CLOSING THE RECORD.
After this came the arrest of the murderers—or those interested in the
murder—of Gomer James. Thomas Hurley, having for the time made his
escape—though it is reasonable to suppose that he will, with other
fugitives from justice, some day be caught and punished—Chris Donnelly,
John Donahue, Michael O’Brien, Pat Dolan, Sr., Pat Butler, and Frank
O’Neill were arraigned at Pottsville on the 17th of August, 1876. James
Roarty, charged with aiding and abetting in the killing of Gomer James,
was, with the others, found guilty. Chris Donnelly was given two years
in the penitentiary, while Patrick Butler, partly in consideration of
his having given State’s evidence, met similar leniency. John Donahue,
having already received sentence of death, was not sentenced. Mike
O’Brien was sent to prison for two years. Patrick Dolan, Sr., was
sentenced to eighteen months’ imprisonment. Frank O’Neill also received
two years.
[Illustration: “_Pat. Hester smiled when he saw Dan. Kelly, alias Manus
Kull, alias ‘Kelly the Bum., in the witness box._”]
September 23, of the same year, John Slattery, John Stanton, Michael
Doolan, Chas. Mullhearn, Ned Monaghan, John Kehoe, Chris Donnelly,
Dennis F. Canning, Michael O’Brien, Frank O’Neill and Pat Dolan, Sr.,
were arraigned for conspiracy to murder Wm. and Jesse Major, stood their
trial, and all but John Stanton were found guilty, and sentenced to
imprisonment as follows: O’Neill, five years; O’Brien, five years;
Canning, seven years; Donnelly, five years; Kehoe, seven years, and Ned
Monaghan, seven years.
At the same term of court, Thomas Donahue was sentenced to two years’
imprisonment for aiding in the escape of John Gibbons, one of the men
assaulting Wm. M. Thomas.
September 22, 1876, Muff Lawler was brought to court, as accessory after
the fact to the murder of Sanger and Uren, found guilty, but not
sentenced, having enrolled himself among those willing to aid the State
in convicting men more guilty. James Duffy was sent one year for
perjury. Mrs. Bridget Hyland, Bernard M. Boyle, and Kate Boyle, having
been rather too fast in swearing their friends clear, were found guilty
of perjury and given two and three years each at the State prison.
The murder of F. W. S. Langdon, by the Mollie Maguires, at Audenried, in
Schuylkill County, committed July 14, 1862, implicated John Kehoe,
County Delegate, John Campbell, and Neill Dougherty. Campbell and
Dougherty were arrested, and with Kehoe brought to trial at Pottsville,
January 2, 1877, found guilty of murder in the second degree and
sentenced, Campbell for nine, and Dougherty five years to the State
penitentiary. Kehoe was brought in guilty of murder in the first degree,
and sentenced to be executed the 16th of April in the same year, but his
cause was taken to the Supreme Court, where it will doubtless be decided
in accordance with the testimony and its merits.
In November, 1876, Chas. McAllister was convicted of an assault, with
intent to kill, upon James Riles, at Shenandoah. Sentence thus far has
been deferred.
All of the above were Schuylkill County cases.
In Carbon County arrests were made almost simultaneously. John Donahue,
Thomas P. Fisher, Patrick McKenna, Alex. Campbell, Patrick O’Donnell,
and John Malloy, were taken, charged with the murder of Morgan Powell,
at Summit Hill, December 2, 1871. The defendants were tried, at
different terms of the Carbon County Court, at Mauch Chunk, James
McParlan frequently appearing—as in most of the suits in Schuylkill
County—on the witness stand and testifying to the confessions and
admissions of the Mollies. They were found guilty as follows: Donahue of
murder in the first degree; Fisher of murder in the first degree, and
sentenced to death; Pat McKenna of murder in the first degree, and
sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment; Patrick O’Donnell, as accessory,
and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
In Columbia County, February 24, 1877, Pat Hester, Pat Tully, and Peter
McHugh, were arraigned for the murder of Alex. Rae. The circumstances of
the crime have been related in these pages. The court was held at
Bloomsburg, the county-seat, and attracted a very large attendance.
McParlan was present, and his testimony was fully corroborated by Dan
Kelly, _alias_ Manus Kull, and Mike, _alias_ Muff Lawler, was also a
witness. An interview between McParlan and the last-named personage is
thus described by an eye-witness:
“At about a quarter to ten this morning, February 12, 1877, the stage
from Rupert Station rattled up the street, into town, and disgorged its
occupants in front of the Exchange Hotel. With Messrs. Hughes and Ryon,
from Pottsville, the redoubtable Muff Lawler made his appearance. The
meeting between Lawler and his old friend McParlan—Muff once knew him as
McKenna, and initiated him into Shenandoah Division of the Mollies, a
few years ago—was particularly interesting. Stretching out his hand,
McParlan inquired of Lawler, as he indulged in a warm shake: ‘Have you
the “goods” for the last quarter?’
“‘I have not!’ was the blushing reply.
“‘Well, now, that’s a pity,’ said McParlan, ‘as I wanted to get the
quarreling toast!’”
Several witnesses of the scene were convulsed with laughter.
I had at the time the “goods” for the quarter ending the first of
February, 1877, in my office, and at once sent them by telegraph to
McParlan, so that he might not have to inquire about them of Muff
Lawler. They were as follows:
“DAY WORDS: _Question_—How does Erin stand?
_Answer_—The Russians will be victorious!
“NIGHT WORDS: _Question_—The nights are getting short!
_Answer_—We’ll soon have the Spring!
“QUARRELING WORDS: _Question_—Don’t be outrageous!
_Answer_—I never was such!”
The sign of recognition was made as follows:
“_Question_—With the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, take
hold of the lapel of the vest between the top buttons, or
button-holes.
“_Answer_—Draw the back of the left hand across the chin.”
The leaders of this society can make up their minds that henceforth, as
in the past, I will not remain in ignorance of their most secret
transactions. It is simply out of their power to prevent this. As long
as it is a society, and as long as its signs, mummeries, and passwords
are used for purposes of murder and assassination, so long will its
imported “goods” remain my “goods” in the interests of humanity and
justice.
It was the ninth of February, 1877, that the trial at Bloomsburg
approached a crisis. Sitting in the prisoner’s dock, Pat Hester smiled
when he saw Dan Kelly, _alias_ Manus Kull, _alias_ “Kelly the Bum,” in
the witness-box. But his humor changed to dire dismay as he discovered
that there were still other witnesses, who fully corroborated what Kelly
made oath to. Dan Kelly’s story of the Rae assassination was about as
follows:
He met Pat Hester, Peter McHugh and Ned Skivington at Big Mine Run, in
Barney Dolan’s place, on the sixteenth of October, 1868, the day
preceding that of the murder. Hester was on his way, he said, down the
mountain with Skivington, but had missed the train and returned to
Dolan’s, where all had something to drink. Afterward they walked to
Ashland, and entered Donahue’s saloon. There Hester informed the witness
that he had lost something by not going down the mountain that day,
adding, “But there is a good thing to be had to-morrow, for Rae will go
to Bell’s Tunnel, and there is money in it for us!” It was then agreed
that Hester, McHugh, Tully, Skivington, Brian Campbell, Jim Bradley,
Billy Muldowney and Dan Kelly should go and rob Rae. Roger Lafferty,
_alias_ Johnstone, went across the street and procured some powder and
bullets, returned and loaded the pistols, each one of the persons named
having a weapon. After this they had more liquor and stayed there all
night. All but Lafferty went out in the morning to meet and rob Rae. But
when they got as far as Germantown, Muldowney left, saying that he was
too lame to keep on. After they got above the toll-gate, Hester and
Skivington left, and Hester handed witness, Kelly, his pistol, saying:
“Kelly, your pistol is no good! Take mine! for I know it’s sure!” And he
remarked that he would go to Shamokin, to purchase hair to mix with lime
to make mortar for plastering. Skivington was off also, wanting to go to
work in the mine to throw aside suspicion from the rest. All the others
went as far as the water-barrel, and remained there. They then begun
talking about Rae and his son, and finally concluded that, if the lad
should chance to be riding with his father that morning, as he often
did, they would send the boy home with the horse, if they had to shoot
Rae. The object was plunder, not murder, unless the latter was necessary
to secure the money. Bradley, who was not known in Centralia, went and
procured a quart of whisky and some crackers. When he got back all hands
drank and ate. Five of the number present did not know Rae if they saw
him, so Dalton, who was acquainted with him, walked out on the road to
signal the others should their victim arrive. Soon a man came along in a
wagon, but as Dalton did not shake his hat the person was allowed to
pass. Still another man moved up while the assassins waited in ambush,
driving a horse attached to a light wagon, and he was permitted to go
his way unharmed, as Dalton again failed to give the notice. He
presently stepped out into the road to see who was coming and returned
to his former position. Quickly afterward a buggy hove in view and the
assassins saw that Dalton was standing in plain sight, shaking his hat,
and they knew that the driver was Alex. Rae. When the vehicle reached
the watering-trough, all jumped out upon their victim. Rae alighted from
the buggy when the men ordered him to, and quickly handed his watch and
pocket-book to Kelly, the witness, but said nothing. He was confronted
by a squad of heavily armed ruffians. What was there for him to say?
Kelly asked McHugh what should be done with the man? McHugh replied: “I
won’t be hunted around the world by any living man,” when the shooting
began. Rae ran toward the woods, and Tully went up to him, put his
pistol to his head, and shot him near the ear. Seeing that the man was
sure to die, all ran up the mountain, where they divided the money,
about sixty dollars, and the witness remembered that Dalton received a
ten dollar bill with a corner torn off. Tully and McHugh and Kelly got
in at Graham’s some time that day, and in the afternoon witness drove to
Locust Gap with a beer-seller. He got home at half-past three. They
killed Rae at about nine o’clock. He struck the ground upon his face,
and they left him where he fell, after putting the horse and buggy out
of sight in the wood. Kelly acknowledged that he fired two shots, but
could not say how many the others fired. Dalton did not shoot at all.
All of the rest discharged their weapons at the man. He was sure he saw
Tully fire. One shot hit Rae in the cheek. He left Hester’s pistol at
Graham’s and had given his own to Bradley. Hester’s weapon was a sort of
navy pistol and held five cartridges. It was loaded at Donahue’s house.
Dalton had a small pistol and McHugh’s was not as large as Kelly’s.
McHugh had a seven-shooter. Hester met him the same night in Graham’s,
at about nine o’clock, when the rest were there. The next he saw of
Hester was three days later, when he rode in his wagon with him from the
Gap to Ashland. Hester received none of the money taken from Rae. It was
Hester’s idea that Ray would have eighteen or nineteen thousand dollars
with him, but when he heard how small a sum had been realized he said it
was not worth dividing, so took none of it. About the seventeenth of
November, after Donahue and Duffy had been arrested, Jack Smith told
Hester of the capture, and he remarked it was about time for him to go,
and he did go, without telling his confederates where he went. They all
separated, remained away a month or two, and returned. When they got
back Hester was in jail. He said he had been to Illinois, but it would
look better to go back, as he might be taken there. A woman got Rae’s
pocket-book. The watch—a gold one—witness gave to Mike Graham, to keep
for him. He took it from him afterward and left it with Con Garrah for
ten dollars. Garrah restored it, when Kelly gave it to McGuire for ten
dollars and turned the money over to Garrah. The watch was subsequently
broken up with rocks and thrown into a creek, for fear it might lead to
trouble.
The attorneys for the defense were unable, after many efforts, to shake
Kelly’s testimony in the least. Despite his bad character for truth and
veracity, it was the conviction of everybody that he, for once in his
checkered career, was bent upon telling the straightforward truth. It
had its weight with the jury.
Judge Elwell presided at the session of court, and Hon. F. W. Hughes
assisted the District Attorney in the prosecution, John W. Ryon, Esq.,
of Pottsville, and others, appearing for the defendants.
On the 24th, the jury returned a verdict in the three cases of “guilty
of murder in the first degree.” This was not unexpected by the general
public, but formed a complete surprise to Pat Hester and his Mollie
friends. So confident had Hester been of release, that, the day before
the reception of the decree, he sent word to Locust Gap, ordering a
grand supper prepared at his house in commemoration of his discharge and
triumphant acquittal. While he did not actually fire the shot that
killed Rae, he was virtually as guilty as those who did, having
originated the job, and justice will, without doubt, be meted out to
him.
Hester, Tully, and McHugh found that they had but one course to adopt,
and got a new trial; but all has failed, the Supreme Court has affirmed
the judgment against the prisoners, and sentence of death is their doom.
While these trials were going on, the Mollies were not idle. They moved
every string possible to pull in money and influence to defend their
brethren in the coal region. Contributions were levied by the National
head of the order, in New York, upon the subordinate divisions of the
country for a large amount of money—some place it as high as
$30,000—part of which was to be expended in clearing the criminals, and
the rest, I have reason to believe, in paying assassins to go to
Pottsville and take the lives of McParlan and all of my employés in that
section of country. But the refusal of one of the Philadelphia lodges to
respond to this levy brought the matter to the notice of the public
press and stopped at least a portion of the funds from going forward to
the National officers. New Orleans and some other distant branches had
sent their share without knowing exactly the purpose for which it was to
be employed, but it is presumable that not more than one-half of the
assessment was ever realized, and that must have been expended in paying
for legal services.
During the session of court, at which occurred the trial of Kehoe and
others for conspiracy to murder Wm. M. Thomas, I learned that an attempt
would be made to assassinate Mr. Gowen, McParlan, and the entire court.
It seems at first there was an informal meeting of the Mollies, in
Pottsville, and it was arranged that twenty-four men should be chosen to
go to the court-house, twelve to sit on the back row of seats, and
twelve on the front tier, near the prisoners. All were to be armed with
loaded revolvers. Those on the front row of seats were, at a given
signal, to rise and simultaneously fire upon the judges, the attorneys
for the Commonwealth—Mr. Gowen especially—and the officers, including
McParlan and Capt. Linden, and the members of the Coal and Iron Police.
Those on the back seat were to kill off those left by the first platoon,
when all were to rush in, seize the prisoners and with them fight their
way out and make their escape to the hills. An influential member of the
order, and a county official, hearing of this arrangement, after the
twenty-four men had actually been appointed, made his appearance at
their rendezvous and informed the ringleaders in the movement that such
an act was evidence of sheer madness. “If you do this, boys,” said he,
“there will not be an Irishman left in Schuylkill County, and what is
more, if you persist in the plot, I shall consider it my bounden duty to
go at once and have every mother’s son of you arrested! It can’t be
done, and it shall not be done!”
This, for the time, broke up the conspiracy. Subsequently a young Mollie
Maguire made his boast, in the presence of several friends, that he
would go to the court-house, any time when he could hear that Mr. Gowen
was alone, and shoot him down. He was soon told that the President of
the Reading Railway, and the personal head of the prosecution of the
members of the bloodthirsty organization, was writing, all by himself,
in a jury room. The assassin walked into the apartment, his hand upon
his revolver, and was about to produce it and fire, when an officer of
the Coal and Iron Police, having business with the gentleman threatened,
unexpectedly appeared on the scene. As the would-be murderer had no
reasonable excuse for remaining, he took his hand away from his pistol,
and, thwarted in his design, sneaked out of the place. These and other
equally foolish acts of the Mollies were duly reported to Mr. Gowen, and
he was advised that he must take some precautions or his life would pay
the forfeit of criminal rashness. Up to that date he had not as much as
worn a pistol, or any other weapon, upon his person, and it is
questionable if he ever did subsequently. He is a brave, frank man, but
depended too much, I think, upon the justness of his cause, for with the
Mollie Maguires the common instincts of human nature are outraged and
disregarded. Still he was not attacked. While there were hundreds
present thirsting for his blood, he turned upon the Mollies the heaviest
deluge of invective that they have ever received.
But one New York newspaper, I believe, has ever openly taken the part of
the Mollie Maguires. That was the _Irish World_. The animus of its
article was contained in an attack upon Mr. Gowen and James McParlan,
calling one “the head of a coal monopoly,” and the other his “hired
informer.” As the editor possibly had to do something to earn his
proportion of the $30,000 received for the defense of the Mollies, and
as his modicum of the labor was so insignificant and trivial, I have not
the heart to devote space to an answer. He is sufficiently replied to,
perhaps, by the verdicts of the courts of justice, which point to
something more serious than the editorial writer in question had in mind
at the time of the preparation of his weak and idle philippic.
A well informed writer in the _American Law Review_, for January, 1877,
seems to have taken a more sensible impression of the matter, and found
interest enough in the trials of the Mollies to devote twenty-eight
pages of valuable space to the calm and dispassionate discussion of the
subject from a legal standpoint.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
The work of several years is now nearly finished. About seventy persons
have been arrested in the coal region. Of those twelve have been, by a
jury of their countrymen, found guilty of murder in the first degree;
four of murder in the second degree; and four of being accessory to
murder; sixteen of conspiracy to murder; six of perjury; one of assault
with intent to kill; eight of aiding and abetting a murder; one of
assault and battery; one for aiding in the escape of a murderer, and
several others of lesser crimes. The sum-total of the time of these
sentences to imprisonment foots up one hundred and twenty-four years and
eight months. Eleven have received sentence of death.
On May 21st, 1877, Governor Hartranft issued warrants for the execution
of eight of the murderers, viz.:—Alexander Campbell, convicted of
complicity in the killing of John P. Jones; James Carroll, Hugh McGehan,
James Boyle, and James Roarty, convicted of the murder of Benj. F. Yost;
Patrick Hester, Peter McHugh, and Patrick Tully, convicted of the murder
of Alexander W. Rae. Campbell was hanged at Mauch Chunk on the 21st of
June, in company with Michael Doyle and Edward Kelly, concerned in the
murder with him. Carroll, McGehan, Boyle, and Roarty expiated their
crime on the same day on the gallows from which Thomas Munley was
suspended for the murder of William Sanger and James Urens; and Hester,
McHugh and Tully will be executed at Bloomsburg on the 9th day of August
next, which will be the first executions that have ever taken place in
Columbia County.
THE END.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber’s Note
Characters on the margins are very often missing or only partially
inked, especially punctuation, more particularly hyphens and periods.
Where the context is clear, these lapses have been addressed without any
notice taken here. On occasion, an earlier 1877 edition has been
consulted to confirm the intent. Where punctuation has been restored in
midline, the lapse has been noted here. (331.4 run away[.]; 20.2
service[.]; 259.30 Mine Hill Gap[.]; 388.34 case[.]; 483.35 delayed[.];
501.2 arrested[.])
When conversation employs dialect, the text is generally followed as
printed. The apostrophe in the contraction “it’s” is typically missing
(pp. 34, 37, 64(2), 157, 165, 248(3), 263, 266, 314). The common
contraction “an’” sometimes appears without the apostrophe, which _is_
supplied (295.7, 303.1, 322.33, 384.12, 384.32, 492.6).
At 62.12, the text employs “_wrapped_ attention” in place of “rapt”. The
correct word appears only one other time. The odd phrase is retained.
A passage at 196.11 includes an odd use of the exclamation point and
does not re-open the ensuing speech: “Don’t stand here askin’
questions,” answered Mrs. McIntyre! [“]Oh, why did I fall in....” The
quotation mark has been added, but the exclamation point is retained.
Other errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected,
and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the
original.
17.19 it can be ac[c]omplished Inserted.
34.28 [“]As an argument in favor Removed.
36.1 Is that you, Tony[!/?] Replaced.
62.29 the larger State penitent[i]aries Inserted.
131.31 on a job load[ /i]n’ coal Restored.
144.34 the right eye, thus:[”] and the Bodymaster Added.
148.20 at a house w[h]ere he was acquainted Inserted.
150.1 Since the authorit[i]es have been Inserted.
150.15 regular war in S[k/ch]uylkill county! Replaced.
155.10 passed of[f] smoothly Added.
194.18 who stood no[r/t] far off Replaced.
278.3 is General Superin[d/t]endent Replaced.
292.30 in Schuy[l]kill County. Inserted.
308.27 Faith, an[,/’[ I can think Replaced.
311.28 at their different coll[i]eries. Inserted.
319.14 incapable of physic[i]al exertion Removed.
320.13 until [to morrow] _sic_
320.14 back to ye![’/”] Replaced.
327.24 Gen. Pleasant[s] Added.
347.16 in favor of an antagonistic co[r]poration Inserted.
347.34 from the city of Philad[a/e]lphia Replaced.
354.18 but entirely u[n]seen Inserted.
365.1 “Was not one Jimmy Kerrigan?[’/”] Replaced.
381.5 many inquiries goin[’] on Added.
387.1 saying he [“]had other fish to fry.” Added.
435.27 Mr. Nicoll[’]s Removed.
437.2 [“]Don’t stop for me Added.
439.20 has plenty of pistols.[”] Added.
451.6 Superintend[a/e]nt Geo. H. Bangs. Replaced.
454.7 By this [time ]some fifteen Missing.
461.7 Carroll, and Mul[l]hall Removed.
477.5 with her child[r]en Inserted.
489.17 he never inten[d]ed Inserted.
507.11 Drown him![”] Added.
522.20 was the only confid[e/a]nt Replaced.
523.14 this unostentatio[n/u]s charity Inverted.
524.7 beyond the precin[c]ts of his own door Inserted.
532.33 [‘]The time has ceased Added.
533.33 ‘There, at my feet![’] Added.
552.25 R[ea/ae] Transposed.
552.26 Chun[c]k on the 21st of June, Removed.
552.31 Uren[s] Added.