The Crime of the Century Part 26

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 a.s.sist 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 steams.h.i.+p 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARTIN BURKE]

When asked where he came from, he replied "Chicago," but that he had not traveled direct, having first gone to Hanc.o.c.k, 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 owners.h.i.+p 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-cla.s.s hotel, without registering. On Sat.u.r.day 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 pa.s.sengers 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 pa.s.sed along the line slowly, beginning at the right. He scarcely stopped in front of Burke as he pa.s.sed, 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 pa.s.sed 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 G.o.ds 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.