The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-08-28
BULLET INTO HIS BRAIN
Jesse j. Lange Ends His Unsuc-
cessful Career.
AT THE END OF HIS ROPE
Had Recently Returned From a Trip to
Alaska, but Brought Back No
Gold-He Had Spent
His Last Cent.

Jesse j. LANCE. one of the unsuccess-
full seekers for gold in Alaska, ended his
bad luck some time yesterday in his
room at Kitchens Exchange hotel on
South Main street by sending a bullet
into his brain. The man committed
suicide some time between Friday even
ing and 10 O'Clock last night.
Lange came to the Exchange hotel a
week ago yesterday and registered j.
]. LANCE, Seattle and paid for one
nights lodging in advance and was as
signed to room 10 on the third floor.
Very little was seen of him about the
hotel or saloon after that. He retained
the key to his room and showed up at
the office only in the evenings, when he
registered again and paid for another
nights lodging. He was last seen alive
Friday afternoon, when he called at the
office and made his usual payment and
then went upstairs to his room.
Yesterday morning one of the cham
bermaids called at the room. but found
II locked and went away. She returned
in the afternoon, but the door was still
locked, but she evidently thought little
Of the circumstance, for she made no
report of ii until about 10 o'clock last
night, when she again tried to open tine
door. 1t then occurred to her that
something might be wrong, and she re-
ported the matter to Herman Pralle,
the night clerk. The latter shortly af-
forwards went to Lange's room, and
after rafting the door for a while, he
climbed to the transom and looked in,
but the room was SO dark that he could
see nothing. He then sent word to the
police station and Sergeant Leyden and
another officer went to the hotel and
a man was sent into Lange's room
through the transom. LANCE was found
lying dead on his Jack across the bed.
The body was not disturbed and Coro-
ner Tremblay was notified. When he
arrived an examination of Lange's body
was made, and IT was found that he had
shot himself through the head, the bull
let having entered at a point below and
back of his right ear, and had evidently
lodged in the brain. The right hand still
firmly clasped the revolver, which was
lying across his groin. The revolver
was a 32-caliber weapon, and an ex-
animation of it showed that the first
attempt to shoot failed to explode the
cartridge under the hammer, but that
he second one did its work. Before
killing himself he had disrobed all but
his underwear, and his suit of clothes
and shirt were carefully hung up. His
pockets contained nothing out a small
knife and a comb. Not a cent of money
or a scrap of paper was found In them.
He had evidently reached the end of
his inancial and paid his last
cent for the room in which he killed
himself.
y valise contained a quantity of good
clothes and a single document which
threw some light on the identity of the
suicide. 1t was "A typewriter contract
between II. Penneck of New York and
Jesse J.. Lange of Asheville. n. G., by
which he former agreed TO furnish
LANCE with the necessary capital and
grub stake for a trip to Alaska for
the purpose of prospecting, locating and
acquiring mineral claims. The contract
was dated Oct. u, 1897. That was the
only paper found among the lead mans
effects, and it is surmised that he had
made the trip to Alaska according to
the contract and returned unsuccessful
to Seattle, from which place he came to
Butte.
The bed on which the suicide lay was
saturated with blood and the odor that
came from il indicated that the man
must have been dead for some time.
People occupying adjoining rooms TO
No. 10 say they heard no sounds COM
ing from that apartment and heard no
shot. Lange was a man of big stature,
with black hair and mustache and APP
parently about 40 or AZ years of age.
The body was removed to Richards
undertaking rooms and an inquest will
be held at s o'clock Monday evening.