During his lifetime (1842-1900) the Bloomington, Indiana, attorney and newspaper reporter known to his friends as "Dank" Spencer was a Civil War veteran; was convicted of killing a stranger in a bar fight over which of them spoke French better; was the subject of a major interview in the New York Herald concerning his abilities as a mind reader; was a correspondent for major national newspapers; wrote a widely circulated account of witnessing a man fall to his death from a hot air balloon; received national press attention for solving crimes and locating missing cash; was a reporter and court stenographer for major murder trials and served a prison term for attempting to shoot and kill his sister-in-law at his dying wife's bedside. Regardless, Spencer remained on friendly terms with many prominent politicians, judges, and newspapermen and was regarded in the Midwest as one of the most beloved and colorful characters of his time. This biography/anthology documents his life story for the first time.