Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-11-07

SO tight that it was buried in the
flesh, and was not observed for some
time after the body had been remoy.
ed to the undertaker's This was
done, apparently, to make the bloody
job conn lete and certain. and also
perhaps. to prevent the possibility
OF any outcry should the victim regain
consciousness.
How Il Was Done.
The conditions in the room made
| quite clear just how the deed was
done. The trunk where the old man
kept his store of watches, jewelry.
pistols and other pledges, as we'll. per.
haps, as his money, was open. The
| tray had been taken out, the con-
tents of the trunk rifled and every.
thing of value stolen. The tray was
literally covered with blood. while the
inside was free from this. 1t is quite
apparent therefore, that Studzinski
had thrown up the lid of the trunk
and was about to take out or open the
tray when the blow was delivered.
He fell forward upon the trunk and
his blood flowed upon the tray. AS
soon as it could be done, the moose
was pulled about the neck, and the
body placed near the center of the
room. The murderers then took out
the tray, which had protected the bot
tom of the trunk from the blood, and
went through it at their leisure. They
next turned their attention to a suit
case. which was rifled, and, having
completed their work, one of the
thugs-always provided there were
two of them-took a couple of blank
cards. and dipping his finger in his
victims blood. wrote on them the in
scription tx. C. Number IT," On
leaving the house. the murderers took
they key and locked the front door
from the outside. There was not in the
room the slightest clue to the identity
of the men who had committed the
crime. On the floor was heavy
double edged knife on which there was
some blood. The handle of the weap-
Oh was heavily metalled, with guard
having rather sharp ends, and the
theory Of the physicians was that the
fatal blow had been delivered with
this knife. which was in the scabbard.
At the time he was struck, Studzinski
had on his hat, and the felt was cut
through in two places, which would
correspond to the end of the handle
and the point of the guard. The
theory that the knife was used for
tnat purpose is not credited by a.
number of practical men, but the
point is not very material one. 1t
is an interesting fact, however, that
this knife was stolen from Studzinskis
place only few days before he was
killed. He had had the weapon in
his possession for number of years,
of
much so that he took the trouble to re-
port the incident to the sheriff's Of
fee, and also told Alex. Branson about
it. The only conclusion to be drawn
from this is that the man who stole
the knife is one of the men who after.
wards committed the murder.
Fixing the Date.
1t was at first supposed that the
murder had been committed Thurs.
day night or Friday morning. The ex-
animation by the physicians threw
the time Of the tragedy back day.
and made it certain that Studzinski
was killed Wednesday night or Thurs
day morning. the conditions indicat.
ing that the tragedy was enacted about
midnight Wednesday. It might
have been few hours earlier than
Tuesday night, not only because the
condition of the body established the
fact, but because large number of
people saw Studzinski. talked with
him and did business with him on
Wednesday. The fact that he was
alive Wednesday is absolutely certain
and while at first many came for
ward to say that they saw him Thurs
all 4
was Wednesday.
Last Seen Alive.
Studzinski was last seen alive by
Alex. Branson, the old man visiting
the Last Chance saloon about o'clock
Wednesday night to get a bucket of
beer. Mr.. Branson asked him if he
was not out rather late, and Studzin-
ski replied that he was, but that
some of his neighbors were coming in.
OF had come in, to see him. When
Branson closed up his place about l
Or o'clock in the morning it was
raining slightly and he stopped for a
few minutes to see if the rain would
cease. AS he did so, looking right
across the street toward Studzinskis
place, he saw light through the win
dow. This was very unusual, and
IIdusou Says lie TclIldTkcu 10 HlInSelI
that the old man was up very late.
He paused on the sidewalk for short
time, and the rain having stopped,
resumed his walk, noticing at the
same time that the light in Studzin-
skis had been put out.
At about the same time, but prob.
ably a little earlier, another friend
OF the old man was going up Main
street with representative of a fence
company, who was in town from Hell
ena. AS they were crossing the
street. going OF from the Studzinski
corner, and on the opposite side of the
street, this friend noticed a light in
the old mans house, and calling at
tention to it, said he feared Studzin-
ski must be SICK or that something
was wrong, as he was never up at
such an hour. The two paused on the
corner for a moment observing, and
then the friend decided to go over.
They started across the street toward
StudZinski's diagonaly, when, of a
sudden, the light went out. At this
the two men retraced their steps, and
the incident was forgotten until the
body was found. The occurrence has
led to the belief that while one man
Or more went inside to do the bloody
deed, another stood in the rear Of the
house, or in some other position OF
advantage, to keep watch, and sound
warning by knocking should any one
approach.
What the Murderers Secured.
The pluder secured by those en-
in 10 inh