Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1872-10-11

A curious story is told Of one Thomas G..
BavI Of Sweetwater. East Tennessee, which
would make a capital plot for Charles
Reade. ID he knew enough of the scenery. peo-
Die and manners Of that ergion 20 give IL
the necessary coloring. Boyd was clam
agent and had made considerable fortune
in that business, besides acquiring repu-
tatiou not altogether ~p1tle5-. The l. :.
Attorney for that district had his attention
called b. B1yd'S proceedings, and found ey IL
dcuce enough of misconduct t. furnish ma
tsrial for TWENTY-FIVE indictments for max
ing up and presenting 10 the departments
fraudulent claims and other kindred of
len-e~. ON each IF which he was held o. bail
I'M the sum of $1,000 Mr. Boyd did not
wish % Dee tried on these charges. and in
order 90 escape it his ingenuity and impu-
lrncr urumBtei him % write letter %
President Grant asserted ms innocence, rep
re~eutiug that the numerous trials would De
expensive to the government and himself.
and suggesting that the President should
cause the prosecution To be dismissed In con-
sideratiuu Of B,yd'S promise To use his IN
nuence. which. he said, was great in that
part Of Tennessee. o. promote Grants re-
election The President read the letter and
referred it To- the Attorney General, who
sent IL % the District Attorney who had
Boyd prosecution in charge, and he al
lowed it 70 be published iu a republican pat
per in Knoxville
This repui-e Wa a severe disappointment.
but BOYD ; ingenuity supplied another re
source % escape his trial and save his Sii,
O0O hail. He set out one day, accompanied
hy two friends. ou an expedition expected 10
occupy two or three days. prlie~-cdly 10
look up witnesses for the trial. The friends
re-appelred three days after with a shock
iug story that they had been attacked,
seized and bound by five masked men. who
shot BOYD and burned his body. and after
keeping the two friends bound for some
hours. at last released them. Search in the
place indicated revealed the remains of
human body -, far consumed that Identified
ton was impossible They were gathered
up by Boyd'S relatives and buried with the
usual funeral ceremonies The Masonic
lodge of which Boyd was member, how
ever, declined 10 perform their distinctive
funeral rites because the body was not GER
tainly identified.
This. or some other fact. led % a SuSpi-
cion that the enterpriSing Boyd was still
among the living, and the suspicion once
entertained grew in many minds 70 4 con-
yiction. To invent the story Of his own
death when life in tina; neighborh00d and in
those circumstances involved much ..dpleast-
ness was seen to be quite in accordance
with Mr. Boyd'~ character. In despair of
solving the mystery for themselves, some Of
the inquisitive neighbors sent for a detective
who. after hearing all that could be told and
examining all the localities. reflected for a
time, and then announced his belief that, if
the grave of certain negro, who had died
a few days before Boyd'S disappearance.
should he examined. it would be found
empty. 1t was examined, and the search
ers found what they expected-no body
The grave supposed to be occupied by the
remains of the lamented Boyd was next ex-
amined, and its contents wer9 pronounced
10y ANTAGONISTS to be undoubtedly parts of
the body of negro. Thereupon Mr.. Boyd's
relatives dried their tears. while the sure
ties on his bail bonds became sincere mourn |
erS. There i more real desire to see Mr.. |
Boyd again in that neighbOrhood than his |
warmest admirers could ever have anticipa- |
iaI