Pete Matte
Pete Matte was taken from the custody of the sheriff in Missoula county and hanged by a mob, according to the Helena Weekly Herald. A later Herald report, citing a letter from Anthony Chaffin of Corvallis, M. T., said he was taken from the sheriff and a guard near Stevensville and carried about three miles, where he was hanged from a tree. Chaffin wrote that the body was left hanging until the next day, when a coroner's jury was summoned. Some who saw the events said a wrong was done, while others held that the hanging was justified.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). The Helena Weekly Herald and The New North-West say a majority of law-abiding Missoula county residents believed his confederates hanged him to keep revelations from coming out, while Anthony Chaffin's letter says a mob took him from the sheriff and a guard and hanged him from a tree near Stevensville, and a coroner's jury was summoned.
Reported by: Helena Weekly Herald (reporters); Anthony Chaffin (witnesses); coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); The New North-West (reporters).