The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1893-11-02

CHICAGO, Oct. 29.-Another crazy
crank has done his deadly work, and
Carter II. Harrison, five times mayor
of Chicago, and one of the best-known
men in the west, lies dead in his home,
No 281 South Ashland boulevard.
Three bullets entered his body, two of
them making wounds sufficient to cause
death.
The murder was committed Saturday
evening by Eugene Patrick Prender
gast, a paper carrier, who declared
that Mayor Harrison had promised to
make him corporation counsel, and had
not kept his word. This. he said, was
his only reason for committing the
crime.
The only persons in the house at the
time besides Mr.. Harrison were his son,
William Preston Harrison, 25 years of
age; his affianced wife, Miss Annie
Howard, and his servant. Shortly be-
fore 8 o'clock the door-bell rang, and
when Mary Hansen, the domestic,
opened the door she was confronted by
u man.
rs Mr.. Harrison in?'' asked the man,
in quiet, pleasant voice.
Yes SIR responded the girl as she
threw the door wider open to permit
his entrance.
II would like to see him, please"
said the man, as he walked toward the
back end of the hall. Mr.. Harrison
was in the dining room, which opens
into the rear end of the hall
Hearing the man ask for him. he
arosePand stepped into the hall, walk
I'd toward Prendergast, who by the
time he caught sight of Mr.. Harrison,
mad advanced about ten feet from the
doorway
Without saying word Prendcrgast
drew his revolver and commenced to
fire. He pulled the trigger but three
times and every bullet hit the mark.
One ball shattered Mr.. Harrisons left
hand, another passed into the lower
right side of the abdomen, ma king a
wound that would have been mortal
within few days; the third bullet
entered the chest, slightly above the
heart
This bullet was the immediate cause
Of death.
As soon as Prendergast began to fire
Mr. Harrison turned and walked rapid
ly toward the dining-room. He walked
through the door across the dining
room and passed into buffers pantry
opening off the room. where. weakened
by loss of blood. he fell to the floor
Prendergast did not follow up his vic
tim or make any attempt to ascertain
how deadly his aim had been. lie re-
;e ~, 1, ,g
the same deliberation that marked all
of his actions and started toward the
door,
Just as he was passing through the
doorway William Preston Harrison, the
mayors son, came tearing down the
stairs from the upper part of the house
just as Mr.. Harrison's coachman ran
into the rear end of the hall. The cries
of Mary Hansen directed the son to
where his father lay, but the coach
man was after other game. He had
revolver of his own, and as quickly as
he realized what had occurred he
after the disappearing torn of the muir
derer. A second time his revolver
spoke, but both bullets went wild.
Running to the door the coachman
was prepared to continue hostil:ties,
but several people were entering to
learn the cause of the shooting, and by
the time the coachman had reached
the sidewalk Prendergast had been
swallowed up in the darkness.
Across Ashland boulevard, directly
opposite the residence of Mr.. Harrison,
is the home of w. j. Chalmers, the
wealthy maker of mining machinery
front steps of his residence when the
shots were fred. He bounded down the
steps, and, dashing across the street,
met Prendergast almost out of the
gate.
"What is it?" said Mr. Chalmers.
The man walked rapidly north on
Ashland avenue without replying, and
Mr.. Chalmers hastened into the house.
He reached Mr. Harrison's side almost
at the same instant that William Pres
ton Harrison had found where his father
lay.
''Are you hurt?" asked Mr.. Chalmers,
as he and the son of the dying man
strove to raise him.
I've got my death, Chalmers" re-
sponded the mayor.
Noticing spot of blood on the
mayors waistcoat, Mr.. Chalmers said:
81 guess not"
'1'm shot in the heart, and I'm q
dead man." was the only reply.
moment later he said with voice
which was rapidly losing strength:
"Unbutton my vest, Chalmers. There's
where the trouble is"
By this time the stricken man had
been borne to couch in an adjoining
room, and as quickly as he spoke Mr.
Chalmers opened his waistcoat. The
front of his shirt was soaked with
blood, which welled rapidly from two
holes, one just above the heart, the
other in his abdomen.
ITS through the heart" said the
mayor again, his voice scarcely above
whisper. A moment later he sank into
unconsoiousness, and Ia twenty min