The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-04
DOBSON, THE UBIQUITOUS.
HE KNEW THE ROPES AND WAS
ALWAYS COOL.

ana his Way Out Under Difficulties.
"You never met Dobson, the globe %trotter, did
you7" said the gray.haired. young-looking man.
and rs nobody had, he went on talking. Il
used to meet him 30 often, in such unexpected
places, that II got to DO n habit Of mine to look
around for him whenever l found myself in a
Grange town. and II was surprising how often
-Sunu him. For q long time 1 couldn't under
stand why no went when no did, for he didn't
seem TO DO Interested very much In anything no
saw, but / learned aftcrward that 1t was merely
his habit TO seem Indifferent. AS a matter Of
fact, no spent his entire time going about tho
world observing things. Ny meetings with him
were when l was travelling around this country
on business, and when he was doing the States.
"T think no was an Englishman. though /
wasn't certain, and he never talked Of himself,
20 no gave me no clue. Certainly he was the
coolest man in a difficulty that I ever mot, and I
have seen him in trouble many times, ora least,
under circumstances that, would lead an aver
age man TO believe himself in trouble.
"T made his acquaintance on the fourth night
Of the draft riots of 1868. II you remember,
New York suffered from a veritable Reign Of
Terror for six days and nights. Houses were
looted, men were killed in the streets, and all
Imaginable horrors wero perpetrated by mobs
as fierce as those of tho French revolution. The
full history of 1t was never told, and never can
be told. for hundreds Of minor crimes vert never
even reported, and scores of others were never
punished.
being as devoid of sense as was to be ex-
pected Of a youngster, I used to go about town
that week rs a looker-on, and saw much of the
trouble, and on more than one occasion came
near getting. into 1t myself. The nearest was
on the night l mentioned. when I started up
town-it was uptown then-to see some fires
that were burning in.the neighborhood Of Forty
seventh street. I had just turned into Fifth
avenue from that street when I saw q man run
ming toward me-, followed by a gang Of perhaps
twenty. I knew instantly that II they caught
him It would be all up with him. for robbery and
murder went together and I knew also that the
crowd was just as likely to leave him and set
upon me, 80 I turned and ran with him.
W hadn't gone more than half a block when
he turned his head and said: I don't like run
ming as a general thing. Suppose we stand
II didn't like the idea, for I had seen too
many men struck down, and I said: But l 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
to his pocket and then dwelling an imaginary
revolver straight at our pursuers. On the i'm
pulse of tho moment I 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 of In search of less combative victims.
"Tt 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 excited as If he had thrown a stone at q
barking dog and the cur had run away. We
chatted together for along time that night oyer
. cold bottle that / really seemed to need, but
beyond learning his name and finding that he
was an educated gentleman, l didnt feel that l
had progressed far in acquaintance with him.
ys. That i esm wss e TAI 1bs as 1 s sDeE E Elm tR %slf because Ane
] could tell just about what he would do in an
1T may have been a year after our FIRST meet
ing that / was crossing the ferry from VII
Harrisburg an hour or two after midnight. There
weren't very many an passengers on board In
was figuring on how much SLEEP, l would get bo-
i've young ioafers coming through from the
other end of the boat and amusing themselves
Sc ssn sHss saHo ss az in i,s aSs CABIN I'm inc Toes OF tho pas
Two or n three VIII who we were !, thus ma atre, d
s ashte but SRt f ahnsf gang aR Was 0s SO % ABUSIVE was and S1G so o 20
81 ssn sake Ssy' Of a nsshi asssir sS Sisti Shsy es sss i n . sss5F
selves with cursing them heartily, though.not
loudly, after they had passed
UP and quietly, walked out on tho forward deck.
in the carriaeeway. Fighting, excepting for
good cause when it cannot well be avoided, was
no reason for getting into a row With dvo men
who had enough liquor In them to be ugly.
near n tRe Bow q man of tS Sean Soats y H one w az th iea RGiiss
against the post smoking and APPARENTLY study
M WSs ads eepiS Enough %e enSTosse a0 in Mf lis st thoggFhf;s ne TO
pay no attention, seemingly, to the ruf1anly
gang that approached him, after having ter
I''They lurched along roughly till they came to
where he was, when one Of them:bpmped against
self. He, said nothing, and to all appearances
another post and resume his former attitude.
o,ha Thi g6 d1d not tw suit IT rh tbtgs gang g, a tbs s1l' b Snd In am nm
against him in such a way that he could not help
seeing that 1t was intended. Moreover, they
1eered and swore ct him in the yilest fashion,
there would be any fun in killing him.
.. stu ~ the man showed tho. 2 81 re he5 men . or emo y
ten or twelve feet over toward the middle Of tho
pockets, smoking and still looking at the stars.
The gang was disguised. and said 50 plainly.
but they never reached him. though he had
hardly. stirred from his tracks. One after an.
following one another % rapidly that Z !, who was
yatching not thirty feet away, could not fol-
THAT did not end the matter. The gang was
really out for fight, and would very likely have
@ tackled 40 h tSo Sshsr tb as readily wsra ya as tn they syst dld S5lngle
S--'g ~ h-SV f'SAS A'ANN W. 6h -
they all scrambled up to go at him again. But
the second part of 1t was even more entertain
fng than tho first. As fast as they rose they
went down again. The quiet man was moving
like q cat now, and striking like a mules hind
leg. In all my experience I never saw such an
exhibition of science against brute force. Each
ono of the Ave must have been knocked down
three or four times before they came to the con-
clusion that they had had enough, and actually
crAwled away on their hands and knees, one by
one, rather than get hit again.
A we came into the slip I walked over to-
ward the stranger, who was still smoking his
cigar and looking at the stars, and / saw that 1t
was D9bson: HIS only comment on the affair
compel the deckhands to GO armed
After that / met him. as I said, in all sorts
iage full OF Molly Maguires the day after thir-
teen OF that order were hanged in Pennsylvania.
He was on the same boat with mo on the Missis-
sippi River In the floods Of 'S2. He was In Chi
cago at the time of the big. fire. and again at tho
ExPosition.
'fHis scent for excitement was keen, and he
missed no chance of an adventure, or, at least,
1t seemed so to me, for no never seemed to have
any other business excepting to look on. But
no was always as cool as possible, and ! never
saw him look surprised. / never admired his
GOODNESS more, however than / did when I SAW