The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-01-25
STEWARDS BODY AT REST.
INC True History Of the Negotiations For and
Final Recovery Of the Stolen Body Of
the Dead Millionaire.
A Good Word for Willard, with u Pleasant
Reminiscence Of the Days When He was
aPoor War Correspondent.
A Notable Autograph Album, With a Number
Of Charming Extracts Th~erefrom-The-
strlcal and Other Gossip.

New York, Special Correspondence, ,Jau. 5.
-Ihe real facts about the body of A. r.
Stewart have been %purposely withheld, and
various stories have been given to the local
papers here to satisfy the curiosity of their
readers Two of the chief of these papers
have alleged within the last two months tina
1t has never been recovered from the thieves
who stole it from the vault on that dark
night five years ago. am able to-day to
give the true story for the first time, and on
high authority. The restless remains of the
millionaire were recovered more than two
years ago, and for u year they nave re-
posed under the cathedral at Garden
City, in Il special vault so constructed
and equipped that ii an attempt were
made TO enter it, the touch would set in mo
uon the chime of bells in the tower above,
and ring an alarm to the town. If Judge
H1lton's conjectures are correct, the robbers
OF Stewards grave Were three horsethieyes
pretty well known in this State and Connec-
ucut hirs. Stewart, from the first moment
OF her discovery that her husbands grave
mad been desecrated, insisted on the recovery
OF the body at any price, but Judge Hilton
doggedly opposed 1t, declaring with some
snow Oh reason, that public safety re-
quired u defiance of the villains,
and a refusal to yield to their
demands, But in the fall of 1881 II think it
was) an event occurred that woke Judge
Hilton up to the peril Of further persistence.
one OF his servants happening to go out of
the door at night, discovered some men at
the foot of \ long ladder that was erected
against the side of the mansion. They i'm
mediately fled, and he alarmed the house
hold At the top of the ladder q window was
open-thc window of the room where slept
Judge Hilton's s~even-year-old son Then
came I'm anonymous letter.
You were in time last night, Next time YOU
will be too late.
Hilton yielded to Mrs. Stewards view. Of
the case and negotiations were reopened.
There was u good deal oPshrewd bargaining
as to the actuel sum Of money to be paid,
ana u spirit exhibited on both sides that must
nave re1oiced the SOU of the great merchant
1T was present; but at last the sum of
SoO,oOO was fixed on, and the term, C. o. d.
NOT precisely, either, for the thieves insisted
on getting the money in hand before deliver
ing the body. This condition was accepted
Dy Hilton as no other was offered to him, by
the commercial and suspicious parties of the
second part The place selected for the de-
livery was q mall bare hill in Westchester
county, commanding the approaches from
every side. The directions to Judge Hilton
ran virtually thus:
We will be there at 4 o'clock on Sunday
morning with tho body. You send one man. I'M
armed, on foot, with $4,000 for US. When he
has given US the money we will leave him in
possession of the body"
This programme was actually carried out,
Aplucky servant of the late Mr.. Stewart was
selected to complete the purchase. He
Nyn1Epl IL, fI, tn,, 90 tl, I'm n.1 .ouz.
amined for weapons by masked men, who
then accepted the money and departed,
leaving the tormentcd body behind them in
n trunk. have forgotten to say that while
the negotiations We're pending the villains
proved their identity by sending to Judge
Hilton q piece of paper exactly the size and
shape of the piece of 2igsag cloth they had
cut from the lining of the rificd coffin they
had left behind them in the Stewart vault.
So ends the glastly affair.
Since bhe recovery of the body Mrs. Stew
art is very secluded. andis constantly attend
cd by detectives, who are hardly ever out of
her sight. Judge Hilton tlrives amazingly.
Stewards great projects of a cheap woman's
hotel and . Garden City utopia have both
been allowed to go to dismal wreck, but
Judge Hilton has, it is alleged, made money
by the sweat of his ingenuity, at the rate of
more than 81 ,O0O, 900 n year. The 81, OOO,-
ODO that Stewart gaze him has been turned
over and ovcr-ten or twelve times some
folks say, but folks will talk. Stewart him
self is seldom spoken well of by those who
knew him / know of no more hideous pic
ture of wealth than his hollow life and re-
Voting death and resurrection, or one better
calculated to Iuakr the poor contented with
their lot.