OFFICER COLLIN'S SUSPICIONS--MARTIN BURKE AND HIS RECORD--FORTUNATE
DISCOVERY OF THE PHOTOGRAPH OF A CLAN-NA-GAEL GROUP--THE CARLSONS AND
OTHERS IDENTIFY BURKE--HIS PECULIAR MOVEMENTS AND HIS FLIGHT--AN
INDICTMENT AGAINST HIM--THE CAPTURE IN WINNIPEG, WHILE EN ROUTE TO
ENGLAND--STUBBORN FIGHT TO PREVENT HIS EXTRADITION TO AMERICAN SOIL--THE
LAW TRIUMPHANT--A MEMORABLE JOURNEY HOME.
There is more truth than poetry in the old saying that it is "always the
unexpected that happens." The fleeing criminal is oftentimes in the
greatest danger when he imagines himself safe from pursuit. Examine the
records of the courts and the detective agencies in scores of the
largest cities of this and continental countries, and they will be found
replete with sensational narrations of the capture of murderers,
forgers, embezzlers--and others charged with offences covered in
existing extradition treaties--in distant lands and isolated regions,
and among people of strange tongues, where they had fondly hoped that
detection or discovery was an impossibility, and that they were safe,
for all time to come, from the strong arm of the law that they had
violated. So too, a criminal will outwit the keenest of detectives, and
nonpluss the most experienced of officers, only through his own lack of
caution, to run his neck into the noose in an entirely different
direction to that in which he is being sought.
And so it was that to a sharp, keen, wide-awake official of the police
department of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was due, in no small measure, the
capture, at this juncture, of one of the alleged conspirators whose
presence was most earnestly desired by the police authorities of
Chicago.
It came about in this way--Officer John Collins, an Irish-American, and
an energetic member of the force, had been detailed for special work
upon this celebrated case. He was familiar with the proceedings of the
Clan-na-Gael. He also knew a man named Martin Burke, who occasionally
assumed that of Delaney as an alias. This individual had been looked
upon as a tool of the local Clan-na-Gael leaders, voicing their opinions
in bar-rooms and at street corners. He had been particularly violent in
his denunciation of Dr. Cronin, and at the saloons on the north side of
the city that he was in the habit of frequenting, more especially those
in the neighborhood of Chicago Avenue and Market Street, he had been
heard to frequently say that Cronin "ought to be killed as a British
spy." Little was known as to Burke's antecedents. Even his uncle, Phil
Corkell, who kept a small grocery store on the north side, professed to
know little or nothing about him. All that the police could learn at the
time in tracing his record was that he had reached the United States
from Ireland some time in 1886. A year later he turned up in Chicago. He
had not been long in the city when he joined the Clan-na-Gaels. The
notorious Camp 20 was the one he chose to gain admission to the order.
Dan Coughlin, John F. Beggs, Mike Whelan and other leading lights of the
order at this time dominated the affairs of this particular camp. For
some reason or other--certainly not because he was particularly sharp or
bright, for his uncle described him as a soft sort of a fellow, without
any "gumption"--Burke attracted the favorable attention of Beggs, and
the latter, aided materially by Alexander Sullivan, procured him
employment in the city sewer department. He was assigned to work at the
Chicago Avenue pipe yard, which at that time was a hot bed of Irish
Nationalists. Accordingly to all accounts he earned no small proportion
of his salary by boasting to his fellow workmen of his influential
backers. It was his burden of conversation that Alex. Sullivan, Beggs,
Coughlin, and other Clan-na-Gael leaders were his staunch friends. He
also boasted that he came from the same part of Ireland, on the borders
of Mayo and Sligo, in which Michael Davitt and other eminent
Nationalists were reared, and he never tired of narrating his
experiences with "moonlighting" expeditions in the west of Ireland.
After Le Caron had testified before the Parnell Commission, in London,
he varied his conversation, and was eternally denouncing and breathing
imprecations upon the "British Spy." Early in 1889 he lost his job in
the pipe department. From that time on he had no steady employment.
At the same time he had plenty of money and spent it freely in the
Market Street saloons.
This of itself was sufficient to arouse suspicions, for when he was at
work he was always in debt. Occasionally he varied his saloon loafing by
taking trips to Lake View.
To his associates he explained that he had a young female acquaintance
in that neighborhood, although it was observed and sometimes remarked
that these trips were altogether too prolonged for ordinary courtship.
Afterwards it was recalled that they were taken about the time the
mysterious strangers were occupying the Carlson cottage.
BURKE'S PICTURE IDENTIFIED.
It was nothing but natural that, as soon as Dr. Cronin's disappearance
had been announced, the bartenders, saloon-keepers, and other intimates
of Burke, calling to mind his deep-rooted hatred of the missing man and
his apparently endless supply of funds, began to whisper that he must
have had something to do with the affair.
"He was surely in it," they said one to another.
These rumors came to the ears of Officer Collins, and the latter lost no
time in communicating with Captain Schuettler, who was actively engaged
in the case. Schuettler immediately set about getting a photograph of
the suspect. Diligent enquiry developed the fact that no single one was
in existence.
It was learned, however, that a picture of a group of Clan-na-Gaels was
to be found, and that Burke was among them. A few years before, soon
after the death of Timothy Crean, a relative of Alexander Sullivan, and
at one time a district member of the Clan-na-Gael, a burial lot was
purchased in the Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, near Washington
Heights.
It was intended as the "God's acre" of the Irish Nationalists. Imposing
ceremonies marked its dedication, Father M. Dorney, the "stock yards
priest," delivering the address upon the occasion. Subsequently a tall
obelisk, with the name of Timothy Crean carved in the base with an
appropriate inscription, was erected on the lot. It was on the occasion
of the unveiling of this obelisk that the Nationalist group was
photographed. In the back-ground of the picture, his features showing up
clear and distinct among some forty people, was Martin Burke.
It was an easy matter for Collins to locate the photographer that had
taken the group, and then, finding that the negative had been preserved,
to procure a copy of the picture. This much accomplished, however, the
next question was, could Burke be identified?
If he could not, all the rumors, and the suspicions, and the labor would
go for naught.
Collins took the picture to the Carlsons.
Without acquainting them of his theories or suspicions, or indicating
the object that he had in view; he asked them whether they recognized
any one of the group. Charley Carlson, the son, was the first one
approached. His finger went down on the face of Burke as that of the man
who had rented the cottage. His father and mother put on their
spectacles, looked the photograph over, and without the slightest
hesitation declared--"That is the man." To make assurance doubly sure,
Collins went to Hakan Martinson, the expressman. A single glance over
the faces in the picture was sufficient. "That is the man" he said,
indicating Burke, "that hired me to haul the furniture from that flat on
South Clark Street." Further questioning led him to say that he had
frequently seen Burke, about the time of the murder, in and around the
saloons and the neighborhood of Chicago Avenue and Market street. This
was enough for Collins. He was satisfied that he had struck the right
lead. All that was necessary now was to get his hands on the man.
THE FLIGHT AND CAPTURE.
But the bird had flown. Burke's former haunts knew him no more. Collins
had started out exultant in the prospect that the suspect would be
behind the bars in a few hours. He went to one place after another, over
Burke's old stamping ground, but everyone of whom he enquired shook
their heads. He had disappeared as mysteriously as though the earth had
opened and swallowed him up. The officer kept on, however, and finally
learned enough to satisfy him that his man had skipped to parts
unknown. His Clan-na-Gael uniform was found at the Philbin House, where
he had resided, and that was all. He had been last seen in the city on
the night of the day that Dr. Cronin's body had been buried. In fact he
was in the crowd on the north side that viewed the funeral procession.
For several days previously he had been particularly well supplied with
funds. Where they came from was a mystery, although somebody knew
somebody else who had been told by a third party that an individual
mysteriously alluded to as "an Irish lawyer" had been seen to give him
some bills from a big roll in the course of a hurried consultation.
At any rate, he had the money. Then he began to talk vaguely about
making a trip to Ireland. Next he skipped.
Officer Collins made his report, and Captain Schuettler, with other
officials of the department, took up the threads of his discoveries.
It was learned that immediately prior to leaving town, Burke had gone
several times to Lake View to see his mythical girl. He had packed his
grip at his uncle's house. A conductor who knew him had seen him on a
street car on the night of the funeral. This clue was followed up, and
with considerable difficulty Burke was finally traced from the car to
the Northwestern depot. Here the investigation struck another snag.
None of the scores of employes of the depot, or the train men remembered
having seen any man who answered the description given. The conductors
and brakemen of the through trains were shown the picture and asked to
exercise their memory; but without result. Not one of them could place
the suspect. Then the authorities did the only thing that could be done.
They notified every town along the road, and a full and complete
description of the much wanted individual was scattered broadcast over
the entire country and the provinces of Canada.
Days and weeks came and went however, no tidings of the fugitive were
obtained, and the prospects of locating him and securing his arrest
became correspondingly dubious. Late one Sunday night however; a
messenger boy rushed breathless into the central Police department with
a dispatch enclosed in an envelope, across the face of which the word
"Rush" was stamped in large characters. Chief Hubbard had not left the
office. He tore open the envelope, and great was his gratification when
he read the following message:
WINNIPEG, MAN., JUNE 16, 1889. Martin Burke, alias Delaney,
arrested here on suspicion of complicity in the Cronin case. He was
boarding the Atlantic express, and had a ticket for Liverpool,
England. MCRAE.
To this the following response was immediately sent:
CHICAGO, ILL., JUNE 16, 1889. Hold Martin Burke, alias Delaney, by
all means. Will send officer immediately.
G. W. HUBBARD,
_General Superintendent_.
HOW BURKE WAS CAPTURED.
It was an inspiration, and a fortunate one, that induced Chief McRae, of
the Police Department of Winnipeg, to turn his steps toward the railroad
depot on the afternoon of Sunday, June 16th. Just why he did so he was
never able to satisfactorily explain even to himself. He had with him,
however, that eagle eye and that acuteness of perception which had not
only made his name famous in the criminal annals of Manitoba, but also
made it a menace and a terror to transgressors of the law. When, some
days before, he had received a request from the police authorities of
Chicago to be on the watch for a man named Delaney, he had issued
general instructions to members of his force that any individual
answering the description should be arrested on sight, while at the same
time the principle details were impressed upon his own memory. One of
the first persons he encountered upon reaching the depot was a man whose
appearance instantly arrested his attention. He was an athletic looking
fellow of excellent proportions, about twenty-six years of age and
fairly well dressed. His face was red and freckled, his eyes gray and
his hair brown. There was a deep scar on the front part of his head on
the left side, another over his left eye tending downward, and a third,
very deep, on the back of his head, below the rim of his hat. Nearly six
feet in height, he looked like a man well able to take care of himself,
and the termination which was wrought in every line of his countenance
showed that he was possessed with sufficient nerve to assist in carrying
out the details of any dark deed. Observing that he was being watched,
the man looked furtively around, pulled his slouch cap well down over
his eyes and endeavored to hide his features in the shadow of the
building. In a few moments he walked to the rear, across the vacant lot,
strolled back again and boarded a Canadian Pacific express, which was
about to leave for Montreal. The Chief followed and took a seat behind
the suspect, but the latter immediately stuck his head out of the window
so that McRae could not see his face.
Not to be trifled with, however, the latter went out of the car and
walked along the platform. When he reached the window he found it
closed, and looking through, saw the man on the other side of the car
with his head again out of a window. These actions served to confirm his
suspicions, and McRae boarded the train. At this moment it began to pull
out, and realizing that it was a time for prompt action, he stepped up
to the suspect, placed his hand on his shoulder, and told him that he
was wanted. The man turned pale and red by turns, but made no reply, and
grabbing up his valise, he meekly followed his captor out of the car and
on to the platform. Here the Chief asked him several questions, and
failing to get satisfactory replies decided to take him to the station.
Donald E. McKinnon, one of the most experienced members of the city
force, was acting as desk sergeant at the time.
"What is your name?" he asked, as the Chief brought in his prisoner.
"W. J. Cooper," was the reply.
McKinnon proceeded to search him. In his pockets he found several small
articles, the sum of $58.20 in cash, a railroad ticket to Montreal, and
a steamship ticket from the latter city to a European one. On the back
of this the name of W. J. Cooper was written.
"I must caution you now," said Chief McRae, "that anything you admit may
be used against you now as evidence, if you should be brought to trial.
Now, is that your name written on this ticket?"
"Yes--No," answered the prisoner, after considerable hesitation.
"Well, what is your name?" continued the Chief.
Again more hesitation--"Martin Burke," the prisoner replied, finally.
"What other names have you got?"
"Well, I sometimes go by the name of Delaney."
The Chief was now satisfied that the man so badly wanted in Chicago was
in his clutches, and he hastened to apprise Superintendent Hubbard by
telegraph of the fact. This done, he resumed his examination of the
prisoner.
[Illustration: MARTIN BURKE]
When asked where he came from, he replied "Chicago," but that he had not
traveled direct, having first gone to Hancock, Michigan, where he had
visited a man named John F. Ryan. This man, he said, had a homestead,
although he corrected this latter and said that he kept a store. He went
on to say that he had written to Ryan since his arrival in Winnipeg, and
that he was on his way to the old country. While making these
statements he was extremely nervous and excited, and this caused Chief
McRae to remark:
"What have you done that you are so nervous?"
Burke made no reply. He was asked why he had adopted the name of W. J.
Cooper, and replied that he did so because he was being watched by two
or three men. In Chicago, he said, he had resided at the corner of Erie
and Sedgewick streets, and he gave the names of several people in that
neighborhood whom he knew, including a saloon keeper. Burke was placed
in a cell, and the officers proceeded to examine his valise. In it they
found several articles of clothing, including a light colored felt hat,
considerably crushed, and with about a three-inch brim. On the sweat
band there were ink marks, which had evidently been applied to
obliterate some name or ownership mark. There was also a slip of paper,
which proved to be a receipt for the sum of five dollars, paid by W. J.
Cooper to Alexander Calder, on account of a ticket to Liverpool.
Inquiries were next made concerning Burke's movements from the time he
arrived in the city. It was found that he first put in an appearance on
the Thursday prior to his arrest, and put up at the Russell House, a
second-class hotel, without registering. On Saturday he appeared at
Caldwell's office and inquired the price of a ticket to Queenstown or
Liverpool, by way of Montreal. He was told and giving his name as
Cooper, he handed out $5 as a deposit, adding that he would call and pay
for the ticket on the following day. He was told that the office was not
usually open on Sunday, but that if it was necessary the agent would
come down and issue the ticket. From here he went to the telegraph
office, where he wired to somebody in Chicago for the sum of $200. This
came later in the day, and was paid to him. Late that night he wrote and
mailed several letters, and on the following morning--Sunday--called for
his ticket and paid for it.
BURKE IN COURT.
A night's imprisonment did not tend toward making the suspect any more
communicative. When spoken to on the following morning, he admitted that
he had known Dr. Cronin by sight, but said that he had never been
personally acquainted with him, and also denied that he had ever been a
member of the Clan-na-gael. He manifested considerable bravado, saying
that he would claim British protection and refuse to go back with any
Chicago officers who might be sent for him. Within a few hours after his
arrest, one of the leading counselors of the city, A. B. Campbell, had
been retained in his behalf through some mysterious source, and by his
advice the suspect became as close mouthed as a clam.
On the Wednesday following his arrest, he was arraigned before Police
Magistrate Peebles, but upon the production of the dispatches from the
Chicago authorities, a remand was granted for two days, without any
evidence being offered. This made him very uneasy, and he urged his
attorney to procure a writ of habeas corpus. The request would probably
have been complied with, had not Chief McRae declared that he would
block any such movement by swearing out an information charging Burke
with murder. The suspect was anything but satisfied with prison fare,
and, at his request he was furnished with meals from a hotel at his own
expense and also provided with a comfortable bed. A dispatch late in the
day brought the information that the grand jury in Chicago had returned
an indictment against him, and, as a natural result, he spent a
sleepless night. Officer Collins arrived from Chicago on Thursday, and a
single glance at the prisoner was sufficient to tell him that the right
man was under arrest. This much settled, Collins, accompanied by Chief
McRae, drove to the residence of Judge Bain, one of the judges of the
Court of Queen's Bench for the Province of Manitoba and a jurist of
extraordinary ability and sagacity, where the following information was
sworn out:
Canada, Province of Manitoba, County of Selkirk: The information
and complaint of John M. Collins, of the City of Chicago, in the
State of Illinois, and the United States of America, police
officer, taken upon oath before me, the undersigned, one of Her
Majesty's Judges of the Court of Queen's Bench for the Province of
Manitoba aforesaid, Judge under the Extradition Act at the City of
Winnipeg, in said County of Selkirk, this 20th day of June, in the
year of our Lord 1889, who says he has just cause to suspect and
believe, and does suspect and believe, that Martin Burke, alias W.
J. Cooper, late of the said City of Chicago, in the said State of
Illinois, did commit the crime of murder within the jurisdiction of
the said State of Illinois, one of said United States of America,
to wit: That the said Martin Burke, alias W. J. Cooper, on or about
the 4th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1889, at the said City
of Chicago, did feloniously, willfully, and of malice aforethought,
kill and murder one Patrick H. Cronin.
Taken and sworn before me, John F. Bain, Judge of the Court of
Queen's Bench, Manitoba.
JOHN M. COLLINS.
Upon this information a warrant was immediately issued and served on
Burke in his cell by Sergeant McCharles. He was then taken from the
police station to the County Jail, where he was incarcerated as a common
prisoner, and H. M. Howell, Queen's Counsel was retained to conduct the
case for the State of Illinois.
THE IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE.
The fast express on the following day had among its passengers from
Chicago the Expressman Martinsen, and Officer J. M. Broderick. They
were taken at once to the jail. Fifty-two men were drawn up in line in
the yard of the structure and Burke placed among them. Martinsen passed
along the line slowly, beginning at the right. He scarcely stopped in
front of Burke as he passed, but he looked back after he had gone a few
feet. Then he went back, from left to right, and this time scanned Burke
more closely.
"I am pretty well satisfied," he said, but he passed once more along the
line, and stopped again in front of the suspect. Then he walked over to
the side of Govenor Lawlor, the Superintendent of the jail.
"I have got him," he said, to the Crown Attorney and Burke's lawyer.
"What number from your left?" asked the former, "from your left as you
face the line." Mortinson stepped out and counted.
"Number 21," he said. Number 21 from that end was Burke. The prisoners
were taken back to their cells. The identification was complete. Burke
had been picked out of fifty men. What more was needed?
More court proceedings were in order. In Canada the mills of the Gods
grind slow, but they grind exceedingly fine. The memorable words which
once fell from the lips of General U. S. Grant, "Let no guilty man
escape," might be fittingly applied to the judicial system which
prevails in the Dominion. Burke was again arraigned, this time before
Judge Bain and another adjournment granted to await the arrival of the
necessary papers. It was evident that Burke meant to fight extradition
to the bitter end; it was equally evident that Judge Bain, although the
youngest Judge upon the bench, was the best before whom the case could
have been brought. He intended that justice should be done, and he did
not propose that legal technicalities should save the prisoner from
extradition, if it were proved that he was in any way concerned in the
murder of the physician.
THE PRESIDENT ACTS.
All this time the authorities in Chicago had not been idle. Assistant
States Attorney George Baker was first dispatched to Springfield, the
State Capital, where the necessary papers were obtained. From here he
hastened to Washington, where a requisition and other documents were
properly "vised" by the State Department, and late on the night of June
24th, immediately upon his arrival from Cape May, where he had been
taking a brief vacation, the President of the United States, Benjamin
Harrison, placed his signature upon the warrant which authorized the
Secretary of State, James G. Blaine, to affix the great seal of the
United States to the official documents. Without this Presidential
warrant, the custodian of the seal in the State Department could not
permit even Secretary Blaine to affix it. On the following morning this
formality was carried out and the responsibility of the Federal
Government in the case came to an end. Burke was again brought before
Judge Bain on Thursday, June 27th, and despite the fact that it was
known that the extradition documents were on their way, a determined
effort was made by Counselor Campbell, with whom another prominent
lawyer, W. E. Perdue, had been associated, to secure the discharge of
the prisoner.
The Court decided to proceed with the case, and Officers Collins and
McKinnon were called to testify. When they had told what they knew, a
remand was granted for a week. Here it was resumed on July 3d, when
Expressman Mortinsen repeated his identification of the prisoner, and
Joseph Dillabaugh, a Chicago newspaper man, testified that he had seen
the body taken from the Lake View catch basin, and was satisfied that it
was that of Dr. Cronin. Additional evidence was given on the following
day, Elliott Flower and Andrew Yount, representatives of Chicago
newspapers, testifying to the location of the Carlson cottage, the
blood stains found in it and other material facts. So the case went on
from day to day. The evidence of young Carlson was considered necessary,
and he was sent on in hot haste from Chicago. It was not until
Wednesday, July 10th, that sufficient facts were before the Court upon
which to base a decision. This decision, however, was to the point. It
held that all the evidence given was admissible and sufficient for the
purposes of extradition. It was sufficient to raise a presumption of
guilt, and this was all that was necessary. Judge Bain went over the
evidence which had been introduced before him, bringing out each little
point, showing wherein it was weak and wherein it was strong, and
concluded an able and exhaustive review of the case by remanding the
prisoner to jail for extradition.
FIGHTING TO THE LAST.
Still Burke did not despair. Under the laws of the Dominion it was open
to his counsel to apply for a writ of habeas corpus, in order that the
decision of the Court might be reviewed. Nearly three weeks' delay was
allowed for this purpose. People wondered that, considering the fact
that Burke's available assets at the time of his arrest footed up little
more than $50, he was able to retain two prominent attorneys, whose
fees must, even up to this stage of the case, have aggregated more than
ten times that amount. They wondered still more, when the announcement
was made that the case of the suspect had been taken to a court of last
resort, and which comprised Chief Justice Taylor, Judge Kellam and Judge
Dubuc. This proceeding was in the form of a petition for a writ of
habeas corpus, based largely on technical grounds. Elaborate arguments
were heard for several days, and in the meantime ex-Senator William
Kennedy, of Wisconsin, arrived from the States as special legal adviser
to the suspect. This was additional proof that somebody or other, with
plenty of money at command, was behind Martin Burke in the effort to
prevent his being taken back to Chicago. Again, however, the law was
triumphant; the application for a writ of habeas corpus was denied, and
the extradition of the prisoner was ordered for the second time.
CANADIAN JUSTICE TRIUMPHS.
Burke's last chance for a long stay in Canada had now disappeared.
Unusual promptness characterized the action of the authorities at
Ottawa. Immediately upon the receipt of a telegraphic dispatch from
Chief Justice Taylor, to the effect that the appeal had been denied,
the warrant of extradition was issued by Sir John Thompson, minister of
justice, and mailed to Winnipeg. It arrived at its destination at noon
of Saturday, August 3rd, and, having been vised by the Lieutenant-Governor
and the Provincial Secretary, was served upon Govenor Lawlor. Chief of
Police Hubbard had in the meantime arrived from Chicago to superintend
the arrangements for the return of the prisoner, and availed himself of
the opportunity to highly eulogize Chief McRae for the able manner in
which he had worked his part of the case. Day had barely dawned on
Monday morning when the Chicago officers were astir. They drove at once
to the jail, and the necessary formalities having been complied with,
the prisoner was delivered into the custody of Officer Collins, in whose
name the warrant had been made out. He was quickly hustled into a
covered carriage, Chief Hubbard, Lieutenant Ross and Officer Broderick
occupying the opposite seat. A little after six the depot was reached,
and the prisoner, who had been handcuffed prior to leaving the jail, was
placed in the smoking compartment of the palace sleeping car "Great
Falls." Here he was closely guarded by the two police officers, who were
well armed, while the Chief and Lieutenant returned to the hotel for
breakfast. In a very little while a big crowd had gathered at the depot,
but the blinds of the compartment had been carefully pulled down, and
the people were compelled to derive what satisfaction they could by
gazing at the closed windows. Burke had brought a basket of food and
fruit with him from the jail, and through enquiries it was learned that
it had been delivered to him the night before, that he had been advised
to eat no food which might be offered to him by the officers, as it
might be drugged, and that he had also been instructed to have nothing
whatever to say to his guards while on the road. These instructions, it
was afterward developed, were inspired by a telegram from Chicago, and
which had been sent by an unknown man from the Grand Pacific Hotel over
the initials "J. G." Shortly before ten o'clock the train pulled out,
and Burke had started on what, to him, was destined to be a memorable
journey. Chief McRae, representing the Winnipeg, police, Chief Clark of
the provincial police, Chief Hossack of the Canadian Pacific detective
force, H. McMicken of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba road, and
James McHale, a United States Government officer, accompanied the party
as far as Morris, McHale and Hossack, going as far as Neche on the
American side of the line.
BURKE'S JOURNEY TO CHICAGO.
Great crowds had gathered at every station where a stop was made, and it
was soon found necessary to lock both doors of the car and keep a guard
at each. Chief Hubbard and a porter took charge of the front door and
allowed the other passengers to go in and out as they desired, while
Lieutenant Ross took charge of the rear door, which was kept locked all
the time. A large and demonstrative crowd was encountered at Grafton,
the people climbing over each other to secure standing room on the
platforms of the car, and shouting loudly that they would kill the
prisoner if they could get their hands on him. Lieutenant Ross, however,
induced them to go back to the platform, saying that there would be
serious trouble if they continued to make threats. At all other stations
along the line until Fargo, Dakota, was reached, the same scenes were
repeated, except that the feeling did not run so high, and curiosity
seemed to be the main motive. Quite a number of strangers succeeded in
getting through the front door of the car at Minto, Dakota, but after
reaching the section next to the smoking-room, they were confronted by
Chief Hubbard, who forced them to leave the car. At Grand Forks the
crowd took entire possession of the train, and none of the passengers in
the sleeper were able to leave it during the stop. Better order
prevailed at Fargo, where the depot police turned out in force and kept
the crowd at a respectful distance. The same system was adopted at
Moorhead, just across the river, where a stop was made for supper. All
this time Burke kept his nerve. He sat near a window with Collins beside
him and Broderick opposite. He steadily refused to talk, although
Hubbard and Ross took turns at him. To every attempt to draw him into
conversation, he had but one reply, and that was that his lawyer had
told him not to talk. At times he ate sparingly from the basket with
which he had been supplied, but invariably refused the offer of the
officers to furnish him with refreshments. When night came he was
allowed to lie down on one of the couches of the smoker, but sleep was
out of the question, and when a party started to sing in the rear
portion of the car immediately adjoining the smoker, Burke, from the
inside, joined in the song. There was no crowd at Minneapolis, the
guards at the gates keeping every one out. At St. Paul it was the same
way. Here Burke was transferred to a special car which had been engaged
for the party. He appeared at the door of the sleeper strongly manacled.
There were manacles on his wrists and his feet were chained together so
that he could step only a few inches at a time, while the chain was so
short that he could not descend the steps of the car. Lieutenant Ross
noticed this and, taking him in his strong arms carried him to the
ground. He managed to walk slowly to the special car and was lifted
aboard, and the blinds and curtains were drawn down on either side.
The Winnipeg party was joined at this point by Assistant State's Attorney
Baker and Carlson and Mortensen, the witnesses. On the front and rear
platforms of the car two St. Paul detectives were stationed, and several
more occupied the rear end of the first coach ahead. On from this point to
Chicago the scenes of the day before were repeated. Every station had its
crowd, and everybody was wild to see the prisoner. At Kilborne City, where
a company of the State militia on its way to camp was encountered, one of
the soldiers climbed up to a window, pushed up the blind, and forced his
body half way into the car. He was seen by one of the officers in the
inside, however, and a rap on the head induced him to get out a great deal
quicker than he had got in. Remarkable anxiety to see the suspect was
manifested by women at almost every stopping place, and at times they
outnumbered the men, asking innumerable questions, and craning their necks
in endeavoring to get but a glimpse of the interior of the car. Between
St. Paul and Chicago not a member of the Chicago party went out into the
open air. Burke sat on the right-hand side next the window, with either
Broderick or Collins constantly by him. The rest of the party were
distributed over the car in such a way that there was some one at almost
every point.
Chicago was reached between nine and ten o'clock on Monday night. The
train was stopped at a lonely point in the suburbs, about three miles
from the center of the city, much to the chagrin and disgust of an
immense crowd that had gathered at the depot. The leg irons were removed
from the prisoner, although the handcuffs were left in place. To them an
iron chain several feet long was fastened, the other end being held by
Officer Collins. The party dropped off the train in the darkness and
hastened across the tracks to a carriage in waiting. Half an hour later
Martin Burke, handcuffed to two stalwart officers, was ushered to the
Chicago Avenue Station, and without being booked or searched was
escorted to a cell.
Early on the following morning Senator Kennedy of Wisconsin was on hand
at the jail with a demand to see his client. Instructions had been
given, however, that no outsider should be allowed to get within talking
reach of the prisoner, and the lawyer was so informed. After making
several other fruitless efforts to accomplish his purpose, he secured
from Judge Baker a writ of habeas corpus, commanding Burke's appearance
in court. It was made returnable at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, but at
that hour a return was made that the prisoner was in the custody of
Officer Collins, as agent of the United States. A new writ was therefore
directed against the officer, but before this could be served Burke was
transferred to the county jail, where his attorney was allowed to see
him. On the following day he was arraigned in court, and, having plead
"not guilty," in a low but firm voice, on the charge of having been
concerned with others in the murder of Dr. Cronin, he was returned to
jail.
PREPARING FOR THE TRIAL.
All this time State's Attorney Longenecker and his assistants were
actively engaged in preparing for the great trial. Motions to quash the
indictments were filed for all the prisoners, while there was a separate
application in behalf of O'Sullivan for a change of venue. These matters
came up before Judge Horton, on August 5th, and the entire case was
transferred to that branch of the Criminal Court presided over by Judge
McConnell, while August 26th was fixed as the date for the opening for
the trial. On that date the six prisoners were arraigned and
applications were made in behalf of Burke, Woodruff, O'Sullivan and
Coughlin for separate trials. Elaborate arguments were made on these
motions, the prosecution making a vigorous resistance. Judge McConnell
took the question under advisement for a couple of days, and then denied
the motions as to all the defendants, with the exception of Woodruff,
who, on account of the peculiar circumstances that had entered into his
side of the case, and his numerous confessions, was held to be entitled
to a separate trial.
[Illustration: THE SIX PRISONERS IN COURT.]