Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-12-24

| posed OF III hyenas, l06 bears, " leop-
ards and jaguars, Is tigers, 40 lions, 30
giraffes, 81 elephants, rhinoceroses, 332
stays and antelopes, 342 large serpents,
252 crocodiles, 1900 monkeys, etc.-N.
Jaueroch, Of London.
Spirited Away--A Georgia Farmers
Adventures.
Some time in January, 1874 Mr.. Jeffer-
son Clay, respectable young farmer of
| Thomas County, was in Savannah Oh
| business of private nature. His friends
and relatives knew this much, and they
were also informed that he might be ex-
pected to return by the first week in
January.
Week after week fitted by. The mid
die of February came, and still young
Clay remained, as it was thought, in
| Savannah. About the first of March
the friends of the missing man began to
entertain the most serious apprehensions.
They were plain people, of limited means,
and little acquainted with the ways of
the world The idea of advertising for
the lost man never entered their heads.
Clay's uncle, it is true, went to Savannah
and spent a week in making inquiries in
reference to his nephew, but the result
did not enlighten him in the least The
people he consulted suggested various
explanations, none of them very con-
selling. One party said that Clay had
doubtless run away. Another thought
that he had been murdered for his money
and thrown into the river. The police
knew nothing about 1t.
| And with this feeble and futile at
tempt the search was abandoned. Every
body gave Clay up for dead. But there
was one exception. The young lady who
was engaged to the unfortunate man did
not hesitate to declare her belief that
her lover was alive and would yet return
| to his home and friends. She trusted to
intuition, and, as a natural consequence,
| the men shook their heads and even
woman ceased to hope.
| The months rolled on, and when last
October came poor Jefferson Clay was
almost as completely forgotten, save
with few, as If he had been dead q CEN
fury. But one night old Adam Clay, the
uncle who had searched so unsuccessful
| ly in Savannah, was reused from his
slumbers by loud and furious knock
| ing. With some misgivings he opened
the front door and confronted haggard
| wreck of man, whose tattered garments
and general appearance told tale of
suffering almost without parallel.
"Great Godp cried the old man, "who
and what are you"
81 am Jefferson Clay, your long. lost
nephew" replied the stranger, land
am as near dead as a man can be-give
me food and question me afterward."
The worthy uncle was at first inclined
to think that this was another case of the
"Prodigals return" etc, but he called
up the servants and in few minutes a
hearty meal was spread before the half
famished wanderer.
Young Clay ate with the appetite of a
half-famished wild beast, and not until
his hunger was fully appeased would he
utter one word in response to the many
questions asked by his curious kinsman.
| At last, however, the wants of the
inner-man were satisfied and then came
from the lips of the traveller one of the
strangest stories of adventure ever
poured into mortal ear. We only give
before our readers that wild, haggard
we recall the rugged words with which
he electrified his solitary listener.
1t appeared that Clay attended to the
business which had called him away
from home, and was on the eve of leav-
ing the city, when he stepped into low
GROCERY and called for drink. There
were no other customers present, but
behind the counter stood two men, of
rather sinister aspect The young man
was far too inexperienced to entertain
any fears, and, after draining the prof
fered glass, he readily accepted an invi-
tatiOn from one of the bar-keepers to
play game of dominoes. After that
nothing was clear to him He fell into
kind of stupor, and then into deep
slumber When he awoke, as he ex-
pressed 1t, scorching sun was shining
full upon his face, and the sandy bed
beneath him was almost roasting his
body. He staggered up and found that
he was clad in ragged uniform of some
kind, but he was hatless and barefooted
When he partook of the drugged LIQUOR
| flor drugged it must have been) his face
was smoothly shaved. When he awoke
he had long, tangled beard. Another
strange thing-he was penned up in one
corner of huge stockade. BY peeplng
through the bars into the other part of
the Enclosure he discovered several hun
dred men, evidently foreigners, all
dressed in uniform similar to the one
he then had on.
1 Clay told his uncle that this scene al
most drove him frantic. He cried out
for help, and in a short time a. dark faced
little man in gorgeous costume came to
the pen and spoke TO him in a strange
tongue. Our hero replied in English, and
the officer flor such he was) responded in
the same language. He informed the
| prisoner that he was in q Spanish camp
| Of instruction on the coast of Cuba; that
he was all right, and he should be
marched to the front to fight the Cuban
insurgents. Clay asked innamerable
questions; explained who he was and