XII.
Before continuing my narrative, I will stop to relate one of the few cases in which I was forced into a very narrow place, and faced with the near possibility of complete exposure. The incident is useful as illustrating the dangers by which I was surrounded, and the requirements of the position in which I was placed. At a council of war held in Troy House, Troy, New York, in the month of November 1868, I came in contact with John Roche, well known as one of the shining lights of Irish nationality in that city. Roche was one of those hypercritical and over-suspicious individuals who were constantly recognising British detectives in every stranger whom they met. He had been, I discovered, originally a resident of Montreal, and as I had been instructed by O’Neill to visit and study the enemy’s country, I indicated to Roche my desire of ascertaining the names of a few reliable brothers whom I could visit. The truth was that the Canadian Government were at this time particularly anxious to find out the extent of the organisation which they knew existed in several of their large cities, notably Montreal, Kingstown, and Toronto; and I thought this a good opportunity of getting some useful hints.
Roche furnished me with the names of several leading members. Unluckily for me, I foolishly wrote the particulars down in a note-book in his presence. The act, in his opinion, was a suspicious one. He watched me closely, and evidently conceived the idea that my patriotism was of a very incautious character, if not worse. On the eighth of the following month, at the Annual Convention held in the Masonic Hall, Philadelphia, to which he was a delegate, I found his suspicions solidified in the form of a set of charges against me, imputing carelessness, dangerous conduct, and suspicious acts. My friends, and they were legion, together with myself, indignantly denied the allegations, and virtuously demanded an inquiry, which was granted, and a committee was appointed to lay the charges. Roche was duly heard, injured innocence was largely en evidence on my part, and very quickly a unanimous verdict was reported back to the Convention, asserting that the charges were scandalous and without the slightest foundation, it being fully demonstrated by the following letter that I was authorised to visit and acquaint myself with the other side, as I represented to Roche:—
“Head-Quarters Fenian Brotherhood,
“No. 10 West Fourth Street,
“New York, October 23, 1868.
“P. O. Box 5141.
“Henry le Caron,
“Care of Capt. T. O’Hagan,
“Ogdensburg, N.Y.
“Dear Sir and Brother,—Yours of the 20th and 21st came duly to hand and are perfectly satisfactory.
“I think it better not to commence equalising goods just yet; I will write you again on the matter.
“It would be highly beneficial to us for you to avail yourself of every opportunity to study the country on both sides of the line for future emergencies.
“Everything here is going on satisfactorily.
“Yours fraternally,
“John O’Neill,
“Pres. F.B.”
I did not, however, deem it prudent to let matters rest even here, feeling that my ultimate success in the interests of the Government depended upon absolute confidence on the part of the ruling powers. Accordingly I sat down and immediately wrote out my resignation as an officer of the Irish Republican Army, giving this want of confidence as my reason, and couching my letter in indignant terms. As I hoped and anticipated, my letter brought the following welcome response, which placed me on a surer footing than ever, and brought me into even more confidential relations with the head of the organisation than I had hitherto enjoyed:—
“War Department, Fenian Brotherhood,
“No. 10 West Fourth Street,
“New York, December 29, 1868.
“P. O. Box 5141,
“Major H. le Caron,
“Box 1004,
“Chicago, Ill.
“Major,—Your letter tendering your resignation as an officer of the I.R.A. came duly to hand, but I delayed answering until such time as I could submit it to the President, who was out of town, as without his instructions I could give you nothing definite in reply. He now directs me to say that it is his wish you should remain an officer of the organisation, and that if you require a leave of absence for a month or more, you can have it. He further says he hopes it will not be long before the opportunity you refer to may be granted. Your services have been thoroughly appreciated both by him and the officials of both Departments, civil and military, therefore you should not notice the inuendoes or taunts of parties who cannot value your services. If the officers of the organisation who have been vilified and calumniated were to resign on that account, some of its best officers would not now be at their post. The ‘Patriot’s meed is bitter;’ they must bear with much, even from those who should be the first to defend and sustain them.
“Personally, I would advise you to act on the suggestions of the President, and hope you will.
“The President will write you in a few days. Whatever course you may decide upon pursuing in this matter, you shall always carry with you the best wishes of
“Your friend and brother,
“J. Whitehead Byron,
“Col. & A.A.G., F.B.”
I got thus safely out of my awkward position, and learnt one good lesson. I never kept a pocket-book again.