The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-30
HIS FATE TOLD BY HIS WATCH.
The Mystery of an Unaccountable Dis
appearance Strangely Cleared Up.

The Mystery of an Unaccountable Dis
appearance Strangely Cleared Up.
From the Washington Post.
There was a sad and peculiar romance
that has just come to light through the
medium of the late dead letter auction in
Washington. There was in the jewellery
schedule of the auction catalogue one
package marked mo. 40. Gold watch
II. Il. G. Brandt" When this number
was reached the bidding was lively, one
OF the intended purchasers being a lady in
black, who finally secured the Package for
SIS. Nothing was SAID at the time of the
sale, but it afterward appeared that the
watch was the key to a mystery of almost
three years standing The lady was Mrs.
James T. Monroe, who registered at the
Arlington as from New York, where she
had recently moved. Her original home,
however, had been in TrapperstOwn
MINI, from which town, after her mar
rage few months ago, she had moved to
New York. Being in Washington on a
visit, she had accidentally picked up one
of the catalogues of the dead letter office
sale that was knocking about the
! hotel, and in looking over the list
of articles had been struck with the
name of Brandt" attached to the gold
watch that was for sale. Three years ago
Af4A o. N4OiIub was living db IEdpptTS-
| town. She had not yet become Mrs
Monroe, and indeed was more than likely
!. TO become Mrs. Brandt. Henry T. G..
Brandt, young man of Trapperstown,
| was then engaged to her. On account of
| i'll health he was ordered by his physi-
| clan to TO take trip south for the win
ter. He went as far as New Orleans,
where for some time he correspondent with
his tiance, but after announcing his inten-
tion of trying Florida for change the
letters suddenly ceased and, although
his relatives in Milwaukee, for he had
none in the town where he had been liv-
! ing, put the usual means of inquiry into
| operation, nothing more could be learned
of him than that he had left New Orleans
with the avowed intention of going to
| Florida, though to what part of the state
he had not said. His baggage was fin
ally traced to the Ponce de Leon, at St.
Augustine, but the owner of the trunk
had never come, and there search, per-
force, was dropped. Miss Caldwell. after
some years of fruitless waiting, had &C
cepted the sttentions of a wealthy New
! York man and had become Mrs. Monroe.
At this dOint the story turns back to the
clew that was furnished by the reclaimed
watch.
The old timepiece, though somewhat
tie worse for hard wear, was in fair con-
dition, and was easily recognized by Mrs.
| Monroe as the property of young Brandt.
/ His friends were communicated with,
and from the clew furnished by jewell
er's label on the inside of the case the
| travels of the watch were retraced.
Frank Locraft, the jeweler in Fernan-
| dina, Fla, through whose hands the
watch had passed, stated that it had
been given to him for repair by its owner,
who was on his way down the coast on a
! fishing trip, and that after putting it in
order he had forwarded it to Talacosa, a
| little town on the coast, where Brandt
! had informed him that he would stop be-
| fore going down so Key West. Inquiry at
| Key West failed to show that Brandt
| had ever reached there, but in
| Talacosa it was found that Brandt
! had come there with fisherman named
| Cattin, on his way down the coast in a
small sailbOat Near Jupiter Inlet the
! boat had been wrecked in a
squal and Brandt was drowned,
! but Cattin had reached the
shore and afterward recovered
! the body of his companion. Brandt had
told his guide nothing of his antecedents,
except that he lived at wat his compan-
ion had understood to be Trapper's Sta
ton, Mimi, and that he was taking trip
| for pleasure down the coast before going
back to st. Augustine, where he would
spend the winter. In the meantime he
! nau taken a "TRIP down Ghe COAST ana l0SC
his life, and there was nothing IN his
effects by which to trace him, so the
watch was sent to "Trapper's Station, -
Minnesota, which was the address sup
posed TO be Brandt's home, and a letter
was sent at the same time, stating the
facts in the case. AS there was no such
place the package naturally went to the
dead letter Office, Here the package lay
unclaimed until the accumulation of time
] had fO1soad a Calp of tho and NV
mere chance the watch, falling into the
hands of Mrs Monroe, served to make
| plain the fate of the man she might have
married, although at the time it added
something of sadness to her southern
! wedding trip.