MARTIN BURKE
The Chief was now satisfied that the man so badly wanted in Chicago was in his clutches, and he hastened to apprise Superintendent Hubbard by telegraph of the fact. This done, he resumed his examination of the prisoner.
When asked where he came from, he replied "Chicago," but that he had not traveled direct, having first gone to Hancock, Michigan, where he had visited a man named John F. Ryan. This man, he said, had a homestead, although he corrected this latter and said that he kept a store. He went on to say that he had written to Ryan since his arrival in Winnipeg, and that he was on his way to the old country. While making these statements he was extremely nervous and excited, and this caused Chief McRae to remark:
"What have you done that you are so nervous?"
Burke made no reply. He was asked why he had adopted the name of W. J. Cooper, and replied that he did so because he was being watched by two or three men. In Chicago, he said, he had resided at the corner of Erie and Sedgewick streets, and he gave the names of several people in that neighborhood whom he knew, including a saloon keeper. Burke was placed in a cell, and the officers proceeded to examine his valise. In it they found several articles of clothing, including a light colored felt hat, considerably crushed, and with about a three-inch brim. On the sweat band there were ink marks, which had evidently been applied to obliterate some name or ownership mark. There was also a slip of paper, which proved to be a receipt for the sum of five dollars, paid by W. J. Cooper to Alexander Calder, on account of a ticket to Liverpool.
Inquiries were next made concerning Burke's movements from the time he arrived in the city. It was found that he first put in an appearance on the Thursday prior to his arrest, and put up at the Russell House, a second-class hotel, without registering. On Saturday he appeared at Caldwell's office and inquired the price of a ticket to Queenstown or Liverpool, by way of Montreal. He was told and giving his name as Cooper, he handed out $5 as a deposit, adding that he would call and pay for the ticket on the following day. He was told that the office was not usually open on Sunday, but that if it was necessary the agent would come down and issue the ticket. From here he went to the telegraph office, where he wired to somebody in Chicago for the sum of $200. This came later in the day, and was paid to him. Late that night he wrote and mailed several letters, and on the following morning—Sunday—called for his ticket and paid for it.
BURKE IN COURT.
A night's imprisonment did not tend toward making the suspect any more communicative. When spoken to on the following morning, he admitted that he had known Dr. Cronin by sight, but said that he had never been personally acquainted with him, and also denied that he had ever been a member of the Clan-na-gael. He manifested considerable bravado, saying that he would claim British protection and refuse to go back with any Chicago officers who might be sent for him. Within a few hours after his arrest, one of the leading counselors of the city, A. B. Campbell, had been retained in his behalf through some mysterious source, and by his advice the suspect became as close mouthed as a clam.
On the Wednesday following his arrest, he was arraigned before Police Magistrate Peebles, but upon the production of the dispatches from the Chicago authorities, a remand was granted for two days, without any evidence being offered. This made him very uneasy, and he urged his attorney to procure a writ of habeas corpus. The request would probably have been complied with, had not Chief McRae declared that he would block any such movement by swearing out an information charging Burke with murder. The suspect was anything but satisfied with prison fare, and, at his request he was furnished with meals from a hotel at his own expense and also provided with a comfortable bed. A dispatch late in the day brought the information that the grand jury in Chicago had returned an indictment against him, and, as a natural result, he spent a sleepless night. Officer Collins arrived from Chicago on Thursday, and a single glance at the prisoner was sufficient to tell him that the right man was under arrest. This much settled, Collins, accompanied by Chief McRae, drove to the residence of Judge Bain, one of the judges of the Court of Queen's Bench for the Province of Manitoba and a jurist of extraordinary ability and sagacity, where the following information was sworn out: