The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1890-10-18
GEN. BELKNAP GONE.
Turbulent Life of the Ex-Secretary of Wa



morning. 1t is believed that death oc-
Cured between o'clock Saturday night
axd 9 O'Clock Sunday morning.
For some time it has been the gen
eral's S habit to meet few friends nj tie
home of Mr.. Hill, who hives less than Il
square away, for social game of cards.
Last Saturday night he was with them
as usual, and remained until nearly
midnight, when he returned to his
apartments in the Evans building at
/ 1920 New York Avenue, and prcsum-
ably retired Immediately. lie was
never again seen alive.
About $50 O'Clock this morning John
/ W. Cameron, Gen. Bclknaps business
man, arrived at the building and taking
/ the mail for himself and the General
! from the box on the first floor. proceed
/ ed to the second floor, where their office
and the Generals apartment are loca-
! ted. He had sorted the Generals mail
! from his own, which he began reading,
when the servant girl, who keeps
/ the room in order, raped al the
door and inquired if Cen Belknap
was out of the city, saying
/ that she had several times since Sunday
morning tried the doors but found
them locked. Mr.. Cameron, startled al
what the girl had said. immediately
t tried the doors himself, but they were
locked. The janitor was summoned,
and, bringing a step-ladder, looked
/ through the transOm over the door
| leading from the public hall into the
Generals sitting room. He could see
the Generals hat on the table and his
coat on chair standing near. The
step-ladde- was then placed
against the door leading into his bed
room. The bed was then seen, and the
General lying partly uncovered on il.
His left arm was bent rigIdIy toward
the head, and his left hand was tightly
| clenched, as though death had come
while he was in a convulsion The bed
clothes were somewhat disarranged,
as if there had been slight
struggle for breath. 4 physician was
summoned, and, after making a brief
examination, he expressed the opinion
that death had resulted from a stroke of
arrived and took the body in charge.
An autopsy VIII be held later
For some years past Gen. Beiknap
has been an almost constant sufferer
from gout, and in February last he had
so severe an attack that he hardly left
his room for three months or more
During that time he lost in flesh be-
tween twenty and forty pounds, and
since then he has been III poor helth. In
consequence of his long illness his
frtGi' Innll az "trtin's.1 Nh t;t1lero}l last
saw the General at about ) O'Clock on
Saturday afternoon. He had been talk
ing of his business affairs and seemed
somewhat depressed, but before Mr.
Cameron left he had in a measure re-
gained his usual cheerfu!neSs.
The post-tradership scandal, as ii was
called, which was the one blot on the
name of Gen. Belknap, was the sensa-
ton of Tie latter part Of President
Grant s last term. For some time there
were heard whisperings of a great scan
dial in cabinet circles. At last the ex-
plosiOn came, when Secretary Belknap
confessed TO the President that he was
in a position where it would be charged
that he had soldappointments of Indian
traders. Belknap's resignation and the
attempt by Congress to impeach him
quickly followed the publication of the
story. The affair was the sensation of
the hour and the newspapers printed
columns about the case, and on Gen.
Belknap's head was heaped ali manner
of abuse. He retired to private life,
making little or no defense of hlS
course, and took up the practice of law.
He in great measure lived down the
odium of the scandal, and when the
facts in the case gradually leaked out,
and the Generals position became
known, il was evident he was a much
maligned man.
1T was quite recently that newspaper
correspondent got hold of the tangled
threads in the great case and unrayeled
them So that the real secret Of the Bel
knap scandal was given to the public. 1t
seems that Mrs Bclknap was ambitious
to reign as a society leader. The Cen
erals means were inadequate to defray
the expenses of such an extravagant
life as his wife mapped out. In
her need she hit upon the
plan that was afterward carried out.
When an Indian agent was to Ike ap-
pointed through a middleman, TO
whom the commission was given, the
office was sold to a third party. The Ft.
Sell case. in which caleb 7. Marsh re-
name of John : Evans, for which
Marsh received ST., 900 annually during
the traders term of office, was the case
on which the impeachment proceedings
were based. Mrs. Belknap Influenced
her husband in giving out commissions,
and, il is charged, received share of
the money.
When Gen. Belknap awoke to his po-
sition he confessed to the President,
and Grant stood by him. Belknap
shouldcred the responsibility for the
entire affair, protecting his wife 80
staunchly that the world for years had
no inkling ofthc facts.
Mrs. Belknap, who has been at New
port and other Eastern seaside resorts
during the summer months, but in New
/ York City during the last few weeks, was
summoned by telegraph, and also the
( Generals son Hugh, from his home in
Chicago, where he is employed in the
offices of the Baltimore * Ohio Rail-
road.
The autopsy on the body Of exSecrc-
tkty Bclkrap disclosed the fact that the
:nrn ediate cause of death was infam
sfion of the inner lining Of the heart
As soon as the death Of Gen. Rc!knap
was kno,rn at the War Department
Acting Secretary Grant ordered the tag
on the building to be put at half
s1ast in honor If the eE-secretary,
and gave directions that the
building be draped in black
for the customary pefiod. He also COM
municated with the family Of the de-
ceased, to offer whatever assistance they
might desire from the department IN
the arrangements for the funeral. As
soon a. the funeral arrangements
are completed, an order Will
be Issued closing the depart
ment on the day Of the funeral.
The order announcing his death to the
army. with instructions as TO the proper
observance of the day of bis funeral,
will probably be issued this afternoon.
The death Of the ex-~ecretary was
theme Of universal regret among the
older class of employees at the War De-
partment, who remember him warmly
for his many estimable qualities and
generous impulses.
II