St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-02-27
rIrE GRE4r oUEsrToY ANsrEREn.

THE GREAT QUESTION 1NSWERED.
The man who struck BILLY PATTERSON has
been found. This will be gratifying news to
the many thousands upon whose minds the
deep mystery connected with Mr.. PATTER-
SONS assailant has been resting for more
than half a century. A long time ago, sixty
years or more, down in the state of Georgia
there lived a planter of large wealth and I'M
stinted hospitality by the name of WILLIAM
PATTERSON. The fame Of his generosity and
the lavish hand with which the Inequalities of
his princely home were extended spread far
beyond the limits of his own neighborhood.
He was friend to all classes and the favorite
OF Habersham county. 1t was a custom in
those days for the young bloods of the sur
rounding country to assemble at stated times
once or twice month--at the PATTERSON
plantation and spend day or night enjoying
its luxurious elegance. No man in the state
of Georgia was better known or more beloved
than BILLY PATTERSON. He was q jolly good
fellow, the jolliest of all the lot.
At one of the regular gatherings of the
Georgia bloods at the PATTERSON mansion on
a certain evening the feast was spread by
hospitable host in a grove of native live
oaks which stood in the yard fronting
the house. 1t must have been weird
looking banquet hall, as the light of fam
ing pine torches flashed among the moss
draped branches of the venerable trees, and
the merry crowd of jewellers sat with cup in
hand around the festal board. Laugh and
joke and the punch bowl all passed round in
A. bo irf0
the ''wee sTaa'' hours a controversy arose
among some OF the guests about some matter
Of trivial Importance in the neighborhood,
but about which public opinion was divided.
Excited by the stimulating effects of wine
and toddy the argument grew into wrange
and finally into row. In the melee which
followed the genial host received a blow on
the back of his head from a billet of pine
wood dealt by some unknown hand, from the
effects OF which he died the next day. His
death filed the county of Habersham with
mourning, and the uppermost question in
the minds of the sorrowing community was
who struck BILLY PATTERSON. The iden-
tity Of the unknown murderer was never
disclosed. The mystery of Mr.. PATTERsoN's
death brooded like the shadow of nights
angel over the entire state of
Georgia, and finally spread throughout
the entire limits Of the country.
Decade after decade passed and the mystery
remained. 1t was discussed in the family,
on the street, along the wayside, in the vii
lage tayerns, in the city hotels, in pulpit and
theater, until there is hardly man or wo-
On int ha VIII of ITpit tod
States that at some period of life has not
been startled by the question-who struck
BILLY PATTERSON? How often have we
heard some agoniZing seeker after knOwl-
edge propose to lay SO down and count the
bills out singly if some one would kindly
explain the mystery of Mr.. PATTERsoN's as
saut. But so well was the silence Of this
great mystery preserved that the great I'M
known who dealt the fatal blow that laid Mr..
PATTERSON low was passing into history
alongside of the man who wore the iron
mask.
But dispatch from GAINESVILLE, Ga, brings
the startling Intelligence that the great
American secret has been found out, and the
perplexing question is at last answered. A
died In his goth year. He was the oldest
man in the county and was highly
esteemed. On his death bed he
confessed that in his youth he was
wild; that he vas present at the cele-
brated row of sixty years ago, and was the
man who inflicted the blow that killed BILLY
PATTERSON. Being afraid Of the law at first
and developing into an homo rable citizen Of
the county later, he kept his secret to himself
for the honor of his family, but he could not
90 into eternity with it, and with his dying
breath made open confession.
Mr.. DYER's confession removes a great
load from the public mind, and while it is
singular that he should have been content in
his lifetime to refrain from enjoying the full
measure Of fame which awaited him il his
Identity had been disclosed, he has done
good act in his dying hours to remove the
mystery that agitated a continent. 1t would
be entirely appropriate and in keeping with
the American idea of doing things to pass
around subscription or hold a fair to raise
funds to erect a suitable monument TO the
man who struck billy PATTERSON.