Historical Note - Week of January 24th
This note preceeded a murder case that occured in April 1885 detailed here: Johnson/Lane Trial
The result of the case here: Case Verdict
The Livingston Enterprise, January 24, 1885
An Elopement
In its proper place in this paper appears an advertisement in which C.C. Lane cautions the public against giving credit to his wife Hattie E. Lane. There is generally an interesting inside history to such an advertisement and this is no exception to the rule. It is the story of woman’s infidelity and man’s rascality.
In September last Mrs. Lane came down from Cooke with her husband and on the 19th of that month parted with him on the most pleasant terms and took the train for a trip to Manchester, Iowa, where her relatives live. During the succeeding three months and more her husband received very frequent letters from her, all couched in the most affectionate terms. On the 7th of January she joined Fred P. Johnson at Sioux City, Iowa, and with him left for some unknown destination. L al readers will remember that Johnson was Neil Lane’s partner in business at Cooke City during nearly a year past and that he left here for an eastward trip at the close of December. Both he and Mrs. Lane seem to have played a deep game. Before leaving Cooke and while Mr. Lane was in Livingston he began to secretly dispose of partnership property and to appropriate the proceeds to his own pocket. When in November or early in December he began borrowing small sums of money from any and all who would loan to him until the aggregate obtained in that way mush have been a large amount. At the same time he was being supported by Mr. Lane who almost daily gave him enough money to liquidate his extravagant expenses. While Johnson was raising money in this mean way Mrs. Lane had been playing a deeper game. While she was east nearly a year ago her husband, having good reason to suspect her fidelity, told her not to return to him. But she immediately did return and after fervent protestations of her desire to resume amicable wifely relations was received and from that time to last September lived pleasantly with Mr. Lane at Cooke. During last summer a considerable amount of her husband’s property in the form of deeds and mortgages was placed, in trust, in her name. She had money in her own right and seems to have advanced a portion of it to relive Johnson of an attachment levied upon him last summer. When she went east she informed her husband of her intention to dispose of some real estate which she owned in Iowa and with the proceeds to return and accompany him to the Pacific coast. She raised money by mortgage upon the property and sent the mortgage to Mr. Lane for his signature about the 1st of January. He signed it unsuspectingly and upon its return to her she eloped with Johnson. The woman seems to have been during nearly a year hatching the scheme which culminated in the elopement. Mr. Lane has taken legal steps to recover his property held by her in trust, but beyond that will probably take no measures against his erring wife and her sneaking paramour unless they cross his path.
