1939-09-23 — Page 15

THE CHINA MAIL, SEPTEMBER 23, 1939.

TO-DAY'S STRANGE STORY OF REAL PEOPLE.

THE CASE OF WALTON DWIGHT

BY VINCENT TOWNE

Two years after the close of the American Civil War there came to Binghamton, New York, a yellow- bearded gaint who called himself Walton Dwight:

He appeared to be very rich and rented the mansion of former United States Senator Daniel B. Dickinson.

His new neighbours immediately began to pry into his past history, and according to what they gathered, he had been born in Windsor, New York, 30 years before.

He had entered the Civil War with the 2d Pennsylvania Bucktails, and fought bravely for the Union, had

He Returned Glowing With Health

been: advanced. One was that after recovering from the drug, he had- been smuggled to some country and

a corpse..from a New York medical college substituted for his; live body; also that the autopsy upon Dwight was really upon this cadaver, one [ very essential feature of the operation having been the severing of the scalp across the top of the head and pulling it down over the features so as to mask them.

a

un-

A few months after Dwight's re- ported death, a man who had shar- ed an office with him was absolute- ly certain that he' met him on the street in Chicago. This appearance

rise immediately gave

to further theories as to his means of escape, one of them being that he had had himself placed in a box and thus shipped out of Binghamton to

had place where confederates packed him and set him at liberty risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel, ing the insurance companies main- some who learned that its effect was to enjoy a generous share of the in- had been twice wounded at Gettys-tained that he had killed himself. to paralyze the motor nerves without surance money handed back to him burg and finally honourably discharged Some of them claimed to have found the loss of consciousness and to thus by some of those whom he had nam-

the Imprint of a rope about his neck. produce temporarily an absolute ed as his legal heirs. Following his discharge, he had Bellef in Dwight's death, either simulation of death. Medico-legal big companies which had Insured his speculated in lumber at Williams-from suicide or from natural causes, authorities, considering the possibility life made immediate payment with- port, Pennsylvania, and had become would have been universal had it of Juliet's suspended animation in the out contest, but another made a bitter

not been for a little bottle upon the ground under his window. held that "gelsemium” would

found tomb where Romeo found her, have fight, which was pending in the New

York courts for many years. Upon its label was the word "Gel-produced her deathlike trance.

Whether Dwight escaped, hanged semium." Although this mysterious drug was almost unknown

To account for certain happenings himself, died of carefully planned ex- physicians of Dwight's day, there were death, many interesting theories have in all probability never be known.

the apparently corrobative of Dwight's posure, or from natural causes will

on account of his disabilities.

a partner of the famous Peter Herdic. Returning to the place of his birth at Windsor, he there married the daughter of a rich farmer.

He was six feet two inches tall and weighed 250 pounds. His beard was long and bushy. After some time he purchased a residence of his own and insured it at an unusually heavy figure. One night, when he and his family were in New York, the house mysteriously caught fire and burned to the ground. Some gossips accused nim of incendiarism, but the insurance was paid, and with it he began to promote lavish developments in Bing- hamton. He laid out a park, built 40 cottages and a hotel, named after him- self, the Dwight House. In a short while he boasted of being a mill- ionaire.

His hobby was insurance, and he took out big policies, upon which he directly began to negotiate heavy loans. He borrowed $30,000 from one company, $40,000 from another, $50,- 000 from a third and various amounts from others. Then came the awful financial panic of 1873. He went down1 before the avalanche and filed a peli- tion in bankruptcy, rating his liabili- ties at $400,000. Deserted now by the friends who had enjoyed his opulence, he set off for Chicago and attempted i to start life over again, but failure'f continued to lurk at his door.

Five years after the panic he re- turned to Windsor, glowing with health. He now took out life insurance policies aggregating $256,000, and des- pite his excellent physical condition, had built for himself an elaborate brick-lined tomb. Then he made a will, leaving many bequests to persons, some of whom, it was later charged, he was to use as tools to carry into effect the most stupendous insurance swindle on record.

His extraordinary behavior now be- gan to excite much gossip. He appear- ed to be either courting death or pre- tending to subject himself to dangers that might account for future rumors of his demise.

In midwinter he would swim icy streams, climb snow-clad peaks and return appearently exhausted from long cross-country walks. One in- surance company sent an agent to tender him the amount of the pre- mium which he had paid in and to cancel the policy, but Colonel Dwight, knowing his rights, haughtily declined.

At the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, about this time, he greatly sur- prised a friend by claiming a serious illness, respite the fact that he still appeared to be the picture of health. Shortly after this, Dwight moved into a small cottage in Binghamton, went to bed, complained of chills, had a friend stay up with him all night, had his beard and hair trimmed and the next day was reported to have died in the presence of a former law part- ner and of a brother-in-law.

Mrs. Dwight, who was staying at a hotel next door, was summoned, as were the hotel proprietor and one of his guests.

All who saw Dwight lying in his bed attested to his being dead.

For two days his body lay in this room, upon which had been placed a Yale lock. The only key was in the hands of the hotel proprietor. A physician stated that Dwight had died of gastritis, but physicians represent-

to

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