The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-06-23
FIT OF DEsPoNDENcY ENDS IN
SUICIDE.
WEALTH CAME TOO SLOWLY
Because He Did Not Get Rich Quick
Enough Thomas H. Deckert
vs. Kills Himself.

Disheartened at his repeated fail
ures to make money more quickly
than 1t came to him through b or
binary channels OF the business in
which he was engaged, Ahomas H.
Deckert committed suicide last Sat
arday evening by shooting himself
through the left temple.
The deed was committed a little
after Z O'Clock and the place selected
was at the eastern approach to the
wagon bridge which crosses the Vel
luwstone, two miles east of the city.
Colts revolver of As calibre was
the instrument OF death employed.
The end evidently was instantaneous,
as the brain was shattered and the
top of the skull broken and blown
into pieces.
Henry c.. Klenck, a rancher liv-
ing a few miles down the valley,
brought the news OF the suicide to the
city and notified the sheriff, who took
charge of the body, Doctor Rinehart,
the coroner, being out of town at the
time. ~l
The Inquest.
Sunday morning Justice f. l.. Mann
summoned a jury and held an in
quest. ~.
Doctor Lindsey testified that he had
performed an autopsy. The bullet,
which he gave as the cause OF death,
he said had entered the left side Of
the head, about an inch above the
ear, and emerged from the opposite
side. The skull was fractured and
fbroken into small pieces. Powder
marks found in the flesh indicated
that the weapon had been held close
to the head when the trigger was
pulled.
Mr.. Klenck said he had seer the
! deceased on the bridge at about 2
O'Clock in the afternoon. He was
then holding a nshing line in his hand
as though engaged in fishing. a few
words passed between them and the
witness continued on his way home.
| He did not see him again until when
he saw him lying dead. A revolver
was near the left hand. This the
/ witness placed on the hat of the de-
ceased to keep the wind from blow
ing it away and then came to town.
He said he heard a shot fired a lit
tie after Z O'Clock, but paid no atten-
ton to it, as many persons were in
the habit of going to the bridge and
firing off guns. While the witness
was at the Dickie house j. e. Ber-
geson came along and told him that
a dead man was lying on the bridge
and asked him to notify the authori-
ties, Bergeson saying he did not have
time to return to the city. Upon re-
ceipt of this information the witness
went to he bridge and found the body
as already described. He examined
the revolver, but could e no car
tridges in any of the chambers.
j. e. Dickie said he saw the body
and also that he had made an exami-
nation Of the revolver and found it
to contain one empty cartridge.
P. Behrendt, who conducts a gun
shop at the corner of First avenue,
north, and Twenty-ninth street, iden.
t;efd the revolver as one he had
rented to the deceased during the
day. When Deckert got the weapon
he said he wanted to go out and do
a little shooting. He asked for some
cartridges and the witness gave him
a few, all he had, but could not re-
member the exact number.
This concluded the testimony and
the jurors, l.. E. Reynolds, C. w. For
ester, o. c. Oyren, P. H. smith, Thorn
as Donnigan and j. P. Plat, returned
a verdict of suicide. Il
Was an Old Settler.
The deceased had made his home
in Billings for about eight years, com
ing here from Forsyth, previous to
which time he resided at Miles City,
where he was married. He leaves a
wife and six children, the youngest
of whom is about 4 years old. Two
sons have almost reached mans es'
tate. Deckert was a member in good
standing of the Woodmen of the
World, in which order he carried q
policy for $4,000. In addition to
this he was also insured in the New