The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-10-30
From Our Sunday Edition)
MAYOR ASSASSINATED
Mayor Carter Harrison, of Chi
cagO, Killed by a Crank.
Shot Three Times. Early Last Night, by
Patrick Eugene Prendergast,
Carrier of Newspapers.

Harrison, five times Mayor of Chicago,
and one of the best known men in the West,
lies dead in his home. No. 231 South Ash
land boulevard. Three bullets entered his
body, two Of them making wounds suf-
ficient to cause death The murder was
committed by Eugene Patrick Prendergast
a paper CO rrier, who declared that Mayor
Harrison had promised to make him cor
poration counsel, and had not kept his
word. This, he said, was his only reason
for committing the crime. The only per-
son in the house at the time besides Mr..
Harrison, was his son, William Preston
Harrison, twenty-five years of age, and the
servants.
Shortly before o'clock the door bell
rang and when Mary Hansen, the domestic,
opened the door she was confronted by a
man about five feet five inches high, smooth
S 81. ms rather clean cut features lit
up by pair of dark eyes.
is Mr. Harrison in?' asked the man, in
quiet and pleasant voice.
:, L es, sir, responded the girl, as she threw
the door wide open to permit his entrance.
WOULD like to see him, please" said the
man. as he walked toward the back end of
Mr.: Harrison was in the dining room.
Whlcn opens into the rear end of the hall.
Tearing the man ask for him, he rose and
stepped into the hall, walked toward Prem
oergast, who. by the time he caught sight
OF Mr.. Harrison. had advanced about ten
Feet from the doorway. Without saying
WORD, Prendergast drew his revolver and
commenced TO fire. He pulled the trigger
out three times and every bullet hit the
mark. One ball shattered Mr. Harrison's
left hand; another passed into the lower
right side of the abdomen, making a wound
that would have been mortal within a 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 rapidly toward the din
through
across the dining room and passed into the
Dutlers pantry opening off the room, where
floor.
Prendergast did not follow UP his victim
or make any attempt to ascertain how
deadly his aim had been. He replaced his
revolver in his pocket with the same de-
liberation that had marked all of his &C.
tons, 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 portion of the house. At the same
time Mr.. Harrison's coachman ran into the
rear end of the hail. The cries of Mary
Hansen directed the son to where his father
lay, but the .coachman was after other
game. He had revolver of his own and
quickly he realized what had oc-
Cured he leveled his weapon and sent a
bullet after the disappearing form of the
murderer. A second time his revolver
spoke but both bullets went wide. Run
pared to continue hostilities. 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 oppo-
| site the residence of Mr. Harrison, is the
mn IN Mr. Chalmers
| standing upon the front steps of his resi-
| dence when the shots We're e fired .,. He He
| street, and met Prendergast almost at
| the gate.
What is it?'' said Mr. Chalmers.
l ba ra1 h
| land avenue without replying, and Mr.
| Chalmers FASTENED into the house. He
| reached Mr.. Harrison's side almost at the
same instant that William Preston Har-
/ rison 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" responded
the Mayor. Then the dying man asked
| Where is Annie?' meaning his fiancee
Noticing a spot of blood on the Mayors
waistcoat, Mr.. Chalmers said: Il guess
| not"
I'm shot in the heart. and I'm dead
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
| gently opened his waistcoat The front of
his shirt was soaked in blood. which welled
| rapidly from two holes, one just above the
| heart, the other in his abdomen.
| It's through the heart said the Mayor,
| again, his voice now scarcely above whis-
| per. moment later he sank into uncon-
seriousness, and in twenty minutes after re-
celvlng the wound Mr.. Harrison was dead.
Every effort was made to secure medical
attendance for Mr.. Harrison, but when DR..
lyman, the first physician to arrive at. the
house, reached the Mayors side he was
dead. Drs. L .omas, Foster and Washburn
| Followed in quick succession, but thew were
unable to do anything and they soon left
| the house. OA
IT as learned Iata to,;oh+ .h. ,,.
Annie Howard, the fiancee of Mr.. Harrj
son: VS. in the house at the time the fatal
shot was fired. In accordance with this
wounded mans request she was AT once
summoned to his side. and was present
when the end came. When it was evident
| juries and could live but a few moments
at most, Miss Towards grief was pitiable
she was completely overcome, and was lee
| away by friends, who feared for the effect
upon her of her grief. She was taken i'm ?
closed carriage to the home of Carter III
| Harrison jr., where she spent the night
Carter H. Harrison, jr., was at Jackson
| Park when the news of his fathers death
reached him. As soon as possible afte,
the shooting a messenger was sent to the
fair grounds to find him, as it was known
II he had intended to spend the evening there
He would hardly believe the news when ii
was told Him, but he Immediately left the
fair grounds and as quickly as possihlf
went to the family residence at Ashland
boulevard.
About twenty-five minutes after the
shooting Sergeant Frank Mcdonald was
standing in the office of the DesnIainas
street station. Every available officer had
already been hurried to work on the case
| Sergeant Mcdonald, who had Just come In
from other work, was preparing to follow
| The door was pushed gently omen and ~
walked a small, smooth-shaven man. poorly
dressed and CARRYING a revolver I'm his
hand. lie shook like a man with palsy
His face was white and drawn: great drons
of perspiration chased each other down his
face. and mis- lettering limbs seemed scarce
ly able to hold him up. He walked i'm r.
Mcdonald, who is powerful fellow ST,
feet tall, and looking him straight in the
eyes, said: 81 did it,
You did it?' asked Mcdonald.
yes, I did it,
did what?' said the officer. as he Iai
his hand on the fellows shoulder and wit
the other quietly took the revolver
Il shot Mayor Harrison, and that's wha
CAST made a motion with his hand towar
! the revolver
What made you do it?" asked McDon
aid.
HE said he would make me corporatio
counsel, and he did not do ii. That's wha
j shot him for
That was all there was about it, Moth
ing dramatic; no bravado. He spoke q
, his crime as though il was nothing out G
: the ordinary-as a matter entirely to b
! expected. He trembling so that h
could scarcely stand. and the officer led hil
10 a chair and asked a few more question.
to which Prendergast had replied: III
sci. He did not, and / shot him I NEAR
to shoot him, and l went there to do it,
He said that after leaving the Harriso
home he had taken a street car and starte
: towards the Desplaines-street station wit
the object of giving himself up.