The Saint Paul globe., 1900-06-03

/ ing at the Gilfillan bloo5, and man was
| set to watch him. Inquiry showed that
! the horse had been hired at a stable
at the corner of Eighth and Sibley streets
and a description of the man who hired
/ it was secured When no one came for
the animal Mr.. OConnor guessed the
purpose for which it had been left and
| instituted a search for the man who had
| taken 1t from the stable. The restaurant
! where the man had been taking his meals
! was located and finally his room, upon
! which a close watch was kept. After
! some days a man came to the room
| for some articles and when questioned
/ he disclosed the fact that he had been
| sent by a man who was at the work
| house. Further evidence was secured and
! the thief was finally convicted and SEN
! fenced to a term of seven years at Stll-
water, where he committed suicide be-
| fore the expiration of his time.
Some years later the window of Bergh' $
! jewelry store was broken in similar
manner and seven gold watches were
! stolen. OConnor secured the arrest and
conviction Of Jim Martin, who was SEN
fenced to seven and one-half years.
After his arrest it was found that Martin
| had stolen quantity OF goods from Pan
! nelps furnishing goods store on Jack
! son street and had also shot China
| man in a laundry on Washington, near
the old city hall in a quarrel about some
washing.
One of Mr.. O'Connor's earliest expert
ences as a detective was in the arrest Of
| a horse thief near Shakopee. The man
was known as a desperate character and
| was found sleeping with a Winchester
rifle by his side. O'Connor first secured
the Winchester and then arrested his
! man.
It WAS due to O'Connor's work that
Burns. the murderer of young SpalGing,
son of a former clerk at the Windsor
! hotel, was arrested and convicted
| Spaiding was Killed in the railroad yards
! at BelOit, Wis, his brains being beaten
out with a coupling pin. Burns was
! traced to ST. James, Mimi, by O'Connor
] and WAS shot while resisting arrest. He
had robbed Spalding and the murdered
mans watch and some other property
were found in his possession. He was
sent to the penitentiary for eight years
Just prior to the robbery of the Mime
apois postcfllce, twelve or fifteen years
ago when the safe was blown open and
$4,000 worth of postage stamps We're
stolen, Bobby Adams, John Cook, Charlie
Kinney and Bill Connors, who were
afterwarG found 10 have done the work
were arrested here and driven out OF
town. Connors was afterward arrested
here for another job and broke Jail.
The man Martin, who is always been
believed to have killed his partner, Buck
Moore. who was murdered at the Minnesota
transfer, was arrested by O'Connor. The
two men came to the city together with
a car of horses and Moore was found
dead, with his head crushed in by a
! blow from a coupling pin. A pair Of
bloody overalls was found near the body
and the evidence against Martin was
considered strong, but after two trials
he was acquitted.
It is not generally known that John
OConner traced to Jim Clancy, a convict,
the murder Of Police Officer Hanson,
| who was shot while walking his beat
early IN the morning of April T. 1888. The
body was found about 1:30 in the morn
ing lying across the curb on Virginia
avenue, near Summit. In his hand the
officer clutched his half-cocked revolver.
After tracing Clancy to Covngtor,
Sioux City Council Bluffs and Omaha,
O'Connor finally located him in the peni-
tentiary IN Illinois. While in the Joliet
prison Clancy made a full confession to
a fellow prisoner of the killing of Han
son. He said that he and another man
We're about to break into A. K. Barnum's s
house when Hanson, who had been be-
hind the porch of the house across the
street, came toward them. They started
to run away and the officer followed.
Clancy said he was nearly a block away
from Hanson when he fired and only shot
to scare the officer. Clancy went insane
while at the prison and was removed to
an Illinois asylum, where he died.
In the summer of 1895 Minnie
May, Minnie DAILY, Barney Birch
and Little AL" quartette of
the most skiIIful and most no.
toriOus there's in the country, paid
visit to ST. Paul, but by Mr.. O'Connor's
order they were at once arrested and or
dered out Of town. Then they went to
Minneapolis. and, after remaining there
for week or more unmolested tried to
steal diamond stud from Charlie Sodini
at the Minnehaha race track one after
noon. They We're then arrested and paid
a small fine, after which they left the
Twin Cities.
Mr.. OConnor has a rogues' gallery
which is conceded by all police author
tiles to be one of the most complete and
best kept up of any in the country.
With a thief taker of Mr.. O'Connor's
recognized ability at the head Of the ST.
Paul police department, together with his
knowledge of public affairs and men gen
orally, it is not hard to guess that st.
Paul's department will be put in shape
to protect the citizens once more.