THE TRAIL
The haste and exhaustion of that late night courtroom session created a lucky break or at least a delay of Dan’s demise. He was once again moved swiftly to another safer location after this unforeseen continuance of the case. The threat of a lynch mob from Loyal and the surrounding area storming the jail house still remained.
The matter was described as a complication and no one was certain what the outcome would be in the case. This undoubtedly gave Dan Allen more time to ponder and squirm while he nervously awaited his fate - the chance for a new trial or a life sentence in the state prison. Allen was returned to the Clark County Jail in Neillsville as the date of the decision neared.
On a Friday morning near the end of May in 1887, ten days before the motion was to be argued, he executed a perfect escape. Reports circulated that he may have been aided by Maggie Wright in his planned exit although there is no evidence to show that she assisted him. It is probably more likely that his son, Frank, may have been waiting outside the jail house door with horses, a carriage, and a plan.
Authorities in Greenwood and Loyal were on the lookout for Daniel Allen, the escapee. Sarcastic reports circulated that angry Loyal residents were preparing to burn down the jail and take the steel cages home to make hencoops out of them, leaving Maggie to watch over the chickens. It was learned that Allen had not been locked in an individual cell at the time of his escape but had liberty of the hall in the jail. There were two doors leading to the courthouse yard from the hallway and both of those doors were open. It was clear that the doors were opened from the inside because the lock on the outside of one of the doors had an old spider web in it which remained intact. The current sheriff only possessed one set of keys to the doors but originally there were two sets. It was unknown as to what had become of that second set of keys or how Dan Allen obtained them if he indeed did. Those doors were only used to haul in firewood for the jail and as a fire exit for the prisoners if the jailor’s residence should ever catch on fire. They hadn’t been entered or exited for a month prior to Dan’s escape. It was suspected that Allen left about midnight. He may have unlocked the doors days beforehand leaving them with the appearance of being closed. He most likely made a quiet departure in the darkness when the time was right. The jailor may have trusted Allen more than he should have, falling prey to the charming personality he often exhibited. The new sheriff also admitted he did not know there was a combination to the lock of the cage door until Allen showed him how it worked one day.
The press made a mockery out of Dan Allen’s escape. A song of the jailor’s lament was printed, “He’s gone, he’s gone, the Lord knows where, He’s gone to the devil entirely? He only left me a lock of his hair, when he skipped out so slyly.” Reference was made in jest that Dan’s footsteps should lengthen until he reached Canada, the “Land of the Free, Home of the Knave”. When another prisoner escaped from a local jail, an editor of the press joked that he “must have taken the Dan Allen trail.”
Although it is assumed that Dan and Maggie could have escaped together they did not. Maggie remained a prisoner at the Clark County Jail at Neillsville when Dan made his escape. The Sheriff had given her liberties to work around the house and it is possible that she may have also had access to the keys. Reports in early June stated that Maggie was also desirous to know the whereabouts of Dan Allen. The principle topic of conversation in the community focused on the missing prisoner and his unknown whereabouts for several weeks.
In the Fall when circuit court again convened in Clark County a decision was made on the fate of Maggie Wright. She had been incarcerated for nearly one and a half years. In November of 1887, a nolle was entered in her case that in essence set Maggie free. A nolle meant that the case would no longer be prosecuted, that it was dropped. She had become the state’s evidence against Allen, and with there now being no evidence against her but her own confession which could not be used against her, it was pointless to keep her incarcerated. Maggie left Clark County to start a new life, without a husband, and without her children. Her whereabouts became largely unknown to the community and she drifted on very alone. Mathias Wright, Maggie’s brother-in-law from Marshfield, had taken her daughter, Rosa, into his home to live with his wife and younger children.
The story did not end here for Daniel Allen. The committee that was appointed to look for him persevered. Those appointed were J. C. Marsh, A. C. Vaughan, and Fred Klopf. They traced Allen through Oregon to the state of Washington, where they guessed he was operating in the lumber industry under an assumed name. In January of 1889, a new sheriff was elected, Sheriff J. W. Page, and he began his own independent investigation promptly after taking office. Sheriff Page also traced Allen along the same route as the committee had through Oregon and into Washington.
G. W. Brennan (also spelled Brenner), a resident of Washington, had become acquainted with the man assumed to be Allen for more than a year prior to his capture and greatly aided the case. Brennan first met Allen when they were both living in Kitsap County, Washington. Dan had asked Brennan to do some writing for him and Brennan agreed. From time to time Brennan assisted with a large amount of correspondence and something led him to grow suspicious of Allen. Perhaps the correspondence dealt with Allen’s attempt to obtain a Civil War pension. When Brennan’s hunches were confirmed, he contacted the sheriff of Kitsap County and together they studied the case. Sheriff Page of Clark County corresponded with Kitsap’s Sheriff and Mr. Brennan and it soon became apparent the missing Allen had been found. District Attorney O’Neill, from Clark County, went to Madison in April of 1890, to secure a requisition from Governor Hoard for presentation to the Governor of Washington State so that Allen could be retrieved. With this legal matter taken care of, Sheriff Page began the long trek west by train to attempt to capture the escapee.
After nearly three years of hiding from the law Dan Allen was able to accumulate a small amount of property. Beginning in the fall of 1889 he started up a fruit and confectionary business in Lynden, Whatcom County, Washington. Allen had leased a lot and erected a small building with the help of a Mr. Alexander where he operated a candy store. Dan had assumed the alias of James Henry, and became well known to residents of the area.
Sheriff Page accompanied by City Marshall Lawrence, of Bellingham, Whatcom County, entered Dan Allen’s store in Lynden on Wednesday, April 23, 1890. Page casually asked Allen the price of oranges that were in stock and replied that he would take a quarters worth of the fruit. Allen first hesitated as he thought he recognized Page, but then he turned toward the window to gather the fruit with his back to the men. Quickly Sheriff Page grabbed him, tripped him, and threw him to the floor. Allen struggled desperately but with the assistance of City Marshall Lawrence he was soon handcuffed and a prisoner once again. The citizens of Lynden were very startled at all the commotion and certainly surprised to learn of the terrible crime that the man they knew as James Henry had been arrested for. Allen did acknowledge his identity soon after the arrest. The premises were then searched and Allen was allowed to pack a trunk with his desired belongings. A loaded gun was found under his bed. A Bellingham Bay Express Newspaper reporter had this to say, “The prisoner is a tall, stout, dark complexioned man of iron nerve and collected as though he was going home to be married instead of to be hung for murder.”
After giving power of attorney to a lawyer to take care of his business, Daniel Allen was escorted back to Neillsville, Wisconsin by Sheriff J. W. Page. They began their voyage back to the Midwest on the steamer, “The State of Washington”. Perhaps they first headed south to Seattle where they boarded a train. Word had leaked out of the capture back home in Clark County and it was assumed a few days later that the sheriff and his prisoner would stay overnight at St. Paul and arrive in Neillsville later on a Wednesday afternoon. Rather then encounter a curious and rowdy crowd of onlookers, Page decided to press on in the night and arrived at the Neillsville depot early Wednesday morning, April 30th, hours ahead of schedule. Only a handful of people were present when they got in. A carriage arrived on the scene in a flash and the shackled prisoner was quickly driven to the Clark County Jail once again.
Accounts state that a copious amount of money was spent in the recapture. Ex-Sheriff John Dwyer, in office when Allen escaped, came to visit him at the jail. He questioned Allen on how the escape was executed but Dan did not shed any light on the details of his exit.
Daniel Allen’s verdict of “guilty of murder in the 1st degree” in the trial that took place three years ago hovered over him in the form of a very dark cloud. The court denied a new trial and he was finally sentenced to life in prison in 1890. Allen was removed to the state penitentiary at Waupun, Wisconsin by Sheriff Page. “That’s what a man gets for trusting a woman, and I was a damn fool for writing those letters!” spouted Dan on the way to Waupun. But once again, this was not the end of Allen’s story.
WHERE I’M SUPPOSED TO BE
I walk out my driveway with blue sky overhead
And feel the northwest wind touch my face,
Then head east down the dead end road,
Toward the East Fork and away from the world.
I look for critter tracks in the snow in wintertime.
In spring I pick pussy willows by Lindsay Creek,
And watch butterflies sit on milkweed in the summer,
When autumn comes I gaze in awe at the red and golden leaves.
I stop at the driveway of the Honorable Mrs. Redman
And gaze at the old barn and oak trees in the yard,
But she is no longer there, only the memory of her
And Grandpa with grub-ax in hand digging out stumps.
I turn and walk back to the west toward home
And feel nostalgic, but refreshed and renewed
As I connect with nature, the past, and feel contentment
Knowing in my heart that I am where I’m supposed to be.
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