Chance Turns Over a New Leaf
A sober Chance Harris began a new phase of his life, probably in early 1893, in Butte, Silver Bow Co., Montana, after taking the alcoholism "gold cure" of the Keeley Institute. Perhaps imbued with renewed optimism for the future, Chance traded a house and lot on Beattie Street for shares in the Golden Crown Mine valued at $0.50/share. The transaction occurred before the middle of March 1893. The Golden Crown, located north of Helena, Lewis and Clark Co., Montana, was worked for a number of years after 1893 but never was profitable and probably yielded few if any dividends to Chance.
On 3 May 1893, Chance served on a Coroner's Jury, probably as Foreman, for an inquest on the death of Frank Puncheri who was killed in an accident at the Travonia Mine. Chance was allowed $10.90 in fees by the Board of County Commissioners on 18 May 1893, presumably for his jury service and perhaps other work during the month of May. During the same period, Chance visited Anaconda, Deer Lodge Co., Montana soliciting interest in a "cakewalk" following a similar performance in Butte. The people of Anaconda were enthusiastic, and Chance arranged for the Anaconda event to occur on 19 May at the Evans Opera House under the management of African-American actor Ernest Hogan. Chance presumably was remunerated for his role in arranging the cakewalk in Anaconda. Near the end of June, Chance was again awarded $6.80 in fees for the month by the Board of County Commissioners.
Chance Harris: "The Dead Reporter" in 1893-1894
Thomas C. Porter held the elective office of Coroner in Butte during 1893-1894. The first evidence that we find of Chance Harris being employed on a regular basis by Coroner Porter is 13 July 1893 when Chance assisted Coroner Porter in investigating the beating death of Nellie Meigs at the hands of Red Gorman. Chance then testified at the Coroner's Inquest on her death as to what he and the Coroner had found in her personal possessions in regard to her complete identity. It may be that the fees Chance collected in May and June of that year also were related to his employment by Coroner Porter. Newspaper accounts after the middle of 1893 often referred to Chance as the Coroner's Private Secretary, his Assistant, or as the Deputy Coroner. Chance clearly had embarked on a new career by this time.
Chance and Coroner Porter traveled to Anaconda, Deer Lodge Co. from Butte by train on 14 July 1893 and proceeded to McCune's wood camp (located near Anaconda but in Silver Bow County) by team and wagon where they held an inquest on the death of Angelloni Antonio. They returned to Anaconda the following morning and caught a return train to Butte. Chance appears next on 2 October 1893 as a Coroner's Inquest witness to the scene of the murder of three Chinese men at their cabin in Columbia Gardens, Silver Bow Co., Montana. He next was a member of a Coroner's Jury at an inquest on 16 December over the suicide of George Lammerhart by poison. Then, on Christmas Day, Chance traveled to Basin, Jefferson Co., Montana on behalf of the Butte Undertaking Company, as ordered by Judge Colman, to retrieve the body of Joseph Blackburn who had been found frozen stiff on the Galena Gulch Trail. Blackburn's inquest was held in Jefferson Co. before Chance made the return trip to Butte. Five days later, Coroner Porter and Chance traveled to Nine Mile House to retrieve the body of Thomas McHendry, who had dropped dead there, and returned to Butte where a Coroner's Inquest occurred the following day.
During 1894, Chance was identified as a member of several statewide organizations: the Montana State Press Association and the Keeley Club, of which he served as State Secretary. It isn't clear when Chance first joined the State Press Association, but numerous accounts indicate that Chance always maintained his interest in journalism and association with newspapermen from his earliest days in Butte, if not before. Perhaps that is why Chance became known as "the dead reporter" after his employment as Deputy Coroner, which made him a first-hand source for newspapermen seeking information on the latest deaths in Silver Bow Co. His writing skills also made him a frequent Jury Foreman and drafter of verdicts at Coroner's Inquests. Chance attended the statewide meeting of the Press Association in Great Falls, Cascade Co., Montana on 14-16 June 1894. Chance's membership in the Keeley Club could not date before he took the "gold cure" for alcoholism in late 1892 or early 1893, but it is notable that he became State Secretary within 2 years of his cure, being so listed in September 1894.
Chance Harris continued as Coroner Porter's Assistant or Deputy during 1894 with ever more deaths from mining accidents and occasional mayhem as Butte boomed. On 16 January 1894, Chance accompanied the Coroner and the undertaker to Levick's Brickyard, west of Butte, to retrieve the newly found body of Felix Donceel who had shot himself about a month before. Chance subsequently served as a Witness at Donceel's inquest. Chance exhibited another facet of his abilities at the end of May 1894. Andrew Erich had shot Michael Gilmore on 24 May. Erich came before Justice Colman for a Preliminary Hearing on 31 May-1 June 1894. The prosecution used a very detailed drawing of the crime scene prepared by Chance Harris to refresh the memories of the witnesses to the murder. The drawing was described as "unique" in its depiction of the cabin interior, exterior, and surroundings, apparently in nearly photographic detail.
On 21-22 June 1894, Chance traveled to Anaconda and brought the body of Tillie Olson, a deceased domestic, back to the Butte Undertaking Company. July saw many deaths in Silver Bow Co. with twelve inquests held by Coroner Porter, the busiest month yet seen. Chance may be assumed to have had a role in each of those inquests. In the words of the Anaconda Standard newspaper, "A strange fatality seems to attend that month, which cannot be explained even by the irrepressible and brilliant Chance Harris. . . ." The Young Men's Republican Club listed Chance among featured speakers slated to address them at Caplice Hall on 31 July 1894 in Butte, describing him as "the brilliant newspaper man." Chance next traveled on 12-13 August to Silver Star, Madison Co., Montana to search for Charley Axtel, a young man whose father was reported to be dying in North Dakota. This mission probably was requested by Coroner Porter who was a personal friend of the dying man.
Broadwater Hot Springs was a resort near Helena, Lewis and Clark Co., Montana. The facility featured a pool, which in those days was described as a "plunge bath." Chance Harris took a soak in the pool on 5 September 1894 and attempted to cross the deep end using a rope suspended across the pool. He lost his grip and, given that he did not know how to swim, went to the bottom and nearly drowned. A newspaper account in the Butte Miner said that Chance "was fished out just in time to preserve his life." He was a member of a Coroner's Jury on 10 September 1894 at an inquest over the slaying of Stephen Grosso with the jury returning a verdict of death by bullet wound by parties unknown.
Having used up one of his nine lives in the plunge bath, Chance became a candidate for Silver Bow County Coroner in the Democratic primary a few days later but lost the vote to Dr. Tremblay at the Democratic County Convention on 13 September 1894. Subsequently, Chance spent the last week of October and the first week of November doing political work, presumably on behalf of Democratic candidates, in southern Silver Bow Co. and the southern part of Montana. Chance did not make the newspapers again in 1894.
On 12 April 1895, Chance was called as a prosecution witness at the trial of Andrew Erich for the killing of Mike Gilmore. Chance had provided a detailed drawing of the crime scene at Erich's preliminary hearing nearly a year before and now gave evidence relating to his findings at Gilmore's cabin. Less than a month later, Chance identified the body of a suicide victim as City Treasurer Simeon Jacobs after accompanying Coroner Richards, Deputy Sheriff Geary, and Mr. Reynolds to the blacksmith shop of the old Anselmo Mine near Missoula Gulch. The next day, Chance and Coroner Richards investigated the area of the abandoned Acquisition Mine shaft just above Wollman Street where the body of an unidentified man had been found at the bottom. They had the remains removed for a Coroner's Inquest to be held on 9 May 1895. Chance investigated, in his role as Deputy Coroner, the site of Charles Simmons' death in the Gagnon Mine on 14 May and directed that the canvas sack containing the remains be removed to the Butte Undertaking rooms for a Coroner's Inquest to be held the following day. Four days later, Chance served on a Coroner's Jury at the inquest over the accidental death of John Barry, killed during blasting in the Anaconda Mine. Chance, in his role as Deputy Coroner, had the body of Corinne Larouche (aka Nadeau) removed to the Butte Undertaking rooms on 19 May 1895 to await a Coroner's Inquest the following day. On 29 May 1895, Chance was a member of a Coroner's Jury at the inquest on the shooting of Michael Sullivan, a vagrant, by Constable John Reed. The jury rendered a verdict stating that Reed had fired in the discharge of his duty.
June 1895 brought an investigation, with Coroner Richards, of the death of Vence Conich, without visible cause, in a cabin on Lower Montana Street. An inquest was held on 7 June. Some respite from the spate of deaths in and around Butte must then have occurred because we next find Chance attending a meeting of the Montana State Press Association on 24-27 June 1895 in Billings, Yellowstone Co., Montana. He presented a paper by W. W. Walsworth of the Anaconda Standard and visited the Custer Battlefield before returning to Butte. Chance then apparently served as Foreman of a jury in Judge Almon's court, which returned a verdict of "not guilty" in the case of J. R. Grice who had been accused of assaulting Officer Baldisero on 29 June 1895.
Chance began July by donating $0.10 to the "mule fund." What mule this was or why it needed donations isn't clear. Chance's dime was one of the larger donations, as many people only gave a nickel, although a bundle of clover and a set of mule shoes were among the donations. Deputy Inspector of Mines John H. Miles presented a gold-headed cane to Chance Harris ca. 18 July 1895. This gift was in recognition of services rendered in formulating a report on the mines of Mr. Miles' district. Once again Chance's writing ability had come in handy! The cane became Chance's cherished possession, which he was said to have carried daily despite being so spry as not to need a cane. About the same time, Chance signed a Petition and Protest to the Board of Trustees, School District No. 1, Silver Bow County, protesting any change in the school text books. Chance accompanied Coroner Richards from Butte to the head of Willow Creek (about 30 miles from Butte) on 27 July 1895 to hold a Coroner's Inquest on the body of William Hanneman, who had died of injuries received from a falling tree.
A. Jackson Davis, who had been suffering from typhoid fever, had wandered away from Butte in a delerious state and fallen from Bridge 81 on the Northern Pacific branch between Butte and Bozeman. Coroner Richards and Chance investigated the place where Davis's body had been found on 13 August 1895 but located only a hat that he had worn. Chance was a witness at the Coroner's Inquest on Davis's death the following day. On 27 August, Chance accompanied Coroner Richards, Deputy Sheriff Young, and others to Little Basin Creek to recover the skeletal remains of Joseph Lavelle who had disappeared in 1881, likely killed by Napoleon Collette who had bragged of the crime before leaving the Territory without prosecution in the absence of a body. Chance next appears to have been Foreman of a Coroner's Jury on 30 August 1895 at the inquest on the suicide of Allen K. Axtell by bullet wound at Gregson Springs, Silver Bow Co., Montana.
September began with Chance's investigation, with Coroner Richards, of the circumstances surrounding the suicide by gunshot of Charles G. Cornell in preparation for an inquest on 4 September 1895. Two days later, Chance investigated, with Officer John Griffith, the discovery of a baby's body in a can in the shed at the rear of a house on George Street near the Montana Central depot. Chance's interest in politics surfaced again on 8 September when he escorted, with Harvey Cullom, J. B. Daly, who claimed to be an ex-priest, to the stage of the Butte Auditorium to give an anti-Catholic lecture related to politics. Whether or not Chance subscribed to the speaker's prejudicial views is not known. On 10 September 1895, Chance was the apparent Foreman of a Coroner's Jury for an inquest on the death of Officer Al Minger who was killed while attempting to board a moving street car, which found that Minger's death resulted from his own carelessness or recklessness. Chance was again the apparent Foreman of a Coroner's Jury on 17 September at an inquest in Meaderville, Silver Bow Co., Montana on the death of 2 1/2-year old Hazel Violet Griffin, hit by Engine No. 1010 on the Montana Union railway track. The jury recommended censure of Brakeman Davis for not keeping a better lookout. The next day Chance investigated, with Coroner Richards, the suicide by opium of Wah Sin (or Ah Sin) at a house in China Alley in Butte. When the casket of Wah Sin was taken to her house for her funeral on 20 September 1895, the "Master of Ceremonies" presented Chance, Coroner Richards, and Coroner Richards' brother each a nickel. Chance then traveled from Butte to Melrose, Silver Bow Co., Montana on 21 September, accompanied by Coroner Richards, to investigate and hold an inquest on the shooting death of Joseph Huneault, who had been shot by Morgan Jones at Camp Creek.
On 2 October 1895, Coroner Richards and Chance Harris investigated the death of Austin George Weaver, killed when a cable broke and he plunged to the bottom of the shaft at the St. Lawrence Mine. Chance served as Jury Foreman for Weaver's inquest on 5 October. The case set a precedent when the Coroner's Jury, for the first time involving a large mine, found that employees of the St. Lawrence Mine failed to take proper safety measures. Just over a week later, a petty criminal known as John Peters (aka "John Jouert," aka "Lazurus") snatched Chance's prized gold-headed cane while he was taking some notes at the corner of Park and Main streets. Peters ran away and Chance gave chase, finding Peters in the back rooms of a basement saloon trying to wrench the gold head from Chance's cane. Chance collared the criminal and turned him over to the police. Peters was tried and sentenced to 5 months in county jail and a $500 fine on 14 October with the expectation that Peters would remain in jail for 14 months in lieu of paying the fine. Chance returned to his Coroner's Office duties on 20 October, tasked with accompanying the body of the previously mentioned Austin George Weaver to Abilene, Dickinson Co., Kansas. Chance returned on 29 October 1895 via Cheyenne, Laramie Co., Wyoming.
Chance apparently served as Jury Foreman for a Coroner's Inquest on 6 November at the Clipper Bunkhouse on Wickiup Creek over the death of James Murphy in the Clipper Mine. The jury found that Murphy's death was due to his own negligence in attempting to cross from the pump shaft to the working shaft of the Clipper against company orders, causing him to fall to his death. Six days later, Chance again was the apparent Jury Foreman for an inquest on the death of little Angeline Brunell run over by an ore wagon at Walkerville, Silver Bow Co., Montana. The accident was ascribed to the child's own recklessness in jumping a ride on a moving ore wagon after being warned not to do so. The same day, Chance accompanied Coroner Richards and Deputy Mine Inspector Miles to Divide, Silver Bow Co., Montana to bring back the body of Ben Armstong who had been killed when he fell down a mine shaft. They made the return trip to Butte on 13 November 1895.
Butte seems to have had a local football team that played a game at Denver, Denver Co., Colorado on 23 November 1895. News about the game could only reach Butte by telegraph whereupon the score was bulletined by the local newspapers. The Butte Miner put out the correct half-time score of 6-0 in favor of Denver. This was followed by the Standard putting out an incorrect score of 6-6. Chance, using this erroneous information, placed a $10 bet on Butte to win, but the final score was 12-6 in Denver's favor, and Chance lost his bet.
Chance, accompanied by Mrs. James Talbott, met Mrs. G. H. Kelly of Denver at the Railroad Depot on 29 November 1895 and transported her to the home of Mrs. Talbott where Mrs. Kelly would stay until the funeral of her brother, John D. Allport, the following day. Chance then traveled to Virginia City, Madison Co., Montana on 30 November to testify for the prosecution at the trial of Morgan Jones for the murder of Joseph Huneault beginning on 2 December 1895. During the return trip to Butte on 5 December, Chance was riding on the top of the stagecoach when the team bolted 6 miles after leaving Virginia City. Chance asked the driver if he required any assistance then rolled off the runaway stage and landed on the ground without injury after the driver declined. After harness repair the stage eventually arrived back in Butte in time for Chance to make a statement clarifying the circumstances surrounding disputed undertaking and burial arrangements for Tom Lynch, who had died in a local hospital. The Butte Undertaking Company, run by Coroner Richards, requested $25 for their services, which they considered a reasonable fee.
On 10-11 December, Chance traveled to a location 1.5-miles east of Buxton Station and ca. 14 miles from Butte to retrieve the body of Prosper Bouleau, who had died from exposure near the track of the Utah Northern Railroad. Chance returned to Butte with the remains and an inquest was held there. The next day, Chance served as Foreman of a Coroner's Jury at the inquest on the death of an Underground Engineer, Luther F. Yaeger, fatally injured in the Gagnon Mine, which found that Yaeger was himself largely to blame. We learn no more of Chance Harris until after the year's end holidays.
Chance and Coroner Porter traveled to Anaconda, Deer Lodge Co. from Butte by train on 14 July 1893 and proceeded to McCune's wood camp (located near Anaconda but in Silver Bow County) by team and wagon where they held an inquest on the death of Angelloni Antonio. They returned to Anaconda the following morning and caught a return train to Butte. Chance appears next on 2 October 1893 as a Coroner's Inquest witness to the scene of the murder of three Chinese men at their cabin in Columbia Gardens, Silver Bow Co., Montana. He next was a member of a Coroner's Jury at an inquest on 16 December over the suicide of George Lammerhart by poison. Then, on Christmas Day, Chance traveled to Basin, Jefferson Co., Montana on behalf of the Butte Undertaking Company, as ordered by Judge Colman, to retrieve the body of Joseph Blackburn who had been found frozen stiff on the Galena Gulch Trail. Blackburn's inquest was held in Jefferson Co. before Chance made the return trip to Butte. Five days later, Coroner Porter and Chance traveled to Nine Mile House to retrieve the body of Thomas McHendry, who had dropped dead there, and returned to Butte where a Coroner's Inquest occurred the following day.
During 1894, Chance was identified as a member of several statewide organizations: the Montana State Press Association and the Keeley Club, of which he served as State Secretary. It isn't clear when Chance first joined the State Press Association, but numerous accounts indicate that Chance always maintained his interest in journalism and association with newspapermen from his earliest days in Butte, if not before. Perhaps that is why Chance became known as "the dead reporter" after his employment as Deputy Coroner, which made him a first-hand source for newspapermen seeking information on the latest deaths in Silver Bow Co. His writing skills also made him a frequent Jury Foreman and drafter of verdicts at Coroner's Inquests. Chance attended the statewide meeting of the Press Association in Great Falls, Cascade Co., Montana on 14-16 June 1894. Chance's membership in the Keeley Club could not date before he took the "gold cure" for alcoholism in late 1892 or early 1893, but it is notable that he became State Secretary within 2 years of his cure, being so listed in September 1894.
Chance Harris continued as Coroner Porter's Assistant or Deputy during 1894 with ever more deaths from mining accidents and occasional mayhem as Butte boomed. On 16 January 1894, Chance accompanied the Coroner and the undertaker to Levick's Brickyard, west of Butte, to retrieve the newly found body of Felix Donceel who had shot himself about a month before. Chance subsequently served as a Witness at Donceel's inquest. Chance exhibited another facet of his abilities at the end of May 1894. Andrew Erich had shot Michael Gilmore on 24 May. Erich came before Justice Colman for a Preliminary Hearing on 31 May-1 June 1894. The prosecution used a very detailed drawing of the crime scene prepared by Chance Harris to refresh the memories of the witnesses to the murder. The drawing was described as "unique" in its depiction of the cabin interior, exterior, and surroundings, apparently in nearly photographic detail.
On 21-22 June 1894, Chance traveled to Anaconda and brought the body of Tillie Olson, a deceased domestic, back to the Butte Undertaking Company. July saw many deaths in Silver Bow Co. with twelve inquests held by Coroner Porter, the busiest month yet seen. Chance may be assumed to have had a role in each of those inquests. In the words of the Anaconda Standard newspaper, "A strange fatality seems to attend that month, which cannot be explained even by the irrepressible and brilliant Chance Harris. . . ." The Young Men's Republican Club listed Chance among featured speakers slated to address them at Caplice Hall on 31 July 1894 in Butte, describing him as "the brilliant newspaper man." Chance next traveled on 12-13 August to Silver Star, Madison Co., Montana to search for Charley Axtel, a young man whose father was reported to be dying in North Dakota. This mission probably was requested by Coroner Porter who was a personal friend of the dying man.
Broadwater Hot Springs was a resort near Helena, Lewis and Clark Co., Montana. The facility featured a pool, which in those days was described as a "plunge bath." Chance Harris took a soak in the pool on 5 September 1894 and attempted to cross the deep end using a rope suspended across the pool. He lost his grip and, given that he did not know how to swim, went to the bottom and nearly drowned. A newspaper account in the Butte Miner said that Chance "was fished out just in time to preserve his life." He was a member of a Coroner's Jury on 10 September 1894 at an inquest over the slaying of Stephen Grosso with the jury returning a verdict of death by bullet wound by parties unknown.
Having used up one of his nine lives in the plunge bath, Chance became a candidate for Silver Bow County Coroner in the Democratic primary a few days later but lost the vote to Dr. Tremblay at the Democratic County Convention on 13 September 1894. Subsequently, Chance spent the last week of October and the first week of November doing political work, presumably on behalf of Democratic candidates, in southern Silver Bow Co. and the southern part of Montana. Chance did not make the newspapers again in 1894.
Chance Harris Continues As "The Dead Reporter" in 1895
A new Coroner, Republican Joseph Richards, was elected and took office on 7 January 1895. The books of outgoing Coroner Porter, who had investigated 149 deaths during his 2-year term, were kept by Chance Harris and were found to be "as neat and correct as they possibly could be," according to the Butte Miner. It is likely that Chance Harris, "the dead reporter," assisted with most of these cases in one way or another. Chance continued his association with the Coroner's Office under the new Coroner.On 12 April 1895, Chance was called as a prosecution witness at the trial of Andrew Erich for the killing of Mike Gilmore. Chance had provided a detailed drawing of the crime scene at Erich's preliminary hearing nearly a year before and now gave evidence relating to his findings at Gilmore's cabin. Less than a month later, Chance identified the body of a suicide victim as City Treasurer Simeon Jacobs after accompanying Coroner Richards, Deputy Sheriff Geary, and Mr. Reynolds to the blacksmith shop of the old Anselmo Mine near Missoula Gulch. The next day, Chance and Coroner Richards investigated the area of the abandoned Acquisition Mine shaft just above Wollman Street where the body of an unidentified man had been found at the bottom. They had the remains removed for a Coroner's Inquest to be held on 9 May 1895. Chance investigated, in his role as Deputy Coroner, the site of Charles Simmons' death in the Gagnon Mine on 14 May and directed that the canvas sack containing the remains be removed to the Butte Undertaking rooms for a Coroner's Inquest to be held the following day. Four days later, Chance served on a Coroner's Jury at the inquest over the accidental death of John Barry, killed during blasting in the Anaconda Mine. Chance, in his role as Deputy Coroner, had the body of Corinne Larouche (aka Nadeau) removed to the Butte Undertaking rooms on 19 May 1895 to await a Coroner's Inquest the following day. On 29 May 1895, Chance was a member of a Coroner's Jury at the inquest on the shooting of Michael Sullivan, a vagrant, by Constable John Reed. The jury rendered a verdict stating that Reed had fired in the discharge of his duty.
June 1895 brought an investigation, with Coroner Richards, of the death of Vence Conich, without visible cause, in a cabin on Lower Montana Street. An inquest was held on 7 June. Some respite from the spate of deaths in and around Butte must then have occurred because we next find Chance attending a meeting of the Montana State Press Association on 24-27 June 1895 in Billings, Yellowstone Co., Montana. He presented a paper by W. W. Walsworth of the Anaconda Standard and visited the Custer Battlefield before returning to Butte. Chance then apparently served as Foreman of a jury in Judge Almon's court, which returned a verdict of "not guilty" in the case of J. R. Grice who had been accused of assaulting Officer Baldisero on 29 June 1895.
Chance began July by donating $0.10 to the "mule fund." What mule this was or why it needed donations isn't clear. Chance's dime was one of the larger donations, as many people only gave a nickel, although a bundle of clover and a set of mule shoes were among the donations. Deputy Inspector of Mines John H. Miles presented a gold-headed cane to Chance Harris ca. 18 July 1895. This gift was in recognition of services rendered in formulating a report on the mines of Mr. Miles' district. Once again Chance's writing ability had come in handy! The cane became Chance's cherished possession, which he was said to have carried daily despite being so spry as not to need a cane. About the same time, Chance signed a Petition and Protest to the Board of Trustees, School District No. 1, Silver Bow County, protesting any change in the school text books. Chance accompanied Coroner Richards from Butte to the head of Willow Creek (about 30 miles from Butte) on 27 July 1895 to hold a Coroner's Inquest on the body of William Hanneman, who had died of injuries received from a falling tree.
A. Jackson Davis, who had been suffering from typhoid fever, had wandered away from Butte in a delerious state and fallen from Bridge 81 on the Northern Pacific branch between Butte and Bozeman. Coroner Richards and Chance investigated the place where Davis's body had been found on 13 August 1895 but located only a hat that he had worn. Chance was a witness at the Coroner's Inquest on Davis's death the following day. On 27 August, Chance accompanied Coroner Richards, Deputy Sheriff Young, and others to Little Basin Creek to recover the skeletal remains of Joseph Lavelle who had disappeared in 1881, likely killed by Napoleon Collette who had bragged of the crime before leaving the Territory without prosecution in the absence of a body. Chance next appears to have been Foreman of a Coroner's Jury on 30 August 1895 at the inquest on the suicide of Allen K. Axtell by bullet wound at Gregson Springs, Silver Bow Co., Montana.
September began with Chance's investigation, with Coroner Richards, of the circumstances surrounding the suicide by gunshot of Charles G. Cornell in preparation for an inquest on 4 September 1895. Two days later, Chance investigated, with Officer John Griffith, the discovery of a baby's body in a can in the shed at the rear of a house on George Street near the Montana Central depot. Chance's interest in politics surfaced again on 8 September when he escorted, with Harvey Cullom, J. B. Daly, who claimed to be an ex-priest, to the stage of the Butte Auditorium to give an anti-Catholic lecture related to politics. Whether or not Chance subscribed to the speaker's prejudicial views is not known. On 10 September 1895, Chance was the apparent Foreman of a Coroner's Jury for an inquest on the death of Officer Al Minger who was killed while attempting to board a moving street car, which found that Minger's death resulted from his own carelessness or recklessness. Chance was again the apparent Foreman of a Coroner's Jury on 17 September at an inquest in Meaderville, Silver Bow Co., Montana on the death of 2 1/2-year old Hazel Violet Griffin, hit by Engine No. 1010 on the Montana Union railway track. The jury recommended censure of Brakeman Davis for not keeping a better lookout. The next day Chance investigated, with Coroner Richards, the suicide by opium of Wah Sin (or Ah Sin) at a house in China Alley in Butte. When the casket of Wah Sin was taken to her house for her funeral on 20 September 1895, the "Master of Ceremonies" presented Chance, Coroner Richards, and Coroner Richards' brother each a nickel. Chance then traveled from Butte to Melrose, Silver Bow Co., Montana on 21 September, accompanied by Coroner Richards, to investigate and hold an inquest on the shooting death of Joseph Huneault, who had been shot by Morgan Jones at Camp Creek.
On 2 October 1895, Coroner Richards and Chance Harris investigated the death of Austin George Weaver, killed when a cable broke and he plunged to the bottom of the shaft at the St. Lawrence Mine. Chance served as Jury Foreman for Weaver's inquest on 5 October. The case set a precedent when the Coroner's Jury, for the first time involving a large mine, found that employees of the St. Lawrence Mine failed to take proper safety measures. Just over a week later, a petty criminal known as John Peters (aka "John Jouert," aka "Lazurus") snatched Chance's prized gold-headed cane while he was taking some notes at the corner of Park and Main streets. Peters ran away and Chance gave chase, finding Peters in the back rooms of a basement saloon trying to wrench the gold head from Chance's cane. Chance collared the criminal and turned him over to the police. Peters was tried and sentenced to 5 months in county jail and a $500 fine on 14 October with the expectation that Peters would remain in jail for 14 months in lieu of paying the fine. Chance returned to his Coroner's Office duties on 20 October, tasked with accompanying the body of the previously mentioned Austin George Weaver to Abilene, Dickinson Co., Kansas. Chance returned on 29 October 1895 via Cheyenne, Laramie Co., Wyoming.
Chance apparently served as Jury Foreman for a Coroner's Inquest on 6 November at the Clipper Bunkhouse on Wickiup Creek over the death of James Murphy in the Clipper Mine. The jury found that Murphy's death was due to his own negligence in attempting to cross from the pump shaft to the working shaft of the Clipper against company orders, causing him to fall to his death. Six days later, Chance again was the apparent Jury Foreman for an inquest on the death of little Angeline Brunell run over by an ore wagon at Walkerville, Silver Bow Co., Montana. The accident was ascribed to the child's own recklessness in jumping a ride on a moving ore wagon after being warned not to do so. The same day, Chance accompanied Coroner Richards and Deputy Mine Inspector Miles to Divide, Silver Bow Co., Montana to bring back the body of Ben Armstong who had been killed when he fell down a mine shaft. They made the return trip to Butte on 13 November 1895.
Butte seems to have had a local football team that played a game at Denver, Denver Co., Colorado on 23 November 1895. News about the game could only reach Butte by telegraph whereupon the score was bulletined by the local newspapers. The Butte Miner put out the correct half-time score of 6-0 in favor of Denver. This was followed by the Standard putting out an incorrect score of 6-6. Chance, using this erroneous information, placed a $10 bet on Butte to win, but the final score was 12-6 in Denver's favor, and Chance lost his bet.
Chance, accompanied by Mrs. James Talbott, met Mrs. G. H. Kelly of Denver at the Railroad Depot on 29 November 1895 and transported her to the home of Mrs. Talbott where Mrs. Kelly would stay until the funeral of her brother, John D. Allport, the following day. Chance then traveled to Virginia City, Madison Co., Montana on 30 November to testify for the prosecution at the trial of Morgan Jones for the murder of Joseph Huneault beginning on 2 December 1895. During the return trip to Butte on 5 December, Chance was riding on the top of the stagecoach when the team bolted 6 miles after leaving Virginia City. Chance asked the driver if he required any assistance then rolled off the runaway stage and landed on the ground without injury after the driver declined. After harness repair the stage eventually arrived back in Butte in time for Chance to make a statement clarifying the circumstances surrounding disputed undertaking and burial arrangements for Tom Lynch, who had died in a local hospital. The Butte Undertaking Company, run by Coroner Richards, requested $25 for their services, which they considered a reasonable fee.
On 10-11 December, Chance traveled to a location 1.5-miles east of Buxton Station and ca. 14 miles from Butte to retrieve the body of Prosper Bouleau, who had died from exposure near the track of the Utah Northern Railroad. Chance returned to Butte with the remains and an inquest was held there. The next day, Chance served as Foreman of a Coroner's Jury at the inquest on the death of an Underground Engineer, Luther F. Yaeger, fatally injured in the Gagnon Mine, which found that Yaeger was himself largely to blame. We learn no more of Chance Harris until after the year's end holidays.
No comments:
Post a Comment