The Chanute times., 1909-04-09

Hxnz8 the corner or Bloor street
where the city limits end
ed in those days.
On corner of Yonge and Bloor
streets lived the Dams, rich drovers
and butchers. The family consisted of
Mrs. Dain and her three sons, Joseph,
James and Major. The latter were
wealthy business men and carried
large sums of money on their persons
for cattle buying.
Upstairs Joseph Dain was sleeping
soundly in his room, his trousers ly-
ing on the chair beside his bed. A
slight noise, a faint creaking, awoke
him from slumber and he opened his
eyes to see tall figure dimly percep-
tible in the gloam, standing beside
his bed, rifling the pockets of his
trousers in which he had a large
amount of money. A powerful, active
man of fearless disposition, Dain was
quick to realize the situation and act
on his first impulse. Springing from
the bed he clinched with the intrud-
er and a short but desperate grapple
followed. Exerting all his strength
the robber broke away and fed down
the stairs with Dain in hot pursuit.
The waiting man swung the door
wide open to allow his partner free
egress, slammed it shut again in
DAMS face, and the two burglars sped
out through the darkness, separating
as they fed and running in opposite
directions.
Needless of the menacing challenge
Dain sprang toward the speaker, when
a shot rang through the frozen air,
and he reeled and fell to the ground
with bullet in his abdomen. Pocket
ing the smoking weapon the burglar
resumed his former pace. and passed
out of sight,
In the meantime he who had stood
as sentry on the outside of the house
had run swiftly across Yonge street.
Fate willed that he should trip over
the extra overcoat he was carrying
and fall headlong. Before he could
regain his feet be was seized by a
passing baker on his way to work,
who held him until a policeman made
his appearance on the scene and took
the captured burglar to the lookup.
Dain was carried indoors, attended to
by surgeons and rallied considerably
after the operation, although it was
not expected that he would recover
from the effects of his terrible wound.
The officer selected by the Toronto
authorities for the task of running
down DAMS murderous assailant was
John Wilson Murray, formerly of the
United State secret service force and
now In the employ of the Canadian
government. Murray's first step was
to visit the captured burglar In the
lookup His wide experience in the
criminal world stood him in good
stead, for at the first glance he recog-
nized the prisoner as Charles Leavitt,
a desperate American burglar and
thief. Buffalo was his home town, but
the police there knew him so well that
he seldom dared to visit the place.
Looking carefully over the overcoat
found in the captives possession,
Murray discovered the mark of a
Cleveland tailor.
He at once started for the city in
question, and looking up Leavitt's s
American record found that one of
his intimate friends was Frank
Meagher of Cleveland, skilled burg
lar, clever crook and one of the ablest
and worst trough ones" at large.
Leavitt was tried, convicted and
sentenced to Kingston penitentiary
for life. He submitted doggedly to
his fate and sternly refused to give
any information which might have led
to the arrest of his comrade. Dain did
not die Immediately, but lived over
one year and a day. According to
English and Canadian law, man can
not be convicted of murder and
hanged if his victim lives for one
year and one day after the crime is
committed. Dain dragged out a lin
gering existence of agony for couple
of months over the year and then
died. Hernia resulted from the bullet
wound in his abdomen and finally
killed him. Under the circumstances
Meagher, If found. could be punished,
but would not suffer the extreme pen
atty of the law.
Arriving in Indianapolis, Murray
visited the penitentiary in company
with Detective Muncie of Cleveland,
who knew Meagher well, and they
identified Armstrong as Meagher.
thus making assurance doubly sure.
The next step was to arrange for the
removal of Meagher to Canada. Muir
ray went to Terre Haute and secured
the services of Daniel voorhees, of
that city, one of the best criminal law
yers in the Hoosier state. He in
formed voorhees, that the state of In
diana had a criminal serving a sen
tence for a crime committed subse-
ouent to the commission of a far
graver crime in Canada. and that he
wanted to take him back at once TO
4. .N.ma.l