The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1897-08-06
D0BSON, THE
.....UBlQUITOUS.
HE KNEW THE ROPES AND WAS
ALWAYS COOL.
ny on never met Dobson, the globe.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

iisiiISu, young -ioohihS iudii, anu 40 ho-
body had he went on talking. II used
to meet him so often, in such unex-
pected places, that it got to be q habit
of mine to look around for him when
ever found myself in a strange town,
and it was surprising how often found
him. For a long time i couldn't UNI
derstand why he went when he did,
for he didn't seem to be interested
very much in anything he saw, but I
learned afterward that it was merely
his habit to seem Indifferent. AS a
matter of fact he spent his entire time
going about theworld observing things
My meetings with him were when was
travelling around this country on bust,
ness, and when lie was doing the
states.
II think he was an Englishman,
though I wasn't certain, and he never
talked of himself, so he gave me no
clew. Certainly he was the coolest
man In a difficulty that I ever met,
and have seen him in trouble many
times, or at least under circumstances
that would lead an average man to be-
! lieve himself in trouble.
II made his acquaintance on the
fourth night of the draft riots in 1868.
If you remember, New York suffered
from veritable reign of terror for
six days and nights. Houses we've
looted men were killedin thestreets, and
all imaginable horrors were perpe-
trated by mobs as fierce as those of
the French revolution. The full his
tory of it was never told, and never
can be told, for hundreds of minor
crimes were never even reported, and
scores of others were never punished.
Being as devoid of sense as was to
be expected of youngster, l used to
go about town that week as locker
on, and saw much of the trouble, and on
more than one occasion came near get
ting into it myself. The nearest was
on the night mentioned, when l start
ed up town-it was up town then-to
see some fires that were burning in
the neighborhood of Forty-seventh
street. l had just turned into Fifth
avenue from that street when saw a
man running toward me, followed by
gang of perhaps 20. knew instant
| ly that if they caught him it would be
all up with him, for robbery and MUIR
der went together, and knew also that
i the crowd was just as likely to leave
him and set upon me, so I turned and
ran with him.
eve hadn't gone more than half a
block when he turned his head and
said: 4 don't like running as general
thing. Suppose we stand
81 didn't like the idea, for had seen
too many men struck down, and I
said: But have no weapon Neither
have L. said he, but we can face around
and pretend to draw pistols And
without waiting for my answer he
stopped and wheeled, at the same time
putting his hand in his pocket and then
leveling an imaginary revolver straight
at our pursuers. On the impulse of the
moment l followed his example, and
the bluff worked. The crowd was made
up of toughs, bent on plumber only,
and did not care to fight. Accordingly
they stopped and went off in search Of
less combative victims.
"I thought So said Dobson, as he
! told me his name was afterward.
That kind of a mob is easily bluffed.'
And he really seemed to be as little ex-
cited as if he had thrown a stone at a
barking dog and the cur had run away.
chatted togethe for a long time that
night over a cold bottle that really
seemed to need, but beyond learning his
name and finding that he was an edu-
Gated gentleman, didn't feel that had
progressed far in acquaintance with
him.
THAT was as far as I got, though.
And yet came to feel that knew him
well, because I could tell just about
what he would do in an emergency.
at may have been a year after our
first meeting that was crossing the
ferry from Williamsburg an hour or
two after midnight. There weren't
very many passengers on board in
spite of the fact that the boats only
ran once an hour. I sat down in the
smoking cabin and was figuring on
how much sleep I would get before
having to show up at the Office, when
1 saw five young loafers coming
through from the other end of the
boat and amusing themselves as they
came by stepping on the toes of the
passengers who sat in the cabin.
II am not ashamed to say that see
ing all this before they came to where
I was sitting, I got up and quietly
walked out on the forward deck. Then
l stepped back few feet into the
shadow in the carriageway. Fighting,
excepting for good cause when it can
not well be avoided, was never favor
lite amusement Of mine, and saw no
reason for getting into row with five
men who had enough liquor in them to
be ugly.
II noticed a man standing by one of
the posts near the bow of the boat. He
was leaning against the post smoking
and apparently studying astronomy.
Whatever he was studying he was deep
ly enough engrossed in his thoughts
to pay no attention, seemingly. to the
ruftianly gang that approached him,
after having terrorized the cabin.
"They lurched along roughly till
they came to where he was. when one
of them bumped against him violently
enough to have knocked him down II
he had not been very quick in recover
ing himself. He said nothing, and to
all appearances was unruffled All he
did was to step over to another post and
resume his former attitude.
This did not suit the gang at ALL
ard in another moment two or three OF
them banged mp against him in such a
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