The Indianapolis journal., 1894-04-08
rs DIR. LIE CARON DEAD9
The Great British Spy Believed by
Some to Be Shamming.
His Remarkable Story by an Eyewitness
to His Appearance BefOre the
Parnell Commission.

Chicago Mail
The death Of Henri lie Caron, in his home
near London, yesterday, puts the finishing
touch to a very romantic career, and the
news will be read with much interest
throughout Chicago. where LIE Caron was
very well known.
The Parnell commission, which was sit-
ting for the trial of the Times newspaper
upon it's charges against Mr.. Parnell,
reached one of its most exciting climaxes
when lie Caron went upon the stand and
told his amazing story Of the work done
by the British government among the irish
secret societies. n Chicago newspaper man
who saw lie Caron the stand while ne
was giving his evidence says of his appear
ance and his story:
'I was in Dublin during the winter of
1SSS-S9 and, like everybody else TOOK a
great interest in the Parneil commission.
The clubs were full Of rumors about the
startling American evidence that was to be
given and the secret service of both the
government and the Irish Nationalist were
strainng every nerve to find out what the
other side was doing. BY very neat coup,
in which a clerk in the postal telegraph
office at Cork and the subeditor of United
Ireland were concerned, an American cipher
cable TO scotland 1aru was cOplSu OUN
given to the defendants some three or four
days before lie Caron took the stand. 1t
was a very blind cipher, apparently and
Irish ingenuity was almost wasted upon 1t
until by a lucky guess made, believe, by
Timothy Healy a partial translation was
made, and it was thus learned that Chl5
cago doctor, whose name so far as IL couId
be made out or guessed at, was Ut. IL.
Curren was the witness who was TO smash
Parnell.
being the only Chicagoan in reach was
asked if / knew the man. OF course, re-
membered such person. There was an
old Chicago directory about six years old
got from a local library, but no -. Curren
figured in it, Finally / was asked, / think
by either Dr. Kenny or Mr.. hettei, TO go
over to London and take look at the man.
and L started that night. All this of course
was before lie Caron had gone upon the
stand, and have always thought 1t was a
magnificent piece of deciphering to get Dr
L. Curren,' instead of DR.. lie Caron,' out
of the blind tangle of letters in that crypto-
gram. .
II got to Euston station late and saw in
the papers the full story of the spys nrst
statement, with his name correctly spelled
and his story we'll begun L knew at once
q good deal about him. because L was IA
miliar with the Clark and Oak street
neighborhood and when L saw him, as
did the next morning, l remembered very
we'll having met him in Barlingham's drug
store.
LIE CARON AN IDEAL WITNESS.
He was simply an ideal witness on the
stand. Cool collected, grave, but never
| hesitating and never hurried he told the
| story of his twenty-five years life as a
spy-with the most absolute unconscious
ness, apparently, that anyone could disap-
| prove the work or criticise the man. The
| room in which the commission sat was not
| very large enc, and 1t was crowded with
notable characters Parnell. his hair,
usual unkempt and his beard awry, sat
| near Sir Charles Russell, burning those
! wonderful eyes of his into the witness. Da-
Witt tore up pieces OF paper nerVouSly as
the story went on. Healy was there, look
| ing more than usually venomous and bitter
! as he took note after note OF what the spy
! told. John Dillon leaned back in his chair
| his long, ungainly form cramped and
| angled into unaccustomcd contiguity with
i itself, and every man jntently listened as
| the smooth story rolled on and on and the
| stenographers with flying pencils struggled
| to keep UP with the speaker.
"And what a story il was lie Caron swore
| to. His name was not lie Caron but
Beach. He had betrayed the Fenians to
| Canada and the Clan-na-Gael to England.
| He had been the. Judas Iscariot at every
| betrayal fine art and he had so taken on
| the habit of lying that it echoed in his
/ tones as he told his story. For instance,
| when he referred 10 the failure of the dyna-
the intention of destroying British men-of-
war no man, no Pecksniff alive, could have
put more nor % unctuous regret and melancholy
| Eitted that the boat was "a sad failure-a
/ very sad failure
| But his story everybody knows. His
| personal equation is where the chief inter-
est is awakened. He was not large man,
fiery W alert % His skin was saIiow his dSTe, f6re
| head polished. His hair was scanty. Per-
haps 1t was part of the saturation cf the
| most painstakingy and carefully French.
his His sfhrugs f the quick. nervous gesticula-
fingers were all Gallo, even if they were
| theatrical properties He was a magnif-
cent actor and he kept on playing his part
| unconsciously long after he had thrown
away the mask.
| Most notable upon the stand, however,
| to the few Americans who secured adj
mittance into the court was the bronze
| Grand Army button, which he wore on his
LAPEL H,I through3ut the hearing and which
| OF the furnishings of traitor
PARNELL'S ESTIMATE OF HIM.
L met Mr.. Parnell shortly after lie
Caron had left the stand. and asked him
| what he thought of the spy He said: lie
! Caron is very remarkable man-the most
remarkable man Chicago has ever sent
US. He is liar. OF course. Some of his
testimony, indeed, the most important part
Of his testimony. is just PLAN lying: but he
has told truth enough to conylne ME :hat
| there is much behind what ne saws. | am
! absolutely unable To remember having seen
| him before, and / do not think | would
forget man like him. but Dr. Kenny
lin, and that L met him.
John Dillon took almost the same
| ground. He said TO me: Your Chicago
| doctor is one of the cleverest. Coolest
| pluckiest scoundrels / have ever seen. AS
work of art his testimony is better than
anything ever given in an English court
| II Is falsehOod and truth, truth and false
| hood. and while l believe that w will ur-
tangle the truth from the lies he has Set
| us task which it would he idle to deny
| is very serious
Do you think 1 asked Mr. Dillon.
that the man is in any personal dancer?'
= Not bit. He is not Irish inforTner.
| l don't think ii would be wise for him to
go back TO Chicago, but he might live i'm
Dublin or Cork for the rest Of his natural
life and not a hair of his head would ever
| be touched
This was not lie Carons own idea how
| ever, for Immediately after his evidence was
taken he disappeared. He believed that his
life was forfeit and that only by the most
complete secrecy could he continue TO live
| He changed his name and altered his ap-
pearance, even, it is said, going so far as to
| have his face treated with chemicals, that
| he might not be known. He travelled in Asia
and Africa and on the continent avoid
| ing Paris and the other cities where
| Americans are usually found doubling upon
| his track, and going to infinite trouble to
| evade pursuit, which was never directed
| against him. One of the leading officers of
ia fhraa