Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-25

shoot if they wanted to. They forcibly
seized myself and wife and proceeded
to tie us up and gag us. 1 resisted
them as much as 1 could. but in the
struggle one of the masked men drew his
revolver and said he would shoot me, and
then fired and wounded me on the left side
of the head by the shot from his revolver
j grasped the revolver and attempted to
wrest it from him, but the other masked
men coming to his assistance, was oveS
powered, gagged and bound Ny hands were
torn by the revolver in my effort to get ii
from him.
'In this attack upon me all the men acted
in concert, and actively encouraged and
aided each other in the assault upon me,
and no one of the three attempted to inter
1Tere when the man attempted to shoot me.
SAYS THE WOUND WAS SERIOUS.
81 bled great deal from the shot wound
in my head, and my health was much i'm
paired and my life endangered. 1 have no
doubt but that the shot was fired with the
intent to murder me. believed at the time
he fired he intended to do as he threatened,
and kill me. The men tied and gagged my
wife, and after was shot, they threatened
to torture her to discover the place where the
money was. Fearing that they would carry
out the threat, and believing our lives in
danger, from their violence, L offered to un'
lock the safe and did so''
1.-THE masked men robbed it, stealing Sl2 600
in Treasury notes and bills, current funds OF
the United States. Also eight bonds of the
Brady's Bend Bridge Company for $3.50 each,
numbers 49, IA I5 l6 10l, l02 l03, l04, respec-
lively, of the value of $3.50 each. Also four
bonds of the Allegheny Valley Company for
$1,000 each, numbers 2 7s2, 7SS, 7s4, 2,7S5, re-
spectively, of the value of s., 900 each. Also
three bonds of the funded debt mortgage
bonds of the Allegheny Valley Railroad
Company for 500 each, numbers 3d. ,572
80, ,573, 30,574 respectively of the value of SlO0
each. all of which was my property. The
total value of the cash and the valuable Sc
curities OF which these masked men robbed
me on this occasion, amounted in value of
about $4,000 in current funds of the United
States. They also robbed my wife of a bag
of silver money containing about $50, which
was in the saie she being there present
tied and gagged by them, and unable to
prevent the robbery.
None of the stolen property has yet been
recovered or found, except three of the
Allegheny Valley Railroad bonds of the
value of 81 600 each, numbers 27s2, 27SS, 27S5,
stolen as above, and also all the Brady's
Bend bridge bonds, and the Allegheny Val
ley Railroad bonds, funded debt mortgage
bonds, also stolen as above.
COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE PRISONERS.
''These bonds were some months afterward
traced to the possession of James W. Miller,
alias James Ryan, now the fugitive from
Justice In Toronto, Canada. As 1 am in
formed and believe Miller and the other
three men, named William jackson, Will
lam Harrop and Jacob Oft, were after
the robbery arrested and all four indicted
and tried before the Court of Oyer and
Terminer in and for Clarion county,
Mt the town of Clarion, in August, lSSI |
for burglary committed in my house and |
for the larceny of all the above moneys and |
bonds which belonged to me. 1 attended |
the trial and testified against the four pris- |
Oners on the 24th day of August, A. ID. 1881, |
and they were all convicted of said bur |
glary and larceny on the 29th day of August, |
1881 and each of them was sentenced to |
ypa INN n
itentiary for the Western district of Penn
sylvania.
81 could not at the time of the robbery |
identify the four prisoners, owing to the |
masks which concealed the upper part of /
the faces and the end of their noses, but |
from the general appearance of the said |
prisoners, Miller, Harrop and OFT, and from |
the voices which l distinctly heard At the /
time of the robbery, and from the oppor- /
tunities l have had since to see and hear |
them several times in the Jail and in the |
court at their trial. now believe they were |
the men who committed said burglary and |
robbery and feiOniouS assault upon me, and |
there is no doubt in my own mind that they |
are the masked men who robbed me and |
shot me on that occasion.
These men were only tried for burglary
and larceny of my money and bonds, and
have not yet been tried for shooting me, nor
for robbing my wife Barbara of her bag of
money on the same occasion. | am informed |
and believe that James W. Miller, alias \
Ryan, who was so convicted and sentenced,
and whom identified as aforesaid to be one
Of the masked men engaged in the robbery
and assault with intent to murder me, es-
ca ped from the said penitentiary in Decem-
ber last. and is now in custody in Toronto
Canada, as a convict fugitive from Justice.
his
JOHN \ CoNNoRs.
Sworn before me by the deponent. John
Counors, the elder. at Madison township, in
said county, this Goth day of January, "A D.,
SS2 r. r. MCGREdoR,
Justice of the Peace for said County"
THERE WERE THREE AFFIDAvITs.
"The above affidavit was the second one
secured by Warden Wright while was held
for extradition in Canada" said Mr.. Miller,
'the first containing practically the same
had been found defective
TO Canadian law. and the
one here published was the result
lf consultation of Warden
NrightS Canadian lawyer and the Judge
who tried the case. Mackenzie. John Con-
lors ST., had gone before the same Justice of
he Peace, r. X. McGregor, the day previous,
)n the 25th Of January, A. ID. 1852, and had
;WOrn:
WHEREAS, On the 9th day of January A
D.. 1882, ! had made an affidavit in reference
o the assault and robbery made on me on
he evening of the 2Srd day of March, A. D.,
ISL and that he is now Informed that said
or information had been miscon-
,trued as to set forth that 1 charge James.
w. Miller with shooting me with intent to
kill. but in order to correct any such con-
on that affidavit, 1 hereby make
his affidavit, and say that l did not intend
% charge such crime on said Miller, nor did
recognize or identity him or any others
who committed said burglary, they all being
nasked and further saith not.
His wife, Barbara Connors, appeared on
he same dav and date before the same JUS
ice of the Peace and swore that she was
present at the time of said robbery, and
hAf |
burglars, for the reason that they were all
masked
;TORY OF CoNNoRS' GRANDDAUGHTER.
The notes of testimony taken by Hon. J. T.
doffatt, since member of Congress from
clarion county, in the Court of Oyer and Ter
miner, 1881, where he acted as one of the
counsel for James W. Miller which notes of
are duly certified to, and in pos
ession of THE DISPATCH. Extracts from the
lotes of the testimony taken by Mr.. Moffatt
5 they fell from Connors lips, the deponent
avs: Il cannot identify the men: they came
loles for their mouth and eyes; coats but |
oned up; cannot tell whether they had hats
II caps"
,tate of Pennsylvania, Allegheny county,
City of Pittsburg, SIS.
Before me. the undersigned Notary Pub |
ic, personally came Miss Florence Connors
vho being duly sworn, says:
81 am a granddaughter of John Connors
r., the man from whom the money and !
,onds were stolen at the time of the Catfish
Obbery.