Sunday morning globe., 1901-08-25
THE MURDERS
OF Miners in the KlOndyke by Two
Men
WHO MADE IT A BUSINESS
A FL Account Of a Remarkable Series Of
COId-HlOOd0d Murders for GaIn-HOW No
Gurs, ihe Detective Ran His Game 10 Cover
and Succeeded In Connecting tho Mysterious
william, Known by Inc Name Of 0'Brlen.

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 O'Brlen is the name Of the con
victed murderer. He is a tall, broad
shouldered. robust man Of 45, 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 tmbered 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 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 it could not
be easily detected O'Brien'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 Jerks
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 mur-
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 we're 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.
OBrien was i'm Minto when they ar
rived and learned that they we're go
ing on to HoOtchikoo. OBrlen had
been trying to get a grub stake on
credit, saying that he was dead
broke" He left Minto on the night
lfe's party arrived.
Next morning the three prospectors
/ started out again on the trail to Hoot-
chiltoo which is only 1S 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 Taglsh He stopped for a
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 IL was hollow in the
center In the hollow was a loose piece
Of gold a trifle larger than a pea, which
| ratified about in il when the nuggest
was shaken. This peashaped piece Of
| gold could be seen through the hole,
which was not large enough for 1t to
| fall trough. 1t was the freak nugget
which led to the detection OF O'Brien.
The nuggest had belonged to Relfe,
who lad shown it 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 HoOtchi-
| 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 Minto and In 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 Fussell until the
waCthman spoke about the freak mug
get which O'Brien had shown him,
and then he remembered that he had
seen the lump OF gold in the possession
of Relfe. Captain RUSSELL 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 in 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 a dozen times before
he hit upon the cross trail blazed by
O'Brien. 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 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 d.
rection Of the other fork, and follow
ing this he came suddenly upon the
deserted camp OF O'Brien and Graves,
or Ross. In the tent which they had
occupied he found a number Of articles
OF trifing 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 satifled Mcguire that he was on
the right track, and with a companion
and a hushie dog as a trailer he went
hon1f IN OiIlrfnUfc fraN