The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-10-30
SUNDAYS SCENES.


How Prendergast Passed the Daytime
raj Arrangements-Mou in the
White City-The Inquest.
Chicago, October 29.-Patrick Eugene
Prendergast, the crank, who last night
assassinated Mayor Harrison, was this
morning removed quietly from the
central station to an outlying police
station. Up to the time OF his removal,
Prendergast maintained the sullen,
defiant and indifferent attitude he had
shown since he gave himself up last
night. Despite the assertion of DR.. Kid
low, Prendergast's family physician,
that the assassin had never shown any
indication of mental alteration, no
doubt exists in the minds Of those who
have seen and conversed with him, that
he is insane. His actions Tor several
weeks past confirm this supposition. He
has been writing threatening postal cards
to various city officials, and he
threatened the life of the Mayor in the
hearing OF Mr.. Graham, the Mayors
secretary. He demanded that Corpora
tion Counsel Kraus should resign in his
favor and his whole conduct has been
that Of man mentally unbalanced. In
Chicago today there is an universal feel
ing of sorrow and horror, but public in
observation-disclosures threatens to ventistself
in the form of an attempt at lynching. 1t
is realized that Prendergast is d lunltic,
pure and simple. 1t is known that he
has studied and red cranky economic
theories until his mind gave way. He
imagined that he was a reformer and had
schemes for the betterment of all man
kind. He was especially interested in the
welfare of Chicago, and imagined that he
IL hn t,11co
which the city is suffering. He was
especially bitter in denunciations of the
railroad grade crossings which are re-
sponsible for many deaths every year,
and the idea became fixed In his mind
that if he was made corporation counsel
he could solve the problem of elevating
all the railroad tracks within the city
limits. His long prooding over this sub
ject bred the delusion that the Mayor
had promised him the office. He insisted
upon the fulfilment Of this imaginary
promise and haunted the municipal
building and annoyed the city officials
with his crazy demands. Finally, he
concluded that the Mayor was acting in
bad faith with him and determined to
demand from the Mayor himself satisfac-
tion for his imaginary wrongs. He
bought cheap, second hand revolver
and called at the Mayors residence and
killed him. After he was taken into
custody, Prendergast kept repeating,
+" Harrison deserved to be killed;' she
did not elevate the tracks;n "he did not
keep his promise to me-" he said he'd
make me corporation COUNSEL" she went
back on me and deserved to be shot"
At the time of the shooting, Miss
Howard, Harrison's s betrothed, was at
the residence of Carter Harrison, Jr.
She was sent for Immediately and
hastened to the house, but arrived too
late to be recognized by the Mayor, who
was just breathing his last. The shock
completely Frustrated her. Mrs Heaton
Osweley, Mr.. Harrison's daughter, is
seriously FRUSTRATED from the shock and
members of the family are alarmed at
her condition.
All thesdoctors who saw Mayor Harri-
son, expressed the opinion that death re-
suited from the wound in the abdomen
and not from the one in the chest. The
history of the shooting and the state
ments of the physicians occupied the at
tention of the coroner's jury at the
Harrison residence for an hour this
morning. Excepting a technical descrip
tion of the wounds, little was added to
the information already at the disposal
of the officers of the law. The verdict
recommended that Prendergast be held
| for murder until discharged by due
process of law. Prendergast was driven,
| in charge of an officer, in closed
carriage TO Gne DUCK uoOf ana Sl1pped In
| without his presence being known out
side of the house. There was no demon
stration of violence and the crowds in
the streets near the Mayors house were
in ignorance of the officers plans. The
! iury was made up of prominent men
who are residents of the district and
accessible at short notice. They were c.
! G, Kohlsaat, judge Of the probate court,
Charles F. Elmes, W. J. Chalmers, S. A.
Scribner, Uric King and P. R. O'Brien'
.Tndee Kohlsaat was foreman.
According to the post mortemaexami-
nation. the results of which were sub
miJted to the jury, five bullet wounds,
made by four bullets, were found in the
Mayors body, Three balls remained in in
Of Of the back. Another passed through
the liver and was found in the bowels.
| A third struck near the shoulder, and
ranging downward, lodged near the skin.
In tina vardief1 a formal death certificate