We proceeded to the Oakland mole by street car, where we boarded the Oregon Express at 8:30 for Portland, tickets having been previously purchased and the drawing room in the Pullman car engaged for the trip.
I rather anticipated being handcuffed on this trip, as Marshal Shine, of San Francisco, was very careful to place the shackles on me at the time of my removal from the Alameda City jail to the Federal Court room and later, on the trip to the County jail, so it was only natural, of course, that Mr. Dingley, his deputy, would be expected to take the same precaution. I was agreeably surprised, however, to find that I was not to be so treated and was surprised still more, upon entering our room, to have Mr. Dingley suggest to me that I might occupy either of the three berths, whichever one I preferred.
I was not regarded as a prisoner at any time during the trip to Oregon, but rather as a guest or companion, and aside from Mr. Dingley and his assistant, it was not known to the other passengers but that the trio were making a tour of the country on pleasure bent. I attribute the treatment accorded to Mr. Heney's good offices, for he must have known that 1 was not of the kind to escape, or attempt such a thing, under the circumstances.
Upon arriving in Portland, we took breakfast at the cafe in the Union Depot, after which, finding that it was yet too early to expect Marshal Reed in his office, we sat about and read the morning paper until 9:30, when we walked to United States Marshal C. J. Reed's office.
Upon entering, Mr. Reed seemed surprised to see us, as he had no intimation that we were to arrive on that particular morning. I was formally turned over to the custody of Mr. Reed by Mr. Dingley, at which time, I was informed that my bond had been fixed at $25,000, and as I stated that no attempt would be made to furnish the bond in question, I was immediately transferred to the Multnomah County jail, being turned over to the custody of Jailer Harry Grafton, under Sheriff Tom M. Word.
My first act after reaching the County jail at Portland, was to telegraph to my brother and attorney, Lawrence F. Puter, at Eureka, Humboldt County, California, requesting him to come to Portland at once, as I wished to consult with him in regard to my future plans. Upon his arrival here, I immediately enlisted his services to proceed East and interview those with whom I had become involved in connection with State School lands with a view of arranging an amicable settlement of the difficulty later on, and which difficulty was the cause of my skipping to Boston in the first place to avoid arrest until settlement could be made or an understanding arrived at. This difficulty, I might state here, had no connection whatever with the land fraud trials in which the Government had secured my conviction. I make mention of this fact, simply to show that in escaping from Secret Service Agent Burns in Boston, it was not because of any fear on account of the Government's case, but because of what might result in the other matters, in event of my being arrested and taken into custody.
My brother made the trip East and was reasonably successful in his mission and upon his return, some three weeks later, he advised me to withdraw my motion for a new trial and to accept sentence and which, he stated, in his opinion, would be very light and not to exceed six or nine months, at the very outside, in the County jail. He thought this the best way out of the difficulty and that, if I should decide to follow his advice, sentence would be imposed immediately and it would not seem long, he reasoned, until my time had been served and I would then be free to engage in some legitimate pursuit which would enable me to square up old accounts with the Eastern people and begin life anew.
I accepted his judgment in the matter and on the following day, July 6th, 1906, I appeared before Hon. Charles E. Wolverton, U. S. Federal Judge for the District of Oregon, and was sentenced to confinement in the Multnomah County jail for a term of two years, and, in addition, that I was to pay a fine of $7,500. This sentence came as very much of a surprise to me, as I little expected
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