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Twenty-Five Years In The Secret Service

Henri Le Caron

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TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE SECRET SERVICE

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE SECRET SERVICE

The Recollections of a Spy BY MAJOR HENRI LE CARON With Portraits and Facsimiles “No citizen has a right to consider himself as belonging to himself; but all ought to regard themselves as belonging to the State, inasmuch as each is a part of the State; and care for the part naturally looks to care for the whole.” —Aristotle. LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1892 [ All rights reserved ]...

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INTRODUCTION.

INTRODUCTION.

It has seemed good in the sight of many people that I should place on record, in some permanent and acceptable form, the story of my eventful life. And so I am about to write a book. The task is a daring one—perhaps the most daring of the many strange and unlooked-for incidents which have marked my career of adventure. I approach it with no light heart, but rather with a keen appreciation of all its difficulties. To cater, and cater successfully, for the reading public of this fin de siècle peri

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I.

I.

Of my early youth little that is very interesting or exciting can be told. A faded entry in the aged records of the ancient borough of Colchester evidences the fact that a certain Thomas Beach, to wit myself, came into this world some fifty and one years ago, on the 26th day of September 1841. My parents were English, as the American would phrase it, “from far away back,” my grandfather tracing his lineage through many generations in the county of Berkshire. The second son of a family of thirtee

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II.

II.

I am amused as I look back now upon the utter recklessness and daring of this proceeding of mine. I knew not a soul in France; of the language, not a word was familiar; and yet somehow the longing to get away from England and to try my luck on a new soil was irresistible. One place was as good as another to me, and Paris seemed rather more familiar than the other few centres of activity with the names of which I was then acquainted. And so to Paris I went. It was my good fortune to hit upon an h

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III.

III.

In the midst of all my soldiering, I wooed and won my wife. She is the principal legacy left me of those old campaigning days of mine, as bonny a wife and as sympathetic and valuable a helpmate as ever husband was blessed with in this world. Many years have gone by since we first met away in Tennessee, where she, a bright-eyed daring horsewoman, and I, a happy-go-lucky cavalry officer, scampered the plains together in pleasant company. Little thought either of us then what the future years held

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IV.

IV.

The war was now over and done, a thing of the past. I was situated in Nashville with my wife and family, and with my savings, happy in the enjoyment of the moment, and the pleasant reminiscences of the past. Henri le Caron, the agent of the British Government in the camps of American Fenianism, did not exist, and I had not the shadow of a conception as to what the future held in store for me. The future indeed troubled me not one whit. Looking back, as I do now, upon all that has happened since

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V.

V.

Before proceeding further, I had perhaps better give some idea of what the raid was like. The details should prove of interest, if for no other purpose than that of contrast with those of the second attempted invasion, of which I shall have to speak more fully later on. This, which was the first invasion of Canada by the Fenian organisation, took place upon the morning of the 1st of June 1866. As I have already stated, the design had been flourished in the face of government and people for six m

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VI.

VI.

Meantime the conditions of peace, in purely American matters, had set in, and the army was reduced to a nominal footing. I took advantage of the state of affairs to settle down to a civilian style of life. The first question that called for thought and care was my future vocation in life. The father of a family, it became necessary for me to look out for some means of obtaining a settled income. Acting under the advice of an old comrade, now a Senator of Illinois, I finally determined to study m

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VII.

VII.

On my return to my Western home, I lost no time in commencing my double life. I organised a Fenian “circle” or camp in Lockport, Illinois, and took the position of “centre” or commander of it, thus becoming the medium for receiving all official reports and documents issued by O’Neill, the contents of which documents were, of course, communicated by me to the Home Government. I went to work with a will, and was soon in the very thick of the conspiracy, organised a military company for the Irish R

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VIII.

VIII.

The career of Cross would supply material for a most exciting novel. He always went in for “big things,” as he phrased it. Nothing troubled him more than the fact that he was then undergoing punishment for a small affair which he contemptuously referred to as being too paltry altogether for association with him. Perhaps the “biggest thing” he ever did was the forgery of a cheque for £80,000 in Liverpool, and his escape with the booty. Like many other talented criminals, if he had but turned his

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IX.

IX.

In the midst of all these exciting incidents of prison life, I received a telegram from O’Neill in New York, as follows: “Come at once, you are needed for work.” To comply was to surrender my pleasant and interesting position, and to lose for the moment all chance of pursuing my medical study. On the other hand, however, the opportunity of doing good service to my native land presented itself. I did not hesitate. Communicating immediately with the “Warden” or Governor, I resigned my position, mu

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X.

X.

I entered with a will upon my duties as travelling organiser, and was alike successful in winning the confidence of almost every Fenian with whom I was brought into contact, and in obtaining the most important information and details for the Home Government. Matters had meantime proceeded apace, so that when the Philadelphia Convention of 1868 was held, O’Neill’s determination to invade Canada a second time was ratified without a dissentient voice. I was now promoted to the rank of Inspector-Gen

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XI.

XI.

It was during the autumn of 1868 that, in the course of my travels on behalf of the organisation, I first met Alexander Sullivan. Alexander Sullivan is a well-known man to-day, but if by any chance his identity has to be marked, little else need be mentioned beyond the words, “The Cronin affair.” He was a young man then, but then as now he was the same Alexander Sullivan, clever, unscrupulous, careful only of himself, subordinating everything to his personal ambition, using Irish politics as a s

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XII.

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 nationalit

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XIII.

XIII.

The Annual Convention to which I have made reference in connection with the Roche incident took place in Philadelphia, “the city of brotherly love,” in the month of December 1868. It was made the occasion of an immense demonstration, no less than 6000 armed and uniformed Fenian soldiers parading the streets. The convention itself was numerically a large one, and was attended by over 400 properly qualified delegates. The proceedings were of the usual kind. Brag and bluster were the order of the d

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XIV.

XIV.

The year 1869 saw O’Neill still at the helm of Fenian affairs, and large sums of money rolling in to the coffers of the organisation; although, as always the case with Irish movements, dissensions reigned within the ranks. The Stephens section, now presided over by John Savage, who had succeeded John O’Mahony, was constantly attacking the Senate wing, and many and bitter were the feuds which raged. In my position as Inspector-General of the Irish Republican Army, I was fully engaged in my old wo

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XV.

XV.

At this time I was out West, and receiving a telegram from O’Neill, directing me to meet him in Buffalo, I hurried thither without delay. I reached that city only to find that O’Neill had ordered an immediate movement on Canada, and that, as he phrased it, “no power on earth could stop it.” This condition of things startled and surprised me. His determination in the way of immediate action was opposed to the decision of the last council of war, and my chiefs in Canada would, I feared, be quite u

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XVI.

XVI.

Careless of consequences, I waited to see what would happen. As I stood on the brow of the hill where our company was situated, the scene was indeed worthy of my study. Ludicrous as were many of the elements which went to make it up, the charm of nature was superior to them all, and commanded my tribute of respect and admiration. Right below me was a pretty valley, down the very centre of which flowed a little creek marking the boundary of Canadian territory, and dividing by its narrow course th

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XVII.

XVII.

On Friday, April 27th, under the excuse that I was going to Burlington to see about O’Neill, I went round by way of Rouses Point to Montreal. I was elated with my success, and wanted to report myself at head-quarters without delay. It would not, however, have been safe for me to have gone direct to Ottawa, and so I travelled in a roundabout way. On the Friday night I stopped with Judge Coursel, the Commissioner of the Quebec police, and the following morning took train to Ottawa. Before my journ

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XVIII.

XVIII.

With the fiasco at Pigeon Hill, and the equally inglorious termination of the musters at other points of the Canadian border, there died out altogether the idea of attacking and seizing any portion of Canada. O’Neill, after some confinement, was brought to trial, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, and the Fenian organisation literally went to pieces for the time. I had no thought of its ever reviving again, and so turned my attention once more to my medical work, which I had had to compl

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XIX.

XIX.

On resuming my studies, I decided to enter the Detroit College of Medicine, and so, taking my family with me, I settled down there. There were many reasons for my change of residence, not the least important of which was that connected with the unpopularity which I found attached to me in my old home after my return from the Canadian affair. O’Neill had many opponents, and by these opponents I was attacked in company with O’Neill, and the others engaged in the affair, for having ruined the organ

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XX.

XX.

While my Fenian friends struggled on in this way, I looked after my own affairs. Completing my studies and business in Detroit, I moved myself and my family to Wilmington, where I settled down to make a home and secure an income. I was now a fully fledged M.D., and so I immediately commenced practising at Braidwood, a suburb of Wilmington. Success attended my start, my Irish connection and record bringing me an amount of patronage almost beyond my powers of attention. I had given up all idea of

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XXI.

XXI.

The arguments were well put, and what was more, they were well timed. They proved successful. Everything appeared in favour of the new move; and the re-establishment of the Fenian organisation in Great Britain on a more compact secret basis, under the title of the Irish Republican Brotherhood , was one of the many satisfactory features of the moment. Matters, however, moved slowly; and, although actually established in 1869, it was not until the year 1873 that the movement became in any way gene

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XXII.

XXII.

Up to the year 1881, when the administration of the conspiracy underwent a change, with which I will deal at its proper time, the Clan-na-Gael was governed by an executive body (known in the cypher as F.C.), presided over by a Chairman elected by the body at the annual conventions, and a Revolutionary Directory known without any regard to the cypher by its initial letters R.D. This Revolutionary Directory was composed of seven men, three of whom were nominated by the Executive, three by the Iris

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XXIII.

XXIII.

Slowly but surely the Clan-na-Gael was gaining ground, despite all the forces arrayed against it. Triumphing over Church opposition, conscientious scruple on the score of joining secret societies, and the single opposing Revolutionary faction still faithful to the memory of Stephens, it had, in 1876, a membership exceeding 11,000, which included amongst its leading names those of Alexander Sullivan, John Devoy, O’Donovan Rossa, Thomas Clarke Luby, Thomas F. Burke, Dr. Carroll, James Reynolds, Fr

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XXIV.

XXIV.

My advent in the organisation, though gratifying to a certain extent, did not satisfy me as fully as I wished. I wanted to know everything that took place on the inner side of the movement, and I found that, as one of the rank and file, I could really learn nothing. Accordingly, I set my wits to work to see how I could accomplish my desire of gaining such a position as would give me all I wanted. Very little consideration was needed to show me that, in a large centre like Chicago, where jealousy

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XXV.

XXV.

Meantime, events had been developing themselves in a strange and unlooked-for way. O’Donovan Rossa—speaking to the Irish in America through the columns of the Irish World —had advocated the establishment of a Skirmishing Fund in the following style:— “Five thousand dollars will have to be collected before the campaign can be started. England will not know how or where she is to be struck. A successful stroke or any stroke that will do her 500,000 dollars’ worth of damage will bring us funds enou

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XXVI.

XXVI.

To return, however, to Rossa and his Skirmishing Fund. As a prominent Fenian of “the old guard,” and a member of the Clan-na-Gael, Rossa’s influence, backed up by Ford’s advocacy, succeeded in getting together no less than 23,350 dollars by the 14th March following the issue of the appeal—in something less than twelve months in fact. Although, however, this large sum had been accumulating during this period, and portions of it had been ready at different times for use if required, no skirmishing

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XXVII.

XXVII.

While the Skirmishing Fund and its custodians were engaging public attention in this way, the secret work of the organisation was by no means being neglected. The ordinary work of shipping arms to Ireland, and communicating with the sister society as regards members, organisation, &amp;c., was conducted with regularity and precision; while operations of an extraordinary character were indulged in as opportunity offered. Amongst these latter must be classed the negotiations, commenced about t

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XXVIII.

XXVIII.

The month of September ’78 was remarkable for the arrival in America of Michael Davitt. He had been released from Portland Prison on ticket-of-leave several months previously, and having travelled through Ireland in the meantime, now came to the States with the ostensible object of lecturing. This first visit of his differed from the second one paid in 1880 by reason of the change which his opinions underwent in the interval When in September 1878 Davitt landed in America to be met by Devoy and

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XXIX.

XXIX.

While the ball was thus rolling in this way, Davitt completed his tour in America, and returned to Ireland to resume his work there. He did not return alone, however, for in his wake there travelled his new colleague, Devoy, who, journeying as one of the secret agents of the Clan-na-Gael, went to Ireland to inspect and report on the condition of the Revolutionary organisation there to the V.C. Convention, to be held in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, in July 1879. Associated with Devoy in this work o

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XXX.

XXX.

Though lacking official recognition and support, the scheme of the “New Departure” was creating a good deal of enthusiasm throughout the ranks of the Gaels; and the reports which continued to come from Ireland as to the condition of the Land Question kept the matter fully alive. The arrival, too, of Mr. Parnell in New York in the month of January 1880 gave a fresh impetus to the whole thing. And whatever doubt had heretofore existed as to the possibility of working the new move, and making it su

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XXXI.

XXXI.

So matters progressed and developed, the only important incident of the interval being the discovery that James J. O’Kelly, late M.P. for Roscommon, after being despatched by the Revolutionary Directory of the Clan-na-Gael to England with moneys to attend to the shipping of arms to Ireland, had thrown in his lot with the advocates of the New Departure in Ireland, and been returned to Parliament with the funds placed at his disposal by the Revolutionary chiefs in New York. This, of course, was no

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XXXII.

XXXII.

My private affairs permitted of my taking a holiday in the early part of the year 1881, and so I determined to make a trip to Europe. Happening to communicate my intention to my old friend, Colonel Clingen, now the commander of the Clan-na-Gael guards in Chicago, and a very prominent member of the organisation, he gave me to understand that the Executive would avail themselves of my journey to send by me documents which could not be trusted to the mails. Nothing could have suited me better, and

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XXXIII.

XXXIII.

In strong contrast to O’Leary was another old Irish rebel whose acquaintance I made in Paris for the first time. He was a man whose name was familiar to me as a household word, but with whom I had never before been brought directly into contact. I speak of James Stephens, the leader with whose name it was at one time possible to conjure in Ireland, who had been the head and front of the Fenian Brotherhood in Ireland in 1865, whose word was law to its sworn thousands, and who, after making his es

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XXXIV.

XXXIV.

All this time Egan and I had been constantly together. My desire was, of course, to make a study of the man, and to get to know as much about him as I possibly could. Everything played into my hands. Egan was ignorant both of the geography and the language of the French capital, and he very largely availed himself of the help which I was enabled to render him, as the result of my supposed French nationality and knowledge of the city. My position, altogether, was a very pleasant one at this perio

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XXXV.

XXXV.

Making my way down to the House on the occasion of my next appearance in London, I obtained admission to the Lobby—admission was then an easier matter than now—and encountered Mr. J. J. O’Kelly in my search for Mr. Parnell. The late envoy of the Clan-na-Gael, who, unfaithful to his trust, had got into Parliament with skirmishing money instead of attending to the shipping of arms for “active” work, had a long chat with me over the situation, before the Irish leader put in an appearance. While we

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XXXVI.

XXXVI.

I saw Mr. Parnell once more. This was when I went to say good-bye to him. I found him in the tea-room of the House of Commons, as cordial as ever. Indeed, he was particularly agreeable on this occasion, presenting me with a photograph of himself, on which he wrote, “Yours very truly, Charles S. Parnell.” This portrait, which is here reproduced, I kept as an interesting souvenir for a long time, but had to surrender it at last to the Special Commission, amongst the records of which it is now duly

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XXXVII.

XXXVII.

I reached New York somewhere in the month of June 1881. Devoy was not there when I arrived, and so I had to telegraph to him at New Haven, Conn., in order to arrange an interview. My telegram was followed by a written report of all that had happened; and as Devoy was detained at New Haven, a lengthy correspondence took place between us. Though at first reluctant to go to Europe, he eventually undertook to do so. His consent, however, was conditional on his colleagues agreeing to the undertaking,

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XXXVIII.

XXXVIII.

The month of August at length arrived, and with it the Great Dynamite Convention of 1881. It was pretty well known that “active” work was to be the order of the day, when the future plans and schemes of the organisation came to be discussed. Nothing was talked of throughout the camps but the utter lack of practical effort which had characterised the past few years; and now, when funds were pretty large, and the organisation itself in a very flourishing condition in every way, it was determined t

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XXXIX.

XXXIX.

In this way did both of Mr. Parnell’s ideas receive recognition and support. In the first place, the Revolutionary Directory was instructed to prepare for the rising of which he spoke, while, in the second, a pretty strong hint was given to the home organisation that members in their individual capacity should join the League and support its programme. It is only right that I should state at this point that I was not the only one charged with representing Mr. Parnell’s views. My attendance befor

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XL.

XL.

I have found this subject of Irish secret conventions so interesting to the many people who have talked with me about Clan-na-Gael affairs since my appearance in the witness-box that I almost think I might venture on some slight description of the modus operandi of these gatherings without wearying the reader. Like all proceedings from which the general public are shut out, a Clan-na-Gael assembly becomes interesting in proportion to the amount of secrecy by which it is attended. Not indeed that

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XLI.

XLI.

At last we turn to business again. Luckily the topic is an exciting one—nothing less indeed than the Skirmishing Fund discussion—and so matters will be interesting. O’Meagher Condon is on his feet, and he is launching forth in vehement style against the whole of the governing powers. Condon is one of those men who were mixed up in the Manchester Martyr affair, and since his arrival here a couple of years since, on being amnestied, he has been quite a hero. He has now a position in a Government d

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XLII.

XLII.

Nothing of a very stirring character happened for the next couple of months, and so, much to my satisfaction, I was permitted to attend for a little without interruption to my private affairs. They sadly lacked some notice on my part, for business was growing, my drug-stores were increasing in number, and so was my family. Patients were very numerous too, but expenses were not without their increase, for I had to employ a regularly qualified M.D. to take my place in my absence. If I could have s

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XLIII.

XLIII.

Eighteen hundred and eighty-three proved a very busy time with me. There was another Land League Convention: Egan, Sheridan, Frank Byrne, and other Invincibles “on the run” arrived in the country, and altogether my time was pretty well occupied in obtaining information and passing it on to my chief. The year opened amidst rumours in the public press of the secret movement having captured the open organisation of the League. Mr. Parnell himself had taken action previously in connection with the K

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XLIV.

XLIV.

It was shortly after this—I think somewhere about the 29th of May—that I was fortunate enough to learn from Sullivan some particulars as to what was going on in connection with the Dynamite Campaign. A demonstration had been arranged at Milwaukie, Wisconsin, in honour of Patrick Egan, and at Sullivan’s pressing invitation I accompanied him in order to participate in it. We travelled together and conversed almost all the way, Sullivan, as was his wont, supplying me with very interesting details.

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XLV.

XLV.

Philip H. Cronin was born in Ireland, but when very young emigrated to Canada. From thence when a young man he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he studied medicine at the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons. Before this he had been clerk in a chemist’s store, and had thus acquired a very considerable practical knowledge of medicine. He graduated with high honours, and became eventually Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in the college. He also attended a medical college from

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XLVI.

XLVI.

The next matter of public importance in which I was interested was the Boston Convention of the Irish National League of America, which took place in the Fanieul Hall, Boston, on the 13th and following days of August. Of course I went in my dual capacity as League delegate and Revolutionary official. The same plan of campaign was practised with the same successful results. The Rev. Dr. Betts was again to the front as president of the secret caucuses, while Egan, grown more bold by this, was a re

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XLVII.

XLVII.

While the contest raged between the opposing factions, I was up and doing, travelling about, and gaining as much information as I possibly could. I made many trips to various points of the country, and so was enabled to gauge pretty accurately the condition of public feeling and the probabilities of the future. My pretexts for all this travelling were admirably adapted to divert suspicion from my real object. When a journey for my health’s sake was not possible, I got appointed (through Irish po

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XLVIII.

XLVIII.

I have already touched at several points on the Dynamite Campaign, and I will now pause in my narrative for the purpose of dealing in some detail with the incidents attending the development of the plot to “blow up England.” Although there had been several attempts made by O’Donovan Rossa’s adherents to damage public buildings, notably the Mansion House, London, the barracks at Chester, the police-station and the Town Hall at Liverpool in 1881 and 1882, the Dynamite Campaign as organised by the

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XLIX.

XLIX.

The secret convention of the Revolutionary organisation—or rather, of the principal section which had remained faithful to Sullivan—met in due course, in August 1886, but as I was not a delegate, I had no personal knowledge of what took place. The spirit of the time, however, was very fairly reflected in some circulars, issued prior to its assembly, from which I take the following extracts:— “The indications all point to the conclusion that the measure of Home Rule offered will be emasculated an

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L.

L.

The following year—1888—was my last in America, and ere its close I left for the purpose of attending the dying bedside of my father. I left for England in December with the full purpose of returning in a month, but as matters turned out I really left my home for the last time. I had written twice to Mr. Anderson, offering my services in connection with the Special Commission, but nothing had come of my proposal, and I had no idea that anything would happen in connection with the matter. My idea

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LII.

LII.

Long before these final developments, however, I had sailed for England, and severed for all time my connection with Irish politics in the United States. I had come, as explained, to my father’s dying bedside. Unfortunately for me, I was not in time to find him conscious, and did not reach the house where he lay till the day on which he died. When the sad offices connected with his death had been fulfilled, I turned my thoughts again to home, and set about preparing for another voyage to the Sta

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LIII.

LIII.

I have told my story, and little more remains to be done. Yet I cannot lay down my pen without rendering some little tribute to one whose care and caution on my behalf I can never repay. I refer to Mr. Anderson. For twenty-one years I served under this gentleman in the Secret Service, and no greater honour can I pay him than to say that during all this time I was never discovered. Only those who have played my part can fully appreciate what this means. Not always careful, not always guarded enou

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LIV.

LIV.

This, then, is my story; and in it must be found the justification, if such be needed, for the part I have played. I have no apology to make for my twenty and odd years’ work in the Secret Service. I took up that work from a conscientious motive, and in a conscientious spirit I pursued it to the end. I have in no sense been an informer, as the phrase is understood. I allied myself with Fenianism in order to defeat it; I never turned from feelings of greed or gain on the men with whom I at first

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I. THE STORY OF THE JUBILEE PLOT.

I. THE STORY OF THE JUBILEE PLOT.

Fully two months before the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee in London, reliable intelligence reached the Scotland Yard authorities that a gang of skilful and unscrupulous conspirators in America were devising a plan for carrying out acts of murder and destruction in London. The names of the principal persons engaged for this purpose were known to the police, and the individuals were closely watched even during their voyage across the Atlantic. The headquarters of the organisation were establi

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II. THE STORY OF THE CRONIN MURDER.

II. THE STORY OF THE CRONIN MURDER.

The Cronin murder trial ended yesterday, after prolonged deliberation on the part of the jury, in the conviction of four of the five prisoners arraigned. By the laws of the State of Illinois the jury not only decide the issues of guilty or not guilty, but also award the punishment of the convicts. To this fact is probably due the long delay in the present case in the announcement of the verdict. The jury have acquitted John F. Beggs. They have awarded imprisonment for life to Daniel Coughlin, Ma

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APPENDIX III.

APPENDIX III.

NOTE.—The above letter was written to me by Sullivan before the trial of the charges brought against him by Cronin, and refers to evidence being collected by Sullivan to refute those charges. “D.” means division, “J. G.” and “S. G.” mean Junior Guardian and Senior Guardian; and the use of these initials peculiar to the Organization prove Sullivan’s continued participation in the Clan-na-Gael. H. le C. Transcriber’s Note: the following is a transcription of the handwritten text of this letter. Au

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