Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-07-07

"'es hAaue lhoney-A man with q
Wonderful Power Over Women.
Copyright, 1892, by Charles B. Lewis.1
Nobody knew whence he came and
nobody could trace HIM after he got ready
to go, but the adventurous career of the
man OF many different names in the states
of Ohio and Indiana excited n good deal of
admiration as well as disgust. Nine-tenths
OF the adult population of any country
have more or less sympathy for criminal
no matter what his crime, and an offender
of supreme cheek and polite address has
the whole field to himself This man
made his start in n small town in Ohio
He registered at the village inn as James
A. Gray, of New York" He was about
twenty-five years old, good looking we'll
dressed, and he claimed to be rich and
single.
The wealthiest man in the town was an
old fellow named Arnold. He would lend
money to his neighbors, but always at big
interest and gilt edged security. He never
speculated, gave tC charity nor encour-
aged local improvem He was so close
listed that he had the name of being a
mlser. He was so suspicious of strangers
that he would not have taken a million
aires check for ten dollars The president
"a viz 'iilu5C NoA lic illOu WIS II leading
merchant and accounted a shrewd man.
He had daughter twenty years old whom
he held to be too good for any Young man
in that county. Within three days of his
arrival James A. Gray had become friendly
with the old miser and been introduced to
the merchants daughter by the merchant
himself. just six weeks to day from the
time he entered the village he was mar
rled to the girl and they started east TO
make bridal tour and buy machinery for
carpet factory. Arnold and the mer-
chant had each contributed S, 900 in cash
and Gray had the m oney in his pocket. He
deserted the bride in Boston and she was
home within ten DAYS.
The police record proved that Just six
weeks later he returned to the Buckeye
State and settled down in town about a
hundred miles from the first. Here he
gave his name as Charles White, and his
address as San Francisco, and claimed to
be the owner of rich gold mine. He pre-
tended to be looking for n brother he had
not heard OF for years, and everybody gave
him all the assistance possible His first
move was to feel grateful to the sheriff of
the county and let him into the mine on
the ground floor. IN other words, he sold
the official a $4,000 interest for So, 600. The
for three years. She was young, good
looking and had s., 300 life insurance. As
White was in a hurry to get back to his
mine he fell in love, proposed, was accept
ed and the marriage took place on the
forty second day after he struck the town.
He deserted his bride in Chicago, and he
got $4,000 of her money to add to the s, 900
from the sheriff
His next adventure took place in central
Indiana. He made his appearance in a
town of about 5000 inhabitants under the
name of George H. Tompkins He claimed
TO be from Boston. looking for a site for n
tool factory which should employ 200 men.
His first move was 10 secure an option on
ten acre plat of ground He then CON
tracted for brick and lumber in large
quantities, paying out about $500 more.
Then he was ready to organize "The Indi-
ana Tool COMPANY" and to fall in love
with the daughter IF the postmaster. The
shares of the company were put at fifty
dollars each, so that everybody could in
vest, and 1t was TO trick at all to raise
$4,000. Tompkins of course, intended to
get hold of this money, but was baked
by the thick medicines of one of the stock
holders. He had married the girl. how
ever, and they started east on a bridal
tour. 1t took him eighty days to bring
things about in this instance, and all the
doodle he got out of it was the $500 the
postmaster gave lis daughter as a wed
ding present This did not begin to make
him even, and he left her in Buffalo with
out q dollar.
For the next three months the rascal was
probably lying low somewhere, but at the
end of that time he reappeared in country
village not far from Cleveland under the
name of Emerson Davis. He gave out
that he was wealthy philanthrOpist, look
ing for good location to establish an
institute for the free treatment of con-
sumptives on n new medical theory. and
he paid 500 for an option on fifty acres of
land. In the town was widow named
Spooner, whose husband had died of con
sumption. On the third day of his arrival
they were introduced. On the fourteenth
they were married. 1t may seem very
rapid work to you but he did even better
than that. His argument in this case was
that he was in a great hurry to get his
building under way, and that he had for
the first time in his life met a woman who
had inspired tender passion in his heart.
They did not go away on bridal tour. He
hustled around for week or So talking
contracts and options, and then went I'D to
Cleveland and returned no more. He took
with him $1,000 of her money.
Warrants had been taken out against
the man in every instance, but in no case
had reward been offered For this rea-
son only local off GERS were on the watch.
After leaving Cleveland he brought I'D in
western Indiana pretty close to the Illinois
line. He selected small town again, and
here he gave the name of Professor o. o.
johnson. His purpose was to omen an
academy, and when he had taken an option
on site and contracted for brick and lum-
Der the town raised him s., 900 in cash One
of the female teachers in the Union school
was young woman named Hastings, who
was the daughter of a wealthy farmer and
had some property in her own name 1t is
a fact which can be substantiated by the
police records of Cincinnati that the pro-
fessor pushed his suit with such ardor
that the two were married on the eleventh
day OF his residence in the town. A week
later, having failed to make any money
out of the transaction, he suddenly disap-