The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1882-04-01

away, but she was captured day or twt
after, when she came back to brine
notice from the Confederate Government
that they would hold two officers as ,
ransom for Cole, and would execut.
them if he was dealt with in any othel
way than as a Confederate soldier en-
gagged in legitimate warfare.
JOHNSON CUT HIS THROAT
At the barracks in Cincinnati while be
ing held as q witness for the Federal Gov
ernment against Cole. After Coles ar
rest he as confined on the Michigan un
til after Generals Dix, Heintzelman anC
Hitchcock visited the vessel to make ar
investigation. They came on board on
bright September day. It was thought
that the Knights of the Golden Circle
We're in the plot, and they were in search
of evidence. They asked for Cole Cole
says that he was quietly smoking cigal
| when the officer came below to escort him
on deck. In going forward he knew thai
he had to pass directly over the maga-
zine. He pulled vigorously at his
cigar to get it well lighted, then taking
it from his mouth he held it by his side,
and in passing dropped it into the little
airhole which opened into the magazine
He therefore reached the deck expecting
that every moment the powder would ex
plode, and that the ship and all on board
would be scattered to the four winds.
The fire in the cigar, however, died away
without reaching the powder. The three
Generals heard his story, and Heintzel-
man, on learning of the trick played on
the twelve citizens of Sandusky, thun-
dered out: Captain Carter, why in
thunder didn't you hang that man to the
yardarm?"
The records of the War Department
show that he was tried in Cincinnati by
military court, of which General
Heintzelman was President, and con-
victed of the charge of piracy and of be-
ing spy. He was sentenced to be
hanged on the 10th of February, 1866, on
Johnson's Island, the point against
which he had directed his best efforts as
Confederate officer. He made two des-
perate attempts to escape while confined
on JOhnson's Island, and it was finally
decided to remove him to Fort Lafayette.
Legal proceedings had delayed his exc
cution, and petition gotten up by the
ladies of Northern Ohio, among whom
were the niece of ex-Secretary Colum-
bus Delano and the daughter of General
NJ. D. Leggett, since Commissioner Of
Patents, softened the public feeling.
The two ladies named were passengers
On. the Island Queen when Cole cap
tured her, and were not only protected
but shown perfect courtesy by him and
his officers These influences, combined
with the appeal of the powerful friends of
the officers held in Richmond as hostages
for hin, ononroI q tot - lie
sentence to imprisonment for life at the
Dry Tortugas. Before this, however,
Cole was removed to Fort Lafayette.
JOHN Y. BEALE
Endeavored to rescue him while on the
way to the fort. They tried to wreck the
train which he had taken on the Lake
Shore road, but they wrecked the wrong
one. Beale was captured, tried, sem
fenced to be hanged, and suffered the
death penalty on Governors Island;
while as the sequel shows, his friend,
first sentenced to death, and for whom
he gave his life, escaped all punishment,
1t is claimed by those who profess to
know, that the execution of Beale
caused the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln. J. Y. Beale was from Jefferson
county, W. Va, but a short distance
above Washington, where many of his
relatives now live. He was the intimate
friend of John Wilkes Booth. When
Beale was sentenced to death, Booth
made a powerful effort to save his life.
He enlisted all the eminent. men he pos
sibly could to aid him in. his efforts, but
there seemed no hope of success. As
last resort he begged his influential
friends to secure him an audience with
President Lincoln. Quite number of
them consented to do SO, among whom
was the late Colonel John w. Forney.
The audience was granted short time
before Beale was to be hanged, and
Booth made plea for his life which |
moved Mr.. Lincoln to tears. The good
hearted President would doubtless have |
Beale's sentence after
the occurrence of that night, but
Secretary Stanton said: 'There has been
too much leniency in dealing with these
fellows. Coles sentence has been COM
muted. The law ought to take its
course in Beale's case" It did, and
Beale was hanged. Booths failure to
save the life of his friend is said to have |
so preyed upon his mind that it gradu-
ally worked him up to the point of assas- |
the President.
Cole remained in prison at Fort La
fayette, and after making one Intellectual |
attempt to escape, was, on the 10th day |
of February 1866. brought out of prison
on writ of habeus| corpus issued by the |
District Court of New York at the in |
stance of Jake Thompson and other Con- |
leaders He escaped to Canada, |
and thence to Mexico, where he lead
life of adventure under Maximillian.
He was finally pardoned by the Presi-
dent, and returned to the United States |
with several prominent Confederates who
were in Mexico for a time after the war,
waiting executive clemency. He is now
3 citizen of Texas, largely interested in |
the development of the railroad system |
in that State.