Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-01-21
CAUGHT IN THE ACT.
Says His Victims Number Over
Dozen.

New York, Jan. 1.-THE mysterious
parsonage known to the police of this city
an ".Jack the Slasher'' was arrested at 2:80
this morning. The police have been ogta-
ted since December ~ over a series Of pecu-
liar assaults, Eve having occurred up to
date, and at least crue Resulting fatally.
The victims have without exception been
under the influence OF liquor, walking or
staggering along the street when some one
has noisolsssly approached from behind and
siashed their threats WITH a razor, making
his escape before being identified. One of
the supposed victims OF the slasher was
Lawyer James Carson Of Baltimore, whose
dead body was found on Christie street Fri
day morning with the throat cut.
Caught in she Act.
EARLY this morning Detective Mastereon
Of the Oak street precinct, in which most Of
the assaults have bcon comraisted was
standing at New 8owery and Roosevelt street
when a roughly dressed men approached
close TO him and stared into his face. The
action aroused the officers suspicious and
he determined to shadow the man. The
stranger led tho officer tortuous trip up
and down the streets Of the East Side, till
finally
"A Drunken Elan
came along, The stranger accosted tho inc
briate and the two walled together 6 short
distance Then the stranger fell behind.
The drunken man had proceeded 90 feet in
advance when the stranger su4denlv@ flashed
some glittering object from his pocket ard
eprang like tiger upon the other The
latter fell and in an instant tho detective
was at his side. The stranger fed with the
officer in hot pursuit. Two patrol men
joined in ths chase and the fugitive was
quickly overloaded and taken to the Oak
street station whore
A Blood Stained Razor
was found in tho pocket OF his coat. The
victim, whoso threet was 4eriously though
not fatally siashed, was also taken to the
station. He said his name was William
Miller Of 1926 CherrF street. lie had been
drinking heavily ard was going homeward
when accosted By his sssoiIsnt
The ,lasher, well formed middle aged
man Of medium height. with dark blue rest
less eyes, gave his name Is Henry G.. Dowd
Of 54 New Champors street. He denied
having assaulted the man, although he told
The officer when arrested that he acted in
ssf defence. He subsequently denied having
told the Office this
A force OF detectives was ssnt out to in
learned to prove conclusivelY that Dowd
and Jack thu Slesher" were one and the
same. 1t lie also limited it will be shown,
that he IL
Identical with Jack the Ripper"
And that he murdered tho old prostitute,
Annie Brown, known as "Shakespeare, +"
for the killing of whom the poor Algerian
''Frenchy'' is serving a life sentence.
Has II Mania FOR sIashiuS Folks,
i'o"i was born in Liverpool As years
az lie came to this country while an in
"a I. His father one OF the original
-ntral Park engineers. Samuel N. Hovt
of Brooklyn is his uncle. Dowd has been
Gdjudgod insane and was at ere tine an in
mate OF the Flatbush insane asylum. He
has long seemed to have mania for dash
ing people and served two years of
hve years sentence for cutting man,
but was pardoned through the influence of
wealthy relatives, upon whose bounty he
has since subsisted. He has g brother.
James j. Dowd, who is now in custody as a
religious crank, and another brother, VIII
liam ID. Dowd, who is fancy goods mer-
chant in Boston. To tho latter as well as
to the Hoyts, DOwd has bsen a source of an
noyance fer a lesg tisae; they have paid his
board at lodging houss here
1dentified by Victim,
Dowd was taken before Miller TODAY at
the hospital, but Miller said ms was so drunk
at the time Of the assault that hs could not
identify Dowd. Another Of the slasher' 8
victims Ia John CLARK OF East Elizabeth
street. lie also is in a hospital and TODAY
Dowd was taken to Clerks ward Clark
at once said 'Tkero's tao man WHO tried to
murder me-" and becsnne greatly excited
Clark's Identification is regarded as com
plete.
Cut the Threats of a Dozen
Dowd admitted to-day to JnsDector
Byrnes that he cut the thronts of a dozen
different people and the nsxt breath he de-
MED that lac lad over bsen guilty of any
SUCH action. He continued in his admission
however, that he knew tao names OF the
people who had bsen cut and that he Ind a
record OF every case subsequently he told
the inspector that when he was a boy a big
German entered his home in Brooklyn and
forclbly assaulted his mother before his eyes
He vowed vengeance On all Dutchmen and
Ms soon as he rttainsd to manhood he exc
cuted the threat upon avery one whose face
resembisd that OF his mothers sssaiant.
A Dangerous Man.
The woman at whose house Dowd boarded
said to-day that he was a dangerous man,
He has frequently oano In collision with
the law and was feared by those who
knew him. a favorte position of his was
to sit In his "indew and discharge q n cal
ibre revolver into the crowded thorough.
fare no was finally persuaded to dssist
from this peculiar sport
Dowd's crank brother called ON him to.
day and to the officer ho said: 'ay brother
has been IN AN asylum and he is a damned
fool, utterly damned; he will not pray for
himself and when got on my knees he
cursss--it is not right" The crank was