Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-09
much a thing of the past as the great aux
and dOdO.
THEFT OF STEWARDS BODY.

New York Mail and Express: With the
death of ex-Judge Henry Hilton there is
probably locked up forever the secret OF
the mysterious theft of the body of Alex
ander T. Stewart and the unsuccessful
efforts to recover it SO that it might rest
in the magnificent mausoieulr at Gar
den City, l.. I. During the active career
of the merchant prince he conceived the
idea o fhaving a crypt constructed in the
splendid cathedral he was so Instrument
tai in erecting in that quiet Long Island
village, where his earthly remain might
repose, but fate decreed it otherwise, and
today probably not a yestige of his body
remains.
In November Of 1873 the city was star
tied by the news that ghouls had broken
into the Stewart Vault in st. Marks
churchyard in New York and the body of
Mr.. Stewart carried away. Mr.. Hilton
promptly conferred with the then in
spector of police, William Murray, and
superintendent Walling, and search for
the grave robbers began in earnest.
The early investigation showed that the
belfry of the church had been entered
| and a diagram of the vaults stolen. Sus-
picion fell upon a church employe. He
proved his innocence, however, and was
not arrested. 1t was seen that the men
| who despoiled the grave had secured the
| bearings from the diagram and knew pre-
| cisely where to make an entry. They mad
| no difficulty in removing the body of the
| millionaire merchant from his casket in
| the early hours Of a rainy morning. 1t
was placed in a canvas bag and carried
or dragged to the porch OF a house at the
| end of the cemetery, and later was put
/ into a carriage, driven to the WeehaWken
ferry and carried over to Jersey.
The robbers left a trail leading from
the tomb to the house porch, where the
evidence was most marked in odOf, Dut
from this point all trace was lost. In
spector Murray was worried. The out
rage occurred in his bailiwick, and he re-
marked to the writer years after, when
he was superintendent of police:
.In my experience of a lifetime in po-
lice work as detective, captain. inspector
and head of the force. this is the only
case in which | was batiled. l fear | shall
die without recovering the body or MI.
Stewart or experimenting the robbers
His prophecy passed into history, and
the palsied superintendent preceded
Judge Hilton to The grave, a disappointed
and almost heart-broken man at what he
considered his life failure.
When months of search for the miss
ing corpse had heightened into a year,
Murray's only hope was a recovery or
the body. Judge Hilton offered a reward
of s25, 900 for the recovery of the body,
with a reservation, however, that the ar
rest Of he perpetrators OF the ROBBERY
must follow.
A few months after the grave was de-
spoiled Judge Hilton was called upon by
a lawyer of this city, who had received a
letter from a man signing his name as
Romaine, at North Adams. Mass, and
offering to restore the body of Mr.. Stew
art on payment of the reward, no ques-
lions to be asked. AS an earnest of good
faith the lawyer laid upon Judge Hill
tons desk the silver plate. three screws,
a piece Of black cloth that was cut from
he casket in the hen tenantless tOmb
and the linen studs that We're remove
from the shirt that covered the remains.
Mr.. Hilton identified the articles sub
mitted. but declared in emphatic terms
that he would grant no mmunlty to the
robbers of the grave of his friend and
benefactor. if he never received the body.
He was particularly severe III his com
ments upon the part the lawyer played.
and even threatened him with arrest.
This silenced the ghouls, and for a long
time negotiations ceased.
A few months later the writer became
actively connected with the search for
evidence that might lead to rescuing the
stolen remains and having them deposit
ed in the crypt built specially to hold
theml 1t became known that a mar
named eKlly drove the coach which car