Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-01-30
a DEADLY ASSAULT.
Captain Phelan. the Noted Fenian, Lured
from His Kansas City Home to New
York, Where He Is Fatally Stabbed

| Captain Phelan. the Noted Fenfan, Lured
from His Kansas City Home to New
York, Where He Is Fatally Stabbed
The Alleged Cause for the Deed.
NEW YORK, Jan. 1o.-Captain Thomas
Phelan, Superintendent of the Kansas City
Workhouse and famous as a Fenian leader,
was wounded yesterday afternoon in the of
flee of O'Donovan Rosa by Il man giving
the name of Richard Short. The cowardly
deed was committed with a huge knife,
and Captain Phelan is now dying in Cham
bers Street Hospital from seven deep
wounds. The house surgeon said that
PLclan was the worst cut up
man ever brought to the hospital.
The Coroner took the dying mans ante
mortem statement. The first known Of the
| murder was when two men rushed down
the stairs of Rossa's office, located on Cham
bers street, followed by Captain Pllelan,
bareheaded and almost covered with blood.
He dropped Oh the sidewalk in front of the
building and was lying there when. two
| minutes later. an officer cam up with Short
in custody, and asked the PROSTATE man if
| the prisoner was his assailant. Phclan rec
| ognized Short instantly, raised himself sud-
denly, and, pulling a pistol, fired point
blank at Short. The ball struck a match
| box in Shorts pocket and did him no harm.
Phelan fell back exhausted, and was taken
away in an ambulance. Short was lodged
in jail.
When Phelan reached the hospital he
rallied sufficiently to tell this story: Last
Saturday week. he said, there was az i'll
terview with myself published in the Kan
sas City Journal. l received a letter from
John +. Kearney, Of 452 West Twenty-nimh
.treet, of New York, to come here. | tel
Trived yesterday. l called on John Rear.
,ey at his place OF business. kear'
ley and l called at O'Donovan
aossa's office. Rosa was not in. \ man
called Rocky Mountain O'Brien came into
the office of Rosa. He shook hands with
lie and shortly afterward left the place. A
mani think his name is Barker-came in
the office with a large knife in his hand.
He struck at me and tried to stab me
in the chest. I was sitting down
at the , time He made several
cuts at me and succeeded in stab
bling he several times. l then ran down
the stairs. He was brought before Inc as |
lay on the sidewalk. l supposed lie was
going to stab NE again and L shot at him.
kearney was present when was stabbed.
There was also two men in Rossas office
at the time. | do not know who they
We're"
The accepted theory of the assassination
is that Phelan was lured to New York to
meet his death at the hands of Short be-
cause in the Kansas City interview Phclan
had given in detail an account of the at
tempt to blow up the English steamer
Queen at Liverpool, ard also the story OF
tln pt{,,, NJ T., hl,v. W, %lA rt,.r,. ~;
way station. O'Donovan Rosa reprinted
the interview in his paper, the United
Irishmdn, and it caused quite a sensation
among the dynamite fraternity in this city.
Richard Short is known as the "-Avenger.'
1t was he who attempted to kill Jim Nc
DermOtt in a saloon in this city in 1882 for
the reason that McDcrmott was supposed to
have betrayed the Irish cause and because
he was alleged to be a British spy.
Captain Phelan refused all spiritual adj
vice, declaring that he was a follower OF
Bot Ingersoll. In June, 1883, Phelan
went to Ireland on a visit to friends,
lnformer Carey was killed by O'Donnell.
For a time Phelan was supposed to be
ODonnell, and the English detectives
hunted him down only to find their mis-
take. He was one of the originators of the
skirmishing fund. and is supposed to be the
famous No. l mentioned by Carey in his
confession. 1t is said that Short was one
of the men driven out of Ireland by jim
McDcrmott. Among Captain Phelan's eff
fects are a number Of letters from Chicago
lrishmen, a Communication ticket between
Chicago and Kansas City, and Il large sum
of money.
Warrants have been issued for O'Dono-
van Rosa, John F. Kearney, Rocky
Mountain O'Brien, and other dynamit,
leaders. The police are confident tina,
there was a deep-laid plot behind the as
~sassinatlon, and that a great sensation in
dynamite circles will be unearthed to-day.
John +. kearney is wanted by the English
police for the Glasgow explosion, and there
is so, 600 reward offered for him.