Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-05-15
TIE ClsON!N MYSTERY,

THE ClsONiN MYSTERY
Ia sroHY wHIoH coNNEcrs Hill
WITH STRANGE CASE.
But Which Throws no Light ON the iis
appearance of the Irish-American-L
Caron, the British Spy and Informe'
Trunks the Doctor Was Killed.
CHlcAao, Ill, May 1O.-The most start
lug information In the mysterious case 9
the missing Irish American. DR.. r. II
ICronin, came out tonight. Last night al
officer from Twelfth street station arrestet
a Young man who was trying 10 sell I
white horse and wagon in q livery stabls
near the station for a small sum only
When taken to the station the man CAV
HIS ma me us John Brown, and when asked
the routine Of questions always addressed
to q prisoner, betrayed much emotion and
asked for Capt. O'Donnell. He was taken
| to the Captains rfice, and in the presence
| OF sew raj officers, told a startling story Of
his connection with the mystery.
To day the police investigated the stt ~,
ard found it corroborated by many cir
c~unstancas which tend to show its truth
fulness. Browns name is Frank q. Wood
ruff, aud he has been working for Oeane u
Co.. livery men, at A Webster avenue.
HIS STORY,
as reported by the authorities, ts to the
effect that a week ago Wednesday, in talk
lug with u man named William King, he
(Woodruff) had complained OF being out
of money, having lost considerable play
ing cards, and said it was Necessary for
him to secure something to do that wonid
pay better than working in q livery sta.
BILE. King sal he could put Woodruff in
a way OF making money easily.
Saturday evening, just at dusk, King
called Woodruff out OF the stable, asked if
he could get q horse and wagon out with
out anyone knowing it, and said he would
give Woodruff $25 il he would dol it. Wood
ruff said he could, and q place OF meeting
ut 2 O'Clock in the morning was agreed up
on. Woodruff left the wagon out OF doors
in the alley before going to bed.
When all others had retired, he stole
noiselessly down stairs, took out a horse,
hitched up. and meeting KING, they drove
together to a barn in the rearo Of q big house
on State street. As they wheeled up in
front OF the barn two men came out. One
was q man whom Woodruff calls Dick Fair
burn. The other man Woodruff
FEELS SURE WAS DIR. cRoNIN.
Although it was quite dark at the time,
he had several opportunities to look
closely at the man'sface, and asserted that
he answers Cronin's description in many
ways. The other man addressed this per.
SON as doc"
These men drove straight through the
alley to First street over to Dearborn and
up Dearborn TO Lincoln Park. II heard
several expressions In the conversation be-
tween the men and the doctor which con-
vinced me there was a body in the trunk.
In the 6rst place ] noticed that Cronin was
very anxious for us to hurry. Two or
three times he said. Get out of here, boys;
get out of here quick l noticed The trunk
smelled as il there was decaying flesh in it.
I'VE drove to the north end of the park
and then topped a minute near bushes.
King u Farburn were with me. We left
Cronin at the barn, and I remember, as I
looked at him, one OF his eyes was black, as
il he had been hit with q fist. At the
bushes we lifted the trunk out and I held
the horse while it was opened. It war
then | saw that my suspicious were correct.
There al
A o D IN THE TRUNK.
They lifted it out in several pieres-I can't
say positively whether it was the body ola
a or 3 woman except from one circum.
stance, l heard King say, Here's where we
leave Allie Fairburn answered, Yes, and
if you had let Tom alone we would have
had Doc 10 here with her.
These remarks passed while they were
carrying something that looked like a
corps,.
king gave me $25 and told ME 10 drive
away, get rid of the trunk, and get the
horse into q gallop. I don't think | was
over 15 minutes on the run. Finally I
dumped out the trunk and turned back,
1t broke open as it fell, but I did not wait
to see in what manner it lay or Just how
the pieces were placed. I returned to the
Woodruff says he suspects, from the con.
v%ersation he overheard between Cronin, |
Fairbusa and King, that the body in the
trunkw was that of a woman whose death |
resulted from an operation perhaps per-
formed by DR.. Cronin. He draws this
not only from the words he |
overheard, but also from the anxiety
evlnced by the doctor to get out OF the
way, and from the fact hat Cronin had
recently been struck bv
one. Woodruff first read
y Cronin's disappearance Tuesday, and
aiso read the story relating to the finding
the empty trunk. He was greatly
frightened, aud thinking officers were GER
;ainly on his track, took means to get ont
'f the city. He had some money remain.
ng, but decided to obtain O little O and
'1oie the identical horse aud wagon which
le had used last Saturday night. The
esult was his arrest and confession.
a pretty brunette named Allie or Alice
.lilavason has been missingfrom the neigh .
'orhood near which was located the barn !
mere Woodruff is ssid to have met DR.. :
and the iatter's companions. Her !
arents are in rather humble circum. !
tances, and heretofore little attention has 5
cen paid to her disappearance. Several .
ersohais addressed to her or relating to !
ne giri nave appeared i'll The ps pers OF late, .
ue the advertisement contain little or .
othi. g definite. t
The saloon-keeper Conklin,. with whom, :
ronin lived, was informed t. might of =
foodruffs statement. Conklin decl. red d,
lere could be nothing in the story. and .
nee more insisted that the doctor had I
zen murdered by certain Irish n~ationalists 8
no, according to Conklin, were en.n,,.s al II
ronin. p
THEs SPY LIE CARBON HEARD FROM. =.
LONDON, May lo.-Le Carron, the spy ,
r the British government on the move /
OF the Irish leaders in America and |
testified for the Times" before tho
arnell commission. q, cIarss that he and
Cronin. who recently mysteriously dis.