The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1909-02-25
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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 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. 1t involved conspir-
acy against the British government by
which, through the use of dynamite, a
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
struments employed to carry out the
design. TO Detective John Wilson Muir
ray 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 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 it's 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 a few awful seconds
the frrn 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, a descent of death and destruc-
ton, which would sweep them and
their homes into the black chaos of OBJ
livion. But it 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,
a 16-year-old girl who lived with her
parents about 300 yards from the lock
No "a. She was going to see friend
across the canal about $40 o'clock,
and when nearing the bridge, which is
by the lock, caught sight of two men.
Then came the thunderous roar of
first shock Miss Constable lost con-
seriousness 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 stimuli
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 Numbered by low
ering the dynamite into the gate pits
instead of into the gate holes Experts
later showed that there was not suf-
fcient 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 1t and had smashed the
gates.
A 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
Jail and guarded by soldiers, while
other soldiers patrolled the canal
Murray. who had been sent for imme-
1iately after the explosion, arrived on
the scene and hastened to the jail.
He communicated at once with Scot.
land Yard and gent descriptions and
photographs of the prisoners to the
police Of London. England. Nolin and
Walsh seemed Enthusiastically to be
from across the sea. and Walsh had
particularly the manner and speech Of
man Just over, In search OF infor.
al1tion regarding the movements OF
nv men on this eontinent he visited