Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-25


houses to the open spaces for heir lives,
ne organized his force Of editors and;
printers, who by the light Of Impoverished
taiioW-dips, and undeterred by the
strange decorations of that dread new.
and unknown thunder. which once heard
y never forgotten. 1abored throughout
mat long night in an unsafe building to
get out next morning an issue Of his
paper, which woiiid announce to wait
Ing and anxious world that the old city
BY the sea survived. and had survived
this tremendous CONFUSION and wreck Of
nature herself. III
An Eventfu1 Career.
Coming to America an unknown Eng
fish lad and adventurer, at the outbreak
of the civil war, he threw his fortunes
ir the scale with the Southern Confeder-
acy. and made a gallant soldier on. the
staff Of General Fitzhugh Lee here in
Virginia After the var he was attract
ed to the Journalistic field in Charleston,
where opportunity opened her door to SO
ca ger and ardent spirit, and together.
with another of kindred character. he or.
ganized and built up the News and SCou-
rier into an organ of potency vastly pre-
ponderating over any other in the, State,
In the course of his arduous and event.
tol career he was involved in various
personal differences and difficulties and
While his physical courage was beyond
question, sf1e took a stand against the
tme-honored custom, of duelling among.
the gentry class of that ancient aristo-g
cratic Palmetto burg-a stand which was
comparatively easy to assume. not being
to the manner born" and coming as a
stranger imbued with his English ideas
and predictions on the subject AS q
result of his opposition and efforts a
a " was finally placed by the South Car
m sta f11fo
prescribing penalty for the offence OF.
sending a challenge or in any way engag-
ing in a duel. which included the Offend
e-'s deprivation of all political rights and
privileges of citizenship.
For This seryise to the cause of Chris
.ianity anc OF human advancement Cap
Tain Dawso1, who was a consistent Cath.
ole in religion. was knighted by the Holy
Roman Pontiff. His own blood marks In
-ubric. however. this abrupt change In
tbs social laws and conditions of the Pal
metto State.
A Tragic Intrigue.
Early In the n-ne ties Captain Dawson
had installed in his family a handsome.
red-cEeeked young French woman, whom,
he had brought from France. and had
Under his personal protection. as COVER
ness of his children. Dr. mellow, prom.
inent Charleston physician. and near
sracted by. and became enamored of tie
i,uSom French woman who lisped l1er
broken English SO cfarningly. IN the
absence Of the family, 1t was charged
he nads c:ardestine visits to the Law
son domteile. and f1irted outrageousls-
with the French tgoverness who. as the
developments showed. was nothing 10th
in receiving his attentions. The affair
went to the extent of an designations.
when Captain Dawson being made aware
of it.. had the @Chief-of-Police. Golden, of
that lime. p1acn the movements Of the
pair under surveillance. when his grayest
suspicious as, to DR.. McDow's designs
were ccrrol1ora ted.
1t was at this junc;urc that one day
about 3 o'clock ir.. the afternoon, his usual
hour for going TO dinner. Captain Daw>
son Boarded a street-car. and was; seen.
by other pa ssengers to get off atha cor
ner in the neighhorhood of his own. and
Irr. mellow Office and residence. at
nigl1tfali he had not reached his home,
and his family were anxiously making
Inquiries of his Whereabouts In the
meantime, about four hours after the
disappearance from public view of the
editor. DR.. McDow, after repeated sus-5
picious noises heard in his house. and
movements on his part were observed in
running out buying nails and other things
and returning. finally threw open his door
and announced to the policeman on the.
beat that Captain Dawson lay dead in
his Office.
JeIyn md Mr.. Hyde.
For three hours or more Dr.. McDow.
had been alone in his office with no COM.
paly but that of his conscience and the
dead victim That he had suffered during
that period of time Is difficult to say.
But it Is certain that for the time he
was man beside himself.
Unassisted by any one he had torn up
the floor under the stairs of the residence
portion of his house and dug a grave
in the earth beneath. and. although !
small man. he had then dragged the
body Of Captain Dawson. man who
weighed considerably over 200 pounds to
the excavation and tried to hide 1t away
in the earth. But the cavity was too
small. and he dragged his CHASTITY bur-
den back again to his Office, where later
1t was viewed by the hundreds OF hortl-
fed Charlestonians who thronged to the
house as soon as the news of the tragedy
spread like wild fire over the city.
McDow's defence In the famous trial
that ensued was that Captain Dawson
had first threatened to expose him by
publishing him in his paper. and then
had struck him with his cane. What
mellow had done was attested by the.
bullet hole in his victims side which,
though mot as deep as a Wen OF ds Wlue
as a church door, served to let out the
gallant editors immortal spirit to roam.
the fields elysian.
His Acquittal App1nuded.
McDow was acquitted. the announce
ment of the verdict being received with
unseen,!y plaudits by some Of the more
tenoble sort who could not forgive the
great editor their real or imaginary
wrongs even at the grave
Gonzales was trained In the Dawson
school. but was more strenuous in nj;
methods than his preccptor and less sub
ject to the curb. He came Of fighting
stock on his fathers side, who was a
leader in the early cuban revolutions. and
gallant official in the Confederate ser
vice. On his mothers side he was de-
scended from the Elliotts. who are OF
the best blood of lower South Carolina.
Had his differences with Tillmap oc-
CURED under the reign Of the code he
would at least have met the latter On
even terms. and have had an equal
chance with him for his life. And It has.
indeed, been matter for surprise in South
Carolina that Gonzales did not answer to
~. z -; 20 -, enf of ff1e old law of honor.