IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ~ IIIM :•' m M 2.2 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" - ► V] Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques at bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original ccpy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alt jr any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filmii.g, are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. 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Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutSes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas et6 film^es. □ Only edition available/ Seule Edition d 1 ^ ^^"^ c F A ^i OLD TRA COMPILED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES / IN ^1. JOHN, N, H *^»i^^ *'? \ ST. JOHI^, I*. 8. \ - y'M, "X- im^- ■ .^--iK^v^ ■ " ■;#^»rv-?*i» ■ / Annals of the Provir.jes. No. 1. Old Jime Jra^jedies. CELEBRATED CASES BEFORE THE COURTS IN ST. JOHN N. B INCLUDING : THE MISPECK TRAGEDY; REDBURN THE SAILOR; BURGAN THE "BOY" BURGLAR; AND THE MURDER OF CLAYTON TILTON AT MUSQUASH. =i- , COMPILED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES, AND i^OW PUBL,ISHED IN FUI.I, FOR THE FIRST TIME. ST. JOHN, N. B. PROGRESS" EI.ECTRIC PRINT. 1895. -I ■ « '''I r-,— J^- KiitPrrd «Moi(lmg to Act of the Parliament ol Canada, in the Year 1895, by ■\V^1LLIAM KlLBT REYNOLDS, lit the Department of Agriculture INTRODUCTION. The principal incidents dealt with in the following pajjes have already appeared in a series of papers con- tributed to St. John Progress over the signature of Roslynde. With these as a groundwork, a large amount of matter has been added, and many additional details given which are in some instances wholly new to the public, and of historic importance. This is especially true of the account of The Mispcck Tragedy, the revision of which is many times the length of the original paper, and has required much time and careful research. Both on this case and that of Redburn, not only have the available contemporary records been consulted, but much that is now published for the first time has been obtain- ed from living witnesses. Jn the famous case of Jiurgan, " the boy who wms hanged,'" an ett'ort has been made to correct some of the popular errors as to the ])Osition of Judge Chipman in the matter. In this case, too, a living witness has been found who had a personal aequnintance with Burgan himself. This version of the atfair, differ ing so greatly as it does from the generally accepted accounts, is of special importance ns a matter of local history. Tt is, in«lee(l, with the idea that these stories thu.-^ made complete will b<' of historic value, thkt I havo ventured « INTRODUCTION. to publlHh thorn in book form, and with some bettor motive than to simply give a recital of dreadful crimoa. I have, therefore, made every oftoj't to be accurate in the statement of details, and where there was any doubt have taken the trouble to fully investigate disputed points. Among the many who have rendered valuable assist- ance, I have specially to thank Mr. George E. Fonety, Queen's Printer, for facilities to consult his files of the Morning News, and Mr. Clarence Ward, for valuable memoranda and suggestions. W. KiLBY Ekynolus. THE MISPECK TRAGEDY. TJIE STOJIY OF A (rllHAT CUIME. The raurdoa* of ]lobert McKenzio and his family, at Mispcck Spring, near St. John, N. IJ., in the year 1857, is without a parallel in the records of crime in the Mari- time Provinces of Canada. It was the brutal, wholesale slaughter of a man, his wife and their innocent children, by ignorant wretches whose sole motiv^e was greed of gain. The horror which it caused in this part of the world at the time may well be imagined, and even at this day, nearly forty years after, it is frequently revert- ed to when the topic oi talk ip the shedding of human blood. Until now, the story of the Mispcck Tragedy has nevor been fully told in connected form. Two pam- phlets, giving reports of the trial, were published in 1857, one by Geo. W. Bay, and the other in Now York for " Barney " O'Brien, the well known bookseller of a generation ago. The first was made up from rei)ort8 in the Leader newspaper, and the other from the reports in the Freeman. Both were got out in a hurry, and were necessarily incomplete and fragmentary in their Htylo, apart from the mere transcri})t of evidence. These pamphlets are now very rare, and they have been only a part of the records which I have consulted in prepar- ing this account. Other information has been had from 6 OLD TIMK TUAdKDIKM. contemporary newspapoi-H, and u gn^at deal that haw never before appeared in print has l)oon gathered from men now living who Imd Home knowledge of the events. In this way J have been enabled lo compile a full account of the Miwpcck Tragedy, from the night of the murder, in 1857, to the time of the escape of the younger Slavin, in 1871. On the Mispeck road, about ten miles from St. John, may be seen today a deserted farm, some scattered brick and stone nhowing where hud once stood the chimney of II dwelling. It is a lonely enough place, though not in a desolate ])art of the country, and the nearest house is about a mile away. Thei'e is good fishing in the neigh- borhood, Heaver Ijako is near at hand, and one of the city elubs has its cain]> in the vicinity. All who go there for the Hrst tim«' in (search of pleasure hear of the McKenzie murder, in more or less detail, but in the pas- sage of events few can tell much beyond the outline of the story, and as memories are treacherous, even this is not always sure lo be correct. Few of tho.se who were active in the conviction of the murderers are alive today, and thus it will be recognized that now, W'hile the testi- mony of the living is available, a record of the facta should be made. In the house of which the ruins are now seen once lived Ifobert McKenzie. with his wife and four children. Of the latter the eldest was about five years, while the youngest was about one year old. McKenzie was a na- tive of Scotland, but had been in this country a number of yeai>, and wjis by occupation a master tailor. The maiden name of his wife was EfKe Reed, daughter of Ishmael IJeed, of ('arleton, St. John. When in business in St. .lohn, McKenzie's shop wa'j in Bragg's building, THK MLil'BCK TRAOJtUY. 7 conior of King and Canterbury stroctw, a house famous for having boon built by Benedict Arnold, and Htanding on the lot now occupied by John Vjissio & Co. McKenzie Hold out his business to A. k T. (Jilniour, who continued at the stand for many yeai*s afterwards. McKenzio had considcrabi') money at one time. Some years before the tragedy ho was believed to l)o worth over $30,000, but ho subsequently lost a good deal in various ventures outside of his trade. In 1851 he had a chair factory at Lower Mispeck, and he owned mills with some 2,000 acres of land, lit did not succeed in the lumber business, however, and he hi 1 «>oqu(;ntly sank more money in improving his farm. Hi^ »uilt a house, about 50 feet long by 25 ft'ot wide, on tiic farm in 1949. Here ho was living with his family ..i the year lo5/. * 2 parently he lived there, lonely as it, was, without fear of danger to himself or his property, for. though a man of slight physique, he seems to luive t.'ii-en no special precautions to protect his place, though he mad'> no secret of the fact that he kept a considerable sum of money in the house. Most of the few people in that scattarcd neighborhood seemed to be ignorant, simple- minded folk, who lived as he did, at peace with the world. Am'^Rg them wa^i Patrick Slavin and his family, who occupied a humble dwelling seven or eight miles distant from the farm. Slavin was a laboring man, about 55 yeare of age, who had worked on the construction of the European and North American, now the Intercolonial railway, and at such other labor as oflered from time to time. His eldest son, Pat, was 15 or HI years old. Both of them were very ignorant, unable to read or write, and instruction in matters of religion was unknown in the household. 8 OLD TIME TRAOEDIES. Among thv^se 'people, however, there were all Horts of belief as to McKenzie's great wealth. One rumor had it that he was worth thirty thousand pounds. He was a money lender, too, and ho appeared to take a pride in making a display of his hoard before those who had any transactions with him. It will thus be seen that he largelyjcontributed to bring about his own dreadful fate, by exciting the cupidity of the wretchedly poor and ignorant people to Avhom goid seemed the the remedy for every ill. In the latter part of October, 1857, McKenzie was desirous of securing a farm laborer. He had a spare house, smaller and older than his own, for a man t( occupy, on the other side of the highway, nearly oppo- site the farm house, and about 90 yards distant. The wages he offered was a certain sum per acre for the work done. Such a man offered in the person of Hugh Breen — or Williams, as he was at first known — who had been',working on the railway up to a month or so before, but who had more recently been living at the house of Slavin. McKenzie mado an agreement with Breen, and the latter promised to bring his wife and family to occupy the small house across the road. Up to this time McKenzie had been as-sisted in his work by a farm laborer named PoUey, who had lived with his family in the small house. Policy had left the province and his place had been temporarily filled by a young man named George Leet, who lived alone in this house. Leet was to leave on the 24th of October and Breen was to take his place. On the day in question, which was a Saturday, McKenzie and Leet worked until dusk gathering up oats, two of the children playing in the field beside them as they labored. Having completed THE MISPECK TRAGEDY. what he had to do, Leet made a hast}- supi)er of bread and cold tea left from the noonday repast, and went home to his father's house, about five miles distant. Had he remained, as was afterwards shown, ho would have been one of the victims of the tragedy at a later hour. Breen and Slav in had determined to murder McKenzie and his family, and that night had been fixed for the deed. They expected Leet would be away, but had he remained, ad Slavin said, he would have been killed, "just because he was in the way." Breen, however, had already begun to live at the small house, sleeping with Leet, and was thus aware of his intention to go. Breen was of a different stamp, physically, from Slavin, for while the latter was well advanced in years, short and stooping, though stout, Breen was about 28 years of age, tall and powerfully built. He had a clean cut face, with sharp nose and prominent mouth, and kept himself close shaved. His hair, being somewhat gray, made him appear slightly older than he really wa«. So far as can be judged, he was not the projector of this horrid enterprise, but was a man with murder in his heart, and a willing instrument of Slavin. It would seem that the latter had long coveted McKenzie's gold, but he and Breen had not met. When the two were thrown together, the combination furnished all d\e ele- ments needed for the perpetration of a diabolical crime. Breen came originally from near Oromocto. B(;fore meeting with Slavin he had lived for a time in Frederic- ton, where he was employed as a man servant at Yerxa's hotel, known as the Drake House. While he was there, one of the boarders had a pocket book stolen from his- room. It contained money and papei-s. and was found mmm 10 OLD TIME TRAOI'.DIES. in the back yard, a few days later, with the money gone. Brcen was suspected, but nothing was done, as there was no direct evidence to prove that he w. ^ the thief. In the basement of the Drake House was a variety shop kept by an elderly widow named Sally Golly, who was supposed to have accumulated a good deal of money, which she kept by her in preference to placing it in a bank. The reports of her wealth excited the cupidity of Breen ; and after he left Frodericton and met Slavin, the two formed a plan to get the money. Having settled on the project the two went from St. John to Frederic- ton, in September, fully determined to rob and murder Sally Golly. They saw her several times, but found no good opportunity to execute their design, and returned to Mispeck without accomplishing their purpose. Two months later, after the arrest and confession of the pair, the old woman learned for the first time how four fierce eyes had watched her movements, and hoAv two men to whom mercy was an imknown virtue, had plotted to deprive her of her money and her life. Later, when Sally Golly learned of her escape, she was so stricken with fear that for the rest of her life, which was not many years, she was afraid to take the shutters from her shoj) windows. The greed of unlaw^ful gain having been aroused, like the thirst for blood in merciless tigers, Slavin and Breen next discussed the chance for the robbery of a Mr. Corkery, who was known to be in the habit of carrying considerable money on his person when he travelled through the country buying cattle. Abandoning this they decided on the murder of McKenzie and his family. Old Slavin took the credit of this to himself, afterwards declaring that '• it was myself was the head and founda- THE MISPECK TRAGEDY. 11 tion and backsetting of robbing and murdering McKen- zie." It was planned a week or two before it took place, and the date had been fixed for the night of Thursday, the 22nd of October. Learning that Leet expected his father and mother there that night, a postponement was made until Saturday, the 24th. That evening, Breen, Slavin and the hitter's son, Pat Slavin, started on their bloody mission. Young Slavin, in addition to being ignorant, was not considered men- tally bright. He knew that something bad was to be done, and no doubt he knew there was to be murder. He was under his father's orders, however, and it is quite certain he did not realize the enormity of the crime which was to be committed, whatever part he may have taken :n assisting in the slaughter. The stor}'- of how the murder Avas committed was told afterwards both by IBreeu and old Slavin, the mur- derers and living witnesses. Their accounts agreed in the main facts, and were given without any hope of saving themselves. Dreadful enough their confessions were. The oats had been gathered, the week's work was done, and McKenzie and his wife, unsuspicious of danger, were j^robably looking forward to a welcome rest on Sunday. At that season of the year the sun sets before five o'clock, and it was after twilight when McKenzie was seen alive for the last time by anyone except his murderers. About eight o'clock, or possibly a little later, a carriage from the city drove along that little frequented road. It contained two well known citizens of St. John. They stopped at the gate, and McKenzie, who was at the house, came down to the roadside, leaning his arras on the fence. The gentlemen in the carriage 12 OLD TJME TRA