Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-10-23

and that ne had some conversation with
him. He was kept sometime longer, and
finally said thst If hs would be released he
would tell All hs knew about it, and was
brought before the mayor, and without
any information on the subject, made q
full statement of the killing of O'Connell
by Underhill. He told the story just as
Washington had told it TO him, aud the
statement involved q description of the
burglaris5 they had committed that night,
or had attempted to commit, also de-
ription of the locality whore the
| murder occurred, and the manner in which
Underhill shot the policeman, which state
ment was made in the hearing O. Chief
Clark; and he Immediately verified the
| description given by Thomas of the places
| where the burglaries had been committed
and the locality where the policeman was
shot, the character and description of the
wound, and the position of the body as 1t
lay after he was shot. Thomas was then
| released, but will be in attendance on
court, at the trial.
The governor of Illinois at first refused
| to pardon the men or commute their sen
tence, on the ground that there was no
precedent for such action, and upon the
additional ground that the statutes of Hi
nois required that an application for par
don should be made on behalf Of the felon,
and should be concurred in by the
Judge before whom the case was
tried and the prosecuting
attorney of tins proper county where he
was convicted. The mayor then opened a
correspondence with the judge who presid-
ed at the trial of Underhill and Washing
ton in Illinois, and after laying before him
the testimony taken in st. Paui-which in
volved not only the testimony of Dsslos,
but that of George Morton, Chief Clark,
Captain John Bresset and Henry Thomas
the Judge fully concurred in the appii-
cation, and recommended to the governor
of Illinois that it be granted.
4 copy of the testimony, thus carefully
c5tsined, was sent to the governor, as well
as the Judge, and after a thorough and pa
tent investigation of the subject, the gov
ernor finally concluded to grant the requi-
sition and commute the sentences of the
men so that they would expire on the day
that the messenger arrived; and on being
notified by the governor of Illinois, Gap
tain Bressst and Mr.. Armstrong immedi-
ately proceeded to Springfield and thence
to Chester, and so brought the men to this
city.
The evidence consists not only of the
confession made by the two negroes to
Deslos and to Thomas, but is further cor
roborsted by the circumstances of the
crime, the fact that the men were here
stopping at George Morton's, that they left
there, to go, as they said, up town, about
8 o'clock in the evening, and that they dis
appeared from the city that night, and
were not found again until they were seen
in st. Louis. week after the murder.
Their presence here at that particular
time will be established by several compe-
tent Witnesses. Also the fact that they
were armed, Underhill having an old-fash-
toned pepper box style of revolver, which
was loaded with buckshot, from the muzzle,
and fired by means of cap. It will be
recollected that the bullet found in O'Con-
nelPs head could not be identified as be-
longing to any modern form of weapon,
and it was great puzzle to the officers to
account for g bullet, of that character,
as, in appearance and caltbre
it did not fit any Of the modern
breach-loading revolvers; bat when it is
ascerteined, S. it is now, the peculiar old
style kind Of pistol used by Underhill, the
baIlst is accounted for at once, and can be
identified by experts as being the one
which in all probability was used from a
revolver of that character. This Is render
ed the more certain from the fact that
round bullets Wer5 not used in the modern
breaoh-loading revolver, while the Colt
six-shooter used by Underhill, always use
a round bullet, of the cslibre of the one in
question.