The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-08-20
WHAT rs WRONG WITH EVANS.


A Well Known Virginia Correspond.
entAecnse.i orstrange Proceedings.
RICHMOND, August 19.-The Dis
patch today prints the following story
of q gentleman well known in Roam
oke, from it's Harrisonburg cores
pondent:
Your correspondent at Williams
burg in Sundays Dispatch gives I'M
der the heading of "A Modern Don
Quixote,' an account of the move
ments of Mr.. Wilmer Evans at Rich
mond and elsewhere. AS this itine.
rant gentleman figured in this COM
munity about month ago in a way
likely to excite suspicion, your cores
pondent would place his movements
here on record. Mr.. Evans rode into
town on the nth of July, or therea-
bouts, accompanied by his valet, and
stopped at the Powers House He
claimed to have come from Castle
Hill, the former home of Mrs. Amelie
Rives Chanler, where he had stopped
for several days.
From this place he started to visit
Miss McClelland, the authoress, in
upper Buckingham, and on his way
to that point he spent the night with
w. ID. Staples. near Howardsyille,
proffering q draft for his bill, but
| finally promising to remit in a few
days by mail. While at Mr.. Staples
he used small camera he had with
him to take negatives of several mem.
bers of the family, promising to send
half dozen photographs of each. So
completely minus funds was. he ut this
point that he borrowed a half dollar
from Mr. Staples to have his horse
shod.
He returned to this place u week
later, again stopping at the Powers
House, and on July Gath presented a
draft for SIS at j. l.. Moons banking.
room, which Mr.. Moon consented to
cash if he would get local endorser.
This he succeeded in doing in the
person of one of our most prominent
citizens, who believed Mr.. Evans to
be "all o. K.n The draft was on a
brother of Mr.. Evans at Roanoke and
it promptly came back protested.
Some days later lawyer of this
place went to Roanoke on other bust
ness and took occasion to see the
brother, who appeared to be nice
gentleman, and who stated that lie
had had several drafts on him drawn
by Wilmer Evans protested, and in
timated that he woold only pay out
money to save his brother from
trouble.
While here Mr.. Evans, who is a man of
polish and fluent conversasionalist,
informed your correspondent that he
had established in Baltimore a syn
dictate known as the Hiss-Evans Syn
dictate (Mr. Hiss being partnerl,
from which literary productions
short stories were furnished to about
forty Sunday papers the Dispatch
being among the number. In his
travels he was not seeking to write
up the country through which he trav
eled, but sought data upon which to
build his stories.
Mr. Evans wrote back from Will
liamsburg to the gentleman who en-
dorsed the draft for him here asking
for the whole amount due him, and
he stated that he would remit his
check for the amount, but this has
not been done as yet. 1t is the conf
dent belief of your correspondent,
who had several lengthy conversations
with the subject of this letter, that
Mr.. Evans may be somewhat "otf"
mentally, and it is not really the in
tention Of the man to defraud those
with whom he comes in contact.
This, of course, is a liberal construc-
ton to be placed upon his course.