The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1875-09-02
THE MORGAN MYSTERY.
Alleged Confession of One of the Murder
crs of the Masonic Apostate.

THE MORGAN MYSTERY.
Alleged Confession of One of the Murder
crs 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 1S48, accusing himself of the
murder of Morgan. This was published
in a pamphlet at the time, entitled,
Confession of the Murder of William
Morgan, as taken down by DIR. John L.
Emery, of Racine county, Wis, in the
summer of 1S4S, and now CS49) 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, I feel the necessity of max
ing, as far as in my power lies, that
atonement which every ~violator of the
great law of right owes to his fellow
men. 1 allude to the abduction and
murder of the Inflated William Nor
gam" 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 c~onfessor
continued "Many plans were proposed
and discussed and rejected. It was
finally agreed by a council of eight that
he must die /; must be consigned to a
confinement from which there is no pos
sibility of escape-the grave. 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 in 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 a 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 q manner as should
seem to themselves most fitting" Mr.
Valance was one of the three that drew
the fatal letter d. He then returned
Immediately to the fort, where he was
joined by the other two, who had like
wise drawn the death tickets. car
Engagements were Immediately made to
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 circumstances 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
a 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 &Ur
gan passed the time l cannot 5ell, but
all was quiet as the tomb within. At the
e IL L.o $3.50 1~1~-A1 4ln
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, oarsmen ceased
their labors. The weights were secured
together by a strong cord, and another
cord of equal strength, and of severa
yards in length, proceeded from that
This cord I took in my own hand anC
ldot6lGu IL d1Ouu1u bluC uOuJ VI u1o1Suh
Just above his hips, using all my skill tt
make it fast, so that it would be sure tt
| hold. Then in a whisper babe the un
happy man to stand up, and after a mo
, ments hesitation he complied with my
: order. He stood close to the head o
the boat, and there was just length
!. enough of rope from his person to thu
t weights to prevent any strain while h
was standing. I then requested one o
my associates to assist in lifting thu
weights from the bottom to the side o
the boat, while the other steadied he.
!; from the stern. This was done, and, a
Morgan was standing with his back to
ward me, I approached him and CAV
him a strong push with both my hands
which were placed on the middle of hi
back. He fell forward, carrying tn
7 weights with him, and the waters closeC
over the mass. We remained quiet TO
D two or three minutes, when my compan
ions, without saying a word, resumet
| their places, and rowed the boat to tn