Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-16
CANDID MANS CONFESSION
Jou1ty Commissioners Listen to a Queer
stcry Of Pioneer Days.
SMELLING cAMPBElps EyENTfUL Llft
Charged with Insanity. but Acquitted
After Brief HenrfDT-Wi1d
Career of Fallen
Minister.

| days, handy man in fight in the frontier
towns, a preacher of the gospel for twenty
| years, now a backsllder and an insurance
| agent, a confessed winner" among women
and a candidate for examination before the
| insanity commission.
! That's the life record In brief OF Smelling
| %. Campbell, an old man who was before
| the commissioners of insanity on a charge
| preferred by his wife. The details Of the
| story would I'LL big book and would be as
| interesting as any romance of these later
| days. The charge against Mr.. Campbell was
| preferred by his wife, who filed an informa-
| tion with the county authorities charging
that Campbell had been crazy for several
months, since last May in fact, and had
| lately become violent and had threatened
| her life.
| When the information was filed Sheriff
Morgan went up to Loveland Campbell's s
home, and found that his man had disap-
| peared. 1t was understood that Campbell
had left the town because he heard of the
complaint made by his wife, but later deve-
opments showed that he had gone away on
business. He returned home on Friday even
ing and yesterday morning he sent tele-
phone message to the sheriff stating that
he would come down IL he was wanted He
understood, he said, that he had been
charged with insanity, and that If such was
the case he wanted to know it. His life had
been one of experiences and If insanity was
to be included in the list of accomplish
ments he had acquired he was ready to
assume the responsibility at once. Sheriff
Morgan told Campbell that he had better
come down, and he arrived yesterday after
noon and asked to have his hearing at
once.
CAMPBELL'S CANDID CONFESSION.
Mrs Campbell, the complaining witness,
was not present, but the board decided to go
on with the examination Of Campbell, and
the members were not long In finding cut
that 1t was simply case of airing some
dirty domestic linen in court, and that there
was no reason whatever for the charge
against him. Campbell said he had nothing
to conceal. He had been bad man and
good one in his time. but had never yet
stopped to lying about himself cr his dongs.
He said that he came to Council Bluffs a
great many years ago, when the country
was wild enough for any border native. He
lived here and had the reputation of being
the hardest man in fight that there was in
the camp. He stad until the refining nflu-
ences Of civilization began to be felt, and
then he moved further west In the mean
time he had married a frontier bride, who
had gone with him through all the vcissi-
tudes of fortune, and had only recently, when
both are on the shady side of life become
estrargcd from him.
MI, SaIlpDell tOlu tne DOaTQ some OF MS
frontier experiences. He said that he had
been held up in Arizona by twelve men, who
took his wife from him and had kept her
away from his several days. Again in Wash
ington territory his wife had been kidnapped
by ruflians and abused shamefully. All of
these facts were we'll known by him, and
still he and his wife lived happily together.
Finally, after twenty years of the toughest
kind of life, both he and his wife were con-
verted at religious revival and he was
called to preach the gospel. He went into
the ministry Of the Baptist church and
preached the word for tweny years. He was
preaching in Mills county, something more
than a year ago, when he fell victim to
the wiles CT a pretty woman, lost his posi-
tioin in the church and nearly broke up his
home. In view of his past life and the many
vicissitudes they had borne together, his
wife condoned the offense, and then they re-
moved to Loveland, where he has since been
engaged In the fire insurance business Some
time ago his wife again became estranged
from him, for reasons which he could not un-
derstand, and for several months they have
lived very unhappily.
Six weeks ago his wife demanded division
OF the property, and Mr.. Campbell thought
to humor her and acceded to the demand
He was called away on business, and thought
that when he returned his wife would have,
gotten over her tantrum and all would be
lovely again. In this he was mistaken. He
came home few days ago to find that his
wife was more estranged than ever, and in
a few days their differences eliminated in
the filing CT the charge of Insanity against
him.
After hearing the full story of the ex-
minister, the board unanimously decided that
there was no ground for the complaint, and
Mr.. Campbell was discharged with a clean
bill, so far as his mental equipment Is con-
cerned. Campbell is 61 years Of age.