Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 October 1894 — MURDERER CASEY’S DOVE. [ARTICLE]

MURDERER CASEY’S DOVE.

A Snow-White Bird That Had an Affection for Hud Men. “I can recall a strange incident that has never found its way into print,” said a member of the New York congressional delegation. “It happened in Long Island, in the Queens County Jail, and, to say the least, is tinged with strangeness. Patrick Casey, a Long Island City policeman, was an inmate of the jail, under the sentenced death for the deliberate murder of Sergt. Cumisky. The present, representative in Congress from the First Congressional District, New York James W. Covert, was Casey’s counsel, and succeeded in having the sentence commuted to imprisonment for life. Un the day Casey was sentenced to death a pure-white dove flew in the courtroom window and alighted on his shoulder. “The dove refused to be moved, accompanied Casey back to his cell, and became his constant companion. At the same time Charles Rugg, the notorious negro murderer, was also an inmate of the jail, awaiting trial for the murder of Mrs. Lydia Maybee and her daughter. Just previous to the day set for his trial Rugg escaped from the jail, but two days later was captured and returned to the jail. The day of his capture was the day set for Casey’s removal to Sing Sing to serve out his life sentence. As he was being taken from the jail and while in the sheriff’s office being prepared for his journey Rugg was led in by his captors. All this time the dove had been perched on Casey’s shoulder, but as soon as Bugg was led in the dove flew from Casey’s shoulder over to Rugg’s, alighting on his shoulder, cooing as if it had found a longlost friend. “All efforts on the part of Casey to call it back again were in vain, and as Rugg was led back to the cell from which he escaped the dove went with him. It remained with him up to the morning of the execution. On that morning, as Rugg marched up to the scaffold, the dove was perched • n his shoulder and remained there until the black cap was drawn over his face. As soon as that was done the dove flew out of one of the jail windows, and was never seen around the jail again.”