The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-11-28
LITTLE AS YET LEARNED
Attending Physician Says Deceased
Died Primarily from Wound Re-
ceived-lnquiry in Progress.
From Tuesdays Daily Gazette.

their inquiry INTO M cause OI TIE
death of the late John Patrick Nc
Bride. last night. Owing to the fact
that DR.. Armstrong, who performed
the autopsy, was not ready with his
report and because of the absence Of
several witnesses, whose testimony
was considered important, the investi-
cation was not concluded, and ad-
journment was taken until 2 o'clock
this afternoon.
DR.. Lindsey, who attended the dead
man and who was one of the physi-
clans that amputated his leg, was the
first witness called. He testified that
he first saw the deceased the night
of the shooting. It was in the office
of Dr.. Rinehart, where Mcbride had
been carried by several men. From
there the wounded mar had been TAX
en- to Holmes & Rixon's drug store,
where the doctor temporarily dressed
his leg and Mcbride was taken to st.
Vincent's hospital, where the witness
attended him further.
The doctor said the bullet had en-
tered the right leg from the rear, a
little toward the outside and a few
inches above the knee joint. The
exit wound was a trife above that
caused by the entry of the missile.
He said that from the location of the
wound he could not tell the position
the man was in when he received it.
In answer to a question by the coun-
ty attorney the witness said L. M.
Hayden had told him he vas the one
who had shot Mcbride, and then re-
lated the story of the shooting as re-
lated to him by Hayden and as already
published in The Gazette.
The primary cause Of death was a
gunshot wound, while the contribut-
ing cause was the operation of amputa-
ton, Dr.. Lindsey said he could not
tell whether death would have en-
sued if the operation had not been
performed. The man might have liv-
ed, but his leg would have been use
less to him. In his opinion the opera
ton was necessary as a precaution-
airy measure, otherwise he would not
have performed it. Although he
wound had been a serious one, the
position of the man was not neces-
sarily critical. \
In describing the nature of the in
Jury the doctor said the bone had
been badly shattered. Four large
pieces had been taken out, and in
addition there had been perhaps 25
O r 80 small fragments, which had been
imbedded in the flesh and muscles of
the leg zeal the wound. Because of
the effects of typhoid fever which
Mcbride had had at sometime the It's
sue of the leg was not as sound as 1t
would have been otherwise because OF
the lack of nourishment afforded it
by the general system, but this had
not contributed to the cause OF death.
Fred Morse, at whose house Nc
Bride was Immediately before he was
shot, testified to the presence of the
deceased at his place of residence
from shortly after 6 o'clock until
sos o'clock, when he had started t9
go home, saying his father did not pr
nit him to be out after 9 o'clock at
night. The witness said he had dl-
rected the deceased as to the direc,
ton he should take and had watched
him for a distance of about 80 or 40
feet after leaving the house. At that
time Mcbride was walking west, fol
lowing the street. This was all
Morse knew of the matter.
Charles Ayres, a barber employed II
Deckert's shop, said he left the shol
on the night of the shooting at S:1(
o'clock and went south on Twenty
seventh street. At the corner OF
Stoddart's wagon shop he saw a mar
standing in the shadow Of the build
ing. When the witness got to the
south side of the corner of Secont
n south, and Twenty-seventl
street he saw a man running ives
along Second avenue and into Twenty
seventh street and then heard a sho
and a man had called out, whats tn
matter. What's the matter" Thu
witness did not stop to see what hat
occurred, but continued walking tC
ward his home, in South Twenty
seventh street.
At the time of the shooting Ayre
said he was on the west side OF TWEEN
ty-seventh street and the man WHIT
was running ran about 80 feet. TIL
u,;tnosd lid NOT see fall an