Smyrna times., 1869-05-19
ms c//un ems
Strange Freaks i'm Vs.,

~ parallel to the celebrated Speke mvstor,
~ n"S rccche'y heen brought to light bv tIa III:
GoVery OF missing American rnnflonor 0i9
London The Rev Mr.. Speke. if Will i''i'a hn rn ~
llGlnOered-a brother of the African nvnIor,,,
tIT 4 comfortable English home withnnt as
I6isnaGIe cause and, atterall Great Britain had
a,on on ior weeks III turmoil over his disappear-
t;,,' ""' GIScoVereu In distant part Of the
klhgiom, disguised as a droyer Tia soan,ai l ny
70 DC sane, and no satisfactory exnIanot;or of
us us Vagary was ever made public. Tbr Amer.
~ S;'I case Is strangely similar. Mr.. Edwin r
OoitCn, agent OF the Adams Exnress Cn,,,,-a
ny at Springfield, Mass, LETT the borIo "lta, ~
friend Iii Fifth ST., New York. ON the oStb - "a q
december, 1867, and from that time ,Il troo,
Vi MN was lost. His accounts with the Gom.
p"Iy were !ouhd TO be correct to the last cent
,4 ",'t ~ I!otiNc could DC conjccured for his vol
uhtaIy disappearance. All ayail,hla naa,,' -
nnd HIM were exhausted At last on tba on,b ~
ol 1Aprl, !S69, an acquaintance met him drns.
1Gu ~ as sailor, visiting the Tower of Landau
lie gave history of his adventures bnt mo-
cAPIahatlon OF his sudden desertion of wif,
lrlehqS' and country. The day ofhiS di,an,ear,
ahce nc haQ taken passage for GLASGOW nnInr
an assumed name. He Wandered about En-.
grand Tor several weeks, and then shinnnd ,Sa
seaman o., on board vessel bound for San Fan
cisco. Thence he sailed to C1L.utt, ma r,',
Calcutta to London. He knew NJ tL i;,'ii
hent caused by his Disappearance Lnt NV NV
PIeSsed no intention of coming home.
vi c9urS1 there may be circumstances botI
IN the Spoke and the Cotton case wb;.G hn'', "U.n
DeeH conceaI"d from the public but wbv sh"nd |
we uoubt that sane men are driven sornntin,ns
~ 1h InpuISe they cannot explain or analyzn
20 pIcak out OF the routine of monotonons
ne ana plunge into a new world 4. tLo
WorI4 grows Older, We walk more and mor
cIoSeIy IN one anothcrs footsteps; the gronv,.
get ueeIer, and 1t is harder to csca6e fr1m
tic thcI Dut every now and then impulse Gets
ITo GH peC'er Oh reason, and grown men. respecta-
pie ~! cIerSymGn, fathers of families piav trnant
lIh IKE SchOoLboys, and perhaps hardly know
themselves why they do it, or what thew r,n
away from, unless it be the wearvinp nernssit,.
Vi repeating tomorrow Just what thev did vo:
tcrday and to-day. When we are nngzled o,,or yu1
mysterious dSappealances il wouiJ hn w;so -
rGMenlDcr ;i now often people do strange things
VIII "llH9u' any distinct motlve,-dO them. in fact.
merely because they are strange things, and
Jhey are tred OF being reasonable. If snrb
iicI hau Deeh differently placed in life thev
nlent nave won lame as daring pioneers or adj
'entprous explorers Mr.. Speke, with his
'rotner opportunities, might have opened
'nother wilderness; Mr. Cotton might have I
zen second Capt. Cook. But accident
'hlGh Is only another name for Providence &
ha1e the one clerk and the other a cnroto C
ihu , SO they are likely to be remembered III t
hey are remembered at all as queer ner. c
y ouI vi "hom It. my be an open question wheth- a
~. \. Times. 'i''i0 "ioAeu' e