Of the remainder of the officers of the Michigan, they thought their
well-known Democratic faith and sympathy with the rebellion, would prevent
them from seeing or knowing _too much_, until too late to avoid the
disaster. Of these last, the conspirators did not seem to entertain the
least fear, some of them being Southern men by birth, and at most, but
passive in their fidelity to the government. The men of the vessel who
were loyal, were also tampered with, and the rebels in Canada looked for
assistance from them, and claimed that some of their own men from Canada
had enlisted on board of her for the purpose of aiding to capture her. Of
these rebels, however, there were but few. As the writer has stated
before, the attempt on the steamer Michigan was to be simultaneous with
that at Chicago, Ill., and while the rebels and their friends were
assembling in Chicago, they were also gathering in Sandusky City, for the
capture of the Michigan. The exact number of conspirators in Sandusky, at
that time, is not known to the writer, nor the details of their plans; but
let it suffice to say, _that they were there, armed and ready_. When the
time of action arrived, however, the engineer and his accomplices were no
where to be found, and after waiting for nearly two days, the rebel
portion of the conspirators, with the exception of Capt. Beall, returned
to Canada. On their return, they said that the persons whom they had
bribed were afraid to toe the mark--that is, were afraid to carry out
their infamous and hazardous part of the contract. The rebels were in
great fear, lest something had happened that would put an end forever to
their hopes, in regard to the steamer, but in a few days after this, the
non-appearance of the engineer and friends, were duly explained, and the
alarm caused by it quieted, and another time set for the attempt; the
sequel will show how _much_ they intended, and how much they ventured to
effect their aims. It is a well known fact that the rebels while in
Sandusky city, were feasted and toasted in the houses of some of the