The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-18
A BULLET IN HIS HEAD.
Charles F. Barker. a Musician, Ends
His Life at the Point OF
Pistol.
Looking Into the Muzzlo He Fires
tho Fatal Shot in
Bed.
1t Happened Yesterday Morning, but Was
Not Discovered Until Last
Night.

Reclining on his bed yesterday morning
Charles II. Barker, q musician, blew his
brains out with a pistol and hurried his
soul into eternity.
The last person h saw him alive was
H. A. Poage, an employe at the Coliseum
theatre. Ho took Barker to his room over
M. Reinig's store, in the lodging depart
ment. He was under the influence OF
liquor at the time, having been out card
playing and drinking after he finished his
work at the theatre, where he played the
trombone in the orchestra. He threw him
self on his bed and told Poage he would
undress in a few minutes and retire. Be
fore the young man left him Barker said he
expected his wife in town yesterday and
said if she came the same train would n X
him out Of town. These were the last
words he uttered to any person. 1t was
then between 10 and II o'clock in the morn
ing.
A shot rang out in the room a few min
ntes before IL o'clock. While several peo-
pie heard it no particular attention was
paid to the noise, it being attributed to sew
eral causes and nobody was sure that the
report came from the building. About $40
last evening A.. Anderson discovered the
dead body. Barker had nndressed himself,
his clothes were thrown over on u trunk,
and evidently he was deliberate in the aw-
full deed. 1t was a CHASTITY spectacle. The
body was stiff and cold, the head being
back upon a pillow resting over q large pool
of blood. Tightly clutched in both hands
was a 45-calibre revolver of the Colts pat
wards the heart. The thumb Of the right
hand pulled the trigger, while the lett hand
guided the weapon. A clot of blood rested
on the shirt over the heart, but
the ball was not aimed at that point.
The left eye p%rotruded from the socket
and from there the ball penetrated the
brain in such a manner that death must
ton of the man it is evident that he had
his head raised just enough to look straight
into the muzzle Of the pistol as he pulled
the trigger.
The coroner was Immediately notified and
a jury summoned. An examination of the
premises failed to elicit any cause for the
deed. No note of explanation was ound.
A paper-covered novel, 1.-The Flying Dutch
man, was on a chair alongside the bed
half finished. A number of letters were
found in his pockets, but they were from
relatives. The last, dated January ID, was
from Lizzie Barker, his sister, who resides
at Salt Lake. She complains Of not hear
liz ullA hl4AA ~ w hAloW why liz
don't go to Salt Lake as he promised. He
also had letters from his father and
mother who live at Leadville, and both
seem worried about him and are anxious to
hear from him. In his trunk was an untin-
ished letter, addressed to his mother, dated
Portland, June, 1890, Three pages were
written when he stopped. All his acquain-
tances express the greatest surprise and say
he is the last man they would expect to
Commit suicide. .
As to his remark to Poage about his wife,
N. F. Pettingill, leader of the orchestra of
the Coliseum theater. said that was only a
joke. He had known Barker for the last
five years and said he didn't have a wife,
nor was he mixed up with any woman that
he knew of. He has been drinking con-
siderably of late,' said he, and that threw
him a little off his base. No, l never heard
him say anything that would lead me to an
ticipate that he would do such a thing. He
comes from a respectable family ard his
father is the Oldest musician in Leadville.
He was about t~wenty-six years old"
w. Snow, a cornet player at the Coliseum
theatre occupies a room from that adjoin-
ing Barker's, but he did not hear the shot.
HE has been worrying about something
the past week." said Mr.. Snow, land he
mentioned something to me about the girl
he was engaged to having gone off and mar
ried some n else. He got a letter, he
said. telling him about it, and 1 guess it
was that broke him mp. He Immediately
took to drinking whereas he had always
been considered steady and Industrious"
If Barker received any such letter he must
have destroyed it as it could not be found.
Mr.. Pettingill said he was a man who WAS
very r%eticent about his private %affsirs. He
came to Helena from Portland and had
been at the Coliseum theatre about four
months.
His father, Fen G. Barker, was notified
by telegraph of the occurrence. The cor
oner's inquest will be held at 10 o'clock this
morning at the court house. The funeral
arrangements have not been made vet.