The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-04-04
u HELENA LETTER.

OUR HELENA LETTER.
The Ooomes-Smith LynchinR Case
A Terrible Wrong Evidently Com.
mitted.
Gov. Crosby, and Conger's Re-
mOval.
A Little Inside History in Connec.
tion With the Matter.
f The New Superintendent Of the
Drum Lummon Mime, Etc.
From our Regular Correspondent.
HELENA, March %, 1883.
The coroner's jury which has been
taking evidence in the C00mes-Smith
lynching case for the past four days,
is still at work, and there is q good
prospect of at least q whole week
more being taken up in the endeavOr
to fasten the crime upon the right
parties-for the hanging is low re-
garded by the public as q crime, and
an unjustifable at that. If it
were not for q pretty well founded
belief that Coomes and Smith were
blameless in regard to the burning of
would be hardly q citizen of this
county who would not agree that the
lynchers did good work in hanging
the men, although the courts might
not take the same view of the matter.
But Notwithstanding the fact that all
evidence taken by the coroner's jury
has been with closed doors, there
have been certain facts come to the
knowledge of the public which have
caused many honest thinking men
western men in spirit, too to refer
to the lynchers as ''strangling SIS of
BIS, whoever they may be- Mrs.
| Coomes says that on the night of the
McNally fire her husband was at
home all night. Their baby was
sick, and she and her husband were
up nearly all night attending
to it. He was nursing the
| sick child when the fire broke out,
she says, and it was herself who first
Dissolved lat their place. that Nc
Nally's barn was on fire. If her
statement is 4 true, the lynchers GER
tainly got off wrong. This, coupled
with the statement that the lynchers
went out from Helena drunk and did
the work, and with the fact that the
woman is left a widow with six or
seven small children and no certain
means of liveliho0d(which is a strong |
appeal to the sympathies of western
people) all combine to give the pub
lie AN odious opinion of the men who
pulled the ropes. Nearly all the res
idents of the neighborhood where the
hanging occurred and nearly all the
people who live along the road be-
tween the Eleven Mile House and
town have been subpenaed toappear
before the coroner's jury to give EVIL
dence. The sheriff and his deputies
have been OH the jumpall week and
if anybody knows anything about
the hanging Doc. Steele is de-
termined to find it out. The cOrOn-
er's action is but a reflection of pub
lie opinion, and if the men who were
hanged were innocent of what they
were charged some of the
lynchers may have an opportunity of
trying some of their w medicine.
Your correspondent thinks he could
place his finger on one who would be
likely to look up the first tree.
Our affable Governor-the gentle
man who came to Montana with
twenty-six trunks, three hundred
dollar dog, and two private secreta-
ies-is supposed to he at the bottom
OF the scheme which boosted Judge
Conger off of the bench. Conger, as
is we'll known, was bounced Tuesday
by the powers that be. Conger and
the Governor were never we'll
enough acquainted to become enc
mics by any Of the reasons which Or
dinarily create e1mity, but His
Nibbs who came to Montana
the determination of ruling the
roost, saw in Conger, it is supposed,
the humble vessel which might bust
up one of his (the Governor's) pet
schemes-the ousting Of the
The new board of Cas-
Ter county commissioners (created
by the late Logislature) have, it
seems, failed to get charge of the
and books of the county, -,
Hubbell and the other members .
Of the old board will not surrender). !
md the tledgllngs have in conse-
Iuence thrown up the sponge. Hub
)ell, it is understood, has employed a
.uard of armed men to watch the
afe containing the records and books
# the old board, night and day, and l
low the only recourse seems to be !
he court. This is a contingency
which the Governor in his all-prevail-
ng wisdom foresaw, and that is why
re is supposed to have used his in
luence to remove COnger-for Con- {
,el being Judge of that district and a i
pronounced friend of the present in d
umbents the Governor was a little
kittish about him. Another cause J
which worked Conger's ruin was that T
With IN honest desire to he just and L
ear not, he a short time since render t.
d a decision in a suit between the pee
lie of Custer county and the North c
I'm Pacific railroad which cost that Il
ompany 4 trifle of $50, 900, (the case
vas a railroad tax suit). So Conger c
.ot only had the Governor on his Il
rail for personal reasons but also
solid pard of the railroad, besides A
the railroad company with L
far-reaching influence trying to
him down. Conger, of Il
curse, had to go. With regard to fl
he Custer county commissioners,
who is here, says that the old L
card will never give up and. that .
he case will have to 90 to
ne courts, where he is confident of p
without much of a struggle. le
Mr.. Atwood, a very reticent Eli +,
fish gentleman who arrived here a :,
w days ago, is here for the purpose u
making preparations for beginning ',
'Ork on the Drum Lummon mine "
nder its new ownership. Just what NJ
to be done nobody seems to know u
, Mr.. A. will not divulge any of the =,
ompany's plans. Marysville, how n
yer, is INDUCING in a real estate 10
Dom and Helena expects to come in ~
n q share of the infection. Since y
Re sale of the Drum Lummon was 10
the absorbing question -
as been,- Who was in on it: It is u
that several Helena men. II
OF noted previously for their large
INK ~9opnnOtS mad - wary cnTr liz