The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1879-05-09
A ,THsEASDNARLE CIPHER.
HOW SENATOR NESMITH AND GEN. INGALLS,
PLOTTED AGAINST THEIR COUNTRY, AND
HOW OLD STANTON GOT THE PROOF.

HOW OLD STANTON GOT THE PROOF.
The following is from the Arnay and Nary
Gazette of March 9th. It may be stated
that the story is literally true. Mr.. Mes
mith, we have been informed, has the or1gi-
nal dispatch, written in Chinook. It kick ed
up a terrible row in the war office, and all
the distinguished linguists and cipher ex-
perts were consulted. Meigs, guartermaster
general, who makes pretensIons to great
learning gave it as his opinions that the
dispatch was treasona6Ls, and said it was
written in the Language of one of the tribes
of the Magyars VINO inhabit remote region
in the mountains of Hungary. The affair,
as told below, is published in the paper
above named, under the caption of 1.-The
Majors Stories {:
The major walked in on Monday, and,
taking his usual seat. had hummed as far as
''Ihe horns upon the ram, sir,
Grew clear up to the moon
And the owner climbed up in Januaree,
And didn't get down till -
."By Jove J." he exclaimed, "don't that
look like Rufe Ingalls?"
| The gentleman he had noticed didn't look
anything like General Ingalls,, but it had the
effect of starting the major.
"Did you ever hear how ingalls, put Old
Stanton in the nineteen hole once, during
the war;"
We never did, and thought it was seldom
done successfully with Secretary Stanton,
"Well, ingalls, got him there once, and
did it when he didn't think of putting up a
Job on him either You see, ingalls, and Jim
| Nesmith (Senator he was then from Oregon)
were the thickest kind of chums-Knew
each other in the old Oregon times before
! the war, and they had quarters together
during the war in one of those old houses
on Pennsylvania avenue-I think it was
about where that big grocery is now, just
across from Wizards hotel, and ingalls, al
ways stayed there when he would come up
from the front ON business. They used to
have the jolliest stag supper parties when
! Ingalls, was here that you ever saw. You
remember ingalls,, from 1868 to the wlnd-up
was chief quartermaster of the army OF the
| Potomac, and after there had been big
move or battle he had to come up to Wash
ington to see about getting things straight
ened out, as to transportation, ETC. Well,
Stanton, while he was secretary OF war;,
was everlastingly suspected everybody, and
had that cuss Baker nosing into everybcdy's
quarters, and Baker told Stanton how thick
Nesmith and ingalls, were. Nesrnith was
then one of the few democratic senators in
congress, but he was a loyal old fellow, and
as full OF sense as a sorreI horse, as they say
up in Michigan. Stanton didn't think in
those days that man ccnld be loyal and q
democrat both : so, by Jove, he jumped to
the conclusion that ingalls, was up to some
game or other-he might have been, but it
wasn't stealing or conspiring-and he set
his crowd to watching Rufe. One time
when ingalls, was here after big fight, he
was telling Nesmith about it, and the old
fellow got &C into his head that he would like
to 60 do wn to the front sometime and see a
battle. ingalls, encouraged the idea, and it
was agreed that the next time move was
on foot that promised fight, Ingalls, should
telegraph him in time to come down. The
army headquarters then was connected by
telegraph with Washington, SO chat Secre-
tary Stanton and the president and old
Brains could boss the job from here, and all
the wires ran right into a room IN the war
department, where Stanton had confden-
!, tial operator on hand all the time. Well
sir one fine morning in came the operator to
Stanton, in the corner room where Crosby Is
located now, his eyes bulging out with holy
horror, and handed the secretary a mysteri-
, Gus dispatch, which Immediately proceeded
to raise merry hallelujah." fThe major
! didn't say "hallelujah." but it don't require
italics 70 print It,
cit was a cipher dispatch from ingalls,,
: chief quartermaster, aud was addressed to
) Sepator Nesmith. Everybody i'll the war
| department turned out but the band, but
there was music in Mr.. Stanton's neighbor-
hood.
''He had long suspected that ingalls, was
: a double cussed, cussed cussed traitor, and
he had got him now, dead sure-got him
right in the act D-d conspiracy with that
id traitor Nesmith, who, no doubt, was
+ TO telegraph to Canada of the impending
Fbattle, and then the rebs up there would
tell Lee all about it, and thrash Burnside or
Hooker, or whoever was in command then.
i He intended to have ingalls, shot as full of
: holes as tin lantern and buried before
!; night without the least regard to the regula-
tions regarding military honors, and all that
sort of thing
Oh, it was the derndest time you ever saw
: in the war department, worse than when
: Gen. Thomas wanted to be secretary. OF war
and Stanton barricaded himself in.
Only one thing was needed before ingalls,
: funeral took place. Stanton wanted to
know what the cipher dispatch meant, so as
to have Nesmith made a tin lantern Of, too.
Every officer, operator, clerk, messenger
orderly or veteran reserve man about the
building or neighborhood was sent for. If he
ever wrote read or saw cipher dispatch,
or knew one who did but they couldn't
|
more interesting remarks than ali the italics
, in the German alphabet could express-and
that's all italics, as far as | can see, and e.
sides that he turned in and revoked two
}. or three promotions of brigadiers of voiun
n teers.
Things went on that way till along in the
afternoon, and the secretary began to think
at last that he would have to put off ingalls,
funeral at least till daylight next morning
when ninth infantry man happened tt
drop in, who had served up around Puget
Sound, and Stanton grabbed him and asked
T. him to try his hand at unearthing the trea
. sou. =,
: He took it, looked it over minute, reae
J the signature, laughed a little, and ther
: smilingly handed it back to MIR. Stantol
without word.
Stanton asked him If he could read it
Oh, yes. easily The secretary's hai
). stood up with wrath, but it came dowl
We mi 5hty quick when Tony explained tina
m it was Chinook and translated read
Come down d--d quick if you want to SET
a fight, and bring about ten gallons Of whis
ky Pm out.
II By Jingo you ought to have seen tina
sr that they didn't dare laugh before him bu
If one at a time they got out and slid over t
W Klotz's and made things howl.
t. The dispatch was sent to the senator, Jan
Stanton was so much taken down that he sa
II down meekly and breveted every man o.
t. the recruiting detail but three.
ut Rufe ingalls, wasn't shot that time, unles
lit was in the neck when Nesmith reache
him.