Spangler's Ghost Writer

[John E.]

(10-16-2012 09:22 AM)Gene C Wrote:  

(10-16-2012 07:46 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  You must not forget me now in my sunny home. When joy shall swell your heart, and the welkin is made to ring with the light and cheerful voices of yourself and my former companions, stop for a moment to cast a lingering but bright thought upon him who was life, all life, amidst you; wish him a companion of your festival, and I will feel happy in my exile -- banished, and in a burning clime --

I am impressed by the sentiments expressed compared to the newspaper copy letter John posted. More melodramatic, and not what I would expect from a stage hand carpenter. If Spangler wrote or even dictated this letter, it adds a personality to him that we don't see in his photograph.

I'll bet $ 1000, the people in this forum who knew what "welkin" meant is less than 5. I certainly had to look it up. It means "sky" or "heavens" above. What are the chances the man who spelled "few" as "fieu" knew what 'welkin' meant ?

**** Just as a post script, I checked to see how both Arnold and Mudd spelled "O'Laughlin". They both spelled it the same way: O'Loughlin. Besides Arnold and his diary, Dr. Mudd seems to have been the most proficient writer. I would LOVE to find any of Mike O'Laughlin's letters home. He remains the true mystery man of the conspirators.

I'm not trying to give good ol' Spangler a hard time, just reinforcing my opinion. The more I've learned about Spangler, the more I like him.