Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-12
NEIGHBoRS IN NEW YORK.
A Bunch of Surprises and Some Curious
Meetings.

"If every man in New York would
take a census Of the characters in his
neighborhood the result would be
crowded with surprises" said a citi-
zen. "I stumbled into a nest Of in
formation by meeting man whom
had not seen for more than year.
"He was born in my state and left
there about the same time that | got
away. He went abroad as a repre-
sentative of one of the administra-
tions Of Cleveland. He served ont his
term. became a subject Of Abdul
Hamid. and returning to this country
was an agent Of the Turkish govern
ment until Abdul was deposed. AL
though no longer in the service Of
Turkey he is a consistent believer in
the teachings of Mohammed.
From him I learned that there
lived in our neighborhood another
known to both of us who has a curl
Gus history. An outspoken southern
er at the breaking out Of the civil
war. he did not enter the service un-
til the war was at it's most intense
stage Then he was drafted into the
Union service. and hired a substitute,
who afterward turned out to be a de-
serter from the German army.
"The substitute was on his way to
the front when the man who had hir-
ed him. chatting under the fact that he
was fighting by proxy for the Union,
enlisted in the Confederate cause. He
was with Johnston when Johnston
surrendered.
"A few months before Johnston's
surrender this man was in charge of
a squad that captured a detachment
of Union soldiers. One of them was
the substitute. number of south
ern soldiers who were tired Of the
struggle that was then drawing to
close was permitted to quit their
command and went to Mexico. The
substitute went with them. He was
successful in business. and after his
death i'm Mexico the southerner who
through the substitutes agent the
$500 the southerner had paid. with
interest.
II mentioned this discovery to a
friend who was my guest and said
something about a New York man
never knowing what he was near.
My guest replied that he had a sur
prise that would match mine. He
named a man of whom l had heard,
but had never met. who was arrested
by Federal troops in the town he was
visiting charged with being a rebel
spy He was West Pointer when
the war of so began. He resigned
and entered the southern army
"The first year of the war he visit
ed the place where he was arrested.
He was taken in the home of his cOu-
sin. who was a spirited southern girl.
She was permitted to visit him while
he was in the Federal fort Her beau
ty captivated the Union major in COM
mand. The spy escaped.
'Wnen the war nau Dcen over Il
year the Union major became the
husband of the southern beauty. My
guest asked if | could guess how the
escape of the rebel spy was brought
about. There was only one guess
And this man is near neighbor.
We'll. after this | would not have
been surprised To hear anything. And
| wasn't, after l had told these things
to another neighbor, who said my
string of information was only eX-
ceeded by the fact that he had only
recently heard that an acquaintance
who lived across the hall from him
had twenty-five years ago been strung
up by Il gang of vigilanteS The hal
ter was placed around the mans neck
and the horse on which he was mount
ed was about to be led from under
the rider when he gave Il sign that
was recognized by the leader of the
gang. and he was let go. 1t was learn
ed afterward that the man was inno-
cent.
He lived for several years among
the gang that had strung him up
When he left the country they gave
him great sendof. About year
ago one of the vigilantes came to
New York, and the man who was
nearly hanged by the visitor and his
crowd entertained him.
Can you beat it for one congress
siOnal district in our greatest city?
Exchange.