The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-06-23
THE DEED OF A mad man
Bailin James n. Fish Puts q Bullet
Through His Heart.
Long and Painful Illness Drove Him
to Madness-He Was One OF
Montana's Oldest and Most
Respected Residents.
DIV the stnndard's special Wire.

suffering beyond human endurance with
n disease that was ever nawing at his
very vitals. James NJ. Fish at last lost
control of himself and in n moment of
insanity, placed a pistol against his own
breast, convulsively pulled the trigger
and all was over. A slow lurch OF the
body. q heavy fall and the CHASTITY, life
less corpse lay prone p the floor, a
mournful object among bright and cheer
full surroundings.
The struggle was ended, and a spirit,
released from its tenemen of clay,
winged its flight into the presence Of the
being that created il, there to be judged
by a Judge whose wisdom and mercy is
beyond human understanding.
At about $500 o'clock this evening, G..
w. Ellingwood was sitting in the parlor
of his residence on the corner of Silver
and Idaho streets, when he saw Mrs.
j. Nj. Fish rush toward his door
ap parently wrought up by the greatest ex-
thing was wrong he fastened to meet her.
When within a few feet OF HIM Mrs. Fish
exclaimed.
Come over as quick as you can, Mr..
Fish has got n gun and I'm afraid hat he
will shoot himself"
Not waiting To put on his hat or coat.
Mr.. Ellingwood ran past the excited lady
and toward her house. When near the
house he saw Mrs. Warren, mother of
Mrs. Fish, standing in the door wringing
her hands and saying:
The u has gone off."
IL took but a for MIR. Filing
wood to comprehend what had occurred,
and i'm another instant he was inside of
the house. Pulling aside the heavy por-
there's that separated the parlor from the
room which Mr.. Fish had been occupying
he looked in, but owing To the heavy
.IA...l 80 -..,Ax. x.hsah Hll.l ah. ,aa.s
ment he was unable to see anything for a
few moments.
Opening n couple of doors the smoke
began to dis-ipate and IL was then that he
was the form of Mr.. Fish lying on the
floor near the west wall. Mr.. Eliingwood
was unable to see the face, as the G
was concealed by the spread of a small
stand under which the body partially fell.
One or two movements of the abdomen
were the only signs of life visible after
Mr.. Ellingwood entered the room. The
body was lying in front OF a dresser, sur
mounted by a mirror. unde the left leg.
below the knee, laid a small, old-fash-
Toned single action revolver which de-
ceased had carried for many years. Only
the muzzle Of the weapon was visible.
From the position Of the body il was
evident that Mr.. Fish had stood in front
of the mirror and with the left hand had
pulled to one sid his undershirt and
night-robe and with the right placed the
pistol against his breast, about two inches
below the nipple, and fired. The fact
that the thumb and index finger of the
left hand were blackened by powder
smoke made il appear that he had used
those fingers to steady h pistol, while
he pulled the trigger with the other hand.
w. l.. Reynolds,a neighbor residing only
n few doors from the Fish residence, saw
Mrs. Fish when she was running for Mr..
Ellingwood and in a IN afterward
| ham ri IN shot Ha Mt nnRa nfnsa and Pm m
toward the house, entering IA second or
two after Ellingwood did and saw Fish
gasp once or twice before he expired.
Owing to the absence OF Coroner Beal
some delay occurred before an officer
competent to hold an inquest could be
found. For this reason IL was fully an
hour before an inquest was held, which
was conducted by Judge Cantwell.
J. II. Ellis. Hon. J. Z. Richards, Sheriff
Lloyd, Mrs. j. Il. Beck, Mrs. Hannah War
en-, w. l.. Reynolds and &. w. Elllng-
wood were exa mined as witnesses. The
testimony of the latter is given substan-
tally in the foregoing account.
Messrs. Ellis and Richards testified that
they were at the house of the latter when
Mrs. Fish excitedly entered and asked Mr..
Richards To telephone at once to T.. A.
Nichols to come TO her house. Mr.. Rick
ards did SO and knowing Fish To
be very i'll. thought he had grown
worse, n after summoning Mr.. Nichols.
went To Mr.. Fish's house for tire purpose
of rendering assistance should il be re-
quired. When he arrived MIR. Fish was
dead.
Sheriff Lloyd testified that Fish had
been employed by him as bailif of the
district court. For some days he had no
ticed that Fish, who had beer i'm poor
health for several years, was evidently
feeling worse h usual. He also no
ticed that at times recently he had given
evidence of mental alteration, occasion
ally apparently not knowing what
was going on roun him. Last
Friday Fish became so much
worse that he had to DE
taken home, since which time the witness
had not seen him.. This morning the wit.
ness received n note from deceased OF
which the s~ubjoined is a copy:
BUTTE, June ~, lsgG.
Dear Friend John: You need not look for M,
nj the court house until YOU See me there. I am
suffering such intense pain ! cant hold out mlci
longer. lSignedl, your friend, j. NJ. FISH.
Mr.. Lloyd sent word back to Fish tina,
he need not feel uneasy hat he, Lloyd
would call ON him this evening, and Sc.
how he was getting along. The note wa.
delivered by Mr.. Fish's little boy.
Mrs. Warren, mother of Mrs. Fish, said
that a short time before Fish killed him
self. she had looked into the room wher,
he was and noticing her Fish asked bei
what she wanted. She replied that she
| 1fphtb III ~ F't IL h' SUI III III
His reply was an order for her 70
go away. He then arose from
the easy chair in which h,
was sitting and walked toward the close
where his trousers were. Mrs. Warner
told this to Mrs. Fish. and requested hei
10 go to him and see what he wanted
Mrs. Fish proceeded to do so. and as she
gained the door leading to his room saw
him with a revolver in his hand. IL was
then that Mrs. Fish ran for assistance
but before she could return to prevent
the awful deed il had been committed.
The testimony of Mrs. Beck was as "a
the mental and physical condition OF I'll,
deceased during The last few days
She fully corroborated what th,
others had said. Fish had been un
usually sick for almost a week
past and exhibited every evidence of DC
c~asional symptoms Of lunacy.
The jury returned a verdict that ''de
ceased had come to his death from a gu