The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-11
ANACONDA news.
GUARD KILLS A CONVICT
Charles McCollom Is Forced to
Shoot Prisoner George Young.
ACTED IN SELF-DEFENSE
Prisoner Threatened the Officers With a
Cordwood Stick and Refused to
Submits Story OF the
Tragedy.
ACTED IN SELF-DEFENSE
SpeciaI DISPATCH to the Standard.

Il Special Dispatch to the Standard.
n Deer Lodge, Feb. 10.-George Young,
n burly negro convict of the state pris-
H on, lies cold in death on slab in the
hospital ward of that institution, as
& result of gunshot wound inflicted by
a Charles W. McCollom, one of the
guards, whose faithful discharge of his
Re- duty and his efforts to preserve his own
NJ life required this most radical action
# McCollom, at the hour of the difficulty
n which led up to the killing, was on
y guard in the watch tower in the south
n end of the prison enclosure and near
j. the southwest corner of the new cell
house wherein the tragedy occurred.
III Since the beginning of his confine
. ment in the prison, Young has been
Y most insubordnate prisoner; and has
& frequently courted the death that was
II this morning unwillingly melted out to
Il him. He provoked his tragic end
4 through the unwarranted attack on
Guard John A Wilson, whom he as
q saulted in the corridor with heavy
4 bludgeon made of a leg taken from his
n cell table.
4 Young was serving a sentence of two
4 yer Bow county, and had completed
4 q months of his time. His failure to
comply with the rules of the prison
us shown in the records of the institu-
stion, wherein it is shown that he has
\ Ebeen confined to the dark cell on bread
n and water on 10 separate occasions, and
fhas been excused from such service
Height times. Out of his q months in
4 Hhe prison Young has served 221 days
4 i'm solitary confinement in the dungeons
y and for the past three months has
Il been continuously confined, without
Z guards lookout on the grst tier of cells,
\ so as to be ever under the watchful
. eyes of the prison officers.
From the testimony given before the
q coroner's jury this afternoon by Guards
* G. w. McColom, John Wilson and E.
u w. Cook and Warden Conley, the sub
stance of the unfortunate occurrence
4 is substantially as follows:
+ Wilson, who was serving unarmed,
except for the possession of slung
q shot, was assigned to the morning shift
81 in the corridor on the west side of the
& building, and on orders from Warden
# Conley went to Young's cell on the first
y gallery and told the prisoner to get
Ibis coat and accompany him (Wison)
y TO the outside of the building, while
his cell was being cleaned Young took
his coat from the bed and, throwing
1t across his arm, stepped out upon the
landing, a t the same time drawing from
beneath his jacket the bludgeon. He
dealt the guard three heavy - blows
about the head one of them making
an ugly cut on the cheek. Wilson crap
pied with the prisoner, who fought with
great fury, and in the scuffie Young
slipped from the grasp of the guard
and dropped to the first floor of the
corridor, where he secured the stove
poker, heavy pine club four feet in
length, and there defied the further at
tack of the officers.
At the beginning of the encounter
between Wilson and Young, E. W. Cook,
On duty in the tower in the southwest
corner of the corridor, rang the riot
bell. which was responded to by Nc
Collom who entered on the first floor
of the building. unlocked the corridor
entrance and told Young he was
worsted. McCollom asked him to lay
down the poker and submit gracefully.
Young's answer was: II didn't kill
Wilson but I'll get my man now, and
II / go out of the corridor it will be
as dead"
Forcing the cordwood stick down on
the inside of his trousers leg the pris-
oner walked to the opposite. or north,
end of the corridor, and climbed the
grating to the fourth tier where he
started down the landing in search of
one Howard, upon whom he had made a
smurderous assault six months ago and
whom he had sworn to kill. McCollam
and Wilson reached the fourth tier on
the south end at about the time Young
did. on the opposite end, and APP
preached him, until they We're about
10 feet from him, when McCollom who
was armed and in front of Wilson,
drew his revolver and commanded the
furious negro to stop. McCollom re-
peated his command twice. The pris-
oner showed no disposition to obey but
advanced more rapidly with the club
poised to strike. The guard fired two
shots above Young's head as a warn
ing. This last demonstration did not
in the least stay the man, and when
he was within six feet of the officers
McCollom lowered his weapon and fired
third time, the ball entering Young's
body just above the heart. and he sank
to the gallery, expiring with a groan.
Charles w, McCollom, the unwilling
principal in he tragic ending of the
earthly career Of the unruly Young, is
native of Missouri. sc years of age,
and has been connected with the man
asement of the prison for about three
years. A fearless officer in the dis
charge of his duties, he holds the con-
fidence of his fellow guards and the
prison contractors, and in his kindly
enforcement of discipline within the
walls of the prison he has won the re-
spect of the inmates almost to a man.
Immediately after the tragedy Judge
/ / 0rrpn Emerson emma pplpF inv, no,,