The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1889-09-28
WAS HE A SPY?

n Mysterious stranger who Cla1med 10 be
Detective-He Quits butte.
Special Correspondence Of the standard.
BUTTE, Sept. N.-About two weeks ago
q stranger arrived i'm Butte from the east
and went to the Chicago house to board.
He was fairly well-dressed when he ar
rived and looked as IL he might he q we'll
TODD business man. But the day after his
arrival he donned a well-worn suit of
''duck'' and declared himself q working
man. He said he wanted to get a job
working I'm one of the mines or upon the
new sewer works. He gave his name
as William Packham, and said he came
from Cleveland. After staying at the
Chicago house for n few days, Packham
Saarded atom at the @" various sSie srD rsssnSra nna
around town. He claimed to have dill
gently searched for work, but could not
time around the saloons and became
quite conspicuous by his desire to rom
verse with everyone whom he met. In
was frequently found quizzing the fro
quenters Of those places about we'll
BEEN known IN q na,mber Of Gases to in
described as a midiie-ascd freshman Of
assiduity with which Packham piled his
questions and the frequency of his visits
to certain places in town attracted atten-
r,Imored around town amongst the men
with whom Packham associated that he
pretended. Of occurring work. but for fer
reting out some evidence of some crime.
Becoming strengthened i'm their opinion
that ackh was a detective who was
more anxious tn secure a clue than work,
n couple of laborers asked the foreman of
!" "" os Pncrhan had a,, ' rp ~ h ~;
for work, as Packham had claimed to
have done 81 and had been refused. The
had ever asked him for work. Packham
also claimed to have souRh work on the
street car lines Of the city and to have
untrue. A few days q one of the sewer
laborers who had become. acquainted
not what he pretended to he met him on the
got a job yetg" Packham replied that he
To Butte, as he was unable to find any
thing to do. The Butte man then point
eddy told Packhnm that he believed he
hunting up some evidence i'm the Cronin
murder case, as Packham had been very
the saloons and had also kept tab closely
upon certain Irishmen of this city. Pack
ham laughed heartily at this statement
men Of Butte because he himself is am
freshman. He said he was a laborer look
,nS for a a So6: put fo w"s work so az th hen n,n ne sH ns
finally admitted that he was a detective
the ashorities in ferrcsine out the fre-
bugs who nave been plying
their nefarious work i'm this
place for weeks past. This
explanation was satisfactory to Pack
hams interrogation, hut not to the STAND
ARD reporter whose attention was attract
ed to the case.
The reporter found that Packham APP
parently has left the city, as he has not
been seen here for the past few days. The
city police and other authorities state pos
itivcly that the services of no such u per
son AS Packham have ever been obtained
or sought 10y them. Parties have been
found who saw Packham will IA big roll
| of money, and the bills appeared to he
mostly new and not of the same appear
ance as the paper money most generally
circulated in this city and territory. Again
Packham claimed to have been %rooIninG
upon East broadway, but a diligent EN-
quiry by the reporter failed to find any
lodging house upon that street where such
n person had rooned.
IL is widen then, that the mi was
not what he represented himself to he
that he had some object i'm visiting Butte
besides looking for work, and, also, that
he was anxious tn conceal his identity
Who. therefore, could he have been? The
authorities state that they have no knowl.
| edge of the man, and had he been n Pink.
erton detective working upon the Cronin
case he would have been more discreet
and would have handled his case better
than he appears tn have done.