28 



THE OOLOGIST 



Charles J. Pennock. 



Through an error in making up the 

 last Oologist the following was omited 

 from the last column on page 26. 



Philadelphia, Feb. 7. — Six years ago 

 Charles J. Pennock, an ornithologist 

 of note and a leading citizen of Ken- 

 nett Square, Pa., disappeared unac- 

 countably. 



Now he has returned and is reunited 

 with his wife. A love of birds, the 

 ruling passion of his life, was respon- 

 sible for his continued concealment, 

 and it was responsible also for his re- 

 appearance. 



The most recent chapter of Mr. Pen- 

 nock's career culminated in this city, 

 when he met his wife at the home of 

 his brother-in-law, Dr. Richard J. 

 Phillips. Mr. Pennock, who disap- 

 peared mysteriously on May 15, 1913, 

 was brought back by Dr. Phillips from 

 St. Marks, Fla., where he was living 

 under the name of "John Williams." 



Dr. Witmer Stone, curator of the 

 Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sci- 

 ences, is primarily responsible for Mr. 

 Pennock's return. 



Suspicion is aroused. 



Dr. Stone returned late in Septem- 

 ber from an extended stay in Arizona. 

 He found many manuscripts awaiting 

 his perusal which had been submitted 

 for publication in the ornithological 

 magazine. The Auk, of which Dr. 

 Stone is the editor. 



One article had been forwarded to 

 Dr. Stone from the natural science 

 department of the Federal Department 

 of Agriculture It was a description 

 of a number of rare birds seen in Flor- 

 ida and it was a noteworthy article. 



The name "John Williams," which 

 was signed to the articles, was un- 

 known to Dr. Stone. He had never 

 heard of St. Marks, Fla. As he read 

 the descriptions, written in the precise 

 and scientific manner of the master 

 ornithologist, Dr. Stone was impressed. 



Then Dr. Stone thought of his inti- 

 mate friend, Charles Pennock. The 

 night of May 15, 1913, Mr. Pennock 

 had attended an ornithological meet- 

 ing at the Academy of Music. After 

 the meeting the two friends and lov- 

 ers of birds had been together. Mr. 

 Pennock had not been seen or heard 

 from again after that day. 



Goes to Florida Town. 



When the possibility of Mr. Pennock 

 and "John Williams" being the same 

 man occurred to Dr. Stone, he dis- 

 missed the idea as ridiculous and did 

 not mention it to any one. 



Finally, however, in November, he 

 decided to consult with Dr. Phillips. 

 As a result Dr. Phillips left Philadel- 

 phia for St. Marks. The last stage of 

 his journey was in the pine tree re- 

 gion of Florida. He found St. Marks 

 to be a hamlet with a turpentine still 

 and a few dwellings. 



It was easy to find "John Williams." 

 The instant he saw him Dr. Phillips 

 knew he had discovered Mr. Pennock 

 and the latter immediately recognized 

 Dr. Phillips. Bystanders being pres- 

 ent, they greeted each other casually 

 despite their amazement. 



Persuades Him to Return. 



That night, in the three-room shack 

 in which Mr. Pennock was living, he 

 men "talked the thing out," and Dr. 

 Phillips persuaded him to return to 

 his wife. Mr. Pennock told how 

 overwork and business worries in 

 Kennet Square had caused a sudden 

 return of an old trouble. Once before, 

 20 years ago, when he was recovering 

 from an attack of inflammatory rheu- 

 matism, he had wandered about in 

 this state for two days. 



Mr. Pennock said that after he had 

 been attacked in 1913 he found him- 

 self in Baltimore, the victim of a de- 

 lusion that he must remain away from 

 home. He had a little less than $100 

 in his pockets. By easy stages he 



