The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-08-27
THE MORGAN MYSTERY.
Alleged Confession of One of the Murder
ers of the Masonic Apostate.

ers of the Masonic Apostate.
The publication of an article by Thur
low Weed, assuming to throw new light |
upon the Morgan Masonic mystery, but |
which contained no facts new to the pub
lie, has caused the republication of the
confession of Henry l.. Valance, who
died in 184S, accusing himself of the |
murder of Morgan. This was published |
in pamphlet at the time, entitled, |
Confession of the Murder of William |
Morgan, as taken down by DIR. John l.. |
Emery, of Racine county, Wis, i'll the
summer of 1848, and now (l849) first
given to the public, and sets out as fol
lows:
"My last hour is approaching and as
the things of this world fade from my
mental sight, feel the necessity of max
ing, as far as in my power lies, that
atonement which every violation OF the
great law of right owes to his fellow
men. L allude to the abduction and
murder of the Inflated William Nor
gan" He here proceeds with an inter
esting narrative of the proceedings of
the fraternity in reference to Morgan
while he was incarcerated in the maya
zine of Fort Niagara. The confessor
continued: "Many plans were proposed
and discussed and rejected. 1t was
finally agreed by council of eight that
he must die must be consigned to n
confinement from which there is no pos
sibility of escape-the Craze. Eight
pieces of paper were procured, FIVE of
which were to remain blank, while the
letter ID was written on the others.
These pieces of paper were placed i'll a
large urn from which each man was to
draw one at the same moment.
After drawing we were all to separ-
ate, without looking at the paper that
each held in his hand. So soon as we
had arrived at certain distance from
the place of rendezvous the tickets were
TO be examined, and those who held
blanks were to return instantly to their
homes, and those who should hold
marked tickets were to proceed to the
fort at midnight, and there put Morgan
to death in such manner as should
seem to themselves most fitting" Mr..
Valance WIS one of Inc three that drew
the fatal letter ID. He then returned
Immediately to the fort, where he was
joined by the other two, who had like
wise drawn the death tickets. "Ar-
sink him in the Niagara river with
weights, in hopes that he and our crime
alike would thus be buried beneath the
waves. While my comrades were to
procure a boat, it was my lot to go to the
fort where Morgan was confined, and
announce to him his fate. Morgan, on
being informed of the proceedings
against him, and what they intended to
do with him, demanded by what author
rity they had condemned him, and who
were his judges. He commenced
wringing his hands and talking of his wife
and children, the recollection of whom
in that awful hour terribly affected me.
His wife he said was young and mex
perienced, and his children were but in
fants. What would become of them
were he to be cut off, and they even igno-
rant of his fate Morgan was told that
his remonstrances were idle; that he
must die, and that, too, before the morn
ing light. He continued to plead most
piteously for his life on behalf of his
family. My comrades had in the mean
time returned, saying they had procured
boat. On consultation we concluded to
give him half an hour to prepare for his
inevitable fate. For this we retired from
the magazine and left him. How Nor
gan passed the time / cannot tell, but
all was quiet as the tomb within. AT the
expiration of the time we entered the
magazine, laid hold of Morgan, bound
his hands behind him, placed a gag in
his mouth, and led him forth. A short
time brought us to the boat, and we en-
tered it, Morgan being placed in the
bow with myself alongside of him. My
comrades took the oars, and the boat was
rapidly forced out into the river. The
night was pitch dark-we could scarcely
see a rod before us-and therefore was
the time admirably adapted to our hell
ish purpose. Having reached proper dis
lance from the shore, our oarsmen ceased
their labors. The weights were secured
together by a strong cord, and another
cord of equal strength, and of several
yards i'll length, proceeded from that.
This cord took i'll my own hand and
fastened it around the body of Morgan,
just above his hips, using all my skill to
make it fast, so that it would be sure to
hold. Then in whisper babe the I'M
happy man to stand up, and after mo-
ments hesitation he complied with my
order. He stood close to the head of
the boat, and there was just length
enough of rope from his person to the
weights to prevent any strain while he
was standing. / then requested one of
my associates to assist in lifting the
weights from the bottom to the side of
the boat, while the other steadied her
from the stern. This was done, and, as
Morgan was standing with his back to-
ward me, L approached him and gave
him strong push with both my hands,
which were placed on the middle of his
back. He fell forward, carrying the
weights with him, and the waters closed
over the mass. We remained quiet for
two or three minutes, when my compan-
ions, without saying word, resumed
their places, and rowed the boat to the
| nlaca from which they had tnkon II -