The evening times., 1897-05-24

! TombS prison is about to be rclecated Il,
| the limbo OF taings that were many reminis-
! cences connected with that gloomy deposit
ofInisery and crime crowd themselves upon
the people of this city who are conversant
with events famous in its history during the
last third OF a century and longer. The
demolition of the structure VIII be tegun
this afternoon
Teh ToIn.Os has been the receptacle If
criminals whose careers have given then, a
notoriety that spread far beyond the lin
its OF this country.
The Herald gives the following among the
more prominent of these:
Anon ct he earliest and most famous crimes
with which the Tombs is associated was
that of John C COLT who was
10 have been hanged for the mur-
der of Samuel Adams, whom he kin
ed in his office in the granite building now
aadng at the northwest corner of Broad
way and Chambers street.
Colt. who was an expert accountant and
teacher OF ornamental pcR1nan ship. was sit
ting in his office on an upper floor on the
afternoon of September AZ. 1871, when
Adams called to collect an account which
was overdue. According to Colts confes-
sion, made previous To his conviction, Ad-
ans sat on a table, and a heated argument
took place as TO the amount OF money Which
was overdue. At last A dams dealt Colt q
bio ". and, seizing him by the throat huri
ed hiTn against the wall a hammer lay oa
table nearby. and Colt seized it and "a a
frenzy ramcd blow after blow on his
Sailaat's head Adams fell To the floor and
died almost Immediately.
Colt who declared that he had TO inten
fion Of killing Adams, was for a while
completely daZed. but on recovering him
self st about to devise means to dispose
OF the body. His first care was to relapye
all traces Of blood from the floor. antl tnen
hepr0cure1 a large packing case, into which
with much difficulty he succeeded IN
tnrustinc the body Ontir following u.n-n-
ing he hired d CaTtman to take the body
down to the foot OF Maiden lane, where lie
shipped IL OF sailing vessel bound for
New Orleans In all probability his scheme
would have succeeded had not the DEPART
ure of the vessel been delayed for a weak,
when a rrishtful stencil proceeding from
the hold caused a search 90 be made and
led to the discovery OF the bod = in the i.ox.
The corpse was at once identified as that
OF Adams. whose mysterious disappearance
had already become tie talk OF the town
CurioBSl 7 enough, Coitappearsto to hayenade
no attempt ts escape, and, with the aid Of
the cartman to whom he had giT.n tile box,
he was quickly traced and arrested.
During the whole of his imprisonment
woman named Catharine Eenshaw. who
slant TO lin, and daily visited him in
his cell. When ailhope OF escape had been
abandoned Colt expressed an earnest de-
sire 10 marry her. and the consent Of the aIi-
tliori1ies having been obtained, the cere-
nony was arranged to take place at E.oon
on the ratal day. the execution having been
fixed e take place four hours later.
The marriage took plare in Coli : cell. fhe
bride being escorted 10 the prison by Csslt S
brother aad John Howard Payne. Tbecere-
mony was performed 10y the Rev. AIR. An
thon, the other witnesses being Darid Gra-
ham. Robert Emmett. Justice Merritt and
the sheriff An hour later the bride bade
her husband farew ell, and Colt asked 20 be
left alone until the time arrived TO summon
him to the gallows This request was
granted Within a few minut4 OF the ap-
pointed hour an alarm OF fire Eana mtintbe
prison, andit " as discovered thats climber
watch tower on the Centre street AitSe was
in a lslaze. While the firenen fought ihe
tilaze and the prison rang with the cries OF
nearly twO o hundred wre;c hesfTen zied iy the
fear that they would he roasted in their
cells. hurried preparations were male to
carry out The eN ecGtion. The clergyman was
dispatched 10 the cell to notify the con-
5enmed man that his hour had come, and
on reaching the door he sprang back with
cry OF alarm which was responded to by the
sheriff, who, on entering the cell, found
Colt lying dead on his cot. with a knife
driven into his heart.
The excitement in the city consequent on
this suicide was. if possible, an event more
intense than that caused by the murder.
An investigation followed, but it was never
determined who gave Colt the weapon with
whIch he cheated the hangman.
The killing OF ''BilT' Poole in 1885 was
the means OF creating even greater sen
sation in the city than that which attended
the Colt tragedy. The Know Nothing move
ment was then at its height, and mob yio-
lenCe and rowdyism were rampant in New
York Poole and tom Hyer, both re-
nONd dleIi lt1nbtEs, were IHP
ican'' faction. John Morrissey and Lew |
Baker being the acknowledged champions
Of the opposition. Poole, who claimed 10
be without a peer in the art Of rough-and- 1
tumble fighting, challenged Morrissey 80 /
meet him at the pier at the foot Of Amos /
street, and determine " hich was the better 1
man. MoTTissey kept the appointment, /
but on reaching the battle-ground was set |
upon by Poole's friends and nlercilessly 4
beaten.
1t was this that lee to the murder OF ]
Poole, although it was proved that Nor /
rissey himself had no part IN the ira gedy |
The rivals met soon after the Amos street 4
affair in the saloon in Broadway op- |
posite the Metropolitan Hotel, known as !
Stanwix Hall, and pistols were drawn, hut /
the police interfered and placed both men |
under arrest Morrissey then went home, |
but Poole, after being released, returned |
to the saloon, where he was attacked by |
Baker, man named Mclaughlin, alias |
'Paudeen," and other members OF the !
AIorrisSey gang. Paudeen reviled Poole /
and challenged him to fight, and on his |
refusing one OF the gang /
named Turner gave the signal for a gen
erat attack by drawing huge Isvolverfren
under his overcoat and fired atPoole. The
first shot took effect in his own arm, and
he fell to the floor, but managed TO fire
second shot. which struck Poole in the leg,
bringing him to the ground