The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-08-15

to which Stain replied that Dexter was
a very pretty place. Mr. Corcoran thinks
that Stain also told him that he was
familiar with Dexter. Certainly his re-
marx tnat IL was a pretty place would
imply that Yet at the trial when testi-
flying in his own behalf Stain denied
that he had ever been anywhere near
| Dexter: Mr.. Corcoran told Mr.. Brad
bury OF the Dexter Savings bank of this.
STATEMENT soF STAINS,
but SO far as Mr. Pierce knew it was
never reported TO the prosecuting officers
| There is living in Franklin county a
young man who bears a good reputation,
the only thing against him being that in
the days before Stains arrest they were
acquaintance. This young man says
that one night while he was at Stains S
house stain, for some reason, took out
his pocket. book and in it this young man
| saw two government bonds
Mr.. George M. Bird, a Connecticut
man, swho in the fall Of 1877 was keeping
store at Walpole, Mass. tells of conyer-
sation he had with Oliver Cromwell at
that time. One night man called at
Birds store after he had closed The place
for the night. The man bought some
crackers and cheese. AS there were many
burglars around Mr.. Bird took a careful
look at his visitor, and SO when d few
days later he met the stranger on a train
going to Boston, Mr.. Bird recognized
him and drew him into conversation
The man told Mr. Bird that he was
Oliver Cromwell of Medfeld. 1t was just
two weeks later that Mr.. Bird again met
Cromwell, this time on train bound out
OF Boston. Cromwell this time began the
conversation and told Mr.. Bird that he
had been on a trip "down east This
Mr.. Bird said was in October OF Novem-
ber, 1877, just about the time when it
was alleged at the trial that Stain and
Cromwell were making their trips to
Maine preparatory to the robbery.
When the motion for the new trial in
behalf of Stain and Cromwell swas heard,
the government relied largely on the evil
dence OF Edison Maddocks Dexter stable
keeper, who testified that he had driven
Stain and Cromwell to various places in
Maine. The 'suiciders'' have impeached
Maddocks' sitestimony on the ground that
he was not reliable witness, but, said
Mr.. Pierce, if the story of this man can
be shown to be true by corrobative cir
cumstances, it does not matter that
Maddocks was not reliable Now
Maddocks was induced to tell what he
knew about Stain and Cromwell and in
doing SO he told the attorneys something
that Stain and Crowmell made one of
their trips in January, 1878. This was
about the time that the express office in
Dexter was robbed. Young Charles Stain
had had nothing to say about the trip this
time, and SO Maddocks's story was un-
supported, However, Mr.. Pierce has
gathered certain far $ which he thinks
show that Maddocks was telling the
truth. Ira Page thinks ne saw Cromwell
and another man in the woods a mile or
two from Dexter on the night of
THE EXPRESS ROBBERY.
Page was at work in the woods, driving
a team. The two men stopped him and
Cromwell, while asking some question:
put his foot on Pages sled. Page wanted
to see tho men who stopped him at this
hour in that place, and SO proceeded to
light his pipe, the light OF the match fall
ing on the face of the man nearest him.
That man Page thinks was Cromwell,
whom he saw after his arrest On the
morning of January 4, Col. Joseph B.
| Peakes, the present chairman of the
| board of railroad commissioners was a
passenger on the stage from Dover to
| Dexter. The stage was stopped on it's
| journey by a man who was standing by
| the road. The man rode in the stage to
| Dexter and got out just as the stage was
| entering the village. Cor. Peakes knew
many of the people who travelled on the
stage, and knowing this man to be a
| stranger he tried TO get him TO talk The
| stranger was reticent and would not be
drawn into conversation. The man, Col.
| Peakes feels sure, was Oliver Cromwell
| Mr.. Pierce then read the following
paper:
II was sheriff and jailer of Penobscot
county while Stain and Cromwell were
confined in the Jail, waiting trial, and
| until they were taken to Thomaston. f.
FL. Appleton, ESQ.,, was county attorney,
| and before these men We're tried, Crom-
well on one or two occasions called me to
his cell and asked me what kind Of a
man the county attorney was answered
that he was perfectly reliable Thereupon
Cromwellgsaid, you, go and see him and
ask him What the government will do,
provided / make full statement I
went to Mr.. Appleton's Office and COM
municated to him my conversation with
Cromwell. After a lapse of several days,
Mr.. Appleton gave me q type written
statement to hand to Cromwell keeping
copy himself. This I handed to Crom-
we'll and Cromwell said he would make a
statement after he heard from his
minister and his wife. He wrote his wife
and also to his minister. The letters
P''SSSN OS.so'A - N1AA NOIO LIZ
spected by me as jailer, but he received
no communications nom his minister
whatever, as nearly as [ remember, and
the matter ended there. He never made
any statement to me nor to any one else
so far as | know.
Signed GEORGE W. BARRON"
In closing Mr.. Pierce presented a re-
monstrance against the pardon signed by
1874 citizens of Dexter.
ATTORNEY GENERAL POWERS
who closed the case said that he should
be brief. He called attention to the fact
that these men, Stain and Cromwell, had
had trial and that the evidence at that
trial had been reviewed by the full bench.
They had had able counsel and the treas
ury of Penobscot county had been open to
them that they might have every facility
for their defense Mr.. Powers said he did
not mean that this deprived the Council
Of jurisdiction in the matter, which was
very properly before them, but it was
matter for their consideration Mr..
Powers said that the petitioners asked
their case on the theory that Mr.. Barron
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