Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-11-13
viclLANrs IN VERMONT.
They Burn the Lake Champlain ''FlORt
ing Tavern - aud Kill Its Proprietor.

They Burn the Lake Champlnin 'sFlOat.
ing Tavern" and Kill Its Proprietor.
A Whitehall IN. W dispatch to the
San, says:
GA large number of laborers are
employed in building the new railroad
from here to Rouse's Point, and gath
cred from everywhere without refer
ence to morals, they embrace large
proportion of drinking men. To their
surprise and annoyance they found
themselves in a position of enforced
temperance, the section Of country in
which they work being governed by
rigorous prohibitory laws. The I'M
supplied demand for liquor was very
great, until Seymour Bassett, of White
Greek, Washington county, conceived
plan for meeting it. He procured a
raft, upon which he erected a hut. In
this hut he established a bar"
"The Floating Gin Palace" as the
craft soon became known, was fitted
out about the LIST of September, and
thereafter on every payday it was
fioated as near as possible to where the
workmen were engaged. Bassctt de-
fed the Vermont authorities, claiming
that his craft, while floating on Lake
Champlain was not within their jursi-
diction. So he drove q lucrative bust
ness, the laborers crOwding to the raft
whenever it made its appearance
About two weeks ago the raft was par
TALLY burned, presumably by some
body who saw no other way to end its
evil existance; but Bassett promptly
rebuilt it, and soon had it in operation
again"
"To-day Coroner Clark was sum-
mond to hold an inquest on the body
of Bassett, who had been killed near
what is known as Fifteen Lighthouse,
dozen miles up the lake. The. story
OF the killing, is this:
After dark party of disguised
men rowed silently to Bassctt's craft,
which was anchored, and boarded it,
They found the bartender, George
Wood, asleep. Before he could offer
any resistance or recognize them, they
had bound and blind folded him.
After putting him in their boat, they
| fired the craft, which was soon ablaze
with its cargo of bad liquors, and COM
menced to row to the shore. The lake
at that point is narrow, and they had
not far to 60. They had partly started,
intending to leave Wood on the shore,
when they were met by Bassett in q
boat. While at Benson's Landing, on
the Vermont side, he had seen the light
Of the burning raft, and had at once
started for the scene"
"Upon getting within range of the
party of vigilants, who were doubtless
the same who had partly destroyed his
craft before, he fired several shots al
them. Nobody, however, was hit, al.
though between each effort he rowed
nearer to them. At last he came with,
in six or eight rods of their boat. From
the now brightly-burning craft the
vigilants had taken q loaded shotgun
One of them now fired upon Bassett
with it. He cried out that he was
shot, and fell back into the bottom Of
his boat. They then rowed hurriedly
10 the shore, frightened at the result
of their adventure, and went away
leaving Wood behind. The latter fin.
ally succeeded in liberating himself
and reaching Bassett, whom he con
veyed to Benson's Landing, where he
died the next morning."
"The bar.keeper says that more than
one shot was fired at Bassett, and thai
he can identify three of the party, who
numbered fourteen, and were all mask.
ed. Bassett was 26 years Of age, and
had amassed considerable sum by his
illicit liquor traffic with the workmeI
on the railroad. No arrests have YET
i hnnn 1na6o -