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Broke Jail – James O’Brien – “Pronounced Morphine Eater”
For a few reasons, this is one of my favorite REWARD or WANTED postcards from my collection: 1) the escape took place in (Great Bend) Kansas; 2) the wanted picture of James O’Brien is not printed on the postcard, but is an actual photograph pasted to the card; and 3) a portion of the description of the fugitive advises he’s “a very pronounced morphine eater.”
My research revealed a couple of newspaper articles about O’Brien’s crime, escape, and recapture. I also learned that J. S. Dalziel, the person to be notified if the fugitive was found, was at the time in 1905 the current Barton County sheriff.
O’Brien was being held in the Barton County jail at Great Bend (KS) for stealing several suits of clothing from a freight car at the Missouri Pacific depot in Herrington (KS). At his preliminary hearing, held in Justice Ogle’s Court, in the Barton County courthouse, O’Brien represented himself.
O’Brien escaped April 25, 1905, but was captured at St. Joseph, Missouri, on July 8 after burglarizing the Humphrey hardware store of Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 4th.
A railroad detective caught O’Brien selling exceptionally good knives for exceedingly low prices.
I learned that O’Brien had served a penitentiary sentence prior to his arrests, but I haven’t located any newspaper articles about his return to prison. I’m guessing he served more time in the pen unless he outsmarted the local lawmen again.
I wish I knew more about O’Brien’s morphine addiction. Could he have been introduced to it during a medical emergency to reduce his pain or did he drink one too many Coca-Cola’s before Coke changed its ingredients from the original 1885 recipe that contained cocaine?
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James S. Dalziel, the sheriff at the time of O’Brien’s escape, was born in Dumfries, Scotland in 1842. As a baby he accompanied his parents to America, settling in Wisconsin, where he lived when he enlisted and served in the Civil War. He married Mary Elizabeth Galloway in 1868. She was born in French Canada in 1846.
After a brief stay in Iowa for at least 1870, the Dalziel’s, with a new baby girl, moved to Barton County in 1871 where they homesteaded a farm 12 miles east of Hoisington. J. S. was elected sheriff on the Republican ticket in 1883, 1885, 1904, and 1906, with each term of office being two years.
In James’ obituary, he was recalled as a “quiet and unassuming man, modest and retiring, but a man of convictions who knew no fear. A most worthy and honored citizen who enjoyed a very large circle of loyal friends.”
After being stricken with paralysis in 1920, he died at age 78 in 1921. His wife, Mary, died four years later in 1925. They are buried in the Great Bend Cemetery.
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Until next time, happy writing.
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- Never miss a weekly blog by Jim Potter at Sandhenge Publications. Sign up by clicking below to receive my weekly blog sent to your email address. https://jimpotterauthor.com/sign-up-for-jim-potters-blog-posts/
- Better than Amazon with free S/H and no sales tax to you. Purchase one (or more) of my books directly at my website by clicking https://jimpotterauthor.com
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