DEATH RECALLS A VARIED CAREER, (Ottumwa: Ottumwa Courier, 1909), in possession of Stanley Wright, Albuquerque. "______
MARTIN FLORIDA HAD MANY STRANGE EXPERIENCES DURING HIS LIFE
ARRESTED A MORMON
Made Prisoner of Brigham Young at Mountain Meadow Massacre --- Aided Cuban Insurgents and was captured by Spaniards.
Martin Florida, whose funeral took place this afternoon, was a man of wide experience and great travels. Born in Canada, March 10, 1840, he had crowded many into his sixty-nine years of life, much of which was spent in the far west and at a time when civilization in that section had not reached the standard it claims today. Mining, railroad construction and prospecting in Colorado and Utah were done by him, followed by teaching in an industrial school for Indians at Grand Junction, Colo., and after serving as a policeman in Salt Lake City for some time, he served about fifteen years as United States marshal in the same part of the country. Later, Mr. Florida served in the capacities of justice of the peace, police judge and sheriff, respectively, at Grand Junction, Colo.
Arrested Chief Mormon
During the Mountain Meadow Massacre, in which the Mormons of Utah figured more or less prominently, Martin Florida was serving as United States marshal and had been pretty busily engaged in putting to rout the three-card-monte men and other gamblers and mischief makers whose traffic wrought much mischief among the camps of the railroads then in course of construction. Marshal Florida was the officer who arrested the famous Brigham Young following the massacre. He left Colorado in the late eighties or early nineties and connected himself with the American and Cuban insurgents, who at that time were planning against Spain's dominion over the Cubans.
Captured by Spanish.
While on a filibustering expedition in Cuba, the vessel on which Florida shipped and on which were the arms, munitions of various kinds and supplies for the revolutionists that his associates and himself were bring to the island, were seized by the Spanish, who, getting familiar with signals under which the filibusters sailed, caused the capture of the vessel. Mr. Florida was injured in the capture of the vessel and was later released by the Spaniards, after which he returned to New York city.
Visits Venezuela
From New York he went to South America, where in the Bermudez states in Venezuela, he was interested in a colonization scheme and through the assistance of the United States legation at Caracas was enabled to meet the then acting president, as well as several of the government officials of the South American republic. He remained in Venezuela until 1901, when, returning to legation at Caracas was enabled to meet the then acting president, as well as several of the government officials of the South American republic. He remained in Venezuela until 1901, when, returning to the states, he was met by Mrs. C. M. Johnston, his daughter, at the Panhandle exposition in Buffalo, N. Y. He then allied himself with a New York syndicate and served in the capacity of mining expert and superintendent throughout the British northwest, until, at the solicitation of his daughter, Mrs. Johnston, he gave up the work and came to Ottumwa about three years ago. Since then he divided his time between Ottumwa and the hospital at Fort Leavenworth until his death Sunday morning at the hospital in Ottumwa. The funeral service was conducted from the home of his daughter, Mrs. C. M. Johnston, 123 West Park avenue, this afternoon at 2 o'clock, conducted by Rev. Gray of the Church of Christ. Interment was in Ottumwa Cemetery."