The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1907-03-06
GREENSBORO DESERTER
Longs for Wife and Children
He Is Now In South
America.

A letter from Howard Blanford, at
Taltal. Chile, South America, has been
received in Greensboro by his wife,
Mrs. Howard Blanford, who resides
at S07 East Fourth street This is
the first direct news that has been
heard from Howard Blanford since
he left greensboro on July Z, five
years ago, without bidding adieu to
wife, children, mother or father. In
his letter he states that he is now at
work in Taltal, Chile, with rail-
road.
The object of his letter is to have
his wife and children come to him in
that far-off torrid zone, where, ac-
cording to his statement, he is pin
ing for his wife and babies and vast
ing away his life in dissipation. His
letter is full of pathos, tender and
sweet, to the wife and children whom
he says himself that he cruelty de-
serted, and his mother, who has suf-
fered much for his sake. The note
of ascendency is that of an awakening
soul that longs to make amends and
lead better life.
The letter is full of confessions of
faithlessness and wrongdoing on his
part, and he seems to have realized
the enormity of his acts of cruelty
toward those nearest and dearest to
him. He says that he longs for his
wife and two dear little children.
Blanford is now in Chile, where
he is known by the name of j. w.
Brooks, and under this same name
he married another woman in Sgd
ney, Australia, three years ago. To
wife No. two children were born.
In his letter he says nothing of his
Australian wife and children, but
merely insists that children and wife
No. /, who reside here, come to him,
anu ne W Jul bhO PooS'
His letter in part is as follows:
my Dear Nell: l know you Won
der at my writing you, but can you
forget the way have treated you?
long to come back to Owensboro
again, but l simply could not do 1t.
could have come two or three years
ago, If l had known that you would
have forgiven me. AS it was l spent
all l earned in drowning memories
in drink, and here l am working for
an English railroad company and
cannot, with my habits, save enough
TO buy decent clothes.
"You know you could, by law, claim
a divorce from me, if you wished to
DO so. However, l will talk straight
to you, and will tell you that l have
lived an awful life since / left the
u. S. A. Now / long for you and my
children. You may not think so, but
/ have laid awake many long
night picturing home, family and
friends and wondering what was said,
until would get up and go and
drown memory in drink, In the past
five years I have done as many bad
things as / could think Of doing in
my desperation. am telling you
plainly; if we can manage to blot out
my past Ito forget is impossible) |
will arrange to have you and the
children come to me.
The climate of Argentine is splen-
did. The climate here in Taltal is
simply awful hot There is nothing
for several thousand miles but salt
and saltpeter and deserts. Nothing
green lives here and what little
green food We get comes from VAL
paraiso and Coquimbo by boat and
when a boat load is distributed TO
forty big saltpeter factories and rail-
way stations in the interior, besides
supplying the city, about all anyone
gets is one feed and no more until
the next week, when another load ar
rives.
Il will give you an idea of what
things cost here: For meat, per