The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1902-04-24
"Ths Immortal ]. n"


with the announcement that he had
come to lift the veil and remove the
pressure He conddentially told his
new made friends that he would never
leave ii on johnson City. But the
struggle with the disrupted fnanciary
elements was SO fierce along about 1898
when j. N was there that few would
believe his prophecy. In fact, his dis
ciples might be reduced down to Cy
Lyle, Of the daily COMET. Cy just
kept on getting out the paper as often
as he could and taking town lots on
subscription until J. N. fulfilled his
promise and has removed the pressure.
"The ImmortalJ. N. was one Of the
most picturesque men that ever visited
this section. He was known to every
one by his peculiar obriquet and only |
to his most intimate friends would he
reveal his true name, which is said to
be ]. N. Free. From the number OF
times he has been reported dead in the
newspapers and turned up again it is
easy to see how he got the immortal
affixed as q part OF his name. He was,
Of course, = lunatic, but was one of the
most original that ever came to East
Tennessee. Before he came to Johnson
City little references to him were seen
in the daily papers, but the citizens Of
that suffering town had no idea what
was meant by y. N, the immortal,
and the irrepressible conflict" A
week before his arrival The COMET be-
gan to get strangely worded postal
cards which excited the curiosity of the
employees Of that famous paper. Most
of these cards were written and rewrit-
ten across until they were unreliable,
but down in the corner in small blank
space were these words plainly written,
ours in search of truth, j. N But
the Office was not kept long in suspense.
One day the door opened and the tall,
splendidly built figure of man enter
ed with loud voice and familiarity
that completely upset the dignity of
of the editorial force. This visitor was
a striking character. He was gigantic
in form, had lions voice, a face in
which there was not weak line to mar
is heroic mold, his eye was as fierce as
that of an eagles, and whole stature
was topped with great tassle of iron
grey hair that fell in rich profusion ov-
er his massive shoulders. He was q
=, picture of force, and when he flashed
his eye about the room Cy Lyle began
to wonder what Objectionable matter
had appeared in his paper in the last
few days, and at the same time reached
for sidestick with the determination
to die game.
" oh, yes, you couldn't stand the
pressure, were his first words. Gould
not publish that little notice I sent you
from Greeneville. Til put the pressure
ON this Office till it will never come of
for that he declared as he approached
the desk. These words gave Lyle {
cue as to who his visitor was, and in {
moment his wrath subsidized as he dis
covered that ]. N. was a lunatic, ant
thought it best to humor him.
"'No, I did not publish it for thu
reason that we could not read it.
have got seven handwriting experts a
3 work ON it now, and will print, it as sool
8 as the can decipher it.
. "This remark seemed to please J. N
and he burst into pleasant laugh
From that day ON he and Cy Lyle wer,
the best of friends. He made johnson
City his headquarters for several month";
r and was supposed TO lecture about owe
the country. 1t was very seldom, how
ever, that he got to the real point o
making speech. He did deliver on,
lecture in the opera house at johnson
City and to a large crowd. He mucl
3 preferred to talk about and advertise
I his lectures than to deliver them.
Al "Lyle in some way come to believ
that J. N. would in some way brin,
him good luck, and the columns o
THE COMET we're always open to him
0 He would advertise date for his lee
p ture one day and change it the next an,
4 SO on for weeks just for the qualification
of seeing his name in print. He had t
be watched when he had an announce
ment in the paper, or he would simpl
d roll up the whole issue and carry
0 away. What he did with them no on
4 could find out, but he probably sen
them to relatives.
~. N. was bright young lawyer il
an Ohio town when the war broke out
Q and the solution of this great question
y is said to have been the cause of hi
r warping his mind. He tried to settl
it in his head and it proved too muc
for him. This is where he got the iii
repressible conflict on which he wa
= supposed to lecture. He declared to
g that both sides were right and tbs
t both sides were wrong. He devote
4 his time afther he strained his mind
tho search for the truth Of the gres
: question, and always subscribed him
y self yours in search of truth. He ha
o travelled all over the country in scare
h of truth, but up to few years az
when last heard from had not found il