Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1871-07-04

sentiment against an innocent man. hut
we do affirm that there is, thele must be,
some profound mystery aS the bottom OF
this afinir, and we shall do our utmost to
lathom the secret.
Yes, there is secret and II mystery
connected with the disappearance of Sum
merfcld. and the sole object of this COM
munication is to clear it up, and place
myself right in the public estimation.-
But. IN order to do 10. it becomes neces
sary Ia relate all The circumstances con
nectcd with my first acquaintance with
Summerheld To ,lo this mtelligibly. ]
shall have to 20 back twenty two years.
Ii H. well known amongst my intimate
friends that resided in the late Republic
OF Texas Ior many years antecedeni to
my Immigration 10 this State. During
The year lS47. whil,s but boy, and sc
siding nn the sea beach some three or
lorr miles from The city Oi Galveston.
Judge Wheelcr-at lhat time Chief jus
tice of the Supr, me Court OF Texas
paid ~ Il ) isii, and brought with him a
gcntlcman whom he had known sryera!
Years ON the Sabine river, In the eastern
par, of that State. This gentleman was
introduced To us hy the name oil Sum
merfcld At that time he was past the
prime oI life. slightly gray, and Inclined
to corpuleney. He was OF medium
height and walked proudly erect, rs tho
conscious Of superior mental attainmentS.
His iace was one al those which, once
seen. can never bc forgotten. The fore
Lead WA, broad, high aud protubcrant.
Ii MAS. beside, deeply craven with
wrinkles. and altogether "as The most in.
tcllcctull lha, had ever seen II bore
some resemblance To that of Sir Isaac
Newton. but still more 10 Humboldt or
Webster. The eyes were large, deep
ST, aud lustrous. with Il light that seemed
kindled in their own depths. In color
they were gray, and whilst in converse.
ton absolutely blazcd with Intellect
His mouth was large. but cut with al. the
precision of sculpnr's chiseling. lie
was rather pale. but when excited, his
complexion liz up with a sudden rush of
ruddy llushc-. that added something like
beauty to it, hall.sad and hall-sar,ionic
expression. \ word and glance told
me al once, this i most extraordinary
man.
Judge Wheeler knew hut little Of the
antecedenls OF Summeriield. He WAS oi
Northern birth. but oi what State it is i'm
possible to say definitely. Eally in life.
he removed TO the frontier of Arkansas.
pursued tor some years the avocation OF
village schoolmastcr lwv;ls the sugges'
ton of Judge Wheeler that induced him
to read law. In six months he had mas
tered Stury's Equity. and gained an i'm
portanl suit. based upon lis most recon
ditc principles. But hia heat WAS mol IN
The legal profession, and he made almosI
constant salics into the field OF literature
science and art. He WAS Il natural
mathematician and was the most profound
and original ariihmetician in the South
west. He frequently computed the as-
Economical tables for the a!manacs OF
New Orleans, Pensacola and Mobile. and
calcul .tcd eclipscs, transit observations
with ease and perfect accuracy. lie was
also deeply read in metaphysics. and
wrote in the old democratic Review ior
1916, an article on The Natural Proof oi
a Deity that for beauty at language,
depth 0f reasoning, versatility "f illus
trstion, and compactnc.'> al logic. has
meyer been cqualed. The other publlra
ton which ut that period he had made.
was book that ;stonishcd all of his
friends, both in title and execution. 1t
was called The Despcradoes of the
West" and purpored to give minute de-
tails OF the lives OF some oi the most
noted and blood. stained villains in The
Western States. But the book bcled lis
title. Ii is tall OF splendid description
and original thought. No volume in tho
language contains so many eloquent pas
sages and such gorgeous imagery. in the
same space. His plea Tor immortality,
on beholding the execution OF one oi the
most noted culprits OF Arkansas. has no
parallel in any living language tot beauty
of diction and power Of thought. As my
sole object in this communication is to
defend myself, some acquaintance with
the mental resources of Summerlield is
absolutely Indispensable; for his death
was the immediate consequence OF his
splendid attainmenis. Of chemistry he
was complete master. lie describes 1t
in his Youngest Daughter OF the Sci.
ences, DOfn hilllu HtiiicS, ''iu Si"'o" "'
rollers Of fire. Ii there were any one
science 10 which he was more specially
devoted than any and all others, it was
chemistry But he really seemed an
adept in all, and shonc about everywhere
with equal lustre.
Many of these characteristics were
mentioned by Judge Wheeler at the time
OF Summerfeld's visit to Galveston. but
others subsequently came to my knowl.
edge, after his retreat TO Brownsville, on
the banks of the Rio Grande. There he
filled the position Of Judge OF The Dis.
trict Court. and such was his position
| lust previous to his arrival in this city in