Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-20
IN WHISKY GULCH IN 1897

The preliminary hearing in the case OF
the State against Samuel Phillips,
charged with the murder of Adolph
Schwade about a mile and a half south
west of the city on or about May II, 1897,
was commenced in Justice Nichols court
this morning.
Phillips was arrested in the Combina-
ton gambling house about a week ago,
and is without doubt possessed of a face
that once seen by only an ordinary OBJ
server of persons and things would never
be forgotten.
The State was represented by County
: Attorney Connolly, and the defendant by
George B. Dygert.
DR.. j. S. Hammond, who held an au-
topsy on the body of the murdered man.,
testified as to the course the bullet had
taken in the body. 1t was such a remark
able case that he had an account OF 1t
published in the Medical Journal. He
said it had entered neal the right should
er, fractured the fourth right costal car
tilage, passed through the left lobe of the
right lung, crossed the median line,
pierced the pericardium of the heart,
passed through the right oracle of the
heart. thence down through the diaph-
ram, the stomach, pierced he convolu-
ton of the small intestines, thence
through the ilium and lodged in the left
gluteal region (the 1leshy part Of the left
leg between the knee and hip. 1t was
several times fatal.
Miles Fuller, a miner in Whisky gulch
and a %neighbor of old Fritz the MUIR
dered man, gave some very damaging
testimony against the suspect. He said
he had seen him in the gulch on the Sth
or 9th of May and had taken particular
notice of him because it was customary
for the miners to watch everyone.
Schwade lived 800 or 400 yards farther
up the gulch han he, witness, did. His
cabin was on the east side of the gulch
and the tunnel in which his body was
found was on the west side. Il saw his
body the Tuesday after he was dead
said Fuller, land alive on the Thursday
before. He was then in his blacksmith
shop, which formed a part of his cabin.
Later in the day l saw Phillips coming
along the road. He pretended to be drunk.
His pants We're torn and he had on a pair
Ol lllilcIS S!iotS. l. COulu never lol SCI
his face. He came to my cabin and want
ed to stop. but he was scratching his neck
and l told him to move on. The picking
down in the gulch is not good and 1
thought he might be making observations
of our sluice boxes. His countenance was
most striking to me. Between 8 and 9
o'clock on the following Saturday., two
days later, I saw him again. He was on
tho yoi1rno1 track nn1V O19nrpH at him
and concluded he was the man | had
previously seen in the diggings. He was
dressed somewhat different. | suspected
tina he was up to something and con-
cluded to watch him, as our cabins had
been robbed a few times. He left the
railroad track and went up the gulch and
l hurried along to make sure he was the
man l thought he was. l got within 20
or 80 feet of him. 1t was Phillips. He
Schwade's cabin, which was about $50 or
800 yards further up. In about fifteen or
twenty minutes l heard two or three yells
and Their a shot, but l did not go up to
see what had occasioned them. l thought
of the occurrence all day and the next
day l saw an undertaker'S wagon coming
down the road with Schwade's body in
it. Detective Murphy and two or three
other men We're with the vehicle.
THE next time l saw Phillips he was or
a wagon in town. He was with another
mar and l thought to myself: I'll see yoU