The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-01-11
DYNAMITE DEVILS.
The Story Told by Captain
Phelau.
AN INTERESTING NARRATIVE.
Latest Concerning the stabbing-ghe
California Deadlock-Oregon
NOtes-Our MOllIe.
Phelan's Story.

RhelansS story.
KANSAS CITY, January 1o.-The inter
view with Captain Phelan. heretofore
mentioned as published in the Journal
OF this city, December 1st, is devoted
chiefly to the publication of plot to
blow up steamer and a description of
the manner of manipulating tbeir mys-
ferrous dynamite machine The story,
as told by Captain Phelan, Is substan-
TALLY as follows: In June, 1883, he
made a voyage to Europe to secare in
formation, which would prevent the ex-
tradition of P. J. Sheridan, the Irish
agftator, and his removal to England.
He visited Paris and accomplished his
mission. Meanwhile. however, the Brit
'Ish government abandoned the effort to
extradite Sheridan and the matter
dropped. Continuing the story. Phelan
said: Before leaving New York, he net
"a number of Irish agitators, among
them John P. Kearney, who blew up
the Caledonlan Railway station, at
Glasgow and afterwards escaped 30
America. He sailed in the Belgrdgid,
and Kearney was to follow three days
later in the Queen, and they were to
meet in Edinburgh. He new that there
was plan to blow up the Queen, after
she passengers landed at Liverpool.
When the men met at Edinburgh, Phe-
Ian asked Kearney why he had not car
ried it out. The latter replied that he
had placed sufficient quantity of
dynamite to blow up the pyramids
in the vessels hold, but when the ship
arrived at Liverpool she anchored in
the stream and the passengers were
taken in a tender. Kearney was not
permitted to go into the hold, so he
came away, leaving in the vessel fifteen
pounds of dynamite, which would
probably explode about two weeks later
and imperil hundreds of lives. Phelan
determined to go to Liverpool and
that that would be suicidal Phelan,
however, persisted; visited the Queen,
informed the officers and learned that
they had received cable message from
New York fifteen minutes after the
vessel landed, describing the plot, which
led to the discovering of the explosive,
and saving the vessel. Phelan re-
manned a day or two at Liverpool,
aware that he was being con-
SANITY Swallowed by detectives.
He was approached by Inspector
Marsh. of Liverpool, head constable
Murphy, of Ireland, also Mr.. Jenkinson,
who had charge of the criminal prose
/ eution in Ireland; all of whom tried to
get him into the service of the govern.
ment. They told him the names of
several pretended Irish patriots, who
were working for the government, and
secured some of their information. He
could not conjecture how they discov
cred the Queen plot, as Kearney said it
was known only to Rosa, Kearney and
himself. He supposed some one
dropped upon kearney's plans in New
York. Concluding his narrative, Phe-
Ian said he was finally permitted to
leave Liverpool When he arrived at
Glasgow, he found his valises had
been broken open and searched,
done, ne thought, by the man who
introduced himself in Edinburgh,
as James Powers, and whom Phelan be-
lieyed was British detective, who had
Swallowed him from New York, and en-
deavored to get into his confidence.
Kearney had to lay very low, but Phelan
succeeded in getting him out of Eng
land by disgusting himself as Kearney,
and throwing the officers off the track.
The captain also described the mechan-
ism of the deadly battery. The machine
is simple, but works with fatal precision.
|
drips upon a tube, enveloped in sheets
of tissue paper. 1t takes a minute for
the acid to eat through each sheet of
paper In this case, 120 sheets were
wrapped around the tube. When the
last sheet is eaten through, the acid
runs down the tube and upon the
percussion cap beneath, and then the
explosion. The machine is noiseless and
almost infallible in its working
terrible injury. Speaking of himself,
the captain said he was a dynamiteH
out-and-out; and belonged to the Irish
National society and was obedient to
their call, having participated in many
of their plans for terrorizing the
English government. He determined
to return to Liverpool and save the
Queen, in order to protect the lives Of
hundreds of people, who would sail or
} the next voyage. Many of these were
his own countrymen, men, women and
children going to join their friends il
America.