The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-29
MOEvITT IS NOT DEAD
Comes Around and Views His
Supposed Corpse.
A STARTLING LIKENESS
Fitzmaurice Was justified in the Mis-
take He Made The Murdered
Man Identified by Others
as McDevitt.

III transpifeu mat tne NlCtlm Oh tnc
box car murder which was brought to
light Wednesday was not Frank Nc
Dewitt after all. and each new develop
ment adds more mystery to the case.
Thursday evening the body was identi-
fed as that of Frank McDevitt. a
smelter employe OF Apeconda. u yes
terday McDevitt put i'm an appearance.
Then others Identified the body as that
of McDevitt or Dewitt. and so many
complications have arisen that no n
knows What TO think One thing Is
sure, however. Those who Identified
n body as that OF Frank McDevitt.
the Anaconda smelter employe. were
unquestionably mistaken. for he is very
much alive. McDevitt Ia employed at
h lower works In Anaconda. as his
friends said. Yesterday morning he
saw In the Standard that his friends.
Fttzmaurice and Campbell, a de-
clared he was the murdered man. n
he at once laid of work and proceeded
10 the office OF the to have
h error corrected. Last evening he
came to Butte to see the body that had
been pronounced his. and then IL was
seen how justifiable Fitzmaurice and
Campbell had been ~ their very posi-
tive identification. II was also seen
how easy IL is for one to be mistaken
in Identifying a dead body. McDevitt.
apo arriving in Butte, hunted up his
friend Fftzmaurice. who was astounded
at seeing him alive. and together they
visited Sherman's undertaking rooms.
The likeness between McDevitt and the
dead man was so startling as to al
most Brighten McDevitt himself. inc he
was ready to pardon his friends. See
ing the two faces. the only difference
that could be detected was a slight diff
ference in the shape of the nose.
But Ii was the other Developments OF
yesterday which make the case so
mystifying that all of the authorities
are so nonplussed that they know not
what to think. During the day the
body was identified by a third person.
who pronounced IL that of Frank Dewitt
and by two Others who said they had
known the dead man as Dewitt.
William O'Connell. an employe Of J.
X Reed, the iveryman. was most posi-
tive the dead man was Frank McDev-
lit, q former employe of the lower
works at Anaconda. O'Connell. seeing
a notice In the Standard that the lead
man had been identified as Frank Nc
Dewitt by 7. p. F1tzmaurIce and L. c..
Campbell. two men who thought they
knew him well. and having known such
a person himself. went to Sherman's to
view the body. He unhesitatingly pro-
nounced the body as that OF McDevitt.
O'Connell, in telling what he knew
about the man, said: Il knew the man
In Anaconda and knew him well. He
worked az the lower works. About
three weeks z 1 saw him here on the
street. He told me he had quit work
at the smelter some time before. I
think he said a week or two i asked
him to have a drink and he refused.
saying he and Dan. meaning Dan Nu-
gent. a close friend OF his, had sworn
on drinking together. He said he had
an opportunity to go to work for the
street railroad company on some work
that was being done at C~enterville. but
he did not know whether he would take
the Job or not. That is the last ] saw of
him."
Some time after O'ConneIl visited the
undertaker's a message came to police
headquarters from Chief of Police
White of Anaconda. saying McDevitt,
the employee OF the lower works there.
was alive and at work. This message
was shown O'Connell and he went again
TO Sherman's. He scrutinized the fea-
lures of the dead man carefully and de-
clared more positively Than ever that
the man was the one he had known as
Frank McDevitt. He said he knew the
man so well that he simply could not
believe he vas mistaken.
That O'Connell Is mistaken, however.
~, ~ W nv aoeoN " NJ toE III
so far as the man being the McDevitt
who was employed at the Anaconda
works Is concerned. as a message sent to
the Anaconda office Of the Standard
asking that IL be ascertained definitely
whether the McDevitt employed at the
lower works was still alive. elected the
reply that that particular McDevitt had
come into the Standard office in person
to furnish assurance he was still on
earth.
A hort time after O'Connell had
viewed the corpse. +. p. Dolan, mana
ger of Courtney's grocery store, called
at the undertaker's to view the body.
He identified II as that OF a man named
Dewitt. who worked for him when he
lived In Helena a couple OF years ago
and managed the weinstein grocery
store. Still later Morris S~taffenberg. an
employe at Brophy's, pronounced the
body that OF the same man. He said
he had worked with the man in Helena
and knew him well. Both Mr.. Dolan
and Mr.. ~Staffenberg said Dewitt. as they
knew the man, had a brother-in-law
named JEFF O'Connell on the police force
In Helena. Inquiry by the Standards
correspondent at Helena developed tina
a family of Devitts lived there, of whom
there were two sisters and three broth
ers. One OF the sisters married a
brother Of Jeff O'Connell: the other sis
ter lives at Helena One of the brothers
named Frank was aid to live at Ana
conda. The whereabouts Of another OF
! the brothers was known. but the third
had not been seen for five or six years.
His whereabouts had been known. how
ever. a few months ago. and at that
time he was working as a 'longshore-
man at the docks at West Superior.
where the car in which the murdered
man was found was loaded and sealed.
This brothers name was said to be
John Dewitt and he was said to have a
scar on top of his head. caused by a
corn cutter when he was a boy. From
his having been a longshoreman work.
ing on the docks where the car came
from II was thought when this infor-
nation was communicated to the au-
thorities that this might be the man.
and the hair was sheared from the dead
mans head &c look for the scar. Miss
Raaa hewitt NJ Helena had STATED that