The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-02-08
AFFAIRS IN VIRGINIA.
" Fasher' snith,s' the Bogus Priest,
. Arresteti-His Wonderful Doings I'm
sase sgAItesf. III ~ ts 3a Er.}Ef ! & g.EE 20
From the Winehesie- News oh.

From Harrisonbnrg Father Schmidt pro-
ceeded on foot to New Market, and ingra-
tiating himself into the good graces Of Mr..
McQuade, stopped at his house, and made
the same representations as at the former
place. He administered the last rites to a
dying woman, christened children, &c., ms
before-then stealing sum of money and
Mrs. McQuade's breastpin, started for
Woodstock, where he in due time arrived,
and took lodgings with Mr.. Surbaug Oh. He
was in the act Of celebrating mass in the
house of the latter gentleman when, horror
of horrors in came several Of the gentle
men whom he had duped up the Valley.
He protested his innocence; and some of the
articles being recovered, he was allowed to
proceed, but not before he had borrowed FIVE
dollars from Mr.. eurbaugh, making that
gentleman believe that he was all right
had been badly treated, Sc. He went on
his way rejoicing, and we next hear of him
Mt Middletown, in this county. He here
appears in the role of q land speculator,
and telling the hotel-keeper, Mr.. Hensell,
that he is from California, and has lot of
specie in "that carpet-bag (pointing to a
shabby-looking thing, but very heavy
one), which, bark ye, Mr.. Hotelkeeper,
take good care of, as wish to purchase q
farm in the neighborhood." He boarded
with Mr.. II. several days, but finally coming
up among the missing, the carpet-bag Of
specie was opened, and found to contain,
not golden nuggets, but pieces of stone evil
IDENTITY picked off the pike. -.... -
On Monday he arrived in Winchester,
and on Tuesday made himself acquainted
With several of our Catholic citizens. Be-
ing German, he appeared to have pen
chant for the German Catholics, and dis
liked our Irish fellow-citizens with whom
he came in contact very much. This may
be from the fact that they at the outset de-
nounced him as an impostor. he, however,
imposed himself upon Mr.. Christian Trier,
and got off a most plausible lie about his
being robbed at Woodstocf f his clothes
and four hundred dollars. 'Ir. Trier hav-
ing mentioned that he had !: ciend in Cali
fornia, Father Smith assured him that he
was well acquainted with his friend, and that
he had sent by him to MIR. Trier and his
frau several bars Of pure gold and silk for
dresses, etc., but that he had left these arti-
Giles at Harrisonburg in his trunk, and they
would be here in few days. he even
went so far as to give Mr.. Trier key with
which to unlock the trunk when it arrived,
as he (the Father) was going to Baltimore
that morning to attend to some business.
He also told Trisr that he would transform
our worthy fellow-c citizens John Curran
and Michael Hassett into respectively q
iiackass and mule for denouncing him as
en- imposter, he having dispensation for
such transformations. r. Is
On Friday, we believe, the Father took
his departure, but instead of going to Bal
timore he travelled the road through Pugh-
town, making for Pawpaw station, on the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad. On Saturday
morning Mr.. Scanlin, from Harrisonburg,
arrived, and together with Messrs. Curran
and HasSett tracked the Reverend to Sher-
rard's Store, in Hampshire countH, where
they found him quietly rusticating in the
house of negro woman who lives on Mr..
Sherrard's premises and takes care of the
property. The woman represents that he
told her that he had bought the whole of
Sherrard's possessions in that part of the
country, having met and bargained with that
gentleman in Winchester. He also told her
that he intended to act munifcently, and
give her and her family little farm of
Fifty acres. Of course the old darby vas
elated, and when our party arrived she
was "putting the big kettle into the little
ONE for Reverend Father Schmidt. The
gentlemen arrested the Reverend, and
bringing him to Winchester, lodged him in
limbo. He was visited afterward by Father
O'Keefe, the assistant of Rev. Father Kane,
to whom he acknowledged that he was not
a priest-not even Catholic. However,
he understands the services of the Church
well enough, it would appear, to deceive the
most knowing. He has been taken to Har-
risonburg for trial.