The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-27

lICLN <lAto III tAA'A1 "e1
no froth about the mouth. Mr.. Mclean
concluded the man had died In n Mt
and so informed Yardmaster Polk.
Coroner Tremblay being absent from
the city, Acting Coroner +. j. Lauran-
deau was notifed and went at once to
the scene. II was he who felt a sus-
plcion OF foul play. but his examination
OF the body did not develop the facts.
They were not known till the post NOR
prompted him to order a been made.
There was nothing about the body as
found to Indicate what had caused
death. AL that could be seen or learn
ed from the cursory examination the
acting coroner was able to make was
that death had been due to some cause
other than a atura one. and IL was
only his inability to arrive at a satisfac-
tory conclusion from the surroundings
as TO what that cause was that led to
his suspicion of something wrong.
The body lay on Its back when Judge
Laurandeau reached IL. as IL had been
found. Under the head was a pair OF
old overalls that Rad been folded up
as though for a pillow n an old glove
OF the kind ordinarily worn by laborers
or railroad men. The overalls under
meath the head were saturated with
blood. Nearby lay the dead mans hat.
also stained with the life fluid. IL was
clear the blood came from the head.
as the hair was clotted with IL and
there were no other signs OF injury APP
parent. An examination, such as could
be made on the spot. failed to revea!
the nature OF the injury. as the dead
man had a shock of thick. curly hair.
in which the blood had clotted and
dried till the bullet hole. which subse-
quently proved the only sign of injury.
could not be seen till the hair was cut
away. for doing which the coroner had
no appliances.
That the dead man had received a
mortal injury there could be no doubt.
however. an an examination OF the sur
roundings vas made to ascertain. IL
possible. its nature and how the dead
man came by Il. The more the coroner
and those with him searched. the more
mystifed they became. There was alb
solutely nothing to show how the I'M
fortunate got his fatal hurt. The car
contained a full load of 10000 pounds OF
two-inch iron pipe. 1t was loaded in
the two ends. leaving an alleyway of
four feet or a little more between the
two piles Immediately in front of the
two side doors and about six feet at the
spot where the body lay. some OF the
lengths of pipe being shorter han h
ers. The body lay lengthwise of the
car across the door with the head close
up to the pipe at n side, n at first
glance IL occurred to those present that
the man might have got in the car and
laid down to sleep and that the car
In being moved had received a jar which
had thrown the pipe against the sleep
er's head. fracturing the skull and caus-
ing death. but more careful investiga-
proved this could not have been
the case. The pipe had not moved. and
besides, the ends near the head showed
no blood stains from having come In
with IL. There were other rea-
why this could not have been the
case. The head rest OF the nan had
been disturbed. and besides the car
had not been moved for three days.
while the condition of the corpse. about
there were no signs of decompo-
sition, made IL manifest death had not
so long ago
Another had to be found. Suicide
was out of the question. There was
nothing to wen suggest IL and Judge
whose suspicious a been
during the investigation. be-
convinced o play had figured
In the mans death. He began to look
for evidences of murder. The dead man
wore a glove on each hand. and a third
being found. strengthened the suspi-
cion he had been killed. probably by the
who wore that glove. But how?
No gun was found, no weapon or in
strument OF any kind which might have
been used to infiict the u on the
head. The car was searched for signs
OF a struggle. but there were m
was there a trace of anything
to Indicate whether the man had been
murdered and carried into the car. or
he had entered II and then
been killed. The seals on the car doors
were intact when Mr.. Mclean broke
them. II, therefore. the man had been
murdered and carried into the IA II
have been through a small door in
the end of the car. in which event IL
have been necessary to have
dragged the body over the pipe, which
could not have been done without leav-
ing a trail of blood. yet there was not
a spot of blood to be fund on the pipe.
In fact there was not a spot of blood TO
be seen anywhere but where the head
lay. except a few little specks on the
casing OF the door, by which the
body was found. The case was so ut |
terly mystifying that there was but one
thing to do. n that was to order a
post norton examination. That was
done.
Acting Coroner Laurandeau directed
the removal of the body to Sherman's
undertaking rooms and at his request
p. j. Sheeran. the county physician, |
performed an autopsy. The first step
was to cut away the thickly clotted
hair. The cause of death was then
revealed. A little to the right
Of the center line at the back OF the
head was a little round hole. showing
a bullet without any doubt had
passed through the occipital bone and
h brain. To search for the
bullet. DIR. Sheeran cut open the skull. |
but before the leaden messenger of
Heath was located. IL became necessary
10 scoop out the entire brain. when the
bullet was found where II had lodged. |
inside the inner ear on the left
side. The bullet. which looked like a
l1~-caliber. was taken out and preserved
Tor the coroner.
There was 40 longer any doubt a MUIR
der had been committed. but by whom, |
FOR what purpose. among other things,
remained to be solved. One OF the lat
Ter was the Identity of the deceased.
search of his pockets brought forth
nothing to settle that. There was not
a scrap Of paper or anything else