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Show I f SHARP O I I -i.., I By Carl Brant.. Y I fl CHANGES-Ay -o I .MOK. MK Incident which mnrks I )( rr k tbo befilnnl"B of tho pros- O I O cnt narrative occurred scv- I X 1 crnl ycnra nK" wucn tuo I tfOlr steamboat Ben Lewis ex- ploded In sight of Cnlro. She was, If I remember rightly, n St lonls and Memphis packet, wns on her I down trip, nnd wns rounding or cross- lng tho bar tit the mouth of the Ohio, When her boiler burst, nnd she wns n kilo, wreck. Mnny. people were killed out-jBm out-jBm right by tho explosion, others wero Mf1 drowned, others lingered in tcrrlblo torturo until death put nn end to their H sufferings, nnd others received severe cnhls nnd vnrlous Injuries. I was In Cnlro at the time, nnd shall never forget the heartrending scenes nt the St. Charles Hotel, to whiclt most of tho wounded wero brought, nnd Where they lay on pallets in the room and hails, many of them black ns no- sroes, many with tho skin falling from the flesh. But it is with none of these I have to do. This narrative follows tho for- tunes of n mnn wiio jumped overboard, entirely uninjured, preferring to trust liimsclf to tho river rather than to tho flames. I choose, for reasons that nrc personal to him, to -call him John H. Seymour, simply beci. iso this name Is ns (UlTerent us can bo from that which rightfully belonged to him. Ho wns originally from Kingston, Cannda, his parents being of English birth, but hnd resided during several years In Alton, III., where I: bad accumulated considerable consid-erable niontv in the grocery business; wns a bnchi' i near forty years of nge, nnd kept hou-e in n cottage of his own, with a nthei- pretty German girl to do the bonei v .irk. Tho mysterious disappearance of tho German girl, for which Seymour did not nccount satisfactorily, satis-factorily, occasioned unpleasant comment, com-ment, nnd kohio very serious facts were about to be brought to light, when he suddenly left Alton, having S privntely disposed of his cottago nnd Mft bis business. It was because of this i train of circumstances that ho happened hap-pened to bo n passenger on tho Hen Lewis nt the time of the explosion. Seymour jumped overboard, ns T 1inve stated, and was fortunate enough, when ho got clear of those who were struggling In tho water, to find a float-Inp float-Inp door, which be seized, nnd which 1)0" him up well, and thus ho drifted do n the river. Ho bad not floated far when be dls-covered dls-covered that ho had n companion. This companion was holding to tho door, nnd might have put In an appearance Jnst then, or might not hitherto lrnve tieen visible to Seymour. As his face wns upraised, Seymour perceived that It liad been fearfully scalded. He was tinablo to speak nnd appeared to be nearly exbnustcd. Yet, nltbongh be wns so hideous, so "horribly marred nnd ncnrred, Seymour could not help observing ob-serving In Ills cousnance n certain CE-'mblanco to himself. It was then thi n strnngo nnd sudden thought enme Into his mind. I nm not recording record-ing bis Impressions by means of the Imagination, but derive them from statements which ho subsequently made. Ho recalled the fact that ho had been obliged to leave Alton becauso of discoveries dis-coveries that wero nbout to be mnde, M nnd because of a crime with which ho m wns nbout tn bo charged. It was high- m ly probable that ho might yet be pnr- alk. sued nnd prosecuted. Suppose he should canso himself to disappear? 2 Suppose that ho should so use the ex- f plosion that It would prove n provl- dentlnl Interposition to savo him from I punishment nnd nnnoynnce? His com- pnnlon In tho water, disfigured ns he I wns, might easily bo mistaken for him I In death, and it was evident that he I could not live long. Seymour reflected that ho wore upon I it finger of his left hand n peculiar and I valuable diamond ring, which was well I known in Alton, nnd which had been I noticed and ndmlred by ninny on the 1 boat. If that ring should bo found 1 upon n disfigured body, it would tettle I tho question of Identity, nnd ho could ,wcll nfford to give it for the purpose j of persuading tho public thnt ho was I dead. I nis resolution taken, ho watched his 1 tildeouB but valuable compnulon nar- I rowly, waiting for his death; but they drifted for nearly half an hour, nnd still the other clung to tho door. Hut Jilo strength wnB falling nil tho while, i nnd nt Inst Seymour saw his grasp re lax, nnd then he was gone. no was not permitted to sink; he was too valuable to bo lost. Seymour caught him, took a handkerchief from his pocket, and made the body fast to n latch thnt remained on the 'door. , Then his desire was tu reach the land, 1. nnd lie tried, by swimming, to push r '?ZjfP'tti flont in tho direction of tho Mis- j r sour! shore, but made llttlo progress - In that endeavor. Columbus was passed In the course of time, jiid tho low shorn of Wolf Islnnd becamo vis- ( Iblc. This was a landing which Soy- mour was able to make, nnd ho succeeded suc-ceeded in beaching his lloat upon tho sand, where ho found himself In nu exbnustcd condition, nnd his burdensome burden-some companion quite dead. Ho did not wait long to recover his strength, but soon proceeded to "business." "busi-ness." Itemovlng the ring from his linger, ho placed it on n similar linger of the dead man's hand. Then ho felt In his pockets, to see If there wero anything any-thing there by which ho might bo Identified. Iden-tified. Finding nothing ho took from his pocket some wetted cards bearing his nddress, nnd transferred them to a vest pocket of the other. Finally he dragged tho body n little way up on the sand, obliterated tho footmarks, and his task was done. His next object was to -reach tho mainland, nnd lie succeeded in pushing his float over to tho Kentucky shore, where ho wns cared for apd hospitably entertained, as a survivor of the great steamboat disaster. Ills money nnd securities were on his person, wet but unmutllatcd, and he had lost nothing but his trunk nnd his ring. Thus ho passed out of the world as John II. Seymour, re-entering It ns Benjamin Slnnott, and rend with satisfaction the advertisement for his body and Its final discovery nnd burial. There was one fact, however, which should have been published, but which did not nppear In any newspaper account ac-count which enmo under his notice. Nothing was said about his valuable and noticeable ring, nnd this omission wns qulto perplexing to Slnnott, allns Seymour. This mystery I proceed to solve by explaining that the body on tho island was first discovered by n man named Wilson Iteplctte, who had been searching search-ing with n skiff for relics of tho disaster. disas-ter. He, nlso, hnd seen n description of Seymour, and hnd recognized the man on the islnnd by the ring on his left hnnd. His cupidity being too strong for his conscience, ho possessed himself of the ring, nnd loft the body where ho hnd found It. It wns ntterwnrd discovered dis-covered by others, nnd burled ns the body of John II. Seymour. Not long after tho Ben T,owls disaster, disas-ter, news come to Canada of the death of an undo of the supposed dead man, In England. This uncle had been a well-to-do merchant, nnd his property descended to John II. Seymour nnd his elder brother, Dnvld, their pnrents being be-ing dead. David Seymour wns a man of remnrkablo honesty in purposo nnd In action. As soon as ho learned of this unexpected windfall, his first thought wns to find his brother, of whom ho hnd henrd nothing during mnny yenrs, nnd secure to him that portion of tho property" which was rightfully his. Accordingly, ho advertised adver-tised In a number of newspapers In Canada nnd tho States, telling John H. Seymour that ho would hear of something some-thing to his advantage by communicating communicat-ing with his brother David, nt Kingston, Kings-ton, and requesting nil who might be possessed of nny lnformntlon concerning concern-ing him to send it to thnt nddress. This notice enme under tho eye of n gcntlcuinn who hnd known John II. Seymour In Alton, nnd ho wrote to David, Informing him thnt his brother was supposed to have perished In n steamboat disaster on the Mississippi. Further Inquiry brought out the particulars partic-ulars of the explosion of the Ben Lowls nnd of tho discovery nnd burial of what was believed to bo the body of John II. Seymour. The cvldcnco to this effect was so convincing that David Seymour was compelled to believe be-lieve that his brother wns dead, nnd was prcpnrlng to uso his shnro of tho property as his cwn, when n claimant put In nn nppcarnnce, representing himself to bo John II. Seymour, who was supposed to bo lost. In pursuance of my purpose not to nllow my readers to bo mystified, although al-though this plinso of tho case might bo "worked up" In n sensational manner, man-ner, I proceed to state that this claimant claim-ant was no other than Wilson Iteplette, of Kentucky, who hnd taken tho ring from tho dead hnnd of tho supposed Seymour. David Seymour's advertisement camo under his notice, nnd ho sow his way pretty clearly Into stepping into a fortune. for-tune. Ho had been a careful reader of nil the newspaper llteraturo In connection con-nection with tho Ben Lewis disaster, nnd wns awnro that John n. Seymour's Sey-mour's peculiar nnd vnlunblo ring was a very lmportnnt element In the question ques-tion of his Identlflention, ns its absence from tho body created a doubt as to whether John II. Seymour had really died and been burled. It Is not nt all surprising that ho turned his steps toward Canada, with tho view of personating per-sonating John II. Seymour nnd claiming claim-ing his inure of tho property of the English uncle, First, however, he went to Alton, to leatn something nbout tho life nnd Character of tho man whom ho wns to represent. Ho prosecuted hla Inquiries so as not to excite suspicion, aud when be had gained such Information as would suit his purpose, went to Kingston Kings-ton and presented himself to David Seymour as his long-lost brother. David fnllcd to recognlzo him, as was not surprising after so long n separation, nnd called for his proofs of Identity, lteplctto wns prepared with these, nnd showed tho ring, upon which ho chiefly relied to sustain his en, iso, with newspaper slips describing It minutely, among other distinguishing distinguish-ing marks upon tho persons of peoplo wh were missing utter the explosion of tie Ben Lewis. Ho nlso hnd a grent deal to relate coucrntug his life in Illinois, and Ids expei fences In connection with the exploded ex-ploded steamer, but gave no information informa-tion nbout the years ho had passed In Canada, or nbout his parents, relatives or friends. This he accounted for by saying that n sovcrc attack of fever, during his residence in Illinois, which hnd nearly carried him to his grave, had nlso entirely destroyed nil memory of his former life. David Seymour wns almost, but m,t quite, convinced that this man wy really his brother. Before nrkuowv edging him ns such, however, he cot; scntcd. In deference to the ndvlce ' his lawyer, to write to Alton, request, lng some of the former acquaintance of John II. Seymour to come on to Kingston nnd Identify him. Some men enmo to Kingston fronj Illinois In answer to this request, but not tho men expected. They wero dr tectlvo olllcers, provided with u requisition requi-sition from tho Governor of Illinois, for the arrest of John II. Seymour ji a criminal charge. As this requisition was of no effect in Canada, they decoyed de-coyed Boplctte across tho river into New York, where ho was arrested and tnken to Illinois. When David Seymour discovered that tho man whom he almost believed to bo his brother hnd been kidnaped nnd carried away, ho was highly Indignant Indig-nant Ho hastened to write to the lawyer nt Alton, with whom he hnd previously communlcnted, nnd was getting ready to go to IUInolr, when ho was confronted con-fronted by another claimant to the property which his uncle hod left. This wbb no other man than John II. Seymour himself. He had been living liv-ing in Tennessee under tho nnmo of Slnnott, nnd he, ns well ns Iteplette, hnd kept up with the current literature of the Ben Lewis disaster. David Seymour's Sey-mour's advertisement bad luckily como under his notice, nnd ho saw no reason why ho should not go nnd take possession posses-sion of his property. Canada was not the United States, nnd ho did not suppose sup-pose that nny search would bo mnde for him, ns ho wns believed to bo dead, Ho went to Kingston, nccordlngly, nnd presented' himself to his brother, who did not recognize him, ns It wns so long since they had met, nnd who told him of the claimant who had lately np-reared, np-reared, wearing tho ring that had belonged be-longed to John II. Seymour. Tho real John n. had no means of identifying himself, except by bringing to tho remembrance of his brother scenes nnd Incidents, nnd words In connection with their early life which were known only to themselves. This process wns successful after n while, tho relation-ship relation-ship being ndmitted by Dnvld Seymour, Sey-mour, nnd the proof bclnc satisfactory even to his lawyers. As for Iteplette, it was soon discovered discov-ered nt Alton thnt ho was not tho man he had represented himself to be, and ho was set nt liberty. IIo hastened to Kingston, but n letter from Alton hnd reached Dnvld Seymour previous to his nrrivnl, nnd ho only experienced a loss, In being forced to glvo up to John II. Seymour the ring which hnd played such n prominent part in this llttlo drama. Tho Seymours went to Englnnd, where they received and divided their property, nnd where John II. Is still living, in spite of extradition laws. I might hnvo worked up theso Incidents Inci-dents into n sensational story, but tho plain narrative of facts Is sufficiently singular to suit my purpose. Now York Weekly. u |