The Crime of the Century, by Henry M. Hunt The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Crime of the Century, by Henry M. Hunt This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Crime of the Century or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin Author: Henry M. Hunt Release Date: May 25, 2010 [eBook #32533] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY*** E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 32533-h.htm or 32533-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32533/32533-h/32533-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32533/32533-h.zip) The Crime of the Century, by Henry M. Hunt 1 THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY Or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin. A Complete and Authentic History of the Greatest of Modern Conspiracies. by HENRY M. HUNT, The Noted Journalist. Profusely Illustrated with Original Engravings. Apart from Its Value As a History of a Celebrated Case, the Story Itself Is of Thrilling and Fascinating Interest. [Illustration: From a Photograph taken just before the Murder.] Copyright 1889, By H. L. & D. H. Kochersperger. PREFACE This volume is not intended as an addition to the criminal literature of the country. It has not been published solely for the pleasure of those who delight in devouring morbid tales of crime and criminals. It rather owes its existence to a general demand from all parts of the United States, from the Canadas, from Great Britain, and from many points on the continent of Europe, for a complete, concise, and accurate story of one of the greatest of modern crimes and the events connected therewith. The reports of the public press, while of the most searching and elaborate character, have nevertheless been of necessity so disjointed, fragmentary and confusing, covering a period of over seven months, each day and week replete with new discoveries and new sensations, as to make it well-nigh impossible for even the most careful reader, with unlimited time at his disposal, to grasp or comprehend anything more than the barest outline of this remarkable case. The object of this volume therefore, is to present in consecutive form and as a complete narrative all the facts which have been brought to light from the day of the disappearance of Dr. Cronin, to the close of the trial of those accused of his murder. Many circumstances have combined to make the task a difficult and laborious one, but the results are submitted in the belief that as the only effort of its kind, it will prove not only a story of thrilling interest to the general reader, but also valuable, by its accuracy and continuity, as an historical work. THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. PAGE. The Crime of the Century, by Henry M. Hunt 2 CHAPTER I. A Crime That Shocked the Civilized World The Mysterious Stranger A Sudden Summons The Instincts of Humanity Triumph over Personal Considerations Last Moments at Home Parting Words with a Friend Dr. Cronin's Eventful Life How He Worked His Way Upward on the Ladder of Honor and Fame, 15 CHAPTER I. 3 CHAPTER II. Dr. Cronin Fails to Return Home Anxiety of His Friends The Early Morning Ride to the Ice House O'Sullivan's Surprise and Ignorance The Mysterious Wagon and Its Occupants A Bloody Trunk is Found The Search Commenced "It is His Hair," 27 CHAPTER II. 4 CHAPTER III. An Accidental Clue Frank Woodruff's Arrest How He Was Hired to Get a Wagon to Carry the Mysterious Trunk to Lake View A Corpse is Dumped Out He Thinks It was That of a Woman His Sensational Confession The Police on a Wild-Goose Chase, 46 CHAPTER III. 5 CHAPTER IV. "It is a Conspiracy" Dr. Cronin's Friends Claim the Murder was a Political Assassination The Public Skeptical until Startling Developments Are Made The Physician in Danger of His Life for Years Previous Attempts to Remove Him The Trouble in the Clan-na-Gael Charges and Counter Charges The Buffalo Convention Why His "Removal" became a Necessity to Certain People, 57 CHAPTER IV. 6 CHAPTER V. Strange Influences at Work Miss Anna Murphy Thinks She Saw the Doctor on a Street Car His Long and Mysterious Ride with Conductor Dwyer Reporter Long also Encounters Him, This Time in Toronto The Police and Public Satisfied, but His Friends Still Anxious Efforts to Prove Him a British Spy A Big Reward Offered 101 CHAPTER V. 7 CHAPTER VI. Hoping against Hope The Stench in the Sewer "Murder Will Out" A Ghastly Discovery Where the Body was Found The Recognition by Captain Wing Its Horrible Appearance Evidences of a Foul Crime The Corpse at the Morgue Pitiable Scenes of Grief The Official Autopsy The Brutal Way in Which the Physician had been Done to Death 126 CHAPTER VI. 8 CHAPTER VII. The Crime Creates An International Sensation Discovery of the Lonely Cottage Where the Irish Nationalist Met His Death Evidences of a Terrible Struggle The Tell-Tale Blood Stains and Broken Furniture The Mysterious Tenants and Their Movements The Furniture Bought and Carted to the Assassins' Den What Milkman Mertes Saw The Plot as Outlined by the Surroundings Iceman O'Sullivan Under Surveillance 154 CHAPTER VII. 9 CHAPTER VIII. The White Horse and Buggy Detective Coughlin Hires It for a "Friend" The Trouble in the Stable Dinan Goes to Schaack The Captain's Peculiar Movements Scanlan Identifies the Horse The Detective and O'Sullivan are Jailed The Grand Jury Indicts Them with Woodruff The Accused Arraigned in Court 195 CHAPTER VIII. 10 [...]... outgrowing tragedies that have been placed at the doors of the secret societies of France, Italy and Spain, by the historians of the Dark Ages In the United States, as an event of national importance, the crime may be said to rank with the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln and Garfield In the case of the former, as of the latter, the perpetrator of the crime was a half crazed enthusiast, who imagined... soil, near the town of Mallow, in the famed county of Cork, he was brought to the United States when yet a babe in his mother's arms For five years thereafter he was numbered among the population of New York City Thence the family moved to Baltimore, and thence again to the province of Ontario When ten years of age he was placed in the care of the Christian Brothers at the Academy of St Catherines He... Among the latter were the Royal League, the Legion of Honor, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and Independent Order of Foresters He was at one time or another a Deputy Grand Regent of the Royal Arcanum, Past Commander of the Knights of Pythias and Chief Ranger of the Catholic Order of Foresters Of many of these societies, as well as of the Plasterers' Union, he was the medical... Demeanor of the Prisoners Suspense at Last Ended The Verdict 563 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE PORTRAIT OF DR PATRICK HENRY CRONIN, THE MURDERED PHYSICIAN Frontispiece PORTRAIT OF PATRICK O'SULLIVAN, THE ICE MAN, ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS 28 PORTRAIT OF DANIEL COUGHLIN, THE DETECTIVE, ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS 197 PORTRAIT OF MARTIN BURKE, ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS 315 PORTRAIT OF JOHN F BEGGS, ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS... taking the life of the Chief Magistrate of the Republic An effort was made, it is true, to demonstrate the fact that the assassin of Abraham Lincoln was but the tool of a band of conspirators, but, despite the fact that five of his alleged accomplices suffered an ignominious death upon the scaffold upon conviction for complicity in the appalling crime, the question as to the actual existence of a conspiracy... Speedy Arrest and Indictment of the Guilty Parties Crime Added to Crime 399 CHAPTER XX CHAPTER XX A Jury Secured at Last Names and Sketches of the Twelve Men Selected to Determine the Guilt of the Accused The Trial Under Way Opening Speeches for the State Scenes in the Court Room 414 23 CHAPTER XXI 24 CHAPTER XXI Evidence for the State The Story of the Crime Retold A Long Line of Witnesses Sensational... character in the history of the United States It will probably be the last THE DISAPPEARANCE The locality was Chicago The date Saturday, May 4th, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine The time eight o'clock of the evening Philip Patrick Henry Cronin for this was the full name of the physician was closeted with a patient in the most spacious of the front suite of rooms attached... on the pavement to look at the two men who sat upon the driver's seat [Illustration: THE MYSTERIOUS WAGON.] The wagon was driven at such speed, however, that the officer did not have time to look into the faces of the two mysterious men or command them to stop There was a large trunk in the wagon Both officers saw this receptacle When the wagon had disappeared Officer Smith became suspicious of the. .. by the Court Weeks consumed in the Wearisome Task of Securing a Jury Scenes and Incidents 384 CHAPTER XIX 22 CHAPTER XIX Startling Interruption to the Trial Villainous Attempt to Frustrate the Ends of Justice Bold Efforts to Bribe the Special Veniresmen in the Interest of the Prisoners A "Hung" Jury Wanted Fortunate Discovery of the Plot The "Wheels Within Wheels" of the Conspiracy Prompt Action of the. .. walked out upon the pavement to look at the men in the driver's seat One of them wore a black derby hat His companion wore a soft hat Both were young and muscular There was no name on the wagon Officer Hayden saw all this, but he could not get a good view of the men on the seat He did not hail them because he thought the movement of a trunk at that time of year was not extraordinary The wagon rolled . The Crime of the Century, by Henry M. Hunt The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Crime of the Century, by Henry M. Hunt This eBook is for the use of anyone. or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32533/32533-h.zip) The Crime of the Century, by Henry M. Hunt 1 THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY Or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin. A Complete and Authentic