The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-03-16
Claims Hs Was In Prison When
Powers Was Killed.
SHERIFF KING INVESTIGATING
Story Of the GAINESVILLE Murder, Com.
mitted BY a Daring Gang
OF Dssperadoes.
From Thursdays Daily.

FROM thursday daily.
Is the man under arrest on suspicion
that he is John B. Dunn, the alleged
elarksville, Ark, murderer, really Lawf
renee Sullivan, as he claims? If he is,
he was serving term in the Poliet, ILL.,,
pepitentiary at the time of the murder
OF Sheriff John H. Powers at GAINESVILLE,
and could not have committed that
crime Sullivan claims an alibi, and
Sheriff King is investigating it very
closely, so as to give the man all pos
sible chance to clear himself, for should
he be taken back to GAINESVILLE and con
vieted of the murder he would without
doubt pay the penalty with his life.
Sullivan admits that he is an old
time crook, but says that he is getting
too old to work in that line now. He
claims that he received his bullet wound
at Elk River, MIMI, some twenty years
ago, and that he was sent from there to
the Saltwater penitentiary for four
years, for bank robbery, under the name
of w. J. Sherdow. He says that after
his release he was convicted of bank rob-
berry in Illinois and was sentenced to
Joliet for seventeen years, bat served
only nine, when he was released May
4th of last year. Speaking of the tools
that were found upon him at Water
Vile, he remarked: 81 have to make a
living, and need few tools to peck
around with, and the-fool of a marshal
at Waterville thought that they were
burglars tools"
Sheriff King yesterday afternoon tele-
graphed to Joliet for a description of
any Lawrence Sullivan who might have
served term there, and last evening re-
ceived the following reply:
"Joliet, ILL.,, March Lawrence Sulli-
van was discharged May 4th, 1905. He
drew a pension. Age now 65, dark
copmlexion and hair, six feet one inch
tall, thin, bullet scars both thigs, right
leg stiff E. j. Murphy, warden"
Sullivan does not have dark complex
len or hair, and has bullet wound only
on one thigh. He does not appear to be
sixtyfive years old. 80
The account which Sheriff King gives
of the attempted robbery of the Bank
of GAINESVILLE, Ark, and the shooting
of Sheriff Powers shows that Dunn was
the leader and the one who fired the shot
that caused the sheriff's death. At the
time that Oklahoma Territory was open
ed in 1900 and 1901 it was the rendez-
vous of the worst criminals in the coun
try. Bands of bank robbers and crooks
of all kinds cOngregated there. Dunn
was the head of one of these bands,
which was composed OF George Durham,
Fred Underwood, Joe Clark and himself.
Dunn owned two or three gambling
houses, and was the stall" for several
bands of desperadoes. The latter brought
their plumber to him, and he protected
them. He planned the raids of his band,
furnished the brains, but seldom accom-
panying them on the actual work. His
speciality was bank and postoffice rob-
berry.
Some three weeks before the Clarks
vile affair, Dunn sent his three men to
hold up train near Fort Smith, close
to the boundary line between Arkansas
and Oklahoma. They made a bungle of
the job, and cut off the mail car instead
of. the express car, and did not get any
thing. When they sent word of their
failure he swore blue streak and told
them that if they didn't know how to
conduct holdup he would go and show
them how. Good as his word, he planned
the robbery of the bank at GAINESVILLE