The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-07-16

When the two men met in Paris, more
than year ago, O'Brien was reputed to
be nearly 'broke," but the king" was
rolling and basking in yellow gold.
O'Brien, it is said, wished to make n
touch, but for once Waddel refused to
ante up. There was Il deadly quarrel.
and each man swore to kill the other on
sight.
The weeks flew by. and the friends of
each We're busy keeping the men apart.
O'Brien went armed, but 'Waddelrs
cronies asserted that he never carried a
gun at any time.
The meeting occurred sooner than any
body expected, and the stories told by
the adherents of Waddell indicate a be-
lief in O'Brien's manliness. which was as
surprising as it was misplaced. Outside
the Care du Nord one morning O'Brien
met the kid" as the latter was walking
toward the station. He Immediately
opened fire. The "Kid's" friends assert
that he did not draw, but walked rapidly
toward his adversary after the first shot,
as if to disarm him. He fell pierced by
many bullets, and died without uttering
a word of reproach to his assassin.
O'Brien was arrested ut once. He
showed little concern at the time, and
when he was led into the room where the
body of his victim lay he was entirely
undsturbed.
'He tried to have me murdered on
three or four different occasions" said
the king" "and it became necessary for
one of us to disappear. | knew the
Kid was capable of anything, so / shot
first"
But" objected the prosecutor, "they
say he was mild hammered and harm
less"
ION the contrary" re'orted O'Bren,
she was aggressive and traitor of the
worst description"
In October, 1888, O'Brien, assisted by
George w. Post swindled Rufus w.
Peck, an octogenarian of Albany, n. Y,
to the tune of $4,000. The king" per-
for $4,000 and then sailed for Europe
without delay. He was arrested as he
stepped from the gangplank in Liverpool,
sent back to Albany for trial, and in April,
1892, was sentenced to Clinton prison for
ten years His friends secured writ of
habeas corpus and had him taken before
the United States court in Utica.
The jailer who had charge of the "king''
took him to Baggs' hotel to spend the
| night and, for greater security, slept with
him. When the jailer awoke next morn
ing O'Brien was gone
The king pushed straightway for
| New York and shipped for France on a
| sailingv essel. He was arrested in Havre,
but escaped after being few hours in
| custody.
The next heard of O'Brien was that he
| was in Argentine Republic, and then for a
time all trace of him was lost until he
turned up as an officer in the Haytien
army, after which, being clothed in the
| glory of heroism, as he thought, he re-
turned to France. He was known as a
bookmaker on the French turf and seem
ed to have plenty of money. He made
many trip between Paris and London
presumably on business in his own pc
culiar line.
O'Brien's friends have always takeI
the ground that Waddell intended to Kill
him and that he was justified in shoot
ing first. When arrested O'Brien said
he was AZ years old and lived in New
New York when at home.
New Caledonia is an island of the
| South Pacific ocean and lies midway be-
tween the Fiji islands and east coast
of Queensland. New Caledonia is about
240 miles in length, with an area OF
6450 square miles. Coral reefs surround
the island. The only harbor in use is
that of Noumea, the capital, on the
| Southeast cOoSt