The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1908-11-13
CAPTAIN HAMS
|D0L|zED WIFE
Brother Tells of Shock at Dis.
covery of Wife's Relations
With Annis.

an exclusive signed statement IN de-
Tense Of his brother Peter, which in
part follows:
My brother. Captain Hams, was al
ways q delicate, high-strung. nervous
child. His was a most sensitive and
generous nature. With a high sense of
honor, he was gentle and obedient,
tractablc and our mothers pet. l re-
membe once When he was a small boy
he accidentally killed a bird. He cried
over the bird all that day and was
much upset. This was not normal for
q boy.
when, a little later, Peter went with
General Hams in a lighthouse tender,
he fell down the open main hatch and
landed on his head in the hold. He was
insensible until the next day and after
ward acted aueerly. The doctors We're
afraid for him to go to school until he
was we'll into his teens, and he was
far behind the other lads In his studies
until his natural diligence and perse-
verance brought him to the front.
ut Is only just that the public know
possible doubt that the horrors he has
lately undergone, that would shake
the strongest man, would naturally
break him down.
A Nervous Child.
Poor Peter never took part In any
of the usual games of boys. He would
sit at home and read or draw pictures.
"A QeleCI III spSSSIl uSS ny II ilcl
vous affection made him timid with
more robust lads. 1t affected him so
much that he devoted several years OF
study on how to overcome ii. and
finally did so by q method which made
talking very difficult indeed.
THE way he accomplished it was to
keep time to his talking by tapping on
a able with his finger. He talked SLOW
ly, and at every syllable there was the
tap-tap-tap OF the finger. IL was diff
oz-.yA a-a.,4 Fo, Dot, To -oa,. ~ ,,,, Int
he stuck to 1t until he had mastered the
defect in speech.
always Pete had the highest sense
Of honor as a boy and was
vicious or bad. Once a beggar came
into the house. and Pete upbraided him
for not ringing the bell. The beggar
told a pitiful tale of starvation aud
misery, and then a revulsion of feeling
came upon the lad. He gave the nlendi-
cant all the money he had and With
tears in his eyes insisted that the beg
gar wear his oyerccat, a costly gar
1nent.
the generous impulses. the high moral
tone of his nature. Thai he WAS weak
minded when he grew up WAS absurd.
iation from the high ideals and moral
atmosphere OF his early youth is also
not true. His conduct to his wife was
always loving and most affectionate,
and the opinion among all his friends
is tina he vas a model husband and
father. In the perfect ohscurity OF his
own conscience he always believed good
of every n else, and this In my opin-
ion shows the true side of a mans IA
ture. EVIL he never thought of. Vice
was q thing unknown. He never drank
except as a gentleman may.
He never knew his Wife was adj
dicted to the alcohol habit. as her own
testimony shows. Believing good Of
every one. he naturally could not form
the slightest suspicion of the woman
he loved and honored.
IT seldom went to Fort Hamilton
even when Pete was there, but several
years back. when my MI wife was
i alive and we were all together In Cen
that there vas no drinking, nc smoking
of countless cigarets II gambling.
Pete never had but one owe affair.
That was with Claudia. She was the
only woman he had ever really known,
and she was to him something far
above human-his idol. OF course,
/ some men and women of the world may
laugh at this romance, but 1t was typi-
cal Of his nature, the soul OF a Raleigh.
a southern g~entleman-a sou she never
could understand.
THE public has overlooked the fact
that the packet of letters. some of
which have been made public. were not
received by Captain Hams until his
return to San Francisco, just prior to
his sudden and wild departure for New
York.
That the doings chronicled in some
of them are not typical OF army life is
emphasized by the fact that the cap
tain became frantic. and on receiving
other letters from his wife was upset
SO completely that he boarded the first
train for New York. He would run
home at once and see just what was
taking place, and, If she had gotten into
trouble. try and get her out OF it at
once. The tales of wild revels appalled,
him.
1T is wrong to blame nim for loving
and trusting the woman the way he
did, loving and trusting her SO tina
nothing could shake his faith until he
had heard the story from her own lips
She old him that she had loved Annis
for years and a used Peters high
ideals to fool and deceive him..
TT has been said that he should
never have left her n gone to the
Philippines. This is absurd. He had
II every soldier refuses DUTY because
hts wife cannot be left alone. what car
be the answer? But, In this case, she
urged him to go. He was talking with
her before going about %resigning and
going into private life. but she urged
giving up the service. What more
natural that he should leave her an6
the children in a comfortable home
we'll provided for. among friends, Will.
he. answered the call OF duty? VIVA,
more could q man do for the woman
he loved?
what can her thoughts be Of he,
children? To be sure they are cared
for by General Hain-s. But what II
physical comfort to the mental aeon,
they must endure when they are ole
enough to know? When my own littl,
Mollie, my little orphaned daughter
cries for me as she does every night
Papa, papa, come to little Mollie.' i
is dear little Peter who takes her II
his baby arms and soothes her to slee1
on his own little bed. Molly, poo,
Molly, Peter will take care Of you
don't cry, don't cry This Is his wore
OF comfort. Peter, the dear little lad
bushes her to sleep.
1T. JENKINS HAMS"