The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-07-04
RELEASED FROM PRISON.
COL. SWALLOW, THE MYSTE.
RIOUSPBISGNER In TIE
Tennessee Penitentiary, PardOned BY
the GOyernOr-His Identity
at Last Disclosed.
IsPrulAL 10 THE AppEAL,l

IsPxolAL TO THE APPEAL.l
NAsHvILLE, Tenn, July 3-Gov.
Bate sc day, in accordance with the
custom to rardon a convict every
Fourth cf July, liberated a noted m
vict, who has been called Col. SGal-
low. In November, 1882, he was ar
rested here for obtaining money undsr
t slse pre;ensa in FIVE cases and SEN
fenced to the penitentiary for fifteen
years. The man had many aliases,
pus he gave that of Swallows" as his
real name. He YVES mystery 20 The
officers who arrested him. He wss
evidently man Of high culture, was
refined to degree in his utteIanc;s
and actions and gave every indication
OF geptlemaoly breeding. He was
calm under every Circum .taDce OF his
trial, and, save for a pail r, received
his sentence stolidly. His main ob
ject seemed 70 be ID avoid notoriety,
and he hastened to the penitentiary
after conviction without any attempt
at reversal OF the decision of thu
court. Since he has bien within the
prison walls he has conducted him.
self with extreme decorum. His su-
perior ty over his striped aesocistts
was evident to every off ,er, and to
them, too, he appeared msn with
history he was anxious to conceal. 1t
WAS noticed that
THE PRISONER SWALLOW
suent ell his leisure hours in writing.
Presently articles under the nom de
D ume OF "Swalow" found their way
into the public piints. The american
contained several. Thew we're written
in cassie + ,g'ish, with a peculiar
tmoothntss, and withsl in a fac de-
scriptiye vein, for they treated of his
toiical incidents long past. "Swal low"
contributed ticles to The Century,
Hdrper's, ard The Southern BiuoeidC,
which depicted in messerly style
memorable epochs in the late civil
war. Campaigns were analysed, and
the motives which controlled Sou hem
generals at important stsges Of that un.
equal warfare were gwen, and eveEts,
personal and bistCrical, connected
with the strife related with such ac-
curacy and minuteness Of detail that
the writer hss highly piais d. 1t was
evident that be must have figured in
the scenes which he d;pictsd. Little
did the edit rs and readers OF the
foremost mage q mes which published
the works of Swallow" dream that
he was felon in the Tennessee Peni-
tentiary. Not long since tue Century
sent him check for 800 for a short
srticle. The proceeds were, it has
been learned, used in lepaying DR..
Price and DR.. Ward the money taken
three years ago. Now,
THE REST OF THE MYSTERY
which had enveloped the silent men
who wore stripes and wrote history
begins to be lifted. Several weeks ago
Capt. ,. ]. Porter, of the Board Of
Public Works and Affairs, received
letter from q lady in Missouri, stating
that through Masonic 10 &c in that
Sta the had received infoi nation
which led her 10 believe that q brother
whC m she had long thought dead was
in the Tennessee prison under the
name of Col. Swallow. The lady
signed her name and gave the
real name of her brother, and asked
Capt. Porter 10 interest himself
her brothers behalf. Efforts TO that
effect were made, and mass of cor
vito the Governor en-
sued. Pressure came from high quar-
ters TO induce the Governor to pardon
the mysterious convict Capt. torter
went to see him in his cell and ad-
dressed him in his real name. Col.
Swallow, for as such he must be term
ed as yet, YVES astonished He thought
that his name was buried. 1t was
that OF q high and honorable ancestry,
whose disbo onor he bad thoogbt to
save He begged secrecy, aod his re.
quest WAS grained. Gov. Bate, it is
thought. also knows the true name of
the unfortunate, but be will not
divulge it. This much, how
ever, is reliably known. The
,hrewd swindler, whose orerations
covered several States, and the letter
writer Tor The Century was torn in
fredericksburg, Va, sixy years ago.
There are strong reasons Tor bsleviog
that his true name is Stephen G. Por-
Ter, though no relative of Capt. Alex
Potter, who Sd earnestly labored for
his release. His family va, wealthy
and aristocratic. He went 10 George
;own College, Penn y vdnia, and was
/ assmate of President Arthur and a
,ollegs male of Gen. Robert ToomSs.
AT THE oPENING OF THE WAR
1e entered the Confederate service,
le saw hard service, he WIS shot |
through the body once and left Tor
lead on the bat life d Of Fredericks. |
burg. He recovered, however, and |
lgain enlisted, only % bs ehot sgain |
through the leg. These cirs Iemsin
% tell of his courage. He WIS on the |
taft of Gen. Juba Early, and later,
IN that of Gen. Bre eckenlidge. Thus,
he mystery of his accurate acquain-
O nee with the wsr and the high |
merit of Swallows " articles, which |
It1act the attention of the veterans Of |
10Th sides, is readily explained. The
teps by which the courageous and
cultivated Southern soldier fell ave as
sealed bo,k. With his fortune
wept away by the s,rfe in which he
lad go nearly offered up his life, may
t not have bsen that the broken
piriteS, merculial temperament 10
me temptation lost his high estate,
nd hom evil 10 worse became another
sd monument to tbs ruin wrought
" war. Howe YER, siuning griev.
us y, he has gnevously suf red.
he AGED man now oulv ees ka TO !
Iide his retreat from the gaze If his
GLOW mer. He has a son Ia F orida, |
1ho thinks him in Europe, and he it
, to whom he will probably turn.
lis form is now bent, his locks ere
yhite, and his step f,ebe, aad he
lngs, as be wr to TO the Governor, t.
ATS his last days in rest. Counting
ood time, he bad served five years Ct
he fifteen allotted him and few will
e found who will deny that the chief
x;cutive of Tennessee erred in gIaot-
lg liberty t. this suffsriug sclon of