Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1866-11-22
A STRANGE STORY.

-
Some weeks ago aman named A. U: rem
pie, citizen Of New York, mysterlousiy
disappeared at Burning Springs mlthih
the last few days suspicion fastened on "a "
person named Robert S. SteInway as Inc
murderer and accordingly ne was aiie7eeo'
Since his arrest be has written anu pun
lished the following extraordinary state
ment in the Parkersburg I@meS Oh Monoay
last:
,sEns. TrMEs ! My object in writing this
Communication is TO lay before the public
the facts attending the distressing death Of
the late Alvin C. Temple, of the city of New
York, as have just been arrested here on
q charge Of beng accessory to, and the
cause of it. am here without friends Or
acquaintances, and must GO to prison for
want Of bail / hope, however, in the
course of few days, to exonerate myself
from.all suspicion of any completely IN the
death Of nay friend.
The deceased and myself were both resi-
dents Of New York, and had been acquaint-
ed nearly ten years; about the middle of
September last we left home together on 8
tour TO the oil regions of Southern Ohio and
West Virginia. We came first to Marietta,
Ohio, and visited the oil wells Of Duck
Creek. Wethen visited successfully Horse
neck, Sand Hill, White Oak, aud Burning
Springs NeSfrivefi at The latter place on
the afternoon q Friday, October 26. We
spent Saturday in visiting the various oil
wells Sunday morning we started on a
ramble to make some observations as TO the
nature Of the country. From this reEa5le
Mr.. Temple never returned, and upon this
circymsta ace have been arrested, | hope
thsfpubljc, after hearing my statement, will
suspend its judgment until can offer more
proof Of 10Y entire innocence. Mr.. Tenn
pie being something Of geol0glst, carried
leather sack, suspended by strap over
the shoulder, 10 contain The specimens col
Iected, and in his hand hammer, with
handle three feet long, such as is commonly
nsed by ge0logists. We crossed the Burn
ing Springs run at the mouth, and climbed
up the hill On the upper side. About three
fourths of the way UP we discovered an
opening IN the rocks, caused probably by
some convulsion Of the earth. Into this we
found that we could crawl some fifteen feet,
when further progress was stopped by the
fssure Becoming narrower. Temple, by
thrusting in his hammer, ascertained that
the passage soon widened again, and that
by removing some of the pieces of rock we
could go on. We procured q saplipg, which
we used BIS battering ram. We could hear
the pieces fall as they were pushed inward,
and from the sound knew the descent could
be but few feet. ! went first, when we
had opened the way, and descended by let
ting myself down by the hands Temple
followed. Lighting match and a piece of
paper, We found ourselves in a cavern about
twelve feet square in which we could stand
upright Pieces Of broken rock; varying
in size from an egg to a barrel, covered the
ground. Temple collected some specimens,
principally sand rock and feldspar, which
he put into a sack to be examined at leisure.
Our progress was very difficult on account
Of the loose and jagged stones. Partly
feeling our way, and now and then lighting
a match, VIC managed to ascertain what L
have related, and also to discover q. fssure
nearly opposite where we entered, some
'thr9e feet in width st the bottom, and grad
ually narrowing at the top. Crawling into
this we found il made a considerable de-
scent until it opened into spacious cave,
the dimensions Of which | cannot state, as
it was not thoroughly explored. We found
here the same chaossof broken rocks, and
were continually bruising ourselves in
climbing over and through them. Proceed
ing some 30 yards we saw q light on our
right, which proved TO be caused by a split
In the rock. Looking through it, we could
see the hills on the opposite bank of the
Kanawba, but could not open our way OFT.
Leaving this ON our right, we proceeded to
make what explorations our limited means
would allow. After going perhaps fifty
yards, we were surprised at finding a small
lake, or pool, as near as can judge, some
sixty feet in length by twenty feet wide Its
level was some three feet below the ground
on which we stood. Temple inserted his
hammer into the pool, and found that in
stead of water it was oil--petroleum. [
have not time 10 describe our sensations on
this discovery, which promised untold
wealth. After discussing the matter for
few minutes, he attempted to try the depth
with TIE handle of his hammer. He got as
near the brink as he could and was about
executing his design, when the loose stones
on which he stood suddenly caved in with
him. He sunk, rose again, struggled
moment, and | saw him no more. | was
poweriess to assist him. even if [ had not
been completely bewildered. The weight
of the specimens In his sack. no doubt, pre-
vented him from saving himself as he was
a capital swimmer. The horror of my sit
uation may be imagined. | stood alone in
that cave wherein was death and darkness,
fully aware that when [ went out into the
light would only meet strangers and sus
picion, called my companion by name
again and again, until terrified by the
sepulehral, echoes that resounded through
the blackness '~Ist 10. VI IS
This is the true statement of the fact
Whether it will be credited is more than |
can say. am fully aware how difficult it
is for ma to answer the question, ':cWhy did
yon not make hisstatement sooner ~ Here
is my reply. When | left the cave, l went
to my room at the hotel Overwhelmed as
/ was, / could not help being sensible that
the discovery was, an important one and re-
solved to secure the benefits of il; so | kept
the mattersqaiet until nay designs should be
accomplished. To this end l obtained a
$ favorgblesiease tromrthe agent of the Rath-
/ BONE Oils Com hany sof ground covering the
cave. This lease, as the county records will
show, was made the day after the occur
renee above revealed. Ii is made to George
Temple, the father of Henry V. Temple,
the brotherof the late Alvin G. Temple. l
Z have not reservedf to myself directly or in
directly any part of this lease. hope this
.circulnstance will go far to show that |
could have no motive in causing the death
o. my friend. do not think his relatives,
or those who know me, will entertain the
slightest suspicion to my prejudice. Yet l
feel that can never have moments peace
of. mind until the Judgment of everybody
shall acquit me of the charge. And now,
Messrs' Editors, request that you will give
the foregoing statement a place in your
paper, and thereby oblige a friendless and
grief-stricken man.
li ROBERT S. STEINwAY.