Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-06-24
agistellann.
wonderful Case of D:sou,ed
fs2 y Personal Identily. - e.

.fr Il
Mc-4Mey,aor not eMcAuleye that as tsc
baH 3 lr} Question. s. s7s
The great question at Portsmouth, Ohio
SIS whether certain individual is or is
not "McAuley." We quote the points
from the Portsmouth Tribune of June 7th ::
1t seems that in tbs spring of 1859 a
man named Robt II. McAuley left this
country for California. He had been raised
n few miles above the city, near Lucasville; !;
bad been married in that neighborhood !;
and was well known by large circle of
friends and relatives, including halfbroth-
or, and quite a number of relatives of his
wife's. He left a wife and two ehiIdren.-
During his absence ofsix years he has been
in correspondence with his relatives; and
some months since they received letter
from him in California, stating that he
was out of health, and if he had money he
would return home. His friends were rails
ing money among themselves TO send for
him, which they were about doing, when.
10! and behold, they were astounded by an
einaciated, worn out looking man appear
eng before them, and claiming to be, the
yeritable man MeAuley. -.
He was apparently in tho last stages of
consumption, weak, tremulous, and scarce
ly able TO talk. His mind seemed unbaIan-
ed; at times he would talk nationally, and
alude to persons, places or thing in man.
ner indicating former acquaintance; and
again he would relapse into passive stu
por, or converse in disconnected unintel-
Gigible, manner. Those who had known
McAuley-long and well, some of whom
had been raised with him-worked with
him-eaten and slept will, him-looked
dong and obviously upon the stranger, and
shook their heads, utterly unable TO recog-
nise feature of the McAuley they bad
known. HIS brother regarded him as an
imposter-his wife utterly refused to re-
ceiye or treat him as her husband. His
father-in-law, sisters-in-law and brothers
in-law repudiated him entirely, and laugh
ed at the idea of any one believing him to
be Robert H. McAuIey. Meanwhile the
rumor of the returned Californian and his
mysterious metamorphose, spread far and
wide. People talked upon the streets and
corners-upon the roads, and highways
and by-ways. A thousand different. YER
sicns of the matter were ,retailed from
mouth to ear, and again distorted, exagger-
ated, magniied and horrifed to gaping lis
,teners Some of McAuley's old acquaint-
ances declared it was him. Crowds gath
cred around the invalid and worried him
with questions. Occasionally some one
would get word from him in reference to
the past which was seized as indubitable
evidence of its being the McAuley. Then
argument and disputations arose between
.ne parties-some being strongly in the
Deiiei that it was McAuley, dothers just
rs confirmed in the belief that il was an
imPoster. In the meantime the sick man.
sfe)ec,ea ana dlsowned by those be claimed
ss feiatlyes' returned to town; and here he
was constantly surrounded by persons of
town and country; who regarded him with
all the interest and curiosity that the unso-
phisticated eyince upon seeing the elephant
His relatives anxious to be convinced that
it was him, came in and again endeavored
to recognize something proving his identi.
ty; but they were forced. to return more
fully satisfied than ever that he was moi
the man he professed to be. a. ~
ihe question arose whether The real Nc
Auiey had no marks by which be could
oe iaentlied. His friends said yes: One
1i ms toes had been split with an axe; be
mao . scar on one hand and another mark
under one eye. McAuley the second was
examined, and strange 10 tell he bore the
Identical marks. He,e was confusion worse
confused. When McAuley left here. his