The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-19
BLASTED HOPES.
A True Story About the Hermit Of
the Ohutta

from the BTiLnstCtcs tGd) Times
High up On tine side of t e Cohutta
mountains. y hich skirt the northern Pc =
ton OF the state, may be seen to-day a di'-
/ NAL looking shInty. buiit of hewu logs,
Win a na row door W ica wo Ks on
rusty, crea ling pair of nj igss on one end,
while a small. sIu terie;s window relieves
the monotony on the other side and fur
nishes an air hole for the ventilation of the
rude cabin.
There IS quite a story connected with the
hermit life Of its occupant and why it was
commenced. 1t is that story which l choo e
TO tell this morni e.
Way back in the early thirties, there
was SO ted a little village not far fr IN
Att 'nta, which has since & own to be one
OF the most prominent f Georgias smaller
cities. Among the & st families to make
their home in the new town were tIose OF
Mr.. Her don, who owned a la &c rice plan
taton near Savannah. a d a Mr.. Lyle,
VINO moved fr m the blue grass reg ons Of
Kentucky. These families settled on neigh
borl g lots AMI from that, as well as the
fac tnat they ere all strangers in
strange place, there grow up strong frie d.
ship b tween the two households. The
heads of the families often talked toge her
| ana consulted over matters Of bu iHess
W lie The children played and omped and
Sc up their merry shouts as they INDUCED
In their leasant games.
In ne Hernuon miIy there were FIVE
| children, three girls and two oys. The
elder of the boys y as William Fletcher
Hernd n, brig {. manly Ii tie fellow. OF
about IL years, OIly Two childre had
bee given to Mr.. Lyle and his wife, %
these one was lit le boy, while the other
was beautiful. 1O-year-old girl With chess
| gold hair, | rye brown eyes and Deau-
tfullY rounded face, and on her cheeks was
tue ruddy glow of color that a hap Y lite
and pl nty Of good exercise will inpart
to Child. Sc was su he I'm of a .irl,
and 40 one bll fairer t. maks a prettier
woma tnan di Dora Lyle.
IL was 10 wonder thea that being thrown
ger her, as they were, there ,rung up a
childish love Oh the part of William heru-
don for Dora, AID as the boy was ha dsome
| and brlgut, there is nothing stran Se IN the
fact That tn girl returned at love.
ime went on. The one grew to be a
young man of 20, good lookI e, clever and
accom- Jlished, bat farmer, & ,od as any
bod j., but working a " bile the other
merged into young la ~ Of Is, the beauty
OF Childhood being brou ght out mJre clear
| ~ d dlstl city. and made ev n IN re
beautiful Oy tue matu iy of woma mood.
| The fac ed love of Lhe Oh ldren grew into
a reality WI tIe,e Two; all the village
ew Of the affair, aud it was conceded
that they would oe married. But fate had
Iecreed otherwise
1t was in the su inner Of '52 that a ri lilly
| dressed stranger made his APP cara CO at the
nome OF the Lyles and sought bIard. here
was spare roonI III the house and cd
No her Lyle, with her eye to bushes
| agreed to take the stranger in. There
prahg up quite an intimacy between Dora
Lyle and The st anger, but 40 one Inspected
love affair, I'd tlna pas Ell o It'll tue
Jay arrived when viii He ndon a i'd Dora
| Nel o 10 be married.
1t vas bright September day VIII n
the sun had gone down in all the beau
aad sl,lendor OF an autunnal So ls.t, a Il
tn sha les of night had fallen about Q
wo Id, those Of the citizens of the little vi
lase VINO had been iIviTed to the wedding
ossdd assam at the Lyl resid snc.
VIII, happy at heart and full Of the insp. ra-
tiols OF tho lew life openi before him,
Taste led to the house of his promised bri 10
to cl nm her as his own. But there was
| something wrong! No bride met is lm-
Ing, nor could she be found anywh re-
Quick and eager search was made for n r.
DAT IN VAN. lien, Too, it Was discovered
mat the stranger arder had disappeare /
also. 1t TOOK buc a short while for the ru-
'or tina Dora had left win II the stylish
summer boa der, % gain clrculatio an
c,eIe &c nong the CUES S. Tnis VAS found
| true, for the next day letter was receive
| rom the man S,ailg tina. he and Dora had
| beel married in a nighoo Ing tow tie
ght fore and We 9 ten on their wav to
listant part of tie state, where they ~ ould
m tkd their home.
i'oor 81! IL seemed as if he shame nd
murtIfication, aud the loss of d "a W uld
drive him mad He acted as a crazf ma
and TAXI "a picture of the glrl which he
had il his 'om ne would sit down +
hours at a TIM, looking a il and cryi lg
like CHI d. Several days after ward ne
called i'll a number of friends AMI in their
| presence 81 med this oath:
| Il. w lillan Her idoh, do solennly swear
that from this day wi never a IS ,ciat
with man OF woman again, and | sWe +
also that If ever | h ar OF ID ,ra Lyle having
been dole ~ nar IL by a y one thai ii
NUT down the person VIII IS guilty of t @
act and will kill him as [ would a veno n :
GUS reptile. So nelp me G ,dm
A stra sc oath that for a man 10 sign,
| but B s5 ed it a I'd the same day he W 1t
| off To the mou ltalIs a 4 CO nme ced work
on the nut wne e W IS to be his 40 eel : home
and began his strange life of seclusi - om
tn world, fl 'eing from everyone AID ,ad
though living. oki g up N every visitor
as a ghost of t le past haa ting hi II aid
making his p esenU all the m re mise able.
| Many years nave pas 'ed since en-. Tae
pretty Dora Lyle of thlt day is now
handsome old WON of 81 years. Size is
still living, happily il i, said, a tie wife of
the summer bnarder, wh1 as since made a
name for himself in Georgia Sac is the
mother OF several children and has a mum
Der of G a dcnli treu, VINO 1--we To play
about her knee and lear her tell the story
| of her early life.
William Herndon, "Crazy Bill" as the
lit lie chdre in Eh t sec ol call him. is
a gr ly-uaired ma of IS. He has keIt ms
stra ge GA h sac eddy, "a d ii perchanc you
should ever rike the path wulca lea Is "
10 his hut AMI could gain a sight of tie
| place before he saw you, a man could be
seen sitting ont IN front of the sna .ty
mumhlng words tua und un atural and
" eirt-lIke; a IN IN that has forsak a home,
friends and + latives and made al outcas
If himself, becau'e OF love aifair-triiling
| as some viii call il.
| a ZIG CATCH IN MUTJTAI,S