The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1881-03-18
A MYSTERY EXPLAINED,

ASopOuueul VI INC l'FeSS yesterday con
cerning the recent murder of son O.
Judge James Giilis, Of this State, in
Mount Pleasant, Iowa, last week, pre-
sumably on account of the death O
| Morgan during the anti-Masonic ex,
element.
ssI was sorry to hear of the trouble
Judge Gillis is having in his old age"
said Mr.. Weed. "I knewhim very we'll,
and he was very worthy man, as
were all those engaged in the persecu-
ton of Morgan. It became a political
issue, without any intention on the
part of the antiMasons, and the latter
became strong party. Judge Gillis
was not tried for the murder, but for
abducting Morgan. The facts in the
case We're about these: Morgan was a
drunken stoue-mason and a member OF
the order of Freemasons. With the
help Of Il country printer he printed
an expose of the first three degrees of
Masonry, and was about exposing the
Royal Arch Degree when the NIasons
determined to put Il stop to it. Nor
gan had come to mel was in the
newspaper business in Rochester at the
time-to print his book, but he wanted
me to take an oath Of secresy before 1
began the work, and 1 would not do
so. The Masons had Morgan arrested
on trumped-up charge of petit lar
ceny and lodged in Jail. They then
made arrangements to carry him off.
party of them, including Gillis,
Nicholas G. Observation-Disclosures
daughter called on me not half an hour
ago,-and James Whitney, and others,
went to the Jail, and, after considerable
psrleying with the Jailer's wife, they
prevailed on her to give Morgan up.
The idea of the Masons was simply to
get Morgan away from the bad com
pany he was in, in which case the
Masons believed he would give up his
design of exposing the secrets of the
Order. They proposed to buy him a
farm in Canada and turn him from
his evil ways generally. The plan
was now changed to provide for Nor
gan by sending him away from civiii~
zation in the employ of the Northwest
ern Fur Company. There were seve-
raj meetings of the lodge and chapter
at Niagara on the snbject, but many
Masons refused to have anything to
do with the scheme. Then the m matter
became imperative. Something had
to be done, and at once.
siIt was found to be dangerous to re-
cede or go on. After Morgan had been
prisoner in the magazine for three or
four days, there was Il large meeting of
Masons to install an encampment in a
Canadian town near by. Prominent
men were present, including members
of the New York legislature, and the
evening ended with a grand supper, at
which excited speeches We're made by
several prominent mem bers of the Or
der in the case of Morgan. At last the
chaplain was called on for a toast, and
he gave the following "The ene-
mics of our Order-may they find
grave six feet deep, six feet long, and
six feet due east and west" This con-
tanned a hidden significance, and Col.
gentlemen outside, and, a carriage be-
ing called, they were driven to Fort
Niagara, where they arrived at four
O'Clock in the morning. Morgan was
called up, and was told that they had
made arrangements for his welfare,-
bought him farm, etc. He went
with them, and they took boat and
rowed four miles into Lake Ontario.
Here they wound a rope loaded with
sinkers around Morgan and threw him
overheard. A man at the fort, whom
1 afterward looked up in a moment,
saw the boat leave with six men aud
return with but five. Of course all
these facts were denied, and the world
said the committee that Investigated
the matter were politicians and were
moved by interests other than those of
discovering the truth.
s'Just as 1 was leaving Chicago at
the close of the proceedings of the con-
vention which nominated Mr.. Lin
coin, I was mortified and even much
disguised at the defeat of Mr.. Seward,
and was sending my baggage to the
depot. Col. John Whitney, one of the
five men who took Morgan out in the
boat, came to me and said, Il want to
swear to what / have told you about
the Morgan matter, aud if you sur
vive me / want you to publish it, /
promised to write out the statement,
which contained substantially the facts
1 have given you, and intended to do
so, but the campaign came on, the
war broke out, ana / was sent to
Europe by Mr.. Lincoln, and
neglected it. While in London l
wrote to Whitney asking him to go to
T.. b. Williams and let him write the
statement. When I got back home
that letter was returned to me from
the dead Letter Office, and Whitney
had died a week before it should have