Black Pat Is Dead – 1892
Black Pat Dead
He is shot While Riding Another Man’s Horse.
Patrick Conley a hard case and a desperate character well known in Missoula as “Black Pat” was shot and killed at a railroad camp on Mason creek, Idaho, last Friday by a young man named Ed. Wilson. Wilson’s story is as follows:
“I killed Conley in self-defense. Conley had my horse from Friday until Monday morning when I saw and killed him. He took the horse without my consent. He came riding along to where I was on the south fork of Nason (sp). When I saw him I told him to get off and feed the horse. By way of answer he applied to me a number of hard names, and said he would not. I then stepped up and told him he could ride my horse no further, to which he replied, “G – d d – n you, I’ll show you,” and at the same time threw up his hand to his hip pocket as if to draw a gun. I saw what he was doing, and, knowing the desperate and reckless character of the man, I thought either my time or his was come. I then drew my gun as quickly as possible, and plugged away, striking Conley near the heart. He fell over dead and never made a struggle.
The above article appeared in The Missoula Weekly Gazette on August 3, 1892.
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