TTTE STTNDAY OHEfiONTAX. PCRTX.AXC, JULY 4. 1915.
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BY CORA RIGBT.
Castles in Spain have a never-fa.il-
!ng fascination for prosaic persona -who
ive in cottages or flats. That is why
"the Spanish prisoner and the hidden
reasure" same continued so Ion a.
Fact and fiction are supposed to be
Inextricably interwoven In that land of
romance and adventure of which most
Americans have no very solid informa
tion. It was accepted aa altogether
likely that a man might have been com
mitted to prison for a political .offense
In Spain and more than likely that he
mlfrht have acaulred enormous wealth.
With such a condition of affair why
should he not turn to the land of the
brave and the free to get help to estab- munlcatlor with the outside world wan
lish his own freedom, or, if he were through the chaplain of the prison in
going to die, to assure his lovely young which he was Incarcerated,
daughter being brought up a free and This letter was followed by another
Independent young woman in the from the chaplain to whom the prle
Vnlted States of America? All that a oner had referred, announcing . the
man hath will he give for his life, so death of the unfortunate man and In
why should not a desperate prisoner forming the farmer that, as executor of
give a fourth or even a third of bis
, fortune to Insure his liberty or that of
one who was dear to him?
It was about 25 years ago that an
Iowa farmer received a letter from
Epain. That in itself was a notable
event. No one in his neighborhood had
ever had a letter from that country. It
teemed almost that there must have
been some mistake, that the letter was
not intended for him. Tet there it was
before his eyes his address that some
one in Spain obviously had known
about. It made such an impression on
him that he went absent-mindedly
about bis work, pondering over the
strange thing that had happened to
him. The farmer did not know much
about his ancestry, and he reflected
that It must be. as stated in the letter,
that some one .of his family had mar
ried a Spaniard. It was unthinkable,
yet here was the proof. Unless there
had been some such connection surely
do one in Spain would have known
about him or that he had a long-lost
brother.
The Iowan took no counsel with any
one on the subject, but after several
days' reflection he answered the let
ter of the unfortunate Spanish prisoner.
To send a letter to Spain was almost
es much of an event as to have received oner, which was held pending the pay
one from that far-away land, and the ment of the fines that had been 1m-
farmer in hia Imagination followed his posed upon it by a heartless govern
letter, wondering if it would reach the ment. Another thousand must be paid
man beset by such perils and under before the fortune, which waa secreted
such severe surveillance as the unfor- in the trunk, could be secured. The
tun ate prisoner who had written to him Iowa man. having sent his first thou- law for almost a quarter of a century,
of his unhappy plight. sand, could not risk it and the greater How much money they obtained from
With deep anxiety ta-s- awaited the sum which hung upon the payment the gullible It Js Impossible to corn
reply, and his expectations were not tbe second thousand, so with many pute, for many of their victims never
disappointed. The Spaniard wrote that misgivings he ot together the re- confessed to what extent they were
he was too 111 to have any hope of
ever escaping from his dungeonv but
that all the energy of his few remain-
Ing days was being, concentrated on
the effort to provide for the future of
his young daughter. He was deter-
mined that the government that held
him a prisoner should not profit by
the fortune that he had been able to
secrete and that only the person to
whom he Intrusted his daughter should
have any share In it- To that person
he would give a fourth about (150,
000 and to him he would confide the
secret of the hidden treasure. He ex
plained that his only means of eon-
ii - i i1 - 'Hi
the estate. It fell to him to notify his
correspondent that the prisoner had
arranged for him to become the legal
guardian of the young senorlta and to
share in the estate, as he had written
him before his death. The priest fur
ther Informed the farmer that he
would himself conduct the senorlta In
safety to her destination In Iowa and
would bring with' him the luggage with
the secret compartment containing the
valuable papers constituting the for
tune. Of course, he suggested, as be
was ,a poor man and aa the fortune
was not immediately available, he
would have to have 11000 to give the
senorlta the proper outfit, and to pay
their passages.
The farmer was slightly disconcerted
by the demand for money from a quar
ter to which he had looked to receive
large sums for himself, but, on second
thought, what a paltry sum of a thou
sand dollars to a man who was soon
to be master of f 150.000? He therefore
sent the money and waited impatiently
to hear that the priest and his charge
were starting, but Instead he had an
other letter from the chaplain, very
apologetic, but explaining that there
must be money to pay for the release
of the luggage of the deceased pris
quired sum and forwarded it to the
chaplain.
Needless to say, neither chaplain, for-
tune nor senorlta was ever beard of
again. No answers were returned to
the frantic inquiries and appeal made
by the unhappy American. When it
was too late the entire countryside
knew of his misplaced confidence, and
much advice as to what he ought not
to have done was lavished upon the
.unfortunate man.
Thia waa the first of the series of
swindles perpetrated by a band of
roguee who shifted their headquar
ters and evaded the penalties of the
SKclcHes Worn IMjyt
i,m j ,
mulcted. However, from the records
found la the offices of the band at
various time it was evident that the
business done wae enormous and that
the proflta must have been correspond
ingly great to warrant the employment
of so many agents and the conduct of
the business on so extensive a scale.
The versatility of the men waa shown
in their ability to change the char
acter of the swindle as well aa tbe
headquarters whenever pursuit became
too keen to be comfortable. For the
most part tbe scheme waa directed
from Madrid or Valencia, but for a
while Barcelona waa the seat of
activities, and there were brief periods
wbn the control waa removed from
Spain altogether. Tbe conspirators had
agents In many . places, who Investi
gated and made report upon persons
likely to respond to the allurements
of the prisoner-treasure project. After
one of the raids which' ware thought
to have put the company out of busi
ness, but which only succeeded in
transferring the base of operations. It
was decided to send out letters only
to Americans who had some family
connection with Europe, and. If pos
sible, with Spain. Of course almost
everyone In America baa had a long
lost relative In Europe, or one who
might have fled to Europe at some
time. Everyone is eager to give cre
dence to the possibility of a relative
having made a fortune, especially when
-'
Emelia
ASTRO
he manifests a disposition to snare It.
"Z
farm and
. received
A well-to-do owner ef
sawmill In Canterbury. Conn-.
a letter purporting to be from one
Santiago FernolL a drlng Spanish pris
oner, who addressed him as "Dear Rel
ative. 'I have not the honor of know.
Ing you. be wrote, "but my wife, your
relatives. In speaking of the Individuals
of your family, often praised your hon
esty and good quail tie. In my present
affliction I turn to you for a protec
tion to my daughter, your nieve, Emily,
whom I keep as a pensioner at tbe cas
tle or college of 6u Eleaa. and whom
I may never see again, considering the
grave state of my health. I am watched
on all aides by my enemies.
Tbe writer continued to inform bis
American "relative that be bad served
In the army atrslnrt the Cubans under
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"or marpos in nan acquired a
fortune In Spain, but later, after thft
coming ot Weyler. he had Joined tk'e
Cuban Republic After tbe war he
bad gone to London, and while tr.tr
learned that his wife had died. WaVing
a daughter, and he at once weftJL to
Spain to find hla child. Before tfolne
he had deposited Jn the Bank otjunic
land his fortune And had recelvM in
return a note, "payable to bearer
which he had plaoed In a aecret allde ia
hla portmanteau. Soon after aeeing
his daughter he bad been arntted on a
charge of treason and thrown Into
prison, hia portmanteau and other lug
gage being confiscated.
"I am allowed no . communication
with the outside world." wrote the al
leged prisoner, "not even- with my
danjhter. The good chaplain of the
castle, who la also my confessor. Is
responsible for thf delivery of this let
ter. If yon will pmy the costs the em
bargo will be raised. We can then act
accordingly, nuking arrangements for
my daughter's education and set aside
a portion of ray fortune for you or your
family aa a just reward.
The answer to thla letter was to be
sent under cover to the servant of the
con feasor. Pedro Flaquet. at Valencia.
The American to whom this letter
waa sent recalled that he had a sister
who had forsaken her husband near
San Francisco, and, akj he had not heard
from ber for a long time, be thought
it possible that she anight have mar
ried a Spaniard, and he waa Inclined
to answer the letter forthwith and
commit himself to the undertaking
asked of htm. but he mentioned It to
a friend, who. with, more caution, ad
vised hla asking for further direction.
Promptly he received a letter from
Senor Kernoll. couched In lugubrious
- . . . a ...,
terms, deploring .U weak slate at a
Um- wJB h Be.ded . of hl. ,tren,la
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I or 1. 1 a oe.ovea uauaoirr. in suuci-
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subject of his fortune, again stating
that tbe Bank of England note would
be foirnd in a certain piece of luggage
so seenrely concealed that the trunk
would have to be destroyed to find It
Referring to his excellent father cob
feesor. he closed with the appeal: "I
beg of yovi to lend him the metallic
help in the form In which he will be
obliged to solicit from you."
It waa net long before this solicita
tion cam. The supposed priest ex
plained that the soul of the Senor
Kernoll waa now at rest, and enclosed
the letter that he ssld had be-ea writ
ten by the prisoner on his death bed.
My dear sir and relative." It beean.
iK-rawlIng hn. "I fl tht rr.
1!f to mr n m fait. aA.I 7 adr,n in rr .!
life ts r'n fast. fil I ad1res to ycxi
wy rat ntraTy. I irado my trsta-
ment. In which 1
k Ixavv to my 5UKMr,
an my only hrwsa.
my fortune. I ap-
point yon hf guard an and testamen
tary tfotr, and. should you accept
: and Yulfllwhal I disposed. I make
ytrj-ik dc-ation ot one-fourth part of
my tetav'f orton.
. To irao!1o Amedo. my chaplain. I
(lemraflOOO, and I appoint him my ex
clt tfiat he may deal with the Tri
' buna!.
Adfea. that yeu will love her. aa
sh has BoDodr In the world after
tiff eeth, which I forebode it will
r
r very soon.
"SANTIAGO FERNOLU"
Close upon the receipt of this letter
came an elaborate manuscript cony In
Spanish of FernolVs will, with a trans
lation, and a delicate reference to the
necessity of partner 1S to release the
seised hargaee. The chaplain offered
to conduct the young Emily to her
relative In America, and tbe senorlta
hersalf sent a letter addressed to "my
dear uncle.
The American, by thla time, however,
had bet-ome cautions and refused to
be moved by this artlesa appeal. No
money waa sent.
In certain Instance an appeal was
made to Protestants to bring the girl
p In their faith, as the "prisoner."
having Buffered so much at the hands
ef tbe Catholic Spaniards, waa anx
ious to Insure his daughter's escape
from their tsflnence.
FreqoecUly death notices that
seemed to have been clipped from local
papers were sent after the death of
the "prisoner." usually ty his trusty
chaplain. There were also orriclsl
papers bearing seals and the sltrrj
turea that Indicated that officials were
Implicated or else that some one r.sd
access to the public offices and rr.s-e
use of their property.
Another ruse was that employed by
Luis Ross Comas, who wrote to two
men In Chicago asserting to each t.at.
having stolen 10.CO. he had been
arrested for the theft, and he offered
to give the Americans fX.WO If they
would fceJp Mm to resain his freedom,
the first step being, of course, the
sending of money. He wss able to
communicate with, the Americans
through a cell-mate, he asserted. One
of the men waa about to accede to
the request of the Fpanloh prisoner,
being all the more Inclined toward It
because a trunk containing $'.nv
worth of setrurltlM Held ap by the
ixw ,or '"- aumorlt.es
but. learning that a similar letter had
been aent to another nermn. h. r.
- - -
off In time.
At one time there was discovered la
Madrid the headquarters of a band ef
Internationa! swindlers. Their method
had been to endeavor through branches
In all parts of the world to extort
money by offering to disclose the spot
where treasure waa bidden at the time
of the Peninsula War. In this rase
there waa no prisoner and no yiur.f
girl to be cared for. but some ef the
e persona were Involved In both
swindle and Americana were found to
have been among the victims of these
ewlndlara.
When It waa thought that the public
had hecorne wary ef tbe Spanish tale
(Ton-'.! oo Fat 5