The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-07-20
The Immortal j. NJ"

FROM Cne chicago Tribune.
Jacob Newman Free, the immortal j..
NJ" has reached the end of his travels.
He was finally adjudged insane and will
spend the remainder of his days in tho
state hospital at Toledo. He is now rs
year old.
hus passes a character Known in nearly
every sizable town in every state in the
west. For more han half a century he
lived as the birds live. No town or state
could claim him as it's own. In each he
was at home and among friends. 1t is his
claim. and it is not disputed. that he
knows more people personally than any
other living man.
For fifty years he has travelled up and
down and across the country, riding free
on nearly every railroad and living with
out expense in the best hotels the towns he
visited afforded.
Still In his possession are a hundred slips
reading, "Good for j. N" His most treas
ured possession is a slip of paper signed
by the leading officials of many of the
biggest railroads in the country. 1t reads:
The Immortal j.. M: pass him forever.
Good on all roads from now until dooms-
day.
Hotel men in the towns he visited did as
much. He was never known to have more
than a few cents at a time, but in fifty
years of his wanderings few landlords
have been bold enough to present him with
a bin. Once it is recorded a hotel keeper
offered to throw off half the bill when he
learned his guests identity. The I'm
mortal j. N" glared at the landlord then,
declaring he would allow no one to Guido
nim in generosity, and said he would
throw off the other half.
He seldom stopped in cities Of more
than 10000 population, believing that in
the large cities his personality would be
.ost. There are few newspaper offices in
the country outside of the largest cities
where he is not we'll known. Some years
ago he travelled all over the country ran
sacking the files of newspapers for his own
obituary. He has been reported dead more
han once.
He is an apostle of truth" ''pressure,' %
and keeper of the .'secret of the veil" For
thirty years he has been promising to lift
The veil' and put ION the pressure" Wher-
ever he stopped in the course OF his migra-
tons his first announcement was that men
called himc crazy and that he was about Ito
put the pressure ~" This pressure was
some mysterious force which he alone, he
believed, prevented from crushing out Of
existence all the life of this continent.
No one has ever doubted that he was In
sane. He himself boosted of it. But his is
an insanity that up to now inspired only
friendship and sympathy. But behind his
insanity and his fifty years of aimless
wandering over the country is a tragic
story.
In youth he was an infant phenomenon.
AT 4 years Of age he read almost all of the
bible, and during his teens he acquired a
reading and speaking knowledge of no less
than thirteen languages. During the gold
craze in 80 He went west and started a
stage line. Within two years he had ac-
cumulated a fortune Of $4,000. A partner
robbed him and then u. NJ" moved pack
to Ohio and began the study of law. With
N a few years he stood at the top of the
oar of Cincinnati.
One day he was defending a murderer. In
whose innocence he strongly believed. AS
A result of his eloquence the man was
acquitted. The same day his client con-
fessed that he was guilty. u. NJ" rushed
back to the courtroom ar started to eS-
plain, but the strain and excitement had
been too much for him. He was stricken
with apoplexy. Within a short time no
recovered his physical health. but never
mis- mental poise.