St. Paul daily globe., 1890-12-27
His Pal Killed After Being
Released From the
Ohio Pen.
Lyons Nabbed in Boston,
A Secret Trial in
Hartford.

out, however, during yesterday MORN
ing, and in the afternoon, when the case
came up, the court room contained a
considerable number of eXpectant visit
ors. who were thus witnesses of one of
the most dramatic and impressive eveutS
ever recorded in the history of the court.
An indictment, on paper so old that it
had faded yellow, folded and unfoledd
so often that it had split, and been
pasted and split again, and scored all
over with indorsements-an indictment
that the officers of justice had persist
emily kept alive for nearly twenty-five
years, finally found its victim and Sc
cured his sentence.
At few minutes past O'clock jim
mie Lyons, accompanied by Officer
Lord. who had him in charge, walked
into the court room. and after eXplana-
tons and arguments. that will be given
later,
Was Sentenced
By Judge Prentice to states prison for
two years for crime that he was con-
victed of in February, 1869. Ever since
then he has been fugitive. until now
he gets sentenced at the hands of a
judge who was SchOolboy when the
man was tried. 1t is story without a
parallel in the criminal records of the
state,
In the winter of 1869. "P. w. Spencer"
SO called. really Jesse Allen, and ..Sain-
uel A. Rogers" SO called, really Jimmie
Lyons, were members of the crowd of
New York criminals known as s'the"
Allen gang, whose headquarters were at
the st. Bernard hotel. Lyons had gone
to New York, fresh boy from the
country, to work in the hotel. and had
had been worked into the gang. In
that month he and Jesse Allen started
out from New York on the New Haven
road, having information that a man Oh
the train had a large amount OF money
in his yaliSe which they were to steal.
BY mistake they took the wrong mans
bag somewhere between New Haven
and here. 1t had S100 worth OF con-.
tents. Then they went to CRANKY. in
this state, and committed burglary,
house in this city. They were for some
reason suspected of the CRANKY affair."
and their room at the hotel was.
searched. There the police found the
bag whose theft on the cars had already
been made public. The men were ar
rested. Grand Juror Samuel f. Jones
presented them to the police court for,
trial, making out the papers against
them. The police court bound them
over for trial under bonds of $3.50 for
each case, and Mr.. Jones mot as grand
juror gave bonds for them, and subSe-.
Quently appeared as their counsel.
The Case Came
in due process to the superior court.
That in which the charge was theft was
dead open and shut affair. They had
the property in their room. There was
no dOdging. The only weakness lay in
the fact that the owner of the vallse
was Boston merchant, f. B. Webster.
State Attorney Hamersley had rea-
son to fear that he would not ap-
pear as witness, and, to make sure, he
sent a clever young lawyer down to
Boston to arrange for his appearance.
MIR. Webster was very unwilling to
come. The case was of trivial interest
to him. He said he had been called
upon in his store and warned that it
would be dangerous for bim to come
here; he had also been accosted in New
York and similarly warned; and his
wife at their home in Cambridge had
been called upon 10y a man representing
himself as spencer" or Rogers" who
had told her that if Mr.. Webster would
stay away full restitution would be made.
but if he appeared the happiness of her
home would be destroyed, anu if she
was fond of her children and of her
husband she had better prevent his GO
ing. Of course these threats alarmed
her terribly. But Mr. Webster was
plucky man, and he had a most per-
suasive pleader in his visitor; and he
finally agreed to come on, leaving BoS-
ton lin case he might be watched) by
train that wOnld not indicate his deSti-
nation.
Mr.. Hamersley, after hearing this story,
Made Up His Mind
that the knaves would come on here
day or two before court opened, and
that il the Boston witness was absent
they'd stand trial Oh the doubtful burg
larry case and save the bond on the
other. which could not be proved with :
out Mr.. Webster; while, if Webster ap-
peared. they would skip out. So he ap-
piled for bench warrant, charging
them with intimidation of witnesses.
This he put in the hands of Deputy
James ApolloS Fem, with direction to
watch every train for them. On the
noon before the day set for their trial
he caught them both and brought them
to court. A civil suit was then on trial,
but at the close Of the business of the
day their counsel, MeSSrS. Chapman,
William w. Eaton aud S. +. Jones,
moved that they be discharged Oh the
ground that the information was in
sufficient. Judge Pardee put them un-
der S1.000 bonds each, and they couldn't
furnish it.
That night LOT of their friends came
on from New York. The cases were to
come up at 10 O'Clock next day. Ar.
HameISley had reason to believe that
lnr l,0 oil, IN, f,r icJ, 81,
$1,000 bonds, and thus, being out on bail,
OH all eases, would escape by forfeit
ing their bonds. That proved to be
their game. In the morning their coun-
sci asked the court to take bonds on the
charge of intimidation-the funds had
evidently been raised. Mr.. HanerSley
asked that that matter
BE Postponed
until after the cases down Tor trial had
been concluded, but the court decided
they might give bonds at once. Before,
this was done Mr.. HamerSley put an
officer at each door of the court room.
with instructions not to let either of
those men pass out till directed.
Allen gave bond for $1,000 and imme-
diately started to leave the court room.
The states attorney at once requested
the clerk to call the theft case for trial,
and by the time he had called it Allen
had been stopped by the officer, and
there was lively struggle for him to
pass.
Mr.. Hamersley moved sthat the court
order him taken into custody, and the
judge directed the officer TO bring him
forward. Then followed long and
lively argument on the right of the
court to order him into custody, as,
while on bail. he was free man. Fin
ally the motion was altered to one for
an increase of the bond, on the ground
that evidently the bond was not suffi-
eient to hold them for trial. That
was granted, and 5000 additional! fixed
as the bail. 1t was too much. The
gang hadn't the wherewithal. So they
turned about and surrendered the m, i
into custody. and got all the bonds ~
leased. Ti;en they were tried for theft.