Old Missoula

Slaying of Maurice Higgins Was One of Big Mysteries of 1890s

One of the biggest mysteries of the 1890s was the slaying of Maurice Higgins early in the morning of Aug. 15, 1892.

Higgins, fourth son of the Higgins family, cofounders of the city of Missoula, was serving on the fire department and helping fight a fire on the south side of West Front street west of the present Star Garage.

The fire department was able to control the fire before it spread beyond the wooden buildings where it started, but it took until early the next morning, the blaze having started on Aug. 14.

Higgins was standing in front of the Old Headquarters saloon, about where John R. Daily Inc. buildings are now, talking with a group of men, including one named Goldenbogen.

Death Is Instant

A stranger stepped up and without a word, shot Goldenbogen through the body, then half-turned and shot Higgins in the forehead, killing him instantly. The stranger ran around the corner of the Hammond Block (now the Hammond Arcade) and disappeared across the Higgins Avenue Bridge.

About 6 a.m. a man who gave the name of John Burns was arrested on West Main street by Sheriff W. H. Houston. His trial was started on Sept. 14 before District Judge Charles S. Marshall. Goldenbogen, who was not wounded fatally, testified from a cot in the courtroom that Burns was the man who did the shooting.

Verdict of Guilty

A jury returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree Sept. 16. Four days later Judge Marshall sentenced Burns to hanging on Nov. 11, 1892. A motion for a new trial was sustained by the judge on Oct. 11 and a new trial started Oct. 17. A verdict of guilty was returned Oct. 28 and the date of execution was set for Dec. 16. The sheriff reported on Dec. 17 that the order had been carried out.

Why Goldenbogen and Higgins were shot remained a mystery until about 20 years later when Will Cave ran across Burn’s chief defense attorney in Seattle who told him what had happened.

Jewelry Store Robbed

He said that Goldenbogen, Burns and a man named Smith (who was seen in the courtroom during the trials) had robbed a jewelry store in Spokane. Goldenbogen was entrusted with the stolen diamonds, watches and other jewelry, which he cached without informing either of his partners. Burns had made several attempts to get Goldenbogen to make a split of the loot.

Finally burns became convinced Goldenbogen was attempting to take all the loot for himself, so determined to kill him rather than let him have it all. He set fire to the buildings on West Front street, knowing that Goldenbogen, who was working in a tailor shop here, would be in the crowd watching, and that in the confusion he would be able to shoot him and disappear into the crowd with little difficulty.

Believed Unintentional

He failed, however, to locate his intended victim until after the fire had subsided. But when he came upon him, he decided to shoot him anyway. It is believed that his nerves got the best of him at this point, and that after shooting Goldenbogen, the self-cocking revolver went off unintentionally as he turned to flee the scene, the bullet striking Higgins.

Burns never said a word during the trial that might have brought prosecution of Goldenbogen and Smith for the jewelry theft, informing his counsel that to inform on his “pals” could do him no good and that Goldenbogen had “gotten his” anyway. Goldenbogen died a couple of years after the shooting from the effect of the wound.