Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-12-13

| uohieu all huoHleu9a bearing upon the
question. lie resided, he said, at the time
specified, in the fort, but knew of no man
being confined in the magazine; and
knew nothing of men coming there at
night in carriage, and knew nothing of
a man being taken from there in boat.
His denials covering the whole ground
were explicit. That, for the time being,
ended the matter. When the court ad-
lourned walked across the square with
Judge Howell, who presided, and who
remarked TO me that | had made n long
journey for nothing. my witness. Adams.
being Ignorant of the whole affair. Gen.
Vincent Matthews of Rochester who was
walking on the other side of the Judge,
replied with much feeling, "tbat the old
rascal had not uttered one word Of truth
while he was on the stand"
Gen Matthews was leading counsel
for the kidnappers, but refused to be a
party in tam 1ering with Witnesses. On
our return to Roches,erthe witness Adams
was in an extra stage with his Masonic
friends. AS there was no longer any
need OF hiding he was on his WAY to Mag
ara. In passing the Mansion House.
Rochester, Adams, who was standing in
the doorway, asked me to stop, saving he
wanted to explain his testimony. The
lawyers, he said, informed him that if he
told what he knew about the magazine
and the boat it would be n confession tba.
would send him TO states prison. They
also told him that the law did not compel
witness 10 criminate himself; and, to
avoid punishment, he must deny The
story,
In 1881, after my removal from Roohes.
ter to Albany, n libel suit was commenced
against me by Gen. Gould of Rochester.
II was tried at Albany, Judge James
vanderpoel presiding, The libel charged
tIen Gould with giving money he received
from the Royal Arch Grand Chapter 10
enable Burrage Smith and John Whitney
TO escape from justice. Gerrt l.. Dox,
treasurer of the Grand Chapter, and John
Whitney, one of the recipients Of tho
money, were in court 10 establish the
truth of the libel. Mr.. Dox testified that
charity fund" had been entrusted to
Gen. Gould. John Whitney was called
TO prove that he received Il part of the
fund, with which, in company with Bur-
rage Smith, he left Rochester and was
absent nearly Il year. Gen. Could coun-
sci objected to witness testimony until it
had been shown that Gen Gould kne,o
that the money furnished was to enable
Smith and Whitney 10 escape from Justice.
me court sustained this objection and
Whltneys testimony was excluded As
IL was impossible to prove what was
known only to .Gea. Gould h'mse'f, the
trial ended abruptly. Judge Vanderpoel,
in charging the jury dwelt at length upon
the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the press, and called
upon the jury to give exemplary damages
to the injured and innocent plaintiff. The
ju ~ thus instructed, but with evident
re eluctarce,' found verdict of four hundred
dollars against me. My offence consisted
in asserting fact, the exact truth of
which would have been established it
the testimony had not been ruled out By
monstrous perverson of justice.
Col. Simeon &. Jewett of Charleston,
Major Samuel Barton of Lewiston. and
John Whitney of Rochester, passed that
evening at my house Jewett was prepar.
ed to testify that he furnished n carriage
for those who were conveying Morgan
secretly from Canandaigua to Niagara
John Whitney was one of the party.
Major Barton would have testified that he
furnished the carriage which conveyed
the party from Lewiston TO Fort Niagara,
John Whitney being one of the party,
Whitney would have sworp that Gould
supplied money 10 enable him to 'escape
| from Justice" In the course of the
evening, the Morgan affair being the
| principal topic of conversation, Col. Jewett
turned to Whitney with emphasis and said,
John, what if you make clean breast
of it," Whitney looked inquiringly ut
Barton, who added, Go ahead"
Whitney then related in detail tho his
tory Of Morgan's abduction and fate. The
idea of suppressing Morgan's Intended
exposure of the secrets of Masonry was
first suggested by man by the name of
Joins. 1t was discussed in lodges at
Batavia, Leroy and Rochester. Johns
suggested that Morgan should be separated
from Miller and placed on farm in
Canada West. For this purpose he was
taken to Niagara and placed in the maga-
zine Of the fort until arrangements for
settling him in Canada we're completed,
but the Canadian Masons disappointed
them. After several meetings of the lodge
in Canada, opposite Fort Niagara. II
refusal TO have anything to DO with Nor
gan left the "kidnappers" greatly lcrpleX-
ed. Opportunely a Royal Arch chapter
was installed mt Lewiston. The occasion
brought II large number OF enthusiastic
Mason together, AFTER labor" in Mason
ic language, they ''rCtired to refreshment"
| Under the exhileration of champagne aud
other viands the chaplain (he Rev. +. Ii.
Cummings of Rochester) was called on
for toast He responded with peculiar
emphasis and in tho language of their
ritual: "The enemies Of our order-may
they find grave six feet deep. six feet
long, and SIX feet due east and west"
Immediately after that toast, which was
received with great enthusiasm, Col.
William King, an officer in our war of
| 1872 and then member Of assembly
from Niagala county, called Whitney of
Rochester. Howard OF Buffalo, Chubbuck
of Lewiston, and Garside of Canada, out
of the room and into carriage furnished
by Major Barton. They were driven to
Fort Niagara, repaired TO tho magazine
and informed Morgan that the arrange
ments for sending him to Canada were
completed and that his family would soon
follow him. Morgan received the infor-
nation checrfully and walked with
supposed friends to the boat, which was
| rowed TO the mouth OF tue river, where a
rope was wound around his body, to each
end of which snker was attached.
Morgan was then thrown overheard He
grasped tho gunwale of tho boat convul-
sively. Garside, in forcing Morgan to
relnquish his hold was severely bitten.
Whitney, in concluding his narrative,
said he was now relieved from a heavy
load that for four years ho had not heard
the window rustic or any other noise at
night without thinking the sheriff was
after him. Col. Jewett, looking fixidly at
Whitney, said,. "Weed can hang you
now" "But he won't" was Whitney's
prompt reply. OF course a secret thus
conided to me was inviolably kept, and
twenty.nno years afterwards, while
attending a national republican convention
at Chicago, John Whitney, who then
resided there, called to say that he wanted
me to write out what he once told me
about Morgan's fate, to be signed by ham
in the presence Of witnesses, to be sealed
up and published after his death |
promised to do so before leaving Chicago.
There was no leisure, however, during the
sitting of the convention, and even before