The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1911-08-02


tons anil d Amer en-
.Iiariie was pfobab
~ hiet ~ ee, ut who had Fdtoll
( tie ~ me q MS My, Which WIS lAeii
to Sc one OF the oldest md prOglciest
4 II 81 IN, dating back to the days Of
1 the conqui adoreS. Paytop's exploits
in his famous aero Chanleleon com
-manded 4 great deal Of attention at
dimes in the newspapers, but his story
has never been fully told, andthe clos
stng dstaiIs, the most amazing Of All
were Withheld HON pdbIIc knowledge
for reasons which WIN be apparent In
what I am about to relate,
PaytOn, or Captain Alfonso" as his
reckless crew always called him, was
] one Of the handsomegt men that have
ever seem He had a Spaniard's eyes
and completion, with the stature and
| vfeor OF a modern American, while his
manners were those OF an ideal prince.
1 The charm OF his personality was felt
by everybody who came In contact
with him. He was exceedingly wen
educated. especially In everything
which mikes a man attractive to vEo-
\ men, and if he had chosen to lead an
honest life he could unquestionably
1 have married almost any heiress or
any beautiful girl that he might have
fancied. ana he would have been an
ornament to society.
But he was born pirate. Brave
! and fearless, he was absolutely reck-
less of the opinions OF mankind, re
toiced In his welcomes, sought only
the qualification of his Whims and
pleasures, and yet he Gould commit nm
outrage on the liberty and personal
rights of others with such winning
a.
for their feelings. that often the sting
was not at the moment perceived
Payton's methods were peculiar. he
had chosen his line, and he stuck to IT
1ntil the end He never attacked
treasure laden fiers, such as the early
| transatlantic liners OF the Internution-
al Aero express, which constituted the
favorite prey of Morton, the other
| great pirate of the period. but he made
an exclusive speciality of kidnapping.
! and almost Invariably he kidnapped NO
men, whom he treated with the utmost
dellcacy and consideration consistent
with sure capture and safe keeping:
There were many instances familiar
to newspaper renders OF his magic per
sonaHty sAworking upon his victins
that he won their respect and even
friendship.
Nevertheless he was without mercy
In his exactions. The object of all his
nbductions was ransom. No tears, no
entreaties, no consideration whatever.
had the slightest effect upon him
Pay or stay was his word.
The exploit which finally brought
Payton's career to an end was the
most extraordinary and romantic in
all the long list OF his adventures and
one which would never have been
dreamed OF by n man less recklessIy
daring. At that time the most talked
about md the wea1thiest of New
York's biIlionaires WAS the late VII
liam Grayman. He had Accumulated
a stupendous fortune by means Of n
"corner In banks"
I was a young lieutenant In charge
of a government aero engaged In the
revenue service. and the one thing
outside my regular Occupation that
especially interested me was the prog
.ess of invention growing out of the
old wireless telegraph.
Mr.. Grayman, who bad long been
widower, had an only child, Miss Hell {
en- Graynan, who was one of the /
most beautiful girls in the richest so !
ciaI circle of New York and was dotted /
on by her father. She was about /
el8ANGeA yG4AAS "a aSes %---NA II 80 LIZ
common report that several european /
counts and dukes and one prince I
sought her hand But It was also (
averred that she had refused them all /
This made Miss Grayman popular
with thousands who had never met J
her. recall that my interest In Miss
Grayman was first pleasantly awak-
ened by. seeing her portrait IN Sun
day Journal over the title OF IAN
American Girl Who Is True to Ameri-
ca"
One evening late in June. 1880, Miss
Grayman had retired TO her room on
the third story, Of herfathers splendid
mansion in Fifth avenue and was
about to begin her toilet for the night
with the aid of her maid, Susan Jack
son, when a peculiar noise ut one of
the windows facing Central park ut
tracted their attention. Miss Gray
man had a favorite cat, which Some
times slgnihed its desire to enter her
room by tapping on the door, and she
directed Susan to open the lattice. The
girl threw the window wide open, ex.
pectIng, like her mistress. to see the
cat leap in.
But instead OF the cat man stepped
Inside.
He was instantly followed by a COM
Danion. Before the a6righted girls I
could utter the scream that was upon
their lips they were seized and gag
ged, though with all possible gentle
ness, and then were swiftly carried out