In October, 1873, F. B. Gowen, president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company and the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, employed Allan Pinkerton, the noted detective, to take charge of a thorough investigation of this organization. Pinkerton accepted the commission and selected James McParlan, a young Irish street-car conductor of Chicago, to be his chief operative in this hazardous enterprise. On the evening of October 27, 1873, there arrived at Port Carbon a tramp who gave his name as one James McKenna, who was seeking work in the mines. This McKenna was none other than Detective McParlan and well did he perform his task. McParlan cleverly assumed the role of an old member of the order, and as one who had committed such atrocious crimes in other parts of this country that he must be careful of undue publicity. He could sing and dance, and was an all around good fellow, but only feigned the drunken stupor in which he was so constantly being found by his associates. The crowning event in his three years’ work was his initiation into the Ancient Order of Hibernians, at Shenandoah, April 14, 1874. He was soon appointed secretary on account of his better education. In fact, he was a leader and supposedly the most hardened criminal of the coal regions. October 31, 1874, George Major, Chief Burgess of Mahanoy City, was shot and killed by Mollie Maguires. On April 6, 1875, a despicable plot to destroy the great bridge on the Catawissa Railroad only failed because the Mollies in charge of the work failed to make the fire burn the structure. McParlan was in on this crime, but had much to do with its failure. Conditions were so serious by June 1, 1875, that Governor Hartranft sent militia to Shenandoah and in their very faces 700 Mollies attempted to capture and destroy a breaker, June 3. August 11 there was a great riot in Shenandoah. Edward Cosgrove and Gomer James were murdered and a bystander was killed during the riot. August 14, 1875, has since been known as “Bloody Saturday” in the coal regions. On that day Thomas Gwyther, a justice of the peace, of Girardville, was murdered. Miners rioted in many places. September 1, Thomas Sanger, boss at Heaton & Co., colliery, near Ashland, and William Uren were murdered. On September 3, John J. Jones, already mentioned, was killed. At the great trial the Commonwealth was represented by E. R. Siewers, the able district attorney; F. W. Hughes, of Pottsville; General Charles Albright, of Mauch Chunk, and Allen Craig. For the defense appeared Linn Bartholomew, J. B. Reilly and John W. Ryon, of Pottsville; Daniel Kalbfus and Edward Mulhearn of Mauch Chunk. James Kerrigan gave State’s testimony, which left no doubt of the guilt of the prisoner, and this also was the death knell to the Mollies. Arrests rapidly followed for the other murders.