The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1909-02-26
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kSee2 a== ate criminals ana
all long term con-
victs of the Province of Ontario, Can
| ada, are confined. Within its gloomy
precincts, occupying separate cells,
are three men whose sentences are
for life. English law, just but mercl-
less has seized them in its 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. 1t involved consplr-
acv 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 II
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
struments employed to carry out the
design. To Detective John Wilson Muir
raw is due the credit of having gath
!, cred together the evidence which shed
light on the past careers OF the 'dyna-
mite trio" Evidence which proved
them to be outside the rank OF ordl-
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 81, 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
3 two terrific explosions.
t Masses of solid rock were torn up
g by the shock, immense spouts of wa
: ter leaped high in the air, window
!. panes were shattered into minute
Q CRYSTALS and for a 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.
y ton. which would sweep them and
e their homes into the black chaos of OBJ
livion But it did not come, the blind
gods of chance had averted calamity
IS almost too horrible to. contemplate.
y One of the eye-witnesses of the ex.
q plosion was Miss Euphemia Constable
c 16-year-old girl who lived with her
e parents about 800 yards from the lock
n No. "a. She was going to see friend
1t across the canal about $40 o'clock
r. and when nearing the bridge, which. is
n by the lock, caught sight of two men
b. Then came the. thunderous roar Of
" the first exploding charge. After the
If first shock Miss Constable lost con
% seriousness and knew nothing of the
second explosion. Both of the valises
- lowered7 into the lock contained dyna
IL mite. They were fired by fuses ant
the explosions were not quite stimuli
taneous. They broke the castings OF
u the head gate, tore up the banks OF
as both sides of the lock, knocked .pso
al pie over who. were sufficiently near
e. smashed windows and shook the coun
ny try roundabout. Water surged upwar(
tn in huge volumes, but the gates held
,t.3I The dynamitersf had blundered by low
is ering the dynamite into the gate pitt
u instead of into the gate holes. Expert
:. 1atef showed that there was not sui
fcient resistance to the explosive mat
Au ter, and this fact alone prevented tn,
VI dire disaster that would have followed
ey If the dynamite had done the worl
planned for it and had smashed tn
gates.
- A third man who had been seel
o. around with them before the explo
ny sion, and who was staying at the, Ros
is. Ii house. at the falls. was also al
Mt. rested. The third suspect gave hi
he name as Karl Dallman, and the tw
m. men first secured declared themselve
in. to be John Nolin and John Walsh. TIL
ar three prisoners were taken to Wellan
40 Jail and guarded by soldiers, Will
e other soldiers patrolled the cana
- Murray, who: had been sent for immt
diately after the explosion, arrived O
s the scene and FASTENED to the Jail.
- He communicated at once with SEQ
- land Yard and sent descriptions an
..S photographs of the prisoners to tn
police of London, England Nolin an
y Walsh seemed Enthusiastically to b
pei from across the sea- and Walsh ha
NE particularly the manner and speech
Ito a man just over. In search of info
nation regarding the movements
The men on this continent he visite
Ter New York and san friends there, bot
ms n and out of the police business. J. II
the Also made journeys to Philadelphi
Washington, Virginia and other poin