Henry More Smith: The Mysterious Stranger

by Walter Bates

After the period of his imprisonment was up, and he had received his discharge, he left with the keeper of the prison a highly finished pocket-knife, of moderate size, the handle of which contained a watch, complete in all its parts, keeping time regularly. And what excited much wonder in reference to this ingenious and singularly curious piece of mechanism, was the fact that he had never been found at work on any part of the watch or knife, and yet there was no doubt in the minds of those who saw it that it was in reality the production of his own genius, and the work of his own hands. For this information I was indebted to a gentleman named Osborne, who resided in the neighbourhood, and who stated that he had seen the watch and knife himself, and that it was regarded by all as a most wonderful piece of ingenuity.

He left Simsbury decently apparelled, and with some money in his pocket, and in possession of some articles of his own handiwork. He directed his course eastward, and was seen in Boston; but for some time nothing particular or striking was heard of him. The first thing concerning him, that arrested public attention, was published in the Boston Bulletin, and which came under my own eye:

Beware of Pickpockets!—As the stage coach, full of passengers, was on its way to this city a few evenings since, one of the passengers rang the bell, and cried out to the driver to stop his horses, as his pockets had been picked of a large sum of money since he entered the coach; and at the same time requested the driver would not let any of the passengers get out of the coach; it being dark, until he, the aforesaid passenger, should bring a light in order to have a general search. This caused a general feeling of pockets among the passengers, when another passenger cried out that his pocket-book had also been stolen. The driver did as directed until the gentleman who first spoke should have time to have procured a lamp, but whether he found it or not remained quite uncertain. But no doubt he found the light he intended should answer his purpose, as he did not make his appearance in any other light. However the passenger who really lost his pocket-book, which, although it did not contain but a small amount of money, thinks he shall hereafter understand what is meant when a man in a stage coach calls out thief, and that he will prefer darkness rather than light, if ever such an evil joke is offered to be played with him again.

As he was continually changing his name, as well as his place, it was impossible always to identify his person, especially as few persons in the United States were personally acquainted with him. The difficulty of recognizing him was not a little increased also by the circumstances of his continually changing his external appearance; and the iniquitous means by which he could obtain money and change of apparel, always afforded him a perfect facility of assuming a different appearance. In addition to these circumstances also, as a feature of character which no less contributed to the difficulty of identifying him, must be taken into account his unequalled and inimitable ease in affecting different and various characters, and his perfect and unembarrassed composure in the most difficult and perplexing circumstances. To the identity and eccentricity, therefore, of his actions, rather than to our knowledge of the identity of his person and name, we must depend, in our future attempts to trace his footsteps and mark their characteristic points.

On this ground, therefore, there is not the shadow of a doubt that the robbery committed in the stage coach, and that the originality of the means by which he carried off his booty pointed with unhesitating certainty to the noted character of our narrative. After this depredation in the coach, with which he came off successful, it would appear that he bended his course in disguise through the States of Connecticut and New York, assuming different characters and committing many robberies undiscovered and even unsuspected for a length of time, and afterwards made his appearance in Upper Canada in the character of a gentleman merchant from New Brunswick with a large quantity of smuggled goods from New York, which he said was coming on after him in wagons. These, he said, he intended to dispose of on very moderate terms, so as to suit purchasers.

Here he called upon my brother, Augustus Bates, Deputy Postmaster, at Wellington Square, head of Lake Ontario, and informed the family that he was well acquainted with Sheriff Bates at Kingston, and that he called to let them know that he and his family were well. He regretted very much that he had not found Mr. Bates at home, and stated that he was upon urgent and important business and could not tarry with them for the night, but would leave a letter for him. This he accordingly did, properly addressed, and in good handwriting; but when it was opened, and its contents examined, no one in the place could make out the name of the writer, or read any part of the letter! It appeared to have been written in the characters of some foreign language, but it could not be decyphered. This was another of his characteristic eccentricities, but his intention in it could not be well understood.

He did not appear to make himself particularly known to the family, nor to cultivate any further acquaintance with them, but proceeded thence to the principal boarding house in the town and engaged entertainments for himself and thirteen other persons, who, he said, were engaged in bringing on his wagons, loaded with his smuggled goods. Having thus fixed upon a residence for himself and his gang of wagoners, he then called upon all the principal merchants in the town, on pretence of entering into contracts for storing large packages of goods, and promising to give great bargains to purchasers on their arrival, and in some instances actually received money as earnest on some packages of saleable goods, for the sale of which he entered into contracts. It may be remarked, by the way, that he wrote also in an unknown and unintelligible hand to the celebrated Captain Brant, the same as he had written to Mr. Bates, but with what view was equally mysterious and unaccountable.

Notwithstanding his genteel and respectable appearance, there was a singularity in his manner and conduct which, with all his tact and experience, he could not altogether conceal, and hence arose some suspicions as to the reality of his pretensions. These suspicions received confirmation, and were soon matured into the reality of his being a genteel imposter, from the fact that the time for the arrival of his wagons was now elapsed, and that they were not making an appearance. At this juncture, when public attention and observation were directed to the stranger to observe which way the balance would turn, an individual named Brown, who had formerly resided in New Brunswick, and moved with his family to Canada, coming into contact with the gentleman, recognized him from a certain mark he carried on his face to be the far-famed Henry More Smith, whom he had seen and known when in gaol at Kingston.

This report passing immediately into circulation, gave the imposter a timely signal to depart, without waiting for the arrival of his wagons and baggage, and without loss of time he took his departure from Canada, by the way of Lake Erie, through the Michigan Territory, and down the Ohio to the Southern States. With his proceedings during this course of his travels we are entirely unacquainted; therefore the reader must be left to his own reflections as to his probable adventures as he travelled through this immense tract of country. There is no reason for doubt, however, that he had by this time, and even long before, become so confirmed in his iniquitous courses that he would let no occasion pass unimproved that would afford him an opportunity of indulging in the predominant propensity of mind which seemed to glory in the prosecutions of robberies and plunder, as well as in the variety of means by which he effected his unheard of and unprecedented escapes.

After his arrival in the Southern States, we are again able to glean something of his life and history. While he was yet in the gaol at King’s county, it will be remembered that he said he had been a preacher, and that he should preach again, and would gain proselytes; and now his prediction is brought about, for under a new name, that of Henry Hopkins, he appeared in the character of a preacher in the Southern States! And what wonder? For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Here, even in this character he was not without success, for he got many to follow and admire him; yet deep as his hypocrisy was, he seemed to be fully sensible of it, although his conscience had become seared, and was proof against any proper sense of wrong. He acknowledged that he had been shocked to see so many follow him to hear him preach, and even to be affected under his preaching.