Skullduggery, Secrets, and Murders: The 1894 Wells Fargo Scam That Backfired (American Liberty and Justice)

Examines The 1894 Wells Fargo Scam Involving Money Packets Falsely Purported To Contain $25,000. The Plan Goes Awry And Leads To The Death Of A Sheriff And Undercover Agent; Uncovers The Identities Of The Masterminds--provided By Publisher-- In 1894, George Isaacs, The Penniless Black Sheep Of His Family, Was Running With The Worst Of The Outlaws In The Oklahoma Territory. There, A Get-rich-quick Scheme That Seemed Foolproof Was Hatched Up. The Plan Was For George To Present Money Packets Falsely Purporting To Contain $25,000 In Cash To The Wells Fargo Office In Kansas City. Wells Fargo Was To Ship The Packets Via The Santa Fe Railroad To George At Canadian, Texas, Where George's Cronies Would Then Rob The Depot Office And Steal The Phony Money Packets, Thus Allowing George Isaacs To Sue Wells Fargo For His Lost Fortune. The Plan Backfired When The Sheriff Was On Hand When The Train Arrived. The Bandits Killed The Sheriff But Then Panicked And Raced Back To The Territory Without Grabbing The Bogus Packets. Wells Fargo Sent An Undercover Agent To Investigate, But The Outlaws Discovered Him, And The Agent Was Assassinated. The Two Murders Led To Eight Trials, But Only One Man, George Isaacs, Was Ever Convicted-and Even He Managed To Beat A Life Sentence. One Question Lingered: Was George Truly Behind The Scam? The Identities Of The Masterminds Behind The Foiled Plot Have Remained A Mystery For More Than A Hundred Years. With His Usual Rough-and-tumble Tenacity, Bill Neal Undertakes The Investigation Of These Two Cold-case Murders-- Bill Neal ; Foreword By Gordon Morris Bakken. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web. Series page, Title page, Copyright, Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Foreword Preface: Curious Remarks an Author Sometimes Hears Acknowledgments Prologue: The Approach of Four Armedand Mounted Strangers 1. Midnight at Woodward: Oklahoma Territory, March 13, 1894 2. The $25,000 Wells Fargo Money Packets: The Kansas City Union Depot, November 21, 1894 3. An Unlikely Aggregation of Heroes, Villains, and Spectators: Canadian, Texas, November 23, 1894 4. Shootout at the Canadian Depot: Sheriff Mcgee Versus the Outlaws 5. Struggling to Hide The Money Packets: Enter Sam Isaacs 6. The Isaacs Brothers and Izzie, Too 7. George Isaacs Decides to Do the Right Thing--Sort Of: Canadian, Texas, November 27, 1894 8. The Murder of a Wells Fargo Undercover Agent Taloga, Oklahoma Territory, January 22, 1895 9. Lizzie Isaacs Upstages Husband George with a Murder of Her Own: Chickasha, Indian Territory, May 30, 1895 10. The Murder Trial of George Isaacs: "Jim Stanley Was There": Quanah, Texas, October 20, 1895 11. Getting Rich on Thirty-Dollars-a-Month Cowboy Wages: An Open-Range Mystery 12. Jailbreak! The Secrets of Jim Harbolt 13. The Trial of Jim Harbolt: Turning Gold into Dross: Clarendon, Texas, February 1, 1897 14. The Trial of Joe Blake: The Jailhouse Letters: Vernon, Texas, March 1, 1897 15. The Fred Hoffman Murder Trial: Temple Houston¬タルs Magic: El Reno, Oklahoma Territory, November 17, 1897 16. Pardon Me, Please! George Isaacs Meets the Consummate Con Man 17. Here Comes Lizzie Again: More Murders and Mayhem 18. Fitting the Pieces Together: George Isaacs¬タルs Accomplices: the Man Behind Jim Stanley¬タルs Mask 19. Striving for Respectability: Sam and Will Isaacs Epilogue: Sunset on the Trail: The Fate of the Other Survivors Appendix: Deputy Today, Outlaw Tomorrow¬タヤand Vice Versa Notes Bibliography Index About the Author "In 1894, George Isaacs, the penniless black sheep of his family, was running with the worst of the outlaws in the Oklahoma Territory. There, a get-rich-quick scheme that seemed foolproof was hatched up. The plan was for George to present money packets falsely purporting to contain $25,000 in cash to the Wells Fargo office in Kansas City. Wells Fargo was to ship the packets via the Santa Fe railroad to George at Canadian, Texas, where George's cronies would then rob the depot office and steal the phony money packets, thus allowing George Isaacs to sue Wells Fargo for his lost fortune. The plan backfired when the sheriff was on hand when the train arrived. The bandits killed the sheriff but then panicked and raced back to the Territory without grabbing the bogus packets. Wells Fargo sent an undercover agent to investigate, but the outlaws discovered him, and the agent was assassinated. The two murders led to eight trials, but only one man, George Isaacs, was ever convicted-and even he managed to beat a life sentence. One question lingered: was George truly behind the scam? The identities of the masterminds behind the foiled plot have remained a mystery for more than a hundred years. With his usual rough-and-tumble tenacity, Bill Neal undertakes the investigation of these two cold-case murders"-- Provided by publisher. In 1894, George Isaacs, the penniless black sheep of his family, was running with the worst of the outlaws in the Oklahoma Territory. There, a get-rich-quick scheme that seemed fool proof was hatched up. The scheme failed and led to two murders. With his usual rough-and-tumble tenacity, Bill Neal undertakes the investigation of these murders.