The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-08-15
INQUIRY INTO
DENIES DEATH
EXPERT TESTIMONY At VAR
lance AS TO THE
CAUSE.
DR.. Burdette O'Conngr Believes He
Died Of Apoplexy, While DR.. Nc
Intyre Attributes Death to
Observation-Disclosures Friends
Say He Was Known to
Have Used Cocaine.

The inquest held this afternoon by
Coroner johnson into the cause If the
death of the colored man Richard
Dennie, who died under peculiar cir
cumstances at his home on South
Wyoming street on Tuesday afternoon,
revealed the fact the colored mans
were summoned when the dead man
was on the point of expiring and it
was impossible to diagnose the cause
Of death with exactness.
DIR. Burdett O'Connor testified that he
attended the dead man just before his
death and found him unconscious,
paralyzed as to one leg, with bullying
eyes and one side of his face drawn
down. The doctor said that it was i'm
possible to tell whether the patient was
suffering from morphine poisoning or
apoplexy, the symptoms being almost
identical in both cases.
DR.. O'Connor testified that the dead
man was beyond aid when he was called
and that no man could tell whether he
had taken poison or not. 1t was the
physicians opinion that he was the VIC
tim of apoplexy. This conclusion was
formed from the statements of the
friends of Dennie who had been in at
tendance upon him and the fact that
paralysis was one symptom of the case.
The doctor saw nothing suspicious In
the surroundings Of the sick man, nor
anything to lead him to suppose that
the latter had been poisoned.
Bridges testified that Dennie had trou-
BILE in his head and stomach and that
a white woman. named Celia Ryter, who
lives in the house with Bridges and him.
self was nursing the latter. He would
not say, he said, whether Dennie lived
with the woman or not. but from MS
evidence and the statements OF other peo'
pie it is apparent that such was the
case.
Charley Bridges, colored man VINO
lived in the same house with Dennie
| testified that the latter had been sicl
| for about week, and that his illness
grew worse every day. He said that Den
ME was not a habitual user of lrugs
but that he had known him to take {
hypidermic injection Of cocaine once t.
brace himself up. He said that Denni'
was trying to get ready to go to Worl
on the day he died. The latter rose or
that morning and walked around the
house for that purpose.
He said that there We're no trouble or
the day Dennie died. He declared thai
he could not tell what killed the latter
Dennie was a tailor, and cleaned ane
| repaired clothes for living. He wa:
also reputed to be a clever pianist. HI
was married man, according to the
death certificate but his wife does not
lintrude into the case. She did MOI live
with him.
DR.. O'Connor stated that he had talked
with DIR. Mcintyre about the case ane
that the latter was inclined to the
opinion that Dennie had taken morphine
and died of that drug. DR.. Mcintyre
was subpoenaed as a witness at the In
quest, but he was not called early enough
for a report of his testimony to be Sc
cured.
Death From Natural Causes.
At a late hour this afternoon the in
quest was concluded, and the jury re
turned verdict that the dead man cam
to his death from natural causes.