Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 October 1877 — Gigantic Swindle. [ARTICLE]

Gigantic Swindle.

A most gigantic swindle was brought to light here to-day by the arrest of J. B. Ham, Edward L. Stevens, and George Miller, on a requisition from Gov. Hubbard, of Texas, on a charge of forging land-titles and issuing deeds for large tracts of land in Texas. The swindle originated with Ham and a man named Thomas Tullis, of Austin, Texas. Ham lives here, and, through his pursuasions, Stevens and Miller were brought into the scheme. Stevens, who is a lawyer and a son of Judge Stevens, of this city, is credited with having gone into the operation innocently at first, by buying 14,000 acres of Texas land of Ham, and subsequently became infatuated with the money-making plan, and acting freely with the other parties engaged in it, and was known in Texas as the Kansas City lawyer, the better to enable them to carry out their scheme. Ham and his confederates had made duplicate copies of notorial and other seals, and had obtained the signatures of many officials. They also had printed here blank forms and perfect copies of . deeds necessary for their operations. AU titles and patents representing either State or Government lands used by them were forged. An immense amount of land has been conveyed by them under many aliases, and to many different parties. About a year ago the attention of Governor Hubbard was caUed to the matter, and looking into it a monstrous swindle is detected, involving both this State (Texas) and the United States. The authorities at Washington were informed, and Special Agent Foster was sent out here, who Obtained a clue, which has been closely foUowed ever since, resulting in the simultaneous arrests today of sixty persons, in different parts of the country, who belong to the gang.

No less than thirteen Court Houses have been burned the past year to destroy evidence that could be brought against the swindlers. Ham, Stevens mid Miller left for Texas to-day in charge of officers from that State.— Kansas City (Mo.) Times.