The Portland daily press., 1870-02-03


JEFF. DAyIs's coAcnMAN AND HIS EXPLOITS.
The following letter on the 29th of January
to the Springfield Republican will prove inter-
esting to our readers:
Judge Shepley of Portland, who took his
seat as circuit judge OF the United States
court last Tuesday, is holding a special crim-
nal term of the circuit court here. The first
case tried before him was one of unusual in
terest, in which smart, well dressed, intefli-
gent young mulattO, Isaac Cooper, was ar
raigned upon the charge of forging and cals-
ing to be presented at the second auditors
office in Washington certain afidavits in sup
port of claims for bounty by colored soldiers,
fraud that Sumner j. Kimball, chief clerk
of the second auditors Office, has been in BOs-
ton for some weeks terreting out and following
- :. ,..,, ons
ports himself as once servant of JEFF. Davis:
He came North during the war, and in 1854
| enlisted in the 5th Massachusetts, cavalry.
His good looks and gentlemanly bearing gave
| him the position OF color bearer OF the regi-
| ment. position which he filled acceptably
| enough until their first engagement when he
was found mile in the rear of the scene of
conflict, whittier he said he had gone "to be
ready to rally the regiment when it should
come back Being in disgrace for this COW
ardlce, he Immediately deserted was after
wards recaptured and tried by court m artial.
and sentenced to 10 years in the Vermont state
PRISON, where he remained until President
Johnson emptied the prisons of this class of
| Offenders.
At one time, either before or soon after this
imprisonment, Cooper was a servant in the
family of William NJ Evarts of New York.
| Early in 1868 large number of forged claims
| were forwarded from Boston to the second au-
| ditor at Washington through the purported
| agency of II. c; Cooper s. Co., No. IS Milton
street, Boston," and many letters, all in the
same hand, were from time to time written in
| support Of these claims. The false character
| OF these documents was not discovered for
more than year, when it came out that one
Richard Turner, formerly of the I'd colored in
| fantry had received his 1926 bounty twice,
| first at Norfolk, Va, and subsequently in Bos-
ton. Investigations showed that some person
In Boston was in correspondence with parties
in Southern cities who furnished names and
facts upon which a prinaG fdcie claim might be
based as of discharged colored soldiers, former
ly living South, but now of Massachusetts,
But Cooper, either fearing he had gone toa.fIv
or learning of the investigation, h1ying the
gone to Providence, where her when arrested
h h pat business November last. He then
oy Boston omcHas George III. Smith of New
gave hIs said he had never been in Boston
'fne trial occupied two days, the evidence he.
ing summed up by M. +. Dickinson. ,Jr., az.
slstant mted States attorney, for the govern
ment, and W. G. Colburn for the defendant.
ondge Shepley's charge was an exceedingly
apie one, occupying more than an hour in its
delivery, evincing a thorough knowledge Of
the law applicable to cases of forgery, and af-
fordlng the highest promise of his Usefulness
IN his new position Thel jury returned verl
dict of guilty within half an hour after leaving
their seats, and on the following morning (Fri.
day. Cooper was sentenced to four years in the
State prison.
This is the first instance in several years of a
OnlIed states convict sent to our State prison.
Such was the former practice, but it was final
ly discovered that our State law allowed the
use OF the prison for United States convicts
only where portion of the sentence should be
SOLITARY confinement which the United
states statutes nowhere authorize the federal
courts to impose. Last winter, however. orr
Legislature passed an act prepared by United
States District Attorney billiard, which re-
moved the difficulty by opening the prison
Tor offenders sentenced in United States
courts to ''hard labor