The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-12
THE CAUSE OF THE SHOOTING.


THE CAUSE OF THE SHOOTING.
The Plot Against the Steamship Queen, and
PheIan's Part in 1t.
The immediate cause of the attempt on
Phelan's life is supposed to be Che following
narrative, which was printed in the Kansas City
Journal of Dec. q;
In June, 1883, Captain Phelan started on a
voyage to Ireland. His absence was made
noticeable from the fact that during his sojourn
IN Ireland Carey, the informer. alias Powers,
was shot by Patrick O'Donnell. The descrip-
ton given of ODennell tailed almost identically
with that of Captain Phelan. and for several
days it was believed here THAI ODonnell was an
alias for Phelan, and that the Captain himself,
who is noted as one of the crack rife and pistol
shots of the West, had been selected to follow
and kill Carey. Captain Phelan returned safe
and sound. but he came nearer to being trans
ported for life during his absence than many of
his friends have any idea of. The main object
of Captain Phelan's journey, as it has since
transDired, was to obtain information which
would prevent the extradition of P.
from this country, and his removal to
England for trial. Captain Phelan obtained the
desired information from DR.. Reynolds, in Paris,
and was ready to bring the witnesses to this
desisted in its attempt to force the United States
to deliver up Sheridan, and this part of the mat
ter was happily settled.
The account of the attempt to blow up the
steamer Queen is given as nearly as possible in
Captain Phelans own language: Before leav-
ing New York. said the Captain, II became &C
quainted' with a mum Der of leading Irish agi-
at ors, among them John F. Kearney, who ar
ranged the explosion in the Caledonian railway
station at Glasgow. Kearney blew up the
station and q part of the gas-works
in that city. Rewards aggregating 60, 600.
or $40. 1000 in our money, were offered by the
British government and by the gas company
and the Coledonian Central railway for the ap-
prehension of Kearney. and he was obliged to
escape to this country. kearney had been form
erly an employee of the latter company. sailed
in the steamer Belgravia, and Kearney was to
follow me three days later in the steamer Queen.
l knew that an attempt would be made to blow
up the Queen two hours after she landed at her
dock in Liverpool. but l did not know the de-
tails of the plot. AS We thought we might have
business together on the other side, Kearney
and myself arranged to meet each other at the
Buchanan Hotel in Edinburg. If he arrived
first he was to leave a letter for me, signed
James Wallace; if | arrived first I was to leave a
note signed De La pouer." lThe Captain and
Kearney also devised an intricate cipher. con
sisting of thirteen hieroglyphics and thirteen
double figures, in which they were to
write to each other. which afterward
very nearly got the Captain into
trouble. Captain Phelan continued: "On my
arrival at Glasgow. where I first went, you may
imagine l looked eagerly every day for news of
the arrival of the steamer Queen, and in every
paper l picked up / expected to see heralded in
elaring headlines the destruction of the queenly
ship. But no tidings came of the absent vessel.
Arriving at Edinburg, l went to the Buchanan
| Hotel and eagerly scanned tho register. but no
such name as James Wallace could l find. In
.Edinburg, however, l met a man who had come
/ over with the Belgravia.
by a strange chance, which afterward struck
! me as more than a coincidence, he gave his name
as William Powers. the very name by which l
had intended to be known. You see. l was
raised by the Count de la Pouer, aud the Eneli-
cised word Cor Pouer is Powers. This man
said he had come over to superintend
the erection OF some American ma
ehinery in Edinburg. He pretended to
be an Irish American. said he was a nationalist
| and a revolutionist, and no man could have been
more bitter in his anathemas against the Cypress
ion of Ireland. He completely deceived me for a
| time. and even managed to partially ingrauiate
himself into my confidence. | afterward found
out that he was a detective in the service of the
British government. and had reason to believe
| that he had been put on my track before / left
New York, probably suspecting that l was the
man employed to do the work which Kearney
attempted, or was involved in similar plots.
know now that every outgoing steamer from
New York harbor is watched by English detect
ives; that they logged the steps OF the Irish
exiles and are almost as thick about Bowling
Green as they are in Tendon. Queenstown or
Liverpool. This Powers afterward logged me
dEOuuu III tdTiOu OiSSuISeS anu 4 Ildu LEOubte
enough in getting Kearney away safe out of his
clutches. | returned to Glasgow where
almost thu first mar | met was
Kearney. Where is the Queens / asked. In
her dock at Liverpool was the answer. He
then showed me where the acid from the ma
chine which was to explode the dynaralte had
eaten through the lining of his coat. and told me
| the following story of his failure to accomplish
his understanding.
~KEARNEY's OWN STORY.
THE plan was to arrange the explosion so
| that it would take place after all the passengers
had left the steamer, ard about two hours after
she ia ded at her dock. He had taken with him
fifteen pounds of dynamite. enough to blow up
the pyramids, and had placed it in q dark place
in the hold of fhe vessel below the main deck,
stuffed behind some boxes ana between two
knees of the vessel. The dynamite was sewed
up in a sack. The percussion cap was in its
place. and he intended to attach the lite brass
machine with the acid, which expIodes the car
just before leaving the steamer. and during the
confusion attending the disembarkment
The little machine was arranged to
would be over Now, before we
can go any further fcontinued the Captainl a
word as to how the mechanical part of those ter
rihle batteries Is made. There is really very
little mechanism about 1t. 1t is a simple affair.
but 1t does its work thoroughly and with fatal
precision. The machine consists Of a reservoir
OF acid which drops. drop by drop. on a little
hollow tube or faucet. in shape not unlike a
common faucet. Around this faucet are wrap
ped sheets OF tissue paper. IL takes the acid a
moment to eat through each sheet of paper.
although the flow Of the acid is also regulated
when 1t comes from the reservoir. In this case
J 40 sheets Of paper were wrapped around this