The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-05-24
BRINGING UP THE DEAD.
Nat Goodwin Makes a Statement Of
His Conduct in the Death
Of May Durfee.
He Says Publications to the Con-
trary are Malicious and
Defamatory.
He Appears to BIO the Victim Of Gross In.
Justice by Reports Made Up In
Miss0uln.


Mr.. Nat G. Goodwin by the false reports
sent out from Missoula regarding his con-
duct over the death and burial of pretty
May Durfee at that place last week. What
ever else may be his faults, Mr.. Goodwin
feels sorely aegrieved at being accused Of
unconcern, cold heartedness or negligence
in such sad case. A correspondent of the
Butte Miner charges him with not giving
money to furnish decent burial to the un-
fortunate girl and that while all the rest of
the company remained to attend the funer-
al che lit out for Butte without so much
as a look at the dead woman"
Had there been any truth in this 1t would
have been bad enough, but it is malicious
charge and does great injustice to the man.
He seemed greatly affected over the affair
as a reporter met him yesterday afternoon
and could not conceive what prompted such
a mean attack. "Why," he said, and
a moisture appeared in his eye, "that poor
girl-a perfect dream of loneliness, was in
our state room on the train the night before
gamble few dollars the night after we ar
rived in Missoula, and suddenly I was
startled by being informed that May Dur
fee was dead. I Immediately ran to her
room and saw her PROSTATE form lying
dead, and then I next heard that my wife
had received such a shock, which in her
condition rendered her very ill, and a doc
never handled the company funds, but gave
orders to Mr.. Appleton, my treasure r, to do
everything possible. had previously en-
gagged nurse and physician to attend to
Miss Durfee when we first discovered that
her illness was serious. She was brave
In sSHrs nA1l AH1~
part in the performance that night, but I
insisted that she should not leave her
room, and we got along by changing the
bill that night. They told me the last words
she uttered were: II hope Mr.. Good
win will not be angry. with me for not APP
pearing last night" And to charge me with
leaving her helpless in such q bad affair, far
ers, embalming. and paid all the bills for
funeral expenses. Mr.. Appleton sent tel
egram, which cost GIG, to Miss Durfee's
husband, acquainting him with the said de-
tails of the affair and asking him for in
structions." II sent the telegram at a. m.
lowing afternoon said Mr.. Appleton, ''and
the condition Of the body, consequent to
blood poisoning, was such that the under
taker and friends in the company advised
not to embalm the body. then telegraphed
her husband the state of affairs and we
buried the body at Z o'clock in the evening""
Mr.. Appleton then showed the reporter re-
ceipted pills which he had paid on account
of the illness and death of Miss Durfee, and
they amounted to about $275.
''The only reason did not
attend the funeral,' continued Mr.. Good
win, was that my troubles seemed to come
thickly. We had contracts to appear at
Butte and ths presence of some one there
was necessary to explain matters, as it was
impossible to reach John Mcguire by tele-
graph. and Mr.. Appleton thought I could
do better for the company with Mcguire
than he could, and I went to Butte, but
made every arrangement for the care and
disposition of May Durfee's body, and am
willing to make affidavit to everything I
have said as being the truth"
Other members of the company were in
terviewed, and they were of but one opin-
great injustice has been done
Mr.. Goodwin. It is, understood that he
will engage lawyer to-day for the purpose
of having retractions to these defamatory
published and may sue for
damages on the grounds of malicious and
defamatory publication.
Goodwin's career has been prominently
before the public and it is probable that the
stories once published of his alleged treat
ment of Eliza Wethersby, his first wife,
may have had something to do with prompt
ing the acceptance of the rumors concern
ing his alleged "cold- bloodedness" in the
death Of Miss Durfee.
A letter was received from the mother of
Miss Durfee by Undertaken Flaherty yes-
terday in which she is anxious to know if
the body of her daughter can be forwarded
to her. The letter was answered by tele-
gram last night.