Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1885-01-15
A DEADLY ASSAULT.

Captain Phelan, the Noted FenIan. Lured
from IIIs Kansas City Home 60 New
York, Where He IL Fatally stabbed
The Alleged Cause for the Deed.
NEW YORK, Jan. 1O.-Captain Thomas
Phelan, Superintendent of the Kansas City
Workhouse and famous as Fenian leader,
was wounded yesterday afternoon In the Of
fee of O'Donoyan Rosa by man giving
the name of Richard Short. The cowardly
deed was committed with huge knife,
and Captain Phelan is now dying in Cham
bers Street Hospital from seven deep
wounds. The house surgeon said that
Phelan 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 Phelan,
bareheaded and almost covered with blood.
He dropped on the sidewalk in front of the
building and was lying there when, two
minutes later, an officer came up with Short
in custody, and asked the PROSTATE man IL
the prisoner was his assailant. Phelan rec
Ognized Short instantly, raised himself sud-
denly, and, pulling a pistol, fired point
blank ut 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 an in
terview with myself published in the Kan
sas City Journal i received letter from
John +. Kearney, of 452 West Twenty-ninth
street, of New York, TO come here tel
egraphed Kearney that would come, and
arrived Yesterday. called on John Kear-
ney at his place of business. Kear-
ney and l called at ODOnOvan
Rossa's Office. Rosa was not in. A man
called Rocky Mountain O'Brien came into
the Office of Rosa. lie shook hands with
me and shortly afterward left the place. A
mani think his name is Barker-came In
the Office with large knife in his hand.
He struck at me and tried to stab me
I'm the chest l was sitting down
at the time He made several
cuts at me and succeeded In stab
bling me several times. l then ran down
stairs, and he stabbed me several times on
the stairs. lie was brought before me as l
lay on the sidewalk. l supposed he was
| going to stab me again and l shot ut him.
Kearney was present when was stabbed.
| There was also two men in Rossa's Office
at the time. l do not know who they
were"
The accepted theory of the assassination
| Is that Phelan was lured to New Yeis-to
meet his death at the hands of Shof yOe-
cause in the Kansas City interview Phelan
| had given in detail an account Of the at
| .a,,..t A..
Queen at Liverpool, and also the story OF
the attempt to blow up the Glasgow rail-
way station. ODonovan Rosa reprinted
the interview in his paper, the United
| IItshmdn, and it caused quite a sensation
among the dynamite fraternity in this city.
Richard short is known as the "Avenger. y
1t was he who attempted to kill Jim Nc
| Dermott in saloon In this city in 1882 for
the reason that McDermott was supposed to
have betrayed the Irish cause and because
he was alleged TO be British spy.
Captain Phelan refused all spiritual adj
| vice, declaring that he was follower OF
Bob Ingersoll. In June, 1888, Phelan
went to Ireland on a visit to friends,
and it was during his stay there that
| Informer Carey was killed by O'DOnnell.
For time Phelan was supposed to be
| ODOnnell, and the English detectives
hunted him down only to find their mis-
| take. lie was one of the OriginatOrs of the
sklrnlSnlnS lunu, anu is supposed 10 DC the
famous No. mentioned by Carey in his
| confession. 1t is said that Short was one
of the men driven out of Ireland by jim
McDermott Among Captain PUoians ef-
fects are a number of letters from Chicago
Irishmen, a cummutation ticket between
Chicago and Kansas City, and q large sum
of money.
Warrants have been issued for O'Dono-
van Rosa, John 4. Kearney, "Rocky
Mountain" O'Brien, and other dynamite
leaders. The police are confident that
there was deep-lald plot behind the as
sassinatlon, and that great sensation in
dynamite circles will be llnearthed to-day.
John +. Kearney is wanted by the English
police for the Glasgow explosion, and there
Is $40, 600 reward offered for him.