Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-07-05
Ny ORCHARD CONFESSED.
az Claims 1t Was for Reflex OK .oA
cfenc uad Not for Reward.

or no less absorbing interest than the +
rtorv of his crimes was the testimony 4
n,hich Orchard. the multi-assassln, gave
in the final stage OF his c-ross-eSainiaa Il
lion at Boise. Idaho. He wept when
ho told how he ealile to confess
opening this part of the
lion Richardson tried to show thai co
ercion had been attempted by tue pen
ltentiary authorities to obtain a con-
eession from Orchard after his arrest
Tor the Steunenberg assassination. VI
| ehard testified that he was placed IN q
| new cell house, in a steel cage, WIN
| Iolid walls and ~steel-barred doors. tie
was taken to the p~enitentiary without
his consent and not advised as to MS
! rights. He was permitted to speak only
to the guard and to the man In the
next cell, who was Bob Wetter, a con-
| demned murderer. His meals were
/ served in the cell. He was not allowed
to exercise nor leave his cell, nor was
he permitted to read books or papers.
| After about ten days Detective Nc
Partland visited the ~penitentiary and
| Orchard was taken to the clerks office
to talk with him. He did not know
| who he was, until he was told hat the
visitor was a Pinkerton detective. He
complained to Mcfarland about the
treatment he was receiving and they
had a mutual talk about their past
lives, Mcfarland telling him about his
part in the Molly Mcguire affair.
Later Mcfarland talked about the Ri.
Bile, telling how King David was a muir
derer and had repented and how st
Paul had been transformed from a bad
man into a good one. Mcfarland told
him about kelly, the Bum" who was
implicated in the Molly Mcguire out
RACES and was permitted to leave the
country after turning States evidence.
Orchard said Mcfarland had not been
the first to turn him to thoughts of re
tigion; he had been thinking about them
himself. Mcfarland told Orchard that
he believed he had something to do
with the S~teunneberg murder and that
he was aided by officers Of the West
ern Federation Of Miners, but made
no promise to him If he would confess,
Richardson took Orchard back to his
boyheod in Canada and had him tell
that he went to a Methodist Sunday
school when a boy and to church with
his mother and his first wife. He at
tended Quaker meetings with his moth
er and had also gone to Christian En-
deavor meetings. He never belonged to
the Salvation Army. Returning to the
first visit with Mcfarland he said the
detective upon leaving told him to think
over his past life. The next time the
detective came he told Orchard he could
Of good and that the State usually act
ed fair with its witnesses. Orchard
said he knew what Mcfarland was at
ter and had no faith in what he said
about the States treatment of its wit
nesses. On the third visit Orchard COM
menced to tell the detective some Of his
wrong doings. Mcfarland then told
Orchard he was a tool Of the Western
Federation. About this time he had
made up his mind to tell all, as be oiS
not care to Hve~any longer1nf fact
he was tempted to kill himself. He did
not want to put the crime on anybody
else, but had thought of his past life
and what a monster he had been. He
did not care much what happened to
him and yet he was afraid to die, for
he believed the grave did not end 1t
all. A Bible was sent to him by a mis-.
sionary society in Chicago, and after
reading in 1t he came to the concll.
sion that he would be forgiven II he
freely repented and made q clean
breast Of his crimes. Since that time
he has never been in doubt. He had
told Steve Adams, who by this time
had been brought to the p~enitentiary
also and occupied the same cell as Or.
chard, that he intended to kill himself
| with the crystal Of his watch, by cut
Colburn Lodge Of Masons and knew
that Peabody, Bell, Goddard and Others
whose lives he sought to take were
high degree Masons, but did not know
that Steunenberg was. Even after be
confessed he contemplated suicide. Hi,
confession he believed to be a duty tc
| God, country. society and himself. HI
did not get this language from Mozart
land. Steve Adams was arrested or
the strength of Orchards confession
Upon his promise to the penitentiary
authorities he urged Adams to make q
confession and said that the trutl
would come out some time. He tolt
Adams then that If he ever got out h,
would 'cross the pond" meaning tina
he would go to Europe. He did no
say this because any promise of escap,
had been held out to him. He had new
er received a promise of immunity.
Laws Repealed by Duma.
Three obnoxious laws were repealed b.
the Russian douma, as follows: Provid
ing for the punishment of persons ex
49, A