John Chinnick

Revision as of 10:18, 11 January 2014 (view source)

Latest revision as of 22:08, 9 February 2014 (view source)

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fire, lynching of Rigney, shooting of John Chinnick- mystery surrounding shooting- 3 rumors- suicide, jealous wife, vigilantes fearing him turning traitor- Vigilance committee order number of people to leave town- roughs organized and ordered Vigilance committee to leave- determined citizens organized to save town- mob dispersed & town was quiet.

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[[31 Jul 1883]] St. Paul Daily Globe (Mandan Pioneer): There was a gang of about 20 roughs in Miles City, including Rigney. He had gone to the house of Mr. Campbell for an evil purpose and was caught and lynched. Rigney's friends threatened to burn the town. They attempted to burn the Inter-Ocean and a man named Ryan is now under arrest for burning the Cosmopolitan, which happened 3 hours after Rigney's lynching. There is no doubt the fire that destroyed the Cosmopolitan and the stores was incendiary - started by Rigney's friends. As soon as it started, there were three distinct reports, probably using kerosene cartridges. The vigilantes have ordered out the toughest of the sluggers, backed up by the threat of more lynchings. John Chinnick was shot, but he claims that it was done by himself accidentally when cleaning his rifle. He was the proprietor of the Cosmopolitan and the original owner of the townsite. He is lying in a dangerous condition. These roughs are called "rounders", men who hang around the saloons and gambling houses, picking up money where they can. This in Miles City's first hanging.

+

[[31 Jul 1883]] St. Paul Daily Globe (Mandan Pioneer): There was a gang of about 20 roughs in Miles City, including Rigney. He had gone to the house of Mr. Campbell for an evil purpose and was caught and lynched. Rigney's friends threatened to burn the town. They attempted to burn the [[Inter-Ocean Hotel]] and a man named Ryan is now under arrest for burning the Cosmopolitan, which happened 3 hours after Rigney's lynching. There is no doubt the fire that destroyed the Cosmopolitan and the stores was incendiary - started by Rigney's friends. As soon as it started, there were three distinct reports, probably using kerosene cartridges. The vigilantes have ordered out the toughest of the sluggers, backed up by the threat of more lynchings. John Chinnick was shot, but he claims that it was done by himself accidentally when cleaning his rifle. He was the proprietor of the Cosmopolitan and the original owner of the townsite. He is lying in a dangerous condition. These roughs are called "rounders", men who hang around the saloons and gambling houses, picking up money where they can. This in Miles City's first hanging.

(Billings Herald): The action of certain citizens of MC was a grave step, esp for William Rigney. A number of hard cases, of the same kidney as Rigney, had been making their rendezvous in Miles for some time, and growing bolder by degrees, had become a terror to the rest of the town. They had been warned to leave town, but scoffed at the warning. Rigney had made some horrible threats against members of Mr. Campbell's family and was arrested trying to break into their house. This was the last straw and a vigilante group wasn't willing to let normal justice take its course.

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* John owned vs leased vs just managed the Cosmopolitan

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[[Cosmopolitan fire]]: order of destruction: 3 small buildings ([[Merritt's lunch counter]], [[Brown's tobacco store]], [[Bishop's Side-Board Saloon]]); [[Flick's gambling hall]] (owned by Charles Bishop, made of pine logs that gave out such heat that the rest of the block was a goner); [[Basinski & Bros]] stationery and general store; [[W. E. Savage & Co.]] drug store (a 2 story frame) adjoining the [[First National Bank]], which was brick and stopped the fire. Loss estimated to be as high as $100,000, insurance covered about $50,000, mostly by Phoenix, Liverpool, London and Globe, and Aetna companies. Cosmopolitan (NE corner of Main & Sixth, one of the best in the territory, $8000) Owned by [[H. E. Wolf]], leased by John Chinnick. Performers lost all their wardrobes. Three attempts had been made to burn it down and had been discovered in time to prevent them. The next building was owned by [[Bishop]], rented by [[Flick]], not insured. [[Basinski Bros.]] lost $40,000 due to large inventory, only partially insured. The Savage drug store ([[Dr. Read]] a partner) was well insured, loss not heavy. Fire dept was quickly on hand but powerless.

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See: [[Cosmopolitan fire]]

Latest revision as of 22:08, 9 February 2014

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@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 fire, lynching of Rigney, shooting of John Chinnick- mystery surrounding shooting- 3 rumors- suicide, jealous wife, vigilantes fearing him turning traitor- Vigilance committee order number of people to leave town- roughs organized and ordered Vigilance committee to leave- determined citizens organized to save town- mob dispersed & town was quiet.
-[[31 Jul 1883]] St. Paul Daily Globe (Mandan Pioneer): There was a gang of about 20 roughs in Miles City, including Rigney. He had gone to the house of Mr. Campbell for an evil purpose and was caught and lynched. Rigney's friends threatened to burn the town. They attempted to burn the Inter-Ocean and a man named Ryan is now under arrest for burning the Cosmopolitan, which happened 3 hours after Rigney's lynching. There is no doubt the fire that destroyed the Cosmopolitan and the stores was incendiary - started by Rigney's friends. As soon as it started, there were three distinct reports, probably using kerosene cartridges. The vigilantes have ordered out the toughest of the sluggers, backed up by the threat of more lynchings. John Chinnick was shot, but he claims that it was done by himself accidentally when cleaning his rifle. He was the proprietor of the Cosmopolitan and the original owner of the townsite. He is lying in a dangerous condition. These roughs are called "rounders", men who hang around the saloons and gambling houses, picking up money where they can. This in Miles City's first hanging.
+[[31 Jul 1883]] St. Paul Daily Globe (Mandan Pioneer): There was a gang of about 20 roughs in Miles City, including Rigney. He had gone to the house of Mr. Campbell for an evil purpose and was caught and lynched. Rigney's friends threatened to burn the town. They attempted to burn the [[Inter-Ocean Hotel]] and a man named Ryan is now under arrest for burning the Cosmopolitan, which happened 3 hours after Rigney's lynching. There is no doubt the fire that destroyed the Cosmopolitan and the stores was incendiary - started by Rigney's friends. As soon as it started, there were three distinct reports, probably using kerosene cartridges. The vigilantes have ordered out the toughest of the sluggers, backed up by the threat of more lynchings. John Chinnick was shot, but he claims that it was done by himself accidentally when cleaning his rifle. He was the proprietor of the Cosmopolitan and the original owner of the townsite. He is lying in a dangerous condition. These roughs are called "rounders", men who hang around the saloons and gambling houses, picking up money where they can. This in Miles City's first hanging.
 (Billings Herald): The action of certain citizens of MC was a grave step, esp for William Rigney. A number of hard cases, of the same kidney as Rigney, had been making their rendezvous in Miles for some time, and growing bolder by degrees, had become a terror to the rest of the town. They had been warned to leave town, but scoffed at the warning. Rigney had made some horrible threats against members of Mr. Campbell's family and was arrested trying to break into their house. This was the last straw and a vigilante group wasn't willing to let normal justice take its course.
@@ Line 104: / Line 104: @@
 * John owned vs leased vs just managed the Cosmopolitan
-[[Cosmopolitan fire]]: order of destruction: 3 small buildings ([[Merritt's lunch counter]], [[Brown's tobacco store]], [[Bishop's Side-Board Saloon]]); [[Flick's gambling hall]] (owned by Charles Bishop, made of pine logs that gave out such heat that the rest of the block was a goner); [[Basinski & Bros]] stationery and general store; [[W. E. Savage & Co.]] drug store (a 2 story frame) adjoining the [[First National Bank]], which was brick and stopped the fire. Loss estimated to be as high as $100,000, insurance covered about $50,000, mostly by Phoenix, Liverpool, London and Globe, and Aetna companies. Cosmopolitan (NE corner of Main & Sixth, one of the best in the territory, $8000) Owned by [[H. E. Wolf]], leased by John Chinnick. Performers lost all their wardrobes. Three attempts had been made to burn it down and had been discovered in time to prevent them. The next building was owned by [[Bishop]], rented by [[Flick]], not insured. [[Basinski Bros.]] lost $40,000 due to large inventory, only partially insured. The Savage drug store ([[Dr. Read]] a partner) was well insured, loss not heavy. Fire dept was quickly on hand but powerless.
+See: [[Cosmopolitan fire]]