The Nevada County picayune., 1909-02-25
T |@8

ada. are confined. Within it's gloomy precincts, occupying separate cells, are three men whose sentences are for life English law, just but merci- less. has seized them in it's iron grip, a grip never to be relaxed until the angel of death strikes the letters from the limbs of the prisoners.
 The crime for which these three men are undergoing expiation was no ordinary one. It involved conspir- acy against the British government by which, through the use of dynamite, reign of terror was to be inaugurated throughout Canada, and thousands of innocent lives sacrificed. The inter- vention of fate, Providence-call it what you will-prevented the outrage from being successful but the failure of the plot was not owing to any lack of zeal on the part of the human in- strumen:s employed to carry out the design. To Detective John Wilson Mur- ray is due the credit of having gath cred together the evidence which shed light on the past careers of the 'dyna-
 
 them to be outside the rank of ordi- nary criminals who execute desperate deeds in the hope of financial gain, placed them in the category of men who would willingly wade through seas of blood to accomplish their political aims.
 At seven o'clock on the evening of April 21, 1900, the little Canadian town of Thorold. lying along the waterway of the Welland canal. within easy walking distance of the Niagara from tier, was shaken to its foundation by two terrific explosions.
 Masses of solid rock were torn up by the shock, immense spouts of wa ter leaped high in the air, window panes were shattered into minute crystals and for few awful seconds the firm earth trembled as though in the throes of an earthquake. For miles around the people. terror stricken and amazed, waited dumbly for the after math, descent of death and destruc- ton, which would sweep them and their homes into the black chaos of ob- livion. But 1t did not come, the blind gods of chance had averted a calamity almost too horrible to contemplate.
 One of the eye-witnesses of the eX- plosion was Miss Euphemia Constable. 16.year-old girl who lived with her parents about 300 yards from the lock No 24 She was going to see a friend across the canal about 6:20 o'clock, and when nearing the bridge. which is by the lock, caught sight of two men.
 Then came the thunderous roar of the first exploding charge. After the first shock Miss Constable lost con- sciousness and knew nothing of the second explosion. Both of the valises lowered into the lock contained dyna- mite. They were fired by fuses and the explosions were not quite simul- taneous They broke the castings on the head gate. tore up the banks on both sides of the lock. knocked peo- pie over who were sufficiently near, smashed windows and shook the coun- try roundabout. Water surged upward in huge volumes. but the gates held. The dynamiters had blundered by low ering the dynamite into the gate pits instead of into the gate holes. Experts later showed that there was not suf. ficient resistance to the explosive mat ter. and this fact alone prevented the dire disaster that would have followed If the dynamite had done the work planned for it and had smashed the gates.
 third man who had been seen around with them before the explo- sion, and who was staying at the Ros- Ii house, at the falls, was also ar. rested. The third suspect gave his name as Karl Dallman. and the two men first secured declared themselves to be John Nolin and John Walsh The | three prisoners were taken to Welland 1 jail and guarded by soldiers. while | other soldiers patrolled the canal. | Murray. who had been sent for imme- | diately after the explosion. arrived on | the scene and hastened to the jail.
 He communicated at once with Scot | land Yard and sent descriptions and | police of London, England. Nolin and | Walsh seemed unmstakably to be | from across the sea. and Walsh had | particularly the manner and speech of | man just over. In search of infor. nation regarding the movements of the men on this continent he visited New York and saw friends there both in and out of the police business. He also made journeys to Philadelphia, Wash.nPton Virginia and other Dointa