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Show AN ESCAPE VIA THE GRAVE I I By GEORGE T. PARDY - HHJ , ' Hi Did Justice Go Wrong in the Case of Luke Phipps? Tale of a Long Search, the Disappearance Disap-pearance of a Criminal Crim-inal and the Hanging of Man by Essex County Authorities An Achievement of That Master Sleuth, John Wilson Murray. B N March, 1884, a man by tho name of Luko Phlpps was the proprietor of a billiard room in Detroit, Mich. Phlpps was about 34 years of age, of fair complexion, with brown hair and a sandy mustache. mus-tache. A His family consisted con-sisted of his wife and two children, a boy and a girl. Mrs. Phlpfls was a pretty llttlo woman, apparently very fond of hor husband. Hut fate decreed that tho serpent of jealousy should creep into this Eden of domestic bliss. Mrs. Phlpps, without with-out tho knowlcdgo of her husband, had been in the habit of making secret trips acrosB the river to Windsor, nnd it chanced that Luko Phlpps received Information of this fact. Passionately devoted to his wife, this discovery filled fill-ed him with madness. Ho watched fcr carefully and shadowed her move-uents. move-uents. Ono fateful night sho left hor homo and hoarded tho ferry boat for Windsor. Closo on her heels followed tho Infuriated husband, armed, nnd under tho Influence of strong liquor In which ho had been indulging freely since ho had been Informed of his wlfo's supposed unfaithfulness. Not until tho boat was well out In tho river and approaching tho Can-nadlan Can-nadlan shoro did Phlpps rovcal himself him-self to tho woman. Angry words passed between them, tho husband accusing tho wlfo of Infidelity. Mrs Phlpps replied harshly and, the words had scarcely left hor Hps whon tho man drew a revolvor nnd fired point blank at her. Tho bullet spod truo to tho mark and Mrs. Phlpps fell to the' deck dead. The murder was witnessed by a score of passengers and Phipps was instantly Bolzed. Ho made no resistance but meekly gavo up tho weapon with which tho deed was committed, com-mitted, and when the boat landed at Windsor was taken in charge- by'tho Canadian authorities. Ho was taken ut once to Sandwich jail, threo miles from Windsor, and committed for trial. Into this ill-omened placo of confinement con-finement came Phlpps sobered by the realization of tho awful tragedy of which ho had been tho author. Tho future looked black Indeed, for Canadian Cana-dian justice ffowns grimly upon tho destroyer of human life no matter what hor or his provocation may havo been, and tho gloomy shadow of tho gallows loomed threateningly before him. Among tho inmates of Sandwich jail was ono "Mucky" Oreonllold, a professional thlof, who liko Phlpps was awaiting trial, but on a far less serious charge To this man Phlpps was assigned as coll-mato; and glad to find someone in whom he could con- fldo, tho wifo-slaycr told him tho story. As a result of this conferonco a mysterious mys-terious femalo shortly afterwards paid a vlBlt to Oreonflold and 'or ton days following hor call Ducky kept closo In his cell. During this Interval Luko Phlpps becamo Belzed with n mania for music. Ho whistled and snng continually con-tinually in a loud volco for hours at a time. Nono of tho warders offered any objection. Llfo in Sandwich Jail was a monotonous exlstonco at tho best, and If n prisoner found comfort In tho sound It his own volco thoy saw no particular reason for silonclng him. Tho truth of tho matter was that Phlpps had resorted to tho performance perform-ance of theso nocturnal concerts for tho purposo of stJfllnK tho Bounds of Oreonllold's labors In tho cell. At last tho porslBtont gnawing of tho file conquprcd tho stubborn resistance resist-ance of tho Btcol bars. Thoy wero cut through and tho way of eBcapo lay opon bofare tho prisoners. In tho dead of night tho two mon slipped out Into tho dnrknoss. Qreonflold got through tho narrow opening with llttlo difficulty, but Phlpps when hnlf way through Btuck fast. HIb comrado tarried tar-ried for a fow moments making desperate des-perate efforts to extricate' him, but I'lilpps remained immovable as though gripped in a vlco. Solf preservation preser-vation being tho first law of naturo, Ducky Qreonflold rosolvod to obpy its dictates, nnd seized with suddon panic fled swiftly into tho night.. Despair seized tho heart of Phlpps in Its Icy clutch whon his comrado dooortcd him. A fow seconds passod, and ho still lay In tho narrow opening open-ing panting from-his oxertlonB.- Then a wild fury filled his veins. Ho struggled strug-gled savagely, desperately, and finally toro himself looso with a wrench so powerful that the momentum hurled him ovor tho wall, and ho fell heavily heav-ily to tho ground below. There ho lay for some time, severely bruised and only halt consclouB. Ho was aroused by hearing voices In the jail, and stag goring to his feet dragged himself away in search of u hiding plnco. Ho camo to a gravoyard, and as ho crawled along In the darkness, fell head foremost Into a newly dug grave. Silent ho lay without moving, with fnst-closcd eyes and rigid body. Ho heard a creaking nnd bumping nnd faintly, as though far away, ho heard tho harsh rattlo of earth falling on tho casket. Yet no weight seemed to press upon him, but this did not surprise sur-prise him, for hp was long past the staga of astonishment. It was tho end, and nothing mattered now. Ho heard the rumblo of wheels as. tho carriages departed and tho footstops of the mourners died awny. His awakening camo suddenly, accompanied ac-companied by a cold thrill of horror, as his eyes opened upon tho utter darkness. Ho tried to movo, but his ontlro framo scorned to bo paralyzed. With a rush of recollection there crossed his mind tho memory of tho burial, tho prayer and singing. Ho moved his head feebly and through tho liny caught sight of tho twinkling Btars. Slowly and with great pain ho managed to rise to a sitting posture. Where wub tlio coffin, whero tho six foot of earth underneath which it lay? Ho stnggorcd to his foot and saw that tho grnvo lie occupied was empty. His brain whirled madly in a mazo of torturing tor-turing conjectures. What did it all mean? He tried to clamber out, but fell back exhausted. Ho lay back on tho hay, rested nnd tried aguln. It was tho work of an hour for him to drag Ills fucblo limbs over tho edgo of tho pit, hut nt last he micceedod. Then tho' mystery was solved. Close besldo I the opon grave from which ho had emerged a new-mndo mound stood darkly in tho moonlight. Tho burial had lndocd taken place, but In tho grave adjoining that In which ho lay, Tho escaped murdoror stood up and laughed hysterically as ho looked around and saw tho distant outlines ot Sandwich jail looming black and gigantic in tho moonlight. Rallying his falling strength ho Btaggorcd away from tho gravo that had boon his plnco ot refuge. On thu nuw-mado mound 'stood a vaso ot (lowers, and bonding uown weakly, ha plucked one nnd toBso'd it into tho empty grnvo. 'Then painfully ho turned and crept out of the ccmctory, across tho road, tnrough. tho fields, traveling liko an injureddog, limping on ah fours. His progress was very slow. His destination was tho river, which ho reached nn hour after midnight, and whero he found an old boat, half full of water. Ho discovered a piece of board, crawled into the boat, shoved oft and began to pnddlo. Whon dawn was breaking ho reached tho American shoro, below Detroit, nlno miles down stream, wot to tho skin, wounded, blood-stained nnd faint nut ho knew tho country round about nnd mado his way into tho city to tho. homo of a friend, knocked and was taken In, clothed and fed. When his wounds were healed and his strength returned, ho left Detroit resolved to entor upon a now life. Hut the Canadian authorities wero not disposed to tamely relinquish tho possession ot a prisoner who had broken their laws and set them at do-flnnco. do-flnnco. Orders woro Issued to capture Phlpps, wherever ho might bo, and tho tusk of hunting him down was assigned as-signed to Detective John Wilson Mur ray. Ho Bent out n description of Phlpps to pollco headquarters all over tho continent. Tho fugltlvo was a billiard-room billiard-room keeper nnd Murray calculated that It would bo simply a question ot time until his money gavo out and ho would bo obliged to look for a Job In a billiard room, Every man to his trado is a maxim that also holds good in the case of n fugitive from justlco, and thq detective's surmiso proved correct. cor-rect. Phlpps was located In Pullman, 111., where ho had obtained a position in n billiard room. Murray prepared extradition papers, went to Illinois nnd took Phlpps from Pullman to Chicago. In tho latter city tho fugltlvo employed em-ployed Jcbbo Dall, an able lawyer, and mado a hard fight against extradition. His counsel endeavored to show that tlio shoptlng was done In American waters, and there is no hanging In Michigan. It tho crlmo had been committed com-mitted in American waters, Phipps would havo been tried in Michigan, and if convicted, ho would not havo been Jianged. Murray proved by tho captain ot the boat nnd a number ot its passengors that tho shooting was dono In Canada waters, on tho Canada I Bldo ot tho river. The legal fight lasted a couplo ot days, both sides calling witnesses, nnd Phlpps lost. An nppoal was taken nnd n writ of habeas corpus issued, but tho proceeding was dismissed dis-missed and Murray and his prisoner started for Canada. At Ann Arbor two nowBpnpcr men, after going through the car, stopped In front ot Phlpps and asked him in a whisper as they pointed . towards a well-known Dotrolt minister, who was slumbering in a nearby Beat, "Is that Phlpps, tho murderer?" phlpps merely smiled in reply, but it was evident that tho tltlo of murderer mur-derer used In conjunction with his name mado him flinch considerably, and Murray was about to explain tho situation to tho roporters when tho train started and tho two Bookers for information loft tho car hurriedly. Tho news of Phlpps coming had gono before be-fore him nnd when the train renched Detroit thcro wero nearly two hundred of IiIb formor friends wnltlng at the station to see him. Tho rccoptlon they gavo tho prlsqner testified strongly to the high tido of popularity in his home town and Murray felt still moro favorably fa-vorably Inclined townrd tho man whom duty compelled him to hand over to the grim mercies of Canadian law. ' "I'll boo you fellows at tho Michigan exchange," called out Phlpps to his friends ns ho followed Murray into a cnb that Chief Ualns of Windsor had waiting for them. "I'd liko to take a farewell drink thoro," added tho prisoner pris-oner to Murray, and tho latter nodded assent and ordered tho cabman to drivo to tho barroom In question. Phlpps' friends gnthored thoro in full forco and crowded around him, shaking shak-ing hands and giving vent to loud expressions ex-pressions ot sympathy. Finally Murray1 Mur-ray1 delivered himself of a short speech to tho crowd that wns trenchant and very much to tho point. "It's all very well to bo sorry, boys," said tho dotectlvo bluntly, "but Phlpps needs something moro than that. What ho wautB Is monoy for his defenso nnd I'm ready to start a collection col-lection right now." Murray backed up his Btutemcnt by making a handsome donation and tho crowd, growing enthusiastic en-thusiastic over tho idea, followed suit, with tho result that a comfortably large sum was soon subscribed and given to tho prisoner. That dono Murray Mur-ray asked him If thero was any other place In Dotrolt ho wanted to visit bo-foro bo-foro crossing tho river. "I'd liko to drive, past my old homo ! on Jefferson street," snld tho prisoner, pris-oner, wistfully. Many times In after llfo tho duteo tlco wan glad that iio acceded to this last roquost of his unfortunate prisoner. pris-oner. Tho cab drovo along Jefferson Btroot and Phlpps gazed with soul-hungry soul-hungry eyes upon tho liouso wherein he had once llvqd so happily, He watched It out of the cab window and tlien from tho window In tho back until un-til it had faded from IiIb vlow. "I'm ready to go now," he said, an4 HHJ Murray took him across tho river as back to tho jail from which ho hi4 HHJ mnde such a daring escape;" v , HHJ There were several 'clrcumfitattce HVJ that weighed heavily against Phlppa HHJ chances ot escaping death on the gal- HjB lows. In tho first placo his Jnll brcak- HHJ lng exploit in company with Ducky HHJ Greenfield wns against him. Green- HHJ field got away safely to Mexico, and HVJ as there was no extradition treaty be- HHJ tween Canada and tho former country HHJ at that timo covering his offense, ha HHJ was never brought back. Doubtles HjJ Greenfield meant well by his ceil-mala HHJ whon ho planned their escape, bat it HHJ would havo been far hotter for Phlppt HHJ had ho not broken jail. Then Uier HHJ wns tho oplsodo of Dllly-Callaghan it HHJ Sandwich jail which hud much to Ac HJ with influencing public opinion In Urt HHJ County of Essex nt tlio tlmq'of tfct HHJ Phlpps trial. HJ Callaghan belonged to Detroit, 1U camo of a respectable family, nnd Is HHJ his younger days was a dry good HHJ clerk, but becamo a professional burn- HHJ lar and desperate crook. Ho and a HHJ burglar named Kennedy were being; HHJ held In Sandwich Jail nnd on March HHJ 1C thoy made n dash for llberty( HHJ Qeorgo O'Callghan Leech, tho oH HH governor of tho jail, tried to intercept HH the escaping prisoners, and Dllly Cal HH laghan drow n revolver which had HH been smuggled into his cell, shot bS HJ killed the governor and escaped with HHJ Kennedy. Callaghan got Bafoly away 'HH out of tho country but Kennedy waa HH caught nnd sent to Kingston ponltea- HH tlary for seven years. HH Whllo thero Kennedy becamo paM with another convict named Ullnky HH Morgan who was serving five ycart HJ for manslaughter. Shortly after he- HH coming acquainted tho pair broke o1 HJ ot Kingston penitentiary. Morgan wm HH traced to Reno, Ohio, by a detective HJ named Hoollhnn and in tho fight thai HH occurred when they met tho oMcea HH was killed. Morgan escaped aftel HJ slaying Hoollhan but was run dowv HH in Alpena, Mich., where ho shot the HH Bhoriff and wounded another man. H HH was captured; taken to Cleveland aad HH hanged. Kennedy got nway. Hi In tho menntlmo Callaghan, after killing Gov. Leech' of Sandwich JalL HH had disappeared completely. Murray. HH sent out circulars offering a reward H for his arrest and finally received a HH telegram rrom the police oi Hannibal, , H Mo., which rend: "Como at once. Callaghan in JaiL HJ acknowledges identity:" HJ Murray wired back: "Will come, bnt H I do not bellovo it Ib Callaghan. lie HjB 'would not acknowledge Identity." HJ He proparcd ,ho, .necessary extradl- HJ tion papers and went to Hannibal, tak- H ing with him Turnkey Smith of Sand- Hjj wlch jail, who knew Callaghan well. HjJ Arriving at their destination they were H Informed by tho pollco that two HI crooks, known as Joo Rica and Jona Hjj Carr, had burglurlzed Danker Patter- H son's hotiso in Darry, 111,, making hint Hjj get out of bed, open up his safa and H turn over the contents, besides taking H I1I3 gold-mounted revolver. They had HJ beon caught in Hannibal and Rico bad HJ tho stolen revolver. On tho way te HJ tlio jail HI co whispered with Carr, aad -M in tho Jail he had said to a fellow prisoner: HJ "I wonder if theso .cops know who J I am? They offer n reward for mo In Cnnnda." The prisoner reported the HJ conversation, Rice was questioned and confessed ho was Dill Callaghan. Then J Murray was sent for. J Tho detective was shown to the cell occupied by the supposed Cal lag- J hani It was a gloomy holo, but oven HJ in tho soral-durkness a single glance' J at tho Inmate convinced Murray that J ho was not the murderer of tho Sand- J wlch Jail governor. Turnkey Smith HJ nlso shured his opinion. The prisoner was ordered to step Into a better light S and Murray looked nt him closely. J "No," said tho dotectlvo, "ha Is not H Callaghan. This Ib Jim Leavltt ot H Now York. Jim, I have seen you at AJ Dllly Brown's In Dlceckcr street, nnd !H at 'The' Allen's." The prisoner laughed, and admitted H that Murray's statement was correct. H Murray returned to Toronto without S Callaghan whom ho next heard ot In H Mexico. It was later reported that HJ Callaghan was drowned In South 9J America, but however that may havo H been, ho was never captured. S Between areonfleld and Callaghan jH thq fate of Luko Phlpps was soalod. H The murder ot Gov, O'Callaghan Locch H enraged tho peop)e ot Essex county, and whon Phlpps, who had escaped S from tho samo jail, came up for trial Hj soma months after tho Lcoch kllllnR, publlo opinion wai .against him. He HJ wub found guilty of murder, hanged Ib H Sandwich jail in November, 1884, and - HJ burled near tho grave whero ho had H onco Bought refugo and lay hidden HJ from tho oyes ot his hunters for the H Bpaco of a night nnd a day, HJ (Copyright. 1000. by W. a. Chapman.) HJ (Copyright In Great UiltalnJ HI ti t HJ . H i HJ |