The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-08
WANTS TO Be PARD0NED
Charles Sheppard Now Will APP
ply to the Governor.
CLAIMS NEW EVIDENCE
Queer Letter From a Former Convict
Would Indicate Benson Was Muir
dered Days Before the Date
Charged.

Now that the supreme court has affirm
ed the decision Of the district court III
sentencing Charles Sheppard to life i'm
prisonment for the killing of John Ben
SON in this county Nov. 6, 1885, a strong
effort is to be made to have the governor
pardon the man. Walsh & James, coun-
sci for Sheppard, still hold that the evil
dence against their client was fatally
weak, despite the ruling of the supreme
court, and claim that the so-caled con-
Y fession, which, however, was not intro
duced in evidence, was no confession at
all, and If made was done so when the de-
i PENDANT was under duress and did not
know what he was saying.
n Walsh G. James have in their possession
Y q letter written by Tom Mackin, for
mer convict at Deer Lodge, written to an
3 other convict therein confined, which
would go to show that Sheppard cannot
be guilty The letter follows:
Spokane, Nov. 49, 1s9s.-Friend Eddie:
" I suppose you have been expecting let
4 ter from me any time in the last 10 days
I have been waiting to see If l would To-
H cate in Spokane for the winter. Every
! one had been telling me what a, lively
IS town this was. Why, Eddie, there Is more
4 life and money in Butte in one week than
W there would be here all winter. l have
4 not done anything since I left and have
had hold of very little dough- ! win few
dollars in Butte, and 1 want to tell you
l needed it. got good and drunk that
first day and night. I started to booze in
the Lodge, and kept it up after l had
Il reached Butte. ] met a good many
.exs in Butte, but fulfilled all my prom
who
to sec l met Pat Mason at the theater
hut only spoke few words to him.
also saw the queen. She is not travelling
for any drug house, but is manufactur-
ing some kind of linment for horses.
don't know what kind of business he is
doing ] did not ask him. I was drunk
and simply gave him a call-down and
combing out about some dirty work he
done
II also met Johnny Dugan, Spence and
AbrahamSon and few others, TheE are
N all on the bum. There wasn't one of them
as much as bought me a drink Johnny
Dugan has a little money. He has half
interest in stud game, but the rest OF
them-well. Ed, I'll tell you the truth, l
don't know how they live. If hadn't got
hold of a few dollars the night of the 4th
] would have been in a h of a fix.
II see in the Standard of the It'll and
Sth about a dead man who was found ir
the river at Deer Lodge. The paper OF
tho Sth said some one was arrested fol
Y n,nrder and admitted killing him on Fri
d.Y nie,,t J,I tell Won something Ed
be never killed him on that Friday night
. hecause that fellow was in the river whe1
we left We were down to the depot abou
! or . o'clock inouirins for a train and h,
told us there would be nothing until
o.cloclS that night bnt inst as we wer,
leaving there was a freight pulled in ant
stonned ar the tank for water. We start
"a down tbe track m catch her The ca
boose was stonned on the bridge and tn,
shack brakeman called us over an,
asxed If I'VE belonped in town He said
.rhere is a dead man here in the water.
laughed at him. but he said it was n,
iosh He had long fence mole an,
LnncLsd b;s hat off irving tn fish him ont
but the train whist,ed to start and yo,
can hot T was TOO anxious TO get TO Butt
- ston and ,nonlxev with any dead man
a. ~ tbat CIV saws he killed him on Fri
say NIGHT he rnust he a crank.
..WeI Eddie old son 7 am not roin,
70 s+;cL bero IN snokane T will, 90 ia Sc
,ttle tba last of the week II is eettin,
aoid DC tho de,-i, II showed last nigh
nd oil M. forenoon Tbere is hetwee
ea,,, a,a f,.a ;,,obes ~, Tho oronrd now,
.mou, is -ron,n,v o,Rrien eating along
bono h. is in and around before This
srnnoso ba ont tben, oranges aud Ion,
49, Govt ~ fro,,, down town 7 +rie
- a+ sn,,,a n,ar zines for Mike Fola,
,,, a,,1d not cot NV in town L. n