The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-27
TRIED To ASSASSaATE
SALT LAKE CITIZENS
Continued from Page -

was dressed in a dark suit of clothes
He did not remain long, but after look
ing about. went on out of the yard.
About three days afterward he came
again. at the same time in the evening.
He net me outside. His beard was
shaved off, and his moustache was
dyed black. l said 10 him, as he ap-
preached, Hello, John
But he made no reply; he did not,
by word or look. show That he admitted
his identity.
.. There's man who wants to meet
you.' he said.
What for?' I asked
We'll, you wronged him once, and
he wants TO settle with YOU saiI
Smith.
Il told him." said Warden Dow, that
l hadn't wronged anyone, and l had
nothing to settle with anyone. 1 knew
all the time that he was lying about
the other man who wanted TO meet me.
l knew that he was the man, and the
other was only imaginary He went
away, and that is the last that | saw
of him. But in day or 50 l received a
letter, the chief point of which is that
had 'twenty-four hours TO retract and
meet him.
AS he was a desperate man, and one
of the meanest convicts 1 ever handled,
felt that the letter might mean some
thing, but expected him to make some
attack on me. | was not looking for
internal machines.
Il received telephone message about
o'clock from the police station, tell
ing me of the discovery of Judge Pow
ers' box and mine. L went on down,
and we made the investigation.
Sure Smith Is the Sender.
1--WE are sure that these machines
- ~ h.
cause he is the only man who has
threatened me. He threatened me when
he was here, and Wa seen by Sergeant
Janney of the police force His de-
sire to meet me outside. and the threat
in the letter, with other things, seem
to settle his IDENTITY
But one of the chief reasons for be-
lieving that John Smith sent these ma
chimes is the similarity of the hand
writing of the envelope sewed upon
the box addressed to Warden Dow and
the writing ON the letter received by
the warden signed John Smith. The
handwriting on the box is strained.
From the fact that most of the letters
are shaded and that the pencil was
pressed very hard against the paper it
can be seen that an effort was made
to have the writing very plain. The
wv" capital and small letter are I'M
The small as" are the same and the
''r'' is the same. There is in each case
an upward tendency of the lines. The
capital D in Dow is written with a
stiff. strained effort on the box, but
there was an easier movement of the
pencil in the address on the letter.
Threatened Dow.
81 don't know what Smith has against
mo ffnia 70 hi to Ir;II
said the warden. but he told officer
Randolph. who saw him in the Mon
tana penitentiary at Deer Lodge. that
l had been the cause of his conviction
in that state. He said that 1 had fol-
lowed him about Montana laying for
chance to send him up. 1 don't know
where he got this idea. for / didn't
know that he was in the penitentiary
there. He told Randolph that he
would do me as soon as he was re-
leased.
Then he was very bitter against me
for his treatment during the time he
was serving his sentence here. He
was such an unruly, tough prisoner
that We kept him in punishment most
of the time. He was the worst man I
ever handled"
Has a Hard Record
Smith has a hard record at the peni- |
tertiary. He was arrested at the age of !
II years on the charge of train rob !
berry on Sept. 8. 1888, and was brought !
to the penitentiary to await trial. But |
Smith was shrewd. He made out that (!
he was crazy, for after an examinatiO /
on the charge of insanity he was sent /
to the asylum May 26, 1854 He was |
TO the penitentiary as cured |
on July 6. 1884. In 1885 he was again |
sent to the asylum. but during Decem-
Der of that year a letter which he had /
written to friends outside, in which he /
said he was taking insanity, was dis
covered. With that evidence he was ]
to the penitentiary to await /
trial, which was had during February /
Of 1856 at Ogden.
On Feb. q, after the trial. he was /
being brought back to the penitentiary /
and Warden Dow sent down two of his |
best guards to bring him from the 4
train. They handcuffed him and rode |
up in a wagon. He was sitting on the !
front seat with the driver while the /
guards occupied the back seat. Just !
as they were nearing Shoots store on J
Twelfth South and Thirteenth East 4
streets Smith jumped out into Parley's 4
creek. 1t was dark and there were 4
thick bushes about the banks so that 4
he escaped in the darkness.
Recaptured and Sentenced
After his capture it was learned that /
ne had gone TO the hills back al the I
where he remained two
days. The cold drove him out and he