The Wahpeton times., 1889-05-30
CRONIN WAS KILLED.
Disappearance of the Chicago Irish
American at Last Accounted
For.

CHICAGO. Nav 22.-The dead body of DR..
p. II. Cronin, the Irish-American who
trangely disappeared from his home in
Chicago two weeks ago, wns found this
evening some distance nor,h of the city in
sewer on Evanston avenue. A bloody
towel was wrapped about the head The
rest Of The body was stark naked A Gath
Olic emblem. which :he doctor always wore
next 20 his skin suspended about his neck.
was untouched. Ga the dead mans head
were dozen deep cuts which had severed
the scalp aud indented the skull. It is the
opinion OF the police that Cronin was foully
murdered, and by some man who could not
bring himself to disturb Catholic trinkct
Much excitement was shown ut detective
headquarters when doubt as to the identity
Of the body was finally removed by definite
messages from Lakeview. 1t was evident
from the expressions Of the officials that one
Of the first objects OF the police
will be to have number of susp:-
cious assertions xp!ained-assertions made
by supposed friends OF Cronin. Lieut. Elliott
will have these people at the inquest and de-
'nand an explanation full and complete The
detectives claim that they have been handi-
capped from the start by q lack of assistance
from those wao claimed to know aIl con-
cerning
THE DOCTORS DISAPPEARANCE,
Lieut. Elliott said soon after the finding of
the body: Il will have this information now
or there will be number OF prompt arrests"
Wholly accidental circumstances brought the
corpse to light A gang of laborers in the
employ OF the Lakeview suburban govern
inent haue been cleaning tho bitches along
| n IVA sN,, sci,
Foreman Henry Roesch and two men were
working north on the east side of Evanston
avenue towards Fifty-ninth street. As they
neared tho catch basin ut the coruer they
noticed q strong smell of purifying flesh.
and Roesch pried off the top of the catch
basin with his spade and discovered the
body OF DR.. Cronin. 1t had apparently been
hastily p,tcced into the basin, for the hesd
was underneath and the feet and legs were
up in the opening. The place where the
corps was discovered-Fifty- ninth street and
Evanston AVENUES three hundred Yards
from the Argyle Park station of the Chicago
Evanston branch Of the Chicago, Milwaukee
st. Paul railroad. 1t is but two or three
blocks from the lake, and nearly mile
north from the corner Of Sulzer street and
Evanston avenue where the
|
empty, was found on the day after Cronin's
disappearance. 1t seems altogether remark
able that it was not sooner discovered, for
the Lakeview police started out to search all
the catch basins in the big suburb the week
after the trunk was found. AID Maxwell.
of the Lakevlew council, who was one Of the
searchers. said tonight:
We started out two days after Cronin's dis
appearance to seurch every catch basin
along Evanston avenue. There were fifteen
men under Capt Wing and half dozen
volunteers engaged IN the hunt for the body.
We looked first through all The catch
and Evanston avenue, where the trun.. was
found. and east aud west from that corner
Then we looked through the basins north
and south along Evanston avenue. but fin
nily came to the conclusion taat the trunk
oil likelihood the body had been hid
den some distin away. We then went to
Graceland aud looked in the basins for half
a mile up and down the avenue and along
the cross streets, and worked five or six days
,9 before giving up the search. By. mere bad
luck we stopped Two blocks north OF Fifty
ninth street and consequently missed the
eaten basin where the body was hid
| THE BODY IDENTIFIED.
Immediately upon taking the body out of
the basin Foreman Roesch notified the Lake
view police station and summoned the patrol
wagon. The body was stretched out in the
Lakeview Eorgu which occupies the front
room In the basement under the sta
tion Telephone messages were sent
to the city police, and IN hour after
the finding Of the body a dozen Of Crontn's
friends were at the station. The three Scan
Ian brothers, who have been intimate with
DR.. Crontp, Yere among the first who ar
rived. They all positively identified the
body as that of Cronin upon first sight.
Later it was urqualifedly identified by I. T.
Conkltn, the saIoonkeeper. with whom Cronin
lived and by James Roland and Patrick
McCary. During the evening Dr.. J. r
Brandt, president of the Cook county hos
pital staff, who was aA acquaintance of
Cronin's. carefully examined the body. and
positively identified 1t as that of the missing
man. Among many others. the dentist who
last worked on Cronin's teeth reached the
station late in the evening. and
POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED THE BODY,
as did the man who for years has been Gro
Minis tailor. A great hubbub was caused in
the suburb by the finding of the cortse
Shortly after the body had been removed to
the police station the street in front
was jamned with vehicles. and scores
of people were crowding for admis-
sion to the basement where Law
the doctors remains Officers were stationed
on the stairway and ut the basement door,
aud were once or lwice obliged to use their
clubs IN forcing the crC d back. The tumult
coetinued far. into the night Long
before midnight at least forty men
who had known Cronin had identified the
body. The suburban police will keep the
hody and towel ut Lakeview until the coro-
ner orders otherwise. The man Woodruff or
Black, who, after arrest u fortnigh ht ago, con-
fessed to having helped carry of trunk
containing corpse that of q woman. he
claimed, from barn in the city The night of
Cronin's disappearance, was interviewed to-
night in Jail. He manifested no sur
prise or discomposure when told that the
body of DR.. Cronin had been found north of
where the trunk was discovered, but while
he appai entity talked freely about the matter
he seemed careful lot to 60 outside OF tho
story he had originally told. He repeatedly
said thatit he had not been locked up in iail
he could and would have cleared up the
trunk mystery before this time.
SULLIVAN DUMBFouNDEp.
Alexander Sullivan. eX-president of the
Irish National league. was horror-stricken
tonight when told of the discovered ST Dr..
Cronin's body. He said he was ut o loss TO
know what to suy, further than that he
was dumbfounded, as he has believed
all along that DR.. Cronin would turn up all
right in course of time. He had no theories
whatever TO advance as to the probable cause
Of tla DOCTORS murder In refereuce IN the