The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-06-29
MORGAN THE 8
Thurlow Weed Doubts That the 2enes
OF Morgan Have Been Found.
The Story of the murder as Told Hmm by
One Of the Participants.
Special Dispatch to the Chicago T~ribune.l

yesterday al IemDTOke, near DdCdsla, ~. IL
may not be those of William Morgan, as was
supposed, and the place of bis sepulchre is
likely to remain as much a mystery as ever.
Thurlow Weed is unq~uestioDably more ia
miliar with the facts of the abduction Of
Morgan than any other persoa living. He
said to-day to a Times reporter: THE mere
fact that with the remains was found a ring
bearing the initials w. M goes for nothing.
There may have been 10000 people whose
initials are w. NJ But / can not account
for the fact that a paper should be found
near the body with the name of Henry
Brown. Henry Brown was interested in the
case. He was a lawyer and afterward pub
lished a book giving an account of
MoRGAS's DISAPPEARANCE.
1 knew Brown very well, and what is said
about him is all true. 1t is very extraor-
binary that his name should be found. |
did not know Morgan though L have seen
him. He wrote part of his book in Roches-
ter, and he lived in that city at that time.
The proposition to publish the book was
first made to me While he was writing it,
but / thought a man who had taken an
oath to keep a secret ought to keep il, aud |
declined to touch it. After the disappear
ance of Morgan and his manuscript" Mr..
Weed continued, IAN investigating Com
mittee was appointed. and they worked for
months and months. The Committee
learned beyond a doubt that
MORGAN WAS TAKEN OUT OF THE JAIL
at ~Canandaigua, where be had been i'm
prisoned on some trifiing charge, taken to
Niagara Falls and put in the fort or maya
zinQ and Kent there for several dauS The
fort contained no soldiers. but was under
charge of a Waterman. The object of this
was to send him through the Canada fur
country uD to the extreme Northwest, to
get him away from Miller and the others
whom he influenced to publish his book.
The Canadian MasOns were to have done
part of the work. but, after holding one or
two meetings, they refused to have anything
to do with the case, and Morgan was left on
the hands of his abductors. This will give
you some clue as to who tue abductOrs were.
There was a celebration of Knights Temp
lar at lewiston, followed by a supper.
There may have been some wine at the sup
per, and perhaps the participants were un-
duly excited. Colonel William King, who
was in the party, took four other men with
him in q close carriage to ~Canandaigua,
TOOK MORGAN TO LAKE ONTARIO, AND
W EIM.
They took him out in a small boat, attached
weights to him, and dropped him over
board. That is believed to be true, as as
certained by the Investigating Committee.
Now come, the extraordinary scene of the
finding of the body, and the two women
each saying that the body was that OF her
husband. About a year after Morgan was
drowned a body was found on the shore of
Lake Ontario. An inquest was held, and
Mrs. Morgan and Others declared the body
| to be that of William Morgan. Six years
after this Mr.. Weed continued, latter ]
had moved from Rochester to Albany, ]
| was sued for lible for publishing a state
| ment in connection with this very subject.
| had charged General Gould with furnish
ing the money
TO CARRY OUT THIS PLOT.
John whitney, the man who received the
money from Gould, was one of my witnesses
so l had no fear of the result. But wher
the plaintiffs lawyer found l was prepared
to prove all l had charged, they shut ~
my testimony by getting a decision requir-
ing me to prove not only that General Goulo
furnished the money, but that he furnished
it with a guilty knowledge of the illegal
purpose for which it was to be used. Under
the circumstances. of course, the verdict wa,
against me. In the evening of that day,
invited Barton and John Whiteny to eat an
oyster supper with me in my house. We
were all old acquaintance and had a sOcia
time. After supper, while We were talking
about Morgan's disappearance. Barton sud
denly said o Whitney, John Whitney, why
don't you make
CLEAN BREAST OF 1T?
You could tell all about it if you would.
After some hesitation Whitney told the
| whole story. He told us how Morgan had
been taken to Fort Niagara, and how he had
been taken on the lake and drowned with
heavy weights attached TO him. He haC
not slept comfortably, he said, for six years.
The Sheriff was always after him in his
dreams. When he had told his story and
given us all the particulars, Barton said tC
him John, | suppose you know we can
hang you now2' Yes. Whitney replied,
YOU can, bat you won't Barton and my
self considered the confession entirely con-
idential, and
TIE STORY WAS NEVER TOLD"
Mr.. Weed paused for a few moments tc
collect his thoughts. AT length ne went on
SIN 1860, twenty-seven years afterward,
was in Chicago attending the National Con
vention that first nominated Lincoln
Whitney was then living in Chicago, and ht
went 70 my hotel to say that he wanted me
to write out what he had revealed to me il
Albany, and put it in a sealed envelope. Il
be died first the statement was then to be
given TO the public. III / died first tn,
package was TO be so left that on his dealt
the seal would be broken and
THE CONTENTS DIvULGED.
told him that | would do this, but that
was then very busy. | was working in tn,
interests of Seward, and the nomination o.
Lincoln was a great disappointment % me
In the excitement / forgot all about Whit
ney, and was just going away when L ME-
him. Heseemed disappointed that the letter
had not been written, and | told him that
would meet him again. 1t was only a short
time after that that the Rebellion broke out
and | was sent to Europe, with the statement
still unwriSten. While / was i'm London ]
wrote to Whitney, telling him TO go to AL.
exander Il. Williams. a confidential friend
of mine in Chicago, and show him my let
ter, and
HE WOULD WRITE OUT THE STATEMENT.
When | came home my letter was lying on
the table,, having been returned to me
through the Dead Letter Office. 1t had
reached Chicago after Whitney died, so il
happened that the confession was never put
in writing. This stony of the finding of the
body near Batavia Mr.. Weed concluded
''contradicts all the evidence that the body
wa taken to Fort Niagara by JOIN whitney
and Burrit smith. This evidence has stood
uncontradicted TO many years. Morgan
was taken OUT OF the ~Canandaigua Jail al
8 O'Clock in the evening and aiken to Roch'
4 -I--- III