Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1902-04-16
Charles Fisk, the Engineer at the Flat.
willow SawmiIl, Shoots Him
Three Times.
DIED AT 1880 A. NJ. ON FRIDAY
Fisk is Detained by the Employees at
the Mill Until the Arrival of
Sheriff Shaw.

Nate Pierce of Flatwillow was shot
and mortally wounded by Chas. Fisk
last Thursday evening about p. m
The weapon used was 38 six shoot
er and Pierce was shot three times
in the region of the abdomen.
The shooting occurred at the Pierce
sawmill at the head of Flatwillow, In
which the murdered man owned an
interest. H..
George Maccatee and Jack Frye ar
rived in Lewistown about 2 O'Clock
Friday morning in search of the doc
tor and the sheriff, and Sheriff Shaw,
accompanied by r. 8. Hedges, start
ed at once for the scene of the trou-
BILE.
Pierce died at 1890 a. m. on Fri
day as the result of the injuries in
flicted by Fisk, who was detained and
turned over to the sheriff by the en-
ployes of the mill on his arrival
Sheriff Shaw returned to town on
Friday night with the news of his
death and with Fisk in charge, and
arrangements were at once made to
hold an inquest. County Attorney
Belden, Justice Mcfarland, Stenog-
rapher Gibson and Sheriff Shaw start
ed at once, and stopping at the Frost
ranch that night arrived at the Pierce
sawmill early on Saturday morning.
A coroner's jury was summoned as
soon as possible as follows: John
Sellers. Daniel Tyler, Sidney Frost,
Chas. Frost, Louis Price and John
Fishburn. William Pierce. brother
of the deceased, Irving Perry, Dan
Mullen, Myron Bradley, Lou Smith
and DR.. Hedges testified at the inquest
and the story of the trouble as told
by the several witnesses was an ex-
tremely Straightforward one and was
corroborated throughout.
The version of the affair as told at
the inquest is that the trouble COM
menced at the supper table on Thurs
day while the mill crew were eating
their evening meal. Nate and Will
liam Pierce had returned from town
only an hour or SO previously and had
brought back a bottle of whisky to
Fisk, which he had ordered from Lew
istown.
Fisk had evidently been drinking a
little as he evinced a'quarrelsome dis
position during supper and tried to
pick row with Myron Bradley and
did considerable loud talking. He ask
ed Nate If it was true that Roosevelt
was shot, and Pierce. who was some
what of a josher. said it was. and on
being asked how 1t happened said that
it was owing to the fact that he
couldn't run fast enough to get away
from the bullet.
This seemed to anger Fisk and he
could think of until William Pierce.
who was in an adjoining room with
his wife, stepped out and taking Fisk
by the shoulder put him out of the
room, telling him that he couldn't use
language like that in front of his wife.
When on the outside, Fisk asked Nate
Pierce to step outside and dared him
to fight; Pierce went out and on Fisk
using abusive language knock
ed him down and after hitting him
several times helped him to his feet
and told him to behave himself and be
a man. During the fight the boys all
ran to the door of the kitchen and af-
ter 1t was over they went to the bunk
house, few steps away, while Nate
returned to the dining room and Fisk
started for his sleeping shanty about
one hundred and thirty PAGES distant.
Some of the boys thought that he
might have went for gun as he had
+ several rifles in the shanty, and told
William Pierce to keep Nate inside
A short time after. Fisk was seen to
return from the shanty and look in
the dining room and also in the bunk
house. but as he didn't seem to have
a gun with him no attention was paid
to him. In the meantime Mrs. William
Pierce ran to where her brother, Irving
Perry, was stopping and told him that
Nate and Fisk had had trouble and
called him over.
In his testimony Irving Perry made
the statement that when he arrived at
the door OF the kitchen. Nate and Fisk
were standing outside and he heard
the latter tell Nate that he didn't be
lieve anything he said. Nate struck
him; Fisk tried to pick up a stick oi
wood and was again hit by Pierce
who Knocked him down and struck
him several times, afterwards help
ing him up and telling him to "be a
man and behave himself" Nate and
Perry then went into the kitchen and
Perry warned Nate to watch Fisk. az
he thought be might have gone for