The Detroit times., 1910-03-11
CRUEL JOKE MAKES
POOR GIRL HE|RESS
Dies Unwed in West Indies, Leaving
All To Sweetheart OF Is
Years Before

MIS-. Herman NtAltis Wiz vs. -
honse painter at Nashville. Tenn. an
formerly laundry girl. is dazed an
can hardly credit her good fortune Al
old sweetheart who left her wiIhou
word eighteen years ago aud tron
whom she never heard IN al. that ia
teryal. has lefi her an estate Worti
100000
I'm certain The whole thing is
dream. said Mrs. Nester yesierda!
Pm sure TN wake up shortly an'
know / have only been asleep Pool
I'd. just mink OF his remembering me
like that And 10 think he was lIH'
TO me all that time
Her Old sweetheart WAS +. ID hnhis
who died wealthy irult srowef ans
landowner I'm the Yves, indies NheI
she knew him he Was poor carpenie
al Birmingham. Ala. and fed because
he believed he was murderer
Made Her Living at a washtuo
In those days Mrs Nester was
Claudia Clarke and lived IN Birmins
ham She MAS smart'lookng sirA
with bright. smiling eyes, untamaoi-
frizzy hair and a merry disposition
She worked al the Washtub in Il
Birmingham laundry
When Ennis proposed marriage -
her IN 1892 she was The happiest OF
girls at ne prCspecy that opened az
! 10 ner though Ennis was but a poor
carpent T. aud she started enthusiasts
calv on the making OF her wedding
outfit Then Ennis disappeared.
Ed was my steady for years she
said continuing her story He was
nice fellow aud loved him very
much. He always treated me good
and | was sure he loved me We were
making arrangements FOR our Wedding
when Ed got into some kind OF
trouble and left the city. II was al
sudden like, and didn't see him be-
fore he went. What the trouble was
5 | never really knew. was too broken
hearted TO ask. People said all sorts
Of things"
One OF the stories which alleges "a
give the reason why Ennis fed says
ne was mixed up In a shooting ARRAY
I'm saloon. Another declares it was
all a hoax. practical joke PLAYED on
Ennis at possum-shooting party.
w. H. Jones. a well-known horse
man. OF Columbia. Tenn. who resides
a goodly part of each year IN Birmins.
ham, says he was one OF the possum-
hunt party and remembers IL we'll 4
gun with blank shells was given En-
mis- for run. because he had never shot
before The party went out 10 the
Red Mountain which is near the city.
Gruesome Practical Joke.
Ennis was urged to fire at an imagi-
nary possum. and man fell The
man pretended TO be dead and was car
ried To Warner & Smiley's undertak.
ers' morgue, where Ennis was allowed
70 look al him. That night Ennis fed
the city. and no one could ever find
what had become OF him
Some say the joke was engineered
by James b. Smiley. the undertaken
who was Ennis rival for the hand OF
Claudia, but could not win the littl.
wasbergirfs love Curiosly enough.
several letters which Smiley had writ
ten To Claudia. and which he girl had
handed over TO her lover were foun
by the executors among Ennis pos
sessions after his death. and il was
Smiley, now happily married and a
father. who helped the authorities TO
locate Claudia TO inform her OF the.
wealth that had befaIlen her.
Ennis fed without even risking
final parting with his sweetheart. re
went 10 Kingston Jamaica Eventual
ly he got some uncultiyated land there
cheap. Later he went 10 Darien and
then TO South Africa. where he mined
and was successful Afterward he re-
turned TO Kingston and bought more
property. He never married Wher-
ever he went the old love letters OF
the laundrygirl went with him But
he never dared write 10 her. fearing
either TO let his whereabouts be known
or to mix up the girls fate with that
OF man who had killed a fellow.
creature and might have 10 answer for
his crime
In the meantime Claudia had let
her broken heart be soothed by Her.
man Nester, the painter. They MAJ
ried and went to live az Nashville AMI
little children grew up round them. OF
whom the mother was very proud And
Ennis was forgotten.
II live with my husband and family
in our little three-roomed house" said
Mrs, Vester. and we are very happy
We are proud OF our home and we
have only few more hundred dollars
10 pay and then it will be all our own.
We are SO glad now we shall be able
10 pay of what We owe on the house
and raise our children without hard.
ship"
Three years ago. Ennis. away. for
gotten, In the West Indies. got in.
volyed In a discussion with a Spaniard
They fought, and Ennis wounds were
serious. Then he made HE will To
the hospital where ne Jay long with
the injuries that i'm the end proved
fatal he left $4,000. The rest OF his
tnoney and property he bequeathet
70 his former sweetheart. Claudi.
Clarke. The money forming Claudia
share amounted TO $lS5.905. That sun
is In bank In Jamaica drawing in
terest. The land Is said to yield s32.
COO year
Extraordinary efforts were made b,
the jamaican government to Iocat,
the heiress. They advertised an,
offered large rewards Eventually i
occurred to them TO send to Birmina
ham. Ala. the city from which wer,
dated the girlsh love letters foun.
locked away IN the dead fruit-grower'
house. They dispatched their alcalde
Daniel Jones. upon the mission. Al
calde Jones found Smiley. the under
taker SMILEY did NOT know where IN,
girl had moved 10, bar he knew "A,
aunt OF hers, who supplied the in
formation, The alcalde Is now obtain
ing the necessary proofs that Mr..
NesteI Is yerilabiy the Claudia Clark
whom Ennis loved 50 faithfully nm