The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-05-28
ODD TALE OF PIRATE.
Girl Who Walked the Plank Believed
to be Daughter Of Aaron Burr.

to be Daughter OF aaron Burr.
ChiCagO-Three hours out of Chi
cagO, within full view Of the cars Of
the Grand Trunk railway. is a grave
in a pOtter's field, and whether or
not TheOdOsia the beautiful daugh-
ter of Aaron BuIr. was tipped from a
plank to a w3<0~y death by the Oc-
cupant of this ave the historical
societies Of the lower peninsula Of
Michigan would ike TO feel sure.
They would like o prove that this
statement, made time and again dur
ing the last half century. is untrue,
but the question has not only not
been settled, but it is revived every
ten years and is now the Invest ques-
ton in Cass county. where the story
has again been brought to notice by
relatives Of the same family who or
iginated it.
The person who is said to have
placed considerable faith in the
truth of the story is Mrs. S. E. P.
Drake. who resides at 81 Beacon
street. Boston. who is an occasional
visitor T. CassopoIis. the county seat
Of Cass county. 1t is told in CassOp-
oils that Mrs. Drake is blood rela-
tive of Aaron Burr. as was also an
other person connected with the stO-
ry. and who in the sos resided in this
section of the state.
Belonged to Pirate Crew.
The gist of the story is that away
back in the century there was among
the dependent poor OF the county a
One-legged man named William Bur
i'll IL; ho+ h, Io
sailor and that during the first
years of his life he belonged TO a
pirate crew that operated off the
south Atlantic coast. This man.
far advanced in years. finally took
to his deathbed under the roof of the
p0OrhOuse. 1t is told that the partic-
ular sin for which he seemed to feel
the most cOntritiOn was that in which
he confessed to having compelled a
beautiful young woman to walk off
a plank to her death in the depths
of the ocean. His story was that the
pirate had captured a seemingly de
serted vessel, but that a lone woman
was found aboard The freebOCters
ransacked the craft and drew lots as
to who should tip the deserted pas
senger from a plank Burdick claim
ed that it fell TO his lot to commit
this deed, and he did it. fearing the
penalty of death if he refused. He
described the creature, who calmly
walked off the plank, as Of rarest
loneliness, and he claimed that the
scene followed him through life and
to the verge of the grave.
Dies in the Poorhouse.
Burdick died in the poorhouse and
his body lies in a grave at the coun-
ty farm, two miles west Of Cassop
obs. The story was told to the WON
an who nursed him in his last i'll
ness, and this woman repeated il to
Mrs. Ercambrack, the wife of a min
lister who preached in this part of
the state half century ago 1t is
claimed here that Mrs. Ercambrack
was related to the Burr family, and
it had been figured out that the WON
an who met sad fate on the ocean
was TheOdosia Burr Aston. The
story was handed down different gen
erations of the family until it reach
ed Mrs Drake from the dips of her
own mother.
Burdick's dates and the time when
Mrs. Aston left Charleston for New
York agreed. The Inflated vessel on
| which the voyage was commenced
| was the pilot boat Patriot which
cleared the harbOr at Charleston, De