The Red Cloud chief., 1882-09-15

morning, was in q communicative mood
on the topic Of missing people. and
prcfaocd a singular story with the fol-
lowing words: There was n man from
a town in this State. not very far away
from here. who acted tho funniest you
ever see. and IL his folks ba lint been
pretty .ny' il would have made the best
m~issing-man story for the papers Ieser
heard" The story, stripped o. the YER
nacular Of the old detective. runs in
this wi G: A merchant in one Of the in
land towns went To the bank and drew
$1,000. He went from there To his mar
kct-place. purchased three spring chick
ems, had them dressed, sent them To his
house with = pote To his wife asking her
To have them prepared i'm n particular
manner. suitable 10 his epicurcaE taste,
adding that he would be at home nj SIX
O'clock =. m. promptly. with u friend
who would spcnd the evening with the
host and hos esS. The wife was one oil
those rare women whose happiness was
always most supreme when she was
contributing to the comfort of her hus-
band. They were the model man and
wife Of the Sucker hamlet, and their lives
together made a harmonious combination
by which the good people Of the place
really seemed To regulate their own do
nestle pleasures. Tire dinner Wa re ,dy
at the hour. and the little wife sat on the
doorstep OF her cottage awaiting the
coming Of her lord and his companion.
4 remark of the detective ut this point
Of the story is too much to the point TO
be changed: ..Shc hung out there till il
was pitch dark, and the chicken was rs
cold as the stone step she was sitting
on, and then she began To get fidgety."
In response 10 the inquiry OF u mes
sengcr sent down town. it was learned
that he had not invited his friend t.
dinner. and that the last seer Of him he
wa boarding \ train bound for Chicago.
IL was further Earned that he was per.
fcctly sober; in fact, he had never been
known TO be an excessive drinker. A
weeks absence brought no tidings oi
his whereabouts. and his wife, accom-
panied by several friends. came 10 Chi
cago to make inquiries. Not a trace
could be found. New York officials
were notified, and the steamship officers
consulted. No tidings came back. Liv-
erpool and London detective bureaus
were furnished with the mans photo
graph and the details Of his habits. but
never a word of information was re-
ccivcd from them. The wife gave him
up for dead. the supposition being that
he had come t. Chicago. had, been
robbed. killed and thown into the lake,
which seems 10 be forever mt the COM
mand of the murJcrous thugs who in.
fest this city. The day on which he
left home was the 18th Of November,
1881. (Thc skcptical reader must hear
in mind that there are spring chickens
in this latitude in the autumn.) Abou.
the lst of May a Monarch line
steamer lay in the bay in front o.
New York City. and two Illinois men
waved their handkerchiefs to their ma
tive land. One Of these men. was q
Chicagoan. the other vas from the in-
land town. The Chicago man came
homo. and he told the story to the de-
tecsives that he had met his acquaint-
ancc in q coffce-hesse in the Strand;
that the a was drunk snd verging on
deiirium. He sobercd him up." and
got him on board the steamer. As
they. were en- route home the inland
man told him abou. buying chickens
for n dinner. and his intention OF hav-
ing n delightful evening home. That
he ven to the depot TO pay o freight
bill and a passenger train Numbered in.
That instantaneously the thought came
TO him to III up TO Chicago for a night.
intending 10 telegraph his wife 70 that
effect As soon as he reached this city
IL occurred TO him TO get drunk. Then
he went To New York and continued
his spree. While having n jolly good
time H. concluded to go 20 Europe. and
bought q ticket. giving an assumed
name. and embarked drunk. He was
drunk all the way over. He went 10
Liverpool. London. Glasgow. came
back TO London. crossed the channel
drunk all the iimc-went to Paris. re-
manned drunk. came back 10 Liverpool,
then to London again. where the Chi
cago man found him. When they
touched New York the inland town
man said: II am going TO the tele-
graph office to send 4 message TO nv
wife to have those chickens warmed
over. Il viii he the first information
she has had of nv movements since !
sent the chickens home."-Ci;ea9a
Times.