The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1883-08-08
A Wedding by Telegraph and .
Honeymoon In the Wilder
moss.

A case in Los Angeles has excited
much attention this week because OF the
difficulty of drawing the line between
eccentricity and INSANITY. Frederick
81. Shaw. who lives in the Cahuenga
mountains. nine miles from Los An
yeles. was declared insane by the supo
nor court, but on q r%ehearins this pudg-
msnt was sci aside and he was released.
The charge WAS brought against him by
a neighbor who. il is shrewdly suspected,
coyets hi. land. Shaw's history /. so
peculiar that it is well worth recalling
briefly. He is a relative Of Chief Jus
tice shaw. of Massachusetts. and wa.
first heard OF OF this coast ten years ago,
when be issued a prospectus of a hygie-
mic colony to be founded IN Southern
California. the members to live like him.
self on strictly vegetable diet; he went
TO England to float his scheme; but al
though he received some encouragement,
the enterprise was a failure. This made
Shaw misanthrc pic; he returned to the
Nicholas canon in the mountain, made
himself 4 house in 4 tree-top, ev ry night
assembled to his serial tenement and pull
ed up the ladder after him. He dressed
III a peculiar style, wearing only a fan
mel shirt and trousers. and lived on fruits
and nuts. The fruits of this communion
with nature were a series of letters on
the creation Of the human species and
the rlethods OF securing health. which.
were printed in the Los Angeles news
papers and gave him a local reputation
a, half philosopher. half crank. His
tame ever spread beyond the coast, and
,,,Nn, tl,nS, ,wha haoa,o loa~l, i.far-
ested in the philosopher was a New
Jersey schOolmistress named Margaret
Carey Wright. A correspondence
sprang up between the two. Shaw prov
ed TO be an impassioned letter writer.
and the woOinY which he carried OF st
long range was appropriately ended by
IA marriage by telegraph on June 4, 1879.
A dispatch vas sent to Shaw by the
Rev. c. 5. Cook. of Newark, n. j. say
ing: will YOU take Margaret Carey
Wright. of the city, now present, to be
your welded wife - To this Shaw res
ponded, II WILL" and two witnesses
being at each end of the line. the mar
ria2e was accomplished. The bride wac
very slow about joining her husband.
hut a last. alter he tad given up all
hope OF seeing her, she appeared one
dav n Los Angeles and was taken OUT
to the refuses mountain retreSt BY a
mutual friend. The latter went on III
advance to prepare the bridegroom.
whom ne found clothed in a shirt and a
cap, gathering honey. He was prevail
ed upon 10 don a pair OF trousers to
meet his bride. The meeting was rap
tu.ous and the couple set up hous"keep-
ing in "A shanty which Shaw had built
under the branches of his tavorite tree.
To the bridegroom's store of walnuts
and honey was added the gift of a box
Of rasins from a mutual friend. In this
PRINT e fashion the couple lived tol
two years, when the oman grew weary
of fash ons i'll iig-leaf and an asc etc
diet. and took up her residence il the
town. Shaw grew more eccentric, and
some OF his utterances in the presence
of a neighbor who worried him led to
the charge that he was Insane. The
testimony on the rehearing was very
conflicting. but it was shown that the
philosopher was not dangerous so he
has once more returned to enjoy his
communion with nature.-Frcm a CALI
tornta Paper.