Sunday morning globe., 1901-08-25
THE MURDERS
or Miners in the KlOndyke by Two
Men
WHO MADE IT A BUSINESS
A F-l Account OI a Remarkable Series Of
COd-BIOoded Murders for GaIn-HoW No.
Guire, Tho Detective, Ran His Game 10 Cover
and Succeeded In Connecting the Mysterious
william, Known by Tho Name Of 0'BrIen.

| OuN VI AAH AAuhL AGAAlul hAuA0 AuAAANA
trials on record has just been brought
to a close in the Klondike. The prose-
cution Of the case has cost the Can
adian Government more than 100000
and the defendant will forfeit his life.
George 0Brien is the name Of the con-
victed murderer. He is a tall, broad
shouldered. robust man Of As, with a
high forehead, clear blue eyes and
well-shaped head. His accomplice was
known in some parts Of the Yukon
country as Graves, and in otner places
/ as Ross.
The camp OF these two men was back
from the river in the timbered coun-
try between Mimic and Hootchikoo. A
trail blazed upon the trees led from
the river to within a mile or two of
their camp, where it forked in the
shape Of a letter Y. From the rear Of
the camp another trail led by a circuit
GUS route back to the river, crossing
the river trails at a place 1t could not
be easily detected. OBrien's plan Of
murder was to lure persons passing
along the river trails up into the tim
Der along his camp trail to where 1t
forked, and then along one Of the forks
for a distance to give his partner in
/ crime time to come up behind them
| from the other fork when they would
| be between two fires and could be MUIR
| dered at leisure should their appear
ance indicate that they had yaluables
in their possession. OF the three men
| known to have been lured into this
trap not one had a chance for his life.
The wounds in theier bodies showed
that they had been shot from behind.
These three men were Swedes or
! Norwegians. They were known as
Lynn Relfe Olsen and Clayson. A
little more than year and a half ago
they started out in company from Daw-
son City, taking the trail for Hootch-
koo. They had cleaned up a good sum
around Dawson, and we're in search Of
new diggings. They reached Minto all
right and put up with Captain House.
J O'Brien was in Minto when they ar
rived and learned that they were 60
ing on to Hootchikoo. O'Brien had
been trying to get a grub stake on
credit saying that he was dead
broke" He left Mimic on the night
lfes party arrived
Next morning the three prospectors
started out again on the trail to Hoot-
chikoo, which is only IS miles from
Mimic. They did not arrive at Hootchi-
| kOo, and were never seen again alive
/ except by their murderers. A week
later O'Brien was on his way up the
river to Tagish. He stopped for
/ thine with the night watchman of the
steamer Nora, which was laid up there
/ for the winter, and he then had plenty
| Of money He exhibited a lot Of coin
and some gold nuggets TO the night
watchman to establish his ability to
pay his way. One of these nuggets
was Of peculiar formation. There was
| a hole in it and It was hollow in the
center. In the hollow was a loose piece
of gold a trihe larger than a pea, which
ratified about in It when the nuggest
was shaken. This pea-shaped piece Of
! gold could be seen through the hole,
! which was not large enough for 1t to
| fall trough. IL was the freak nugget
which led to the detection Of OBrien.
The nuggest had belonged to Relfe,
who lad shown 1t in Dawson, and also
to CAPTAIN Russell. The latter had
taken an interest in the party, and as
Relfe had promised to locate him in"
a good claim when they found one, he
| naturally made inquiries about the
! three when some miners from Hootcht-
| koo stopped over night at his house.
/ From these men Captain Fussell learn
ed that the party had never reached
| that place, AS no trace could be found
/ Of them their disappearance was re-
ported to the mounted police and by
| them to the crown officials at Dawson.
Meantime the night watchman Of the
| Nora went to Mimic and in a talk with
| Captain Fussell about the missing men
! he happened to mention that he had
met O'Brien and that the latter was
flush" with money That fact did not
impress Captain Russell until the
wacthman spoke about the freak mug.
get which OBrien had shown him,
and then he remembered that he had
seen the lump Of gold in the possession
of Relfe. Captain Fussell was not slow
I'm connecting the fact that O'Brien had
Relies nugget and plenty Of money
with the disappearance Of his friends.
He communicated his suspicious to the
authorities.
Mr.. William Mcclure, a detective
who had done some clever work in
thwarting a fraudulent scheme for the
sale OF a "salted" mine In Alaska, and
who had been instrumental In solving
two murder mysteries I'm Minnesota,
was employed by the Canadian Gov
ernment to take charge OF the case.
The conviction Of O'Brien was due al
together to his unhagging zeal and
clever work.
Starting from Minto, Mcclure took
up the trail to HootchikOo, and travel
ed back and forth dozen times before
he hit upon the cross trail blazed by
OBrien. He followed the blazed
marks upon the trees to where the
tran forked. and then followed one Of
the forks, which ended in the woods
without arriving anywhere. He went
back and took up the other fork and
found that it also ended abruptly
that the blaze marks on the trees
simply extended for a few miles into
the timber and then ceased. Passing
back along this fork, examining the
trees as he went, he found a dimly |
marked trail leading across In the di- !
leclioh VI bHV vtANA W ~ '+"N
ing this he came suddenly upon the |
deserted camp Of OBrien and Graves, |
or Ross In the tent which they had |
occupied he found a number Of articles
OF trihing value, and these he carried |
back with him to Mimic, where some |
OF them were identified by Captain
Fussell as articles he had seen in the
possession OF the missing prospecter'
That satitied Mcclure that he was on
the right track, and with a companion
and a huskie dog as a trailer he went
hack to O'Bnen's camp The trail