The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-01-12
For His Sweetheart.

The Romantic Trip of a Young
Man Around the World in
Eighteen Months Before He
Can Wed His Sweetheart.
As the party referred to is in Sum-
ter to day, the following story told
by the Yorkville correspondent Of the
News and Courier will interest our
readers.
Mr. T. Allen McQuary, who start
ed out from Mountain Grove, Mis-.
souri,, to make a trip around the
world for an Arkansas girl and SIS, 900
arrived in Yorkville last Saturday
afternoon, and remained until this
morning when he proceeded on his
journey 1t is not probable that a
similar task has ever before been
undertaken for similar reward, ard
under such peculiar conditions. The
story is especially interesting in view
of the fact that it is a genuine ro-
nance in real life, and will be read
with interest by all the readers of the
News and Courier.
Here are the leading facts Mr..
McQuary is young man of good
family, the son Of q minister of the
Christian Church, who lives at Neo.
sho, Mo, is about % years of age,
and has undertaken, to make a trip
around the world in eighteen months.
to convince an eccentric but wealthy
father of a beautiful young girl that
young men of to day are made out of
as good material as was in use when
the old gentleman was young, and
above all to receive upon his return
the hand of the young lady in mar
riage.
The full details of the story were
published in many OF the leading pa.
pers of the country, including the
New York Journal, the ST Louis
Globe-Democrat. Cincinnati Post and
others. when Mr.. McQuary started
ont on his journey, but your cor
respondent will give it as told to him
briefly as follows.
CATER several years experience
as q printer and publisher in Neohso,
Mo II am now % years of age
/ sold out my business aud took work
as q commercial traveller, Ny busi-
ness carried me into several OF the
Mississippi Valley States. including
Arkansas. Railroad facilities in por-
tions$ of the latter State are not very
good, and on account of this, in one lit
tie town was invariably detained for
about twenty four hours on each trip.
Here I became acquainted with a
pretty little girl, and this acquain-
lance was renewed upon subsequent
trips. until l finally realized that l
had met my fate. 1t developed that
the young lady's father was a rich
Ex- Confederate who owned many
thousand acres of land and lived about
four miles from the town When
nv sweetheart and at last decided
that we would get married, we found
opposition on the part of the old
gentleman. She is his only daugh-
ter, and her mother having died at
her birth. the old gentlemen is pecu-
liarly attached to her. l begged and
persuaded the old gentleman. until
one day he tried to put me off with
the assertion that young men of to.
day are not made of the same kind of
stuff as when he was young that
they did not try to do for themselves,
but were always on the lookout, for
rich wives with whom they expected
to get fortune without work. l in-
sisted that the young men were all
right if they had the opportunity to
show it, and told him that / was will
ling to submit to any test. He took
me up. and few days later handed
me written document with request
for me to sign it.
"The document was in the nature
of a contract between us, and pro-
vided that | must start out on the
10Th of May, 1897. without cent of
money in my pockets, earn enough to
buy horse, clothe myself in a velvet
suit. grid sword about me, take
two dogs aud make the trip around
the world in eighteen months. Must
pay my way wherever l go, in an
honorable manner. and must do 5000
miles of the trip on horseback the
other 10000 by ship must
oct the sipnatures Of the