"Grants Pass, Ore, Dec. 9 --Eastern Black Hand methods have found their way into this quiet valley, if a letter received by Mrs. A. N. Parsons, wife of a local business man, is a genuine threat.
According to this letter, which is undated and unsigned, Mrs. Parsons has until 5 o'clock tomorrow evening to make up her mind whether to deposit $1,000 in a designated place or to have her husband killed, her ten year-old son kidnapped and mutilated, and her home burned.
Mrs. Parsons, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, as a result of worry that the letter has caused her, is directed to place $1,000 in $20 gold pieces in a certain spot in Granite Hill cemetery, before the time specified unless she wants all these terrible things to happen to her.
The letter has been turned over to the police and the entire force is now working on the case. Three deputy sheriffs are kept on guard at the cemetery night and day in order to intercept any prowler who might come around looking for the money.
Parsons and his family came here from Omaha early this year. Mr. Parsons says he has, so far as he knows, no enemies in Grants Pass or in Omaha."
The term "Black Hand" does not refer to a criminal organization, but is an extortion scheme. It usually involved sending a letter to an intended victim, foreshadowing murder, kidnapping, bodily harm or arson. The letter would demand an explicit amount of money to be left at a precise location. Often the letter would be decorated with a hangman's noose or smoking gun and signed with a black ink hand print.
This news story didn't say if the threatening letter contained any of these markings.
The conclusion to this story could possibly be found at the Josephine County Historical Society's research library. Why not pay a visit to them, and see what you can dig up!
The JCHS research library is located at 512 SW Fifth Street, next-door to the historic Schmidt House. The library is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment