The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1898-03-11
PRICE: FIVE CENTS.
MOOSE LAKE CALAMITY.
Three Men Dead From Drinking
Wood Alcohol

NOOu ALCOHOL.
Three men dead and buried from
the effects of drinking wood alcohol is
part of the history of Granite county
for the past week. 1t happened out at
Moose Lake and the dead are Messrs.
Lacy, Short and Hegstrum. Carl Sar-
chet, the other one Of the quartette
who drank wood alcohol, is the only
survivor. Hegstrum was buried by
the Granite Miners Union in the Phil.
ipsburg cemetery and Lacy and Short
in Anaconda.
Probably as clear statement as has
been published is that of Carl Sa1chet,
the assayer, which is as follows:
Last Friday Lacy, WHO had just
come from Anaconda, was feeling the
effects of liquor, having drunk to a
showed evidences Of having drunk on
the return trip. He was feeling sore !;
his head was bruised, showing that he
had probably fallen down while in a
vi uutcH tOIultlUu. Ilt dSktN IU6 IL L
had any alcohol. | said that / had,
and | went to my cabin and got some
only IA small amount. probably half
pint This was in the morning.
Walton and William Mulholland We're
there ana each Of them took drink.
Later | sent Hegstrum after more alco-
hol and he brought back nearly pint.
fore this had not drunk any, but
said to the boys: If this is good
enough for you to drink | guess I'll
try some, too. We drank all that bot
tie. and soon afterwards we prepared
dinner and all ate heartily, none of us
being in the least intoxicated.
After dinner one of the boys sug-
gested making some eggnog. So we
beat up lot Of eggs and sugar and
when a man wanted a drink he would
put some of the mixture i'll a cup and
add to it enough alcohol to make what
he considered fair drink Of egguog
For this Hegstrum aud | went after
alcohol and brought back about two
pints. BY 6 O'Clock this amount was
disposed of in the mixture. About
o clock Hegstrnm aud | again went
after more alcohol, and this time got
about two-thirCs of pint All of this
was not drunk. | drank none of the
last bottle. Mulhollana came in and
took IA drink from this last bottle
''We retired at about 9 on 10 clock
as was our custom. / slept i'll the
cabin with the other boys. About 3
o clock in the morning Lacy and Short
We're seized with violent vomiting.
This awakened me and | was at once
seized with AN attack of stomach ache.
| fortunately secured relief in a way
the others could not, aud TO this fact
owe my life. The other men could not
throw off the drug but the pain
seemed to leave them after a while.
About o'clock, when I got up out of
bed, l kindled fire in the stove and
left the boys sleeping, and went to my
cabin. l went to bed again aud was
aroused at 9 o'clock and told that Lacy
was dead. | buried back to the cabin
and found several of the men of the
camp there. Hegstrum was quite sick,
bat Snort appeared to be as well as
| was. l was very weak and unable to
do anything in the way of assisting in
the preparation for the removal of
Lacy's body.
"Hegstrum grew worse until he die
at about IL 80 OF 1 o'clock Sunday
morning. ] was still feeling badly
when my brother-in law, Charles Lux
ton. and DIR. O. Q Evans arrived at
the lake at . c.uc after me. They
had travelled al nj: { from Anaconda
and were nearIy e. Gausted from fa-
tlgue. SO they y at to sleep and |
Went to Anaconda with Mr.. Fleming
Yes, it was wood alcohol we drank.
1t IS not the first time the men in
camp have drunk it. On former occa-
sions men have gotten it from me to
drink. at one time Stevens, Lacy and
man named Quincy wanted to buy
quart from me, but wouldn't sell
it. l told them that if they wanted
that much l would give it to them,
which | did. Hegstrum told me that
he had drunk great deal Of it in his
life time. and did not think that it
was poisonous driuk-no more so
than any other kind of ALCOHOL -