The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-02-13
". c. GAL GHER EXAMINED
The Mining Expert Arrested on
a Charge of Insanity.
WORRY OVER LITIGATION
Was Tangled Up in an Expensive Mining
Suit With the First National Bank
ofDillon. Which Had Been Pend
ing for Several Years.

W. G.. Gallagher. the we'll known min
ing engineer and expert, was yesterday
examined by a commission in lunacy,
composed of Doctors J. c. Johnston, T.
J. Murray and /. ID. Freund. Galighers
mental arrangement is claimed to be
due to worry over long and expensive
mining litigation with the First Ma
tional bank of Dillon. which has been
pending in the United States court for
several years and is not yet determined.
He began to show signs of insanity sew
eral weeks ago, but became danger
ously SO only few days ago, and his
friends took him to Murray & Freund's
hospital with the hope that his trouble
would be only temporary.
He grew worse, however, and yester-
day Attorney Frank Z. Corbett,
friend of the demented man, filed
formal complaint against him in Judge
Lindsay's court and the judge last eve
ming called the commission to examine
Gallagher. An affidavit was made that
it would be dangerous to take him from
his room and the examination was con-
Quoted at the hospital. The testimony
of witnesses showed that Gallagher was
unmarried and 81 years of age. He
was born in Ohio, and has several sis
tiers and a mother living in Cincinnati
and a brother in Salt Lake. The broth
Utah yesterday afternoon.
For a number of years Gallagher had
been employed as "a mining engineer
and expert in Colorado, Utah, Arizona.
Nevada, California, Idaho and Mon
tana, and had at different times been
engaged by j. B. Haggin, r. c. Cham
bers, and other prominent mine opera
tors. During recent years he has been
engaged in mining for himself, and had
some valuable properties in Beaverhead
county over which the litigation with
the Dillon bank has been going on, and
he claimed that he had been unfairly
dealt with in the deals. He won the
case in the court partly but got nothing
out of it. He has been worrying so
much over his troubles that he began
to drink heavily and last August took
very sick, from which, it seems, he
never fully recovered.
Recently he became possessed with
the idea that all his litigation had been
satisfactorily settled. but that there
was a conspiracy among all the promi-
nent men of Butte to get away with
him because he had found out some
things about them, which, he said
would land them all i'm the peniten-
tiary. He suspected his best friends of
being among the conspirators, and on
Friday night guard had to be pro-
y1ded for him to prevent his enemies
from throwing dynamite into his room
and blowing up the hospital. He also
became dangerous and he conceived the
idea of killing some of his imaginary
enemies. Yesterday he wanted his at
tendant to send a telegram to General
Miles and get the army to go after an
embezZler whom he had located down
in California. Galighers brother said
he suspected something wrong several
weeks ago when he received an inco-
herent letter from him.
He vii. be further examined on Mon
day and likely committed to the asy-
lum. After the examination at the hos
pital was concluded Gallagher was re-
moved to the county jail for safety and
personal examination of him will be
made in the presence of the court on
Monday as required by law.