The Doctor Wasn't Who He Said He Was

A sensation has been developed in the death of the aged Dr. C. S. Smith, who was found dead on the N. P. railroad track, near the high trestle, on Monday night, about 6 o'clock. Dr. Smith lived on Ayer's hill, in the residence of W. A. Westover. He was the owner of the house and occupied a room therein. Dr. Smith came here two years ago from Llano, Llano county, Texas, where he had been a practicing physician for seventeen years, and was reputed to be one of the best in that section of country. He was highly respected in this community, and those who knew him in Texas speak in the highest terms of him there.

It appears from a will which he made last April and other papers found in his desk that his name was not Smith, by which name he had been known for nearly twenty years in Texas and in this city, but that his name was S. C. Thompson, formerly county treasurer of Decatur county, Iowa. In 1872, while holding that office, he became a defaulter for a large sum of money, and the alternative stared him in the face: to either abscond or stand trial and perhaps go to jail. He fled, and in a little while thereafter settled in Llano, Llano county, Texas, where for seventeen years he has led an upright life. He was supposed to be dead by his wife and children in Iowa, and indeed all the citizens of that county, save one—Ed. K. Pitman—with whom the doctor has recently been communicating.

In his will he leaves one-half of his property in this city, which is worth about $5,000, to his children, and the other half to the sufferers on the bond of S. C. Thompson, as county treasurer of Decatur county, Iowa. His wife, Fidelia F. Thompson, a son, Frank E. Thompson, and a daughter, Miss Cordelia Thompson, are still living in Leon, Iowa, and another daughter, Mrs. Mary Eva Silvers, wife of Thos. Wesley Silvers, is living in Butler, Bates county, Missouri. He left an affectionate letter to be sent to his children, and on a slip of paper he directed Mr. S. S. Churchill of Tumwater, an old Texas friend of some years standing, that his body be buried without ostentation or display, with little expense, in the most obscure corner of Masonic cemetery. He was undoubtedly a member of the Masonic fraternity, as a Masonic emblem of high degree was found on his bunch of keys. He will be buried this afternoon in accordance with his humble request.

It is not known exactly how much the defalcation amounted to, but in a paper left behind by the Doctor he states that his tergiversation was brought about by professed friends. The matter doubtless preyed upon the mind of the unfortunate man and, as he grew older, was the means of hastening his death. He has been troubled lately with spells of heart failure, and but a short while ago informed Mr. Churchill that should anything happen to him, he, Churchill, would find instructions as to the disposition of his effects at his residence.