to be separated
ur
ve ana must nave you near
1 love
you so.
How are you,
you alright and
honey dear.
welL Heard
i.re
thing from home yet? I am lookng
or a letter from you in the mortal g
so be sure and write. I guess
1 thought I bad gone crazy the wiy
I cheered up when he told me tmy
would agree to settle " if we pi
; back the check and oosts. The w&
thing will amount to about $76 at
I ere may be a couple
i doVlars left over $80. I can
them tor railroad fare to come k
you. What do you think? I ;
lets go home to mother and stT
"
toLBT
there. She loves us and wants
attATTwr. iuwl 1 "'tanine with-
I oirt my honey, can I, sweetheart.
I say, Hke the Irbh song goes "A
jbuahel of kiases I will bring when I
return again your king" and sure
there will be more than a bushel,
Never fear, it will be kisses for
breakfast, dinner and supper time,
Boiled kisses, fried kisses, stewed
kiases and kisses raw. Oh, honey,
how I want you, dear. I love you,
I love you so much, I can't tell how
much. Without you life would not
be worth while. I am always yours
and no one else's, nor ever shall be
and you are mine. I know It. Ive
me honey and write to me till I
come to you, for we are never go
ing to be apart again so long as
we live, my own. Good night, my
own true heart and God watch over
you forever. Your husband with
love, JUn. xxxxxxxx
Sweetheart, you are the last In my
thoughts at night and first in the
morning and you are never absent
in my mLnd thru the whole blessed
day. My own true wife, I love you
better than life itself, for you are
my life and without you -there la no
life. Klees and a big hug. Good
night, your own boy, J.
At the bottom of the letter was a
picture of two hearts labled "Paul
ine" and "Jim", both bound toset
her with chains and pierced with
an arrow, with the words, "Two
hoarts with but a single thought and
a single love. May they forever
bent as now as one."
Sheriff Cox wrote to the county
judge at Anaconda on December 23
asking the date that King was mar
ried and the address of hU wife's
parents.. In reply he received word
that John B. Merton and l'auline
Marie Kerlsonezo were tnarriad In
Anaconda on October 11 by Juntice
of the Peace Pringle, but the ad
d ess of her parents was not given!
Hoop Wires Cox
On December 24 Sheriff R. M.
Hoop of Sheridan wired Sheriff Cox
at Alliance as follows: "I hold war
rant for J. B. Merton, alias B. B.
Lee, alias James King, horse steal
ing and forgery. Think he to same
man who tried to pull off trick at
Alliance December 8. Can you Bive
me information?" Sheriff Cox wired
in answer and the next day rweived
the following letter from Hoop:
"Sheridan. yo., D. 24. 1913.
Friend Cal. Telegram received O.
K.. The man 1 want from 'the name
of John B. Merton, alias B. B. Lee
and his real name is Geo. Fletcher.
He left here Dec 1 at noon and
went east after stealing a team,
forging some checks and stealing
some furs and clothing, also an au
tomatic pistol. He was relensed
from Deer Lodge pen Oct. 4, 1913.
Is a civil engineer. We want hton
the very wx)r8 way. If you cannot
handle him, for sake let ine
have him. Had a French woman
with him, married October 14 at An
aconda, Mont."
On December 26 Sheriff Hoop
wrote Cox us follows: "Just receiv
ed your letter and I had Just wired
you about an hour before. Now thU
man you have in custody, his real
name, is George Fletcher and his
parents live at St., Kawis
Oiry, Mo. He was reJeatMd fram
the pea at Deer Ixxlge, Montana, on
parole Oct. 4, 1913, was married at
Anaconda Oct. 11 and was In Hill
lugs a ferw days, violated hla' parole
and came to Sheridan, where he
gave the name of B. B. Iee. He
was convicted once before from Sil
ver Bow county, at Butte, for grand
larceny under the name of John B.
Merton. He stole a livery team and
buggy, forged some checks, robbed
a woman of a set of furs and a
tailor made suit, stole an automatic
Colt's revolver and jumped a board
bill of $138 at the Sheridan Inn
bend.
"He had his mail eut to Denver
under the nanue of Win. Lord, as 1
have had detectives at Kansas City
watch for some letter to his par
ents, who are respectable people
and in no way responsible tor his
actions. I spent four days in Den
ver trying to locate him. . I have
two warrants 'for him. We will get
out requisition papers in order to
be on the safe side. Ruas M. Hoop,
sheriff."
Sheriff Hoop arrived this morning
and will take King back to Sheridan
tonight, where he will undoubtedly
be given a quick trial and speedy
Justice for his many misdeeds. Sel
dom has a man with such a varied
record been incarcerated in he Alli
ance Jail. He is lntelllgnet and
claims to have been an Illustrator
on MoCluro's Magazine in New York
City.
ENCAMPMENT INSTALLATION
FRIDAY NIGHT
The Installation, of new officers In
the I. O. O. F. Encampment will
take place Friday evening at the
I. O. O. F. halL The Installation
will not be public, but patriarchs
and their families are invited to at
tend. BEST EVER SEEN
IN THIS CITY
Eagles Give Athletic Entertainment
to Large Crowd of Mem
bers and Friends
The athletic entertainment given
by the Kagiee at the club rooms
Tuesday evening,
was the best ever
sum by the local
sporting fra:ernity.
The events were
clean and the work
was good. Lun 'h
and refreshments
terved after the
program were deliciously gotten up
and everyone enjoyed them.
In the wrestling match betweeu
Wm. Monter and Charles Loosener,
Monier was thrown the first time
in six minutes and two seconds.
Ixesmvcr was practically unknown
here and he proved a big surprise
to some, for be is a wondr. He
threw Monier the second time In
twenty-six minutes and two second.
The big event was the boxing
match bmween Kid Flortan of Whit
man and Kid lOdaon of Alliance.
Florlan Is an all around athlete and
although he U chiefly known a a
wrestler, he u a swift, clean boxer.
Kid Kdwon is well known to the Al
liance boys and has the punch. The
bout was scheduled for ten rounds,
clean break.
Round one was an even break,
both men landing some good blows.
'As round two started, Florian bound
ed from his chair and landed a tell
ing one to the right side. Bdson re
taliated by a left to the Jaw. follow
ed by a right uppercut by Florian.
In round three Fholan led out with
a right to the neck and received
one in return. Florian sent a heavy
one to the stomach and .received a
severe right blow by Edaon. Round
four was swift and full ofurprUi.
It was clearly Florian's round but
he was unable to follow up hU ad
vantage. He had Edson on the de
fensive and started out with aright
'to the Jaw, a lcrt to the Jaw and
still anoCaer left to the Jaw, which
iuade Edton drop his hands and
look for the celling to come down.
Udtion quickly recovered and Florian
lust his chance there to win the
bout.
In the fifth both men started out
fresn and seemingly in good condi
tion. 3dson led out with a heavy
blow to the heart, receiving a right
h the shoulder, fidson shot a right
to the Jaw which missed, following
it with a VeiH Jab which caught Flor
ian in the right temple. Florian
went to the mat and took the count
President McCormlck and his able
corps of assistants deserve credit
for the fine entertainment provided.
DISTRICT COURT
CALENDAR, 1914
Court Will Bt Held In Alliance for
Box Butts County May 4
and Novsmber 9
The 1914 district court calendar
has Just been reoritived by The dler
aid from District Judge W. II. West
over of Ruahrllle.' Court win be
held In the different counties as fol
lows: Sheridan, April 6, and Septem
ber 7; Cherry, April 20 and Septem
ber 21; Box Butte, May 4 and No
vember 9; Sioux, May 20 and No
vember 23; Dawes, June 6 and De
cember 7.
MRS. KENNEDY RECOVERING
Word has been received by relat
ives in Alliance that Mrs. James Ken
nedy, who was operated on at the
Presbyterian hoHjdtal in Omaha on
Sunday, Is recovering from the op
eration. She has been a cripple'
sfnee childhood. Her right Mmb was
amputated Just below the knee and
&he will be fitted with sn artificial
limb.
CRETE DEFEATS
ALLIANCE TEAM
Alliance Basket Ball Team Struck
Bunch of Long Legged,
Long Armed Players
(By Herald Correspondent with the
Alliance Team.)
LINCOLN, Dec. 31 The Alliance
boys struck the unexpected last ev
ening when they found the Crete
basket ball team to be a bunch of
tall, heavy players who followed un
iversity tyle of playing. The soore
at the finish was 42 to 6 in favor
of Crete. The game was fast and
dean and there was no playing out-of-bounds.
The Alliance team was
simply outweighed and outreached.
The lineup tor Alliance was as fol
lows: Darnell, center; Beach right
forward; Schafer, left forward; Gra
ham, right guard; Spacht, left guard.
Nolan, center second half.
A HOME OF THEIR OWN
Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Kewer have
bi"en rooming and boarding since
coining to Alliance but will soon
have a home of their own, and are
d'ighted with the prospect of soon
keeping house. They have bougfit
the Joder residence at 816 IUg Horn
avenue, whkh is a nice property,
all modern except furnace. Yester
day they had a new kitchen, range
put in. They have the furniture or
dered to furnish the home and ex
pet to move in the first of the
week.
Mrs. ILottJe Owens Is quit til.
Miss Josephine Hong returned
yesterday to her home at Beatrice.
She has beea visiting her father,
G. N. Hoag, during the holidays.
Mrs. Martha PaUnore was hostess
at a six o'clock dinner and theatre
party last evening given In honor
of Mrs. J. W. Holltday of Denver.
who has been rial ting with Mrs,
Jerry Rowan.
HI
The Herald
...Calendar
Herald Headers are Requested
to Phone Announcements for.
Department to 340.
LL
Thursdsy, January 1, 1914
Royal HlKkktfkders' annual supper,
M, B. A. tall. Installation of offic
ers at 8 p . is.
Schubert llsacert company at the
opera houne, amsptces of the Ladles
Guild.
Y. M. B. 9, skating party. Meet
at club rulnsas at 1 p. m. "
The rWt day to Join The Herald's
Happy Family If you are not already
a member.
WHISTQN COMING
TO ALLIANCE SOON
The "Gat ling Gun" Evangelist Will
Comma ecs Meetings at the
Christian Church Sunday,
It. K. WhiHtou. known as the "Gat
ling Gun UvangeMst," will conduct
a aeries of special meetings at the
Christian c hunch, corner Ninth and
box Hutte, rommenclng next Sun
day, January 4. Mrs. Whist on will
asKlst Id the music. There will be
special muU) at every Bervice.
The eervlcns will be short but ex
ceptionally tateresting. Those Who
attend will ee splendidly entertained
and a hearty welcome will be given
to all. "Oome early follow the ush
ers." BAYLE AND PATSY
ON A WORLD TOUR
Famous Vaudeville Team Just Re
turning from Two Year Tour
of Eastern Countries
On Thursday, Friday and Satur
day there w4U appear at the Crystal
as a special feature a Sullivan and
Considfne act w&ich Is Just return
ing from a two year tour thru Hon
olulu, Japan, China. India and the
Philippine Islands. They have a re
fined comedy and singing act htat
stands preendsent in the vaudeville
world. Bayle Is known as one of
the best stultone singers on the
stie today.
CARD FOR SOW BELLY CANON
The Herald has printed for distri
bution em a awmber of large cards
a poem by Cmarles B. Clark, Jr., en
tttied "Baenf. It is a takeoff on
the diet el ine frontiersmen and pi
oneers ef tie west. Tb first of
these cards Is be given out Croat
the office taken by Rev. D. W.
Montgomery, Be wanted It to take
to "Sow Beltj Canon," a place be
visits to his ministerial travels.
The disappearance of the mini bed
from ths White House garden will
be noted with silent scorn by Ken.
tucky statesmanship.
r.
Read Th Dally Htrald.
