The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-05

A steamer called the Martha Wash
ington, left the Cincinnati docks late
in the night of Jan. Z, 1852. She was
heavily freighted with a cargo con-
signed to the markets of New Orleans,
Texas and California. In her cabin
were thirty passengers. When seven
days out, on the cloudiest night known
TO river men, she burned to her Wa
ters edge. off Island SiXty-five in the
Mississippi river. Despite the loss Of
sixteen lives together with her cargo
the catastrophe excited no more COM
ment at the time than many like dis
asters.''
RELENTLESS SIDNEY BURTON.
Towards the close of the same year,
however, there came to Ohio's capltal
one Sidney G. Burton, a remarkable
man, whose counterpart is hardly 10
be met outside the pages OF romance.
He was then forty-five years old HIS
face was florid. his hair sandy, MS
eyes grey. small and piercing SLOW
and methodical in his movements, ne
was Intellectually above the average
AT Cleveland. o, where he carried ON
business. and in the mercantile world
at large, he was well and faVorably
known as a prosperous dealer IN wool
and sheepskin. He was a heavy credi-
tor of Filley & Chaplin, boot and shoe
manufacturers, who shortly before the
sailing of the Martha Washington, lall-
ed in business and assigned their stock
to one of their creditors, Lyman Cole.
The preceding fall Burton had sold
the Chapins 1852 dozen sheepsklns, at
the same time storing in their ware
house 1872 dozen more, which belonged
to him When he demanded the money
for the skins ne had sold and the re-
turn of those he had stored, they abus-
ed him and positively refused to pay
him what they owed, TO return the
skins he had committed to their care,
or to make him an assignee OF the
stock.
Burton's suspicious were aroused
on investigation he discovered that in
surance policies had been taken out
on the sheepskins he had stored with
the Chapins and which he knew We're
in the factory at the time. Further de-
velopments convinced him that the car
go shipped on the lost steamer was
simulated. He communicated his mis-
givings 10 the insurance companies.
Then began his renarkab BILE career
Aided by the insurance companies and
his private fortune of 0,000 he set
out TO run down the conspirators. He
charged them with loading the Martha
Washington with simulated freight and
then causing her TO be set on fire for
the purpose Of defrauding the insur-
ance com1anies. whose policies they
held on the steamer and her cargo.
THE CHIEF .CONsPIRATOR.
Through Burtons efforts it was
brought 10 light that the chief conspir-
ator in the Martha Washington case
was the Junior member CT the firm of
711 ,,<,l-
ers and prosperous pork merchants OF
Cincinnati William Kissane was
young, shrewd, clever. Having the
management OF all the outside transac-
tons Of the firm. he was in constant
association with the river men. In this
way he learned that great profits
might be made by shipping large con-
signments of miscellaneous merchan-
disc 10 Texas and California. On the
Pacific coast at that period-shortly
after the discovery Of gold-Hungarian
boots. which were out of style in the
Cincinnati markets, sold for $48 pair,
all 1nerchsndise brought prOportionate
prices. While KiSsane'S ShreWd, fer
tile mind was scheming now to utilize
this brilliant opening, he became ac-
quainted with one Captain Cummings,
who. since the Mexican war, had been
longing about Filley & Chapin's
store and the Cincinnati docks without
apparent OCcupau ton. kiSSane, in some
manner. became the captains creditor
for s. 000 In December 1851. Cum
mings bought the Martha Washing
ton. a well known steamboat that had
seen much service. Kissane was eVl-
IDENTIFY much interested il the purchase
IN his insinuating way, which never
failed &C win confidence. he suggested
10 his business acquaintance that i'm
nlense profits might be made by ship
ping large cOnsignments to the south
ern and western coasts The ChapipS,
men of limited business sagacity, being
then financially embarrassed, fCresaw
a profitable way Of disposing of their
stock. To Lyman Cole, however. a
dare devil adventurer. a man Of brains
and resource, Kissane's condolences !
conveyed deeper significance.
The Martha Washington was the
first steamer 10 go down the river af-
ter the breaking of the ice. Contrary
10 the designs of the conspirators.
thirty persons sought passage on the /
Inflated steamer sixteen Of whom per
ished. To Holland. the mate. the con
sDirators intrusted the burning Of the
boat. How well he did mis- hellish
work, how skillfully every step was
covered. the testimony revealed with
a power that transhXed the court They
were indicted and each held in sums
varying from $1,000 to $4,000 to appear
before the grand jury The final trial
took place at Columbus. O. October,
1852. before Judge John Mclean.
TRIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS.
A more brilliant array of legal talent !
has yet to assemble in q western court
The defendants We're REPRESENTED by
Judge T. Walker and John Kebler. of
Cincinnati, Judge \. H Swayne, later /
chief iUStice # the Tinted States Sor,
uel Galloway. wit and raconteur, a
close friend ard adviser Of Abraham
Lincoln in the darkest days of the !
war. Ex-Governor Morehead of Ken
lucky. George E. Pugh. distinguished |
representative in congress- George H. |
Pendleton, subsequently minister to |
Germany. T. J. Gallagher o. Brown. |
r. Il. Stone. General Durbin Ward. !
lcng the war horse of Ohio Democracy. |
and the great Thomas Ewing. first !
secretary of the interior The govern |
ment was represented by United |
states Attorney Morton. of Cleveland, |
O., and Henry Stanbury afterwards !
attorney general of President john /
sons cabinet, from which he resigned |
TO defend him in the famous impeach-
ment -rial. The trial developed into
2 popular sensation of four weeks du-
ration
-Four hundred witnesses were sum
moned from towns along the Rio
Grande, Mississippi and Ohio rivers
while people came from far and near
TO hear the eloGuence. or watch the
skill of the great legal athletes. Stan
berry. Ewing. Swayne, Walker or Pugh.
1t was the day Of fat boats. saddle
bags and stage coaches. Railroads. had
just begun their serpentine net work
across the country. Modern newspa-
-, &c.,