Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-01
BORN TO BE A JAIL BIRD.
MICHAEL DUNN'S HISTORY a
ROMANCE or CRIME.

| Glasses.
NEW YORK, May 30.-I came in con-
tact two or three days ago with an inter-
esting individual. He was a man who
had spent 80 of the 50 years of his life in
| prison, and who is nevertheless trusted
and respected. AS he has recently come
into some publicity from being accused,
unjustly l think, of having, by giving
| false evidence, brought an innocent man
to the gallows for the murder OF little
girl in Philadelphia 16 years ago, the
story of his life, details Of which he FUR
nished me, is perhaps worth telling.
! Michael Dunn was born in Manchester,
England, in 1926. His parents were drunk
ards. He was seut neither to school nor
TO church, and he only learned to steal.
In this requirement he proved such an
apt pupil that, before he was II years old,
he had been arrested five times and had
served as many terms in prison. His life
| as a thief began i'm stealing trihes when
he was or years old. He was arrested
| for the first time, when s years old, for
robhing a till He was sentenced to two
months Imprisonment and hoQging.
| The logging was administered with
| cat-o'-nine-tails, and his back was so
! lacerated that he could not wear his
/ Jacket for some time. The flogging was
given Just before his discharge, so that he
was suffering cruelty when he went back
| to his home in a cellar in one of the worst
/ streets In Manchester. His father, after
| getting drunk on some money which had
| been given him when leaving the prison,
/ turned him out Of doors.
Thrown on his own resources he was
/ obliged to steal for living. and before
| HIS back was well he was in prison again
for stealing a silk gown. This time he
was sentenced first 10 a Jogging, then to
three months imprisOnment-the last to
/ be spent in solitary confinement on bread
and water. His mother took him home on
his discharge, but he was soon arrested
again for stealing a pOcketboOk, and this
time he got TWO loggings and six months
imprisonment. He became connected
| with cOunterteiters after his release. and
before long got another six mOnths' IN
/ Jail for passing bad money. While there
he was i'm the same cell with a burglar
known as ''Gallus Dick" whose eonver-
| satiOn made him worse than he was before.
| When released his counteTieting friends,
who had turned burglars, made him play
the part Oliver Twist had forced on him
| by Bill Skies, and he crawled through the
| fan lights of stores and let his companions
! in. They successfully robbed several
| shops, but were finally arrested for the
robbery of a jewelry store in the town of
Nauslord, and he was sentenced to trans
portatiOn for seven years. lie was then
Y years old.
WITH 36l CONVICTs, WHO WERE BOYS
LIKE HIMSELF,
he was sent to Van Diemen's Land. IL
was 100 days before they reached Point
Pure, a small island containing 300 boys,
the Oldest under l0, their destination.
Dunn, who was known as Peter Feather
stone, was taught shOemaking until he
became incapaciiated by larger boy cut
ting him across the hand with knife.
/ When well he made himself useful as a
general factOtum. BY the time he
was II he was so largo and strong that
he was sent to Port Arthur TO work with
the men. The keepers were so cruel
that two of the cOnVicts tossed up a
penny TO see which should kill
the most baIbarous. Twenty min
utes after the tossing the keeper was
a dead man. His murderer WAS hanged
within month. While Dunn was at Port
Arthur a boy Of IS was hanged for merely
trying TO strike a magistrate with a stone
hammer. As there were 10000 convicts
in the penal colony, men had to be hung
for the least characterization in order to
keen the rest from revolving. Having at
tempted to escape, Dunn was made to
work in irons in the coal mines. His
duty was 90 drag heavily laden trucks in
underground passages 50 low that he had
to crawl on his knees.
When his term Of transportation was
finally ended, he got employment on an
American " haler which happened 20 put
in al Hobart Town, and he served as a
sailor for some time. He got tired of the
sea at last, ard, having come 10 this city,
took TO his old life with agang of Eng
lish thieves whom he fell IN with. lie
varied this life BY enlistng in the United
States cavalry and then deserting, and
afterwards re-enlistng in the navy. He
tried TO desert and was ultimately sue
cesslul, but his first attempt only pro-
cured for him a severe flogginR.
WHILE A NAVY SEAMAN
he had married Cherry street belle, who
proved 10 be a drunkard. After deserving
his ship he became thief again, and WAS
arrested with the proceeds Of a burglary
in his possession. he was locked up in
the basement Of the City Hall. but man
aged 10 escape. He was recaptured be-
fore long and sent % BlackwePs Island.
He escaped soon, however, and with his
wife took passage for Liverpool under the
name Of Burns. This was In 1851.
Having saved $500 OF his stolen gains
he tried tO live honestly as an eating house
keeper. His wlfe's habits broke up the
establishment, and he became garrOter.
lie was caughtand sentenced TO ten years
transportation, preceded by fifteen months
solitary confinement In the "mOdel iail'
at Northampton. While there be was
taught the alphabet by the warden, and
with the additional aid Of the prison
school master he learned to read
and write. He was then -
years old. lie underwent a
year at hard labor In Portland prison
before going 10 Australia, hut behaved so
well there that he got a ticket-0rleaye a
year after being transported. He took
advantage Of this 70 escape as a stowawaY
In ship " Bombay. He enlisted there
in the English cavalry only 10 soon desert
aud ship as sailor to 81. Helena, where
he shipped on an American vessel for New
Bedford. lie became III, however, aud had
10 be left NO an African port. He finally
got back 20 Liverpool in 1851, where he
soon got arrested for robbery and
was sentenced % five years imprls0n-
meut. Part OF this term was spent at
Gibraltar. When it was ended, be was
given free passage 10 this city, and he
landed here the day before President
Lincoln was assassinated He took TO
stealing 40 once, and was Ia prison for
two years and four months In Sing Sing.
ia 1907 be was sentenced 10 three yeors In
Moyamensing prison, Philadelphia. II
was when be WAS here that he gave the
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