Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-01-04
THE HAMILTON TRAGEDY
THE WIFI FINDS HER Illus.
BAND.S BODY.
The Babies Kissed Good Night"
by Papa for the Last Time-Scene
Of Despair Over n BOdy-Tears
from Eyes Unused to Weep.

by Papa for the Last ~Time-Scene
Of Despair Over the BOdy-TearS
from Eyes Unused to Weep.
HAMILTON, New, Jan. 2, 1883.
DEAR SENTINEL: The circumstances Of
the death Of George P. McConkey, Of which
you have doubtless heard much already
by telegraph, are about as follows: New
Years night Mr.. McConkey, accompanied
by his estimable wife, left home to attend
a ball given by the citizens of Hamilton as
a farewell to 80 and to merrily usher in
'Ss, SO dreadful now. They left their two
little children, a boy Of s years and a girl
OF 6, at home in the care of their grand
mother, mother of Mrs. McConkey, Mrs. A.
@. Gordon. The family was very happy.
H LAST aooD NIGHT.
Kissing the little ones and grandma
good night, the deceased and his good wife
went away to the dance. Mr.. McConkey
danced only a few sets when he asked TO
be excused, saying he had some writing to
do at the store. This was about 1890
P. NJ. He departed, leaving his wife en-
JOSAh6 AoAsoiA dilouS uSI iIicuuo'
was the last seen of poor George alive.
The festivities vent on and 10 o'clock,
midnight, came. Mrs. McOonkey began
to feel anxious about her husband, whom
she expected back surely within an hour,
for before he left he had said to her:
dance away, Patsy, I'll not be gone long.
I'll be back directly and go to supper with
you" One o'clock in the morning came
and the anxious wife became very uneasy,
and asked,
"wHERE CAN GEoRGE BE !"
Some one told her he had gone to the
Courthouse. This, however, was only an
answer given at random. Nobody knew
where he had gone, and all there was to be
depended Of was what he had told her
himself. At 2 O'Clock Mrs. McConkey had
gone to Mrs. Bush's restaurant for supper
and returned to the dance, there awaiting
his return, eagerly watching the door, ex-
pectlng every moment to see him enter the
hall. But he did not come. Not able to
conceal her anxiety Of mind any longer,
and. as if apprehensive of trouble, she
begged Thomas Mckinney to go out and
look for her husband. Mr.. McKenney
went and looked for him ct the Court
house, but he WAS not there. He went
next to the store of the Mathewson Bros,
in which Mr.. McConkey kept his business
Office. This store is in two buildings,
having two apartments, with three sets of
iron doors to each. Mr.. McKenney, see
ing no light inside. took it for granted that
Mr.. McConkey was not in either of the
stores. He returned then and told Mrs.
McConkey that he could not find her hus-
band. Now, thoroughly alarmed, she
asked Mr.. Mckinney and several others to
~n - .. - 81 e. IL. -
went to the residence of Jerome Mathew
son, which adjoins the store buildings,
lnstinctively certain that her husband was
where he said he was going, and asked
him to get up and open the store for her,
begging him to come as soon as possible.
AS soon as Mr.. Mathewson could dress he
ran out, and going to the door Of the gro
Gerry department, opened it.
A CANDLE LIGHTED.
1t was pitch dark inside, and a candle
was lighted. They began to search for the
lost man. They had not long to look.
Mrs. McConkey's eyes were directed, as if
by fateful prescience, to the desk where
she was wont to find her devoted husband
at work. Passing out Of the grocery de-
partment into the department of the Post
Office and Wells, Fargo Co., in which he
kept the safe of White Pine County. Not
far from this desk the half-crazed wife
saw her husband lying on the floor with
his head between the two safes, one be-
longing to Wells, Fargo & Co. and the
other to White Pine County, his feet in
the direction of the counter. She ran to
the PROSTATE form of her darling and,
thinking that he might be in a deep sleep
or have fallen in a fit, called for brandy to
him. 1t was administered, but he
did not wake. One OF the gentlemen
present, suspecting the real state of things, |
and seeing death on the face of the pros
trate man, made a hasty examination of
the body and pointed out a bullet hole
through the clothes in front of the heart. |
This told enough of the awful story for
the afflicted wife, who was assisted home
to her cruelty orphaned children. Sheriff
Raum was walked up and summoned to
the scene. There was no alarm given.
HORROR WAS UPON EVERYBODY.
McConkey was dead, shot, murdered,
and tears streamed down the eyes of men
unused to weep. Men, women and chill
dren, all who knew George McConkey, |
loved him, and tho shock of his horrid
taking off was terrible. At s o'clock this
morning I was reused from sleep by
Herman Hoppy, the newly elected Consta-
piei wiz ouiloi upuh iie w SeS up. 1ou
are wanted upon important business" he
said. Whats the matter, I asked. "You
are wanted as a Juror" he answered;
George MeConkey has been shot," I
pleaded q sufficient excuse, and was re-
lieved of the agonizing duty by the indul- |
gent Coroner. 1 will give my views of the
manner in which our dear friend came to
his death tomorrow in another letter.
The Coroner's jury has said that poor
McConkey came to his death by "unBnown
hands," True enough. l believe it was a
premeditated, ingeniously planned MUIR
der. G. P. McConkey, in my opinion,
never shot himself. His life was taken as
the result of a plan in which the pene-
traitors were not intended to appear; but
they will come to light as conspicuously
and as surely as their awful deed.
l firmly believe our friend was MUIR
dered. II he was not, his death is a
play. Jos. GEANDELMEyER.
TnStollafiGn2