Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-20
Ambushed and Shot.
Awful Double Murder Near
Wilkesbarre, Pa,
AND NorA GLUE ToTHE CRIMINALS.

The Bearer of 812, coo in Cash Ambushed
and Shot to Death, Together with Bis
Companion-The Perpetrators Mako on
with the Money and Leave No Sign of |
Their Identity-How 1t Was Probably
Done.
WILKEsBARRE, Pa, Oct IA horrible |
crime was perpetrated within four miles of |
this city yesterday. Two men were waylaid |
on the public highway, murdered in cold |
blood, and robbed of sl2, 900 in money. This |
victims of the crime were ]. Barney Nc |
Clure, aged "a, whose home is bennington |
Pa, and Hugh Flanagan, residing at Miners |
Mills The Si2, 900 was the money destined |
to be paid to-day to the laborers at work on |
the new branch Of the Lshigh Valley rail |
road between Pleasant Valley and Fairview. |
The work OF building the road WAS In the |
hands of Charles AcFadden, the millionaire |
railroader and contractor of Philadelphia
His work was about half completed, and to-
day would have been the last pay day on hif
section. As rule his monthly payments
have aggregated over $4,000, but the past
has been light month, and the total amount
of the payroll was only $l2 2d0.
Early yesterday morning Mr.. McFadien,
scene of operations on the mountain side,
FIVE or six miles from the city, drew his
check for the amount and gave it to Nc
Clure, his paymaster, to bring to this city
and obtain the money Mr.. Mcclure Sc
lected as his companion Hugh Flanagan, a
middle aged man, who is employed by Nc.
Fadden a stable boss The two men took
horse and buggy about o'clock and drove
.itv ID
the Wyoming National bank and received
the money
As Mcclure passed out of the bank with
the cash in his possession the cashier asked
him if he was going to drive up that lonely
road alone and without protection. "No,
indeed" replied Mcclure. q have a COM
panion waiting for me outside, and as for
protection we both carry something of this
kind" and he produced revolver as be
spoke. The cashier came to the door and
saw the two men enter their buggy and drive
away. About half an hour later they pulled
up at the store of Thomas F. Quigley, in the
borough of Miners Mills, three miles from
this city. The postcffice is in the same build
ing and Mcclure got several letters that had
come there for himself and for Mr. McFad-
den He also had cigars brought out for
himself and companion and, lighting them
without getting out of the buggy, drove
away.
This was the last seen Of them alive. From
Miners Mills the road runs up the mountain
side, and after leaving the little town there
is not house or building of any kind un-
til the buildings occupied by the laborers are
reached-more than three miles away.
There is no more lonely road in the Wyom-
ing valley. About a mile and hall from
Miners Mills the road passes through little
gorge, the hills rising on each side There is
| curve at the head of the gorge, and Just at
| the curve on the slope of the hill about six
OF eight feet from the road, rises a gigantic
| pine tree, Around its base grew a number
| OF shrubs and the trampled grass and earth
| show It was here that the assassins posted
| themselves
How the murderers accomplished their
| work can only be surmised, but the circum-
stances seem to show that as tine buggy came
within twenty-five or thirty feet of the spot
| the assassins fired a simultaneous volley al
its occupants, and fred more than once for
there are at least dozen holes in the body
and top of the buggy, and the marks of four
| or five bullets have been found on the rocks
| on the opposite side of the road Flanagan
WAS killed at once and dropped from the
wagon on the spot, for he was found there
| shot through the head and heart and with
| bullet in his shoulder
| Mcclure was not killed, though certainly
wounded. He must have at once started up
lis horse which was fast and spirited ami
| NAL, and made desperate rush TO escape the
| essasslns- But his efforts were in vain. The
| murdereTs dashed after him, pouring in
| bill Of bullets from rifle and revolver. They
| aimed both Al horse and man. Mcclure
must have been speedily hit, for be fell side
ways out of the buggy, his foot caught, and
he was dragged some distance up the road,
his head and face being torn and mangled
| nor did tie horse 60 ,ar, for about 900 feet
above the pine tree he stopped with seven
bullet wounds in his body
Then the murierers must have gathered
around the victim, ana finding that he still
breathed they finished him with blow on
the head with an "a that crushed in his skull.
They did not stop TO kill the horse but left
1t standing there, blood streaming from its
wounds. They took the box full of bills,
McClure'S watch and the money he had in
his pocket and fied no man knows where
The murders were discovered by Contract
or McFadden as he drove leisurely over
the same road Mcclure had taken.
He started at full speed for help and an
alarm was sent in all directions. The news
created the most intense excitement, and
within few minutes hundreds of people
were on the way to the scene of tragedy. Al
once efforts were put forth to track the
murderers. County Detective Heffer
man started at once and was fol
lowed by Lehigh Valley Detective James
OBrien and Police Sergeant Hill, oil
this city. Sheriff Search FASTENED to the
spot and selected a number of volunteers
swore them in as deputies, and sent them out
to score the mountain side. kilograms wer,
sent TO every railroad station within a hun
dred miles, and tine local constabulary al
over this section of the state were notified
J But so far. although several arrests hav,
been made, those arrested have been dis
charged and there is no clue to the crimi
mails.