The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-11
THE CAUSE OF THE SHOOTING.

THE CAUSE OF THE SHOOTING.
The Plot Against the Steamship Queen, and
Phelans Part in 1t.
The immediate cause of the attempt on
Phelans life is supposed to be the following
narrative, which was printed in the Kansas City
Journal of Dec 81:
In June, 1883, Captain Phelan started on
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-
tion given of O'Donnell tailed almost identically
with that Of Captain Phelan, and for several
days it was believed here that O'Donnell was an
alias for Phelan, and that the Captain himself,
who is noted as 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
transpired, was to obtain information which
would prevent the extradition of P.
j. Sheridan the great Irish agitator,
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 witne sses to this
dessted 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 Phelan's own language: sfBefore leav-
ing New York, said the Captain, II became ac-
quainted with number of leading Irish agi-
tators, among them John F. Kearney, who ar
ranged the explosion in the Caledonian railway
station at Glasgow. Kearney blew up the
station and part of the gasworks
in that city Rewards aggregating $4,000,
or $40 900 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 employe of the latter company. l sailed
in the steamer Belgravia, and Kearney was to
follow me three days later in the steamer Queen.
/ knew that an attempt would be made to blow
up the Queen two hours after she landed at her
dock in Liverpool. but 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 letter for me, signed
James Wallace; if | arrived first was to leave a
note signed De La Pouer." The Captain and
Kearney also devised an intricate cipher, con-
sistipg of thirteen heroglyphics 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: son my
arrival at Glasgow, where first went, you may
imagine looked eagerly every day for news of
the arrival of the steamer Queen, and in every
paper / picked up expected to see heralded in
glaring headlines the destruction Of the queenly
ship But no tidngs came of the absent vessel.
Arriving at Edinburg, l went to the Buchanan
Hotel and eagerly scanned the register. but no
such name as James Wallace could find In
Edinburg, however met man who had come
over with the Belgravia.
'By strange chance, which afterward struck
me as more than coincidence, he gave his name
as William Powers the very name by which
had intended to be known. You see was
raised by the Count de la Pouer and the Engli-
cised word for Pouer is Powers. This man
said he had come over to superntend
the erection of some American ma
chinery in Edinburg He pretended to
be an Irish-American. said he was nationalist
and revolutionist, and no man could have been
more bitter in his anathemas against the oppress-
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 detective in the service of the
British government, and had reason to believe
that he had been put Oh my track before left
New York, probably suspecting that was the
man employed to do the work which Kearney
attempted, or was involved in similar plots I
know now that every outgoing steamer from
New York harbor is watched by English detect
ives that they dogged the steps of the Irish
exiles and are almost thick about Bowling
Green as they are in London, Queenstown or
Liverpool This Powers afterward dogged me
around IN various ulSgulSeS ana mad trouble
enough in getting Kearney away safe out of his
clutches. ] returned to Glasgow where
almost the first man I met was
Kearney. Where is the QueenY 1 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 dynamite 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 landed at her dock. He had taken with him
fifteen pounds of dynamite, enough to blow up
the pyramids, and had placed it in dark place
in the mold of the vessel below the main deck,
stuffed behind some boxes and between two
knees of the vessel. The dynamite was sewed
up in sack. The percussion cap was in its
place, and he intended to attach the lite brass
machine with the acid which explodes the cap
just before leaving the steamer. and during the
confusion attending the disembarkment
The little machine was arranged to
run two hours and then-bangl All
would he over.n Now, before we
can 20 any further continued the Captain( a
word as to how the mechanical part of those ter
rible batteries is made. There lis really very