Jamestown Weekly Alert, 1885-02-26, p.4

Jamestown Weekly Alert, Jamestown, 1885-02-26, p.4

Summary

A one-sentence item: Bob Conchay writes back that he tried to get a button as a relic from a man named Murphy who had been hung by vigilantes under a railroad bridge near Helena, Montana, a short time before — but the body was "elevated out of reach."

Narrative

Bob Conchay reports that he attempted to take a button as a relic from a man named Murphy, who had been hanged by vigilantes from a railroad bridge near Helena, Montana, but the body was suspended too high to reach.

“he tried to get a button as a relic off of Murphy who was hung under a railroad bridge near Helena by vigilantes”
“he was elevated out of reach”

AI-generated (claude-sonnet-4-6). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

Also mentioned

Bob Conchay · letter_writer
Murphy · subject_lynched_man
No first name. Hanged by vigilantes near Helena MT in early 1885. Surname-only — namesake_only by the confidence rule. Identity unknown; cross-check against Montana newspaper lynching reports of late 1884 / early 1885.

Places

Helena, Montana (primary)
Montana (context)
Jamestown, North Dakota (publication_locale)

Themes

frontier_law_enforcement

Source type

news_item

Transcription

transcription: complete · confidence high

# Transcription — Jamestown Weekly Alert, 1885-02-26, p.4 **Source**: Jamestown Weekly Alert (Jamestown, Dakota Territory), Thursday 26 February 1885, p.4. **Status**: Complete. --- Bob, Conchay writes back that he tried to get a button as a relic off of Murphy who was hung under a railroad bridge near Helena by vigilantes a short time ago but he was elevated out of reach.

Open questions