“The next day Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb thought that they must return home. Mr. Whitcomb said to Henry and Seraine that they must come as soon as they could do so to their house and make it their home, as he and his wife being alone at such a time it was very hard, and made them discontented. They thanked all of us for our watchfulness over their only son, and it seemed that they could not thank the General and his wife sufficiently for what they had done for him. They bade us all good-by and separated from Henry and Seraine with many regrets.
“After they had gone Jackson entertained us by a recital of his visit to Europe, and, in addition to what he had written me, he gave us all he had seen and heard. His recital of the burning of the Will-o'-the Wisp was quite graphic, and excited Henry and the General very much. No one except those who were in the secret knew what she had on board, nor the importance to the Confederacy of the men that were lost with her. The language used by Gen. Anderson against such fiendishness as Jackson's statement disclosed I will not attempt to repeat. It was strong and denunciatory, such only as men like himself, versed in letters, could employ.
“I requested Jackson to make me a detailed report from the day he left my house up to the date of his return, which he did. I retained a copy of his report, and still have it. We did not call on Henry for his report that day, but on the next told Henry that if he could leave Seraine long enough (you know how young people are), we would like him to tell us what he learned in Canada. I really did not suppose that he could tell us a very great deal of interest, as I presumed he had spent much of his time in Detroit, as there was an attraction for him in that place which would naturally draw him thither. He said, however, that he was ready to tell us all that he had discovered in reference to the conspiracy; that when he went to Canada he formed the acquaintance of a Mr. Samuel Wintergreen, and soon they became great friends, as he satisfied Winter-green that he was ready to carry out any plan to aid the Confederacy. The passwords, signs and grips of the Golden Circle seemed to be all that any one needed in order to be at once recognized as a friend to those people. In Canada the people, almost without exception, were in sympathy with the rebellion. After traveling for quite a while he came back to Windsor, and there again met his friend Wintergreen. Remaining there for some time and talking with many persons without any material results, Wintergreen invited Henry to accompany him to Toronto, and finding nothing of importance there, they left for Montreal On arriving at Montreal they found Jacob Thomlinson, C. C. Carey, and many other distinguished men. Wintergreen met Jacob Thomlinson, and reported to him that his friend of whom he had written was with him. Thomlinson asked him to come to his rooms, and to bring his friend Davis. That evening they visited Mr. Thomlinson, and found Mr. Carey and two other gentlemen—a Mr. Landers and Ben Wudd. Henry was presented as Henry Davis, one of the agents under Mr. Wintergreen who was to assist (as it was then understood) in carrying out such plans as might be agreed upon in the interest of the rebel or Confederate Government.
“They remained together till a late hour discussing various points. One of the topics was the great loss the Confederacy had sustained in the burning of the Will-o'-the-Wisp, in the material, and by the death of Prof. McCul-lough and Dr. Mears, as they alone held the secret of manufacturing the wonderful explosive. Thomlinson and Carey insisted that there should be no let-up, and that they must now resort to other means, in which the other gentlemen agreed. It was thought best to try releasing prisoners and arming them and such others as would join them, and make portions of the North a desolate waste, as they said was now being done in the South by the Union army. Thomlinson said in reference to releasing prisoners that he intended in a very short time to make preparations in Illinois for an attack on Camp Douglas, near Chicago.
“'I think,' said he, 'that will result in the burning of the city. It is one of the worst places in the North. The influence of Lincoln over the people there is very great, and extremely bad for us, and that city must be destroyed by some means. If the Will-o'-the Wisp had not been lost, Chicago would now be in ashes.'
“After some further discussion on this subject, all went their way for the night, with an understanding that there would be a meeting of delegates from the Northern States, called by Jacob Thomlinson, to assemble at St. Catharines in one month from that time, where many matters of interest would be discussed and considered. Henry and Winter-green then returned to Windsor with the understanding that they would attend the meeting at St. Catharines. At Windsor, Henry and Jackson met, and that which followed their meeting I have already stated. What Henry ascertained in Canada was only important in this, that it had opened the way for discovering that which was important to know, which probably would occur afterwards. I requested Henry to do as Jackson was doing,—to write out his statement in full. After both were prepared, I sent Henry with them to the President. He thought it a little hard to be sent so summarily away from his bride. The President received Henry with great kindness, and told him to inform me that the whole matter had been more skillfully and successfully managed than anything in this line since the war began. He also said, that he and the Secretary of War could breathe freer since they had learned the fate of the cargo of the Will-o'-the-Wisp, and that McCullough and M ears had their deserts.
“The President requested Henry to continue his investigations, and especially to attend the meeting of the leading Knights of the Golden Circle, who were soon to meet at St. Catharines, in Canada, and send through me, without delay, his report. The President inquired very particularly about all our family, including Gen. Anderson and Jackson. He also desired to know what had become of James Whitcomb and his sister. Henry explained fully about them all, and when he mentioned that Seraine was his wife, the President shook his hand most heartily, and told him that he was a very fortunate man.
“When Henry returned home and had sufficient time for rest we held a consultation, and agreed to the following plan: Henry was to start at once with his wife for Detroit, leave her with her parents, and pass over to Windsor, and there, in company with Wintergreen, visit all places that Wintergreen might suggest, and then go to St. Catharines to the meeting arranged for the delegates from the Golden Circle of the Northern States; that when he had obtained information of any value, he was to return to Detroit, write his report in full, give it to his wife Seraine, and she was to come in person with it to me.”
“She was a jewel,” said Dr. Adams.
“Yes,” said Col. Bush; “there were but few like her.”