River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-12-31

protested vehemently that he had
nothing to do with the murder OF
Prof White.
Ivory was short in stature, with
skin as black as anthracite coal, and
very repulsive features. Criminolo-
gists pronounced him to be the low
est type of the uneducated negro.
The detectives resorted to every
device known to the profession to
force confession from the man.
Finally, after an hour of the sweat
ing" he blurted out:
well, l done told you I was there,
but it wasn't me that struck the blow"
He was put in a cell and Donaghy
and his associates started out for more
evidence. They obtained a descrip-
ton of the watch that had been stolen
from Prof. White. The number of the
case was 39,S75, and that of the move
ment 915,93S. These numbers were
photographed to every pavnbroker and
every matchmaker in the city.
The response came much sooner
than was anticipated. A negro
named Buddy" Brown was arrested
while trying to pledge the watch with
a pawnbroker in West Philadelphia.
Brown said the watch was not his,
but belonged to a man who had a
room in his mothers house He had
only lived there a few days and had
given Buddy" The watch to pawn
for him.
ctpO xrY0c, 1a1N41x IL
Gated and arrested. He proved to be
William Perry of Georgia. Perry was
not very communicative at first, but
finally admitted that he was in the
neighborhood of Thirty street
on the night of the murder He said
that third man had been in his com
pany. These admissions, while impor-
tant, were not conclusive. There were
Sill links to be fitted in the chain.
At this period of the investigation
new character came on the scene in
the person of John Leary, an emplOye
of the city water works. He had been
reading great deal about the murder,
and he felt impelled to step forward
and give his own experience on the
work at midnight and was crossing
the Girard avenue bridge when he met
two colored men. They stopped, and
one of them asked him for a match.
One Of these men answered the de-
scription of Ivory. Perry he did not
recognize.
While the authorities were browsing
over the evidence they had on hand,
they received word that number of
uspicious-looking negroes who had
been picked up on the railroad near
Trenton were now in the Mercer coun-
ty workhOuse. Donaghy and Nc
Kenty determined to go to the New
Jersey capital and look at the men.
They took young Hartman and Leary
with them for purposes of Identified
ton. The colored men were lined up
in the workhouse just as they had been
in the city hall in Philadelphia. One
of the negroes was a tall, shambling
fellow. He was stoop-shouldered and
knock kneed, and otherwise lacking in
symmetrical beauty. Both Hartman
and Leary Immediately picked him
out as one of the men they had met
on the night of the tragedy. He had
given the Trenton authorities the
name of William Fields, but after
wards admitted that his right name
was Amos Stirling.
Stirling was taken from the line and
brought into a private room. Here he
was stripped, and it was found that
his underclothes were covered with hui
man blood. When his attention was
called to this damaging fact, he said
unconcernedly:
ooh, that's nothing; my nose was
bleeding"
Stirling was not in the state where
the crime was committed. Hence legal
formalities were necessary before he
could be taken to Philadelphia. Don
aghy made an attempt to break the
record in the matter of acquisitions.
He took a special train to Harrisburg,
went to the executive mansioA and
reused Gov. Stone from sound sleep
in order to get his signature on the
papers. From Harrisburg he has
tened back to Trenton, only to find
that some over-willing lawyer had
filed an objection to the removal OF
the prisoner. Although trivial, it took
several hours to overcome. But in
spite of all the obstacles, Donaghy
complied with all the formalities and
had his prisoner in the Philadelphia
city hall in just 80 hours.
Three prisoners were now in Gus
tody Could they be proven guilty?
Two were silent. Stirling loudly pro-
tested his innocence. He said that If
he were free he could prove an alibi.
'Tm free," rejoined Donaghy "and
if you'll give me the names of your
witnesses, I'll work it out for you Il
it's any good, I'll be the first to adj
nit it."
The negro finally said that GER
tain lady of color, named Dolly Gray,
who lived in Harrisburg, could prove
that he was at the state capitol on the
night of the murder. Donaghy patient