Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-31
DOWNFALL OF A PROPHET
New York Community Relieves Its
Feelings by Chasing Him Out
of Town.

The end of the world. which was to
have occurred December % just on the dot
Of high noon, with the disturbance CEN
tered just above and below Nyack, N. Y,
was indefinitely postponed at 1905 o'clock
because of the unexpected translation TO
another sphere of the prophet who had
projected this day of doom, Lee J. Spang-
Ter of York. Pa. There happened to be
q warrant out for the arrest OF Prophet
Spangler as a public nuisance contempt.
raneously with his announced migration
to a higher plane than that upon which
Nyack stands, and the warrant has not
yet been served-in Nyack, at least.
Despite the absence of the prophet,
which he had previously arranged to
account for on the Elijah hypothesis
but which was really accomplished with
the help of a horse and buggy, fifteen or
twenty women and little girls, dressed
all in white. awaited the crack of doom in
the Oak Hill cemetery, high up on the
snow covered slopes OF South mountain
back of Nyack. There was a dogfight,
one Of those who had faith and much
weight f~ainting because of the steepness
of the grade, and that was all.
Some time near midnight on Saturday
Spangler, who had heard about the war
rant, told Mrs. Henrietta Murdoch, the
high prtestess OF the saints who gathered
in Nyack to await the rolling up of the
sky as a scroll, that the Lord had called
him and that he was going to go right
up to heaven in advance of the general
cataclysm. Then he went right out of the
back door of Mrs. Murdock's house on
lower Main street. over a back fence and
into a buggy.
NEa,, - tbe nrnDhaf'o folnua~a dtd moi
go to bed at all Saturday night. determined
to be in at the first blast of the trumpet
of the destroying angel, At the first sign
of dawn, a party OF the fafthful-all women
performed their ablutions and put on
white dresses. specially made for tho oc-
c~aslon." Then they foregathered. After
that they walke in procession to the
railway station to meet a party of saints
who were expected by the early morning
train.
In due time the train arrived. Not a
saint was seen-unless 1t be the milkman
arriving with the early morning supply.
Behind the faithful" was a crowd
This was composed of about $50 rude
citizens, They made fun of the disciples
of Spangler when no saints appeared.
Undiscouraged, however, the white-robed
ones, followed\ by the rude citizens
marched ~sorrowfully to Oak Hill ceme-
terry. Why there, no one seems to know
unless 1t be that the cemetery appealed
to them as a happy hunting ground. Ar.
irving, the procession attracted the at
tention of Superintendent Halsted. Not
having been posted as to IT'S object, and
not liking the looks OF the $50 followers
of the white-robed ones, Halsted drove all
from the grounds.
Many of the $50 had eggs which, II
was rumored. had been sent up specially
for the occasion from New York City,
The rumor was enough for Halsted; he
didn't propose to try the eggs.
Leaving the cemetery the faithful jour
neyed to the South mountain. There
large congregation had assembled. AL
waited for the trumpet call of the angel
but after a while they got tired, al
nothing happened. Then they dispersed.
spangler got What is known in the YER
naeular as "cold feet at the last mo
ment. Whether or not he thought thai
Nyack was or was not a fit place in which
to be found when the all-important mo
ment arrived is not known, but he left
town under the shadow of darkness-NeW
York Sun.