Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-02

The rude coffin was opened in the presence
of between forty and fifty persons. When
it was reached, aud before removing the
lid, I received from Mrs. Morgan, and
others who knew him well, descriptions of
his person. Mrs. Morgan described the
color of his hair, a scar upon his foot and
that his teeth were double all round. DR.
Strong confirmed Mrs. Morgan's statement
about double teeth, one of which he had
extracted, while another was broken, indi,
eating the position of the extracted and
broken teeth. When the coffin was opened
the body disclosed the peculiarities de-
scribed by Mrs. Morgan ana DR.. Styo
This second inquest and the examina.
tions of the body proceeded in open day
and in the presence of Masons and anti
MasOns, not one of whom dissented from
the coroner's jury, by which the body was
unanimously declared to be that of Will
lam Morgan. Mrs. Morgan ia her testi-
mony failed to recognize the clothes. The
body was taken to Batavia, where it was
reinterred, no one as yet expressing any
doubt of its identity.
THE THIRD INQUEST.
Subsequently, however, we were sur
prised by statement that the body sup
posed to be that of Morgan was alleged to
be the body of Timothy Monroe, who had
been drowned in the Niagara river several
weeks before holding the first inquest.
This awakened general and intense feel
ing. Notice was given that a third
inquest would be held at Batavia,
where the widow and son of
Timothy Monroe appeared as wit
| nesses. Mrs. Monroe swore to a body es-
sentially different from that found at Oak
Orchard creek. Her husband, she said, had
| black hair that had been recently cut and
| stood erect. Her testimony made her hus-
| band from three to four inches taller than
| that of the body in question.
She testified that her husband had double
teeth all round and described an extracted
tooth from the wrong jaw and knew moth
ing of the broken tooth. The hair upon
the head of the drowned man was long,
silky and of chestnut color, while that of
Monroe, according to the testimony of
Mrs. Monroe and her son, was short, black
and close cut. While Mrs. Monroe failed
in describing the body, her description of
the clothing was infinitely accurate. The
heel of his stocking was described as
having been darned with yarn different in
color. Her cross examination was very
rigid, and her answers throughout were
found to be correct. The cloth
ing thus described had been
in possession of the coroner,
who testified that it had not been seen
either By Mrs. Monroe or any stranger
from whom she could have obtained in
formation. On the other hand, Mrs. Nor
gan's description of the body, before she
had seen it, was quite as satisfactory as
Mrs. Monroe's description of the clothes.
Our committee took no part in the third
inquest, and the body, as is known, was
declared to be that of Timothy Monroe.
simultaneously an incident occurred show
ing the vindictive spirit of our opponents.
On the evening of the day that the body in
tered at Batavia was declared by a third
inquest to be that of Timothy Monroe, 1
went into the billiard room of the Eagle
hotel to see friend from Clarkson.
FAMOUS PERvERsION.
When leaving the room Ebenezer Griffin,
Esq, a prominent lawyer employed as
counsel for Masons, who was playing bill
lizards, turned to me, cue in hand, saying:
''Well, Weed, what will you do for Nor
gan now9" To which I replied, THAT is
good enough Morgan for US till you bring
back the one you carried Off" On the fol-
lowing morning the Daily Advertiser, a
Masonic organ, contained paragraph
charging me with having boastingly said
that the body in question was good
enough Morgan until after the election
That perversion went the rounds of the
Masonic and Democratic press, awakening
much popular indignation and subjecting
me to denunciations in speeches and reso-
lutions at political meetings and conven-
tions. Explanations were disregarded;
the maxim that ''falsehood will travel nine
miles while truth is drawing on its
boots" was then verified. I suffered
obloQuy and reproach from that
wicked perversion for nearly half
century. Indeed, there is reason to be-
lieve that even now, where I am personally
unknown, generations are growing up be-
lieving that mutilated a dead body for
political effect, and, when exposed, boosted
that it was good enough Morgan till af
ter the election. Forty years afterward
the editor of the paper who originated
that calumny, by series of pecuniary re-
verses, was compelled to apply to me for
assistance. Iavenged the great wrong he
had done me by obtaining for him sit
uation in the custom house.
This served to extend and intensity the
excitement" 1t was everywhere charged
and widely believed that had mutilated
the body in question for the purpose of
making it resemble that of Captain Will :
lam Morgan. I encountered prejudices
thus created both in Paris and London
twenty years afterward.
Our investigations were embarrassed
and protracted by the absence and con-
cealment of important witnesses. One of
these witnesses was an invalid soldier who
had had the care of Morgan while confined
in the magazine at Fort Niagara, but he
disappeared, and all efforts to find him
were unavailing for more than a year.
finally traced him Elisha Adams) to
Brookield, mountain town in Vermont.
We reached the log house of Ada ms
brother in-law, with whom he was hiding,
between u and l o'clock at night. Our
rap was responded to by the owner, to
whom, on opening the door, the sheriff in
troduced me. directly after width. and be-
fore anything more had been said, we
heard voice from the second floor of the
cabin saying: Il am ready, and have been
expecting you all winter" Immediately
afterward the old man came down the lad
der, and in ten minutes we departed on
our return.