Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-11-02
DEED OF A CRANK.
Mayor Harrison, Of Chicago, Shot
by an Assassin.
The Murderer a Crank Who Claimed That
He Had Not Been Given an ONCE
Promised Him-Tragic Ending
to the Worlds Fair.
Carter Harrison AssassInated.


CHICAGO, Oct. 31.-Another crazy
crank has done his deadly work, and
Carter III. Harrison, five times mayor of
Chicago, and one of the best known
men in the west, lies dead in his home,
231 South Ashland boulevard. Three
bullets entered his body, two of them
making wounds sufficient to cause
death.
The murder was committed by Pat
rick Eugene Prendergast, a paper car
rier, who declared that Mayor Harri-
son had promised to make him corpor-
alton counsel and had not kept his
word. This, he said, was his only rea-
son for committing the crime.
The only person in the house at the
time beside Mr.. Harrison was his son,
William Preston Harrison, 25 years of
age, and the servants.
Shortly before s o'clock the doorben
rang, and when Mary Hansen, the do
mestic, opened the door she was con-
fronted by a man about feet inches,
smooth shaved, his rather clean-cut
features lit up by a pair of dark eyes.
SIS Mr.. Harrison in?" asked the man
in a quiet, pleasant voice.
Eyes, sir,'' responded the girl, as she
threw the door wider open to permit
his entrance.
81 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
rose and stepped into the hallway and
walked toward Prendergast, who by
the time he caught sight of Mr.. Harri-
son had advanced about ten feet from
the doorway.
Without saying word, Prendergast
drew his revolver and commenced to
fire. He pulled the trigger but 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 few days, and 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, .yeoisoffetii
by loss of blood, he fell to the floor.
Prendergast did not follow up his
victim or make any attempt to ascer-
tain how deadly his aim had been. He
replaced his revolver in his pocket with
the same deliberation that had 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 tear
ing down stairs from the upper portion
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
coachman was after other game. He
had a revolver of his own, and as quick
ly as he realized what had occurred he
leveled his weapon and sent bullet
after the disappearing form 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 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 swal-
lowed up in the darkness
AcrOSS ASIllanu O1rGCLlY
opposite the residence of Mr.. Harrison,
is the home of w. j. Chalmers, the
wealthy maker of mining machinery.
Mr.. Chalmers was standing upon the
front steps of his residence when the
shots We're fred. He bounded down
the steps and dashed 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 fastened into the house
He reached Mr.. Harrison side almost at
the same instant that William Preston
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 a spot of blood on the may
or's waistcoat, Mr.. Chalmers said Il
guess not"
I'm shot in the heart and I'm a
dead man" was the only reply.
a moment later he said with a voice
which was rapidly losing strength:
ADutlch my SSSts NhdAlhcrS, lhStS
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.
a..A %1,<
mayor again. his voice now scarcely
above a whisper. A moment later he
sank into Inconsistencies, and il
twenty minutes after receiving the
wounds Mr.. Harrison was dead.
The murderer soon after surrendered
himself.
Starr Gang Convicted.
FoRT SMITH, Ark, Oct sS-In the