State v. Knowlton

• Decision Date: 27 March 1895
• Citation: 11 Wash. 512,39 P. 966
• Parties: STATE v. KNOWLTON ET AL.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

39 P. 966

11 Wash. 512

STATE v. KNOWLTON ET AL.

Supreme Court of Washington

March 27, 1895

Appeal from superior court, King county; T. J. Humes, Judge.

Prosecution by the state of Washington against Harvey W. Knowlton and John Russell for obtaining money by false pretense. Defendant Knowlton was convicted, and appeals. Affirmed.

T. A Garrett and Alex. R. Jones, for appellant.

John F Miller, Pros. Atty., and A. G. McBride, for the State.

GORDON, J.

A demurrer having been overruled, the appellant, Knowlton, was tried and convicted in the superior court of King county upon the following information (omitting formal parts): "He the said Harvey W. Knowlton, alias George Johnson, alias Rebel George, alias Robert Rae, and he, the said John Russell, alias J. S. Smith, in King county, state of Washington, on the 10th day of April, 1893, with intent to defraud one Charles T. Wooding, unlawfully, feloniously knowingly, designedly, and falsely did represent and pretend to the said Charles T. Wooding that two certain bars of metal which they, the said Harvey W. Knowlton, alias George Johnson, alias Rebel George, alias Robert Rae, and the said John Russell, alias J. S. Smith, then and there had and possessed, which said bars of metal they, the said Harvey W Knowlton, alias George Johnson, alias Rebel George, alias Robert Rae, and the said John Russell, alias J. S. Smith, possessed, proposed to sell and did sell to the said Charles T. Wooding, was then and there bars of pure gold, and that the same were gold, and of the value of at least twenty dollars per ounce thereof, and the said Charles T. Wooding, relying upon said pretenses and representations to be true, and believing the same to be true, and being induced thereby, and not otherwise, and being deceived thereby, did buy said bars of metal from the said Harvey W. Knowlton, alias George Johnson, alias Rebel George, alias Robert Rae, and the said John Russell, alias J. S. Smith, and did then and there pay to the said Harvey W. Knowlton, alias George Johnson, alias Rebel George, alias Robert Rae, and the said John Russell, alias J. S. Smith, as and for the purchase price of said bars of metal, five thousand dollars in money, of the value of five thousand dollars in lawful money, whereas in truth and in fact the said bars of metal were then and there not gold; that the same were then and there not worth the sum of twenty dollars per ounce, or was of any value whatever, and that the same contained no gold; that the said Harvey W. Knowlton, alias George Johnson, alias Rebel George, alias Robert Rae, and the said John Russell, alias J. S. Smith, then and there, at the time of making said false, unlawful, designed, and felonious pretenses and representations hereinbefore stated, well knew the same to be false and untrue, and well knew the said bars of metal then and there contained no gold, by reason whereof, and in the manner and form as aforesaid, the said Charles T. Wooding was defrauded in the sum of five thousand dollars in lawful money." His motion for a new trial having been denied, this appeal was prosecuted.

The appellant contends that the information is insufficient to charge the crime of obtaining money under false pretenses and that the verdict is contrary to law and the evidence. No evidence was introduced upon the part of the appellant upon the trial. Briefly stated, the evidence for the state shows that in April, 1893, the appellant, under the assumed name of Johnson, appeared at the home of the prosecuting witness in Aberdeen, Wash., ostensibly looking for a man named Wooding, to whom he had a letter of introduction. This letter he presented to the prosecuting witness, who, after reading it, informed defendant that he was not the party addressed, and that he did not know anything about the matters referred to in the letter. Thereupon appellant represented himself to be a miner, and to have lived several years among the Indians in Okanogan county, Wash.; that prior to going into the mines with the Indians he had engaged in the freighting business from Spokane northward into the mountains, and had thereby become well acquainted with this particular tribe of Indians (the Nez Perces). Appellant displayed many specimens of gold quartz of a very rich quality, telling Wooding that they came from a mine in the Okanogan country, and proceeded to inform Wooding of the fabulous wealth of this gold mine; that there had been a white man of the name of Wooding, who at one time had been connected with this tribe of Indians; that he (appellant) was in search of said person; that one "Ora," an Indian, was his partner, and they wanted to get this man to go up there, and look after their interests in the mine; that he (appellant), not knowing anything about business affairs, would, with the Indians, conduct the practical operations of the mine; that the Indians had implicit confidence in this man Wooding, for whom appellant was seeking. As a result of the conference, lasting about an hour, in which many false statements and representations were made to the prosecuting witness by appellant, the prosecuting witness was prevailed upon to accompany appellant to Seattle, distant about 140 miles, and see some of the gold taken from the mine. The evidence shows that upon the arrival of the parties in the city of Seattle, the appellant procured a team, and in company with Wooding went out into the woods near Lake Washington, to see the specimens, which appellant said were in the custody of the Indian referred to by him as "Ora," of the Nez Perces tribe who had come from the Okanogan country for the purpose of assisting in the sale of the gold. Having found this "Ora" in the woods, distant about eight miles from Seattle, after considerable supposedly Indian jargon between appellant and the said "Ora," who was apparently very shy and suspicious of the prosecuting witness, two bars of metal were produced, being about an inch and three-quarters square, and perhaps a foot long. These were produced from their hiding place in the ground, where they had been wrapped in blankets, and buried and covered over with leaves and brush. The appellant then furnished a brace and bit, and requested the prosecuting witness to make borings, which he proceeded to do, placing the borings in an envelope, and keeping it in his possession. The bars were then reburied, and the prosecuting witness and appellant returned to the city, for the purpose of having the borings assayed. Upon reaching the city, the appellant, who did the driving, stopped at a jewelry store, tied the horse, and said: "I guess we can get a good assayer right here. Jewelers generally have one." They then stepped into the store, the prosecuting witness remaining in front while appellant went into the rear end of the store, and presently returned with an ordinary business card in his hand, representing as an assayer one White, to be found at room 20 in the Brunswick Hotel. Thereafter, in company with the appellant, a visit was made to said room, where the borings were assayed, and pronounced to be pure gold. The appellant represented that this mine had been operated for years by the Indians; that he alone of all the white men knew the location; that there was a secret, hidden trail leading to and from the mine in the mountains; that supplies were carried over the mountains, and taken across Lake Okanogan in canoes, and that great secrecy was necessary to be observed, else the whereabouts of the mine might be discovered. After a somewhat extensive campaign, consuming three or four days, and including a trip to Portland, in which Wooding was accompanied by appellant, the purpose of the trip being to enable Wooding to borrow the money for the investment, and upon the repeated assurances and representations of the appellant as to the kind, character, and quality of the metal contained in these bars, and its value, Wooding was induced to purchase from the appellant said bars of metal, paying him therefor the sum of $5,000 in cash. There was proof tending to show that the so-called "assayer" was the fraudulent Indian "Ora," and the bars of metal proved to be pure copper. In his brief the learned counsel for appellant has...