The Native American

The Blind Cheating The Blind.—One would scarcely imagine in reading the following from the Boston Express, that both the parties were stone blind; and one of them a connoisseur in painting:

Gross Imposition,—We learn from the Yarmouth Register, that a Mr. Charles P. Ring, a man blind from his birth, has been grossly imposed upon by one John Williams, also a blind man, and an arrant impostor. Williams, gave Ring, who resides at Lowell, a power of attorney to collect between 4 and 500 dollars, which Williams pretended he had deposited in the Barnstable Bank; the certificate of the deposite being in the hands of one Jonathan Owen, Esq. of Yarmouth; to receive from John Taylor, of Wellfleet, one silver watch and several articles of clothing apparel, and to transact various other affairs for said Williams. The power was legally drawn and acknowledged before John A. Knowles, Esq. of Lowell.

On arriving at Yarmouth, Mr. Ring ascertained that there was no person of the name of Jonathan Owen in the town; he also ascertained that Williams never made a deposite at the bank. He therefore started in the stage on Saturday, in order to arrest Williams before making his escape from Lowell.

This John Williams, is, it seems, by profession a fortune teller. For the last month he has boarded at the house of Mr. Ring, and had bargained to pay $50 for a valuable set of paintings a part of which he had paid, and the pictures were held as collateral security for the balance.

Before leaving home, Mr. Ring suspected what he afterwards ascertained, that Williams was a vagabond and an impostor; he had therefore directed his family to have him arrested should he attempt to take away the paintings in his absence.

Williams's design in giving him the power was no doubt to obtain an opportunity to abscond with the paintings, in the absence of his host.