The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-07-13
A Fiendish Revenge.

lIClC VI OWcllS. alias L dtuN
Ovens" alias g Stickeen Paddy" one
of the most notorious smugglers on the
Pacific Coast He is described as five
feet nine inches high, with slight
limp of his left leg, a shock head of
hair, and very pronounced cast of his
right eye. He was clad, when last seen
here, in the customary coarse jack
boots, blue overalls, red shirt, and
slouched hat of the prospecting miner,
the occupation which he affects. He is
charged with an attempt to smuggle
goods into this port from Victoria,
British Columbia, in violation of Art.
1,268 of Schedule M of the Digest of
1874, of the Federal Revenue laws,
which provides that all perfumes shall
pay duty of so per cent. of the foreign
value, and that cologne water, of which
alcohol is the principal ingredient, shall
pay also 30 per cent. and 50 per gallon
in addition. Owens arrest, however,
is sought, not so much for his effort to
violate this law as for more shocking
felony which was cunningly interviewer
with the lesser misdemeanor. The felo-
ny appears to have been inspired by
heart for former interference of the
Custom-House officers, and in its sweep
ing effects was calculated to include
friend and foe, the innocent and the
guilty, man, woman, the aged, the
young, and even the domestic animals
in one common and melancholy fate.
The atrociously wicked continuance by
which 1t was intended to retaliate on
Government officials for the fearless
discharge of a disagreeable duty was as
much more abominable a device than
the Internal machine by which William
X. Thompson blew up the ocean steamer
Moselle at Bremerhaven in 1875, as one
satanic concert can be worse than an
other. The history of the outrage and
of its inception in. the malignant re-
cesses of an Ubiquitous mind, as CLEANED
from the detectives, is as follows:
Owens CLAIMS that mining interests,
both in Arizona and the Cassiar District
of British Columbia, render frequent
trips between here and Victoria neces-
sary. Last year, when he came down
here from Victoria, the search of his
blankets discovered five nice bottles of
cologne, and, as his personal appear
ance did not bear out his assertions
that they were for use in making his
own private toilet, they were properly
and promptly contiscated. The vicious
man, far from being grateful, as he
might well have been, for getting away
with even his blankets, remained in the
city nearly Il week and daily traced up
the functionaries who had incurred his
displeasure to the different wharves to
which the exigencies of their duties
called them. This he could easily do,
for, as Moore beautifully remarks, after
Custom-House officers have seized five
bottles of cologne, "YOu may spread,
you may scatter, the cops as you will,
but the scent of the cologne will hang
round them still" So Owens merely
walked out in the morning, snuffed
around till he struck trail of cologne,
followed it like sleuth-hound up to its
source, and there upbraided the odOr-
GUS officials with much profane and
sarcastic language. He is even known
to have threatened them, and he was
once overheard to say in a saloon at the
corner of East street; "Ill fix them
yet. They like scent. BY the Lord
Harry, I'll scent them before I'm
through with them" The next evil
dence is that contained in this letter
from Donald |. Murchison, Chief of the
Victoria Police, to the force here:
"Agreeably to your instructions, l
have made careful inquiries into the
movements of the man Owens while he
was here, and find that he returned
from Fort Wrangel by the last down
trip of the Otter, and put up at the
American Hotel, waiting for the
steamer to San Francisco. He is be-
lieved to have found the material for
the internal machine the day before his
departure, in neck of woods through
which he was taking short cut back
from 'Squimalt, three miles distant.
How he got it without trouble to your
port is only inferred from the fact that
that evening he consulted with DR..
John McGregor, of No. 65 Government
street, as to what quantity of hydrate
of choral would keep a cat asleep for
three or four days, and what was the
best counteractant to administer when
it was desired to reproduce the most
perfect wakefulness. The advice was
given, and Owens that same evening
purchased the prescribed drug and its
antidote at the drugstore near Camp
bells corner. Hoping that these facts
will be of assistance to you in hunting
down such lawless desperate, | re-
main yours in faith, hope, and charity"
The next thing in the chain of evidence
is furnished by the Captain of the port
watch of the opposition steamer from
Victoria. Owens was passenger down,
and the seaman's attention was at
tracted to him by reason of his nervous
ness and his frequent, half-frightened
peeps into small, closely-jointed. but
communicating, pine-box, which was
the only baggage he had, and which
he kept in his bunk. 1t being the
sailors watch below just as the steamer
was coming inside the heads, he no.
ticed Owens again go to the box, and,
after carefully looking around to see
that he was not watched, he opened it,
drew small vial from his pocket, and
appeared to pour its contents into some
thing concealed within He then quick
ly closed it and secured it by the only
fastening it had-a small hook and sta
pie. The sailor, however, was most
surprised to see Owens melt the end of
stick of sealing wax and run it rapid