11. From Forging Passes to Forging Titles
When the Civil War ended, Reavis traveled to Brazil, then got into real estate when he returned to the US. Reavis discovered that the talent for forgery that he had discovered and honed while running his Confederate Army forged passes scheme was quite handy in real estate. Especially when it came to clearing up messy paperwork, and fixing vague property titles.
When clients had difficulty selling land because they were unable to establish clear ownership, Reavis would magically produce some document that everybody else had somehow “missed” before, and that cleared up ownership in no uncertain terms. The discovered documents were forged by him, of course. Then in 1871, a prospector named George Willing sought Reavis’ help with a large Spanish land grant – 2000 square miles, about the size of Delaware – in the Arizona Territory. The duo partnered up to develop the grant, and in 1874, decided to head west and get started. Willing got there first, filed a claim in the Yavapai County courthouse, and was found dead the next day. Foul play was suspected. Reavis had made it to California by then, and was there when he got word of his partner’s death.
