The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-09
THE POLICE HAVE ANOTHER
MYSTERIOUS MURDER CASE
The Body Of Man Found in Gully Near the Rocker
Road Not the Slightest Glue to the Identity Of the
Murderer or His Victim-It Was Saturday Night
Crime.

| discovered and there is no means If
no clue to the murderer. The murder
| appears to have been committed very
| recently, probably Saturday night, and
| the motive seems to have been robbery
| That much seems to be tolerably clear,
| but for the rest, the case is enveloped
| in mystery, apparently as impenetrable
| as that surrounding the recent box car
| murder and like that case there is
| nothing as yet to support hope that
| it will ever be solved.
| The murder was dicovered by Henry
j. Callahan, miner, who is working
lease on the west side Mr.. Callahan
had occasion to come to the city, and
| as he was walking along the Rocker
| road about noon, he made the CHASTITY
find of the body of a man who had been
literally butchered. The point at which
| the body was found was about so yards
| from the road, near the old city dump,
little way to the southeast of the
| Britannia mine and a little northeast
of Halls ranch. IT lay at the bottom
of the gulch at this point and was in
plain view from the road.
Mr. Callahan, in passing along saw
the body of man lying PROSTATE at
the bottom of the gulch and went down
to investigate. He was at first at loss
to understand what a man was doing
lying in the gulch, but as he approach
III
| man had been murdered. Mr.. Callahan
remained only long enough to take in
the situation and then hurried back 10
the road and made his way with all
haste to Clark's farm, which has the
only telephone anywhere in that local
ity, and telephoned the news of his find
to the sheriff's office. -.
AS quickly as Coroner Julien could
be summoned, Under Sheriff Murphy,
Deputies Reynolds and Aware and Cor
oner julien drove to the scene of the
| find, accompanied by, Mr.. Callahan,
who pointed out the body where he had
found it. The body lay on its back in
the gulch and was frozen stiff. An OK
| animation by Coroner Julien revealed
that by some sharp instrument two ter
rible wounds had been inflicted In the
forehead, just over the right eye. both
of which went clear through the skull
and deep into the brain, while the back
of the head on the left side showed a
horrible job of butchery, the head be-
ing literally stove in and mangled in
an awful manner, evidently by rock
or other heavy jagged instrument The
head and face We're shOckingly be-
smeared with the dead mans blood,
presenting sight that was horrifying
beyond description. The body lay in
great pool of CONCEALED blood.
The dead man was dressed in two
undershirts, one cotton and one woolen
two pairs of drawers, a vest and blue
denim overalls and jumper. The feet
were encased in socks over which gun
ny sacks were wrapped, and the only
shoes worn We're arctcs.
On the hands were a pair of new
. brown wooden gloves. On searching the
pockets of the dead mans clothes, Cor
oner Julien found in one of the peck
cts of the overalls an old tobacco sack
which had originally contained two
ounces of Mastiff plug cut smoking to-
bacco. The sack had been used for
purse and contained 95 cents in silver,
5O-cent piece, a quarter, dime and
two nickels. The pockets contained 10
other effects of any kind. 1t was evil
dent a murder had been committed
and the officials at once set about
searching for clues that might unravel
the mystery. But one conclusion sug-
gested itself to the officers as to the
motive for the murder, for while the
mans dress, which was scanty for the
weather, and his general appearance
was not such as would have suggested
he was man likely to have money,
still, there were tell-tale evidences
which prompted and strengthened the
conclusion. AS it was possible he had
a few dollars, and as murder has
been done for trif1ing sums of money,
robbery was the only motive the cir
These circumstances were, that the
jumper, vest and both undershirts
were found open in front Between the
legs, which were spraWled out, was the
imprint of mans foot and on the
ground about the body were found half
dozen or so burnt matches. These cir
cumstances indicated to the officers
that whoever committed the murder,
carried the man to the spot where the
body was found. and there searched
him for what valuables he may nave
had. The fact that the footprint be-
tween the legs was in just such a no.
sition as would be likely to be made
by one man STOPPING over another, and
the presence of the burned matches
which had evidently been lighted TO
assist in the search, forced the conclus-
ion that robbery was the motive The
necktie, made-up scarf with a strap
to go around the neck, had been jerked
off, but the strap was still underneath
the collar indicating the tie had been
torn away to enable the murderer to |
get the shirts open.
The officers began to search for a
track that might lead to the identity
of the murder. A single foot track. or |
the track of one man, was found in the |
snow leading up to the place where the |
body was found. This the officers fol- |
lowed back, finding blood along the |
way. For about so yards the track was |
followed in a westerly direction till the |
officers came to a pool of blood and the |