Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1874-02-20
party struck trsil that led by dry
brook into q wild rocky gulch, much
81 Noll

DrOOk INTO 3 Wild rocky gulch, muc
overgrOwn with shrnbbery. Follow
ing this they came suddenly upon
rude screen of withcred branches, an
within this, upon bed Of ferns, tire
saw the old nlalf IN state of profOun
but turbulent sleep. He was lyin
drawn up, upon his side, with hi
great bony hands savagc]y clenched
his knees close under his chin, and hi
teeth working like the teeth of do
mumbling a bone. His clothing wer
torn and ragged until his body wa
half naked, and now, to their hOrrO
and disgust, the missionaries saw wha
had caused his strange conduct. Iii
whole body was incrllsted and loath
some with q horrible leprosy. Th
white atrocity of the disease had new
" come into his face, from which h
had probably been able to keep i
heretofore, and so, no longer able t,
conceal the curse that vas upon him
the wretch had fled.
| While they were gazing upon hin
the dog barked. The old man started
up savagely and stared with hideou,
ferOcity upon the intruders. Then
with the yell Of maniac, and an &C
tlvity almost miraculous for one sc
old, he sprang to his feet, brantlislline
his club, and fled into the bushes and
over the ridge like clhamois. That
night it was discovered that he had
come down to the beach, seized acanoe,
aial sailed away in the direction OF
Hawaii. AS it was certain that he
had become a maniac as well as a leper,
it was decided to pursue him, in order
to prevent him from doing harm to
himself or others.
a schooner accordingly on the Sec
Ond day sailed for Hawaii, and when
that island was reached it was found
that canoe containing man answer
ing to Jensen's description had landed
only few hours before, anl that the
man had Immediately started for the
mountains. An active pursuit was now
organized, but Jensen, with indefatiga~
bic energy, kept ahead of them, taking
his course straight for the great crater
OF Kilauea. The pursuers arrived in
time to SEQ the madman spring from a
horrible edge. of rock. and dash him
himself to pieces in the black chasm
below. Nothing was found Of his
body, only upon the spot from which
he leapel was found a worn and tarn-
ished German silver medal, tled 70 q
rude leather string, which had evil
IDENTIFY been worn about the wrctched
mans neck. This medal bore the in
scription, ~. c. L. A!mquist. Isgeaio
ct diHgcntia." And upon the cverse,
written, not engraved, the simple
words, ''Domi bsne est"
Thus was revealed the fate Of long
missing man, and period put to the
wanderings Of literary Cain, who
had gone about with the brand upon
his forehead and the curse in. his heart
for twenty-five weary years; tor be-
yond doubt the old man who, home
less for 50 long, had borne that simple
legend Of homesickness about his
neck, to find his long home at last in
the terrible crater Of Kilauea, was the
once famous Johan Christian Leopold
one Of the greatest geniuses
and most brilliant writer's Sweden ever
produced.
Almquist was born about the begin |
ming of this century, near Stockholm. |
It may be assumed, from the treasured
school medal which lie did not part |
with until the moment of death; that |
he was bright and promising boy.
It is certain that he plunged early ip-
to authorship, and wrote with vlgOr,
versatility, and success q
great number of books upon almost |
every conceivable subject. He wasa
,choUimaster, q radical agitator, .
and an aspirant for clerical
1ignities. He wrote poems, school
books, and books about domestic econ
,my; he wrote sermons and Rousseau
sh romances, which proposed to dis
pense with everything likely to make
sermons of utility. .'He has written
egends from New Holland, and a life
If Hector; on the condition of the
,0or in Sweden, on the honor Of labor,
md the sxcedlency Of dduca ion" His
: 'C0lumbine" would mako Fetdeau|
Itare; his "Saga Of the Human Race
9 more solemn than Baxters "Saints
2est.n In the "Tornr0sens bookn we
ave q collection of fanatical tales that
re superior to many of HOffman's and
and indeed some Of them
lave touches equal to Edgar Poe's
: 1. - y :. .
In 1851 Almquist was in Stockholm
for publication his notorious
ovel, "Det garap" ("OG iro"), which
) Q book that would please Elder
Ioyes and not be distasteful to the
'aris communards. He had btoome
cry intimate With m old gentleman
tho had plenty Of that which AIM
mist ohie6y lacked, but was inclined ,
B hold on to it or require an equiva- !
mt. In short, tho old man did q dis .
ounting business and was rich. He !
GEMS TO have had confidence in Aim :
MIST, rho not only lent him Il, 1000 !
X dollars benco on. his indlvidual
otes, but admitted him to his houSet ,
nd private 16ace.a' One day, hooking :
yer his papers, he found that the :
otes Almquist had dtawn in his favor )
ad disappeared. He charged the :
oct with stealing the vouchers, and
IlmOuiSt did not deny il. but nr0mia-