What began as a simple, straightforward Heathen Edition slowly turned into a research rabbit hole whose accumulation of details began to paint a more tragic picture the deeper we went.

Truly, once Blackie’s whole, tragic story is realized — as much as can now be gleaned from its many pieces and disparate sources — it’s so infuriating that all you can do is ball your hands into fists and curse.

Was he innocent? Of crime in general, no — he never denied being a criminal — but of the crime that netted him life behind bars he was likely innocent. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

J.B. Kerfoot in his review of Field’s book for Life stated, “while it is sentimentally told, it is manifestly and significantly true.” And we agree one hundred percent, yet Field’s book, on its own, lacks the depth we crave, which is why we have fleshed it out with as much Blackie information as we could amass. Which isn’t to say that you should skip over Mrs. Field’s book entirely as it’s a crucial piece of the puzzle.

In amassing all of the additional bits and pieces that we’ve collected for this edition, a lot of repetition and overlap — a musicality, if you will — presents itself as each author recounts many of the same anecdotes, but from naturally varied points of view.

That is both a warning and a directive — there is quite a bit of repetition in this edition but pay attention — because the why of Canada Blackie is a puzzle of details easily overlooked.

In keeping with musicality, we have labeled the table of contents “programme” and structured our edition in such a way as to thread you through the narrative as lyrically as possible, which is mostly in chronological order — more so in order of original publication, but not always.

Regarding the text of this edition, we’ve updated some words to reflect their modern equivalents (good-night is now goodnight; to-day is now today, etc.), and we’ve appended over 100 footnotes to enhance your reading and identify our source materials where appropriate.

Additionally, most sections begin with facsimiles of the original sources, which we believe lends further authenticity to this insane true story.

To read our full thoughts, check out: The why of Canada Blackie is a puzzle of details.

Heathenry: Overture

Introduction by Thomas Mott Osborne
“Banked Fires”

My Life Out of Prison (An Excerpt) — by Donald Lowrie

1. Introducing Canada Blackie
2. Blackie at Auburn Prison
3. Blackie on Prison Reform
4. Blackie and Mr. Osborne
5. Blackie and the League
6. Blackie and His “Mother”
7. Blackie’s Release

The New Penology (An Excerpt) — from Society and Prisons by Thomas Mott Osborne

Back in Prison—Why? (An Excerpt) — by Donald Lowrie

The Story of “Canada Blackie” — by Thomas Mott Osborne

Heathenry: Coda — The Fact of Canada Blackie

“Here is a prison reform book that has a power out of all proportion to its modest size and pretensions. The Story of Canada Blackie is a heart-stirring proof that more enlightened penal methods than those in vogue in the past can change a powerful destructive agent into a loyal worker for the good of society.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Canada Blackie, the Uncle Tom of a prison servitude which in economic fallacy, savagery, and general inhumanity makes the slavery of a past generation almost a jest. Should this sound to the reader like literary hyperbole, he is advised to read this book.” —The Evening Post

“The most notorious criminal in New York State . . . a man of extraordinary ability, ingenuity, and courage, feared by all his keepers on account of his skill.” —The Outlook

“In the days when men were mostly bad or good, Blackie was known as one of the worst.” —The Literary Digest

“One of the most resourceful and daring criminals ever convicted in New York State was Canada Blackie, who became a power for good among prisoners before his death.” —Detective Story Magazine

“Every worthy cause needs a martyr. Canada Blackie, bandit and bank robber, played that role. He was a sample of the finished product of the old prison system.” —Rudolph W. Chamberlain, There is No Truce: A Life of Thomas Mott Osborne

“His letters show flashes of mental power which, turned upon the problem of his own career, might, with the healing influence of freedom, have given the world a story as big as his tragedy . . . a tragedy of a wrong social system, not merely a vicious prison system.” —Benjamin J. Legere, The New Republic

“The Story of Canada Blackie, by Anne P. Field, is written for the open-doorly-minded. It tells about one of the jailbirds who threw himself into the work headed by Mr. Osborne and Donald Lowrie. And while it is sentimentally told, it is manifestly and significantly true.” —J.B. Kerfoot, Life

The Story of Canada Blackie