Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1899 — SIR JOHN WATERS A FINE SPY. [ARTICLE]

SIR JOHN WATERS A FINE SPY.

Thrilling Adventure When Captured by the Sir John Waters was the moat admirable spy ever attached to an army. In the Peninsular war he gave to Lord Wellington accurate and valuable information about the Spaniards. Once he was taken prisoner by Spanish dragoons while clad In the English uniform. He was supposed to he a stupid Britisher who could not understand a word of French or Spanish, and his captors talked freely before him. Then he learned that they were going to kill and rob him at an old mill where the company was to stop for dinner. They would pretend that they had shot him because of his attempt to escape. Oa reaching the mill the dragoons dismounted and went into the house, leaving their prisoner outside, in the hope that he would try to escape. As soon as they were out of sight Waters threw his cloak on a near-by olive bush and put his cocked hat on top. Empty flour sacks lay on the ground and he crawled into one of them. A moment later the dragoons came out, fired their carbines at the supposed prisoner and galloped off, intending to return later to rifle the body. A liorse loaded with sacks of flour stood near the door and Sir John, still enveloped in the sack, managed to throw himself on the horse's back, as if he were part of the load. The owner came out, mounted and rode away without detecting the peculiar Contents of one of the sacks. When far enough away for safety, his position being uncomfortable, Str John freed himself from the sack and sat up. The horseman, happening to look around, saw the man covered with flour and imagined a ghost was perched behind him. He fell in a faint and Ihe supposed ghost threw him to the ground and galloped off. Sir John reached the English camp without further adventure. —New York Press.

Tragedy of Death Valley. Earth affords no more horrible tale than would the history of Death Valley, the great arid desert this side of the mountains of Southern California. The latest tragedy is only one of thou sands. James Dayton, caretaker for a borax company’s property in the valley, 150 miles from the nearest railway station, set out for home with a team of six mules. Two weeks lata-, having failed to reach his destination, a search party found him lying dead undo- a mesquito bush. Fifty feet away his wagon stood, with the dead mules lying about in such condition as to indicate the terrible torture they had undergone. In the wagon were barrels of water and hales of -hay, which would hare saved them had they been able to reach it. The bodies of man and beast were intact when found, neither coyote nor buzzard nor other living creature daring to enter the confines of the heatparched valley in the height of swimmer. The only living thing at the scene of death and desolation was Dayton's faithful dog. which for twenty days had watched by the side of its dead master In the desert The dog managed to survive, probably by getting water from an old borax camp known as Eagle Camp, half a mile distant.