Year: 1872




TIE Hancock Courier relates the
following strange and extraordinary
narrative:


Every once and a while the truth
Of the adage that truth is stranger
than felton, is verified. We have
the facts of a strange story, the
scenes of which are laid in this
country, and the parties to which
are well known to many of our read
ers. The main lines of our story
run as follow:


Some fifteen years ago there lived
in the northern part Of Portage town
ship, a young married couple by the
name of William and Anna Clarkin-
son. They owned a little farm and
made enough to keep them comfort
ably in the world and were appar-
emily happy. William was hand
some and well educated, having
graduated with honor at an Eastern
University. de was one Of those
kind of men who are never satisfied
no ma ter how good their fortune,
but always wishing for something
better. He did not like the honest
but humble occupation of farming
he thought he was fitted for better
and grander things than to delve in
the earth. Wealth accumulated too
slowly by following the pillow; he
wanted to make money by the thou
sands of dollars, and despised small
sums. This spirit Of disquiet prey
ed upon him day and night, and he
resolved that he would plod and
drudge on the farm no longer. He
loved his young and beautiful wife,
and was 10th to leave her, but argued
that he could go away and in few
years earn enough to keep both in
luxurious ease during the balance
of their days. He laid the plan Of
these fairy castles before his wife,
but she, like true woman argues
that they were better and happier in
their pleasant little farm home in
each others society than they could
ever be elsewhere with millions at
their command. Mr.. Clarkinson
could not be made to see it in that
light. He was egotistical and ambi-
tious, and moreover did not like the
hard manual labor of the farm.


So the farm was sold. Mrs. Clark
inson went to live with her parer IS,
and William started for the golden
State of California with the exPec-
tation of packing up a couple of
million of dollars in a couple Of
years. But man proposes and God
Our plans for the future
at best are but ill-defned shadows,
for who can tell what the morrow
may bring forth? The great Pacific
railroad at that time was but a wild


ream of a few visionary moItals,
and the trip to California over the
prairies and plains occupied many
months instead of a few days as at
present.


For a few months Mrs. Clarkinson
occasionally heard of her husband,
either directly or through some of
the neighbors with the same train
with which her husband was going.
Then there was a long interval dur
ing which no word came. After q
time there were wild and dreadful
run ors that the train had been at
tackled by Indians, and every one
killed. This was at last too truth
fully verified by one poor fellow who
Was found by another party few
days after with just life enough left
to tell how the train had been at
tackled one dark night, and before
any could recover from their sur
prise ali were killed and scalped,
and the Indians rode triumphantly
away with their booty.


For three years Mrs. Clarkinson
mourned the loss of her dead hus-
band. But sorrow seldom kills
No matter how severe the pain or