The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-05-31
A PARALLEL CASE,
Called to the Mind of a Citizen by
the Wilson Case. {.
He Relates utke Operation of an Ad-
venturer i'm Japau.

The arrest Eof w. G. Wilson, for
bigamy and uthe consequent story OF
his transactions in the matrimonial
line, which aroused so much interest
here this week, called to the memory
of one of our leading citizens the
story of an almost parallel case, so far
as the matter of matrimony was con-
cerned, which was related to him
about year ago by friend, and he
has been led to wonder from the de
scription of the party, as he recalls it
if Wilson, should the charge made
against him be proved, and the party
in question might not be one and
identical, though the personal descrip-
tion would fit dozens of others. How
ever this may he, the story is an in
teresting one, and we give it to our
readers as told us.
1t is to the effect that several years
ago there appeared in Japan young
man of pleasing address, who present.
ed himself, and proved so to be-,
the representative of an English
company, and his mission
to Japan was for the purchase of
japanese curios. A good converse
tionalist, of good address and not at all
averse to pushing himself forward, he
soon became popular among the mis-
sionaries, and took deep interest in
religious matters. He soon became
greatly devoted to a young lady mis-
sionary and in few months they were
married. He was very devoted hus-
band and surrounded his wife with
every comfort he could obtain. A child
was born them and their happiness
seemed supreme. Shortly after this,
he was obliged, so he said, to go into
the country to make the purchase of
some curios and never returned. In
quiry revealed not the faintest trace
of him and he had disappeared as
completely as though swallowed up by
the sea. He was known to have some
$4,000 with him and it was thought by
some that he had been murdered for it,.
Soon after representative Of the
company was sent on to look after his
affairs. He found everything all
straight, nothing missing but the So,
900 he had taken with him. The
agent secuted the suggestion that he
had abscOnded, said that he knew that
large sums of money were on the way
to him, and that had he waited ten
days he could have had at least $685.
900. He was sure the man had been
foully dealt with.
But murder will out, and with mis-
sionaries gathered there from all por-
tions of the globe, the news from
other quarters finally reached them.
At last there came trace of the miss
ing sman: it was followed up and
found that shortly after his disap-
pearance he had landed on the west
ern coast at Vancouver, B. c., with a
woman who passed as his wife. Inter-
est then developed in tracing his
history, and it was found that he was
born and raised in Iowa, and more
over that he already had wife living
in an Iowa town. But no trace of his
whereabouts could be found, though
some time afterwards he was seen on
the streets of Mexican town by one
who had known him in Japan, but
upon being noticed suddenly disap-
peared.
Wilson told of being in Mexico, but
made no illusions to ever having been
in Japan, which, of course, if he had
ever been engaged in any such affair
there, he would be careful to refrain
from telling. The similarity in the
manner in which the two are charged
to have operated, and that both were
from Iowa, lends more than ordinary
interest to the subject.
There is a circus at Amboy today.