Wilmington daily gazette., 1873-07-19
Tho GoaS Inuurance auIt

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I1oaS'Who, we believe, was a manufacturer in
very small way Of friction matches, was ex-
ceedlngly poor, and yet while owing every body
and unable TO pay the ordinary expenses Of Iiy-
ing, insured his life for twenty-five thousand
dollars an operation involving the expenditure
OF good deal of ready money, and an annual
tax that had to be promptly and regularly met.
ABOUT the time that this large insurance was
affected upon his life Goss announced that he
had made most valuable discovery, which
would supersede the use Of ordinary india rub
Der In all its various forms, in consequence of
the extreme cheapness of the new article. The
invention was not quite perfect, however, and
70 carry on his experiments, as he alleged he
ouilt q shed two or three miles cut Of town
apart from all other buildings, out of easv reach
from the fire engines or other means Of defence
from the flames The shed or shaniy was al
together in an isolated spot, was kept constantly
smut up, and to it Goss carried his materials,
and worked with them night after night. They
were evidently very inhamable materials, for
one night they took fire, and the next morning
there was a strong smell Of kerosene about the
ruins, and the charred body of man burned
out Of all human semblance was found among
the embers. It was 30 burned that identiica-
tion was impossible, the flesh even from the head
was all gone, and prominent above all were the
missing, not one decayed, not one that ever
needed a dentists's care.
Mrs. Goss said Il was The body other hus.
band, ana as such she buried ii, and as such
claimed the insurance, $4,000. Thereupon
arose The legal contest, the companies refusing
payment upon The ground that the remains
found in the ashes were not those of Goss, but
OF body that Goss had procured to be placed
ln his tinder box shanty, filed with all sorts of
lnhamable stud, and out ofreach of FIRE engines.
In snort, that the whole thing was a conspira-
cy 10 sWindle them out of $25,000 and that
Sjoss was still alive and ready, as soon as Mrs,
doss obtained the insurance, to share it with
| her. 'aa
They had no defense to the suit of the al :
legged widow. The teeth which the fire could
not destroy, the companies said, were not the
i Teeth OF Qoss The underwater proved that
the teeth OF G0ss had often had dentists
care, that they were absolutely perfect, and
that the teeth of G0ss had often had den
tlst's cale that they were wretchedly decay
ed that some were gone from his laws alto
gether, and that others had been plugged and
dOctered IN various ways. They brought re-
specCaDle dentists to prove these facts but
there was one witness, William E. Undertook,
who sWOIe that the teeth found in the embeFs
We're Goss' teeth that he had seen them
dally, year In and year out, and had no diff
Guilty whatever in recognizing them. ThoTe
was other evidence Of collateral sort on both
: sides, hut the teeth settled the business. The
companies were ordered to pay the money TO
the widow which as yet they have not done,
under an appeal or q motion for a new trial.
NOW comes In the arrest OF the plaintiff S
principal witness, upon, the charge .Of, having
niuIdered Stosss aInan, that, Q Jury says was
burned 70 death year ago. The unsubstan-
tlated rumorin Connection WithgEis arrest is
! tnaG ne made some compact about the time of
sne. trlai with MFs- GOss TO geS rid Of Goes,
IOr very feW people In Baltimore believe he
was burned In his shantY, and then to share
cosInS W tbs S wSSs on pain Of dis
II will therefore be seen that the arrest OF
gne accused Involves more than an ordinary
murder and IL It be true that Goss was his
victim, II Will also show how crime results
from from CRIME, and how swift Providence some
Tmes is to avenge it,
FIom the Chester News. July Is. ,i'... Ii
yesterday two detectives representing the Coz.
tlnental and Travellers Insurance Companies
Eslted Penningtonvllle for the purpose of ferret
ing out additional matters IN connection with the
, murder. They interviewed Rhodes aud his wife
Gamer Moore and other parties aud examined
the remains of the murdered victim. W
Inc result so far as we have been able to learn
was that the examination resulted In an almost
total Identification Of the hody as being that Of
9oss. The color OF hair lB exact, the breadth o.
Chest is also correct aud the teeth were identified
! to contain . n La e. ~ 31 q
| Again they had with them photographs of Cos
: which further proved identity. Ia one of thC
pictures prominent feature was a large sea
ring worn on the third finger of tho lel hand ant
, bears every resemblance TO the one found in tbC
/ wagon in which pdderzook and the stranger rod,
from dehnerViue We learn il was tried upon tht
flnger of the dead mau and flt It nicely, Thi:
, ring 1t will also be remembered was identified BY
' q boy as being the one seen by him ON the hngel
i Of the stranger at the hotel at Jennervllle.