St. Paul daily globe., 1888-06-17

.Nl@ eYA falsely rumored deatf
N&s MsAAM at DelancO, n. j., of the
notorious Josie Mans
E0kIp@ field, the male gOSSips
of New York, particu-
larly those who frequent the Hoffman
house, have been discussing anew the
features of the tragedy of sixteen years
ago. Of course no two of them are
agreed as to the inner history of the
none of them were right. Nor has
the truth Of it ever been publicly
told. Any reawakening of interest in
the matter is extremely repugnant to
the quiet, unobtrusive and popular man
whose keen business ability has made
the Hoffman house and its cafe the most
talked-Of public resort in this country.
But the recent discussion has induced
him to talk frankly on the subject to a
few of his intimateS. As consequence,
let me say, although the declaration
will be received with credulous sur,
prise, that Josie Mansfield was in no
way related to the tragedy in the Grand
Central hotel in January, 1872. For six
teen years she has been spoken of as
the woman in the contest for
whose favor Fisk fell. As a mat
ter of fact Fisk had long before
his death abandoned Josie Mansfield
for Montaland, the ballet dancer, and
subsequently for another woman, who
lived with her mother, brother and two
sisters at the Grand Central hotel, where
the killing of Fisk took place. The
origin of the fatal Quurrel was really in
an oil refinery belonging to Stokes
mother, and which Fisk was so desirous
of forcing into the then embryotic
Standard Oil combination that he per-
secuted and pursued Stokes with hired
detectives of the Erie railroad until
Stokes turned and shot him. 1t is true
that Stokes and Josie Mansfield were
close friends at this time but she had
ceased to have any relations with Fisk.
And yet there was woman in the
case.
Let me tell the story.
DI sat in the Hoffman house restaurant
at breakfast with friend and saw her
pass. Mr.. Stokes sat at another table,
and [ saw him and my friend exchange
glaneeS and smile as she went by the
windows. Both evidently recognized
her. She was portly, and had passed
the middle age. Her hair was tinged
with gray. She was richly yet not
loudly dressed. She had once been a
handsome woman, and had been notori-
Gus for years. l asked who she was.
Il will tell you later on" was his reply,
and subsequently he Gid so, beginning
with the remark: "That was the woman
in the Fisk case" Then he told me the
remarkable story In detail, which has
never been published, to my knowledge.
l suppress the present name of the
woman, as it is that of a renowned Off
Ger OF the army who was the hero of
remarkable engineering feat of the late
war that saved to the Union cause
fleet OF gunboats. This woman was his
wife. She was from Lexington. KY,
AT very early age she drifted into wild
life in New Orleans. She had husband
who went into the Confederate service,
but that did not deter her from
marrying Gen. B, of the Union forces.
After the occupation of New Orleans by
Butler the force under Gen. B. was for
long time confronted by the Confeder-
ateS under her first husband. She fire.
quently passed from one camp to the
other, and she so managed that large
amount of cotton was carried to New
Orleans for hersacconnt. Gen. Butler
seized it. Her husband in the Union
army suddenly and mysteriously died,
She was arrested, charged with his TAX
ing off. A cOurt-martial, headed by
Gen. James B. Steedman, of Ohio, tried
her, but could not prove her guilt, and
she was released. But Butler held on
and appealed to President johnson to
release her contraband goods, and did
not appeal In vain. But there arose a
scandal, and Johnson had to fight
little shy of her for time. She had
some sort of connection with the
French arms scandal' of Johnson's
administration, and was supposed to be
the woman who negotiated the sale of
arms to the French government. She
came to New York and for time lived
with James Fisk, Jr., before he met
either Mansfield, Montaland or the
Morse woman.
Now for the inner history.
On the day of the shooting of Fisk,
Edward S. Stokes was passing the
Grand Central hotel when Mrs. Gen.
B beckoned to him from the parlor
window, and he crossed the street and
Joined her in the public parlor. He
knew nothing of the presence of friends
of Fisk in the hotel, nor that he visited
the place. After some conversation
Mrs. B left by the entrance for Ia
dies, Stokes agreeing to remain until
she was fairly out of the way. AS she
left the hotel door Fisk's carriage drove
up. She stepped into drug store,
frightened at the prospect Of the two
men meeting. A moment later Fisk
had entered. She ran to the door to
prevent meeting. Too late! Stokes,
at the head of the stairs, had fired. Fisk
fell on the steps. Mrs. B
picked up the pistol which
fell from Fisk's hand and fled
with it. Fisk's pistol never could be
found, but pending Stokes trial the
woman told him what she had done, and
offered to produce the weapon and tes-
tify to the facts for $4,000 in cash. The
friend who tells me this is friend of
Stokes and of one of his lawyers, and at
their request he investigated the char
acter of the woman. 1t was so bad that
the defense did not dare to call her,
even if they could have brought them
selves to the point of paying for the
woman's testimony Gen. Steedman
knew her career in New Orleans and
Washington. HeRs cfoss-examination
on trial would have brought out the
facts in regard to Johnson, with whom
Steedman was friendly, and he gave the
woman the worst character he could.
Thus it happened that the woman and
fol fha L