Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1912-05-08

she may have been, she Is now living
in state of polygamy. To desert her
last husband after all these years and
go to a perfect stranger is a little
more than could be expected Of her,
and yet her position as the wife of
Jones is trying one. Nobody blames
her, but those who know the circum-
stances are wondering what the out
come of the tangle will be-. Her nu-
merous offspring by her last husband
would not consent to her leaving the
roof Of their father even II she wished
to do so. -
Not Sure He 10 Her Brother.
I. If Mrs. Thompson had gone into
court and had her husband pro-
nounced legally dead before she mar
ried the second time all would have
been WELL But so certain was she
that he was dead that she did not
take this precaution. Possibly some
technicality of the law will come to
her rescue. The matter has not been
inquired into. With her the matter
is simply that here are two men, both
living, whom she has recognized as hus:
band, and both of whom are the ia
Tiers of her children. 5=s
Thompson is back in Savannah, at
the home Of his sister. She declares
that while she has accepted him. she
is not at all sure that he is really her
brother. She does not believe that
a real. flesh and blood brother could
drop suddenly from nowhere in par
ticular after an absence OF ~ years:
Everybody Is afraid to take the mat
ter into court for fear of further COM
plicating the situation and bringing
out trying points heretofore over
looked. The consensus OF opinion
seems to be that Thompson ought to
disappear again and remain dead. or,
better still, he ought to have remain
ed in the west, and not come back
to trouble his wife at all.
Jones is apparently waiting for the
other man to make the first move IN
the case. He holds the trump cards
in that he is in possession OF the dis
puted wife. And possession Is nine
points Of the law, you knoW,'g ne
says with laugh. He Is not letting
the situation work. him much, either.
It is probable that as long as Thomp-
son does not move he will allow the
matter to drop. And Thompson ap-
pears Inclined to be quiescent. He
will remain with his sister for the
present. There is plenty Of time to
make his plans for the future.
Has Fund Of Strange Tales.
This is the basis upon which the
matter stands at present. Thomp.
sons ambition seems solely to be
among his own people-to make lit
tie niche somewhere where he can
spend the remainder Of his days and
earn ave feet OF ground in the end
In which his bones may rest along
side those Of his father and mother.
Why Thompson did not tramp to-
ward Georgia instead Of continually
away from it is a secret that remains
locked in his own bosom. On this
point he has been consistently silent.
He talks Of his adventures pleasant
" and of the affairs of his family hui.
morously, but any questions leading
up to his reasons for remaining away
SO long invariably silences him.
Thompson shows his age more than
his wife. His face is finely lined and
wrinkled. His shoulders are little
bent, but they are Of great breadth, and
would indicate that he was man OF
great physical strength in his young
er days. His teeth are white and fine,
and his smile Is pleasant and infec-
tious. He has at his tongues end the
"blarney" that comes to all who put
their feet upon the road. He has a
fund Of strange tales always ready to
tell, and he apparently takes delight in
relating them. He Is pleasant COM
panion, and there is much crude wis.,
dom buried beneath his experiences.
All Georgia and the south is inter-
ested in the strange case. Everybody
has solution Of the difficulty to Of
fer. The theories advanced are as
thick as dust in vacant houses. But
it is not theories that are troubling
these old people. 1t Is hard facts
facts that drive. thought home as with
the impact of hammer. What is to
be done? Suppose Thompson de-
mands his wife at the hands Of Jones?
What will the consequence be? Mrs.
Jones cannot deny that she Is the wife
Of Thompson under the law. Then
what will the consequences be to the
children who have been born to her
in the intervening years since Thomp-
son disappeared?