Henry Yesler's Secret Note Comes Due

Henry L. Yesler's estate was sued by Mr. Poncin on a mysterious note signed by Yesler and made payable to Poncin twenty years after date, or at the death of Mr. Yesler. The prominence of the parties and the large number of pioneers called as witnesses led to the belief that the case would be fought long and bitterly, but the longest part of the proceedings was the empanelling of the jury.

Mr. Poncin was present in person, but owing to the statute which forbade testifying to transactions with a deceased person, he was not allowed to take the witness stand. Poncin produced the note in controversy, and proved by A. Denny, Angus Mackintosh, H. Latimer, David Kellogg and a number of other equally responsible witnesses that the signature to the note was the genuine signature of Henry L. Yesler.

The administrators of the Yesler estate offered no testimony, and the cause was submitted to the jury after a brief charge by Judge Osborn, who instructed them that if they believed from the evidence that this was the genuine signature of Henry L. Yesler, and if the claim was properly presented, they should find for the plaintiff.

The jury was out less than fifteen minutes and brought in a verdict for the full amount of the note, with interest to date—a handsome total of $125,677.22. From the certainty established that the signature was that of Mr. Yesler, and the fact that the administrators of the estate made no defense, it is surmised that the judgment will be accepted as final, and no effort made to carry the case to the supreme court.

When the administrators of the Yesler estate took charge they found no account of this loan, and the presentation of the note by Mr. Poncin was a surprise. They refused to pay it. Mr. Poncin thereupon placed the note in the hands of Allen, Hughes & McMicken for collection. This suit called for interrogatories as to the causes that led to the making of the note, and the answers showed various transactions between Mr. Yesler and Mr. Poncin which were all of a private character, Yesler exacting a promise from Poncin that he would keep the matter between themselves. The transactions leading up to the giving of the note were long and involved, and were described in the Post-Intelligencer at the time the answers to the interrogatories were filed last October.