The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1907-09-11

ability to interpret the motives of
our opinion that it requires some
thing like divine powers to determine
the purpose and motives of sane men.
and it appears that DR.. Semple gra-
tuitousiy attempted that very task
since. after deciding the question of
Mr.. Nicolai's sanity. he proceeded TO
;ell US how and why he went away J
Now it will be agreed by all that a
mental or moral weakness acts uni
formly in mans conduct Thus 4
man with tendency to lie or eXag
gerate does not manifest it one week
by being very conservative in his
statements and the next by giving ex-
preston to all sorts of wild exagger-
atoms. But here we find a man who
in all our knowledge of him has
shown very little love of the sensa-
tional, at least no one would say tina
his record has shown disposition
to spend many dollars 10 get people
talking about him. We have observed
that his enemies have charged him
with all sorts of wild fanaticism, but
we have yet to learn that those would
be astute individuals who have posed
as such shifty reasonels with regard
ito his whereabouts and all the other
e &C..
before this ventured TO announce
their discovery that Mr. Nicolai is
sensation fend. Is it possible that
he has lived so long with this people
and his friends have never suspected
that he is such human monstrosity?
Is it possible that We have in our very
midst of this community a man with
a character such that he is willing
10 sacrifice everything that good men
hold dear for the sake of making a
sensation? If there is a spot in the
Sunnyside valley where there is 4
love of simplicity, sobriety, industry
integrity, and a hatred of shame,
graft, immortality and the loud
mouthed thinness of the sensational
in general it will be found in the fam
lily and in the personality of our oft
misquoted and pprposely misrepre-
sented friend H. E Nicolai.
Think now, il you please, of the
details and circumstances of his dis
appearance This man had been in
strumental in securing evidence ana
having suit brought against those
engaged in the blind pig" business
| He had received several anonymous
letters threatening his life unless the
prosecution was stopped the case
| having been continued on account of
a writ of mandamus being issued BY
the superior court He had made
arrangements for shipping a car Of
early potatoes the coming week. and
it was the busiest time OF the year for
the market ing of his products On
! this dark night of June %, while
passing along narrow footpath.
closely bordered by very thick and
very tall weeds. he suddenly disap-
peared Suspicious characters were
seen in the vicinity by several people
What was the sequel9 Undisguised
and uneons ious for period Of near
ly nine days, 200 miles from home.
landed in the timber through he in
strumentality of some kind OF free
( transportation, he wanders aimlessly
about until dawning consciousness re-
veals the fact that something. he
knows not what. has befallen MIN
1t is strange and unaccountable
contradiction OF the universally az
cepted theory Of the love Of gain in
the human soul that although several
persons claim to have seen him. none
took the trouble TO secure for him
self the snug sum Of $50 guaranteed
reward
Immediately upon his disappear
ance. certain people inimical to Mr.
Nicolai began circulating all sorts of
defamatory lies about him. We
might perhaps be convinced that such
things had not been done but for the
fact that they were industriously cir
culated through communications to
the press. in every case. however.
with the disguised identity OF the
writer.
There are various other strange
condolences about this case which
We need not mention here. In this