The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1881-02-10

L
| fed in the night, being supplied literally with
money and horse through the procurement OF
the lady. He was followed, and so nearly was he
/ overtaken that, while crossing the Rio Grande
lie was fired upon by a battalion of armed pursu-
ers; and no less than thirty-three bullets cut
through his clothing But he safely eeached the
American bank In Mexico he had acquired a
| knowledge OF Spanish, and this turned his
thoughts to California, which he started to reach
by way of Northern Texas and Arizona"
"When was this ?" / inquired.
'TThat was in 1885," was the answer; and,
clearly understanding the purpose of my question,
he quickly added "Oh, don't be alarmed I am
going to cut il as short as can, though there is
much to tell. The fact is, could not leave that
Mexican part out as the main point of Philips
after history turned upon his proceedings there" Z"
1t was Christmas, and there, tangby before
me, was fortune brought to me by this man.
| felt kindly and fOrbearingly TO all the world and
especially toward him, and nodded submissively
to him. He proceeded:
Though Philip was well mounted, it took him
four months to reach San Diego, where he took
steamer for San Francisco. He at once went to
the mining districts, where / met him. We be-
came friends and companions from that time out.
He told me of his solemn, self-imposed obligation
to enrich you, and also Of his love for the lady
But, warmly as he looked forward to the time
when he could claim her hand, he considered that
affair of secondary Importance to his debt to you.
We were at wOrk-he clerk, and / as a fore
man at the Baronevas Mines-when news of the
firing at Sumter was received. We declared for
war, Joined company that received recruits at
every crOss-road, and went TO san Francisco. We
enlisted under assumed names. | don't intend to
repeat the history Of the war. For distinguished
bravery, Philip Parsons was commissioned and
assigned TO the staff OF a distinguished Gen
eral Let me say, cOnfidentially, that il was his
plan for the siege OF Nicksburg that proved sue
cessful, after all others failed; and he always
claimed that he selected the battlefield at Getys
burg.r
"He was not at both these places was he ~
Certainly not. He not at either. He
was, on that memorable Fourth Of July, i'm hos
pital, waiting recovery from a fractured limb
He it was also, who proposed that Sherman
march TO the sea-
"But his name has never been mentioned as
the author Of these things.n
81 know that; he was too much Of a patriot to
claim special credit for service to his country, and
Others have won impershable fame which might
have been his. He was, however, so far appre-
ciated that when the war closed he held the rank
of Brigadier. After leaving the army, he resumed
his own name, and year later went South. He
tried cotton planting in Mississippi, sugar plant
ing in Louisiana, sheep raising in New Mexico
and cattle feeding in Colorado but they did not
pan out fast enough. We then spent one season
with the seal-catchers in Alaska; two seasons in
the forests of Washington and Oregon; tried one
year at the Sandwich Islands; another in Austria
lia and while there we accumulated some gold
which we sent TO the relief Of the sufferers from
the great fire in Chicago. From there we went to
New Zealand; thence to China and Japan, and
eventually, last year, returned TO our native
land.
Parsons
learned that during all these years the lady who
had befrended him in Mexico had been in anx-
iOus quest of him, and had but few weeks before
left California for Japan, expecting to find him
there. subsequently we learned that this lady,
soon after Parsons hasty flight from San Louis
PotOsi, was forced to marry old and wealthy
Mexican Of rank. Her husband had business re-
lations with bankers in New York During our
civil war these relations had been suspended, but
were renewed at once at the close of the rebellion
The French were then in Mexico, and the vener-
able old gentleman converted all his convertible
property into silver, which silver he industri-
ously, but with much secrecy, had removed to
New York, whittier he had also sent his wife. On
his way to the steamer with the last of his cash
he was captured by guerrilla hand, and, making
a fierce resistance, killed. The widow in
New York was the sole inhertOr. During the
years that had intervened she had never forgotten
the young American who had stolen her heart
while teaching her English. She made official
inquiries, which were long baffied by the fact
that he had served in the army under an assumed
name, but in time she was made acquainted with
his military record. -Four years had passed be-
tween the time he had left the army, and when
she had learned even that much, she travelled to
all the cities in the country had inserted in the
papers the most ingeniOusly worded advertise
ments hoping that one would meet his eve. One
day at hotel in New Orleans she heard ser
want, talking to another, fix the date of some
event by the time when he lived on General Par
sons plantation. The negro was called, but years
had elapsed the cotton plantation was found, but
the person wanted had long since gone, and no
one knew whittier. The lady at this time was
about six years behind the man sought, and
though her agents labored diligently, finding
place after place where he had been, the trail was
always cold and Of years gone by. When we
were in Australia, her agents were searching for
us IN Alaska. Not 10 worry you with details, let
me say that when last in San Francisco she heard
ot Philip Parsons as then i'm Japan. An adver-
tisement in the Chronicle had ELECTED that infor-
nation from some one just returned She acted
promptly. She took the first steamer for Yoko-
hama, and arrived at that port on the exact day
we arrived at San Francisco. From one of her
agents we learned all these particulars Philip
Parsons, unable to wait the slow course of the
mails started as soon as practicable for Japan, i'm
the same steamer which had brought us to San
Francisco.
Some two weeks out Of port, one morning
about O'Clock, all the passengers were crowded
on deck watching the approach of a steamer, then
hardly perceptible above the horizon There was