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of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washing-
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PIIVKERTOX, William Allan, principal of
Pinkerton's Nat. Detective Agency; 6. Dundee,
III.. Apr. 7. 1S46; .s. Allan P. (noted detective)
and Joan (Caifrae) P.; ed. pub. and pvt. schs.,
and Notre Dame Coll.; entered secret service
div. U.S. Army, 1861; m. Margaret S. Ashling,
of Blissfleld, Mich., Dec. 14. 1866 (died Apr. 5,
1895). Served through Civil War, chiefly in
Army of Potomac; became clerk in his father's
office; later with his brother, chief asst. in
the agency, succeeding to the business on
death of Allan Pinkerton, July 1, 1884; opera-
tions extended to all parts of the world.
Home: 193 Lake Shore Drive. Otjice: 137 S. 5th
Av., Chicago.
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\
VIGILANTE DAYS AND WAYS,
VOL. I.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
V/ITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Wonders of the Yellowstone in Scribner's Magazine
The Ascent of Mount Hayden in Scribner's Mac^azine
VIGILANTE DAYS AND WAYS
THE PIONEERS OF THE %OCKIES
THE MAKERS AND MAKING OF
MONTANA, IDAHO, OREGON, WASHINGTON,
AND WYOMING
By
l^atljaniel ^itt Hangforti
IVITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I
1893
COPVRK.HT, 1890,
By NATHANIEL PITT LANGFORD.
All rights reserved.
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
THE MEMORY OF THOSE
SEnknoton pioneers
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN LAYING
THE FOUNDATIONS OV THE
([Empire
OF THE
^eto (great SSEest.
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
Page
Intboduction xix
CHAPTER I.— Spanish Intrigues.
The Mississippi River — Foresight of Washington
— Dissatisfaction of Western Settlers — Prophe-
cies of Navarro — Union in Danger — Jealousy
of Spanish Authorities — Wilkinson's Intrigues
— State of Frankland — Invasion of Louisiana
Threatened — French Jacobin Intrigue — Genet's , -^^
Plans — Treaty of Madrid — Napoleon — Pontal-
ba's Memoir — Treaty of St. Ildephonso . . 1
CHAPTER II.— Louisiana Purchase.
Alarm of our Government at the Cession to
France — Mr. Livingston appointed Minister to
France — Talleyrand — His Reticence — Tedious
Delay— Right of Deposit Prohibited — Effect
upon Western People — Mr. Jefferson appoints
Mr. Monroe Extraordinary Minister — Congress
— Debate — Federal Opposition — War between
France and England again imminent — Bonaparte's
Proposition — Treaty agreed upon and signed —
Action of Congress — Extent of Territory pur-
chased 34
viii Contents,
Page
CHAPTER III.— European Treaties.
Mode of Defining the Western Boiindary of Louisi-
ana — Great Britain no Right to any Portion of
the Territory West of the Rocky Mountains —
Discovery of the Cohimbia by Captain Gray —
Lewis and Clarke's Expedition — Astor's Expedi-
tion — Negotiations for the Settlement of the
Claims of Great Britain and the United States —
Florida Treaty — Russian Treaty — Renewal of
the Treaty for Joint Occupation — Action of
Congress — Debate, asd Einal Settlement of the
Boundary 61
CHAPTER IV.— Henry Plummer.
Snake River — Its Scenery — Lewiston — Its Ap-
pearance and Society — Loyalists and Secessionists
— Arrival of Plummer and His Companions —
A Domestic History — Plummer Leader of the
Roughs — Jack Cleveland — Cherokee Bob — Bill
Bunton and others 73
CHAPTER v.— Society in Lewiston.
Shebangs — Complaint of Nez Perces — ■ Recklessness
of Roughs and Indifference of Citizens — Inci-
dents at the Shebangs — Horse Robbery — Ex-
press Riders — Mose — His Escape — Fearlessness
— Severity of Winter — Effect upon Mining —
Exposure to Crime — Condition of Lewiston in
the Winter of 1861-2 — Kirby murders a Comrade
— His Arrest and Acquittal — Murder of Hilte-
brant — Citizens' Meeting — Roughs in the Ma-
jority — Plummer's Interference — Hiltebrant's
Brother ^
Contents. ix
Page
CHAPTEE VI.— Northern Mikes.
Prospecting for Gold — Picture of a Veteran Pros-
pector— Patrick Ford — Design of Roughs to
kill him — He outwits them — Robbers leave
Lewiston for Oro Fino — Robberies by the way
— Entrance into Oro Fino — Assault on Ford's
Saloon — Fight — Ridgely wounded — Ford killed 96
CHAPTER VII.— Charley Harper.
Charley Harper assumes to be " Chief " — Cherokee
Bob — Theatre in the Mines — Deputy Sheriff
Porter's Assault upon the Soldiers assisted by
Cherokee Bob — Two Soldiers killed, Others
wounded — Soldiers march into Town in Pursuit
of Cherokee Bob — He escapes by Stealing a
Horse and Fleeing in the Night to Lewiston —
Ridgely shoots Gilchrist and escapes to Oregon . 105
CHAPTER VIIL— Cherokee Bob.
Gold Excitement — Robbers go to Florence — Rob-
beries by the way — Cherokee Bob and Bill May-
field — Cynthia — Jealousy — A Strange History
— Bob " settled in Business " . . . .112
CHAPTER IX.— Florence.
Florence — Rule of the Roughs — Murder of a
German Miner — One Rough shoots Another —
Brockie killed by Chapman — Hickey killed by
" Snapping Andy " — Matt Bledsoe — DifB.culties
of Mining — Exposures — Pack Trains — Robbery
of McClinchey's Train — Robbery of Berry Broth-
ers, by Scott, Peoples, and English . . . 125
X Contents.
CHAPTER X. — First Vigilance Committee.
Pursuit, Arrest and Execution of Scott, Peoples, and
English — Arrest, Trial, and Banishment of " Hap-
py Harry" — Escape of "Club-Foot George" —
Charley Harper flees to Colville .... 136
CHAPTER XI.— New Gold Discovebies.
Immigration — Discoveries in Deer Lodge — At
Boise — Ridgely recovers and goes to Elk City
— Plummer and Cleveland go to Sun River —
Spend most of the Winter there — Plummer in
Love — Quarrels with Cleveland .... 142
CHAPTER XIL— Desertion of Mining Camps.
Effect of Decay in Mines — Florence in Decline —
New Year's Ball — Cynthia goes and is expelled
— Wrath of Cherokee Bob and Willoughby —
Attack on Jakey Williams — Fierce Street Fight
— Bob and Willoughby killed — Cynthia returns
toMayfield 149
CHAPTER XIII.— BooNE Helm.
Boone Helm — His Early Life — Murders Shoot in
Missouri — Tried and convicted, and escapes by
Stratagem to California — Kills Several Persons
and flees to Dalles — Attempts a Journey on
Horseback across the Territories to Camp Floyd
in Utah — Disasters by the way — Cannibalism
— John W. Powell's Letter — Murder at Salt
Lake — Returns to Washington Territory —
Fights with and kills Dutch Fred — Captured on
Frazer River and taken to British Columbia —
Contents. xi
Page
Suspected of killing and eating his Comrade —
Confined in Penitentiary at Portland — The
Helm Brothers — Coolness of " Old Tex "— Helps
Boone on his Trial — Buys up Witnesses — Boone
acquitted and goes to Boise ..... 156
CHAPTER XIV.— Charley Harper.
Charley Harper at Colville — New Year's Ball —
Kicks and abuses a Woman — Is pursued by the
People, upon whom he fires — Captured and hung
— Vigilantes of Florence banish "Fat Jack" — He
returns, is warned and leaves Town — Stops at
Neselrode's Cabin — Company fire upon the Cabin
— Kill Neselrode and "Fat Jack " — Who to
Blame ... 176
CHAPTER XV.— PiNKHAM AND PATTERSON.
Character of Piukham — His Birthplace — His Life
in California — Goes to Florence — Is appointed
U. S. Marshal of Idaho — Character of Patterson
— He kills Staples — Is acquitted of Murder —
Difference in the Character of the two Men —
Pinkham arrests Patterson — They meet at Warm
Springs — Patterson kills Pinkham — Patterson
arrested by Bobbins — Patterson's Cruelty — Or-
ganization of Vigilantes — Confronted by a Sher-
iff's Posse — Vigilantes disband — Trial of Pat-
terson — Acquittal — Goes to Walla Walla — Is
killed by Donahue 182
CHAPTER XVI.— Early Discoveries of Gold.
First Discovery of Gold in Montana — The Stuart
Brothers — Narrative of Granville Stuart — First
xii Contents.
Page
Arrival of Emigrants from the Missouri River —
Shooting of Arnett — Arrest of his Companions
— Trial and Execution of Spillman — Exodus
of Miners from Colorado — Difficulties — Crossing
of Smith Fork of Bear River — Crossing of Snake
River — Arrival at Lemhi — Discouragements —
Consultation — The Party divides — Arrival of
Woodmansee's Train with Provisions — Great
Joy in the Camp 212
CHAPTER XYII.— Captain Fisk's Expedition.
Northern Overland Expedition — Journey from St.
Paul to Fort Benton — Arrival in Prickly Pear
Valley — High Price of Provisions — Threatened
Destitution — Trip of the Writer to Pike's Peak
Gulch — Night Camp — Storm — Blackfeet In-
dians — Critical Situation — Providential Escape
— Arrival at Pike's Peak Gulch — Disappoint-
ment— Journey to Grasshopper Diggings . . 229
CHAPTER XVIIL— Baxxack ix 1862.
Plummer's supposed Attempt at Reform — Dread
of Cleveland — Cleveland suspected of Evans's
Murder — His Conduct at Goodrich's Hotel —
Plummer's Interference — Shoots Cleveland —
George Ives and Charley Reeves appear — Hank
Crawford and Harr}^ Phleger take Cleveland away
— Cleveland's Death — Plummer's Interview with
Crawford — Quarrel between Ives and Carrhart —
Reconciliation — How Emigrants spent the Win-
ter— J. M. Castner — Attack of Moore and Reeves
upon the Indians — Killing a Chief and a Pap-
poose — Shooting of Gazette . .... 241
Contents. xiii
Page
CHAPTER XIX.— Moore and Reeves.
Moore and Reeves flee — Mass Meeting of Citizens
— They are Arrested — Trial and Acquittal of
Plumm(ir for killing Cleveland — Mode of Trial
— Incident at Blackfoot — Trial of Moore and
Reeves — Incidents of the Trial — Sentenced to
Banishment — Banishment and Return of Mitchell 252
• CHAPTER XX.— Crawford and Phleger.
Meeting and Decision of the Roughs — Plummer
assigned to the Task of killing Crawford — Craw-
ford's Exposures — Plummer seeks by various
Designs to lure him into a Quarrel — Plummer's
Skill with the Pistol — Quarrel in a Saloon —
Harry Phleger to the Rescue — Plummer defeated
— Another Saloon Affray — Phleger again —
Plummer challenges Phleger — Crawford shoots
and severely wounds Plummer — Leaves for Fort
Benton — Is pursued, but escapes — Dr. Click
dresses Plummer's wound — His Life threatened 268
CHAPTER XXL— Broadwater's Stratagem.
Departure of Moore and Reeves to Deer Lodge —
Broadwater's and Pemberton's Improvements —
Moore sick — Broadwater's Kindness — Moore's
Gratitude — Broadwater's Ride to Deer Lodge —
Night at Big Hole — Shoots an Indian — Meets
Ives and Cooper — Is pursued by them — Arrives
in Safety at Contway's Ranche — Leaves there
by a Ruse, and completes the Trip to Deer
Lodge 292
XIV
Contents.
Page
CHAPTER XXII. — Organization of the Roughs.
Plummer's Skill with his Left Hand — Selects
Phleger for a Victim — Fails to embroil him in a
Quarrel — Ellis threatened — Escapes to the Mis-
souri — Plummer and Judge Dance — Plummer
robs Davenport — Indifference of the Miners —
Thorough organization of the Roughs — Depreda-
tions in Town — Quarrel between Banfield and
gapp — Death of Carrhart — Moore's Interference
and Recklessness — Contemplated Attack upon
"VYinnemuck's Band — Rescue of a White Captive
from the Indians — Buck Stiuson's Barbarous Mur-
der of '' Old Snag," a Bannack Chief . . .304
CHAPTER XXIII.— A Masonic Funeral.
People Spellbound — Death of Wm. H. Bell —
Meeting of the Masons — Masonic Funeral —
Masonic Gatherings — Watch of the Roughs —
Plummer elected Sheriff — His Marriage with
Miss Eliza Bryan — His Conversation with the
Writer — Reasons for doubting his Sincerity —
Life in Bannack 319
CHAPTER XXIV. — Battle of Bear River.
Indian Troubles — Battle of General Connor with
the Bannacks — Obstinate Resistance of the In-
dians—Their Defeat — Bravery of our Troops —
Effect of the Victory 337
CHAPTER XXV.— Alder Gulch.
Discovery of Alder Gulch — Description of the
Placer and Settlement of it — Murder of Dilling-
Contents. xv
Page
ham by Stinson, Lyons, and Forbes — Their Trial
— Condemnation of Stinson and Lyons — Acquit-
tal of Forbes — Strange Acquittal, and departure
of Stinson and Lyons, when ready for Execution . 352
CHAPTER XXVL— Virginia City.
Increase of Immigration — Settlement of Alder
Gulch — Discovery of Smaller Gulches — Bivin's
Gulch — Dempsey's and Daly's Ranches — Society
in Virginia City — Sunday — Size of Territory —
Distance from Capital — Arrival of D. S. Payne,
U. S. Marshal — His Desire to have Virginia City
represented — Offers the Writer the Selection of a
Deputy Marshal — Question referred to Union
League, which designates Plummer — Interview
between Plummer and the Writer — Hauser's
opinion of Plummer — Plummer not nominated
— Threatens the Writer — Method of Conducting
Robberies — Plummer's Popularity — Club-Foot
George's Shop in Dance and Stuart's Store . . 375
CHAPTER XXVII.— Coach Robberies.
Wealth of Alder Gulch — Return of Miners to the
States — Adaptation of the Country to Robbery
— " Bummer Dan " — His Claim — Sale of it and
Return to Virginia City — His Ruse to escape
Robbery a Failure — Attack upon the Coach —
Robbery of "Bummer Dan," Percy, and Madison
— Bill Bunton a Stool-Pigeon — Quarrel of Jason
Luce and Sam Bunton — Luce kills Sam Bunton
in Salt Lake City — His Trial and Execution . 392
• Contents.
Page
CHAPTER XXVIII.— Leroy Southmayd.
Attack upon Oliver's Coach -Leroy Southmayd
and Captain Moore robbed by Ives, Graves, and
Zachary-Southmayd's Interview with Plummer
at Bannack - Graves's Story to Caldwell - Ives s
Boasts -Robbers frustrated in their Designs
upon Southmayd on his Return to Virginia City . 410
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE FIRST
VOLUME.
Designed and enfjraved binder the supervision of
George ®. Stntitett).
Page
A Pack Train — Cinching . . . Frontispiece
A Pioneer Title-page
''Why doesn't he Write?" . . . Dedicatio7i
(After a Sketch by E. C. Spencer, M.D.J
James Stuart, who set the First Sluices in
Montana 212
Granville Stuart, who set the First Sluices
in Montana 214
Captain James L. Fisk, Commander of North-
ern Overland Expedition .... 230
Judge J. F. Hoyt, Miners' Judge at Trial of
Moore and Reeves 267
Judge Walter B. Dance, Miners' Judge at
Bannack 308
General P. E. Connor, Commander at Battle
of Bear River 337
INTRODUCTION.
IT is stated, on good authority, that soon after the
first appearance of Schiller's drama of " The
Robbers " a number of young men, charmed with
the character of Charles De Moor, formed a band
and went to the forests of Bohemia to engfao-e in
brigand life. I have no fear that such will be
the influence of this volume. It deals in facts.
Robber life as delineated by the vivid fancy of
Schiller, and robber life as it existed in our min-
ing regions, were as widely separated as fiction
and truth. No one can read this record of
events, and escape the conviction that an honest,
laborious, and well-meaning life, whether success-
ful or not, is preferable to all the temporary
enjoyments of a life of recklessness and crime.
The truth of the adage that " Crime carries with
it its own punishment " has never received a
more powerful vindication than at the tribunals
erected by the people of the North-West mines
for their own protection. No sadder commentary
XX Introduction.
could have stained our civilization than to permit
the numerous and bloody crimes committed in
the early history of this portion of our country
to go unwhipped of justice. And the fact that
they were promptly and thoroughly dealt with
stands among the earliest and nohlest character-
istics of a people which derived their ideas of
right and of self-protection from that spirit of
the law that flows spontaneously from our free
institutions. The people bore with crime until
punishment became a duty and neglect a crime.
Then, at infinite hazard of failure, they entered
upon the work of purgation with a strong hand —
and in the briefest possible time established the
supremacy of law. The robbers and murderers
of the mining regions, so long defiant of the
claims of peace and safety, were made to hold the
oibbet in g-reater terror there than in any other
portion of our country.
Up to this time, fear of punishment had exer-
cised no restraining influence on the conduct of
men who had organized murder and robbery into
a steady pursuit. They hesitated at no atrocity
necessary to accomplish their guilty designs.
Murder with them was resorted to as the most
available means of concealing robbery, and the
two crimes were generally coincident. The coun-
Introduction. xxi
try, filled with canons, gulches, and mountain
passes, was especially adapted to their purposes,
and the unpeopled distances between mining
camps afforded ample opportunity for carrying
them into execution. Pack trains and companies,
stage coaches and express messengers, were as much
exposed as the solitary traveller, and often selec-
ted as objects of attack. Miners, who had spent
months of hard labor in the placers in the accu-
mulation of a few hundreds of dollars, were never
heard of after they left the mines to return to
their distant homes. Men were daily and nightly
robbed and murdered in the camps. There was
no limit to this system of organized brigandage.
When not engaged in robbery, this criminal
population followed other disreputable pursuits.
Gambling and licentiousness were the most con-
spicuous features of every mining camp, and both
were but other species of robbery. Worthless
women taken from the stews of cities phed their
vocation in open day, and their bagnios were the
lures where many men were entrapped for rob-
bery and slaughter. Dance-houses sprung up as
if by enchantment, and every one who sought an
evening's recreation in them was in some way re-
lieved of the money he took there. Many good
men who dared to give expression to the feelings
jcxii introduction.
of horror and disgust which these exhibitions in-
spired, were shot down by some member of the
gang on the first opportunity. For a long time
these acts were unnoticed, for the reason that the
friends of law and order suj)posed the power of
evil to be in the ascendant. Encouraged by this
impunity the ruffian power increased in audacity,
and gave utterance to threats against all that por-
tion of the community which did not belong to
its organization. An issue involving the destruc-
tion of the good or bad element actually existed
at the time that the people entered upon the work
of punishment.
I offer these remarks, not in vindication of
all the acts of the vigilantes, but of so many of
them as were necessary to establish the safety and
protection of the people. The reader will find
among the later acts of some of the individuals
claiming to have exercised the authority of the
vigilantes some executions of which he cannot ap-
prove. For these persons I can ofFer no apology.
Many of these were worse men than those they
executed. Some were hasty and inconsiderate,
and while firm in the belief they were doing right,
actually committed grievous offences. Unhappily
for the vigilantes, the acts of these men have been
recalled to justify an opinion abroad, prejudicial
Introduction. xxiii
to the vigilante organization. No;ihing could be
more unjust. The early vigilantes were the best
and most intelligent men in the mining regions.
They saw and felt that, in the absence of all law,
they must become a " law unto themselves," or
submit to the bloody code of the banditti by
which they were surrounded, and which was in-
creasing in numbers more rapidly than themselves.
Every man among them realized from the first
the great delicacy and care necessary in the man-
agement of a society which assumed the right to
condemn to death a fellow-man. And they now
refer to the history of all those men who suffered
death by their decree as affording ample justifi-
cation for the severity of their acts. What else
could they do ? How else were their own lives
and property, and the lives and property of the
great body of peaceable miners in the placers to
be preserved ? What other protection was there
for a country entirely destitute of law ?
Let those who would condemn these men try to
realize how they would act under similar circum-
stances, and they will soon find everything to ap-
prove and nothing to condemn in the transactions
of the early vigilantes. I have endeavored to nar-
rate nothing but facts, and these will enable every
reader to judge correctly of the merits of each case.
xxiv Introduction.
I would fain believe that this history, bloody
as it is, will prove both interesting and instructive.
In all that concerns crime of the blankest dye on
the one hand, and love for law and order on the
other, it stands without a parallel in the annals of
any people. Nowhere else, nor at any former
period since men became civilized, have murder
and robbery and social vice presented an organ-
ized front, and offered an open contest for sujDrem-
acy to a large civilized community. Their works
for centuries have been done by stealth, in dark-
ness, and as far away from society as possible.
I cannot now remember the instance, within the
past three hundred years, when the history of any
country records the fact that the criminal element
of an entire community, numbering thousands,
was believed to be greater than the peaceful ele-
ment. Yet it was so here. And when the vigi-
lantes of Montana entered upon their work, they
did not know how soon they might have to en-
counter a force numerically greater than their
own.
In my view the moral of this history is a good
one. The brave and faithful conduct of the vigi-
lantes furnishes an example of American character,
from a point of view entirely new. We know what
our countrymen were capable of doing when ex-
Introduction. ^^"^
posed to Indian massacre. We have read history
after history recording the sufferings of early
pioneers in the East, South, and West, but what
they would do when surrounded by robbers and
assassins, who were in all civil aspects like them-
selves, it has remained for the first settlers of the
North Western mines to tell. And that they did
their work well, and showed in every act a love
for law, order, and for the moral and social virtues
in which they had been educated, and a regard
for our free institutions, no one can doubt who
rightly appreciates the motives which actuated
them.
A people who had not been reared to respect
law and order, and to regard the privileges which
flow from a free government as greater than all
others, in the regulation of society, would have
been restrained by fear from any such united and
thorough effort as that which in Montana actually
scourged crime out of existence, and secured to
an unorganized community all the immunities and
blessings of good government. The terror which
popular justice inspired in the criminal population
has never been forgotten. To this day crime has
been less frequent in occurrence in Montana than
in any other of the new territories, and no banded
criminals have made that territory an abiding place.
xxvi Introduction.
Although not the first exhibition of vigilante jus-
tice, the one I here record was the most thorough
and severe, and stands as an example for all new
settlements that in the future may be similarly
afflicted, for it was not until driven to it both by
the frequent and unremitting villanies of the
ruffians, and by the necessities of a condition for
which there was no law in existence, that the people
resorted to measures of their own, and made and
enforced laws suited to the exigency. But enough !
If the history fails to remove the prejudices of
my readers, nothing I can say will do so. It
speaks for itself, and though there are a few of
its later occurrences I would gladly blot, there
is nothing in its early transactions, nothing in the
design it unfolds, nothing in the results which have
followed, that on a similar occasion I would not
wish to see reproduced.
VIGILANTE DAYS AND WAYS.
CHAPTER I.
SPANISH INTBIGUES.
The Mississippi Eiveb— Foresight of WASHiNOTOif —
Dissatisfaction of Western Settlers — Prophe-
cies of Navarro — Union in Danger — Jealousy
OF Spanish Authorities — Wilkinson's Intrigues
— State of Frankland — Invasion of Louisi-
ana threatened — French Jacobin Intrigue —
Genet's Plans — Treaty of Madrid —Napoleon
Pontalba's Memoir — Treaty of St. Ildephonso.
"The Mississippi river," says Bancroft, "is
the guardian and the pledge of the union of the
States of America. Had they been confined to
the eastern slope of the Alleghanies, there would
have been no geographical unity between them ;
and the thread of connection between lands that
merely fringed the Atlantic must soon have been
sundered. The father of rivers gathers his waters
from all the clouds that break between the Alle-
2 Spanish Intrigues.
ghanies and the farthest ranges of the Rocky
Mountains. The ridges of the eastern chain
bow their heads at the north and the south, so
that long before science became the companion of
man, Nature herself pointed out to the barbarous
races how short portages join his tributary waters
to those of the Atlantic coast. At the other side
his mightiest arm interlocks with the arms of the
Oregon and the Colorado ; and, by the conforma-
tion of the earth itself, marshals highways to the
Pacific. From his remotest springs he refuses to
suffer his waters to be divided ; but as he bears
them all to the bosom of the ocean, the myriads
of flags that wave above his head are all the en-
signs of one people. States larger than king-
doms flourish where he passes ; and beneath his
step cities start into being, more marvellous in
their reality than the fabled creations of enchant-
ment. His magnificent valley, lying in the best
part of the temperate zone, salubrious and won-
derfully fertile, is the chosen muster-ground of
the various elements of human culture brouofht
together by men, summoned from all the civilized
nations of the earth, and joined in the bonds
of common citizenship by the strong invincible
attraction of republican freedom. Now that
science has come to be the household friend of
Spanish Intrigues. . 3
trade and commerce and travel, and that Nature
has lent to wealth and intellect the use of her
constant forces, the hills, once walls of division,
are scaled or pierced or levelled ; and the two
oceans, between which the republic has unassail-
ably intrenched itself against the outward world,
are bound together across the continent bjf
friendly links of iron. From the grandeur oi
destiny, foretold by the possession of that rivei*
and the lands drained by its waters, the Bourbons
of Spain, hoping to act in concert with Great
Britain as well as France, would have excluded
the United States, totally and forever."
In the early days of our repubUc the great
national artery, so justly eulogized by our lead-
ing historian, was the fruitful cause of the most
dangerous intrigues, aimed at the perpetuity of
our Union. The inhabitants of the Ohio and
Mississippi valleys, cut off by the Appalachian
range from all commercial intercourse with the
Atlantic seaboard, were necessarily dependent
upon the Mississippi for access to the markets
of the world. The mouth of that river was,
as to them, the threshold of subsistence. Exten-
sive possessions, richness of soil, and immensity
of production, were of little value, without the
means which this great channel alone afforded
4 Spanish Intrigues.
for the establishment of commercial relations
with other nations. The most prolific, as well
as most unbounded, region of varied agricul-
tural production in the world was comparatively
valueless without this single convenience.
At the time whereof I write the mouth of
the Mississippi and the country adjacent was
owned and controlled by Spain, then a powerful
nation, jealous of her possessions in America,
and unfriendly to the young republic which had
suddenly sprung into existence on the northern
borders of her empire. She had assented to the
stipulation in the treaty between Great Britain,
the United States, and herself in 1783, in which
the independence of our country was recognized,
that the navigation of the Mississippi from
its source to its mouth should be and remain
forever free and open to the subjects of Great
Britain and the citizens of the United States.
The privilege, sufficient for ordinary purposes
in time of peace, was liable at any moment and
on almost any pretence, as we shall hereafter see,
to be absolutely denied, or to be hampered with
oppressive duties, or to be used for purposes
dangerous to the very existence of our govern-
ment.
The first individual to see the evils which
Spanish Intrigues. 6
might flow from a dependence upon this outlet
to the ocean by the people living west of the
Alleghanies, was Washington himself. He had
carefully noted the flow of the rivers beyond the
Alleghanies, and the portages between them and
the rivers flowing down their eastern slope, at
the time of his first visit into that region before
the Revolution, and was only hindered from form-
ing a company, to unite them by an artificial
channel, by the occurrence of the Revolution
itself. The year after peace was declared he
again visited the country bordering the upper
waters of the Ohio, and at this time regarded
the improvement, not only of immense impor-
tance in its commercial aspect to the States of
Maryland and Virginia, but as one of the neces-
sities of government. " He had noticed," says
Mr. Irving, " that the flanks and rear of the
United States were possessed by foreign and
formidable powers, who might lure the Western
people into a trade and alliance with them. The
Western States, he observed, stood as it were on
a pivot, sc- that the touch of a feather might
turn them any way. They had looked down the
Mississippi, and been tempted in that direction
by the facilities of sending everything down the
stream ; whereas they had no means of coming
6 Spanish. Intrignet<.
to us but by long land transportation and
rugged roads. The jealous and untoward dis-
position of the Spaniard, it was true, almost
barred the use of the Mississippi ; but they might
change their policy and invite trade in that
direction. The retention by the British Govern-
ment, also, of the posts of Detroit, Niagara, and
Oswego, though contrary to the spirit of the
treaty, shut up the channel of trade in that quar-
ter " [Irving's Life of Washington, vol. iv. p. 423].
His views were laid before the legislature of
Virginia, and received with such favor that he
was induced to repair to Richmond to give them
his personal support. His suggestions and repre-
sentations during this visit gave the first impulse
to the great system of internal imj^rovements
since pursued throughout the United States.
While Washington was urging upon the peo-
ple of Virginia the importance of a water com-
munication between the head waters of the Poto-
mac and the Ohio, and had succeeded so far
as to effect the organization of two companies
under the patronage of the Governments of
Maryland and Virginia [Irving's Life of Wash-
ington, vol. iv. p. 427], the people of the
Western States, dissatisfied with the tax im-
posed upon them to pay the interest on the debt
Spmiish Intrigues. 7
of the country to France, were many of them
abandoning their dwellings and marching towards
the Mississippi, " in order to unite with a certain
number of disbanded soldiers, who were anxious
to possess themselves of a considerable portion
of the territory watered by that river." Their
object was to establish the Western Independ-
ence and deny the authority of the American
Congress, as McGillivray says in a letter to the
governor of Pensacola [Gayarre's " History of
the Spanish Domination in Louisiana," p. 159].
This Alexander McGillivray, the head chief of
the Talapo aches, or Creeks, was a half-breed, the
son of Lachland McGillivray, a Scotchman, and
a Creek woman. He was educated in Scotland.
Pickett, the historian of Alabama, calls him the
Talleyrand of Alabama ; and Gayarre, in an
extended eulogy, says of him : " The individual
who, Proteus-like, could in turn, — nay more,
who could at the same time, be a British colonel,
a Spanish and an American general, a polished
gentleman, a Greek and Latin scholar, and a wild
Indian chief with the frio^htful tomahawk at his
belt and the war paint on his body, a shrewd
politician, a keen-sighted merchant, a skilful spec-
ulator, the emperor of the Creeks and Seminoles,
the able negotiator with Washington in person
8 Spanish Intrigues.
and other great men, the writer of papers which
would challenge the admiration of the most fas-
tidious — he who could be a Mason among the
Christians, and a pagan prophet in the woods;
he Avho could have presents, titles, decorations,
showered at the same time upon him from Eng-
land, Spain, and the United States, and who could
so long arrest their encroachments against him-
self and his nation by playing them like puppets
against each other, must be allowed to tower far
above the common herd of men." McGilhvray
died 17th February, 1793. He was buried with
Masonic honors, in the garden of William Pan-
ton, in Pensacola. His death spread desolation
among his people.
Martin Navarro, the Spanish intendant at
New Orleans, united with remarkable sagacity
and foresight a jealousy of the American popu-
lation of the Western States, amounting almost
to mania. His policy in regulating commercial
intercourse with all neighbors was in the largest
degree conciliatory and generous. From the
hour of its birth, he predicted with singular
accuracy the power and growth of the American
republic. In 1786, speaking of the commercial
relations between the province of Louisiana and
the numerous Indian tribes which owned the
adjacent territory, he says : —
Spanish Intrigues. 9
" Nothing can be more proper than that the
goods they want should be sold them at an equi-
table price, in order to afford them inducements
and facilities for their hunting pursuits, and in
order to put it within their means to clothe them-
selves on fair terms. Otherwise they would
prefer trading with the Americans, with whom
they would in the end form alliances, which can-
not but turn out to be fatal to this province."
The surplus productions of the Western set-
tlements at this time had grown into a very
considerable commerce, which, having no other
outlet than the Mississippi, was sent down that
river to New Orleans, where it was subjected to
unjust and oppressive duties. The flatboat-men
complained of the seizures, confiscations, extor-
tions, and imprisonments which in almost every
instance were visited upon them by the Spanish
authorities. Infuriated by the frequency and
flagrant character of these outrages, and deny-
ing the right of Spain under the treaty of 1783
in any way to restrict the free navigation of the
river, the Western people began seriously to con-
template an open invasion of Louisiana, and a
forcible seizure of the port of New Orleans.
They laid their grievances before Congress and
petitioned that body to renew negotiations with
10 Spanish Intrigues.
Spain, and secure for them sucli commercial priv-
ileges as were necessary to the very existence of
their settlements.
Navarro seconded these views, and writing to
his Government says : " The powerful enemies
we have to fear in this province are not the Eng-
lish, but the Americans, w4iom we must oppose
by active and sufficient measures." He then, by
a variety of reasons, urges that a restriction of
commercial franchises will only increase the em-
barrassment of Spain. '• The only way," he says,
" to check them, is with a proportionate popula-
tion, and it is not by imposing commercial restric-
tions that this population is to be acquired, but
by granting a prudent extension and freedom of
trade."
By granting the Americans special privileges,
donating lands to them, and affording them other
subsidies, Navarro hoped to lure them from their
allegiance to our Government. Very many, yield-
ing to these inducements, moved their families
into the Spanish province, and became willing
subjects of His Catholic Majesty. The majority
of those who remained, owing to the repeated
failures and rebuffs they had suffered in their
efforts to obtain free commercial privileges, were
forced at length to consider the idea of forming
Spanish Intrigues. 11
a new and independent republic of their own.
Tiieir separation by distance and mountain bar-
riers from the Atlantic States rendered all com-
mercial intercourse impracticable between the two
portions of the country. They were surrounded
by savages, against whose murderous attacks their
Government was unable to afford them adequate
protection, and their commerce was burdened with
oppressive and ruinous duties before it could gain
access to the markets of the world. Besides these
considerations, they were oppressed with heavy
taxation to pay the interest on the great war- debt
to France. These reasons, to any one who can
identify himself with the period of our history
now under review, would certainly seem sufficient
to overcome a patriotism which had always been
measured by the amount of sacrifice it was cap-
able of making without any return. Our Govern-
ment, still under the old confederacy, no longer
bound by the cohesive elements of the war, was
ready to fall to pieces, because of its inherent
weakness. The majority of the people, both East
and West, had little confidence in its stability. The
leading patriots of the Revolution, alarmed at the
frequent and threatening demonstrations of revolt
made in all parts of the country, were at a loss to
know how to avoid a final disruption.
12 Spanish Intrigues.
" What, then," says Washington in a letter to
John Jay, " is to be done ? Things cannot pro
on in the same strain forever. It is much to be
feared, as you observe, that the better kind of
people, being disgusted with the circumstances,
will have their minds prepared for any revolu-
tion whatever. We are apt to run from one
extreme to another. ... I am told that
even respectable characters speak of a monarch-
ical government without horror. From thinking
proceeds speaking, then acting is often but a
single step. But how irrevocable and tremen-
dous ! What a triumph for our enemies to verify
their predictions ! What a triumph for the advo-
cates of despotism to find that we are incapable of
governing ourselves, and that systems founded
on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal and
fallacious." [Irving's Washington, vol. iv. p. 450.]
It was when the country was in this condition
that the idea of a separate independence took
form among the people west of the AUeghanies.
Want of unanimity in the adoption of a basis for
the new republic only prevented its organization ;
for as soon as the question came under serious
consideration, no less than five parties appeared,
each claiming its plan to be the only one suited to
the purjjoses in view.
Spunish Intrigues. 13
" The first was for being independent of the
United States, and for the formation of a new
repubHc unconnected with the old one, and rest-
ing on a basis of its own, and a close alliance with
Spain.
" Another party was willing that the country
should become a part of the province of Louisi-
ana, and submit to the admission of the laws of
Spain.
" A third desired a war with Spain and the
seizure of New Orleans.
" A fourth plan was to prevail on Congress, by
a show of preparation for war, to extort from the
cabinet of Madrid what it persisted in refusing.
" The last, as unnatural as the second, was to
solicit France to procure a retrocession of Louisi-
ana, and to extend her protection to Kentucky."
[Judge Martin's Hist, of Louisiana, vol. ii. p. 10.]
Encouraged in their designs to lure the Western
people into Louisiana, by this public evidence of
their disaffection toward their own country, the
Spanish authorities from this moment conceived
the idea of working a dismemberment of our con-
federacy and attaching the vast country west of
the Alleghanies to the other Hispano-American
possessions. Separate plans for effecting this ob-
ject were formed by Miro, the governor of Louisi-
14 Spanish Intrigues.
ana, and Gardoquoi, the Spanish minister at Phil-
adelphia. These officials were jealous of each
other, and though partners in design, frequently
clashed in their measures.
In June, 1787, General James Wilkinson, an
officer of the Revolution, who had emigrated to
the West a few months before, descended the
Mississippi to New Orleans, with a cargo of flour,
tobacco, butter, and bacon. His boat having
been seized, Wilkinson, after a protracted inter-
view with Governor Miro, parted from him with
an order for its release and permission to sell his
cargo free of duty. This arch-intriguer was per-
mitted, during the entire period that his negotia-
tions with Miro were in progress, to enjoy all the
privileges of the New Orleans market free of
duty. He sold large cargoes of tobacco, flour, and
butter to the Spanish authorities on different oc-
casions, and received from Miro very large sums
of money at various times, to aid him in the Avork
of dismemberment. We learn that at one time he
sought to become a Spanish subject, but was dis-
suaded by Miro, who, while he loved the treason,
hated the traitor. At another time, in the midst
of his intrigues, he besought Miro to obtain for
him a portion of the country to which he could
flee to escape the vengeance which would pursue
Spanish Intrigues. 15
him, in case his diaboHcal acts should be discov-
ered by Washington. He remained in New Or-
leans until September. During that period, at
Miro's request, he furnished him with his views in
writing of the political interests of Spain and the
Western people. This document strongly advo-
cated the free navigation of the Mississippi, and
was sent to Madrid for the perusal of the king.
But it was intended simply as a blind, to conceal
the inception of an intrigue between Miro and
Wilkinson for the separation of the Western set-
tlements from the Union, and their adherence to
Spain. It was soon ascertained that, coincident
with the submission of this document, Wilkinson
presented another to Miro, containing different
representations, which was not made public.
In the meantime, Gardoquoi, acting without
Miro's compliance, had invited the people of
Kentucky and the region bordering the Cumber-
land river to establish themselves under the pro-
tection of Spain in West Florida, and the Florida
district of lower Louisiana, offering as induce-
ments that* they might hold slaves, stock, provi-
sions for two years, farming utensils and imple-
ments, without paying any duty whatever, and
enjoy their own religion. Allured by these
promises, many Americans removed to Louisiana
16 Spanish Intrigues.
and became Spanish subjects. To encourage
this work of emigration, Gardoquoi made a con-
cession of a vast tract of land, seventy miles
below the mouth of the Ohio, to Col. George
Morgan upon his proposition to settle it with a
large number of immigrants. In pursuance of
this purpose, Morgan afterwards laid the founda-
tions of a city there, which, in compliment to
Spain, he called New Madrid.
Gardoquoi, fearful lest his plans might be dis-
turbed by Miro, sent an agent to New Orleans to
obtain for them the support of that functionary.
Miro was deeply embroiled in the intrigue with
Wilkinson — an enterprise, if successful, that
would prove vastly more important than that of
Gardoquoi. Concealing his purpose from the
latter, Miro, on one pretext and another, avoided
committing himself to plans which were certain,
if prosecuted, to clash with his own. In Jan-
uary, 1788, he wrote to V aides, the minister for
the department of the Indies : —
" I have been reflecting for many days
whether it would not be proper to communicate
to D'Arges (Gardoquoi's agent) Wilkinson's
plans, and to Wilkinson the mission of D'Arges,
in order to unite them and dispose them to work
in concert. , . . The delivering u\) of Ken-
Spanish Intrigues. 17
tiicky into His Majesty's hands, which is the
main object to which Wilkinson has promised to
devote himself entirely, would forever constitute
this province a rampart for the protection of
New Spain."
In the course of this intrigue, Gardoquoi's
agent stipulated to lead 1582 Kentucky families
into the Natchez district. Miro ordered Grand-
pre, the governor of Natchez, to make concessions
of land to each family on its arrival, and require
them to take the following oath : " We the
undersigned do swear, on the Holy Evangelists,
entire fealty, vassalage, and lealty to His Catholic
Majesty, wishing voluntarily to live under his
laws, promising not to act either directly or
indirectly against his real interest, and to give
immediate information to our commandants of
all that may come to our knowledge, of Avhatever
nature it may be, if prejudicial to the w^elfare of
Spain in general and to that of this province in
particular, in defence of which we hold ourselves
ready to take up arms, on the first summons of
our chiefs, and particularly in the defence of this
district against whatever forces may come from
the upper part of the river Mississippi, or from
the interior of the continent."
" Whilst presenting to them these considera-
18 Spanish Intrirjues.
tions," writes Miro, " you will carefully observe
the manner in which they shall receive them,
and the expression of their faces. Of this
you will give me precise information, every time
that you send me the original oaths taken."
In furtherance of his enterprise, Wilkinson
spent several months in the Atlantic States, after
leaving New Orleans. He wrote to Miro in
cipher, on his return to the West, that all his
predictions were verifying themselves. "' Not a
measure," he says, " is taken on both sides of the
mountains which does not conspire to favor ours."
About the same time he wrote to Gardoquoi in
order to allay his suspicions. Receiving from
Miro no immediate reply to his letter, he sent a
cargo of produce down the river in charge of
Major Isaac Dunn, whom he accredited to Miro
as a fit auxiliary in the execution of their political
designs. Dunn assured the Spanish governor
that Kentucky would separate entirely from the
Federal Union the next year.
While these schemes were in progress, the set-
tlers in the district of Cumberland, reduced to
extremities by the frequent and bloody invasions
of the Indians south of them, sent delegates to
Alexander McGillivray, head chief of the tribes,
to declare their willingness to throw themselves
Spanish Intrigues- 19
into the arms of His Catholic Majesty, as sub-
jects. They said that Congress could neither
protect their jjersons or property, or favor their
commerce, and that they Avere desirous to free
themselves from all allegiance to a power inca-
pable of affording the smallest benefit in return.
One of the difficult questions for the Spanish
authorities to settle with the people they expected
to lure to their embrace was that of religion.
Spain was not only Catholic, but she had not
abandoned the Inquisition, as a means of tortur-
inff the rest of the world into a confession of that
faith. Gardoquoi had promised all immigrants
into Louisiana freedom of religious opinion.
Miro, willing to make some concessions, would
not concede entire freedom. Just at the time
that a promise had been made of a large emigra-
tion from the western settlements, Miro received
a letter from the Reverend Capuchin Antonio
de Sedella, informing him that he had been
appointed commissary of tlie Iniquisition, and
that, in order to carry his instructions into per-
fect execution, he might soon, at some late hour
of the night, deem it necessary to require some
guards to assist him in his operations. A few
hours afterwards, while this inquisitor was repos-
ing, he was roused by an alarm. Starting upj
20 SiJcinisli Intrigues.
he met an officer and a file of grenadiers, who,
he supjjosed, had come to obey his orders. " My
friends," said he, " I thank you and his excel-
lency for the readiness of this compliance with
my request. But I have no use for your ser-
vices, and vou shall be warned in time when you
are wanted. Retire, then, with the blessing of
God." The surprise of the Holy Father may be
conceived when told that he was under arrest.
^' What ! " he exclaimed, '^ will you dare lay
hands on a commissary of the Holy Inquisi-
tion ? "
"I dare obey orders," was the stern reply, —
and Father de Sedella was immediately conductec
on board a vessel, which sailed the next day fot
Cadiz.
Miro, writing to one of the members of the
cabinet of Madrid, concerning this unceremo-
nious removal, says : " The mere name of the
Inquisition, uttered in New Orleans, would be
sufficient, not only to check immigration, which
is successfully progressing, but would also be
capable of driving away those who have recently
come, and I even fear that in spite of my having
sent out of the country Father Sedella, the most
fatal consequences may ensue from the mere sus-
picion of the cause of his dismissal." This was
Spanish Intrigues. 21
the first and last attempt of the Spaniards to
plant the Inquisition in North America.
In the midst of these intrigues and schemes,
Navarro, the talented intendant, was recalled by
his Government, and returned to Spain. The
two offices of governor and intendant thus
became united in Miro. In his last official
despatch, Navarro expressed his views of the
province with considerable detail. He depicted
the dangers which Spain had to fear from the
United States, — predicting that the " new-born
giant would not be satisfied until he extended
his domains across the continent, and bathed his
vigorous young limbs in the placid waters of the
Pacific." A severance of the Union was, in his
opinion, the only way this could be prevented.
Thfs was not difficult, if the present circum-
stances were turned to advantage. " Grant,"
said he, " every sort of commercial privilege to
the masses in the Western region, and shower
pensions and honors on the leaders."
While actively engaged in the prosecution of
his intrigue with Miro, we learn from a letter
written to that official in February, 1789, that
in October of the previous year Wilkinson met
with Col. Connelly, a British officer, who, he
says, " had travelled through the woods to the
22 Spanish Intrigues.
mouth of the river Big Miami, from which he
came down the Ohio in a boat." He claimed to
be an emissary of Lord Dorchester, the governor-
general of Canada. Ignorant of Wilkinson's
secret negotiations with Miro, he met him by
invitation, at his house, and upon Wilkinson's
assurance of regard for the interests of His
Britannic Majesty, Connelly unfolded to him the
object of his mission. He informed Wilkinson
that Great Britain was desirous of assisting the
Western settlers in their efforts to open the navi-
gation of the Mississipi^i. She would join them
to dispossess Spain of Louisiana, and as the
forces in Canada were too small to supply de-
tachments for the purpose. Lord Dorchester
would, in place thereof, supply our men with
all the implements of war, and with money,
clothing, etc., to equip an array of ten thousand.
Wilkinson, in his letter to Miro, says : " After
having pumped out of him all that I wished to
know, 1 began to weaken his hopes by observing
that the feelings of animosity engendered by
the late Revolution were so recent in the hearts
of the Americans that I considered it impos-
sible to entice them into an alliance with Great
Britain ; that in this district, particularly in that
nart of it where the inhabitants had suffered so
Spanish Intrigues. 23
much from the barbarous hostilities of the In-
dians, which were attributed to British influence,
the resentment of every individual was much
more intense and implacable. In order to justify
this opinion of mine I employed a hunter, who
feigned attempting his life. The pretext as-
sumed by the hunter was the avenging the death
of his son, murdered by the Indians at the sup-
posed instigation of the English. As I hold the
commission of a civil judge, it was of course to
be my duty to protect him against the pretended
murderer, whom I caused to be arrested and held
in custody. I availed myself of this circum-
stance to communicate to Connelly my fear of
not being able to answer for the security of his
person, and I expressed my doubts Avhether he
could escape with his life. It alarmed him so
much that he begged me to give him an escort
to conduct him out of the territory, which I
readily assented to, and on the 20th of Novem-
ber he recrossed the Ohio on his way back to
Detroit."
Such was the influence of Wilkinson with the
people of the districts of Kentucky and Cumber-
land, that between the years 1786 and 1792 he
thwarted them four times in their designs to
invade Louisiana, after preparations had been
24 Spanish Intrigues.
made for that purpose. His object was to unite
the Western settlements Avith Spain, — not to
maintain the integrity of the Federal Union.
Circumstances which had occurred several years
before this time gave birth to another intrigue of
remarkable character, which developed itself in
the fall of 1788. The Western portion of
North Carolina, know^n as the Washingrton Dis-
trict, in 1786 declared itself independent, and
organized a government under the name of the
State of Frankland. Congress interfered, put
an end to the new State, and restored the country
to North Carolina. Indignant at the interposi-
tion, the secessionists 23ersisted in their designs,
and through their displaced governor, on the 12th
of September, informed the Spanish minister,
Gardoquoi, that they " were unanimous in their
vehement desire to form an alliance and treaty
of commerce with Spain, and put themselves
under her protection." The settlers of Cumber-
land river, who were also under the jurisdiction
of North Carolina, gave the name of Miro to a
district they had formed, as evidence of their
partiality for the Spanish Government. The
promise of protection which the inhabitants of
the two districts received from Gardoquoi was so
modified by Miro that the scheme, though prose-
Spanish Intrigues. 25
cuted for a time with great vigor, finally failed
from inability on the part of the secessionists to
comply with the conditions of recognition.
A company composed of Alexander Moultrie,
Isaac Huger, Major William Snipes, Colonel
Washino-ton, and other distinguished South Caro-
linans w^as formed at Charleston in 1789, which
purchased from the State of Georgia 52,900
square miles of territory, extending from the
Yazoo to the banks of the Mississippi near Natchez.
The Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Spain claimed a
portion of this territory. The ulterior designs of
the company in the purchase and settlement of the
country were carefully concealed for some time.
Wilkinson, who was still engaged in the effort to
dismember the Union, having heard of this pur-
chase, lost no time in communicating his views
to the company and expressing a desire to co-
operate with them as their agent. At the same
time he addressed a letter to Miro, in which, after
telling him that he had applied to the company
for an agency, he says : —
"If I succeed, I am persuaded that I shall
experience no difficulty in adding their establish-
ment to the domains of His Majesty, and this they
will soon discover to be to their interest. . . .
You wdll have the opportunity to modify the plan
26 Spanish Intrigues.
of the company as your judgment and prudence
will suggest, and the interest of the King may re-
quire. I will keep you informed of every move-
ment which I shall observe, and it will be com-
pletely in your power to break up the projected
settlement, by inciting the Choctaws to incom-
mode the colonists, who will thus be forced to
move off and to establish themselves under your
government."
Wilkinson's application for an agency was de-
clined, because of the appointment of Dr. 0' Fallon
before it was received. He wrote to Miro on the
subject of the company's purposes. After speak-
ing of the dissatisfaction of the members of the
company with the Federal Government, he states
that he has induced them to become subjects of
Spain, " under the appearance of a free and inde-
pendent state, forming a rampart for the adjoining
Spanish territories, and establishing with them an
eternal reciprocal alliance offensive and defensive.
This," he continues, " for a beginning, when once
secured with the greatest secrecy, will serve, I am
fully persuaded, as an example to be followed by
the settlements on the western side of the moun-
tains, which will separate from the Atlantic por-
tion of the Confederacy, because, on account of
the advantages which they will expect from the
Spanish Intrigues. 27
privilege of trading with our colony under the
protecSon of Spain, they will unite with it in the
same manner, and as closely as are the Atlantic
States with France, receiving from it every assis-
tance in war, and relying on its power in the
moment of danger."
In a letter written to Miro on the 20th of
June, Wilkinson fully endorses the plans of the
company. Miro submits to the Court at Madrid
the documents unfolding these plans, accom-
panied by a despatch in which he sums up the
advantages and disadvantages of "taking a
foreign state to board with us." When near
the conclusion, he explains how he has excited
the hostility and secured the opposition of all the
Indian tribes to the Americans. " I have recom-
mended them," says he, " to remain quiet, and
told them if these people presented themselves
with a view to settle on their lands, then to make
no concessions, and to warn them off; but to
attack them in case they refused to withdraw;
and I have promised that I would supply them
with powder and ball to defend their legitimate
rights."
Both Louisiana and the United States became
at this time apprehensive that an invasion of the
former would be attempted by the British from
28 Spanish Intrigues.
Canada. Such an event would impose upon
our Government the necessity of determining a
course proper to be pursued, should a passage be
asked by Great Britain for his troops through
our territory or should that passage be made
without permission. The opportunity was
deemed favorable to' the prosecution of our claim
to the navigation of the Mississippi, and negotia-
tions were opened with Spain for the purchase of
the Island of New Orleans and the Floridas, —
but Spain declined our offer of friendship, the
only consideration we were then able to give, and
the project failed. Miro's administration termin-
ated in 1791. He was succeeded by the Baron
de Carondelet.
Such was the confidence inspired in the Gov-
ernment by the adoption of the Constitution,
and the firm and watchful administration of
Washington, that, not only in the Eastern States,
but in the Western districts also, all intrigues,
cabals, and schemes of dismemberment, during
the first three years of Carondelet's administra-
tion, had seemingly expired. A brighter era had
dawned upon the country ; hope had taken the
place of doubt in the minds of the people, and
the old patriotism, which had borne us through
tho Ke volution, reinstated loyalty in the bosoms
Spanish Intrigues. 29
of thousands, whose thoughts had been for years
ripeniug for revolt. But the danger was not all
over. Some discontented and some ambitious
spirits yet remained in the West. Great Britain
cast a greedy eye occasionally at the mouth of
the Mississippi, and poor torn, bleeding France,
which had just murdered her King, sent a suffi-
cient number of her maniac population to our
shores to keep the spirit of misrule in action.
Early in the year 1794 a society of French
Jacobins, established in Philadelphia, sent a cir-
cular to Louisiana which was widely distributed
among the French population of the province,
appealing to them to take up arms and cast off
the Spanish yoke. The alarm which this gave
the Baron de Carondelet was increased by a
knowledge of the efforts put forth by Genet, the
French minister to the United States, to organize
and lead an expedition of French and Americans
against Louisiana. Armed bands had assembled
upon the Georgia frontier to join it, and French
emissaries were everywhere stirring up the West-
ern people to aid in the invasion. New Orleans
was strongly fortified, and the grim visage of war
was again wrinkled for the conflict.
Fear of invasion over, Carondelet addressed
himself with oreat vi<ror to the unfinished schemes
30 Spanish Intrigues.
of Miro for dismembering- the Union and winning
over the Western settlements to Spain. Meantime,
the negotiations so long pending between our Gov-
ernment and Spain, on the 20th of October, 1795,
culminated in the Treaty of Madrid. By this
treaty a boundary line was established between
the United States and the Floridas. Spain also
conceded to our people the free navigation of the
Mississippi from its source to the sea, and agreed
to permit them, " for the term of three years, to
use the port of New Orleans as a place of deposit
for their produce and merchandise, and export the
same free from duty or charge, except a reason-
able consideration to be paid for storage and other
incidental expenses ; that the term of three years
may, by subsequent negotiation be extended ; or,
instead of that town, some other point in the
island of New Orleans shall be designated as
a place of deposit for the American trade."
It was believed by the provincial authorities
that this treaty was formed for the purpose of
propitiating the neutrality of our Government in
the event of a war, at that time imminent be-
tween Great Britain and Spain. They had no
faith in its permanency, or that its provisions
would be observed by Spain after her European
embarrassments had been settled. Instead of ar-
Spanish Intrigues. 31
resting, it had the effect to stimulate the efforts of
Carondelet in his favorite plan for the acquisition
of the Western settlements. He made proposals
to Sebastian, Innis, and other early associates of
Wilkinson, and through his emissaries approached
Wilkinson himself with promises, but it was too
late. The Union had become consolidated. The
wise counsels of Washington allayed discontent,
and the successful campaign of Wayne had given
assurance of protection. Wilkinson and his as-
sociates, foiled in the designs formed and con-
ducted under more favorable auspices, whatever
their aspirations might have been, were too
sagacious to revive an enterprise which neither
policy nor necessity could excuse, and which a
vigilant government was sure to punish. After
a few more struggles the Spanish authorities, on
the 26th of May, 1798, surrendered to Wilkinson,
who, by the deatli of AVayne, had been promoted,
the territory claimed by tlie Treaty of Madrid,
and the Spanish power in America from that
moment began to decline.
Morales, the Spanish intendant, construing the
letter of the treaty strictly, on the 17th of July,
1799, chose to consider that three years had
elapsed since its ratification, and, for the pur-
pose of crippling the commerce of the Western
32 Spanish Intrigues.
people, issued an order prohibiting- the use of
New Orleans as a place of deposit by them, with-
out designating in accordance with the treaty any
other suitable jDoint. This measure aroused the
indignation of the West. An expedition against
New Orleans was openly contemplated. President
Adams ordered three regiments of regulars to the
Ohio, with instructions to have in readiness a suf-
ficient number of boats to convey the troops to
New Orleans. Twelve new regiments were added
to the army, and an invasion seemed inevitable,
and would most certainly have been attempted,
had not indications of a popular determination to
elect Mr. Jefferson to the Presidency caused the
postponement of a project which could not be
completed before the close of Mr. Adams' ad-
ministration.
No public documents of the period, accessible to
me, speak of the suspension by the Spaniards of
this prohibitory order, but from the fact that it
was renewed afterwards, as we shall have occasion
to notice, there can be no doubt that terms of
accommodation satisfactory to the Western people
were for the time agreed upon.
Napoleon, at this time First Consul, cast a long-
ing eye at the mouth of the Mississippi. His min-
isters had been instructed to obtain all possible
Spanish Intrigues. 33
information concerning Louisiana. M. de Pont-
alba, who had passed an official residence of many
years in Louisiana, prepared at tli^ir request a
very remarkable memoir on the history and re-
sources of that province, which was presented to
the French Directory on the loth of September,
1800. On the 1st of October following, a treaty
between France and Spain was concluded at St.
Ildephonso, of which the third article is in the
following- words : —
" His Catholic Majesty promises and engages to
retrocede to the French Republic, six months after
the full and entire execution of the above condi-
tions and stipulations, relative to His Royal High-
ness the Duke of Parma, the colony or province
of Louisiana, with the same extent that it now has
in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France
possessed it, and such as it ought to be after the
treaties subsequently entered into between Spain
and the other States,"
France being- at war with England when this
treaty was concluded, it was carefully concealed,
lest England, then mistress of the seas, should
take the country from her.
34 Louisiana Purchase.
CHAPTER II.
L O UISIAXA P UB CHA SE.
Alarm of our Government at the Cession to Fraxck
— Mr. Livingston appointed Minister to France
— Talleyrand — His Eeticence — Tedious Delay
— Right of Deposit prohibited — Effect upon
Western People — Mr. Jefferson appoints Mr.
Monroe Extraordinary Minister — Congress —
Debate — Federal Opposition — War between
France and England again imminent — Bona-
parte's Proposition — Treaty agreed upon and
signed — Action of Congress — Extent of Terri-
tory purchased.
The retrocession of Louisiana to France was
not suspected bj our Government until March,
1801, six months after the treaty of St. lldephonso
was concluded. It was then brought to the
notice of Mr. Madison, the secretary of State, by
Mr. Rufus King, our minister at the Court of
St. James. Mr. Madison seems to have shared
the incredulity of England and other powers
regarding the event, for he took no notice of
Louisimia Purchase. 35
the intimation conveyed by Mr. King's despatch
until it was partially confirmed by another from
the same source on the 1st of June thereafter.
In the first letter on the subject, Mr. King had
deemed it of sufficient importance to recommend
the appointment of a minister to represent the
interests of our Government near the Court of
France. In the last he depicted as a possible
effect of the acquisition that "it might enable
France to extend her influence and perhaps her
dominion up the Mississippi and through the
lakes, even to Canada."
Our Government took the alarm instantly.
The negotiations it had effected with Spain,
thougfh still embarrassed with some offensive
conditions, had produced a state of comparative
quiescence in the West ; all dangerous intrigues
were at an end, and a further settlement had
been projected which would harmonize all oppos-
ing: interests and forever secure to our Western
possessions the uninterrupted enjoyment of free
navigation of the Mississippi to the ocean. Such
an arrangement with France was deemed impos-
sible. In the hands of Napoleon, Louisiana would
be at once transformed into a powerful empire,
and the Mississippi would be used as a highway
to transport troops on errands of meditated inva-
36 Louisiana Purchase.
sion all over the continent of North America.
In her eager desire to regain the Canadian pos-
sessions taken from her by Great Britain, she
would march her armies through our territories
and inevitably embroil us in a war which would
prove in the end fatal to the liberties we had
just established. Heavy duties would necessarily
be imposed upon our Western population, and all
the prejudices now so fortunately allayed would
be revived against the Government because of
its powerlessness to relieve them.
Mr. Madison addressed a despatch to Mr.
Pinckney, our minister at Madrid, requesting
him to ascertain whether a treaty had been made,
and if so, the extent of the cession made by it.
The Government appointed Mr. Robert R. Liv-
ingston minister to France.
In October, 1801, Mr. King succeeded in pro-
curing a copy of the sscret treaty and forwarded
it to Mr. Madison. In the midst of the alarm
occasioned by this intelligence the war between
France and England was terminated and articles
of peace signed on the 1st of October, 1801.
France commenced secret preparations to avail
herself of the treaty and take early possession
of Louisiana. In the meantime Mr. Livingston
had arrived in Paris. On the 12th of December,
Louisiana Purchase. 37
in a despatch to Mr. Madison, he informed him
that he had hinted to one of the ministers that
a cession of Louisiana would afford them the
means of paying their debts, — to which the
minister replied : " None but spendthrifts satisfy
their debts by selling their lands," adding, how-
ever, after a short pause, " but it is not ours to
give."
Talleyrand was the Minister of Exterior Rela-
tions. In all his interviews with Mr. Livingston
relative to the purchase of Louisiana he fully
exemplified one of the maxims of his life, that
" language was made to enable people to conceal
their ideas." All of Mr. Livingston's inquiries
respecting the treaty were met Avith studied
reserve, duplicity, and positive denial. Often
when he sought an interview the minister was pre-
occupied or absent. He not only failed to obtain
information of the extent of the cession^ whether
it included the Floridas, but so undemonstrative
were the communications of the minister upon
the subject, that often he left him doubtful of
the intention of France to comply with the terms
of the treaty at all. His despatches to Mr. Mad-
ison, while they show no lack of exertion or
expedient on his part to obtain the desired infor-
mation, bear evidence of the subtlety, cunning,
38 Louisiana Pui-chaae
and artifice of one of the greatest masters of state-
craft the world has yet produced. At one time
he express?s his concern at the reserve of the
French Govcrament, and importunes Talleyrand
to inform him " whether East and West Florida
or either of them are included in the treaty, and
afford him such assurances, with respect to the
limits of their territory, and the navigation of the
Mississippi, heretofore agreed upon between Spain
and the United States, as may prove satisfactory
to the latter."
" If," he continues in the same note, " the
territories of East and West Florida be included
within the limits of the cession obtained by
France, the undersigned desires to be informed
how far it would be practicable to make such
arrangements between their respective govern-
ments, as would at the same time aid the finan-
cial operations of France and remove by a strong
natural boundary all future causes of discontent
between her and the United States."
Six days afterwards he writes to Mr. Madison
that he has received no reply to the above note.
A month later in a despatch he says : " They have
as yet not thought it proper to give me any
explanations." One month afterwards he writes :
" The business most interesting to us, that of
Louisiana Purchase. 39
Louisiana, still remains in the state it was. The
minister will give no answer to any inquiries I
make on the subject. He will not say what their
boundaries are, what are their intentions, and
when they are to take possession."
Meantime the treaty of Amiens opened the
ocean to Bonaparte's contemplated expedition to
Louisiana. The anxiety of our Government was
greatly increased. Mr. Madison, in a despatch
full of complaint at the ominous silence of the
French minister, among other intimations, con-
veys the following : —
" Since the receipt of your last communication,
no hope remains but from the accumulating diffi-
culties of going through with the undertaking,
and from the conviction you may be able to
impress that it must have an instant and power-
ful effect in changing the relations between
France and the United States."
Fears were entertained that the British Gov-
ernment might have acquiesced in the treaty, so
as to impair the stipulations concerning the free
navigation of the Mississippi, but these were dis-
sipated by the assurance of Lord Hawkesbury, in
reply to a letter addressed to him on the subject
by Mr. King, that " His Majesty had not in any
manner directly or indirectly acquiesced in or
sanctioned the cession."
40 Louisiana Purchase.
Nearly one month after this last despatch to
Mr. Madison, Mr. Livingston again informs him
that " the French Government still continues to
hold the same conduct with respect to his inquir-
ies in relation to the designs on Louisiana," but
assures him that nothing shall be done to impair
the friendly relations between America and
France. Eight days after this despatch was
written, he writes again that he has acquired
information on which he can depend, in relation
to the intention of the French Government.
" Bernadotte," says he, " is to command, CoUot
second in command ; Adet is to be prefect ; " but
the expedition is delayed until about September,
on account of some difficulty, which Mr. Living-
ston conceives to have " arisen from the different
apprehensions of France and Spain relative to
the meaning of the term Louisiana, which has
been understood by France to include the Flor-
idas, but probably by Spain to have been con-
fined to the strict meaning of the term."
On the 30th of July, 1802, Mr. Livingston
informs Mr. Madison that he is preparing a
lengthy memorial on the subject of the mutual
interest of France and the United States relative
to Louisiana; and that he has received the
explicit assurance of the Spanish ambassador
Louisiana Purchase. 41
that the Floridas are not inchided in the ces-
sion.
On the 10th of Auofust followino; he ao^ain
writes the secretary that he has put his essay in
such hands as he thinks will best serve our pur-
poses. " Talleyrand," he says, " has promised to
give it an attentive perusal ; after which, when I
find how it works, I will come forward with some
proposition. I am very much at a loss, however,
as to what terms you would consider it allowable
to offer, if they can be brought to sale of the
Floridas, either with or without Ncav Orlears,
which last place will be of little consequence if
we possess the Floridas, because a much better
passage may be found on the east side of the
river."
Mr. Livingston now followed up his inter-
rupted negotiation with activity. He made sev-
eral propositions for the purchase of Louisiana,
but was informed by the minister that all offers
were premature. " There never," says Mr. Liv-
ingston in a despatch to the secretary of state,
" was a Government in which less could be done
by negotiation than here. There is no people,
no legislature, no counsellors. One man is
everything. He seldom asks advice, and never
hears it unasked. His ministers are mere clerks ;
42 Louisiana Purchase.
and liis le<^islature and counsellors parade officers.
Though the sense of every reflecting man about
him is against this wild expedition, no one dares
to tell him so. Were it not for the uneasiness it
excites at home, it would give me none ; for I
am persuaded that the whole will end in a relin-
quishment of the country and transfer of the
capital to the United States."
Soon after this, Mr. Livingston had an inter-
view with Joseph Bonaparte, who promised to
receive any communication he could make to
Napoleon. " You must not, however," he said,
"suppose my power to serve you greater than it
actually is. My brother is his own counsellor,
but we are good brothers. He hears me with
pleasure, and as I have access to him at all times
I have an opportunity of turning his attention
to a particular subject that might otherwise be
passed over." He informed Mr. Livingston that
he had read his notes and conversed upon the
subject with Napoleon, who told him that he had
nothing more at heart than to be upon the best
terms with the United States.
On the 11th of November Mr. Livinsfston wrote
a hurried letter to Mr, Madison, informing him
that orders had been given for the immediate em-
barkation of two demi-brigades for Louisiana, and
Louisiana Purchase. ' 43
that they would sail from Holland in about twenty
days. The sum voted for this service was two
and one-half millions of francs. " No prudence,",
he concludes, " will, I fear, prevent hostilities ere
long ; and perhaps the sooner their plans develop
themselves the better."
This was the condition of affairs when the
Western people, beginning to feel the effect of
a proclamation suspending their right of deposit
in New Orleans, were importuning our Govern-
ment for relief. Some idea may be formed of
the excitement which this act had produced, on
reading the following, of many similar appeals
addressed to Congress by them : —
" The Mississippi is ours by the law of nature ;
it belontrs to us by our numbers, and by the labor
which we have bestowed on those spots which,
before our arrival, were desert and barren. Our
innumerable rivers swell it, and flow with it into
the Gulf of Mexico. Its mouth is the only issue
which nature has given to our waters, and we wish
to use it for our vessels. No power in the world
shall deprive us of this right. We do not prevent
the Spaniards and the French from ascending the
river to our towns and villages. We wish in our
turn to descend it without any interruption to its
mouth, to ascend it again, and exercise our privi-
44 • Lovisiana Purchase.
lege of trading on it, and navigating it at our
pleasure. If our most entire liberty in this matter
is disputed, nothing shall prevent our taking pos-
session of the capital, and when we are once masters
of it we shall know how to maintain ourselves there.
If Congress refuses us effectual protection, if it
forsakes us, we will adopt the measures which our
safety requires, even if they endanger the peace
of the Union and our connection with the other
States. No protection, no allegiance."
Perhaps at no period in the history of our
Government was the Union in more immediate
danger of dissolution. Had our citizens been fully
apprised of our relations with France, and the
neglect with which our ambassador was treated,
nothing could have prevented an immediate seces-
sion of the people west of the Alleghanies. Mr.
Madison saw the gathering of the storm, and on
the 27th of November, a few days before Con-
gress assembled, addressed an earnest despatch
to the American minister at Madrid. " You are
aware," said he, " of the sensibility of our west-
ern citizens to such an occurrence. This sensi-
bility is justified by the interest they have at
stake. The Mississippi to them is everything.
It is the Hudson, the Delaware, the Potomac, and
all the navigable rivers of the Atlantic States,
Louisimia Purchase. 46
formed into one stream. . . . Whilst you
presume therefore, in your representations to
the Spanish Government, that the conduct of its
officer is no less contrary to its intentions than
it is to its good faith, you will take care to ex-
press the strongest confidence that the breach of
the treaty will be repaired in every way which jus-
tice and regard for a friendly neighborhood may
require."
Congress met, and President Jefferson, in a
message on Louisiana, said : " The cession of
the Spanish province of Louisiana to France,
which took place in the course of the late war,
will, if carried into effect, make a change in the
aspect of our foreign relations which will doubt-
less have just weight in any deliberations of the
legislature connected with that subject."
That body replied : " That, relying with perfect
confidence on the wisdom and viofilance of the Ex-
ecutive, they would wait the issue of such measures
as that department of the Government sliould have
pursued for asserting the rights of the United
States, — holding it to be their duty at the same
time to express their unalterable determination to
maintain tlu boundaries and the rights of navi-
gation and commerce through the river Missis-
sipjji, as established by existing treaties."
46 Louisiana Purchase.
Party spirit at this time was but another name
for party animosity. The Federalists, anxious to
regain the power that they had lost by the elec-
tion of Jefferson, seized upon the subject of Mr.
Livingston's mission and the proclamation of pro-
hibition by the Spanish intendant, and held them
up before the people as the necessary and inevi-
table product of Democratic principles. They
were determined if possible to force the country
into a war of invasion against New Orleans and
the country including the mouth of the Missis-
sippi, — a measure in which the Western people
would generally co-operate. The administration,
on the other hand, still adhered to the policy of
negotiation, — and foreseeing that it must be
expeditious to avoid the inevitable destruction of
the party, and deprive the Federals of the prestige
which their vigorous measures were acquiring for
them, President Jefferson, on the 10th of January,
1803, wrote to Mr. Monroe : —
" I have but a moment to inform you that the
fever into which the Western world is thrown by
the affair of New Orleans, stimulated by the mer-
cantile and generally the Federal interest, threat-
ens to overbear our peace. In this situation we
are obliged to call on you for a temporary sacrifice
of yourself, to prevent this greatest of evils in the
Louisiana Purchase. 47
present prosperous tide of affairs. I shall to-
morrow nominate you to the Senate for an extra-
ordinary mission to France, and the circumstances
are such as to render it impossible to decline ;
because the whole public hope will be rested on
you."
The Senate confirmed the nomination. Mr.
Jefferson again wrote to Mr. Monroe, urging him
not to decline. " I know nothing," he says,
" which would produce such a shock, for on the
event of this mission depend the future destinies
of this republic. If we cannot by a purchase
of the country insure to ourselves a course of
perpetual peace and friendship with all nations,
then, as war cannot be far distant, it behooves
us immediately to be preparing for that course,
without, however, hastening it ; and it may be
necessary (on your failure on the Continent) to
cross the Channel."
The session of Congress had advanced to the
middle of February before any remedial meas-
ures were proposed for the action of the Spanish
intendant at New Orleans. Every fresh despatch
from Mr. Livingston was a repetition of the old
story of neglect and silence. Meantime the Fed-
eral leaders, incited by the continued and grow-
ing disaffection of the Western people, as mani-
48 Louisiana Pureliase.
fested by their inflammable appeals to Congress,
had resolved upon recommending immediate hos-
tilities as the dernier ressort o£ the Government.
The memorable debate which involved a consid-
eration of this question was opened by Mr.
Ross, of Pennsylvania, on the lith of February,
in a speech of remarkable force. The infraction
of the treaty of Madrid of 1795, by which the
right of deposit had been solemnly acknowledged,
was claimed to be a sufficient justification for a
resort to arms. In the further progress of this
argument the speaker considered the opportunity
as too favorable to be lost, because success would
be more assured if a war were prosecuted while
the Spaniards held possession of the country than
it would be after it had passed under the domin-
ion of France. With New Orleans in our pos-
session we could dictate the terms of a treaty
that would forever secure our citizens from fur-
ther molestation. These views were enforced by
urgent appeals to the patriotism of the people
and the sternest denunciation of the tardy
policy of the administration. At the close of
his speech Mr. Ross presented a series of resolu-
tions declaring the right of the people to the free
navigation of the Mississippi and a convenient
place of deposit for their produce and merchan-
Louimma Purchase. 49
dise in the island of New Orleans. The Presi-
dent would have been authorized by their pas-
sage to take possession of such place or places
in the island or adjacent territories as he "might
deem fit, and to call into actual service fifty
thousand militia to co-operate with the regular
military and naval forces in the work of inva-
sion. They also provided for an appropriation
of five millions of dollars to defray the expenses
of the war.
A long and exhaustive debate followed, in
which the speeches on both sides were marked
by distinguished ability and eloquence, — those
of Mr. Clinton against and Mr. Morris in favor
of the resolutions being among the ablest ever
before or since delivered on the floor of Con-
gress. Milder measures were finally substituted,
authorizing the enrolment of an army of eighty
thousand at the pleasure of the President, and
Congress adjourned.
Meantime Mr. Livingston reported some little
progress in the work of negotiation, and had
addressed a memorial to Bonaparte complaining
of the conduct of the Spanish intendant. Just
at this time hostilities were ao-ain about to be
renewed between England and France. Mr.
Addington, the British minister, in a conversation
50 Louisiana Purchase.
with Mr. King upon the subject, observed that
in ease of war it would be one of the first steps
of Great Britain to occupy New Orleans. On
the 11th of April, in an interview with Talley-
rand, that minister desired to know of Mr. Liv-
ingston if our Government wished to purchase
the whole of Louisiana. On receiving a negative
reply, he remarked that if they " gave New
Orleans, the rest would be of little value."
" Tell me," he continued, '' wdiat you will give
for the whole ? " At the close of the despatch
conveying this information to Mr. Madison, Mr.
Livingston appends a postscript saying : " Orders
are given this day to stop the sailing of vessels
from the French ports ; war is inevitable ; my
conjectures as to their determination to sell is well
founded. Mr. Monroe has just arrived."
Fear that Great Britain would make an early
attack upon New Orleans, now that war was cer-
tain, favored the efforts of Mr. Livingston for
an early purchase, and increased the anxiety of
France to dispose of the entire province. Indeed,
in a consultation with two of his counsellors on
the 10th of April, Napoleon fully resolved to sell
the whole of Louisiana. The little coquetry that
followed between Talleyrand, Marbois, and Liv-
ingston was simply to obtain as large a price as
Louisiana Purehase. 51
possible. Napoleon then said, " I know the full
value of Louisiana, and I have been desirous of
repairing the fault of the French negotiator, who
abandoned it in 1763. A few lines of treaty
have restored it to me, and I have scarcely
recovered it when I must expect to lose it. But
if it escapes from me, it shall one day cost
dearer to those who oblige me to strip myself of
it, than to those to whom I wish to deliver it.
The English have successively taken from France,
Canada, Cape Breton, New Foundland, Nova
Scotia, and the richest portions of Asia. They
are engaged in exciting trouble in St. Domingo.
They shall not have the Mississippi, which they
covet. Louisiana is nothing in comparison with
their conquests in all parts of the globe, and yet
the jealousy they feel at the restoration of this
colony to the sovereignty of France acquaints me
with their wish to take possession of it, and it is
thus they will begin the war."
The morning after this conference he sum-
moned his ministers, and terminated a long in-
terview in the following; words : — " Irresolution
and deliberation are no longer in season. I
renounce Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans
I will cede, — it is the whole colony without any
reservation. I know the price of what I abandon.
52 Louisiana Purchase.
and have sufficiently proved the importance that
I attach to this province, — since my first diplo-
matic act ^vith Spain had for its object its recov-
ery. I renounce it with the greatest regret. To
attempt obstinately to retain it would be folly.
I direct you to negotiate this affair with the
envoys of the United States. Do not even await
the arrival of Mr. Monroe: — have an interview
this very day with Mr. Livingston. But I require
a great deal of money for this war, and I would
not like to commence it with new contributions.
I will be moderate in consideration of
the necessity in which I am of making a sale.
But keep this to yourself. I want fifty millions,
and for less than that sum I will not treat ; I
would rather make a desperate attempt to keep
these fine countries. To-morrow you shall have
full powers."
On the 30th of April the treaty of cession
was signed. Louisiana was transferred to the
United States, on condition that our Government
should consent to pay to France eighty millions of
francs. Of this amount, twenty millions should
be assigned to the payment of what was due by
France to the citizens of the United States.
Article 3rd of the treaty was prepared by
Napoleon himself. It reads : —
Louisiana Purchase. 53
•' The inhabitants of the ceded territory shall
be incorporated in the Union of the United
States, and admitted as soon as possible, accord-
ing to the principles of the Federdl Constitution,
to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages,
and immunities of citizens of the United States,
and in the meantime they shall be maintained
and protected in the free enjoyment of their lib-
erty, property, and the religion which they pro-
fess."
After the treaty was signed, the ministers rose,
shook hands, and Mr. Livingston, expressing the
satisfaction which they felt, said : " We have lived
long, but this is the noblest work of our whole
lives. The treaty which we have just signed has
not been obtained by art or dictated by force : —
equally advantageous to the two contracting parties
it will change vast solitudes into flourishing dis-
tricts. From this day the United States take their
place among the powers of the first rank ; — the
English lose all exclusive influence in the affairs
of America. Thus one of the principal causes of
European rivalries and animosities is about to
cease. However, if wars are inevitable, France
will hereafter have in the New World a natural
friend, that must increase in strength from year
to year, and one which cannot fail to become
54 Louisiana Purchase.
powerful and respected in every sea. The United
States will re-establish the maritime rights of all
the world, which are now usurped by a single
nation. These treaties will thus be a or-uarantee
of peace and concord among commercial states.
The instruments which we have just signed will
cause no tears to be shed ; they prepare ages of
happiness for innumerable generations of human
creatures. The Mississippi and Missouri will see
them succeed one another and multiply, truly
worthy of the regard and care of Providence, in
the bosom of equality, under just laws, freed
from the errors of superstition and the scourge
of bad government."
When Napoleon was informed of the conclusion
of the treaty, he uttered the following sententious
prophecy : " This accession of territory strength-
ens forever the power of the United States ; and I
have just given to England a maritime rival that
will sooner or later humble her pride."
Neither of the contracting parties to this treaty
was able to define the boundaries of the vast ter-
ritory of which it was the subject. They were
known to be immense, and in his message to
Congress announcing the purchase, Mr. Jefferson
says : —
" Whilst the property and sovereignty of the
Louisiana Purchase. 55
Mississippi and its waters secure an independent
outlet for the jjroduce of the Western States and
an uncontrolled navigation through their whole
course, free from collision with other powers and
the dangers to our peace from that sourc-e, the
fertility of the country, its climate and extent,
promise in due season important aids to our
treasury, an ample provision for our posterity,
and a wider spread for the blessings of freedom
and equal laws."
It is not surprising that the public men of that
day should have feared the consequences of en-
larging our republican domain. It looked to them
like the renewal of the troubles which they had
just escaped by the purchase of New Orleans and
the mouth of the Mississippi. It unsettled the
ideas they had formed of a Constitutional Gov-
ernment. They could not see, as we can in this
day of railroads and telegraphs, how such an
immense territory was to be subordinated to the
control of a single general government. Hence
we find such men as John Quincy Adams, Timothy
Pickering, Rufus Griswold, James White, and
Uriah Tracy, all men of enlarged, statesmanlike
views, opposing the bill entitled " An Act author-
izing the erection of a stock to the amount of
eleven millions two hundred and fifty thousand
56 Louisiayia Purchase.
dollars, for the purpose of carrying into effect
the convention of the 30th of April, 1803,
between the United States and the French
Republic."
The speech of Mr. White against the passage
of the bill is a fair reflex of the views entertained
. by the leading public men of that day. Speaking
of the treaty he says : —
" I wish not, to be understood as predicting that
the French will not cede to us the actual and
quiet possession of the territory. I hope to God
they may, for possession of it we must have : —
I mean of New Orleans and of such other portions
on the Mississippi as may be necessary to secure to
us forever the complete and uninterrupted naviga-
tion of that river. This I have ever been in favor
of. I think it essential to the peace of the United
States and the prosperity of our Western country.
But as to Louisiana, this new, immense, unbounded
world, if it should be ever incorporated into this
Union, which I have no idea can be done but by
altering the Constitution, I believe it will be the
greatest curse that could at present befall us ; it
may be productive of innumerable evils, and
especially of one that I fear even to look upon.
Gentlemen on all sides, with very few exceptions,
ao-ree that the settlement of the country will be
Louisiana Purchase. 67
highly injurious and dangerous to the United
States ; but as to what has been suggested of
removing the Creeks and other nations of In-
dians from the eastern to the western banks
of the Mississipjji, and making the fertile regions
of Louisiana a howling wilderness, never to be
trodden by the foot of civilized man, it is im-
practicable. . . . To every man acquainted
with the adventurous, roving, and enterprising
temper of our people, and with the manner in
which our Western country has been settled,
such an idea must be chimerical. The induce-
ments will be so strong, that it will be impossible
to restrain our citizens from crossing; the river.
Louisiana must and will be settled, if we hold
it, and with the very population that would
otherwise occupy part of our present territory.
Thus our citizens will be removed to the immenso
distance of two or three thousand miles from the
capital of the Union, where they will scarcely ever
feel the rays of the General Government : their
affections will become alienated ; they will gradu-
ally begin to view us as strangers ; they will form
other commercial connections ; and our interests
will become distinct.
" These, with other causes that human wisdom
may not now foresee, will in time effect a separa-
58 Louisiana Purchase.
tion, and I fear our bounds will be fixed nearer
to our houses than the water of the Mississippi.
We have already territory enough, and when I
contemplate the evils that may arise to these
States from this intended incorporation of Louis-
iana into the Union, I would rather see it given to
France, to Spain, or to any other nation of the
earth, upon the mere condition that no citizen of
the United States should ever settle within its
limits, than to see the territory sold for a hun-
dred millions of dollars, and we retain the sov-
ereignty. . . . And I do say that, under
existing circumstances, even supposing that this
extent of territory was a desirable acquisition,
fifteen millions of dollars was a most enormous
sum to give."
Mr. Tracy, after delivering an elaborate argu-
ment on the subject, in which he arrives at the
conclusion that the purchase itself is constitu-
tional, says : —
" We can hold the territory ; but to admit the
inhabitants into the Union, to make citizens of
them and States by treaty, we cannot consti-
tutionally do ; and no subsequent act of legis-
lation, or even ordinary amendment to our
Constitution, can legalize such a measure. If
done at all they must be done by universal con-
J
I
Louisiana Purchase. 59
sent of all the States or partners of our political
association : and this universal consent I am posi-
tive can never be obtained to such a pernicious
measure as the admission of Louisiana, — of a
world, — and such a world, — into our Union.
This would be absorbino- the Northern States and
rendering them as insignificant in the Union as
they ought to be, if by their own consent, the
new measure should be adopted."
Mr. Breckinridofe did not share in these fears.
In the stirring reply which he made to them, he
asks : —
" Is the Goddess of Liberty restrained by water-
courses ? Is she governed by geographical limits?
Is her dominion on this continent confined to the
east side of the Mississippi ? So far from believing
in the doctrine that a republic ought to be con-
fined within narrow limits, I believe on the con-
trary that the more extensive its dominion, the
more safe and durable it will be. In proportion
to the number of hands you intrust the precious
blessings of a free government to, in the same
proportion do you multiply the chances for
their prLservation."
The measure finally became a law, and the
United States thereby added to their original
domain eight hundred and ninety -three thousand
60 Louisiana Purchase.
five hundred and seventy-nine square miles, being
seventy-eight thousand eight hundred and ninety-
nine square miles more than the area of the
thirteen States.
The fears entertained by our early statesmen
are all forgotten. I have recalled them, not to
illustrate any deficiency in the foresight or wis-
dom of the men of that day, but to show how re-
markable has been the progress of improvement,
discovery, and invention, by which we have been
enable:!, not only to incorporate the great Louisi-
ana purchase, but others of still greater extent
into the government of the Great Republic.
And the future, which even now is teeming with
the spirit of acquisition, justifies us in the utter-
ance of the sentiment :
" No pent-up Utica contracts your powers,
But the whole boundless continent is yours."
European Treaties. 61
CHAPTER III.
EUBOPEA^ TREATIES.
Mode of defixixg the Western Bouxdary of Louisi-
ana— Great Britain no Eight to any Portion
OF the Territory West of the Eocky Mountains
— Discovery of the Columbia by Capt. Gray —
Lewis AND Clarke's Expedition — Astor's Expe-
dition — Negotiation for the Settlement of the
Claims of Great Britain and the United States
— Florida Treaty — Eussian Treaty — Eenewal
of the Treaty for Joint Occupation — Action of
Congress — Debate, and Final Settlement of the
Boundary.
The western boundary of the vast territory
ceded to the United States under the name of
Louisiana was a geographical problem, incapable
of any other than a forced solution. It was
claimed that by the treaty of Utrecht, concluded
in 1713, the 49th parallel of latitude had been
adopted and definitively settled as the dividing
line between the French possessions of Western
Canada and Louisiana on the south, and the
British territories of Hudson Bay on the north, —
62 Surojjean Treaties.
and that this boundary extended westward to the
Pacific. So unreliable was the evidence in sup-
port of this claim, that it was finally determined,
in the settlement of the western boundary of
Louisiana, to adopt such lines as Avere indicated
by nature, — namely, the crest of the mountains
separating the waters of the Mississippi from those
flowino- into the Pacific. This left in an un-
settled condition the respective claims of Spain,
Russia, Great Britain, and the United States to
the vast territory beyond the Rocky Mountains,
extending along the 42nd parallel of latitude
west to the Pacific on the south, thence north up
the coast indefinitely, thence east to the crest
of the Rocky Mountains, thence folloAving the
crest, south, to the place of beginning. Both our
country and Great Britain recognized an inde-
feasible right in Spain to some portion of this
country, but our relations with Spain were such,
at the time, that this opinion was not openly
promulgated. The territory included the mouth
of the Columbia, the entire region drained by
that river and its tributaries, and an extensive
region still further north, independent of this
great rivei-system. The most valuable portion
of it at this early period in our history was that
traversed by the Columbia and its tributaries.
Eurojoean Treaties. 63
Great Britain bad no right, by discovery or
otherwise, to any portion of this part of the
territory. " The opening," says Greenhow,
" through which its waters are discharged into
the ocean was first seen in August, 1776, by the
Spanish navigator Heceta, and was distinguished
on Spanish charts, within the thirteen years next
following, as the mouth of the River San Roque.
It was examined in July, 1788, by Meares, who
quitted it with the conviction that no river
existed there. This opinion of Meares was
subscribed, without qualification, by Vancouver,
after he had minutely examined the coast,
* under Che most favorable conditions of wind
and weather,' and notwithstanding the assurance
of Gray to the contrary." The actual discovery
of the mouth of the Columbia was made on the
11th of May, 1792, by Captain Robert Gray, a
New England navigator, who says in his log-
book under that date : " Beheld our desired port,
bearing east-south-east, distant six leagues. At
eight A.M., being a little to the windward of the
entrance of the harbor, bore away, and ran in
east-north-east between the breakers, having
from five to seven fathoms of water. When we
were over the bar, we found this to be a large
river of fresh water, up which we steered."
64 European Treaties.
Captain Gray remained in the Columbia from
the 11th until the 20th of August, during which
tniie he sailed up the river fifteen miles, gave to
it the name it still bears, trafficked with the
natives, and named the capes at the entrance and
other points above.
The United States had this claim by discovery
to the mouth of the river, and the interior
drained by it and its tributaries before the Louisi-
ana purchase was made. After that was agreed
upon, at the instance of Mr. Jefferson, Lewis and
Clarke were appointed to explore the country up
the Missouri to its source and to the Pacific.
From the moment of their appearance on the
Missouri, their movements were watched by the
British, and as soon as the object of their expe-
dition was discovered, the North-West Company,
in 1805, sent out their men to establish posts
and occupy territories on the Columbia. The
British Company proceeded no farther than the
Man dan villages on the Missouri. Another
party, despatched on the same errand in 1806,
crossed the Rocky Mountains near the passage
of the Peace river, and formed a small trading
establishment in the 51:th degree of latitude,—
the first British post Avest of the Rocky Moun-
tanis. Neither at this or any subsequent time
European Treaties, 65
until 1811 does it appear that any of the waters
of the Columbia were seen by persons in the ser-
vice of the North-West Company.
Lewis and Clarke arrived iit the Kooskooskee
river, a tributary of the Columbia, in latitude
46° 34', early in October, 1805, and on the 7th
of that month began their descent in five
canoes. They entered the great southern tribu-
tary, which they called Lewis, and proceeded to
its confluence, giving the name of Clarke to the
northern branch ; thence they sailed down the
Columbia to its mouth, and wintered there until
the middle of March, 1806. They then returned,
exploring the streams which emptied into the
Columbia, and furnishing an accurate geograph-
ical description of the entire country through
which they passed.
Early in 1811 the men sent to the north-west
coast in the interest of the Pacific Fur Company,
by John Jacob Astor, erected buildings and a
stockade with a view to permanent settlement,
on a point of land ten miles above the mouth of
the Columbia, which they called Astoria. With
the exception of one or two trading posts on
some of the small streams constituting the head
waters of the river, the country had not at this
time been visited by the English. Further detail
66 Exiroijean Treaties.
of the history and trials of the Pacific Fur Com-
pany is unnecessary in this place, but the reader
who desires to acquaint himself with it is
referred to Irving's " Astoria " for one of the
most thrilling narratives in American history.
In 1818, after Astoria had been sold by the
Americans to the British Fur Company, and
the stockade occupied by British troops, it was
restored to the United States under a provision
of the Treaty of Ghent, without prejudice to any
of the claims that either the United States, Great
Britain, Spain, or Russia might have to the ulti-
mate sovereignty of the territory. The claims
of the respective nations were afterwards con-
sidered by the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain
and the United States. Messrs. Rush and Galla-
tin, who represented our Government, proposed
that the dividing line between the territories
should be drawn from the north-western extrem-
ity of the Lake of the Woods north or south as
the case might require, to the 1:9th parallel of
latitude ; thence west to the Pacific. The British
commissioners, Messrs. Goldburn and Robinson,
agreed to admit the line as far west as the Rocky
Mountains. Our representatives on that occasion
supported the claim of our Government by citing
Gray's discovery, the exploration of the Colum-
European Treaties. 67
bia from source to mouth by Lewis and Clarke,
and the first settlement and occupancy of the
counti-y by the Pacific Fur Company. The
British commissioners asserted superior claims,
by virtue of former voyages, especially those of
Captain Cook, and refused to agree to any
boundary which did not give them the harbor at
the mouth of the river in common with the
United States. Finding it impossible to agree
upon a boundary, it was at length agreed that
" all territories and their waters claimed by either
power west of the Rocky Mountains should be
free and open to the vessels, citizens, and sub-
jects of both for the space of ten years; pro-
vided, however, that no claim of either or of
any other nation to any part of thosG territories
should be prejudiced by the arrangement."
On the 22nd of February, 1819, Spain ceded
Florida to the United States, and by the treaty it
was aofreed that " a line drawn on the meridian
from the source of the Arkansas northward to
the 42nd parallel of latitude, and thence along
that parallel westward to the Pacific, should form
the northern boundary of the Spanish posses-
sions and the southern boundary of those of the
United States in that quarter."
On the 5th of April, 1824, the negotiations
68 European Treaties.
between the United States and Russia were ter-
minated by a convention signed at St. Peters-
burg, by which, among other provisions, was one
to the effect that " neither the United States nor
their citizens shall, in future, form an establish-
ment on those coasts or the adjacent islands
north of the latitude of 54° 40', and the Rus-
sians shall make none south of that latitude."
These concessions on the part of Spain and
Russia left the United States and Great Britain
sole claimants for the entire territory described at
the commencement of this chapter, — the claim
of Great Britain having been fortified by a treaty
with Russia in 1825, in which the Russian
Government agreed, as they had done with our
Government the previous year, that the line of
54° 40' should be the boundary between their
respective possessions.
The period of ten years' joint occupation by
our Government and Great Britain agreed upon
in 1818 was now approaching a termination. A
new negotiation was opened, and after submit-
ting and rejecting several propositions for a set-
tlement, it was finally agreed between the two
Governments that they should continue in the
joint occupancy of the territory for an indefinite
period, either party being at liberty to demand a
European Treaties. 69
new negotiation on giving the other one year's
notice of its intention.
The relations thus established betAveen the
two Governments continued without interruption
until the attention of Congress was called to the
subject by President Tyler in his message read at
the opening of the session of 1842. The sub-
ject was referred to the committees on foreign
afPairs in both Houses of Congress, and a bill
was introduced in the Senate for the occupation
and settlement of the territory, and extending
the laws of the United States over it. A pro-
tracted debate followed, the bill passed the Sen-
ate, was sent to the House, where a report
against it was made by Mr. Adams, chairman
of the committee on foreign afPairs, and the ses-
sion expired without any debate on the subject.
When the report of the debates in Congress
reached England, it produced some excitement in
the House of Commons, and in February, 1844,
the Honorable Richard Packenham, plenipoten-
tiary from Great Britain, arrived in Washington
with full instructions to treat definitively on all
disputed points relative to the country west of
the Rocky Mountains.
In Auo-ust followino- the British minister
opened the negotiation by a proposition which
70 Eiirojjean Treaties.
would have ©"iven Great Britain two-thirds of
the entire territory of Oregon, including the free
navio-ation of the Columbia and the harbors on
the Pacific. This was promptly rejected, and no
further attempt at adjustment was made until
the following year. An oifer was then made by
President Polk, which being rejected, closed the
door to further negotiation. The President rec-
ommended to Congress that the agreement for
joint occupation be terminated.
A very animated debate, which continued until
near the close of the session, sprang up, in which
the question of boundary lost most of its national
features in the sharp party conflict to which it
was subjected. The Democrats, generally adopt-
ing the recommendations of the President, advo-
cated the extreme northern boundary of 54° 40',
and were ready, if necessary, to declare that as
the ultimatum. A few leaders among them, of
whom Colonel Benton was, perhaps, the most
prominent, united with the Whigs in opposition
to this extreme demand, and the line was finally
established by treaty on the 49th parallel.
This mode of settlement probably averted a
war between Great Britain and the United
States, but after a careful survey of all the facts,
including discoveries, explorations, and settle-
European Treaties. 71
ments, I cannot but feel that the concessions
were all made by the United States, whose title
to the whole of the territory was much more
strongly fortified than that of Great Britain to
any portion of it.
Hon. James G. Blaine, in a speech delivered at
Lewiston, Maine, on August 25, 1888, said : —
"The claim of the Democrats to the whole of
what now constitutes British Columbia, up to lati-
tude 54° 40', was a pretence put forth during the
presidential canvass of 1844 as a blind in order
to show that they were as zealous to secure North-
ern territory as they were bent on acquiring
Southern territory. President Polk made his
campaign on this claim. The next thing the
country heard was that Mr. Polk's administration
was compelled to surrender the whole territory
to Great Britain, confessing that they had made
pretences which they were unable to maintain or
defend. Had they not forced the question to a
settlement, the joint occupation which had come
down from Jefferson to that hour would have
peacefully continued, and with our acquisition of
California two years afterwards and the immedi-
ate discovery of gold, the thousands of American
citizens who swarmed to the Pacific coast would
have occupied British Columbia, and the final
72 European Treaties.
settlement would doubtless have been in favor
of those who were in actual possession, and but
for the blundering diplomacy of the Democratic
party, which prematurely and without any reason
forced the issue, we should to-day see our flag
floating over the Pacific front, from the Gulf of
California to Behring's Straits."
This chapter is the merest outline of the facts,
an extension of which will be found in Green-
how's " History of California and Oregon," to
which work I am chiefly indebted for the infor-
mation herein contained.
Henry Plummer. 73
CHAPTER IV.
HENBY PLUMMEB.
Snake River — Its Scexery — Lewiston — Its
Appearance and Society — Loyalists and Seces-
sionists — Arrival of Plummer and his Com
PANiONs — A Domestic History — Plummer Lea-
der OF THE Houghs — Jack Cleveland — Chero-
kee Bob — Bill Bunton and Others.
The Snake river or Lewis fork of the Colum-
bia takes its rise in a small lake which is sepa-
rated by the main range of the Rocky Moun-
tains from the large lake of the Yellowstone,
that being less than twenty miles distant from it.
The Yellowstone, the Madison, Jefferson, and
Gallatin, forminof the head waters of the Mis-
souri, and the Snake, the largest tributary fork
of the Columbia, all rise within or near the
limits of the territory recently dedicated by the
Government to the purpose of a National Park.
As contrasted with the large rivers of regions
other than the one it traverses, the Snake river
would be a very remarkable stream, but there.
74 Henry Plummer.
where everything in nature is wonderful, it is
simply one of the marked features in its physical
geography. From its source to its junction with
the Clarke fork of the Columbia, a distance of
nine hundred miles, it flows through a region
which, at some remote period, has been the scene
of greater volcanic action than any other por-
tion of North America. Unlike other streams,
which are formed by rivulets and springs, this
river is scarcely less formidable in its appearance
at its commencement than at its termination. Tt
leaps into rapids from the moment of its exit,
and its waters, blackened by the basaltic bed
through which it flows, roar and fret, and lash
the sides of the gloomy canon which it enters,
presenting a scene of tumult and fury, that
extends far beyond the limits of vision. This
initiatory character it maintains, alternated with
occasional reaches of quiet large expansions, and
narrow contractions, fearful and tremendous cata-
racts, to its debouchure into the Columbia. Its
channel and its course, alike sinuous, have ob-
tained for it its name. Navigation is impeded
by reason of fearful rapids, every few miles of
the first five hundred after leaving the lake.
The shores for most of the distance are barren
rock, always precipitous, often inaccessible from
Henry Plummer
75
the river, and freciuently engorged by lofty
mountains and rocky canons which shut its inky
surface fiom tlie light of day. The scenery,
though on the most tremendous scale, is savage,
unatU-active, and frightful. Its waters lash the
base of the three Tetons, so celebrated as the
great landmarks of this portion of the continent.
As they approach the Columbia they break into
frequent cataracts, the largest of which, the
great Shoshone Fall, with a perpendicular descent
of two hundred and fifty feet, presents many
points of singular interest.
On the river, twelve miles above its mouth, at
a point accessible from the Columbia by small
steamboats, stands the little village of Lewiston,
which, at the time of which I write, was the
capital of all the vast territory that had been
just organized under the euphonic name of
Idaho. This territory then included Montana,
which had not been organized. Lewiston, being
the nearest accessible point by water to the re-
cently discovered gold placers of Elk City, Oro
Fino, Florence, and Warner Creek, grew with the
rapidity known only to mining towns into an em-
porium. In less than three months from the
time the first immigrants commenced to establish
a settlement thery, several streets of more than a
'" Henry Plummer.
mile in length were laid out, thickly covered on
either side with dwellings, stores, hotels, and
saloons, chiefly constructed of common factory
cotton. A tenement of this kind could be ex-
temporized in a few hours. The frame was of
light scantling or poles, and the cloth in most
cases fastened to it with tacks. Seen from a
distance, the town had the appearance of being
built of white marb.e, but truly
" 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view,"
for upon entering it the fragility of the material
soon disabused the vision and the admiration of
the beholder. At night, when lights were burn-
ing in these frail tenements, a stranger would
think the town illuminated. The number of
drinking and gambling saloons was greatly in ex-
cess of stores and private dwellings, and to nearly
all of these was attached that most important
attraction of a mining town, the hurdy-gurdy.
The sound of the violin which struck the ear on
entering the street, was never lost while passing
through it, and at many of the saloons the evi-
dence of the bacchanal orgies which were in
progress inside was often apparent in the eager-
ness exhibited by the crowd Avhich surrounded
the building without. The voices of auctioneers
Henry Plummer. 77
on the street corners, the shouts of frequent
horsemen as thej rode up and down the streets,
the rattle of vehicles arriving and departing for
the miners' camps, troops of miners, Indians,
gamblers, the unmeaning babble of numerous
drunken men, the tawdrily apparelled dancing
women of the hurdy-gurdys, altogether present a
scene of Hfe in an entirely new aspect to the per-
son who for the first time enters a mining town.
It is a feature of modern civilization which can-
not elsewhere be found, search the whole world
over. The thirst for gold is shared by all classes.
Those who are unwilHug to labor, in their efforts
to obtain it by less honorable means, flock to the
mines to ply their guilty vocations. Hence there
is no vice unrepresented in a mining camp, and no
type or shade of character in civilized society that
is not there publicly developed. The misfortune
is, as a general thing, that the w^orst elements,
being most popular, generally preponderate.
Our civil war was raging at the time that
Lewiston became a mining emporium. Sympa-
thizers with each party fled to the mines, to escape
the possible responsibilities they might incur by
remaining in the States. They carried their poli-
tical views with them, and identified themselves
with those portions of society which reflected
78 Henry Plurnmer.
their respective attachments. Loyalty and Seces-
sion each flourished by turn, and were the prolific
causes of frequent bloody dissensions. There was
no law to restrain human passion, so that each
man was a law unto himself, according as he
was swayed by the evil or good of his own nature.
The temptations to evil, not so numerous, were
much more powerful than were ever before pre-
sented to a great majority of the immigrants.
Gambling and drinking were made attractive by
the presence of debased women, who lured to
their ruin all who, fortunate in the possession of
gold, could not withstand their varied devices.
In the spring of 1861, among the daily arrivals
at Lewiston, was a man of gentlemanly bearing
and dignified deportment, accompanied by a lady,
to all Tppearance his wife. He took quarters at
the best hotel in town. Before the close of the
second day after his arrival his character as a
gambler was fully understood, and in less than
a fortnight his abandonment of his female com-
panion betrayed the ilHcit connection which had
existed between them. Alone, among strangers,
destitute, the poor woman told how she had been
beguiled, by the promises of this man, from home
and familv,' and induced to link herself with his
fortunes.' A fond husband and three helpless
Henry Plummer. 79
children mourned her loss by a visitation worse
than death. Lackino- moral courao-e to return to
her heart-broken husband and ask foroiveness
she sought to drown her sorrow by plunging-
still deeper into the abyss of shame and ruin.
Soon, alas ! she became one of the lowest inmates
of a frontier brothel. This latest crime of Henry
Plummer was soon forgotten, or remembered only
as one of many similar events which occur in
mining camps.
He, meanwhile, in the pursuit of his profession
as a gambler, formed the acquaintance of many
congenial spirits. From their subsequent opera-
tions it was also apparent that at his instigation
an alliance was formed with them which had for
its object the attainment of fortune by the most
desperate means. Every fortunate man in any of
the mining camps was marked as the prey, sooner
or later, of this abandoned combination. Every
gambler or rough infesting the camp, either
voluntarily or by threats was induced to unite in
the enterprise ; and thus originated the band of
desperadoes which, for the succeeding two years,
by their fearful atrocities, spread such terror
through the northern mines. Plummer was their
acknowledo-ed leader.
Professional gamblers everywhere, in a new
80 Heyiry Phunmer.
country, form a community by themselves. They
have few intimates outside of their own number.
A sort of tacit understanding among them links
them together by certain implied rules and reg-
ulations, which they readily obey. Of the same
nature, we may suppose, was the bond which united
Plummer and his associates in their infernal
designs of plunder and butchery. The honor
which thieves accord each other, the prospect of
unUmited reward for their vicious deeds, and the
certainty of condign punishment for any act of
treachery, secured the band and its purposes
against any betrayal by its members.
Nowhere are the conventionalities of social
life sooner abandoned than in a mining camp.
To call a man by his proper name there generally
implies that he is either a stranger or one with
whom you do not care to make acquaintance.
The gamblers were generally known by dinnnu-
tive surnames or appellations significant of then-
characters. I shall so designate those of them
who were thus known, in this narrative.
Prominent among the associates of Plummer
at Lewiston, were Jack Cleveland, Cherokee Bob
and Bill Bunton. Cleveland was an old Cahfor-
nia acquaintance, familiar with Plummer's early
history. He used this fatal knowledge, as it
Henry Phnnmer. 81
afterwards proved, in a dictatorial and offensive
manner, often presuming- upon it to arrogate a
position in the band which by common consent
was assigned to Plummer.
Cherokee Bob was a native Georgian, and
received his name from the fact that he was
a quarter-blood Indian. He was bitter in his
hatred of the loyal cause and all engaged in it.
Before he came to Lewiston he had, in an affray
of his own plotting, killed two or three soldiers
in the Walla Walla theatre. He fled to Lewis-
ton to escape the vengeance of their comrades.
Bill Bunton was a double-dyed murderer and
notorious horse and cattle thief. He had killed
a man at a ball near Walla Walla, was tried for
murder and acquitted on insufficient evidence.
He afterwards killed his brother-in-law^, and in
cold blood soon after shot down an Indian, and
escaped the clutches of the law by flight. Pos-
sessing himself of a ranche on Pataha creek, he
lived there with his Indian wife, under the pre-
text of farming. It was soon ascertained, how-
ever, that his business was secreting and selling
stolen stock. The officers made a dash upon his
ranche, but the bird had again flown. Soon
afterward, disguised in the blanket and paint of
an Indian, he entered Lewiston, and lounged
82 Henry Phnnmer.
about the streets for several days without excit-
ing suspicion. During this time he became a
member of Plummer's murderous band.
There were several others whose names are
unknown, that entered into the combination
formed for systematized robbery and murder at
this time. Around this nucleus a larg-e number
of desperate men afterwards gathered. They
became so formidable in numbers, and their
deeds of blood were so frequent and daring, that
the mining camps were awed by them into tacit
submission, and witnessed without even remon-
strance the perpetration of murders and rob-
beries in their very midst, of the most revolting
character.
Society in Lewiston, 83
CHAPTER V.
SOCIETY IN LEWISrON.
Shebangs — Complaint of Nez Ferces — Reckless-
ness OF EOUGHS, AND INDIFFERENCE OF CiTIZENS
Incidents AT the kShebangs — Horse Robbery —
Express Riders — Mose — His Escape — Fear-
lessness— Severity of Winter — Effect upon
]VIiNiN(; — Exposure to Crime — Condition of
Lewiston in the winter of 1861-2 — Kirby mur-
ders A Comrade — His Arrest and Acquittal —
Murder of Hiltebrant — Citizens' Meeting —
Roughs in the Majority — Plummer's Interfer-
ence— Hiltebrant's Brother.
Towards the close of the summer of 1862,
the band organized by Phniimer having in-
creased in numbers, he selected two points of
rendezvous, as bases for their operations. These
were called " shebangs." They were enclosed
by mountains, whose rugged fastnesses were avail-
able for refuge in case of attack.
One was located between Alpwai and Pataha
creeks, on the road from Lewiston to Walla
Walla, about twenty-five miles from the former,
84 Society in Leivii^fofi.
and the other at the foot of Craig's Mountain,
between Lewiston and Oro Fino, at a point where
the main road was intersected l)y a trail for pack
animals. The location of the latter was upon
ground reserved by treaty to the Nez Perces
Indians, and near a military post established for
its protection. The chief of the tribe com-
plained, to the resident agent of the Indians, of
the aggression. He laid the complaint before the
commandant of the post, who treated it with
neglect. The robbers occupied the spot without
molestation, and when they abandoned it it was
of their own accord.
There were several smaller stations nearer to
Walla Walla and Lewiston, which were only
occupied as occasion might require. A close
communication was established between these
localities, by which the operations of each were
speedily known to all. Plummer, meantime,
while secretly directing the affairs of the " she-
bangs " and issuing orders continually to the
men, contrived to ward off susjiicion from him-
self, and preserve the appearance of a harmless
and inoffensive citizen of Lewiston. His notori-
ety as a gambler was shared by so many better
men, and by a great majority of the miners
themselves, that it really protected him in his
Society in Lewiston. 85
character as a robber. While, tharefore, he was
prying into the financial condition of those with
whom his profession brought him in daily contact
in town, he was at the same time informing his
confederates at the shebangs of every departure
which boded success to their enterprise.
Such of the population as Avere not, to a
greater or less degree, involved in the gambling
operations of the community, although perfectly
coo'nizant of the desio-ns of the robbers, were too
insignificant in numbers to offer any active oppo-
sition. Being without organization, they hardly
knew each other. Such was the state of feeling
that, if a gambler or rough desired to possess
any of the articles on sale by merchants or gro-
cers, he entered a store, selected for himself the
best the assortment afforded, and took it away
with a request that it should be charged, or
stated that some day when he was in luck he
would pay for it. Rather than risk an affray,
the dealer submitted to the imposition. Pay-
ment was generally made, the gamblers entertain-
ing, among themselves, a standard of honor in
such matters which it was considered disgraceful
to violate.
The tAvo roads upon which the shebangs were
located were the only thoroughfares in the coun-
86 Society in Locisfon.
try, and not a day passed that they were not
traversed by people in going to and returning
from the interior mining camps, and in coming
into and departing from the country. The num-
ber of robberies and murders committed by the
banditti will never be known. Mysterious dis-
appearances soon became of almost weekly occur-
rence. The dansrer wdiich everv man incurred of
being robbed or killed was demonstrated by
numerous escapes made by horsemen who had
been assaulted and fired upon, and escaped by
the fleetness of their horses. It was fully under-
stood that whoever passed over either of these
roads would have to run the gauntlet in the
neighborhood of the shebangs, and people gen-
erallv went prepared. Crime was fearfully on
the increase all through the secluded districts
which separated the river from the distant min-
ing camps. The country itself, about equally
made up of mountains, foot-hills, canons, dense
pine forests, lava beds, and deep river-channels,
was as favorable for the commission of crime as
for the concealment of its perpetrators.
The two shebangs swarmed with ruffians. On
one occasion a party of half-a-dozen, while riding
in the vicinitv of Craig's Mountain, were stopped
by a volley from the shebang, which, being
Society in Lewiston. 87
harmless, was returned. A number of well-
mounted robbers started in pursuit. The party
escaped by hard spurring, one of the number, to
lighten his burden, throwing several large bags
of gold dust into the grass. They were after-
wards recovered. A butcher by the name of
Harkness, of Oro Fino, was also assaulted, and
fired upon, who owed his dehverance to the fleet-
ness of his horse. Owners of pack trains never
attempted to pass without force sufficient to
intimidate the robbers.
The other shebang was used as a receptacle
for stolen horses. It was under the superinten-
dence of a noted horse-thief by the name of
Turner, who had been a partner in the business
with Bill Bunton. Any member of the band,
whose claim to recognition was founded upon
success in any thieving or bloody enterprise,
could leave his jaded steed here in exchange for
a fresh one. A single incident will illustrate the
manner in which many of the horses were ob-
tanied. A gentleman riding a beautiful young
mare, on his way from Oregon to Oro Fino,
while she was drinking from the stream near by,
was suddenly confronted by a man, who claimed
her as his prop-rty. Several persons were wit-
nesses to the meeting. Drawing a bill of sale of
88 Society in Leicii^fon.
the mare from his pocket, which he had obtained
five hundred miles away, he dismounted, and was
about to prove his ownership, when the ruffian
jumped into the saddle, and, seizing the bridle,
rode rapidly away. The wayfarer called upon
the bystanders to assist in the recapture of the
animal, instead of which they knocked him
down, stripped him of everything in his pockets,
and told him to leave. He entered Lewiston
utterly destitute.
No occupation in the northern mines tested the
courage and honesty of men more severely than
that of Express riders. Their duties, in riding
from camp to camp frequently for hundreds of
miles, where there was not a dwelling, carrymg
large amounts of treasure, made them objects of
frequent attack. Tried men were selected for
this business — men as well known for personal
bravery as for their adroitness in the use of
weapons in personal encounter. The notoriety of
this class was sufficient as a general thing to pro-
tect them from attack, unless it could be made
under every possible advantage. It is a remark-
able fact, and speaks as little in favor of the
courage of the desperadoes, as in praise of the
daring nobility of these early Express riders,
that few of the latter were interrupted in the
Societtj in Lewisfon. 89
discharge of their dangerous duties. They were
ever upon the alert. It was the work of an in-
stant only, when attacked, for them to draw and
discharge their revolvers, with deadly effect, and
follow up the smallest advantage with the no
less fatal bowie-knife. One man has been known
in an encounter of this kind to kill four assail-
ants and escape unharmed.
Tracy & Co., of Lewiston, had a pony express
route from that town to Salmon river, a distance
of seventy-five miles. Their messenger, whom
we only know by the name of Mose, was a man
of great intrepidity, and perfectly familiar with
all the risks of his business. In single encounter
he was understood to be more than a match for
any man in the mountains. Some time in the
early fall of 1862 a plan was laid by Plummer
and his associates to capture Mose. The place
selected for the purpose was the trail crossing of
White Bird creek, at a distance of sixty miles
from Lewiston and eighteen from Salmon river.
At this point the creek runs between very abrupt
banks densely covered with cotton-woods, render-
ing both descent and ascent tedious and difficult.
The robbers, in anticipation of the arrival of
Mose, as usual on a keen lope, after darkness had
set in had felled a tree across the trail at a suffi-
90 * Society in Leivisfon.
cient height to admit the passage of the horse,
and at the same time strike the rider in the chest,
and throw him suddenly from the saddle. They
then intended to kill him and rob his eantinas,
which it was supposed would contain several
thousand dollars in gold dust. At Chapman's
ranche. near the crossino-. Mose was told that
several suspicious characters had been prowling
in the neio'hborhood during; the afternoon, and
with that keen sense which had been educated to
scent danger from afar, he at once comprehended
the whole plot. Carefully descending the bank,
he discovered the snare, and turnino- to the left
avoided it, hurried through the creek, and ascend-
ing the opposite bank cast a look of derision
back upon the foiled highwaymen. This fearless
messeno;er continued in service lono- after this
event, but his future trips were made under the
escort of well-armed assistants.
Winters are nowhere more dreary than among
the miners. Frost and snow bi-ing then- labors to
an end. and for three or four months they either
remain in their camps in a state of listless inac-
tivity, or seek for occupation and enjoyment in
the excesses of the nearest populous settlement.
Hundreds of them actually squander during the
season of winter all that they have obtained by
Society in Lewiston. 91
the most severe toil during' the rest o£ the year.
Witii the terrible example constantly before him,
he must be a man of resolute will who can long-
refrain from embracing vice in all its forms.
Gambling becomes a favorite occupation, and
whiskey a common beverage. The society of
abandoned women lures him on, until every
moral, social, and virtuous resolution is broken
down, and the experience of a few months of
such a life wholly unfits him for a return to his
earlier pursuits. This is the experience of nine-
tenths of the voung men who seek for fortune
amono- the o-old mines. Most of this class who
had been occupied in placer digging during the
summer and fall, at the first approach of cold for-
sook their mines, and crowded into Lewiston to
spend the winter, bringing with them the hard
earnino's of their toil. Following in their wake
came the professional gamblers and sports, and,
mino-iino- with the common mass, were the
wretches who had reached the lowest depths of
human depravity. A letter from one of the early
settlers of Lewiston, written at the time, says : —
" Late in 1862 a laro-e number conoTegated here
to pass the winter. About seventy-five per cent.
of these were cut-throats, robbers, gamblers, and
escaped convicts. Honest men were in a fearful
92 Society in I^ewisfon.
minority, and dared not lisp of the arrest and
punishment of criminals ; the villains had their
own way in everything."
I record the following as an incident which
will better illustrate the condition of society than
anything' I can Avrite. A gambler named Kirby
borrowed of another a revolver. Secretlv with-
drawing the charges from it, an hour later he
returned it, and requested the owner to lend him
a few ounces of gold dust, which was declined.
Knowing that he had the money, Kirby, enraged
at the refusal, put t'lie muzzle of a loaded revolver
to his temple and blew out his brains. No arrest
was attempted. The cold-blooded, mid-day mur-
derer walked the streets of the town duringf the
entire winter, mingled in the sports, and escaped
unwhipped of justice. Three years afterward he
was arrested in Oregon, and turned over to the
Idaho authorities, upon the requisition of Gover-
nor Lyon, but no witnesses appearing against him
he was suffered to go at large.
In a state of society where the majority of the
people depend upon vicious })ursuits for a liveli-
hood, want and destitution are the natural ele-
ments. Increase of crime in all its forms
follows. All through the winter of 1861-2, and
until returns began to come in from the mines
Society in Leioiston. 93
the following spring, Lewiston was daily and
nightly a theatre where the entire calendar of
crime was exhibited in epitome. Mnrders were
freqnent ; robberies and thefts constant ; gamb-
ling, debauchery, drunkenness, and all their
attendant evils, openly flaunted in the face of
day in defiance of law. Money and food were
so scarce that robbery with the sporting commu-
nity became an actual necessity. How to protect
themselves against it sorely taxed the wit and
tried the courage of the unfortunate property
holders. Canvas walls offered slight resistance
to determined thieves, and life was not protected
by them from murderous bullets. An exemplifi-
cation is furnished in the following incident : —
A German named Hiltebrant kept a saloon in
a laro^e canvas building* in the centre of the town.
It was the principal rendezvous for the Germans,
and a popular retail establishment. Hiltebrant
was known to possess a considerable amount of
coin and gold dust, which the roughs resolved to
appropriate. The barriers in . the way involved
only the possible murder of the owner and two
friends who occupied a large bed in the front of
the saloon. Between twelve and one o'clock in
one of the coldest nights of the first week of
January, the door was suddenly broken from its
94 Society in Lewiston,
hinges, and a volley of balls fired in the direc-
tion of the bed. Hiltebrant was instantly killed.
His two companions, after returning- the fire of
the ruffians, seized the treasure and escaped.
On ' of the vill lins was wounded in the fino;er.
When the firing ceased, the robbers coolly
entered the building, lighted a candle, and pro-
ceeded to search for the money. Finding none
they departed, uttering curses upon their ill-fort-
une, not, however, until several citizens aj)peared
upon the scene, and witnessed the enormity of
their crime. The murderers passed fearlessly
and unconcernedly through the crowd, no effort
being made to arrest them, lest a rescue might
be attempted, which would prove fatal to all con-
cerned, and possibly result in the burning of the
town. The next day, however, a meeting of the
citizens was held, for the avowed purpose of
punishing the murderers, and devising measures
to arrest the further progress of crime.
This was the first effort at self-protection
made by the people. The moment was a trying
one. All knew that the roughs were in the
majority, and none were bold enough to recom-
mend open resistance to their encroachments, for
fear of consequences. Henry Plummer took an
active part in the proceedings, depicting with
Societij in Lewiston. 95
fervid eloquence " the horrors of anarchy " and
solemnly warning the people to " take no steps
that niig-ht bring disgrace and obloquy upon their
rising young city." Known as a gambler only,
and suspected by few of any darker associations,
his winning manner had the effect to squelch in
its inception the initiatory movement, which at no
distant period was to burst forth and whelm him
with hundreds of his bloody associates in its
avenoino- vortex.
The brother of the murdered Hiltebrant was
in business at this time at the Oro Fino mines.
Hearing of the murder, he openly avowed the
intention of going immediately to Lewiston to
bring the authors to justice. The banditti sent
him a messaoe that he would not live to "et
there, which had the effect to daunt him from his
purpose, and the assassins, for the time, escaped
punishment.
96 Northern Mines.
CHAPTER VI.
NORTHEBN MINES.
Peospecting for Gold — Picture of a Veteran
Prospector — Patrick Ford — Design of Roughs
TO KILL HIM — He outwits THEM — EoBBERS
LEAVE LeWISTON FOR OrO FiNO — ROBBERIES BY
THE WAY — Entrance into Oro Fino — Assault
ON Ford's Saloon — Fight — Eidgely wounded
— Ford killed.
Prospecting (as it is called) for gold placers
and quartz veins has grown into a profession.
No man can engage in it successfully unless he
understands it. There are certain indications
in the face of the country, the character of the
rocks, the presentation of the strata, the form of
the gulch, the gravel in streams or on the bars,
the cement formation below it, or the shape of
the mountains, which are known only to experi-
enced prospectors, that determine generally the
presence of the precious metals. Guided by
these unmistakable signs, the veteran gold
searcher is sustained in his solitary explorations
Nortliemi Mines. 97
by the consciousness of possessing knowledge
which must sooner or later lead to success. Im-
pressed with the idea that as many rich gulches
and productive veins have been found, so others
remain to be discovered, — and that as those
already developed have made their owners rich,
so some fortunate discovery may do the same for
him, he mounts his pony, and with pick, shovel,
and pan, a magnifying glass, a few pounds of
bacon, flour and coffee, hfs trusty rifle and revol-
ver at hand, and his roll of blankets and not
unfrequently a quart flask of whiskey, he plunges
into the unexplored recesses of the mountains, and
for weeks and months is lost to all the world of
humanity beside himself. Alone, but encouraged
by that hope which outlives every disappointment,
he wanders hundreds of miles into the unvisited
wilderness, the hero of countless adventures and
the explorer of the world's great solitudes.
Men of this class are numerous in all gold-
mining regions. Their very occupation makes
them maniacs. They lose all relish for society.
and think of nothing but the success they are
one day to meet with in the pursuit of gold.
Frequent as their discoveries often are, and prom-
ising as many of them proved to be, the one they
are in search of lies still further onward. Aban-
98 Northern Mines,
doning to those who follow them discoveries
which would assure them all the wealth they
need^ they lead on and on into the mountain
labyrinth, pioneering the path of empire, to die
at last alone, unfriended and destitute, beyond its
utmost boundaries. It is to such men that we
owe the discovery of all the gold regions which
have contributed to our wealth since the days of
Marshall.
Gold had been discovered west of the moun-
tains in several portions of Washington Terri-
tory previous to this time. As early as the year
1852 H. M. Chase found it on a creek which
flowed into the Grand Ronde river. He exhib-
ited it at Portland, and such was the excitement
it occasioned that several parties of discovery
were organized, and plunged into the mountain
recesses of that portion of Washington which
afterwards became Idaho. Anions: others was
one Pierce, who became infatuated with the idea
that the river sands of this unexplored region
were filled with diamonds. He searched for
them very thoroughly, but the traditions of the
time fail to inform me that he found anything
more valuable than gold. An unimportant camp
of the early miners, which received his name, has
served to transmit his memory and mania to the
Northern Mines. 99
present period. These early explorations, lead-
ing deeper and deeper into the mountain wilder-
ness, finally resulted in the discovery of the
Florence and Oro Fino mines.
Thousands of people, lured by their discov-
eries, had nearly worked out the placers of Oro
Fino during the summer of 1861. The Pacific
world, alive to the importance of a region which
promised such great additions to its wealth, kept
up a stream of emigration to the placers, which
exhausted all the sources of supply more rapidly
than they could be filled. The world was there
in miniature. Meantime the indomitable pro-
spector kept in the van. Crossing the Salmon
River range, he soon unveiled the riches of
those placers which afterwards became known as
Florence and Elk City. They were immediately
occupied by thousands, and other thousands of
the far East, thrilled with the story of their rich-
ness, were on their way to the new El Dorado.
An hegira similar to that of 1849 again took
place across the plains. Lewiston was no longer
the base of operations. Among the earliest of
those to abandon it for a point more favorable
to the prosecution of their enterprise, were the
banditti which had so long held its inhabitants
in fear. Supplied with horses from the shebang
100 Northern Mines.
on the Walla Walla road, they departed from
Lewiston in small parties, intending to recom-
mence operations at a place afterwards to be
selected, in the mountains of the interior.
The daring, adventurous, and courageous ele-
ments of character are necessarily developed and
brought into frequent action in a mining coun-
try; and whenever these are found in combi-
nation with high moral principle, they are held
in continual fear by men of criminal life. One
bold, honest man wall demoralize the guilty
designs of a host of rascals. Nothing was so
mucli dreaded by Plummer's murderous gang as
the possible organization of a Vigilance Com-
mittee ; and any man who favored it was
marked for early destruction. Such a man w^as
Patrick Ford, the keeper of a saloon in Lewiston.
Ford was an active man in his own business, —
eager in the pursuit of gain, but entirely upright
inliis dealings, and the open and avowed enemy
of the roughs. He, more than any other mem-
ber of the community, had urged the people of
Lewiston to unite for their protection, and hang
every suspected individual in the place; and
he taunted them with cowardice when they dis-
banded without punishing the known murderers
of Hiltebrant. As fearless as he was uncompro-
NortJiern Mines. 101
misiug, he denounced the ruffians in person, and
warned them that a tmie would come ere long
when they would meet, at the hands of an out-
raged people, their deserts. He did not conceal
from them his intention of following in the track
of the prosperous miner, lead where it might, —
which purpose they resolved to prevent. His
death they regarded as necessary to their future
prosperity. Having ascertained that he intended
to leave Lewiston with a half-dozen dancing girls
for the saloon he had established at Oro Fino,
they laid a plan to insult him and involve him in
a quarrel on his arrival at their shebang, and kill
him. Ford was admonished of the design, which
he foiled by avoiding the shebang. Being as-
sured of his safe passage to Oro Fino, the rob-
bers, led by Plummer, Ridgely, and Reeves,
mounted their horses and started for the interior.
Of the particular events of the early part of the
trip, farther than that it was marked by the
frequent robbery of travellers, I am unable to
speak. When within seven or eight miles of
Oro Fino, the robbers observed two Frenchmen,
some distance apart, approaching them on foot.
The one in advance was ordered to stop and
throw up his hands, as in that position he was
powerless and could not offer any resistance.
102 Nortliern Mines.
After a careful search of his person they found
nothing- of vakie, and bade him move on as
rapidly as possible, telling him that it was " a
rough country to be in without money " and that
he " had better get out of it as soon as possible."
With the other, whom they subjected to a like
process, they were more fortunate, and, despite
his solemn denial, found in his pocket a purse
containing a thousand dollars in dust, which they
appropriated, dismissing him with the remark
that if he " had done the square thing and not
lied they would have given him enough to take
him to the Columbia, — but" as it was, he might
be thankful to get off with a whole carcass."
Some idea may be formed of the daring and
recklessness of this robbery when it is understood
to have occurred at midday, near a town contain-
ino- a population of several thousands, and on a
thorouo-hfare thronofed with travellers.
Uttering a shout of exultation, the robbers
dashed into the town of Oro Fino with the impet-
uosity of a cavalry charge. Reining up in front
of Ford's saloon, which they entered, they called
loudly upon the bar-keeper for liquor. Ford
was absent. When they had drunk, they com-
menced demolishing the contents of the saloon.
Decanters, tumblers, chairs, and tables were
Northern Mines. 103
broken and scattered over the apartment. One of
their number, more fiendish than the others, seized
a lap-dog- from one of the females and cut off
his tail. At this juncture Ford himself came
upon the scene. Boldly confronting the rioters,
pistol in hand, he ordered them instantly to leave
his premises. He charged them with the rob-
bery of the Frenchmen, and denounced them as
thieves, robbers, and murderers. They saw and
feared his determination, and obeyed his com-
mands with alacrity. He followed them into the
street, and threatened them with punishment if
they remained in town. They were about to act
upon this hint, when Ford, fully armed, came to
them a second time, and demanded the cause of
their delay. He was answered with a bullet,
inflicting a dangerous wound. The fire was
returned, and the fight became general, — three
against one. The robbers were protected by their
horses, while their antagonist was openly exposed
to their fire. Ford emptied the charges from
one six-shooter, made five shots with the other,
and was in the act of aiming for the last, when
he fell dead, riddled with the balls of his adver-
saries. Ridgely was shot through the leg twice,
and Plummer's horse disabled.
Such was the melancholy fate of Patrick Ford,
104 Northern Mines.
— a man long to be remembered as the friend of
law and order, — the first, indeed, in the north-
ern mines who dared to urge the extermination
of the robbers, as the only remedy for their
depredations. He literally sealed his principles
with his life's blood.
Ridgely's wounds disabled him for service.
He was taken by his companions to a ranche
near the town, and as well cared for as circum-
stances would admit. Leaving him there, the
other members of the band, fearful of the friends
of Ford, seldom ventured beyond the limits of
their camp.
Charley Harper. lOi
CHAPTER VII.
CHARLEY HARPER.
Charley Harper assumes to be " Chief " —
Cherokee Bob — Theatre in the Mines — Deputy
Sheriff Porter's Assault upon the Soldiers as-
sisted by Cherokee Bob — Two Soldiers killed,
others wounded — Soldiers march into Town in
pursuit of Cherokee Bob — He escapes by steal-
ing A Horse and fleeing in the Night to Lewis-
ton — Eidgely shoots Gilchrist and escapes to
Oregon.
A NEW candidate for bloody laurels now appears
in the person of Charley Harper. He arrived in
Walla Walla in the fall of 1861- A young- man
of twenty-five, of medium size, of erect carriage,
clear, florid complexion, and profuse auburn hair,
he could, but for the leer in his small inexpressive
gray eye, have passed in any society for a gen-
tleman. His previous life is a sealed book ; —
but the readiness with which he enGfasfed in crime
showed that he was not without experience. He
told his landlord that he had no money, but that
partners were coming who would relieve his neces-
106 Charlei/ Harper.
sities. The second night after his arrival, several
hundred dollars in gold coin were stolen from a
lodger who occupied the room adjoining his.
While intoxicated, the next day, he exhibited by
the handful eagles which he said were borrowed
from an acquaintance. No one doubted that he
had stolen them: — but where ofBcers were be-
lieved to wink at crime, prosecution was useless.
Charley was not even arrested upon suspicion.
The money he had obtained introduced him to the
society of the roughs, with whom he became so
popular that he aspired to be their leader. This
honor was disputed by Ridgely, whom we left
wounded in the last chapter, and by " Cherokee
Bob," both of whom claimed precedence from
longer residence and greater familiarity with the
opportunities for distinction.
Circumstances soon occurred which enabled
Charley, without disputation, to assume the role
of chief of the Walla Walla desperadoes. Che-
rokee Bob, heretofore mentioned as an associate
of Plummer at Lewiston, was an uneducated
Southerner. His mother was a half-blood Chero-
kee, — hence his name. With a hatred of the
North and the Northern soldiery born of preju-
dice and ignorance, and a constitutional faith in
the superior prowess of the Southern people, and
Charle// Harper. l^'^
with mercurial passions inflamed by the contest
that was still raging, this ruffian ^Yas nearly a
maniac in his adherence to the cause of Seces-
sion. He could talk or think of little else than
the great inferiority of the Northern to the South-
ern "soldiers, and was continually boasting of his
own superior physical power. He would often
taunt the soldiers of the garrison near Walla
Walla. In ingenuity of vaunting expression, he
far excelled Captain Bobadil himself ; — but like
that h-3ro of dramatic fiction he was destined to
experi-nce a reverse more humiliating, if possible,
than that of his great prototype. With shotgun
in hand and revolver in his belt, it was his fre-
quent boast that he could take a negro along
with him, carrying two baskets loaded with
pistols, and put to flight the bravest regiment
of the Federal army.
No person who has witnessed a theatrical per-
formance in a mining camp can forget the
general din and noise with which the audience
fill up the intervals between the acts. Whistling,
singing, hooting, yalling, and a general shufaing
of feet and moving about are so invariable as
to form in fact, a feature of the performance.
So long as they are unaccompanied by quarrel-
some demonstrations, and do not become too
108 Charley Harper.
boisterous, efforts are seldom made to suppress
them. The boys are permitted to have a good
time iu their own way, and the lookers-on, accus-
tomed to the scene, are often compensated for
any annoyance that may be occasioned, by strokes
of border humor more enjoyable than the play
itself.
Cherokee Bob, eager for an opportunity when
he could wreak his demoniac wrath upon some of
the Federal soldiers, with the aid and complicity
of Deputy Sheriff Porter, who like himself was
a Secessionist, contrived the following plan as
favorable to his purpose : it was agreed between
them, that on a certain evening Bob and his
friends should attend the theatre, fully armed.
Porter, under pretext of quelling disturbances
between the acts, should by his insulting lan-
guage and manner j)rovoke an affray with the
soldiers present, in the progress of which he
would command Bob and those with him to
assist, and thus undar the seeming protection
of law, save them from the consequences of
any actj of vengeance they desired to commit.
On the evening appointed, six or saven soldiers
were seated side by side in the pit, a single one
occupying a seat in the gallery behind them.
Porter was near them, and Bob and his associates
Charley Barper. 109
in a jjosition convenient to him. When the cur-
tain fell upon the first act, the usual noises
commenced, the soldiers joining in making- them.
Porter sprang from his seat, and striding in front
'jf them, vociferated,
"Dry up there, you brass-mounted hirelings,
jr I'll snatch you bald-headed."
This insulting language produced the desired
effect. Smarting under the implied reproach it
conveyed, one of the soldiers sharply inquired,
" Why do you single us out, when there are
others more boisterous? "
Porter waited for no further provocation, but
drawing and cocking his revolver with one hand,
and seizing the soldier nearest to him with the
other, he dragged him ignominiously into the
cn-cle where he was standing, ordering the
deputy city marshal and Bob and his friends to
assist in arresting him. The soldiers offered
resistance. An immediate melee was the con-
S3quence. The women and children in the
audience screamed in affright. The other soldiers
present rushed with drawn pistols to the rescue
of their comrade. The one in the gallery sprang
upon one of the officers with the ferocity of a
wild beast. Clierokee Bob with a pistol in one
hand and a bowie-knife in the other, his voice
110 Charley Hai'per.
wildly ringing above all other sounds, was in liis
true element. More than a dozen pistol shots
followed in quick succession. Two of the sol-
diers were killed, and others fearfully mangled.
Porter and his deputy assistant were each shot
through a leg, the latter crippled for life. The
work of blood was progressing, and but for the
interference of an ofiicer of the garrison, Avould
have ended only with the death of the assassins.
The next day the soldiers appealed to their
commanding officer for redress. He ordered
those of them engaged in the affray to be placed
under arrest, and dismissed the subject from his
thoughts. Indignant at this unexpected treat-
ment, about fifty of the soldiers armed them-
selves, and marched into town, with the determin-
ation to capture and hang Cherokee Bob, whom
they knew to be the chief mover of the murderous
assault. Disavowing all riotous intentions they
informed the citizens of their design and com-
menced a thorough search for the murderer. He,
meanwhile, fearful of their revenge, eluded them
by leaving the town before the dawn of morning
on a stolen horse for Lewiston.
The year before his appearance in Walla Walla
Ridgely was living in Sacramento. During his
sojourn there he acquired notoriety for his thiev-
Charley Harper. Ill
ish and villainous propensities. One of the
police corps, detecting- him in the commission of
a larceny, arrested him. He was convicted, and
sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail.
He vowed revenge against Gilchrist the policeman,
but on his release fled to the gold mines. Soon
after his arrival at Walla Walla he fell in with
his old enemy, and secretly renewed the deter-
mination to take his life. .Calling" upon a friend
to accompany him, he boldly entered a saloon
where he knew Gilchrist to be and fired several
shots at him. Gilchrist fell at the first fire.
Ridgely, believing he had killed him, left the
saloon, saying as he went, " I have thrown a load
off my mind, and now feel easy." Gilchrist was
badly wounded, but recovered. Ridgely, escap-
ing arrest on tlie night of the assault, ci'ossed the
river into Oregon the next day, beyond the juris-
diction of the authorities of Walla Walla, which
was in Washington Territory. From thence he
went to Lewiston and joined Plummer.
Cherokee Bob and Ridgely being out of the
way, Charley Harper, as next in rank on the scale
of villainous preferment, became the Walla Walla
chief.
112 Cherokee Bob.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHEROKEE BOB.
Gold Excttemkxt — Robbers (io to Florknck- —
— Robberies by the Way — Cherokee Bob
AXD Bill ]\[aykield — Cyxthia — Jealousy — A
SxRAXCiE HlSTOKV BoB '' SeTTLEIJ IX BuSlXESS."
Intelligence of the discovery of extensive
placers on the head waters of Salmon river,
excelling- in richness any former locations, had
been circulated throuo[:h all the border towns
during the winter. The excitement consequent
thereon was intense. Such was the impatience
of the people to effect an early arrival there that
many left Walla Walla and Lswiston in mi 1-
winter, and on their way thither perished in
the snows which engorged the mountain passes.
Others, more cautious, awaited the coming of
warm weather, and made the journey, — tedious,
difficult, and dangerous at best, — with compar-
ative safety. Among the latter number were
Charley Harper and his band of brigands.
Mounted on strong, Heet horses which they had
CJierokee Boh. 113
acquired during the winter, the criminal caval-
cade Avith its chief at the head dashed up the
river valley, insulting, threatening, or robbing
every one so unfortunate as to fall in their way.
Of the number prominent in the riotous column
were Peoples, English, Scott, and Brockie — men
whose deeds of villainy have blackened the crim-
inal records of nearly all the larger cities of the
Pacific slope. With none of the magnanimity
which characterized Joaquin Murieta and the
earlier brigands of California, and with all their
recklessness of crime and murder, a meaner,
baser, more contemptible band of ruffians per-
haps never before disgraced the annals of the
race. No crime was too atrocious for them to
commit, no act of shame or wantonness was
uncongenial to their grovelling natures. They
were as totally depraved as a long and un-
checked career of every variety of criminal
induloence could make them. Afraid of nothino;
but the law, and not afraid of that in these new
and unorganized communities, they were little
else than devils incarnate. Insensible to all
appeals for mercy, and ever acting upon the
cautious maxim that " dead men tell no tales,"
the only chance for escape from death for those
whom they assaulted was in their utter inability
114 Cherokee Bob.
to do them injury. Human life regarded as an
obstacle to their designs, was of no more impor-
tance than the blowing up of a safe or any other
act which stood between them and their prey.
Of cours3 it was impossible that such a band of
desperadoes should pass over the long and deso-
late route from Walla Walla to Florence with-
out adventure.
On the second or third day after leaving
Walla Walla, when nearing Florence, they met
a company consisting of five men and a boy of
sixteen, who w^ere on their way to a neighboring
camp. The brigands surrounded them, and with
cocked pistols well aimed, gave the usual ord^r,
''throw up your hands." This order being
obeyed, two of them dismounted to search the
persons of their victims for treasure, the others
meanwhile covering them with their revolvers.
Five purses, containing amounts varying from
fifty to five hundred dollars, Avere taken from
them. The boy was overlooked, and had seated
himself on a granite boulder by the roadside.
Scott, as he tells the story himself, approached
him more from curiosity than expectation, when
the following conversation ensued : —
"Come," said Scott, addressing him, "draw
your weasel now."
Cherokee Boh. 115
" How do you know I've got any, stranger ? "
queried the youth.
" No fooling, I say. Hand out your buck-
skin."
" You wouldn't rob a poor little devil like me,
would you ? "
" Don't keep me waiting longer, or I'll cut
your ears off," — and Scott drew his bowie as if
to carry the threat into execution.
" Well, I only get half-wages, you know. Is
your heart all gizzard?"
" Get off from that stone and shell out, or I'll
blow your brains out in a minute," said Scott.
The boy sprung up hurriedly, and with
affected reluctance thrust his hand into his
pocket.
" Well, stra-an-nger," he inquired with a pecul-
iar drawl and quizzical expression of the eyes,
" what do you take Salmon river dust at, any-
how? "
With this he drew forth an empty purse, and
han ling it to Scott, said : —
"If you think I've got any more, search me."
Pleased with the pluck and humor of the lad,
one of the band threw him a five-dollar piece,
and they galloped furiously on towards Florence.
Thundering into the town, they drew up
116 Cherokee Bob.
before the first saloon, fired their pistols, anrl
urged their horses into the establishment. AVith-
out dismounting they ordered liquor for the
crowd. All the by-standers partook with them.
Harper ostentatiously threw one of the purses he
had just seized upon tli counter, tidling the bai-
keeper to weigh out the amount of the bill, and
after a few moments they left the saloon, " to
see," as one of them expressed himself, " whether
the town was biof enougfli to hold them."
This irruption into Florence occurred while
that city was comparatively in embryo. The
pTeat floods of immi"ration from the east and
Avest had not arrived. Some months must
elapse before the expectations of the robbers
could be realized. Meantime they distributed
themselves among the saloons and bagnios, and
by means of gambling and frequent robberies,
contrived to hold the community in fear and
pick up a subsistence until the great crowd came.
Leavinc: them for a season, we will return to
Cherokee Bob, whom we left in his ignominious
flight from Walla Walla to Lewiston, on a stolen
horse. That worthy had established himself in a
saloon at Lewiston, and while there, renewed an
acquaintance with an old pal known as Bill May-
field.
Cherokee Boh. H'^
Mayfield was a fugitive from justice from Car-
son City, Nevada, where in the winter of 1861-
62 he renewed an acquaintance with Henry
Plummer, whom he had known before that tnne
in California. The governor of California had
issued a requisition for the surrender of Plum-
mer, and a warrant for his arrest was in the
hands of John Blackburn, the sheriff at Carson
City. Though efficient as an officer, Blackburn,
while in liquor, was overbearing and boastful of
his prowess. His reputation was bad among the
leading citizens of the town. Foiled in his
search for Plummer, who, he believed, was in the
territory, and knowing of Mayfield's intimacy
with him, he accused the latter with concealing
him. Mayfield denied the charge, and to avoid
a quarrel with Blackburn, who was intoxicated,
immediately left the saloon where the interview
occurred, but as a measure of precaution armed
himself with a bowie-knife. Blackburn, ren-
dered desperate by liquor, soon followed in pur-
suit of him, and at a later hour of the same day
found him in another saloon. As he entered the
front, Mayfield tried to leave by the rear door.
Failing in this, he drew his knife, and concealed
it in his sleeve. Approaching Mayfield in a
bullying manner Blackburn said to him : —
118 Cherokee Boh.
" I wiU arrest Pliimmer, and no one can
prevent it. I can arrest anybody, I can arrest
you if I wisli to."
" You can arrest me," replied Mayfield, " if
you have a Avarrant for my arrest, but you can't
without."
" I tell you," rejoined Blackburn tauntingly,
" that I can arrest you, or any one else," and
added with an oath, '' I will arrest you anyhow,"
accompanying- this threat with a grasp for his
pistol. Mayfield, with flash-like quickness, slipped
his knife from its place of concealment, and
gave him an anticipatory stab in the breast.
Blackburn then tried to close with him, and
beino- much the strong-er man would have killed
him had not Mayfield jumped aside and plied his
knife vigorously until Blackburn fell. He died
almost instantly. Mayfield surrendered himself
for trial, was convicted of murder, and sentenced
to be hanged.
While awaiting execution in the penitentiary,
two miles distant from Carson, a plan for uiid r-
mining the prison was successful, and he escaped.
The friends who effected this were among' the
best citizens of Carson. They deemed the sen-
tence unjust, and as soon as he was out of con-
finement, mounted him on a good horse, provided
Cherokee Boh. 119
him with arms, and bade him leave the State as
rapidly as possible. When his escape was dis-
covered the next morning the jailer started in
pursuit. He struck the track of the fugitive,
and by means of relays, gained rapidly upon
him. Mayfield's friends meantime were not idle.
They managed to be apprised of his progress,
followed close upon his pursuers, and by a short
cut at a favorable point, overtook him, and,
doubling back, concealed him at a ranche in Pea
Vine valley, on^\ forty miles fioui Carson City.
There he remained six weeks, — many of the
leading citizens of Carson meantime watching for
an opportunity to aid his escape from the State.
A careless exposure of his person led to his
recognition and the discovery of his retreat.
His friends were the first to learn of it, and
before the officers could arrive at the ranche,
Mayfield was on his way to Huffaker's ranche on
the Truckee river, which Avas nearer Carson by
half the distance than the ranche he had left.
While the officers were scouring the country in
i>ursuit of him, he remained there until spring,
sharino' a box stall with a favorite race-horse.
When spring was far enough advanced to afford
pasturage and comfortable travel, he was fur-
nished by his friends with a good " outfit," and
120 Cherokee Boh.
made the journey unmolested to Lewiston, where
he joined his okl friends Phimmer and Cherokee
Bob.
Here he trumped up an intimacy with a woman
calling herself " Cynthia," at that time stew-
ardess of a hotel in Lewiston, and the fallen
wife of a very worthy man.
In June, Cherokee Bob, accompanied by May-
field and Cynthia, left Lewiston for Florence.
Soon after their arrival the jealousy of Mayfield
was aroused by the particular attentions of Bob
to his mistress. On his part Bob made no con-
cealment of his attachment for the woman, and
when charofed with harborino- an intention of
appropriating' her affections, boldly acknowledged
the soft impeachment. Cynthia possessed many
charms of person, and considerable intelligence.
She had, moreover, an eye to the main chance,
and was ready to bestow her favors where they
would command the most money. Bob was
richer than Mayfield, and this fact won for him
many encouraging smiles from the fair object
of his pursuit. Mayfield's jealousy flamed into
anger, and he resolved to bring matters to a
crisis, which should either secure his undisturbed
possession of the woman, or transfer her to the
sole care of his rival. He had confidence
Cherokee Boh. 121
enough in Cynthia to beHeve that when required
to choose between him and Cherokee Bob, her
good taste, if nothing else, would give him the
preference. He had not calculated on the
strength of her cupidity. Confronting Bob, in
her presence, he said, as he laid his hand on
the butt of his revolver : —
" Bob, you know me."
" Yes," replied Bob with a similar gesture,
" and Bill, you know me."
" Well now. Bob, the question is whether we
shall make fools of ourselves or not."
" Just as you say, Bill. I'm al'ys ready for
anything that turns up."
" Bob, if that woman loves you more than
me," said Maylield, " take her. 1 don't want
her. But if she thinks the most of me, no
person ought to come between us. I call that
on the square."
" Well, I do think considerable of Cynthia,
and you are not married to her, you know,"
replied Bob.
" That makes no difference. If she loves me,
and wishes to live with me, no one shall interfere
to prevent it."
" Well, what do you propose to do about it ? "
asked Bob, after a brief pause.
122 Cherokee Boh.
" Let the woman decide for herself," replied
Majfield. " What say you, Cynthia ? Is it Bob
or me c
Thus appealed to, greatly to the surprise of
Mayfield, Cynthia replied : —
" Well, William, Robert is settled in business
now, and don't you think he is better able to take
care of me than you are ? "
This reply convinced Mayfield that his influence
over the woman was lost. The quarrel terminated
in a o-raceful surrender to Bob of all his claim
upon her.
" You fall heir," said he to his successor, " to
all the traps and things there are around here."
Cherokee Bob insisted upon paying for them ;
and Cynthia, true to the course of life she was
pursuing, tried to soften the pangs of separation
from her old lover by reiterating the question if
he did not " think it the best thing that could be
done under the circumstances."
Cherokee Bob forced a generous purse upon
Mayfield, who left him with the parting injunc-
tion to take good care of the girl.
The woman shed some tears and, as we shall
see at a later stage of this history, showed by her
return to Mayfield that she entertained a real
affection ; and when, a year later, she heard of his
Cherokee Boh. 123
violent death, was heard to say that she woidd
kdl his murderer whenever opportunity afforded.
An explanation of the circumstances under
which Bob became " settled in business " is not
the least interesting- part of this narrative. The
senior proprietor of the leading saloon in Oro Fnio
died a few days before Bob's arrival. He was
indebted to Bob for borrowed money. Calling
upon the surviving partner soon after his arrival,
Bob informed him of the indebtedness, and de-
clared his intention of appropriating the saloon
and its contents in payment.
"How much," inquired the man, ''did you
lend my partner? I'll settle with you, and pay
liberal interest."
''That's not the idee," rejoined Bob. "Do
you think me fool enough to lend a fellow five
hundred dollars, and then after it increases to five
thousand, square the account with a return of
what I lent and a little more? That's not my
way of doing biz. How much stock have you
got here on hand ? "
Bob carefully committed to writing the invoice
verbally furnished.
" No-nv," said he, putting the memorandum in
his pocket, " I'll hold you responsible for all these
traps — the whole outfit. You've got to close
124 Cherokee Boh.
up and get out of this without any delay. I'll
give you twenty-four hours to do it in. You
must then deliver everything safe into my
hands."
The unfortunate saloon-keeper knew that the
law as administered in that mountain town would
afford him no redress. He also knew that to
refuse compliance with the demand of Cherokee
Bob, however unjust, would precipitate a quarrel
which would probably cost him his life. So when
Bob, accompanied by two or three confederates,
came the next morning to the saloon to take pos-
session he was prepared to submit to the imposi-
tion without resistance. Walking within the bar,
Cherokee Bob emptied the money drawer and
p'ave the contents to his victim. He then invited
his friends to drink to the success of the new
" outfit," and finding himself in undisturbed occu-
pancy, increased the amount of his gift to the
man he had expelled to several hundred dollars.
This w^as the manner in which he became, as
Cynthia said, " settled in business."
i
Florence, 125
CHAPTER IX.
FLOBEXCE.
Florence — Kule of the Roughs — Murder of
A German Miner — One Rough shoots Another
— Brockie killed by Chapman — Hickey killed
BY " Snapping Andy " — Matt Bledsoe — Diffi-
culties OF Mining — Exposures — Tack Trains
— Robbery of McClinchey's Train — Robbery
OF Berry^ Brothers, by Scott, Peoples, and Eng-
lish.
Florence was now the established headquar-
ters of the robbers. Its isolated location, its
distance from the seat of government, its moun-
tain surroundings, and, more than all, its utter
destitution of power to enforce law and order,
gave it peculiar fitness as a base to the criminal
and bloody operations of the desperate gang
which infested it. At all hours of the day and
nio-ht some of them were to be seen at the two
saloons kept by Cherokee Bob and Cyrus Skin-
ner. When one company disappeared another
took its place, and at no time were there less
than twenty or thirty of these desperadoes at one
126 Florence.
or both of their haunts, plotting and contriving-
deeds of phmder and robbery which involved
the hard earnings, possibly the lives, of many of
the fortunate miners of the vicinitv. The crowd
from both east and west had arrived. The town
was full of gold-hunters. Expectation lighted
up the countenance of every new comer. Few
had yet realized the utter despair of failure in a
mining camp. In the presence of vice in all its
forms, men who were staid and exemplary at
home laid aside their morality like a useless gar-
ment and yielded to the seductive inflaences
spread for their ruin. The gambling shops and
hurdy-gurdy saloons — beheld for the first time
by many of these fortune-seekers — lured them
on step by step, until many of them abandoned
all thought of the object they had in pursuit
for lives of shameful and criminal indulgence.
The condition of society thus produced was
fatal to all attempts at organization, either for
protection or good order. Wholly unrestrained
by fear or conscience, the robbers carried on their
operations in the full blaze of mid-day. Affrays
were of daily occurrence, and robberies took
place in the public streets. Harper, the acknowl-
edged chief, stained with the darkest crimes,
walked the streets with the boldness and confi-
\
Florence. 127
dence of one who gloried in his iniquity. Peace-
able, honest, well-meaning citizens, completely
overawed, were fortunate to escape insult or
abuse, as they passed to and fro in pursuit
of their occupations. Woe to the unfortunate
miner who entered the town if it were known or
believed that there was any treasure on his per-
son ! If not robbed on the spot, or lured into a
hurdy-gurdy saloon, or cheated at a gambling-
table, he was waylaid by disguised ruffians on his
return to his camp, and by threats and violence,
or when these failed, by death itself, relieved of
his hard-bought earnings. For one of these
sufferers to recognize and expose any of his assail-
ants was simply to insure his death at his hands
the first convenient opportunity.
One of these side exploits was marked by
features of peculiar atrocity. An aged, eccen-
tric German miner, who lived alone in a little
cabin three miles from town, was supposed to
have a considerable amount of gold dust con-
cealed in his dwelling. One morning, early in
Auoust, a neiofhbor discovered that the house had
been violently entered. The door was broken
and scattered in pieces. Entering, he beheld the
mangled corpse of the old man lying amid a
general wreck of bedding, boxes, and trunks.
128 Florenfie.
The remains of a recent fire in a corner bore
evidence of the faihire of the design of the rob-
bers to conceal their crime by a general conflagra-
tion. The miners were exasperated at an act of
such wanton and unprovoked barbarity. A coro-
ner's jury was summoned and such an inquest
held as men in fear of their lives dared to ven-
ture. The verdict, as might have been antici-
pated, was " murdered by some person or jiersons
unknown." Here the affair has rested ever since.
Acts of violence and bloodshed were not un-
frequent among the robbers themselves. Soon
after the murder of the German, a company of
them, who had been gambling all night at one
of the saloons, broke up in a quarrel at sunrise.
Before they reached the street, a revolver in the
hands of Brockie was discharged, killing in-
stantly one of the departing brawlers. The
murderer surrendered himself to a justice of the
peace, and escaped upon the singular plea that
the shot was accidental and did not hit the per-
son he intended to kill. One of the jury, in a
letter to a friend, wrote : " The verdict gave
universal satisfaction, the feeling over the homi-
cide among good citizens being that Brockie
had done a good thing. If he had killed two
of the ruffians inst -ad of one, and then hung
Florence. 129
himself, good men would have been better
pleased."
Hickey, the intended victim, was one of the
worst men in the band. The year following this
occurrence, in a fit of anger induced by intoxi-
cation, at a store in Placerville he made a desper-
ate assault upon a peaceable, inoffensive indi-
vidual who was known by the name of " Snap-
ping Andy." Hurriedly snatching a pickhandle
from a barrel, Andy, by two or three well-
directed blows, brought his career of crime and
infamy to a bloody close.
For some reason, probably to place him be-
yond the reach of the friends of the murdered
robber, Brockie was assigned to a new position.
Ostensibly to establish a ferry at the mouth of
Whitebird creek, a few miles from town, but
really for the purpose of furnishing a convenient
rendezvous for his comjjanions, he took up his
abode there. It was on the line of travel be-
tween Florence and a gold discovery reputed to
have been made on a tributary of the Boise
river.
About the middle of September, Arthur Chap-
man, son of the surveyor-general of Oregon,
while waiting for ferriage, was brutally assaulted
by Brockie, who rushed towards him wdth pistol
130 Florence.
and knife, swearing that lie would "shoot him
as full of holes as a sieve, and then cut him
into sausage meat." With an axe which he
seized upon the instant. Chapman clove his skull
to the chin. Brockie fell dead in his tracks,
another witness to the fulfilment of that terrible
denunciation, " whoso sheddeth man's blood, by
man shall his blood be shed." Chapman was
honorably acquitted of crime.
It will not be deemed out of place to record
here the desperate fortune of one Matt Bledsoe,
who became notorious as an independent free-
booter, and killed several persons in the valley of
the Upper Sacramento and Upper Willamette.
His bloody character preceded his arrival at
Florence in the fall of 1861. He acknowledged
no allegiance to any band, and avowed as a ruling
principle that he would " as soon kill a man as
eat his breakfast." While engaged in a game
of cards with a miner at a ranche on Whitebird
creek in October, 1861, he provoked an altercation,
but the miner being armed, he did not, as was
usual with him, follow it up by an attack. The
next morning, while the miner was going to the
creek, he shot and killed him. Mounting his
horse he rode rapidly to Walla Walla, surren-
dered to the authorities, asked for a trial, and on
Florence. 131
his own statement that he "had killed a man in
self-defence," was acquitted.
A leap forward in his history to twelve o'clock
of a cold w^inter nigfht of 1865 finds this same
villain in company with another, each with a
courtesan beside him, seated at a table in an
oyster saloon in Portland. Some angry words
between the women soon involved the men in a
quarrel, which Bledsoe brought to a speedy ter-
mination by a fatal blow upon the head of his
antagonist. He was immediately arrested, tried,
convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to the
peuitantiary for a long term of years. During
the following fall he escaped, was rearrested,
and after trial, returned to prison to serve out a
prolonged sentence.
Perhaps in the early history of no part of our
country were greater difficulties overcome in
moving from one place to another than in the
mining districts of Oregon and Idaho. Essen-
tially a mountain region, and in all portions of
it away from the narrow valleys formed by the
streams filled with the remains of extensive vol-
canic action, its surface, besides being broken
into deep canons, lofty ridges, inaccessible preci-
pices, impassable streams, and impenetrable lava
beds, was also covered everywhere "with the sharp
132 Florence.
points and fissured hummocks which were cast
out during a long and active period of primeval
eruption. There were no natural roads in any
direction. The trail of the Indian was full of
obstacles, often indirect and generally impracti-
cable. To travel with vehicles of any sort was
absolutely impossible. The pack animal was the
only available resource for transportation. The
miner would bind all his earthly gear on the back
of a mule or a burro and grapple with obstruc-
tions as they appeared, cutting his way through
forests almost interminable, and exposing himself
to dangers as trying to his fortitude as to his
ingenuity. The merchant who wished to transport
goods, the saloon-keeper who had liquors and bil-
liard tables, the hotel-keeper whose furniture was
necessary, all had to employ pack animals as the
only means of transportation from the towns on
the Columbia to the mining camps of the interior.
The owner of a train of pack animals was always
certain of profitable employment. His life was
precarious, his subsistence poor, his responsibili-
ties enormous. He threaded the most dangrerous
passes, and incurred the most fearful risks, — for
all which he received adequate compensation.
The pack-train was always a lively feature in
the gigantic mountain scenery of Oregon and
Florence. 133
Idaho. A train of fifty or one hundred animals,
about equally composed of mules and burros,
each heavily laden, the experienced animal in the
lead picking the way for those in the rear, amid
the rocks, escarpments, and precipices of a lofty
mountain side, was a spectacle of thrilling inter-
est. At times, the least mis-step would have pre-
cipitated some unfortunate animal thousands of
feet down the steep declivity, dashing him to
pieces on the rocks below. Fortunately the cau-
tious and sure tread of these faithful creatures
rendered such an accident of very rare occur-
rence, though to the person who beheld them in
motion for the first time the feeling was ever
present that they could not escape it. The arri-
val of one of these large trains in a mining camp
produced greater excitement among the inhabi-
tants than any other event, and the calculations
upon their departure from the Columbia river and
their appearance in the interior towns were made
and anticipated with nearly as much certainty as if
they were governed by a published time-table.
The confidence of the owner of a train of
pack-animals in their sagacity and sure-footed-
ness relieved him of all fear of accident by
travel, but he could never feel as well assured
ao-ainst the attacks of robbers. All the men in
134 Florence.
chai'o-e of a train were well armed and in
momentary expectation of a surprise. Fre-
quently on the return trips they were entrusted
by merchants with large amounts of gold dust.
Opportunities of this character seldom escaped
the vigilance of the robbers, — and any defect
in the police of the departing train insured an
attack upon it in some of the difficult passes on
its route to the river.
The packer of a train belonging to Neil Mc-
Clinchey, a well-known mercantile operator of
tlie Upper Columbia, in October, 1862, when four
days out from Florence, on his return to Walla
Walla, was stopped by a masked party of which
Harper was supposed to be the leader, and for
want of sufficient force robbed of fourteen
pounds of gold. As he gave the treasure into
the hands of the assailants, the villain who took
it spvid in a consolinof tone : " That's sensible.
If every man was as reasonable as you things
would go along smoother."
Shortly after this robbery, Joseph and John
Berry were returning to the river with their
train. They had gone but forty miles from
Florence, when they were confronted by three
men in masks, who, with levelled pistols, com-
manded them to throw up their hands. Seeing
Florence. 135
that resistance was useless they obeyed, and were
relieved of eleven hundred dollars. The pack-
ers recognized the voices of David English and
William Peoples, — and the third one was after-
wards ascertained to be Nelson Scott. The vic-
tims returned with all possible expedition to
Lewiston, where the report of their loss excited
the most intense indignation.
136 First Vigilance Committee.
CHAPTER X.
FIRST ViaiLANGE COMMITTEE.
Pursuit, Arrest, and Execution of Scott, PeopleSj
AND EXGLISH ArrEST, TrIAL AND BANISHMENT
OF "Happy Harry" — Escape of "Club Foot
George " — Charley Harper flees to Colville.
As soon as the Berrys were assured of the
identity of the villains who had robbed them
they appealed to the people to assist in their
capture. The robbers had stripped them of all
their hard earnings, and they had the sympathy
of every honest man in the community. Noth-
ing more was needed to kindle into a flame of
popular excitement the long pent-up fires of
smothered indignation. Public sentiment was
clamorous for the capture and punishment of the
robbers. It gathered strength day by day, until
it became the all-absorbing topic everywhere.
Men assembled on the street corners, in the
stores, in the saloons, and at the outside mining
camps to compare view^s and consult upon meas-
ures of relief. Meantime, several parties, whose
I
Firift Vigilance Committee. 137
faith ill immediate action was stronger than in
consultation, set out in pursuit of the robbers.
From the fact that they had passed south
of Lewiston it was believed they had gone
down the Columbia. Distributing themselves
alono- the different roads and trails in that direc-
tion, the pursuers made diligent search for them
in every nook and corner which could afford
them a hiding-place. Their diligence was suc-
cessful. The robbers had separated, but were
arrested in detail, — Peoples at Walla Walla,
*Scott on Dry creek, near there, and English at
Wallula, forty miles distant on the Columbia.
The only surprise they manifested upon being
arrested was at the temerity of their captors.
In a community which had so long held them in
fear any legal interference with their business
was deemed by them an outrage. They did not
pause to inquire whether their reign was near its
termination, nor think that perhaps the people
had decided as between longer submission to
their villainies and condign punishment for their
actual crimes. If they had, their efforts to escape
would have been immediate. As it was, they
rested easy, and reflected savagely upon the
revenge in store for their captors after their
friends had effected their rescue.
188 First Viy dance Cvmmittee.
They were taken in irons to Walla Walla.
Judofe Smith ordered their removal to Florence
for trial. Such was the indijiiiation of the citi-
zens of Lewiston that on their arrival there it
was determined they should be tried by the peo-
ple. All confidence in the law and the courts
was lost. Accordingly a committee was ap-
pointed to investigate the circumstances of the
robbery and declare the punishment. The pris-
oners were taken in charge by the committee,
and confined in an unfinished buildino- on the
bank of the Clearwater, which was strongly
guarded. To make their work thorough and
terrify others of the band who were known to
be prowling about the saloons of Lewiston, a
number of persons were appointed, with instruc-
tions to efiPect their immediate arrest. In antici-
pation of this course all suspected persons except
one escaped by flight. This one, known by the
name of " Happy Harry," was a simple fellow,
who denied all association with the band, con-
fessed to a few petty offences, and was discharged
on condition that he would instantly leave and
never return to the country. He has never been
heard of since.
One of the shrewdest of the gang, who from
a personal deformity was called " Club Foot
First Vi(j 'dance t'oiin/iUtee. 139
Georofe," well known as a robber and horse-
thief, escaped arrest by surrendering- himself to
the commandant of Fort Lapwai (a United States
post twelve miles distant), who confined him in
the guard house.
The final disposition of the three villains in
custody was delayed until the next day. A
strong guard of well-armed men surrounded
their prison. Just after midnight the sleeping
inhabitants of the town were roused by several
shots fired in the direction of the place of con-
finement. In a few minutes the streets were
filled with citizens. A former friend of Peoples,
one Marshall, who kept a hotel in tow^n, had, in
attempting his rescue, fired upon the guard. In
return he received a shot in his arm, and was
prostrated by a blow from a clubbed musket.
The cause of the melee being explained, the
people withdrew, leaving the sentinels at their
posts.
The next morning at an early hour the people
gathered around the prison. The guards w^ere
gone and the door ajar. Unable to restrain their
curiosity, and fearful that the robbers had been
rescued, they pushed the door wide open. There,
hanging by the neck, stark and cold, they belield
the bodies of the three desperadoes. Just^i-a
140 First Vigilance Committee.
had been anticipated, and the first Vigilance
Committee of the northern mines had commenced
its work. No one knew or cared who had
done it, but all felt that it was right, and the
community breathed freer than at any former
period of its history.
Intelligence of the execution, with the usual
exaggeration, spread far and wide through the
mining camps. It was received with approval by
the sober citizens, but filled the robber horde
with consternation. Charley Harper, while on
his way from Florence to Lewiston to gather fuU
particulars, met a mountaineer.
" Stranger," he inquired, " what's the news ?"
" I s'pose you've heard about the hanging of
them fellers?"
" Heard something. What's the particulars ? "
" Well, Bill Peoples, Dave English, and Nels
Scott have gone in. They strung 'em up like
dried salmon. Happy Harry got out of the way
in time ; but if they get Club Foot George, his
life won't be worth a cent. They're after a lot
more of 'em up in Florence."
" Do you know who aU they're after? " asked
Harper.
" Yes. Charley Harper's the big chief they're
achin' for the most, but the story now is that
First Vigilance Committee. 141
he's already hung. A fellow weut into town
day before yesterday, and said he saw him strung
up out here on Camas Prairie. Did you hear
anything of it back on the road?"
Harper needed no further information. He
felt that the country was too hot to hold him,
and that the bloodhounds were on his track. As
soon as the miner was out of sight, he turned
to the right, crossed the Clearwater some miles
above Lewiston, and pursued a trail to Colvdle
on the Upper Columbia, where we will take leave
of him for the present.
142 New Gold Discoveries.,
CHAPTER XI.
NEW GOLD DISCO VEEIES.
Immigration — Discoveries in Deer Lodge — At
Boise — Ridgely recovers and goes to Elk
City — Plummer and Cleveland go to Sun
River — Spend most of the Winter there —
Plummer in Love — Quarrels with Cleveland.
When the rumored discovery of extensive
gold placers on Salmon river was confirmed, the
intelligence spread through the Territories and
Mississippi States like wildfire. Thousands of
young men, thrown out of employment by the
war, and other thousands who dreaded the evils
which that great conflict would bring upon the
nation, and still others actuated by a thirst for
gain, utilized their available resources in provid-
in<r means for an immediate mioration to the
land of promise. Before midsummer they had
started on the long and perilous journey. How
little did they know of its exposures ! The
deserts, destitute of water and grass, the alkaline
plains where food and driidi v/ere alike aii'ected
New Grold Discoveries. 148
by the poisonous dust, the roving bands of hos-
tile Indians, the treacherous quicksands of river
fords, the danger and difficulty of the mountain
passes, the death of their companions, their
cattle, and their horses, breakage of their vehicles,
angry and often violent personal altercations, —
all these fled in the light of the summer sun, the
vernal beauty of the plains, the delightfully pure
atmosphere which wooed them day by day far-
ther away from the abode of civilization, and the
protection of law. The most fortunate of this
army of adventurers suffered from some of these
fruitful causes of disaster. So certain were they
in some form to occur, that a successful comple-
tion of the journey was simply an escape from
death. The story of the Indian murders and
cruelties alone, which befell hundreds of these
hapless emigrants, would fill volumes. Every
mile of the several routes across the continent
was marked by the decaying carcasses of oxen
and horses, which had perished during the period
of this hegira to the gold mines. Three months
with mules and four with oxen were necessary to
make the journey, — a journey now completed in
six days from ocean to ocean by the railroad.
Some of the earliest of these expeditions, after
entering the unexplored region which afterwards
144 New G-old jyiscoveries.
became Montana, were arrested by information
that it would be impossible to cross, with teams,
the several mountain rano;es between them and
the mines. This discouraofement Avas followed
up by intelligence that the placers were overrun
bv a crowd of sfold hunters from CaKfornia and
Oregon, and that large bands of prospectors
were spreading over the adjacent territorv. Swift
on the heels of this came the rumor that new
placers had been found at Deer Lodge, on the
east side of the mountains.
The idea was readily adopted that the country
was filled with gold placers, — that it was not
necessary to pursue the track of actual discovery,
but that each man could discover his own mine.
Thus belie vino- the stream of emio-ration di-
vero-ed, — some crossings the ranoe to Fort Lemhi
on the Lower Salmon, and others pursuing a more
southerly course, with the hope of striking an
old trail leading from Salt Lake to Bitter Root
and Deer Lodgfe vallevs. Some of this latter
party remained on Grasshopper creek near the
large caiion, where they made promising dis-
coveries. The others went on to Deer Lodge,
but being disappointed in the placers there, re-
joined their companions and gave to their placer
the name of Beaver Head Dio-oino-s, — thatbeincr
I
I
Neu' Gold Discoveries. 145
tho name given by Lewis and Clarke to the river
into which the creek empties.
While these discoveries were in progress on
the east side of the mountains, a prospecting
party which had been organized at Florence
under the leadership of a Californian by the
name of Grimes, discovered the mines on the
Boise. They were one hundred and fifty miles
south of Florence. Grimes and his party sunk
their first shaft fifteen miles north-west of the site
of Idaho City. While preparing to extend their
explorations, they unfortunately fell into an In-
dian ambuscade and their leader was slam.
Intelligence of the Beaver Head and Boise
discoveries unsettled all local projects for buHd-
ing up the towns of Florence, Elk City, and Oro
Fino. They were immediately deserted by all
who could leave without sacrifice. West Bannack,
at Boise, and East Bannack, at Beaver Head,
sprung into existence as if by enchantment.
Bidgely had now so far recovered from his
wound as to be able to travel. Accompanied by
him and Reeves, Henry Plummer left the vicinity
of Florence and went to Elk City. There he
met with several of his old California acquaint-
ances who were familiar with his early history.
Fearful of remaining lest they should deliver
146 New Gold Discoveries.
him up to the authorities and cause him to be
returned to California, or that a Vigilance Com-
mittee would visit him with heavier punishment,
he suddenl}^ departed, and ten days later made
liis appearance at Deer Lodge. He found the
camp full of needy adventurers, the mines un-
promising, and the chances few for replenishing
his fortune by either gambling or robbery.
After spending a few days of constantly increas-
ing discouragement he started in company with
Jack Cleveland for Fort Benton, intending to go
down the Missouri by the first boat. Fortunate
w^ould it have been had he carried this design
into execution. If it would not have saved him
from a felon's death, it would have preserved the
lives of those who afterwards became his victims.
Sixty miles from Benton, their horses jaded
with travel, the two men stopped at the Govern-
ment farm on Sun river for a few days' rest. In
this secluded valley they ^vere out of the way of
pursuers. Carpeted with bunch grass, it afforded
grazing for their half-starved horses, and in Mr.
Vail, the man in charge of the farm, they found
a very hospitable host. Divided centrally by the
large and peaceful river, the valley stretched
away on either side to numberless plateaus,
remarkable for the uniform height and tabular
JVeir Gold Discoveries. 147
recession with which they rose to the summits of
the lofty foot hills, which in their turn swelled
gradually into a cu-cumference of heaven-kissing
mountains. Nothing but a few^ forests were
w^anting to make the scene one of unparalleled
grandeur. These were measurably supplied by
the parks of cotton wood which stretched along
either bank of the river, affording shelter for the
herds of elk, antelope, and deer that roamed un-
harmed over the boundless solitude.
Here, sheltered by the arms of kind relatives,
Henry Plummer first saw^ the only being which in-
spired his bosom w'ith virtuous love. A young,
innocent, and beautiful girl, artless and loving as
a child, won 'by his attention and gentlemanly de-
portment, and the tale seductive as that poured
by the serpent into the ear of Eve, which he told
of his love, as'ainst the advice of her sister and
friends, crowned his happiness \\'\t\\ her heart and
hand. No stories of his past career, no terrible
picture of the future, no tears and petitions, could
stay the sacrifice. She felt the sentiment so
beautifully expressed by Moore,
" I know not, I ask not, if guilt's in that heart,
I but know that I love thee, whatever thou art," —
and under its influence she linked her fortunes
148 Neiv Grold Discoveries.
with those of the robber, murderer, and outlaw, in
the holiest of human ties.
A quarrel, of which this young lady was the inno-
cent cause, took jjlace between Plummer and Cleve-
land before the marriage of the former. Their old
friendship was never re-established. Often during
their residence at Sun river an exchange of bitter
epithets only relieved their pent-up wrath. Afraid
of each other, neither would leave the farm alone.
Accordingly they went to Bannack in company,
early in the winter of 1862-63. There we will
leave them while w^e return to Florence to inquire
after the fortunes of Cherokee Bob, whom w^e left
a few chapters ago " settled in business."
Desertion of 3Iinin<j Canijjs. 149
CHAPTER XII.
DESEItriOX OF MINING CAMPS.
Effect of Decay ix Mixes — Florence ix declixe —
New Year's Ball — Cyxthia goes axd is ex-
pelled— Wrath of Cherokee Bob ax'd Wil-
louohby — Attack ox Jakev Williams — Fierce
Street Fight — Bob axd Willoughby killed —
Ctx^thia returns to Mayfield.
The decay of a mining' town is as sudden
and rapid as its growth, and the causes which
occasion it as problematical. Few, comparatively,
of the great number of placer camps in the
Rocky Mountains, once peopled with thousands,
survive beyond the third year of their existence.
As soon as the placers fail to remunerate the
miners they are abandoned. The crowd de-
parts, and if any remain, it is that sober, substan-
tial class which is satisfied with small gain as the
reward of unceasinsf toil. Iiitelliy;ence of new
discoveries brought to a failing placer will cause
the immediate departure of great numbers
engaged in working it. These stampedes nre
among the most notable features of mountain
150 Desertion of Mining Camps.
life. Sometimes when the discovery of a new.
placer is announced, the entire population of a
mining town strive with each other to be the
first to reach it. Horses are saddled, mules are
packed, sluices abandoned, and the long and
unmarked route filled with or"old hunters. Awav
they go, over mountains, across streams, through
canons and pine forests, with the single object
of making the first selection of a claim in the
new location. Not unfrequently it is the case
that a single company is the first to learn of the
discovery of a new rich placer. If the claim it
has worked is abandoned the succeeding morn-
ing, it is received by the camp as incontestable
evidence that a mine of superior richness has
been found, — and hundreds start in pursuit of
the missing company. Rumor is a fruitful caus3
of stampedes. Disappointments are more fre-
quently the consequences than rewards. In-
stances are common where whole camps have
been deserted to follow up a rumor, and be dis-
appointed, and glad to return at last. There is
nothing permanent in the life of a gold miner,
— and beyond the moment, nothing strong or
abiding in his associations.
" Whither he goes or how he fares,
Nobody knows and nobody cares."
Desertion of Mini It;/ Camps. 151
Florence had suffered from these causes. The
roving portion of the population had gone, some
to Boise, some to Baunack, and some to Deer
Lodge. Cherokee Bob and Cynthia still re-
mained, but Harper had Hed, and Peoples,
English, and Scott slept the " sleep that knows
no waking." Bill Willoughbj, a suspected mem-
ber of Harper's gang, was Bob's only companion.
The New Year was approaching. The good
wives and daughters, in accordance with usual
custom, proposed that it should be celebrated by
a ball, — a proposition to which the other sex
joyfully acceded. Extensive preparations were
made for the supper and the ball-room attract-
ively decorated. Cynthia made known to Bob
her desii-e to go. He said in reply, " You shall
go, and be respected hke a decent woman ought
to be." So he asked Willoughby to take his
" woman to the ball, and," said he, " if things
don't go right, just report to me." Cynthia
assented to the arrangement, and Willoughby
promised compliance. The guests had arrived
when Cynthia, hanging on the arm of Wil-
loughby, made her appearance. Scowls and
sneers met them on every hand. A general com-
motion took place among the ladies. In little
groups of five or six, scattered throughout the
152 Desertion of Alining Canijys.
room, they whispered to each other then- deter-
mination to leave if Cynthia were permitted to
remain. The managers held a consultation, and
Willoughby was told that he must take Cynthia
home. No alternative presenting, he obeyed.
The gentlemen present were prepared to meet
any further disturbance, but none occurred, and
the ball passed off pleasantly. The next day
Cherokee Bob marshalled his forces to aveng-e
the insult, but was restrained by the evident
preparation with which the citizens anticipated
his design. He and his companions swaggered
around town flourishing their pistols and bowie-
knives, boasting of their prowess, but careful of
giving personal offence. It would have been
well for them had their resentment cooled here,
but Bob's malice was not to be satisfied so
easily. Two days had passed, and Cynthia's
humiliation was unavenged. Before the close
of another it must be propitiated with blood.
Accordingly, the next morning it was agreed
between Bob and Willoughby that they would
precipitate the battle.
The most efficient leader of the citizens Avas a
saloon keeper by the name of Williams, famil-
iarly called " Jakey." He was an athletic man,
and a determined enemy of the robbers, by
Desertion of Mining Camps. 153
whom he was held in great fear. He had been
the hero of more than one desperate affray, and
was regarded l)y Bob and Willoughby as the
only obstacle m the way of tlieir bloody project
to kill the managers of the ball. The first act,
therefore, in their contemplated tragedy was to
dispose of him. " Jakey " at first sought to
avoid them. They pursued him from house
to house, till, tired of fleeing, he finally declared
he would go no farthei'. Returning by a circuit-
ous path, he was overtaken and fired upon by his
pursuers while entering his saloon. He fired in
return, and springing back, seized a loaded shot-
gun, aud rushed into the street. Meantime,
several citizens joined in the fight, which soon
became general. The ruffians found themselves
contending against fearful odds. Willoughby
was slowly retreating with his face to his assail-
ants, and firing as rapidly as possible. Cherokee
Bob was pursuing the same strategy in an
opposite direction. The twelfth fire exhausted
Willoughby's pistols. He turned to run, with
"Jakey" in full pursuit. Exhausted from loss
of blood, which was pouring from sixteen wounds,
he soon fell, and, throwing up his hands, ex-
claimed to one of his pursuers who was in the
act of firing : —
154 Desertion of Mining Camps.
" For God's sake, don't shoot any more. I'm
dying now," and surrendered himself to death.
Bob beat a retreat at the first fire. Dodging
behind a corner, where his head only was
exposed, he fired upon his pursuers until his
pistols were nearly empty. While aiming for
another shot, a ball fired from an opposite win-
dow brought him to the earth, mortally wounded.
He was taken to his saloon, and died the third
day after the affray, in the full, and to him, con-
solatory belief that he had killed " Jakey " Wil-
liams at the first fire of his revolver. He had a
brother Hving at Lewiston. His last words were,
" Tell my brother I have killed my man and
gone on a long hunt." His real name was
Henry Talbert.
Cynthia was now without a protector. At his
request she soon joined her old lover, Bill May-
field, at Boise. This reunion was destined to be
of short duration. The following spring May-
field went to Placerville, Idaho, for a brief so-
journ. A quarrel over a game of cards sprung
up between him and one Evans. Mayfield drew
his revolver, intending to settle it by a fatal shot,
but Evans interposed : —
" I'm not heeled" — the mountain phrase for
" I am not armed."
Desertion of Mining Camps. 155
" Then go and heel yourself," said May field,
sheathing- his revolver, " and look out the next
time you meet me, for I'm bound to kill you at
sight. One of us must die."
The next day, while Mayfield and two friends
were walking in the suburbs, they came upon a
muddy spot, across which a narrow plank had
been laid. This necessitated crossins: it in sinjrle
file. Mayfield was in the centre. Evans was in
a cabin beside the crossing-, but a few feet dis-
tant. Seizing a double-barrelled shotgun, he fired
upon Mayfield from his place of concealment,
through an open window. Mayfield grasped for
his revolver, but fell without power to draw it,
exclaiming- " I'm shot." He died in two hours,
illustrating in his demise the Scriptural axiom,
" with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured
to you again." Evans was immediately arrested,
but escaped from jail that night, and being fur-
nished with a horse by a friend, fled the country,
and was never apprehended.
After Mayfield's death Cynthia entered upon
that career of promiscuous infamy which is the
certain destiny of all women of her class. It is
written of her that " she has been the cause of
more personal collisions and estrangements than
anv other woman in the Rockv Mountains."
lo6 Boone Helm^
CHAPTER XIII.
BOONE HELM.
BooxE Helm — His Early Life — Murders Shoot
IN Missouri — Tried and coxvicted, axd es-
capes BY Stratagem to California — Kills
Several Persons and flees to Dalles —
Attempts a Journey on Horseback across
THE Territories to Camp Floyd in Utah —
Disasters by the AYay — Cannibalism — John
W. Powell's Letter — Murder at Salt Lake
— Returns to Washington Territory — Fights
WITH AND KILLS DuTCH FrED CaPTURED ON
Frazer River and taken to British Colum-
bia — Suspected of killing and eating his
Comrade — Confined in Penitentiary at Port-
land — The Helm Brothers — Coolness of " Old
Tex " — Helps Boone on his Trial — Buys up
Witnesses — Boone acquitted and goes to P)0ise.
Some men are villains by nature, others
become so by circumstances. Hogarth's series
of pictures representing- in contrast the career o£
two apprentices illustrate this truth better than
words. Both commenced life under the same in-
fluences. The predominance of good and evil
Boone Helm. 157
is exhibited by the natural tendency of one to
overcome all unfavorable circumstances by close
application to business, and by virtuous associa-
tions, and of the other to idleness, vicious indul-
gences, and corrupt companionship. The one
becomes Lord Mayor of London, and in the dis-
charge of official duty passes sentence of death
upon the other.
The wretch I am now about to introduce to
the reader was one of those hideous monsters
of depravity whom neither precept nor example
could have saved from a life of crime. Boone
Helm was a native of Kentucky. His parents
emigrated to one of the newest settlements in
Missouri while he was a boy. The rough pur-
suits of border-life were cono-enial to his tastes.
He excelled in feats of physical strength, and
delighted in nothing more than a quarrel which
brought his jjrowess into full display. He was
an inordinate drinker, and when excited by
liquor gave way to all the evil passions of his
nature. One of the exploits recorded of him
was that of hurling his bowie-knife into the
ground and regaining it with his horse at full
speed. On one occasion, while the circuit court
was in session, the sheriff attempted to arrest
him. Helm resisted the officer, but urging his
158 Boone Helm.
horse up the stairs into the court-room, astonished
the judge by demanding with profane emphasis
what he wanted of him.
In the year 1848 he married a respectable
girl, but neither her affection nor the infant
daughter born to him a year later could prevail
with him to abandon his vicious and profligate
habits. His wife sought security from his ill-
treatment in divorce, which was readily granted.
This freed him from family responsibilities, and
he at once determined to emigrate either to Texas
or California. Littlebury Shoot, a neighbor,
while Helm Avas intoxicated, had, for pacific pur-
poses, promised to accompany him, — intending
when he was sober to avoid the fulfilment of the
promise by explanation. Helm was told of his
intention. He called upon Shoot, who had re-
tired, and meeting him at the door of his house,
with his left hand on his shoulder, in a friendly
tone thus addressed him : —
" So, Littlebury, you've backed down on the
Texas question, have you ? "
Shoot attempted an explanation, but was
stopped by the peremptory demand : —
"Well, are you going or not? Say yes or no."
"No!"
At the utterance of this reply. Helm buried his
Boone Helm. 159
bowie-knife in the breast of the unfortunate man,
who, without a struggle, fell dead at his feet.
Mounting his horse immediately, he rode away.
The brother of the victim and a few resolute
friends followed in pursuit. They tracked him
through several neighborhoods and captured him
by surprise at an Indian reservation, and returned
him to Monroe county for trial. He was con-
victed of murder ; but his conduct was such
while in confinement as to raise serious doubts of
his sanity. After his conviction, under the ad-
vice of physicians, he was consigned to the lunatic
asylum, his conduct meantime being that of a
quiet, inoffensive lunatic. His keeper, finding him
harmless, indulged him so far as to accompany
him on daily walks into the country siu'rounding
the institution. On one occasion, on some urgent
pretence. Helm asked permission to enter a willow
copse, which was readily granted. Afterwards
the desire to enter this copse whenever he ap-
proached it seemed to take the form of mania.
Suspecting no ulterior design, his keeper indulged
him. One day, meeting a friend near the spot,
the keeper, during Helm's absence, engaged in
conversation. Time passed unnoticed at first, but
as the stay of Helm was prolonged, the keeper,
fearing" some accident had befallen him, made a
IGO Boone HeJm.
rajDid search through the thicket. But the bird
had Bown. His stratagem was successful. He
was never afterward seen in Missouri, but upon
his escape he fled immediately to California. Sev-
eral persons were killed by him while there, in
personal rencontre. At length he committed act-
ual murder, but escaped arrest by flight. In the
spring of 1858 he arrived at Dalles, Oregon.
Fearful of a requisition for his return to Califor-
nia, Helm, in company with Dr. Wm. H. Groves,
Elijah Burton, Wm. Fletcher, John Martin,
Field, and McGranigan, attempted a journey
on horseback to Camp Floyd, Utah, sixty miles
south-west of Salt Lake City, by way of Fort Hall.
A ride of several days brought them to the Grand
Ronde river. During that time they had become
sufficiently acquainted with each other to banish
all thos9 feelings of distrust natural among stran-
gers in a new country. Helm, who to his criminal
qualities added the usual concomitant of being a
hjud-mouthed braggart, while narrating his exploits
said in a boastful tone to McGranigan : —
" Many's the poor devil I've killed, at one time
or another, — and the time has been that I've
been obliged to feed on some of 'em."
" Yes," replied McGranigan, casting a sinister
glance at Groves, " and we'll have more of that
feasting yet."
Boone Selm. 161
The cold sincerity with which these words were
uttered struck a chill to the heart of Groves,
which experienced no relief when a few moments
afterwards Helm proposed a plan for organizing a
band of Snake Indians, and returning with them
on a predatory excursion against the Walla Wallas.
'' The Walla Wallas," said he, " own about four
thousand horses. With such a band of Snakes as
we can easily organize for the enterprise, we can
run off two thousand of the best of those animals,
and after dividing with the Indians, take ours to
Salt Lake and dispose of them to advantage."
Groves, who had heard enough to satisfy him
that a longer stay with this company would be
accompanied by risks for which he had neither
inclination nor fitness, mounted his horse at a late
hour that night, and spurred back to the Dalles
as rapidly as possible. On his arrival he sent
intellioence to the chief of the Walla Wallas of
Helm's contemplated foray, warning them to keep
a careful watch upon their horses. His plans be-
ing frustrated. Helm remained in the vicinity till
autumn, when, in company with his five compan-
ions, he continued his journey to Camp Floyd.
Five hundred miles of this route lay through a
wilderness of mountains, unmarked by a trail and
filled with hostile Indians. It was late in October
162 Boone Hehn-.
when the party left Grand Ronde river. The
mountains were covered with snow. Cold weather
had set in for a season whose only chanoes for
the next six months would be a steady increase of
severities. The thermometer, seldom above, often
marked a temperature thirty or forty degrees be-
low zero in the mountains. The passes were snowed
up to the depths of twenty and thirty feet. Wild
game, however abundant in summer, had re-
treated to the forests and fastnesses for food and
shelter. Snow-storms and sharp winds were blind-
ing and incessant. Deep ravines, lofty mountains,
beetUng crags, and dismal caiions, alternated with
impenetrable pine forests, inaccessible lava beds,
and impassable torrents, encumbered every inch of
the way. Death on the scaffold or escape through
this terrible labyrinth gave the alternative small
advantage of the penalty. Small as it was, Helm
and his companions took the risk and plunged
into the mountain wilderness. He alone escaped.
In the absence of other narratives of this
remarkable adventure, I record his own, as detailed
to John W. Powell in April of the following
year. Mr. Powell says : —
" N. P. Langford,
"Dear Sir : On the 10th of April, 1859,
I was on my way from Fort Owen, Bitter Root
B'jone Helm. 163
valley, to Salt Lake City. My party consisted of
one American named James Misinger, a Frencli-
man called ' Grand Maison,' a French half-breed
named Antoine, and three Indians.
"I had crossed the Snake river just above
Fort Hall, pitched my lodge, and was entering
to indulge in a brief sleep, when I heard some
one outside ask in a loud tone of voice, ' Who
owns this shebang ? ' Stepping to the door and
looking out, I saw a tall, cadaverous, sunken-eyed
man standing over me, dressed in a dirty, dilapi-
dated coat and shirt and drawers, and moccasins
so worn that they could scarcely be tied to his
feet. Having invited him in and inquired his
business, he told me substantially the follow-
ing : —
'' His name was Boone Helm. In company
with five others he had left Dalles City, Oregon,
in October, 1858, intending to go to Camp Floyd,
Utah Territory. Having reached the Raft river,
they were attacked by a party of Digger Indians,
with whom they maintained a runnhig fight for
sjveral miles, but none of the party was killed
or severely wounded. Late in the evening they
reached the Bannack river, where they camped,
picketed their horses near by, and stationed two
sentinels. During the nijilit one of the sentinels
164 Boone Helm.
was killed, the savage who committed the deed
escaping on a horse belonging to the party.
'' Upon consnltation, it was decided that thev
had better leave that jjlaco as soon as jiossible.
The sky at the time was overcast with storm-
clouds, and soon after they got into their saddles
the weather culminated in a snow-storm, which
increased in violence until it became terrific.
Finally, being unable to see anything but sheets
of snow, they became -bewildered, and knew not
in what direction they were jiroceeding. Morn-
ing brought no relief. In the midst of an ocean
of snow, they were as oblivious of locality in day-
light as if total darkness had encompassed them.
They knew they were somewhere between Ross's
Fork and the Bear river, and this was their most
definite knowledge.
" At last they reached Soda Springs on Bear
river, where familiar landmarks came in view.
They then travelled up that river until they
reached Thomas's fork, where they were forced to
stop, from the lean and exhausted condition of
their horses and the depth of the snow. Here
they found a very comfortable cabin, and perforce
Avent into winter quarters.
" Their provisions soon being all gone they
commenced subsisting on their horses, killing one
Boone Helm. 165
after another, until they had eaten them all but a
celebrated race-horse which had been valued on
the Upper Columbia at over a thousand dollars.
Seeing' now that they must all perish unless they
soon reached a point where supplies could be
obtained, the race-horse had to share the fate of
the others. His meat was ' jerked ' or hastily
dried, that they might the more conveniently
carry it on their backs. They then made snow-
shoes of the hides of the horses, and started back
towards, and aimed to reach. Fort Hall, where
they supposed they would meet with human
beings of some kind, Avhite men, half-breeds, or
Indians.
" The party kept together until they had got
beyond Soda Springs, where some had become so
exhausted they could scarcely travel, — and their
meat getting frightfully small in amount. Helm
and a man named Burton concluded not to en-
danger their own lives by waiting for the wearied
ones, so they left them behind.
^^ The two finally reached the Snake river, and
moved down it in search of Fort Hall, having
nothing to eat but the prickly -pear plant. When
they had reached the site of Cantonment Loring,
Burton, starving, weary, and snow-blind, was un-
able to proceed ; and a good vacant house being
166 Boone Helm.
there, Helm left him, and continued on for Fort
Hall.
" Reaching the fort, he found it without an
occupant. He then returned and reached Burton
about da k. When out in the willows hard by,
procuring- firewood, he heard the report of a
pistol. Running back into the house, he found
Burton had committed suicide by shooting him-
self. He then concludod to try and find his
way into Salt Lake valley Cutting off, well up
in the thigh. Burton's remaining leg (he had
eaten the other), he rolled the limb uj) in an old
red flannel shirt, tied it across his shoulder, and
started.
" About eight miles out he met an Indian going
in his lodge. He entreated the savage to take
him along; but the Indian said he had nothing
himself to eat, and that his family were starving.
Helm exhibited handfuls of gold coin, when the
Indian consented to his accomj^anying him.
" He remained at this lodge about two weeks,
paying the Indian ten dollars a meal. His food
consisted of ants and an unpalatable herb, called
in the mountains the ' tobacco plant.'
" The above facts Helm gave me with tears in
his eyes, and s.iid, ' I will give you all I have in
the world, ~ which is onlv nine dollars, — to take
Boone Helm. 167
me to the settlements.' I told him I did not
desire money for helping a man in his condition.
"That same evening the Indian with whom
Helm had been stopping, visited me. His name
was Mo-quip. I had known him for several
years. He fully corroborated Helm's story, in
regard to the carrying and eating the body
of" his companion. 'When I first tasted of the
flesh,' said Mo-quip in his own tongue, ' I knew
not what it was, but told the stranger it was
hueno * game, — better than I had myself. The
stranger then took hold of one of the corners of
a red shirt that was around his pack, and jerked
it up, when a white man's leg, the lower end
ragged from gnawing, rolled out on the ground.'
Ahogether Helm had paid Mo-quip two hundred
and eighty dollars.
" Havincr crjven him a new suit of buckskin,
and furnished him with a horse, he set out with
my party for Salt Lake City. Just after pitching
my lodge the first evening after starting with him,
' Grand Maison,' very much frightened, came to
me with a sack of gold coin which he said Helm
had asked him to conceal until they reached Salt
Lake City. I took the money and counted it —
it amounted to fourteen hundred dollars.
" Though satisfied there was something wrong,
* Good.
168 Boone Helm.
I said nothing, and took Helm on to the set-
tlements. Havmg ascertained in the meantime
that he was the worst kind of a desperado, I
called him to me as soon as we had reached the
end of the journey, and handed him his money,
saying, ' You can now take care of yourself.' He
coolly put the coin in his pocket, without express-
ing a syllable of thankfulness for the assistance I
had rendered him.
" It was not long until he had squandered
all he had in gambling and drinking, and was
finally expelled from Salt Lahe v.illey for his
atrocities.
" Hoping these facts may be of service to you,
allow me to subscribe myself,
" Your obt. servant,
"John W. Powell."
We have good reason for believing that before
Helm fled from Salt Lake City he murdered, in
cold blood, two citizens, at the instigation of some
of the leading Mormons, who, after the deed was
done, concealed him, and finally aided in his
escape from arrest. Certain it is, that after leav-
ing there, he travelled through southern Utah,
and by a long circuit reached San Francisco, from
whence he returned by water to the Dalles in
Oregon.
Boone Helm. 169
Here he engaged in fresli villainies. Several
murders which were committed along: the route
leading from the Columbia river to the gold
mines were laid to his charge. At one time, in
Washington Territory, he stole a herd of horses
which he sold at Vancouver's Island. In this
course of varied and hardened crime he passed
his time till the spring of 1862, — with his usual
good fortune escaping detection or arrest. In
June of that year he made his appearance in
Florence, where he soon found, among the
roughs, congenial associates.
A man of that mixed character which united
the qualities of a gambler, a skilful pugilist, and
an honest, straightforward miner in his single
person, known only as "Dutch Fred," at this
time enjoyed a local notoriety in Florence which
had won for him among his comrades the appella-
tion of " Chief." He was neither a rowdy nor
desperado, and in ordinary deal, honest and
generous; but he gambled, drank, and when
roused, was a perfect Hercules in a fight. Helm
having been plied with liquor, at the request of
an enemy of Fred's sought him out for the pur-
pose of provoking a fight. Entering the saloon
where Fred was seated at a faro table. Helm, with
many oaths and epithets and flourishes of hie
170 Boone Helm.
revolver, challenged Fred to an immediate deadly
combat. Fred sprung up, drew his knife, and
was advancing to close Avith the drunken brag-
o-art, when the bystanders interfered, and de-
prived both of their weapons, which they entrusted
to the keeping of the saloon-keeper, and Fred
returned quietly to his game.
Helm apologized, and expressed regret for his
conduct, and left the saloon. A few hours after-
wards he returned. Fred was still there. Step-
ping up to the saloon-keeper. Helm asked for his
revolver, promising that he would immediately
depart and make no disturbance. No sooner was
it returned to him than he turned towards Fred,
and uttering a diabolical oath, fired at him while
seated at the table. The ball missed, and before
the second fire, Fred, unarmed, with his arms
folded across his breast, stood before his antago-
nist, who, with deadlier aim, pierced his heart.
He fell dead upon the spot. Helm cocked his
pistol, and looking towards the stupefied crowd,
exclaimed, —
" Maybe some more of you want some of
this ! "
As no one deigned a reply, he walked coolly
away.
If Helm was arrested for this murder, he
Boone Helm. I'l
escaped: for the next we hear of him he was
captured on Frazer river in the fall of 1862, as
will appear from the following extract from a
British Columbia paper : —
" The man, Boone Helm, to whom Ave referred
some weeks since, has at last been taken. He
was brought into this city last night strongly
ironed. The first clue of the detectives was the
report that two men had been seen trudging up
the Frazer river on foot, with their blankets and
a scanty supply of provisions on their backs. The
description of one corresponded with the descrip-
tion given by the American ofBcers of Boone
Heim^ Helm's conduct on the road is conclusive
evidence that he was aware he was being pursued.
He passed around the more populous settlements,
or through them in the night time. When over-
taken, he was so exhausted by fatigue and hunger
that it would have been impossible for him to
have continued many hours longer. He made no
resistance to the arrest, — in fact, he was too
weak to do so, — and acknowledged without
equivocation or attempt at evasion that he was
Boone Helm. Upon being asked what had be-
come of his companion, he replied with the utmost
sang fr old : —
" ' Why, do you suppose that I'm a fool
172 Boone Hehn.
enough to starve to death when I can help it ? I
ate him up, of course.'
" The man who accompanied him has not been
seen or heard of since, and from what we have
been told of this case-hardened villain's antece-
dents, we are inclined to believe he told the truth.
It is said this is not the first time he has been
guilty of cannibalism."
While on his return for trial in the spring of
1863, leave was obtained from the proper author-
ities at Portland, Oregon, to confine him in the
penitentiary there until provision could be made
to secure him safely at Florence. There I will
leave him for the present, as, after accompanying
me thus far throuoh the horrible narrative of his
adventures, my readers doubtless, now that he is
fairly within the sharp fangs of the law, hope
soon to learn that justice has finally overtaken
him, and that the world is freed from his further
depredations.
Three brothers of Boone Helm came to the
Pacific coast between 1848 and 1850. They all
died violent deaths. At the time of the return of
Boone Helm to Florence for trial for the murder
of " Dutch Fred," one of these brothers, familiarly
called " OVl Tex," was engaged in mining in
the Boise diggings, two hundred miles south of
Boojic IL'hn. 173
Florence. He had a good reputation for honesty,
Hberality, and courage. He was, moreover, a
man of eccentric character. It is told of him
that in one of the mining towns he threatened to
shoot on sight a person with whom he had a per-
sonal difficulty. His enemy hearing of this, swore
to reciprocate the intention upon the first oppor-
tunity. A chance soon after offering to carry his
threat into execution, he said to " Old Tex," as
he presented his pistol to fire, —
" Tex, I heard that you said that you'd shoot
me on sight."
Looking around, " Tex " replied, " Well, didn't
you say you would shoot mc, too?"
" Yes, I did."
" Well, why don't you do it then ? All you've
got to do is to pull that trigger, and that's the last
of ' Old Tex.' "
This stoical bravery won the admiration of the
man and defeated his bloody purpose.
" Tex," said he, " I don't want to kill you."
" Do you mean that ? " asked " Tex."
"I do."
" That suits me," replied " Tex," " let's go and
take a drink." And thus their enmity ended in
making them fast friends. " Tex " was killed by
beino- thrown from a wild horse, in Walla Walla,
in the year 1865.
174 Booyie Helm.
It was to this brother that Boone Helm, when
he found all hope of escape at an end, applied for
assistance. True to the fraternal instinct, " Tex "
promptly responded, and soon made his appear-
ance in Florence, with a heavy purse. He soon
satisfied himself that unless the testimony could be
suppressed, the trial must result in conviction ;
and to this object he immediately addressed him-
self. Some of the witnesses had left the country.
" Tex " succeeded in buying up all that remained,
except one. He wanted an extravagant sum.
" Tex " finally agreed to pay it, if he would at
once leave the country and never return. The
extortionist accepted the conditions. Fixing his
cold, gray eye on him, '' Tex," as he handed him
the money, said : " Now, remember, if you do
not fulfil the last condition of the bargain, you
will have me to meet."
Shylock knew the character of the man tocf well
to trifle with him.
The day of trial came, no witnesses appeared,
the case was dismissed, and the red-handed mur-
derer and cannibal was again at liberty to prowl
for fresh victims. The true-hearted brother who
had purchased his life, as soon as he was free, took
him kindly by the hand, and in a voice choked
with emotion, said to him, —
Boone Helm. 175
" Now, Boone, if you want to work and make an
honest livino- o-o down to Boise with me. I have
plenty of mining ground, and you can do well for
yourself: — hut if you must fight, and nothing-
else will do you, I will give you an outfit to go
to Texas, where you can join the Confederate
armies, and do something for your country."
Boone accompanied his hrother to Boise, and
for a while eno-ao-ed in minino- but it was not a
congenial occupation. He soon signified his desire
to go to Texas, and " Old Tex," true to his
promise, furnished him clothing, a horse, and a
well-filled purse. He set out in quest of new
adventures, but, as we shall see hereafter, did not
go to Texas.
170 Charley Harper,
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAELEY HABPEB.
Charlet Harper at Colville — New Year's Ball —
Kicks and abuses a Womax — Is pursued by the
People, UPON whom he fires — Captured and hung
— Vigilantes of Florence banish '' Fat Jack " —
He returns, is warned, and leaves Town — Stops
at IsTeselrode's Cabin — Company fire upon the
Cabin — Kill Neselrode and "Fat Jack" — Who
to blame.
We return now to Charley Harper, whom we
left at Colville on the Upper Columbia, a fugitive
from the Vioilantes of Florence. Fear had exer-
cised a healthful restraint upon his conduct, and
during the brief period that had elapsed since his
flight, though by no means a model citizen, he
had been guilty of no offences of an aggravated
character. He was, however, known to be a
favorite with the roughs, a gambler, a drunkard,
and a man of desperate resources. Good men
shunned and watched him. Had there been a
Vigilante organization in existence then, he
would have received its closest observation. But
Chrrleij Harper. 177
ill a condition of society where all classes iiiter-
miiiglecl, he contrived to slip along without
molestation.
New Yearns Day brought with it the customary
ball, to Avhich all were invited. Tlie preparations
were on a scale commensurate with the wishes and
means of the miners, who generally, upon such
occasions, spare no expense while their money
holds out. Everybody in the town was in at-
tendance, Charley Harper among the numbei
Attracted at an early hour of the evening by the
sparkhng eyes and voluptuous person of a half-
breed woman, he devoted to her his entire atten-
tion, dancing with her often, and bestowing upon
her many unmistaken civilities. As the evening
wore on, Charley became boisterous, swaggering,
and noisy. His inamorata declined his further
attentions, and refused his hand for a dance. In-
censed to madness by this act, crazy with liquor,
he knocked her down, and beat and kicked her
in a most inhuman manner after she had been
prostrated. This roused the indignation of the
by-standers, and Charley, seeing vengeance in
their demonstrations, fled in terror before them.
They pursued him through the streets, he retreat-
ing and firing upon them until he had emptied
his revolver The pursuit ended in his capture.
178 (liarley Harper.
a roj)e was procured, and in a few moments after-
wards the lifeless form of the wretched desperado
was swinging in the cold night wind from the
liml) of the tree nearest the place of his arrest.
Thus ended the life of one who, among his own
associates, bore the name of being the meanest
scoundrel of their gang.
After the affray which terminated in the death
of " Cherokee Bob " and Wilioughby, the Vigi-
lantes of Florence met, passed congratulatory reso-
lutions, and renewed their measures for the effec-
tual suppression of crime in their midst. Their
Executive Committee was instructed to warn all
suspicious characters to leave the place immedi-
ately, — and they determined to visit with con-
dign punishment those who disobeyed. The lead-
ing men among the offenders had fled in anticipa-
tion of some public demonstration, so that those
who remained were few and ]30werless. Among
these was a tall, lean, cadaverous individual, de-
risively called " Fat Jack," who, like " Happy
Harry," belonged to that class of negative scoun-
drels, whose love for crime is confined by fear to
petty thefts. " Fat Jack " obeyed the order to
leave, and went to Walla Walla. Brooding over
his expulsion with increasing indignation, and en-
couraged in the belief that he could return with-
Charleij Harper. 179
out molestation, after a short period he went back
to Florence, muttering by the way violent threats
asrainst those who had banished him. Two
months had elapsed since his hegira. It was late
in the afternoon of a cold, stormy, March day
when he entered the town. At his first appear-
ance he was promptly waited upon by the mem-
bers of the Executive Committee, who ordered
him to retrace his steps at once, or he would be
hanged. Hard as this order may seem to the
casual reader, to have neglected it would have
endangered the efficiency of the committee and
opened a way for a return of the roughs to their
old haunts.
Tlie poor wretch turned his face to the storm,
and wandered through the darkness, sleet, and
wind, despairingly, from cabin to cabin, in search
of food and lodging. Every door was closed
against him, and he was rudely and unpityingly
told to "^ Be gone," by all from whom he sought
relief. At a distance of four miles from Florence
he stopped at a late hour of the night at the door
of a worthy man by the name of Neselrode. Jack
answered frankly the old man's questions. Nesel-
rode admitted him, gave him supper, and a bed
by his cabin fireside. A hired man was the only
other occupant of the house.
180 Charley Hatyer.
At a later hour of the night, two men roused
Mr. Neseh'ode, and demanded the person of " Fat
Jack." Neseh^ode, on being told that they had
no authority, refused to surrender him to an irre-
sponsible party, as to do so would be on his part
a violation of the laws of hospitality. His refusal
was followed by the instant discharge of two
double-barrelled shot-guns which riddled the door
with buckshot, and stretched in death-throes both
the kind-hearted host and his criminal guest.
The one surviving man threw open the door, and
bade the dastardly ruffians to enter, telling them
the murderous effects of their shots. They availed
themselves of the darkness to flee without recog-
nition. None of the citizens of Florence were
more indignant when told of this cruel assassina-
tion than the Vigilantes themselves. A meeting
was held denouncing the perpetrators, and pledg-
ing the citizens to the adoption of every possible
means for their early detection and punishment,
Alas! the criminals remain to this day undis-
covered. They belonged, doubtless, to that class
of officious individuals, of whom there are many
in the mining camps, who in point of moral char-
acter and actual integrity are but a single remove
from the criminals themselves, — men who live a
cheating, gambling, dissipated life, and seek a
Charley Harper. 181
cover for their own iniquities by the energy and
vindictiveness with which they pursue others ac-
cused of actual guilt. If the various protective
societies which at one time and another have
sprung up in the mining regions to preserve
peace and good order are liable to any charge of
wrong, it was their neglect to punish those men
who used the organization to promote their own
selfish purposes, and in the name of Vigilante jus-
tice committed crimes wdiich on any principle of
ethics were w^holly indefensible. The fact that in
some instances wrongs of this kind have occurred,
only adds to the proof, that in all forms of
society, whether governed by permanent or tem-
porary laws, there are always a few who are
adroit and cunning enough to escape merited
punishment.
182 Pinkham and Patterson.
CHAPTER XV.
PINKHAM AND PATTERSON.
Character of Pinkham — His Birthplace — Hi?
Life iJf California — Goes to Florence — Is
appointed U. 8. Marshal of Idaho — Character
OF Patterson — He kills Staples — Is acquitted
of Murder — Difference in the Characters of
the Two Men — Pinkham arrests Patterson —
They meet at Warm Springs —Patterson kills
Pinkham — Patterson arrested by Robbins —
Patterson's Cruelty — Organization of Vigi-
j^Aj^-xES — Confronted by a Sheriff's Posse —
Vigilantes disband — Trial of Patterson —
Acquittal — Goes to Walla Walla — Is killed
by Donahue.
©
No two men filled a broader space in the early
history of the Florence mines than Pinkham and
Patterson. Their personal characteristics gave
them a wide-spread notoriety, and a sort of local
popularity, which each enjoyed in his separate
siohere. They were both leaders, after their own
fashion, in the heterogeneous society in which they
moved, and he was deemed a bold man who would
gainsay their opinions, or resist their enterprises.
Poikham and Pattirson. 183
Tliej were both gamblers, and lived the free
and easy life of that pursuit ; a pursuit which,
in a new mining camp, next to that of absolute
ruffianism, enabled its votaries to exercise a power
as unlimited as it is generally lawless and insur-
rectionary. Indeed, th-re, it is the master vice,
which gives life and support to all the other vices,
and that surrounds and hedo-es them in.
The order of influences which govern and
direct the social element of a mining camp in
its infancy are exactly the reverse of those
which govern and direct the social element of an
Eastern village. The clergyman, the church, and
the various little associations growing out of it,
which make the society of our New England vil-
lages so delightful, and, at the same time, so
disciphnary and instructive, are superseded in a
minnig community by the gambling saloon, cheap
whiskey, frail women, and all the evils necessarily
flowing from such polluted combinations. In the
one case, religion and morality stand in the fore-
ground, protected by the spirit of wise and in-
flexible laws ; in the other, the rifle, the pistol, and
the bowie-knife are flourished by reckless men,
whose noblest inspirations are excited by liquor
and debauchery. While all that is good and true
and pure in society is brought nito unceasing
184 Pinkham and Patterson.
action in the one case, all that is vile and false
and polluted reigns supreme in the other. We
look to the one condition of society for all great
and good examples of humanity, and to the other
for such as are of an opposite character.
If we are to credit the early history of New
England, Miles Standish was a central character
of Puritanic chivalry and fidelity. The peoj)le
had faith in his Christian character, and entire
confidence in his strong arm and fertility of
expedients in the hour of danger. Some such
sentiment, qualified by the wide difference in the
moral character of the two men, attached the
mining community of Florence to Pinkham. He
was a bold, outspoken, truthful, self-reliant man,
without a particle of braggadocio or bluster, care-
ful always to say what he meant, and to do Avhat
he said. Fear was a stranger to him, and des-
perate chances never found him without desper-
ate means.
Pinkham was a native of Maine, and physi-
cally a fine type of the stalwart New Englander.
In stature he was more than six feet, and in
weight upwards of two hundred pounds. To
the agility of a mountain cat he added the quick,
sharp eye of an Indian and the strength of a
giant. Trained by years of frontier exposure, he
Pinkham and Patterson . 185
was skilled in the ready use of all defensive
weapons. When aroused, the habitual frown
upon his brow gathered into a fierce scowl, and
the steely gray eyes fairly blazed in their sockets.
At such times he was dano-erous, because it was
his custom to settle all disputes with a word and
a blow, and the blow almost always came first.
The intensity of his nature could not brook
altercation.
Pinkham had been an adventurer ever since
the discovery of gold in California. He was
among the first of that great army of fortune-
seekers which braved the perils of an overland
trip to that distant El Dorado in 1849. If,
before he left his New Enoknd home, no blioht
had fallen upon his moral nature, it is certain
that soon after his arrival in the land of o-old
his character took the form which it ever after-
wards wore, of a gambler and desperado. In
this there was nothing strange, as he was but
one victim in a catastrophe that wrecked the
characters of thousands. The estimate is small,
Mdiich places at one-half the number of the early
Pacific gold-seekers, those who fell victims to the
moral nun of life in the mining camp. It was
the fruitful nursery of all those desperate men,
who, after years of bloody experience, expiated
186 Pinkhom and Patterson,
their crimes upon the impromptu scaffolds of the
Vigilantes, or in some of the violent brawls
which their own recklessness had excited. Pink-
ham's pursuits in California were those of the
professional gambler. At one time he kept a
common dance-house in Marysville. It is fair,
in the absence of facts, to presume that his life
in the Golden State was a preparatory fore-
o'round for the one which followed in the moun-
tains of Washington Territory. He was among
the first, in 1862, who were lured to that Terri-
tory by the reports of extensive gold discoveries.
Among the desperate, reckless, and motley crowd
that assembled at Florence immediately after the
discovery of the mines, was Pinkham, with his
faro boards and monte cards, " giving the boys a
chance for a tussle with the tiger and the leop-
ard." It was not long until he became a central
figure in the camp. The wild, undisciplined,
pleasure-seeking population, attracted by the out-
spoken boldness and self-assertion of the man,
quietly submitted to the influence which such
characteristics always command. And no man
better understood his power over his followers,
or exercised it more warily, than Pinkham. The
reputation which he enjoyed, of being a bold,
chivalric, fearless man, ready for any emergency,
P'uikham and Patterson. 187
however desperate, gained for him the favor of
every reckless adventurer who shared in his gen-
eral views of the race.
Unlike most of the gamblers and roughs, who
for the most part sympathized with the Confeder-
ates, Pinkham was an intense Union man. He
never lost an opportunity to proclaim his attach-
ment for the Union cause, and denounced as
traitors all who opposed it. No fear of personal
injury restrained him in the utterance of his patri-
otic sentiments, and as he always avowed a readi-
ness to fight for them, his opponents were careful
to afford him no opportunity. At every election
in Idaho City after the organization of the Terri-
tory, he was found at the polls surrounded by a set
of plucky fellows armed to the teeth, ready at his
command for any violent collisions with seces-
sionists that the occasion might inspire. His tall
form, rendered more conspicuous by the loud and
inspiring voice with which, to the cry of " negro
worshippers," " abolitionists," and " Lincoln hire-
lings," he shouted back " secessionists," "copper-
heads," " rebels," and " traitors," was always the
centre of a circle of men who would oppose force
to force and return shot for shot.
On his return to Idaho City from a business
visit to the States, a few days before the anniver-
188 Pinkliam and Patterson.
sary of our national independence of the year in
which he was killed, he was so indignant that no
preparations had been made for a celebration, that
when the day arrived he procured a National flag,
hired a drummer and fifer, and followed them,
wavinof the banner, throuoh the streets of the
town, greatly to the disgust of the secessionists.
The South had just been conquered, and the dem-
onstration wore the appearance of exultation, but
no one aggrieved by it had the hardihood to
interrupt its progress. " Old Pink," as he was
familiarly called, was much too dangerous a char-
acter to meddle with.
With all his rough and desperate characteristics,
Pinkham had no sympathy for the robbers and
murderers and thieves which swarmed around
him ; and when Idaho was organized the governor
of the Territory appointed him sheriff of Boise
County. Soon afterwards he received the appoint-
ment of United States marshal, an office which
made him and his friends in some measure the
represantatives of law and order. By promptly
discharofino: the duties of these offices, he was held
in great fear by the criminal population of the
Territory, and won the respect of the best citizens
for his efficiency and fidelity.
Patterson was a native of Tennessee, from
PinlcTiam and Patterson. 189
w'heiice, in boyhood, be went witb bis parents to
Texas, and grew to manbood among tbe desperate
and bloody men of tbat border State. His char-
acter, tastes, and pursuits were formed by early
association with them. He was a gambler by
profession, but of a nature too impulsive to depend
upon it as a means of livelihood. When he came
to California, he turned his attention to mining,
alternating that pursuit with gambling, as the in-
clination seized him. Like Pinkham, he was a
man of striking presence, — in stature six feet,
and of weight to correspond, with a fair complex-
ion, light hair streaked with gray, sandy whiskers,
and, when unaffected by liquor or passion, a sad,
reflective countenance, lit up by calm but expres-
sive blue eyes. His habitual manner w\as that of
quiet, gentlemanly repose; — and to one unac-
quainted with his characteristics, he would never
have been suspected of a fondness for any kind
of excitgment. In conversation he was uniformly
affable when sober, and bore the reputation of
being a very genial and mirth-loving companion
when engaged with others in any exploring or
dangerous enterprise. He was brave to a fault,
and perfectly familiar with all the exposures and
extremes of border life, — as ready to repair the
lock of a gun or pistol as to use those weapons in
190 Pinkham and Patterson.
attack or defence. His kindness and tliouo-litful-
ness for the comfort of any of his party in the
event of sickness, and the resources with which he
overcame obstack's in the numerous expeditions
of one kind and another in which he participated,
made him a o-reat favorite with all who knew him.
and gave him a commanding- power over the
society in which he moved. He was naturally a
leader of those with whom he associated. Had
these been his only characteristics, Patterson would
have been one of the most useful men in the min-
ing regions, — but whiskey always transformed
him into a demon. Patterson was not a steady
drinker, but gave himself up to occasional seasons
of indulofence. He was one of that laro-e class of
drinkers who cannot indulge their appetites at all
without going through all the stages of excite-
ment, to complete exhaustion. From the moment
he entered upon one of these excesses to its close,
he was danoerous. The whole man was chanoed.
His calm, blue eye looked like a heated furnace
and was suggestive of a thirst for blood. His
quiet and gentlemanly manner disappeared. His
breath was labored, and his nostrils dilated like
those of an enraged buffalo. He remembered,
on these occasions, every person who hnd ever
offended him, and sought the one nearest to
Pinklunii <(itil Patterson. 191
him to engage him in quarrel. His whole
bearing- was aggressive and belligerent, and his
best friends always avoided him until he became
sober.
His unfortunate propensity for liquor had
involved hiui in several serious affrays before he
came to the Idaho mines. On one occasion, in
Southern Oregon, a man who had suffered injury
at his hands while on a di'unken spree, shot him
in the side by stealth. Patterson, with the
quickness of lightning, drew his revolver, fired
upon and wounded his assailant. Both fell, and
Patterson, believino; the wound he had received
would prove fatal, fired all the remaining charges
in his pistol at his antagonist, and then called
for his friends to take off his boots as quickly as
possible before he died.
The original expression " he will die with his
boots on some day," uttered many years ago as
the prediction of some comical miner that a mur-
derer would be hanged or come to his death by
violence, has grown into a fatalistic belief among
the reckless and bloodthirsty ruffians of the Pacific
coast. Patterson, who shared in this faith, in-
tended, by having his boots taken off, to signify
to those around him that he had never been guilty
of murder. When we consider that of the great
192 Pinkliam and Patterson.
number of tliose who in the early history of the
mining' regions were guilty of murder, nineteen at
least of every twenty have expiated their crimes
upon the scaffold or in bloody affrays, the faith
in this frontier axiom seems not to be greatly
misplaced : but why it should be any more po-
tent as a human prediction than as the stern
edict of the Almighty denounced against the
murderer four thousand years ago, I leave for the
solution of tliose modern thinkers who build theii*
belief outside the lids of the Bible.
Another bloody rencontre in which Patterson
was engaged was with one Captain Staples in
Portland, Oregon. Staples, an ardent Unionist,
boisterously patriotic from liquor, insisted that all
around him should join in a toast to Lincoln and
the Union arms. Patterson refused^ and an
unpleasant altercation followed, but the parties
separated without collision. Later in the evening
they met, and the difficulty was renewed, and in
the fight Staples was killed. Patterson was tried
and acquitted ; and became, in consequence of
the quarrel and trial, a great favorite and cham-
pion among the secessionists of Portland.
Some time after this, in a drunken frenzy he
scalped a disreputable female acquaintance. His
own version of this affair was as follows : ''' I was
Pinhham and Patterson. 193
trying," said he, "to cut off a lock of her hair
with my. bowie-knife, but she wouldn't keep her
head still, and I made a mistake, and got part of
her scalp with the hair." For this act he was
arrested and recognized to await the action of
the grand jury ; but before the term of court
he left the State, and his bondsmen were com-
pelled to pay the forfeiture.
Patterson came to Idaho with the first dis-
covery of gold in that section. His fellow-gam-
blers, wdio never failed to take advantage of his
unskilful playing, with one hand, were always
ready to contribute to his necessities with the
other. If he wanted money to stock a faro bank
they furnished it. If a saloon keeper needed
a man who united popularity and strength to
arrest the encroachments of the roughs, he was
ever ready to share a liberal portion of his profits
with Patterson for such services. The difference
between Pinkham and Patterson was that, w^iile
the friends of the former looked to him for aid
in their embarrassments, those of the latter
afforded him the means of existence.
About a year before the occurrence of the
bloody affray between these men, Patterson and
some of his friends, during a period of drunken
excitement, took unlawful possession of a brew-
19-4 Pii:L-ham and Patterson.
ery in Idaho City, and engaged in the mannfac-
tnre of beer. Pinkham was the only person in
the city brave enongh to undertake their arrest.
When he entered the buikling for the purpose,
he informed Patterson of his object and was
met with violent resistance. In the struofii'le
Pinkham was successful, and Patterson was
arrested and taken away. The citizens, know-
ing the character of Patterson, and expecting
nothing less than a shooting affray as the con-
sequence of the arrest, were surprised at his
submission. It was soon understood, however,
that the bad blood provoked by the incident
had severed all friendly relations between the
champions, and that Patterson would avail him-
self of the first opportunity to avenge himself.
Months passed away without any collision. The
subject, if not forgotten, was lost sight of as
other occurrences more or less exciting trans-
pired.
On the day he was killed, Pinkham, Avdth an
acquaintance, rode out to the Warm Springs, a
favorite bathing resort two miles distant from
Idaho City. Meeting there with several friends,
he drank more freely than usual and became
quite hilarious.
Patterson returned early the same day from
Pinkham and Patterson. 195
Rocky Bar, fifty miles distant. Half-crazed
from the effects of protracted indulgence in
drinking and a severe j^ersonal encounter, his
friends, to aid his return to sobriety, took him
to the springs for a bath. Among others who
accompanied him was one Terry, a vicious, un-
principled fellow, who, in a conflict with Patter-
son a year before, begged abjectly for his life
when he found himself slightly wounded, and
ever after, spaniel-like, had licked the hand that
smote him. When they arrived, Pinkham and
his friends were singing the popular refrain of
"John Brown," and had just completed the
Une —
" We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree,"
as Patterson and his party stepped upon the
porch. Jefferson Davis was at that time in
custody. With the curiosity which exercised the
Unionists one of the singers said to Pinkham : —
" Pink, do you think they will hang Jeff
Davis ? "
" Yes," replied Pinkham, " in less than six
weeks."
Hearing a step on the threshold, he turned,
and his gaze met the heated eyes of Patterson.
Neither spoke, or, except by vengeful looks, gave
196 Pinkham and Patterson.
any token of recog-nition. Patterson advanced
to the bar. Terry crowded behind him, and
slipped a derringer into his pocket. With an
oath and opprobrious epithet, Patterson said, —
" Don't mind him. He is not worth the notice
o£ a gentleman."
Pinkham, looking steadily at Patterson, with
his habitual frown deepened, passed out upon
the porch. Patterson went through the oppo-
site door to the swimming- pond, followed by
Terry. After they were out, he handed the
derringer back to Terry, and jn-oceeded with
his bath. Terry returned to the bar, and going
around to the desk, while unobserved by Turner,
the landlord, thrust a revolver under his coat,
and went back to Patterson. Doubtless he told
Patterson that Pinkham and his friends intended
to attack him, for Patterson was observed on the
moment to be greatly excited. Pinkham's friend,
who knew both Patterson and Terry, told Pink-
ham that mischief was brewing, and suggested
their immediate return to town.
" No," replied Pinkham, " when he insulted
me in the bar-room, I was unarmed, but now
I am ready for him."
" But it is better," suggested his friend, " to
avoid a collision. No one doubts vour courao-e."
Pmkham and Patterson. 19'i'
" I will not be run off by the rebel hound,"
said Pinkham. "If I were to leave, it would be
reported that I had 'weakened' and fled from
Patterson, and you know that I would prefer
death in its worst form to that."
Patterson hurried out of the bath, dressed
himself as quickly as possible, and with the
revolver strapped to his side, came into the bar-
room. Calling for a drink, in a loud tone and
with much expletive and appellative emphasis,
his blood-drinking eyes glaring in all directions,
he demanded to know where Pinkham had gone.
Turner, thinking to pacify him, replied in a
mild tone, —
" Away, I believe."
Pinkham at this moment was standing by a
bannister on the porch, and engaged in con-
versation with a friend by the name of Dunn.
He was unapprised of Patterson's return to the
saloon, and, from the tenor of his conversation,
believed he would be warned of his approach.
For the impression that each entertained of
the other's intention to fire upon him, and that
both were awaiting the opportunity to do so,
these men were indebted to the mischievous inter-
ference of those friends whose wishes were parent
to the thought.
198 Pinkham and Patterson.
" I will not be run off by Patterson," said
Pinkham, " nor do I wish that through any
undue advantagfe he should assassinate me. All
I ask is fair play. My pistol has only five loads
in it.
" Stand your ground, Pink," replied Dunn.
" I have a loaded five-shooter, and will stand by
you while there is a button on my coat."
These words were scarcely uttered, when Pat-
terson stepped from the saloon upon the porch.
Turning to the right, he stood face to face with
Pinkham. The fearful glare of his bloody eyes
was met by the deepening scowl of his antag-
onist. Hurling at him a degrading epithet, he
exclaimed, —
" Draw, will you? "
"Yes," replied Pinkham with an oath, "I
will," and drawing his revolver, poised it in
his left hand to facilitate the speed of cocking it.
Patterson, with the rapidity of lightning, drew
his, cocking it in the act, and firing as he raised
it. The bullet lodged under Pinkham's shoulder-
blade. Pinkham received a severe nervous shock
from the w^ound, and delivered his shot too
soon, the bullet passing over the head of Pat-
terson, into the roof. At Patterson's second fire
the cap failed to explode, but before Pinkham,
Pinkham and Patterson. 199
who was disabled by his w^ound, could cock
his pistol for another shot, Patterson fired a
third time, striking Pinkham near the heart.
He reeled down the steps of the porch, and fell
forward upon his face, trying with his expiring
strenofth to cock his revolver. At the first fire
of Patterson, Dunn forgot his promise to stand
by Pinkham. Jumping over the bannister, he
sought refuge beneath the porch. Stealing from
thence when the firing ceased, he ran across the
street, where, protected by the ample trunk of
a large pine, he took furtive observation of
the catastrophe. Pinkham's other friend came
from the rear of the house in time to assist
Turner in removing his body.
Patterson's friends, some seven or eight in
number, well pleased with the result, but fear-
ing for his personal safety, mounted him on a
good horse, armed him with revolvers, and
started him for a hurried ride to Boise City.
Half an hour served to carry intelligence of
the encounter to Idaho City. The excitement
was intense. Pinkham's friends were clamorous
for the arrest and speedy execution of Patterson ;
those of the latter avoided a collision by keep-
ing their own counsel, and expressing no public
opinion in justification of the conduct of their
200 Phikham and Patterson.
chamj^ion. Terry and James, the instigators of
the contest, secreted themselves, and left town
by stealth at the first opportunity. Indeed, many
of Patterson's friends believed that Terry intended
that the affray should terminate differently. The
pistol which he furnished Patterson had been
lost, and buried in the snow the entire winter
before the encounter, and it was supposed by
the owner, who was afraid to fire it lest it
should explode, that the loads were rusted.
Terry knew of this. He stood in personal fear
of Patterson, and bore an old ofrudo-e ao-ainst
him. Here was his opportunity. At the second
attempt of Patterson to fire, the pistol failed,
and the wonder is that it went off at all.
In less than an hour after the trao-edy,
Robbins, an old friend and former deputy of
Pinkham, armed with a double-barrelled shot-
gun and revolvers, mounted his horse, and left
town alone, in swift pursuit of Patterson. He
was noted for bravery, and had been the hero
of several bloody encounters. At a little wayside
inn, seventeen miles from the city, he overtook
the fugitive, who had stopped for supper. Pat-
terson came to tlie door as he rode up.
"I have come to arrest you, Ferd," said he,
at the same time raising his gun so that it
covered Patterson.
Pinkham and Patterson. 201
" All right, Robbins, if that's your object,"
replied Patterson, as he handed Robbins his
revolver. In a few moments they started on
their return. Before they arrived at town, sev-
eral of the sheriff's deputies met them, and
claimed the custody of Patterson. Robbins sur-
rendered him, and he was taken to the county
jail.
After the account given of the fight by
Patterson had been circulated, the community
became divided in sentiment, the Democrats
generally espousing the cause of the prisoner,
the Republicans declaring him to be a mur-
derer. There were some exceptions. Judge
R , a life-long Democrat, and a Tennesseean
by birth, was very severe in his denunciation of
Patterson. He distinguished him as the most
marked example of total depravity he had ever
known, and related the following incident in con-
firmation of this opinion : —
Several years before this time, Patterson joined
in an expedition in Northern California, to pursue
a band of Indians, who had been stealing horses,
and committing other depredations upon the prop-
erty of the settlers. The pursuers captured a
bright Indian lad of sixteen. After tying him
to a tree, they consulted as to what disposition
202 PinJcham and Patterson.
should be made of him. They were unainmoiis
in the opinion that he should not be freed, but
were concerned to know how to take care of him.
Some time hiving elapsed without arriving at
any conclusion, Patterson suddenly sprung to his
feet, and seizing his rifle, said with an oath that
he would take care of him, and shot the poor boy
throuo'h the heart. " That incident," said the
judge, " determined for me the brutal character
of the wretch. His whole life since has been
of a piece with it. For years he has been a
' bummer ' among men of his class. He has lived
off his friends. He has had no higher aims
than those of an abandoned, dissolute gambler.
Pinkluim, though a gambler, had other and better
tendencies. His schemes for the future looked
to an abandonment of his past career, and he was
in no sense a ' bummer.' "
The justice of this criticism was unappreciated
by Patterson's friends. He was provided with
comfortable quarters in the jailor's room, and ac-
corded the freedom of the prison yard. His
friends supplied him with whiskey and visited
him daily to aid in drinking it. No prisoner
of state could have been treated with greater con-
sideration. The gamblers and soiled doves gave
him constant assurance of sympathy. Even the
PinkJiam and Patterson. 203
poor wretch he had scalped at Portland wrote to
ascertain if she could do anything for "poor
Ferd."
Pinkham's friends, enraged at the course pur-
sued by the officers of justice, began to talk
of taking: Patterson's case into their own hands.
The example of the Montana Vigilantes excited
their emulation. When they finally effected an
organization, several of Patterson's friends gained
admission to it by professing friendship for its
object. They imparted its designs and progress
to others. Patterson was informed of every
movement, and counselled his adherents what
measures to oppose to the conspiracy against his
life. Meantime the Vigilantes appointed a meet-
ing for the purpose of maturing their plans, to
be held at a late hour of the evening, in a ravine
across Moore's creek, a short distance from the
city. Patterson having been apprised of it, was
anxious to obtain personal knowledge of its de-
signs. So when the hour arrived, representing in
his own person one of the deputy sheriffs with
the consent of the sheriff, he placed himself at the
head of an armed band of six men as desperate as
himself, and stole unperceived from the jail-yard
to a point within three hundred yards of the ren-
dezvous. Here they separated. Each with a
204 PinJcham and Patterson.
cocked revolver approached at different points, as
near the assemblage as safety would permit.
Three hundred or more were already on the
ground, and others constantly arriving. It was a
large gathering for the occasion, — and the occa-
sion was not one to inspire with pleasurable emo-
tions the mind or heart of the wTetch who was
risking his life to gratify his curiosity. Neverthe-
less, he crept forward till within seventy yards of
the chairman's stand.
The place of meeting was partially obscured
by several clumps of mountain pines, which grew
along the sides of the ravine, and enclosed it
in their sombre shade. It was bright starlight.
When the gathering was complete and had
settled into that grim composure which seemed
to await an opportunity for a hundred voices to
be raised, the chairman called upon a Methodist
clergyman present to open their proceedings with
prayer. This request, at such a time, must
appear strange to the minds of many of my
readers. And yet, why should it ? It bore
testimony to some sincerity and some solemnity
in the hearts of the people, even though they
had assembled for an unlawful, perhaps some
of them for a revengeful, purpose. They felt,
doubtless, that the law did not and would not
PinJcham and Patterson. 205
protect them, and if they had known that the
person whose doom they were there to decide,
at that very moment stood near, armed, a secret
observer of their proceedings, with friends within
the call of his voice to aid him or obey his
orders, they might very properly have conclnded
that the law exposed them to outrage and mur-
der. Prayer had no mockery in it in such
an exigency. Patterson afterwards jocosely re-
marked that it was the first prayer he had lis-
tened to for twenty years. Its various petitions,
certainly, could not have fallen pleasantly upon
his ears.
Patterson returned unobserved to the jail at
a late hour, fully possessed of the designs of
the committee. A system of espial was kept up
by his friends, by means of which the sheriff and
his deputies were enabled to devise a successful
counter-plot. At eleven o'clock in the morning
of a bright Sabbath, a few men were seen con-
gregating upon the eastern side of Moore's creek,
below the town, for the supposed purpose of
carrying out the decision of the previous even-
hio- which was the execution of Patterson. Pat-
fcerson and thirty of his friends, armed to the
teeth, were in the jail-yard looking through loop-
holes and knot-holes, anxiously watching them.
206 Pinkham and Patterson.
When their numbers had reached a hundred,
a signal was given to the sheriif. He quickly
summoned a jwsse of one hundred and fifty men,
who had received intimation that their services
would be needed. Fully armed, they marched
slowly to a point on the west side of Moore's
creek, where they confronted the Vigilantes.
Nothing daunted at this unexpected demonstra-
tion, the latter quietly awaited the arrival of
several hundred more, who had promised to join
them. Hours passed, but they came not. Not
another man was bold enough to join them.
Robbins, who, after much persuasion, had con-
sented to act as their leader, was greatly dis-
gusted, and for three hours declined all propo-
sitions to disband. Every hill and housetop was
crowded with spectators, citizens of Idaho and
Buena Vista Bar, anticipating a collision. The
newly elected delegate to Congress was on the
ground, making eager exertions to precipitate a
contest.
" Why don't you fire upon them ? " said he,
with a vulofar oath to the sheriff. " You have
ordered them to disperse, and still permit them
to defy you."
The sheriff, though a determined, was a kind-
hoarted man, and wished to avoid bloodshed. He
Pl'ukliam and Patterson. 207
knew if his men fired the fire would be returned,
and a bloody battle would follow. He was also
aware that seven hundred or more had enrolled
their names in the ranks of the Vigilantes;
courageous men and good citizens, who would
probably rally to the assistance of their comrades
in case of an attack. The day wore on with
nothing more serious to interrupt its harmony
than the noisy exchange of profane epithets and
vulvar threats between the two bands, until it
was finally agreed that persons should be selected
from both factions to work up the terms of a
peace. The result was that the Vigilantes dis-
banded, upon the sheriff's pledge that none of
them should be arrested, and Patterson was con-
veyed to prison to await the decision of a trial at
law. After an unsuccessful effort of his attor-
ney to have him admitted to bail, the sheriff
remanded him to custody.
The counsel on both sides prepared for trial
with considerable energy. The evidence was all
reduced to writing. The character of each jury-
man, the place of his nativity, and his political
predilections were ascertained and reported to
the defendant's counsel. The judge and sheriff
were required, by the Idaho law, to prepare the
list of talesmen when the regular panel of jurors
208 Pinkham and Patterson.
was exhausted. In the performance of this duty
in Patterson's case, the judge selected Repub-
licans, and the sheriff Democrats. When the
Kst was completed, and the venire issued, a copy
of it was furnished to Patterson's friends, who
caused to be summoned as talesmen such persons
named in it as were suspected of enmity to the
accused, in order that they might be rejected
as jurors. The preliminary challenges allowed
by law to the defendant were double those
allowed to the prosecution. With all these
advantages, the defendant's counsel could hardly
fail in selecting a jury favorable to their client ;
and after the jury was sworn, such was its gen-
eral composition, that both the friends and
enemies of the prisoner predicted an acquittal.
Nor were they disappointed. When his freedom
was announced from the bench, his friends
flocked around him to tender their congratula-
tions. But Patterson was not deceived. He felt
that he was surrounded by enemies. Sullen eyes
were fixed upon him as he walked the streets.
Little o-atherino-s of the friends of Pinkham
stood on every corner in anxious consultation.
He very soon concluded that his only safety
was in departure. At first he thought of return-
ing to Texas, but the allurements around him
Pinkham and Patterson. 200
were too strong : besides, he owed considerable
sums of money to the friends who had aided him
in making his defence. He had, moreover, many
attached friends, who, by promises of assistance,
sought to dissuade him from leaving the country.
Finally, two weeks after his trial, he left Idaho
City for Walla Walla.
One day the following spring, Patterson en-
tered a barber's shop for the purpose of getting
shaved. Removing his coat, he seated himself
in the barber's chair. A man by the name
of Donahue arose from a chair opposite, and,
advancing toward him, said : —
" Ferd, you and I can't both live in this com-
munity. You have threatened me." As Pat-
terson sprung to his feet, Donahue shot him.
Staggenng to the street, he started towards the
saloon where he' had left his pistol, and was
followed by Donahue, who continued to fire at
him, and he fell dead across the threshold of the
saloon, thus verifying in his own case the fatal-
istic belief of his class, " He died with his boots
on."
The only incident of Patterson's trial worthy
of note was the following : Oiie of the attorneys
who had been employed for a purpose discon-
nected with the management of the trial, insisted
210 Pinkham and Patterson.
upon making an argument to the jury. This
annoyed his colleagues, and disgusted Patterson's
friends, but professional etiquette upon the part
of the lawyers, and a certain indefinable delicacy
from which even the worst of men are not
wholly estranged, prevented all interference, and
the advocate launched out into a speech of great
length, filled with indiscreet assertions, slipshod
arguments, and ridiculous appeals, at each of
which, as they came up, one of the shrewder
counsel for the defendant, seated beside his
client, filled almost to bursting with indigna-
tion, would whisper in his ear the ominous
words : —
" There goes another nail into your coffin,
Ferd."
Wincing under these repeated admonitions,
Patterson's eyes assumed their blood-drinking
expression, and at last the mental strain becom-
ing too great for longer composure, he exclaimed
with a profane curse : —
" I wish it had been he, in the place of Old
Pinkham."
Upon the trial of Donahue the jury failed
to agree. He was remanded to prison, from
which he afterwards escaped, fled to California,
where he was rearrested, and released upon a
Pinkham and Paffcrson. 211
writ of habeas corpus, by the strange decision
that the provision of the Constitution of the
United States requiring one State to deliver up
a fugitive from justice to another claiming him,
did not apply to Territories.
To certain of my readers, some explanation for
detailing at such length the life of a ruffian and
murderer may be necessary. Not so, however,
to those familiar with mountain history. They
would understand that both Patterson and Pink-
ham were noted and important members of
frontier society, representative men, so to speak,
of the classes to which they belonged. Their fol-
lowers regarded them with a hero-worship which
magnified their faults into virtues, and their acts
into deeds of more than chivalric daring. Their
pursuits, low, criminal, and degrading as they
are esteemed in old settled communities, were
among the leading occupations of life among
the miners. Said one who had been for many
years a resident of the Pacific slope, after spend-
ing a few weeks in the Atlantic States : " I can't
stand this society. It is too strict. I must
leturn to the land where every gambler is called
a gentleman."
212 Earlii Discoveries of Grold.
CHAPTER XVI.
EARLY DISCOVEBIES OF GOLD.
First Discoveuv of Gold in Montana — The Stuart
BrotheivS — Narrative of Granville Stuart —
First Arrival of Emigrants from the Missouri
River — Shooting of Arnett — Arrest of his
Companions — Trial and Execution of Spillman
— Exodus of Miners fro3I Colorado — Difficul-
ties— Crossing of Smith Fork of Bear River —
Crossing of Snake River — Arrival at Lemhi —
Discouragements — Consultation — The Party
divides — Arrival of Woodmansee's Train with
Provisions — Great Joy in the Camp.
Gold was first discovered in what is now known
as Montana by Francois Findlay, better known
as Be-net-see, a French half-breed, in 1852.
He had been one of the early miners in Califor-
nia, having gone there from his home in the
Red river country soon after Marshall's discov-
ery. At this time, however, he was engaged in
trapping for furs and trading with the Indians.
While travelling along the border of Gold creek
he was induced by certain indications to search
JAMES STUART,
Who set the first sluices in Montana.
Early Discoveries of Gold. 213
for gold, which he found in the gravelly bed of
the stream.
Intelligence of this discovery was given to a
party of miners who were on their return from
California to the States in 1857, and thev imme-
diately resolved to visit the creek and spend a
winter there in prospecting. James and Gran-
ville Stuart and Resin Anderson, since known.
as prominent citizens of Montana, were of this
party, and I insert here as an interesting bit of
early history the narrative which Granville Stuart
has since furnished of the discovery then made
by them : —
" We," he writes, " accordingly wintered on
the Big Hole river just above what is known
as the Backbone, in company with Robert
Dempsey, Jake Meeks, Robert Hereford, Thomas
Adams, John W. PoAvell, John M. Jacobs, and
a few others. In the spring of 1858 we went
over into the Hell Gate valley, and prospected a
little on Benetsee's or Gold creek. We ofot
gold everywhere, in some instances as high as
ten cents to the pan, but, having nothing to eat
save what our rifles furnished us, and no tools
to work with (Salt Lake City, nearly six hundred
miles distant, being the nearest point at which
they could be obtained), and as the accursed
214 Earlij Discoveries of Gold.
Blackfeet Indians were continually stealing our
horses, we soon quit 2)rospecting in disgust with-
out having found anything very rich, or done
anything to enable us to form a reliable estimate
of the richness of the mines.
" We then went out on the road near Fort
Bridger, Utah Territory, where we remained until
the fall of 1860. In the summer of that year
a solitary individual named Henry Thomas, better
known to the pioneers of Montana, however, as
' Gold Tom ' or ' Tom Gold Digger,' who had
been sluicing on the Pend d' Oreille river, came
up to Gold creek and commenced prospecting.
He finally hewed out two or three small sluice-
boxes and commenced work on the creek up near
the mountains. He made from one to two dollars
a day in rather rough, coarse gold, some of the
pieces weighing as high as two dollars.
" After spending a few weeks there, he con-
cluded that he could find better diggings, and
about the time that we returned to Deer Lodge
(in 1860), he quit sluicing and went to prospect-
ing all over the country. His favorite camping
ground was about the Hot Springs, near where
Helena now stands. He always maintained that
that was a good mining region, saying that
hj had got better prospects there than on
GRANVILLE STUART,
Who set the first sluices in Montana.
Early Discoveries of Grold. 215
Gold creek. He told me after ' Last Chance,'
' Grizzly/ ' Oro Fino,' and the other rich gulches
of that vicinity had been struck, that he had
prospected all about there, but it was not his
luck to strike any of those big things.
"About the 29th of April, 1862, P. W.
McAdow, who, in company with A. S. Blake
and Dr. Atkinson (both citizens of Montana),
had been prospecting with but limited success
in a small ravine which empties into Pioneer
creek, moved up to Gold creek and commenced
prospecting about there. About the 10th of
May they found diggings in what we afterwards
called Pioneer creek. They got as high as
twenty cents to the pan, and immediately began
to prepare for extensive operations. At this time
' Tom Gold Digger ' was prospecting on Cotton-
wood creek, a short distance above where the
flourisliing burgh of Deer Lodge City now stands,
but finding nothing satisfactory, he soon moved
down and opened a claim above those of McAdow
& Co. In the meantime we had set twelve joints
of 12 X 14 sluices, this being the first string of
regular sluices ever set in the Rocky Mountains
north of Colorado.
" On the 25th of June, 1862, news reached us
that four steamboats had arrived at Fort Benton
216 Early Dhcoveries of (rold.
loaded with emigrants, provisions, and mining
tools, and on the 29th Samuel T. Hauser, Frank
Louthen, Jake Monthe, and a man named Ault,
who were the advance guard of the pilgrims to
report upon the country from personal observa-
tion, came into our camp. After prospecting on
Gold creek for a few days, Hauser, Louthen, and
Ault started for the Salmon river mines by way
of the Bitter Root valley. Jake Monthe, that
harum-scarum Dutchman who wore the hat that
General Lyon had on when he was killed in the
battle of Wilson's creek, continued prospecting
along Gold creek.
" Walter B. Dance and Colonel Hunkins ar-
rived on the 10th of July, and on the l-lth we
had the first election ever held in the country.
It was marked by great excitement, but nobody
was hurt — except by whiskey.
" On the 15th, Jack Mendenhall, ^sit\\ several
companions, arrived at Gold creek from Salt
Lake City. They set out for the Salmon river
mines, but having reached Lemhi, the site of a
Mormon fort and the most northern settlement
of the ' Saints,' they could proceed no farther in
the direction of Florence, owing to the impassa-
ble condition of the roads, so they cached their
wagons, packed th'ir goods on the best condi-
Early Dhcoverles of Gold. 217
tioned of their oxen, and turned off for Gold
creek. They lost their way and wandered about
until nearly starved, when they fortunately found
an Indian guide, who piloted them through to
the diooinos. On the 25th Hauser and his
party, having failed to reaeli Florence, also
returned nearly starved to death."
The leading men among this little band of
pioneers were admirably qualified to grapple with
the varied difficulties and dangers incident to
their exposed situation. The brothers Stuart,
Samuel T. Hauser, and Walter B. Dance were
among the most enterprising and intelligent
citizens of Montana, and to the direction which
they, by their prudence and counsel, gave to
public sentiment, when, with twenty or thirty
others, they organized the first mining camp in
what is now Montana, was the Territory after-
wards indebted for the predominance of those
principles which saved the people from the
bloody rule of assassins, robbers, and wholesale
murderers. They were men bred in the hard
school of labor. They brought their business
habits and maxims with them, an.l put them
rigidly in practice. Having heard of the laAvless-
ness which characterized the Salmon river camps^
and of the expulsions which had taken place
218 Early Discoveries of G-oJd.
there, they were on the alert for every suspicious
arrival from that direction.
On the 25th of August William Arnett, C. W.
Spillman, and B. F. Jernigan arrived at Gold
creek from Elk City. They opened the first
gambling establishment in Montana and satisfied
the good people of Gold craek before the close
of their first day's residence that they were the
advance o-uard of the outcasts of Salmon river.
Victims flocked around them in encouraging
numbers. The highway of villainy seemed to
stretch out before them with flattering promise.
Four days had elapsed since their arrival. The lit-
tle society was fearfully demoralized, and whiskey
and dice ruled the hour, when the Nemesis
appeared. Two men. Fox and Bull, came in
])ursuit of the gamblers for horse-stealing. Steal-
ing upon them while busy at play, the first
notice the poor wretches had of their approach
was to find themselves covered with double-
barrelled guns which were instantly discharged,
Arnett fell, riddled with bullets. Fox's gun
missed fire. Jernigan tlirew up his hinds, and
he and Spillman were arrested without resistance.
Arnett died with a death clutch of his cards in
one hand and revolver in the other, and was so
buried.
Earlij Discoveries of Gold. 219
The next day Jernigan and Spillman were
fairly tried by a jury of twenty-four miners.
The former was acquitted, the latter sentenced to
be huno', which sentence was executed in the
afternoon of the following day. This was the
first expression of Vigilante justice in that por-
tion of the North-West which afterwards became
Montana. Mr. Stuart says, " Spillman was either
a man of a lion heart or a hardened villain, for
he died absolutely fearless. After receiving his
sentence, he wrote a letter to his father with a
firm, bold hand that never trembled, and walked
to his death as unto a bridal."
The news of the discovery of the Oro Fino
and Florence mines was received at Denver in
the winter of 1861-62, and caused a perfect
fever of excitement. Colonel McLean, Wash-
ington Stapleton, Dr. Glick, Dr. Levitt, Major
Brookie, H. P. A. Smith, Judge Clancy, Edward
Bissell, Columbus Post, Mark Post, and others,
all left early in the spring, taking the route by
the overland road, from which they intended to
diveroe into the northern wilderness at some
point near Fort Bridger. Another party, under
the leadership of Captain Jack Russell, left soon
after, going by the way of the Sweetwater trail.
South Pass, and the Bridoer cut-off.
220 Early BhcoverieH of Gold.
My readers who have never seen the plains,
rivers, canons, rocks, and mountains of the por-
tion of our country travelled by these companies,
can form but a faint idea from any description
i^iven by them of the innumerable and formidable
difficulties with which every mile of this weary
march was encumbered. History has assigned a
foremost place among its glorified deeds to the
passage of the Alps by Napoleon, and to the
long and discouraging march of the French army
under the same great conqueror to Russia. If it be
not invidious to com23are small things with great,
we may assuredly claim for these early pioneers
greater conquests over nature on their journey
through the north-western wilderness than were
made by either of the great military expeditions
of Napoleon. In addition to natural obstacles
equally formidable and of continual occurrence
for more than a thousand miles, their route lay
through an unexplored region, beset by hostile
Indians, bristling with mountain peaks, pierced
with large streams, and unmarked with a single
line of civilization. Their cattle and horses
were obliged to subsist upon the scanty herbage
which put forth in early spring. Swollen by the
melting snows of the mountains, the streams,
fordable in midsummer, could now only be
Early Discoveries of Gold. 221
crossed by bocats, and frequently the passage of a
sintjle creek consumed a week of time. Seekino-
for passes around and through the ranges,
ascending them when no such conveniences could
be found, passing through canons, and clamber-
ing rocks, filled the path of empire through
western America with discouragement and dis-
aster.
Several of these companies were obliged to
wait the subsidence of the waters at the crossing
of Smith's fork of Bear river. While thus de-
layed, more than an hundred teams, comprising
three or four trains, all bound for the new gold
regions, arrived. Some of the companies were
composed entirely of "pilgrims," a designation
given by mountain people to new comers from
the States. Michaud Le Clair, a French fur-trader
and mountaineer of forty years' experience, had,
in company with two others, built a toll bridge
across the fork in anticipation of a large spring
emigration ; but a party arriving in advance of
this present crowd, exasperated at the depth of
the mud at the end of the brido-e, burned it.
Russell proposed to build another, but the pil-
grims, having no faith in his skill, refused to
assist. Russell completed the job on his own
account, and charged the pilgrims one dollar each
222 Earl J Discoveries of Gold.
for crossing, and then offered to release his inter-
est in the bridge for twenty-five dollars. Lo
Clair, thinking that Russell would go on with his
company, refused the offer. Russell, Brown, and
Warner sent their train ahead, remaining at the
bridge to receive tolls. Several trains passed
during the two succeeding days, greatly to the
annoyance of Le Clair and his comrades. They
attempted to retaliate by cutting the lariats of
the horses while tethered for the night ; and
when they found that the animals did not stray
far from camp, they sent the savages down to
frighten Russell and his men. But they were
old mountaineers, and felt no alarm. On the
third day a much larger number of wagons
crossed than on both the preceding days. The
Frenchmen, tired of expedients, and satisfied that
money could be made by paying Russell the
price he demanded for the bridge, sent for him,
and, after considerable negotiation, gave him the
twenty-five dollars and a silver watch. The
bridge temporarily erected by Russell was used
as a toll bridge the following year, but it
required very careful usage to prevent it from
falling to pieces. The proprietors, fearful of
accident, finally posted up the following placard,
as a warning to travellers that heavily laden
Early Discoveries of Gold. 223
Avagons would not be permitted to meet upon
the bridge : —
NOTIS.
No Vehacle draWn by moaR than one anamile
is alloud to croS this BRidg in oPposit direxions
at the sam Time.
Le Clair also advised him against a prosecu-
tion of his journey to the Salmon river region,
assuring- him that from long: familiarity with the
country, he knew he could not complete it in
safety. The season was too far advanced and
the streams were higher than usual. He then
told him as a secret that there was gold at Deer
Lodge and on the Beaverhead. The Indians
had often found it there, and if gold was his
object, he could find no better country than
either of these localities for prospecting.
" I have been," said he, " boy and man, forty
years in this region, and there is no part of it
that I have not often visited. You will find my
advice correct."
Russell placed great confidence in what Le
Clair said. Hastening on, he overtook his com-
panions, and they proceeded to Snake river near
Fort Hall, an old post of the North-western Fur
Company. Here they fell in with McLean's
224 JSiirhj Discoveries of Gold.
train, which, as we have seen, left Denver a few
days hefore they did, and travelled by another
route. One of this latter company, Columbus
Post, was drov»^ned while attempting to cross the
river in a poorly constructed boat, made out of
a wagon-box. Russell found an old ferry-boat
near the fort, Avhich the men repaired to answer
the purpose of crossing their trains, and they
proceeded on through the dreary desert of moun-
tains and rock in the direction of the Salmon
river. Superadded to the difficulties of travel-
ling over a rough volcanic region, they were now,
for successive days, until they left the valley of
the Snake, attacked by the Bannack Indians,
and their horses were nightly exposed to cap-
ture by them. After many days of adventurous
travel, the whole party, with a great number of
pilgrims, arrived in safety at Fort Lemhi. Here
they found themselves hemmed in by the Salmon
river range, a lofty escarpment of ridges and
rocks presenting an insurmountable barrier to
further progress with wagons. They had yet to
go several hundred miles before reaching the
gold regions. A large number, more than a
thousand in all, were now congregated in this
desolate basin. They at once set to work to
manufacture pack-saddles and other gear nee-
Early Discoveries of Gold. 225
essary to the completion of their journey. As
time wore on, the prospect of being able to do
so before cold weather set in became daily more
discouraofiiiii'. At ienotli a meetino- was called
to consider the situation of affairs, and if pos-
sible, to devise and adopt measures of relief.
Russell repeated to the assemblage the infor-
mation he had received from Le Clair, expressing
his belief that it was true, and recommended as
a choice of evils that they should turn aside,
and go to Deer Lodge and Beaverhead, rather
than attempt a journey down the Salmon to the
Florence mines, throusj-h a countrv of which their
best information was disheartening- in the ex-
treme. Several members of the Colorado com-
panies spoke of having seen letters from James
and Granville Stuart in which the discovery
of promising gokl placers in Deer Lodge was
mentioned ; but the pilgrims thought the infor-
mation too indefinite, and concluded to risk the
journey down the river. The Colorado men,
most of whom were experienced miners, deter-
mined at once to retrace their way to Deer
Lodge and Beaverhead, and risk the chance of
making new discoveries, if the information given
by the Stuarts and Le Clair should not prove
true. At the crossing of the Beaverhead, Russell
226 Enrhj Di-icoveriea of Gold.
found five cents in gold to the pan, and picked
up pieces of quartz containing free gold.
In the meantime, John White and a small
party of prospectors had discovered the gold
placer in the caiion of Grasshopper creek which
afterwards became Bannack. When the com-
panies of McLean and Russell arrived there, their
stock of provisions was nearly exhausted. They
went to Deer Lodge, hoping to find a more
promising field, and some of them visited the
placers on Gold creek. Pioneer, and at Pike's
Peak Gulch, none of which were equal in rich-
ness and extent to the one they had left behind
them. They returned to Grasshopper. No pro-
visions having arrived in the country, most of
them decided to attempt a return to Salt Lake
City. The chance of making a journey of four
hundred miles to the nearest Mormon settle-
ments was preferable to starvation in this deso-
late region. They could but die in the effort,
and might succeed. After they had started on
this Utopian journey, Russell mounted his horse,
followed them, and persuaded them to return.
They then set to work in good earnest and
found gold in abundance ; but, wdth the fortune
of Midas, as their scanty supply of food lessened
daily, they feared soon to share his fate also.
Early Discoveries of Gold. 227
and have aiotliing but gold to eat. Just at this
crisis, however, theii' Pactolus appeared in the
shape of a large train of provisions belonging
to Mr. Woodniansee, and all fear of starvation
vanished. Tlia step between the extremes of
misery and happhiess was, in this case, very
short. The camp was hilarious with joy and
mirth.
Upon the opening of spring, Russell left on
his return to Colorado, where he arrived in
safety after encountering dangers enough to fill
a moderate volume. For two days, while pass-
ing through Marsh valley, he was pursued by
Indians, barely escaping being shot and scalped.
His courage was often put to the strongest tests.
At Wood river, twenty miles from Fort Lemhi,
the Bannack Indians offered him money in large
amounts for fire-arms and ammunition. They
stole a pistol from him. Accompanied by one
Gibson, he went to their camp and recovered it.
Some of them were dressed in the apparel of
women whom they had murdered, and whose
bodies they had concealed in the fissures of the
lava-beds on Snake river. More than two hun-
dred emigrants had been killed by these wretches
the preceding summer.
Russell exhibited specimens of the gold taken
228 Early JJiscoveries of Crold.
from the " Grasshopper diggings," to his friends
in Coh^rado. Tiie excitement it occasioned was
intense, and when the spring of 1863 opened,
large numbers left for the new and promising-
El Dorado.
In the fall of 1862 there stood, on the bank
at the confluence of Rattlesnake creek and the
Beaverhead river, a sign-post witli a rough-hewn
board nailed across the top, with the following
intelligfence daubed with wagfon-tar thereon : —
Tu grass Hop Per digins
30 myle
Ji^^'kepe the Trale nex the bluffe
On the other side of the board was the fol-
lowing : —
Tu jonni grants
one Hunred & twenti myle.
The " grass Hop Per digins" are at the town
jf Bannack; and the city of Deer Lodge is
Ouilt on '' jonni grants " ranche.
Captain Fisk's Expedition. 229
CHAPTER XVII.
CAPTAiy FISK'S EXPEDITION.
Northern Overland Expeditiox — Journey from
St. Paul to Fort Benton — Arrival in Prickly
Pear Valley — High Price of Provisions —
Threatened Destitution — Trip of the Writer
TO Pike's Peak Gulch — Night Camp — Storm —
Blackfeet Indians — Critical Situation — Prov-
idential Escape — Arrival at Pike's Peak Gulch
— Disappointment — Journey to Grasshopper
Diggings.
While the little community at Bannack were
snugly housed for the winter, anxiously awaiting
the return of warm weather to favor a resump-
tion of labor in the gulch, numerous companies
were in progress of organization in the States,
intending to avail themselves of the same season-
able change to start upon the long and adven-
turous journey to Salmon river. The fame of
Bannack and Deer Lodge had not yet reached
them. In the summer of 1862 an expedition
under the direction of the Government was
planned in Minnesota for the ostensible purpose
230 Captain Msk\s UrpeJition.
of opening a wagon road between St. Paul and
Fort Benton, to connect at the latter point with
the military road opened a few years before
by Captain John Mullen from Fort Benton to
Walla Walla. This route of nearly two thou-
sand miles lay for most of the distance through
a partially explored region, filled with numerous
bands of the hostile Sioux and Blackfeet. Gov-
ernment had grudgingly appropriated the meagre
sum of five thousand dollars in aid of the enter-
prise, which was not sufficient to pay a compe-
tent guard for the protection of the company.
The quasi-governmental character of the expe-
dition, however, with the inducement superadded
that it would visit the Salmon river mines, soon
caused a large number of emigrants to join it.
The Northern Overland Expedition, as it was
called, left St. Paul on the 16th of June, 1862.
It was confided to the leadership of Captain
James L. Fisk, whose previous frontier experience
and unquestioned personal courage admirably
fitted him for the command of an expedition
which owed so much of its final success, as well
as its safety during a hazardous journey through
a region occupied by hostile Indians, to the vigi-
lance and discipline of its commanding officer.
His first assistant was E. H. Burritt, and second
CAPTAIN JAMES L. FISK,
Commander of Northern Overland Expedition.
Captain Fi/^k's Ex-pedition. 231
assistant, the writer ; Samuel R. Bond, secretary,
D.ivid Charlton, engineer. Dr. W. D. Dibb,
suro-eon, and Robert C. Knox, wagon master.
About forty men were selected from the com-
pany, who agreed, for their subsistence, to serve
as guards during the journey. One hundred
and twenty-five emigrants accompanied the ex-
pedition to Prickly Pear valley. This band
was thoroughly organized, and ready at all times
for instant service wdiile passing through Indian
country. Fort Abercrombie, Devil's Lake, Fort
Union, and Milk river were designated points
of the route, and it was generally understood
that the company should pursue as nearly as
possible the trail of the exploring expedition
under command of Governor Isaac I. Stevens in
1853.
All the streams not fordable on the entire
route were bridged by the company and many
formidable obstacles removed. The company
arrived without accident, after a tedious but not
uninteresting trip, in Prickly Pear valley on the
21st day of September. It was the largest
single party that went to the Northern mines in
18G2. About one-half of the number remained
in the Prickly Pear valley, locating upon the
creek where Montana City now stands. The
232 Captain Fisk's Expedition.
remainder accompanied Captain Fisk to Walla
Walla. All who were officially connected with
the expedition, except Mr. Knox and the writer,
returned by way of the Pacific ocean and the
Isthmus to Washinoj-ton.
Gold had been found on Prickly Pear creek
a short time before the arrival of our company.
" Tom Gold Digger," or " Gold Tom," had pitched
his lodgfe at the mouth of the caiion above our
location and was " panning out " small quanti-
ties of gold. The placer was very difficult of
development and the yield small. Winter was
near at hand. Many of the party who had left
home for Salmon river, where they had been
assured profitable employment could be readily
obtained, now found themselves five hundred
miles from their destination with cattle too much
exhausted to attempt the journey, in the midst of
a wilderness, nearly destitute of provisions, and
with no chance of obtaining any, nearer than
Salt Lake City, four hundred miles away, from
which they were separated by a region of moun-
tainous country, rendered impassable by deep
snowS and beset for the entire distance by hostile
Indians. Starvation seemingly stared them in
the face. Disheartening as the prospect was, all
felt that it would not do to give way to discour-
Captain Flsk's Expedition. 233
acrement. A few traders had followed the tide
of emioration from Colorado with a limited
supply of the bare necessaries of life, risking
the dangers of Indian attack by the way, to
obtain large profits and prompt pay as a right-
ful reward for their temerity. Regarding their
little stock as their only resource, the company
set to work at once, each man for himself, to
obtain means to buy with. Prices were enor-
mous. The placer was still unpromising. Frost
and snow had actually come. With a small pack
supplied from the remains of their almost ex-
hausted larders, the men started out, some on
foot, and some bestride their worn-out animals,
into the bleak mountain wilderness in pursuit of
gold. With the certainty of death in its most
horrid form if they fell into the clutches of a
band of prowling Blackfeet, and the thought
uppermost in their minds that they could scarcely
escape freezing, surely the hope which sustained
this little band of wanderers lacked none of
those grand elements which sustained the early
Settlers of our country in their days of disaster
and suffering. Men who cavil with Providence,
and attribute the escape of a company of half-
starved, destitute men from massacre, starvation,
and freezing, under circumstances like these, to
234 Capfam FisFs Expedition.
luck or chance or accident, are either destitute
of gratitude or have never been overtaken by
calamity. Yet these men all survived to tell the
tale of their bitter experience.
My recollection of those gloomy days, all the
more vivid, perhaps, because T was among the
indigent ones, was emphasized by a little incident
I can never recall without a devout feeling of
thankfulness. Intelligence was brought us that
a company of miners was working the bottom
of a creek in Pike's Peak Gulch, a distance of
sixty miles from the Prickly Pear camp over the
Rocky Mountain range. Cornelius Bray, Patrick
Dougherty, and I started immediately on a horse-
back trip to the new camp in search of employ-
ment for the winter. One pack-horse served to
transport our blankets and provisions. Our in-
tention was to cross the main ranoe on the first
day and camp at the head of Summit creek,
where there was good grass and water. In fol-
lowing the Mullen road through the canon, when
about two miles from the ridge. Bray's horse
gave out and resisted all our efforts to urge him
farther. There was no alternative but to camp.
The spot was unpromising enough. There was
no feed for our horses, and our camp by the road-
side could not escape the notice of anv band of
Captain Fisk's Expedition. 235
Indians that might chance to be crossing the
range. It was the custom in this Indian country
for packers and others to seek some secluded
spot half a mile or more from the trail for camp-
ing purposes ; but here we were cooped up in a
canon not ten rods wide, and the only practicable
pass over the range running directly through it.
Of course we all mentally hoped that no Indians
would appear.
I had, while at Fort Benton, held frequent con-
versations with Mr. Dawson, the factor at that
post, who had spent many years in the country,
and was perfectly familiar with the manners
and tactics of the Indians. He had warned me
against just such an exposure as that to which
we were now liable, and when night came, know-
ing that the country was full of roving bands of
Bleods and Piegans, I felt no little solicitude for
a happy issue out of danger. Evening was just
setting in, when snow began to fall in damp,
heavy flakes, giving promise of a most uncom-
fortable night. Our only shelter was a clump
of bushes on the summit of a knoll, where we
spread our blankets, first carefully picketing the
four horses with long lariats to a single pin, so
that in case of difficulty they could all be con-
trolled by one person. Dougherty proposed to
236 Captain Fisk's Expedition.
stand guard until midnight, when I was to
relieve him and remain until we resumed our
trip at early dawn. Bray and I crept into our
blankets, they and the bushes being our only
protection against a very heavy mountain snow-
storm. Strange as it may seem to those unfa-
miliar with border life, we soon fell asleep and
slept sound until I was aroused by Dougherty to
take my turn at the watch. I crawled from
under the blankets, which were covered to the
depth of five inches with " the beautiful snow,"
and Dougherty fairly burrowed into the warm
place I had left.
About three o'clock in the morning the horses
became uneasy for want of food. Preparatory to
an early departure I gathered in a large heap a
number of small, fallen pines and soon had an
immense fire. It lighted up the caiion with a
lurid gloom and mantled the snow-covered trees
with a ghastly radiance. The black smoke of
the burning pitch rolled in clouds through the
atmosphere, which seemed to be choked with the
myriad snow-flakes. So dense was the storm I
could scarcely discern the horses, which stood but
a few rods distant. Wading through the snow
to the spot where my companions slept, I roused
them from their slumbers. I could liken them
Captain Fisk's Expedition. 237
to nothing but spectres as they burst through
their snowy covering and stood haK-revealed in
the bushes by the light of the blazing pines. It
was a scene for an artist. Despite the gloomy
forebodings which had filled my mind, at this
scene I burst into a fit of loud and irrepressible
laughter.
It was but for a moment, for, as if in answer
to it, the counterfeited neigh of a horse a few
rods below and of another just above me, warned
me that the danger I had feared was already
upon us. It was the signal and reply of the
Indians. Bray and Dougherty grasped their guns,
while I rushed to the picket pin, and, seizing the
four lariats, pulled in the horses. A moment
afterwards, and from behind a thicket of willows
just above our camp, there dashed down the
canon in full gallop forty or more of the dreaded
Blackfeet. In the light of that dismal fire their
appearance was horribly picturesque. Their faces
hideous with war paint, their long ebon hair
floating to the wind, their heads adorned with
bald-eagle's feathers, and their knees and elbows
daintily tricked out with strips of antelope skin
and white feathery skunks' tails, they seemed
like a troop of demons which had just sprung
out of the earth, rather than beings of flesh and
238 Captain Fisk's Expedition.
blood. Each man held a gun in his right hand,
guiding his horse with the left. Well-filled
quivers and bows were fastened to their shoul-
ders, and close behind the main troop, driven by
five or six outriders, followed a herd of fifty or
more horses they had just stolen from a company
of miners on their way to the Bannack mines,
and who had encamped for the night at Deer
Lodge. These animals were driven hurriedly by
our camp, down the canon, the main troop, mean-
time, forming into line on the other side of them
so as to present an unbroken front of horsemen
after they had passed, drawn up for attack.
This critical moment we improved by rapidly
looping the lariats into the mouths of our horses
and bringing our guns to an aim from behind
them over their fore-shoulders. As we stood
thus, not twenty yards asunder, confronting each
other, the chief, evidently surprised that the
onslaught lingered, rode hurriedly along the
front of his men and with violent gesticulations
and much vehement jargon urged them to an
instant assault. They strongly expostulated, and
by numerous antics and utterances, which I after-
wards ascertained meant that their guns were
wet and their caps useless, finally persuaded him
to resort to the bows and arrows. The chief was
Captain Flak's K.rpedltion. 239
very ang-ry, and from the violence of liis gestures
and threatening manner I expected to see sev-
eral of the Indians knocked off their horses.
When the Indians, in obedience to his command,
hung their guns on the pommels of their saddles,
and drew their bows, the attack seemed inevi-
table. Our guns were dry, and we knew that
they were good for twenty-four shots and the
revolvers in our belts for as many more.
Satisfied that an open attack would eventuate
in death to some of their number, nearly one-
half of the Indians left the ranks and passed
from our sight down the canon, but soon reap-
peared, emerging from the thicket on the opposite
side of our camp. We wheeled our four horses
into a hollow square, and, standing in the centre,
presented our guns at each assaulting party. As
our horses were the booty they most wished to
obtain, they were now restrained lest they should
kill them instead of us. A few moments of
painful suspense — moments into which days of
anxiety were crowded — supervened. A brief
consultation followed, and the chief gave orders
for them to withdraw. They all wdieeled into
rapid line, and with the military precision of a
troop of cavalry dashed down the canon and we
saw them no more.
240 Captain Fink's Expedition.
Thankful for an escape attributable to the
snow which had unfitted their guns for use, and
to the successful raid they had made upon our
neighbors, we saddled our horses and hurried
over the mountain range with all possible speed.
While crossing, we found two horses which, jaded
with travel, had baen abandoned by the Indians.
We took them with us, and on our arrival at
Grasshopper some days after, restored one to Dr.
Glick, its rightful owner.
" I have had seven horses stolen from me by
these prowlers," said he, " but this is the first
one that was ever returned."
The little gulch at Pike's Peak was fully
occupied when we arrived, and after remaining
a few days, we mounted our horses and made a ted-
ious but unadventurous journey to Bannack, then,
and for nearly' a year afterwards, the most im-
portant gold placer east of the Rocky Mountains.
The fame of this locality had reached Salmon
river late in tlie fall of 1862, and many of the
people left the Florence mines for the east side.
Among them came the first irruption of robbers,
gamblers, and horss-thieves, and the settlement
was filled with gambling houses and saloons,
where bad men and worse women held constant
vigil, and initiated tliat reign of infamy which
nothing but the strong hand could extirpate.
Bannack in 1862. 241
CHAPTER XVIII.
BANNACK IN 1S62.
Plummer's supposed Attempt at Reform — Dread
OF Cleveland — Clevelaxd suspected of Evans's
Murder — His Conduct at Goodrich's Hotel —
Plummer's Interference — Shoots Cleveland —
George Ives and Charley Reeves appear —
Hank Crawford and Harry Phleger take
Cleveland away — Cleveland's Death — Plum-
mer's Interview with Crawford — Quarrel
between Ives and Carrhart — Reconciliation —
How Emigrants spent the Winter — J. M.
Castner — Attack of Moore and Reeves upon
THE Indians — Killing a Chief and a Pappoose
— Shooting of Cazette.
It is charitable to believe that Henry Pluminer
came to Bannack intending to reform, and live
an honest and useful life. His deportment justi-
fied that opinion. His criminal career was known
only to two or three persons as criminal as him-
self. If he could have been relieved of the fear
of exposure and of the necessity of associating
with his old comrades in crime, it is not improba-
ble that his better nature would have triumphed.
24:2 Bannack in 1862.
He possessed great executive ability — a power
over men that was remarkable, a fine person,
polished address, and prescient knowledge of his
fellows — all of which were mellowed by the
advantages of a good early education. With all
the concerns of a mining camp experience had
made him familiar, and for some weeks after his
arrival in Bannack he was oftener applied to
for counsel and advice than any other resident.
Cool and dispassionate, he evinced on these occa-
sions a power of analysis that seldom failed of
conviction. He speedily became a general favor-
ite. We can better imagine than describe the
mixed nature of those feelings, which, fired with
ambitious designs and virtuous purposes, beheld
the way to their fulfilment darkened by a
retrospect of unparalleled atrocity. So true it
is that the worst men are the last to admit to
themselves the magnitude of their offences, that
even Plummer, stained with the guilt of repeated
murders and seductions, a very monster of iniq-
uity, believed that his restoration to the pursuits
and honors of virtuous association could be es-
tablished but for a possible exposure by some
of his guilty partners. He knew their watchful
eyes were upon him ; that they were ready to
follow him as leader or crush him as a traitor.
Bannack in 1862. 24S
Of no one was he in greater dread than his
sworn enemy, Cleveland. This man, who made
no secret of his own guilty purposes, had fre-
quently uttered threats against the life of Plum-
mer, and never lost an opportunity publicly to
denounce him. Their feud was irreconcilable.
Cleveland had incurred suspicion as the murderer
of a young man by the name of George Evans,
and was regarded generally as a desperado of
the vilest character. It was no credit to Plum-
mer that he came in his company to Bannack.
But their previous criminal connection was as
yet unrevealed.
A few days after the disappearance of Evans,
a number of citizens were seated and in general
conversation around the fire in a saloon kept by
Mr. Goodrich. Among the number were Plum-
mer, Jeff Perkins, and Moore. Suddenly the
door was violently opened and Cleveland entered.
With an air of assumed authority he proclaimed
himself " chief," adding witlr an oath that he
knew all the scoundrels from the " other side "
and intended to o-et even with some of them.
The covert threat which these words revealed
did not escape the notice of Plummer, but Cleve-
land upon the instant charged Perkins with hav-
ing violated a promise to pay some money which
244 Bannack in 1862.
he owed him in the lower country. Perkins
assured him it had been paid. " If it has," said
Cleveland, " it is all right," but as if to signify
his distrust of Perkins's statement, he commenced
handling his pistol and reiterating the charges.
To prevent Cleveland from carrying his apparent
design of shooting Perkins into execution, Plum-
mer fixed his eyes sternly upon him and in a
calm tone told him to behave himself, that
Perkhis had paid the debt and he ought to be
satisfied.
Quiet was restored for the moment and Per-
kins slipped off, intending to return with his
pistols and shoot Cleveland on sight. Here the
difficulty would have ended had not Cleveland,
in an evil moment, in a defiant and threatening
manner, with mingled profanity and epithet,
declared that he did not fear any of them.
Filled with rage, Plummer sprang to his feet,
drew his pistol, and exclaiming, " I am tired of
this," followed up the expression with a couple
of rapid shots, the last of which struck Cleveland
below the belt. He fell on his knees. Grasping
wildly for his pistol, he appealed to Plummer
not to shoot him while he was down. " No,"
said Plummer, whose blood was now up ; " get
up." Cleveland staggered to his feet, only to
Bannack in 1862, 245
receive two more shots, the second of which
entered below the eye. He fell to the floor, and
Plummer, sheathing- his pistol, turned to leave
the saloon. At the door he was met by Georg-e
Ives and Charley Reeves, each of wliom, jjistol
in hand, was coming to take part in the affray.
Each seizing an arm, they -escorted Plummer
down the street, meanwhile suofofesting- with areat
expletive emphasis a variety of surmises as to
the possible effect of the quarrel upon the public.
Hank Crawford and Harry Phleger, two re-
spectable citizens, hastened to the aid of the
dying desperado, whom they conveyed to Craw-
ford's lodgings. His bed being poorly furnished
Cleveland sent him to Plummer's to get a pair
of blankets belono-ino- to him. The interview
between Crawford and Plummer on this occasion
showed that the mind of the latter was ill at ease.
Like Macbeth's dread of Banquo, so he felt that,
while Cleveland lived, —
" There is none but he
Whose being I do fear ; and under him
My genius is rebuk'd."
In the brief colloquy which took place between
them, Plummer asked Crawford no less than
three times what Jack had said about him. His
246 Bannack in 1862.
past career of crime was all before him. Craw-
ford as often replied, " Nothing,"
" 'Tis well he did not," at length responded
Plummer, " for if he had I would kill him in his
bed,"
Crawford then told him that, in reply to sev-
eral questions asked him, Cleveland had said : —
" Poor Jack has got no friends. Hs has got
it " (meaning his death-wound), " and I guess he
can stand it."
Crawford left with the impression that Plum-
mer still thought Cleveland had exposed him,
and was careful afterwards to go armed, as he
felt that his own life was in dancrer, Cleveland
lingered in great agony for three hours, and
was decently buried by Crawford. Soon after
he had been removed to Crawford's cabin, Plum-
mer sent a man known as " Dock," a cook, into
the cabin as a spy, where he remained until
Cleveland died. He said that the only reply
Phleger received to repeated questions concern-
ing the difficulty between him and Plummer
was, " It makes no difference to you." The
secret, if secret there was, died with him.
No immediate investiofation was made of the
circumstances of this affray. It was thought by
many that Plummer merely anticipated Cleve-
Bannaek in 1862. 247
land's intention by firing first. Shooting of
pistols and duelling were so common as of them-
selves to excite no attention. Many bloody
encounters took place of which no record has
been preserved, and which at the time, were
regarded as very proper settlements of difficul-
ties between the parties.
A few incidents as illustrative of the customs
of a mining-camp will not be out of place in
this immediate connection. On one occasion dur-
ing the winter a quarrel sprung up between
Geor;Ta Ives and Georof-e Carrhart in the main
street. After a long wordy war interlarded with
much profanity and various opprobrious epithets,
Ives ran into a saloon noar for his pistol, exclaim-
ino", " I will shoot you." Carrhart followed him
and both reappeared at the door of the saloon
a moment thereafter, each armed with a revolver.
Facing each other upon the instant, both parties
raised their pistols and fired without effect.
After a second fire with no better effect, both
parties walked rapidly backwards till they were
widely separated, at the same time firing upon
each other. Ives having emptied his revolver,
stood perfectly still while Carrhart took deliberate
aim and shot him in the groin, the ball passing
through his body, inflicting a severe wound.
248 Bannack in 180 2.
Soon afterwards tliey reconciled their difficulties,
and Ives lived with Carrhart on his ranche the
remainder of the winter.
Many of the early emigrants arrived at Ban-
nack so late in the fall that they could provide
themselves with no better shelter from the
Aveather during the winter than was afforded by
their wa<>ons. Of this number were Dr. Biddle
and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Short, and their hired
man from Minnesota. While seated around
their camp fire one dismal afternoon, engaged
in conversation with Mr. J. M. Castner, a bullet
whizzed so near the ear of Castner that he felt
its sting for several days. Castner ascertained
that it was fired by one Cy. Skinner, a rough,
who excused himself with the plea that he
thought they were Indians, and by way of
amends invited Dr. Biddle and Castner to drink
with him. Castner had the good taste to de-
cline.
The very composition of the society of Ban-
nack at the time was such as to excite suspi-
cion in all minds. Outside of their immediate
acquaintances, men knew not whom to trust.
They were in the midst of a people which had
come from all parts of this country and from
many of the nations of the Old World. Laws
1
Bannack in 1862. 249
which could not be executed were no better than
none. A people, however disposed to the preser-
vation of order and punishment of crimes, was
powerless for either so long- as every man dis-
trusted his neighbor. The robbers, united by a
bond of sympathetic atrocity, assumed the right
to control the affairs of the camp by the bloody
code. No one was safe. The miner fortunate
enough to accumulate a few thousands, the mer-
chant whose business gave evidence of success,
the saloon-keeper whose patronage was supposed
to be productive, were all marked as victims by
these lawless adventurers. If one of them needed
clothing, ammunition, or food, he obtained it on
a credit which no one dared refuse, and settled it
by threatening to shoot the person bold enough
to ask for payment. Such a condition of society,
as all foresaw, must sooner or later terminate in
disaster to the lovers of law and order or to the
villains v/ho depredated upon them. Which were
the stronger? The roughs knew their power,
but their antagonists, separately hedged about
by suspicion as indiscriminate as it was inflexible,
knew not how to establish confidence in each
other upon which to base an effective opposition.
Meantime the carnival of crime was progressing.
Scarcely a day passed unsignalized by outrage or
250 Bannach in 1862.
murder. The numerous tenants of the little
grave-yard had all died by violence. People
walked the streets in fear.
This suspense was at last broken by a murder
of unprovoked, heartless atrocity, which the
people felt it would be more criminal in them to
overlook than it was in the perpetrators to com-
mit. In January, 1863, that notorious scoundrel,
Charley Reeves, bought a squaw from the Sheep
Eater tribe of Bannacks. She soon fled from him
to her friends to escape his abuse. The tepee
was located on an elevation south of that portion
of the town known as " Yankee Flat," a few rods
in rear of the street. Reeves went after her.
Finding her deaf to persuasion, he employed vio-
lence to force her return to his camp. An old
chief interfered and thrust Reeves unceremoni-
ously from the tepee. Burning with resentment.
Reeves and Moore fired into the tepee the next
evening, wouriding one of the Indians. They
then returned to town, where they were joined
by William Mitchell, ^\\t\\ whom they counter-
marched, each firing into the tepee, and this time
killing the old chief, a lame Indian, a pappoose, and
a Frenchman by the name of Gazette, who had
come to the tepee to learn the cause of the first
shot. Two other persons who had been influenced
Baiinack in 18 6-. 251
by similar curiosity were badly wounded. When
the murderers were afterwards told that they had
killed white men, Moore with a profusion of pro-
fane appellations said "■ they had no business
there."
252 31oore and Reeves.
CHAPTER XIX.
31 00 BE AND BEEVES.
MOOKE AXD EeEVES FLEE MaSS MeETING OF ClTI-
ZEKs — They are arrested — Trial axd Acquit-
tal OF Plummer for killing Cleveland — ]\[ode
OF Trial — Incident at Blackfoot — Trial of
Moore and Reeves — Incidents of the Trial —
Sentenced to Banishment — Banishment and Re-
turn OF Mitchell.
Alarmed at the indignation which this brutal
deed had enkindled in the community, Moore
and Reeves, at a late hour the same night, fled on
foot in the direction of Rattlesnake. They were
preceded by Plummer, who it was supposed had
gone to provide means for their protection. He,
however, afterwards asserted that he left through
fear that in the momentary excitement the peo-
])le would hang him for shooting Cleveland.
A mass meetinn* of the citizens was held the
next morning, and a cordon of guards appointed
to prevent the escape of the ruffians. When it
was discovered that they had gone, on a call for
1
Moore and Reeves. 253
volunteers to pursue them, Messrs. Lear, Higglns,
Rockwell, and Davenport immediately followed
on their track. The weather was intensely cold.
The route of the pursuers lay over a lofty moun-
tain covered with snow to a great depth. After
riding as rapidly as possible, they came up with
the fugitives at a distance of twelve miles from
town. They had taken refuge in a dense thicket
of willows on the bank of the Rattlesnake. Be-
ing challenged to surrender, they peremptorily
refused. Pointing their pistols with well-directed
aim at the approaching party, and interlarding
their discourse with a flood of oaths, they or-
dered them to advance no farther on peril of
their lives. The advantao-e was on the side of
the robbers, and they could easily have shot
down every one of their pursuers. A parley
ensued. The position of both parties was fully
discussed. The conviction that it was equally
impossible for the pursuers to effect a capture,
and for the ruffians to escape such a pursuit as
would be made if they did not return, induced
the latter to agree to a surrender, upon the ex-
press condition that they should be tried by a
jury. The pursuing party gave a ready assent
to this arrangement, and the fugitives returned
in their custody to town.
254 Moore and Reeves.
Plummer was put upon his trial immediately.
While that was progressing a messenger was
sent to Godfrey's Caiion, ten miles distant, to
summon Mr. Godfrey and the writer, who, with
others, were erecting a saw-mill there Before
their arrival at midnight, Plummer was acquitted,
no doubt being entertained, on presentation of
the evidence, that he had killed Cleveland in
self-defence. Several Avitnesses testified that they
had on various occasions heard Cleveland threaten
to shoot Plummer on sight.
At a late hour the people separated with the
purpose of assembling for the trial of Moore,
Reeves, and Mitchell early the next morning.
Day broke clear and cold. All work was sus-
pended in the gulch, stores and hotels were aban-
doned, and the entire population, numbering at
least four hundred persons, assembled in and
about the laro'e log; buildino- which had been
designated as the place of trial. Every man was
armed, some with rifles and shot-guns, others
with pistols and knives. The friends of the
prisoners gave free utterance to threats, which
they accompanied with much profane assumption
of superior power and many defiant demonstra-
tions. Pistols were flourished and discharged,
oaths and epithets freely bestowed upon the citi-
Moore and Reeves. 255
zens, and whatever vehemence of gesture and
expression could do to intimidate the people, was
adopted. Amid all this bluster it was apparent
from the first that the current of popular opinion
set strongly against the prisoners. There was an
air of quiet determination manifested in every
movement preparatory for the trial. The citizens
were ready for an outbreak, and the least indica-
tion in that direction would have been the signal
for a bloody and decisive battle. It is not im-
probable that an attempt at rescue was prevented
by the presence of the overpowering force of
armed and indignant citizens.
The efforts of the roughs to suppress the trial
only increased the indignation of the people, and
after electing a temporary chairman, a motion
was made that the accused be tried by a miners'
court. This form of tribunal grew out of the
necessities of mining life in the mountams. It
originated in the early days of California, when
the country was destitute of courts and law, and
still exists in inchoate mining communities as a
witness to the fairness and honesty of American
character. It is now the general custom among
the property holders of a mining camp, as the
first step towards organization, to elect a presi-
dent or judge, who is to act as the judicial officer
256 Moore and Reeves.
of the district. He has both civil and criminal
jurisdiction. All questions affecting the rights
of property, and all infractions of the peace, are
tried before him. When complaint is made to
him, it is his duty to appoint the time and place
of trial in written notices which contain a brief
statement of the matter in controversy, and are
posted in conspicuous places throughout the
camp. The miners assemble in force to attend
the trial. The witnesses are examined, either by
attorneys or by the parties interested, and when
the evidence is closed the judge states the ques-
tion at issue, desiring all in favor of the plaintiff
to separate from the crowd in attendance until
they can be counted, or to signify by a vote of
" aye " their approval of his claim. The same
forms are observed in the decision of a criminal
case. The decision is announced by the judge
and entered upon his record. AYhere the punish-
ment is death, the criminal is generally allowed
one hour to arrange his business and prepare for
death ; when it is banishment, a few hours are
given him to leave the camp. If he neglects to
comply with the sentence he is in danger of
being summarily executed. Where the rights of
parties are settled by the court, and the defeated
party shows any resistance to the decision, it is
Moore and Reeves. 257
the duty of the court, if necessary, with the
strong hand to enforce it. The court is com-
posed of the entire population. To guard
against mistakes, the party in defeat, in all cases,
has the right to demand a second vote.
The progress of a trial in one of these courts
is entirely practical. Often the miners announce
at the commencement that the court must close
at a certain hour. Cross-examinations are gen-
erally prohibited, and if lawyers are employed, it
is with the understanding that they shall make no
long arguments. Each party and their respective
witnesses give their evidence in a plain, straight-
forward manner, and if any of the listeners desire
information on a given point in the testimony
they request the person acting as attorney to ask
such questions as are necessary to obtain it. The
decisions of these tribunals are seldom wrong,
and are always enforced in good faith. They have
many advantages in mining regions over courts
at law. None of the tedious incidents of pleading,
adjournment, amendment, demurrer, etc., which
at law so often consume the time of litigants and
put them to unnecessary expense, belong to a
miners' court.
The miners themselves have little time to spare,
and hence these courts are held on Sunday in all
258 Moore and Reeves.
cases where the exigency is not immediate. They
are held in the open air. Whenever, from any
seemingly unnecessary cause, their investigations
are prolonged, as by argumentative display, there
are always those present who, by the command
" Dry up," " No spread-eagle talk," force them to
a close.
On one occasion at Blackfoot, in Montana, a
rough was on trial for crimes which endangered
his life. A motion had been made by his counsel
that his life be spared on condition that he would
leave the gulch in fifteen minutes, — which motion
was carried by a small majority. In anticipation
of this favorable result his friends had provided
a mule to expedite his departure. The presiding
miners' judge announced to him the condition of
his freedom from death. Fearful that a recon-
sideration might be demanded, the moment he
was released he vaulted into the saddle, and look-
ing around upon the crowd exclaimed, "Fifteen
minutes ! ! Gentlemen, if this mule doesn't buck,
five will do ! " and lashing the sides of the animal
he disappeared at double-quick amid the shouts
and laughter of the crowd.
It was a trial by this court that the murderers
dreaded, and to escape which they made a trial
by jury the condition of their surrender. When
Moore and Reeves. 259
the motion was made to substitute the miners'
court it fell into their midst like a thunderbolt.
They regarded a trial by the mass as certain of
conviction as a trial by jury would be of acquittal,
not because the latter would be any less likely
than the former to perceive their guilt, but because
fear of personal consequences would prevent them
from declaring it. Men whose identity was lost
in a crowd would do that which, if they were
known, would mark them as victims for future
assassination. The friends of the prisoners showed
the estimation in which they regarded this con-
sideration when they openly threatened with death
every individual who participated in the trial.
They anticipated that, as none would dare in
defiance of this threat to act upon a jury, all
proceedings would ba suppressed, thus renewing
the license for their continued depredations.
The statement of the motion by the chairman
was the sig-nal for a violent commotion amono- the
roughs. One long howl of profanity, mingled
with the most diabolical threats and repeated dis-
charge of pistols, filled the room. Many shots
ware turned from their deadly aim by timely hands
and discharged into the ceiling. Knives were
drawn and flourished in the faces of prominent
citizens, accompanied with threats of death in case
260 Moore and Beeves.
the motion prevailed. The scene was fearful in
the extreme. The miners in different parts ot
the crowd could be seen getting their guns and
pistols ready for a collision which at one stage
of the tumult it seemed impossible to avoid. At
length the repeated cries of the chairman for order,
and the earnest voices of several persons who were
desirous of discussing the proposition, allayed the
noise and confusion, so that they could ^e heard
The guilt of the prisoners was so palpable that
the people deemed any sort of a trial which
would not speedily terminate in their condem-
nation a farce. A very large majority were
in favor of a miners' court, because they foresaw
that any other form of trial afforded opportunity
for escape. Three hours were spent m determm-
ino- the question. Many short, emphatic argu-
ments were made. In the meantime the disturb- |
ance made by the roughs waxed and waned to 1
suit the different stages of the discussion, bhots f
at one moment and shouts at another betrayed
their approval or disapproval of the sentiments of
the speaker. I had from the first made myself
offensive to my own immediate friends and inti-
mates by pertinaciously claiming for the prisoners
a trial by jury, and mounting a bench I embraced
an early opportunity to give, in a few pointed
Moore and Reeves. 261
words addressed to the assembled miners, my
views. I reminded them o£ the constitutional
provision which secured to every one accused of
crime a trial by jury. It was a law of the land,
as applicable on this as on any other occasion.
The men were probably guilty ; if so, the fact
should be proved; if not, they had the right
by law, on proving it, to an acquittal. Moreover,
they had surrendered at a time when they could
not have been captured, upon the express condi-
tion that they should be tried by jury. I asked,
" Shall we io'nore the agfreement made with them
by our officers ? " I concluded by offering a
motion that they be tried by a jury. It was
negatived by three to one. Immediately a cry
rose in the crowd, " Hang them at once ; " this was
followed by other cries of " String 'em up," " To
the scaffold with 'em." Pistols were drawn and
flourished more freely than before, and many
personal colHsions, resulting in bloody noses,
black eyes, and raw heads took place in all parts
of the room. Another hour was spent in discus-
sion, and finally by a bare majority it was agreed
to give the prisoners the benefit of a trial by jury.
It is impossible to portray with accuracy of
detail the fearful effects of passion which were
exhibited by the assembly while this question
262 Moore and Reeves.
was being determined. On a limited scale it
could not have been unlike some o£ the riotous
gatherings in Paris in the days of the first revolu-
tion. It wanted numbers, it wanted the magnificent
surroundings of those scenes, but as an exhibition
of the passions of depraved men, when inflamed
with anger, drink, and vengeance, it could not
have been greatly surpassed by them.
Order at length being restored, a portion of
the room was enclosed with scantling, for the
accommodation of the Court and jury. J. F.
Hoyt was elected Judge, Hank Crawford sheriff,
and George Copley, prosecutor. The jury was
next chosen by a vote of the people. My own
appointment on the jury was urged by the
roughs, as a compliment for my efforts to obtain
for them a jury trial. I was regarded by them
as a friend, and they hoped confidently for
acquittal through my influence.
At first it was determined that the examination
of the witnesses for both prosecution and defence
should be conducted by George Copley, the
prosecutor, but upon an appeal for justice in
behalf of the prisoners it was at length decided
by a small majority that the accused should
be allowed the assistance of counsel, with the
understanding that all the questions of their
Moore and Reeves. 263
counsel were first to be submitted to the prose-
cutor. Hon. Wm. C. Rheem was chosen to
defend the prisoners, and there were many
threats of violence toward him for consenting to
conduct the defence. It was agreed that the
arguments to be made on either side should be
brief, and that the trials should be urged to their
conclusion with all possible expadition. Mr.
Rheem's ability as a lawyer was unquestioned, —
which fact furnished to those who objected to a
jury trial their principal reason for opposing his
employment as counsel for the prisoners. As the
extent of Mitchell's criminality was uncertain, he
was allowed a separate trial. His case was first
brought under examination. It appeared in
evidence that he accompanied Moore and Reeves
on their second murderous visit to the tepee, but
he was able to show that he did not once fire his
gun, and consequently could not be guilty of
murder. His trial was soon terminated. The
jury recommended that he should be immediately
banished from the gulch.
The guilt of Moore and Reeves was fully
established. This result was foreseen by their
friends ; and while the trial was in progress they
sought by threats and ferocious gesticulations to
intimidate the jury. Gathering around the side
264 Moore and Reeves.
of the enclosure occupied by the jury, they kept
up a continued conversation, the purport of
which was that no member of that Court or jury
would live a month if they dared to find the
prisoners guilty. Occasionally, their anger wax-
ing hot, they would draw their pistols and
knives, and brandishing them in the faces of the
jurymen, utter a number of filthy epithets, and
bid them beware of their verdict. Crawford was
an object of their especial hate. Their abusive
assaults upon him and threats were so frequent
and violent that at one time he tendered his
resignation and refused to serve, but upon the
promise of his friends to stand by and protect
him he retained his position. The case was
given to the jury at about seven o'clock in the
evening. A friend of the prisoners in the court-
room nominated me as foreman, but upon my
refusal to serve under that nomination I after-
wards received the appointment by a vote of my
fellow-jurymen.
The jury were occupied in their deliberations
until after midnight. No doubt was entertained,
from the first, of the guilt of the prisoners, but
the exciting question was whether they could
afford to declare it. They all felt that to do so
wouH be to announce their own death sentence.
Moore and Reeves. 265
They knew that the friends of the prisoners
fully intended to have life for life. They had
sworn it. One of the jurymen said that the
prisoners ought never to have been tried by a
jury, but in a miners' court, that he should not
be governed in his decision by the merits of the
case, but that, as he had a family in the States
to whom his obligations were greater than to
that community, he should have to vote for
acquittal. After much conversation of this sort,
which only served to intensify the fears of the
jurymen, a vote was taken which resulted as
follows: not guilty, 11; guilty, 1; myself, the
supposed friend of the roughs, being the only
one in favor of the death penalty- It was
apparent that further deliberation would not
change this decision, and the jury compromised
by agreeing to a sentence of banishment, and a
confiscation of the property of the prisoners for
the benafit of those they had wounded.
The Court met the ensuing morning, when the
verdict, under seal, was handed to the judge.
He opened and returned it to the foreman, with
a request that he read it aloud. An expression
of blank astonishment sat upon the face of every
person in the room, which was followed by open
demonstrations of general dissatisfaction, by all
266 Moore and Reeves.
but the roughs, who, accustomed to outrages and
long immunity, hailed it as a fresh concession
to their bloody and lawless authority.
Mitchell returned to Bannack after a few days'
absence, which was seemingly regarded as a full
expiation of his sentence. A miners' court met
soon after his return, and in view of the fact
that his sentence was not enforced, revoked the
sentence of Moore and Reeves, who again
rejoined their fellow-miscreants. Thus the first
scene in the drama, which had been ushered in
by such a bloody prologue, terminated in the
broadest farce.
The trial of Moore and Reeves was one of
the earliest instances in the Territory where the
lovers of law and order on one side, and the
criminal element on the other, were brought into
open, public antagonism. No one knew at that
time which of the two was the stronjjer. The
roughs had full confidence in their power to run
the affairs of the Territory in their own way ; —
and while the trial was progressing sought, by
brandishing their revolvers in the court-room, by
much loud-mouthed profanity, and by frequent
interruptions and threats of vengeance directed
against the judge and jury, to intimidate and
terrify all who were concerned in conducting the
JUDGE J. F. HOYT,
Miners' Judge at trial of Moore and Reeves.
Moore and Reeves. 267
proceedings, and arrest them in their purpose.
The life of Judge Hoyt, the acting magistrate
of the occasion, was often threatened ; but he not
only manifested no fear, but was all the more
active and efficient in the discharge of the duties
of his difficult position. Being the central figure
in the court, his calmness and firmness inspired
all the other persons engaged in the prosecution
with courage equal to the occasion, while it
daunted the roughs and probably prevented
bloodshed.
Professor Thomas J. Dimsdale, in his account
of this trial, says : " To the delivery of this
unfortunate verdict may be attributed the ascend-
ency of the roughs. They thought the people
were afraid of them. The pretext of the prison-
ers that the Indians had killed some whites,
friends of theirs, in 1849, while going to Califor-
nia, was accepted by the majority of the jurors as
some sort of justification : — but the truth is,
they were afraid of their lives, and, it must be
confessed, not without apparent reason."
Mr. Rheem, who defended the prisoners, says :
" My conscience has more than once pricked
me for interposing between the rogues and the
halter, but I never believed till the last hour of
their trial that they would escape hanging."
268 Crawford and Fhleger.
CHAPTER XX.
CRAWFORD AND PHLEGER.
Meeting akd Decision of the Roughs — Plummer as-
signed TO THE Task of killing Crawford — Craw-
ford's Exposures — Plummer seeks by Various
designs TO LURE HIM INTO A QuARREL PlUMMER's
Skill with the Pistol — Quarrel in a Saloon —
Harry Phleger to the Rescue — Plummer de-
feated — Another Saloon Affray — Phleger
AGAIN — Plummer challenges Phleger — Craw-
ford shoots and severely wounds Plummer —
Leaves for Fort Benton — Is pursued, but es-
capes — Dr. Glick dresses Plummer's Wound —
His Life threatened.
The banishment of Moore and Reeves was re-
garded by the roughs as an encroachment upon
the system they had adopted for the government
of the country. Long impunity had fostered in
them the beUef that the citizens would not dare
to question their power to do as they pleased.
They held a meeting, and it was quietly agreed
among them, that every active participant in the
late trial should be slain. The victims were
i
Crawford and Phleger. ' 269
selected, the work deliberately planned, and each
man allotted his part in its performance. This
wholesale scheme of vengeance was to be effected
secretly, or by provoking those at whom it was
aimed into sudden quarrel, and shooting them in
assumed self-defence. Any course more culpable
would afford the assassin small chance of escaping
the vengeance of the law-abiding citizens.
Plummer was the recognized chief of the mur-
derous band. To him was assigned the task of
kiUing Crawford, who, as sheriff, had acted a
prominent part in the trial of the exiles. This
task was rendered doubly acceptable to Plummer,
because he believed it would silence the tongue
of the only man in the country who had any
knowledge of his guilty career in California.
One such person, in Cleveland, had already been
slain ; but Plummer suspected that on his death-
bed, Cleveland had told Crawford everything.
Crawford knew intuitively of Plummer's suspi-
cions, and felt that his life was in danger. He was
careful never to be unarmed. His business, as
the proprietor of a meat market, was one of con-
stant exposure. It rendered occasional journeys
to Deer Lodge, where he purchased cattle, neces-
sary, and his trips to his ranche, several miles
from town, were also frequent. Outwardly,
270 Crawford and Phleger.
Plumnier was friendly. One of Crawford's
friends, Harry Phleger, confirmed his worst
suspicions, by telling him that he had seen
Pliimmer near the market one night, apparently
on the watch for him. He had also noticed some
suspicious movements of Plummer and a rough,
familiarly called " Old Tex," which seemed to be
directed against Crawford.
(The " Old Tex " mentioned in this part of the
history must not be confounded with Boone
Helm's brother, who is mentioned under the same
cognomen in its earlier pages. " Old Tex " was
a common sobriquet in the mountains, for noted
men who had spent a portion of their lives in
Texas. Almost every territory has its respective
"Buffalo Bill," "Whiskey Bill," "Bed Rock
Joe," " Sour Dough Tom," and " Old Tex.")
Plummer soon saw that Crawford understood
him, and that the only safe method of executing
his design, was to provoke him into a quarrel.
Plummer was reputed to excel any man in the
mountains in the use of a pistol, — an accom-
plishment in which Crawford had no skill. Sev-
eral little incidents p-rowino- out of Crawford's
efforts to re-imburse himself for the expenses he
had incurred in the care and burial of Cleveland,
and in the trial of Moore and Reeves, in which
Crawford and Phleger. 271
Plummer voluntarily intermingled, discovered the
deadly purpose of the latter. On one of these
occasions, believing that a quarrel could not be
avoided, he was unexpectedly confronted by five
or six of Crawford's friends with their hands on
their revolvers. His temper and courage cooled
at once, and he sent Crawford an apology, desir-
ing to meet him as a friend. They shook hands
a few days after, and parted, seemingly on the
best of terms.
Anxious as Crawford was to be at peace, he
was not deceived by this offer of friendship. It
was but a new move in the deadly game which
Plummer was playing for his life, and he knew it.
A few days afterwards, while conversing in a
saloon, a rough-looking individual asked him,
in an impudent manner, what he was talking
about.
" None of your business," replied Crawford.
" I dare you," replied the man, with an insult-
ing epithet, " to fight me with pistols."
Looking around, Crawford discovered Plummer
among the listeners standing near, and compre-
hended the situation in an instant.
" You have the odds of me with a pistol," said
he. " Why should I fight you ? "
" Well, then," said the man, in a furious pas-
272 Crawford and Phleger.
sion, " try it with your fists. That'll tell which
is the best man."
Discovering that the man had no belt, Craw-
ford unbuckled his own, and laid his pistol on the
bar. Following his challenger into a dark corner
of the room, he slapped him in the face. The
man instantly drew from his coat a revolver, but
before he could aim it, Crawford seized him by
the throat and disarmed him. At this moment,
Plummer joined the man in the attack on Craw-
ford, and the two wrested the pistol from him,
and, but for the timely interference of Harry
Phleger, who came to Crawford's assistance and
recovered possession of the pistol, Crawford would
probably have been shot. Crawford and Phleger
then left the saloon. It did not surprise Craw-
ford, when told afterwards by the saloon-keeper,
that the design was to entrap him into an out-
door fight with pistols, when Plummer was ready,
with his friends, to shoot him as soon as the battle
commenced.
This assault did not disturb Plummer's affected
friendship for Crawford. Learning a few days
afterwards that the latter was gr-oino- to Deer
Lodge for cattle, he on the first opportunity told
him that he should start for Fort Benton the next
morninsf. Crawford knew that this was offered
Crawford and Phleger. 273
as an explanation in advance for his absence, and
to throw him oft" his guard in the trip he contem-
plated making after cattle. He replied at once, —
" Wait a day or two and I'll accompany you
part way."
" No," said Plummer, " my business is urgent."
Plummer left the next morning, accompanied by
Georoe Carrhart. Crawford found it convenient
to be detained by private business, and sent his
butcher in his stead, who met Plummer at the
crossino- of Bio^ Hole river, and that worthv,
upon being informed that Crawford was not going
to Deer Lodge, returned to Bannack. Crawford
was afterwards told that Plummer had made three
efforts at different times to waylay and murder
him on the road to Deer Lodge.
Among other devices employed, Plummer
sought through his associates to accomplish the
death of Crawford. He sent a notorious rough
known as Bill Hunter, to engage him in a quar-
rel and shoot him. Hunter, meeting Crawford,
told him he had something against him.
" If you want anything of me," said Crawford,
with th^ emphasis of his hand upon his pistol,
" you can get it right straight along."
Seeing that he would probably be killed before
he could draw his pistol, or, in the sententious
274 Crawford and Pldeger.
phrase of the country, that he could not " get
the drop on him," Hunter left, discomfited by
Crawford's bravery.
The next Sunday while Crawford and George
Perkins were in conversation, in one of the sa-
loons, Plummer came in, seemingly in great
anger.
" George," said he, addressing Perkins, " there's
a little matter between you and Craw^f ord in which
I am concerned, that's got to be settled."
" Well, I can't imagine what it can be," Craw-
ford laughingly replied. " I'm not aware of hav-
ing said or done anything concerning you, that
should excite your anger or call for a settlement."
" Oh, you needn't laugh," responded Plummer
with an oath. " It's got to be settled ; " and turn-
ing to Perkins he continued, " you and Crawford
have been telling around through the camp, that
I was trying to court the squaw Catherine." Then
applying to Perkins a disgraceful epithet, he said,
" You are a coward. I can whip you and Hank
Crawford both, and if you are anything of a man,
you will just step out of doors and fight me."
" I am, as you say," said Perkins, "' a coward,
and no fighting man when I've got nothing to
fight for. I would not go out of doors to fight
with anybody."
Crawford and Phleger. 275
" Crawford won't admit that," said Plummer,
" and if you refuse the challenge, I ask the same
satisfaction of him. Let him go out with me if
he dares."
" Plummer," replied Crawford, " I neither know
what cause there is for fighting you, nor why I
should fear to go out of doors on your challenge.
I do not believe that one man was made to scare
another."
" Come on, then," said Plummer, passing into
the street, closely followed by Crawford. When
they had walked a few steps, —
" Now pull your pistol," said Plummer.
Crawford was standing close beside Plummer.
" I'll pull no pistol," he replied. " I never
pulled a pistol on a man yet, and you'll not be the
first."
'' Pull your pistol," persisted Plummer. " You
may draw it and cock it, and I'll not go for mine
until you have done so, and uttered the word to
fire."
" I'm no pistol shot," said Crawford, " and
you know it, — and you wouldn't make me a
proposition of this kind if you hadn't the ad-
vantao-e."
o
" Pull your pistol," retorted Plummer, with an
oath, " and fight me like a man, or I'll give you
276 Crmvford and Pldeger.
but two hours to live, and then I'll shoot you
down like a dog."
" If that's your game, Plummer," said Crawford
laying his hand on his shoulder^ and looking him
steadily in the eye, " the quicker you do it, the
worse for you. I'll present you a fair target."
Turning upon his heel Crawford walked delib-
erately away, well knowing that fear of conse-
quences would prevent Plummer from firing at
him, ^sathout some plausible excuse. This con-
versation occurred at a late hour in the afternoon.
Harry Phleger came into town early in the even-
ing. Crawford sent a message to him, requesting
him to come at once to Peabody's saloon. As he
entered, Crawford told him that Plummer had
given him two hours to live, and the time had
nearly expired.
"I expect," said Crawford, "he will keep his
word."
" If he attempts it," replied Phleger, " we will
try and give him as good as he sends. It's clever
at any rate to inform one of his intentions. He
will expect you to be prepared."
In a few minutes five or six men, armed with
revolvers, entered the saloon, followed by Plum-
mer. He had remained long enough outside to
deposit a double-barrelled gun over the door.
Crawford and Pldeger. 277
" Deaf Dick," who accompanied the crowd, was
unarmed.
" Come on, boys," said Phleger, " let's take a
drink."
All stepped back in refusal of the invitation.
" Well, Dick," said Crawford, addressing- him
in a key that he could hear, " you'll drink any-
how."
'' Not I," said Dick with an oath. " I drink
with no coward such as you have proved yourself
to be by refusing to fight Plummer."
" You're the wrono- man to brand me as a
coward, at any rate," said Crawford, advancing
toward him as if with the intention of striking.
Plummer at once stepped up and handed Dick
his revolver, and the crowd gathered around him
and Crawford. Harry Phleger at this moment
drew his pistol, and Crawford said to him, —
" Harry, I suppose these men have come to
kill me. You are my only friend, and I'll make
you a present of my six-shooter. I suppose I've
cot to die."
" Who will kill you ? " asked Phleger,
" Plummer, I suppose. He tL/eatened it," was
the reply.
" Not a man here dare shoot you," said Phleger,
at the same time looking around upon the
278 Crawford and Phleger.
crowd, and characterizing it bj a degrading
epithet.
Plummer at this jumped forward, and seizing
Phleger's revolver, tried to wrest it from him.
In the grapple Plummer was thrown, when Phle-
ger drawing another pistol from his belt, presented
both ready cocked to the crowd, which was now
pressing threateningly towards him, and calling
to Crawford, said, —
" Come on. Hank, let's get out of this," and
both backed out into the street facing their assail-
ants, who did not follow them.
Phleo'er and Crawford started for the lodorinos
of the latter, passing on the way the meat mar-
ket, where they were joined by Johnny Shepard
and another man, who, taking all the arms they
could find, went with them. As soon as they ar-
rived at the room, Crawford, comj^letely unnerved,
lay down and cried himself to sleep. Phleger
was made of sterner stuff, and watched all night.
Some one rapped at the door at midnight, but
was told by Phleger that if he attempted to enter,
he would shoot him " on siofht."
On the morning of the second day after this
occurrence, Plummer came up the street, gun in
hand, peeping by the way into the saloons and
market for Crawford. Not finding him, he as-
Crmvford mid Phleger. 279
sumecl a watchful attitude, and stood leaning on
his gun, twenty steps distant from the door of the
market. Crawford not appearing, after half an
hour he walked on w ith " Deaf Dick " to Phleger's
room. Phleger met him at the door, and invited
him in.
" No," said Plummer, " you've set yourself up
for a game-cock, and to let you know that I hold
you in no fear, I've come up to give you a chance
to display your skill. Get your gun and we'll try
an exchange of shots at ten paces." This invita-
tion was interlarded with the usual complement
of oaths and epithets. Harry felt the abuse of
Plummer keenly, but knew too well his skill with
fire-arms to consent to the murderous ^proposition.
" No, thank you, Plummer," he replied, laugh-
ing, " I'm not looking around for any one to
shoot this morning, and have no special regard
for any one who is. If you are, and you really
want to shoot, you'd better turn loose."
It so happened that at the time of this conver-
sation, Crawford, armed for the purpose, was
searching for Plummer, with the intention of
shooting him. As is usual on all such occasions,
friends interfered to prevent a collision, but Craw-
ford, believing that either he or Plummer must
die on their next meeting, gave no heed to their
280
Crawford and PMeger.
advice. When this was understood by Plummer's
friends, they resorted to various devices to throw
Crawford off his guard. At one time they told
him that Plummer was about to leave town.
This only made him the more watchful. Plum-
mer, meantime, was careful to have one or more
friends constantly in his company, so that Craw-
ford could not fire at him without endanor-erino-
the lives of others. This situation of affairs be-
tween the two men continued for several days.
The entire community was prepared to hear of
the death of one or both at any moment, and
each was now encouraged in his purpose by his
friends. Plummer was frequently seen near the
butcher shop, but never alone. He finally disap-
peared, and sent a friend to Crawford with the
proposition that they should drop all hostile in-
tentions and meet as strano-ers.
" Tell Plummer," said Crawford, " that the
trick is too shallow. I know him. His word of
honor, so repeatedly broken, I regard no more
than the wind. He or I must die or leave the
camp."
Soon after this, one of Crawford's friends dis-
covered that Plummer and his friends had laid a
plan to shoot him in his own doorway, under
cover of a house directly opposite, and told Craw-
Crawford and Phleger. 281
ford of it. While Crawford was on the lookout,
a lady living in a cabin in the rear of the Bannack
Restaurant called to him to come and get a cup of
coffee. While he was drinking it, Frank Raj
approached him, and telling him that Plummer
was searching for him, placed in his hands Buz
Cavan's double-barrelled rifle. At this moment,
Plummer, armed with a similar weapon, came up
on the opposite side of the street, and stopping in
front of the door, with one foot elevated and rest-
ing upon a spoke of a wagon-wheel, placed his
rifle across his knee, his right fore-arm lying hori-
zontally along the stock, which he grasped as if
prepared to fire at a moment's notice. Crawford's
friends urged him to improve that opportunity to
shoot him. He went out quickly, and resting the
rifle across a log projecting from the corner of the
cabin, shot Plummer in the right arm, the ball
entering at the elbow, and lodging in the wrist.
" Fire away, you cowardly ruffian," shouted
Plummer, straightening himself and facing
Crawford.
Crawford fired a second time, but the bail
missed ; and Plummer walked down to his cabin,
carrying his gun, and followed by several of his
friends.
Crawford knew that Plummer's friends would
282 Crawford and Phleger.
kill him, unless he outwitted them on his escape
from the country. He left for Fort Benton
immediately, travelling the entire distance of two
hundred and eighty miles by a trail that only
those who had passed over it could trace. He
was followed by three roughs, but arrived at the
Fort in advance of them, where he was protected
by Mr. Dawson, the factor at the post. He
remained there until spring, and then took pas-
sage on a Mackinaw boat to the States.
^Crawford's friends, and the miners generally,
who had regarded this quarrel as a personal
difficulty between him and Plummer, rejoiced at
his escape. It had terminated injuriously as they
felt, to the party who was most in fault, and they
were glad the result was no worse. Few knew
or ever suspected that it had any deeper origin
than the frequent collisions incident to Crawford's
attendance upon Cleveland, after he was shot, and
his action as sheriff at the trial of Moore and
Reeves. Had it been understood at this time that
the roughs had not only decreed the death of
Crawford, but of every other man who partici-
pated in that trial, the people would have placed
themselves on a war footing, and organized them-
selves to resist the encroachments of the ruffians,
which finally left them no other alternative. So
Crawford and Phleger. 283
fully did they carry out their avowed purposes,
that, within five months after the trial, not more
than seven of the twenty-seven men who partici-
pated in it as judge, prosecutor, sheriif, witnesses,
and jurors, were left alive in the territory. Eight
or nine are knov/n to have been killed by some
of the band, and others fled to avoid a like
fate.
Plummer's wound was very severe. The ball
entered at the elbow. Passing down the arm, it
broke each bone in two places. Dr. Glick, the
surgeon in attendance upon him, after a careful
examination of the wound, was of the opinion
that amputation alone could save his life. The
ball could not be found, and the arm swelled to
thrice its natural size, and the passage made by
the ball was filled for its entire length with bony
spiculae.
Plummer had in a previous affray lost the
ready use of his other hand, and knowing that
the loss of this arm would necessarily deprive him
of his position of chief among the roughs, and
that his life depended upon his skill in drawing
his revolver, — as he had numerous enemies, who
would endeavor to kill him but for the advantage
which this skill gave him, — declared that he
might as well die as lose his arm, and peremptorily
284 Crawford and Plileger.
refused to consent to the operation, but insisted
that the ball must be found and removed-
Dr. Glick, who was highly accomplished in
surgery, explamed to him the danger of such an
o[)eration, but Plummer said he would rather die
in the effort to cure the arm than live without it.
With great reluctance, and little faith in his
ability to save the arm, the doctor undertook the
thankless task, and made preparations to operate
accordingly. When the arm was bared, and the
doctor was about to commence, " Old Tex " and
Bill Hunter entered the room, the latter armed
with a double-barrelled shot-srun.
"I just thought," said he to the doctor, " that
I'd tell you, that if you cut an artery, or Plum-
mer dies from the operation you are going to per-
form, I'm going to shoot the top of your head
off."
The operation was successfully performed, and
a large amount of spiculae and disorganized tis-
sue removed, — but the bullet could not be found.
For several days the result was uncertain. Dr.
Glick gave to the wound, which w^as terribly
inflamed, his unremitting attention. He had
incurred the hatred of Plummer's friends because
of his active support of law and order. They
pretended to believe that he did not wish for
Crawford and Phleger. 285
Plummer's recovery, and told him that they would
hold him responsible with his life, for the safety
of his patient. What was to be done ? Escape
from the country in the midst of an inclement
season seemed impossible. In order to effect it,
he must follow Crawford over an unknown trail
to Fort Benton or to the Bitter Root valley, or
run the gantlet of the hostile Indians at Bear
river over a route of four hundred miles to Salt
Lake. Plummer's wound was daily getting worse.
The doctor, well knowing that the ruf&ans would
put their threat into execution, prepared for his
escape. Suspecting his intention, the friends of
Plummer kept a close watch upon him. Despite
their vigilance, however, a trusty friend secured
his horse, saddled and bridled, in the bushes
behind his cabin on the night that the crisis in
the inflammation arrived. The doctor instructed
Plummer's attendants to awaken him, in order
that he might make his escape, if the swelling
did not begin to abate by midnight, and lay down,
booted and spurred, to get a little rest. But the
favorable change which took place, while it saved
to Montana one of her best citizens in Dr. GHck,
lengthened out for a darker fate than that
o
which had threatened it, the guilty life of Henry
Plummer.
286 Crawford and Phleger.
Dr. Glick came to Bannack with a party of
emigrants of which he was captain, in 1862.
The company were bound for Salmon river, but
were arrested in their progress by the reputed
richness of the Grasshopper mines. Glick bad
lost a handsome property in the early part of the
war, and came to the gold mines to replenish his
broken fortunes. He was accomplished in his
profession, especially in surgery, and was the only
physician in practice who had the confidence of
the people, — Dr. Leavitt, also an able practitioner,
— being, at the time, engaged in mining.
His services were in almost daily demand by
the road agents, to dress wounds received in
broils among themselves, or while engaged in the
commission of robbery. It was impossible, from
his frequent contact with them, and the circum-
stances with which ofttimes he found them sur-
rounded, for him to avoid a knowledge of their
guilty enterprises. But he neither dared to de-
cline to serve them, nor to divulge their villany,
well knowing that in either case, he would fall a
victim to that summary vengeance, so promptly
and fearlessly exercised in the case of Dillingham.
He foresaw also, that a time must come, when all
the guilty misdeeds which he had been obliged to
conceal, would be revealed, and that then the
Crawford a7id Phleger. 287
lovers of law and order would suspect the integ-
rity of his motives, and possibly class him among
the men of whom he justly stood so much in fear.
But there was no remedy. He knew that his
actions were narrowly watched, and that a word
or glance indicating his suspicions would cost him
his life. It was a happy day for him when, by
the death of Plummer, his lips were unsealed.
The robbers, in other instances than the one
recorded of his attendance upon Plummer, were
in the habit of using threats to control the doc-
tor's conduct. On one occasion in July, 1863,
Plummer invited him to accompany him on a
horseback excursion to his ranche on the Rattle-
snake. Finding no one at the cabin on their ar-
rival, Plummer asked the doctor to go with him
down the creek and pick some berries. They
soon came upon a large clump of birch bushes.
Pulling them aside, Plummer disclosed an open
space cut within the clump, in which were seated
several men, seeing whom Glick drew back, but
was told by Plummer to come in. He entered,
and found himself amid five or six men with
masked or blackened faces, of whom he recog-
nized Moore and Billy Terwiliger. The latter
was lying on a blanket, wounded in the leg by a
bullet received in some affray.
288 Crawford and Phleger.
After dressing the wound, the doctor started
with Plummer on the return to Bannack. While
crossing the plateau between Rattlesnake and
Bannack, Plummer suddenly wheeled in front of
the doctor, and, cocking his pistol, thrust it into
his face, saying, —
"Now you know all. These are my men. I'm
their chief. If you ever breathe a word of what
you've seen, I'll murder you."
Under this kind of surveillance, the doctor
lived until the robber band was destroyed. His
discretion, only equalled by his kindness of heart,
saved both his life from destruction by the rob-
bers, and his good name from the public odium
of the people. Montana has had no worthier or
more useful citizen.
Henry Plummer was a man of wonderful ex-
ecutive ability. He was well educated. In stat-
ure he was about five feet ten inches, and in
weight, one hundred and sixty pounds. His fore-
head was partially concealed by the rim of the hat
which he rarely removed from his head, and his
eyes were mild and expressive. In demeanor he
was quiet and modest, free from swagger and
bluster, dignified and graceful. He was intelli-
gent and brilliant in conversation, a good judge
of men, and his manners were those of a polished
Crawford and PJdeger. 289
gentleman. To his enemies his magnanimity was
more seeming than real. He always proffered
them the advantage in drawing the pistol, but he
knew that the instance would be very rare, where,
even thus favored, his antagonist could anticipate
him in its deadly use.
Hon. Wm. C. Rheem, in a letter to the Helena
(Montana) Herald, writes of Henry Plummer as
follows : —
" I remember Plummer very well. He was fre-
quently in my cabin, and I often came in contact
with him while he was exercisino; the office of
sheriff. His form and face were familiar to the
first settlers in Bannack. He was about five feet
eleven inches in height, and weighed a hundred
and fifty pounds. He was straight, slender, spare,
agile, and what Western men call withy. He was
a quiet man and talked but little ; when he did
speak, it was always in a low tone and with a
good choice of language. He never grew bois-
terous, even in his cups, and no impulse of anger
or surprise ever raised his voice above that of
wary monotone. His countenance was in perfect
keeping with his utterance. Both were under the
same vigilant command. If one was like the low,
continuous purr of the crouching tiger, the mus-
cles of the other were as rigid as those of the
290 Crawford and PMeger.
beast before he springs. Affection, fear, hate^
grief, remorse, or any passion or emotion, found
no expression in his immovable face. No color
ever flushed his cheeks. With mobile and ex-
pressive features, he would have been handsome
— all except the forehead ; this, with the con-
formation of the skull, betrayed the murderer, and
Plummer knew it. The observer beheld a well-
cut mouth, indicating decision, firmness, and in-
telligence ; but not a line expressive of sensuality ;
a straight nose and well-shaped chin, and cheeks
rather narrow and fleshless, still, in their outlines,
not unhandsome. But one might as well have
looked into the eyes of the dead for some token
of a human soul as to have souoht it in the lig-ht
gray orbs of Plummer. Their cold, glassy stare
defied inquisition. They seemed to be gazing
through you at some object beyond, as though you
were transparent. While other men laughed or
pitied or threatened with their eyes, his had the
same half-vacant stare, no matter how moving the
story or tragic the spectacle.
" I have said that Plummer knew he had a bad
front : he tlierefore kept it jealously covered with
the turn-down rim of his slouch hat. When not
in the mood or act of slaughter or rapine, his
politeness was notable and well timed in demon-
Crawford and Pldeger. 291
stration. He understood the formulas of courtesy,
but the one of uncovering his head he failed to
observe."
An examination of Plummer's arm after his
death, disclosed the fact that the lower fracture
of the radius never united, but formed a false
joint. The bullet passed into the marrow of
the lower end of the bone, and was stopped in
its progress by the bones of the hand. From sub-
sequent use of the hand, wdiile Plummer was
sheriff, the bullet became worn as smooth as
polished silver.
292 Broadwater' s Stratagem.
CHAPTER XXI.
BEOADWATERS STRATAGEM.
Departure of Moore and Reeves to Deer Lodge —
Broadwater's and Pemberton's Improvements —
Moore Sick — Broadwater's Kindness — Moore's
Gratitude — Broadwater's Ride to Deer Lodge
— Night at Big Hole — Shoots an Indian —
Meets Ives and Cooper — Is pursued by them —
Arrives in Safety at Contway's Ranche — Leaves
THERE by a Ruse, and completes the Trip to Deer
Lodge.
After sentence of banishment was pronounced
upon them, Moore and Reeves went to the mining
camp in Deer Lodge valley, located near the
present site of Deer Lodge City. Messrs. Broad-
water and Pemberton, two young men who came
into the territory a few weeks before, had selected
this spot as an eligible location for a town, and
were engaged in laying it out at the time the
guilty exiles arrived. They had already erected
two cabins, one of which they occupied, the other
being vacant. It was the middle of February,
and the weather was intensely cold. Moore and
Broadtvaters Stratagem. 293
Reeves made their camp in a clump of willows
upon the bank of the Deer Lodge river. With
no better protection than their blankets, against
the wintry blasts which swept down the valley
and the frequent storms that gathered in the lofty
ranges overhanging it, and with no food except
beef and coffee, these men suffered severely.
Moore soon fell sick of mountain fever, and
would probably have died had not Broadwater
caused his removal to the vacant cabin, and sup-
plied him with food and medicines necessary
to his recovery. Soon after he had sufficiently
recovered to leave his bed, a messenger from Ban-
nack brought the intelligence that the miners, at
a recent meeting, had revoked the sentence of
banishment against him and Reeves, and that they
were at liberty to return. During his illness the
Indians had stolen Moore's horse. Broadwater
placed one at his disposal, and Moore rejoined his
comrades at Bannack.
In the following spring, Broadwater engaged
in the cattle business, — buying in Deer Lodge
and selling his herds at Bannack. The proceeds
of these sales often amounted to thousands of
dollars in gold dust. On one of these occasions
he was preparing to return to Deer Lodge with
six thousand dollars in gold. Moore called upon
294 Broadwater s Stratagem.
him, with a request for a few moments' confiden-
tial conversation.
" Make a free breast of anything you have to
communicate," said Broadwater. " I will listen
and be silent."
" It's for your own safety, Broad," replied
Moore, " and there is not another man in the
country for whom I'd take the risk ; but you were
my friend when I needed friendship : you saved
my life, gave me food and shelter and care ;
and I can never forget to be grateful — but you
must pledge your honor not to betray me."
" Freely, freely, Moore ; I would lose my life
first."
" Then," said Moore, " I give you friendly
warning, that there is a band of road agents
here, that know of your having received a large
quantity of gold dust during the past three days.
They are informed of the time of your intended
departure for Deer Lodge, and intend to waylay
and murder you on the way, and corral your gold.
You are ' spotted ' for slaughter. My advice to
you is to leave town secretly, and to be constantly
on your guard, and under no circumstances let
any one, not even your most intimate friend, know
when you will leave."
" I intended going to-morrow morning," replied
Broadwater's Stratagem. 295
Broadwater, " but if matters are as you tell me,
I think I'll start to-night."
At this Moore exclaimed, " Why, you fool !
there you go, shooting off your mouth to me the
first thing. Didn't I caution you not to tell any
one ? And in less than a minute you tell me just
what you're going to do."
It would be curious to know by what system of
ethics Moore was governed in this strange admo-
nition ; whether it was to impress upon Broad-
water the necessity of a caution which should
withhold confidence even from the person who
warned him of a danger, or whether there was a
conflict between gratitude to Broadwater and
fidelity to his confederates. It is not improbable
that he was bound by strong obligations to com-
municate to his associates the very information
which Broadwater had given him.
Satisfied that Moore belonged to the gang, yet
confiding in the truthfulness of his disclosure,
Broadwater mounted his horse early in the even-
ing, and at two o'clock the next morning was at
the crossing^ of the Bior Hole river. There he
intended to rest, but fearful that his horse might
be stolen by some Pend d'Oreille Indians camped
near, he rode on, six miles, to Willow creek.
Fastening the lariat firmly to his wrist, and rely-
29G Broachvafers /Stratagem.
ing upon the sagacity of his horse, to warn him
of the approach of any of his red neighbors, he
lay down upon the grass, and fell asleep. An
hour before daylight he was aroused by a sudden
plunge and snort of his horse, which, with braced
feet, was gazing intently at a patch of wild rye
growing near. He retained his prostrate position,
and, with his eyes riveted in the same direction,
and his faithful revolver grasped ready for use,
quietly awaited further developments. At length
a slowly creeping object became dimly visible in
the morning twilight. He delayed no longer, but
taking deliberate aim, fired. Instantly an Indian
rose above the rye stalks, and with a fearful yell,
sped away into darkness. More frightened than
the redskin, whom he afterwards learned he had
severely wounded, he mounted his horse with the
least possible delay, and hurried away from the
dangerous neighborhood.
His route now lay directly over the main range
of the Rocky Mountains, by a pass whose ascent
and descent are so imperceptible, that persons
unacquainted with its peculiarities can never deter-
mine where the one ends, or the other begins.
It is covered with bunch grass for its entire dis-
tance, and its very summit is crowned with one of
the finest cattle rangfes in the mountains. The
Broadwater s Stratayem. 297
waters of the creek flowing naturally along its
summit down its eastern slope to the Big Hole
river, are carried by ditches and races over its
western slope, for mining purposes, into the
beautiful valley of the Deer Lodge, thus contrib-
uting to swell on the one side the volume of the
Miss'^uri, and on the other, that of the Columbia.
The broad savannas which spread away on either
side of this remarkable passage lend enchantment
to a shifting and ever-varying scene of mountain
beauties not excelled upon the continent.
Just before daylight, Broadwater began to
descend the declivity at whose foot flowed one of
the forming streams of the Deer Lodge river.
Glimpses of the valley could be obtained at every
bend in the tortuous road. Day was just break-
ing, and the perpetual snow on the distant peak
of ''Mount Powell shone dimly through the haze.
He was congratulating himself that the dangers
of his trip were over, and he could complete it by
a leisurely ride through one of the most delight-
ful valleys in the world. These thoughts received
a sudden check when, turning an abrupt angle in
the road, he saw seated by a camp fire, the very
persons, as he then felt, against whom Moore had
warned him. One of them, George Ives, was
reoarded as the most daring ruf&au in the moun-
298 Broadwater's Strataye^n.
tains; the other, Johnny Cooper, was known to
be one of his chosen associates. They manifested
great surprise at his approach. The quick eye of
Broadwater took in all the advantagfes of the sit-
nation. He saw their horses feeding upon the
foot-hills, two or three miles away, and knew if
he had been expected so soon, they w^ould have
been saddled and ready for pursuit. They hailed
him as he passed, urged him to wait until they
could get their horses, and they would accompany
him, telling him that as the road agents were
abroad, it would be safer for him to do so. He
replied that he was in a hurry, and as his horse
was jaded with travel, they would soon overtake
him, — and rode slowly on. To allay suspicion,
he alighted from his horse and led him slowly up
a steep hill, looking back when under way to the
top, and calling to them, —
" Get up your horses : you can overtake me
over the hill."
The horse, which was greatly fatigued, was
favored by this device. Broadwater felt all the
peril of his situation, and knew that nothing but
coolness and decision could save him. He was
twenty miles from the second crossing of the Deer
Lodge, where a Frenchman by the name of David
Coutway, was living with his Indian wife, prepar-
Broadwater s Stratagem. 299
iug to take up a ranclie. This was the nearest
place of safety. Casting another glance at the
freebooters, he saw, as he passed over the sum-
mit of the hill, that they were making active
preparations to pursue him. There was no time
to be lost. It was to be a race for hfe, and his
chances for escape depended upon the advantage
he could win during the brief period his pursuers
would require in getting ready to start. As soon
as he was lost to their sight he remounted his
horse, and, spurring him to his utmost speed,
descended into the broad and open valley. His
course now lay over a level plain denuded of trees,
and rank with prairie vegetation. Every move-
ment he made within any attainable distance, he
knew would be seen by the men who were on his
track. The clumps of willow which defined the
course of the river were too small to afford even
temporary shelter. His horse, liable at any mo-
ment to give out, obeyed the urgency of the occa-
sion, under whip and spur, with great reluctance.
But his rider kept him up to his speed, more than
once inclined to diverge from the trail toward the
pine forest, which covered the foot-hills, four or
five miles distant, on either side of the valley, and
seek a covert there. When half the distance had
been travelled, he looked back, and amid a cloud
300 Broadwater s Stratagem.
of dust, less than three miles away, he saw the
robbers in full pursuit, seemingly gaining rapidly
upon him. His poor, panting steed, whose sides
were bleeding from the frequent lacerations of the
spur, seemed on the point of exhaustion, and the
thu'ty pounds of gold dust strapped to his person
bore with terrible weight upon hmi. But there
was no time to calculate any other chance for es-
cape, than that of reaching the goal. On and on
he spurred the jaded animal, often casting furtive
glances back at the approaching death, and ex-
pecting at every turn in the trail, to feel the fatal
bullet. At length the little lodge of Contway
peered above the willows. The horse renewed
his vigor at the sight. The hurrying tramp of
the pursuers was heard in the rear. A last and
desperate effort was made to urge the horse to
greater speed, and he dashed up to the door, fall-
ing, on his arrival, with complete exhaustion. He
was ruined, — but he had saved the life of his
master. Ives and Cooper, less than fifty rods be-
hind, reined their horses to a walk, and rode slowly
up, while Broadwater was removing the saddle
from his broken-down animal. Their horses were
foaming with perspiration.
" Well, you beat us on the ride," said Ives,
addressing Broadwater.
Broadwater' 8 Stratagem. 301
" Yes," replied Broadwater : " you must have
had trouble in catching your horses. I travelled
slowly at first, but as you didn't come up, and I
was anxious to get through, I afterwards hurried."
The coolness of this colloquy betrayed to nei-
ther party what was passing in the mind of the
other.
The horses were all turned out upon the adja-
cent hills, and the three men shared alike the
hospitality of Contway. But the race was only
half finished. Twenty miles of distance inter-
vened between Contway's and Deer Lodge, and
how to pass over it, and escape with life, was
the momentous question for Broadwater to solve.
As a measurement of wit between himself and
the ruffians, it involved consequences too impor-
tant for any pride in the strife. It was simply a
matter of life or death with him, with the added
certainty that the smallest mistake in his calcula-
tions would end in the latter. He knew that in
Contway's herd was one of the fleetest horses in
the Territory. Unobserved by his pursuers, he
contrived to inform Contway of his situation, and
found him ready to assist in his escape, by all
means in his power.
"Go and saddle Charley," said Broadwater,
" and bring him up, on the pretence that you are
302 Broadwater s Stratagem.
going after your cows. Do it immediately ; and
after he is hitched, I will ask you, in the presence
of these men, for permission to ride him to Deer
Lodge. With your assent, reluctantly given, I
will mount and ride away, while their horses are
grazing on the foot-hills."
^^ Zat is all ver' goot," replied Contway. " By
Gar, you have got him fixed all right : " — and
away he went, returning in a quarter of an hour,
mounted on a horse of great strength and beauty.
Hitching him to a post in front of his lodge, he
made the remark that his cows had been missing
for a day or two, and he must go in pursuit of
them.
" Ho ! Contway," said Broadwater, " that is the
very horse I want to complete my trip. My own
is broken down, and I will leave him in your care,
and return this one to you by the first opportu-
nity."
" By Gar, I don't know," replied Contway :
" zat horse is great favorite. I would not have
him hurt for anvthing;."
"But I'll pay you well," said Broadwater.
" I'm in a great hurry to get home. Let me take
him, — that's a good fellow. If I hurt him, I'll
pay you your OAvn price."
" You say zat here, before zese men. Zey will
Broadwater s Stratagem. 303
remember, and on zose conditions you may take
ze horse."
It was but the work of a moment for Broad-
water to chanofe saddles and mount.
" Hold on, Broad," said Ives. "• This is no
way to leave a fellow. Wait till we get up our
horses, and we'll all ride on together. It'll be
more sociable."
" Should be glad to do so, George, but it is of
the utmost importance that I reach Deer Lodgo
as soon as possible. I cannot wait ; but if you
will get up your horses, and ride fast enough,
you'll overtake me."
So saying, Broadwater put spurs to his horse,
and rode the twenty miles at a double-quick pace,
arriving at Deer Lodge a little after two o'clock,
completing the entire trip of one hundred and
seven miles from Bannack to Deer Lodge, includ-
ing stoppages, in eighteen hours. Ives and
Cooper, finding themselves outwitted, followed
leisurely, arriving early in the evening.
804 Organization oj the liuaghs.
CHAPTER XXII.
ORGANIZATION OF THE ROUGHS.
Plummer's Skill with his Left Haxd — Selects
Phleger for a Victim — Fails to embroil him ix
A Quarrel — Ellis threatened — Escapes to the
Missouri — Plummer axd Judge Daxcb — Plu:\i-
MER ROBS DaVEXPORT INDIFFERENCE OF THE MI-
NERS — Thorough Organization of the Roughs —
Depredations in Town — Quarrel between Ban-
field AND Sapp — Death OF Carrhart — Moore's
Interference and Kecklessness — Contemplated
Attack upon Winnemuck'.s Band — Rescue of a
White Captive from the Indians — Buck Stinson's
Barbarous Murder of " Old Snag," a Bannack
Chief.
While recovering- from his wound, Plummer,
by constant practice, had acquired an expertness
in the use of the pistol with his left hand, nearly
equal to that o£ which Crawford's shot had de-
prived him. Crawford being- out of his way, he
was not satisfied that the quarrel which had ter-
minated so injuriously to him should be propi-
tiated without redress. He accordingly selected
Organization of the Roucjhs. 305
Phleger for a victim. With every outward demon-
stration of friendship, he would, whenever they
met, press him to drink, or to an interchange of
such other civihties as would bring them together,
and afford opportunity or pretence for sudden
quarrel. Phleger never accepted any of these
"invitations, without his hand upon his pistol.
Plummer, often when in company with Phleger,
would make an ostentatious display of his regard
for him. " Once," said he, " Harry, I would have
killed you ; but I could not now, when I think
matters all over, find it in my nature to injure
any true man, who would stand by another as
you did by Crawford." Phleger could not be
flattered by these honeyed words, even into mo-
mentary forgetfulness of the diabolical motives
which prompted them. He maintained a quiet
but unmistakable attitude of defence. He was
freighting at this time, and had several teamsters
in his employ.
" If," said he to them, " Plummer or any of
his associates come for me, and I make the first
shot and you fail to make the second, I'll shoot
you. Just remember that."
On one occasion, Plummer, as if for an excuse
to draw his pistol, commenced talking of its
merits to Phleger, who also drew his upon the
306 Organization of the Houghs.
instant. In the course of the conversation,
Phimmer, while illustrating- some quality of the
weapon, pointed it directly at Phleger ; but when
he saw the muzzle of Phleocer's at the same mo-
ment directed at his heart, he took the hint,
sheathed his pistol, and departed. Phleger was
not afterwards troubled w^ith his attentions.
A miner by the name of Ellis, who had given
important testimony against Moore and Reeves,
by whom he was wounded in the 7nelee which re-
sulted in the death of Gazette, was next singled
out for slauofhter. He owned a minino- claim in
the gulch, which he was working with the hope
of speedily acquii-ing means to take him from the
country. Cyrus Skinner, a noted ruffian, as-
saulted him while on his way to the claim, and
beat him unmercifully. He left him with the as-
surance that if he ever saw him in the town he
would kill him. Throuo:h fear that he or some
of his associates would execute this threat, he
used to steal out of his cabin and 2:0 to his work
by an old game trail over the spur of the moun-
tain, to escape observation. But his steps were
dogged. He could not move in any direction
without a rough upon his track, watching for an
opportunity to shoot him. His life was rendered
miserable by the conviction that he was liable at
Orgmiization of the Roughs. 307
any moment to secret assassination. Resolved to
escape if possible, he left -for Fort Benton. The
roughs soon discovered his absence, and sent
three or four of their number in pursuit of him.
He foiled them by turning from the main trail
into an unexplored region. After several days
he reached the Missouri river below Benton,
where he constructed a wiofwam in which he
dwelt, subsisting upon roots, berries, and the rem-
nants of his provisions, until the Mackinaw boats
descended the river from Fort Benton in the
spring. Hailing one of them he was taken on
board, and returned in safety to the States.
The writer of this history was early marked
for summary retaliation. I had disappointed the
expectations of the roughs at the trial of Moore
and Reeves, by voting for the death penalty,
after having supported their demand for a jury.
They made no secret of their threats against my
life, and that of my friend, Judge Walter B. Dance.
We never went to our claims without a loaded
gun and a revolver. Dance, being a man of great
physical strength, and courage to match, was not
one to be easily frightened. In personal contest
he would have proved more than a match for the
strongest of his enemies. On one occasion, when
Judge Dance and I were quietly walking down
308 Organization of the Roughs.
the street, we saw Plummer approaching. Dance
drew a small bowie-knife, and picking up a
stick, commenced whittling. Plummer came up,
and casting a suspicious glance at the knife,
asked, —
" Judge, why do you always begin to whittle
when you meet me? "
The answer, accompanied by a look of blended
sternness and indignation, came promptly, —
" Because, sir, I never intend that you shall get
the advantage of me. You know my opinion of
you and your friends. I will not be shot down
like a dog by any of you, if I can help it."
The roughs held Dance in great fear. To
those qualities I have mentioned, he added re-
markable force of character. He was bold and
fearless in his expression of opinion, and they
well understood that no man in the settlement
could vAM a stronger influence over the minds of
the community, in support of law and order, and
the prompt punishment of crime.
Moore and Reeves had now returned. The
storm of indignation which had driven them out,
was succeeded by a calm of sluggish incertitude.
The prominent actors in that event, abandoned
by those upon whose support they had depended,
were obliged to protect themselves as best they
JUDGE WALTER B. DANCE-
Miners' Judge at Bannack.
Organization of the Roughs. 309
could against the persecutions and bloody designs
of their vindictive enemies. No true spirit of
reform had yet animated the people. When
appealed to for combination and resistance to the
fearful power now growing into an absolute and
bloody dictatorship, they based their refusal upon
selfish and personal considerations. They could
not act without endangering their lives. They
intended to leave the country as soon as their
claims were worked out. They would be driven
from their claims, and robbed of all they had
taken from them, if they engaged in any active
opposition to the roughs ; whereas, if they re-
mained passive, and attended to their own busi-
ness, there was a chance for them to take their
money back to their families. It was impossible
to assemble a meeting for the purpose of consid-
ering and discussing with safety, the condition and
exposure of the people.
Meantime the roughs were thoroughly organ-
ized, and were carrying out their plans for whole-
sale plunder in every direction. Every day added
to the number and magnitude of their depreda-
tions. The Walla Walla express had been robbed,
as it afterwards appeared, by Plummer's direction.
An attempt to rob the store of Higgins and
Worden at Missoula would have succeeded, had
310 Organization of the Roughs.
not the merchants been apprised of it, in time to
conceal their gold.
A man by the name of Davenport, who, it was
known to the roughs, had a little money in Ban-
nack, left with his wife, intending to go to Ben-
ton, and thence by steamboat to the States. They
stopped to lunch at the springs between Bannack
and Rattlesnake. A man whose face was con-
cealed, came from behind a pile of rocks standing
near, drew a revolver, and presenting it, demanded
their money. Mrs. Davenport asked, —
"Who are you?"
He replied,"" The Robber of the Glen."
" Oh ! " she said inquiringly, " are you Johnny
Glenn ? "
" No," he answered. " I'm the Robber of the
Glen, and want your money."
Mrs. Davenport surrendered the three purses
containing the money, together with her gold
watch, remarking as she did so, that two of the
purses and the watch belonged to her. With
much gallantry of manner the robber restored
them to her immediately, retaining only the single
purse belonging to her husband. The plundered
coupTe then proceeded to Benton, and Mrs.
Davenport secured an early passage to the States.
They never knew who the robber was.
Organization of the Roughs. 311
While confined with his wound, Plummer
repeatedly asked permission of Doctor Glick to
take a ride on horseback. The necessity for quiet
while the wound was healing obliged the doctor
invariably to refuse him. One morning he called
as usual to see how the cure was progressing, and
Plummer was not at home. The doctor supposed
he had gone out into the town, and at a later hour
called, and, on examination of the wound, was
satisfied that he had been taking violent exercise.
On questioning him, Plummer, who knew that
the doctor dared not betray him, told him of the
robbery of Davenport, which he had that day
committed.
The robbers next broke into and rifled a bakery
belonging to one Le Grau, a Frenchman, who
Hved on a back street in Bannack. Preparations
were made for burning the house, but the design
was not carried out.
While atrocities like these were daily increas-
mg, a reign of terror more fearful in character
and results pervaded the settlement. Every man's
life was endangered by the free and reckless use
of fire-arms. The crack of pistols and guns,
which weapons were always the first resort of the
roughs in setthng disputes, was heard at all hours
of the day and night, in the saloon and restaurant.
312 Organization of the Roughs.
Frequent and bloody affrays among themselves,
often terminated in the death of one or both of
the parties engaged, and sometimes of one or
more of those who happened to be within range
of the reckless firing while the quarrel was in
progress. It was dangerous to pass along the
streets, where stray bullets were not an exception,
more dangerous still to attempt to allay a broil
among desperadoes, who settled all difficulties
with bowie-knives and revolvers.
On one of the days of this dismal period, two
young men, named Banlield and Sapp, the first
a gambler, the latter a miner, engaged in a game
of poker in Cyrus Skinner's saloon. During the
game, Sapp saw Banfield abstract a card from the
deck, by the aid of which he was enabled to
declare a " flush " hand. He chars^ed him with
the theft. Jumping to his feet, Banfield drew
his revolver, which he levelled at the head of his
antagonist, who was unarmed. Jack Russell, who
was watching the game, now interfered, and quiet
being restored, the men resumed play. In a few
moments Sapp again charged Banfield with cheat-
ing. Banfield fired at him without effect. Sapp
being unarmed, Dr. Bissell thrust a revolver into
his hand, and the two men at once engaged in a
pistol fight, dodging around the posts which sup-
Organization of the Roughs. 313
ported the roof, and firing at random until their
revolvers were emptied. They then clinched,
and Russell tried to separate them. Moore and
Reeves were in one of the bunks fastened to the
wall of the saloon, asleep. Roused by the firing
both got up, and Moore, pistol in hand, at once
joined in the fight. Placing the muzzle of his
revolver in Russell's ear, he pulled the trigger,
and the cap failing to explode, he pulled a second
time, with a like result. So rapid had been the
movements of Moore, that it was not until after
the second failure that Russell could turn his face
toward him and exclaim, —
" What do you mean ? "
Moore, who had not recognized him until that
moment, dropped his arm, replying, —
" Oh, is that you, Jack ? "
Russell said in explanation, —
" These are friends of mine, and I want them
to stop quarrelling."
Moore now assisted Russell, and they succeeded
in a few minutes in separating the combatants.
" Let's all take a drink," said Moore, " and be
friends."
To this Sapp and Banfield, as neither had in-
jured the other, assented. As they stood with
their glasses raised, Moore heard a groan, and
314 Organization of the Roughs.
going towards the table, saw Buz Cavau's dog
just expiring.
" Boys," said he, turning towards the two
reconciled men who were waiting for hira to rejoin
them at the bar, "you've killed a dog."
Banfield called immediately for more drinks,
when another o^roan was heard. On ooino- to the
bunk from whence it came, they found George
Carrhart writhing in extreme agony. Dr. Bissell
lifted him from the bunk to the table, and after
a brief examination of his body and pulse, made
the announcement, —
" He is dying."
Moore wdio stood by, on hearing this, called to
Reeves and Forbes who were standinp' in another
part of the room, —
" Boys, they have shot Carrhart," and with an
emphatic stroke of his fist upon the counter, he
added with an oath, —
" Let's kill 'em," simultaneously raising his
pistol and firing at both Sapp and Banfield. Rus-
sell at the moment seized his arm, with a view to
prevent his shooting, and in the struggle mis-
directed his aim. Meanwhile, Reeves fired at
Banfield, who dodged under a table and crept out
of the back door wdth a shot in his knee. Sapp,
wounded in the little finger, also retreated under
Organization of the Roughs. 315
the fire of the road agents, — a friend, Goliah
Reillj, rushing to his assistance, who also, upon
turning to escape, received a bullet in his heel.
George Carrhart was a fine-looking, intelligent,
gentlemanly man. He had been a member of
the lesfislature of one of the Western States.
Whiskey transformed him into a rowdy, made the
company of ruffians congenial, and led him on
to his unfortunate fate.
Dick Sapp was a brave, generous young man,
and very popular with the people. The next
morning, accompanied by several Colorado friends,
he returned to Skinner's saloon. Skinner, who
had seconded without participating in the attempt
of Moore and Reeves to kill him the evening
before, when he saw him enter, was alarmed for
his own safety, and sought to propitiate him by
invitins: him and his friends to drink with
him.
" No," said Sapp, " I want none of your whis-
key. Last night I came here unarmed to indulge
in a little game of poker, and you all tried to kill
me. Now I'm here to fight you all, singly, and
I've brought some friends, to see that I have fair
play."
Moore and Skinner apologized, and begged him
to overlook it ; but Sapp refused to accept their
316 Organization of the Roughs.
apologies, and left. Afterwards some friends of
Moore and Skinner, at their request, went to
Sapp, and with no little difBculty effected a
reconciliation.
Poor Banfield intrusted the care of his wound
to an unskilful physician, and died soon after, for
the want of proper treatment.
Early in the spring of 1863, Winnemuck, a
warrior chief of the Bannacks, and his band of
braves, camped in the sage brush above the town.
One of the citizens of Bannack made known the
fact that he had been informed by a white lad,
whom he had met at the time of his escape from
these Indians several years before, that they had
slain his parents, and captured two sisters and
himself. The elder of the sisters died of harsh
treatment. A white girl who had been seen in
Winnemuck's band, was supposed to be the other.
A few citizens met at my cabin to devise means
for her ransom, as any attempt at forcible rescue
would provoke the Indians to violence. Skinner
called the roughs together at his saloon. They
decided that the circumstances were sufBciently
aggravating to justify the slaughter of the band,
and made preparations for that object. Mean-
time a half-breed apprised Winnemuck of his
danger. Nowise alarmed, the old chief ranged
Orr/aiiizafioti of the Roughs. 317
His three Imiulred warriors along the valley, where
they could command the approach of an enemy,
however formidable. So confidant was he of vic-
tory in the threatened encounter, that he prom-
ised to follow it up by a general massacre of every
white person in the gulch. Fortunately at this
time, whiskey came to the rescue. The leaders
got drunk, the allied citizens were disgusted, and
a murderous enterprise that would probably have
cost many lives, was abandoned. In pursuance
of the arrangements first made at the meeting in
my cabin, Mr. Carroll, for a very small considera-
tion, effected the ransom of the little girl, and took
her to his cabin.
The inadequacy of the price roused in all a
suspicion that the Indians intended to recapture
the child. Carroll was enjoined to secrete her
against such a possibility. The Indians loitered
around his cabin, and finally made an attempt to
carry her off. An alarm was given, the citizens
and roughs rallied, the Indians released the child,
and ran to escape the attack of the citizens. In
the melee, Hayes Lyons, one of the roughs, fired
at and wounded an Indian who was on the retreat,
and who at the time was shouting " good Indian,"
to intimate his friendly disposition. " Old Snag,"
a Bannack chief, who had come with his band
318 Organization of the Boughs.
into town a few days before, and who when the'
alarm was given was in Carroll's cabin, now came
out, and was talking with his daughter, when Buck
Stinson, another of the ruffian gang, without the
least intimation of his design, walked close beside
him, and shot him in the side and head. The old
man, who had always been friendly to the people,
fell dead in his tracks ; and Skinner, with savage
brutality, came up and scalped him.
A Masonic Funeral. 319
CHAPTER XXIII.
A MASONIC FUNERAL.
PeOPLK Sl'ELLBOUND DeATH OF Wm. H. BeLL MEET-
ING OF THE Masons — Masonic Funeral — Masouic
Gatherings — Watch of the Roughs — Plummer
ELECTED Sheriff — His Marriage with Miss Eliza
Bryan — His Conversation with the Writer —
Reasons for doubting his Sincerity — Life in
Bannack.
Had it been possible at any time during the
period I have passed under review, for the
peaceable citizens of Bannack to return to their
old homes in safety, such was the terror that
environed them, I doubt not that nearly all would
joyfully have gone. The opportunity for speedy
accumulation of fortune from a prolific gold
placer, offered small compensation for the daily
risk of life in obtaining it, and the possibility of
ultimate destruction to the entire settlement. The
people were spellbound, and knew not what to
do. They assented almost passively to the be-
lief that the ruffian population, when disposed,
was strono; enouoh to crush them ; and when a
320 A Masonic Funeral.
murder was committed, or a robbery made,
expressed no stronger feeling than that of thank-
fuhiess for their own escape.
While public sentiment was gradually settling
down into a state of helpless submission to the
ruffian element, William H. Bell, a respected
citizen, died of mountain fever. This was the
first natural death that had occurred in the settle-
ment. After his illness had assumed a dangerous
form, he made known to myself and others, that
he was a Mason, and expressed a desire to be
buried with Masonic ceremonies. At first we
deemed it impossible, but after his death, con-
cluded to comjjly with his request, if a sufficient
number of Masons could be assembled to conduct
the exercises. A request for all the Masons in
the gulch to meet on Yankee Flat at the cabin of
Brother C. J. Miller, on the evening of the day
of Mr. Bell's death, greatly to our surprise, was
so numerously responded to, that we found it
necessary to adjourn to more commodious quar-
ters. It was past midnight before the forms of
recognition were fully administered, and prepara-
tions completed for the funeral. So delighted
were all to meet so many of the order, that before
we separated it was virtually understood that
early application should be made for authority to
A Masonic Funeral. 321
open a lodge. In the mean time, we agreed to
hold frequent meetings.
The funeral ceremonies, the next day, were
conducted by myself. The strange peculiarities
of the occasion added a mournful interest to the
impressive truths of the ritual. A large congre-
gation had assembled. Near by, and surrounding
the grave, stood the little band of brethren, linked
by an indissoluble bond to him for whom they
were now performing the last sad office. With
clasped hands and uncovered heads they reverently
listened to the solemn lanouagfe which in that far-
off land committed one of their number to his
mother earth ; while farther away, and encircling
them, stood a curious multitude, whose eager gaze
betrayed that they there for the first time beheld
a Masonic burial ceremony. Among this latter
number might be seen many whose daily lives
were filled with deeds of violence and crime, —
who mayhap at the moment might be meditating
murder and robbery, — who, for the first time in
many years, were listening to language which
recalled the innocence of boyhood, the early teach-
ings of parents, and hopefully pointed the way to
an eternity of unmixed enjoyment. How strange
it seemed to see this large assemblage, all armed
with revolvers and bowie-knives, standing silently,
322 A Masonic Funeral.
respectfully, around the grave of a stranger, their
very features, — distorted by the lines which their
hardened lives had planted, — now saddened by
a momentary fleeting thought of the grave and
immortality.
Nor was this all. They learned from what they
saw, that here was an association, bound together
by bonds of brotherly love, that would stand by
and protect all its members in the hour of danger.
They saw the scroll deposited which signified so
plainly, that death alone could break a link in the
mystic chain which bound them together. They
saw each brother drop the evergreen as a symbol
of the surrender of him they mourned, to the
eternal care of a higher power. And while the
brethren, as they regarded each other in the light
of their strong obligations, felt that in themselves
there was a power equal to the necessities of then-
exposed condition, we may reasonably suppose
that the ruffians who had marked them for ulti-
mate destruction felt that a new and formidable
adversary had thrown itself across their bloody
pathway.
The ceremonies were conducted to a peaceful
conclusion, and the assembly quietly dispersed.
But from this time onward, the Masons met often
for counsel. Among them there was no lack of
A Masonic Funeral. S2S
confidence, and very soon they began to consider
measures necessary for their protection. These
meetings were carefully watched by the roughs,
but they w^ere quietly told that the Masons met
to prepare for organizing a lodge. This threw
them off their guard, and they continued in their
lawless course.
After the Masonic fraternity at Bannack had
decided to organize a regular lodge, and a dis-
pensation for that purpose had been applied for,
Plummer expressed publicly a strong desire to be-
come a Mason. Such were his persuasive powers,
that he succeeded in convincing some members
of the order, that in all his affrays, he had been
actuated solely by the principle of self-defence,
and that there was nothing inherently criminal in
his nature. There were not wanting several good
men amons' our brotherhood, who would have
recommended him for initiation.
It is a remarkable fact that the roughs were
restrained by their fear of the Masonic fraternity,
from attacking its individual members. Of the
one hundred and two persons murdered by Henry
Plummer's gang, not one was a Mason.
It is worthy of comment that every Mason in
these trying hours adhered steadfastly to his
principles. Neither poverty, persuasion, tempta-
324 A Masonic Funeral.
tion, nor opportunity had the effect to shake a
single faith founded on Masonic principle : and
it is the crowning glory of our order, that not
one of all that band of desperadoes who expiated
a life of crime upon the scaffold, had ever crossed
the threshold of a lodge-room. The irregulari-
ties of their lives, their love of crime, and their
recklessness of law, originated in the evil associa-
tions and corrupt influences of a society over
which neither Masonry nor Religion had ever
exercised the least control. The retribution
which finally overtook them had its origin in
principles traceable to that stalwart morality which
is ever the offspring of Masonic and Religious
institutions. All true men then lived upon the
square, and in a condition of mutual dependence.
Many persons who had been cooped up in Ban-
nack, with nothing to do during the winter, sal-
lied forth in quest of new discoveries as soon as
the snow disappeared, in the spring of 1863. A
number of new gulches were found, and the
population of Bannack thinned out considerably
under the inducements they offered for the im-
provement of fortunes. All these newly discov-
ered placers were, however, known by the general
name of East Bannack, the prefix being used to
distinguish the locality from West Bannack, a
A Masonic Funeral. 825
mining camp in that portion of Idaho lying west
of the main range of the Rocky Mountains. As
rapidly as any of these new camps were settled,
the miners adopted laws for their government,
and elected judges to enforce them. No slieriff
had, however, been elected to fill the place of
Crawford. The miners held a meeting at which
they concluded to elect one sheriff who should
reside at Bannack, and appoint his deputies for
the new locations. A day for the election was
accordingly designated.
Plummer busied himself among the miners to
obtain the nomination, and as an evidence not less
of the unst3ady purpose of this population than
of the personal magnetism of this remarkable
man, he succeeded. Men, who a few weeks
before were clamorous for his execution as a mur-
derer, deceived by the plausibility of his profes-
sions, and the smoothness of his eloquence, were
now equally urgent for his election to the most
important office in the settlement. Such of the
number as were unwilling to support him, nomi-
nated a good man by the name of Jefferson Dur-
ley, but the majority for Plummer, decided the
election largely in his favor. A marked change
immediately took place in his conduct. Soon
after he was married to Miss Eliza Bryan, the
B26 A Masonic Funeral.
young lady with whom, as I have related in a
former chapter, he contracted an engagement
while spending the winter with her brother-in-law,
Mr. Vail, at the government farm on Sun river.
Whether he honestly intended to reform at this
time, or " assumed the thing he was not " for the
better concealment of his criminal designs, can
never be certainly known. There was much
apparent sincerity in his conduct and professions.
He forsook the saloons, and was seldom seen in
the society of his old associates. His duties were
promptly attended to. On one occasion in a con-
versation with me, of his own seeking, he spoke
regretfully of his early life : —
" I confess," said he, " that the bad associa-
tions which I formed in California and Nevada
have adhered to me ever since. I was forced in
sheer self-defence on different occasions, to kill
five men there — and of course was undeservedly
denounced as a desperado and murderer. This
is not true, — and now that I am married and
have something to live for, and hold an official
position, I will show you that I can be a good
man among good men. There is a new life
before me, and I want you to believe that I am
not unfitted to fill it with credit to myself, and
benefit to the community."
A Masonic Funeral. 327
As he stood thus, in a beseeching voice plead-
ing for some abatement of the harsh judgment
which he knew his conduct merited, it was not
without an effort that I mentally denied to him
that confidence so truly characterized by Pitt in
his memorable reply to Walpole, as " a plant of
slow growth." Very soon after, the justice of
this opinion was confirmed by an undercurrent of
circumstances, which plainly showed that he was
either drifting back into the whirlpool of crime,
or had assumed the guise of virtue that he might
better serve the devil. His face, usually clear and
white, betrayed in its weatherbeaten appearance,
that several times when there was no occasion for
it, he had been exposed to the inclemencies of a
fearful niffht storm. Where had he been?
What was the character of that business which
could woo him from his home, to face the angry
elements, and require his return and appearance
on the street by daylight ? At one time, having
occasion to go to the ranche where my horse was
kept, I saw there a very superior saddle-horse.
Having never seen it before, on inquiry, I was
informed that it belonged to Plummer, who often
visited the ranche to exercise it ; but never rode
it into town, or used it for any long journey. It
was represented to possess greater qualities of
328 A Masonic Funeral.
speed and endurance than any horse in the coun-
try. Why was he keeping this horse, unused,
and away from the public view, if not for the
purpose of escaping from the country in case of
failure in his criminal enterprise ? Many other
circumstances, equally demonstrative as to the
designs which Piummer was secretly carrying on,
satisfied me that I had not misjudged his true
character.
Life in Bannack at this time was perfect isola-
tion from the rest of the world. Napoleon was not
more of an exile on St. Helena, than the newly
arrived immigrant from the States, in this recess
of rocks and mountains. All the stirring battles
of the season of 1862, — Antietam, Fredericks-
burg and Second Bull Run, — all the exciting
debates of Congress, and the more exciting com-
bats at sea, first became known to us on the arrival
of the first newspapers and letters, in the spring
of 1863. Old newspapers went the rounds of
the camp until they literally dropped to pieces.
Pamphlets, cheap publications, and yellow-covered
literature, which had found their way by chance
into the camp, were in constant and unceasing
demand. Bibles, of which there were a few
copies, were read by men who probably never
read them before, to while away the tedium of the
A Masonic Furieral. 329
dreary days of winter. Of other books there
were none then, nor for a year or more after-
wards. Euchre, old sledge, poker, and cribbage
were resorted to until they became stale, flat, and
diso"ustino\ When, afterwards, the first small
library was brought into the Territory, the owner
was at once overwhelmed with borrowers, who,
after reading, loaned his books without leave,
until the loss or destruction of many of them,
drove him to the adoption of means for the pres-
ervation of the remainder. He placarded over
his library, where all could read it, the following-
passage from Matthew xxv. 9 ; " Not so ; lest
there be not enough for us and you ; but go ye
rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves."
This gentle hint served better as a joke than an
admonition.
As a counterpoise to this condition of affairs,
the new-comer found much in the rough, Avild
scenery, the habits, customs, and dress of the
miners, and iji the pursuits of the camp, to inter-
est his attention. There was a freedom in moun-
tain life entirely new to him. The common
forms of expression, rough, unique, and full of
significance, were such as he had never been
accustomed to hear. The spirit of a humor full
of fun, displaying itself practically on all occa-
330 A Masonic Funeral.
sions, often at his own expense, presented so
many new phases of character, that he was sel-
dom at a loss for agreeable pastmie, or indeed
profitable occupation.
The wit of a mining* camp is sid generis. It
partakes of the occupation, and grows out of it as
naturally as the necessities. Indeed, it is of itself
a necessity, — for the instance of a miner without
humor or a relish for it, if it be of the appreciable
kind, is very rare. One must be versed in the
idiom of the camp to always understand it. As
for example, if, in speaking of another, a miner
says, " I have panned that fellow out and couldn't
get a color," it means the same as if he had said,
" He's a man of no principle, dishonest, or a
scamp." So if of another, he says, " He's all
right, clear down to bed-rock," it means, " He is
honest and reliable." A hundred expressions of
this kind are in common use in a mining camp.
Common parlance has long ago wrung the humor
from all these oddities of expression ; but every
now and then something new springs up which
has its run through mining communities as a bit
of fun, before its final incorporation into the epi-
demic vernacular.
It occasionally happens that a genuine loafer
turns up. This is not common ; for a man with-
A Masonic Funeral. 331
out money or employment among miners, especially
if he evinces an indisposition for work, is a piti-
able object. Nobody cares for him. His very
necessities are subjects for ribaldry, and his lazi-
ness affords ample excuse for a neglect which may
end in absolute starvation. There is no lack of
kindness among miners, — their generosity is only
bounded by their means in meritorious cases, but
it is cruelly discriminative against bummers and
loafers. They must live by their wits, — and
sometimes this resource is available.
A singular genius known as " Slippery Joe,"
whose character reflected the twofold qualities of
bummer and loafer, hung around the saloons and
restaurants in the early days of Bannack. He
worked when compelled by necessity, and was
never known to buy " a square meal." One
evening he was an on-looker at a party of miners
who were playing euchre in Kustar's bakery.
Their frequent potations, as was often the case,
developing first noise, then dispute, then quarrel,
finally culminated in a fight and general row.
Pistols and knives were drawn, one man was badly
stabbed, and several shots fired. The bystanders
stampeded through the door and into the street,
to avoid injury. One man was prostrate, and
another bent over him, with an upraised knife.
332 A Masonic Funeral.
Kustar and his bartender were engaged in quell-
ing the melee. Seizing this opportunity, Bum-
mer stole behind the counter, and taking a couple
of pies from the shelf, mashed them out of shape
with his knuckles, and laid them, still in the tin
plates, on the floor near the combatants. He did
not dare to steal the pies, knowing that detection
would result in his banishment from the gulch.
Kustar, discovering them after the fight was over,
supposed from the appearance they presented,
that they had been jarred from the shelf and
trodden upon. He was about casting them into
the street, when Bummer stepped forward, and
offered twenty-five cents for them, pies at the time
being sold at a dollar apiece. Glad to sell them
at any price, Kustar regarded the quarter of a
dollar as clear gain, and the sneak owed his sup-
per to his criminal ingenuity.
This same slippery individual was the hero of
another foraging exploit, which, however we may
regard it in a moral aspect, was not discreditable
to his strategic perspicacity. Two partners in a
mining claim had quarrelled, fought, and so far
reconciled differences, as to agree to live together.
One day a load of potatoes, the first that we had
had for eight months, and a great luxury at sixty
cents per pound, arrived from the Bitter Root
A Masonic Fu7ieral. 333
valley. The two miners bought several pounds,
and agreed upon having a holiday, with an old-
fashioned stew for dinner at three o'clock p.m.
Bummer had epicurean tastes, and longed for a
dish of the stew. He stationed himself near the
door of the cabin. Just after it was taken from
the pan, and placed, steaming hot, between the
partners, and one was in the act of slicing the loaf,
Bummer entered, and with much adroitness in-
troduced the subject of former difference. This
brought on a dispute, and the two men rose from
the table and rushed into the street to engage in
a fist fight. While thus employed. Bummer made
a single meal of the entire stew.
In the early days of gold hunting in California,
many young men of religious proclivities, who
had been reared by Christian parents, went there
to make speedy fortunes and return home. Fail-
ing to do so, unwilling to work, and still intent
upon suddenly acquiring wealth, they have
wandered from camp to camp among the moun-
tains ever since. These mining vagabonds are
often met with. Their lives have been full of
vicissitude and disappointment, and nature has
covered them with signs and labels, which render
their character unmistakable. Lost to all self-
respect, ragged, uncombed, often covered with
334 A Masonic Funeral.
vermin, they seem to have no definite object in
life, and are content to earn enough to eke out a
meagre subsistence. Sometimes we meet with
one, who betrays in the glow of conversation, the
remains of a cultivated foreground ; but generally
the slang of the camp and the rough manners
of the miner have wrought a radical transfor-
mation in both mind and body.
Such an one was Bill — with whom I first
became acquainted in 1863. Passing Mather's
saloon, one day in the fall of 1872, I caught
a glimpse of him, and stepped in to renew
my acquaintance. He stood by the bar talking
with a friend whom he had known at Boise City,
Idaho, in 1862. The conversation had reference
to those early days.
"Jim," he inquired, "when did you hear of
Yeast Powder Dave last?" A little farther on
in the conversation, after taking a drink, Jim
inquired in return, " Whatever became of Tin
Cup Joe ? " then the conversation flagging,
another drink was indulged, and the inquiry fol-
lowed, " How late have you heard where Six Toed
Pete hangs out ? " At last Bill, fully warmed up
to the subject, remarked, —
"Jim, you haven't forgot the parson, have
you?"
A Masonic Funeral. 835
" Parson ■who ? " inquired Jim dubiously.
" Parson Crib — you know."
At the mention of the name, tears came into
the eyes of both. It was evident the memory of
the man was very pleasant. Bill continued, —
" Jim, they don't have no such preachers nowa-
days as the parson was. These new-comers, most
of 'em feel above us 'cause we wear ragged
clothes, and then they are so slow and lamb-like,
that their talks have Httle effect on such fellows
as you and me ; but the old parson used to rattle
up the boys every clatter, and when he'd got
through they'd think their chances of salvation
were mighty slim. And he was such a good man,
so charitable and so kind — and how beautifully
and eloquently he would explain the Christian
reliofion as he talked to us of our duties to the
Master. He was a real good man. There ain't
many like him." Brushing a tear from his
cheek, he added sorrowfully, "Jim, do you know
I never did quite forgive Sara Jones, for shooting
the parson, for stealing that sorrel mare."
It must have been a warm affection which
would fail to approve of an act regarded so just
as shooting or hanging for " cribbing " a horse
in a mining camp. The parson is supposed to
have held forth near Boise City.
335 A Masonic Funeral.
Those o£ my readers who resided in Bannaek
at the time, doubtless remember the " Miners' Ten
Commandments," written copies of which were
circulated freely throughout the camp. I recall
two of them. If the first one here given, serves
to illustrate the prevailing customs of a mining
camp, the other contains a warning which the dis-
honest and covetous did not fail to heed.
FOURTH COMMANDMENT. Tbou shalt not remember what thy
friends do at home on the Sabbath day, ^-t U.e r.u.mbrauce may
not compare favorably with what thou doest Six da s thou
mavst di- or pick all that thy body can stand under but the other
Ty Sunday, when- thou shalt wash all thy soiled shuts, darn all
thy ockin J tap all thy boots, mend all thy clothing, chop all n
who week's firewood, make up and bake thy bread, and boi thy
;rk and thy beaus, that thou wa. not when thou --^^ f-
thvlon- tour weary. For in six days' labor only, thou canst not
weaH^t thy'hody in two whole years; but if thou workest hard
on Sunday also thou canst do it in six months, and thou, and thy
!on nd tlj dkughter, thy male friend, and thy female friend, thy
r;X am/thy conscience, he none the better for it but reproach
thee shouldst thou ever return with thy worn-out bodj to thy
mothe 's fireside, and thou strive to justify thyself, because he
Trade and the merchant, the carpenter and the blacksmith, the
ratltrs and the Jews, defy God and civilization, by keep n^^^^^^
the Sabbath day, and wish not for a day of rest such as memoiy
nnd home and youth made hallowed.
N XTH COMMANDMENT. Thou shalt uottcll any false tales abou
.' .ood di^<^in<^s in the mountains " to thy neighbor, that thoumayst
benefit tiT dend who hath mules and provisions and b lankets and
n'^ng tools he cannot sell; lest in deceiving ^ ^^^^^^
L returneth through the snow with naught save his nfle. he pic-
l^nterthee with the contents thereof, and like a dog thou shalt
fall down and die.
GENERAL P. E. CONNOR,
Commander at Battle of Bear River.
Battle of B,ear River.
CHAPTER XXIV.
BATTLE OF BEAR BIVEE.
IxDiAX Troubles — Battle of General Connor
WITH THE BaNXACKS OBSTINATE RESISTANCE OF
THE Indians — Their Defeat — Bravery of our
Troops — Effect of the Victory.
During the year preceding- the period whereof
I write, and in fact from the time of the discovery
of the Sahiion river mines, nearly every train or
single company of emigrants going in that direc-
tion was attacked, robbed, the animals belonging-
to it stolen, and frequently many of the persons
composing it slain, by predatory bands of Ban-
nack Indians, which tribe possessed the entire
country for a distance of five hundred miles north
of Salt Lake. Their rapacity and cruelty had
become the great terror of a journey otherwise
full of difficulty and discouragement. So fre-
quent and terrible had been this warfare, that
nearly all communication between the distant
mines and Salt Lake was suspended ; yet the
wretches who conducted it, conscious of their
338 Battle of Bear River.
superior jDOwer, hesitated not, meantime, to visit
the settlements, and maintain an apparent friend-
liness towards the people. Several attacks had
been made upon them by detachments of troops
from Camp Douglas, attended with more or less
success, but none of them had the effect to allay
their murderous depredations. Success had made
them defiant as well as bloodthirsty, and long
impunity begot in them the belief that they were
invincible.
When the winter began to close in, rich in the
spoils of their bloody forays, a large band of
nearly three hundred Bannacks, under their
chiefs Sand Pitch, Sag Witch, and Bear Hunter,
established quarters for the cold months in a
ravine on the west bank of Bear river, about
four days' march distant from the federal camp.
Gen. P. Edward Connor, the officer in command
at Camp Douglas, had carefully watched their
movements with the intention of inflicting the
severest punishment upon them for the enormities
they had committed. The example to be salutary,
must be terrible, and Connor contemplated noth-
ing less than the destruction of the entire band.
It was a measure of safety. Many thousand
people in the States and Territories were engaged
in active preparation to make the journey to the
Battle of Bear River. 339
northern mines, on the return of warm weather,
and the Kves and property of many of them
depended, as General Connor knew, upon the
success of his contemplated expedition.
The Indians selected their camp because of the
protection it afforded from the inclemencies of
the weather. The general southwest course of
the river was, by a bend, changed so as to be
nearly due west where it passed their encamp-
ment. The nook or ravine, open on the bank,
stretched tortuously between high precipitous
banks, north from the river several hundred
yards, until lost in the abrupt ascent of a lofty
overhanging mountain. Clumps of willows grew
irregularly over the surface of the little dell,
amid which the Indians pitched their buffalo
tents, and fastened their ponies for better protec-
tion asfainst wind and snow. Their women and
children were with them, and all the conveniences
and comforts known to savage life were clustered
around them.
Perceiving soon after they took possession of
the spot, that it united with its other advantages
admirable means of defence against an approach-
ing enemy, they went to work, and improved, by
excavation and otherwise, every assailable point,
until satisfied that it was perfectly impregnable.
340 Battle of Bear River.
During the occasional visits of their chiefs and
head men to the settlements, they had learned
and came to believe, that an attack of some kind
would be made upon them before spring. They
relished the idea as a good joke, and with more
than customary bravado declared their readiness
to meet it, boldly challenging the whites to come
on.
The winter sped on. Colder than usual even
in these high latitudes, both Indians and whites
felt that if nothing else would prevent an attack,
the cold weather was sufficient. General Connor
kept his own counsel, but matured his plans with
consummate skill. The citizens of Salt Lake,
seeing no military preparations in progress, grew
restive under the delay, charged the garrison with
neglect of duty, and finally appealed to the civil
authorities. In the latter days of January, when
General Connor's plans were approaching matu-
rity, Chief Justice Kinney issued warrants for the
arrest of Sand Pitch, Sag Witch, and Bear
Hunter, for murders committed by them on emi-
grants passing through the Territory. The officer
directed to serve these writs, on one of the coldest
days of the middle of January, applied to Gen-
eral Connor, at Camp Douglas, for an escort.
" I have an expedition against the Indians in
Battle of Bear River. 341
contemplation," said the general, " which will
march soon. You can go under its escort ; but as
I do not intend to take any prisoners, I cannot
tell you whether you will be able to serve your
writ or not. My opinion is you will find it diffi-
cult."
Whether the intimation conveyed in this clos-
ing remark touched the official pride of the mar-
shal, or not, I cannot say. Certain it is that he
concluded at once to accompany the expedition,
and arrest the accused chiefs.
The Indians were on the watch for an attack,
and had their runners out with instructions to
bring theui the earliest information of an approach-
ing foe. On the morning of the 22d, Captain
Samuel N. Hoyt, with forty men of Company K
of Infantry, two howitzers, and a train of fifteen
baggage wagons, left Camp Douglas with secret
orders to march leisurely in the direction of the
Indian encampment. The Indian spies, under
promise of secrecy, were told by some who as-
sumed to know, that this was the army sent to
exterminate the Indians. They carried the intel-
ligence to the Indians, where it excited great deri-
sion. The little company marched very sloAvly,
makinp' their roads throuofh the snows of the
divides, and were careful to afford the Indian
342 Battle of Bear River.
scouts full opportunity to learn their strength
and armament. The chiefs unconcernedly gave
orders to their warriors to prepare for a warm re-
ception of the foe, while they visited the settle-
ments. On the morning of the sixth day's march,
Captain Hoyt and his men reached the vicinity of
the present town of Franklin, within a few hours'
march of the Indian stronghold. Bear Hunter,
who was there at the time, seeing how few the
men were in number, left immediately in high glee,
at the prospect of cutting them oif the next day.
At midnight that night, after a ride of four
nights, one of sixty miles, the others of easier
marches, through deep snows and a piercing, bit-
ter wind that nearly disabled a third of the com-
mand. Major McGarry, at the head of two hun-
dred cavalry, accompanied by General Connor
and his aids, rode into the little camp, and
bivouacked with the infantry. The Indians
knew nothing of this arrival. So far the plan
for their destruction was successful. The troops
slept on their arms. Orders were given to the
infantry to march an hour after midnight. They
were oblio[-ed to break their road throus^h the
snow, which completely covered the entire region
to the depth of one or two feet. The heavy
howitzers were dragged through it, over the
Battle of Bear River. 343
unequal surface, with great difficulty, and for
the purpose of concealment, kept in the rear.
Several hours after the infantry started, the cav-
alry dashed by them and drew up on the south
bank of Bear river before the dawn broke over
the Indian camp. The savages were pre[)ared for
the attack. The ravine rang with their fearful
and defiant howlino-.
The passage of the river was very difficult.
Covered at the bottom to the depth of a foot or
more with anchor-ice, its rapid current, too strong
for congealment at its surface, was filled with
floating masses of ice, whose sharp edges and
great weight threatened disaster to every horse
which ventured the treacherous passage. But
there was no alternative. The troops who had dis-
mounted to load their pistols, now remounted
their horses, and led by Majors McGarry and Gal-
lagher, by slow, tedious, and careful effort, suc-
ceeded in reaching the northern bank in safety.
Before the passage was completed, however, the
companies of Captain Price and Lieutenant Chase,
which were the first to land, had drawn up in line
of battle. Captain McLean and Lieutenant
Quinn, with their commands, had barely joined
them, when the Indians opened the fight with a
shower of balls, wounding one of the men.
344 Battle of Bear River.
General Connor had instructed McGarry to sur-
round the ravine, and was himself at this moment
awaiting the arrival of the infantry on the south
side of the river. He had not anticipated so early
a commencement of the fight, but leaving his
orders to be given by his aid, he hastily crossed
the river and joined McGarry. That officer
finding it impossible with the two companies
at his disposal to outflank the Indians, ordered
them to advance as skirmishers. Up to this time
the Indians had been tantalizing our troops by
their appearance upon the benches over which it
was necessary to pass, before an attack could be
made from the east on their stronghold. At the
approach of the skirmishing party they retreated
under cover of the precipitous bank, where, entirely
protected from our guns, they opened a galling
and deadly fire, killing and wounding several of
Connor's men. The General ordered his men to
protect themselves as much as possible, and sent
McGarry forward with a detachment to scale the
mountain which enclosed the ravine on the north,
and outflank the Indians on the left, while the
companies on the benches attacked them in front.
At this stage of the fight, the most disastrous
to our troops. Captain Hoyt arrived with the
infantry on the south bank of the river. He had
Battle of Bear River. 345
heard the firing at a distance, and hurried forward
his men, who in their eagerness for the fray,
attempted to ford the river, but found it impos-
sible. Wet and chilled they crossed the river on
cavalry horses sent from the north side, and gal-
loped up to the battle, just in time to enable
McGarry, with their assistance, to complete his
flanking movement. Captain Hoyt now came up
with a portion of his men on the west side of the
ravine, extending the cordon so as to form about
three-fourths of a circle, embracing three sides of
the Indian camp. The fight now became very
brisk. By the enfilading fire from the east, west
and north sides of the ravine, the Indians were
gradually driven to the centre and south. Their
stronghold proved a complete cul de sac, and
they were completely at the mercy of the troops.
Taken at this great disadvantage, and seeing their
chiefs and head men falling around them, they
fought with desperate bravery, moving slowly
toward the mouth of the ravine on the west side
of which General Connor had stationed a detach-
ment of cavalry to cut off their retreat. The
great slaughter occasioned by the incessant fire of
the troops, at length broke the Indians' line.
Each man soup'ht how best to save himself.
Many of them ran in the most disorderly manner
846 Battle of Bear River.
to the mouth of the ravine, where they fell in
heaps before the deadly fire of the rifles. Some
attempted to cross the river, but did not live to
effect it. Others crawled into the willow clumps
with the hope of escaping notice, but the troops
were ordered to scour the bushes, and dislodge
them. Many of these latter disclosed their places
of concealment, by firing from them upon the
troops, as if resolved to sell their lives as dearly
as possible. The last Indian foe waited his oppor-
tunity. While Major Gallagher was leading a
detachment into a thicket, the savage fired upon
him. The ball passed through his left arm into
his side. Again the Indian fired, and a cavalry-
man fell from his horse beside General Connor.
The flash of his rifle revealed his hiding-place,
and a volley from the detachment ended the
bloody contest.
The details I have here given of this battle,
while they sufficiently demonstrate the skill and
bravery of the officers and men by whom it was
fought, would be wanting in justice to them did
I fail to mention other incidental facts connected
with it, which entitle them to additional claims
upon our gratitude and admiration. Few people
who have never experienced a winter in the Rocky
Mountains know how to appreciate the elemental
Battle of Bear River. 347
difficulties attending the march of such an expe-
dition as this one of General Connor's. The
sudden storms, the deep snows, the trackless
wastes, the rapid, half-frozen mountain torrents,
the lofty divides, the keen blasts, and the pinch-
ing nights, coupled with all the unavoidable
demands which must encumber the movements of
troops and artillery through a country that for
most of the distance is entirely desolate, should
give this expedition a conspicuous place among
the remarkable events of our country's history.
Seventy-four of the number engaged in it had
their feet frozen by exposure. The night rides
of the cavaby to overtake the infantry would
furnish as thrilling a theme for song as any of
the rides during our National struggle, which have
been thus immortalized. The transportation of
munitions, camp equipage and heavy artillery,
through eighty miles of snow, which for most of
the distance was unmarked by a road, over moun-
tains, through canons, and across unbridged
streams, furnishes a chapter that can find no par-
allel in our former military experience. I mention
them, that my readers may form some idea of the
amount of labor and care necessary to carry such
an enterprise through with success, and give the
proper credit to those who accomplished it.
3-48 Battle of Bear River.
Through the kindness of General Connor I am
enabled to give the names and rank of those who
were killed and wounded. All the officers and
men fought with great bravery. General Connor
himself, diirins" the entire four hours the battle
was in progress, was always in the thickest of it,
and seldom out of range of the deadly rifles of
the Indians. The historian of the battle says, —
" General Connor exhibited high qualities of
command, and his perfect coolness and bravery
are the universal theme of praise. Possibly some
might have been better pleased with less expos-
ure of their commander, but I have the best
authority for saying it was the call of duty, and
not indifference."
The object of the fight was fully accomplished.
Two hundred and sixty-seven Indians were killed,
several of their leadiuQf chiefs among: the number.
Not fifteen escaped to tell the story of the battle.
This victory removed at once and forever the
greatest impediment in the way of emigration to
the new Territory and a safe exit from it for those
who wished to return to their homes in the States.
Previous to it people could not, with safety, pass
in either direction except in large and strongly
armed companies ; and with certain exposure to
the Indians on the one hand, and the robbers and
Battle of Bear River. 349
brigands on the other, with no other possible out-
let for escape except by crossing the Territory to
Fort Benton or over the Coeur D'Alene Moun-
tains to Walla Walla, both very uncertain and
dangerous routes, the inhabitants of the Territory
were completely at the mercy of their assailants.
No more fortunate event could have occurred at
the time, than this successful extermination of a
dangerous foe.
The lesson this battle taught the Bannacks, has
never been forgotten. The instance of an attack
by other bands upon the emigrants, has never
been known since that day. It so reduced their
tribe in number, that they have ever since been
a broken and dispirited people. They are the
vagrants of the mountains ; as remarkable for
their pusillanimity, as, in the days of Bonneville,
they were for their bravery, and the commanding
position they held among the mountain tribes.
The following is a list of the killed and
wounded in the fiofht : —
SECOND CAVALRY, COMPANY "A."
Killed. — Privates, James W. Baldwin, George German.
Wounded. —JaqwI. D. J. Berry; Privates, John W. Wall,
James S. Montgomery, John Welsh, William H. Lake, William
Jay.
Frozen. — Corporal Adolph Spraggle ; Privates, John D. Mar-
ker, J. Kearney, Samuel L'Hommidieu, K. McXulty. G. Swan.
350 Battle of Bear River.
COMPANY "H."
Killed. — Privates, John K. Briggs, Charles L. Hallowell.
Wounded. — Capt. Daniel McLean, Sergeant James Cantillon;*
Corporals, Philip Schaub and Patrick Frauley; Privates, Michael
O'Brien,* H. L. Fisher, John Franklin, Hugh Connor, Joseph
Clows, Thomson Ridge, James Logan, Bartele C, Hutchinson,
Frank Farley.*
Frozen. — Sixteen names not obtained.
COMPANY "K."
Killed. — Privates, Lewis Anderson, Christian Smith, Shel-
bourne C. Reed, Adolphus Rowe, Henry W. Trenipf.
Wounded. — Lieut. Darwin Chase,* Sergeant Sylvanus S. Long-
ley, Corporal Benjamin Landis; Privates, William Slocum,* Albert
N. Parker, John S. Lee, Walter B. Welton, Natli'l Kinsley, Patrick
H. Kelly, Eugene J. Brady, Silas C. Bush, John Daly, Robert
Hargrave, Morris Illig, Alonzo A. P. V. McCoy.
Frozen. — Sergeant Wm. L. Beach ; Corporals, Wm. L. White
and James R. Hunt; Privates, Stragder- Ausby, Matthew Almone,
David Bristow, Fred W. Becker, Nath'l Chapman, Sam'l Caldwell,
Joseph Chapman, John G. Hertle, Chas. B. Howe, Joseph Hill,
George Johnston, Jefferson Lincoln, Arthur Mitchell, James
McKown, Alonzo R. Palmer, Charles Wilson.
COMPANY "M."
Killed. — Wagoner, Asa F. Howard; Privates, Geo. C. Cox,
Geo. W. Hoton, Wm. Davis.
Wounded. — Sergeants, Anthony Stevens * and Lorin Robbins,
Corporal L. W. Hughes; Privates, W. H. Wood, L. D. Hughes, J.
Legget, E. C. Chase, F. Barcafer, R. Miller, M. Forbes, John
Stevens, P. Humbert; Bugler, A. Hoffner.
Frozen. — Sergeant John Cullen ; Corporals, A. P. Hewitt and
Wm. Steel ; Privates, W. W. Collins, James Dyer, John McGonagle,
A. G. Case.
THIRD INFANTRY, COMPANY "K,"
Killed. — Privates, John E. Baker, Sanuiel W. Thomas.
Wounded. — Major P. A. Gallagher; Sergeants, A. J. Austin
and E. C. Hoyt; Privates, John Hensley, Thomas B. Walker.
* Died of wounds.
Battle of Bear River.
351
Frozen. — Sergeants, C. J. ITerron and C. F. Williams; Corpo-
rals, Wm. Bennett, John Lattraan, and John Wingate; Privates,
Joseph German, James Urquhart, Wm. St. John, Algeiay Rams-
dell, James Epperson, A. J. T. Randall, Wm. Farnham, John
Baurland, Giles Ticknor, Alfred Pensho, B. B. Bigelow, J. Ander-
son, F. Bacralso, F. Branch, A. L. Bailey, Wm. Carlton, D. Dona-
hue, C. H. Godbold, J. Haywood, C. Heath, J. Manning, Wm,
Way.
RECAPITULATION.
REGIMENT.
2nd Cavalry, Co. A
2nd Cavalry, Co. H
2nd Cavalry, Co. K
2nd Cavalry, Co. M
3rd Infantry, Co. K
Total . . . .
KILLED. WOUNDED. FROZEN. TOTAL.
2
6
6
14
2
14
16
,32
5
15
19
39
4
13
7
24
2
5
27
34
15
53
75
143
852 Alder Grulch.
CHAPTER XXV.
ALDER GULCn.
Discovert of Alder Gulch — Description op the
Placer and Settlement of it — Murder of Dil-
lingham BY Stinson, Lyons and Forbes — Their
Trial — Condemnation of Stinson and Lyons —
Acquittal of Forbes — Strange Acquittal, and
Departure op Stinson and Lyons, when ready
FOR Execution.
Early in June, 1863, a company of miners,
while returning from an unsuccessful exploring
expedition, discovered the remarkable placer after-
wards known as Alder Gulch. They gave the
name of one of their number, Fairweather, to the
district. Several of the company went imme-
diately to Bannack, communicated the intelli-
gence, and returned with supplies to their friends.
The effect of the news was electrical. Hun-
dreds started at once to the new placer, each
striving to outstrip the other, in order to secure a
claim. In the hurry of departure, among many
minor accidents, a man whose body, partially con-
Alder Gulck B53
cealed by the willows, was mistaken for a beaver,
was shot by a Mr. Arnold. Discovering the fatal
mistake, Arnold gave up the chase and bestowed
his entire attention upon the unfortunate victim
until his death, a few days afterwards. The great
stampede with its numerous pack-animals, pene-
trated the dense alder thicket which filled the
gulch, a distance of eight miles, to the site selected
for building a town. An accidental fire occurring,
swept away the alders for the entire distance in a
sinofle nioht. In less than a week from the date
of the first arrival, hundreds of tents, brush
wakiups, and rude log cabins, extemporized for
immediate occupancy, were scattered at random
over the spot, now for the first time trodden by
white men. For a distance of twelve miles from
the mouth of the gulch to its source in Bald
Mountain, claims were staked and occupied by
the men fortunate enough first to assert an owner-
ship. Laws were adopted, judges selected, and
the new community were busy in up-heaving,
sluicing, drifting, and cradling the inexhaustible
bed of auriferous gravel, which has yielded under
these various manipulations, a greater amount of
gold than any other placer on the continent.
The Southern sympathizers of the Territory
gave the name of Varina to the new town which
354 Alder Gulch.
had sprung up in Alder Gulch, in honor of the
wife of President Jefferson Davis. Dr. Bissel,
one of the miners' judges of the gulch, was an
ardent Unionist. Being called upon to draw up
some papers before the new name had been
generally adopted, and requested to date them at
" Varina City," he with a very emphatic expletive,
declared he would not do it, and wrote the name
Virginia City, — by which name the place has
ever since been known.
The road agents were among the first to follow
in the track of the miners. Prominent among
them were Cyrus Skinner, Jack Gallagher, Buck
Stinson, and Ned Ray, — the last three as deputies
of Plummer in the sheriffalty. Ripe for the
commission of any deed, however atrocious,
which gave the promise of plunder, jackal-like
they watched the gathering crowd and its various
industries, marking each and all for early and
unceasing depredation.
The Hon. Washington Stapleton who had
been at work in the Bannack mines from the time
of their discovery, a miner named Dodge, and
another man, each supposed to possess a consider-
able amount of gold, having determined to go to
Virginia City, Dodge was privately informed by
Dillingham, one of Plummer's deputies, on the
Alder Griilch. 355
eve of their intended departure, that Buck Stin-
son, Hayes Lyons, and Charley Forbes had laid
plans for robbing them on the way, and had
requested him (Dillingham) to join them in the
robbery. When the time for their going came,
Dodge expressed his fear of an attack, and
announced his determination to remain. His
friends rallied him, until, smarting under their
taunts, he revealed the information given by
Dillingham. Stinson, Lyons, and Forbes heard
of it, and determined to kill the informer.
Stapleton left his companions, and started for
Virginia City alone. At Rattlesnake he en-
countered Hayes Lyons, who rode up and asked
him if he had heard of the robbery which Dil-
lingham alleged had been planned against him.
Stapleton replied in the negative ; but when tell-
ing the story since, says that he has felt more
comfortable even when sleejjing in church, than
when he saw that scoundrel approaching him.
He told him, he says, that this was the first he had
heard of it, adding, " If you want my money, I
have only one hundred dollars in greenbacks.
You had better take that, and let me go."
Lyons replied with an oath that the story was a
lie, and that he was then on his way to kill
Dillingham for putting such a story in circulation,
356 Alder Crulch.
but he feared Dillingham had heard of his inten-
tion and left the country.
Stapleton accomplished his trip without moles-
tation. Lyons and Forbes rode on to Virginia
City, also, and finding Dillingham there, they, in
company with Stinson, met the next day and ar-
ranged for his assassination.
A miners' court for the trial of a civil case was
in session the following^ mornino- near the bank of
the creek frontino- the town. To the observation
of a person unaccustomed to the makeshifts and
customs of a mining community, the picture pre-
sented by this court of justice would have ex-
hibited many amusing features — not the least of
which was the place wherein it was held. The
Temple of Justice was a wakiup of brush and
twigs, gathered from the different coppices of
willow and alder growing upon the banks of the
creek, thrown together in conical form, and of
barely sufficient capacity to accommodate the
judge, clerk, parties, and jurors. Spectators were
indebted to the interstices in this primitive struc-
ture, for a view of the proceedings ; and as no
part of the person except the eyes, was visible to
those within, the appearance of those visual orbs
bore no inapt comparison to a constellation in a
brush heap.
Alder Gulch. 357
Dr. Steele, president of the gulcli, acted as
judge. He united with much native good sense
great modesty of demeanor. He was not a law-
yer. On his trip from the States, while crossing
the plains, an unfriendly gust had swept his only
hat beyond recovery, and he came into Montana
with his brows bound in a parti-colored cotton
handkerchief, which, for want of something more
appropriate, not obtainable at the stores, he had
worn until some friendly miner possessing an extra
hat presented him with it. Proving too small to
incase his intellectual organs, the doctor had, by
a series of indented slits encircling the rim, in-
creased its elasticity, so that, saving a succession
of gaps, through which his hair bristled " like
quills upon the fretful porcupine," it answered the
purpose of its creation. With this upon his head
he sat upon the bench, an embodiment of the dig-
nity, law, and learning of this little mountain
j adiciary.
In the progress of the trial, the defendant's
counsel asked for a nonsuit, on account of some
informality of service.
" A what? " inquired the judge with a puzzled
expression, as if he had not rightly understood
the word.
" A nonsuit," was the rejoinder.
358 Alder Gulch.
" What's a — " The question partly asked,
was left incomplete. The judge blushed, but re-
flecting that he would probably learn the office of
a nonsuit in the course of the argument, he broke
through the dilemma by asking, —
" Upon what ground ? "
The argument followed, and the judge, soon
comprehending the meaning of a nonsuit, decided
that unless the defendant could show that he had
suffered by reason of the informal service, the
case must proceed. Some of the friends of the
magistrate, seated near the door, understanding
the cause of his embarrassment, enjoyed the scene
hugely, and as it presented an opportunity for re-
turning in kind some of the numerous jokes
which he had played at their expense, one of
them, thinking it too good to be lost, with much
mock sobriety of manner and tone, arose and
said, —
" Most rig'hteous decision ! "
All eyes were turned upon the speaker, but
before they could comprehend the joke at the
bottom, another arose, and with equal solemnity,
exclaimed, —
" Most just judge ! "
Dr. Steele, though embarrassed by this ill-
timed jocularity, was so well satisfied with his
Alder Guloh. 359
sagacity in finding out what a nonsuit meant,
without betraying his legal unlearnedness, that
the joke was taken in good part, and formed a
subject of frequent merriment in after times.
Charley Forbes was the clerk of the court, and
sat beside the judge taking nctes of the trial.
After the decision denying the motion, the plain-
tiff passed around a bottle of liquor, of which
the court and jury partook. Not to be outdone,
the defendant circulated a box of cigars. And
it was while the spectators were giving expression
in various forms to their approval of the decision,
that Stinson and Lyons came into the court, and
proceeding to the seat occupied by Forbes, en-
gaged with him in a whisj^ered conversation in-
audible to the bystanders. After a few moments,
Forbes suddenly rose in his place, and, with an
oath, exclaimed, —
" Well, we'll kill the scoundrel then, at once,"
and accompanied Stinson and Lyons out of the
wakiup. The audience, startled by the announce-
ment, hurriedly followed. Dillingham had come
over from Bannack in his capacity as deputy sher-
iff, to look for some stolen horses. He had come
on the ground a moment before, in search of Mr.
Todd, the deputy at Virginia City, for assistance.
An assemblage of u hundred or more miners
36.0 Alder Grulch.
and others was congregated in and about the
place where the court was in progress, — some
intent upon the trial, others sauntering through
the crowd and along the bank of Alder creek.
The three ruffians, after a moment's conversation,
approached in company the spot where Dillingham
stood.
" We want to see you," said Lyons, addressing
him. " Step this way a moment."
Stinson advanced a few paces, and looking over
his shoulder said to his companions, —
" Brino- him alonof. Make him come."
Dillingham waited for no second invitation.
Evidently supposing that they had some matter
of business to communicate, he accompanied them
to an open spot not more than ten paces distant.
There they all stopped, and facing Dillingham,
with a muttered curse Lyons said to him, —
" Take back those lies," when with the quick-
ness of thought, they drew their revolvers, —
Charley Forbes at the same time exclaiming,
" Don't shoot, don't shoot," — and fired upon him
simultaneously. The groan which Lyon's ball
drew from the poor victim as it entered his thigh,
was hushed by the bullet of Forbes, as it passed
through his breast, inflicting a mortal wound. He
fell, and died in a few moments. Jack Gallagher,
Alder Guleh. 361
who was in the plot, rushed up, and in his capacity
as a deputy sheriff, seized the pistols of the three
ruffians, one of which, while unobserved, he re-
loaded, intending thereby to prevent the identifi-
cation of the villain who fired the fatal shot.
The deed was committed so quickly, that the
bystanders hardly knew what had happened till
they saw Dillingham stretched upon the ground
in the death agony. The court broke up instantly,
and the jury dispersed. Aghast at the bloody
spectacle, for some moments the people surveyed
it in speechless amazement. The ruffians mean-
while sauntered quietly away, chuckling at their
own adroitness. They had not gone far, until
several of the miners, by direction of Dr. Steele,
arrested them. The re-action from terror to
reason was marked by the adojDtion of vigorous
measures for the punishment of the crime, and
but for the calm self-possession of a few individ-
uals, the murderers would have been summarily
dealt with. An officer elected by the people, with
a detail of miners, took them into custody, and
having confined them in a log building, prepara-
tions were made for their immediate trial.
Here again, as at the trial of Moore and Reeves,
the difficulty of a choice between a trial by the
people, and by a jury of twelve, occasioned an
362 Alder Gulch.
obstinate and violent discussion. The reasons for
the latter, though strongly urged, were finally
overcome by the paramount consideration that the
selection of a jury would devolve upon a deputy
sheriff who was in league with the prisoners, and,
as it was afterwards ascertained, an accomplice in
the crime for Avhich they were arrested.
The people assembled en masse upon the very
spot where the murder had been committed. Dr.
Steele, by virtue of his office as president of the
gulch, was appointed judge, and at his request
Dr. Bissell the district judge and Dr. Rutar, asso-
ciates, to aid with their counsel in the decisions of
such questions as should arise in the progress of
the trial. E. R. Cutler, a blacksmith, and James
Brown acted as public prosecutors, and H. P.
A. Smith, a lawyer of ability, appeared on behalf
of the prisoners.
A separate trial was assigned to Forbes, because
the pistol which Gallagher had privately reloaded,
was claimed by him, a fact of which he wished to
avail himself. In fact, however, the pistol be-
longed to Stinson. It was mid-day when the trial
of Lyons and Stinson commenced. At dark it
was not concluded, and the prisoners were put
under a strong guard for the night. They were
confined in a small, half-roofed, unchinked cabin^
Alder Gulch. 363
overlooking Daylight creek, which ran through a
hollow filled with willows. Dr. Six and Major
Brookie had charge of the prisoners. Soon after
dark their attention was attractsd hy the repeated
shrill note of a night-hawk, apparently proceeding
from tli3 willows. After eacdi note, Forbes com-
menced singing. This being noticed by the
guard, on closer investigation they discovered
that the note was simulated by some person as a
signal for the prisoners. Thej immediately
ordered Forbes to stop singing. He refused.
They then proposed to chain the prisoners, they
objecting, and Forbes remarking. —
*' I will suffer death before you shall do it."
He receded, however, under the persuasion of
six shot-guns drawn upon a line with his head,
and in a subdued tone, said, —
" Chain me."
During the night Lyons sent for one of the
citizens, who, under cover of the guns of the
guard, approached and asked him what he wanted.
'^ I want you," said he, " to release Stinson
and Forbes. I killed Dillingham. I came here
for that express purpose. They are innocent. I
was sent here by the best men in Bannack to kill
him."
^' Who sent you ? " inquired the citizen.
364 Alder aulch.
After naminof several of the best citizens of
Baniiack, who knew nothing of the murder until
several days after it was committed, he added, —
" Henry Plummer told me to shoot him." It
was afterwards proven that this was true.
Hayes Lyons was greatly unnerved, and cried
a great part of the night ; but Buck Stinson was
wholly unconcerned, and slept sound.
The trial was resumed the next morninor*. At
o
noon, the arguments being concluded, the ques-
tion of " guilty or not guilty," was submitted to
the people, and decided almost unanimously in the
affirmative.
" What shall be their punishment ? " asked the
president of the now eager crowd.
" Hang them," was the united response.
Men were immediately appointed to erect a
scaffold, and dig the graves of the doomed crimi-
nals, who were taken into custody to await the
result of the trial of Forbes. This followed im-
mediately ; and the loaded pistol, and the fact that
when the onslaught w\is made upon Dillingham,
he called out, " Don't shoot, don't shoot," were
used in evidence with good effect. When the
question was finally put, Forbes, wdio was a young
man of fine personal appearance, and possessed
of good powers as a speaker, made a personal
Alder Gulch. 365
appeal to the crowd, which so wrought upon
their sympathies, and was so eloquent withal, that
they acquitted him by a large majority. In
marked contrast with the spirit which they ex-
hibited a few hours before while condemning
Stinson and Lyons to a violent death, the people,
upon the acquittal of Forbes, crowded around
him with shouts and laughter, eager to shake
hands with and congratulate him upon his escape.
Months afterwards, when the excitement of the
occasion, with the memory of it, had passed from
men's minds, Charley Forbes was heard vaunt-
ingly to say that he was the slayer of Dillingham.
He was known to deride the tender susceptibili-
ties of the people, who gave him liberty to renew
his desperate career, and chuckle over the exercise
of powers of person and mind that could make
so many believe even Truth herself to be a liar.
Among all the villains belonging to Plummer's
band, not one, not even Plummer himself, pos-
sessed a more depraved nature than Forbes ; and
with it, few, if any, were gifted with as many
shining accomplishments. He was a prince of
cut-throats, — uniting with the coolness of Augus-
tus Tomlinson, all the adaptability of Paul Clif-
ford. On one occasion he said to a gentleman
about to leave the Territory, —
366 Alder Crutch.
" You will be attacked on your way to Salt
Lake."
" You can't do it, Charley," was the reply.
" Your boys are scattered, we are together, and
will prove too many for you." Nevertheless, the
party drove sixty miles over the mountains the
first day out, and thus escaped molestation.
His early life was passed in Grass valley, Cali-
fornia. While comparatively a youth, he was
convicted of robbery. On the expiration of his
sentence, he visited his old friends, and on his
promise of reformation, they obtained employment
for him in McLaughlin's gas works. For a while
his conduct was unexceptionable, and he was
rajDidly regaining the esteem of aU ; but in an
evil hour he indulged in a game of poker for
money. From that moment he yielded to this
temptation, until it became a besetting vice.
Not long after he entered upon this career, he pro-
voked a quarrel with one " Dutch John," who
threatened to kill him.
Forbes told McLaughlin, saying in conclusion,
" When Dutch John says so, he means it."
" Take my revolver out of the case," said
McLaughlin, " put it in your breast-pocket, and
defend yourself as occasion may require."
Forbes obeyed. Soon after, as he was passing
Alder aulch. 367
along with a ladder on his shoulder, an acquaint-
ance said to him, —
" Dutch John is looking for you to kill you."
" So I hear," replied Forbes. " He'll find me
sooner than he wants to."
A few rods farther on he saw John coming
from the Magnolia saloon, where he had been
looking for Forbes. Forbes sprang towards him,
exclaiming with an oath, —
'' Here I am," and immediately fired four shots
at him. John fired once in return, and throwing
up his hands in affright at the rapid firing of
Forbes, ejaculated, —
" 0 mein Gott ! will I be murdered ? "
A bystander who had witnessed the meeting,
and saw that John, who had expected an easy
victory, was paralyzed with fear, called to him, —
" Turn your artillery loose ! "
Forbes was tried for this crime, and acquitted.
He was afterwards convicted of crime of some
kind in Carson City, and imprisoned. On New
Year's day he succeeded in removing his handcuffs,
broke jail, and went to the sheriff's house, as he
said upon entering, " to make a New Year's call."
The officer returned him to prison. From this
time, his career of crime knew no impediment.
On his first arrival in the mountains he corre-
368 Alder Gulch.
sponded for some of the California and Nevada
papers. His letters were highly interesting. His
true name was Edward Richardson.
To return to Stinson and Lyons. After the
demonstrations of joy at Forbes's escape had sub-
sided, the people remembered that there was an
execution on the tapis. Drawing up a wagon in
front of the building- where the criminals were
confined, they ordered them to get in. They
obeyed, followed by several of their friends, who
took seats beside them. Lyons became almost
uproarious in his appeals for mercy. The women,
of whom there were many, began to cry, begging
earnestly for the lives of the criminals. Smith,
their lawyer, joined his petitions to those of the
women, and the entire crowd began to give way
under this pressure of sympathy. Meantime the
wagon was drawn slowly towards the place of
execution. When the excitement was at its high-
est pitch, a man demanded in a loud tone that the
people should listen to a letter which Lyons had
written to his mother. This document, which had
been prepared by some person for the occasion,
was now read. It was filled with expressions of
love for the aged mother, regret for the crime,
repentance, acknowledgments of misspent life,
and strong promises of amendment, if only life
Alder Gulch. 369
could be spared a little longer. Every sentence
elicited fresh grief from the women, who now
became perfectly clamorous in their calls for
mercy to the prisoners. After the letter was read,
some one cried out, in derision, —
" Give him a horse, and let him go to his
mother."
Another immediately moved that they take a
vote upon that proposition. Sheriff Todd, whose
duty it was only to carry out the sentence of the
court, consented to this, and the question was
submitted to ayes and noes. Both parties claimed
the victory. It was then agreed that those in
favor of hanging should go up, and those opposed,
down the side of a neighboring hill. Neither
party being satisfied, as a final test, four men
were selected, and those who wished the sentence
enforced were to pass between two of them, and
those who opposed, between the other two. The
votes for liberty were increased to meet the occa-
sion, by a second passage of as many as were
necessary to carry the question. An Irish miner,
while the voting was in progress, exclaimed in a
loud voice, as a negro passed through the ac-
quittal bureau, —
" Bedad, there's a bloody nagur, that's voted
three times."
370 Alder Gulch.
But this vote, dishonest as it was, settled the
question ; for Jack Gallagher, pistol in liand,
shouted, —
" Let them go. They're cleared."
This was a signal for a general uproar, and
amid shouts from both parties, expressive of the
opinions which each entertained, some one mounted
the assassins upon a horse standing near, which
belonged to a Blackfoot squaw, and cutting the
lariat, started them off at a gallop down the
gulch. At this moment one of the guard pointed
to the gallows, and said to another, —
" There stands a monument of disappointed
justice."
Immediately after sentence of death had been
passed upon Stinson and Lyons, Dr. Steele
returned to his cabin, two miles down the gulch.
The result of the trial had furnished him with
food for sad reflection, — especially as the duty
of passing the death sentence had devolved upon
him. Other considerations followed in quick
succession. He has since, when speaking of it,
said that he never indulged in a more melancholy
reverie, than while returning home from this trial.
The youth of the convicts ; their evident fitness,
both by culture and manners, for any sphere of
tive business j the effect that their execution
tvc
Alder aidch. 371
must have upon distant parents and friends, — all
thes8 thoughts presented themselves in sad array
before his mental vision ; when, as he was about
entering his cabin, a quick clatter of hoofs roused
him, and turning to see the cause, he beheld the
subjects of his gloomy reflections both mounted
upon the Indian pony, approaching at the animal's
swiftest pace. He had hardly time to recover
from his surprise, and realize that the object was
not a vision, until the animal with its double
rider passed him, — and Lyons, nodding famil-
iarly, waved his hand, accompanying the gesture
with the parting words, —
" Good-by, Doc."
The body of the unfortunate Dillingham lay
neglected upon a gambling table in a tent near
by, until this wretched travesty was completed.
Then a wagon was obtained, and, followed by a
small procession, it was hurriedly buried. The
tears had all been shed for the murderers.
" I cried for Dillingham," said one, on being-
told that his wife and daughters had expended
their grief upon the wrong persons.
" Oh, you did," was the reply. " Well thought
of. Who will pray for him? Will you do it,
judge ? "
Judge Bissell responded by kneeling upon the
S72 Alder Guleh.
spot and offering up an appropriate prayer, as the
body of the unfortunate young man was consigned
to its mother earth.
Soon after the murder of DiUingham, Charley
Forbes suddenly disappeared. No one knew
what became of him, but it was supposed that he
had fallen a victim to the veng-eance of his com-
rades for the course he had taken in securing' for
himself a separate trial. This supposition was
afterwards confirmed by some of the robbers
themselves, who stated that in a quarrel with
Moore at the Big Hole river, Forbes was killed.
Fearing that the friends of the murdered ruffian
would retaliate, Moore killed Forbes's horse at the
same time, and burned to ashes the bodies of
horse and rider. This fact was known to Plum-
mer only, at the time of its occurrence.
Dillingham was a straightforward, honest young
man, and his office as deputy sheriff was given
him, under the supposition that he would readily
affiliate with the roughs. Lyons, Stinson, and
Forbes, who were also deputies, supposed him to
be as bad as they were. On my trip east in 18G3,
the Overland coach in which I had taken passage
was detained a night by snow at Hook's Station
in Nebraska. Ascertaining that I was from Ban-
nack, a young man at the station asked me many
Alder Gulch. 373
questions about Hayes Lyons, telling me that he
had heard that he narrowly escaped hanging the
previous summer. I narrated to him the cir-
cumstances attending the murder of Dillingham,
and the trial.
" He is my brother," said the young man, and
invited me to go with him and see his mother and
sister. I learned that Hayes had been well
brought up, but was the victim of evil associa-
tions. His mother wept while deploring his
criminal career, which she ascribed to bad com-
pany.
Later in the winter I received a letter from the
father of Dillingham, who resided at North
Orange, New Jersey, inquiring after his son. I
replied, giving the particulars of his son's death,
and the trial and escape of his murderers, and of
my subsequent meeting with the mother of Lyons.
In the mean time, Lyons had been hanged.
The father was almost heartbroken at the intel-
ligence of his son's death, but in his letter, writ-
ten in a kindly and Christian spirit, he says : —
" While the shocking details of the sad narra-
tive are inexpressibly distressing to us, it is a great
alleviation to our grief to know that an act of
manly virtue and honor was the superinducing
cause that excited our son's murderers in their
374 Alder Gulch.
bloody purpose. Death under such circumstances,
so far as it relates to the poor sufferer himself, is
praiseworthy in the highest degree, and inspires
us with thankfulness to God for our son's integ-
rity, and with humble trust that it may be over-
ruled in infinite wisdom for our good ; and is
certainly a thousand times to be preferred by the
afflicted survivors, to a knowledge of, compliance
with, and successful prosecution of, the infamous
scheme proposed. Our hearts truly and deep y
sympathize with the sorrowing mother and family
of the criminal young Lyons. Truly, indeed,
may it be said that only God can assuage the
poignancy of such sorrow as must fill their bosoms.
May he sustain and comfort them.
" It is satisfactory to know that summary meas-
ures were finally, and in a good measure effect-
ually, adopted by your citizens, for ridding their
interesting region of country of these worse than
savacres. Retributive justice is almost invariably
sure^ sooner or later, to overtake all such heaven-
daring outlaws. . . .
" Very sincerely yours,
" W. S. Dillingham."
Virginia City, 375
CHAPTER XXVI.
VIRGINIA CITY.
Increase of Immigration — Settlement of Alder
Gulch — Discovery of Smaller Gulches — Biyin's
Gulch — Dempsey's and Daly's Ranches — Society
in Virginia City — Sunday — Size of Territory —
Distance from Capital — Arrival of D. S. Paynp:,
U. S. Marshal — His Desire to have Virginia
City represented — Offers the Writer the Selec-
tion of a Deputy Marshal — Question referred
TO Union League, which designates Plummer —
Interview between Plummer and the Writer —
Hauser's Opinion of Plummer — Plummer not
NOMINATED THREATENS THE WrITER MeTHOD OF
CONDUCTING RoBP.ERIES PlUMMER's POPULARITY
Clubfoot George's Shop in Dance and Stuart's
Store.
No longer in fear of attack by the Indians,
immigrants had been steadily pouring into the
Territory over the Salt Lake route during the
month of June. Many came also over the
mountains from Salmon river. The opportune
discovery of Alder gulch relieved Bannack of a
large and increasing population of unemployed
376 Virginia City.
oold-himters, who, lured by the overdrawn reports
o£ local richness, had exhausted all their means
in a long and perilous journey, to meet only dis-
appointment and disaster at its close. Almost
simultaneously with the settlement at Virginia
City, other settlements lower down and farther up
the gulch were commenced. Those below were
known by the respective names of Junction, Ne-
vada, and Central ; those above. Pine Grove, High-
land, and Summit. As the entire gulch for a
distance of twelve miles was appropriated, the in-
tervals of two or three miles between the several
nuclei were occupied by the cabins of miners, who
owned and were developing the claims opposite to
them, so that in less than three months after the
discovery, the gulch was really one entire settle-
ment. One long stream of active life filled the
little creek, on its auriferous course from Bald
Mountain, through a canon of wild and picturesque
character, until it emerged into the large and fer-
tile valley of the Pas-sam-a-ri. Pas-sam-a-ri is
the Shoshone word for " Stinking Water," and the
latter is the name commonly given in Montana to
the beautiful mountain stream which was called by
Lewis and Clarke in their journal, - Philanthropy
River." Lateral streams of great beauty pour
down the sides of the mountain chain bounding
Virginia City. 377
the valley, across which they run to their union
with the Pas-sam-a-ri, which, twenty miles beyond,
unites with the Beaverhead, one of the forming
streams of the Jefferson. Gold placers were
found upon these streams, and occupied soon after
the settlement at Virginia City was commenced.
One of these at Bivin's gulch, in the mountains
twelve miles from Virginia City, though limited
in extent, was sufficiently productive to afford
profitable employment to a little community of
twenty or more miners. Twenty miles below
Virginia City on the route to Bannack, a man by
the name of Dempsey located a ranche, and built
a large cabin for the accommodation of travellers.
Seven miles above, and between that and Viro-inia
City, another similar building for like purposes
was owned by Peter Daly, and three miles above
Daly's was another owned by Mr. Lorrain.
These establishments are only important as they
serve to locate occurrences connected with this
history.
Of the settlements in Alder gulch, Virginia
City was the principal, though Nevada, two miles
below, at one time was of nearly equal size and
population. A stranger from the Eastern States
entering the gulch for the first time, two or three
months after its discovery, would be inspired by
378 Virginia Oity.
the scene and its associations with reflections of
the most strange and novel character. This
human hive, numbering at least ten thousand
people, was the product of ninety days. Into it
were crowded all the elements of a rough and
active civilization. Thousands of cabins and
tents and brush wakiups, thrown together in the
roughest form, and scattered at random along the
banks, and in the nooks of the hills, were seen
on every hand. Every foot of the gulch, under
the active manipulations of the miners, was under-
going displacement, and it was already disfigured
by huge heaps of gravel, which had been passed
through the sluices, and rifled of their glittering
contents. In the gulch itself all was activity.
Some were removing the superincumbent earth to
reach the pay-dirt, others who had accomplished
that were gathering up the clay and gravel upon
the surface of the bed-rock, while by others still
it was thrown into the sluice boxes. This exhibi-
tion of mining industry was twelve miles long.
Gold was abundant, and every possible device
was employed by the gamblers, the traders, the
vile men and women that had come with the
miners to the locality, to obtain it. Nearly every
third cabin in the towns was a saloon where vile
whiskey was peddled out for fifty cents a drink in
Virginia City. 870
gold dust. Many of these places were filled with
gambling tables and gamblers, and the miner who
was bold enough to enter one of them with his
day's earnings in his pocket, seldom left until
thoroughly fleeced. Hurdy-gurdy dance-houses
were numerous, and there were plenty of camp
beauties to patronize them. There too, the suc-
cessful miner, lured by siren smiles, after an
evening spent in dancing and carousing at his
expense, steeped with liquor, would empty his
purse into the lap of his charmer, for an hour of
license in her arms. Not a day or night passed
which did not yield its full fruition of fights,
quarrels, wounds, or murders. The crack of the
revolver was often heard above the merry notes of
the violin. Street fights were frequent, and as
no one knew when or where they would occur,
every one was on his guard against a random
shot.
Sunday was always a gala day. The miners
then left their work and gathered about the pub-
lic places in the towns. The stores were all open,
the auctioneers specially eloquent on every corner
in praise of their wares. Thousands of j^eople
crowded the thoroughfares, ready to rush in any
direction of promised excitement. Horse-racing
was among the most favored amusements. Prize
QgQ Virginia City.
rings were formed, and brawny men engaged at
fisttafEs until their sight was lost and their
bodies pommelled to a jelly, while hundreds of
on-lookers cheered the victor. Hacks rattled to
and fro between the several towns, freighted with
drunken and rowdy humanity of both sexes.
Citizens of acknowledged respectability otten
walked, more often perhaps rode side by side on
horseback, with noted courtesans m open day
throuo-h the crowded streets, and seemingly sut-
fered'no harm in reputation. Pistols flashed
bowie-knives flourished, and braggart oaths filled
the air, as often as men's passions triumphed over
their reason. This was indeed the reign of un-
bridled license, and men who at first regarded it
with dis-ust and terror, by constant exposure soon
learned to become part of it, and forget that they
had ever been aught else. All classes of society
were represented at this general exhibition
Judges, lawyers, doctors, even clergymen, could
not claim exemption. Culture and religion
afforded feeble protection, where allurement
and indulgence ruled the hour.
Underneath this exterior of recklessness, there
was in the minds and hearts of the miners and
business men of this society, a strong and abiding
sense of justice, -and that saved the Territory.
Virginia City. 381
While they could enjoy what they called sport
even to the very borders o£ crime, and induloe in
many practices which in themselves were criminal,
yet when any one was murdered, robbed, abused,
or hurt, a feeling of resentment, a desire for retal-
iation, animated all. With the ingathering of new
men, fear of the roughs gradually wore away, —
but the desire to escape responsibility, to acquire
something and leave in peace, prevented any
active measures for protection ; and so far as
organization was concerned, the law and order
citizens, though in the majority, were as much at
sea as ever.
Previous to the organization of the Territory
of Idaho on the 3d of March, 1863, all of that
which is now Montana west of the Rocky Moun-
tains, was part of Washington Territory, with
Olympia on Puget Sound for a capital. All east
thereof belonged to Dakota, the capital of which
was Yankton on the Missouri, which by the near-
est available route of travel, was two thousand
two hundred miles distant. The existence of
Bannack was not known there at that time, to say
nothing of the impossibility of executing any Ter-
ritorial laws, at such arm's-length, even if it had
been. Our legal condition was not greatly
improved by the organization of the new Territory
gg2 Virginia City.
o£ Idaho. Lewiston, ths capital, was seven hun-
dred miles away, on the western side of the moun-
tains Eio-hteen months had passed since we
became part of that Territory, before we received
an authentic copy of the Territorial Statutes, and
when they came we had been half a year in
Montana. , tt •, i a^ j.
In Au-ust, 1863, D. S. Payne, the United States
Marshal of Idaho, came over from Lewiston to Ban-
nack, to district the eastern portion of the lerri-
tory, and effect a party organization of the Kepub-
Hcans. Our people felt little interest m the meas-
ure Some of the leading citizens had requested
some time before, that I should make application
in person for them, at the next session of Congress,
for a new Territorial organization, east ot the
Coeur D'Alene Mountains. Payne was urgent
for a representation of this part of the Territory
in the Legislative Council, and as an inducement
for me to consent to the use of my name as a
candidate, offered to appoint any person whom I
might name, to the office of Deputy United
States Marshal in the east side district. ^ ^
A Union League had been for some time in
existence in Bannack, of which I was President.
I asked the advice of the members in making the
appointment, first cautioning them to ballot
Virginia City. 383
secretly, as by that means those who otherwise
would not support Plummer, who was known to
be a candidate, would escape detection by him.
Neither Mr. Rheem, the Vice-President of the
League, nor myself, voted. The votes cast, about
thirty in number, were unanimous for Plummer.
Some one informed him of it. He expressed his
gratification at the result, and told me that the
confidence of the League in him should never be
betrayed. I immediately informed him that he
must not expect the appointment. He gave this
reply a favorable interpretation, and even after it
was repeated, turned upon his heel, laughing, and
saying as he went, —
" It's all right, Langford. That's the way to
talk it to outsiders."
Soon after this, in a conversation with Mr.
Samuel T. Hauser, I informed him of the recom-
mendation of the League. Hauser replied, —
" Whoever lives to see the gang of highway-
men now infesting the country broken uf), will
find that Henry Plummer is at the head of it."
Amazed at the expression of an opinion so
much stronger than my own, I at once decided to
reject the advice of the League, rather than incur
the responsibility of recommending so dangerous a
person for the office. Plummer heard of it, and
384 Virginia City.
lost no time in asking an explanation, affecting to
believe that I had promised to recommend him.
We sat down upon an ox-shoeing frame, and
talked over the whole matter. He had his pistol
in his belt. I was unarmed. He said many pro-
voking things, and used many oaths and epithets,
in his attempt to provoke a quarrel, but all to no
purpose. Finding that no excuse would be given
him for a resort to violence, he arose, and as we
parted, said, —
" Langford, you'll be sorry for this before the
matter ends. I've always been your friend, but
from this time on, I'm your enemy ; and when I
say this, I mean it in more ways than one."
These were the closing words of our last con-
versation. We met afterwards, but never spoke.
Daring that fall I was engaged in purchasing
lumber at Bannack to sell at Virginia City, where
no sawmills had yet been put in operation. The
business required frequent trips between the two
places ; and the ride of seventy miles through a
lonely country, whose surface alternated with
canons, ravines, foot-hills and mountains, afforded
such ample opportunity for secret robbery and
murder, that it required considerable ingenuity to
throw the villains off the track. With the threat
of Plummer hanging over me to be executed upon
Virginia City. 385
the first favorable opportunity, my position was
by no means an enviable one. I would send
forward the loaded teams, which were four days
on the trip, and on the morning of the fourth
would follow, mounted on a good horse, and
arrive in Virginia City the same evening. On my
arrival my horse was immediately put in charge
of a rancher, or person who made the care of
horses a specialty. He would send it with a herd
to a convenient grass range, where it would feed
in the care of herders night and day until wanted.
Then it was brought into town and delivered at
the office of the rancher. The order for a horse
was oriven the nio^ht before it was wanted, in order
to have the animal ready the following morning.
Georsre Ives, who turned out to be one of the
most desperate of the gang of robbers, was the
rancher's clerk at Virginia City. Whenever appli-
cation was made for a horse, unless the applicant
was on his guard, Ives could, by a careless inquiry,
learn his destination. By communicating this to
his confederates, they could pursue and rob, or kill
the rider without delay or suspicion. To escape
this system of espionage it was my custom, when
ready to leave for Bannack or elsewhere, to send an
order by a friend to the rancher or Ives, request-
ing him to let the bearer have the horse to go to
386 Virginia City.
some point in an opposite direction from the
place of destination. The friend would receive
and mount the horse, and ride out of town,
beyond observation, where I would meet him and
go on my way. Thirty journeys of this kind
were safely made between Virginia City and Ban-
nack during the fall, none, however, without the
precaution of carrying a pair of revolvers in my
cantinas, and a double-barrelled gun across my
saddle.
During a brief stay in Omaha several years
ago, I met with Dr. Levitt, who was a resident of
Bannack while Plummer dwelt there. He related
the following incident, which is repeated here, for
the insight it affords of Plummer's malignancy.
" One night in October, 1863," said the doctor,
" 1 was walking along the roadway of Main
Street in Bannack. The moon, obscured by
clouds, shed a dim light, by which I could see
for a few yards quite distinctly. As I passed
your boarding-house, my attention was attracted
by a noise at my left. I stopped, and on close
observation saw a dark object under the window.
My curiosity was excited to know what it could
be. Judge of my surprise on approaching it to
behold a man with a revolver in his hand, on his
knees at the window, peering into the room
Virginia City. 387
through a space of less than an inch between the
curtam and the window casing. I watched him
unobserved for some seconds. Disturbed by my
approach, he sprang to his feet and darted around
the corner of the building — but not so rapidly
as to escape recognition.
" ' Why, Plummer,' I exclaimed, ' what in the
world are you doing there ? '
" Seeing that he was known, he came forward,
laughing, and replied, —
" ' I was trying to play a joke on my friend
Lanofford. He and Gillette board here, and I
heard their voices.'
"I was puzzled to conceive what sort of a joke
he was playing with a loaded revolver, but thought
I had better not be too curious to ascertain.
Plummer accompanied me home. He said that
you and he were great friends ; that you had
done him many favors, and there was no person
in the w^orld he esteemed more highly. I thought
nothing more of the matter, until I heard that
Plummer had threatened your life for refusing to
recommend his appointment as Deputy United
States Marshal. I had no doubt then, and have
none now, that he was trying to get a sight
through the window for the purpose of shooting
you. Your departure for Salt Lake a day or two
388 Virginia City.
after I heard of your difficulty with him pre-
vented me from informing you of it at the time."
Miners and others who had worked out or sold
their claims, were almost daily leaving the coun-
try. Often it was known that they took with
them large amounts of gold dust. Various were
the devices for its concealment. On one occasion
a small company contrived to escape plunder
by packing their long, slim buckskin jjurses
into an auger hole, bored in the end of their
wagon tongue, and closing it so as to escape ob-
servation. Others, less fortunate, lost, not their
money only, but their lives, in some of the deso-
late canons on the long route to Salt Lake.
Many left who were never afterwards heard of,
and whose friends in the States wrote letters of
inquiry to the Territory concerning them, years
after they had gone. Whenever a robbery was
contemplated which the freebooters supposed
would be attended with unusual risk to them-
selves, Plummer's presence was required to con-
duct it. Knowing' that his absence would excite
suspicion, he arranged that for such occasions, he
should be sent for, as an expert, to examine a
silver lode. But few discoveries had at this time
been made of this mineral, and Plummer's Ne-
vada experience was thought to qualify him for
Virginia City. 389
determininsT its value with considerable accuracy.
A rough-looking prospector, dressed for the pur-
pose, would ride into town, exhibit his specimens,
and urge Plummer, who feigned reluctance, to go
with him and examine his discovery, promising
him a claim as an inducement. Often would un-
suspecting citizens offer to aid Plummer in any-
work he mis'ht then have on hand to enable him
to go out, and, under pretence of examining a
silver lode, superintend the commission of a dar-
ing robbery. Sometimes this same object was
accomplished by trumping up a charge against
some imaginary delinquent, and obtaining a war-
rant for his arrest from the miners' judge, which
Plummer, as sheriff, rode away to execute.
The following is one instance of Plummer's
method of obtaining recruits. He called upon
Neil Howie in the fall of 1883, whom he found
hard at work mining, but barely earning a sub-
sistence.
" Neil," said he, " this is a hard way to get a
living."
" I know it," replied Howie.
" I can tell you of an easier way."
" I'd like to know it."
" There are plenty of men making money in
this country," said Plummer, "and we are entitled
to a share of it."
390 Virg'mia City.
Doubtful as to his meaning, or whether he
understood him aright, Howie regarded Plummer
with a puzzled expression, making no reply.
" Come with me," said Plummer, " and you'll
have all you want."
" You've picked up the wrong man," replied
Howie.
" All right," said Plummer coolly. " I suppose
you know enough to keep your mouth shut."
Howie remembered the fate of Dillingham, and
heeded the admonition.
The placer at Alder gulch was immensely
prolific. Probably its yield in gold dust was not
less than ten millions of dollars before the close
of the first year's work upon it. Money was
abundant. Merchants and bankers were obliged
to exercise great ingenuity and caution in keeping
it, as there were no regular means for sending it
out of the country. The only stage route was
between Bannack and Virginia City, — and a
stretch of unsettled country, four hundred and
seventy-five miles in width, lay between the latter
place and Salt Lake. There was no post-office in
the Territory. Letters were brought from Salt
Lake to Virginia City, first at a cost of two dol-
lars and a half each, and later in the season at
one dollar each. All money, at infinite risk, was
Virginia City. 391
sent to the nearest express of6.ce at Salt Lake
by private hands. In order to gain intelligence
of these occasional consignments, Plummer in-
duced some of the leading merchants to employ
members of his gang. When this could not be
effected, they were occupied so near and on such
familiar terms, that they could observe without
suspicion all business operations, and give him
early notice of the transmission of treasure.
Dance and Stuart commenced business in
Virginia City in the fall of 1863, with a large
stock of goods. George Lane, better known as
" Clubfoot George," whose history in the Salmon
river mines I have already given, came to them
with a pitiful story of his misfortunes, and asked
for a place in their store for his shoemaker's
bench. Though cramped for their own accommo-
dation, they made room for him. He commenced
work, meantime watching all their business opera-
tions, for the purpose of reporting when and by
whom they sent money to their Eastern creditors.
392 Coach Robberies.
CHAPTER XXVII.
COACH ROBBERIES.
Wealth of Alder Gulch — Returx of Miners to
THE States — Adaptation of the Country to
EoBBERY — " Bummer Dan " — His Claim — Sale
OF IT AND Return to Virginia City — His Ruse
TO ESCAPE Robbery a Failure — Attack upon the
Coach — Robbery of " Bummer Dan," Percy, and
Madison — Bill Bunton a Stool-Pigeon — Quar-
rel OF Jason Luce and Sam Bunton — Luce
KILLS Sam Bunton in Salt Lake City — His
Trial and Execution.
The placer at Alder gulch was so extensive,
so easy of development and so prolific, that many
of the miners who commenced work upon it in
the early days of its discovery, fortunate in their
acquisitions, and disgusted with their associations,
Avere ready to return to the States in the fall.
Failing in this, they knew that they would be
doomed to a long winter of idleness, exposed to
the privations incident to a new and isolated
region, and to the depredations of a large and
increasing criminal population. The hegira, at
Coach Robberies. 393
first small, increased in numbers, so that by the
first of November it could be numbered by hun-
dreds, who were on their return to their old
homes. Many — perhaps the greater portion —
of those wayfarers travelled in the conveyances
which brought them to the country ; others on
horseback ; and a large number leaving Virginia
City on one of the two lines of coaches for Ban-
nack, trusted to chance for an opportunity to con-
tinue the journey beyond that place. How many
of these persons fell victims to the road agents,
on their long and perilous journey, it is impossible
to tell ; but the inquiries of relatives and friends
for hundreds of them for months and even years
after their departure, leave no chance for doubt
that the villains drove a bloody and prosperous
business.
Several of their most daring exploits occurred
on the route between Virginia City and Bannack,
a region admirably adapted to their purposes.
Its frequent streams, canons, mountain passes,
rocky ledges, willow thickets, and deep embosomed
valleys, afforded ample means of concealment, and
advantages for attack upon passing trains, with
very few chances for defence or escape. The
robbers had their established points of rendezvous
on the road, and worked in concert by a system
394 Coach Robberies.
of horseback telegraphy, as unfailing as electri-
city. Whenever it was known that a person with
money was about to leave by coach, a private
mark was made upon the vehicle, which would be
recognized wherever seen, at Daly's, Baker's,
Dempsey's, or Bunton's, the several ranches where
the coach horses v/ere changed. Bunton, who
kept the Rattlesnake ranche, was the same villain
who was associated with Piummcn' in the shebanofs
near Walla Walla, of which an account has
already been given.
When the approach of the coach was perceived
at either of these changing stations, the herder
in charge mounted his horse, and rode hurriedly
off to drive up the horses for the next route,
which were generally feeding in sight of the sta-
tion. Sometimes they strayed off, and the coach
would be delayed until they were found, but
this was of infrequent occurrence. Precisely the
same system was followed here as upon the
plains in the days of the overland mail stages.
The horses in use when not of the cayuse
breed, were bronchos, or wild horses from Cali-
fornia, neither in quality nor breed suited for
the service, unreliable, and easily broken down.
They were driven very rapidly, and when their
speed gave out were turned out as no longer
Coach Robberies. 395
fit for use. As a consequence it was one of
the chief difficulties of a stage proprietor to
secure horses which would insure the punctual-
ity of his trips. The trip between Virginia City
and Bannack was ordinarily completed between
the rising and setting of the sun.
Among the miners earliest to arrive and stake
a claim in Alder gulch, was an Irishman by
the name of Daniel McFadden, who soon became
familiarized to the sobriquet of " Bummer Dan."
Why he was thus designated was never known,
but It may be presumed that he early developed
some of the peculiarities, which, in the opinion
of the people, justified it. He was fortunate in
securing one of the richest claims in the gulch,
and, making good use of his time, had saved
two thousand dollars or more in dust by the
middle of October, Having sold his claim, with
this gold m his possession, he made prepara-
tions for a journey to Bannack. Securing it
in buckskin purses, he put them in a larger bag,
and by means of a strap across the shoulder, and
a belt, contrived to conceal the treasure under
his clothing, and carry it very conveniently.
One raw, gusty day, toward the close of the month,
he left Virginia City on foot, and walked down
the valley to Dempsey's ranche, on the Stinking-
396 Coach Robberies.
water, where he waited the arrival of Peabodj &
Caldwell's coach on its w^ay to Bannack.
Owing to the sickness of the driver, William
Riimsey was pressed into the service for the trip,
and the coach left Virginia City at the usual hour
in the morning, with Messrs. Madison, Percy, and
Wilkinson, as passengers. One of the heavy
snowstorms peculiar to this season and latitude
set in soon after the coach was under way, and
continued during the drive of the first ten miles,
rendering their progress slow and cumbersome.
At Baker's ranche the passengers were obliged
to wait until the herder, who had been housed
during the storm, could drive up the horses. He
returned after an hour's search with an indiffer-
ent team, which was driven on a run to Demp-
sey's ranche, to recover the time lost by the delay.
Here " Bummer Dan " took passage, and the same
speed was maintained to " Point of Rocks," the
locality known in Lewis and Clarke's travels as
Beaver Head Rock. The wearied horses gave
place here to a fresher team, which continued
on a keen run to Bunton's ranche on the Rat-
tlesnake. It was now sunset, and yet twelve
miles to Bannack. The herder w^ho had brou2"ht
up the horses for the change at the usual hour,
finding that the coach did not arrive on time,
Coach Robberies. 397
had, under Bunton's orders, turned them out
again, an hour before. Bunton pretended that
he did not expect the coach. The herder was
sent out immediately after the horses, and re-
turned at dark with the report that he could not
find them. Rumsey then requested " Little Frank,"
a Mexican boy in whom he had confidence, to go
in search of the horses. He too soon returned
with the report that they could not be found.
This " Little Frank," a few weeks afterwards,
told Rumsey that the horses were near at the
time, but that before he started to look for
them, Bunton told him that if he did not report
them to be missing he would kill him.
A night with Bill Bunton was unavoidable, and
the passengers at once determined to "make a
night of it." Bunton entered into the spirit of
the occasion with them. Whiskey was provided.
They drank themselves hilarious, sang, related
adventures, and caroused until daylight ; but, to
Bunton's disappointment, without becoming in-
toxicated, and never forgetting, meantime, their
exposure to robbery, or the convenience of a re-
volver in the belt.
At daylight two herders were sent for the
horses. One returned at eight o'clock, with the
report that they could not be found. An hour
398 Coach Robberies.
afterwards the other broug-ht in the same horses
that came with the coach the previous evening.
" Necessity knows no law," and so with a pair of
these for leaders, and two worn-out wheelers, the
coach was soon declared ready for a start. Just
at this time, Oliver's coach from Bannack drove
up, en route for Virginia City, and fresh drinks
were called for. In the mean time a rouoh by the
name of Bob Zachary, who was sfoino; to Bannack
with a couple of horses, insisted that Wilkinson
should bear him company and ride one of them.
They departed on a canter in advance of the coach,
and were soon out of sight. Bunton, who had
been distributing liquor among the passengers of
the coaches, and trying to make himself gener-
ally agreeable, came out with the bottle and a
tumbler to give Rumsey a drink.
" Wait a few minutes, Billy," said he, " and I
will ride to Bannack with you. These passen-
gers will be gone in a moment."
" Get up on the box with me," replied Rumsey.
" These old ' plugs ' at the wheel will need pretty
constant whipping, and my exercise in that line
yesterday has lamed my arm."
" I'm a good whipper," Bunton responded,
laughing, " and if there's any ' go ' in them, I
can bring it out. They're a pair of ' played out '
Coach Rohheries. 399
wheelers that had been turned out to rest, and I
think we'll fail to get them beyond a walk, — but
we'll give them a try."
The weather was cold and blusterinsr. The cur-
tiins of the coach were fastened down. Percy,
Madison, and " Bummer Dan " got in, and Bun-
ton mounted the box beside Rumsey. The horses
began to weaken before they reached the crossing
of the creek, less than a mile away. There the
road entered the gulch. Bunton, who had suc-
ceeded, as he intended, in tiring the horses, sur-
rendered the whij) to Rumsey and got inside the
coach. He knew what was coming. Rumsey
whipped up the wheelers, but could not urge them
into any faster gait. Cursing his " slow poke of
a team," his eye caught the figures of two horse-
men entering the gulch from a dry ravine a few
rods in front of the coach. They were wrapped
in blankets, with hoods over their heads, and
armed with shotguns. Instantly the thought
flashed through his mind that they were robbers.
" Look ! boys, look ! " he shouted. " See
what's coming. Get out your arms. The road
agents are upon us."
The eyes of every man in the coach were peer-
ing through the loopholes at the approaching
bandits. Madison, the first to discover them, was
400 Coach Robberies.
searching for his pistol, when the robbers rode up,
and in broken Irish, and assumed tones, with their
g-uns aimed at the coach, yelled, —
" Up with your hands every one of you."
This formula, always used, was generally con-
cluded with an abusive epithet. Bill Bunton,
who had a part to enact, threw up his hands and
in an imploring voice, exclaimed, —
" For God's sake don't kill me. You are
welcome to all my money, — only spare my life."
The other inmates raised their arms as com-
manded.
" Get out," shouted the robbers, " and hold up
your hands. We'll shoot every man who puts
his down."
The passengers descended hurriedly to the
ground and stood with their arms upraised, await-
ing further orders. Turning to Rumsey, who
remained on the box holding the reins, the robbers
ordered him to get down, and remove the arms
from the passengers.
Not easily frightened, and anxious to escape a
service so distasteful, Rumsey replied, —
" You must be fools to think I'm going to get
down and let this team run away. You don't
want the team. It can do you no good."
" Get down," said the robber spokesman with
Coach Robberies. 401
an oath as he levelled his gun at Rumseyj " or
I'll shoot the top of your head off."
" There's a man," said Rumsey, pointing to
Bunton, " who is unarmed. Let him disarm the
others."
" Oh ! " replied Bunton in a lachrymose tone,
" I'll hold the horses — I'll hold the horses, while
you take off the pistols. Anything — anything,
only don't shoot me."
" Go then, and hold the horses, you long-legged
coward," said the robber ; " and now," he con-
tinued, levelling his gun at and addressing Rum-
sey, " get down at once, and do as you've been
ordered, or you'll be a dead man in half a
minute."
The order was too peremptory to be disobeyed.
Rumsey tied the reins to the brake-handle, and
jumped to the ground.
" Now take them arms off," said the robber,
" and be quick about it too."
Removing the two navy revolvers from " Bum-
mer Dan," Rumsey sidled off slowly, with the
hope of getting a shot at the ruffians ; but they,
comprehending his design, ordered him to throw
them on the ground. As the choice lay between
obedience or death, he laid them down, and was
proceeding very slowly to remove the pistols from
402 Coach Rohheries.
the other passengers, with the hope that by some
fortunate chance a company of horsemen or some
friendly train would come to the rescue before
the villains could complete their work.
" Hurry up there," shouted the robber. " Don't
keep us waiting all day."
After the passengers were freed of their arms,
and the arms piled up near the road agents, the
speaker of the two ordered Rumsey to reUeve
them of their purses. Bunton, who had all
the time been petitioning for his life, took out
his purse, and throwing it towards Rumsey, ex-
claimed, —
" There's a hundred and twenty dollars, — ail
I have in the world. You're welcome to it, only
don't kill me."
All this while, the men, not daring to drop
their hands, directed Rumsey in his search for
their purses. He had taken a sack of gold dust
from Percy, one from Madison, and two from
" Bummer Dan," and supposed his work to be
completed.
" Have you got all? " inquired the robber.
" All I could find," replied Rumsey.
Turning to Madison, the robber asked, pointing
to the sacks, —
" Is that all you've got ? "
Coach Robberies. 403
"No," said Madison, nudging his pocket with
his elbow, " there's another in this pocket."
The road agent, in an angry manner, cursing
Rumsej for trying to deceive him, ordered him to
take it out : —
" Don't you leave nothing," was the stern,
ungrammatical command.
Rumsey took the purse, and having added it to
the pile, was about to resume his seat on the box.
" Where are you going ? " shouted both the
robbers.
"To get on the coach, you fools," retorted
Rumsey. " You've got all there is, and we want
to go on now."
" Go back there, and get the big sack from that
Irish bummer," said one of the robbers; and
pointing his pistol at Dan, he added, " You're the
man we're after. Get that strap off your shoul-
der."
Poor Dan ! His money was very dear to him,
but his life was dearer. As he could not save
both, he commenced at once to remove the strap.
Rumsey came up, and tried to pull it out, but
finding it would not come, stepped back, while
Dan was engaged in unbuckling the belt.
"Jerk it off," shouted the robber, "or I'll
shoot you in a minute."
404 CoacTi Robberies.
" Give him time," interposed Rumsey : " you'll
not kill a man when he's doing all he can for
you.
" Well, hurry up, then, you awkward black-
t>-uard. We have no time to lose."
As soon as the belt was loosed, Dan drew forth
a large, fringed, buckskin bag containing two
sacks, which he handed to Rumsey, who tossed it
on the heap.
"That's what we wanted," said the robber.
" Now get aboard all of you, and get out of
this as fast as you can; and if we ever hear
a word from one of you, we'll shoot you on
sight."
They obeyed with alacrity. Bunton resumed
his seat beside the driver, and commenced whip-
ping the horses, observing, as they rode off, that
it was the hottest place he was ever in. At a
turn in the road, Bunton looked back. The
bandits had dismounted. One held the horses;
the other was picking up the plunder, which, in
all, amounted to twenty-eight hundred dollars.
After gathering up their booty, the robbers gal-
loped rapidly over the Indian trail leading to
Bannack, arriving there in advance of the coach.
When intelligence of the robbery reached
Bannack, public indignation was aroused, but the
Coach Robberies. 405
time had not yet arrived for action. Had the
robbers been recognized, they would have fared-
hard on their return to Bannack, but the people
felt that it was better not to strike, than strike at
random.
George Hilderman, one of the robber gang,
was present at the express-office on the arrival of
the coach, seemingly as much surprised as any
one at the intelligence of the robbery. His real
object, however, was to observe whether the pas-
sengers had recognized the ruffians. If so, he
was to report it to them, that they might keep out
of the way. " Bummer Dan," doubtless, had in
his employ some person in the confidence of the
robbers ; otherwise, his efforts to avoid them might
have been successful.
It was afterwards ascertained that Frank Par-
ish and Bob Zachary were the men who com-
mitted the robbery. Bill Bunton, being in the
secret, aided as much as possible in delaying the
coach over-night at Rattlesnake, and supplying it
with worn-out horses for the trip from his ranche
to Bannack. "Bummer Dan" and Percy recog-
nized the robbers, but were restrained by personal
fear from exposing them.
No man in this company was more feared by
the ruffians than Rum say. They could not
406 Coach Robberies.
frighten him, and no warning o£ his friends
prevented him from fully expressing and venti-
lating his opinions concerning them. Nothing
would silence his denunciations, but his death ;
and this being resolved upon by the robbers, they
prepared to improve the opportunity afforded by
his return to Virginia City, to accomplish it. It
was so late in the day when he arrived at Demp-
sey's, that he concluded to pass the night there.
Boone Helm, who had been awaiting his appear-
ance, met him in the bar-room soon after his
arrival, and invited him and other persons present
to drink with him. Rumsey drank with the com-
pany two or three times. Helm called for more
drinks.
" I've had enough," said Rumsey, declining to
drink more.
" Take another, take another," said Helm.
"It's good to keep the cold out."
" Not another drop," replied Rumsey : " I
know my gauge on the liquor question, and
never go beyond it."
" You shall drink again," said Helm, with an
oath, casting a malicious glance at Rumsey.
"I won't drink again," was the immediate
reply, " and no man can make me."
'' No man can refuse to drink with me and
Coach Robberies. 407
live," replied Helm, seizing his revolver as if to
draw it.
Rurasey was too quick for liim. Before the
desperado could draw his pistol, Rumsey had his
levelled at his head. Addressing him in a calm,
steady tone, he said, —
" Don't draw your pistol, or I'll shoot you, sure."
The men gazed sternly upon each other for a
minute or more, Helm finally loosing his grasp of
his pistol, and saying, —
" Well, you're the first man that ever looked
me down. Let's be friends."
The courage of Rumsey inspired the robber
with a respect for him whicli probably saved his
life, as no further molestation was offered him on
his way to Virginia City.
Percy was the proprietor of a bowling alley in
Bannack. The roughs, in frequenting his saloon,
would leav3 their horses standing outside the
door ; and he had so often seen the animals and
accoutrements of each, that he easily recognized
the robbers by their horses and saddles. When
the coach arrived, Percy saw Frank Parish take
Henry Plummer to one side, and engage in con-
versation with him. In a few minutes, Plummer
came to Percy, and asked him if he knew the
robbers. Percy replied, —
408 Coach Bobberies.
" No ; and if I did, I'd not be such a fool as
to tell who they were."
Plummer tapped him on the shoulder, and re-
plied, —
" You stick to that, Percy, and you'll be all
right. There are about seventy-five of the worst
desperadoes ever known on the west side of the
mountains, in the country, in a band, and I know
who they are."
Bunton, after this robbery, used occasionally to
accost Percy in a playful manner, with such lan-
guage as, "Throw up your hands;" or, "We
were fools to be robbed, were n't we ? " Percy,
knowing that Bunton was one of the gang, soon
tired of this ; and one day at a race-course, when
thus saluted, remarked, with unmistakable dis-
pleasure, —
" That's played out."
The words were scarcely uttered, when Bunton
raised his pistol and fired at him. The ball
grazed Percy's ear. Jason Luce, a driver of Mr.
Oliver's express, stepped up and said to Bunton, —
" If you want to fight, why don't you take a
man of your own size, instead of a smaller one ? "
Later in the day, while intoxicated. Luce called
Bunton a coward, in the presence of his brother,
Sam Bunton. The latter whipped him severely
Coach Robberies. 40'?
on the spot. Three days later, Luce carried the
express to Salt Lake, Sam Bunton following four
or five days thereafter. Luce met him at the Salt
Lake House.
" We had," said he, addressing him, " a little
difficulty in Bannack, and now we'll settle it."
" It's already settled," said Bunton.
" You're a liar," replied Luce, and drawing his
knife cut Bunton's throat, killing him on the
spot. Luce was arrested, tried, and found guilty
of murder. By the Territorial statute of Utah,
he was authorized to choose the mode of his exe-
cution, from the three forms of hanging, shoot-
ing, or beheading. His choice was to be shot,
and he was executed in that manner.
Bill Bunton and Sam Bunton were natives of
Ohio. Their parents moved to Andrew County,
Missouri, in 1839, and thence to Oregon in 1842,
when they were respectively sixteen and fourteen
years old. The father was a rough, drinking,
quarrelsome man, clever, but uneducated.
410 Leroy Southmayd.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
LEEOY SOUTHMAYD.
Attack upon Oliver's Coach — Leroy Southmayd
AND Captain Moore robbed by Ives, Graves, and
Zachary — Southmayd's Interview with Plum-
mer, at Bannack — Graves's Story to Caldwell
— Ives's Boasts — Robbers frustrated in their
Designs upon Southmayd on his Return to
Virginia City.
Early in the afternoon of a cold day late in
November, 1863, Leroy Southmayd, Captain
Moore, and a discharged driver known as " Billy "
took passage in Oliver's coach at Virginia City,
for Bannack. A ruffian equally well known by
the cognomen of " Old Tex " and " Jim Crow "
stood near, watching the departing vehicle. As
Moore's eyes alighted upon him, he said to
Southmayd, —
" I am sorry to see that rascal watching us ;
he belongs to the gang. It bodes us no good."
" Oh," replied Southmayd, laughing, " I think
there's no danger. Robbery has ' played out.'
These fellows are bes^inniuo; to understand that
Leroy Southmayd. 411
the people will hold them accountable for their
villanies."
Little more was said about it, the conversation
turning- to more congenial topics. About three
o'clock, the coach, which had made slow progress,
drove up in front of Lorrain's, eleven miles from
town. While Tom Caldwell, the driver, was
chanofino- horses, Georg-e Ives and Steve Marsh-
land rode up, dismounted, and asked if they could
procure a change of horses. Having ascertained
that they could not do so, they ordered feed for
those they had been riding, Ives in the mean time
carefully avoiding Southmayd. The company
fell into a desultory conversation, which Ives
abruptly terminated by remarking that he had
heard from " Old Tex."
" He is," said he, " at Cold Spring ranche. I
must hasten on and overtake him."
The coach soon departed, and Ives and Marsh-
land immediately ordered their horses, and riding
rapidly, passed it a short distance below Lorrain's.
Cold Spring ranche was eight miles farther on
the stage route. That " Old Tex," who was
watching the coach when it left Virginia City,
should be there, awaiting the arrival of these two
ruffians, occasioned our passengers great uneasi-
ness. They knew almost intuitively that a robbery
412 Leroy Southmayd.
was in contemplation. When the coach arrived
at Cold Spring, the first objects which met their
gaze on alighting from it, were the three ruffians
Ives, Marshland, and " Old Tex" in close conver-
sation.
After a few moments' detention, Caldwell drove
on to Point of Rocks, where the passengers
remained until morning. Leaving at an early
hour, they proceeded to Stone's ranche, and during
their brief stay there, Ives, who had been joined
by Bob Zachary and William Graves, known as
" Whiskey Bill," made a detour, and passed the
coach unperceived. The three gentlemanly soli-
citors of the road trotted slowly on towards Ban-
nack. They were in complete disguise, each one
incased in a blanket of green and blue. " Whis-
key Bill " wore a silk hat, at that time, perhaps,
the only one in the Territory. His sleeves were
rolled above the elbows, and his face concealed
behind a black silk handkerchief, through the
eyelets in which his ferret eyes shone like a couple
of stars, in partial eclipse. The gray horse he
bestrode was enveloped in a blanket so completely,
that only his head, legs, and tail were visible.
The horses of his associates were similarly over-
spread. Ives was masked with a piece of gray
blanket, and Zachary with a remnant of hickory
Leroy Southmayd. 413
shirting. No one, unsuspicious of their presence,
however familiar with their persons, would have
recognized them.
The coach horses moved forward at their usual
rapid rate, bringing the passengers in sight of the
horsemen a little before eleven o'clock. Their
attention was first attracted by the peculiar cos-
tume, and the gun which each man held firmly
across his saddle-bow. As they approached them
more nearly, Southmayd observed to Caldwell, the
driver, —
" They're queer-looking beings, Tom, anyhow."
" They're road agents, Leroy ! you may depend
upon it," replied Caldwell.
" Well," said Southmayd, " I believe they are,
but we can't help ourselves now."
As he said this, the leaders were nearly up
with the horsemen. They rapidly wheeled their
horses, and presented their guns, — Graves taking
in range the head of Caldwell ; Ives, that of
Southmayd ; and Zachary alternately aiming at
Moore and Billy.
" Halt ! " commanded Ives ; " throw up your
hands," and on the instant the arms of every
man in the coach were raised.
" Get down, all of you," he added.
All but Southmayd jumped to the ground.
414 Leroy SoutTimdyd.
He lingered, with the hope that an opportunity
might offer to fire upon them.
" Get down," repeated Ives, adding a senten-
tious epithet to the command.
Still hesitating to comply, Ives glanced his eye
along his gun-barrel as if to shoot, and in that
subdued tone always expressive of desperation,
once more issued the command.
Southmayd withstood it no longer, but while
making a deliberate descent threw open his coat,
thinking that an opportunity might offer for him
to use his revolver. Ives, perceiving his object,
levelled his gun, and hissed out, in words terribly
distinct, —
" If you do that again, I'll kill you ! "
The passengers stood with upraised hands by
the roadside, under cover of the guns of the rob-
bers. Addressing Zachary, Ives said, —
" Get down and look after those fellows."
This was an unwelcome task for Zachary.
Villain as he was, Southmayd says that while he
was engaged in searching his person, he quivered
like an aspen. Throwing Southmayd's pistol and
money on the ground, he was about to renew the
search, when Billy, tired of the position, dropped
his hands.
" Up with your hands again," roared Ives with
Leroy Southnayd. 415
an oath, at the same time bringmg the terrible
muzzles to bear upon the person of the frightened
driver. Billy, who felt that it was no time to
bandy proprieties, threw them up with more speed
than pleasure, realizing that the buck-shot were
safer in the barrels than in his luckless carcass.
Zachary now commenced searching Moore, and,
taking from his pocket a sack, inquired, —
" Is this all you have ? "
" All I have in the world," replied Moore.
Zachary threw it on the heap and came to
Billy.
" Give me your pistol," said he. Billy placed
the weapon in his hands.
" Is it loaded ? " inquired Ives.
" No," replied Billy.
" Give it to him again," said Ives to Zachary.
" We don't want any empty weapons."
'' My God ! " exclaimed Caldwell, as Zachary
next approached him. " What do you want of
me ? I have nothing."
" Let him alone," said Ives ; and addressing
Caldwell, he inquired, " Is there anything in the
mail we want ? "
" I don't think there is," answered Tom.
Zachary mounted the box, and commenced
an examination, but found nothing. Caldwell
416 Leroy Southmayd.
scanned the villain narrowly while thus employed,
for the purpose, if possible, of recognizing him.
" Don't you do that, if you want to live," said
Ives, rattling- his gun into dangerous range.
" Well, then," said Tom impudently, '' may I
look at you ? "
The robber nodded a ready assent, as much as
to say, " Find me out, if you can."
The search over, Zachary picked up his gun,
and stepped back.
" Get up and skedaddle," said Ives to the plun-
dered group. The horses had grown restive
while the robbery was progressing, but Tom had
restrained them.
" Drive slowly, Tom," said Southmayd to
Caldwell in an under-tone, as he ascended the
box. " I w^ant to reconnoitre a little," and turned
his face to the robbers.
" Drive on," shouted Ives.
Southmayd still continued looking at the rob-
bers as the coach departed, which Ives observing,
the villain raised his gun, and yelled, —
" If you don't turn around and mind your busi-
ness, I'll shoot the top of your head off."
The three robbers then stood together, watch-
ing the coach until it was lost to their view.
" By George ! " said Leroy, laughing, " I looked
Leroy Southmayd. 417
down into those gun-barrels so long that I
thought I fairly saw the buckshot leap from their
imprisonment. It would have afforded me pleas-
ure to squander the bullets in my pistol, on the
scoundrel."
Southmayd lost four hundred dollars in gold,
and Captain Moore one hundred dollars in treas-
ury notes. As was usual, quite a large number
of people were awaiting the arrival of the coach,
when it drove up to the express-office at Bannack.
Inquiries were immediately made as to the cause
of its detention so much later than common.
"Was the coach robbed to-day?" inquired
Plummer of Southmayd, as he jumped from the
box.
" It was," replied Leroy, taking him by the
arm, and by his confidential manner signifying
that he was about to impart to him, as sheriff', all
he knew about it. Just at this moment, Dr. Bis-
sell, the miners' judge at Virginia City, gave
Southmayd a slight nudge, and catching his eye,
winked significantly for him to step aside.
" Be careful, Leroy, — very careful what you
say to that man."
Leroy gave an appreciative nod, and rejoined
Plummer.
" So you have been robbed," sa^d the latter.
418 Leroy Soutkmayd.
" I'm not surprised, — and I think I can tell you
who were the robbers."
"Who were they ? " eagerly asked Southmayd.
" George Ives was one of them," said Phimmer.
"Yes," responded Southmayd, " and the others
were ' Whiskey Bill ' and Bob Zachary ; and I'll
live to see them hanofed before three weeks."
Southmayd did not know that Plummer's ac-
cusation was made for the purpose of detecting
his knowledge of the robbers. Bissell, who had
overheard Southmayd' s revelation to Plumraer,
said to him soon after, —
" Leroy, your life isn't worth a cei t."
George Crisman, who was standing by, added, —
" They'll kill you sure,"
Business detained Southmayd in Bannack the
succeeding three days. During that time he
never met Plummer, who left him immediately
after they held the conversation above narrated.
Two day afterwards, while on his way to Vir-
ginia City, Caldwell, the driver, met with " Whis-
key Bill " at the Cold Spring ranche.
" Did you hear of the robbery, Bill, on my trip
out ? " he inquired.
" Sure, I did, Tom," replied Bill. " Do you
know any of the fellows who committed it?"
" Not I," replied Caldwell, " and I wouldn't
Leroy Southmayd. 419
for the world. If I did, and told of them, I
shouldn't live long."
" That's so, Tom," rejoined Graves. " Yon
wouldn't live twenty-four hours. It's always best
to be io^norant in matters of that kind. I've had
experience, and I know. I'll just tell you, by way
of illustration, about my being robbed in Califor-
nia. One night as my partner and I were riding
along, two fellows rode up and told us to throw
up our hands. We did so, and they took from us
two thousand dollars in coin. I said to 'em,
* Boys, it's pretty rough to take all we've got.'
They said so it was, and gave us back forty dol-
lars. A week afterwards I saw 'em dealing faro.
One of 'em saw me looking at him, and arose
and came up to me, and said in a whisper, ' Ain't
you one of the men that was robbed the other
night ? ' — ' Not at all,' says I, for I thought if I
said ' yes ' he would find a way to put me out of
the way. ' Oh, well,' says he, ' honor bright ! I
want you to own up- I know you're the man.
Now, I'm going to give you four thousand dollars,
just for keeping your mouth shut.' And he kept
his promise. So you see, Tom, that I saved my
life, and got four thousand dollars for keeping
stiU."
Tom wished somebody would treat him so, but
420 Leroy Southmayd.
when telling the story, said that he " lacked
confidence in human nature, especially where the
road agents were concerned." He even ventured
the assertion that he " did not believe Graves's
story, anyway."
Ives went to Virginia City the day following
the robbery. While in a state of intoxication
at one of the fancy establishments, he boasted
openly of having made Tom Caldwell throw up
his hands, and that he intended to do it again.
Talking of the robbery with one of the drivers,
he said, —
" I am the Bamboo chief that committed that
robbery."
" Don't you believe Caldwell knows it ? "
inquired the driver.
" Certainly he knows it," replied Ives. " He
recogfnized me at once."
As Ives and the driver were riding side by side
into Virginia City, on their return from Nevada,
the driver saw Caldwell approaching. He mo-
tioned him to keep away. Caldwell turned and
went away, and was afterwards told that Ives
knew he had recognized him in the robbery, and
would probably kill him on sight. The driver,
who expected that Ives would shoot at Caldwell,
had his revolver in readiness to shoot him at the
Leroi) Soiitlimayd. 421
time alluded to, in case Ives manifested such a
design.
Meantime, Southmayd, having finished his
business at Bannack, was ready to return to
Virginia City by the next coach. His friends were
importunate for him to remain. On the day he
was to leave. Buck Stinson and Ned Ray, on be-
ing told of it at the express-office, avowed their
intention of accompanying him. The agent then
searched for Southmayd, and said to him, —
" For God's sake, Leroy, don't go. These
fellows mean to kill you."
" I've got to go," replied Southmayd ; " and if
you'll get me a double-barrelled shot-gun, I'll
take my chances." The agent complied with this
request, and the coach left Bannack with South-
mayd, Stinson, Ray, and a lad of sixteen years
for passengers, and Tom Caldwell the driver.
The coach was an open hack. Southmayd sat on
the driver's seat with Caldwell, and the boy took
the back seat, and facing him were Stinson and
Ray on the middle seat. Southmayd said to the
boy on starting, —
" If we have any trouble, do you shoot, or I'll
ijlioot you."
" You may be sure I'll do it, too, Southmayd,"
said the boy. " I'm not afraid of them."
422 Leroy Southmayd.
Southmayd kept watch of the two robbers.
The drive through the day was undisturbed, until
the coach reached the crossing- of the Stinkino;-
Water. In the three persons standing in front of
the station, Southmayd recognized Bob Zachary,
Bill Graves, and another noted rough known as
Alex Carter. Stinson shouted, addressing them
as road agents. Each was fully armed with gun,
pistol, and knife. Southmayd whispered to
Caldwell, —
" Tom, I guess they've got us."
" That's so," replied Caldwell.
Caldwell drove on to Cold Spring station fol-
lowed by the three roughs on horseback, who soon
came up. This was the supper station. Two of
the robbers left their guns at the door. Carter's
was strung upon his back. They entered the
house in a boisterous manner, with Zachary,
feigning drunkenness, in their lead.
" I'd like," said that ruffian with brutal empha-
sis and gesture, " to see the man who don't like
Stone." The banter was made for the purpose of
exciting a quarrel. " Just show me the man that
don't like him, or let any man here just say he
don't like him, if he wants a healthy fight on his
hands," blustered the villain.
No one replied. Seemingly every one present
Leroy Southmayd. 423
entertained a high opinion of Mr. Stone. Failing
to rouse a quarrel, he ordered "drinks all round,"
bought a bottle of whiskey, and preserved the
swagger and braggadocio of a drunken ruf&an
through supper time.
After supper, and while preparing to leave,
Southmayd said privately to Caldwell, —
" Tom, I see through it all. You must take
Stinson on the seat with you. I'll sit behind and
watch him, and the boy can watch Ray."
When ready to start, and this arrangement was
made known to Buck Stinson, he did not relish
it, and said, —
" I don't want to ride up there."
" Well, you will," replied Southmayd sternly,
pointing to the seat.
"This is pretty rough, isn't it?" said Stinson
with an oath, as he mounted to the seat.
The three mounted ruffians, Zachary, Graves,
and Carter, started on in advance of the coach.
Southmayd and the boy sat with their guns across
their knees, watching the motions of their sus-
pected companions. It was near nightfall. Less
than half a mile distant from the station, the
robbers, who had been riding at an even pace,
suddenly wheeled, and in a loud tone gave the
command to halt, simultaneously with which,
424 Leroy Soutlimayd.
Southmayd levelled his gun upon Carter, and
Caldwell and the boy theirs on the other two
ruffians.
Carter, stammering with alarm, made out to
say, " We only want you to take a drink."
The bottle was passed around, Southmayd and
Caldwell barely touching it to their lips. Hand-
ing it to the boy, Southmayd gave him an
admonitory touch with his foot, — comprehending
which, he did not drink. As Carter had not
drunk from the bottle, Southmayd feared that the
liquor had been poisoned. Returning the bottle,
the roughs who received it inquired politely if they
did not want any more. The three then wheeled
their horses, exclaiming, —
" We're off to Pete Daly's," and, clapping
spurs to their horses, they were soon out of
sio'ht.
The coach went on six miles, passed Daly's
ranche, and drew up at Lorrain's. From this
ranche to Virginia City, the road for most of the
distance is rough, narrow, and lies through the
caiion of Alder Gulch. Nature never formed
a fitter stretch of country for successful robbery.
Of this our passengers were fully aware, and,
anticipating that the designs of the robbers must
culminate ou this part of the route, Southmayd
Leroij SoatUmayd. 425
took Caldwell aside to consult as to the proper
course to pursue.
" It's a rough night's work, Tom," said South-
mayd, " but the worst is to come. If they attack
us iu the canon, there is no possible chance for
escape."
" They'll do it, sure," replied Caldwell. " It's
only driving into their hands to attempt to go on
to-nio'ht. Let's leave the coach here and take
to the brush. We may then avoid them ;
or if we meet, it will be where the chances are
equal."
Buck Stinson, who had been on the watch for
some new arrangement, overheard this conversa-
tion. Anxious as he was that the robbery and
murder should take place, he knew that if the
men escaped, as they assuredly would by the
means contemplated, they would bring the whole
community of Virginia City on the track of him-
,self and his fellow ruffians. This must be avoided,
even though they were frustrated in their design.
So he stepped forward, and said to Southmayd
and Caldwell in his blandest manner, —
" Gentlemen, I pledge you my word, my honor,
and my life, that you will not be attacked between
this place and Virginia City."
"If you mean that," replied Southmayd, "we
426 Leroy Southmayd.
will go on ; but if we are attacked, we will cer-
tainly make it hot for some of you."
Soon after the horses started, Stinson commenced
singing in a very loud voice, and continued to do
so without intermission until nearly exhausted.
Then, at his request, Ray took up the chorus and
kept it up until their arrival in Virginia City.
This was a signal to the robbers to keep away.
Had the singing ceased, the attack would have
been made. Ray called on Southmayd the next
day, and warned him, as he valued his life, to
mention the names of none of those among" the
ruffians whom he had recognized, as the ones who
robbed him while on his way to Bannack.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
VIGILANTE DAYS AND WAYS.
VOL. II.
A VIGILANTE EXECUTION.
VIGILANTE DAYS AND WAYS
THE PIONEERS OF THE %0CKIES
THE MAKERS AND MAKING OF
MONTANA, IDAHO, OREGON, WASHINGTON,
AND WYOMING
Bv
iDatliauici J^itt HangforD
WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. II
1893
COPVRIC.HT, 1890,
By NATHANIEL PITT LANGFORD.
All rights reserved.
CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
Pagk
CHAPTER I.— JouRNKY TO Salt Lake.
Oliver's Express to Salt Lake — Hauser and the
Writer contemplate a Trip to the States — Wri-
ter goes to Bannack — Is detained by Injury —
Stinson and Ray on the Scent — Money to be
conveyed to St. Louis — Hauser and Plummer
arrive from Virginia City — Hauser's Stratagem
— Engage Passage to Salt Lake — Robbers in Pur-
suit— First Night Out — Incidents of the Journey 1
CHAPTER II. — CoL. Sanders and Gallagher.
Rumors o| Silver Lode Discoveries — Plummer
leaves Bannack for Rattlesnake — Followed by
Colonel Sanders — A Ruse — Arrival of Jack
Gallagher — Seeks a Quarrel with Sanders — Good
Feeling restored in the Usual Way — Sanders
summoned back to Bannack — Anxiety for his
Safety — Henry Tilden's Narrative — Plummer's
Craftiness ........ 18
CHAPTER III.— Robbery of Moody's Train.
Robbery of Moody's train by Dutch John and Steve
Marshland — First Meeting of the Robbers in
Black Tail Deer Canon — Second Meeting and
vi Contents.
Page
Attack on Red Rock Divide — Both Robbers
wounded and escape — Reprisals by the Pursuing
Party 37
CHAPTER 17.— George Ives.
History of George Ives — Robberies and Murders
committed by him — Murder of Tiebalt — A
Company pursue Ives from Nevada — He ' is
captured — Escape — Recapture — Is brought in
Safety to Nevada 46
CHAPTER v.— Trial of George Ives.
Trial of George Ives — Attempts to prove an Alibi
— Long John turns State's Evidence — Suspense
— Fearlessness of Colonel Sanders — Conviction
— Appeals for Delay — A Rescue Imminent —
Execution ........ 66
CHAPTER VI.— Result of Ives's Execution.
Effect of Ives's Execution — Long John and^' Tex "
acquitted — George Hildennan tried, convicted,
and banished — Formation of a Vigilance Com-
mittee — Pursuit of Alex Carter — Meet with
Yager ("Red") in Deer Lodge — Disappointment
— Return by Way of Point of Rocks — Arrest of
*' Red " at Rattlesnake, and of Brown at Demp-
sey's — " Red " discloses the Names of Many of
the Members of Plummer's Band — " Red " and
Brown executed on the Pas-sam-a-ri . . .77
CHAPTER VII.— Lloyd Magruder.
Hill Beachy's Dream — Lloyd Magruder's Trip from
Contents. vii
Page
Lewiston to Bannack — Followed by Ho-ward,
Romaine, Lowry, Page, and Zachary — Completes
his Sales at Virginia City, and sets out on his
Eeturn — Howard, Lowry, Eomaine, and Page
employed as Assistants on the Route — The
Brothers Chalmers, Charles Allen, and Edward
Phillips, accompany them — Murder of Magruder,
the Chalmers Brothers, Phillips, and Allen —
Subsequent Plunder of the Train — Cruel Slaughter
of the Herd — Robbers foiled in attempting to
cross the Columbia River — They arrive at Lewis-
ton — Recognized by Beachy — Leave Lewiston 97
CHAPTER VIII.— Hill Beachy.
Beachy's Devices to ferret out the Murder — His
Trip up Snake River with Tom Farrell — Dis-
appointment — Finds the Animals ridden by the
Murderers — The Story of the Saddle — The In-
dian Boy — Recognition of the Horse — Beachy's
Pursuit of the Robbers — Providential Occurrences
— Arrival at Portland — Successful Ruse — De-
parture Overland for San Francisco — Telegraphs
from Yreka — Robbers arrested — The Law's
Delay — Return with Prisoners — Page admitted
as State's Evidence — Conviction and Execution
of Howard, Lowry, and Romaine — Violent Death
of Page 117
CHAPTER IX. — Howie and Fetherstun.
Fluttering among the Robbers — Dutch John's
Attempted Escape — Arrest by Neil Howie in
Beaver Canon — Howie and Fetherstun convey
viii Contents.
Paob
him to Bannack — Incidents by the way, and at
Bannack — Dutch John examined and adjudged
Guilty — Fetherstun takes him in Custody . 145
OHAPTER X. — Execution of Plummer.
Reaction in Public Sentiment — Miners all become
Vigilantes — Alarm of Plummer — Messengers
to Bannack — Arrest and Execution of Plummer,
Ray, and Stinson — Interview with Plummer's
Brother — Plummer's Craftiness .... 162
CHAPTER XL — Death of Pizanthia.
Attack upon the Cabin of Jo Pizanthia, a Mexican
Freebooter — He shoots George Copley and Smith
Ball — Copley dies of the Wound — Outraged
Citizens shell the Cabin — Pizanthia's Capture
effected with much Difficulty — His Body is rid-
dled with Bullets while he is being hanged — The
Cabin fired, and the Body burned to Ashes . . 173
CHAPTER XII.— Execution of Dutch John . 179
CHAPTER XIIL — Virginia City Executions.
Virginia City surrounded by Vigilantes from all
Parts of the Gulch — Frank Parish, Boone Helm,
"Clubfoot George," Jack Gallagher, and Hayes
Lyons arrested, tried, and executed — Bill Hunter
escapes through the Line of Guavds . . .134
CHAPTER XIV. — Pursuit of Road Agents.
Pursuit, Capture, and Execution of Steve Marsh-
laud, Bill Bunton, Cyrus Skiuner, Alex Carter,
Contents. ix
Page
Johnny Cooper, George Shears, and Bob Zachary
— Incidents by the way 207
CHAPTER XV. — Execution of Hunteb.
Search for Bill Hunter — His Place of Concealment
discovered — Party start in Pursuit — Incidents
by the way — Arrival at the Cabin — Arrest —
Start for Virginia City — Consultation — Execu-
tion— Reflections 224
CHAPTER XVI. —The Stkanger's Story.
Preparations for a Home — Disasters — Disappoint-
ments — Hermit Life — Boone Helm — His De-
parture — A Strange Visitant — Romantic His-
tory— Return of Helm and two Companions —
His Murderous Designs thwarted — Return to
Civilization — Meeting with Benefactress . . 235
CHAPTER XVII. — White and Dorsett.
Prospecting on the Big Boulder — John White and
Rudolph Dorsett — They iind one Kelley in Dis-
tress—All return to Virginia City — Prepara-
tions for returning to the Boulder — Kelley de-
layed— The Stolen Mule — Departure of Dorsett
— Anxiety for his Safety — Meeting of Kelley
by a Stranger — Thompson and Rumsey set out
in Search of Dorsett and White — Discovery of
their Bodies — Pursuit of Kelley — He flees to
Portland, Ore., thence to San Francisco — Thomp-
son foiled — Kelley returns to Portland — In
Port Keuf Canon Robbery 257
X Contents.
CHAPTEE XVIII. — Langford Peel.
Suffering in Kansas in the Winter of 1856 — Peel's
Kindness to Conley and Eucker — Their Ingrati-
tude— Peel's Destitution — Eobinson's Generos-
ity— Death of Eucker — Peel wounded — Threat-
ened with Death — Escapes to California —
Downward Career — Arrives at Carson City —
Prize Fight and Death of Muchacho — Peel fights
Dick Paddock — Kills El Dorado Johnny in a
Fight — Principles of the Eoughs — Peel suffers
Lannan to arrest him — Character of ISTevada
Eoughs — Fight between Earnhardt and Peasley
— Both killed — Character of Peasley — Peel
leaves Nevada — Goes to Salt Lake, and thence to
Helena — Quarrel with John Bull — Is killed by
him — Inscription on his Tombstone . . , 270
CHAPTEE XIX. — Joseph A. Slade.
Overland Stage Eoute — Desperate Employes —
Jules Eeni — Jules shoots Slade — Slade resolves
to kill Jules — Carries his Eesolve into Effect —
Comes to Virginia City — Quarrel with the Writer
— Encounter with Bob Scott — Lawlessness in
Virginia City — Threatens the Life of Judge
Davis — Vigilantes assemble — Arrest of Slade —
His Execution 288
CHAPTEE XX. — A Modern Haman.
Beidler — Woman for Breakfast — Mysterious Mur-
der of a Chinawoman in Helena — Arrest and
Discharge of Hanson — Claggett's Eifle — Elec-
tion Day — Effects of Negro Suffrage — Murder
Contents. xi
Page
of Hayes by Leach — Arrest of Leach by X. —
Hynson's Conduct on the Occasion and afterwards
— X. suspects Hynson of the Murder of the
Chinawoman — Finds Claggett's Eifle in his Pos-
session, and restores it to the Owner — Arrests
Hynson — He is put in Jail — His Threats —
Cowardly Conduct when released by John Fether-
stun — Threatens X. — Goes to Benton — Cow-
ardice and Humiliation on meeting X. — Asks
his Assistance, and receives a Place as Night
Watchman — Gets a Job and betrays his Trust —
X. makes a Seizure as Marshal — Abusive Treat-
ment of Williams by Hynson — Hynson builds a
Scaffold, and is hanged thereon — Letter from his
Mother 321
CHAPTER XXL — James Daxiels.
Career in California — Murder of Gartley — Ar-
rested by the Vigilantes — Tried by Court and
found Guilt}^ of Manslaughter — Sentence — Par-
don— Hung by the Vigilantes — Vigilantes in the
Wrong 336
CHAPTER XXII. — David Opdyke.
Early Life of Opdyke — His Wandering and Success
in Mining — Appearance in Boise City — Public
Suspicion — His Stable Headquarters for the
Roughs of the Territory — History of Parks —
His Murder and Robbery by the '' Opdyke Gang"
— Opdyke's Complicity in the Port Neuf Rob-
bery — Frank Johnson — Beech — Hank Buckner
the Murderer of Brown — His Mysterious Escape
xii Contents.
Page
from Montana — Appearance in Idaho — Neil
Howie sent to return him to Montana — Fails —
Opdyke elected Sheriff — Contemplates Destruc-
tion of Payette Vigilantes — Humiliating Results
— Is a Defaulter and prosecuted — Pays the De-
falcation — Threatens Grand Jury — Indian Ex-
pedition— Opdyke Leader — Aden's Pack Train
— Opdyke claims it, and is defeated on Raymond's
Testimony — Clarke shoots Raymond — Is hung
by the Citizens — Vengeance threatened by the •
"Opdyke Gang" — Vigilant Measures of Citizens
— Roughs disappear — Opdyke and Dixon leave
Boise City — Are followed by Vigilantes and hung
— Breaking up of the " Gang " . . . . 340
CHAPTER XXIII.— Sa.x Andreas in 1849.
San Andreas — The Mexicans — Disappearance of
Captain Ben Osborne — The Fonda — Mexican
Prospecting Party — Pursuit — The Mexican Camp
surrounded — Examinations — The Cuban — A
Pathetic Appeal — Successful Ruse — Confession
— Return to San Andreas — The Fonda deserted
— Discovery of the Body of Captain Osborne —
Escape of his Murderers 354
CHAPTER XXIV. — An Interesting Adventure.
Routes of Yellowstone and Missouri in Mackinaws
— Description of Yellowstone — Wonders at its
Source — Lower Canon — Remarkable Erosions —
Pompey's Pillar — Bad Lands — Three Forks —
Great Falls — Gate of the Mountains — Fort Ben-
ton — Jack Simmons's Narrative — Johnny —
Contents. xiii
Page
Eroded Rocks — Fight with Grizzlies — Herd of
Buffaloes — Wood-cutters — Battle with the Sioux
— Indian Mode of making Medicine — War Dance
— Terrible Onslaught — Departure and Death
Wail of the Indians — Johnny on the Watch —
Fort Buford — Hospitable Eeception — Arrival
of the "Luella" — Johnny's Story — A Start-
ling Revelation ....... 373
CHAPTER XXV.— The Stage Coach.
Holliday's Overland — Hazardous Jourueyings —
Port Neuf Canon — Massacre of 1865 — Treach-
ery of the Driver — Santa Fe Route — Mexican
Charley — Captured by Road Agents — Robbers
foiled — Strange Disclosure — Boise Route —
" Dowdle Bill " — Ludicrous Funeral Services . 417
CHAPTER XXVI.— Retrospection . . .446
Index ...» 455
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SECOND
VOLUME.
Designed and engraved under the supervision of
(©eorje ^. anbreto.
Page
A Vigilante Execution .... Frontispiece
Head of Pack Mule .... Title-page
Governor Samuel T. Hauser, Ex-Governor of
Montana .2
Colonel Wilbur E. Sanders, Principal Prose-
cutor OF George Ives . . . . .68
Hill Beachy, Lloyd Magruder's Avenger . 117
Neil Howie, Captor of Dutch John . . . 145
John Eetherstun, Overland Express Messen-
ger
161
John X. Beidler, Leading Vigilante and Ex-
press Messenger 321
Nathaniel Pitt Langfobd 417
VIGILANTE DAYS AND WAYS.
CHAPTER I.
JOURNEY TO SALT LAKE.
Oliver's Express to Salt Lake — Hauser and the
Writer contemplate a Trip to the States —
Writer goes to Bannack — Is detained by In-
jury — Stinson and Ray on the Scent — Money
TO BE conveyed TO St. LoUIS HaUSER AND PlUM-
MER ARRIVE FROM VIRGINIA CiTY HauSER's STRAT-
AGEM — Engage Passage to Salt Lake — Robbers
IN Pursuit — First Night Out — Incidents of the
Journey.
Mr. a. J. Oliver had been running -a letter
express between Bannack and Salt Lake City dur-
ing the year, and early in the autumn had sub-
stituted for a single saddle horse and pack animal,
a small lumber wagon, with conveniences for the
transportation of a few passengers. It was, at
best, a very precarious mode of conveyance ; but
as it was the only public one, it was always full.
2 Journey to Salt Lake.
Mr. Samuel T. Hauser (afterwards appointed Gov-
ernor of Montana by President Cleveland) and I
had been for some time contemplating- a trip to
the States, and being now ready, I left Virginia
City for Bannack, expecting to find the express
on my arrival, and make arrangements for our
passage to Salt Lake on its return trip. The day
before I left, one Ed French had shot at me.
The bullet slightly grazed an eyeball, doing no
further damage than that of shaking the eye in
its socket, and inflicting considerable pain. I
contracted a severe cold on the ride to Bannack,
which settled in the eye, producing inflammation
and temporary blindness. For two weeks I shut
myself in a dark room, ulceration in the mean time
bringing relief, and restoring sight.
While thus confined, friends occasionally called
upon me, and one day I was informed that Ned
Ray was in town, and had been making particular
inquiries after me. The next day I was told that
Buck Stinson was there on the same errand.
When I left Virginia City, both of these ruffians
were at that place. I was convinced that they
had left there to pursue me on the road to Salt
Lake City. Ray was observed to watch my
boarding-house, on repeated occasions, very closely.
Upon applying to Mr. Oliver for transportation,
GOVERNOR SAMUEL T. HAUSER,
Ex-Governor of Montana.
Journey to Salt Lake. 3
that gentleman informed me that snow was falling
on the Pleasant Valley divide, and that he should
abandon the wasfon and return to Salt Lake with
a pack mule. Disappointed in my expectation of
finding a conveyance, I wrote to Mr. Hauser, who
came over immediately.
Messrs. Dance and Stuart, wholesale merchants
of Virginia City, had arranged to send by us to
their creditors at St. Louis, fourteen thousand
dollars in g^old dusto It was contained in a buck-
skin sack, and sealed. Clubfoot George, whose
honesty none of us suspected, had heard us hold
frequent discussions in the store of Dance and
Stuart, as to the chances of safely getting through
with it to the States.
Hauser was somewhat surprised on entering the
coach at Virginia City, to find that he had
Plummer for a fellow-passenger. Believing, upon
reflection, that Plummer was ooino- to Bannack to
plan means for robbing him, he resolved to act
as if he had the most implicit confidence in his
integrity. He accordingly made no effort to hide
the sack from view, or conceal the fact that he
was going to the States; talked freely and
confidentially, and seemed entirely at ease in
Plummer's society. The trip was made in safety,
though Hauser confessed that while passing
4 Journey to Salt Lake.
through Rattlesnake caiion, he did not forget the
unenviable notoriety which frequent robberies
had gained for it. When the coach drove up to
Goodrich's hotel in Bannack, he felt greatly
relieved, and with the sack of gold enveloped in
the several folds of his blankets, entered the
sitting-room, where he was met by some old
friends, and, as was customary in those days, con-
gratulated on his safe arrival. In a few moments
he drew forth the sack, and in the presence of
Judge Edgerton and several other leading citizens,
turned to Plummer who was standing near, and
thus carelessly addressed him : —
" Plummer, I hear that any man who has
money isn't safe in this town over-night. I've
got fourteen thousand dollars in this bag, which
I'm going to take to the States with me when I
go, and I want you, as sheriff, to keep it for me
till I start."
Plummer took the gold, with a promise for its
safe return, which he fulfilled ; depositing it for
safekeef)ing in George Crisman's store.
Hauser's friends expressed to him privately
their surprise that he should intrust so large an
amount to a man of such doubtful reputation.
" Why ? " replied he, laughing: " do you think
he'll keep it?"
Journey to Salt Lake. 6
" I should be afraid of it," said one, " espe-
cially if he's the man many represent him to be."
" Suppose he should," said Hauser. " You
and half a dozen other good citizens saw him
take it, and heard him promise that it should be
safely returned. He knows, as well as I do, that
if he fails to keep this promise, or through any
pretence attempts to appropriate the gold, it will
go hard with him ; whereas, if I should attempt
to keep it, he, with others of the roughs knowing
that I had it, would kill me if necessary to obtain
it. The gold is safer where it is ; and while there,
is a security for my life."
This was a bold piece of strategy on the part
of Hauser, evincing an intuitive insight into the
character of Plummer ; but not one man in a hun-
dred similarly situated would have thought of
adopting it. If Plummer had entertained an
idea that Hauser suspected his motives in accom-
panying him to Bannack, this act of gratuitous
confidence must have allayed it at once.
Hauser and I engaged a passage to Salt Lake,
of one of a company of eight Mormon freighters,
who were to leave Bannack at noon of the 14th
of November. We did not wish to leave until
seven o'clock in the evening ; and the man, impa-
tient of any delay beyond the departure of his
6 Journey to Salt Lake.
companions, finally agreed, for an extra ten dol-
lars paid in advance, to wait for us until five
o'clock P.M. If we were not ready then, he would
retain the ten dollars, and leave town without us,
so as to overtake the other teams, which were to
camp that night at Horse Prairie, twelve miles
distant. These arrano-ements were made in
George Crisman's store where Plummer had an
office, and in the hearing of one of his deputies,
who immediately communicated the information
to his chief.
Early in the forenoon Plummer called upon
Hauser and presented him with a woollen scarf of
a bright scarlet color, saying, " You will find it
useful these cold nights." A few hours after-
wards, a report was circulated of the discovery of
a silver lode in the vicinity of Rattlesnake. The
person bringing in this intelligence, requested
Plummer, who from his experience in Nevada was
supposed to be a good judge of the quality of
silver ore, to go immediately and examine it. He
left early in the afternoon on the Rattlesnake road,
but as soon as he was beyond observation, turned
southward toward Horse Prairie. Col. Wilbur
F. Sanders, who soon followed in the direction of
Rattlesnake, returned the next day with the
intelligence that he had been unable to trace him.
Journey to Salt Lake. 7
The circumstance of Plummer's departure, and
the presence in town of Stinson and Ray, so
wrought upon the fears of our friends for our
safety, that it was not without much persuasion
that they would permit us to undertake the
journey. We were satisfied, however, that, go
when we might, we shoukl have to incur the same
risk. As a precautionary measure, I carefully
cleaned my gun, and loaded each barrel with
twelve revolver balls. George Dart, a friend,
observing this, asked why I was filling my gun
so full of lead. I replied that we were fearful of
an attack, and that the indications were that it
would be made that hight, if at all. Some of
our friends endeavored to persuade us to defer our
journey till a more favorable time. This we
would have done had we not believed that the
risk would have to be incurred whenever we took
our departure. At the hour of five we were not
ready, but the Mormon teamster was prevailed
upon to wait for us two hours longer.
Just after seven o'clock, and as we were putting
our provisions which we had prepared for our
journey in the wagon, Henry Tilden, a member
of the household of Sidney Edgerton, then chief
justice of Idaho, came in with the report that he
had been robbed about midway on his ride from
8 Journey to Salt Lake.
Horse Prairie, by three men, one of whom he
thought was Plummer. This created much
excitement ; and if our friends had not supposed
that we had ah'eady left town, we would probably
have been forcibly detained.
Either our failure to appear at the time at
which our appointment to leave at five o'clock
justified him in expecting us, or the belief that
Tilden had circulated the news of his robbery,
and thereby delayed our departure, caused Plum-
mer to return by a circuitous route to town. He
inquired for me at my boarding-house, and being
told that both Hauser and I had gone, left town
immediately in hot pursuit.
In the wagon with us was one Charles White-
head, a gambler, who had made arrangements
Avith another of the Mormon teamsters for con-
veyance to Salt Lake City; but having some
business to detain him in town, he availed himself
of the circumstance of our late departure, to
give it attention. I had frequently seen him in
town, but knew nothing about him, save that he
was a professional gambler. He might, I thought,
belong to the gang and be in some way connected
with their present enterprise, and we kept a close
watch upon his movements. We rode with our
guns double-charged and cocked, lying upon our
Journey to Salt Lake. 9
laps. It was after eleven o'clock when we reached
the camp of the advance party. The night was
clear and cold ; the atmosphere crisp vrith frost.
Whitehead, who had sent his blankets forward bv
the other teams, found that they had been appro-
priated by one of the teamsters, who had con-
cluded that we had delayed our departure from
town till the following morning. As he was in
delicate health, I gave him my place with Hauser
in the wagon, and taking a buffalo robe, stretched
myself upon the ground beside the wagon.
I could not sleep for the cold, and about three
o'clock in the morning, thoroughly chilled, I arose,
took my gun in my hand, and walked briskly back
and forth before the camp. Finding that this
exercise did not greatly increase my comfort, I
went down to the bank of the creek thirty yards
distant and commenced gathering dry willows to
make a fire. While thus employed I strayed
down the stream about twenty rods from the
camp. Suddenly I heard a confused murmur of
voices, which at first I thought came from the
camp, but, while walking towards it, found that
it was from a different direction. Curiosity now
overcame all thought of cold. I dro23ped the
armful of sticks I had gathered, and carefully
disentangling the little copse of willows which
10 Journey to Salt Lake.
sheltered me from view, peered through, and saw
in the dim moonlight three footmen approaching
on the other side of the stream. The thought
struck me that they might be campers in search
of horses or mules that had strayed. I walked
noiselessly down the stream, to a point where I
could obtain through a vista an unobstructed
view, my trusty gun held firmly in the hollow of
my hand. The three men approached the open-
ing through which I was gazing, and I now dis-
covered that their features were concealed by
loosely flowing masks. I no longer do ubtefd their
identity or purpose. Some little noise that I made
attracted their attention to the spot where I was
standing. They saw me, and, perceiving that I
had recognized them, changed their course, and
disappeared beyond a clump of willows.
My first imj)ulse was now to return to camp,
and arouse the men, but I concluded not to do so
unless it became necessary. One of the Mormons,
as I passed by him, roused himself sufficiently to
ask me why I was up so early. I replied that I
was watching for prowlers. In a few moments I
returned to the bank of the creek, and followed
it down thirty or forty rods, till I came to a ripple
where the water was not more than six inches
deep. Stepping into the stream, I waded noise-
Journey to Salt Lake. 11
lessly across. The opposite bank was about two
feet high, and covered with a willow thicket
thirty feet in width. Through this I crawled to
the opening beyond, where was the moist bed of
a former stream, its banks lined with willows ; and
in this half-enclosed semicircle, not fifty feet dis-
tant from where I was lying, stood four masked
men. One of them had been holding the horses —
four in number — while the others were taking
observations of our camp. After a brief consulta-
tion, they hurriedly mounted their horses, and
rode rapidly off towards Bannack. These men
we afterwards ascertained were Plummer, Stinson,
Ray, and Ives, The fortunate change in my lodg-
ings, and the coldness of the weather, and conse-
quent sleeplessness, saved us from an attack whose
consequences may be better imagined than de-
scribed. We made the journey to Salt Lake City
in safety ; but from the frequent inquiries made of
us while there, concerning others who had at-
tempted it before us, we concluded that many had
fallen victims who left the mines with better pros-
pects of escape than those which encouraged us.
It was the common custom of Mormon freighters
to extend their day's journeying far into the even-
ing. Plummer was cognizant of this fact, and
there can be no doubt that his purpose in present-
12 Journey to Salt Lake.
ing Hauser with the scarf was, that he might
single him out from the rest of the party after
nightfall. It is a coincidence that Plummer was
hanged on the succeeding anniversary of Hauser's
birthday, January 10, 1864.
Our trip of fifteen days, with the thermometer
ranging from zero to twenty degrees below, was
not unrelieved by occasional incidents which we
recall with pleasure. Among these, of course,
we cannot include the cold nights we were obliged
to pass upon the frozen earth. But we found an
inexhaustible store of amusement, not unmingled
with admiration, in the character of our Mormon
conductors. Simple-hearted, affable, and unsophis-
ticated, with bigot faith in their creed, studious
observance of its requirements, and constant re-
liance upon it both for assistance in difficulty and
pastime, they afforded in all their actions a singu-
lar contrast as well to the unregenerate Gentiles, as
to the believers among older sects. They were
not only sincere in their belief, they were enthu-
siastic. It was the single element which governed
their lives : they idolized it, and neither reason,
which they at once rejected, nor ridicule, which
they silently abhorred, could shake their religious
credulity. We engaged in frequent discussions
with them, prolonging the evening camp-fire sit-
Journey to Salt Lake. 13
tings with arguments which broke like the waves
of a summer sea upon the rock of simple faith.
Theology with them was restricted to the revela-
tions of Joseph Smith, and the counsels of Brig-
ham Young. These contained the precious ele-
ments of their belief.
While passing over one of the divides, I re-
cited to Hauser with such marked emphasis as I
could command, Milton's description of " The
meetinir of Satan and Death at the orates of Hell."
The stirring passage immediately absorbed the
attention of our Mormon driver. The serious
cast of his features during the recitation attracted
our attention ; and soon after we had camped for
the night, while supper was in the course of prep-
aration, he was heard to remark to a brother
teamster, —
" I tell you, the youngest of those men in my
wagon, the one that always carries that double-
barrelled shot-gun, is a powerful talker. I heard
him harangue t'other one to-day for half an hour,
and he talked mighty fine. He can overlay Orson
Hyde and Parley Pratt, both, and I rather think
it would trouble Brigham Young to say nicer
things. And after all, he hid pretty much the
same ideas that we have." Evidently, the man
had regarded the recitation and its delivery, as an
impromptu exercise.
14 Journey to Salt LaJce.
When the labor of the day was over, and they
were seated around the evening camp-fire, their
thoughts were engrossed with matters appertain-
ing to their religion. Temporal cares were seem-
ingly forgotten. Fully instructed in the doctrinal
points of their faith, they readily met and disposed
of our arguments upon principles familiar to all
Christian denominations. The golden plates of
the book of Mormon, the inspirational powers of
Joseph Smith, the transforming virtues of the
Urim and Thummim, were as sacred in their
creed as the miracles of the Saviour. No argu-
ment could shake their confidence in Brigham
Young, whom they regarded as the vicegerent of
the Almighty himself. This belief was sanctified
by an immutable promise, that the time would
come wdien the Mormon religion would embrace
the whole family of man. When we spoke
lightly of these things, or expressed doubt con-
cerning them, they reproved us kindly, and ex-
pressed their regret at our stubbornness and
impiety. These discussions, which were frequent,
and indulged in more for pastime than instruc-
tion, convinced us of the sincerity of the Mor-
mons as a people. They believe with enthusiasm
too, and among them may doubtless be found
many who would suffer martyrdom as readily as
Journey t'o Salt Lake. 15
did Ridley and Latimer, for the precious promises
of their faith. Often when not occupied in dis-
cussion, they would all join in singing a religious
hymn. A verse from the one which most fre-
quently taxed their vocal powers, I well remem-
ber : —
" Brigham Toiing is the Lion of the Lord.
He's the Prophet and revealer of his word.
He's the mouth-piece of God unto all mankind,
And he rules by the power of the Word."
Sometimes they would unite in a household song
— the leader, representing the head of the family,
commencing, —
" The Mormon man delights to see
His Mormon family all agree;
His prattling infant on his knee,
Crying, ' Daddy, I'm a Mormon.' "
Then all would join in the chorus, as the repre-
sentatives of the female part of the household, —
"Hey, the happy! Ho, the happy!
Hi, the happy Mormon!
I've never known what sorrow is,
Since I became a Mormon; "
occasionally varying it thus, —
"Hey, the happy! Ho, the happyl
Hi, the happy Mormon!
I never knew what joy was
Till I became a Mormon; "
16 Journey to Salt Lake.
the word joy being divided in the singing to
jaw-wy, to accommodate the metre.
On the evening of the day before we entered
the Mormon settlements, the leading man of the
company beckoned me aside, and referred to our
trip down, which he said had been a pleasant
one.
" We have had," said he, " some warm discus-
sions about our religion, and you gentlemen, as
our boys think, have been rather hard on us.
But the journey is now about over, and we'll not
mind it. I sought this opportunity, however, to
give you a word of caution, for I feel friendly to
you. While you are at Salt Lake City you
mustn't talk as you have to us."
" Why ? " I inquired.
" Because they don't allow it. Were you ever
at Salt Lake ? "
"No."
" Well, you'll find out when you get there how
it is. They are very severe upon people who talk
as you have talked to us. Should you do it, you
may be assured you'll never leave the city alive.
I thought I'd put you on your guard." As he
left me, he added, —
" Don't say a word to the boys about what I've
told you, but keep an eye to your conduct. If
Journey to Salt Lake. 17
the bishop knew I had told you this, it would go
hard with me."
Thankinsf him for the advice, we soon after
separated ; and on our arrival at Salt Lake City, a
day or two afterwards, in conversation with a lead-
ing Mormon with whom we had business, we told
him of the advice we had received, without com-
mitting our friend by name.
" That was good advice," he replied, with a
significant nod, " and if adhered to will keep you
out of trouble."
18 Colonel Sanders and Gallagher,
CHAPTER IT.
COLONIAL SANDERS AND GALLAGHER.
Rumors of Silver Lode Discoveries — Plummer
LEAVES BaNNACK FOR RATTLESNAKE FOLLOWED
BY CoLOXEL Sanders — A Ruse — Arrival of Jack
Gallagher — Seeks a Quarrel with Sanders —
Good Feicling restored in the Usual AVay —
Sanders summoned back to Bannack — Anxiety
for his Safety — Henry Tilden's Narrative —
Plummer's Craftiness.
On the day of the departure of Hauser and
myself for Salt Lake City, as described in the
preceding chapter, an episode occurred affecting
Colonel Sanders, which illustrates in some degree
the condition of society at that time.
During the day a number of young men of
Bannack City, all known in the town, and some
living there, saddled their horses and rode from
saloon to saloon, indulging in drink, and other-
wise busying themselves until about three o'clock
P.M. Among these was Plummer.
Vague rumors had been extant for some time,
that there were in this portion of Idaho (now
Colonel Sanders and G-allagher. 19
Montana), quartz lodes of silver ; but none up to
this time had been discovered, or, if discovered,
the fact had not been made known publicly. A
number of quartz lodes of gold of very consider-
able value had been recorded, but they were
considered in the popular mind as of secondary
value. The " Comstock " lode was at this time
pouring forth its treasures ; silver had not fallen
under the ban which subsequently environed it, and
there was a great eagerness on the part of miners
and other citizens to acquire interests in silver
mines.
It was apparent that the horsemen on the
streets w^ere making ready for some journey into
the country, and it took but a moment to arouse
suspicion that they knew where these reported
silver mines were, and were going out to organize
a minino' district, and record the claims.
Col. Samuel McLean, the first delegate in Con-
gress from Montana, who had an eager eye for
mines, and an equally eager desire to obtain them,
told Colonel Sanders that unquestionably the
hope of these men was to record the silver mines
already discovered, and was quite anxious that he
should accompany the party.
In response to this request, Colonel Sanders
volunteered to ascertain whether this was the
20 Colonel Sanders and GrallagJier.
errand of this party or not, and at once proceeded
to find Plummer, and interrogate him as to his
destination.
Plummer professed to be on some errand for
the piibHc good — rescuing a herd of horses
belonging to citizens, from Indian thieves, who, he
said, would certainly make way with them, unless
they were at once taken charge of by himself.
Colonel Sanders was incredulous as to this
story, and so expressed himself to Mr. Plummer,
saying that he was satisfied that the party were
going to the new silver mines, with the purpose
of stakin"- them off and recordinof them. Plum-
mer denied any such destination, or, at least, said
if that was the intention of his colleagues, he had
no knowledge of it, and that if such should turn
out to be the case, contrary to his expectations,
he would cheerfully secure for Colonel Sanders a
claim. To this it was replied that his party might
object to his securing a claim for an absentee, and
the colonel expressed a purpose to accompany the
party. Plummer cordially invited him to do so,
probably knowing that there was not a horse in
any of the stables in town that was obtainable
for such a journey ; but suddenly reflecting upon
the matter, he replied that there was no such er-
rand in view, and if his comrades objected to his
Colonel Sanders and Gallac/Jier. 21
obtaiuinjr a claim for Colonel Sanders because he
was an absentee, he would very cheerfully convey
his own to him, saying that he could obtain quartz
lode claims whenever he so desired.
With this understanding, which Colonel San-
ders sought to impress upon his mind so that he
would not forget it, the party, in knots of two and
four, left the town in an easterly direction towards
the point where Plummer had stated they were
going that evening, which was about fifteen
miles distant, and where he said they would
remain over-night at the ranche of Parish, Bunton
and Co., on Rattlesnake creek, and the next morn-
ing would proceed to obtain the horses that were
in such dano^er of beinof stolen.
This ranche was perhaps the best known of any
in the Beaverhead country at this time. Plum-
mer himself had denounced its proprietors as
cattle thieves, and had threatened to have them
arrested for that high crime, but had never done so.
At this particular time the senior member of
the firm was sick with fever, and it was thought
that he could not long survive.
The morning coach which had brought Plum-
mer and the other passengers from Virginia City,
had also brought one Dr. Palmer, a medical
practitioner at Virginia City, who had been sent
for to attend and treat the case of Mr. Parish.
22 Colonel jSanders and Grallagher.
The wife of Parish was a Bannack squaw ; and
Plummer had stated that he had examined Parish
when at his ranche in the morning, and had con-
cluded that he could not survive more than a day
or two, and that, the instant he died, his wife
would take all the horses belonging to parties for
whom Parish, Bunton and Co. were keeping them,
and would join her tribe on the west of the
mountains near Fort Lemhi ; and in order to
save these horses for the owners, it was necessary
that the sheriff should proceed to take them
on general principles, and without any writ for
that purpose.
Never doubting but that Plummer was relating
the truth, the people of Bannack saw his party
quietly climb the eastern hill, and disappear over one
of its declivities. A single member, delayed from
some cause or other, lingered behind in the town.
After the party had left town, several gentle-
men suggested to Colonel Sanders, that he should
endeavor to overtake them, and volunteered to
furnish a horse and saddle if he would do so,
with a view to obtaininof for himself and them-
selves^ if possible, some interest in the silver
quartz mines which they believed would the next
morning be staked off and recorded.
Colonel Sanders proceeded to his house, took
Colonel Zanders and (xallagJier. 23
the inevitable accompaniments of a traveller, his
blankets, robes, revolvers, etc., and returned to
the town, where a somewhat diminutive mule,
saddled and bridled and ready for the fray, was
presented to him for his journey. Mounting the
animal, he started on the trail of the party, who
had one hour or more the start of him, on his
way to Rattlesnake ranche, the property of Par-
ish, Bunton and Co.
The mule at times was recalcitrant in the early
part of the journey, but finally settled down and
jogged along at a mild speed towards his desti-
nation.
Tracks of the horsemen were plainly discernible
in the road until he reached a point near the sum-
mit of the ranoe of mountains between the Grass-
hopper and Rattlesnake, when they disappeared.
Upon arriving at the top of the hill, as is not
unusual on the top of these mountain ranges, a
snow storm burst upon the lone traveller, accom-
panied by a high wind, and in half an hour the
disintesfrated sfranite in the road, which was drv,
mixed with the snow so as to cause the mule to
accumulate on his hoofs large quantities of the
dust and snow, to such an extent as to make speed
impossible, and travelling very difficult.
The colonel dismounted and drove his mule in
M Colonel iSanders and Gfallar/her.
front of him, eiglit miles, to the ranche, where he
confidently expected to find a good-natured, hila-
rious crowd spending the evening. Judge of his
surprise, when he entered the room, to find the
only person in it was Erastus Yager, whose actual
name not one in a thousand knew, but who was
universally known as " Red." He was the Boni-
face and 7najor-do7}io of the place.
To the inquiry, "Where is Plummer?" he re-
plied that he was not there, and had not been
there ; and so, after reflecting a moment, the
colonel had his mule put in the corral. He then
sat down by the side of a very cheerful fire, made
of the dry cottonwood obtainable not far distant,
which blazed in a very ample fireplace such as in
modern times is practically unknown, beguiling
his disappointment as best he could.
Dr. Palmer was already asleep in the room, so
the colonel unrolled his blankets, preparatory to
making his bed on the floor, whereupon Yager
invited him to sleep on the bed, a straw tick filled
with swale grass, quite ample in its size, lying
upon the floor in front of the fire ; and, accept-
ing this hospitable offer, he spread his blankets on
the tick, and in a few moments had retired.
William Bunton, one of the proprietors of the
establishment, appeared from the back room where
Colonel Sanders and Gallayher. 25
his partner lay ill, and retired also upon the straw
tick, and shortly after, Yager followed suit, when
the three, in one bed, were all soon in a sound
sleep.
About two hours after they had retired, a bois-
terous noise was made upon the door by some
individual who was outside, who also hallooed as
loud as he could for admittance.
Yager got out of bed and proceeded around to
the back of the bar where the liquid refresh-
ments, so called, were dispensed, and lighted a
candle, and taking in his hands a large shot-gun
which stood in the corner, started to the door and
demanded to know who was there. After some
hesitancy, he was told it was " Jack," whereupon
he proceeded to take down the bar that was across
the door, and so fastened at each end as to effect-
ually serve the purpose of a lock. He then
opened the door, and in stalked a member of
Plummer's party, the one who had remained in
town behind the rest, and known all over that
mining country as " Jack " Gallagher.
He was in very ill-humor. He had been look-
ing for his party, and had been disappointed in
not finding them, finally seeking shelter from the
storm at the Rattlesnake ranche.
He said the snow had so covered the road that
26 Colonel Satiders and GallayJier.
it could not be distinguished. He had been lost
on the prairie and finally found the Rattlesnake.
He said he had ridden up and down the valley a
number of miles and failed to find the ranche.
He complained that they had no light burning.
He said he was very hungry and that he wanted
a drink. A bottle was set out for him, and he
imbibed pretty freely once or twice. He then
wanted something to eat without delay. He was
informed that there was nothing to eat in the
house, that the lady of the house had all she could
do to take care of her husband, who was very ill
and who would not probably recover, and that
they were not prepared to entertain guests.
He expressed an entire indifference to the mis-
fortunes of the household, and said he must have
something" to eat if it was no more than some
bread, and became so importunate that Yager
went to the back part of the house, and soon re-
turned with a large tin pan partially filled with
boiled beef. The pan was placed upon the bar,
and Gallagher did ample justice to its contents,
refreshing himself from time to time by frequent
libations from the bottle of whiskey.
He told Yager that he could not stop all night,
but must find his party. He thought it would be
necessary for him to have a fresh horse, and he
Colonel Sanders and Crallafjher. 27
wanted to trade a very excellent animal which he
had ridden to the ranche for a fresh one.
Yager thereupon told him that he had no horse
that he desired to trade, but Jack affirmed that he
had, and furthermore insisted that he should ac-
commodate him by trading.
Their wrangling had awakened Colonel Sanders,
and also Mr. Bunton, who finally called Yager to
the bedside and told him to trade off that horse of
Oliver's that was in the corral, if Jack would have
a horse trade.
The importunities of Gallagher for a fresh
horse were continuous ; and finally Yager coyly
confessed that they did have a horse in the corral,
which was not such a horse as Gallagher wanted,
and one that they did not desire to get rid of,
being a favorite animal for riding, — not specially
desirable for its speed, but for wonderful bottom,
able to travel a hundred miles in a day, and after
being turned out at night, it would be ready for
a like journey the next day. In fact, it was so
good a horse that Yager wanted it for his own
use, and it was not for sale, — much less did he
desire to trade it for as poor a horse as the one
Gallagher had ridden there (which in truth was
a very noble animal).
After a great deal of negotiating and a good
28 Colonel Sanders and G-aUaglier.
many drinks, Gallagher agreed to pay sixty
dollars to boot, and they consummated the trade.
Colonel Sanders had been very much disap-
pointed at not finding the party he was in search
of, and having an opportunity at the close of the
horse trade, he inquired of Gallagher if he knew
where Plummer was. It seemed to him a harm-
less question, and he did not expect any one
would become excited by so simple an inquiry, as
he lay on his back on the straw tick.
The instant the question was asked, Gallagher
jumped from the bar where he was standing to
the side of the bed, and placed his cocked
revolver at the colonel's head, all the while hurl-
ing imprecations upon him, and threatening to
" shoot the whole toj) of his head off."
The result, for the instant, upon the colonel is
described by himself as being very peculiar. He
said he could count each particular hair in his
head, and that it felt like the quill of a porcu-
pine. Not enjoying the situation, he made a
quick movement, getting his head out of range
of Gallagher's revolver, and springing to his feet,
in an instant was behind the bar, where "' Red "
was standino'. Sanders seized the shot-^un which
was used bv Yao'er in admitting^ his onests in the
night, and levelled it across the bar directly at
Colonel Sanders and Gallagher. 29
Gallagher. The oj^portunity which had been
afforded Gallagher to shoot Sanders had not been
improved by him till it was too late ; and as soon
as the o'un was aimed at him, with an air of
bravado he placed his revolver on a pine table
that stood near him, the normal use of which
was card-playing, and pulling aside his blue
soldier's overcoat which he wore, he said,
"Shoot."
Colonel Sanders replied that he had no desire
to shoot, but if there were any shooting to be
done, he did desire to have the first shot.
At this somewhat exciting stage of the game,
Bunton, who had hitherto kept silence, repri-
manded the actors in this little drama somewhat
severely, saying that his partner was at the point
of death in the back room, and he would not
have any noise in the house-
Yager also joined in the conversation, and
deprecated any such difficulty, saying to Gallagher
that he was blamable for having been the cause
of the disturbance, Gallagher meanwhile standing
with his coat open, as if waiting to be shot down.
Yager continued his suave and conciliatory
remarks to Gallagher, and said finally that he
thought Jack owed Sanders an apology, and that
all had better take a drink.
30 Colonel Sanders and GraUagher.
A double-barrelled shot-gun is a powerful fac-
tor in an argument ; its logic is irresistible and
convincing ; and under its influence Jack finally
relented, and said that he guessed he had made a
fool of himself, and invited the colonel, who up
to this time had maintained a position of hostility,
to have a drink ; but, becoming satisfied of the
sincerity of Gallagher's assurances, he placed the
shot-gun behind the 1)ar, and the entire party
joined in a pledge of amity over a bottle of
" Valley Tan," a liquor well known throughout
the mountains, and a production of the Mormons
of Salt Lake valley.
Some controversy then arose as to who should
pay for the liquor. Yager claimed the, privilege,
but Gallagher said it was his row, and it should
be his treat, and that the man who wouldn't
drink with him was no friend of his. The affair
was finally compromised by allowing Gallagher
to order another bottle of " Valley Tan," and the
actors in this scene dared fate by taking another
drink. This was, doubtless, the easiest method of
settling the difficulty and appeasing the wrath of
Gallagher; and my readers will doubtless agree
with Sanders in thinking that the circumstances
of duress which surrounded him, ought not to
impair his standing as a Son of TemjDerance.
Colonel Sanders and Gallagher. 31
After this renewed pledge of friendship be-
tween all the parties, Yager and Gallagher with-
drew to exchange horses, and in a few moments
the latter was on the road in pursuit of his com-
rades. Yaoer returned to bed, and all at the
ranche were soon sound asleep. About two
hours thereafter, there was heard another tumultu-
ous rapping at the door, and the voice of some-
body, seemingly very angry, demanding admit-
tance. Yager exercised the same precaution as
before, with his light and gun, and finally opened
the door, when in came Jack Gallagher, with his
saddle, bridle, blankets, and shot-gun, and threw
them all down upon the floor, saying that he had
been lost since he left the ranche, that his horse
was not good for anything, and he wanted the
fire built up.
He was accommodated ; and as there was not
room for more than three on the bed, he spread
his blankets on the floor at its foot, in front of
the fire, and soon all were asleep once more.
However, they were not destined to enjoy this
peace very long, for shortly after they had all
dropped asleep, there came another tumultuous
rapping at the door. Yager arose, armed himself
once more, and going to the door demanded to
know what was wanted. It proved to be Leonard
S2 Colonel Sanders and Giallayher.
A. Gridley and George M. Brown, from Bannack.
They inquired for Colonel Sanders, and being
informed that he was there, and invited in, they
declined, and asked that he come out.
The colonel went out and joined the two men,
when he was told that they had been sent by his
wife to ascertain his whereabouts and brintr him
home ; and they related to him the events now to
follow.
On the morning of the preceding day, a young
man named Henry Tilden, who had accompanied
Chief Justice Edgerton and Colonel Sanders from
their homes in Ohio to Bannack City, had been
sent to Horse Prairie, ten miles south of Bannack,
to gather together a herd of cattle owned by
them and to drive the same into town.
It was rather late when he left Bannack, and
as the cattle were somewhat scattered, night came
upon him before he had got them all together.
He therefore put those he had found in a corral,
and having decided to go to the town and spend
the night, and return the next day to find the rest,
he started in the darkness for Bannack.
He was a young man used to quiet and peace,
and wholly untrained in the experiences he was
about to undergo. Midway between Horse
Prairie creek and Bannack, as he was riding
Colonel /Sanders and Gallagher . 3.^
along at a gallop, he saw in front of him several
horsemen. He was somewhat startled, as he was
not prepared to meet men under such conditions
and in such a country. He gathered courage as
he rode, and proceeded along the highway until
he came up with the horsemen, who produced
their revolvers and told him to throw up his
hands and dismount, a request with which he
quickly complied, notwithstanding the impolite
manner in which it was conveyed. They "went
through" his pockets, he meanwhile maintaining
a very awkward position with his hands in the
air above his head. Finding nothing, they told
him to mount his horse and proceed on his way,
telling him further that if he ever dared to open
his mouth about the circumstance, he would be
murdered, or, in their expressive language, they
would l)low the top of his head off.
The young man started towards Bannack, and
as soon as he was out of sight of the robbers, rode
his horse at its utmost speed.
He finally reached Colonel Sanders's house on
what was known as "Yankee Flat," not, however,
until he had l)een thrown from his horse, while
crossing a mining ditch, and had lain on the
ground for a period of time which he could not
himself determine, l)eing unconscious.
S4 Colonel Sanders and Crallagher.
He told his story of having met the robbers, and
further stated, that he knew the parties, who had
" held him up," particularly one of them, who
had held a revolver at his head and who seemed
to be a leader among them, and this man was
Henry Plummer.
Mrs. Sanders then went with him to the house
of Chief Justice Edgerton, where he related
again the story of his meeting the highwaymen,
and was cautioned to say nothing about it.
As the party whom Colonel Sanders had
started to find and travel with had been found
going in an opposite direction, and engaged as
highway robbers, it naturally excited and alarmed
hi^ family, and the result was, that they, finding
a team which had come into town late that night,
procured the horses, and mounted Gridley and
Brown and sent them to the Rattlesnake ranche to
find the colonel. The next morning Plummer
and all the men who had gone with him were in
town, appearing as unconcerned as if nothing un-
usual had occurred.
Colonel Sanders did not at first share Tilden's
belief concerning the j^ersonnel of the troop of
robbers and his identification of Plummer, but
nevertheless, as a precautionary measure, he ad-
monished Tilden not to communicate his beliefs
Colonel Sanders and Gallagher. 35
to any one, assuring him that if his conjectures
were correct, and an expression of them should
ever reach Plummer's ears, it would go hard with
him. Two or three days thereafter, Plummer ap-
proached Tilden, and gazing fixedly upon him,
abruptly asked if he had any clew by which the
robbers could be identified. Tilden, though
greatly frightened by this inquiry, gave him an
answer which allayed whatever suspicion the wary
robber might have entertained. But Tilden him-
self, in relating the incident to his friends, never
wavered in his convictions. There were many
anion": the better class of citizens of Bannack who
had for a long time suspected Plummer, and be-
lieved him to have been engaged in numerous
murders and highway robberies, which were of
such frequent occurrence as to scarcely cause
comment ; and when it was determined on the
afternoon of January 10, 1864, that Plummer
should be hanged, Tilden was sent for and related
his story in detail, which convinced all who heard
it, of Plummer's guilt.
Within sixty days after Colonel Sanders's adven-
ture at the Rattlesnake ranche, he was the sole
survivor of the party there assembled, the others
having been executed by the Vigilance Committee,
and Plummer and his associates in the attempted
36 Colonel Sanders and Gallagher.
robbery of Hauser and myself had met the same
fate.
But little is known of Gallagher's early history.
He was born near Ogdensburg, New York. He
was at Iowa Point, Doniphan County, Kansas, in
October, 1859, and in Denver from 1862 till early
in 1863. At this latter place he killed a man in
an affray, and fled, next making his appearance in
the Beaverhead mines. During the summer of
1863, he shot at and badly wounded a blacksmith
by the name of Temple, for interfering to prevent
a dog-fight. After this he became uneasy, and
finally determined upon leaving the country, and
started for Utah. On the Dry Creek divide he
met George Ives, who persuaded him to return to
Virginia City, and join Plummer's band.
Rohherii of Moody's Train. S7
CHAPTER III.
ROBBERY OF MOODY'S TRAIN.
Robbery of Moody's Traix i:y Dutch John and Steve
Makshlaxd — First Mioetinu of the Robbers in
Black Tail I)ki:r Canon — Second Meeting and
Attack on Red Rock ])ivide — Both Robbers
wounded and escape reprisals by the pursuino
Party.
One cold morning, a few days after the at-
tempted robbery of Mr. Hauser and the writer, a
train of three wagons, with a pack-train in com-
pany, left Virginia City for Salt Lake. Milton
S. Moody, the owner of the wagons, had been en-
gaged in freighting between the latter place and
the mines ever since their first discovery. His
route on the present trip lay through Black Tail
Deer, Beaverhead, and Dry Creek canons, so
named after the several streams by which they
are traversed. Bannack was left twenty miles to
the right of the southern angle in the road at
Beaverhead canon, and, with the exception of
three or four ranches, there were no settlers on
the route.
38 Robheri/ of Moody'' s Train.
Among the packers were Messrs. John McCor-
mick, M. T. Jones, William Sloan, John S. Rock-
fellow, J. M. Bozeman, Melanchthon Forbes, and
Henry Branson, — energetic business men, who
had accumulated a considerable amount in gold
dust, which they took with them to make pay-
ments to Eastern creditors. Buckskin sacks, con-
taining about eighty thousand dollars, were
distributed in cantinas through the entire pack
train, no one pair of cantinas containing a very
large sum. Besides this amount, there was in a
carpet sack in one of the wagons, fifteen hundred
dollars in treasury notes, enclosed in letters to
various persons in the States, and sent by their
friends and relatives in the mines.
The men in the train were well armed, and an-
ticipated an attack by the robbers at some point
on the route, but they determined upon fighting
their way through. Plummer had been on the
watch for their departure a week or more before
they left, and through his spies was fully informed
of the amount they took with them. He made
preparations for surprising them in camp after
nightfall, on their second day out, well knowing
that some would then be seated, others lying
around their camp fires, and others still spreading
their blankets for the nig-ht. Two of the boldest
Robber If of Moody'' s Train. 89
men m the band, John Wagner, known as " Dutch
John," and Steve Marshhmd, were selected for the
service. They followed slowly in track of the
train. Coming in sight of the camp-fire in Black
Tail Deer canon, after dark on the evening ap-
pointed, they hitched their horses in a thicket at
a convenient distance, and, with their double-bar-
relled guns loaded with buck-shot, crawled up,
Indian fashion, within hfteen feet of the camp.
By the light of the fire, they were enabled to take
a survey of the party and its surroundings. The
campers were dispersed in little groups engaged in
conversation, ignorant of the approach of the
robbers, but fully prepared to meet them. Mr.
McCormick, who had done some friendly services
for Ives, was warned l)y him, wheji on the eve of
departure, not to sleep at all, never to be off his
guard, nor separate from his comrades, but to
keep close in camp until after they had crossed
the range. As soon as the robbers comprehended
the situation, they withdrew to the thicket and
held a consultation. Wagner, the bolder of the
two, proposed that they should steal again upon
the campers, select their men, and kill four with
their shot-guns, it being quite dark ; that they
should then, by rapid firing, (piick movements,
and loud shouting, impress the survivors with the
40 liohhery of Moody'' s Train.
belief that they were attacked by a numerous
force in ambush.
" They will then," said Wagner, " run away,
and leave their traps, and we can go in and get
them."
This scheme, none too bold or hazardous for
Wagner to undertake, presented a good many
embarrassments to the more timid nature of his
companion. Bold as a lion at the outset, he now
found his courage, like that of Bob Acres, " ooz-
ing out of his fingers' ends." The more Wagner
urged the attack, the stronger grew his objections,
until at length he flatly refused, and the experi-
ment was abandoned until the next mornino*.
o
The campers knew nothing of this. One by one
they sank to rest, and arose early the next morning
to pursue their journey. While s?ated around
the camp-fire at breakfast, near a sharp turn in
the road, their attention was suddenly arrested by
a voice issuing from the thicket, uttering the fol-
lowinof ominous words : —
" You take my revolver and I'll take yours,
and you come right after me."
In a twinkling every man sprang for his gun
and cocked his revolver. The sharp click, that
" strange quick jar upon the ear," probably satis-
fied the robbers that they had been overheard,
Robbery of Moody's Train. 41
for in a few moments after up rode Wagner and
Marshland, with their shot-guns thrown across
their saddles, ready for use. The confused ex-
pression of the robbers when they saw that every
man was prepared for their approach, betrayed
their criminal designs. Recovering themselves in
a moment, Marshland, who recognized Sloan, in a
friendly tone called out, —
" How do you do, Mr. Sloan ? "
" Very well, thank you,''' replied Billy, laying
particular stress upon the complimentary words,
the sisfnificance of which would have been more
apparent, had he known that Marshland's coward-
ice the night before had probably saved his life.
The road agents inquired if the party had seen
any horses running at large, or whether they had
any loose stock in their train.
" We have not," was the prompt reply.
" We were told by some half-breeds we met,"
said Marshland, " that our animals were running
with your train, and we rode on, hoping to find
them."
" It's a mistake," was the answer, " we have
no horses but our own."
With this assurance the robbers professed to
be satisfied, and galloped on.
These successive failures only strengthened the
42 Robbery of Moody's Train.
villains in their determination to rob the train.
They awaited its arrival in Red Rock valley two
days after leaving it, with the intention of attack-
ing it there, at the hour of going into camp.
When near the summit of the ridoe which divides
the waters of the Red Rock from those of
Junction creek, the packers, according to custom,
rode on ahead of the wagons to select a suitable
stopping-place for the night. Three or four men
only were left in charge of the teams. The
robbers supposed that the treasure was hidden
away in some of the carpet sacks in the wagons,
now near the top of the divide. The brisk pace
of the pack-horses soon took them out of sight
and hearing of their companions in the rear.
Assured of this, the robbers, disguised in hoods
and blankets, dashed out of a ravine in front of
the wagons, and in a peremptory tone, covering
the drivers with their shot-guns, commanded them
to halt. Gathering the drivers together, they
ordered them not to move, at their peril ; and
while Dutch John sat upon his horse, with his
gun aimed at them, Marshland dismounted, and
engaged in a speedy search of both drivers and
vehicles. Unperceived by the robbers. Moody
had slipped a revolver into the leg of his boot.
He also had a hundred dollars concealed in a
Robbery of Moody'' s Train. 43
pocket of his shirt, which escaped notice. The
other drivers had no money on their persons.
After disposing- of the men, Marshland went to
the wagons, where he was fortunate enough to
find the carpet sack containing the letters in
which were enclosed the fifteen hundred dollars in
greenbacks. Pocketing this, and still intent upon
finding the gold, he proceeded to the rear wagon,
which fortunately was occupied by Forbes and a
sick comrade. As soon as Marshland climbed to
the single-tree, Forbes, who had been in wait for
him, fired his revolver through a hole in the cur-
tain, wounding him in the breast. With an oath
and yell, the robber fell to his knees, but recover-
ing himself, jumped from the wagon, fell a second
time, regained his feet, and ran with the agility
of a deer to the pine forest. Dutch John's horse,
frightened at the shot, reared just as its rider
discharged both barrels of his shot-gun at the
teamsters. The shot whizzed just above their
heads. Moody now drew his revolver from his
boot, and opened fire upon the retreating figure
of Dutch John, the ball taking effect in his
shoulder. Urging his horse to its utmost speed,
John was soon beyond reach of pursuit ; but
had Moody followed him on the instant, he might
have brought him down. The packers who had
44 Rohhery of Moody'' s Train.
gone into camp, were no less gratified to hear of
the successful repulse, than astonished at the bold
attack of the freebooters. Marshland's horse,
arms, equipage, and twenty pounds of tea, of
which he had rifled a Mormon train a few days
before, were confiscated upon the spot.
Eockfellow and two other packers rode back
to the scene of the robbery, where, striking
Marshland's trail, they followed it, searching for
him till eleven o'clock. He admitted afterwards,
when captured, that they were at one time within
fifteen feet of him. They found, scattered along
the route, all the packages of greenbacks he had
taken. He gained nothing by his attack, was
badly wounded, froze both his feet on his retreat
to Deer Lodge, and lost his horse, arms, and pro-
visions. Both of Dutch John's hands were
frozen, but he was fortunate in meeting J. X.
Beidler, who bound them up for him, not knowing
at the time the villain's occupation. " X," as he
is called by all the mountaineers, always accounted
this kindly act to the retreating ruffian, as a stroke
of bad fortune. " Had I only known," says he
when telling the story, " I would have bandaged
his hands with something stronger than a
handkerchief."
The serious part of the transaction being over,
Robbery of Moody's Train. 46
our wayfarers had abundant sport for the remain-
der of their long journey, in determining the
rights of the respective claimants to the booty.
Forbes claimed Marshland's horse and accoutre-
ments, because it was his shot that caused the
robber to take flight. Moody insisted upon his
right to an equal share, in compensation for the
wounds he gave Dutch John. The two teamsters
set up a claim, upon the principle that all ships in
sight are entitled to a share in the prize. If
steersmen represented schooners at sea, teamsters
were the proper representatives of " prairie schoon-
ers." The subject was debated at every camp
made on the journey, and finally determined by
electing a judge from their number, impanelling
a jury, and going through all the forms of a
regular trial. The verdict gave Forbes the pos-
session of the property on payment of thirty
dollars to Moody, and twenty dollars to each of
the teamsters. The party arrived at Salt Lake
without further molestation.
46 Gieorge Ives,
CHAPTER IV.
GEORGE IVES.
History of George Ives — Robberies and Murders
committed by him murder of tiebalt a
Company pursue Ives from Nevada — He is
CAPTURED — Escape — Eecapture — Is brought in
Safety to Nevada.
George, Ives, whose name is already familiar-
ized to the readers of this history, by the promi-
nent part he acted in the robberies of the coach,
and the contemplated attack upon Hauserandthe
writer, was at the time regarded as the most for-
midable robber of the band with which he was
connected. The boldness of his acts, and his
bolder enunciation of them, left no doubt in the
public mind as to his guilt. But the people were
not yet ripe for action ; and, while Ives and his
comrades in crime were yet free to prosecute their
plans for murder and robbery, the miners and
traders were content, if let alone, to pursue their
several occupations. The condition of society was
terrible. Not a day passed unmarked by crimes
of greater or lesser enormity. The crisis was
George Ives. 47
seemingly as distant as ever. Men hesitated to
pass between the towns on the gulch after night-
fall, nor even in mid-day did they dare to carry
upon their persons any larger amounts in gold
dust than were necessary for current purposes.
If a miner happened to leave the town to visit a
neighboring claim, he was fortunate to escape
robbery on the way. And if the amount he had
was small, he Avas told that he would be killed
unless he brouoht more the next time. Often
wayfarers were shot at, sometimes killed, and
sometimes wounded.
During this period, it was a custom with George
Ives, when in need of money, to mount his horse,
and, pistol in hand, ride into a store or saloon,
toss his buckskin purse upon the counter, and re-
quest the proprietor or clerk to put one or more
ounces of orold dust in it '" as a loan." The man
thus addressed, dare not refuse. Often, while the
person was weighing the levy, the daring shop-
lifter would amuse himself by firing his revolver
at the lamps and such other articles of furniture
as would make a crash. This was frequently
done for amusement. It became so common that
it attracted little or no attention, and people sub-
mitted to it, under the conviction that there was
no remedy.
48 Greorge Ives.
Anton M. Holter, owner of a train of wagons,
while on the route from Salt Lake to Virginia City
with a large party of emigrants, was overtaken by
a fierce mountain snowstorm, during the last days
of November, on Black Tail Deer creek. Fear-
ing that the road would be blocked, he and a Mr.
Evanson pushed on as rapidly as possible to the
Pas-sam-a-ri, crossing the stream with their teams
with great difficulty, the water reaching midway
up the sides of the wagon-boxes. Once over,
they made a camp near by, to await the abatement
of the storm. A Mr. Hughes who had been
travelling in company with them, came up with
his wagon, at a late hour in the evening, to the
cabin at the crossing, at the door of which he was
met by " Dutch John," its only occupant. John,
at his request, went in search of Evanson, who
came and assisted in getting the horses and wagons
across the river. The night was half spent before
the object was accomplished. During all this
time, John, in pursuance of Plummer's general
instructions for obtaining information, plied Evan-
son with questions about Holter' s property and
ready means in gold, — possessing himself of all
the information that an unsuspicious man would
be likely to communicate.
A few days later, Holter moved on with his
Gfeorge Ives. 49
train to Ramshorn creek, and after making camp,
went to Virginia City with two yokes of oxen for
sale. On his way he passed Ives and Carter, who,
he observed, eyed him suspiciously. Failing to
sell his cattle, he left on his return to camp the
next day, intending to spend the night at Mr.
Norris's ranche. He had gone well down into the
valley, and it was nearly sundown, when he saw
Ives, accompanied by one Irving, approaching on
horseback. Hoiter did not know Ives, and had
no real fear of an attack ; but with that instinc-
tive feeling which regards every stranger with suspi-
cion in a country infested with robbers, he imme-
diately drew and examined his pistol. It was so
badly rusted that he could not make it revolve.
He replaced it, and, remembering that he had no
money, felt equally satisfied to escape or to hazard
an adventure. Ives and Irving rode up in front
of him, and Ives, impudently, as Hoiter thought,
inquired, —
" Where are you going ? "
" Down to Norris's place," replied Hoiter. " Do
you know where he lives?"
" Yes, I know well enough," answered the high-
wayman, and drawing closer to him he asked,
" Have you got any money ? "
Hoiter drew back in surprise, but answered im-
mediately, " No, I'm dead broke."
50 G-eorge Ives.
" Well, we'll see about that," said Ives, draw-
ino- and cocking his revolver.
"^^ You can see for youVself," said Holter, draw-
ing forth a memorandum book.
" Hand it over here," said Ives, reaching and
takino- it. He then proceeded to examine it with
some^'care, but finding nothing in it, with an ex-
pression of disgust he threw it away. Turning to
Holter, and levelHng his pistol full upon him, he
continued, — • tr i •+
" You've got money, and I know it. Hand it
over, or I'll shoot you." ^
'^ You're surely mistaken," rephed Holter. i
left what I had at the camp, and had to borrow
ten dollars in town."
" I tell you, you have got money," was the sav-
age rejoinder. " Turn your pockets inside out —
and be quick about it, too."
Holter complied, and found a few greenbacks,
which, as they were not in use, he had forgotten.
" Hand 'em over here," said Ives, and cram-
ming them hurriedly into his pocket, he said,--
" Now, turn your cattle out of the road, and
don't follow our tracks ; and when you come this
way again, bring more money with you."
As Holter turned his cattle to obey, he glanced
furtively over his shoulder, and saw Ives in the
George Ives. 51
very act of firing' at liim. Dodging instinctively,
the ball jDassed through his hat, ploughing a fur-
row down to the scalp, which it grazed, through
his heavy hair. Stunned by the shot, Holter
staggered and almost fell, just as Ives aimed and
pulled the trigger again. Fortunately, the cap
snapped ; and Holter, now sufficiently recovered,
started on a run, and took refuge in an old beaver-
dam. Ives followed him closely for another shot,
but a teamster with a load of poles at this moment
appeared upon the road, which circumstance de-
terred Ives from firing, and probably saved Hol-
ter's life.
During this same season, a man who had been
whipped for larceny at Nevada, under some modi-
fication of his punishment, agreed to disclose
certain transactions of the robbers. Ives heard
of it, and watching his opportunity, met the poor
fellow on the road between Virginia City and
Dempsey's. Riding up to him, he deliberately
fired at him with his o-un charo-ed with buckshot.
From some cause the shot failed of effect. Ives
immediately drew his revolver, and while loading
him with oaths and execrations, shot him through
the head. The man fell dead from his horse,
which Ives took by the bridle and led off to the
hills. This cold-blooded murder was committed
52 G-eorge Ives.
in open day on the most populous tliorouglifare
in the country, in plain view of two ranches,
and while several teams were in sight. Travellers
who arrived at the spot half an hour after its
occurrence, aided by the neighboring ranchmen,
paid the last sad offices to the still warm but life-
less body. Ives sought concealment in the "wakiup
of George Hilderman, where he remained until
satisfied that no public action would be taken to
avenge the crime.
He then again sallied forth to watch for fresh
opportunities for plunder and bloodshed. His
name had become the terror of the country. No
man felt safe with such a monster at large, and
yet no one was ready to initiate a plan for his
destruction. His malevolence was only equalled
by his audacity, — and this was, if possible, sur-
passed by his gasconade. The dark features of
his character were unrelieved by a single generous
or manly quality. Avarice, and a natural thirst
for bloody adventures, controlled his life.
About this time, a young German, by the name
of Nicholas Tiebalt, who was in the employ of
Messrs. Burtchy and Clark, sold to them a fine
span of mules which were in charge of the herders
at Dempsey's ranche. They had advanced the
money for the purchase, and sent Tiebalt after
Cieorge Ives. 53
the mules. As several days elapsed without his
return, they concluded that, like many others, he
had probably swindled them out of the money,
and left the country with the mules ; a conclu-
sion all the more regretted by them, from the fact
that he had won their confidence by his fidelity
and sobriety.
Nine days after Tiebalt had left Nevada, Mr.
William Palmer, while hunting in the Pas-sam-a-ri
valley, shot a grouse, and on going to the place
where it fell, found it, dead, upon the frozen
corpse of Tiebalt. He immediately went to the
wakiup occupied by John Franck — better known
as Long John — and George Hilderman, a quarter
of a mile below, to obtain their assistance in
lifting the body into the wagon.
" I will take the body to town," said he, " and
see if it cannot be identified."
" We'll have nothing to do with it," said Long
John. " Dead bodies are common enouofh in this
country. They kill people every day in Virginia
City, and nobody speaks of it, nobody cares.
Why should we trouble ourselves who this man
is, after he's dead ? "
Shocked at this brutality. Palmer returned to
the corpse, which he contrived to place in his
wagon, and drove on to Nevada. The body was
54 G-eorge Ives.
exposed for half a day in the wagon, and was
visited by hundreds of people from Nevada,
Virginia City, and the other towns in the gulch.
In reply to the question, " How did you find
it ? " Palmer answered, —
" It was providential. The Almighty pointed
the way, or it would never have been found. I
had my gun in my hand, and was looking care-
fully about for game, when a grouse rose sud-
denly at my approach. I had little thought of
killing it when I fired, as the shot was a chance
one. The bird flew some distance before it fell,
but seeing that I had wounded it, I ran as rapidly
as I could, and went directly to it, and found it on
the breast of the murdered man. The body was
lying in a clump of heavy sage-brush, completely
concealed, — away from the road, where no one
would ever have gone except by chance, — and
but for the fact that it was frozen hard, would
long before this time have been devoured by the
coyotes."
The body of Tiebalt bore the marks of a small
lariat about the throat, which had been used to
drag him, while still living, to the place of con-
cealment. The hands were filled with fragments
of sage-brush, torn off in the agony of that
terrible process ; and the bullet wound over the
G-eorge Ives. 55
left eye showed how the murder had been
accompHshed.
These appalHng witnesses to the cruelty and
fiendishness of the perpetrator of this bloody
deed roused the indignation of the people to a
fearful pitch. They went to work to avenge the
crime with an alacrity sharpened by the conscious-
ness of that long and criminal neglect on their
part, but for which it might have been averted.
They felt themselves to be, in some degree, parti-
cipants in the diabolical tragedy. In the presence
of that dead body the re-action commenced, which
knev/ no abatement, until the country was entirely
freed of its bloodthirsty persecutors. That same
evening, twenty-five citizens of Nevada subscribed
an obligation of mutual support and protection,
mounted their horses, and, under the leadership of
a competent man, at ten o'clock started in pursuit
of the murderer. Obtainino; an accession of one
good man on their route, and avoiding Dempsey's
by a hill trail, they rode six miles beyond it to a
cabin, and with the aid of its proprietor found
their way to the point of destination. At an
early hour in the morning, they crossed Wisconsin
creek, breaking through the frozen surface, and
emerging from it with clothing perfectly rigid
from frost and wet. A mile beyond this they
56 George Ives.
were ordered to alight and stand by their horses
until daybreak. An hour or more passed, when
they remounted and rode quietly on, until in sight
of Long John's wakiup. A dog was heard to
bark ; and in anticipation of the alarm it might
occasion, they dashed forward at full speed, sur-
rounding the wakiup, each man halting with his
gun bearing upon it. Jumping from his horse,
the leader discovered eight or ten men wrapped
in their blankets, sleeping in front of the
entrance. Raising his voice, he exclaimed, —
" The first man that rises will get a quart of
buckshot in him before he can say ' Jack Robin-
son.' "
It was too dark to distinguish the sleepers.
With half of his company at his back, he strode
on to the entrance. Peering into the darkness,
he asked, —
" Is ^ Long John ' here?"
" I'm here," responded a voice, instantly recog-
nized to be that of the person addressed. " What
do you want ? "
" I want you," was the rejoinder. " Come out
here."
" Well," said John, " I guess I know what you
want me for."
" Probably," replied the leader. " But hurry
up. We've no time to lose."
George Ives. 57
" One moment. I'll be with you as soon as I
can get on my moccasins," said John.
" Be quick about it," shouted the leader.
" Long John " was taken in charge by the
company, and as soon as it was light enough to
enable them to sse distinctly, the leader, with four
men, escorted him to the spot where Tiebalt was
found. The remainder of the company kept
guard over the men found sleeping near the
wakiup. When they arrived upon the ground,
the leader said to him, —
" Long John, we have arrested you for the
murder of Nicholas Tiebalt. We believe you to
be guilty, and have brought you up here to the
spot where his body was found to hear what you
have to say."
Palmer, who was one of the company, then
proceeded to explain all the circumstances con-
nected with the discovery, the position of the
body, and the conversation he held with Long
John when he applied to him for assistance.
" Boys," said John, in a serious tone, " I did
not do it. As God shall judge me, I did not."
One man, more excited than the rest, now
began handling his pistol, saying to John, mean-
while, —
" Long John, you had better prepare for
53 George Ives.
another world." What more he might have said,
or what done, it is easy to conceive, had he not
been interrupted by the leader, who, steppmg for-
ward, remarked, —
" This won't do. If there is anything to be
done, let us all be together."
Long John was then taken aside by three of
the company, who sat down in the faint morning
light to examine him. Just as they were seated,
they saw through the haze at no great distance,
" Black Bess," the mule which Tiebalt rode from
Nevada when he started for Dempsey's. She
seemed to be there at this opportune moment as a
dumb witness to the assassination of her master.
Pointing to the animal, one of the men inquired, —
" John, whose mule is that ? "
" That's the mule that Tiebalt rode down here,"
he answered.
" John," was the reply, " you know whose mule
that is. Things look dark for you. You had
better be thinking of your condition now."
" I am innocent," murmured John.
The mule was caught and led up to him.
" Where are the other two mules ? " was the next
inquiry.
" I do not know," he replied.
" John," said his interrogator, " you had better
G-eorge Ives. 59
he looking forward to another world. You are
* played out ' in this one, sure."
" I did not commit that crime," was his reply,
" and if you'll give me a chance, I'll clear myself."
The leader now said to him, " John, you can
never do it, for you knew of a man lying dead
here, close to your home for nine days, and never
reported his murder. You deserve hanging for
that alone. Why didn't you come and tell the
people of Virginia City ? "
" I was afraid," said John. " It would have
been as much as my life was worth to have done
it. I dared not."
" Afraid ? Whom were you afraid of ? " in-
quired the leader.
" I Avas afraid of the men around here," he
answered.
"What men? Who are they ?" persisted the
leader.
" I dare not tell who they are," said John, in a
frightened tone : " there's one of them around
here."
" But you must tell, if you would save your-
self. Where is the one you speak of?"
" There's one at the wakiup, — the one that
killed Nick Tiebalt."
" Who is he ? What's his name ? "
60 Greorge Ives.
" George Ives," said John, after a moment's
hesitation.
" Is he down at the wakiup ?"
" Yes : I left him there when I came out."
"Men," said the leader, addressing them,
" stay here and keep watch over John, while I
go down and arrest Ives."
Selecting from the number at the wakiup a
person answering the description of Ives, he asked
his name, which was very promptly given.
" I want you," said the leader.
" What do you want me for ? " inquired Ives.
" To go to Virginia City," rejoined the leader.
" All right," said Ives : " I expect I'll have to
go." He was immediately taken in charge by the
guard.
" Old Tex" was standing near by at the time,
and the leader turning to him, said, —
" I believe we shall want you, too." The
ruffian made an impudent reply, to which the
leader simply rejoined, —
" You must consider yourself under arrest," —
words whose fearful import he understood too
well to disobey.
The other men now emerofed from their blan-
kets. They were Alex Carter, Bob Zachary,
Whiskey Bill, and Johnny Cooper, and two
George Ives. 61
inoffensive persons who had fallen in with them
the evening before, and craved permission to pass
the night under their protection. Fortunately,
these confiding individuals had no money, and
escaped assassination ; but when told of the
character of their entertainers, one of them,
pointing to Carter, remarked, —
" There's one good man, anyhow. I knew him
on the other side of the mountains, where he was
a packer, and there was no better man on the
Pacific slope."
Just at this moment, the leader saw some
movement which indicated to him that a rescue
of the three prisoners would be attempted by
their comrades, and in a loud tone of command,
said, —
" Every man take his gun and keep it."
Five men were ordered to search the wakiup,
and the others, meanwhile, to keep off intruders.
The searchers soon came out with seven drasoon
and navy revolvers, nine shot-guns, and thirteen
rifles, as the fruit of their spoil. Among other
weapons was the pistol taken from Leroy South-
mayd at the time of the coach robbery described
in a previous chapter. Having completed the
search and broken up the nest of the marauders,
the scouting party started with their prisoners on
62 Greorge Ives.
the return to Nevada. At Dempsey's they found
George Hilderman, who, after offering various
excuses, consented, under the mild persuasion of
a revolver, to accompany them. The prisoners
were disarmed but not bound, nor prevented from
riding at pleasure among their captors. A
stranger, on seeing or joining with the cavalcade
while in motion, would never have supposed that
it was an escort with four murderers in charge ;
nor, from the merry, jovial conversation and song
singing of the company, as it rode gayly and
rapidly onward, have distinguished the accusers
from the accused. Whenever the subject of his
offence was mentioned, Ives asserted his innocence,
and declared that he would be only too happy to
have an opportunity to prove it. With a fair
trial by civil authority in Virginia City, he had
no fear of the result ; but as he once had the
misfortune to kill a favorite dog in Nevada, he
felt that he would have the prejudices of the
people against him if put upon trial there. This
idea was elaborated, because if adopted, Plummer,
being sheriff, would have the selection of the
men from whom the jury would be impanelled.
Ives affected great amiability and a ready compli-
ance with every order and request made by his
captors. One subject suggested another, and
G-eorge Ives. 63
many of the rough and pleasant phases of
mountain life passed in review, until that of
racing, and the comparative speed of their horses,
was introduced. On this theme Ives was specially
eloquent, and being mounted on his own pony,
which had some local popularity as a racer, he
ventured finally to propose a trial of speed with
several of the guard, and even challenged them
to race with him. After one or two short scrub
races, in wliicii he suffered himself to be beaten,
the spirit of the race-course seemed suddenly to
animate the company, and, one after another, all
were soon engaged in the exciting sport. It
increased in interest and excitement for several
miles, and until within a short distance of Daly's
ranclie. At this point, Ives's horse, which had
been kept under before, was now pressed to his
utmost speed ; and when the party were least pre-
pared for it, they saw him not only as the winner
in the race, but leading the cavalcade, and bearing
his master away at a fearfully rapid rate over the
level stretch towards Daly's. Instantly, every
horse was urged into the pursuit. On rode the
desperado, and on followed the now broken
column of scouts, two of whom pressed him so
closely that he could not stop long enough at the
ranche to exchange his pony for his favorite
64 George Ives.
horse, which, by order of some of his friends
who had pushed on from the wakiup in advance
of the scouts, had been saddled and was standing
ready for his use. His pursuers, more fortunate,
found a fresh horse and mule standing there,
which had come down from Virginia City. These
they mounted, and resuming the pursuit, when
three miles away from the main road near the
Bivins gulch mountains, they saw the hotly
pressed fugitive jump from his exhausted pony,
and take refuge among the rocks of an adjacent
ravine. Quicker than it can be told, they alighted,
and, fresher on foot than the jaded steeds, they
were soon standing on the edge of the sheltering
hollow. Ives was nowhere visible. Certain that
he was near, Burtchy and Jack Wilson plunged
into the ravine, and commenced a separate search
among the rocks. It was of brief duration, for
Burtchy soon discovered him, crouching behind
a large bowlder, and directed him to come out
and surrender himself.
Ives laughingly obeyed, and in a wheedling
manner was approaching Burtchy, who was
separated from his comrade, evidently with the
purpose of wresting his gun from him. Burtchy
understood the movement, and with his eye still
coursing the barrel, now but a few feet from the
G-eorge Ives. 65
heart it would have been emptied into in a
moment more, he said, —
"That is far enough, Mr. Ives. Now stand
fast, or I shall spill your precious life-blood very
quick."
Wilson, who had been searching in a different
direction, now came up and aided in securing the
prisoner, with whom they soon rejoined the rest
of the company. The two hours which had
elapsed between the escape and recapture, were
pregnant with wisdom for the almost disheartened
scouts.
" Let us raise a pole and hang him at once,"
said one of them, as the captors rode up with
their prisoner.
Several voices raised in approval of this
recommendation, were at once silenced by a very
decided negative from the remainder of the com-
pany. Ives, meantime, commenced chatting gayly
with the crowd, and treated them to a " drink all
round." The cavalcade, formed in a hollow
square, with their prisoner in the centre, then rode
quietly on to Nevada, arriving soon after sunset.
gg Trial of G-eorge Ives.
CHAPTER V.
TBIAL OF GEORGE IVES.
Trial of George Ives —Attempts to prove an Alibi
-LoxG John turns State's Evidence - Suspense
-Fearlessness of Colonel Sanders - Conviction
-Appeals for Delay - A Kescue Imminent-
Execution.
Intelligence of the capture of Ives preceded
the arrival of the scouts at Nevada. That town
was full of people when they entered with their
prisoners. A discussion between the citizens ot
Virginia City and Nevada, growing out ot the
claims asserted by each to the custody and trial
of the prisoners, after much protestmg by the
friends of Ives, resulted in their detention at
Nevada. They were separated and chained, and
a strong inside and outside guard placed over
them The excitement was intense; and the
roughs, alarmed for the fate of their comrades,
despatched Clubfoot George to Bannack with a
message to Plummer, requesting him to come at
once to Nevada, and demand the prisoners for
Trial of Creorge Ives. 67
trial by the civil authorities. By means of fre-
quent relays provided at the several places of ren-
dezvous of the robbers on the route, he performed
the journey before morning. Johnny Gibbons, a
rancher, in sympathy with Ives, proceeded imme-
diately to Virginia City, and secured the legal
assistance of Ritchie and Smith, the latter being
the same individual who had figured in the
defence of the Dillingham murderers. But the
time for strategy was over, — the people were de-
termined there should be no delay.
Early the next morning, the road leading
through the gulch was filled with people hasten-
ing- from all the towns and minino^ settlements to
Nevada. Before ten o'clock, fifteen hundred or
two thousand had assembled and were standing in
the partially congealed mud of the only public
thorouirhfare of the town. The weather was
pleasant for the season, with no snow, but a little
frostwork of ice bordered the streams, and the
sun shone with an October warmth and serenity.
The urchins of the neighborhood were dodging
in and out among the crowd, in merry pastime :
and the great gathering, with all its appointments,
wore more of a commemorative than retributory
aspect. And as this was the day preceding
" Forefathers' Day," one unacquainted with the
68 Trial of G-eorge Ives.
sterner matters in hand, might readily have mis-
taken it for an old-time New England festival.
The illusion, however, would have been instantly
dispelled on listening to the various opinions ad-
vanced by the miners, while arranging the mode
of trial. It was finally determined that the in-
vestigation should be made in the presence of the
entire assemblage, — the miners reserving the
final decision of all questions. To avoid all in-
justice to people or prisoners, an advisory commis-
sion of twelve men from each of the districts was
appointed ; and W. H. Patton of Nevada, and W.
Y. Pemberton of Virginia City, were selected to
take notes of the testimony.
Col. Wilbur F. Sanders and Hon. Charles S.
Bagg, attorneys, appeared on behalf of the prose-
cution, and Messrs. Alexander Davis and J. M.
Thurmond for the prisoners. Ives was the first
prisoner put upon trial. It was late in the after-
noon of the 19tli before the examination of wit-
nesses commenced. The prisoner, secured by
chains, was seated beside his counsel. The re-
mainder of that day, and all the day following,
had been spent; and when the crowd assembled
on the morning of the 21st, the prospect for
another day of unprofitable wrangling, long
speeches, captious objections, and personal alterca-
COLONEL WILBUR F. SANDERS,
Principal Prosecutor of George Ives.
Trial of G-eorge Ives. 69
tions, was as promising as the day before ; but the
patience of the miners being exhausted, they
informed the court and people that the trial must
close at three o'clock that afternoon. This an-
nouncement was received with great satisfaction.
I am unable from any facts in my possession to
recapitulate the testimony. Long John was ad-
mitted to testify under the rule of law regulating
the reception of State's evidence. Among other
things it was established that Ives had said in a
boastful manner to his associates in crime, —
"When I told the Dutchman I was going to
kill him, he asked me for time to pray. I told
him to kneel down then. He did so, and I shot
him through the head just as he commenced his
prayer."
Two alibis set up in defence failed of proof,
because of the infamous character of the wit-
nesses. Many developments of crimes committed
jointly by the prisoner and some of his sympa-
thizino- friends, were made, which had the effect
to drive the latter from the Territory before the
close of the trial, but for which his conviction
might possibly have been avoided.
The prisoner was unmoved throughout the
trial. Not a shade of fear disturbed the immo-
bility of his features. Calm and self-possessed,
70 Trial of George Ives.
he saw the threads of evidence woven into strands,
and those strands twisted into coils as inextricable
as they were condemnatory, and he looked out
upon the stern and frigid faces of the men who
were to determine his fate with a o-aze more de-
liant than any he encountered. There were those
near him who were melted to tears at the revela-
tion of his cruelty and bloodthirstiness ; there
were even those among his friends who betrayed
in their blanched lineaments their own horror at
his crimes ; but he, the central figure, equally in-
different to both, sat in their midst, as inflexible
as an image of stone.
The scene, by its associations and objects, could
not be otherwise than terribly impressive to all
who were actors in it ; it wanted none of the
elements, either of epic force or tragic fury, which
form the basis of our noblest poems. A whole
community, burning under repeated outrages, sit-
ting in trial on one of an unknown number of
desperate men, whose strength, purposes, even
whose persons, were wrapped in mystery ! How
many of that surging crowd now gathered around
the crime-covered miscreant, might rush to his
rescue the moment his doom should be pronounced,
no one could even conjecture. No man felt cer-
tain that he knew the sentiments of his neighbor.
Trial of Creorge Ives. 71
None certainly knew that the adherents of the
criminal were weaker, either in numbers or power,
than the men of law and order. It was night,
too, before the testimony closed ; and in the pale
moonlight, and glare of the trial fire, suspicion
transformed honest men into ruffians, and filled
the ranks of the guilty with hundreds of re-
cruits.
The jury retired to deliberate upon their ver-
dict. An oppressive feeling, almost amounting
to dread, fell upon the now silent and anxious
assemblage. Every eye was turned upon the
prisoner, seemingly the only person unaffected by
surrounding circumstances. Moments grew into
hours. " What detains the jury ? Why do
they not return ? Is not the case clear enough ? "
These questions fell upon the ear in subdued
tones, as if their very utterance breathed of fear.
In less than half an hour they came in with
solemn faces, with their verdict, — Guilty ! — but
one juror dissenting.
" Thank God for that ! A righteous ver-
diet!" and other like expressions broke from the
crowd, while on the outer edge of it, amidst min-
gled curses, execrations, and howls of indignation,
and the quick click of guns and revolvers, one of
the ruffians exclaimed, —
72 Trial of George Ives.
" The murderous, strangling- villains dare not
hang him, at any rate."
Just at this moment a motion was made to the
miners, " that the report be received, and the jury
discharged," which, with some little opposition
from the prisoner's lawyers, was carried.
Some of the crowd now became clamorous for
an adjournment ; but failing in this, the motion
was then made, " that the assembly adopt as their
verdict the report of the committee."
The prisoner's counsel sprung to their feet to
oppose the motion, but it was carried by such a
large majority, that the assemblage seemed at
once to o^ather fresh life and encouraofement for
the discharge of the solemn duty which it im-
posed. There was a momentary lull in the pro-
ceedings, when the people found that they had
reached the point when the execution of the
criminal was all that remained to be done. They
realized that the crisis of the trial had arrived.
On the faces of all could be read their unex-
pressed anxiety concerning the result. What
man among them possessed the courage and com-
manding power equal to the exigencies of the
occasion !
At this critical moment, the necessity for
prompt action, which had so disarranged and
Trial of George Ives. 73
defeated the consummation of the trial of Stin-
son and Lyons, was met by Colonel Sanders, one
of the counsel for the prosecution, who now
moved, —
" That George Ives be forthwith hanged by the
neck, until he be dead."
This motion so paralyzed the ruffians, that,
before they could recover from their astonishment
at its being offered, it was carried with even
greater unanimity than either of the previous
motions, the people having increased in courage
as the work progressed. Some of the friends of
Ives now came up, with tears in their eyes, to bid
him farewell. One or two of them gave way to
immoderate grief. Meantime, Ives himself, begin-
ning to realize the near approach of death,
begged piteously for a delay until morning, mak-
ing all those pathetic appeals which on such occa-
sions are hard to resist. " I want to write to my
mother and sister," said h^ ; but when it was re-
membered that he had written, and caused to be
sent to his mother soon after he came to the
country, an account of his own murder by
Indians, in order to deceive her, no one thought
the reason for delay a good one.
" Ask him," said one of the crowd, as he held
the hand of Colonel Sanders, and was in the
74 Trial of G-eorge Ives.
midst of a most touching appeal for delay, " ask
him how Ions: a time he oave the Dutchman."
He, however, made a will, giving everything to
his counsel and companions in iniquity, to the
entire exclusion or his mother and sisters. Sev-
eral letters were written under his dictation by
one of his counsel.
In the mean time, A. B. Davis and Robert
Hereford prepared a scaffold. The butt of a
small pine, forty feet in length, was placed on the
inside of a half-enclosed building standing near,
under its rear wall, the top projecting over a
cross-beam in front. Near the upper end was
fastened the fatal cord, and a large dr3^-goods box
about five feet high was placed beneath for the
trap.
Every preparation being completed, Ives was
informed that the time for his execution had
come. He submitted to be led quietly to the
drop, but hundreds of voices were raised in oppo-
sition. The roofs of all the adjacent buildings
were crowded with spectators. While some crie*d,
"Hang the ruffian," others said, "Let's banish
him," and others shouted, " Don't hang him."
Some said, " Hang Long John. He's the real
murderer," and occasionally was heard a threat,
" I'll shoot the murdering souls," accompanied by
Trial of G-eorge Ives. 75
curses and epithets. The flash of revolvers was
everywhere seen in the moonlight. The guards
stood grim and firm at their posts. The miners
cocked their guns, muttered threats against all
who interfered, and formed a solid phalanx which
it would have been madness to assault.
When the culprit appeared upon the platform,
instant stillness pervaded the assembly. The
rope was adjusted. The usual question, " Have
you anything to say ? " was addressed to the
2)risoner, who replied in a distinct voice, —
" I am innocent of this crime. Alex Carter
killed the Dutchman."
This was the only time he accused any one ex-
cept Long John.
He then expressed a wish to see Long John,
and his sympathizers yelled in approbation ; but
as an attempted rescue was anticipated, the re-
quest was denied.
When all the formalities and last requests were
over, the order was given to the guard, —
" Men, do your duty."
The click of a hundred gun-locks was heard, as
the guard levelled their weapons upon the crowd,
and the box flew from under the murderer's feet,
as he swung " in the night breeze, facing the pale
moon, that lighted up the scene of retributive
76 Trial of Creorge Ives.
justice." The crowd of rescuers fled in terror at
the click of the guns.
" He is dead," said the judge, who was standing
near him. " His neck is broken."
Henry SjDivey, the juror who voted against the
conviction of Ives, was a thoroughly honest and
conscientious man. He was not satisfied that the
evidence showed Ives to be guilty of the murder of
Tiebalt, and as this was the specific charge against
him, he could not vote against his conscience. He
said that if Ives had been tried as a road agent,
he would have voted for his conviction.
The highest praise is due to Colonel Sanders for
the fearlessness and energy he displayed in the con-
duct of this trial ; for it furnished an example which
was not lost upon the law and order men in all
their subsequent efforts to rid the Territory of the
ruffians.
Result of lues's Execution. 77
CHAPTER VI.
RESULT OF IVES'S EXECUTION.
Effect of Ives's Execution — Loxg John and "Tex"
ACQUITTED GeoKGE HiLDERMAN TRIED, CON-
VICTED, AND BANISHED FORMATION OF A VIGI-
LANCE Committee — Pursuit of Alex Carter —
Meet with Yager (''Red") in Deer Lodge —
Disappointment — Return hy Way of Point op
Rocks — Arrest of "Red "at Rattlesnake, and
of Brown at Dempsey's — "Red" discloses the
Names of jMany of the Members of Plummer's
Band — " Red " and Brown executed on the
Pas-sam-a-ri.
The confederates of Ives spared no efforts,
while his trial was in progress, to save him.
When intimidation failed, they appealed to sym-
pathy ; and when that proved unavailing, it was
their intention, by a desperate onslaught at the
last moment, to attempt a forcible rescue. They
were deterred from this by the rapid cKcking of
the gun-locks at the moment of the execution.
All through the weary hours of the trial, their
hopes were encouraged with the belief that
78 Result of Ives's -Execution.
Plummer, their chief, would come, and demand
the custody of Ives ; and if refused, obtain it by
a writ of habeas corjnis, in the name of the civil
authorities of the Territory. But if he obeyed
the summons of Clubfoot Georgfe, which is
at best problematical, he acted no consj^icuous
part. A saloon-keeper by the name of Clinton
w^as very positive that he saw him drink at his bar
a few moments before the execution, and that he
immediately went out to lead the " forlorn hope "
of the roughs. Some other person was probably
mistaken for the robber chief, as he v/as not rec-
ognized by any others of the crowd present at the
time. In fact he had enough to do, to make provis-
ion for his own safety ; for Rumor, with her thou-
sand tongues, had carried the intelligence of the
arrest of Ives to Bannack, before the arrival there
of Clubfoot George. He found the people wild
with excitement over a version of the arrest, which
Plummer himself had already circulated, coupled
with a statement that a Vigilance Committee had
been formed at Virginia City, a number of the
best citizens hanged, and that from three hundred
to five hundred armed men were on the march
to Bannack, with the intention of hanging him,
Ned Ray, Buck Stinson, George Crismau, A. J.
McDonald, Thomas Pitt, and others. This antici-
Result of Ives's Execution. 79
patory announcement was made with the hope
that by mingling the respectable names of Cris-
man, McDonald, and Pitt, with those of Stinson,
Ray, and his own, he might divert, or at least
divide, the attention which would otherwise incul-
pate only the real villains. It produced a momen-
tary sensation, but failed of effect.
George Ives was no common desperado. Born
of respectable parents, he was reared at Ives's
Grove, Racine County, Wisconsin. The fore-
ground of his life was blameless ; and it was not
until he came to the West, that he developed into
the moral monster we have seen. His career as a
miner in California, in 1857-8, though wild and
reckless, was unstained by crime. No accusation
of dishonesty was made against him, until after his
employment as a herder of government mules
belonging to the military post at Walla Walla, in
Washington Territory. The heavy storms of that
latitude, often destructive to herds in the moun-
tains, afforded him opportunity from time to time,
by reporting the fatality to the herd in his charge,
greater than it was, to obtain for himself quite a
large number of animals. The deception was not
discovered until after his departure. He was by
turns a gambler and a rowdy in all the mining
settlements made on Salmon river. His down-
80 Result of Ives's Execution.
ward course, once commenced, was very rapid.
On one occasion he surprised the man who had
employed him as a herder, by riding into a saloon
kept by him, at Elk City. After the man had
seized the horse by the bridle, Ives drew and
cocked his pistol to shoot him, but was prevented
by a fortunate recognition of his old employer.
He apologized, and withdrew ; and on several
occasions afterwards, proffered him the gray horse
he rode as a present, which the gentleman, con-
vinced that Ives had stolen the animal, as often
declined to accejDt. He was only twenty-seven
years of age at the close of his bloody career in
Montana. His appearance was prepossessing. In
stature nearly six feet, with light complexion,
neatly shaven face, and lively blue eyes, no one
would ever have suspected him of dishonesty,
much less of murder, and cold-blooded heartless-
ness. And yet, probably, few men of his age
had ever been guilty of so many fiendish crimes.
George Hilderman was fortunate in being put
upon trial immediately after the execution of Ives.
Ten days later he would have been hanged upon
the same evidence. It was proved that he knew
of the murder of Tiebalt, and of the murder of
the unknown man near Cold Spring ranche,
neither of which he had divulgr-ed. He had even
Result of Ives's Ex'^cution. 81
concealed the stolen mules, and knew the per-
sons enofasred in the stag-e robberies, and was found
guilty upon general principles, but recommended
to mercy. Upon being informed of the verdict,
he dropped upon his knees, and exclaimed, —
" My God ! is it so ! "
He then made a statement confirming all that
Lono- John had testified to concerning* Ives.
The people commiserated his hajjless condition.
He was an old man, weak, somewhat imbecile.
They concluded that his silence had been enforced
by the threats of Ives and his associates, and that,
as there was no proof implicating him directly
with robbery or murder, they would sentence him
to banishment from the Territory. Ten days were
given him in which to leave. Glad to escape with
his life, he applied to Plummer for assistance.
Plummer advised him to remain ; but the old man
took wiser counsel from his fears. He decided to
go. Plummer gave him a pony and provisions,
and he left Montana forever.
Hilderman was possessed of a coarse humor, which
he had lost no opportunity to demonstrate, while a
sojourner at Bannack. It made him quite a favor-
ite with the miners, until they became suspicious
of his viUanous propensities. He was also a
notorious " bummer," and was oftener indebted
82 Result of Ives's JExecution.
to his humor, which was always at command, than
his pocket, which was generally empty, for some-
thing to eat. In width, his mouth was a deform-
ity, and the double row of huge teeth firmly set
in his strong jaws gave to his countenance an
animal expression truly repulsive. He was the
original of the story of '' The Great American
Pie-biter." This feat of spreading his jaws so as to
bite through seven of Kustar's dried-apple pies, had
been frequently performed by him, in satisfaction
of the wager he was ever on hand to make of his
ability to do it. On one occasion, however, he
was destined to be defeated. A miner, who had
been victimized by him, arranged with Kustar, the
proprietor of the Bannack Bakery, to have two
of the pies inserted in the pile without removing
the tin plates in which they had been baked, the
edges of which were concealed by the overlapping
crusts. Hilderman approached the pile, and
spreading his enormous mouth, soon spanned it
with his teeth. The crunch which followed,
arrested by the metal, was unsuccessful. He
could not understand it, but, despite the vice-like
pressure, the jaws would not close. The trick not
being discovered, he paid the wager, declaring
that Kustar made the toughest pie-crust he had
ever met with.
Result of Ives's Execution. 83
Long John purchased his freedom by his testi-
mony, and nothing appearing against " Tex " at
the time, he also was released.
The execution of Ives had a terrifying effect
upon the ruffian horde ; though a few of them
put a bold face upon the matter and were as loud
in their threats as ever. The prominent actors in
that drama were singled out for slaughter, but no
serious instance of personal assault occurred. The
ruffians felt secure, as long as they were unknown,
and the only revelation yet made was insufficient
to implicate any of them with the numerous mur-
ders and robberies that had been committed.
Facts had appeared upon the trial, making it
probable that Carter was accessory to the murder
of Tiebalt. The assassination of Dillingham was
unavenged. Either of these causes, in the ex-
cited state of the public mind, was sufficient to
remind the people that the work they had to per-
form was but just begun. If what they had
done was right, it would be wrong to permit
others equally gnilty to escape. Carter, Stinson,
and Lyons must be punished.
This spontaneity of thought brought a few of
the citizens of Virginia and Nevada into consulta-
tion the day following the execution ; and before
the close of the succeeding day, a league was
84 Result of Ives's Execution.
entered into, in which all classes of the community
united, for the punishment of crime and the pro-
tection of the people. Before the organization
of this committee was completed, a fresh impulse
was given to the puhlic indignation on receipt of
intelligence that Lloyd Magruder, a merchant of
Elk City, and the independent Democratic candi-
date for Cono'ress, who had been tradino^ in Vir-
ginia City during the fall, had, while on his
return to his home, with four others, been cruelly
murdered and robbed by a number of the gang,
in the Bitter Root mountains. Full particulars of
this terrible tragedy will be given in the two fol-
lowing chapters.
Magruder was very popular with the people of
Virginia City. The committee went to work im-
mediately. Twenty-four of them, well mounted,
and provisioned for a long ride, started in pursuit
of Carter. That villain, accompanied by William
Bunton, Graves, and several others, in anticipa-
tion of arrest, left as soon as the trial of Ives was
over, for the west side of the range. The pur-
suers followed on his trail as rapidly as possible,
into the Deer Lodge valley. While riding down
the valley, the vanguard of the scouts met Eras-
lus Yager, who from the redness of his hair and
whiskers was familiarly called " Red." He in-
Result of Ives's Execution. 85
formed tliem that Carter and his companions were
lying drunk at Cottonwood (since Deer Lodge
City), and that they avowed themselves good for
at least thirty of any men that might be sent to
arrest them.
The party had suffered severely from the wintry
blasts and storms, especially while crossing the
divide ; and they were glad that both strategy and
comfort favored their detention for the next
twenty hours, at the ranche of John Smith, seven-
teen miles above Cottonwood. At three o'clock
in the afternoon of the next day, they left for
Cottonwood, expecting to surprise and capture
the fugitive without difficulty. How great was
their disappointment, to find that both he and
his companions had fled. A distant camp-fire in
the mountains at a later hour convinced them
that further pursuit at that time would end
in failure. They learned upon inquiry that the
ruffians had received a message from Virginia
City, warning them of the approach of the
Vio;ilantes. And this intellio'ence was afterwards
confirmed by a letter which was found at their
camping-ground, the writing of which was recog-
nized as that of one George Brown, who was
supposed to belong to the gang. It afterwards
transpired that " Red " or Yager was the messen-
86 Result of Ives's Execution.
ger who brought this letter, and that he had killed
two horses on the expedition. Disappointed in the
object of their search, the scouts now determined
to return by the way of Beaverhead Rock, and,
if possible, arrest both Brown and " Red " for
their criminal interference.
Their sufferings from exposure to the keen
December storms were intense. Arrivinof at
Beaverhead, they camped in the willows, without
shelter or fire, except such as could be enkindled
with green willows. Some of their animals
strayed to a canon to escape the severity of the
storm. After remaining in camp at this place for
two days, they ascertained that " Red " was at
Rattlesnake, twenty miles distant. A small party
of volunteers started immediately to arrest him,
while the others, on the route to Virginia City,
stopped at Dempsey's to await their return.
At Stone's ranche the pursuers obtained fresh
horses from the stage stock of Oliver & Co., and
resumed their dismal journey to Rattlesnake.
The weather was intensely cold, but this offered
no impediment to the pursuit of their journey.
Arriving at Rattlesnake, they surrounded the
ranche, while one of their number entered. Stin-
son and Ray, both present, had in their capacity
as deputies of Plummer arrested a man, whom
Result of Ives's Execution. 87
they held in custody. Stinson, who disliked his
visitor, confronted him with his revolver ; but
seeing a like implement already in the hands of
the scout, who " had the drop " on him, he
returned his weapon to its sheath.
" I have come to arrest ' Red ' for horse-
stealing," said the scout.
On hearing this, Stinson and Ray released their
prisoner, on his promise to go immediately to
Bannack and surrender himself. The man started
forthwith to comply with his promise.
Meantime the scout joined his party outside,
and they all rode hurriedly to a wakiup a few hun-
dred yards up the creek, which they surrounded
while the leader entered, observing as he did so, —
" It's a mighty cold night. Won't you let a
fellow warm himself ? " Advancing towards the
fire, his eyes fell upon " Red." Raising his
revolver, he said, " You're the man I'm looking
for. Come with me."
" Red " asked no questions, and exhibited no
terror. Putting on his hat, and gathering his
blankets under his arm, he did as he was ordered,
with as much apparent nonchalance as if he
were going on a holiday excursion. When told
that he would be taken to Virginia City, he
simply manifested by a glance that he fully com-
88 Result of Ives's Execution.
prehended the situation, and acted in all respects,
while a prisoner, like one who knew that his doom
was irrevocable. The scouts took him down to
the ranche, where they passed the night.
They left early the next morning ; " Red "
unarmed, on his own horse, and riding beside one
of the scouts. The dreary ride through snow and
wind was enlivened by the stumbling mule of the
leader, which on one occasion roUed over, and
after safely depositing its rider, made two or three
somersaults down a steep bank, plunging head-
long into a snowdrift at the bottom, which
completely enveloped him.
At Dempsey's the captors joined the main
party. Fatigued with the journey through the
drifts, they took supper, provided for the security
of their prisoner, and enjoyed a night's repose.
Brown, the man who had written the warning
missive to Carter, was the bar-keej)er, and a sort
of (general factotum of the ranche. He had been
for some time suspected as a petty thief and
robber, without the courage needful to engage in
<rraver offences. The Vio^ilantes saw that he was
terrified, as soon as they arrived ; though uncon-
scious of the evidence they had obtained against
him.
In the morning the captain of the Vigilantes,
Result of Ives's Execution. 89
in a private interview with " Red," charged him
with being connected with the robber horde.
" Red " denied all knowledge of its existence.
" Why, then," inquired the captain, " should
you have been at such pains to apprise the rascals
that the Vigilantes were on their track?"
" It was the most natural thing in the world,"
" Red " replied. " I stopped here on my way to
Deer Lodge, and Brown, on being told of my
destination, asked me to take a letter to Alex
Carter and some friends. I knew no reason why
I should refuse, and did so."
Brown was then called in, and " Red " repeated
the statement in his presence. Brown did not
deny it, but betrayed by his blanched cheeks and
trembling limbs that it was true. The captain,
laying his hand upon his shoulder, and looking
him steadily in the eye, said, —
"Brown, you must consider yourself under
arrest; we will at once proceed to a full investi-
gation of this matter. It looks very dark for
you."
He was put under guard, to await the termina-
tion of the trial of " Red," which was at once
commenced. When this was over, Brown was
subjected to a second examination before the
entire company.
90 Reifult of Ives's Execution.
" Did you write this letter of warning ? " in-
quired the ca}3tain.
"I did," replied Brown.
"Why?"
" ' Red ' came to Dempsey's and said he was
going to see the boj^s, and asked me if I had any
word to send them, offering to carry it for me. I
wrote them that the Vigilantes were after them,
and advised them to leave."
No other explanation was given ; and on their
own confessions, and some additional proof show-
ing that " Red " had made inconsistent statements
to different persons belonging to the Vigilantes,
while passing them on his return from Cotton-
wood, with a view to deceive them as to the
whereabouts of Carter, — the company withdrew
to the Stinking-water bridge, to dccidG upon the
guilt or innocence of the prisoners.
" Boys," said the captain, addressing the assem-
blage, "you have heard what these men have had
to say for themselves. I want you to vote ac-
cording to your consciences. If you think
they ought to suffer punishment, say so ; if you
think they ought to go free, vote for it. Be
very careful to do the right thing for yourselves,
as well as for the prisoners. All those in favor
of hanging them, step to the right side of the
Result of Ives's Execution. 91
bridge; and those who are for letting them go,
to the left side."
So thoroughly convinced were the men, of the
guilt and complicity of the prisoners with the
road-agent gang, that every man passed immedi-
ately to the right.
The culprits started immediately, under the
escort of seven men and a leader, in the direction
of Viro'inia City. Two hours afterwards they
arrived at Lorrain's ranche, where they were
joined at sundown by the other members of the
company, who, after a brief consultation, rode on
to Virginia City. After they had gone, the leader
lay down in his blanket on the parlor floor, to
snatch a few hours of repose. Precisely at ten
o'clock, he was awakened by a slight shake, and
the words, —
"The hour has arrived. We mean business,
and are waiting for you."
He arose and went to the bar-room, where
Brown and "Red" lay in the corner asleep.
" Red " was the first to awaken. Rising to his
feet, he addressed the leader in a sad and despond-
ing tone, —
" You have treated me like a gentleman," said
he. "I know that my time has come. I am
going to be hanged."
92 Residt of Ives's Execution.
" That's pretty rough, * Red,' " interjected the
leader.
" Yes. It's pretty rough, but I merited it years
ago. What I want to say is, that I know all
about this gang. There are men in it who de-
serve death more than I do ; but I should die
happy, if I could see them hanged, or know it
would be done. I don't say this to get off. I
don't want to get off."
" It will be better for you, ' Red,' " said the
Vigfilantes, " at this time to grive us all the infor-
ination in your possession, if only for the sake of
your kind. Times have been very hard. Men
have been shot down in broad davlisfht, not alone
for money, or even hatred, but for mere luck and
sport, and this must have a stop put to it."
" I agree to it all," replied " Red." " No poor
country was ever cursed with a more bloodthirsty
or meaner pack of villains than this, — and I
know them all."
On beins: urijed bv the leader to furnish their
names, which he said should be taken down, " Red "
told him that, —
Henry Plummer was chief of the band ; BiU
Bunton, stool pigeon and second in command;
George Brown, secretary ; Sam Bunton, roadster ;
Cyrus Skinner, fence, spy, and roadster ; George
Besult of Ives's Execution. 93
Shears, horse thief, and roadster ; Frank Parish,
horse thief and roadster ; Hayes Lyons, telegraph
man and roadster ; Bill Hunter, telegraph man and
roadster ; Ned Ray, council-room keeper at Ban-
nack City; George Ives, Stephen Marshland,
Dutch John (Wagner), Alex Carter, Whiskey
Bill (Graves), Johnny Cooper, Buck Stinson,
Mexican Frank, Bob Zachary, Boone Helm,
Clubfoot George (Lane), Billy Terwiliger, Gad
Moore, were roadsters.
These men were bound by an oath to be true to
each other, and were required to perform such ser-
vices as came within the defined meaning of their
separate positions in the band. The penalty of
disobedience was death. If any of them, under
any circumstances, divulged any of the secrets or
guilty purposes of the band, he was to be followed
and shot down at sight. The same doom was
prescribed for any outsiders who attempted an
exposure of their criminal designs, or arrested any
of them for the commission of crime. Their
great object was declared to be plunder, in all
cases without taking life if possible ; but if mur-
der was necessary, it was to be committed. Their
pass-word was " Innocent." Their neckties were
fastened with a sailor's knot, and they wore mus-
taches and chin whiskers. He was himself a
member of the band, but not a murderer.
94 Result of Ives's Execution.
Among other disclosures, " Red " attributed his
hapless condition to Bill Hunter, at whose instiga-
tion, years before, he had entered upon a career
of infamy. He hoped the committee would not
spare him. He gave the particulars of the rob-
beries of the coaches, and the names of all
engaged in them, and in the commission of many
other crimes.
After listening to this frightful narrative, and
making such memoranda as they might need for
future operations, the little party of Vigilantes
carefully reconsidered the vote they had taken,
and decided that the two culprits should be exe-
cuted immediately. In the course of the narra-
tive, " Red " had fully implicated Brown. In the
Indian campaign in Minnesota in 1862, Brown
was a scout for Gen. William R. Marshall, who
regarded him as not a notoriously bad man, but
as one who had little moral principle or force of
character, and who was easily influenced by his
associates.
Less than a quarter of a mile distant, in rear
of Lorrain's, on a beautiful curve of the Pas-
sam-a-ri, stood several majestic cottonwoods, by
far the finest trees in all that region. Two,
which stood side by side, were selected as the
scaffolds. It was a dim starlit night, and a lantern
Mesult of Ives's Execution. 95
was necessary to complete the preparations for the
execution. The cold blast from the immediate
mountains howled fearfully as the little procession
tramjjed through the snow, with their prisoners in
charge, to the fatal spot. The night was not
darker than the gloom which had settled upon the
minds and hearts of these condemned wretches.
" Red," however, was perfectly collected. Not a
sigh escaped him, nor a tear dimmed his eyes.
Brown was all excitement. He begged piteously
for mercy, and prayed for his Indian wife and
family. They were in Minnesota. " Red," more
aifected by the terror and moans of his comrade
than his own hapless condition, said to him in a
sad but firm tone, —
" Brown, if you had thought of this three
years ago, you would not be here now, or give
these boys this trouble."
A few branches were clipped from a lower limb
of each of the trees, and the ropes suspended.
Two stools brought from the ranche, by being
placed one upon the other, served the purpose of
a drop. A Vigilante, while adjusting the noose
to the neck of Brown, stumbled, and both he and
Brown fell together into the snow. Recovering
himself, he said, by way of apology, —
" We must do better than that. Brown."
96 Mesiilt of Ives^s Execution.
It was a chance remark, proceeding from a
motive which it failed to express ; better inter-
preted by those who heard it, tlian I fear it will
be by my readers.
When all was ready. Brown, with the petition
upon his lips, " God Almighty save my soul,"
was launched from the platform, and died without
a struggle.
" Red " witnessed the scene unmoved. When
his turn came, and he stood upon the frail trestle,
he looked calmly around upon his executioners.
" I knew," said he, " that I should be followed
and hanged, when I met the party in Deer Lodge
valley ; but I wish you would chain me, and not
hang me until after I have seen those punished
who are guiltier than I."
Just before he fell, he shook hands with all,
and then turning to the Vigilante who had
escorted him to Lorrain's, he said, —
" Let me beg of you to follow and punish the
rest of this infernal gang."
" ' Red,' " replied the man, " we will do it, if
there's any such thing in the book."
" Good-by, boys," said " Red," " you're on a
good undertaking. God bless you."
The stools fell, and the body of the intrepid
freebooter swung lifeless in the midnight blast.
Lloyd Ma<jruder. 97
CHAPTER VII.
LLOYD MAGRUBER.
Hill Beacht's Dream — Lloyd Magruder's Trip
FROM LeWISTON TO BaISTNACK FOLLOWED BY HOW-
ARD, ROMAINE, LOWRY, PaGE, AND ZaCHARY COM-
PLETES HIS Sales at Virginia City, and sets out on
HIS Return — Howard, Lowry, Romaine, and Page
employed as Assistants on the Route — The
Brothers Chalmers, Charles Allen, and Edward
Phillips, accompany them — Murder of Ma-
GRUDER, THE ChALMERS BROTHERS, PlIILLIPS, AND
Allen — Subsequent Plunder of the Train —
Cruel Slaughter of the Herd — Robbers foiled
in attempting to cross the columbia river
They arrive at Lewiston — Recognized by
Beachy — Leave Lewiston.
" In the name of all that Is wonderful, Hill,
what has kept you uj) till this late hour?" was
the eager inquiry of Mrs. Maggie Beachy of her
husband, when that gentleman entered his house
at two o'clock in the morninof.
" Well, Maggie," replied her husband, " you
remember my dream &,bout Lloyd Magruder ? I
98 Lloyd Magruder.
fear it has all come true. Indeed, I am perfectly
certain poor Lloyd has been murdered."
"Nonsense, Hill," rejoined the wife. "Will
you never have done with your unfounded suspi-
cions? You will make yourself the laughing-
stock of the whole country, and bring all the
roughs in it about your ears, if you don't cease
talking about Magruder."
"I can't help it, wife," persisted Beachy,
" Those three rascals, Doc. Howard, Chris Lowry,
and Jim Romaine, with another hanirdopr-lookino'
fellow, came into town to-night in disguise, and,
under assumed names, took passage in the coach
to Walla Walla. They followed Magruder to
the Bannack mines, and have doubtless killed him
while on his way home. Their cantinas are filled
with his gold dust."
" How improbable, Hill," said Mrs. Beachy,
smihng. " Why, only yesterday Lloyd's wife re-
ceived a letter from him, saying that he would not
start for twelve days, and that he would have a
strong company with him."
"Well, well, Maggie, let's drop the subject.
Time will tell whether my suspicions are correct."
Let us inquire into the cause of Hill Beachy's
terrible suspicion.
Three months before this conversation occurred,
Lloyd Magruder. 99
Lloyd Magruder, a wealthy merchant of Elk City,
loaded a pack train Avith merchandise, and made
the long and dangerous journey of five hundred
miles, by an Indian trail over the mountains to the
Bannack mines in that part of Idaho afterwards
embraced in the boundaries of Montana. The
night preceding his departure. Hill Beachy, the
landlord of the Luna House in Lewiston, a warm
personal friend of Magruder, dreamed that he
saw Chris Lowry dash Magruder's brains out with
an axe. He related the dream to his wife the
next morning, and expressed great fears for the
safety of his friend. She was desirous of telling
Magruder ; but as his investment was large, and he
was ready to start upon his journey, Beachy
thought it would only introduce a disturbing ele-
ment into the enterprise, without effecting its
abandonment, and expose him to the laughter
and sneers of the public. But he did not con-
ceal the anxiety which the dream had occasioned
in his own mind, and was greatly relieved when
news came, six weeks afterwards, of the safe ar-
rival of Masrruder at Bannack.
On the morning of the day after Magruder
left Lewiston, Howard, Lowry, and Romaine, in
company with Bob Zachary and three other
roughs, departed with the avowed intention of
100 Lloyd Magruder.
going to Oregon. As soon, however, as they had
proceeded a sufficient distance in that direction to
escape observation, they turned towards Bannack,
and after a few days' journey were joined by
William Page, an old mountain teamster. The
party followed on in the track of Magruder's
train, which they overtook when within three days'
journey of Bannack, and accompanied it to its
place of destination.
Magruder was disappointed, on his arrival at
Bannack, to learn that the camp had been de-
serted by most of the miners, who had gone to
the extensive placer mines in Alder gulch at Vir-
ginia City, seventy-five miles distant, where the
writer was then residing. Three days afterwards,
however, he was well satisfied, on his arrival there,
to find an active mining camp of six thousand
inhabitants, all eager to purchase his wares as
rapidly as they could be displayed. Howard,
Lowry, Romaine, and Page found comfortable
quarters in the building occupied by Magruder,
and were provided by him with employment dur-
ing his six weeks' stay in Virginia City. No one,
except himself, knew better than they the amount
of his accumulations. His confidence in them
was unbounded. On his offer to pay them two
hundred dollars each, they had agreed to accom-
Lloyd Magruder. 101
pany him as assistants and guards on his return
to Lewiston. The neg^otiations with Magruder
for their employment were conducted by Howard,
who was a physician of marked ability, and whose
pleasing address was well calculated to allay all
suspicion concerning their real motives in joining
the party. Howard, Lowry, and Romaine, while
at Lewiston, were classed among the vilest roughs
of the town. The former two were understood
to be escaped convicts from the California peni-
tentiary. They had been concerned in numerous
robberies, and were suspected of connection with
Plummer's infamous gang. Magruder, whose
residence was at Elk City, was entirely unac-
quainted with their history, and, from the simu-
lated fidelity of their conduct while in his employ,
had no reason to suspect them of criminal designs.
He was very fortunate in the disposition of his
merchandise, realizing therefor twenty-four thou-
sand dollars in gold dust, and a drove of seventy
fine mules.
A few days before his departure from Virginia
City, Charley Allen, a successful miner, and two
young men, brothers, by the name of Horace and
Robert Chalmers, who had just arrived in the
mountains from Boonville, Missouri, and William
Phillips, an old pioneer in the country, arranged
102 Lloyd Magruder.
to unite their trains with his, and all make the
trip together as one company. Romaine tried to
dissuade Phillips from going with the others, but
gave no reason" for what seemed to the latter a
strange request.
It was a brip-ht October mornino" when the train
left Virginia City, and moved slowly down Alder
creek, into the picturesque valley of the Pas-sam-
a-ri. The sun shone ; the mountain atmosphere
was crisp and exhilarating. The long plain
stretching away to the base of the Ruby range,
reflected upon its mirror-like surface that magni-
ficent group of pine-covered mountains, along
whose sides glinted in the sunbeams the bewitch-
inof hues that <A\e them their name. Towerinsf
on the right, rose the twin pinnacles of Ramshorn
and Mill Creek ; and, afar in the distance, painted
upon the horizon, was the superb outline of the
main range of the old Rockies, and Table Moun-
tain lifting its glittering plateau of snow far
above the surrounding peaks. Filled with the
inspiration naturally enkindled by these majestic
views, the men, with all the animation and aban-
don of uncaged schoolboys, shouted and sung as
they galloped along and hurried the train across
the widespread valley. Into the hills, over the
mountains, across the streams, through the canons
Lloyd Magruder. 108
they scampered, entering Bannack the third day,
just as the sun was setting-.
Business detained them at Bannack the three
following days. With the design of misleading
the villains at Lewiston who might be on the
watch for his return, Magruder sent by a company
which left the morning after his arrival, a letter
to his wife, telling her of his success, and that he
would leave for home with a train strongly
guarded, in twelve days. While he was thus
planning the way for a safe return, Howard was
equally busy in maturing a scheme to rob him on
the route. This infernal project, the fruit of
long contemplation, he now for the first time
unfolded to Lowry and Romaine, who gave it their
eager compliance. Meeting with Bob Zachary,
he confided it to him ; but, on learning that it
could not be effected without the possible murder
of Magruder, and the four persons accompanying
him, Zachary, villain as he was, declined all parti-
cipation in it. It was understood by the three,
that on the eighth day of the journey, when the
train would make camp in the Bitter Root moun-
tains, at a distance of one hundred miles or more
from any white settlers, they would carry their
diabolical design into execution. Howard de-
clared that it could not be done without killins:
104 ^ Lloyd Magruder.
the five owners of the trains. Page was to be
kept in ignorance of the plot until the eve of its
performance.
Animated with the hope of an early re-union
with his family, Magruder, with his companions,
left Bannack one bright autumnal morning, and
dashed with bis train into the manifold intricacies
of the mountain labyrinth. The burden of care
with which one is oppressed, while travelling
through an uninhabited region, exposed continu-
ally to the attacks of Indians and robbers, is
always relieved by a sort of wild exhilaration
inseparable from the shifting of scenery, and the
varied occupations and incidents of the journey.
And when day after day passes, without any
change in the same monotonous round of employ-
ment, men sometimes desire the variety of a brush
with the Indians, or a deer chase, or an antelope
hunt, to ward off their mental depression. But
save an occasional foray upon a herd of antelopes,
the train moved safely onward, without impedi-
ment. The three ruffians were particularly atten-
tive to the duties required of them, winning golden
opinions from those they intended to destroy.
On the evening of the sixth day, the train
descended into the valley of the Bitter Root.
The lofty range of mountains which now forms
•Lloyd Magruder. 105
the boundary between Montanca and Idaho
stretched along- the horizon displaying alternate
reaches illumined by the departing rays o£ the
sun, and darkened by the shadows of overhang-
ing clouds.
" In three days more," said Masfruder, " we
shall descend the range into Idaho, and all danger
will be over."
Near tlie close of the second day thereafter, as
the mules were slowly creeping up the trail, when
near the summit, Howard rode alono-side of Pao-e,
and in a tone of fearful earnestness said to him, —
" Page, when we go into camp, to-night, drive
the mules half a mile away, and remain with
them till supper time. We are going to kill
Magruder and his four friends. You can help
dispose of the bodies when the work is done, and
share in the plunder. As you value your own
life, you will not breathe a word of this to any
one."
Had a thunderbolt fallen at the feet of Page,
he could not have been more terrified. Reckless
as his life had been, no stain of blood was on his
soiil. Gladly would he have warned Magruder,
but the fearful threat of Howard was in his way.
Besides, as Howard had grown into great favor,
he felt that he would not be believed. He
106 Lloyd Magruder.
decided the conflict with conscience, by resolving-
to follow the directions of the conspirators.
The spot was not unfamiliar. It had been
often occupied for camping purposes, and was
specially favored with water and pasturage. It
was also sheltered by the impenetrable foliage of
a clump of dwarf pines and redwoods. Five
minutes' clamber of the vertebrated peak w^hich
rose abruptly above the camp-fire, would enable
one to survey for many miles the vast volcanic
region of mountains, hills, and canons over which
the trail of the traveller, like a dusky thread,
stretched on tovv^ards Lewiston.
The train drew up on the camping ground a
little before dark. The sky was overcast with
snow clouds, and the wind blew chill and bleak.
Every sign indicated the approach of one of those
fearful snowstorms common at all seasons in
these high latitudes. All the men except Page,
who was with the herd, were gathered around the
camp-fire, awaiting supper. As Page, staggering
under the burden of his guilty secret, came to the
camp in answer to a call to supper, Howard met
him, and in an ominous whisper, warned him to
retire as soon as his meal was finished, and not to
be seen about the camp until he was wanted.
Magruder and Lowry were assigned to stand
Lloyd Magruder. 107
guard and watch the herd until ten o'clock, — the
hour agreed upon for the commission of the crime.
Pao-e had built a fire for their accommodation.
As they rose to leave the camp, Lowry, picking
up an axe, remarked, —
" We shall probably need some wood, and I'll
take the axe along."
Their departure was regarded as a signal for
all to retire. Page had spread his blankets and
lain down some time before, " not," as he after-
wards said, " to sleep, but to await the course of
events." Allen crept in by his side. The
Chalmers brothers had made their bed twenty
yards distant from the camp-fire ; and Romaine,
armed to perform the part assigned to him,
stretched himself beside Phillips, his unsuspecting
victim. Howard, the arch and bloody instigator
of the brutal tragedy, demon-like, roamed at
large, ready for any service, when the hour came,
necessary to finish the deed.
The evening wore on. The sleep of toil-
worn men comes when it is sought ; and soon the
only wakeful eyes in the camp were those of the
watchers at the herd, Howard, Romaine, and the
wretched Page.
The friendly conversation between Magruder
and Lowry, as they sat side by side at the fire,
108 Lloyd Magruder.
was not interrupted, until the former looked at
his watch.
"It is nearly ten," said he, filling his meer-
schaum, while unconsciously announcing the hour
of his doom.
" I will put some wood on the fire," said Lowry,
picking up the axe, and rising.
Magruder bent forward towards the fire to
light his meerschaum, when the axe wielded by
Lowry descended with a fearful crash into his
brain. Howard, who had been concealed near,
sprung forward, and snatching the axe from
Lowry, who seemed for the moment paralyzed at
the deed he had committed, struck several addi-
tional blows upon the already lifeless body of the
unfortunate man. The villains then hurried to
the spot where the Chalmers brothers were lying,
and while they were despatching them with the
axe, Romaine plunged a bowie knife into the
abdomen of Phillips, exclaiming at the moment,
with an oath, —
" You old fool, I have to kill you. I told you
at Virginia City not to come."
Allen, wakened by the death groan of young
Chalmers, had risen to a sitting posture, and was
rubbing his eyes, when Howard stole behind him,
and blew out his brains, by a simultaneous dis-
Lloyd Magruder. 109
charge of buck-shot from both barrels of his gun
into the back part of his head.
The work of assassination was complete. The
murderers, unharmed, were in possession of the
gold which had caused the dreadful deed.
Pao-e, who had not left his bed, was now sum-
moned by Howard to assist in the concealment of
the bodies. Knowing that his life would pay the
forfeit of disobedience, he hurried to the camp-
fire, where Lovvry greeted him with the soul-sick-
ening words, —
" It's a grand success, Bill. We never made
a false stroke."
A heavy snowstorm now set in. The assassins
occupied the remainder of the night in destroying
and removing the evidences of their guilt. The
bodies of their victims were wrapped in blankets,
conveyed to the summit of an adjacent ridge, and
cast over a precipice into a caiion eight hundred
feet deep, where it was supposed they would be
speedily devoured by wolves. The camp equi-
page, saddles, straps, blankets, guns, pistols, every-
thiuii not retained for immediate convenience,
were burned, and all the iron scraps carefully
collected, put into a sack, and cast over the preci-
pice. All the while these guilty deeds were in
progress, the storm was increasing. When the
110 Lloyd Magruder.
morning dawned, not a vestige of the ghastly
tragedy was visible. The camp was carpeted to
the depth of two feet with snow, and the tempest
still raged. The murderers congratulated each
other upon their success. No remorseful sensa-
tions disturbed their relish for a hearty breakfast.
No contrite emotions affected the greedy dehght
with which each miscreant received his share of
the blood-bought treasure. No dread lest the
eye of the All-seeing, who alone had witnessed
their dark and damning atrocity, should betray
them, mingled with the promises they made to
themselves of pleasures and pursuits that this ill-
gotten gain would buy in the world where they
were going. One solitary fear haunted them, —
that concerning their escape from the country.
When this all-absorbing subject was mentioned,
they saw and felt the necessity of avoiding Lew-
iston ; their presence there would excite suspicion.
Howard advised that they should go to a ford
of the Clearwater, fifty miles above Lewiston,
and cross over and make a hurried journey to
Puget Sound. There they could take passage on
a steamer to San Francisco or to British Colum-
bia, as after events might dictate. This counsel
was adopted. Mounting their horses, they made
a last scrutinizing survey of the scene of their
Lloyd Mag ruder. Ill
hellish tragedy, now covered with snow, and plunged
down the western slope of the mountains, amid
the rocks and canons of Northern Idaho. The
expression of Howard, as he reined his horse
away from the bloody theatre, may be received as
an indication of the sentiments by which all were
animated.
" No one," said he, " will ever discover from
anything here the performance in which we have
been engaged. If we are only true to each other,
boys, all is safe."
The animals, with the exception of one horse
and seven mules, were abandoned, but, accustomed
to follow the tinkle of the bell still suspended to
the neck of the horse, the herd soon appeared
straggling along the trail behind the company.
The heartless wretches, thinking to frighten the
animals away, at first shot them one by one as
they came within rifle distance. Finding that the
others continued to follow, they finally drove the
entire herd, seventy or more in number, into a
canon near the trail, and mercilessly slaughtered
all the animals composing it.
Avoiding Elk City by a circuitous route, the
party, after several days' travel, arrived at the ford
of the Clearwater. Two broad channels of the
river at this crossing encircled a large island. A
112 Lloyd Magruder.
mountain torrent at its best, the river was swollen
by recent rains, and its current running with
frightful velocity. Page, who was perfectly
familiar with the ford, dashed in, and was followed
by Lowry. They were obliged to swim their
mules before reaching the island, and had still a
deeper channel to cross beyond. Romaine and
Howard, who had witnessed the passage from the
bank, were afraid to risk it. A long parley
ensued, which finally terminated in the return of
Page and Lowry, and an abandonment of the
ford. A single day's rations was all the food the
company now possessed. None could be obtained
for several days, except at Lewiston, the mention
whereof brouoht their crime before the ruffians
with terrible distinctness. But there was no
alternative. Risk of detection, while a chance
presented for escape, was preferable to physical
suffering, from which there was none. They
encountered the risk. Near Lewiston they fell in
with a rancheman, to whom they committed their
animals, with instructions to keep them until their
return, and, concealing their faces with mufflers,
entered the town at a late hour of the evening.
With the design of stealing a boat, and making
a night trip down Snake river, to some point
accessible to the Portland steamboats, they pro-
Lloyd Magruder. 113
ceeded at once to the river bank fronting the
town. Piling their baggage into the first boat
they came to, they pushed out into the stream.
The wind was blowing fearfully, and the mad-
dened river rolled a miniature sea. They had
proceeded but a few rods when a sudden lurch of
the boat satisfied them that the voyage was
impracticable, and they returned to shore.
Their only alternative now was to secure a pas-
sage that night in the coach for Walla Walla, or
remain in Lewiston at the risk of being recognized
the next day. It was a dark, blustering night.
Hill Beachy, whose invariable custom it was to
retire from the office at nine o'clock, from some
inexplicable cause became oblivious of the hour,
and was seated bv the stove, g-lancino" over the
columns of a much-worn paper. His clerk stood
at the desk, preparing the way-bill for the coach,
which left an hour later for Walla Walla. The
street door was locked. Suddenly the silence
without was broken by the heavy tramp of ap-
proaching footsteps. A muffled face peered
through the window. Beachy's attention was
arrested by a hesitating triple knock upon the
door, which seemed to him at the time ominous
of wrong. Catching the lamp, he hurried to the
door, on opening which a tall, well-proportioned
114 lAoyd Magruder.
man, in closely buttoned overcoat, with only his
eyes and the upper portion of his nose visible, en-
tered, and with a nervous, agitated step, by a
strangely indirect, circular movement, advanced
to the desk where the clerk was standino-.
Addressing the clerk in a subdued tone, he
said, " I want four tickets for Walla Walla."
" We issue no tickets," replied the clerk, " but
will enter your names on the way-bill. What
names ? " he inquired.
For a moment the stranger was nonplussed.
Recovering himself instantly, with seeming non-
chalance, he gave the names of John Smith and
his brother Joseph, Thomas Jones and his brother
Jim ; and, throwing three double eagles upon the
desk, he hastily departed.
As he closed the door, Beachy said to the clerk,
" I'm afraid there will be a stage robbery to-night.
Go to the express office and tell the agent not to
send the treasure chest by this coach. Don't wake
the passenger in the next room. I will see the
citizens who have secured passage, and request
them to wait until to-morrow."
Still reflecting upon the suspicious conduct of
the visitor, Beachy determined to get a sight of
his companions. " There are too many Smiths
and Joneses to be all right," he said to himself,
Lloyd Magruder. 115
as he slipped the hood over his dark lantern and
took his way to the hotel where they lodged.
Ascertaining- that their apartment fronted the
street, he stole quietly up to the window, which
was protected by shutters with adjustable lattice.
This, by a cautious process, he opened, and, peer-
ing through, beheld the four inmates, three of
whom he recog-nized as the ruffians who had left
Lewiston and oone to Bannack three months
o
before.
More deeply confirmed than at first in the be-
lief that a robbery was intended, he awaited the
approach of the coach, designing to make a care-
ful survey of the group after they were seated
preparatory to departure. Fifteen or twenty per-
sons, who had heard of Beachy's suspicions, seve-
ral of whom were old associates of Howard and
his companions, followed the coach from the barn
to the hotel.
Enveloped in overcoats and blankets, their faces
concealed by mufflers, and their hats drawn dow^n
to hide their eyes, the four men clambered into
the coach. Just as the driver gathered up his
lines Beachy opened his lantern, and before the
men could wrap their blankets around them, his
quick eye detected that two of the number had
each a pair of well-filled cantinas on his lap. After
116 Lloyd Magruder.
the coach had driven off, he turned to Judge
Berry, who was standing near, and, in a low but
meaning tone, said, —
" Lloyd Magruder has been murdered."
" What makes you think so ? " inquired the
judge. " Do you recognize these fellows? "
" Yes, three of them : Howard, Lowry, and Ro-
maine. Their cantinas are filled with Magruder's
money. I'll furnish horses and pay all expenses
if you and the sheriff will join me, and we'll arrest
them to-night."
"Arrest them for what?" asked the judge.
" On suspicion of having murdered Magruder."
" Why, Hill, the whole town would laugh at
us. We certainly could not detain them without
evidence. Besides, your suspicions are ground-
less. Mrs. Magruder told me last evening that
she did not expect her husband for ten or twelve
days. Let matters rest for the present."
'^ I know that Magruder is dead, and that these
villains killed him, as well as if I had seen it
done," rejoined Beachy. " From this time forth,
I am on their track."
Bidding the judge good-night, he wended his
way home, and, on entering his house, held the
conversation with his wife with which this chap-
ter opens.
HILL BEACHY,
Lloyd Magruder's Avenger
Hill Beachy. 117
CHAPTER VIII.
HILL BEACHY.
Beachy's Devices to ferret out the Murder — His
Trip up Snake Eiver with Tom Farrell — Dis-
appointment — Finds the Animals ridden by
the Murderers — The Story of the Saddle —
The Indian Boy — Kecognition of the Horse —
Beaohy's Pursuit of the Robbers — Providen-
tial Occurrences — Arrival at Portland — Suc-
cessful Ruse — Departure Overland for San
Francisco — Telegraphs from Yreka — Robbers
arrested — The Law's Delay — Return with
Prisoners — Page admitted as State's Evidence
— Conviction and Execution of Howard, Lowry,
AND ROMAINE ViOLENT DeATH OF PaGE.
Mr. Beachy's convictions gave him no rest.
Without a shadow of evidence to sustain him, or
a clew to guide him, he went to work to ferret out
the crime. His friends laughed at and discour-
aged him. The roughs of Lewiston threatened
him. A few charitably attributed his conduct to
mental derangement. The face of every person
he met wore a quizzical expression, which seemed
118 Hill Beachy.
to imply both pity and ridicule. Often, when
thwarted, he half resolved to abandon the pursuit,
but a voice within whispered him on with assur-
ance of success, and he could not, if he would,
recede. Three days were spent in a fruitless
search for the animals which he knew must have
borne the men to town. At the close of the third
day a party arrived from Bannack. The first
inquiry he addressed to them after the usual salu-
tation was, —
" Where is Mag'ruder ? "
" Hasn't he arrived ? " was the surprised re-
joinder. " He left four days before us, intending
to come through as quickly as possible."
Beachy heard no more.
" He is dead," said he, " and I know the
murderers."
'■ Tut, tut, Hill, you're too fast. He has prob-
ably gone around by Salt Lake. He'll be in all
safe in a few days."
Beachy resumed his search for the animals. In
a few days a man came in from some point above
Lewiston, and reported having seen, on his ride
down the river, a party of four men encamped in
a solitary nook on the opposite bank. The
thought flashed through Beachy's brain that they
were the murderers, who, thwarted in their effort
Hill Beachy. 119
to leave the country at Walla Walla, had returned
by a circuitous route, in search of a point more
favorable.
In Tom Farrell, a harum-scarum dare-devil of
the town, Beachy found one man who shared his
suspicions. He consented to go with and aid him
in arresting these men. It was freezing weather,
and the trail was rough and mountainous. Both
men were well armed and of undoubted courasfe.
Urging their horses to their utmost speed, they
rode on till past the hour of noon, when Tom
descried a thin column of smoke ascendinsf from
the camp of the supposed freebooters. Securing
their horses in a thicket, they crept to a point
where, concealed by the wallows, they could
observe all parts of the camp, Alas for their
hopes ! The suspected robbers developed into a
hunting party of honest miners, who were enjoy-
ing a little holiday sport in the mountains. Worn
down with fatigue and anxiety, they returned to
Lewiston, to encounter afresh the gibes and sneers
of the people at the failure of this sorry expedi-
tion.
Another day of patient search was rewarded
with the discovery of the rancheman who had
possession of the animals, Beachy returned from
a visit to his ranche, bringing with him one horse
120 Hill Bcacliy.
and seven mules, and the saddles, bridles, and
other accoutrements, which he submitted to the
inspection of the citizens. Not an article was
identified as the property of Magruder. One
man thoug-ht an old saddle resembled one that he
had seen in Magruder's possession, but, as old
saddles were plenty, this one, without any distinc-
tive marks, was valueless as evidence.
Thus far Beachy's investigations had only
involved the subject in deeper mystery ; but as
day after day passed, bringing no tidings of his
friend, he felt an increasing conviction of the
great evil that had befallen him. Reflecting upon
the partial identification of the saddle, " Perhaps,"
thought he, " this may furnish a clew. If the
saddle ever belonged to Magruder, some of his
family will identify it. I have it. Jack will
certainly know it. I can but try him." He sus-
pended the saddle on a small peg attached to the
stall occupied by his pacing-horse.
Jack was an Indian boy who had been
Magruder's hostler for several years. Late in the
afternoon Beachy met him.
" Jack," said he, accosting him, " don't you
want to take a ride ? "
" I am always ready for that, Mr. Beachy."
" Well, our cow^s haven't come home to-night.
Eill Beachj. 121
I'll have my pony in the stable in ten minutes,
and you can saddle him, and have a good time
hunting them. Will you go ? "
" All right," replied Jack, " I'll be there."
Beachy immediately went to the stable, and,
ascending to the haymow, placed himself in a
position where he could observe the actions of
Jack when he saddled the pony. The boy
was punctual. Leading the pony from the
stall, he took down the saddle and placed it on
him.
" It's a failure," reflected Beachy, as the boy
fastened the girth, and seized the pommel prepar-
atory to mounting.
Just at this moment Jack's eye caught sight of
the stirrup. He paused, and, taking it in his
hand, surveyed it narrowly. An expression of
surprise stole over his face. Dropping the stirrup,
he caught up the. crupper and examined it more
carefully. He then looked at other parts of the
saddle in detail. At length he mounted, and,
while leaving the stable, looked back with aston-
ished interest upon the crupper. The cows at
this time were discovered on their way home.
Jack rode around and drove them up, and, dis-
mounting, said to Beachy, who met him at the
stable door, —
122 Hill Beachy.
" Mr. Beachy, this is Massa Magruder's saddle.
He took it with him when he went to Bannack.
How came it here ? "
" How do you know it is his, Jack? "
" By that crupper. There's where I mended it
myself with a piece of buckskin. I know it's the
same old saddle. I've ridden on it a hundred
times."
" A clew at last ! " said Beachy. " I'll follow
it up. Jack cannot be mistaken."
Calling to some friends who were passing, he
told them the result of his experiment. The old
saddle was produced, and Jack was examined.
Alarmed at the scepticism of his interroga-
tors, Jack wavered in faith, and his testimony
only confirmed the belief that Beachy was
crazy.
The following day a train was seen descending
the mountain by the Nez Perce .trail. A tall man,
seemingly the leader, who wore a peculiar hat, like
Magruder's, was pointed out as the missing man.
Hundreds of eyes watched the slow descent of the
mules into the valley. The wife of Magruder,
whose thouo'hts and feelino;s had been alternatinof
between hope and fear for a week or more, awaited
with delighted surprise the certain approach of
her husband. Hill Beachy looked on with doubt-
Hill Beachy. 123
ful interest, hoping, but faithless. Alas ! it was
not Magruder.
'' For him no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care."
When the train-master, in reply to their eager
inquiries, expressed his own surprise, and told
them that Magruder should have reached home
ten days before, the people for the first time felt
that he might have fallen a victim to robbers.
Still they doubted. The crime was too great, in-
volved too many lives, and the probability that he
had changed routes and was returning by the way
of Salt Lake was greater than that he and his
large train had been destroyed.
Firm in his belief, Beachy, like a sleuth-hound,
continued to follow the track leading to discovery.
" They do not know the desperate character of
those villains," he said, as he turned from the
crowd to pursue the clew furnished by Jack. His
wife, who until this time had feared for his safety
at the hands of the town ruffians, now for the first
time gave him encouragement.
Falling in company with the men who had just
arrived from Bannack, he plied them with inquiries
concerning Magruder's operations there.
" Why," observed one, " he told me on the
124 Hill Beachy.
morning lie left that he should surprise his wife^
for he had written her the day before that he would
not leave for ten days. ' She will tell this to all
inquirers,' said he, ' and the roughs of Lewiston
will be thrown o£P their guard. I shall reach
home about the time they think I will leave here.' "
" Would you know any of the stock ? " inquired
Beachy.
" Yes ; there was one large, white-faced sorrel
horse belonging to some of the party, that was a
very good race-horse. I saw him run one night,
when some of the boys were at our camp. I think
I should know him. They intended to bring him
here, and make a race-horse of him."
The only horse which Beachy had found in pos-
session of the rancheman corresponded wi^h this
description. He placed him in one of a long range
of stalls in his stable, in each of which was a horse,
and requested his informant to select him, if pos-
sible, from the number. When the man came to
the sorrel, he said, —
" If this horse were two or three sizes larger, I
should think he might be the one I saw ; but he
is too small, and 1 know nothing of the others."
Knowing how much the size of a horse is seem-
ingly increased when in motion, Beachy saddled
the sorrel, and told his hostler to lead him to the
Hill Beachy. 125
end of the street, mount, and rim him at his best
speed back to the stable. As he dashed down to
the spot where Beachy and the man were stand-
ing, the latter involuntarily raised his hands and
exclaimed, —
" My God ! that is the identical animal."
" You are sure ? " said Beachy.
" I would swear to it," was the instant reply.
'^ And now," thought Beachy, " I have a white
man on my side. The evidence is sufficient for
me. To-morrow I start for the murderers."
Armed with requisitions upon the governors of
all the Pacific States and Territories, the next
morning Beachy, accompanied by the indomitable
Tom Farrell, made preparations for his departure.
When all was ready, his wife, who had felt more
keenly than he had the ridicule, sneers, indiffer-
ence, and malignity with which his efforts had been
regarded, with tearful eyes approached him, and,
taking him by the hand, in a tone softened by the
grief of parting, said to him, —
" Hill, you must either return with those vil-
lains, or look up a new wife."
" The look which emphasized these words," says
Beachy, " the expression, the calm, sweet face
which said stronger than words that failure would
kill her, filled me with new life. They were worth
126 Hill Beachy.
more than all the taunts I had received, and I
bade her adieu with the determination to succeed."
While Mr. Beachy was speaking- thus fondly
of his wife, whose death had occurred but a few
months before he narrated to me these incidents,
the tears rolled down his cheeks, — and he added
in a voice broken with emotion, " I then felt that
the time had come when I needed somethino-
more than human help, and I went out to the
barn and got down upon my knees and prayed
to the Old Father, — and that's something I
haven't been much in the habit of doing in this
hard country, — and I prayed for half an hour ;
and I prayed hard ; and I promised that if He'd
only help me this time in catching these villains,
I'd never ask another favor of Him as long as I
lived, and I never haveT
Three changes were made in the transmission
of the mail over the route between Lewiston and
Walla Walla. The log dwellings and stables at
the several stations were the only evidences of
settlement for the entire distance. Beachy was
the proprietor of the stage line. His station-
keepers had been in the habit of transporting way
travellers over parts of the road, for pay, at times
when the horses were unemployed. This practice
had been strictly forbidden by Beachy. But
Hill Beachij. 127
when he and Tom Farrell drove up to the first
station, such was his anxiety to overtake the
fugitives, that he did not stop to reprimand the
unfaithful employe, who had just harnessed the
stage horses to a light wagon, with the intention
of turning a dishonest penny. He took the
waofon himself, and without delav drove to the
next station^ arriving there in time to hitch a
pair of horses just harnessed by the hostler for his
own use, to his wagon, and hurry on to another
station. Here, as he and Tom alighted, a light
buggy with a powerful horse came alongside.
The driver was an old acquaintance. He was
going to Walla Walla in haste for a physician.
Beachy offered to do his errand if he would allow
him to proceed in his buggy. The gentleman
assented. The horse's flanks were white with
foam when, at dark, Beachy and Tom Farrell rode
into Walla Walla.
Before entering the tow^n, Beachy concealed his
face in a muffler, to avoid recognition. Half-way
up the street he observed a man, of whom he
expected to obtain information, engaged Avith
another in conversation. Jumping from the
wagon he approached him cautiously, and, by a
significant grip, drew him aside and made known
his business.
128 EiU Beachy.
" They left four days ago for Portland," said
the man, " with the avowed intention of taking
the first boat to San Francisco. They were here
two days, lost considerable at faro, but took
plenty of gold dust with them."
" Did they explain how they obtained their
money .''
" Yes. Howard said that they, in company
with five others, had purchased a water ditch in
Boise Basin, and had been renting the water to
the miners at large rates. The miners became
dissatisfied with their prices, and a fight ensued.
Men were killed on both sides, and they were the
only members of the ditch company that escaped.
They were now on their way out of the country,
to escape arrest. They feared the authorities
were pursuing them."
While engaged in this conversation, Captain
Ruckles, the agent of the Columbia River Steam-
boat Company, happened to pass. Beachy hailed
him, and told his story. Ruckles gave him
authority to use a Whitehall boat in descending
the river from Wallula, and an order upon the
captain of the downward bound steamer from
Umatilla, to consult his convenience on the trip
to Portland.
The evening was far advanced when Beachy
Hill Beady. 12&
and Farrell started on a midnight drive of thirty
miles to Wallula. Day was breaking- when they
drove up to the landing. The river, at all times
boisterous, had been swollen by the flood into a
torrent. Rousing a wharfinger, they were
informed that all navigation was suspended until
the waters should abate, that no steamboats had
been there for several days, and to attempt the
passage of Umatilla rapids in a Whitehall boat
would be madness.
Fortunately, the next man Beachy met was
Captain Ankeny, an old river pilot, who knew
every crook and rock in the channel.
" It's a dangerous business," said the captain,
after listening to his story, " but I think we can
make it in a Whitehall boat. At all events, if it's
murderers you're after, it's worth the risk. I'll
take you down if anybody can."
At daylight the three men, with the pilot at the
helm, pushed out into the stream, every spectator
on shore predicting disaster. It was, indeed, a
lively passage, and not a few hairbreadth escapes
were attributable to the skill of the man who knew
the channel. The boat dashed througfh the
rapids, and rounded to at Umatilla, twenty-two
miles below, two hours after it left Wallula.
Beachy found a willing coadjutor in the captain
130 Eill Beachy.
of the steamboat at Umatilla, and, to expedite the
departure of the boat, employed eighteen men to
assist in discharofing* the carjxo. When the boat
had blown her last whistle and rung her last bell,
two large wagons laden with emigrants, who had
just arrived after a tedious journey across the
plains, thundered down to the wharf to be taken
aboard.
" Too late," shouted the captain. " The boat
cannot be delayed. Cast off."
The spokesman for the emigrants pleaded hard
for a passage. Beachy relented.
" Take them on board for luck," said he to the
captain.
No other cause for detention occurring, the
boat swung off, and proceeded down the river,
arriving at Celilo, eighty-five miles below, late in
the evening. From that point navigation is im-
peded by rapids for sixteen miles, which distance
is travelled by railroad. The cars would not leave
until the next morning, — a delay which might
afford the fugitives time for escape. In this exi-
gency Beachy applied to the emigrants, and by
pledging the boat as security for the return of
their horses, and paying a round sum, hired three
of them to convey Captain Ankeny, Farrell, and
himself to the Dalles. It was after one o'clock in
Hill Beachy. 131
the morning when they entered Dalles City. Ank-
eny and Farrell rode down to the hotel to recon-
noitre, and report to Beachy, who awaited their
return in the outskirts. It was a bright, starlight
night. A man, whose form Beachy recognized,
passed hurriedly by the spot where he stood.
Hailing him, he unfolded the object of his mis-
sion, and learned that three of the party he was
pursuing had left the Dalles on a steamboat for
Portland two days before. The other, he was
afterwards informed, had gone since.
In company with Tom Farrell, he took passage
on the next steamer for Portland, arriving there
twenty-four hours after the fugitives had left for
San Francisco. Farrell hurried on to Astoria, the
only port where the steamer stopped on its pas-
sage to the ocean, to ascertain if they had landed
there, while Beachy put in execution a little scheme
by which he hoped to obtain full information con-
cernino: their future movements.
A year before this time, Beachy had concealed
from the pursuit of the Vigilantes at Lewiston a
young man accused of stealing, whom he had
known in boyhood. During his concealment, with
much other information, he told Beachy of the
robbery of a jewelry establishment at Victoria, in
British Columbia, in which he was concerned with
182 Hill Beachy.
Howard, Lowry, and Romaine. They deposited
their pkinder with an accompKce at Portland.
This man still resided at Portland, and had prob-
ably met with Howard and his companions during
their stay. H so, he was doubtless possessed of
information which would aid in their detection.
At every place where they had stopped on the
trip to Portland, the guilty men had told the same
story about their collision at, and flight from, Boise
Basin. Acting upon the belief that they had re-
peated it to their old confederate at Portland,
Beachy, on the same evening of his arrival,
wrapped in blanket and muffler, sallied forth to
a remote quarter of the towii, where he resided.
No one responded to his rap upon the door. He
crossed the street to a clump of bushes to watch.
A half-hour passed, and a woman entered the
dwelling. Recrossing, he repeated the alarm.
The woman met him at the door. With much
simulated nervousness, and mystery of manner and
tone, he inquired for the man.
" He is very busy, and will not be home until
late, if at all," replied the woman.
'' I must see him immediately," urged Beachy,
with increasing earnestness. " My life depends
upon it. Here, madam," he continued, thrusting
a hundred dollars into hjr hands, "secure me an
Hill Beachy. 133
interview as soon as possible. He is the only per-
son here who can aid my escape. 1 dare not be
seen, but will conceal myself in the clump until
he comes."
Beachy says he never was satisfied whether it
was gold or pure womanly sympathy for his ap-
parent distress which obtained for him a speedy
meeting. By assuming the character of a partner
in the Boise enterprise who had miraculously es-
caped arrest, and was then m pursuit of his com-
panions, he learned that the men he was pursuing
intended to remain in San Francisco until they
could have their dust, amounting to seventeen
thousand dollars, coined, when they would go to
New York by way of the Isthmus, and return to
Virginia City in the spring. To make the delu-
sion perfect, Beachy, at the close of the interview,
gave his informant one hundred and fifty dollars,
with which he purchased for him a horse, which
he delivered to him at a late hour of the even-
ing, at East Portland, on the opposite bank of
the Willamette river. Bidding him good-by,
Beachy mounted the horse, and was soon lost to
view in the 2:»ine forest, his dupe believing that he
had enabled him to escape the authorities of Boise.
In two hours afterwards the horse was returned to
its owner, and the purchase-money restored.
134 Hill Beachy.
How to reach San Francisco in time to arrest
the fugitives before their departure for New York,
was not easy of solution. No steamer would
leave Portland for ten days, and an overland
journey of seven hundred miles, over the muddiest
roads in the world, was the only alternative. The
nearest telegraph station was at Yreka, four hun-
dred miles distant. Wearied with the unremit-
ting travel and excitement of the previous week,
Beachy hired a buggy and left Portland at raid-
night, intending to overtake the coach which had
left the morning before his arrival. This he
accomplished at Salem, late in the afternoon of
the next day. When the coach reached the
mountains, its progress was too slow for his
impatience, and he forsook it, and, mounting a
horse placed at his disposal by an old friend, rode
on, hoping to come up with the advance coach.
He fell asleep while riding, and, on awakening,
found himself seated upon the horse in front of
its owner's stable, at a village twenty miles distant
from the one he left. Here he hired a buggy
and overtook the coach the next morning.
Two days afterwards he arrived at Yreka. He
immediately sent a telegram to the chief of the
San Francisco police, and was overjoyed upon his
arrival at Shasta, twenty-four hours afterwards,
Hill Beachy. 135
to receive a reply that the men he was pursuing
were in prison, awaiting his arrival. At midnight
of the second day following, he was admitted to
the cell where the prisoners were confined.
They had been arrested by stratagem two days
before. As Howard and Lowry w^ere escaped
convicts from the California penitentiary, they
naturally supposed that they had been arrested
upon recognition, to be returned for their unex-
pired term. This they were planning to escape
by bribing the officers, whom they had told of
their deposit in the mint, denying at the same
time that Page had any interest in it.
When therefore the chief of police entered the
cell, and turned on the gas, disclosing the presence
of Hill Beachy, had Magruder himself appeared,
they would not have been more astonished.
With dismay pictured upon his countenance,
Howard was the first to break that ominous
silence by a question intended either to confirm
their worst fears, or re-animate their hopes of
escape.
" Well, old man," said he, gazing fixedly upon
Beachy, " what brought you down here ? "
" You did," was the instant reply.
" What for, pray?" persisted Howard, assuming
an indifferent air.
136 Hill Beachy.
" The murder of Lloyd Magruder and Charley
Allen."
The eyes of the questioner dropped. He drew
a long breath. A deadly pallor stole over his face.
" That's a rich note," said Lowry, affecting to
laugh. " We left Magruder at Bannack, well and
hearty."
"We shall see. Good-night, boys," said
Beachy, and he offered each his hand.
Page clasped his hand heartily, and, by several
scratches upon the palm, signified that he had
somethinor which he wished to communicate.
Four weeks Avere spent in San Francisco, in the
effort to obtain the custody of the prisoners. As
fast as one court w^ould decide to surrender them,
another would grant a writ of habeas corpus for
a new examination. At length the Supreme
Court of the State decided in favor of their
surrender to the authorities of Idaho for trial.
In anticipation of a series of similar legal delays
in Oregon, Beachy, before leaving, obtained froni
General Wright, the commander of the Depart-
ment of the Pacific, an order upon the military
post of the Columbia, directing an escort to meet
the prisoners at the mouth of the river, and
deliver them with all possible despatch to the civil
authorities at Lewiston.
Hill Beacliy. 137
On the voyage from San Francisco to the
mouth of the Cohimbia, the prisoners occupied
the state-room adjoining- Beachy's. An orifice
was made in the base of the partition between
the apartments, under the berth occupied by
Howard and Lowry. After they had retired,
Beachy would apply his ear to it, to glean, if
possible, from their conversation, any circum-
stances confirming- their guilt. On one occasion
he heard Lowry observe that " Magruder had a
good many friends," and Howard reply that " all
five of them had friends enough." This satisfied
him that others beside Magruder had been killed,
and that he was on the right track. At the
mouth of the Columbia, a small steamer with a
military escort received the prisoners. They were
conveyed immediately to Lewiston. A large
assemblage had gathered upon the wharf, intend-
ing to conduct the prisoners from the boat to the
scaffold. Protected by the military, Beachy suc-
ceeded in removing them to his hotel, amid loud
cries of " Hang 'em," " String 'em up," by the
pursuing crowd. He then appeared in front of
the building, and in a brief address informed the
infuriated people that one of the conditions on
which he obtained the surrender of the men was
that they should have a fair trial at law. He had
138 Rill Beachy.
pledged his honor, not only to the prisoners, but
to the authorities, that they should only be hanged
after conviction by a jury. This pledge he would
redeem with liis life if necessary. He made it,
believing that his fellow-citizens of Lewiston would
stand by him. " And now," said he, " as many
of you as will do so, will please cross to the oppo-
site side of the street." The movement was
unanimous.
" Be gorra ! Mr. Beachy," exclaimed an Irish-
man, after he had passed over, " you're the only
mon in the whole congregation that votes against
yourself."
The prisoners were heavily ironed and strongly
guarded in an upper room of the hotel. No legal
evidence of their guilt, no evidence that a murder
had been committed, had yet been obtained. Page
was reticent, though believed by all to have been
the victim of circumstances. A week elapsed,
and no disclosures were made upon which to base
a hope of conviction. Tired of waiting, it was at
length arranged with the district attorney that Page
should be permitted to testify as State's evidence.
Beachy now concerted, with several others, a
plan for getting at the truth. In a vacant room,
accessible from the main passage of the build-
ing, he suspended from the ceiling four ropes with
Hill Beachy. 139
nooses, and under each placed an empty dry-goods
box. Every preparation was seemingly made for
a secret and summary execution.
In a room on the opposite side of the hall he
spread a large table, with paper, pens, and ink,
and obtained from the county clerk three plethoric
legal documents, which were put in the hands of
persons seated at the table. A clerk was also
there, who had seemingly been engaged in writ-
ing out the confessions of Howard, Lowry, and
Romaine, w^hich were represented by the docu-
ments already referred to.
When these preparations were completed, two
guards entered the room occupied by the four
prisoners, and conducted Howard downstairs to a
room in the basement. An hour or more elapsed,
and the same ceremony was observed with Lowry,
and after another hour with Romaine. The sol-
emnity of this proceeding was intended to impress
Pagfe with the belief that his comrades had been
severally executed by the Vigilantes. When,
an hour later, the guards returned, they found
him in a cold perspiration, and scarcely able to
stand.
He was met by Beachy at the door.
" Page," said he, " I have done all in my power
to save you, because I believed you less guilty than
140 Hill Beachy.
the others, but I find I can do no more. Whether
you five or die now remains with yourself. Your
old friend, Captain Ankeny, has worked hard for
you."
As he said this, the party came to the door of
the room where the ropes were suspended, which
had been purposely opened. The hideous prepa-
rations glanced upon the terror-stricken vision of
the trembling prisoner. Beachy slammed the door
with a crash, exclaiming, with well-simulated
anger, as he turned to the attendants, —
" I told you to keep that door closed," and re-
sumed his conversation with Page.
" There is," said he, " a bare chance remaining
for you. Your comrades are still living. They
have each made a confession, and now the oppor-
tunity is afforded you. If you make a clean breast
of it, and tell the truth, it is possible you may
escape by turning State's evidence ; but if not,
there is no alternative but to hang you all. One
thing let me say : if you conclude to accept this
possible chance for life, tell the truth."
" I certainly will do so, Mr. Beachy," said the
terrified man.
He was then seated in front of the clerk at the
table. Beachy sat on one side, holding one of the
documents, as if to compare his testimony with it,
mil Beachy. 141
and Captain Ankeny and another person, each
with a similar document, sat 023posite. The build-
ing was o£ logs. A gathering outside could be
heard through the chinks, discussing the propriety
of admitting Page to testify.
" He is as guilty as the others, and should suffer
the same fate," said one.
" It's nonsense to try them," said another.
" The Vigilantes should hang them all immedi-
ately."
" It'll do no harm to hear what he has to say,"
said a third, " but he'll probably lie."
" Not if he regards his life. He'll be easily
detected in that, and then he'll be hung without
mercy," remarked another.
These surroundings, terrible to a guilty con-
science, were not alleviated by the frequent inter-
ruptions of Beachy and Ankeny, who, to all out-
ward seeming, were closely comparing the state-
ments of Page with those of his companions. The
confession thus obtained bore internal evidence of
truthfulness ; and, when it was finished. Page en-
treated Beachy not to return him to the room with
the other prisoners.
" They will kill me if they suspect me of be-
traying them," said he, " and the fact that we
have all been requested to confess will make them
suspicious."
142 Eill Beacfiy.
Page was heavily ironed, and confined in a sepa-
rate room on the side of the hall opposite the room
occupied by the other prisoners, who, in the seem-
ing severity with which he was treated, received
the impression that he was singled out as the real
criminal. Acting under Beachy's instructions.
Page occasionally stood in the doorway of his
apartment, so that the other prisoners could see
him, and they improved these opportunities by
making significant signs to him to be silent.
Howard would break out into a song, into which
he would improvise words of caution for Page to
observe. At length, at their own request, the
prisoners were occasionally permitted to perambu-
late the hall, and at those times opportunity was
given to converse with Page. They finally would
enter his room, and in a conversation with him,
while, as he supposed, he was enjoying one of these
stolen interviews, Beachy heard Lowry tell Page
that the body of Brother Jonathan — meaning
Magruder — could never be found, whether the
others were or not. It was a great satisfaction to
Beachy to learn, from this and several other little
incidents that occurred while the murderers were
in custody, that he had made no mistake in arrest-
ing them.
Twenty-four hours before the trial, the prison-
Bill Beachy. 143
ers, as required by the laws of Idaho, were served
with a copy of the indictment found against them,
with a list of witnesses, in which it appeared that
the charge was substantiated by the testimony of
Pasre. This was the first intimation thev had
that he was to be received as State's evidence.
Lowry read enough of the indictment to learn
this fact. Handing it to Beachy, he exclaimed
with an oath, —
" I have read far enouo-h. If old Pag-e is to
testify, the jig is up. I don't wish to know any
more."
.More than a hundred persons summoned as
jurors were rejected in selecting an impartial jury.
Good counsel was provided for the prisoners ; and
after a careful and protracted trial, in which no
legal effort was spared both to convict and to
defend, the prisoners were found guilty, and
sentenced to be hanged on the fourth day of
March, 1864:, six weeks after the trial.
During this interval, they were confined in their
old quarters, where they received every attention
from Mr. Beachy and his wife. As the day of ex-
piation drew nigh, both Lowry and Romaine con-
fessed to their participation in the murder, and
the truth of Page's testimony ; but Howard
denied it to the last.
144 Hill Beachy.
The scaffold was erected in a basin encircled
by abrupt hillsides, from which ten thousand
people, including almost the entire Nez Perce
tribe of Indians, witnessed the execution.
A few weeks afterwards, Beachy and a few
friends, under the guidance of Page, visited the
scene of the murder, and returned with the
remains of the unfortunate victims, which were
decently buried in the cemetery at Lewiston.
Page remained in the employ of Beachy several
months — an object of general reproach and
execration. A year had little more than elapsed
when he became involved in a drunken brawl, and
was killed by a shot from the pistol of his
adversary.
Mr. Beachy, after repeated rebuffs, succeeded
in getting the seventeen thousand dollars, which
the murderers had deposited in the mint at San
Francisco. This was given to the widow and
heirs of Magruder. After a delay of some years,
the Legislature of Idaho ap^^ropriated an amount
sufficient to defray the expense he had incurred
in the capture and prosecution of the murderers ;
and he subsequently removed to San Francisco,
where he died in the year 1875, esteemed by all
who knew him, not less for his generosity of
heart, than the other manly and noble qualities
of his character.
NEIL HOWIE,
Captor of Dutch John.
tfowle and FetKerstun. 145
CHAPTER IX.
HOWIE AND FETHEESTUN.
Fluttering among the Robbers — Dutch John's
Attempted Escape — Arrest by Neil Howie in
Beaver Canon — Howie and Fetherstun convey
HIM TO Bannack — Incidents by the Way, and
at Bannack — Dutch John examined and ad-
judged Guilty — Fetherstun takes him in Cus-
tody.
Several days after the execution of " Red "
and Brown, when their bodies were taken down
for burial, there was found, fastened to each, a
monograph which has few parallels for brevity in
the annals of necrology. " Red ! Road Agent
and Messenger ! " " Brown ! Corresponding
Secretary ! " Laconic, but explicit, they fitly
epitomized the history, both in life and death, of
these ill-fated men.
The little company of Vigilantes arrived in
Nevada early the morning after the execution.
The Committee assembled immediately to consider
what action should be pursued with reference to
146 Howie and Fettierstun.
the disclosures made by " Red," but, as the results
of their recommendations will hereafter appear,
no further allusion to the subject is necessary at
this time.
The fluttering among the robbers, when it
became known that two men of their number had
fallen, was very perceptible both at Bannack and
Virginia City. Many of them fled at once ; others,
who would have accompanied them, had they
heard of the disclosures made by " Red," believed
themselves secure, until some testimony should
appear against them. Not anticipating treachery
from any of their comrades, they regarded such
treachery as wholly unattainable.
Dutch John was not of this number. Alarm
grew upon him day by day, after the execution
of Ives. He knew that, with the unhealed bullet
wound in his shoulder, his identity with the rob-
bers who attacked Moody's train would be clearly
established. He went to Plummer with his fears.
Plummer advised him to leave the Territory. In
pursuance of this advice, he shouldered his saddle
and left Bannack in the direction of Horse
Prairie. A person who saw him leave, suspecting
that he had designs upon a fine gray horse, wrote
to the owners of the animal, warning them of his
approach. They lay in watch for the thief, and
Howie and Fetherstun. 147
discovered him sitting in the underbrush. They
immediately hedged him in, and captured him.
After a severe lecture and taking his saddle, they
gave him an old mule and blanket, and bade him
depart. Accompanied by a Bannack Indian, he
rode slowly down the road leading to Salt Lake.
A few days after the execution of Ives, John
X. Beidler, who had officiated on that occasion,
went down the Salt Lake road to meet a train
which was expected from Denver. Meeting it at
Snake river, he returned with it to Beaverhead
valley, where he was told of the attack, by Dutch
John and Marshland, on Moody's train, and fur-
nished with a description of the robbers. His in-
formant, believing that Moody's shot would prove
fatal, told him that he would know the body of the
robber by his leggings.
" I need a pair of leggings," replied X., " and,
if I find the man dead, will confiscate them."
Beidler turned back, and met Dutch John and the
Indian in Beaver caiion, at the toll-gate. Failing
to recognize him as the robber, he offered him a
drink from a bottle of schnapps. John's hands
were so severely frozen that he could not grasp
the bottle. Beidler soaked them in water, to take
the frost out. While thus employed, John asked, —
" Is it true that George Ives has been hanged ? "
148 Howie and Fetherstun.
" Yes/' replied Beidler ; " he's dead and buried."
" Who did it ? " inquired John.
" Oh, the Virginia and Nevada people."
" Did they find out anything ? "
" They found out some things," said Beidler,
" and are now after the robbers of Moody's train.
One of them, Dutch John, was shot, and I expect
to find him dead upon the trail. If I do, I shall
confiscate his leggings, for I need a pair very
much."
" Would you take his leggings if you found
him ? " inquired Dutch John.
" Of course I would, if he was dead," said
Beidler.
They continued to chat till late in the evening,
passing the night together, Beidler never suspect-
ing him to be the robber he was in pursuit of.
The next morning Beidler dressed John's frozen
hands, and they separated.
The next day, while making his way through
Beaver caiion, John was saen and recognized by
Captain Wall and Ben Peabody, who were en-
camped there by stress of weather, with a pack
train, en route to Salt Lake. They saw him and
the Indian take shelter in a vacant cabin at no
great distance beyond their camp, and went im-
mediately with the information to John Fether-
Hoivie and FethevMiui. 140
slim, wIk» was also near at hand with eight teams
and dl•i^•el■s, awaiting an abatement of the tempera-
ture. Fetherstun recommended that John shouhl
lie hanged to one of the logs projecting from
the end of the cabin. Wall and Peabody wanted
him to be returned to Bannack. Being unable to
agree, Wall and Peabody proceeded down the
road to the camp of Neil Howie, who was on his
return from Salt Lake, in charge of three wagons
laden with groceries and flour. If they had
searched the world over, they could have found
no fitter man for their purpose. Brave as a lion,
and as efficient as brave, Neil Howie inherited from
nature a royal hatred of crime and criminals in
every form. He laid his plans at once for the cap-
ture and return of John to Bannack. The men
belonging to his train promised him ready assist-
ance. In a short time John and the Indian ap-
peared in the distance, and the courage of Neil's
friends, which began at that moment to weaken,
'^grew small by degrees, and beautifully less,"
as the stalwart desperado approached, until, to
use an expression much in vogue in those days,
they concluded that as they " had lost no murder-
ers," the reasons given for the arrest of this one
were not sufficiently urgent to command their as-
sistance in such a formidable undertaking. In
150 Howie and Fetherstun.
plain words, they backed out of their promise.
Neil, whose contempt for a coward was only
equalled by his abhorrence of a murderer, still
determined upon the capture. It would be a libel
upon the honest Scotch inflexibility which had
come down to him through his Covenanting pro-
genitors to recede from a resolution which his
conscience so fully approved. Dutch John rode
up and asked for some tobacco.
" We have none to spare," said the train mas-
ter. " Go to the big train below. They will
supply you."
He cast a suspicious, uneasy glance at the men,
and, with the Indian by his side, rode on. Neil
looked after him until nearly lost to sight, then
mounted his pony and rode rapidly in pursuit,
with the hope of obtaining aid from the big train,
which belonofed to James Vivion. He soon over-
took the fugitive, wdiom he found with rifle in
hand, ready to defend his liberty. The Indian,
too, apprised of Neil's approach, passed his hands
over his quiver, seemingly to select an arrow for
instant use. Carelessly remarking, as he passed,
that he had to borrow a shoeing hammer to pre-
pare the stock for crossing the divide, Neil rode
on under the muzzle of John's rifle, without draw-
ing his reins until he arrived at the train. The
Howie and Fetherstun. 151
remark disarmed John's suspicions, or he would
doubtless have fired upon him.
Neil related the particulars of John's career.
" It is a burning shame — a reproach to the Terri-
tory, and will be an eternal reproach to us if we
permit so great a villain to escape. Just reflect, —
he is a horse-thief and a murderer, stained with
blood, and covered with crimes. Let us arrest
him at once."
All to no purpose. The men, one and all,
declined having anything to do with it. Mean-
time John came up and asked for some tobacco.
" Have you any money ? " inquired one of the
men.
" Not a cent," was the reply.
" Then," said his interrogator, " we have no
tobacco for you."
'• Oh ! let him have what he wants," interposed
Neil. " I wiU pay for it."
John's face wore a grateful expression. He
thanked Neil, and with the Indian took his
departure. Neil made another hurried appeal,
not to let the murderer and road agent escape,
but the men refused to help.
" Then," said he, " I will arrest him alone," and
he strode rapidly after John, shouting, —
" Hallo, captain ! hold on a minute."
152 Howie and Fetherstim.
John wheeled his mule half round, and sat
awaiting the approach of Neil. To the stature
and strength of a giant, John added a nature
hardened by crime, and the ferocious courage of
a tiger. His face, browned by exposure, reflected
the dark passions of his heart, and was lighted
up by a pair of eyes full of malignity. Nature
had covered him with sio^ns and marks indicative
o
of his character. Neil, on the other hand, was
rather under the medium size, with nothing in his
general make-up that denoted uncommon strength
or activity, though, when aroused, no mountain
cat was more active in his movements, and
strength seemed always to come to him equal to
any emergency. His clear gray eye, calm and
gentle in repose, became very powerful and com-
manding under excitement.
With his gaze fixed steadily uj^on the ruffian,
he marched rapidly towards him. John slewed
his rifle around, grasping the barrel with his left,
and the small of the stock with his right hand, as
if preparing for a deadly aim. Neil's hand fell
with an admonitory ring upon the trusty revolver
in his belt, which had never failed him. For an
instant only, it seemed that either the rifle or
pistol would decide the adventure ; but the ruffian
quailed before the determined gaze of Howie,
Howie and Fetherstun. 153
who passed unharmed beyond the muzzle of his
rifle, and stood with his hand upon the flank of
the mule. Looking John steadily in the eye,
in a quiet but authoritative tone, Neil said to
him, —
" Give me your gun and get off your mule."
With blanched face and trembling hands, John
complied, at the same time expressing his willing-
ness to submit to the capture.
" You have nothing to fear from me," said he
as he alighted, and handed the reins to Howie.
It is said that occasions will always find men suited
to meet them. This occasion found, among a
crowd of twenty or more experienced mountain-
eers, only Neil Howie as the man endowed with
moral and physical courage to grapple with It.
The prisoner accompanied his captor to the
camp-fire. The weather was intensely cold.
Many of the oxen belonging to the trains had
died from exposure, and others wery so severely
frozen that they lost their hoofs and tails the
succeeding spring. As soon as Howie and his
prisoner were thoroughly warmed, Neil said to
him, —
" John, T have arrested you for the part you
took in the robbery of Moody's train last month.
Every man in that company charges you with it."
154 Hoivie and Fetherstun.
" It's a lie," said John. " I had no hand in it
at all."
" That question can be easily decided," replied
Neil, " for the man they supposed to be you was
wounded by a shot in the shoulder. If you are
not the person, there will be no bullet mark there.
I don't wish to make a mistake, and your denial
of the charge makes it necessary that I should
examine. Just remove your shirt."
John reluctantly complied, all the while pro-
testing his innocence. When, however, the shoul-
der was bared, the scarcely healed perforation
settled all doubts in Howie's mind concerning the
personal identity of his prisoner.
" How is it," said he, " if vou are not the man.
that you have this scar ? "
" I got it accidentally while asleep by my camp-
fire. It was cold, and I lay near the fire. My
clothes caught fire, and the cap ignited, discharg-
ing my pistol, which was strapped to my side."
" Let me prove to you that this story cannot
be true," said Neil.
Placing a cap upon a stick, he held it in the
hottest blaze of the camp-fire. Minutes elapsed
before it exploded.
" Do you not see," he continued, " that long
before the cap on your pistol would have exploded,
Motvie and I^etKerstun. 155
you would have been burned to death ? But
there is still another reason. If it had exploded,
as you say, the ball could never have wounded
your shoulder. You must go with me to Bannack.
If you can prove your innocence there, as I hope
you may, it will all be well with you."
Leaving his prisoner in charge of the train
company, Neil started in pursuit of a person to
aid in conveying him to Bannack. Unsuccessful
in this, he left with John in company, and pro-
ceeded to Dry creek, where was a camp of
fifty or sixty teamsters. Such was their fear of
the roughs, that they one and all refused to assist
him. While deliberating what next to do, a man
by the name of Irvine suggested to him that if
Fetherstun could be induced to aid, he would be
a suitable man for the purpose. Neil went
immediately to Fetherstun's camp, fully deter-
mined, if again rebuffed, to attempt the journey
with his prisoner alone. Fetherstun volunteered
without hesitation, and for the two following days
while awaiting an al)atement in the weather, took
the prisoner in charge and conlined him, under
guard, in the cabin he had left but the day
before.
On the third day Howie and Fetherstun started
with fFohn for Bannack, the weather still so severe
156 Howie and Pethersiurii
that they were obliged every few miles to stop and
build fires to escape freezing. On one of these
occasions, while Fetherstun was holding the horses
and Howie building a fire, their guns having been
deposited some forty feet away, the prisoner, under
pretence of gathering some dry wood which was
in a direct line beyond the guns, walked rapidly
towards them, intending evidently to possess him-
self of the weapons, and fight his way to an es-
cape. His design, however, was frustrated by his
captors, who fortunately secured the guns before
he could reach them.
During the night when they were encamped at
Red Rock, misled by the apparent slumber of his
captors, John rose up, but, upon gazing around,
met the fixed eye of Howie, and immediately re-
sumed his recumbency. As the night wore on,
the two men, worn with fatigue, again sunk into
repose. Assured by their heavy breathing, John
again rose up, but scarcely had he done so when
Neil, rising too, said quietly, —
" John, if you do that again, I'll kill you."
The ruffian sunk upon his blankets in despair.
He felt that he was in the keeping of one who
never slept on duty. Still the hope of escape was
uppermost. Seeing a camp by the roadside, he
naturally concluded that it belonged to a company
Howie and Fetheratun. 157
of his comrades, and commenced shoutins" and
singing to attract their attention. As no response
followed and no rescuers appeared, he soon became
silent and despondent.
This trip of three days' duration, with the ther-
mometer thirty-five degrees below zero, and no
other food than the shank of a small ham, uniting
with it the risk of assassination and of personal
contest with robbers, exposure to an arctic atmos-
phere, and starvation, while it Ijore ample testi-
mony to the moral intrepidity and physical endur-
ance of Howie and Fetherstun, and marked them
for a pursuit which they ever after followed, was
also rife with associations which bound these brave
spirits in a friendship that only death could sever.
It is no injustice to any of the early citizens of
Montana to say that, not less for its present ex-
emption from crime and misrule than for the active
and vigilant measures which, in its early history,
visited the ruffians with punishment, and fright-
ened villany from its boundaries, is the Territory
indebted to the efficient co-operative labors of
these self-sacrificing, heroic men. They were
pioneers who deserve to rank in future history
with such men as Boone and Kenton ; and long
after the names of many now oftener mentioned
in connection with circumstances of trifling im-
158 Hoivie and Fetherstun.
port are forgotten, theirs will be remembered and
honored. Noble Howie ! how short a time it
seems since he was cut down in the very prime
of his manhood, upon the distant shores of Guiana.
Many, many years must pass before the memory
of his heroic actions, his genial nature, his warm,
impulsive friendship, will be forgotten by those
who knew and loved him in his mountain
home.
To return to the narrative. When the captors
had arrived at Horse prairie, twelve miles from
Bannack, Fetherstun encamped with the prisoner,
while Howie rode on to the town to reconnoitre.
Fears were entertained that the roughs would at-
tempt a rescue. It was understood that if Howie
did not return in three hours, Fetherstun should
take the prisoner into town. Accordingly, he pro-
ceeded with him without molestation to Sears's
Hotel. Soon afterwards Howie, meeting Plum-
mer, said to him, —
" I have captured Dutch John, and he is now
in my custody at Sears's Hotel."
" You have ? " replied Plummer with a leer.
" What is the charge against him ? "
" Attacking Moody's train,"
" Well, I suppose you are willing he should be
tried by the civil authorities. This new way our
Howie and Fetherstun. 159
people have of hanging men without law or evi-
dence isn't exactly the thing. It's time a stop
was put to it. I'll take John into my custody as
sheriff, and relieve you from all further responsi-
bihty."
" Not exactly, Plummer," replied Howie. " I
shall keep John until the people's tribunal decides
whether they want him or not. I've had a good
deal of trouble in brino-ino; him here, and don't
intend he shall escape, if I can help it."
After a few^ more w^ords they separated. Mean-
time Fetherstun had left Sears's Hotel wdth his
prisoner, and gone down the street to Durand's
saloon. Fetherstun, being an entire stranger,
kept close watch of his prisoner. They sat down
at a table and engaged in a game at cards. Howie
came in, and warned Fetherstun to be on the alert
for a rescue, promising to return in a few minutes.
Buck Stinson and Ned Ray soon after made their
appearance, and shook hands with John. They
were followed by four or five others, and the num-
ber finally increased to fifteen. Fetherstun's
suspicions, excited from the first, were confirmed
on seeing one of the men step up to John, and say
in an authoritative voice, —
" You are my prisoner ; " which remark was
followed by a glance and a smile by the ruffian,
160 Sowie and Fetlierstun.
as much as to say, " I'm safe now, and your time
has come."
Fetherstun, anticipating an attack by the crew,
stepped into a corner, and drew his revolver.
Those of my readers who have since had frequent
opportunity to estimate the cool, determined cour-
age of the man, will know that this preliminary
movement was only preparatory to the desperate
heroism and energy with which, had occasion re-
quired it, he would then have sold his life to a
crowd of supposed desperadoes. They took the
prisoner away without resistance, and Fetherstun
returned to his hotel. Four or five men were
there, of whom, on inquiry, he learned that Howie
had not been there. As soon as he heard this, he
said to them, —
" Gentlemen, I don't know whom I am address-
ing, but if you're the right kind of men, I want
you to follow me. I am afraid the road agents
have killed Neil Howie. He left me half an hour
ago, to be back in five minutes."
He seized his gun, and was about to leave when
a man opened the door, and told him not to be
uneasy. This seemed to satisfy all the company
except Fetherstun. He left the hotel, gun in
hand, and at no great distance came to a cabin
filled with men, with Dutch John as the central
JOHN FETHERSTUN,
Overland Express Messenger.
Howie and Fetherstun. 161
figure. Being denied admission, he demanded his
prisoner. He was told that they were examining
him. The men whom Fetherstun had mistaken
as road agents had mistaken him for the same.
Explanations soon set both right, and John was
restored to the custody of Howie and Fetherstun,
who marched him back to the hotel, where he
was again examined.
After many denials and prevarications, he finally
made a full confession of guilt, and corroborated
the statements which " Red " had made, implicat-
ing the persons whose names are contained in the
list he had furnished. This concluded the labors
of that day, and at a late hour Howie and Fether-
stun, unable to obtain lodgings for their prisoner
in any of the inhabited dwellings of Bannack,
took him to an empty cabin on Yankee Flat.
162 Execution of Plummer.
CHAPTER X.
EXECUTION OF PLUMMER.
Re-actiox in Public Sentiment — Mixers axl be-
come Vigilantes — Alarm of Plummer — Messen-
gers TO Bannack — Arrest and Execution of
Plummer, Ray, and Stinson — Interview avith
Plummer's Brother — Plummer's Craftiness.
Retribution followed rapidly upon the heels
of disclosure. The organization of the Vigilantes
of Nevada and Virginia City was effected as
quietly as possible, but it embraced nearly every
good citizen in Alder gulch. Men who before
the execution of Ives were seemingly indifferent
to the bloody acts of the desperadoes, and even
questioned the expediency of that procedure,
were now eager for the speedy destruction of the
entire band. Every man whose name appeared
on the list furnished by Yager (Red) was marked
for early examination, and, if found guilty, for
condign punishment. The miners forsook their
work in the gulch to engage in the pursuit and
capture of the ruffians, regardless alike of their
Execution of Plummer. 163
personal interests, the freezing weather of a severe
winter, and the utter desolation of a country but
partially explored, immense in extent, destitute
of roads, and unfurnished even by nature with
any protection against exposure.
The crisis demanded speedy action. The delay
of a day or even an hour might enable the lead-
ing ruffians to escape, and thus defeat the force of
a great and efficient example. The ruffians them-
selves had taken the alarm. Many of them were
on their return to Walla Walla, and others were
making preparations for leaving. It was of spe-
cial importance to the object in hand, that Plum-
mer, the chief of the robber band, should be the
first to suffer. That individual, ignorant of the
disclosures that had been made by Yager, was at
Bannack, quietly preparing for an early departure
from the Territory. Calm and placid in outward
seeming, his conduct bore evidence that he was
all terror within. He was too familiar with the
extreme phases of character not to suspect that he
had possibly been betrayed by some of the num-
ber that had been captured, though much too
polite and sagacious to manifest by his deport-
ment the presence of any such suspicion. But
he was constantly on the alert. Not a beat in
the pulse 'of the community escaped his notice.
164 Execution of Plummer.
Not a strange face that he did not closely scan,
nor a gathering occur whose details escaped him.
The language of looks and signs and movements
was as familiar to him as that of words, and in it
he read plainly and unmistakably that his reign
of deception was at an end. The people had
found him out, and he knew it. His only mistake
was that he delayed action until it was too late.
At a late hour of the same night that Dutch
John was examined, four Vigilantes arrived at
Bannack from Virginia City, with intelligence of
the organization at that place, asking the co-opera-
tion of the citizens of Bannack, and ordering the
immediate execution of Plummer, Stinson, and
Ray. A hurried meeting was held, and the
Sabbath daylight dawned upon a branch organiza-
tion at Bannack. The day wore on unmarked by
any noticeable event until late in the afternoon.
Three horses were then brought into town, which
were recognized as belonging to the three
murderers.
" Aha ! " said one citizen to another, " those
rascals scent the game and are preparing to leave.
If they do, that will be the last of them."
" We can block that game," was the rejoinder.
Several members of the Vigilance Committee
met on the spur of the moment and adopted
Execution of Plmnmer. 165
measures for the immediate arrest and execution
of the three robbers. Stinson and Ray were
arrested without opposition, — one at Mr. Toland's
cabin, and the other, stretched at the time upon a
gaming table, in a saloon. The party detailed to
arrest PI ummer found him at his cabin, in the act
of washing his face. When informed that he
was wanted he manifested great unconcern, and
proceeded quietly to wipe his face and hands.
" I'll be with you in a moment, ready to go
wherever you wish," he said to the leader of the
Viofilantes. Tossing- down the towel and smooth-
ino- his shirt-sleeves, he advanced towards a chair
on which his coat was lying, carelessly remarking :
" I'll be ready as soon as I can put on my coat."
One of the party, discovering the muzzle of
his pistol protruding beneath the coat, stepped
quickly forward, saying as he did so, —
" I'll hand your coat to you." At the same
moment he secured the pistol, which being
observed by Plummer, he turned deathly pale, but
still maintained sufficient composure to converse
in his usual calm, measured tone. The fortunate
discovery of the pistol defeated the desperate
measures which a desperate man would have
employed to save his life. With his expertness
in the use of that weapon, he would doubtless
166 Execution of Plummer.
have slain some or all of his captors. He was
marched to a point where, as designated before
the capture, he joined Stinson and Ray, and
thence the three were conducted under a formi-
dable escort to the gallows. This structure,
roughly framed of the trunks of three small
pines, stood in a dismal spot three hundred yards
from the centre of the town. It was erected the
previous season by Plummer, who as sheriff had
hanged thereon one John Horan, who had been
convicted of the murder of Keeley. Terrible
must have been its appearance as it loomed up in
the bright starlight, the only object visible to the
gaze of the guilty men, on that long waste of
ghastly snow. A negro boy came up to the gal-
lows with ropes before the arrival of the cavalcade.
All the way, Ray and Stinson filled the air with
curses. Plummer, on the contrary, first begged
for his life, and, finding that unavailing, resorted
to argument, and sought to persuade his captors
of his innocence.
" It is useless," said one of the Vigilantes, " for
you to beg for your life ; that affair is settled, and
cannot be altered. You are to be hanged. You
cannot feel harder about it than I do ; but I can-
not help it if I would."
" Do not answer me so," persisted the now
Execution of Plummer. 167
humbled and abject suppliant, " but do with me
anything else you please. Cut off my ears, and
cut out my tongue, and strip me naked this freez-
ing night, and let me go. I beg you to spare
my life. I want to live for my wife, — my poor
absent wife. I wish to see my sister-in-law. I
want time to settle my business affairs. Oh,
God ! " Falling upon his knees, the tears stream-
ing from his eyes, and with his utterance choked
with sobs, he continued, —
" I am too wicked to die. I cannot go blood-
stained and unforgiven into the presence of the
Eternal. Only spare me, and I will leave the
country forever."
To all these, an 1 many more petitions in the
same vein, the only answer was an assurance that
his pleadings were all in vain, and that he must die.
Meantime, Stinson and Ray discharged volley after
volley of oaths and epithets at the Vigilantes, em-
ploying all the offensive language of their copious
vocabulary. At length the ropes were declared to
be in readiness, and the stern command was given, —
"Bring up Ned Ray." Struggling wildly in
the hands of his executioners, the wretched man
was strung up, the rope itself arresting his curse
before it was half uttered. Being loosely pin-
ioned, he thrust his fingers under the noose, andj
168 Execution of Plummer.
by a sudden twist of his head, the knot slipped
under his chin.
" There goes poor Ned Ray," whined Stinson,
who a moment later was dangling in the death-
agony by his side. As Stinson was being hoisted,
he exclaimed, "I'll confess." Plummer immedi-
ately remarked, " We've done enough already,
twice over, to send us to hell."
Plummer's time had come. " Bring him up,"
was the stern order. No one stirred. Stinson
and Ray were common villains ; but Plummer,
steeped as he was in infamy, was a man of intel-
lect, polished, genial, affable. There was some-
thino- terrible in the idea of hanoins: such a man.
Plummer himself had ceased all importunity. The
crisis of self-abasement had passed, hope fled with
it, and he Avas now composedly awaiting his fate.
As one of the Vigilantes approached him, he met
him with the request, —
" Give a man time to pray."
" Certainly," replied the Vigilante, " but say
your prayers up there," at the same time pointing
to the cross-beam of the gallows-frame.
The guilty man uttered no more prayers. Stand-
ing erect under the gallows, he took off his neck-
tie, and, throwing it over his shoulder to a young
man who had boarded with him, he saidj —
Execution of Ptummer. 169
" Keep that to remember me by," and, turning
to the Vigilantes, he said, " Now, men, as a last
favor, let me beg that you will give me a good
drop."
The fatal noose being adjusted, several of the
strongest of the Vigilantes lifted the frame of the
unhappy criminal as high as they could reach,
when, letting it suddenly fall, he died quickly,
without a struggle.
The weather was intensely cold. A large num-
ber of persons had followed the cavalcade, but
were stopped by a guard some distance from the
gallows. The Vigilantes surrounded the bodies
until satisfied that the hangman's noose had com-
pleted their work, when they formed and marched
back to the town. The bodies were afterwards
buried by the friends of the criminals.
Buck Stinson was born near Greencastle, Indi-
ana. His parents removed to Andrew county,
Missouri, when he was about fourteen years of age.
He was a bright and very studious boy, was de-
voted to his books, which he read almost con-
stantly, and gave promise of genius ; and many
who knew him predicted for him a brilliant and
honorable future. His family was highly rt spect-
able.
Henry Plummer was born in the State of Con-
170 Execution of Plummer.
necticut, and was in the twenty-seventh year of
his age at the time of his death. His wife, who
had sfone to her former home in the States three
months previous to his execution, was entirely
ignorant of the guilty life he was leading, and for
some time after his death believed that he had
fallen a victim to a conspiracy. She was, how-
ever, fully undeceived, and the little retrospect
which her married life with him afforded, con-
vinced her of his infamy.
Many of the citizens of Montana doubted
whether the name by which he was known was
his true one ; but its genuineness has been estab-
lished in many ways, and, among others, by the
following incident, which I here relate as well to
illustrate the subtlety of Plummer, as to show the
standing and character of his family relations.
In the summer of 1869, soon after the comple-
tion of the first transcontinental railway, being in
New York City, I was requested by Edwin R.
Purple, who resided in Bannack in 18G2, to call
with him upon a sister and brother of Plummer.
He learned from them that they had been misled
concerning the cause of their brother's execution by
letters which he wrote to them in 1863, in which he
told them that he was in constant danger of being
hanged because of his attachment to the Union.
Execution of Plummer. 171
They honestly believed that his loyalty and patriot-
ism had cost him his life, and they mourned his
loss not only as a brother, but as a martyr in the
cause of his country. From the moment that they
heard of his death, they had determined, if ever
opportunity offered, to pursue and punish his
murderers, and, with that purpose in view, w^ere
about to leave by railroad for Ogden, Utah, and
complete the remaining five hundred miles of the
trip to Montana by stage coach. The next day,
accompanied by Mr. Purple, I had an interview
with them, and found them to be well-educated,
cultivated people. They were very eager in their
desire to find and punish the murderers of their
brother, and repeatedly avowed their intention to
leave, almost immediately, in pursuit of them.
Both Mr. Purple and I used all the plausible ar-
truments we could summon to dissuade them from
the undertaking, without revealing any of the
causes which led to Plummer's death. All to no
purpose. Finding them resolved, we concluded
that, rather than allow them to suffer from the
deception they labored under, we would put in
their hands Dimsdale's " Vigilantes," with the
assurance that all it contained relative to their
brother was true. We urged them to satisfy
themselves, from a perusal of it, of the utter
172 • Execution of Ptummer.
fruitlessness of their contemplated journey. The
following clay we called upon the brother, who,
with a voice broken by sobs and sighs, informed
us that his sister was so prostrated with grief at
the revelation of her brother's career that she
could not see us. He thanked us for making
known to them the terrible history, which other-
wise they would have learned under circumstances
doubly afflicting, after along and tedious journey.
Death of PizantJiia. 173
CHAPTER XI.
DEATU OF PIZANTHIA.
Attack upon the Cabtx of Jo Pizanthia, a Mexi-
can Freebooter — He shoots George Copley
and Smith Ball — Copley dies of the Wound —
Outraged Citizens shell the Cabin — Pizan-
thia's Capture effected with much Difficulty
— His Body is riddled with Bullets, while he
IS being hanged — The Cabin fired, and the
Body burned to Ashes.
The next movements of the Vigilantes were
followed up with remarkable expedition. The
work they had laid out contemplated the execu-
tion of every member of Plummer's band who,
upon fair trial, should be proved guilty of robbery
or murder. They intended also to punish such
incidental rascals as were known to be guilty of
crime, and to act as a protective police, until such
time as a competent judiciary should be estab-
hshed in the Territory. There were many suspi-
cious characters prowling around the gulches,
who, though unaffiliated with the robber gang,
were enofasfed in the constant commission of crimes.
174 Death of Pizanthia.
Flumes were robbed, burglaries committed, and
broils were of frequent occurrence. The country
was full of horse and cattle thieves. By prompt
and severe punishment in all cases of detection,
and by the speedy arrest and examination of all sus-
pected persons, the Committee intended to strike
with terror the entire lawless population, which
had so long and unceasingly violated the laws and
privileges of civilized life with impunity.
The execution of Plummer, Stinson, and Ray
met with general approbation. Every good man
in the community was anxious to become enrolled
on the list of the Vigilantes. The dark shadow
of crime, which had hung like an angry cloud
over the Territory, had faded before the omni-
presence of Vigilante justice. The very feeling
of safety inspired by the change was the strong-
est security for the growth and efficiency of the
organization.
The morning succeeding the execution, the
Committee met to devise further measures for the
arrest of the criminals still at laro-e. None of
o
the reputed members of Plummer's band were
then in Bannack. There was, however, a Mexican
known by the name of Jo Pizanthia, living in a
little cabin built against the side of one of the
hills overlooking the town. Being the only
Death of Plzanthia. 175
Mexican in the place, he went by the designation
o£ " The Greaser." He brought with him to the
Territory the reputation of a desperado, robber,
and murderer. With a view of investigating his
career in the Territory, the Committee ordered his
immediate arrest, and sent a party to the cabin to
effect it. The little building was closed, and
there was nothing in the appearance of the newly
fallen snow to indicate that it had been occupied
since the previous day. George Copley and
Smith Ball, two esteemed citizens, led the public
force, and, advancing in front of it to the door
of the cabin, called upon the Mexican by name
to come forth. No answer being made, they
concluded, against the advice of their comrades,
to enter the cabin. Cautiously lifting the latch,
the tw^o men stepped over the threshold, each
receiving, as he did so, the fire of the desperate
inmate. Copley was shot in the breast, and Ball
in the hip. Both staggered out, exclaiming in
the same breath, " I'm shot." Two of the com-
pany supported Copley to the hotel, but the poor
fellow died of the wound in a few moments.
Ball recovered sufficiently to remain upon the
ground.
When it was known that Copley was killed, the
exasperation of the party at the dastardly deed
176 Death of Pizanthia.
knew no bounds. They instantly decided to
inflict summary vengeance upon the murderer.
Protected by the logs of the cabin, of which the
door was the only entrance, the crowd appreciated
the Mexican's facilities for making an obstinate
and bloody defence. How to secure him without
injury to themselves, called for the exercise of
strategy rather than courage. Fortunately, a dis-
mounted mountain howitzer which had been left
by a wagon train lay near by ; and bringing this
to a point within a few rods of the side of the
cabin, they placed it upon a box, and loaded it
with shell. At the first discharge, the fuse being
uncut, the missile tore through the logs without
explosion. The second was equally unsuccessful,
on account of the shortness of range. Aim was
now directed at the chimney, upon the supposi-
tion that the man might have sought refuge with-
in it, and a solid shot sent through it — the men
meantime firing into the hole made by the shell
in the side of the cabin. No shot was fired in
return.
A storming party was now formed, the men of
Nevada being the first to join it. Half a dozen
in number, the men moved steadily onward under
cover of neighboring cabins, until they reached
the space between them and the beleaguered cita-
Death of Pizanthia. 177
del. Rushing impetuously across, they stood in
front of the entrance, the door having fallen
inwards from the fusillade. Looking cautiously
into the cabin, they discovered the boots of the
Mexican, protruding beneath the door, which had
fallen upon him. Lifting the door, they dragged
him forth. He was badly injured, but, on the
moment of his appearance. Smith Ball emptied
his revolver into his body. A clothes-line near
was taken down, and fastened round his neck,
and an ambitious citizen climbed a pole, and, while
those below held up the body of the expiring
Mexican, he fastened the rope to the top of the
pole. Lito the body thus suspended, the crowd
discharged more than a h .indred shots, — satiating
their thirst for revenge u])on a ghastly corpse.
While this scene was progressing, several other
persons were engaged in tearing down the cabin.
Throwing it into a pile, it was set on fire, and,
when fairly in a blaze, the riddled body of Pizan-
thia was taken down, and placed upon the pyre.
Its destruction by the devouring element was
complete; not a vestige of the poor wretch re-
mained ; though the next morning a number of
notorious women were early at the spot, engaged
in panning out the ashes of the ill-fated desperado,
in search of gold.
178 Death of Pizanthia.
This entire transaction was an act of popular
vengeance. The people were infuriated at the
murder of Copley, who, besides being one of
their best citizens, was a general favorite. There
seemed to be no occasion or excuse for it, as the
Vigilantes contemplated nothing more by the arrest
of Pizanthia, than an examination of his territorial
record. With the crimes he had committed
before he came to the Territory, they had nothing
to do ; and if he had been guilty of none after he
came there, the heaviest possible punishment they
would have inflicted was banishment. He
brought his fate upon himself. It was a brief
interlude in Vigilante history, the terrible features
of which, though they may be deemed without
apology or excuse, need not seek for multiplied
precedents outside of the most enlightened
nations or most refined societies in all Christen-
dom.
^zeciUioH of Dutch John, 179
CHAPTER XII.
EXECUTION OF DUTCH JOHN.
Dutch John was still a prisoner in charge of
Fetherstun, in the gloomy cabin on Yankee Flat, a
euphonious title given to a little suburb of a dozen
cabins of the town of Bannack. He had behaved
with great propriety, and by his amiability of de-
portment won the sympathy and respect of his
captors. The revelations which he made in his
confession, implicating others^ made him fearful
of his former companions in crime, who, he knew,
would kill him on the first opportunity. One night
during his imprisonment both he and Fetherstun
were alarmed by the sound of approaching foot-
steps and suppressed voices in earnest conversation.
Fetherstun prepared his arms for a defence. Cast-
ing a glance at his prisoner, what was his aston-
ishment to see him standing near the door, with a
loaded double-barrelled gun, awaiting the approach
of the outsiders.
" That's right, John," said Fetherstun approv-
ingly ; " fire upon them if they come. Don't
spare a man."
180 Execution of Dutch John.
John smiled and nodded, levelling the muzzle
of the gun towards the sound, but the ruffians
heard the click of the locks, and departed. John
could have shot his keeper and escaped, but he
feared the vengeance of his comrades more than
the stern justice of the Vigilantes.
The fate of this desperado was yet undecided
by the Committee. He was not without strong
hope of escape, and his good conduct was doubt-
less attributable to the b3lief that both Howie and
Fetherstun would interpose to save him. The even-
ing of the day after the death of Pizanthia, the
Committee met. The case of Dutch John came up
for discussion. If it had been consistent with the
laws prescribed for the government of the Com-
mittee, John would have been banished ; but his
guilty, blood-stained record demanded that he
should die. He had been a murderer and hig-h-
wayman for years, and the vote for his immediate
execution was unanimous. The decision was re-
duced to writing, and a member of the Committee
deputed to read it to the prisoner, and inform him
that he would be executed in one hour. The
wretched man was overcome. He rose from his
blankets, and paced several times excitedly across
the floor. Like Plummer, he then resorted to
supplication.
Execution of Dutch John. 181
" Do with me as you please. Disable me in
any way, cut off my hands and feet, but let me
live. You can certainly destroy my power for
harm without taking my life."
" Your request cannot be complied with," said
the messenger. " You must prepare to die."
" So be it, then," he replied, and immediately
all signs of weakness disappeared. " I wish," he
continued, " to write to my mother. Is there a
German here who can write my native language ? "
Such a person was sent for. Under John's
dictation, he wrote a letter to his mother. It was
read to him, and he was so dissatisfied with it that
he removed the rags from his frozen hands and
finoers, and wrote himself.
He told his mother that he had been condemned
to death, and would be executed in a few minutes.
In explanation of his offence, he wrote that while
coming from the Pacific side, to deal in horses, he
had fallen into the company of bad men. They
had beguiled him into the adoption of a career of
infamy. He was to die for aiding in the robbery
of a wagon, while engaged in which he had been
wounded, and his companion was slain. His sen-
tence, though severe, he acknowledged to be just.
Handing the letter to the Vigilantes, he quietly
replaced the bandages upon his unhealed fingers.
182 Execution of Dutch Jolm.
His manner, though grave and solemn, was com-
posed and dignified. Something in his conduct
showed that he truly loved his mother. Much
sympathy for him was evinced in the manner and
attention of those who conducted him to the place
of execution, in an unfinished building at no great
distance from his place of confinement. The first
objects which met his gaze, as he stood beneath
the fatal beam, Avere the bodies of Plummer and
Stinson, the one laid out upon the floor for burial,
the other upon a work-bench. He gazed upon
their ghastly features unshrinkingly, and in clear
tones asked leave to pray, which was readily
granted. Kneeling down, amid the profound
silence of a crowd of spectators, his lips moved
rapidly, and his face wore a pleading expression,
but his utterance was inaudible. Rising to his
feet, while seemingly still engaged in prayer, he
cast an expressive glance at the audience, and then
surveyed the provisions made for his execution.
A rope with the fatal noose dangled from the
cross-beam, and beneath it stood a barrel, around
which was a cord, whose ends, stretching across
the floor, left no doubt as to the office it was ex-
temporized to perform.
" How long," he inquired, " will it take me to
die? I have never seen a man hanged,"
Execution of Dutch John. 183
" It will be very short, John, — very short.
You will not suffer much pain," was the reply of
a Vigilante.
The poor wretch mounted the barrel, and stood
perfectly unmoved while the rope was adjusted
to his neck. The men laid hold of the rope
which encircled the barrel. Everything being
prepared, at the words, " All ready," the barrel
was jerked from beneath him, and the stalwart
form of the robber, after several powerful strug-
gles, hung cahn and still. Dutch John had fol-
lowed his leader to the other shore.
184 Virginia City Executions*
CHAPTER XIII.
VIBGINIA CITY EXECUTIONS.
Virginia City surrounded by Vigilantes from all
Parts of the Gulch — Frank Parish, Boone Helm,
''Clubfoot George," Jack Gallagher, and Hayes
Lyons arrested, tried, and executed — Bill Hun-
ter ESCAPES through THE LiNE OF GuARDS.
While the events I have just recorded were
m progress at Bannack, the Vigilantes of Virginia
City were not inactive. Alder Gulch had been the
stronghold of the roughs ever since its discovery.
Nearly all their predatory expeditions had been
fitted out there. Being much the largest, richest,
and most populous mining camp in the Territory,
the opportunities it afforded for robbery were
more frequent and promising, and less liable to
discovery, than either Bannack or Deer Lodge.
It was also filled with saloons, hurdy-gurdies,
bapfnios, and sfamblino-rooms, all of which were
necessities in the lives of these free rangers of the
mountains. At the time of which I write there
was a population of at least twelve thousand,
Virginia City Executions. 185
scattered through the various settlements from
Junction to Summit, a distance of twelve miles.
It was essentially a cosmopolitan community, —
American in preponderance, but liberally sprinkled
with people from all the nations of Europe. Some
were going, and others coming, every day. Gold
dust was abundant, and freedom from social and
moral restraint characterized all classes, to an
extent bordering upon criminal license.
The Vigilantes, more than ever, after it was
decided to execute Plummer, comprehended the
necessity for prompt and vigorous measures, as
that event of itself would be the sio^nal for all the
guilty followers of that chief to fly the Territory.
Accordingly, having ascertained that six of the
robber band were still remaining in Virginia City,
the Executive Committee decided upon effectual
means for their immediate arrest. On the thir-
teenth day of January, three days after Plummer
was executed, an order was quietly made for the
Vio-ilantes to assemble at nio-ht in sufficient force
to surround the city. Not a man was to be per-
mitted to leave the city after the line of guards
was established. Bill Hunter, one of the six
marked for capture, suspecting the plot, effected
his escape by crawling beyond the pickets in a
drain ditch. The city was encircled, after night-
186 Virginia City Executions.
fall, by more than five liundred armed men, so
quietly that none within, except the Vigilantes,
knew of it until the next morning. All that long
winter night, while that cordon of iron men was
quietly stretching along the heights overlooking
the city, the Executive Committee sat in council,
deliberating upon the evidences of guilt against
the men enmeshed in their toils.
At the same time another small band was as-
sembled around a faro table in the chamber of a
gambling-saloon. Jack Gallagher suddenly broke
the silence of the game with the remark, —
" While we are here betting, those Vigilantes
are passing sentence of death upon us."
Wonderful prescience ! he little knew or realized
the truth which this observation had for him and
his comrades in iniquity.
Morning broke, cold and cloudy, discovering
to the eyes of the citizens the pickets of the Vigi-
lantes. The city was like an intrenched camp.
Hundreds of men, with guns at the shoulder, were
marchintr throug-h the snow on all the surround-
ing hillsides, with military regularity and precision.
The preparation could not have been more perfect
if made to oppose an invading army. There was
no misunderstanding this array. People talked
with bated breath to each other of the certain
Virginia City Executions. 187
doom which awaited the villains who had so long
preyed upon their substance, and spread terror
through the country.
Messeno-ers were sant to the different towns in
the gulch to summon the Vigilantes to appear
forthwith, and take part in the trial of the ruf-
fians. At the same time parties were detailed to
arrest and brino* the criminals before the Com-
mittee. Boone Helm, Jack Gallagher, Frank
Parish, Hayes Lyons, George Lane, and Bill
Hunter were known to be in the city at the time
the picket guard was stationed. Of these. Hunter
had escaped. The Vigilantes from Nevada,
Junction, Summit, Pine Grove, and Highland
marched into town in detachments, and formed
in a body on Main Street. The town was full of
people.
Frank Parish, the first prisoner brought in, was
quietly arrested in a store. He exhibited little
fear. Taking an executive officer aside, —
" What," he inquired, " am I arrested for? "
" For being a road-agent, thief, and an accessory
to numerous robberies and murders on the high-
way."
"I am innocent of all, — as innocent as you
are.
When, however, he was put upon his examina-
188 Virginia City Executions.
tion before the Committee, and facts were brought
home to him, he receded from his position of in-
nocence, and confessed to more and greater offences
than were charg'ed aarainst him.
" I was," said he, " one of the party that robbed
the coach between Virginia City and Bannack."
This confession took the Committee by surprise.
He then admitted that he had been guilty of horse-
stealing for the robbers, and had butchered stolen
cattle to supply them with food. He was fully
cognizant of all their criminal enterprises, and
shared with them as a member of the band. Upon
this confession he was condemned to suffer death.
He gave directions concerning his clothing and
the settlement of his debts. His case beino- dis-
posed of, he was committed to the custody of a
strong guard.
George Lane (Clubfoot George), who has fig-
ured conspicuously in this history, was next intro-
duced into the presence of the Committee. He
was arrested without trouble, at Dance and Stuart's
store. Perfectly calm and collected, he inquired, —
"Why ami arrested?"
On receivino- the same answer that had been
given to Parish, he replied, —
" If you hang me, you will hang an innocent
man."
Virginia City Executions. 189
"We have positive proof of your guilt," was
the response of the examining officer. " There is
no possibility of a mistake."
" What will you do with me? "
" Your sentence is death," was the answer.
His eyes dropped, and his countenance wore an
expression of deep contrition. For some mo-
ments he covered his face with his hands, seem-
ingly overcome by the dreadful announcement.
At length, dropping his hands, and looking into
the face of the officer, he inquired, —
" Can I have a minister, to pray for and talk
with me? "
" One shall be immediately sent for."
And when the clergyman appeared. Lane, in
care of the guard, spent his remaining hours of
life in attendino- to the affairs of his soul.
While his examination was progressing, parties
came in with Boone Helm and Jack Gallagher.
The former had been arrested by strategy, while
standino; in front of the Virg-inia Hotel. With
an armed man on either side, and one behind
with a pistol presented to his head, this veteran
scoundrel, bloodier far than any of his com-
rades, was marched into the presence of his
judges.
" Ah ! " he exclaimed, " if I'd only had a show,
190 Virginia City Executions.
if I'd known what you were after, you would
have had a gay old time in taking me."
His right hand was wounded, and supported by
a sling. With much apparent serenity, he sat
down on a bench, and looked defiantly into the
faces of the members of the Committee.
"What do you want of me here?" he
inquired, affecting entire ignorance of the cause
of his arrest.
" We have proof that you belong to Plum-
mer's band of robbers, that you have been
guilty of highway robbery and murder, and
wish to hear what you have to say to these
charofes."
" T am as innocent," replied the miscreant, in a
deliberate tone, " as the babe unborn. I never
killed any one, nor robbed or defrauded any man.
I am willino- to swear it on the Bible."
Less for any more important purpose than that
of testing the utter depravity of the wretch, the
interroofator handed him a Bible. With the
utmost solemnity of manner and expression, he
repeated the denial, invoking the most terrible
penalties upon his soul, in attestation of its
truthfulness, and kissed the volume impressively
at its close.
The Committee regarded this sacrilegious act of
Virginia City Executions. 191
the crlme-harclened reprobate with mingled feel-
in ofs o£ horror and disoust.
" This denial," said the president, " can avail
you nothing*. Your life for many years has been
a continuous career of crime. It is necessary that
you should die. You had better improve the
little time left you in preparation."
Helm looked hopelessly around, but saw no
glance of sympathy in the stern features of his
judges. Beckoning to a person standing near, he
whispered, —
" Can I see you alone for a few minutes ? "
The man, supposing that he was desirous of
obtaining spiritual counsel, replied, —
" I will send for a clergyman."
"No," was the instant rejoinder. "I want no
clergyman. You'll do as well."
Stepping into the inner room. Helm closed the
door, and, turning to the man, in an anxious tone
put the question, —
" Is there no way of getting out of this scrape ? "
" None. No power here is available to save
you. You must die."
" Well, then," said he, " I'll admit to you that
I did kill a man by the name of Shoot, in Mis-
souri. When I left there I went to California,
and killed another chap there. I was confined
192 Virginia City Execution^.
in jail in Oregon, and dug my way out with tools
given me by my squaw."
" Now," said his confessor, " having told me
thus much, will you not give me what information
you can concerning the band to which you
belong, their names, crimes, and purposes ? "
" Ask Jack Gallagher. He knows more than
I do."
Gallagher, who had been brought into an ad-
joining apartment-, separated from the one in
which this conversation occurred by a thin board
partition, on hearing this reference to himself,
poured forth a torrent of profane abuse upon the
head of his guilty confederate.
^' It is just such cowardly rascals and traitors
as you," said he, " that have brought us into this
difficulty. You ought to die for your treachery."
" I have dared death in all its forms," said
Helm, " and I do not fear to die. Give me some
whiskey."
The guilty wretch, having been consigned to the
custody of keepers, steeped what little sensibility
he possessed in whiskey, and passed the time until
the execution in ribald jesting and profanity.
Jack Gallagher bounded into the committee-
room, swearing and laughing, as if the whole
affair was intended as a good joke.
Vit'jbiia City Executions. 193
"What," said he, with an oath and epithet
appended to every word, " is it all about ? This
is a pretty break, isn't it ? "
On being informed of the charges against him,
and the sentence of the Committee, he dropped
into a seat and began to cry. In a few moments
he jumped up, and with much expletive emphasis
demanded the names of the persons who had in-
formed against him.
" It was ' Red,' who was hanged a few weeks
agfo on the Stinkino'-water."
Gallagher cursed the dead ruffian for a traitor,
liar, and coward, in the same breath.
"My God!" said he, "must I die in this
way?" He was taken out of the committee-room
while uttering the most terrible oaths and blas-
phemies.
Hayes Lyons, the only remaining ruffian, had
not yet been arrested. The party detailed for
that object, while searching for him at the Arbor
Restaurant, had found and captured Gallagher,
on learning which the Gallagher pursuers imme-
diately took up the hunt for Lyons. Foiled at
several points, they accidentally learned that he
had crossed the cra^•s overhann-ino' the grulch, and,
after wanderino; in a circuit of several miles throusfh
the mountains, had come back to a miner's cabin
194 Virginia City Executions.
but half a mile distant from his point of departure.
Proceeding with all possible speed to the cabin,
the leader threw open the door, and, bringing his
pistol to a deadly aim, exclaimed, —
" Throw up your hands."
Lyons, who was in the act of raising a piece of
a griddle-cake to his mouth, dropped the fork in-
stantly, and obeyed the order.
" Come out here, and surrender at once," was
the next command.
He was in his shirt-sleeves, and, as he stepped
out of the door into the biting atmosphere, he
asked in an undertone, —
" Will some one get my coat ? "
A member of the party brought it to him, and
assisted him in putting it on. He trembled so
much with fear that it was with difficulty he could
get his arms into the sleeves. While the party
were searching him to ascertain if he was armed,
he said, —
" You disturbed me in the first meal I have sat
down to with any appetite in six weeks."
" Finish your dinner," said the leader. " We
will wait for you."
" Thank you ; you are very kind, but I can eat
no more. What do you intend doing with me?
Will I be hung?"
Virginin City Executions. 195
" We are not here to promise you anything.
You had better prepare for the worst."
^' My friends advised me to leave two or three
days ago."
" You would probably have done well had you
followed their advice. Why didn't you go?"
" Because I had done nothing wrong, and did
not wish to leave."
It is probable that but for the blandishments of
a fascinating mistress, the memory of Dillingham's
murder would have dictated to this ruffian an
earlier and more successful effort at escape.
" Have you heard of the execution of Plummer,
Stinson, and Ray ? " asked the leader.
" Yes ; but I don't believe the report is true."
" You may bet your sweet life on 't."
" Did they make any resistance ? "
" No ; they had no opportunity."
Arriving at the committee-room, the prisoner
was immediately confronted with the officers.
" We have condemned you to death for the
murder of Dillingham, and being associated in
membership with Plummer's band of road agents.
Have you anything to say in extenuation ? "
^' That I am not guilty. I have committed no
crimes, and formed no associations, that call for
such severity. I am as innocent as you are,'*
196 Virginia City Executions.
And yet, but a short time before, the wretched
man had confessed to a leader of one of the police
committees in presence of several witnesses, that
he was the murderer of Dillingham. His compli-
city with Plummer's band was known to all.
Scarcely was Lyons's examination concluded,
when word was broug^ht to the Committee that
two suspicious persons, who had gone hurriedly to
Highland district, three miles above Virginia City,
the evening before, were concealed in one of the
unoccupied cabins there. An officer with fifteen
men was sent to arrest them. They were disarmed,
and brought before the Committee, but, no evi-
dence appearing against them, they were dis-
charged.
The examination being over, preparations were
made for the execution of the convicts. These
were very simple. The central cross-beam of an
unfinished log store, cornering upon two of the
principal streets, was selected for a scaffold. The
building was roofless, and its spacious open front
exposed the interior to the full view of the crowd.
The ropes, five in number, were drawn across the
beam to a proper length, and fastened firmly to
the loofs in the rear basement. Under each noose
was placed a large, empty dry-goods box, with
cord attached, for the drops.
Virginia City Executions. 197
Beside the large body of armed Vigilantes, a
great number of eager spectators had assembled
from all parts of the gulch to witness the execu-
tion. Six or eight thousand persons, comprehend-
ing the larger portion of the population of the
Territory, gathered into a compact mass when the
prisoners, with their armed escort, marched from
the committee-rooms into the street, and were
ranged in front of the guard.
" You are now," said the president, addressing
them, " to be conducted to the scaffold. An op-
portunity is given you to make your last requests
and communications. You will do well to improve
it by making a confession of your own crimes, and
putting the Committee in possession of information
as to the crimes of others."
The prisoners separately declined to make any
communication. When the guard were about
to fasten their arms. Jack Gallagher, with an oath,
exclaimed, —
" I will not be hung in public," and, drawing
his pocket-knife, he applied the blade to his throat,
saying : " I will cut my throat first."
The executive officer instantly cocked and pre-
sented his pistol.
" If you make another move of your arm,"
said he, " I will shoot you like a dog. Take the
198 Virginia City Exemitions.
knife from him, and pinion him at once," he con-
tinued, addressing the guard. The ruffian cursed
horribly, all the while his arms were being tied.
Boone Helm, with customary adjective pro-
fanity, said to Gallagher in a consolatory tone, —
" Don't make a fool of yourself. Jack. There's
no use or sense in being afraid to die."
After the process of binding was completed,
each prisoner was seized by the arm on either
side, by a Vigilante who held in the hand not
thus employed a navy revolver, ready for instant
use. The large body of armed Vigilantes were
then formed around the prisoners, into a hollow
square, four abreast on each side, and a column
in front and rear. A few men with pistols were
dispersed among the crowd of spectators, to guard
against any possible attempt at rescue. Thus
formed, the procession marched in the direction
of the scaffold with slow and solemn pace. The
silence of the great throng was unbroken by a
whisper, and, more eloquently than language could
have done, declared the feelings of anxiety and
suspense by which all were animated. Some
little delay being necessary to complete the pre}>-
arations at the scaffold, the procession halted
in front of the Virginia Hotel, on the corner
diagonally from it across Main street. While
Virginia City Executions. 199
waiting there, " Clubfoot George " called to his
side Judge Dance, and said to him, —
" You have known me ever since I came to
Virginia City, more intimately than any other
man. We have had dealings together. Can you
not in this hour of extremity say a good word
for my character ? "
"It would be of no use, George. Your deal-
ings with me have always been fair and honorable ;
but what you have done outside, I only know
from the evidence, and that is very strong against
you. I can do you no good."
" Well, then," said the penitent ruffian, " will
you pray with me?"
" Willingly, George ; most willingly," and, suit-
ing the action to the word, the judge dropped
upon his knees, and, with George and Gallagher
kneeling beside him, offered up a fervent petition
in behalf of the doomed men. Boone Helm was
irritated at this request, and, raising his sore
finger, exclaimed, —
" For God's sake, if you're going to hang me,
I want you to do it, and get through with it ; if
not, I want you to tie a bandage on my finger."
While the prayer was in progress, Hayes Lyons
requested that his hat should be removed. Frank
Parish gave abundant evidence of deep contrition,
200 Virginia City Executions.
but Boone Helm continued, as from the first, to
treat all the proceedings with profane and reckless
levity.
Gallagher, at one moment cursing, and at the
next crying, seemed the least composed of any
of the prisoners. He wore a handsome cavalry
overcoat, trimmed with beaver.
" Give me that coat. Jack," said Helm, as
Gallagher rose from his knees. " You never yet
gave me anything."
" It's little use you'll make of it now," re-
sponded Gallagher with an oath, and, catching at
the moment the eye of an acquaintance, who was
regarding him from a window of the hotel, he
called to him in a loud tone, —
" Say, old fellow, I'm going to heaven. I'll
be there in time to open the gate for you."
" Halloo, Bill ! " said Boone Helm to one in the
crowd, " they've got me this time ; got me, sure,
and no mistake."
Hayes Lyons begged of his captors the privi-
lege of seeing his mistress. " Let me bid her
good-b}' and restore this watch to her, which is
her property." The request was refused, only to
be repeated, and on being made a third time he
received for answer, —
" Hayes ! bringing women to the place of exe-
Virginia City JExecutions. 201
cution ^ played out ' in '63, when they interfered
with your trial for killing Dillingham."
The unhappy wretch ceased further impor-
tunity.
When the arrano^ements at the scaffold were
completed, the guard crossed the street, opened
ranks, and the prisoners were conducted through
into the building, each as he entered stepping
upon one of the dry-goods boxes. Ranged side
by side, "Clubfoot George" was first on the
east side of the room ; next to him was Hayes
Lyons, then Jack Gallagher, then Boone Helm,
and near the west wall Frank Parish. The area
in front of them was occupied by the guard and
the members of the Executive Committee. The
two streets in front and at the side of the building
were crowded with armed Vigilantes and specta-
tors. The order beinof o-iven to remove the hats
of the prisoners, Clubfoot George, whose hands
were loosely fastened, contrived to reach his hat,
which he threw spitefully on the floor, the hats
of the others being: at the same time removed
by the guard.
After the nooses were adjusted, the chief of the
Committee said to the prisoners, —
" You are now about to be executed. If you
have any dying requests to make, this is your last
202 Virginia City Executions.
opportunity. Yon may be assured they shall be
carefully heeded."
Jack Gallagher broke in upon the closing part
of this address with a leer, —
" How do I look, boys," he asked, " with a
halter around my neck?" The grim effort failed
to elicit a smile.
"Your time is very short," said the chief,
again reminding them that their requests would
be listened to.
" Well, then," said Gallagher, " I want one
more drink of whiskey before I die."
The loathing which this request excited was
apparent in the expression of the countenances
of all who heard it. Some men exchanged
meaning glances, revealing thereby the shock
their sensibilities had received by this exhibition
of depravity. Others craned their necks over
the crowd, as if they had not heard aright. For
a few minutes no one seemed to know what
answer to make to a man whose last moments
were given to the gratification of his evil appe-
tites. This silence was soon broken, however, by
an old miner.
" We told 'em," said he, " that we'd do what-
ever they asked. Give him the liquor."
A man appeared in a moment with a tumbler
Virginia City Executions. 203
nearly full. Raising it as high as he could, the
prisoner bent his head, but was restrained by the
rope from touching the glass with his lips.
Throwing his head back, he turned on the box,
and, looking back upon the fastenings of the rope
to the basement log at the rear of the building,
in a loud and imperious tone he launched a pro-
fane and vulgar epithet at the guard, saying, —
" Slacken that rope, quick, and let a man take
a parting drink, won't you ? "
The rope was loosed, while the depraved wretch
drained the tumbler at a draught. While the
guard was refastening it, he exclaimed, —
" I hope Almighty God will curse every one of
you, and that I shall meet you all in the lowest
pit of hell."
The Committee decided that the executions
should be single, commencing with " Clubfoot
George," and concluding with Hayes Lyons, who
stood next to him in order. At the words " Men,
do your duty," the men holding the cords attached
to the box on which the prisoner in turn stood,
were by a sudden jerk to pull the footing from
under him. A fall of three feet was deemed
sufficient to dislocate the neck, and avoid the
torture of protracted strangulation.
No more requests being made, the men laid
204 Virginia City Executions.
hold of the cords attached to the box occupied
by George Lane. Just at that moment the
unhappy wretch descried an old friend clinging
to the logs of the building, to obtain sight of the
execution.
" Good-by, old fellow," said he. *' I'm gone,"
and, without waiting for the box to be removed,
he leaped from it, and died with hardly a struggle.
" There goes one to hell," muttered Boone
Helm.
Hayes Lyons, who stood next, was talking all
the while, telling of his kind mother ; that he
had been well brought up, but evil associations
had brouo'ht him to the scaffold.
o
Gallagher cried and swore by turns.
" I hope," said he, " that forked lightning will
strike every strangHng villain of you." The box,
flying from under his feet, stopped an oath in its
utterance, and the quivering of his muscles showed
that his guilty career was terminated.
" Kick away, old fellow," said Boone Helm,
calmly surveying the struggles of the dying
wretch. " My turn comes next. I'll be in hell
with you in a minute." Shouting in a loud voice,
" Every man for his principles ! Hurrah for Jeff
Davis ! Let her rijJ," his body fell with a twang
that killed him almost instantly.
Virginia City Exeeiitions. 205
Frank Parish maintained a serious deportment
from the moment of his arrest until his execution.
At his request his black necktie was dropped like
a veil over his face. He " died and made no
SlofU.
Hayes Lyons was the only one remaining.
Looking right and left at the swaying bodies of
his companions, his anxious face indicated a hope
of pardon. His entreaties were incessant, but
when he found them unavailing, he requested
that his mistress might have the disposition of
his body ; that the watch of hers which he wore
might be restored to her, and that he might not
be left hanging for an unseemly time. He died
without a struggle.
Two hours after the execution the bodies were
cut down, and taken by friends to Cemetery Hill
for burial.
X. Beidler officiated as adjuster of the ropes at
this execution. Jack Gallagher had killed a
friend of his. Some time afterwards, when he
was relatino' the circumstances attendino- the exe-
cution, in a mixed crowd, a gentleman present
who was greatly interested in the narrative, and
whose sympathy for the ruffians was very appar-
ent, asked, at the close of the narrative, in a
lachrymose tone, —
206 Virginia City Executions.
" Well, now, when you came to hang that poor
fellow, didn't you sympathize with him, didn't
you feel for him? "
Beidler regarded the man for a moment with
great disgust, and, imitating his tone, replied
slowly, —
" Yes, I did. I felt for him a httle, I felt for
his left ear."
Pursuit of Hoad Agents- 207
CHAPTER XIV.
PURSUIT OF ROAD AGENTS.
Pursuit, Capture, and Execution of Steve Marsh-
land, Bill Bunton, Cyrus Skinner, Alex Car-
ter, Johnny Cooper, George Shears, and Bob
Zachary — Incidents by the Way.
The work so well begun was prosecuted with
great energy. The ruffians had fled from Virginia
City and Bannack, over the range to Deer Lodge
and Bitter Root, intending gradually to return
to their old haunts in Idaho. The Vigilantes,
resolved that they should not escape, took up the
pursuit. A company of twenty-one, under the
command of a competent leader, left Nevada on
the fifteenth of January. Arriving at Big Hole
in the evening, they sent a detachment to Clark's
ranche to arrest the bandit Steve Marshland, who
was laid up with frozen feet, and the wound
which he received in the breast while attacking
Moody's train. Receiving no response to their
repeated raps at the door of the cabin, one of the
'208 Pursuit of Uoad Agents.
party entered, and, lighting a wisp of straw,
found Marshland in bed.
" Hands up, if you please," said he, pointing
his revolver at the head of the prostrate robber,
who obeyed the command as well as circum-
stances would admit.
" Are you sick, Steve ? " queried the Vigi-
lante.
" Yes — very," faintly responded Marshland.
" No one with you ? "
" No one, — no living thing but the dog."
" What is the matter ? "
" I've got the chills."
" Strang-e ! New kind of sickness for winter !
Nothing else the matter ? "
" Yes. I froze my feet while prospecting at
the head of Rattlesnake creek."
" Did you raise the color ? "
" No. The water prevented me from going
to bed-rock."
While this conversation was in progress, the
party had built a fire and commenced cooking
supper. Removing from beside the bed two
double-barrelled shotguns, a yager, and another
rifle, they invited Marshland to get up and take
supper with them. During the meal all engaged
in merry conversation. After it was over, the
Pursuit of Road Agents. 209
leader informed Marshland that he was arrested
for the robbery of Moody's train.
" You received," said he, " while engaged in
that robbery, a bullet wound in the breast, by
which we shall be able to identify you."
" I received no such wound," said he ; and,
striking his breast several times, he continued,
" My breast is as sound as a dollar."
" You can have no objection, then, to submit-
tinof to our examination."
" None in the least, gentlemen. Look for
yourselves."
The leader threw open his shirt. The mark of
the recent wound confirmed the guilt of the
robber. He could give no explanation of the
manner in which he received it.
" The evidence is satisfactory to us," said the
leader. " We have made no mistake in arresting
you. You must die."
" For God's sake do not hang me. Let me go,
and I will trouble you no more."
" It cannot be. We shall certainly execute
every one of Plummer's infamous band that falls
into our hands, and we hope to catch them all."
Finding importunity of no avail, he made a
full and frank confession of all his crimes. A
scaffold w;u improvised bv sticking into the <rr()und
210 I'nrfiuit of Road A'jents.
a pole, the end of Avhich projected over the cor-
ral fence, upon which tlie pole rested. A box
taken from the cabin was placed under it, for the
prisoner to stand upon. When all was ready, and
the fatal noose Avas adjusted, the prisoner once
more appealed to his captors.
" Have mercy on me for my youth ! " he
exclaimed.
" You should have thought of it before,"
replied the leader, as he gave the fatal order, and
the poor wretch was launched into eternity.
The scent of his frozen feet attracted the
wolves, and the party were obliged to watch both
him and the horses, to prevent an attack by these
animals. He was buried near the place of execu-
tion. The detachment found the main party the
next morning, having been absent only one night.
The Vigilantes resumed their march, beginning
at this point the ascent of the Deer Lodge divide.
Not knowing how soon or where they might
overtake others of the gang, they rode forward
in double file at the rate of sixty miles a day.
They divided their company into four messes,
each of which being supplied plentifully with
food already cooked, they lighted no large camp-
fires, lest the smoke therefrom should betray
them. A double watch was kept over the horses
Pursuit of Road Agents. 211
while in camp. Each man was armed with at
least one, some with two revolvers, and a shot-
gun or rifle. While on the march, the captain
was in the van. After they descended into the
valley of Deer Lodge, a spy was sant forward to
reconnoitre the town of Cottonwood, with instruc-
tions to meet the party at Cottonwood creek.
At four o'clock p.m. they halted at Smith's
ranche, seventeen miles from Cottonwood, until
after dark, when they rode cautiously forward
until within a short distance of the town. Learn-
ing from their spy that all the robbers except
Bunton and "Tex" had gone, they rode hastily
into the town and surrounded the saloon of the
former. Bunton refused to open the door. Three
men detailed to arrest him called to him and
expressed a wish to see him. He persisted in
denying them admittance, until convinced that
they would effect an entrance by force ; and he
then told a man and boy in his employ to let
them in. The door was opened, but, as the lights
within had been extinguished, the men declined
to enter until a candle was liirhted. As soon as
light was furnished, they rushed in, and the
leader exclaimed, —
" Bill, you are my prisoner ! "
"For what?" inquired Bunton.
212 Pursuit of Road Agents.
" Come with us at once, and you'll find
out."
Observing that he made signs of resistance, a
Vigilante, whose courage exceeded his strength,
seized the ruffian and attempted to drag him out.
Finding himself overmatched, he called to his as-
sistance a comrade, who soon succeeded in bind-
ing the hands of the desperado behind him. In
this condition he was conducted by a guard to the
cabin of Peter Martin.
" Tex," who was in the saloon, was conquered
in much the same manner, and forced to follow
his companion.
Martin, who knew nothing of the arrest, was
seated at a table playing a game at cards with
some friends. Hearing that the Vigilantes were
surrounding his house, he dropped his cards, and
started with great affright for the door. For a
long time he refused to obey their summons to
come out, but, on being assured that he " wasn't
charged with nothin'," he opened the door and
returned to his game.
After breakfast the next morning a person who
had been conversing with Bunton informed the
Vigilantes that he had said to him that he would
"get one of them yet," on learning whereof they
searched him a second time. They found a der-
Pursuit of Road Agents. 21 S
ringer in his vest-pocket, which had evidently been
placed there by some sympathizer during- the
nigfht.
Bunton refused to make any answer to the
charofes made aoainst him. No doubt was enter-
tained o£ his guilt. The vote on his case, taken
by the uplifted hand, was unanimous for his exe-
cution. The captain informed him of it.
" If you have any business to attend to, you
had better intrust it to some one, as we cannot be
delayed here."
Bunton immediately gave his gold watch to his
partner Cooke, and appropriated his other prop-
erty to the payment of his debts. He had gam-
bled for and won the interest in the saloon from
its former owner a fortniofht before this time.
Having thus disposed of his affairs, he was con-
ducted to the gate of a corral near, surmounted
by a gallows-frame, beneath which a board laid
upon two boxes served the purpose of a drop.
While the hangman was adjusting the rope, he
gave him particular instructions about the exact
situation of the knot. This being fixed to suit
him, he said to the captain, —
" May I jump off myself ? "
" You can if you wish," was the reply.
" I care no more for hanging," said Bunton,
214 Pursuit of Road Agents.
" than I do for taking a drink of water ; but I
should Hke to have my neck broken."
On being asked if he had anything further to
say, he repHed, —
" Nothing, except that I have done nothing to
deserve death. I am innocent. All I want is a
mountain three hundred feet high to jump from.
And now I will give you the time ; one — two —
three." The men were prepared to pull the plank
from under him should he fail to jump, but he
anticijDated them, and, adding the words, " Here
goes," he leaped and fell with a loud thud, dying
without a struggle.
" Tex " was separately tried. The evidence being
insufficient to convict him, he was liberated, and
left immediately for the Kootenai mines.
Mrs. Demorest, the wife of the owner of the
corral, was so greatly outraged by the use made
of the gate frame that she gave her husband no
peace until the poles were cut down, and the frame
entirely unfitted for further use as a gallows.
After the execution of Bunton, the Vigilantes,
in company with Jemmy Allen, a rancheman, left
Cottonwood for Hell Gate, a little settlement
ninety miles down the river, in the vicinity of
Bitter Root valley. Snow covered the ground to
the depth of two feet, and the weather was in-
Pursuit of Road Agents. 215
tensely cold. It was after dark when the com-
pany arrived at one of the crossings of the Deer
Lodge. The river, being a rapid mountain stream,
seldom freezes sufficiently solid to bear a horseman ;
but, no other mode of transit presenting itself, the
Vigilantes drove hurriedly upon the frozen sur-
face, and, before they were half-way across, the
ice gave way, precipitating their horses into the
water. Had the stream been wide, all must have
perished. As it was, after much floundering and
considerable exertion, all were landed safely on
the opposite bank. One of the party barely es-
caped drowning, and his horse was dragged from
the stream by a lariat around his neck. At' eleven
o'clock the company arrived at Allen's ranclie,
where they passed the remainder of the night in
blankets.
The next day, accompanied by Charles Eaton,
who was familiar with the country, they rode on in
the direction of Hell Gate, but, owing to the great
depth of the snow, progressed only fifteen miles.
They made a camp in the snow. Their horses,
being accustomed to the mountains, pawed in the
snow to find the bunch-grass. The ride of the
following day terminated at the workmen's quar-
ters on the Mullen wagon-road. One of the ponies
broke his leg by stepping into a badger hole while
216 Pursuit of Road Agents.
they were going into camp, and another, by a
similar accident, stripped the skin from his hind-
legs. They were obliged to shoot the former, and
turn the latter loose to await their return.
The troop were in their saddles at daylight, on
the route to the settlement, which they approached
to within six miles, and went into camp until
after nightfall. Then they resumed their ride,
stopping a short distance outside of the town.
The scout they had sent to reconnoitre brought
them all needful information, and, mounting their
horses, they entered the town on a keen run.
Skinner was standing in the doorway of his
saloon, when they rode up, surrounded the build-
ing, and ordered him to " throw up his hands."
" You must have learned that from the Ban-
nack stage folks," said his chere amie, Nelly, who
was an observer of the scene.
Two men dismounted, and, seizing Skinner,
bound him immediately. Meantime two or three
Vigilantes threw open the door of Miller's cabin,
which was next to Skinner's, and Dan Harding,
the foremost among them, levelling his gun,
shouted to some person lying upon a lounge, —
" Alex, is that you ? "
" Yes," replied the man, " what do you want ? "
*^ We want you," was the reply, as the men
Pursuit of Road Agents. 217
rushed in, took his pistol, and bound the robber
before he was thoroughly aroused from sleep.
" These are rather tight papers — ain't they,
boys?" said Carter. "Give me something to
smoke and tell me the news." On being told the
names of those who had been executed, he quietly
remarked, —
" That's all right ; not an innocent man huno-
yet."
He and Skinner were conducted down to
Higgins's store, and their examination immediately
commenced. Three hours were occupied in the
investigation, during which Nelly came down,
with the intention of interfering in Skinner's
behalf. She was sent home under guard; and
her escort, on searching her premises, found
Johnny Cooper prostrated by three pistol shots,
received in a quarrel with Carter the previous
day, but for which it had been the intention of
Carter and Cooper to leave for Kootenai. The
baggage and provisions they had procured for the
journey, worth a hundred and thirty dollars,
together with the pack-animal, were taken for
the use of the expedition, and were paid for by
M. W. Tipton, whom Carter and Cooper had
persuaded to become their surety for the amount.
During the trial of Carter, he confessed his
218 Pursuit of Road Agents.
complicity as accessory, both before and after tbe
fact, to the murder of Tiebalt. It was proven
also that he was concerned in the coach robbery.
Skinner made no confession, nor was it necessary,
as his criminal character and acts were suscepti-
ble of abundant proof.
Cooper was tried separately. He was one of
the heutenants of the band. A Vigilante by the
name of President testified to his having mur-
dered a man in Idaho, for which he was arrested
by the people. While being conducted to the
place of trial, he broke from his captors, leaped
with a bound upon a horse standing near, and,
amid a hundred shots, escaped uninjured, and
came to Montana.
On the evening of the day these trials were in
progress, a detachment of eight men left Hell
Gat'e in pursuit of Bob Zachary, whom they found
seated in bed, in the cabin of Hon. Barney
O'Keefe, known throughout Bitter Root valley
as " the Baron." One of the party, on entermg,
pushed him over, upon his back, taking from hun,
at the same time, his pistol and knife. While on
their return with him to Hell Gate, O'Keefe
unintentionally mentioned that a stranger was
stopping at Van Dorn's cabin, in the Bitter Root
valley. A company of three Vigilantes, sus-
Parsidt of Road Agents. 219
pecting by the description given that he was
none other than George Shears, another of the
band, started at once in pursuit.
Riding up in front of the cabin, Thomas Pitt,
their leader, inquired of the man who met them
at the door, if George Shears was in.
" Yes," said Van Dorn. " He is in the ioner
room."
" Any objection to our entering ? " inquired
Pitt.
Van Dorn repKed by opening the door of the
room, where George was discovered, knife in
hand. He surrendered without resistance, aston-
ishing his captors by the utter indifference he
manifested to the near approach of death. Walk-
ing with Pitt to the corral, he designated the
horses he had stolen, and confessed his guilt.
"I knew," said he, " I should have to come to
this sometime, but I thought I could run another
season."
" There is no help for you, George," said Pitt.
" You must suffer the same fate as your compan-
ions in crime."
" I suppose 1 should be satisfied," replied the
ruffian, " that it is no worse."
He was conducted to the barn, where, a rope
being cast over a beam, he was requested, in order
220 Pursuit of Road Agents.
to save the trouble of procuring a drop, to ascend
the ladder. He complied without the least reluc-
tance. After the preparations were completed,
he said to his captors, —
" Gentlemen, I am not used to this business,
never having been hung before. Shall I jump
oif, or slide off?"
" Jump off, of course," was the reply.
" All right," he exclaimed, " good-by ! " and
leaped from the ladder, with the utmost sang
frold. The drop was long, and the rope tender.
As the strands untwisted, they parted, until
finally one alone remained.
Soon after the party which captured Zachary
and Shears had left Hell Gate, intelligence was
received there that William Graves (Whiskey Bill)
was at Fort Owen in the Bitter Root valley.
Three men were sent immediately to arrest and
execute him. He was armed and on the lookout,
and had repeatedly sworn that he would shoot
any Vigilante that came in his way. The party
was too wary for him. He was first made aware
of their presence, by a stern command to sur-
render, and a pistol at his heart. He made no
resistance, and refused all confession. A rope
was tied to the convenient limb of a tree, and
the drop extemporized by placing the culprit
Pursuit of Road Agents. 221
astride of a string- liorse, behind a Vigilante.
When all was ready, the rider, exclaiming- " Good-
by. Bill," plunged the rowels into the sides of the
horse, which madly leaping forward, the fatal
noose swept the robber from his seat, break-
ing his neck by the shocij;, and killing him
instantly.
In the mean time, the trials of Carter, Skinner,
and Cooper had resulted in the conviction of those
ruffians, and they were severally condemned to
die. Scaffolds were hastily prepared by placing
poles over the fence of Higgins's corral. Carter
and Skinner were conducted to execntion by
torchlight, a little after the midnight succeeding
their trial. Dry-goods boxes were used for drops.
On their march to the place of execution. Skinner
suddenly broke from his guard, and ran off, shout-
ing, "Shoot! Shoot!" Not a gun was raised,
but after a short chase in the snow the prisoner
was secured, and led up to the scaffold. He made
a second attempt to get away while standing on
the box, but a rope was soon adjusted to his neck,
and the leader said to him, —
" You may jump now, as soon as you please."
Carter manifested i>"reat disii'ust at Skinner's at-
tempt to run away. While he was standing on
the drop, one of the Vigilantes requested him to
222 Pursuit of Road Agents.
confess that he participated in the murder of
Tiebalt.
" If I had my hands free," he replied .with an
oath, "I'd make you take that back."
Skinner, who stood by his side, was talking
violently at the time, and Carter was ordered to
be quiet.
" Well, then, let's have a smoke," said he ; and,
a lighted pipe being given him, he remained quiet.
Both criminals, as they were launched from the
platform, exclaimed, " I am innocent " — the pass-
word of tlie l)and. They died appureutly without
pain.
The party that arrested Zachary arrived with
him the next mornins". He was tried and found
guilty. By his directions a letter was written to
his mother, in which he warned his brothers and
sisters to avoid drinking, card-playing, and bad
company — three evils which, he said, had brought
him to the gallows. On the scaffold he prayed
that God would foro^ive the VioHantes for what
they were doing, as it was the only way to clear
the country of road agents. He died without
apparent fear or suffering.
Johnny Cooper was drawn to the scaffold in a
sleigh, his wounded leg rendering him unable to
walk. He asked for his pipe.
Pursuit of Road Agents. 223
" I want," said he, " a good smoke before I die.
I always did enjoy a smoke." A letter had been
written to his parents, who lived in the State of
New York. Several times, while a Vigilante was
engaged in adjusting the rope, he dodged the
noose, but, on being told to keep his head straight,
he submitted. He died without a struggle.
Having finished their mission, the Vigilantes
returned to Nevada.
224 Mxecution of Hunter.
CHAPTER XV.
EXECUTION OF HUNTER.
Search for Bill Hunter — His Place of Conceal-
ment DISCOVERED PaRTY START IN PuRSUIT
Incidents by the Way — Arrival at the Cabin
— Arrest — Start for Virginia City — Consul-
tation — Execution — Reflections.
Soon after the transactions recorded in the last
chapter, the Virginia City Vigilantes were informed
that Bill Hunter had been seen in the Gallatin
valley. It was reported that he sought a covert
among the rocks and brush, where he remained
during the day, stealing out at night and seeking
food among the scattered settlers, as he could find
it. His place of concealment was about twenty
miles from the mouth of the Gallatin river. A
number of the Vigilantes, under the pretence of
joining the Barney Hughes stampede to a new
placer discovery, left Virginia City, and scoured
the country for a distance of sixty miles or more,
in search of the missing ruffian. Hunter was dis-
covered during this search.
As soon as it became known that he was at the
Execution of Hunter. 226
spot indicated, four resolute men at once volun-
teered to go in pursuit of, capture, and execute
him. Their route lay across two heavy divides,
and required about sixty miles of hurried travel-
ling. The first day they crossed the divide be-
tween the Pas-sam-a-ri and the Madison, camping
that niofht on the bank of the latter river, which
they had forded with great difficulty. The weather
was intensely cold, and their blankets afforded but
feeble protection against it. They built a large
camp-fire, and lay down as near to it as safety
would permit. One of their number spread his
blankets on the slope of a little hillock next the
fire, and during the night slipped down until his
feet encountered the hot embers. The weather
increased in severity the next day, during most of
which the Vioilantes rode throuo-h a fierce moun-
tain snow-storm, with the wind directly in their
faces. At 2 o'clock p.m. they halted for supper
at the Milk ranche, about twenty miles from the
place where they expected to find the fugitive.
Under the g-uidance of a man whom thev em-
})loyed here, they then pushed on at a rapid pace,
the storm gathering in fury as they progressed.
At midnight they drew up near a lone cabin in
the neighborhood of the rocky jungle where their
game had taken cover.
226 Execution of JIunter.
" This storm has certainly routed him," said
one of the Vigilantes. " Ten to one, we bag him
in the cabin."
" Very likely," replied another. " He would
not suspect danger in such weather. It will save
us a heap of trouble."
One of the men rapped loudly at the cabin door.
Opening it slowdy, a look of amazement stole over
the features of the inmate, as he surveyed the
company of six mounted armed men.
" Good-evening," said one, saluting him.
" Don't know whether it is or not," growled
the man, evidently suspicious that a visit at so
late an hour meant mischief.
" Build us a fire, man," said the Vigilante.
" We are nearly frozen, and this is the only place
of shelter from this storm for many miles. Surely
you w^on't play the churl to a party of weather-
bound prospectors."
Re-assured by this hearty reproof for his
seeming unkindness, the man set to work with a
will, and in a few moments a genial fire was
blazing on the hearth, which the party enjoyed
thoroughly. Glancing curiously around the little
room, the Vigilantes discovered that it contained
three occupants besides themselves. Placing
their guns and pistols in convenient position, and
Execution of Hnnter. 227
stationing a sentinel to keep watch and feed the
fire, the men spread their blankets on the clay
surface of the enclosure, and in a few moments
were locked in sleep ; careful, however, first, to
satisfy the eager curiosity of their entertainers,
by a brief conversation about mining, stampeding,
prospecting, etc., and leading them to believe that
they were a party of miners, returning from an
unsuccessful expedition.
Fatigued with the ride and exposure of the two
previous days, the Vigilantes slept until a late
hour the next morning. Two of the occupants
of the cabin rose at the same time. The other,
entirely enveloped in blankets, kept up a pro-
longed snore, whose deep bass signified that he
was wrapped in profound slumber. The Vigi-
lantes, contriving to keep four of their number
in the cabin, while making preparations to depart,
soon had their horses saddled ; but when all
was ready, one of them inquired in a careless
tone, —
" Who is the man that sleeps so soundly ? "
" I don't know him," said the host.
" When did he come here ? "
" At the beginning of the snow-storm, two
days ago. He came in and asked permission to
remain here until it was over."
228 Execution of Hunter.
" Perhaps it's an acquaintance. Won't you
describe him to us ? "
The man complied, by giving a most accurate
description of Hunter. No longer in doubt, the
Vigilante went up to the bedside, and, in a loud
voice, called out, " Bill Hunter ! "
Hastily drawing the blanket from his face, the
occupant stared wildly out upon the six armed
men, asking in the same breath, —
" Who's there ? "
Six shotguns levelled at his head answered the
question.
^' Give us your revolver, and get up," was the
command. Hunter instantly complied.
" You are arrested as one of Plummer's band
of road agents."
" I hope," said Hunter, " you will take me to
Virginia City." A Vigilante assented.
" What conveyance have you for me ? "
" There," said one, pointing to a horse, " is the
animal you must ride."
The prisoner put on his hat and overcoat, and
mounted the horse. Just as he was about to
seize the reins, a Vigilante took them from his
hands, saying, with affected suavity, —
" If you please, I'll manage these for you.
You've only to sit still and ride."
Execution of Hunter. 229
After the company started, the robber cast a
suspicious glance behind him, and saw one man
following on foot. His countenance fell. The
expression told, in stronger language than words,
that the thought which harassed him was that he
would not be taken to Virginia City. About two
miles distant from the cabin, the company drew
up and dismounted under a solitary tree. Scrap-
ing away the snow, they kindled a fire, and
prepared their breakfast, ol which the robber
partook with them, and seemed to forget his fears,
and laughed and joked as if no danger were nigh.
Breakfast over, the Vigilantes held a brief con-
sultation as to the disposition w^hich should be
made of their prisoner. On putting the question
to vote, it was decided by the votes of all but the
person who had signified to Hunter that he was
to be taken to Virginia City, that his execution
should take place instantly.
The condemned wretch turned deadly pale, and
in a faint voice asked for water. One of the
Viofilantes related to him the crimes of which he
had been guilty.
" Of course," said he, " you know that offences
of this magnitude, in all civilized countries, are
punished with death. The necessity for a rigid
enforcement of this penalty, in a country which
230 Execution of Hunter.
has no judiciary, is greater even than in one where
these crimes are tried by courts of law. There
is no escape for you. We are sorry that you have
incurred this penalty, — sorry for you, but the
blame is wholly yours."
Hunter made no reply to the justice in his
case, but requested that his friends should not be
informed of the manner of his death.
" I have," said he, " no property to pay the
expense of a funeral, and my burial even must
depend upon your charity. I hope you will give
me a decent one."
" Every reasonable request shall be granted.
Bill," said the Vigilante ; " but you know the
ground is too hard for us to attempt your inter-
ment without proper implements. We will inform
your friends of your execution, and they will
attend to your burial."
While this conversation was going on, some of
the Vigilantes had prepared the noose, and
passed the rope over a limb of the tree. The
criminal shook hands with all, tearfully bidding
each " good-by." After the rope was adjusted,
several of the men took hold of it, and at a given
signal, by a rapid pull, ran the prisoner up so sud-
denly that he died without apparent suffering;
yet, strange to say, he reached as if for his pistol,
Execution of Hunter. 231
and pantomimically cocked and discharged it six
times. The " ruling passion was strong in
death." Leaving the corpse suspended from the
tree, the Vigilantes, now that their work was
done, hurried homeward at a rapid pace.
Hunter was the last of Plummer's band that fell
into the hands of the Vigilantes. The man was
not destitute of redeeming qualities. He often
worked hard in the mines for the money he lost
at the gaming-table, but in an evil hour he joined
Plummer's gang, and aided in the commission of
many infamous crimes. In his personal inter-
course he was known to perform many kind acts.
He admitted, just before his death, the justice of
his sentence. It is believed that in his escape
through the pickets at Virginia City he was assisted
by some of the Vigilantes, who did not credit his
guilt.
The death of Hunter marked the bloody close
of the rei<in of Plummer's band. He was the last
of that terrible organization to fall a victim to
Vigilante justice. The retribution, almost Dra-
conic in severity, administered to these daring
freebooters had in no respect exceeded the de-
mands of absolute justice. If the many acts I
have narrated of their villanies were not sufficient
to justify the extreme course pursued in their ex-
232 Execution of Hunter.
termination, surely the unrevealed history, greater
in enormity, and stained with the blood of a hun-
dred or more additional victims, must remove all
prejudices from the public mind against the vol-
untary tribunal of the Vigilantes. There was no
other remedy. Practically, they had no law, but,
if law had existed, it could not have afforded ade-
quate redress. This was proven by the feeling of
security consequent upon the destruction of the
band. When the robbers were dead the people
felt safe, not for themselves alone, but for their
pursuits and their property. They could travel
without fear. They had a reasonable assurance
of safety in the transmission of money to the States,
and in the arrival of property over the unguarded
route from Salt Lake. The crack of pistols had
ceased, and they could walk the streets without
constant exposure to danger. There was an omni-
present spirit of protection, akin to that omnipres-
ent spirit of law which pervaded older civilized
communities. Men of criminal instincts were
cowed before the majesty of ar. outraged people's
wrath, and the very thought of crime became a
terror to them. Young- men who had learned to
believe that the roughs were destined to rule, and
who, under the influence of that guilty faith, were
fast drifting into crime, shrunk appalled before
Execution of ffunfer. 233
the thorouofh work of the Viofilantes. Fear, more
potent than conscience, forced even the worst of
men to observe the requirements of civilized soci-
ety, and a feehng of comparative security among
all classes was the result.
But the work was not all done. A few reck-
less spirits remained, who, when the excitement
was over, forgot the lesson it taught, and returned
to their old vocation. The Vigilantes preserved
their organization, and, as we shall see in the sub-
sequent pages of this history, meted out the stern-
est justice to all capital offenders.
This portion of my history would be incom-
plete did I omit to mention that Smith and Thur-
mond, the lawyers who had on several prominent
occasions defended the bloodiest of the roughs,
were both banished. The former of these was a
man of remarkable ability in his profession, and
of correct and generous impulses. To a clear,
logical mind, and thorough knowledge of his pro-
fession, he added fine powers as an orator ; and it
was these qualities, more than any sympathy he
indulged for his clients, that rendered him obnox-
ious to public censure and suspicion. After an
exile of two years he returned to the Territory,
and resumed the practice of law, Avhich he followed
with success until his death, which occurred in
23 t l^xecnfion of Hunter.
Tlclciia in 1870. He was oreatly lamented l)y all
who knew him.
Thurmond came from the " west side," with a
reputation for being a friend of the roughs, — one
not in complicity with them, but upon whom they
could always depend for assistance in case of diffi-
culty. After his banishment he went to Salt Lake
City, where he associated himself with the Danites,
or Destroying Angels of the Mormon church,
whom he tried to induce to follow his leadership
in an active crusade ao^ainst all the members of
the Montana Vigilance Committee who might pass
through Utah on their way to the States. Fail-
ing in this, he afterwards removed to Dallas,
Texas, where he became involved in a quarrel
with a noted desperado, by whom he was shot
and instantly killed.
The administration of justice, and the peace
and safety of the people, demanded the banishment
of both these men, thouoh manv of worse charac-
ter and more criminal nature but of less influence
were permitted to remain.
The Stranger^ Story. 235
CHAPTER XVI.
THE STRANGERS STORT.
Preparations for a Home — Disasters — Disap-
pointments — Hermit Life — Boone Helm — His
Departure — A Strange Visitant — Eomantic
History — Return of Helm and two Companions
— His Murderous Designs thwarted — Return to
Civilization — Meeting with Benefactress.
Late in the fall of 1872, I spent a few days
in Salt Lake City. One evening at the Townsend
House, while conversing with Governor Woods
and a few friends upon the events which had
led to the organization of the Montana Vigilantes,
I mentioned the name of Boone Helm.
" Boone Helm ! I knew him well," was the
abrupt exclamation of a stranger seated near, who
had been quietly listening to our conversation.
We were no less attracted by the singular appear-
ance of the speaker, than the suddenness of the
remark. Tall, slender, ungainly, awkward in
manner, he yet possessed a pleasing, intellectual
countenance, and a certain maofnetism, which
236 The Stranger s Story.
becfat an instantaneous desire in all to hear his
history.
" Excuse me, gentlemen," said he, drawing his
chair nearer our circle, " for obtruding myself,
but the mere utterance of the name of Boone
Helm brings to memory the most thrilling episode
of my life's history."
Assuring him that no apology was necessary,
and that the recital of adventures was the order
of the evening, we all united in the request that
he should favor us with his narration.
" It's quite a long story," he resumed, lighting
his meerschaum, " and you may tire of it before
I close. Our individual experiences seldom inter-
est listeners, but the subject of your conversation
at this time affords a good place to slip in this
single feature of a life not entirely void of ad-
venture ; and I hope it will not detract from the
entertainment of the evenino-. Truth obligees me
to be the hero of my own tale."
Drawing his chair into the centre of our circle,
he began, —
" I went to Oregon a mere boy, and grew to
manhood there. My early education was neglected
for want of opportunity, there being no schools in
the country. I mention this to account for a fact
which will become apparent hereafter. Our neigh-
The Strangers Story. 237
bors, in the dialect of the country, thought me a
little ' luny,' and predicted for me an unhappy
future. I certainly was eccentric, and when I
recall many acts of my early life, I do not blame
them for harshness of judgment.
" As I approached manhood, no text of the
sacred volume exercised me more than that which
declares it is not oood for man to be alone. I set
to work to make preparations for domestic life. I
entered a quarter section of land, built a house,
ploughed fields, planted an orchard, cultivated a
garden, which I laid out with walks, adorning
them with the choicest shrubs and flowers. My
grounds and dwelling were as neat and comfort-
able as the resources of a new country would per-
mit. I stocked my farm with horses, cattle, sheep,
and chickens — in brief, I lacked none of the
essentials to a happy farm life.
'' I had selected the fair one who was to share
with me life's joys and sorrows, and obtained her
promise to marry the following autumn. The
world before me was roseate with beauty and hap-
piness. My feelings were buoyant, unmingled
with a single thought of disappointment or failure
in the plans I had made. But alas ! in a few brief
months all this dream was wretchedly dispelled.
I learned the lesson caught in those simple words,
238 The Stranger's Story.
' Man proposes, but God disposes.' When the
products of my fields were teeming with their
highest life, and the flowers and shrubs in my
garden were blooming in their greatest beauty,
and the sun shone brightest, and the birds sang
sweetest, an angry cloud appeared, filled with
myriads of those winged pests that have so often
swept from the soil all the hopes and treasures of
the husbandman. The destruction of the fields
of Egypt under the curse of locusts was not more
complete than that of the field and garden which,
a few hours before, had been my greatest pride.
They were thoroughly denuded — field, garden,
yard, even the stately trees around my dwelling —
all were naked, shaven, brown, and barren. A
more perfect blight could not be conceived. My
heart for the moment sank within me.
" But, being naturally of a hopeful disposition,
I remembered that flocks and herds were still left,
and I determined to look at the disaster with a
strong heart, and trv by renewed exertion to re-
gain what had been lost. Alas ! troubles never
come singly. I was obliged to postpone my mar-
riage indefinitely. The coldest winter and heaviest
snows ever known before or since in that country
brought starvation to all my cattle, horses, pigs,
and chickens, and when spring came I had noth-
The Stranger s Story. 239
ing left but my dwelling. I became despondent,
sulky, indifferent. My father, who dwelt in another
part of the country, was wealthy. Generously
sympathizing in my misfortunes, he offered to give
me a fresh start, with three hundred head of cattle
and the necessaries of life. I accepted, and deter-
mined to plunge deeper into the wilds, away from
civilization, and begin life anew, thinking to avenge
myself upon the disappointments of the past
by a solitary life, with nature and books as a
solace.
" I bouo-ht a well-selected assortment of educa-
o
tional volumes, ranging from a spelling-book to
the Latin and Greek classics, and from Ray's
Arithmetic to the higher branches of mathematics,
and, employing thi'ee reliable men to drive the
herd, picked my way over mountains and rivers
to the Rogue River valley, a region then destitute
of settlers, but the principal hunting-ground and
home of the fiercest and most warlike tribe of
Indians on the Pacific coast. Their hostility to
the whites then, and for many years afterwards,
was bloodthiisty and unappeasable. But I was
accustomed to frontier life, familiar with the coun-
try, and did not fear the Indians. The valley was
full of game, and they would not kill my stock.
My life, which they would destroy on the first op-
^40 The Stranger'' s Story.
portunity, I determined to look out for as best I
might ; besides, there was an indescribable charm
in the idea of such exposure as required a con-
stant exercise of all the faculties. A man shows
for all he is worth in a country filled with hostile
Indians. He makes no mistakes there, and learns
the value of gun, pistol, and hunting-knife.
" I selected a place thirty-six miles west of the
old California trail, under the shadow of the Coast
range of mountains, in one of the most charming
of valleys. The only evidence that it had ever
been visited by a human being was a small Indian
trail near by, which led from the base of Siskiyou
mountain to the ocean, near the mouth of Coquil-
las river. I turned my cattle upon the fine range
of native grass which covered both hill and valley
in all directions, and, with the aid of the herds-
men, built a log cabin, stockading a half-acre, en-
closing it with poles fifteen feet high. My armory
consisted of one rifle, fifteen United States yagers,
one double-barrelled shot-gun, a pair of Colt's re-
volvers, and a large supply of ammunition. Feel-
ing that I was now prepared to defend myself
against the Indians, I dismissed the men, who re-
turned to the settlements, and began the life of
solitude.
" In the early days of this experience, I confess I
The Stranger s Story. 241
sometimes cast longing thoughts back to the rela-
tions and friends I had forsaken, and wished I had
been less precipitate in my choice of a mode of
life. Then the past would come up, with its com-
mencement of promise and happiness, and its close
of disappointment and gloom. I called philosophy
to my aid, and strove to forget, in my studies,
which I engaged in with energy, all my former
joys and griefs.
" Familiarity with my condition wore away all
regrets, and I soon learned to love my exile, and
to regard it as the most instructive and least harm-
ful portion of my life. To avoid too great monot-
ony, I occasionally spent a day in hunting or
fishing, or looking after my herd ; but the pro-
ficiency I made in study was my greatest source
of encouragement and happiness.
" Month after month imperceptibly glided away,
except as each was marked by some increase in
knowledge, and some additions to my cattle. I
felt resigned to an isolation which cast me off
from all communion with the world and all knowl-
edge of its transactions. Indians would occasion-
ally appear, but they knew my means of defence,
and never disturbed me. Their attacks upon
armed men, like those made upon the grizzly or
mountain lion, are only ventured when safe, and
242 The Stranger's Story.
always with strategy. Sometimes, when I saw
them passing, I longed for a tussle with them as
a change of occupation, but they never gave me
the opportunity.
" One day, wearied with a problem in Euclid, I
shouldered my rifle, and strolled into the adjacent
forest in quest of a deer. A rustle in the under-
growth attracted my attention. Supposing it to
be caused by some animal, I peered cautiously in
the direction from within the shadow of a pine,
and saw, to my surprise, a man half concealed in
a thicket, watching me. It was the work of an
instant to bring my rifle to an aim.
" ' Who are ;you ? ' I demanded, knowing if he
were a white man he would answer.
" He replied in unmistakable English, ' I am
a white man in distress.'
" Dropping my rifle on my shoulder, I hastened
to him, and found a shrunken, emaciated form,
half naked, and nearly famished. A more pitiable
object I never beheld.
" ' My name,' said he, ' is Boone Helm. I am
the only survivor of a company which, together
with the crew and vessel, were lost on the coast
ten days ago. We were bound for Portland from
San Francisco, and were driven ashore in a storm.
I escaped by a miracle, and have wandered in the
The StraH(jer\ Story. 243
mountains ever since, feeding on berries, and
sleeping- under the shelter of rocks and bushes.
I came in this direction, hoping to strike the
California trail, and fall in with a pack train.'
" He gave me a circumstantial account of his
shipwreck and wanderings, .which interested me
very much. My sympathies w^ere enlisted, and I
conducted him to my home, sharing ' bed and
board ' with him for a month or more. He re-
cruited in strength rapidly. I found him genial
and intelligent, though uneducated. He was an
agreeable talker, and told a story with an enchant-
ing interest. By shreds and patches he disclosed
much of his personal history, occasionally drop-
ping a word or expression wdiicli led me to believe
he had been a great criminal, and more than
once imbrued his hands in the blood of his fellow-
man. He remained with me for a month or more,
long enough to make the prospect of separation
painful, though I felt that I would be better off
without than with him. When he left, I gave
him a good buckskin suit, a cap, a pair of
moccasins, and a gun. He wrung my hand at
departure, expressing the warmest gratitude.
" For a while I was very lonely, and found my
studies irksome ; but, as time flew on, I fell
naturally into my old round of employment, and
244 The Stranger s Story.
solitude became sweeter than ever. Another year
came and went, during which I labored diligently
at my books. I was proud of my acquirements.
I had mastered Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geome-
try, and read Latin and Greek with facility. My
herds had greatly increased. I could drive them
to Yreka and sell them for a small fortune, a
measure I had determined upon for the following
summer. Except when I went to fish or hunt, or
look after my cattle, I never left my home. It was
my custom, during the warm days of summer, to
spread my blanket, and lie down in the shade of
the stockade ; and, with guns and pistols in reach,
pursue my studies.
" One day while thus extended, reading a thrill-
ing passage in the ^Eneid, I was startled by the
distant clatter of a rapidly approaching horse.
Seizing my rifle, T sprang to an opening, to
reconnoitre for Indians. I could see nothing, —
the noise had ceased, and I resumed reading ; but
in a moment I heard the hoof-beat more distinctly,
and applied myself again to the crevice. Judge
of my astonishment, to behold at no great distance
a woman well mounted, urging her steed rapidly
towards my stockade, along the Indian trail.
There was something- so unreal in the thou^'ht
that a woman should traverse this wilderness
The Stranger s Story. 245
alone, I could not for a moment believe my senses.
But there she was, coming- at rapid rate, and, to
all appearance, a very beautiful woman too. She
rode along with the air of a queen ; her riding-
habit fitted closely to a magnificent bust, and fell
in graceful folds over the flanks of her horse,
which, though jaded with travel, seemed proud of
his burden. Assisting her to alight, I invited her
to a seat upon a box, spread with my blankets.
It was the \vork of -a moment to secure her horse,
and hasten to her to learn the import of her wild
errand.
"I need not say that my conduct on this
occasion bordered somewhat upon the romantic.
Indeed, how else than after the fashion of a
cavalier or knight of eld could I, under the cir-
cumstances, approach a strange and beautiful
lady, who had voluntarily, and without premoni-
tion on my part, placed herself so completely at
my disposal ? I felt all the delicacy of the situa-
tion, for I discovered at a glance that she was
high of spirit, refined, and intelligent.
" ' Tell me,' I inquired, ' where you came from,
and why you are here. It must be a mission of
more than ordinary purport that has caused you
to brave the perils of a journey through this wild,
unfrequented region.'
246 The Strangers Story.
"Seemingly for the purpose of putting my
curiosity to 'the rack, she evaded my question, and
talked about the beauty of the scenery, the deso-
lation of my home, and finally, picking up my
books one after the other, she commenced scanning
and rendering the Uquid hexameters of Virgil
with the grace and ease of an accomplished
professor. Provoking as this caprice was, there
was a charm about it, which led me soon to adopt
the same playful humor.
" ' It cannot be,' I said laughingly, ' that you
have come here to marry me.'
"'No, indeed,' she replied, blushing and
smiling at the same time. ' I need not have run
so grelt a risk, if marriage had been my object.'
"'Well then,' I rejoined, 'Madam or Miss,
angel or spirit, or whatever you are, for the love
of ''Heaven relieve me from this suspense, and tell
me what brought you to my desolate cabin.'
" The earnest tone in which I asked the ques-
tion elicited a serious reply.
" ' I was born and reared in Boston, the only
child of highly educated parents. My father
was a merchant^of wealth and position. I never
knew a want unsupplied or a pleasure ungratified,
that parental love could bestow in my childhood
days. At school, I learned rapidly, outstrippmg
The Stranger s Story. 247
my classmates, and receiving encomiums from my
teacher. I was sent to a seminary, and graduated
with signal honor. Exhibiting an early taste for
music, vocal and instrumental, after my classical
course was completed, I was placed under the
instruction of the best professors. Just at this
time, my father failed because of the misconduct
of his partner, and was utterly ruined. Every-
thing, even to the old homestead, was swept away
by his creditors. My father, wounded in spirit
and feeble in health, sunk under the blow, and
died in a few months.
" ' Never shall I forget the look of utter despair
on the face of my dear mother, when we consigned
my father to his last resting-place. It seemed as
if her fountain of tears was exhausted, and her
heart would break. She threw herself into my
arms like a child, and looked up to me for coun-
sel and protection. I, in turn, almost sinking
beneath the care thus early cast upon me, looked
up to the Great Father for aid, and became strong.
" ' The California gold excitement had just
reached the Atlantic coast. People everywhere
were wild. I partook of the infatuation, and
then determined to seek my fortune in that far-off
land. My friends tried to dissuade me, but my
purpose was fixed. Placing my mother in charge
248 The iSt7-angers Story.
of a kind relative, where I knew she would be
cared for, I sold my jewelry for money to meet
the expenses of the journey, and sailed by way
of the Isthmus, for San Francisco, where I arrived
early in the summer of 1850.
" ' There were but four American ladies in
California when I arrived. I found myself alone,
a stranger in a strange land ; but, with courageous
heart, pure purpose, judgment matured by expe-
rience, and a firm trust in God, I had no fears for
success. I soon became familiar mth the marvel-
lous richness of the mines, the solitary life and
many wants of the miners. My opportunity was
apparent. Purchasing a small assortment of
stationery, consisting chiefly of pens, ink, paper,
envelopes, and postage stamps, I visited the various
mining camps, selling my wares to the miners,
writing letters for many whose hands were so
stiffened that they could not guide a pen, and
singing the simple ballads I had learned in the
days of prosperity. They paid me generously,
often an hundred-fold the value of their purchase.
I was everywhere received and treated with a re-
spect akin to idolatry, regarded, indeed, as a being
almost supernatural. These noble-hearted men,
remembering beloved ones they had left in the
States, were so respectful, so kind, so attentive.
The tStrangers Story. 24^
it seemed that they could not do enough for me.
Commencing thus, afar up in the Sierras, near
Hangtown ( Placerville), I visited all the mining
regions, until I arrived at Yreka, a new camp,
just then creating the wildest excitement.
" ' I had now money enough to carry out the
design nearest my heart, of going East, and
returning with my mother to live at San Francisco.
While at Yreka^ I put up at the principal hotel,
a half-finished house, with rooms separated by
light board partitions, and crowded with the
varieties of a thrivino- minino- town.
" ' One evening, after a day of more fatiguing
labor than usual, I retired early, but could not
sleep. While tossing upon the pillow, I heard
two men enter the adjoining room, and engage in
earnest conversation. I could hear distinctly every
word they uttered, and the subject they were dis-
cussing very soon riveted my attention. They
were planning a murder and robbery. In the
midst of their conversation, another man entered,
whom they saluted by the name of Boone Helm.
He seemed to be their leader, for he proceeded
at once to describe the home and surroundinors of
the intended victim, said he had been there and
shared his hospitality for several weeks ; spoke of
the road leading there, the trail from the road to
250 The Stranger s Story.
the house, and the distance of the large herd
of cattle, and the ready sale for them at
Yreka.
u i u \Yg cannot,'* said he, " make more money
in a shorter time, with greater ease, and less liabil-
ity to detection, than to go there and dispose of
the man and take his property."
" ' They finally agreed that at a certain time
the three should go in company, and execute their
murderous design. 1 immediately determined to
foil them in their bloody purpose, or lose my life
in the attempt. I could not sleep ; indeed, so
nervously anxious was I to start on my errand of
mercy, that I could hardly await the approach of
morning. I arose early, made immediate prepara-
tion for departure, and before noon was in the
saddle and on my way. I had no fear of Indians,
simply because I believed God would take care of
one engaged on a mission so pure and holy. I
have ridden more than two hundred miles to warn
you of your danger. Be on your guard. Make
every preparation to defend yourself, for, as sure
as the time comes, the men will be here to take
your life. And now,' she concluded, ' bring my
horse, and I will start on my return.'
"Language was inadequate to express my grati-
tude, or the admiration with which I regarded this
The Stranger s Story. 251
noble act of humanity. I begged and insisted
that my benefactress should remain, at least long
enouofh for rest, but she refused. I then told her
my own history, prepared a hasty meal, and asked
her to favor me with a song. In the sweetest
voice I thought I ever heard, she sung the Hunters'
Chorus in ' Der Freyschutz : ' then, springing to
the sad\lle, she waved me a farewell, and in a few
moments disappeared. So sudden had been her
appearance and disappearance, so startling the
warning she gave me, so wonderful her long and
dreary ride, that it all seemed like a dream. I
had never made a habit of prayer, but, influenced
by the emotion of the moment, I dropped on my
knees, and thanked God, in a fervent prayer, for
this special manifestation of his Providence.
'' The next day I made every needful prepara-
tion for defence, and calmly awaited the arrival of
the ruffians. In the afternoon of the day my in-
formant mentioned I saw them approaching, one,
whom I recognized as Helm, half a mile or more
in advance of the other two. I stood in the gate
of my stockade, with my revolver in my belt, and
as he approached me greeted him kindly, bade
him enter, and closed and bolted the door behind
him. As this had always been my custom, he did
not notice it. I saw at once, by his subdued.
252 The Strangers Story.
churlish manner, and his crabbed style of address,
that he was bent upon mischief. Hardly waiting
for an exchange of common civilities, he said, —
" ' Lend me your pistols. I am going on a
perilous expedition.'
" * I cannot spare them,' I replied.
" ' But you must spare them. I want them.'
" ' I tell you, I cannot let you have them.'
" Flying into a passion, he with bitter oaths re-
joined, —
" * I'll make you give 'em to me, or I'll kill you,'
at the same time grasping his revolver.
" Before he could pull it from its scabbard, I
had mine levelled with deadly aim at his head,
and my finger on the trigger.
" ' Make a single motion,' said I emphatically,
* and I will shoot you.'
" He quailed, for he saw I had the advantage
of him. His comrades now approached the gate
from without.
" ' Break down the door,' he shouted, and, add-
ing an opprobrious epithet, ordered them to kill
me.
" Still holding my pistol level with his temple,
I repHed sternly, —
" ' If they attempt such a movement, I will kill
you instantly.'
The Stranger's Story. 253
^' He knew me to be desperately in earnest, and,
taking the hint, told them to go away. They
obeyed.
" '• Now, sir,' I persisted, still holding him under
fire, ' unbuckle and drop your belt, pistol, and
knife, and walk from there, so that I can get
them.'
" He beofcred, but I was inexorable. He tried
to throw me off my guard by referring pleasantly
to our former acquaintance, and assuring me he
was only jesting, and would not harm me for the
world. I told him I had been warned of his com-
ing and its object, and detailed with some partic-
ularity the conversation he had with his companions
at the time they agreed upon the expedition. He
stoutly denied it, and demanded the source of my
information. Knowing that he ^vas ignorantly
superstitious, I gave him to understand that it
was entirely providential. For a moment he
seemed dumfounded, and, hardened as he w^as
in crime, showed by his action that he believed
it. I made him sit down, and kept him in range
of my revolver all night, conversing with him,
meantime, on such subjects as were best calculated
to win his confidence. The night seemed a year
in duration, but he told me his entire history —
his birth, the errors of his early manhood, his first
254 The Stranger^ s Story.
and only love, the illness and deatli o£ his be-
trothed, his resolution to lead a criminal life, his
murder of Shoot, his escape, and many other mur-
ders that he afterwards committed, and of his in-
tention to murder me and dispose of my cattle. I
never heard or read a more horrible history than
that narrated by this man of blood. He lost no
opportunity to throw me off my guard, but I knew
too well what would be the result. He was my
prisoner, under absolute control, as long as his life
was in my power.
" Morning came. Helm's companions were still
linsfering- near the stockade. I ordered them to
withdraw a certain distance, that I might with
safety release my prisoner. I then opened the
gate, and with my double-barrelled shot-gun lev-
elled upon him, bade him go, assuring him that
if we ever met again I would shoot him on sight.
He marched out and away with his comrades.
The next intelligence I received concerning him
was the announcement of his execution by the
righteous Vigilantes of Montana in 1864.
" I beg pardon, gentlemen, for detaining you
so long. My story is done."
After a moment's silence one of our circle, a
nervous, excitable young man, remarked, —
" We cannot consider the story completed until
The Stranger^s Story. 255
we know something more of the young lady. She
is really the object of the most interest."
" Well, gentlemen," he resumed, " since you
desire it, I will tell you all I know. Soon after
Helm's departure, influenced by a desire to have
the address of and see once more my benefactress,
I drove my herd to Yreka, and sold it for a hand-
some sum. While there I searched diligently,
but in vain, for my heroine. She had gone, and,
as she had refused to give me her name, I found
inquiry for her impracticable. I went to San
Francisco, but no one could give me the least
trace of her, and, after repeated disappoint-
ments, I gave up the search and returned to
Oregon.
" Five years thereafter, business took me to Port-
land. While seated by the office stove, in conver-
sation with some old friends, the clerk came and
whispered that a young lady in the parlor wished to
see me. Wondering who she could be, I hastened
to the room, and there sat my friend of the wil-
derness. She gave me a cordial greeting, and to
my numerous and eager inquiries, informed me in
substance that soon after she left me and returned
to Yreka, she went to Boston. After a year spent
among old friends, she came back to San Fran-
cisco, accompanied by her mother. She purchased
256 The Stranger's Story.
a neat residence there, and it was now her home.
She had arrived in Oregon with some friends the
day before on a pleasure excursion, but intended
to return in a few days. We had a pleasant in-
terview, and I bade her good-by."
" So you did not marry her, after all," was the
eager remark of our young friend.
" No, gentlemen. Had I not been fortunately
married some time before our last meeting, I can-
not tell what might have happened ; but as it was,
I did not marry her after all, as you say."
White and Dorsett. 257
CHAPTER XVII.
WHITE AND DORSETT.
PROSPECTINa ON THE BiG BoULDER JOHN WhITE
AND Rudolph Dorsett — They find one Kelley
IN Distress — All return to Virginia City —
Preparations for returning to the Boulder —
Kelley delayed — The Stolen Mule — Departure
OF Dorsett — Anxiety for his Safety — Meeting
OF Kelley by a Stranger — Thompson and Rum-
SEY set out in Search of Dorsett and White —
Discovery of their Bodies — Pursuit of Kelley
— He flees to Portland, Ore., thence to San
Francisco — Thompson foiled — Kelley returns
TO Portland — In Port Neuf Canon Robbery.
The attachments formed between men, where
the privileges and enjoyments of social life are
confined to the monotonous round of a mining-
camp, are necessarily strong. The surroundings,
which dictate great prudence in the choice of
friends, where confidence is once established, are
continually strengthening the ties that bind men
to each other. Self-preservation and self-interest
will furnish apologies for incompatibilities of tern-
258 WTiite and Dorsett.
per in the mountains, which would sever friend-
ships formed in less exposed communities. The
sterling qualities of truth, honor, integrity, and
kindness are sooner ascertained and more highly
prized among miners than any other class. We
have seen the operation of these principles in the
instance of Beachy and Magruder, a very strong
but not an exceptional case ; this is another
narrative of similar import.
Rudolph Dorsett arrived at Bannack with a
party of miners from Colorado, in April, 1863.
During the following summer, he, in company
with John White, the discoverer of the Bannack
mines, and a few others, left for the interior on a
prospecting tour. The winter of 1863-64 found
the little party near the head of Big Boulder
creek, where they had made some promising
discoveries. Being nearly out of provisions.
White and Dorsett started on horseback for Deer
Lodge, to obtai'.i a fresh supply. At the head
of Boulder, they came upon one Kelley and a
comrade, who had made a camp there, and been
detained several days by. deep snows. They were
literally " snowed in ; " and, their food being
exhausted, they had killed and were feeding upon
one of their horses.
After supplying their immediate wants, White
White and Dorsetf. 259
and Dorsett, discouraged by the gathering snows
from any further effort to cross the main ridge,
changed their course, and, taking the two men
with them, started for Virginia City, where they
arrived after three days of perilous travel. Kelley
and his partner were entirely destitute. Their
kind benefactors made known their condition to
Henry Thompson and William Rumsey, and they
paid their bills at a restaurant the two days suc-
ceedino; their arrival ; and other citizens of Vir-
ginia City, at Dorsett's solicitation, provided them
with clothing. An arrangement was made for
Kelley and his comrade to return with White and
Dorsett to their camp ; but, when the time came
to leave, Kelley said that he had been promised a
horse the next day, which he would get and over-
take them. The three men departed without him,
and, after a cold ride of several days, found their
party camped on the upper waters of Prickly Pear
creek. They were all in excellent spirits, and
supposed they had found a very prolific placer.
Dorsett, true to the confidence reposed iji him by
his friends, Thompson and Rumsey, returned im-
mediately to Virginia City, to apprise them of his
good fortune, so that they might improve the
earliest indications of a stampede, and secure a
good interest in the placer mine. This is one of
260 White and Dorsett.
the rigid requirements of friendship in a mining
region. No matter how distant the discovery may
be, nor how difficult the journey, when a mine is
found of any vahie, it is the duty of the discov-
erer, before disclosing it to the public, to notify
his friends, that they may make sure of the best
location. Indeed, in the early days of Montana,
there were hundreds of old miners, experts in the
business of prospecting, who, being unable to
purchase " grub," were fully supplied with horses,
food, and tools, upon the distinct understanding
that they were to share with those who " out-
fitted " them in all their discoveries. Woe to the
man who was base enough to violate this agree-
ment ! If he escaped lynching he never failed
being driven from the country by the hisses and
execrations of every " honest miner " in it. There
was held
" in every honest hand, a whip
To lash the rascals naked through th"e world."
During the night following the departure of
White, Dorsett, and Kelley's partner from Virginia
City, a mule belonging to AVilliam Hunt, and a
horse owned by another citizen of Virginia City,
were stolen. Dorsett was informed of this on his
return, and, not having seen Kelley since his prom-
White and Dorsett. 261
ise to overtake his party, he at once suspected him
of the theft. The mule was a very fine animal,
which Hunt had purchased of Dorsett in Colorado.
" If I find him," said Dorsett, as he mounted
his horse to return to the mine, " I will recover
and send him back to you."
The second day after this promise was made,
while crossinof the divide between White Tail and
Boulder, Dorsett met Kelley in possession of the
stolen animals. After a brief conversation,
Dorsett asked, —
" Where did you get that fine mule, Kelley ? "
" The man at Nevada, who promised me the
horse I told you about, could not find him, and
gave me the mule instead."
Not wishing to arouse Kelley 's suspicion,
Dorsett asked no more questions, but, with a
friendly " good-by," rode on as rapidly as possible
to his camp. He was informed that Kelley had
been there, and had told the miners that some
friend in Deer Lodge had sent him a written offer
to furnish provisions and a good outfit for pros-
pecting. He was going there immediately to
accept it, and had bought both horse and mule
for that purpose. When they were informed that
the animals were stolen. White agreed to join
Dorsett, and they started immediately in pursuit
262 White and Dorsett.
of the thief, thus furnishing another instance of
the strength of that friendship which neither the
freezing weather and mountain snows, nor long
days of travel and long nights of exposure, could
overcome. The single thought of serving a friend
put to flight every consideration of personal com-
fort or convenience. They did not expect to be
absent lonj^er than three days at the most.
A week passed and nothing was heard from
them. Dorsett had promised Thompson and
Rumsey, when he left, that he would return to
Virginia City in five or six days. Ten days expired
without bringing any intelligence. Rumsey's
fears were aroused for the safety of his friends.
Being at Nevada on business, he mentioned inci-
dentally this strange disappearance, and Stephen
Holmes, a bystander, observed that, four days
before, while at Deer Lodge, he had met Kelley
with Dorsett's horse, revolver, Henry rifle, and
cantinas, and that Kelley had told him he traded
for them with a man at Boulder. With charac-
teristic promptness, Ramsey replied to Holmes, —
" The men have been murdered by the scoun-
drel, and he is fleeing with their property."
To think, with such men as Thompson and
Rumsey, was to act. No time was to be lost.
Thoroughly equipped for a long pursuit, Thomp-
mite and Dorsett. 263
son and a friend named Coburn started immedi-
ately upon the track of Kelley, and at the same
time James Dorsett, brother of Rudolph, organ-
ized a party with which he went as rapidly as
possible to the Boulder, in search of the missing
men. This little party passed the first night at
Coppock's ranche on the Jefferson. The next
day, while passing through a hollow on the
Boulder range, called Basin, they found tracks
diversrino- from the road in the direction of White
Tail Deer creek. They followed that stream
nearly to the forks, when suddenly they saw, some
distance before them, two men emerge from the
thin forest of pines. They spurred their horses
into a sharp run. The men turned at the sound
and raised their guns, and stood upon the defen-
sive. The approaching party, rifles in hand, drew
nearer, and a conflict at long range seemed inevita-
ble. Fortunately, at this moment, one of the
two men recognized James Dorsett, and dropped
his gun, and with friendly gestures rode toward
him. Offensive demonstrations were soon fol-
lowed by hearty greetings. The two men proved
to be John Heffner and a comrade, who had just
been searchinof in the willows for a suitable
camping-ground for the night.
"I have found," said he, in a mournful tone,
264 TVhite atid Dorsett.
" what you are searching- for. Rudolph Dorsett
and John White have both been murdered, and
their bodies are in the willows."
" My God ! " exclaimed James, " my brother
murdered ! " and, bursting into tears, he followed
Heffner into the clump.
" I came in here," said Heffner, ^' to pick up
some wood for a camp-fire. This heap of coals
and burned sticks attracted my attention. Thinks
I, there's been campers here before. I looked
around and caught a glance at the saddle. It
startled me, for it seemed a very good one, and I
thought it strange that any one would leave it
here. I examined it narrowly, and, lifting it up,
I beheld the dead face of John White. You may
well believe I was frightened. On turning to call
my partner, 1 almost stumbled over the corpse of
your brother, which was covered with an overcoat.
We had just completed our survey of the camp,
and stepped out of the bushes to look up another
camping-place, when we heard your horses."
On a close examination of the spot, appearances
indicated that White and Dorsett, with Kelley
as a prisoner, had arrived there either at a late
hour, or without any provisions, as there was no
evidence of cooking. They had tied their pris-
oner with twisted strips of blanket, pieces of
White and Dor sett. 265
which were found near, and, as they doubtless
supposed, secured him for the night. A few
fagots had been heaped up for a morning fire ;
and the theory of the murder advanced by the
searching party was that, while White was on his
knees kindling the fire, Kelley freed himself from
his bonds, picked up White's revolver, and shot
him twice in the back of the neck ; then seizing
his rifle, turned and shot Dorsett, who was gather-
ing wood a little distance away, through the heart.
An armful of wood lay scattered where he had
fallen. His skull was beaten in pieces, a boulder
lying near, bespattered with blood and brains,
bearing gloomy testimony to the manner in which
it was done. After this his body had been
dragged some twenty steps from the spot where
he fell, and stripped of its clothing, which the
murderer had taken away with him, and wore the
day that Holmes met him at Deer Lodge.
White's body had also been removed, and the
saddle placed over the face. The bodies were
taken to Coppock's ranche, and thence to Virginia
City for burial.
This was one of the earliest and most brutal
tragedies in the newly discovered gold regions ;
and, happening when they were populated mostly
by Eastern people, and before Plummer and his
266 White and Dorseff.
band of ruffians had been arrested in their grand
scheme of wholesale slaughter, it produced a pro-
found sensation throughout the country. The
desire to capture and make a public example of
the ruf&an who had committed the shocking crime
was uniyersal. All eyes were turned to the pur-
suit of Kelley by Thompson and Coburn, and all
ears open to catch the first tidings of its success.
These men were beyond the reach of information
of the discovery of the bodies at the time it was
made, but they had found evidence by the way,
which convinced them that their friends had been
assassinated. At Deer Lodge a pistol which
Kelley had sold was identified by Thompson as the
property of Dorsett, and his initials, R. R. D.,
were graven on the handle. They pushed the
pursuit to Hell Gate, procuring two relays in Deer
Lodge valley. Finding that the deep snows
rendered the Coeur D'Alene mountains impassable,
they turned back to take the route into Oregon,
by Jocko and Pend d'Oreille lakes. Between
Frenchtown and Hell Gate they met an Indian
with Dorsett's saddle, which Thompson took from
him. Forty miles below Jocko, they reclaimed the
horse from a little band of Indians who had traded
for it with Kelley. Proceeding on towards the
Pacific, they met a company of miners, who had
White and Dor sett 267
met Kelley fifteen days before, on his way to
Lewiston.
The men pursued their journey, following the
devious windings of Clarke's fork to its junction
with the Snake river, and thence on to Lewiston,
— a tract of country at that time more disastrous
for winter travel thcin perhaps any other equal por-
tion of the continent. There were no roads, and
the solitary Indian trail leading over the mountains,
through caiions, and across large rivers, for much
of the distance was obscured by snow, and in
many places difficult and dangerous of passage.
Had their object been anything less than to avenge
the death of their friend, they would have turned
back, and consoled themselves with the reflection
that it was not worth the risk and exposure need-
ful to win it ; but, with that in view, they wel-
comed privation and danger while a single hope
remained of its accomplishment.
At Lewiston, Cob urn remained on the lookout,
while Thompson continued the pursuit farther
west. At the hotel in Walla Walla, Thompson
found Kelley's name upon the register. He
learned, on inquiring of the clerk, that he had told
him he came from the Beaverhead mines. The
barber who shaved him, remembered him, because
he paid him an extra price for the service. Kelley
268 White and Dorsett.
had purchased a new suit of clothes, of which
Thompson procured a sample. With these clews
Thompson hastened to Portland, and ascertained
that Kelley had spent nine days there, and left
by steamer for San Francisco. In fact, on the day
that Thompson arrived at Portland, Kelley entered
the harbor of San Francisco. Thompson tele-
graphed the chief of police to arrest and detain
him until he arrived. He had taken the precau-
tion to obtain requisitions from the Governor of
Idaho on the Governors of Oregon, California, and
Washington, and a commission as special deputy
United States marshal.
Chief Burke, on receipt of the telegram, called
at the hotel where Kelley had taken quarters, and,
not finding him, gave no further attention to the
matter. Learninof on his return that he had been
inquired after, Kelley, suspicious of the object,
left the city at once, taking with him an overcoat
and pistol belonging to a fellow boarder. Thomp-
son found, on his arrival at San Francisco, that
the bird had flown, but in what direction he
was unable to ascertain. After spending some
time in fruitless inquiry, he returned home with
nothing better than his labor for his pains. It
was a sore disappointment, but none the less
demonstrative as an illustration of personal devo-
tion and attachment.
White and Dorsett. 269
Kelley returned to Portland, and soon disap-
peared from public view. Thompson was con-
stantly on the lookout for him, and in 1864 heard
of him as a participant in a robbery committed in
Port Neuf cafion. It was ascertained that after
the robbery Kelley went to Denver, where he was
known by the name of Cliilds. He remained there
several months. Thompson heard of his being
there, and sent a man to identify him. Kelley
took the alarm, and left immediately by the Ore-
gon route for Mexico. Thompson wrote to a
friend in Prescott to arrest him e7i route y but the
letter arrived too late, as the rascal had passed
through the town several days before. If living,
he is still at large ; but there is no corner of the
globe where Thompson would not follow him,
were he certain that the journey would effect his
arrest.
270 Langford Peel.
CHAPTER XVIII.
LANGFORD PEEL.
Suffering in Kansas in the Winter of 1856 —
Peel's Kindness to Conley and Rucker — Their
Ingratitude — Peel's Destitution — Robinson's
Generosity — Death of Rucker — Peel wounded
— Threatened with Death — Escapes to Cali-
fornia— Downward Career — Arrives at Car-
son City — Prize Fight and Death of Muchacho
— Peel fights Dick Paddock — Kills El Dorado
Johnny in a Fight — Principles of the Roughs
— Peel suffers Lannan to arrest him — Char-
acter OF Nevada Roughs — Fight between
Earnhardt and Peasley — Both killed — Char-
acter of Peasley — Peel leaves Nevada — Goes
to Salt Lake, and thence to Helena — Quarrel
WITH John Bull — Is killed by him — Inscrip-
tion on his Tombstone.
People who were living in the West in 1856,
well remember the terrible winter of that year,
and the suffering it occasioned among the poorer
classes. Severity of weather, scarcity of provis-
ions, and the high price of fuel, following hard
upon a season of uncommon distress and disaster
Langford Peel. 271
in all kinds of business, necessarily brought
starvation and suffering to a large floating popu-
lation, which had gathered into the little towns
and settlements along the Missouri border. This
was especially the case in the settlements of
Kansas, which, by their supposed opportunities
for profitable investment and occupation, had
attracted a large emigration from other parts of the
Union. Langford Peel w^as at this time a pros-
perous citizen of Leaven^vorth. Moved to com-
passion by the sufferings of those around him, he
contributed generously to their relief. Among
others who shared liberally of his bounty w^ere
Messrs. Conley and Rucker, t\vo men whom he
found in a state of complete destitution, and
invited to his house, where they were comfortably
provided for until spring, and then aided with
means to return to their friends.
Of Peel's antecedents, previous to this time,
I know nothing. He was regarded as one of
those strange compounds wdio unite in their
character the extremes of recklessness and kind-
ness. In his o^eneral conduct there was more to
approve than condemn, though his fearless man-
ner, his habits of life, and his occupation as a
gambler, gave him a doubtful reputation. Among
people of his ow^n class he was specially attractive,
272 Langford PeeL
because of his great physical strength, manly pro-
portions, undoubted bravery, and overflowing
kindness. To these qualities he added a repose
of manner that gave him unbounded influence in
his sphere. No man was more prompt to make
the cause of a friend his own, to resent an injury,
or punish an insult. His dexterity with the
revolver was as marvellous as the ready use he
made of it when provoked. His qualifications
as a rough and ready borderer bespoke a fore-
ground in his life, of much exposure and
practice.
The year 1858 found him in Salt Lake City, in
reduced circumstances. As if to mark this
reverse with pecuHar emphasis, Conley and Rucker,
the sharers of his bounty two years before, were
also there engaged in prosperous business. They
had seemingly forgotten their old benefactor, and
treated him with coldness and neglect. Peel was
an entire stranger to all save them, and felt
bitterly their ingratitude.
A citizen by the name of Robinson, who had
been attracted by the manly figure of Peel,
observed him, a few days after his arrival, seated
upon a log in the rear of the Salt Lake House,
apparently in deep study. Calling his partner to
the door, he inquired if he knew him.
Langford Peel. 273
" His name is Peel, I have been told," was the
reply.
" He is in trouble."
" Yes, he's got no money, and is a stranger."
" Do you know him ? "
" No, I never spoke to him. I only know he's
in distress, destitute, and has no friends. He's
the man who took care of a lot of boys that were
dead broke, that hard winter at Leavenworth."
" He is ? If I didn't think he'd take it as an
insult, I'd go out and offer him some money."
Later in the day, Peel entered Robinson's room,
and approaching Conley, who was seated in the
" lookout seat," near a table where a game of faro
was progressing, said to him, —
" Dave, I wish you'd lend me twenty-five
dollars?"
" I'll not do it," replied Conley.
"Why?"
" I've no money to loan."
" I don't consider it a loan," said Peel, looking
steadfastly at Conley. Then, as if influenced by a
recollection of his own kindness to the man who
refused him, he exclaimed, " Great God ! is it pos-
sible that there is not a man in the country who
will lend me twenty-five dollars?"
Robinson, who was seated by the table drawer,
274 Langford Peel.
now drew it out, and, grasping a handful of coin,
threw it eagerly upon the table.
"Here," said he, "Mr. Peel, I'll loan you
twenty-five dollars, or as much more as you want.
You're entirely welcome to it."
Peel turned, and fixing upon Robinson a look
of mingled surprise and gratitude, responded,
" Sir, you're a stranger to me. We never spoke
together before, but I will gratefully accept your
kindness, and thank you. All I want is twenty-
five dollars, and I'll pay you as soon as I can."
He then picked up five half-eagles, and placed
them in the palm of his hand.
" Take more. Peel," said Robinson. " Take a
hundred, or whatever you want."
" No, this is all I want ; " then, fixing his gaze
upon Conley, whose face was red and swollen with
anger, he seized the " case keeper " used for mark-
ing the game, and hurled it violently at his head.
Conley dodged, and the only effect of the act was
a deep indentation in the adobe wall. Conley
sprung from his seat and ran out of the building.
Peel drew his revolver w^ith the intention of pur-
suing, but Robinson, seizing his arm, said, —
" Stay your hand. Peel. For God's sake, don't
make any disturbance."
Peel sheathed his pistol at the moment, and,
Langford Peel. 275
taking" Robinson by tbe hand, replied, " No ; you
must excuse me. I beg a thousand pardons, but
I was very angry. You're the only friend I have
in this country. Conley has treated me like a dog.
All of 'em have. I have fed them for weeks in
my own house, when they had nothing to eat.
My wife has cooked, and washed and ironed their
clothes for them, and this is the return I get for
it.
He then started to leave, but, as if suddenly
reminded that he had neglected to say something,
he returned ; and while the tears, which he vainly
tried to suppress, were streaming down his cheeks,
he said, —
" I'll certainly repay this money. I would
rather die than wrong you out of it."
He had been gone about twenty minutes when
shots were heard.
^' I reckon," said Robinson, starting for the
door, ^'that Peel has killed Conley."
All followed, but they found that the exchange
of shots was between Peel and Rucker, the latter
the proprietor of a faro bank on Commercial Street,
where Peel had gone and staked his money on
the turn of a card.
Rucker, perceiving it, pushed the money away,
remarking, in a contemptuous tone, —
276 Langford Peel.
" I don't want your game."
Smarting under the insult conveyed in these
words, Peel raised a chair to hit Rucker on the
head. Rucker fled through the rear door of the
building, and entered Miller's store adjoining, the
back stairs of which he hurriedly ascended, draw-
ing his revolver by the way. Peel soon after went
into the store by the front door, and inquired for
Miller, who was absent. Sauntering to the rear
of the apartment, which was but dimly lighted,
he came suddenly upon Rucker, who had just
descended the stairs, and, with revolver in hand,
was waiting his approach.
" What do you want of me ? " inquired Rucker,
thrusting his pistol against Peel's side.
" Great God ! " was Peel's instant exclamation,
drawing and cocking his pistol with lightning
rapidity. Their simultaneous fire gave but a
single report, and both fell, emptying their pistols
after they were down. Peel was wounded in the
thigh, through the cheek, and in the shoulder.
Rucker, hit every time, was mortally wounded,
and died in a few moments. Peel was conveyed
to the Salt Lake House, where his wounds received
care.
Miller was clamorous for Peel's arrest, and the
city police favored his execution, but the sym-
Langford Peel. 277
pathies of the people were with him. He had
many friends, who assured him of protection from
violence, and kept his enemies in ignorance of his
condition until such time as he could be removed
to a place of concealment. This project was in-
trusted to a Mormon dignitary of high standing
in the church, who was paid forty-five dollars for
the service. He conveyed Peel to a sequestered
hut twelve miles distant from the city, on the Jor-
dan road, and with undue haste provided him with
female apparel and a fast horse, to facilitate his
escape from the country. His wounds were too
severe, and he was obliged to return to the shelter
of the hut, near which Miller discovered him a few
days afterwards, while walking for exercise. Mil-
ler disclosed his discovery to the police, boasting,
meantime, of what he had done in so public a man-
ner, that the friends of Peel, hearing it, speedily
provided for his protection. Close upon the heels
of the policemen who had gone to arrest Peel they
sent the wily Mormon, with instructions to convey
him to a place of safety. The night was dark,
and the rain froze into sleet as it fell. The police-
men stopped at a wayside inn to warm and refresh
themselves, and were passed by the Mormon, who,
dreadins: the venpfeance which would visit him in
case of failure, urged his horse into a run, and
278 Langford Peel.
arrived in time to conduct Peel to Johnson's
ranclie, where he was secreted for several weeks.
As soon as he was able, he made the journey on
horseback to Cahfornia, by the southern route,
passing through San Bernardino and Los Angeles.
Large rewards were offered for his arrest, but his
friends, believing him to be the victim of ingrati-
tude, would not betray him.
The death of Rucker lay heavy on the conscience
of Peel, and from the moment of his arrival on the
Pacific coast, his downward career was very rapid.
He associated only with gamblers and roughs,
amonsr whom the heig^ht of his ambition was to
be an acknowledged chief. He was a bold man
who dared to dispute the claim to this title with
him, for usually he did not escape without disput-
ing on the spot his higher title to life. Expert in
pistol practice, desperate in character. Peel was
never more at home than in an affray. His wan-
derings at length took him to Carson City, in
Nevada, where his shooting exploits, and their
bloody character, form a chapter in the early his-
tory of the place. It is told of him by his asso-
ciates, as a mark of singular magnanimity, that
he scorned all advantage of an adversary, and,
under the bitterest provocation, would not attack
him until satisfied that he was armed. His loy-
Langford Peel. 279
alty to this principle, as we shall see hereafter,
cost him his life.
From many incidents related of the reckless
life led by Peel while in Nevada, I select one,
as especially illustrative. A prize fight between
Tom Daly, a noted pugilist, and Billy Maguire,
better known as the *' Dry Dock Chicken," was
planned by the roughs of Virginia City. It was
intended to be a " put-up job." By the deUvery
of a foul blow, Maguire was to be the loser. The
referee and umpire were privy to the arrangement,
and were to decide accordingly. A great number
of sports were in attendance. At the stage of
progress in the fight agreed upon, Maguire struck
his antagonist the exceptionable blow. The ex-
pected decision was given ; but Izzy Lazarus, and
other men familiar with the rules of the ring, said
that it was not foul. One of the initiated, named
Muchacho, disputed the question with Lazarus,
who gave him the lie. Drawing his pistol, he
brought it to an aim, so as to clear the inner ring,
and shouting, " Look out ! " fired and hit Lazarus
in the breast. Lazarus refrained from firing lest
he should hit others, but approached Muchacho,
who fired again, wounding his pistol hand. Quick
as thought, Lazarus seized his pistol in the left
hand, and fired, killing Muchacho in his tracks.
280 Langford Peel.
The row now became general, and pistol shots
were fired in all parts of the crowd. No others
were killed, but many were severely wounded, and
such was the confusion during the melee that the
fatal shot of Lazarus escaped observation. Many
were the conjectures on the subject, but suspicion
seemed to fasten upon Lazarus. Dick Paddock,
a friend of his, being in Robinson's saloon a few
days after the affray, boldly avowed that he fired
it. Peel overheard him, and, after informing him
that Muchacho was his friend, challenged him to
a fight on the spot. Both men stepped outside
the saloon, took their positions, and commenced
firing. Peel wounded Paddock three times, es-
caping unharmed himself, and the combat closed
without any fatal consequences. " El Dorado
Johnny " renewed the quarrel, for the double
purpose of avenging Paddock and establishing a
claim as chief. The next day, while walking up
street, he addressed the following inquiry to Pat
Lannan, who was standing in the door of his
saloon, —
" Pat, what sort of a corpse do you think I'd
make ? "
"You don't look much like a corpse now,
Johnny," replied Lannan, laughing.
" Well, I'm bound to be a corpse or a gentle-
Langford Peel. 281
inan in less than five minutes," replied Johnny,
passing- on.
Carefully scrutinizing- the inmates o£ each saloon
as he came to it, Johnny soon saw the object of
his search pass out of Pat Robinson's, a few rods
ahead of him. Walking rapidly back, he turned
and faced him, and, half drawing his pistol, said, —
" Peel, I'm chief."
" You're a liar," rejoined Peel, drawing his
pistol, and killing Johnny instantly. The words
here recorded were all that passed at the encoun-
ter. Johnny had his pistol half drawn, but Peel's
superior dexterity overcame the advantage. Peel
was tried and acquitted.
As no member of the company of roughs was
braver than Peel, so none was more observant of
the rules and principles by which they were gov-
erned. In all their relations to each other, whether
friendly or hostile, any violation of a frank and
manly course was severely censured, and often
punished. A person guilty of any meanness, great
or small, lost caste at once. If by any undue ad-
vantage, life or property was taken, the guilty per-
son was visited with prompt retribution. Often,
in the young communities which sprung up in the
mining regions, prominent roughs were elected to
positions in the court service. It was deemed a
282 Langford Peel.
disgrace to suffer an arrest by an officer of this
character, and with Peel it was an every-daj boast
that he would die sooner than submit to any such
authority.
On one occasion, while under the excitement of
liquor, being threatened with arrest, he became
uncommonly uproarious. A row was threatened,
and Peel in a boisterous manner was repeating,
with much expletive emphasis, " No man that
ever packed a star in this city can arrest me."
Patrick Lannan, above referred to, had just
been elected as policeman. He had never been
connected with the roughs, and was highly re-
spected as a peaceable, law-abiding citizen. On
beino- informed that there was a man down the
street stirring up an excitement, he rushed to the
scene, and, elbowino- his wav throuoh the crowd,
confronted Peel. Like the hunter who mistook
a grizzly for a milder type of the ursine genus,
he felt that this was not the game he was after,
but he had g-one too far to recede. The arrest
must be effected.
" No man." repeated Peel, with an oath, " that
ever packed a star in this city can arrest me."
Perceiving Lannan standing near, he instantly
added, —
" I'll take that back. You can arrest me, Pat,
Langford Peel. 283
for you're no fighting man. You're a gentle-
man," and suiting the action to the word, with a
graceful bow, he surrendered his pistol to Lannan,
and submitted quietly to be led away.
To the credit of the roughs of Nevada be it
stated, that there were few highwayman, thieves,
or robbers among them. Few, except those who
were ready to decide their quarrels with the revol-
ver, were killed. The villanous element had been
sifted from their midst at the time of the hegira
to the northern mines. Those who remained had
no sympathy with it. It is not to be denied,
however, that they were men of extraordinary
nerve, and as a general thing so tenacious of life,
that, often, the first to receive a mortal wound in
a fight was successful in slaying his antagonist.
Indeed, so frequently was this the case, that it
operated as a restraint, oftentimes, to a projected
combat. Peel belonged to the class who were
held in fear by tamer spirits for their supposed
hold upon life. The reader will pardon a digres-
sion, for the better illustration it affords of this
prevalent apprehension.
One of the most memorable fights in Nevada
took place between Martin Earnhardt and
Thomas Peasley. Peasley was a man of striking
presence and fine abihty. He had been sergeant-
284 Langford Peel.
at-arms in the Nevada Assembly. In a quarrel
with Earnhardt at Carson City, he had been
wounded in the arm. Both Earnhardt and Peas-
ley claimed to be " chief," — always a sufficient
cause of quarrel between men of their stamp.
Meeting Peasley one day after the fight, Earn-
hardt tauntingly asked him if he was as good a
man then as he was at Carson.
" This," rej)lied Peasley, " is neither the time
nor place to test that question."
Soon afterwards, while Peasley was seated in
the office of the Ormsby House in Carson, en-
gaged in conversation with some friends, Earn-
hardt entered, and approaching him asked, —
" Are you heeled ? "
" For Heaven's sake," rejoined Peasley, " are
you always spoiling for a fight ? "
" Yes," cried Earnhardt, and without further
notice fired his revolver. The ball passed
through Peasley's heart. Seeing that he had
inflicted a fatal wound, Earnhardt fled to the
washroom, closing the windowed door after him.
Peasley rose and staggered to the door. 'Thrust-
ing his pistol through the sash, he fired and killed
Earnhardt instantly. Falling back in the arms
of his friends, they laid him upon a billiard
table.
Langford Peel. 285
"Is Barnharclt dead?" lie whispered, as life
was ebbing.
" He is," was the ready answer given by half a
dozen sorrowinfy friends.
" 'Tis well. Pull my boots off, and send for my
brother Andy," and with the words on his lips he
expired.
Peasley was supposed to be the original of
Mark Twain's '" Buck Fanshaw." He was a man
of the highest degree of honor, and, if his
talents had been properly directed, would have
distinguished himself.
I resume the history of Peel, at the point of
his departure from Nevada. He left in 1807, in
company with one John Bull as a partner. They
quarrelled by the way and dissolved partnership,
but on arriving at Salt Lake, became reconciled,
and started for Helena, Montana, where Bull ar-
rived some weeks in advance. When Peel arrived,
Bull had gone to examine the mines at Indian
Creek. Returning soon after, his account was so
favorable, that Peel concluded to go there at once.
He came back in a week thoroughly disgusted,
and very angry at Bull, whom he accused of mis-
representation and falsehood. Bull explained,
and they parted seeming friends, but Peel's anger
was not appeased. Meeting Bull some days after,
286 Langford Peel
he renewed the quarrel at Hurley and Chase's
saloon. Oaths and epithets Avere freely ex-
chano-ed, and Peel seized, and was in the act of
drawing, his pistol.
" I am not heeled," said Bull, on discovering
his design.
" Go, then, and heel yourself," said Peel, slap-
ping him in the face.
Bull started, saying as he went, —
" Peel, I'll ccme hack, sure."
" When you come," replied Peel, " come fight-
ing
Bull went out and armed himself. While re-
turning, he met William Knowlden, to whom he
related the circumstances of the quarrel, and told
him what disposition to make of his effects in
case he was killed. Passing on, he met Peel
coming out of the saloon, and fired three shots
before Peel could draw his revolver. Each shot
took effect, one in the neck, one in the face,
and a third in the left breast. Peel fell and died
without uttering a word. It was the general
opinion that he was treated unfairly. Bull was
indicted, tried, and his conviction failed by dis-
agreement of the jury, which stood nine for ac-
quittal, and three for a verdict of guilty. He
left the country soon after.
Langford Peel. 287
On a plain slab in the graveyard at Helena is
the following inscription : —
Sacred
TO THE
Memory of
Langford Peel.
Born in
Liverpool.
Died
July 23, 1867,
AGED
3G YEARS.
In life, beloved by his Friends, and respected by
his Enemies.
Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.
I KNOW that my Redeemer liveth.
Erected by a Friend.
I was curious to learn what suggested the last
two scriptural quotations, and found that the
friend had the idea that, as Peel did not have fair
play, the Lord would avenge his death in some
signal manner. The other sentence was thought
to properly express the idea that the man was
living who would redeem Peel's name from what-
ever obloquy might attach to it, because of his
having " died with his boots on." Could there be
a more strange interpretation of the scriptures ?
288 Joseph A. Slade
CHAPTER XIX.
JOSEPH A. SLADE.
Overland Stage Koute — Desperate Employes —
Jules Reni — Jules shoots Slade — Slade re-
solves TO KILL Jules — Carries his Resolve into
Effect — Comes to Virginia City — Quarrel
WITH THE Writer — Encounter with Bob Scott —
Lawlessness in Virginia City — Threatens the
Life of Judge Davis — Vigilantes assemble —
Arrest of Slade — His Execution.
Good men who were intimate with Joseph A.
Slade before he went to Montana gave him
credit for possessing many excellent qualities.
He is first heard of outside of his native village
of Carlisle, in the State of Illinois, as a volunteer
in the war with Mexico, in a company com-
manded by Captain Killman. This officer, no
less distinofuished for success in reconnoitre,
strategy, and surprise, than service on the field of
battle, selected from his regiment for this danger-
ous enterprise, twelve men of unquestioned daring
and energy. Slade was among the number. A
comrade of his during this period bears testi-
Joseph A. Slade. 289
inony to liis efficiency, which he said always won
the approbation of his commander. How or
whare his life was passed after th3 close of the
war, and until he was intrusted with the care of
one of the divisions of the Great Overland Stage
route in 1859, I have no knowledge. This
position was full of varied responsibihty. His
capabilities were equal to it. No more exalted
tribute can be paid to his character than to say
that he organized, managed, and controlled for
several years, acceptably to the public, to the com-
pany, and to the employes of the company, tLe
great central division of the overland stage routy,
through six hundred miles of territory destitute
of inhabitants and law, exposed for the entire
distance to hostile Indians, and overrun with a
wild, reckless class of freebooters, who maintained
their infamous assumptions with the pistol and
bowie knife. No man without a peculiar fitness
for such a position could have done this.
Stealing the horses of the stage company was
a common crime. The loss of the property was
small in comparison with the expense and embar-
rassment of delaying the coach, and breaking
up the regularity of the trips. If Slade
caused some of the rascals engfajred in this busi-
es o
uess to be hanged^ it was in strict conformity to
290 Joseph A. Slade.
the public sentiment, which in all new countries
regards horse-stealing as a capital offence.
Nothing but fear could restrain their passion for
this guilty pursuit. Certain it is, that Slade's
name soon became a terror to all evil-doers along
the road. Depredations of all kinds were less
frequent, and whenever one of any magnitude
was committed, Slade's men were early on the
track of the perpetrators, and seldom failed to
capture and punish them.
The power he exercised as a division agent was
despotic. It was necessary for the service in
which he was employed that it should be so.
Doubtless, he caused the death of many bad men,
but he has often been heard to say, that he never
killed but one himself. It was a common thing
with him, if a man refused to obey him, to force
obedience with a drawn pistol. How else could
he do it, in a country where there was no law ?
In the purchases which he made of the ranche-
men he sometimes detected their dishonest tricks,
and generally punished them on the spot. On
one occasion, while bargaining for a stack of hay,
he discovered that it was filled with bushes. He
told the rancheman that he intended to confine
him to the stack with chains, and burn him, and
commenced making preparations, seemingly for
Joseph A. Slade. 291
that purpose. The man begged for his life, and,
with much apparent reluctance, Slade finally told
him if he would leave the country and never
return to it he would ffive him his life. Glad of
the compromise the fellow departed the next
morning. This was all that Slade desired.
Stories like these grate harshly upon the ears
of people who have always lived in civilized com-
munities. Without considering the influences by
which he is surrounded, this class pronounce such
a man a ruffian. An author who writes of him
finds it no task to blacken his memory, by telling
half the truth. People who have once heard of
him are prepared to believe any report which con-
nects his name with crime, \yrong as this is on
general principles, it has been especially severe in
the case of Slade. Misrepresentation and abuse
have given to him the proportions, passions, and
actions of a demon. His name has become a
synonym for all that is infamous and cruel in
human character. And yet not one of all the
great number of men he controlled, or of those
associated wdth him as employes of the overland
stage company, men personally cognizant of his
career, believe that he committed a single act not
justified by the circumstances provoking it.
He could not be true to his employers and
292 Joseph A. Slade.
escape censure, any more than he could have dis-
charged the duties expected of him without fre-
quent and dangerous colhsion with the rough
elements of the society in which he moved.
That he lived throug-h it all was a miracle. A
man of weaker resolution, and less fertility of re-
source, would have been killed before the close of
his first year's service. Equally strange is it, that
one whose daily business required a continual
exercise of power in so many and varied forms, at
one moment among his own employes, at the
next among the half -civilized borderers by whom
he was surrounded, and perhaps at the same time
sending out men in pursuit of horse thieves,
should have escaped with so few desperate and
bloody encounters.
The uniform testimony of those who knew him
is, that he was rigidly honest and faithful. He
exacted these qualities from those in his employ.
Among gentlemen he was a gentleman always.
He had no bad habits. Men who were brought
in daily contact with him, during his period of
service, say that they never saw him affected by
liquor. He was generous, warmly attached to his
friends, and happy in his family. He was of a
lively, cheerful temperament, full of anecdote
and wit, a pleasant companion, whose personal
Joseph A. Slade. 293
magnetism attached his friends to him with hooks
of steel.
Many jarring and discordant incidents dis-
fio-ured this flatterinof foreo^round in Slade's
border life, but there was only one which gave it
a sanguine hue. That in all its parts, and from
the very first, has been so tortured and perverted
in the telling, that persons perfectly familiar with
all its details do not hesitate to pronounce every
published version a falsehood. I have the
narrative from truthful men, personally familiar
with all the facts.
Among the ranchemen with whom Slade early
commenced to deal was one Jules Reni, a Cana-
dian Frenchman. He was a representative man
of his class, and that class embraced nearly all
the people scattered along the road. They re-
garded him as their leader and adviser, and he
was proud of the position. He espoused their
quarrels with outsiders, and reconciled all differ-
ences occurring among themselves. In this way,
he exercised the power of a chief over the class,
and maintained a rustic dignity, which com-
manded respect within the sphere of its influence.
Jules and Slade had frequent collisions, which
generally originated in some real or supposed en-
croachment by the latter upon the dignity or
294 Joseph A. Slade.
importance of the former. They always arose
from trivial causes, and were forgotten by Slade
as soon as over; but Jules treasured them up
until the account against his rival became too
heavy to be borne. A serious quarrel, in which
threats were exchanged, was the consequence. If
Slade had treasured uji any vicious memory of
this difficulty, no evidence of it was apparent
when he afterwards met Jules. They accosted
each other with usual courtesy^ and soon fell into
a friendly conversation, in which others standing
by participated. Both were seated at the time
on the fence fronting the station. At length
Jules left and entered his house, and a moment
afterwards Slade followed. Slade was unarmed.
He had gone but a few rods, when one of the
men he had just left, in a tone of alarm, cried to
him, —
" Look out, Slade, Jules is going to shoot you ! "
As Slade turned to obey the summons, he re-
ceived the bullet from Jules's revolver. Five
shots from the pistol were fired in instant succes-
sion, and then Jules, who was standing in the
door of his cabin, took a shot-gun which was
watliin reach, and emptied its contents into the
body of Slade, who was facing him when he fell.
Slade was carried into the station, and placed in
Joseph A. Slade. 295
a bunk, with bullets and buck-shot to the number
of thirteen lodged in his person. No one who
witnessed the attack supposed he could survive an
hour. Jules was so well satisfied that he was
slain, that in a short time afterwards he said to
some person near, in the hearing of Slade, " When
he is dead, you can put him in one of these dry-
goods boxes, and bury him."
Slade rose in his bunk, and glaring out upon
Jules, who was standing in front of the station,
exclaimed with an oath, " 1 shall live long enough
to wear one of your ears on my watch-guard.
You needn't trouble yourself about my burial."
In the midst of the excitement occasioned by
the shooting, the overland coach arrived, bringing
the superintendent of the road. Finding Slade
writhing in mortal agony, he, on hearing the
nature of the assault, caused Jules to be arrested,
and improvised a scaffold for his immediate execu-
tion. Three times was Jules drawn up by willing
hands and strangfled until he was black in the
face. On letting him down the last time, the
superintendent, upon his promise to leave the
country, ordered his release. He left imme-
diately.
Slade lingered for several weeks at the station,
and finally went to St. Louis for treatment. As
296 Joseph A. Slade.
soon as he was sufficiently recovered, he returned
to his division, with eight remaining bullets in his
body. The only sentiment of all, except the
personal friends of Jules, was, that this attack
upon Slade, as brutal as it was unprovoked,
should be avenged. Slade must improve the
first opportunity to kill Jules. This was deemed
right and just. In no other way could he, in
the parlance of the country, get even with him.
Slade determined to kill Jules upon sight, but not
to go out of his way to meet him. Indeed, he
sent him word to that effect, and warned him
against a return to his division.
Jules, in the mean time, had been buying and
selling cattle in some parts of Colorado. Soon
after Slade's return to his division, Jules followed,
for the ostensible purpose of getting some cattle
that he owned, which were running at large ; but
his real object, as he everywhere boasted on his
journey, was to kill Slade. This threat was cir-
culated far and wide through the country, coupled
with the announcement that Jules was on his
return to the division to carry it into speedy exe-
cution. He exhibited a pistol of a peculiar pat-
tern, as the instrument designed for Slade's destruc-
tion.
Slade first heard of Jules's approach and
Joseph A. Slade. 297
threat at Pacific Sprlivl^s, tlie west end of his
division, just as he was about leaving to return to
Julesburg. At every station on that long route
of six hundred miles, he was warned by different
persons of the bloody purpose which Jules was
returning to accomplish. Knowing the desperate
character of the man with whom he had to deal,
and that the threats he had made were serious,
Slade resolved to counsel with the officers in com-
mand at Fort Laramie, and follow their advice.
On his arrival at that post he laid the subject
before them. They were perfectly familiar with
former difficulties between Slade and Jules, and
the treacherous attack of the latter upon the for-
mer. They advised him to secure the person of
Jules, and kill him. Unless he did so, the
chances were he would be killed himself; and in
any event, there could be no peace on his division
while Jules lived, as he was evidently determined
to shoot him on sioht. Slade had been informed
that Jules had passed the preceding night at
Bordeaux's ranche, a stage station about twelve
miles distant from the fort, and had repeated his
threats, exhibited his pistol, and declared his in-
tention of lying in wait at some point on the road
until Slade should appear.
When Slade was told of this, he hesitated no
298 Jose'ph A. Slacte.
lonsfer to follow the advice he had received.
Four men were sent on horseback in advance of
him to capture Jules and disarm him. Soon
after they left, Slade, in company with a friend,
followed in the coach. Jules had left Bordeaux's
before his arrival, but the story of the threats he
had uttered there, were confirmed by Bordeaux,
who, when the coach departed, took a seat in it,
carrying with him a small armory of guns and
pistols. It was apparent that the old man, whose
interest was with the winner in the fight, which-
ever he might be, was prepared to embrace his
cause, in case of after disturbance.
As the coach approached the next station, at
Chansau's ranche, with Slade as the driver, two of
the four men sent to secure Jules were seen rid-
ing towards it at a spanking pace. Slade and
his friends at once concluded that they had failed
in their designs, but the shouts of the men
who swung their hats as they passed the coach
re-assured them, and Slade drove rapidly up in
front of the station. Jumping from the box, he
walked hurriedly to the door. There were several
persons standing near, all, as was customary,
armed with pistol and knife. Slade drew the
pistol from the belt of one standing in the door-
way, and glancing hastily to see that it was
Joseph A. Slade. 299
loaded, said, — "I want this." He then came
out, and at a rapid stride went to the corral in
rear of the station where Jules was a prisoner. As
soon as he came in sight of him, he fired his pis-
tol, intending to hit him between the eyes, but he
had aimed too low, and the ball struck him in the
mouth, and glanced off without causing material
injury. Jules fell upon his back, and simulated
the mortal agony so well, that for a few moments
the people supposed the wound was fatal. Slade
discovered the deception at a glance.
" I have not hurt you," said he, " and no de-
ception is necessary. I have determined to kill
you, but having failed in this shot, I wdll now,
if you wish it, give you time to make your
will."
Jules replied that he should like to do so ; and
a gentleman who was awaiting the departure of
the coach, volunteered to draw it up for him.
The inconvenience of walking back and forth
from the corral to the station, through the single
entrance in front of the latter, made this a pro-
tracted service. The will was finally completed
and read to Jules. He expressed himself satisfied
with it, and the drawer of it went to the station
to get a pen and ink, with which he could sign
it. When he returned a moment afterwards,
300 Joseph A. Slade.
Jules was dead, Slade had shot him in the head
during that temporary absence.
Slade went to Fort Laramie and surrendered
himself a prisoner to the officer in command.
Military authority was the only law of the coun-
try, and though this action of Slade may have a
farcical appearance when taken in consideration
with the circumstances preceding it, yet it was
all that he could do to signify his desire for an
investigation. The officers of the fort, familiar
with all the facts, discharged him, with their
unanimous approval of the course he had pursued.
The French friends of Jules never harmed him.
The whole subject was carefully investigated by
the stage company, which, as the best evidence it
could give of approval, continued Slade in its
employ.
This is the history of the quarrel between
Slade and Jules Reni, as I have received it
from a gentleman familiar with all its phases
from its commencement to its close. The ao-
o
gravated form in which the narrative has been
laid before the public, charging Slade with hav-
ing tied his victim to a tree, and firing at him at
different times during the day, taunting him
meantime, and subjecting him to a great variety
of torture, before killing him, is false in every
Joseph A. Slade. 301
particular. Jules was not only the first, but the
most constant aggressor. In a community
favored with laws and an organized police, Slade
would not have been justified in the course he
pursued, yet, under our most favored institutions,
more flagrant cases than this daily escape convic-
tion. In the situation he accepted, an active busi-
ness man, intrusted with duties which required
constant exposure of his person both night and
day, what else could he do, to save his own life,
than kill the person who threatened and sought
an opportunity to take it ? Law would not pro-
tect liim. The promise which Jules had made
with the halter about his neck, to leave the coun-
try, did not prevent his return to avenge himself
upon Slade. It was impossible to avoid a colli-
sion with him ; and to kill him under such cir-
cumstances, was as clear an act of self-defence, as
if, in a civilized community, he had been slain by
his adversary with his pistol at his heart.
Slade's career, relieved from the infamy of this
transaction, presents no feature for severe public
condemnation, until several years after its occur-
rence. He retained his position as division agent,
discharging his duties acceptably, and was, in fact,
regarded by the company as their most efficient
man. When the route was changed from Lara-
302 Joseph A. Slade.
mie to the Cherokee Trail, he removed his head-
quarters to a beautiful nook in the Black Hills,
which he named Virginia Dale, after his wife,
whom he loved fondly.
His position as division agent often involved
him unavoidably in difficulty with ranchemen and
saloon-keepers. At one time, after the violation
of a second request to sell no liquor to his em-
ployes, Slade riddled a wayside saloon, and poured
the liquor into the street. On another occasion,
seemingly without provocation, he and his men
took possession of the sutler's quarters at Fort Hal-
leck, and so conducted as to excite the animosity
of the officers of the garrison, who determined
to punish him for the outrage. Following him in
the coach to Denver, they arrested and would
not release him, until the company assured them
he should leave the division.
This threw him out of employment, and he
went immediately to Carlisle, Illinois, whence,
early in the spring of 1863, he drifted with the
tide of emig-ration to the Beaverhead mines. As
with all men of ardent temperament, his habits
of drinking, by long indulgence, had passed by
his control. He was subject to fits of occasional
intoxication, and these, unfortunately, became so
frequent, that seldom a week passed unmarked
Joseph A. Slade. 308
by the occurrence of one or more scenes of riot,
in which he was the chief actor. Liquor en-
kindled all the evil elements of his volcanic
nature. He was as reckless and ungovernable as
a maniac under its influence, but even those who
had suffered outrage at his hands during these
explosive periods, were disarmed of hostility by
his gentle, amiable deportment, and readiness
always to make reparation on the return of sobri-
ety. His fits of rowdyism, moreover, always left
him a determined business man, with an aim and
purpose in Hfe. As a remarkable manifestation
of this latter quality, soon after he went to Mon-
tana, a steamboat. freighted with goods from St.
Louis, unable from low water to ascend the Mis-
souri to Fort Kenton, had discharged her cargo
at Milk river, in a country filled with hostile
Indians ; and Slade was the only man to be found
in the mines willins^ to encounter the risk of
carrying the goods by teams to their place of
destination in the Territory. The distance was
seven hundred miles, full half of which was un-
marked by a road. The several bands of the
Blackfeet occupied the country on the north, and
the Crows, Gros-Ventres, and Sioux on the
south. Slade collected a company of teamsters,
led them to the spot, and returned safely with the
304 Joseph A. Slade.
goods, meeting with adventures enough on the
way to fill a volume.
After the discovery of Alder Gulch, Slade went
to Virginia City. It was there that I first met
him. Slade came with a team to my lumber-yard,
and selecting from the piles a quantity of long
boards, directed the teamsters to load and take
them away. After the men had started with the
load, Slade asked me, —
" How long credit will you give me on this
purchase ? "
" About as long as it will take to weigh the
dust," I replied.
He remarked good-humoredly, " That's played
out."
" As I can buy for cash only, I must of neces-
sity require immediate payment on all sales," I
said, by way of explanation.
Slade immediately called to the teamster to
return and unload the lumber, remarking, as soon
as it was replaced upon the piles, —
" Well, I can't get along without the boards
anyhow ; load them up again."
The man obeyed and left again with the load,
Slade insisting as before, that he must have time
to pay for it, and I as earnest in the demand for
immediate payment. The teamster returned and
unloaded a second time.
Joseph A. Slade. 305
" I must and will have the lumber," said Slade ;
and the teamster, by his direction, was proceeding
to reload it a third time, when I forbade his
doing so, until it was paid for.
Our conversation now, without being angry,
became very earnest, and I fully explained why I
could not sell to any man upon credit.
" Oh, well," said he, with a significant toss of
the head : " I guess you'll let rue have it."
" Certainly not," I replied. " Why should I
let you have it sooner than another ? "
" Then I guess you don't know who I am," he
quickly rejoined, fixing his keen dark eyes on
me.
" No, I don't ; but if I did, it could make no
difference."
" Well," he continued, in an authoritative tone
and manner, " my name is Slade."
It so happened that I had never heard of him,
my attention being wholly engrossed with busi-
ness, so I replied, laughingly, —
" I don't know now, any better than before."
" You must have heard of Slade of the Over-
land."
" Never before," I said.
The reply seemed to annoy him. He gave me
a look of mingled doubt and wonder, which, had
306 Joseph A. Slade.
it taken the form o£ words, would have said,
" You are either trying to fool me, or are yourself
a fool." No doubt he thought it strange that I
should never have heard of a man who had been
so conspicuous in mountain history.
" Well," he said, " if you do not know me, ask
any of the boys who I am, and they will inform
you. I'm going to have this lumber ; that is dead
sure," and with an air of much importance, he
moved to a group of eight or ten men that had
just come out of Skinner's saloon, all of whom were
attaches of his. " Come, boys," said he, " load
up the wagon."
Several of my friends were standing near, and
the matter between us had fully ripened for a con-
flict. At this moment, John Ely, an old friend,
elbowed his way through the crowd, and learning
the cause of the difficulty, told me to let Slade
have the lumber, and he would see that I was
paid the next day. I readily consented. Ely
then took me aside and informed me of the des-
perate character of Slade, and advised me to avoid
him, as he was drunk, and would certainly shoot
me at our next meeting.
Early in the evening of the same day, Slade,
instigated by the demon of whiskey, provoked a
fight with Jack Gallagher, which, had not by-
Joseph A. Slade. 307
staiiders disarmed the combatants, would have
had a fatal termination. Soon after this was over
I saw him enter the California Exchange, accom-
panied by two friends whom he invited to drink
with him. When in the act of raising their
glasses, Slade drew back his powerful arm and
struck the one nearest him a violent blow on the
forehead. He fell heavily to the floor. Slade
left immediately, and the man, being raised, recov-
ered consciousness and disappeared. Slade re-
turned in a few moments with another friend
whom he asked to drink, and struck down.
Again he went out, and soon came in with
another whom he attempted to serve in the same
manner, but this man rose immediately to his feet.
Slade was foiled by the interference of bystanders,
in the attempt to strike him again. Turning on
his heel, his eye caught mine. I was standing a
few feet from him by the wall. He advanced
rapidly towards me, and, expecting an assault, I
assumed a posture of defence. Greatly to my
surprise, he accosted me civilly, and throwing his
arm around me, said jocosely, —
" Old fellow ! You didn't think I was going
to cheat you out of that lumber, did you ? "
He then asked me to drink. I respectfully de-
clined.
308 Joseph A. Slade.
" It's all right," said he, and walked away.
I met him afterwards several times during the
evening, but he said nothing more.
Nine years after these occurrences, in July,
1872, I went from Helena to Fort Hall by coach,
to accompany the United States Geological Sur-
vey, under charge of Dr. Hayden, to the National
Park. Dan Johnson, the driver from Snake
river to the fort, being unwell, and having a
vicious horse in his team, asked my assistance, and
I drove for him to the station. We fell into a
desultory conversation, and Dan's reserve wearing
off, he gave me a look of recognition from under
the broad rim of his hat, abruptly exclaiming, —
" If I'm not much mistaken, I've seen your face
before."
" Very likely. I've passed over the line many
times."
" That's not it. It's a long time since I have
seen you, and I have got you mixed up with some
old recollections of Virginia City, as long ago as
1863."
" I was there a good portion of the time during
the fall of that year."
" Just as I thought," he replied ; " you're the
very man who sold the lumber to Slade. We
boys thought Slade would shoot you, when you
Joseph A. Slade. 309
refused to trust him for the boards. He came
pretty near doing it, and it wa'n't a bit like him
not to. I was one of the teamsters then, and we
all expected a big row about it, and stood by,
ready to pitch in. I ain't that kind of a man
now, but things were different then, and anybody
that worked for Slade, if he wished to escape
being shot, had to stand by him in a fight. 1 never
knew why Slade didn't shoot you, but there was
never any telling what he would do, and what he
Avouldn't. Sometimes it was one thins: and some-
times another, just as the notion took him ; but if
he ever was put down by a man, which wasn't
often, he always seemed to remember it, and was
civil to him afterwards. You were in mighty
big luck to get out of the scrape as you did."
In illustration of this latter peculiarity, an
incident is related of Slade, which occurred dur-
ing that portion of his life passed on the over-
land stage route. He and one Bob Scott, a
somewhat noted man of the time, had become
interested in a set-to at poker ; game followed
game, and drink followed drink. Both were
exhilarated by liquor, bets grew larger, and finally
in one game each had " raised " the other till
Slade's money was exhausted. Slade pointed to the
piles of coin heaped upon the table, exclaiming, —
310 Joseph A. Slade.
" Bob, that money belongs to me."
" It does if the cards say so," said Bob, " not
otherwise."
" Perhaps," rejoined Slade, " my cards are not
better than yours ; but," drawing his revolver and
pointing it at Scott, " my hand Is.'^
Scott glanced at him with amazement, and for
a moment both parties were silent. At length
Slade reached forward to pull down the pile of
double eagles and transfer them to his pocket,
when, with the quickness of lightning, Scott
pushed aside the pistol with one hand, and dealt
his antagonist a stunning blow between the eyes
with the other. Slade fell, and Scott fell on him,
and gave him a severe drubbing, only permitting
him to rise on his promising to behave himself.
The game was renewed and no reference made
to the fight, until Slade, thoroughly sobered,
quietly remarked, —
" Well, Bob, if you'd pounded me about two
minutes lonofer, I'd have scot sober sooner."
Soon after he came to Virginia City, Slade
located a ran die on the margin of Meadow creek,
twelve miles distant, and built a small stone house
in one of the wildest dells of the mountain over-
looking it. This lonely dwelling, seldom visited
by him, was occupied solely by his wife, who fit-
Joseph A. Slade. 311
tingly typified the genius of that majestic soli-
tude over which she presided. This ill-fated lady
was at this time in the prime of health and
beauty. She possessed many personal attractions.
Her figure was queenly, and her movements the
perfection of grace. Her countenance was lit up
by a pair of burning black eyes, and her hair,
black as the raven's wing, fell in rich curls over
her shoulders. She was of powerful organization,
and having passed her life upon the borders, knew
how to use the rifle and revolver, and could per-
form as many dexterous feats in the saddle as the
boldest hunter that roamed the plains. Secure in
the affection of her husband, she devoted her life
to his interests, and participated in all the joys and
sorrows of his checkered career. While he lived,
she knew no heavier grief than his irregularities.
In his wildest moments of passion and violence,
Slade dearly loved his wife. Liquor and license
never made him forgetful of her happiness, or poi-
soned the love she bore for him.
The frequent and inexcusable acts of violence
committed by Slade made him the terror of the
country. His friends warned him of the conse-
quences, but he disregarded their advice, or if
possible behaved the worse for it. It was an in-
variable custom with him when intoxicated, to
312 Joseph A. Slade.
mount his horse and ride through the main street,
driving into each saloon as he came to it, firing
a<7 the lamps, breaking the glasses, throwing the
gold scales into the street, or committing other
acts equally destructive and vicious, and seldom
unaccompanied by deeds of personal violence as
unprovoked as they were wanton and cruel. Peo-
ple soon tired of pecuniary reparation and gen-
tlemanly apologies for a course of brutality,
which, sooner or later, they foresaw must culmi-
nate in outrage and bloodshed. All the respect
they entertained for Slade when sober, * was
changed into fear when he was drunk ; and rather
than offend one so reckless of all civil restraint,
they closed and locked their doors at his approach.
In the absence of law, the people after the execu-
tion of Helm, Gallagher, and their associates, es-
tablished a voluntary tribunal, for the punishment
of offenders against the peace, which w^as known
as the People's Court. It possessed all the requi-
sites for trial of a constitutional court ; and its
judgments had never been disputed. Alexander
Davis, a lawyer of good attainments in his pro-
fession, and a man of exemplary character, was
the judge. Slade had been often arrested and
fined by this tribunal, and always obeyed its de-
crees, but an occasion came when he refused longer
Joseph A. Slade. 313
to do so, and treated Its process and officers with
contempt.
He was arrested one mornino; after a nio-ht of
riot and violence. He and his companions had
made the town a scene of uproar and confusion.
Every saloon in it bore evidence of their drunken
mischief and lawlessness. They were taken before
Judge Davis, who ordered the sheriff to read the
writ to them, by way of an arraignment. Fair-
weather, one of Slade's comrades, placed his right
hand on his revolver and with his left hand men-
acingly snatched the writ from the sheriff l)efore
it was half read, and tearing it in twain, cast the
pieces angrily upon the floor and ground them
under his feet.
" Go in. Bill," said Slade, addressing him and
drawing his revolver, " I am with you. We'll
teach this volunteer court what its law is worth
anyhoAv."
The sheriff, who probably entertained Falstaf-
fian ideas of valor, made no resistance, and the
court was thus virtually captured. This transac-
tion roused the Vigilantes, who had only been
prevented from summarily punishing Slade on
several occasions during the previous three months
at the earnest intercessions of P. S. Pfouts, Major
Brookie and Judoe Davis. The two first named
314 Joseph A. Slade.
of those gentlemen now abandoned him. A large
number of the Committee assembled, and while
they were engaged in council, a leading member
sought out Slade, and in an earnest, quiet tone,
said to him, —
" Slade, get your horse at once and go home,
or you will have serious trouble."
Slade, himself a member of the Vigilantes,
startled into momentary sobriety by this sudden
warning, quickly inquired, —
" What do you mean ? "
" You have no right to ask me what I mean.
Get your horse at once, and remember what I tell
you."
" All right," he replied ; " I will follow your
advice."
A few moments afterwards he made his appear-
ance on horseback, to obey, as his friend supposed,
the warning he had given him ; but, seeing some
of his comrades standing near, he became again
uproarious, and seemed by his conduct to ignore
the promise he had made. Seeking for Judge
Davis, whom he found in the store of Pfouts and
Russell, he interrupted him while conversing with
John S. Lott.
" I hear," said he, addressing him, " that they
are going to arrest me."
Joseph A. Slade. 315
" Go home, SLade," said Davis ; " go at once,
and behave yourself, and you may yet escape."
" No," he replied, " you are now my prisoner.
I will hold you as a hostage for my ow^n safety."
"All right, Slade," said the judge, smiling, and
still continuino- to converse w^ith Lott.
o
" Oh, I mean it," replied Slade with an oath,
pulling a derringer from his pocket and aiming it
at Davis.
William Hunt, who had been an eyewitness of
these proceedings, now stepped up, and, facing
Slade defiantly, said to him, —
" You are not 2'oino; to hurt him. He can do
and act as he pleases, and don't you dare to touch
him."
Slade made some careless rejoinder.
"Slade," said Hunt, "if I'd been sheriff, the
first thing I would have done when I got up this
morning would have been to arrest you. By that
means I would have saved your life, probably pre-
vented bloodshed, and we w ould have had a quiet
town to-day."
" We had better make you sheriff, then," re-
plied Slade.
" No, I have no wish for it ; but if I were, I
have got nerve enough to arrest you, and would
certainly have done so."
316 Joseph A. Slade.
" Well, well," said Slade, now thoroughly
quieted, " let us go out and get a drink."
The two men left the store. In a few moments
Slade returned, and, approaching Davis, said, —
" I was too fast. I ask your pardon for my
conduct, and hope you will overlook it."
In the mean time the Vigilantes, undetermined
what course to pursue, had sent a request to their
brethren at Nevada to join in their deliberations.
Six hundred armed miners obeyed the summons,
sendino' their leader in advance to inform the
o
Executive Committee that, in their judgment, Slade
should be executed. The Committee, unwilling
to recommend this measure, finally agreed that,
if unanimously adopted, it should be enforced.
Alarmed at the gathering of the people, Slade
again sought the presence of Judge Davis, to re-
peat his apologies and regrets for the violence of
his conduct. He was now perfectly sobered, and
fuUy comprehended the effect of his lawlessness
upon the community. The column of Vigilantes
from Nevada halted in front of the store, and the
executive officer stepped forward and arrested
Slade.
"The Committee," said he, addressing him,
" have decided upon your execution. If you have
any business to settle, you must attend to it im-
mediately."
Joseph A. Slade. 817
" My execution ! my death ! My God ! gentle-
men, you will not proceed to such extremities !
The Committee cannot have decreed this."
" It is even so, and you had better at once
give the little time left you to arranging your
business."
This appalling repetition of the sentence of the
Committee seemed to deprive him of every vestige
of manliness and courage. He fell upon his
knees, and with clasped hands shuffled over the
floor from one to another of those who had been
his friends, begging for his life. Clasping the
hands of Judge Davis and Captain Williams, he
implored them for mercy, mingling with his ap-
peals, prayers and promises, and requests that his
wife might be sent for. " My God ! my God !
must I die ? Oh, my dear wife ! why can she not
be sent for ? " were repeated in the most heart-
rending accents.
Judge Davis alone stood by the unhappy man in
this his great extremity, and tried to save his life.
He conversed with several leaders of the Commit-
tee, suggesting that they should substitute banish-
ment for death. But the people were implacable.
Slade's life among them had been violent, lawless,
desperate. No brigand was more dreaded by all
who knew him ; and the speech which, at the foot
318 Joseph A. Slade.
of the gallows, Davis addressed to the crowd in
his behalf, fell like water upon adamant. There
was no mercy left for one who had so often for-
feited all claims to mercy. Yet there were a few
men, even amonof those who had doomed this man
to death, that would have given all they possessed
to save his life. They could not witness his exe-
cution ; and some of them, stout of heart and ac-
customed to disaster, it is no shame to say, wept
like children when they beheld him on his march
to the scaffold.
As soon as Slade found all entreaty useless, he
sent a messenger for his wife, and recovered in
some degree his wonted composure. The only
favor he now asked of the Committee was, that
his execution might be delayed until his wife ar-
rived,— a favor that would have been granted
could the Committee have been assured that her
presence and remarkable courage would not have
excited an attempt at rescue, and been the cause
of bloodshed. The scaffold, formed of the gate-
way of a corral, was soon prepared, and, everything
being in readiness, Slade was placed upon a dry-
sroods box, with the fatal cord around his neck.
Several gentlemen whom he sent for came to see
him and bid him farewell. One of his comrades,
who had exhausted himself in prayers for his re-
Joseph A. Slade. 319
lease, as the fatal moment drew nigh, threw off
his coat, and, doubling- his fists, declared that
Slade should be hanged only over his dead body.
The aim of a hundred rifles brought him to his
senses, and he was glad to escape upon a promise
of future o'ood behavior. The execution immedi-
ately followed, Slade dying with the fall of the
drop. His body was removed to the Virginia
Hotel, and decently laid out.
A few moments later his wdfe, mounted on a fleet
horse, dashed up to the hotel, and rushed madly
to the bed on which the body lay. Casting her-
self upon the inanimate form, she gave way to a
paroxysm of grief. Her cries were heartrending,
mingled with deep and bitter curses upon those
who had deprived her of her husband. Hours
elapsed before she was sufficiently composed to
give directions for the disposition of the body.
" Why, oh, why," she exclaimed, in an agony
of grief, " did not some of you, the friends of
Slade, shoot him down, and not suffer him to die
on the scaffold? I would have done it had I
been here. He should never have died by the
rope of the hangman. No dog's death should
have come to such a man."
The body was placed in a tin coffin filled with
alcohol, and conveyed to the ranche, where it re-
S20 Joseph A. Slade.
mained until the following' spring, when it was
taken to Salt Lake City and buried in the ceme-
tery. A plain marble slab, with name and age
graven thereon, marks the burial-place of Slade, —
a man who surrendered all that was noble, gene-
rous, and manly in his nature to the demon of
intemperance. A friend of his, in a recent letter
to me, relating to him, says, —
" Slade was unquestionably a most useful man
in his time to the stage line, and to the cause of
progress in the Far West, and he never was a
robber, as some have represented ; but after years
of contention with desperate men, he became so
reckless and regardless of human life that his best
friends must concede that he was at times a most
dangerous character, and no doubt, by his defiance
of the authority and wholesome discipline of the
Vigilantes, brought upon himself the calamity
which he suffered."
JOHN X. BEIDLER,
Leading Vigilante and Express Messenger.
A Modern Human. 321
CHAPTER XX.
A MODERN HAMAN.
Beidler — Woman for Breakfast — Mysterious
Murder OF a Chixawoman ix Helena — Arrest
AND Discharge of Hanson — Claggett's Rifle —
Election Day — Effects of Negro Suffrage —
Murder of Hayes by Leach — Arrest of Leach
BY X. — Hynson's Conduct on the Occasion and
AFTERWARDS X. SUSPECTS HyNSON OF THE MuRDER
OF THE Chinawoman — Finds Claggett's Rifle in
HIS Possession, and restores it to the Owner — Ar-
rests Hynson — He is put in Jail — His Threats
— Cowardly Conduct when released by John
Fetherstun — Threatens X. — Goes to Benton —
Cowardice and Humiliation on meeting X. —
Asks his Assistance, and receives a Place as Night
Watchman — Gets a Job and betrays his Trust —
X. MAKES A Seizure as Marshal — Abusive Treat-
ment OF Williams by Hynson — Hynson builds
A Scaffold, and is hanged thereon — Letter
from his Mother.
" We've got a woman for breakfast this time,
and a Chinawoman at that," said X. Beidler, as
he drew up to the well-filled breakfast table of the
saloon where he boarded, " There's no want of
322 A Modern Haman.
variety. We had a negro election day, and
plenty of white men the week before." (The ex-
pression " a man for breakfast," signifies, in min-
ing parlance, that a man has been murdered dur-
ing the night.)
" What is the new sensation, X. ? " inquired one
of the boarders.
" Nothing remarkable," rephed X., " a China-
woman choked to death, and robbed of a thou-
sand dollars during the night."
"Who did it?"
" That's the mysterious part of it. It was done
by some one who don't wish to be known. He's
an exceptional scoundrel ; generally, our murders
are committed publicly."
" Have you no idea who committed the
deed?"
" Oh, yes, but then I may be mistaken. I'll
say nothing about that at present. The woman
was ready to leave for Boise this morning with
negro Hanson, who has been living with her for
some time. I don't think Hanson killed her, but
it can do no harm to arrest him on suspicion, and
hear his statement."
This brief colloquy occurred in Helena on a
Sabbath morning in September, 1867. The town
was at that time infested with thieves, ruffians, and
A Modern Haman. 328
murderers. Shooting affrays, resulting in death
to some of the parties concerned, had been of
almost daily occurrence for several weeks, and
the citizens began to fear a return of the days of
1863.
X. Beidler ate deliberately, and when he had
finished, sauntered out in pursuit of Hanson,
whom he soon found, arrested, and took before a
magistrate. The negro was frightened, but pro-
tested his innocence.
" How was it ? " inquired the justice, in a kind
tone. " Tell us all you know."
"I'll do that, sure," replied Hanson. "You
see, this woman and I were jest as close friends
as there's any need of. She had eight hundred
dollars in dust and greenbacks, and three horses.
We had agreed some time ago to go to Boise, and
made our arrangements to leave this very morning.
I went up to the house last evening and found a
white man there. I didn't take no partikler
notice of the man, but I think I would know him
again if I saw him. I left, and did not go back
till this morning, when I found the woman lying
dead upon the floor. 'Fore God, that is all I
know about the murder of the woman."
After a few more questions relating to the size
and general appearance of the man whom he left
324 A Modern Haman.
in company with the woman, Hanson was dis-
charged.
" I know," said X., significantly, " that he is
not guilty. Let him go. We'll look further for
the murderer."
Some ten days previous to this time, Hon. Wil-
liam H. Claggett came over from Deer Lodge to
address the citizens of Helena on the issues of the
political campaign, then in progress. He brought
with him a Henry rifle marked on the stock with
his initials. Forgetting to take it from the coach
on his arrival, he returned from the hotel after it,
and it was gone. It had been stolen during his
momentary absence. After a diligent but unsuc-
cessful search, it was given up for lost. X., how-
ever, promised to keep a lookout for it.
Election day came, when the negroes, for the
first time in our history, were to exercise the right
of suffrage. It was a great day for them ; and
the few that were in the city, soon began to make
their appearance, dressed up for the occasion as
for a holiday. A riot was anticipated, as threats
had been made by the roughs in town that the
negroes should not vote without a fight. X.
Beidler stood near the polls to preserve the peace,
and see that every man, black or white, was pro-
tected in votinof. In the mean time a colored
A Modern Haman. 325
barber and his negro associate had a set-to at
fisticuffs, to decide some knotty point in politics.
The crowd arrested the combatants, and while
conducting them to the magistrate, the barber
escaped and ran home. Hayes, still in their cus-
tody, was roughly charged by one John Leach
with having drawn a pistol upon a white man.
" You lie if you say that," was the indignant
reply of Hayes.
" Do you call me a liar ? " retorted Leach.
" Yes, you or any other man who says I drew
a pistol or carry one."
As he said this, the crowd released Hayes, and
he walked down the street to a barber shop,
where he was followed by Leach, who seized him
by the collar with one hand, and drawing and
cocking a pistol with the other, repeated the ques-
tion, —
" You drew a pistol upon a white man, did
you?
Hayes again replied in the negative, and rais-
ing his arm said, —
" Search me, if you think I have any weapons.
My fuss was with a colored man, not with you.
I don't want anything to do with you." As he
turned to release himself from the grasp of Leach,
that rufi&an, aiming at his heart, said, —
326 A Modem Haman.
" If you open your mouth again, I'll kill you,"
and instantly fired, the ball entering the left side,
below the breast. Hayes lived about an hour.
On being apprised of the affray, X. Beidler
hastened to the spot to arrest Leach. A crowd
of roughs stood around to protect him, but Beid-
ler, pistol in hand, at the risk of his life, pushed
his way through it, and seizing Leach by the col-
lar, secured him with handcuffs and led him to
jail. Knives had been drawn in the melee by
Leach's friends. A deadly blow had been aimed
at Beidler by one Bill Hynson, which he evaded by
the dexterous use of his right arm.
After the man was in prison, and quiet restored,
Hynson sought out Beidler, who was then, as
now, a terror to the roughs, and said to him, —
" X., I saved your life. I knocked off the blow
just in time."
Comprehending the object of this salutation,
X. replied dryly, —
" I'm all right now, and much obliged to you.
I suppose you saved my life."
Hynson, mistaking the irony for sincerity, fol-
lowed it up by a request that Beidler would use
his influence to get him a position on the police
force of Helena. Beidler gave him no encour-
agement, and a few days afterwards he told Beid-
A Modern Haman. 327
ler he had oot a better thing; and did not wish the
place.
From the meagre description given by Hanson
of the man he saw in company with the China-
woman, during the evening preceding her mur-
der, Beidler's suspicions fell upon Hynson. He
watched him narrowly, but could find no
clew.
A day or two after the murder, at a very early
hour in the morning, Beidler, in pursuit of cir-
cumstances to justify his suspicions, abruptly en-
tered an old, deserted building, which a lot of loafers
and roughs had appropriated for sleeping purposes.
The floor was covered wath their blankets, and
the sudden presence of Beidler among them at so
early an hour caused great consternation. They
crept from their covers, and exchanging hurried
glances with each other, as if to inquire, " Which
of us is this day a victim for the dry tree ? " fled
from the building like rats from a sinking ship.
Hynson was among the number. In the hurried
observation he had taken of the room, Beidler
saw, lying beside Hynson under his blanket, a
Henry rifle, which by the initials on the stock he
recognized as Claggett's. After the room was de-
serted, he returned to it, and seizing the rifle sent
it to its owner by the next express.
328 A Modern Banian.
Hynson missed the rifle. Meeting Beidler tlie
next day, he inquired if he had seen it.
" Yes," replied X. " Whose is it ? "
" Mine," said Hynson defiantly.
" Yours ! " rejoined X. sternly. " How came
you by it? You have seen the initials on the
stock. Don't you know whose it is ? "
Seeing that Beidler was not to be deceived,
Hynson, after some prevarication, acknowledged
that he took the rifle from the coach.
" I thought," said he, " I might as well have
it as any one."
This admission of guilt would have been fol-
lowed by Hynson's immediate arrest had not Beid-
ler hoped by delay to find some evidence against
him of murder. The negro Hanson had, in the
mean time, seen Hynson. He told Beidler he re-
sembled the man he saw at the house of the China-
woman. Beidler hesitated no longer, but at once
arrested Hynson for steaUng the rifle, intending
to keep him in custody until satisfied of his guilt
or innocence of the higher crime. Impatient of
this restraint upon his liberty, Hynson daily vented
his wrath upon his keepers.
" As soon as I get out," said he to John Fether-
stun, " I intend to kill you. Only give me the
chance, and see how quick I'll do it."
A Modern Human. 329
John laughed, dismissing' all his threats with
some axioms less complimentary to his courage
than his bravado, such as, " You crow well,"
" Barking dogs seldom bite," etc.
Beidler soon became satisfied that no evidence
could be found sufficient to convict Hynson of
murder, and the stealing of the rifle in a commun-
ity where higher crimes were committed daily with
impunity did not call for heavier punishment than
the thief had already received. So Hynson was
released. As Fetherstun opened the door of the
prison for him, he said, —
" Have you got a six-shooter ? "
" No," rei)lied Hynson.
" Then I'll give you one, and you can turn
loose," at the same time drawing- a revolver from
his belt and offering it to him. Seeing that Hyn-
son hesitated, he immediately added, ^* Take it. It
will give you the chance you've been looking for
so lonof."
Hynson declined taking it, saying, —
" I was in jail and feeling bad when I said that.
You've always been kind to me. I've got nothing
against you, and don't want to hurt you, but I'm
going for X., sure, — the man that put me in
here."
X. needed no protector, especially when warned.
330 A Modern Haman.
No man could draw and fire a pistol with deadlier
aim or greater rapidity, and so Hynson found no
opportunity of putting- his threat into execution.
In the spring of 1868, Beidler, on his return to
Helena from the Whoop-up mines, spent a few
days en route at Benton. The steamboats from
St. Louis were daily arriving with freights, which
from this point were conveyed in teams to all the
towns and mining camps in the Territory. Hyn-
son, who had hired as a teamster to Scott Bullard,
a heavy Helena freighter, was on his way to Ben-
ton. Learning that Beidler was there, he fre-
quently in conversation avowed the intention of
shooting him on sight. As the train approached
Benton, Bullard rode into town in advance of it,
and apprised Beidler of his danger.
The day after the arrival of the train, Hynson
and Beidler approached each other in the street.
The former extended his hand in a friendly man-
ner, which Beidler seized with his left hand, keep-
ing his right in reserve for the use of his pistol.
" I am told," said Beidler, " that you have come
here to kill me."
'• I kill you ! " said Hynson, in well-affected
surprise.
" Yes, you," said Beidler, dropping the hand
he held ; " and if you wish to try it, you'll never
A Modern ffaman. S31
have a better chance. If that's what you want,
you can't pull your pistol too quick."
Hynson glared at the little, athletic man who
confronted him so boldly, and saw in those burn-
ing eyes and that steady muscle not the smallest
trace of fear.
Seizing Beidler again by the hand, he said in
hurried tones, —
" X., I did make a fool of myself when drunk
in camp with the boys, in some remarks relating
to you, but I didn't mean it. I don't want to
hurt you, and never did. Now, let's be friends."
Beidler, who had no other feeling than contempt
for the bragging poltroon, listened in silence to
what further he had to say.
" I want you," said Hynson, " to aid me in get-
ting the position of night-watchman in this city."
X. replied to this request in general terms, and,
turning on his heel, left Hynson, who afterwards,
by some means which X. could not fathom, re-
ceived the appointment he desired.
Before leaving Benton, X. received a letter from
Silver Bow requesting him to watch for and arrest
a person who had stolen a lot of nuggets and
jewelry, and gone from that place to Benton.
Called suddenly away by more important business,
X. intrusted Hynson with this service, who caught
332 A Modern Haman.
the thief and recovered the property, which he
appropriated to his own use, pawning- the jewelry
for a sum of money, which was soon squandered.
When X. returned, Hynson, with much difficulty,
redeemed most of the jewelry, which Beidler re-
turned to the owner.
About this time Beidler, as deputy United States
marshal, made a seizure of some contraband goods.
One Charles Williams was an important witness
in the case. The court was held at Helena, one
hundred and forty miles distant from Benton.
Beidler discovered that the defendant and his
friends had a plan on foot to prevent Williams
from going to court, which he determined to fore-
stall. He met Williams by appointment a couple
of miles from town, furnished him a horse, a Henry
rifle, and ten dollars in money, and directed him
to ride with all possible despatch to Helena, he
intending to follow in the coach, which was to
leave in a few hours. Beidler saw nothino- of his
witness on the route, but, as he had told him to
avoid the road the first day as much as possible,
this occasioned no surprise ; but when the second
and third days passed without his appearance, he
feared some accident had befallen him. The day
after his arrival at Helena he received information
that the horse had been found hitched to a post
A Modern Haman. 333
in Benton, with the saddle and gun on his hack,
and that WiUiams had been hanged. Beidler re-
turned to Benton and secured his property. In a
confidential conversation with Hynson he learned
that before the execution of Williams was com-
pleted he was cut down, taken by his captors
below Benton, placed upon a raft in the Missouri,
and upon his promise to leave and not return to
the country, permitted to escape with his life.
This story, discredited at the time, was confirmed
by Williams himself four years afterwards.
Hynson's participation in this high-handed out-
rage, while acting as a conservator of the peace,
roused public indignation against him. A few
days afterwards he provoked a dispute with Mr.
Morgan, the sheriff, and slapped him in the face.
One trouble followed another, until, in the sum-
mer of 1868, a Mr. Robinson was knocked down
and robbed in the street, and the circumstances
all pointed unmistakably to Hynson, the night
watchman, as the aggressor. As there was no
positive proof of his guilt, he was suffered to
retain his position without molestation.
On the morning of the 18th of August, the
same season, Hynson was observed to convey to
a spot on the prairie, a mile or more distant from
town, three pine-tree poles about twelve feet long
834 A Modern Maman.
and four inches in diameter. Tying one end of
these three poles securely together, he raised them
up in the form of a tripod. When they were sta-
tioned in a substantial manner, and to his liking,
he went to a store and purchased a small coil of
rope.
" What is the rope for, Hynson ? " inquired a
bystander.
" To hang a man with," was his reply.
The listeners understood this as a joke, and dis-
missed the subject with a laugh.
Hynson next employed a negro to go out and
dig a grave near the tripod.
" Who's dead, Massa Hynson ? " inquired the
man.
" Never you mind," replied Hynson. " Go
ahead and dig the grave. I'll furnish the corpse."
The negro obeyed, and the grave was in readi-
ness at nightfall.
The next morning the lifeless body of Hynson
was found suspended from the tripod by the rope
he had prepared.
The citizens flocked in crowds to the spot.
Among them was the negro who dug the grave.
When he saw the swaying form, and had scru-
tinized the ghastly face, he exclaimed, —
" 'Fore God, dat's de gemman dat tole me
A Modem Haman. 335
to dig' cle grave, and said he'd furnish de
corpse."
After the body was cut down, there was found
in a pocket the following letter from the mother
of Hynson : —
" My dear Son, — I write to relieve my great
anxiety, for I am in great trouble on your ac-
count. Your father had a dream about you.
He dreamed that he had a letter from your lawyer,
who said that your case was hopeless. God grant
that it may prove only a dream ! I, your poor,
broken-hearted mother, am in suspense on your
account. For God's sake, come home."
336 James Daniels.
CHAPTER XXI.
JAMES DANIELS.
Career in California — Murder of Gartley — Ar-
rested BY THE Vigilantes — Tried by Court and
FOUND Guilty of Manslaughter — Sentence —
Pardon — Hung by the Vigilantes — Vigilantes
in the Wrong.
Of the early history of this individual I
know but little, and but for circumstances attend-
ing his " taking off," should not trouble my
readers with any notice of him. That he was hard-
ened in vice and crime, and, possibly, was one of
the worst of all the ruffians whose careers I have
passed under review, will hardly admit of a doubt,
when the reader is informed that he murdered one
man in Tuolumne County, California, and was
only prevented by want of agility to complete a
race, from killing another. His appearance in
Helena, and the commission of the crime for
which he lost his life, were almost simultaneous.
In a quarrel incident to a game of cards, near
Helena, he stabbed and instantly killed a man by
James Daniels. 337
the name of Gartley. He was immediately ar-
rested by the Vigilantes, who surrendered him to
the civil authorities. On his trial for murder,
circumstances were proved, which, in the opinion
of the jury, reduced his crime to manslaughter.
Judge Munson sentenced him to three years' im-
prisonment in the territorial prison. After a
few weeks' confinement, a petition for his pardon,
signed by thirty-two respectable citizens of Hel-
ena, was also presented to acting Governor
Meagher, who, under a mistaken sense of his
own powers, issued an order for his release. The
right to pardon belonged exclusively to the Presi-
dent. Judge Munson went immediately to the
capital to show the law to the Executive, con-
vince him of his error, and obtain an order for
the re-arrest of Daniels. Meantime, that individ-
ual, uttering the most diabolical threats against
the witnesses who had testified against him, found
his way back to Helena ; and before the judge
could effect his object with the governor, in fact,
on the night succeeding the day of his arrival in
Helena, Daniels was arrested by the Vigilantes
and hanged.
As I have endeavored to justify, in all cases
■where I deemed the circumstances warranted it,
the action of the Vigilantes in taking life, so, as
338 James Daniels.
such circumstances were not apparent in this case,
do I deem it a duty to say that they committed
an irreparable error in the execution of this man.
However much, by his threats and reckless con-
duct, he may have deserved death, they had no
right to inflict it. If he had been wrongfully
pardoned, he could easily have been re-arrested.
He was a single individual in the midst of a
populous community, warned by his threats of his
designs, which could easily have been thwarted
by arresting him, or by setting a careful watch
over his actions. No excuse can be offered for
the course that was pursued. This, at least, was
one case where the Vigilantes exceeded the
boundaries of right and justice, and became
themselves the violators of law and propriety.
I was at that time a member of the Executive
Committee of the Virginia City branch of the
Vigilante organization, and that Committee dis-
avowed all responsibility for the execution of
Daniels, and expressed its disapproval of that act,
which, it was believed, did not have the official
sanction of the Executive Committee of Helena,
but was regarded as the unauthorized act of cer-
tain irresponsible members of the organization at
Helena.
And I will here take occasion to say that this
James Daniels. 33C
was not an isolated instance. Under the pretence
of Vigilante justice, after the establishment of
courts of justice in Montana, and when many of
the respectable citizens of the Territory had vir-
tually abandoned the order, a few vicious men
continued occasionally to enforce its summary dis-
cipline. Several individuals were hanged who
had been detected in stealing horses, several for
giving utterances to threats of vengeance, and
several on mere suspicion of having committed
crime. As soon as this order of things was
understood by the people, the Vigilante institu-
tion was brought to an end, and the men who had
misused its powers were given to understand that
any further employment of them would probably
cause it to re-act upon themselves. These abuses
had not been frequent, and when discovered were
promptly terminated.
340 David Opdyhe.
CHAPTER XXII.
DAVID OP DYKE.
Early Life of Opdyke — His Wandering and Success
IN Mining — Appearance in Boise City — Public
Suspicions — His Stable Headquarters for the
Roughs OF the Territory — History of Parks —
His Murder and Robbery by the "Opdyke Gang"
— Opdyke's Complicity in the Port-ISTeuf Rob-
bery — Frank Johnson — Beech — Hank Buckner
THE Murderer of Brown — His Mysterious Escape
FROM Montana — Appearance in Idaho — Neil
Howie sent to return him to Montana — Fails —
Opdyke elected Sheriff — Contemplates De-
struction OF Payette Vigilantes — Humiliating
Results — Is a Defaulter and prosecuted — Pays
the Defalcation — Threatens Grand Jury — In-
dian Expedition — Opdyke Leader — Aden's Pack
Train — Opdyke claims it, and is defeated on
• Raymond's Testimony — Clarke shoots Raymond
— Is hung by the Citizens — Vengeance threat-
ened BY the "Opdyke Gang" — Vigilant Meas-
ures OF Citizens — Roughs disappear — Opdyke
AND Dixon leave Boise City — Are followed by
Vigilantes and hung — Breaking up of the
" Gang."
This man, on some accounts the most noted
among the roughs of Idaho, was of patrician
David Opdyhe. 341
origin, — the degenerate scion of a family which
boasted among its members some of the leading
citizens of New York. He was born in the vici-
nity of Cayuga Lake, New York, about 1830, and
could not have been more than thirty-six years of
asfe at the close of his infamous career. He went
to California in 1855, where, for want of more con-
genial occupation, he was employed for two years
by the California Stage Company as a stage driver.
Thence, in 1858, he sailed to British Columbia,
but findino; no business there suited to his tastes,
returned the same year to California, spending two
unprofitable years in Yuba county, and two years
succeeding in Virginia City, Nevada. Excited by
the intelligence from the Northern mines, in 1862
he went to Florence and Warren in Idaho, and
the fall of that year found him in Boise county,
where he located and worked a valuable claim on
the Ophir. In 1864, with an accredited fortune
of fifteen hundred dollars, he removed to Boise
City and bought a livery stable in the centre of
the town, which is still pointed out to visitors as
having been the rendezvous of one of the most
reckless and numerous bands of robbers and road
agents in the mountains.
Opdyke's associations were bad, and he was
suspected of aiding in the circulation of spurious
842 David Opdylce,
gold dust, at that time an extensive business with
the roughs of the country. His stable soon be-
came the headquarters of all the suspicious char-
acters of Boise, Owyhee and Alturas counties.
From these and other circumstances, the public
was prepared to believe that all the thefts and
robberies occurring in the country were com-
mitted by persons connected with the " Opdyke
gang," but so careful were they to cover their
tracks, that no positive evidence coukl be found
against them.
A gentleman by the name of Parks went from
Cincinnati, Ohio, to Baker county, Oregon, in
1862, where he was elected sheriff. He was very
much respected. Early in the fall of 1864, he
went to Idaho, and in Owyhee county purchased
and located claims on several quartz lodes, speci-
mens of which he selected to exhibit to his East-
ern friends, and packed carefully in a valise.
Coming to Boise City, preparatory to his depar-
ture for the States, he passed through the streets
with the heavy valise in his hand, which, being
observed by some of the " Opdyke gang," was
supposed by them to contain a large quantity of
gold dust. He remained in Boise four or five
days, and was narrowly watched by the roughs.
On the morning of his departure, at three
t>avid Opdyhe. S4S
o'clock, several of the robbers left by a trail, and
coming up with the coach seven miles east of the
city, caused the driver to stop, fired upon Parks,
rifled his pockets of two or three hundred dol-
lars in money, and departed with the much-
coveted valise. Their chaorin at findino- it to
contain mere quartz specimens, may be better
imagined than described. Parks returned in the
coach to Boise, and died in less than a week of
his wounds. He was buried by the Masons. No
clew to his murderers could be found at the time ;
but in some of the criminal developments made
afterwards, it was ascertained that Charley Mar-
ens and three others of the " gang " were directly
concerned in the attack.
The next murderous outrage in which the
^^Opdyke gang" was concerned, was the murder
and robbery, in Port-Xeuf canon, of fi^'e coach
passengers from ^Montana, in the suninier of 18(35.
It is now known that Opdyke furnished arms and
ammunition for the party from Idaho, which en-
gaged in this expedition, and shared in the booty.
Seven or eight of his gang left Boise at the time,
and were joined at Snake river by an equal party
of Montana roughs, who participated with them
in the robbery. Frank Johnson, ostensibly the
keeper of a public-house eight miles below Boise
S44 l)avid Opdyhe.
City, was one of the confederates in this crime.
His house was long a rendezvous for robbers, and
his partner Beech kept a similar meeting-place at
the Ov^erland Ferry on Snake river. Beech was
hung by the Vigilantes in Nevada in 1865.
Johnson eluded the pursuit of the Vigilantes, fled
to Powder river, Oregon, where he was arrested
by Captain Bledso, Wells, Fargo and Company's
messenger, on a charge of stealing horses.
Found guilty on his trial, he was sentenced to ten
years' imprisonment in the Oregon Penitentiary.
Soon after the Port-Neuf robbery, information
was given to the Montana authorities, that one
Hank Buckner, an escaped murderer from that
jurisdiction, had turned up in Idaho, and was
living in Boise City. In the fall of 1863, Buck-
ner, in a dispute with one Brown in the Madison
valley, drew his pistol and shot him. Buckner
was arrested, examined in Virginia City, and
placed in custody of the sheriff, from whom, by
means never made public, he escaped. The
sheriff, a very respectable man, was examined
by the Vigilantes, and acquitted of blame in
the matter ; but the story he told, which was
positively credited by the Vigilantes, ought to
have led to further investigation, as it implicated
others.
David Opdyhe. 345
Governor Green Clay Smith sent Neil Howie
to Idaho, with a requisition upon Governor Lyon
for the delivery of Buckner to the Montana
authorities. The " Opdyke gang," of which
Buckner was one, concealed the fugitive, on
Howie's arrival, in Dry creek, ten miles distant
from Boise City. Reenan, the sheriff of the
county, found and arrested him. Governor Lyon
beino" at Lewiston, Buckner was examined, and
despite the efforts of his friends, who flocked in
hundreds to his defence, was ordered by the ma-
gistrate to be confined in jail in Idaho City, until
an order for his surrender could be obtained.
Before this could be received, a writ of habeas
corpus was issued by the probate judge of the
county, and Buckner was released on straw bail.
Howie, seldom thwarted, as we have seen in ear-
lier portions of this history, returned to Montana,
greatly crestfallen, without his prisoner. Buck-
ner, who was believed to have been a leader in the
Port-Neuf robbery, is still at large.
At its -session of 1864-5, the Legislature of
Idaho set off and provided for the organization of
Ada county, appointing the election of officers in
March, 1865. The " Opdyke gang " was a strong
power in the Democratic party. At its request
Opdyke was nominated for sheriff, and by a
346 David Opdyhe,
party vote largely in tlie ascendant, elected by a
small majority. Soon after his election, under
a pretence of official duty, lie avowed the inten-
tion of breaking up a Vigilante organization of
about thirty persons, which had been formed in
the Payette river settlement, thirty miles from
Boise City, for the purpose of freeing their neigh-
borhood from two or three horse thieves and
manufacturers of spurious gold dust. The Vigi-
lantes were a great terror to the roughs, and in-
terfered with all their unlawful and bloody plans
for money-making. In pursuance of this design,
Opdyke and his coadjutors had in some mysteri-
ous manner obtained the names of all the Vigi-
lantes, and procured a warrant for their arrest.
The proceedings, to all outward seeming, were to
be conducted in legal form ; but in making the
arrest, Opdyke and his posse proposed to shoot
the leaders of the Vigilantes, and screen them-
selves under the plea that they had resisted. It
was arranged that fifteen or twenty of the " Op-
dyke gang " would leave Boise City, asmed with
double-barrelled shot-guns and revolvers, and unite
at Horse-shoe Bend road with as many more from
the country, similarly equipped. They would
then proceed with their warrant to the settlement,
and, l)y stealing a march upon the citizens, easily
effect their diabolical purpose.
David Opdyke. 847
Intelligence of their plan came to the ears o£
the citizens of Boise City. They secretly de-
spatched a messenger to the Payette Vigilantes
with the information. The thirty members of
that order armed and assembled at once in self-
protection. Opdyke, at the head of fifteen of the
worst men in the Territory, whom he had sum-
moned as ajjosse comitatus, left Boise City at four
o'clock P.M. to make the arrest. The party from
the country failed to connect with him, and his
party marched down alone. The Vigilantes,
numbering two to one of his band, met him.
They were quite as determined as their oppo-
nents. Surprised at the preparation they had
made to resist him, Opdyke held a parley, and
was obliged to comply with all the terms prescribed
by the Vigilantes. These were, that they would
march to Boise City and answer the warrant, but
they would not allow Opdyke to disarm them or
'•' get the drop " on them. By the aid of counsel,
the complaint against them was dismissed, and
they were discharged, thus bringing to a humili-
ating conclusion a deep-laid conspiracy against the
lives of some of the best citizens of the Territory.
Nearly all the Vigilantes had been partisans of Op-
dyke, and of course, after this manifestation of his
hostility, were very bitter in their opposition to him.
348 David Opdyhe.
Soon after this the county commissioners ordered
the district attorney, A. G. Cook, to institute
criminal proceedings against Opdyke for per-
mitting a criminal to escape, and also for em-
bezzlement, they having discovered that he was
a defaulter to the county in the sum of eleven
hundred dollars. Cook, however, resigned his
offtce. A. Hurd, who was appointed to succeed
him, prepared indictments which were sustained
by the grand jury on both charges. Opdyke paid
the amount for which he was a defaulter, and re-
signed his office, and the prosecutions were with-
drawn. He, however, swore that he would be
bitterly revenged upon the grand jury, which,
being composed chiefly of men of his political
faith, ought, he said, to have saved him, right
or wrong, out of party consideration. The grand
jury held a meeting, and sent to him to ascertain
his intentions. He was glad to escape further
molestation by disclaiming all hostile designs
aofainst them.
Early in March, 1865, the citizens of Southern
Idaho fitted out an expedition against the maraud-
in o- bands of Indians which, for some months
previous, had been engaged in predatory warfare
in that part of the Territory. Opdyke, as leader,
with thirty of his gang, volunteered. Money,
David Opdyhe. 349
provisions; horses, and other equipments were fur-
nished hy the people. A man by the name of
Joseph Aden was employed to pack the stores,
for which purpose eleven ponies were provided
and placed in his charge, with the understanding
that he should receive them in part payment for
his services. In pursuance of that agreement, he
immediately branded and ranched them.
Among the volunteers was a young man of
nineteen, by the name of Reuben Raymond. He
had performed faithful service in the Union army,
and was just discharged at Fort Boise. He was
quite a favorite with the people, and, though
necessarily intimate at this time with the " Opdyke
gang," was perfectly honest and trustworthy. The
expedition ran its course, and, like all expeditions
of the kind, was barren of any marked results.
Opdyke cached a large portion of the stores on
Snake river for the future use of his road agent
band ; and the roughs, all the more daring and
impudent for the confidence the people had re-
posed in them, became a greater burden to the
community than ever.
Aden turned his ponies out on the commons
on the south side of Boise river, claimed as a
ranche by Opdyke and one Drake, — the latter
assuming to exercise a sort of constructive owner-
S50 David Opdyhe.
ship to the land. Designing to swindle Aden out
of his property in the ponies, Opdyke told Drake
not to surrender them to Aden except on his
written order. Aden employed attorneys and got
possession of the ponies. Opdyke caused his
arrest for stealing ; and Aden, leading his ponies,
■which he hitched in front of the justice's office,
appeared for trial. He was discharged, and the
crowd dispersed ; but Opdyke's attorney remained,
and persuaded the magistrate to issue an order
for the surrender of the ponies to his client.
Opdyke and his friends took them away, and
they were never seen in Boise City after-
wards.
Aden commenced a suit against Cline, the jus-
tice, for damages, and recovered a judgment of
eight hundred dollars, which Cline was obliged to
pay. Cline resigned his office. At Aden's ex-
amination, Reuben Raymond had sworn to the
identity of the ponies, which was disputed by
nearly all the roughs in the expedition, and it was
almost solely on his testimony, that Aden was
discharged. The " Opdyke gang " were very
angry with him ; and on the morning of April 3,
1865, a few days after the examination, while
Raymond was employed in a stall in Opdyke's
stable, John C. Clark, a noted rough, stepped
David Opdyke. 351
before the stall with his revolver in his hand, and
commenced cursing Raymond. Opdyke and sev-
eral o£ his associates, tog-ether with a number of
good citizens, were standing near. Clark finally
threatened to shoot Raymond.
'' I am entirely unarmed," said Raymond, at
the same time pulling open his shirt bosom, " but
if you wish to shoot me down like a dog, there is
nothing to hinder you. Give me a chance, and I
will fight you in any way you choose, though I
have nothing against you."
Clark covered Raymond for a moment or more,
with his pistol, and then with an opprobrious
epithet, said, " I will shoot you, anyway," and,
taking deliberate aim, fired, and killed Raymond
on the spot. This murder produced the wildest
excitement, and Clark, who had been immediately
arrested, was taken out of the guard-house the
second night afterwards, and hanged upon an im-
promptu gibbet between the town and the garri-
son. Threats of vengeance were publicly pro-
claimed by the " Opdyke gang ; " Opdyke himself
improving the occasion to tell several of the
grand jury men, who had found the indictment
already mentioned against him, that they would
not live to walk the streets of Boise City many
days more. It was also reported that the roughs
352 David OpdyTce.
intended to burn the city, and not leave a house
standinof.
The citizens, fully aroused to the dangers of
the crisis, organized a night patrol. Every in-
habitant of the city was armed, and all co-operated
for the purpose of clearing the country of every
suspected person in it. While plans were matur-
ing for this purpose, the rouglis became uneasy,
and one after another began to disappear until
but few remained. Opdyke took the alarm for his
own safety, and on the 12th of April, accom-
panied by John Dixon, a notorious confederate in
crime, departed by the Rocky Bar road, and
brought up at a cabin thirty miles distant. A
party of Vigilantes followed in close pursuit.
They captured him during the night, and con-
ducting him ten miles farther on the road to
Syrup creek, hanged him under a shed be-
tween two vacant cabins, on the following
morning. His companion Dixon, who was caught
on the march, was hanged at the same time.
When this intelligence became known in Boise
City, every suspicious character disappeared, and
the vilest gang of ruffians in Idaho was effectually
broken up. Opdyke had many friends, and was
naturally a man of genial qualities, but he had
become corrupted by the evil associations con-
tracted in Idaho Territory.
David Opdylce. 353
It was believed by many, at the time of Op-
dyke's execution, that he was hanged for his money
by some of the employes of the Overland Stage
Company. This, however, was a mistake in his
case. The Vigilantes of Boise City had determined
upon his death before he left the city, a measure
they deemed necessary to rid the country of his
associates, and establish peace in the community.
It was true, however, that some of the Over-
land Stage Company's employes were justly sus-
pected of robbery and murder. On one occasion,
two miners from Boise City, returning to the
States, indiscreetly exhibited a large quantity of
gold dust at Gibson's Ferry on Snake river, which
exciting the curiosity of some of the observers,
they were arrested on a pretence of having spuri-
ous gold dust, and hanged by some half dozen of
the stage company's employes. Their bodies were
burned, but no account was ever given of the
gold dust. No one was deceived as to the char-
acter of this act. It was the cold-blooded heart-
less murder, U)V lu'lr nioucy, ot" two iionest miners
who were returning to their homes with their
hard-earned savings. This was the popular judg-
ment.
35-1 San Andreas in l8~}.g.
CHAPTER XXIII.
S^iV ANDREAS IN 184-9.
San Andreas — The Mexicans — Disappearance of
Captain Ben Osborne — The Fonda — Mexican
Prospecting Party — Pursuit — The Mexican
Camp surrounded — Examinations — The Cuban
— A Pathetic Appeal — Successful Ruse — Con-
fession — Return to San Andreas — The Fonda
DESERTED DISCOVERY OF THE BoDY OF CaPTATN
Osborne — Escape of his Murderers.
" We took no great amount of stock in the
Mexicans in 1849, I can assure you," said Judge
T- , as he seated himself to comply with my
request to tell me a story of early days in the
California gold placers. " They were a thieving,
cunning, bloodthirsty set of gamblers and cut-
throats. An honest man was an exception among
them. And they did not like us. We had just
whipped them, taken California from them, found
it full of gold, and were filling it up with an en-
terprising, inteUigent population. We suifered
immensely from their depredations. Every good
San Andreas in i84g. 355
piece of horse-flesh we brought into the country
was sooner or later stolen by them, and seldom, if
ever, restored to us. They would rifle our flumes,
and had a knack of appropriating our property
which seemed to elude all our means of detection.
Occasionally, some of our companions would dis-
appear very suddenly. We knew that they had
been secretly stabbed or shot by some of these
^ Greasers,' but it was the merest chance that ever
led to any discovery. Of course, whenever our
suspicions lighted upon one of them, it generally
went hard with him. He was fortunate to escape
with his life, to say nothing of the marks which
sundry wdiippings, and chokings, and croppings
had indelibly inflicted upon his carcass. As I
look back to those days now, I think we some-
times made mistakes ; but then, the aggravation
was very great, and if both sides could be summed
up I don't think that it would be much more than
an even thino- between us. There was no law but
such as we made. Every man carried his life in
his hand, and I believe that we did, all things
considered, the best that could be done.
" The Mexicans excelled us in mining. They
had learned the signs before they came here. We
had them all to learn. They were making new
and valuable discoveries daily ; if we made any it
356 San Andreas in iS-^g.
was by accident. They would start out under
cover of the night, and the next morning, perhaps,
be in possession of an inexhaustible placer. We
would sometimes try the same game, and be most
provokingly humbugged. This was so often the
case that we gradually lost all faith in our gold-
seeking sagacity. But we had come to California
to find it, and were determined not to be thwarted,
so we watched and followed the Mexicans. They
were very close, and we had to resort to a great
many devices to keep ourselves informed of their
movements.
" San Andreas was originally a Mexican camp.
It sprung up like a mushroom, in a single night.
There were thousands of Mexicans and Americans
in it in less than two weeks after its discovery. I
was with a company at work upon a gulch near
there, but it did not pan out to suit us. We were
waiting, Micawber-like, for something to turn up.
It was early in the winter of 1851-2. One of
our men came into the camp late in the afternoon
with the information that a party of Mexicans
were to leave San Andreas at a late hour that
night, to go to a new placer which had just been
discovered, and reported to be very rich. Now
was our time. If we could follow them without
being discovered, we could secure claims for our-
tSan Andreas in iS^g. 357
selves. We had been toicl that David Latimer,
better known as ' Dad,' was going- with the Mexi-
cans, and would furnish them with some horses
and provisions.
" After a brief consultation, it w^as agreed that
nine of us should go to San Andreas after dark,
and station ourselves without the town, on differ-
ent sides of it, to watch the departure of the Mex-
icans, and those of us who happened to be on the
side where they left should follow them quietly to
their place of destination. It w^as quite dark when
w'e separated. Captain Jnn Box, John Harris, and
Charley Bray to ^Ki to the north side of the town ;
Captain Gilson and myself to the south side ; Ned
Morgan and Herbert Ide to the east side ; and
Frank Forest and Joe Abbott to the west side.
The hours of watchmg were very long. The night
stole on into the ' wee sma' hours,' and we begun
to think we had been hoaxed. Some of our num-
ber were only restrained from returning to camp
by the consideration that they might thus lose a
better opportunity to win their stake than would
ever again offer. Just as Box and his companions
w^ere on the point of giving up, at two o'clock
past in the morning, along came the Mexicans
near where they were seated. There were twenty-
five or thirty of them. They moved along as
358 San Andreas in 184^.
noiselessly as possible, with Box and his friends
as noiselessly in pursuit. After they had travelled
in this manner some three or four miles, the Mex-
icans became hilarious, and indulged in loud con-
versation, shouting-, and singing. It was star-
light, and our friends were careful to keep far
enouofh in the rear to avoid observation. Sud-
denly they heard voices behind them, announcing
the rapid approach of another party. With all
convenient speed they concealed themselves by
the side of the road until it passed. Two of the
Mexicans, while passing the spot where Box was
hidden, were overheard by him to hold the follow-
ing conversation in Spanish : —
" ' If they discover us, we must kill the first man
that comes into camp.'
" ' Yes,' replied the other, ' but they can kill
too.'
" ' I know, but we have commenced the game
already.'
" ' What do you mean ? '
" ' We've put one of the cursed Gringos * out
of the way.'
"'What Gringo?'
" ' I don't know more than that he was a cap-
tain at the battle of Monterey.'
* Americans.
San Andreas in iS^g. 359
" ' What have you done with him ? '
" ' He lies buried in a tent in San Andreas/
" ' Do you hear that, boys ? ' whispered Box to
his companions, — ' they've been killing one o£
our men.'
" Ben Osborne, a favorite of all our boys, had
been missino- for several months. He had been a
soldier in the Mexican war, was a great braggart,
a free drinker, and remarkably fond of women.
He had a habit of fiohtino" his battles over when
in his cups, and nothing afforded him more
pleasure at such times than to relate within hear-
inof of the Mexicans his feats o£ valor at Monte-
rey. The dark scowls and sinister glances with
which they would listen to him, afforded him
great delight. He had a way of illustrating his
prowess by gesticulations and grimaces that were
particularly offensive to them. His friends used
to warn him of the consequences of his ill-timed
mirth, but Ben w^ould laugh at their fears, and
improve the next opportunity that offered for re-
peating it. He had done it on so many occasions
that, among the Mexicans, he was known and
designated only as the ' Captain in the battle of
Monterey.'
"There was in San Andreas afonda or restau-
rant kept by a Chilano man and woman. They
360 San Andreas hi 1B4.Q.
prepared a disli composed of red pepper and beef,
called cliili concarney, of which Ben was very fond.
The sparkling black eyes and beautiful form of
the hostess had for him a peculiar fascination.
He used to spend many of his evenings at this
fonda, flirting with its mistress, playing monte,
drinking, and feasting upon chili concarney. He
went there one evening early in December, 1850,
and was never afterwards seen alive. It was
known that he had upon his person three hundred
dollars or more in gold dust. Diligent search
was made for him by his friends, who suspected
he had been roughly dealt with, but he could not
be found. Their conjectures concerning him
were unsupported by proof, and poor Ben was
nearly forgotten when the conversation was over-
heard, disclosing the fact that he had been mur-
dered.
" Our boys forgot their desire to find a gold
placer in the paramount wish which instantly pos-
sessed them to discover the murderers of their old
comrade. They made careful observation of the
outfit belono'inof- to the two Mexicans whose con-
o o
versation had revealed the crime. One of them
led a pack-horse which they recognized as Dad
Latimer's ; the other, a black donkey. Just before
daylight, the Mexicans halted in the neighborhood
San Andreas in j8^4g. B61
o£ McKinney's Humbug, near the source of Mur-
ray's creek. Our boys fell back a mile or more,
and hid themselves. After breakfast, Charley
Bray returned to our camp with a note from Box
to Talifero, informing- him of the discovery they
had made. Talifero and three or four others
spread the intelligence through all the neighbor-;
ing placers on Calaveras river, and raised a
company of forty or more volunteers to go and
see Box. These men, all well armed, met at
Henry Shroebel's store in San Andreas, at ten
o'clock at nitrlit. After consultation as to the
course proper to be pursued in the investigation
they were to make, they left at half-past eleven,
under the guidance of Charley Bray, for Box's
camp, and arrived there early the next morning.
Among the number whom I well remember, were
Knapp, Broughton, Talifero, Captain Gilson,
John Morrison, Ned Morgan, Herbert Ide, and
Joe Abbott.
" It was arranged that Talifero, Box, and Har-
ris should visit the Mexican camp, and the re-
mainder of the company await from a hill
overlookino- it, the firina; of a oun as a signal to
join them. Five or six Mexicans were engaged
in cooking and preparing breakfast, and the
others were just emerging from their blankets.
362 San Andreas in iS^g
when our three boys made their appearance.
They soon recognized several as old acquaint-
ances, to whose inquiries as to their business,
they replied that they were prospecting. There
were seemingly two parties of Mexicans, camped
about two hundred yards apart. After a careful
scrutiny of the men. Box came upon one whom he
thought he could identify as the chief speaker in
the midnight conversation. He stepped aside,
and under the pretence of killing a bird for
breakfast, fired his gun. A moment afterwards,
thirty-eight armed men were seen rapidly descend-
ing a steep declivity into the camp. An expres-
sion of mingled surprise and fear sat on every
Mexican face, upturned to witness the approach
of the little company, as it defiled around and
enclosed the camp with a regular picket-guard.
" ' It is my duty,' said Talifero, addressing the
astonished groups, ' to inform you that you are
all under arrest. A sfreat crime has been com-
mitted. We are in pursuit of the perpetrators of
it, and have satisfactory reasons for believing they
are in this camp.' •
" For a moment the silence succeeding this
charge was deathlike. The men exchanged ter-
rified fflances, and seemed to know not how to
reply. At length one after another began to pro-
iSan Andreas hi iS^p. B63
test his innocence, and as, next to murder, horse-
stealing was in those days deemed the greatest of
crimes, and was the one for which the Mexicans
were especially noted, they severally declared their
innocence of it, and claimed to be hard-working,
honest miners. These proceedings at the first
camp were suddenly arrested by a loud halloo
from John Harris, who, while they were in prog-
ress, had visited the other party, and found Dad
Latimer's horse and the black donkey. Satisfied
that they had arrested the wrong party, our boys
apologized, and immediately withdrew to the other
camp, where the scene which had just transpired
was acted over again.
" Talifero now undeceived them as to the na-
ture of the crime. ' We have no charge against
you of horse-stealing,' said he, ' but one of our
comrades has been murdered, and either his mur-
derers, or persons who know them, are in this
company, and we are determined to find them and
bring them to justice.' The prisoners, nine in
number, were then disarmed, formed in a line, with
their hands bound behind them, and under the
close escort of our boys, marched off in the direc-
tion from which they came the day before. The
other party of Mexicans offered their assistance,
which was declined. Our object being to find
364 San Andreas in l84g.
both the murderers and the remains of our com-
rade, we had to resort to the following expedient.
Arriving at the junction of three small streams in
the mountains, which were separated by low,
hilly ranges, we improvised a tribunal, before
which the prisoners were placed in line and ad-
dressed in Spanish by Captain Gilson.
" ' You are,' said he, ' very near the end of your
earthly career. We have positive evidence that
some of your number either killed Ben Osborne,
or know who did it. He was our friend, and
greatly beloved by us. One of the men now be-
fore me was overheard, at midniglit, while you
were on your way here, to relate to another the
circumstances of his murder. He said that it took
place at a restaurant in San Andreas. With the
certain proof that the knowledge of our friend's
murder is in your keeping, we have determined to
put you all to death, with this single exception,
— the man who will tell us how, when, where,
and by whom he was killed, and where his remains
can be found, shall escape. To this we pledge
our honor.'
" Some four or five of our boys, at the com-
mencement of these proceedings, went over the
hill which separated the creek on which we were
from the one next to it, to prepare a scaffold.
San Andreas in 184^. 365
Every movement was made with a view of impress-
ing the prisoners with the seriousness of our in-
tentions. When Gilson concluded his address,
an intelligent-hooking young man, apparently not
more than twenty-four, was asked what he had to
say in reply to the charge. His form quivered
with emotion, and large tears fell from his eyes,
as he gave utterance to the following remarks : —
" ' Gentlemen, I am a Cuhan. I was born in
Havana, where my parents still reside. From the
moment that I heard of the discovery of gold in
California, I determined to come here in pursuit
of fortune. My parents and friends opposed my
wishes. They warned me of the dangers I should
incur, and, among others, mentioned the very one
which, it seems, is now to cost me my life. It was
after long and ceaseless persuasion that I obtained
their consent to come here, and it was finally given
with the greatest reluctance, and accompanied by
the most gloomy forebodings. When I bade my
mother farewell, she hung upon my neck, protest-
inof that if I went she would never see me more.
Alas ! her predictions are likely to prove too true.
" ' And yet, gentlemen, upon my honor and con-
science, I know nothing of this crime. It is only
ten days since I came to San Andreas. Previous
to that, I was a clerk for several months in Mr.
366 San Andreas in iB^g.
Sanderson's store at Stockton. While there, I
made the money which brought me here, and I
came here because of the favorable reports in cir-
culation regarding the placer.
" ^ I am a Spaniard, and speak only the Spanish
language. The very little that I know of your
tonofue I have learned since I came here. Natu-
rally, I sought for associates among those with
whom I could converse, and they were Mexicans.
I have been well raised — taught to fear God
and live honestly, and have ever tried to do so.
This is the first time I was ever accused of crime.
It is hard, gentlemen, that I should suffer for the
crime of another, and that my name and memory
should be blackened with so infamous, so terrible
a chargfe as that of taking' the life of a fellow-man.
Gentlemen, I am innocent.'
" We were convinced of the truth of this state-
ment, but, wishing to appear unmoved by his
appeal, ordered him to resume his place in the
line.
" The next prisoner addressed was an old man.
Among the wrinkles which time had placed, a
look of calm resignation beamed forth, which
seeemed to say that he had no fear for the fate
which was before him. Looking at us with
steady, unblenching eyes, he said, —
San Andreas in 184^. 367
" ' I have nothing to say to you. I know noth-
ing whatever about this murder.' Turning to his
companions, he continued, ' You all know me to
be an honest, hard-working man. My wife and
daughter, who are very dear to me, are living at
Jesus Maria, where I have been mining. If any
of 3-0U escape, bear to them from me my dying
blessino-. Tell them I die with a clear conscience,
innocent, — and only regret that I am forced to
die without the rites of my church.'
" We conducted him over the hill to the scaf-
fold, and placing him under it, asked him if he
would avail himself of the opportunity to escape.
" ' I cannot,' he replied, ' for I know nothing.
Your treatment is cruel, and if not here, you will
certainly be called to account for it at the bar of
God.'
*' Impressed with his innocence, we sent him
over the hill beyond, with the assurance that no
harm should come to him. Two others were dis-
posed of in the same manner. Our next prisoner,
a keen-eyed young fellow of about tw^enty-five,
evinced so much indifference that we removed him
to the scaffold. When placed under the rope he
became greatly alarmed, and consented to tell us
all he knew. He narrated to us several murders,
some upon hearsay, and others that he had wit-
368 iSan Andreas in iS^g.
nessed, told where the remains of some could be
found, but made no mention of Osborne, and
evidently knew nothing about him. Our inquisi-
tion of him was interrupted by the discharge of a
gun. We sent him to join the others while we
hurried to the camp.
" As we ascended the hill, we saw one of the
prisoners running at full speed across the valley
towards the mountain, and several of our men in
hot pursuit. Talifero, Broughton, and Gilson
mounted their horses and followed, but the fellow
reached a ledge of rocks inaccessible to their
horses, and escaped. On returning to camp, the
prisoners remaining were ordered to lie down with
their faces to the earth. The young Cuban was
alarmed, trembled violently, and prayed with ear-
nest devotion for relief.
" During our absence one of the men had,
with the consent of his guard, gone to an oak-
tree standing near, and another at the same time
a similar distance in an opposite direction. The
former took the chance of running for his life ;
the other, more closely guarded, failed of oppor-
tunity. The runaway was fired upon and slightly
wounded in the shoulder. The circumstance con-
\anced us that these were the men whose conver-
sation first aroused our suspicions. We imme-
San Andreas in l8^g. 369
diately conducted the one in custody to the
gallows. He was very obstinate, said he had noth-
ing to tell us, and drawing a large sack of gold
dust from his pocket, handed it to us, saying, —
" ' Here, gentlemen, here is what you want.
Take it and let me go.'
" ' You have mistaken your men,' replied Tali-
fero, ' we are neither robbers nor highwaymen.
We are in search of the murderer of our friend.
We are convinced that you know all about it.
Take back your gold, give us the information we
seek, or it shall be buried with you.'
"John Morrison, having hold of the rope, ex-
cited by the impudence of the fellow, here ob-
served, —
" ' Boys, let's choke him a little, anyhow.'
"The rope was adjusted to his neck, and John
pulled it to an uncomfortable tension.
" ' Hold a minute,' said the man, uplifting his
arms, ' and let us talk this matter over a while.
You say you'll spare my life if I'll tell where the
captain is buried. What assurances have I that
you will protect me ? You know my countrymen
will kill me if possible, for making this exposure.
It will be very difficult for you to shield me from
their veno^eance.'
" ' We will use all possible precaution to pre-
370 San Andreas in iS^g.
vent their ascertaining the source of our informa-
tion/ replied Talifero. ' Or we will take you
into our camp, or, if you wish to leave, furnish
you with means and an escort for safety. Our
honor is pledged to this. We only want to bring
the guilty to justice.'
" ' On those conditions I will tell you every-
thing. Your friend, the captain, came into San
Andreas one night the latter part of December.
He had been drinking hard and was very talka-
tive. He went to the/o?2C?a, made a great display
of his gold dust, of which he had considerable,
and bragged loudly of the number of Mexicans
he had killed in the battle of Monterey. He
seated himself at a table and called for a dish of
chili concarney. While he avjis eating, the Chilano
woman proposed to lier huslnind that he should kill
him and take his money. He refused, but she
insisted. Finally, he stabbed him. Then the
question arose, " How shall we dispose of the
body ? " The woman said she would find a place
for it. The doors of t\iQ fonda were closed and
fastened. She took up a bed in the corner, and
the husband and another man dug a hole under
it, into which they laid the body, and covered it
with dirt. The ground was levelled, the fresh
dirt swept up, carried out and emptied into the
Sa7i Andreas in 184^. 371
gulch, and the bed replaced. By all means ar-
rest the woman first, as she is most guilty. Go
back with me. I will disguise myself and go
Avith you into the fonda, and stand in the corner
where the captain is buried.'
" As soon as this disclosure was made, we re-
moved the rope from the neck of the man, and
returned with him to camp. After preparing a
good breakfast, one of our boys went after and
soon came in with the men who were supposed to
have been hanged, and the entire company sat
down on the sward and ate heartily. When our
prisoner saw that no harm had been done to those
whose examination had preceded his, he mani-
fested, some token of regret at having fallen into
the trap we had set, which, though quiet, did not
escape our observation. Breakfast over, we apolo-
oized to the Mexicans for the harsh measures we
had employed, and parted with them on the most
friendly terms. We were greatly prepossessed
in favor of the young Cuban, and. made up for
him a handsome purse, which he accepted with
many expressions of gratitude.
" Soon after they left us, we started with our
prisoner for San Andreas. When we arrived
within two or three miles of the town, we stopped
for consultation. Our prisoner said that we had
372 San Andreas in iS^g.
misunderstood him. It was the man who escaped
who knew where the captain was buried. He
would ascertain from him and tell us. We re-
sorted to hanging a second time, but without
effect. Relying upon the information we had re-
ceived, which we thought sufficient, we again
removed the rope, and proceeded to town in full
force and well armed. The escaped Mexican had
arrived there before us, and spread the report that
we had hanged all his comrades, and that he had
escaped with a shot-gun wound in the shoulder.
The town was full of gamblers who were especially
friendly with their patrons, the Mexicans. They
censured and threatened us. We defied them.
Proceeding in a body to the fonda, we found it
had been suddenly vacated. The man and Avoman
who kept it had taken the alarm and fled. Our
prisoner professed ignorance of everything. We
removed the bed, dug beneath, and found the re-
mains of our murdered comrade. Every possible
effort was made to arrest the murderers, but they
had a day's start of us, and there were neither
telegraphs nor railroads to stop or overtake them.
They left San Francisco for Chili, where, we were
afterwards told, they arrived in safety. We set
our prisoner free, with a gentle admonition as to
his future conduct, which we have every reason to
believe he rehgiously observed."
An Interesting Adventure. 373
CHAPTER XXIV.
AN INTERESTING ADVENTURE.
Routes by Yellowstone and Missouri in Mackinaws
Description of Yellowstone — Wonders at its
Source — Lower Canon — Remarkable Erosions
— Pompey's Pillar — Bad Lands — Three Forks
— Great Falls — Gate of the Mountains — Fort
Benton — Jack Simmons's Narrative — Johnny —
Eroded Rocks — Fight with Grizzlies — Herd of
Buffaloes — Woodcutters — Battle with the
Sioux — Indian Mode of making Medicine — War
Dance — Terrible Onslaught — Departure and
Death Wail of the Indians — Johnny on the
Watch — Fort Buford — Hospitable Reception —
Arrival of the " Luella " — Johnny's Story — A
Startling Revelation.
For the first three or four years after the set-
tlement of Montana, a favorite mode of returning
to the States was by Mackinaw boat, down one or
both of the two great rivers whose upper waters
traverse the Territory. The water trip, if not less
exposed to Indian attack, was pleasanter, less la-
borious and expensive, and sooner accomplished
than the long, weary journey by the plains.
874 An Interesting Adventure.
The upper portions, both of the Missouri and
Yellowstone, pass through a country abounding
in some of the grandest, most unique, and most
richly diversified scenery on the continent. Of
themselves the rivers are very beautiful, — their
waters pure, cold, broken into frequent rapids ; at
one moment passing through tremendous canons
and gorges ; at the next, babbling along wide-
spread meads; and anon, as if by a transformation
of enchantment, dashing into the midst of a deso-
lation which realizes all the descriptive horrors of
Dante's "Inferno," — they afford to the eye a
greater variety of picturesque beauty than any of
the other great rivers of the continent. A jour-
ney down them in a Mackinaw boat is an incident
to fill a prominent place in the most adventurous
life.
The point selected for embarkation on the
Yellowstone was about twelve miles above the
spot where Captain Lewis started on his descent
of the river, when returning from the famous ex-
pedition of 1804, 5-6. An isolated grove of lofty
cottonwoods has grown upon the only soil within
miles, under the overhanging crags of a canon
whose sombre walls lift themselves three thousand
feet or more into the atmosphere. The river glides
through those strong jaws ^\4th the swiftness and
An Inieresting Adventure. S75
silence of a huge serpent escaping its pursuers,
forming an eddy just in front of the grove, which,
being convenient of access, was early selected as
a favorable place for the construction of boats and
embarkation of companies.
At this grove, in the fall of 1865, a company
of SIX hundred persons commenced, in forty-three
boats of different patterns, the long journey of three
thousand miles to the States. The distance to
the mouth of the Yellowstone was eight hundred
and twenty miles, and little more was known of
its general character at that time than could be
derived from the geographical memoir written by
Captain Lewis sixty years before. A gentleman
who belonged to the party has informed me that,
after the first day's sail, he had learned to confide
so fully in this narrative for geographical accu-
racy, that he was enabled to anticipate, long be-
fore reaching them, every prominent landmark and
rapid mentioned in it. No better geographers
than Lewis and Clarke have, since their time, vis-
ited the country which they explored ; but their
book, valuable as it must ever prove for its histori-
cal and topographical accuracy, left untold the
surpassing grandeur and novelty of the scenes
through which they passed. There is not a river
in the world which, for its entire length of one
376 An Interesting Adventure.
thousand miles, presents with the same grandeur
and magnificence so much of novelty and variety
in the stupendous natural architecture that adorns
its banks. Its source is in a beautiful lake, un-
like, in general character and appearance, any
other body of water on the globe. It is sur-
rounded by innumerable warm and hot springs,
sulphur deposits, and mud volcanoes. At a few
miles distance is the largest geyser basin in the
world, and close at hand stupendous cataracts and
beautiful cascades. Here, too, is a caiion which
for forty miles of distance is filled with physical
wonders, so numerous, strange, and various as to
defy description, and almost surpass comprehen-
sion.
The wonders of the Upper Yellowstone were
first brought to the knowledge of the people of
Montana, by David E. Folsom and C. W. Cook ;
though there is good reason to believe that they
were seen by the soldiers of Captain Bonneville's
command as early as 1834, and that Washington
Irving, in the preparation of the report of that
officer's expedition, was furnished with a descrip-
tion of them which he rejected as too incredible
for belief. Mr. Folsom had often heard vague
and uncertain rumors of the strange phenomena
to be seen near the head waters of the Snake and
An hiteresting Adventure.
377
Yellowstone rivers. He was told that the Indians,
taking counsel of their superstitious fears, be-
lieved that region to be the abode of evil spirits,
and in their nomadic journeyings carefully
avoided all near approach to it. This story,
gathering in volume and embellishment as it was
circulated through the mining camps, so wrought
upon his curiosity that, in July, 1869, he and Mr.
Cook made a partial exploration of the region to
solve their doubts. Bewildered and astounded at
the marvels they beheld, they were unwilling to
risk their reputations for veracity by a full recital
of them to a small company of citizens of Helena,
asseml.led to hear the account of their explora-
tions ; Mr. Folsom, however, published a careful
account of his expedition in 1870, in the Chicago
WcRtern Monthly, and this, with such informa-
tion as could be gleaned from him, led to the
organization, in August, 1870, of the Washburn
exploring expedition, of which the writer was a
member!' The range of discoveries was so greatly
extended by this latter expedition, and by the
additions made a year afterwards by Professor
Hayden, that Congress was induced to set apart
the entire locality as a National Park.
Two hundred miles below this immense field of
novelties, we arrive at the mouth of the canon
378 An Interesting Adventure.
whence the river has been of late years frequently
navigated, by Mackinaw and flat boats, to its union
with the Missouri Of this portion, but little has
yet been written except by scientific explorers.
For the first eighty miles of the distance, the
river, almost a continuous rapid, rolls between
gently undulating banks, dotted at intervals with
clumps of stunted pines. Frequent ledges of rock
jut into the stream, and wherever a bend or pro-
jection has served to arrest the flow of debris in
time of flood, or catch the detritus washed from
the rocks, a little bottom affords sustenance to a
dense growth of majestic cotton woods. This
feature is prominent in the river scenery until the
stream enters the Bad Lands four hundred miles
below the canon. These groves, unlike the irres;-
ular groves that adorn the Eastern rivers, present
to the voyager a straight regular outline on all
sides, a feature imparted to them by the beavers,
which cut down unsparingly^ both great and small
trees outside the given spaces. This perfect reg-
ularity, always at right angles with the upland
shore, gives to these frequent groves the appear-
ance of artificial cultivation, and in the very midst
of one of the most boundless solitudes in the
world, the observer frequently finds himself in-
dulging a thought that there may be some old
A71 Interesting A(h^enttire. S79
mediaeval castle still standing within the shadow
of these trees.
After one has sailed about eighty miles, and
finds himself descending an expansive reach of
the river, the eye is suddenly attracted by the ap-
pearance on the right of an immense and seem-
ingly interminable ridge of yellow rocks, very
high, precipitous, and crowned along its summit
by a forest of stunted pines. It is several miles
distant, and its sheer, vertical sides gleam in the
sunlight like massive gold. Far away it stretches
seemingly on an air line beyond the field of
vision, presenting few inequalities of surface,
and none of the features of ordinary mountain
scenery.
The Happy Valley of Rasselas was not more
strongly protected against outside intrusions by
the precipices surrounding it, than is this portion
of the Yellowstone valley from all access by those
who dwell beyond this ridge of sandstone.
At a distance of ten miles or more from where
it first appears, the river has worn its way through
it. We enter the massive gorge. Higher and
higher rise the gleaming clifi^s, seemingly straight
up from the river's bed, until sunlight disappears,
and the blue sky above you spans like a roof the
confrontinof crags. The illusion vanislies with
380 An Interesting Adventure.
decreasing height, the gloom painted in darkness
upon the frightened stream grows again into sun-
light, and for the next few miles you pass through
banks of sfreen adorned on either hand with cita-
dels, temples, towers, turrets, spires, and castellated
ruins, all deftly wrought by the wind and rain
upon the exposed portions of the yellow rock.
Neither the Hudson, with its green hills and mas-
sive knobs, nor the Columbia, with its crags and
beetling cliffs, presents anything at all comparable
to this. At one moment you look up at the sheer
sides of a temple wrought into a form not unlike
that of Edfou or Denderah, except as it surpasses
them in its magnificent dimensions, all its sides
presenting in the vitrified fractures of the layers
of rock, regular rows of seeming hieroglyphics,
and its conical, time-worn summit, gray and
smooth with the frosts and storms of centuries.
A little beyond stand the remains of a castle; and
still farther on, seemingly equidistant from each
other, three or four stately towers ; then comes a
massive citadel of stone, with embrasures, walls,
and portholes, all the aj)parent paraphernalia of a
mighty fortress.
These scenes, with all the variety that Nature
observes in her works, occur at intervals of thirty
or forty miles, every time the river penetrates the
An Interesting Adventure. S81
ridge, for a distance of two hundred miles ; and
all the way between these passages, on one side or
the other of the beautiful stream, you behold
stretching along upon the most exact of natural
lines the pine-crowned ridge itself, skirted by
meadow reaching to the margin. Before quite
losing this grand exhibition, the river, fed by
Clark's Fork, the Rosebud, and the Big Horn,
changes its character. The waters become dark
and turbid, and spread out to more than a mile in
width. The valley expands correspondingly, and
the foot-hills and mountains are more distant.
About midway of this passage through the yellow
sandstone, Pompey's Pillar, a table of rock sepa-
rated by the river from the main ridge, stands
isolated, towering to a height of several hundred
feet over the plain, on the brink opposite. Its
summit of less than half an acre, accessible with
difficulty on the inland side, according to Captain
Lewis, affords an extensive view of the surround-
ing country.
At the mouth of the Big Horn the last view of
the Rocky Mountains, which thus far have enliv-
ened the scenery with their varied phenomena of
storm and sunlight, fades upon the vision, and
your voyage lies for several miles through a richer
agricultural region than any you have yet seen.
382 An Interesting Adventure.
Here are fine meadows covered with bunch-grass,
and, upon the distant hills, herds of elks, flocks of
mountain sheep, antelopes, and deer. The temp-
tation, often too great to be resisted, makes the
hunter forgetful of Crows and Sioux, and some-
times lures him to his death. The rapids now
become less frequent, though several of them are
more formidable. At one point, where the river
passes through the ridge for a distance of six
miles, it has no channel of sufficient depth to float
an ordinary Mackinaw, and voyagers are obliged
by main force to push their boats into the pool
below. Captain Lewis gave to this obstruction
the name of Buffalo Shoals. A few miles below
this he saw, in the midst of a formidable rapid, a
grizzly bear upon a rock, and gave to the \)\m'v the
name of Bear Rapids.
The early hunters and trappers of the North-
west found no reg-ion more favorable for their
pursuit than the central valley of the Yellowstone.
Here came Ashley, and Bridger, and Culbertson,
and Sarpie, as early as 1817. The latter built a
fort, which he called Fort Alexander, some remains
of which are still standing on the margin of one
of the most delightful meadows in the valley.
The last and most fearful rapid of the Yellow-
stone is near the mouth of the Tongue river, and
An Inter esti7ig Adventure. 383
was named by Captain Lewis, Wolf Rapid, because
he killed a wolf near it. The river is here lashed
into a fury. The roar of the rapid is heard for
several miles, and the tossing spray and seething
foam can be seen at considerable distance. The
experiment of descending it has much to excite
the fears of a person unaccustomed to river travels,
but as yet it has been unmarked by accident.
Below this rapid we enter upon the last one
hundred and eighty miles between us and the
Missouri. The river, which to this point has dis-
played its beauties in long reaches of ten and
twelve miles, now becomes crooked like the Mis-
souri. Its banks are constantly crumbling, and
its channel as constantly shifting. Everything in
sight but adds to the desolation of the scenery,
and the traveller finds it hard to realize that he is
sailinof on the same river which he beheld but
yesterday so gloriously arrayed. The same gene-
ral features are apparent to its mouth. It is much
larger and wider than the Missouri at its junction
with it, and increases to more than twice its size
the latter, which, as all are aware, for more than
a thousand miles below the Yellowstone has fewer
attractions than any other river in the world.
Not so, however, the upper Missouri. That,
like the Yellowstone, passes through a picturesque
384 An Interesting Adventure.
and beautiful country. From its source, where
the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin unite to form
it, to Fort Benton, a distance of two hundred
miles, it exhibits a great variety of interesting and
stupendous scenery, both of water, valley, rock,
and mountain. There are the Great Falls, the
Gate of the Mountains, and the i)assage of the
river through numerous canons, which, in any
other portion of the country than the mountains
and rocks of Montana, would be unparalleled for
grandeur and sublimity.
Fort Benton, one of the early posts built by the
American and Northwestern Fur Companies, is at
the virtual head of steamboat navigation on the
Missouri, in the midst of a country formerly oc-
cupied by the Blackfeet Indians, — the most im-
placable of all the mountain tribes in their hatred
of the whites. From the time of the arrival of
the first settlers of Montana in 1862, until the
completion of railroads into the Territory, Fort
Benton was the commercial depot of the Territory.
During the period of high water every spring it
is visited by steamboats freighted at St. Louis
with merchandise for the great number of traders
in the interior towns. A considerable town has
sprung up within the shadows of the old post.
A trip from Fort Benton to the States in a
An Ititeresting Adventure. f385
Mackinaw, though full of danger, was always in-
viting, while the same trip by the overland stage,
though comparatively safe, was ever repulsive.
In the latter part of August, 1866, Andrew J.
Simmons, a citizen of Helena, and ten companions,
after a wagon journey of one hundred and forty
miles, alighted on the levee at Fort Benton, en
route to the States. In a letter to nie descriptive
of this journey, Mr. Simmons writes, —
" The varied fortunes and migrating tendencies
of the gold miner, in following the great periodi-
cal excitements, had cast our lots together through
rough and pleasant places, through adversity
and prosperity in many of the mining camps of
the Pacific slope; and now, having accomplished
a successful mining season in the Rocky Moun-
tains, a visit to home and friends was determined
upon by descending the Missouri river in a Macki-
naw. In three days our craft was completed. Sho
was as stanch as pine lumber and nails could
make her. She was thirty-three feet in length,
seven and a half feet beam, and ten inches rake.
Sharp at both ends, and ample for our accommo-
dation, she was a trim built, rakish-looking craft,
which rode the current majestically, and chal-
lenged the admiration of all observers.
" Delighted with the success of our experiment
386 An Interesting Adventure.
in boat-building, and animated with hope of a
safe and speedy passage through the two thousand
miles of hostile Indian country, we quickly de-
posited our personal effects and various creature
comforts in the little vessel, which we called ' The
Self Riser/ and got everything in readiness for
embarkation. We felt, indeed, that the bright
visions of home, which had cheered us through
many years of wandering, were soon to be real-
ized. We had just taken a parting glass with the
friends assembled on the hviee to witness our de-
parture, and the farewell hand-shaking and good
wishes were in progress, when a young man, seem-
ingly not more than twenty, approached me, and
in an imploring voice and manner asked a passage
with us down the river. There was something- so
touching in the low, sad tones of his voice, and
his subdued manner, that I involuntarily, and on
the instant, found myself deeply interested in him.
He was a stranger to us all, but his pleasant,
honest face, lit up by a pair of expressive eyes,
disarmed all suspicions unfavorable to his charac-
ter ; and it was with real regret that I told him ,
with a view of breaking my refusal as lightly as
possible, that our party was made up of old com-
rades, who had seen much service together, and
had jointly outfitted for the trip with the under-
An Interesting Adventure. 387
standing that the company should not be in-
creased.
" I was about to turn away and join my com-
rades, who had ah-eady got into the boat, when he
persisted, —
" ' For the love of God, sir, do not refuse me !
I am here alone among strangers, and have met
with many misfortunes in this country. If you
do not take me, I shall lose my last chance of
returning to my friends and relatives.'
" I could not resist the power of this appeal.
After a few words of hasty consultation with my
companions, it was agreed that the young man
should accompany us. Never shall 1 forget his
look of mingled joy and gratitude when I told
him to come on board. Our moorings were then
cut loose, and with many a shout and cheer we
bore down upon the rapid current. When night
approached we did not, as was usual with voy-
agers, make land and remain until morning, but
sailed on, bringing to for the first time early in
the afternoon of the next day at the mouth of
Judith river. There we made camj^ under the
branching cottonwoods, one hundred and forty
miles from our place of embarkation. Our larder
had been replenished on the trip with three fat
antelopes and a buffalo cow, shot from the boat
388 An Interesting Adventure.
as we floated along. We had also contrived to
form the acquaintance of our new passenger, but
without learning much of his history. There was
something about him when questioned as to his
life in the mountains which impressed us with the
idea that he was guarding a secret it would cost
him great pain to reveal. Respect for his sensi-
bility soon overcame all curiosity on the subject,
and so the poor boy was only known to us by the
unromantic name of 'Johnny.' His skill with
the pistol, exhibited on several occasions on our
first day out, won him the favor of every man in
the party. We all felt that in his way ' Johnny '
was one of us, but his way was not like ours.
We soon discovered that the rouoh life to which
we had been accustomed had no charms for him.
He neither indulged in coarse jokes himself nor
enjoyed them in others, no profane expressions
escaped his lips, and we were kept constantly upon
our guard by some indescribable delicacy of de-
meanor on his part, which commanded our
respect. Neither could we impose on him any of
the severe toil of the vo3'age, but in all the
lighter duties no man was more faithful than he,
nor more grateful for relief from any labor that
overtasked his strength.
" We had feasted to repletion on antelope and
An Lite res ting Adventure. 389
buffalo at our first camping-place, and when the
hour for resting came, the question arose what
should be done with Johnny. He had no blan-
kets, and there was no alternative but that Hum-
phrey and I should give him a place with us. So
he became our joint bedfellow for the trip.
"We left at dawn, and before mid-day entered
upon that marvellous tract of country which as
yet has received no more appropriate name than
the ' Bad Lands.' This significant title, trans-
lated from the original French, Jfauvai'ses Terres,
has been gfiven to an immense tract of barren
countrv stretchino- for more than a thousand
miles alono- the Missouri and Yellowstone ; but
the portion to which I here allude is but a single
and remarkable feature of this vast earthen des-
ert, and should receive a more distinctive appella-
tion. The Missouri at this point, for a distance
of thirty miles or more, passes through a ledge of
talcose rock. Its color is a dusky white. Twelve
miles of this distance the entire face of the rock
upon either bank of the river has been eroded by
the elements into countless forms, which suggest
a thousand resemblances to artificial and natural
objects, in some instances so exact as almost to
deceive a casual observer. No other spot in the
world has yet been discovered which can boast of
390 All Interesting Adventure.
such an extensive display of eroded rock. The
river is confined between precipitous banks a hun-
dred or more feet in height, and all along the
jagged and broken surface, extending from the
edge of these vertical walls beyond the range of
vision, these objects are distributed. It seems as
if all the pantheons and art galleries of the
world had been emptied of their contents here.
In one place is an immense round table with a
large company gathered around, realizing at a
single glance the legendary stories of Arthur and
his knights. Through a little nook may be seen
a number of forms that will remind one of the
Saviour and his disciples. Then again suddenly
springs into view a large gathering of people, as
if assembled upon some public occasion. Men in
every position, women, angels, animals, mauso-
leums, may be seen, and in their immediate vicin-
ity are larger forms suggestive of dwellings,
churches, and cottages. On the extreme point
of one of the bends in the river stands the most
exquisitely fretted castle of imperial dimensions ;
spires, minarets, towers, and domes scattered over
it in great profusion. This single object is larger
than the Capitol at Washington. One nearly as
large, and presenting points of great interest,
stands diagonally from it, on the opposite side of
An Interesting Adventure. 391
the river. Buikllngs with long lines of colon-
nades, citadels with embrasured parapets and
bastions at their several angles, may be seen on
every hand. The exhibition is very beautiful,
and so unlike any other exhibition of natural art,
as to excite the wonder not less than the admira-
tion of all beholders. The difference between
these and the eroded rocks of the Yellowstone is
in color and size. The Missouri erosions are
much more dehcate, and not confined to architec-
tural forms alone, but they embrace statuary,
furniture, vessels, chariots, and almost every
object in the natural world. They are, moreover,
nearly white, and their surfaces gleam in the sun-
light with all the beauty of polished marble.
Awestruck at the multiplicity and grandeur of
the various objects which met our gaze, we floated
through this region of wonders as silently as if it
had been a city of the dead. It did not seem
possible as we sailed under the shadow of these
immense citadels, that they were the mere crea-
tion of the elements, and had never been the
abodes of men.
" The navigation of a Mackinaw boat over this
portion of the river was intensely interesting.
Our light craft, impelled by sails and a rapid cur-
rent, easily at the command of the helmsman,
892 An Interesting Adventure.
would sheer around the huge rocks and dash
through the foaming rapids, sweeping bends,
crooked channels, and innumerable islands and
sandbars. The scene was constantly changing,
and new objects of interest presented themselves
at every turn.
" Early on the morning of the third day, one
of our company fired at a black-tailed deer,
standing midway to the summit of a lofty cliff.
The animal rolled down the declivity almost to the
water's edge. The shot was pronounced remark-
able. Out of compliment to the skill of the
marksman, as well as to appease the cravings of
appetite, we immediately landed, built a fire, and
proceeded to roast and ' scoff,' after the approved
manner of hunters, the tender ribs and haunches,
furnishing a meal which all agreed surpassed any-
thing known to the modern cuisine. Perhaps
this was attributable to the fact that we were
hungry, but then the delicious flavor of the veni-
son was not spoiled by villanous cookery. Our
dessert consisted of canned fruit and coffee, the
whole moistened with a moderate flow of Bour-
bon drunk from tin cups. After our repast was
finished, we resumed our journey in the happiest
mood, with the spirit and dash of adventurers
who felt themselves equal to any emergency. At
An Interesting Adventure. 393
noon we came m^on the steamboat Liiella,
which, owing to the falling of the river, had left
Fort Benton some weeks before, and was lying
below Dauphin's rapids, where her passengers,
who were coming down in small boats, were to
join her for the trip to St. Louis. The river,
which owes its spring flood to the early rains and
dissolving snows in the mountain ranges, seldom
affords sufficient depth later than July for steam-
boats to pass over Dauphin's and Dead-Man's
rapids, the two great obstructions to its upper
navigation. Indeed it was matter of specula-
tion whether the Luella would be able at this
late period in the season to make the trip until
after another rise. We remained long; enouo-h to
exchange compliments with Captain Marsh, and
presenting him with a quantity of game for his
lady passengers, resumed our voyage.
" While descending the river the forenoon of
the next day, we saw on the right bank half a
mile ahead, three monster bears. They were
takinof a social drink from the river. As soon as
they had finished, they strolled leisurely up the
bank and disappeared in the cottonwoods. Land-
ing at the spot, all hands seized their weapons
and started enthusiastically in pursuit of them.
We followed their huge tracks in the sand up a
394 An Interesting Adventure.
low coulee, to the top of the bluff, and there
formed in line and proceeded by the flank into
the chaparral, their tracks growing larger and
fresher as we advanced, until suddenly the huge
monsters confronted us at a distance of about
thirty paces. Seated on their haunches, their
heads towering above the shrubbery, jaws ex-
tended, and paws swaying to and fro, they by
short and eager snuffs, growls, and snaps, gave us
an acute sense of the danger we had mistaken for
sport. Our appetite for bear meat weakened
much quicker than it came, and old ' Forty-niner,'
who had served a long apprenticeship in Califor-
nia, coming up at this moment, on seeing the
animals, raised and fired his rifle, shouting in a
voice of terror, ' Holy Jupiter ! They are griz-
zlies ! ' and turned and ran like a demoralized
jack-rabbit in the direction of the boat. Sud-
denly recollecting that it was the black bear and
not the grizzly we were in pursuit of, we all fol-
lowed his example. Humphrey, slowly bringing
up the rear, proposed that we should ' give them
a round.' To this I assented, but urged as a pre-
liminary that we should get out of the brush and
within strikino' distance of the boat. Before we
could do so, however, the foremost bear made a
plunge for Humphrey, who, facing him, with
An Interesting Adventm'e. ^95
his gun at his shoulder, fired with so true an aim,
that the great beast with a somersault fell for-
ward at his feet, and with a roar of pain expired.
The cub, two-thirds the size of its dam, seeing
her fall, turned and fled, leaving the way open
for the attack of the sire, a grand old fellow who
sounded instantly to the charge, and came crash-
ing through the thicket upon us. It was a mo-
ment for action. We opened upon him with a
terrible bombardment from our Henry rifles. In
less time than a minute we had fired thirty-one
balls into him. In his endeavors to reach us, and
in his rage and agony, he executed some tremen-
dous feats of ground and lofty tumbling. The
woods echoed to his bowlings, and in a frantic
manner he tore up the earth and broke down the
saplings for a considerable space around. The
chaparral cracked beneath the strokes of his
paws, and large pieces of rotten logs were scat-
tered in all directions. His pluck should have
won him a more glorious fate, for with all his
efforts to attack us, he died without inflicting any
harm, and his death roar, reverberating through
the forest, summoned our frightened companions,
Avho, with ' Forty-niner ' in the van, returned in
time to be in at the death. ' Johnny,' my faith-
ful henchman, with revolver in hand, reserving
396 An Interesting Adventure.
fire for a last contingency, had stood near while
the fight was progressing. He now came for-
ward and warmly congratulated Humphrey and
myself on our victory. We took the hind quar-
ters of our prize on board, and nailed one of the
huge paws as a trophy, to the top of our jack-
staff, and floated on.
" Toward evening we descried a party of white
men on the right bank, hove to, and went ashore.
They proved to be a party of seven, engaged in
chopping wood for steamboats. They were living
in a little shanty, and intended to remain through
the winter. When the boats came up, in the
early spring, they expected to make a profitable
sale of their wood, and go to some less exposed
country. During the winter they designed to
increase their wealth by hunting and trapping for
furs. These men were armed witli Hawkins
rifles, which, being muzzle-loading, were greatly
inferior to the bretch-loadino- cartridoe ouns then
in use. We warned them of their danger, but
with the energy and enterprise they possessed
also the courage and recklessness of all pioneers.
They said they were ready to take the chances.
Poor fellows ! The chances were too strono- for
them, for only a few days afterwards a body of
Sioux Indians came upon them. They made a
An Interesting Adventure. S97
desperate defence, but were overpowered and
every one of them massacred.
" The eighth day of our voyage was mild and
lovely. We had floated seven hundred miles
without accident. Each day had been crowded
with events of interest, and our adventures had
all been crowned with success. These, with our
resources for humor, and a general disposition to
see only the ludicrous side of passing incidents,
made us cheerful and good-humored even to
boisterousness. Sometimes, even in the midst of
mirth, the thought of our constant exposure to
Indian attack would operate as an unpleasant
restraint. But we did not shirk the subject, or
fail for a moment to look it steadily in the face.
Most of our company knew what Indian fighting
meant, and some had had experience. Three had
followed under the banner of the writer, on the
sunny slopes of the distant Pacific, when gallantry
and honor had called for volunteers for the de-
fence of firesides against savage forays. In
early times upon the Middle Yuba, when Bill
Junes the packer and five others were ruthlessly
murdered, it was ' Forty-niner ' who sounded the
tocsin of war and led the daylight attack down
the winding gorge upon a Digger ranchero, to its
total annihilation. Our uniform experience had
398 An interesting Adventure,
been that where civilized jarred with savage
nature, a conflict was inevitable, and the pioneer
had fought his own battles unaided. Govern-
ment had done little for his protection, and less
for the savaofe.
" Occasionally this subject would obtrude itself
upon our thoughts, and we would discuss it in its
personal aspects, always resolving to be on our
guard against surprise and attack. But the pres-
tige of successful adventure made us careless,
and a latent sentiment of pride and confidence in
our arms pervaded the entire party. We had
been for several days passing through the coun-
try of the hostile Sioux, and knew if we should
fall in with one of their war parties an attack
\\ould surely follow, and he would be a lucky
man who escaped a bloody fate. As if, by a pre-
sentiment of coming evil, the subject on this day
became more than usually exciting. ^ Forty-
niner,' who rather desired a brush with the
Indians, had just expressed his willingness and
ability to eat any number of Sioux for breakfast,
should they attack our party, when our boat
rounded a bend in the river, and Humphrey, the
first to make the discovery, exclaimed, ' Well,
there they are. You can eat them for dinner if
you choose.'
An Interesting Adventure. 399
*^It was high noon. Just before us at the
mouth of a coulee on the south bank of the river,
was a large party of Indians. A hasty glance o£
mutual surprise and an instant seizure of arms
by both parties, defined, stronger than language
could do, the terms upon which we were to meet.
Below the coulee, there rose to the height of
fifty feet, a perpendicular bluff around whose
base dashed the foaming current. A low open
sand-bar disputed our passage on the opposite
side. There was no alternative. We must go
by the channel, within range of their guns, or not
at all. As we steered to a point across the river,
the Indians withdrew to the coulee, one alone
remaining, who accompanied his friendly saluta-
tion of ' How ! How ! ' with gestures indicating
a desire for us to return to that side, and engage
in trade with them. A moment later and our
boat was opposite the coulee, within which \ye
could see some of the red devils stripping off their
blankets, and others, already denuded, approach-
ing the verge of the bluff, armed with bows and
arrows and rifles. It was evident we had come
up with a large party of Sioux who were about
to attack us, and we must make the best of
the situation. Despite our labor at the oars,
the current swept us down in direct range
400 An Interesting Adventure.
of the spot occupied by the Indians, who, before
we had finished fastening our boat, opened fire
upon us with about fifty shots, which fortunately
whistled over our heads. Before they could cor-
rect their aim for another fire, we were behind a
breastwork hastily extemporized by throwing up
our blankets and baggage against the exposed
gunwale of the boat. This they pierced with
bullets thick as hail, but the protection it afforded
us was ample, and we soon got ready to return
their leaden compliments. Each of our Henry
rifles contained sixteen cartridges when we opened
fire, and the distance being about one hundred
and fifty yards to the bluff, which was literally
swarming with savages, not more than ten min-
utes elapsed until every one of them had disap-
peared. The fearful death howl, however,
assured us that our fire had not been in vain.
With the exception of an occasional head dodg-
ing behind the trees, not an Indian could be seen,
yet from the coulee, the sage brush, and low
shrubbery, an incessant firing was kept up, which
Ave returned as often as an object became visible.
" The effect of our first fire satisfied us that
while it would be death to all on board to attempt
to run the channel, we could in our present posi-
tion keep the rascals at bay. We could stand the
An Interesting Adventure. 401
broiling sun of an August afternoon on a heated
sand-bar in the Missouri better than the hotter
fire of our savage foes. Early in the action,
while rising to fire from the breastwork, a bullet
struck Humphrey in the mouth, carrying away
with it a piece of the jaw and three teeth, and
severely cutting the lips. The wound disabled
him, and deprived us of the best marksman in the
party. A little later ' Forty-niner ' was struck
by an arrow in the fleshy part of the thigh. I
pulled out the shaft, and bound up the wound.
Five minutes after, an arrow pierced the calf of
his leg, inflicting a painful wound. These
arrows came from a squad which was pro-
tected from our bullets by a depression in the
bluff, oblique to us. So great was their skill
with the bow, that while the main party in front
could not harm us with ballets, they, by bending
their arrows, caused them to describe a curve
which would strike their sharp points into the legs
of our boots with unerring precision.
" The pride of ' Forty-niner ' was now fully
aroused. Twice wounded, he became enraged,
desperate, and unsheathing his bowie-knife, he
rose to his feet, and brandished it in the rays of
the sun, launching a terrible imprecation upon
the liver, hearts, and scalps of the savages.
402 An Interesting Adventure.
' Come on,' he shouted, ' you infernal sous of
Behal ! Alone and single-handed, I will meet
any five of the best of you in open fight ! '
" The bullets whistled around him from an in-
visible foe, but to no purpose. Seizing him by
the left arm I pulled him down, and warned him
of the danger of this personal exposure ; but not
until he had exhausted his vocabulary of maledic-
tions, w^ould he yield to my entreaties and resume
his place behind the breastwork. Deprecating
his recklessness, I could not but admire his cour-
age. But as this was no time for sentiment, I
was only too happy, when, of his own accord, he
stretched himself beside me, and I heard the bul-
lets whistling harmlessly over us. Just at this
moment I looked behind me and caught a glance
of my little friend Johnny. With nothing but a
pistol to engage in the conflict, he had taken no
active part in it, but, with the pistol beside him,
he was administering every possible relief to poor
wounded Humphrey. His coolness was remark-
able, and inspired us all with hope.
" The Indians kept up a brisk fire from various
places of concealment until after sundown. We
only responded when our shots would tell, and
finally ceased to fire at all. Our enemies, think-
ing we were all slain, sent a party to take our
An Interesting Adventure. 403
scalps and plunder. We lay still, behind our
breastwork, so as not to undeceive them. Twenty-
seven o£ their best warriors, led by Ta-Skun-ka-
Du-tali (the 'Red Dog'), swam the river half a
mile above, and marched down directly in rear of
us. There, at a distance of about three hundred
yards, they sat down in a ring, within easy range
of our rifles. Sitting Bull, their head chief,
meantime made medicine on the south bank for
their success, while they, believing that we were
fully in their power, commenced smoking and
making medicine with the intention of destroying
us at leisure. (The names of the chiefs engaged
in this attack were learned by the writer several
years after its occurrence when he was employed
as a government agent for the Teton Sioux, of
which tribe Sitting Bull was head chief.)
" The ' Red Dog ' was a big medicine man.
Having filled and lighted the magic pipe, he first
touched the heel of it to the ground, then raised
and pointed the stem to the sun, drew a few
solemn whiffs, forcing tlie smoke through his
nostrils, and passed the pipe to his neighbor on
the right, by whom it was passed on, until the
ceremony was performed by every man in the
circle, and the pipe returned from right to left
without ceremony to the hands of the jnedicine
404 An Interestijig Adventure.-
man. He refilled it, and it was circulated again
from left to right. Painted sticks with colored
sacks of medicine attached were then stuck in the
ground in the centre of the enchanted circle, and
the whole company arose, broke into a guttural
graveyard chant, and commenced the war-dance
around the medicine, the chief meantime waving
over it his coo-stick. This over, the medicine
with great solemnity was given to the sun.
" During the half-hour thus occupied by the
Indians, we were engaged also in making medi-
cine, and we made it strong. Our ten large
Colt's revolvers were carefully loaded, our Henry
rifles cleaned, and their magazines filled with car-
tridges. We were impatiently awaiting the
assault when it came. Naked, hideously striped
with red and black paint, dancing, contorting
their bodies, showering arrows thick and fast into
and around the boat, blowing war whistles made
of the bones of eagles' wings, whoojoing and
yelling, they rushed to the onset as if all the
devils of pandemonium had been suddenly let
loose. For their arrows and bullets we were pre-
pared, but this terrific vocal accompaniment for
the moment scattered our courage to the winds.
We could well understand how the stoutest hearts
would quail in presence of such an infernal demon-
An Interesting Adventure. 405
stration. Our hair rose up like quills, and we
could feel our hearts sink within us as the noise
and din increased, filling the forest with horrible
reverberations.
" Our little boat, breasting" the sluggish current,
floated at a distance of twenty feet from the
shore, to which she was fastened by a strong
painter. The red-skins, still shouting and firing,
evidently anticipating an easy victory, rushed
madly onward to the water's edge, when at a
word, we all rose up and opened a deadly and in-
cessant fire upon them with our rifles. Our hopes
were more than realized in seeing several fall, and
the others beat a hasty retreat to the cottonwoods.
It was now our turn to shout, and we made the
welkin ring with cheers of victory as we jumped
from the boat and waded rapidly to the shore, and
pursued the flying demons to their log covert in
a coppice of willows. ' Forty-niner,' reminded
that his banqueting hour had arrived, forgetful
of his wounds, rushed impetuously to the charge,
brandishing his inevitable bowie-knife with one
hand, his unerring pistol firmly clasped in the
other, and his powerful voice raised to the high-
est pitch of angry utterance.
" ' Scatter, you infernal demons ! ' he cried,
^ scatter, for not a devil of you shall escape us,'
406 . An Interesting Adventure.
" Too true, alas ! for Ta-Skim-ka-Du-tah, were
these words of doom. The medicine which he
deemed invincible, failed to protect him from the
deadly aim of * Forty-niner,' a bullet from whose
pistol passed through his heart. With a convul-
sive leap into the air, and an agonizing death
yell, he fell prone to the earth, grasping the coo-
stick and medicine which had lured him to his
fate. Six lifeless bodies of his followers lay
around, and how many were killed or wounded
on the opposite bank in the early jjart of the
contest, we had no means of ascertaining.
* Forty-niner ' made medicine over the fallen
chief, and removed his scalp in a manner which
even he would have a^^proved. Little Johnny
displayed great courage in the fight, and was
always near me in the thickest of it, seemingly
ready to avenge any harm that might befall his
benefactor.
" The twilight was fading into darkness, when
the Indians on the opposite side of the river fired
upon us for the last time. Assembling upon the
bank in a group a few hundred yards above us,
they were speedily rejoined by the survivors of
the attacking party, who, as we learned from their
melancholy death howl, had communicated to
them the disasters of the battle. The wailing
An Interesting Adventure. 407
notes, attuned to a dismal cadence, ringing in
echoes through the forest, harmonized gloomily
with the joy and thankfuhiess which our escape
had inspired. We had no sorrow to squander
upon the savages in their distress, but there was
something so heartfelt in the expression of their
p-rief , that it filled us all with sadness. And there
was no heart in the loud and repeated cheers and
firing of rifles with which we deemed it necessary
to respond, lest they should return and seek to
avenofe the death of their fallen comrades. It
was simply an act of self-defence ; for had the
Indians known our fear of future and immediate
attack, and the anxious plans we made for prompt
departure, our doom would have been certain.
" When the last faint note of the retreating
Sioux assured us of freedom from immediate dan-
ger, we took careful note of our injuries, and
made preparations to resume our voyage. Five
of our company had been wounded, none fatally,
but all needed attention and service which we
could not bestow. Our boat and baggage had
been pierced by hundreds of bullets. A com-
panion, who was disqualified by the recent ampu-
tation of his leg from service during the fight, had
received a wound in the back that would have
proved fatal but for the interposition of his
408 An interesting Advenfm-e.
wooden leg, which happened to be in range.
Another had an arrow point in his shoulder, and
still another one in the hip. Then there were
Humphrey and ' Forty-niner,' so badly wounded
as to be incapable of service. Before daylight a
thousand Indians, thirsting for revenge, might
assemble at some point below us, intent upon our
destruction. There was no alternative ; — we
must leave with all possible speed, and reach Fort
Buford, about one hundred and thirty miles dis-
tant, at the mouth of the Yellowstone, without
detention of any sort. Those of us who were
uninjured by the fight, set about repairing the
boat. An hour before midnight we dropped into
the current, and under cover of intense darkness
were borne rapidly down the turbid river.
Jostled by frequent snags, arrested by sand-bars
and by various collisions, kept in constant fear of
wreck, we contrived to hold our course until day-
light. Through the succeeding day our field-
glass was in constant use, but as no Indians were
visible, we ventured, while passing a bottom, to
fire into a large herd of antelopes. Two were
killed. We disembarked, threw out pickets, and
prepared a hasty meal, and sailed onward. Until
its close, the remainder of the day was without
incident ; but just at dark, our boat ran hard
An Interesting Adventure. 409
aground upon a sand-bar, and obliged us to re-
main there during the night. This was not
without risk, for if the Indians had come upon us
we would have been an easy prey. Our ever-
faithful Johnny, who had slept during the day,
volunteered as guard, and wrapped in his blanket,
he sat down on the deck, his clear eye peering
into the darkness, and his keen ears detecting the
slightest unusual noise. Several times he mistook
the whistle of an elk, and howl of the wolf, for
the Indian, but no Indian came, and we were
aroused at daylight by our trusty sentinel with
the welcome announcement that a laro-e human
habitation was visible. We sprung to our feet,
and beheld, at a distance of three miles ahead, the
stockade and bastions of Fort Union. Fears for
our safety and for the poor fellovrs whose wounds
produced the most intense physical suffering, were
instantly relieved ; and every able-bodied man in
the party put forth his best exertions with hearty
good will to remove the boat from the sand-bar.
This accomplished, we soon effected a landing at
the fort, but finding no surgeon there, crossed the
point with our wounded, a distance of two miles,
to Fort Buford, then in process of construction at
the mouth of the Yellowstone. Here we found a
Company of the 13th United States Infantry,
410 A7i Interesting Adventure.
under command of Col. W. G. Rankin, quartered
in tents until the completion of the post. More
than half the time their attention was diverted
from work uj^on the fort by attacks of Sioux,
large bands of whom were prowling through
this region. The colonel received us very kindly,
placed a large tent at our disposal, furnished us
with commissary stores, and consigned our
wounded to the skilful treatment of the surgeon.
" We had been two weeks at Fort Buford, when
the steamer Luella arrived with three hundred pas-
sengers. Our taste for adventure having lost its
flavor, we reluctantly bade the kind colonel and
his Company good-by, and took passage on her
for Sioux City. The run down, unmarked by
any unusual incident, and after frequent deten-
tions upon sand-bars, was accomplished to the
head of the great bend above the town in fourteen
days. One of our party crossed the bend, which
is but a few miles in width, to the city, to provide
means upon our arrival for the conveyance of the
company to the Northwestern railroad, not then
completed to the Missouri. I had just finished a
game of whist, when my comrade Johnny, who
was seated beside me, drew me aside and inquired
if I intended to leave the boat at Sioux City. On
receiving, with an affirmative reply, an urgent
An Tnteresting Adventure. 41 1
request to accompany me to Chicago, he broke
into tears and expressed great regret that we
must part so soon, as by remaining on the boat
he could reach his friends and home much sooner
than by any other route.
" ' Come with me on the deck,' he continued,
putting his arm in mine. ' I have something to
tell you in confidence, which will greatly surprise
you.'
" I had often had occasion during our trip to
think that Johnny would unfold the mystery
which enveloped him, before we separated, and I
readily accompanied him to the place indicated.
With much nervous embarrassment, he then said
to me, —
" ' I am indebted to you more deeply than you
can even imasine. You have been a kind friend
and benefactor, and now that the time has come
for us to part, I should be more than criminal did
I not reveal myself to you in my true character.
The disguise is no longer necessary for my protec-
tion. I am a woman.'
" Involuntarily I exclaimed, ' Great Heaven ! is
it possible ! — and I, all this while, so stupid as
not to see it in your conduct ! This accounts for
everything I thought so strangely reticent, so
singularly delicate and refined in your manners.'
412 An Interesting Adventure.
" ' Let me go on,' said she, interrupting this
rhapsody. ' Our relation to each other, so changed,
must not affect the deep sense of obligation your
kindness has imposed ; and besides, my history,
with all its sad vicissitudes, will afford ample
apology for the deceit of which this confession
convicts me. When I came to you and begged
for the passage you so generously granted, I was
a poor heart-broken woman, but now with the
multiplied evidences I have of a protecting Provi-
dence, I am comparatively happy. Listen to my
story. Just before the great rebellion I was mar-
ried to one I dearly loved. Our home was in
Tennessee. I was nineteen, and my husband,
whom I will call Mr. Gordon, a few years older.
Early in the summer of 1861 he espoused the
Union cause, which brought him in great disfavor
with his relatives and neighbors. Their frequent
persecutions drove us from the country. We
souo-ht a new home in California. There he
engaged in extensive mining enterprises, all of
which terminated in failure. He became utterly
discouraged, and realizing in the current idiom of
the country the condition of one who had " lost
his grip," I urged him to return to the States, but
our means were nearly exhausted. With the hope
of replenishing them, as a last resort he staked
A71 Interesting Adventure. 413
and lost everything at a gambling table. To my
constant entreaties for reformation, he promised
well, until intemperance seized him in its deadly
coil. Naturally high-spirited and honorable,
misfortune and dissipation soon reduced him to a
wreck.
" ' In the spring of 1866 we were living in a
mining camp at the Middle mines, on the western
slope of the Sierras. One night (I shall never
forget it) my unfortunate husband, while intoxi-
cated, became embroiled in a desperate quarrel at
a game of faro, with a player of much local
popularity. A fearful fight followed, in which he
killed his antagonist. He was followed into the
street and his arrest attempted by a sheriff's
officer. He fled in the direction of his home,
was fired upon and seriously wounded, and in
three shots fired by him in return, he killed one
of the arresting party. The others fled. The
crowd, attracted by the firing, pursued him so
hotly that he ran to the hills and secreted himself
in the forest.
" ' During the succeeding six days of bitter
anguish 1 was in a state of terrible suspense.
Late one night relief was brought by a messenger
from my husband, who said he was lying at a
miner's cabin in the mountains, fifteen miles
414 An Interesting Adventure.
distant, seriously wounded, and required medicine
and attendance. I instantly determined to go to
him. The man, an old friend of my husband,
discouraged me, lest I should be followed by the
officers, and the hiding-place discovered. This
objection I overcame by donning male attire, and
following his guidance astride a mule. I reached
the bedside of my Avretched husband without
exciting suspicion, and after several weeks of
careful nursing, his condition was so imjDroved
that he could commence a journey to the States.
Fear of discovery prevented longer delay, and our
friend providing us with means of conveyance,
we started on our weary route.
" ' You may readily conceive that the task was
disheartening, for to escape detection it was
necessary to avoid all travelled routes, and liter-
ally pick our way through mountains, valleys,
defiles, and caiions, fording rivers where we could
find opportunity, and obtaining food from ranches
and at points remote from the large settlements.
My husband's condition required constant atten-
tion, and on me alone devolved all the labor and
care of the journey. No one, to see my em-
browned face and knotty hands, would have ever
dreamed that I was aught else than the tough
wiry boy I appeared, or that I concealed beneath
An Literesting Adventure. 415
my disguise a heart torn with anguish and shaken
by continual fear.
" ' We selected, as least liable to interruption,
a route through Northern California, Oregon,
Washington and Idaho, intending, after our
arrival in Montana, to find some easier mode of
completing our journey. Five long weary months
during which travel was about equally alternated
wdtli delay, found us encamped on the Columbia
plains in Washington Territory near the western
border of Montana. Oh ! it had been a terrible
perambulation. And now, when beyond the pur-
suit of sheriffs, and near the close as we supposed
of our journey, my poor husband, weakened by
the internal hemorrhage from his wound, was
prostrated by an attack which in a few days ter-
minated his life.
" ' I was alone in the wilderness, several hun-
dred miles from the nearest settlement. For two
days and nights I lingered in that lonely camp
beside the dead body of my husband, without a
sound to break the fearful stillness, save the yelp-
ing of coyotes, and the midnight howl of the
w^olf. On the third day I heard the welcome
sound of an approaching pack-train. The men
having it in charge dug a grave and gave my
husband decent burial. I accompanied their
416 Avi Interesting Adventure.
train to Helena, preserving my male incognita
without suspicion. After a brief period of rest
and refreshment, I disposed of my effects and
went by coach to Benton, where I was so fortu-
nate as to fall in with your party. You know the
rest.'
" The recital of this eventful narrative made a
profound impression upon me. I could scarcely
realize that it had fallen from the lips of the mild-
mannered, resolute, active little Johnny, who had
been to us all such a pleasant but enigmatical
companion. My sympathies were all warmly
enlisted in favor of the brave woman, but she
refused all further proffers of assistance, assuring
me that she was provided with ample means for
the completion of her journey, and had many
able and willing friends who would greet her
return to them with joy. I took leave of her at
Sioux City the next day with real regret, and
often since have recalled to mind the thrilling
history of her experience in the mountains."
c::;^^
i;2'^^^Jz^z--«--t--«'C_-^
Tlie Slajje Coach. 417
CHAPTER XXV.
THE STAGE COACH.
Holliday's Overland — Hazardous Journeyings —
Port-Neuf Canon — Massacre of 1865 — Treach-
ery OF THE Driver — Santa Fe Route — Mexican
Charley — Captured by Road Agents — Robbers
foiled — Strange Disclosure — Boise Route —
"DowDLE Bill " — Ludicrous Funeral Services.
The stage coach is one among the most vivid
memories of the boy of half a century ago.
The very mention of it recalls the huge oval
vehicle with its great boot behind, fronted by a
lofty driver's seat, — swaying, tossing, rocking,
lumbering and creaking as it dashes along, im-
pelled by four swift-footed horses, through mud
and mire, over hill and dale, in the daily dis-
charge of its appointed office. Anon the rapid
toot of the horn, closing with a long refrain,
which reverberates from every hillside, winding a
different note to the varied motions of the coach,
and a rattle of the wheels announces the arrival,
and every urchin in the village is on the alert to
see its passage to the hotel, and from the hotel to
418 The Stage Coach.
the post-office. It was the daily event in the
memory of childhood, which no time can obliter-
ate. As years wore on and improvements came,
and one by one the old-time inventions gave
jilace to others, the coach began gradually to dis-
appear from the haunts of busy life, and the
swift-winged rail-car to usurp its customary duties.
Seemingly it shrunk away as if frightened at the
improvements multiplying around it, and sought
a freer life in the vast solitudes of the Great
West. There it had full range without a rival
for thousands of miles for a third of a century,
and conveyed the van of that grand army of
pioneers across the continent, who sought and
found home and wealth and opened up a new and
richer world than any ever before discovered on the
o-olden shores of the srreat Pacific.
The system of overland travel, which afforded
a comparatively rapid transit for passengers and
mails between the oceans, made the stage coach
an object of peculiar interest to the civilized
communities of both continents. It was the
bearer of the earliest news from the gold fields,
the most assured means of communication between
those families and friends whom the lust for
fortune had separated, and the most available
conveyance to the land of gold. The novelty of
The Stage Coach. 419
a trip across the plains, over the mountains, and
through the canons, its exposures to Indian attack
and massacre, its thrilling escapades and adven-
tures, can only be known to him who has accom-
plished it.
Before the construction of the Union Pacific
Railway, mails and passengers were transported
from the States to Montana by Holliday's Over-
land Stage Line, running from Atchison, Kansas,
by way of Denver and Salt Lake City, and
connecting at the latter place with a stage line
owned by other proprietors, running to Virginia
City and Helena, a total distance of nineteen
hundred miles. The route, for nearly its entire
distance, lay through a country occupied by
various Indian tribes, several of which were
permanently hostile, and the others ready to
become so as occasion offered, to satisfy their
greed for plunder or robbery. The only habita-
tions of whites, except at the places mentioned
and two or three smaller settlements, were the
lo2" cabins of the stock-tenders. The re(jular
time for a journey from Atchison to Helena was
twenty-two days. Once started, the only stoppages
were at the changing stations twelve to fifteen
miles apart, — the eating stations being separated
by a distance of forty or fifty miles.
420 The Stage Coach.
In the fall of 1864, I made this journey in
company with Samuel T. Hauser, — the time
occupied being thirty-one days and nights of
continuous travel. Our journey was prolonged
by delays occasioned by the incursions of the
hostile Sioux, who had killed several stock-tenders
at different stations, burned the buildings, and
stolen the horses. From their frequent attacks
upon the coaches from ambush, it was necessary
for us to be on the constant lookout, with arms
prepared to resist them at any moment. This
cautiousness was intensified by the evidence of
their murderous purpose we met with in our prog-
ress. On the second day after leaving Atchison,
the eastern bound coach met us with one wounded
passenger, the next day with one dead, and the
next with another wounded. The reports of
passengers eastward bound were also very dis-
couraofing-. Yet this risk of life did not lessen
travel. The coaches were generally full.
As a curious fact in stage-coach statistics, I
may be pardoned for stating that in fourteen
years, while National Bank Examiner for all the
Territories and the Pacific States, and four years,
while Collector of Internal Revenue, my staging
to and fro over the continent exceeded seventy-
four thousand miles. I learned in that experience
The Stage Coach. 421
that the most comfortable as well as most eligfible
place for travelling was the outside seat beside the
driver ; and as it was seldom in demand by others
for travel by night, I usually had no difficulty in
securing it. For one whose stage travel is pretty
constant, no dress is more suitable than the one
usually worn by express messengers, which con-
sists of warm overalls and fur coat for ordinary
winter weather, and a rubber suit for protection
against storms. The only objection to them, and
that sometimes and in some portions of the country
a serious one, is the lial^ility of the wearer to be
mistaken for a guard. The road agent considers
the guard with treasure in his keeping as legiti-
mate prey, and shoots him without the least com-
punction if he evinces any determined resistance.
It was my good fortune for several years to travel
unmolested over routes which but the day before
or after were the scenes of both murder and rob-
bery.
The ill-starred caiion of the Port-Neuf river,
memorable in all its early and recent history, for
murder, robbery, and disaster, is about forty
miles distant from Fort Hall, Idaho. It was named
after an unfortunate Canadian trapper, murdered
there by the Indians, and ever since that event
a curse seems to have rested upon it. Captain
422 The Stage Coach.
Bonneville established his camp there for the win-
ter of 1833-4, and during his absence with a few
men, those who remained, reduced by cold and
hunger, were obliged to leave for a more promising-
location. He found them on his return in the
spring, encamped on the Blackf oot, a tributary of
Snake river, not very far above Port-Neuf caiion.
Not only had they been pinched by famine, but they
had fallen in with several Blackfoot bands, and
considered themselves fortunate in being able to
retreat from the dangerous neighborhood without
sustaining any loss.
Ever since the stage road from Salt Lake City
to Montana was laid out through this canon, it
has been the favorite haunt of stage robbers and
highwaymen. Nature seems to have endowed it
with extraordinary facilities for encouraging and
protecting this dangerous class of the community.
Both sides of the river wash the base of basaltic
walls, which, by the combined action of fire,
water, and wind, have been eroded into numerous
columns, resembling in formation those of StafFa,
and forming coverts and gateways alike favorable
to the commission of robbery or murder, and the
escape of the criminals. Indeed, it has been with
many a commonly received opinion, that these
gateways of rock gave the name to the caiion, the
The Stage Coach 423
word Port-Neuf in compound form signifying
" ninth gate." Notwithstanding its terrible his-
tory, the drive through it upon a summer day is
very delightful. In the most romantic portion of
it, marked by an immense pile of crumbled
basalt and favored by an almost impenetrable
thicket of willows, is the scene of one of the
most horrible trasfedies that ever occurred in the
murderous history of this robbers' den.
Robbery and murder in the early history of the
gold seekers in Montana and Idaho were carried
on upon strictly business principles. No attack
upon a coach or a returning emigrant train was
made without almost certain knowledge of the
booty to be obtained. Some of the band of rob-
bers were at the different mining localities, on the
lookout for victims ; and between them and the
attacking party a system of telegraphy existed by
which was communicated all possible information
concerning every departure of the coach with a
treasure-box, or passengers with gold dust.
In the summer of 1865, Messrs. Parker and
McCausland, who represented the interests of two
successful merchants of Virginia City, and Messrs.
Mers and Dinan, merchants of Nevada City, left
Montana for St. Joseph, Missouri, with about
sixty thousand dollars in gold dust in their pos-
424 The Stage Coach
session. For a week or more before leavino", as
was the custom in those days, they had sought by
various devices to mislead any local operatives of
the robber gang who might be watching them, as
to the exact time of their departure, so that when
they took leave of Virginia City they were very
confident they had stolen a march upon them,
and would pass the ordeal of a coach ride to Salt
Lake City in safety. Port-Neuf canon was re-
garded as the dangerous spot. Once through
that, they were comparatively safe. Their treas-
ure, safely packed in buckskin bags, was in part
concealed upon their persons, and the remainder
locked up in a carpet-sack, carefully stowed away
under the back seat which they occupied. Before
their arrival at Snake River bridge, two more
passengers. Brown and Carpenter, were added to
the number. Leaving there in high spirits, they
proceeded at a brisk pace down the road, entering
the caiion at an early hour in the afternoon. It
was a pleasant sunshiny day. Happy in the
belief that before its close they would leave the
dreaded place behind them, and that no attack
would be made in daylight, the members of the
company were engaged in one of those rambling
discursive conversations which belong exclusively
to this mode of travel. Each man, however, as
Tiie Stage Coach. 4^5
if instigated by the evil spirit of the locaUty, had,
before arriving at the caiion, examined his weap-
ons of defence and placed them in a convenient
position for use in case of necessity. Mile after
mile was passed, and more than half the distance
through the caiion had been travelled, when a
voice issuing from a clump of bushes by the road-
side sternly commanded the driver to halt, and at
the same moment the muzzles of nine or ten jjinis
were presented at the passengers, wdio were or-
dered to throw up their hands. " Robbers !
Fire on them ! " exclaimed Parker, who had taken
a seat on the outside of the coach for the pur-
pose of watching, — and suiting the action to the
word, he cocked and raised his gun and attempted
to fire, but fell forward riddled with buck-shot.
At the same time other shots killed McCausland,
Mers, and Dinan, and seriously wounded Car-
penter, who escaped by feigning death, as one of
the robbers was about to shoot him a<rain.
Brown escaped by plunging into the surrounding
thicket of bushes. Charley Parks, the express
messenger, received a serious wound which neces-
sitated the amputation of the leg at the thigh.
The murderers then completed their work by
rifling the bodies of their victims, and seizing
whatever treasure they could find upon and within
426 The Stage Coach.
the coach, and then made their escape through
the basaltic gateways to the fastnesses of the
mountains. The driver, with his ghastly freight
of dead and wounded, returned to the station.
Large rewards were offered by the stage company
for the arrest of the desperadoes who had com-
mitted this frightful butchery, and for the recov-
ery of the stolen treasure. Many members of the
Vigilante organization of Montana started in pur-
suit, but all attempts to trace the murderers were
for some time abortive.
Frank Williams, the driver of the coach, soon
after left the employ of the stage company, and was
for some time a hanger-on of the saloons of Salt
Lake City. The lavish use he made of money
while there, excited the suspicion of those who
were in pursuit of the robbers, and when he left
the city, they followed him and watched him
closely, until satisfied that he was using money in
larofer amounts than he could have obtained hon-
estly. At Godfrey's Station, between Denver and
Julesburg, they arrested him. Conscience-smitten,
he fell upon his knees at the feet of his accusers,
and made a full confession, implicating eleven
confederates, whose names and places of abode
he revealed. He admitted that he had driven the
coach into the ambush for the purpose of aiding
The Stage Coach. 427
the robbery, in the avails of which he was a par-
ticipant. It probably never occurred to him that
the murder of the passengers was possible ; and
from the moment of its occurrence he had not
known a moment's peace of mind or freedom
from fear of arrest. He was hanged near Den-
ver immediately after his arrest and confession.
The information he gave enabled his captors to
eventually secure the persons of several others
engaged in the robbery, who were summarily ex-
ecuted, — but the larger portion of the robbers
are still at large.
There have been several coach robberies in
Port-Neuf caiion and the vicinity since the one
here recorded, but none in which life was taken.
Indeed, attacks upon the downward bound coach
became so frequent that for several years before
the completion of the railroad the stage company
provided for each treasure coach a guard, whose
business it was to defend both treasure and pas-
sengers by all means in his power. Among the
men selected for this duty they made choice of
two who had figured conspicuously in the early
Vigilante history of Montana, John X. Beidler
and John Fetherstun.
The only stage station in this caiion was known
by the very appropriate name of " Robbers'
4^§ The Stage Ooack
Roost," and I never passed the place without a
feelinof of mingled sadness and horror at the rec-
ollection of the tragedy which has given it such
a bloody notoriety. Forty-six times have I passed
through this canon on trips from Montana to the
States and returning. It has been with me a life-
long custom to take my seat with the driver, and
occasionally when riding through the cailon, clad
in a buffalo overcoat, with headgear to correspond,
I have experienced an instinctive feeling of dis-
comfort at the thought that I might be mistaken
for a guard, who is always deemed the legitimate
prey of the road agent, and shot down by some
avenging Nemesis of the band. The robbers,
however, seldom demand the money or other per-
sonal effects of the driver or messenger, as these,
being of small value, poorly compensate for the
risk incurred in robbing the treasure-box and the
passengers.
Anion Of the various devices I had thoucfht of
adopting to escape robbery in case of attack, I
finally concluded to act the part of a messenger,
with whose methods long observation had made
me familiar. The objection to this was that the
robbers frequented incog, the stations on the
route of their contemplated depredations, and
knew the personnel of all or nearly all the mes-
The Stage Coach. 429
sengers. No mercy therefore would be shown to
any one who was detected in the attempt to per-
sonate one of them. The risk was too great to
be incurred except by one who courted adventure,
or where the safety of a hxrge amount was in-
volved. An opportunity finally came.
My duties as bank examiner required a visit to
Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the latter part of June,
1878. Having completed my examinations, the
cashier of the Second Ncitional Bank requested
me on my return to convey to Denver a consider-
able sum of gold and currency.
The coach robberies had been so numerous for
nearly a year on this route, that Messrs. Barlow
and Sanderson, the proprietors of the stage line
and the express company, had refused to transport
treasure over it, and all packages of merchandise
were sent in charge of trusty messengers. I re-
luctantly assented, they taking the risk of the
safe conduct of the money, — the other risk, to
me at least the greater of the two, my own safety,
I had to take myself. I was the only passenger.
No one else coveted a ride over the dismal route.
The money was securely locked in my valise which
was packed among the mail-bags inside the coach.
On arriving at Las Vegas a change of drivers
took place. Charley Fernandez, a half-blood
430 The Stage Coach.
Mexican whose acquaintance I had made years
before while on the same trip, took the reins, and
we continued on our way in excellent spirits. He
was known by the sobriquet " Mexican Charley."
He was an excellent whip, and noted for his cool-
ness in danger, and kindness to his horses. At
Eureka, Mr. Stewart, the stage company's black-
smith, who had been shoeing the horses along the
route, got into the coach. Fatigued with over-
work, he re-arranged the mail-bags and spread his
blankets, and, without my knowledge, removed
my valise containing the money to the front boot
of the coach. The first half of the night had
worn away. Charley had told me a great num-
ber of thrilling incidents about the stage travel,
and the trouble with road agents along the road.
The subject, though interesting, was not at the
time and under the circumstances particularly in-
spiring, especially as we were now passing through
the infested portion of the route. I had con-
trived to fall into a doze, and in that creepy
mood so common to people whose condition is
half-way between slumber and wakefulness, had
so con-jumbled road agents and stage coaches,
that but for a fortunate jolt now and then, I
should probably have fallen into the unhappy
consciousness that I was really a victim to rob-
The Stage Coach. 431
bery and disaster. We were passing at a moder-
ate pace a cluster of isolated hills, known in that
region as " Wagon Mound Buttes." The horses
had just begun with slackened gait to ascend a
grade, when Charley roused me from my revery
by a quick, short, half-breathless ejaculation,
" What's that in the road ahead of us ? " Every
sense I possessed was roused in an instant. The
trust I had undertaken gave me infinite concern,
and I confess to an alarm bordering upon fear.
If I had left that money behind, I thought, I
should have little trouble in taking care of myself.
Peering into the darkness at that moment par-
tially dispelled by the rising moon, I discovered,
about fifty yards in front, two objects just disap-
jDearing among the bushes by the roadside.
" I guess," said Charley, re-assuringly, " it's
nothing but burros."
" Quite likely, Charley," I replied. " We have
seen them at intervals all the way."
" That's what it is, you may depend," rejoined
Charley. " I've often mistook 'em before for the
blasted road agents. But I was a leetle skeered
at fust, warn't you ? "
" Considerably, Charley. I don't want to meet
them this time, at any rate."
" No danger, I guess," said Charley, as he
432 The Stage Coach.
touched his leaders with the whip to urge them
up the grade.
The horses pulled along at a quicker gait, and
I was settling back into a state of tranquil som-
nolence, happy in the thought that we were not
probably the first men who had been frightened
by a couple of jackasses, when suddenly, as if
springing out of the solid earth, two men jumped
from the bushes. They were about twenty feet
apart. The one most distant, a short, rather slen-
der person, seized the bits of the leaders with his
left hand, holding in the right a cocked revolver.
The other, a stalwart figure of six feet, with
corresponding physical proportions, raised a
double-barrelled shot-gun, and aiming it directly
at my head, shouted in a fierce, impetuous tone, —
" Halt ! Don't either of you move a hand. I
want that treasure-box." This startling saluta-
tion, with its accompanying demonstration, for a
moment filled me with apprehension, but the quick
reply of Charley, " There's no treasure-box
aboard," restored me to instant calmness. Now,
thought I, is the time to jDut my chosen theory
into practice.
" Don't say a word to them, Charley ! " said I,
in a suppressed tone. " Let me do the talking."
The big robber, whose determination was more
The Stage Coach. 433
strongly whetted by Charley's reply to his first de-
mand, now spoke in an angry tone, and with his
gun in closer proximity to my head, exclaimed, —
" I tell you I want that treasure box, and quick
too. Throw it right down there," pointing to the
ground alonsfside the forward wheel of the coach.
My rapid breathing had now so far abated that
I was able to say in a steady, natural tone, —
" The driver has told you the truth. I have no
treasure-box on this run. I don't know what the
other boys have had. You fellows have run the
road to suit yourselves this summer. I haven't
had a treasure-box for more than two months."
" I know better than that," he replied, with
the usual formula of oaths, " and if you don't
throw out that box, I'll shoot the top of your
head off," at the same time advancing two or three
steps, and aiming his gun with both barrels cocked,
less than a yard's distance from my head ; — by
reaching forward I could have touched it.
The man was very nervous. I knew that his
object was robbery without murder, rather than
murder and robbery afterwards. In his excite-
ment, which had been rapidly increasing in inten-
sity, I feared that he might unintentionally pull
the triofofers on which his fing-ers were restins". To
possibly avoid a fatal result in such case, I moved
434 The Stage Coach.
my head backward and forward, to the right and
left, and tried to keep as much out of range as
possible. All to no purpose : — the gun kept mo-
tion with me, and held me constantly in range. I
finally said to him, —
" Oblige me by holding your gun a little out of
range with my head. You've got the drop on me,
but I can't believe you wish to kill a man who is
ready to give you all he has."
" You just give me that treasure-box, and you
won't be hurt," he replied, in an obstinate tone,
with his gun still in position.
The other robber, seemingly much amused at
the fear I manifested for my safety, in a jocular
manner shouted to me, in a voice peculiarly femi-
nine, —
" Does them gun-barrels look pretty big ? "
I replied that I could not readily recall a time
in my life when gun-barrels looked quite as large
as they did at that moment, and that although
neither the moon nor stars were very bright, yet
I was quite sure I could read the advertisements
on a page of the New York Herald which they
had used for gun wadding.
This answer excited their mirth, and they laughed
quite heartily, but it did not divert them from
their purpose. After parleying with them a few
The Stage Coach. 435
minutes longer, I handed the big man the way-
pocket containing the way-bill, and told him that
the entire contents of the coach were entered on
it, and he could satisfy himself that there was no
treasure-box on board. They made the examina-
tion and were convinced.
During this research they watched our move-
ments closely, lest Charley or I should draw a
weapon. Neither of us was armed. Returning
the way-bill to the leather pocket, the big man in
a surly tone inquired, —
" Got any passengers aboard ? "
" There is a man inside, but he is not a passen-
ger," I replied.
" Who is he then, and what is he doing there, if
he is not a passenger? "
" He is the company's blacksmith."
Frenzied with the disappointment of not find-
ing a treasure-box, and thinking that I was en-
deavoring to screen a passenger by calling him an
employe, the robber exclaimed, —
" That's played out. I want that man," and,
rattling the coach door, in language redundant
with profane superlatives, he ordered him, if he
wished to escape being shot, to come out and
show himself.
Stewart, who had slept through all the previous
436 The Stage Coach.
part of the colloquy, on being thus summarily
summoned, comprehended the situation of affairs,
and slipping a small roll of greenbacks into his
shoe, stepped out of the coach.
" Throw up your hands," was the stern com-
mand addressed to him emphasized by the double
muzzle of a loaded gun within a feAv feet of his
head. He was not slow to comply, nor to submit
with the best possible grace to the search which
followed, yielding only a single Mexican dollar.
The fury of the robber as he held this meagre
trophy of his enterprise up to the pale moonlight
was dramatic in the highest possible degree, and
yet so associated with his earlier disappointments,
that one could hardly restrain himself from burst-
ins" into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
" What business have you," he yelled, inter-
larding his speech with an unlimited use of pro-
fane and opprobrious epithets, " to be travelling
through this country with no more money than
that?"
Stewart answered that he was the horse-shoer of
the company, which paid his bills while on the
road, and he therefore had no need of money
while thus employed.
After a careful examination of Stewart's hands,
which were found to be hard and callous, and the
Tlie Stage Coach. 4S7
discovery of a box containing the tools used in
horse-shoeing, the robber was satisfied that he had
told the truth, and returned the Mexican dollar.
Baffled at all points, he hurled the way-pocket
into the sage brush, and in a tone of mingled
anger and disgust, exclaimed, —
" No passengers, no treasure-box, no nothing.
This is a — of an outfit." With his gun still
in point-blank range, he crept close beside the
front wheel, and by the subdued lioht o-azed
scrutinizingly into my face for a brief space, as if
to ascertain whether he had ever seen me before.
He repeated this so often that I feared he would
resolve the doubt he evidently entertained of my
assumed office against me, and shoot me for the
imposition. This to me was the most terrible
moment of the encounter. I returned his stare
each time with an impassive countenance, resolved
at all hazards to persist in my experiment. While
thus occupied, he directed his companion to ex-
amine the contents of the rearward boot and
overhaul the mail bags within the coach. Ten
minutes later, the search proving abortive, he said
in slow, measured tones, dropping back a few
paces, —
" Well, I guess you'd better drive on."
Charley gathered up the reins, and was about
438 The Stage Coach,
giving the word to his horses, when it occurred
to me that T might complete the deception I had
all along practised by a little ruse which the occa-
sion seemed to demand.
" Hold on, Charley," and turning to the dis-
comfited man I added, —
" I want my way-pocket."
" You can't have it," was the prompt reply.
" But I must have it," I insisted. " I can't go
on without it. The company will discharge a
messenger who loses his way-pocket."
This reply seemed to allay his suspicions. He
stepped into the sage brush and returned in a few
minutes with the pocket, which he gave me, and
ordered us quite peremptorily to drive on.
Charley needed no second invitation, but drove
on quite briskly. After mutually congratulating
each other on our escape, we naturally recounted
the events of the evening, and among other things
commented upon the feminine voice of the smaller
of the robbers ; but I soon dismissed the subject,
feelinsf too well satisfied with the success of an
artifice which had saved the bank a considerable
sum of money, and possibly both of us from a fatal
calamity.
Several months after this adventure, while re-
turning by stage from Leadville to Pueblo, the
The Stage Coach. 439
driver directed my attention to a grave marked by
a low wooden slab on the plateau overlooking the
Arkansas river a short distance below Biiena
Vista. Just beyond it was an abrupt ravine.
" I never pass that grave," said the driver,
" without beino^ reminded of the event connected
with it. A few weeks ago a band of horses had
been stolen from a ranche on the road between
Trinidad and Wagon Mound Buttes, by two
horse thieves who were pursued by the owners over
the range into the Arkansas valley. They were
overtaken with the stolen herd in that ravine.
On attempting to entL-r it the smaller thief com-
manded the pursuing party to halt, disregarding
which, he fired upon and wounded two of them.
Roused by the firing, the other thief appeared,
and a pitched battle ensued, in which he was slain
outright, and the other fatally wounded. Surgi-
cal aid was obtained, and the surviving thief was
found to be a woman. She died in a few days
thereafter, refusing to the last to reveal her his-
tory, or furnish any clew by which it might be
traced." This event occurring so soon after the
attempt to rob the coach, convinced the people
thereabouts of the identity of the persons en-
"■asfed in both outrao-es.
Many of the " home stations " on the stage
440 The Stage Coach.
lines where meals were served, were favorite camp-
ing'-grouiids for freighters engaged in the trans-
portation of merchandise from the railroad to
the interior towns. On the road hetween Kelton
' and Boise, the station at Rock Creek, one hundred
miles distant from the railroad, was kept by
Charles Trotter. It was one of the few stopping-
places where palatable meals were served. Its
reputation in this respect won for it a widespread
popularity with the travelling public, and in pro-
cess of time a small settlement sprung up around
it. A store was opened, where emigrants and
others could obtain provisions, clothing, and such
other necessaries as they needed. Naturally
enough, many of the new-comers were rough in
their tastes, fond of gambling, drinking, and
the athletic sports common in an unorganized
community. The influence exercised by a few
citizens of the better class was all that saved the
little settlement from lapsing into lawlessness and
crime.
My diary for 1877 shows that on September
17th I passed through Rock Creek by stage en
route for Boise. Our coach entered the place
about the middle of the afternoon. An Endish-
man who had arrived in America a fortnioht
before, was the only passenger besides myself. It
The Staye Coach. 441
was his first journey in a stage coach, and the
rough and desolate region through which it lay
presented to his mind many features of novelty
and interest, mingled with no little disquietude at
the strangle character of his surroundinos. He
was in a condition to be alarmed at anything.
As we alighted from the coach, our attention
was directed by loud hilarious singing to a com-
pany of twenty or more men approaching the
station, bearing in their midst a long pine box.
I perceived at once that it was a funeral orgie
over the burial of some wretch who had paid the
penalty of a summary death for a life of crime.
A person standing near me replied to my inquiry
as to the cause. He said that about two years
previous to this time, a stranger came one morn-
ino" to the station and asked for breakfast. He
was hungry and moneyless. Mr. Trotter gave
him a breakfast and he left; but something about
his actions and appearance aroused Trotter's sus-
picions, and, concealed by the sage brush, he
tracked him for some distance across the plain,
and came up with him as he was in the act of
mountino- a horse which Trotter recoo-nized as the
property of a friend in Boise. Believing that
the horse had been stolen, Trotter arrested the
man, who gave his name as William Dowdle, sent
442 The Stage Coach.
him to Boise, where he was tried for the theft,
convicted, and sentenced to imprisonment two
years in the Idaho Penitentiary. Dowdle avowed
that if he lived to be free, he would kill Trotter.
At the close of his term he obtained employment
as cook for a freighter named Johnson, and
slowly wended his way to Rock Creek,' where his
employer and party camped for a day to replen-
ish their stock of provisions.
The next morning, armed with a revolver, Dow-
dle went to the station to execute his threat, and
was greatly chagrined to learn that Trotter was
confined to his bed with typhoid fever. He
sought to alleviate his disappointment in liquor,
which maddened him to that deo-ree that he
threatened the lives of several persons, and, seat-
ing himself beside the road, fired indiscriminately
at all who jDassed him. One shot hit a Mr. Spen-
cer, a blacksmith, who was passing quietly along,
inflicting what was supposed to be a mortal
wound. Attracted by the reports of the pistol,
young Wohlgamuth, a relative of Trotter who
had charge of the store, hurried to the doorway,
when a bullet from Dowdle's pistol penetrated the
door-casing, just grazing his head. He imme-
diately grasped his revolver from a shelf hard by,
and shot Dowdle throuoh the heart. The villain
The Stage Coach. 443
fell prostrate in the road, exclaiiiiing, " Such is
life, boys, in the days of forty-nine," and died
instantly. The entire settlement manifested their
approval of Wohlgamuth's timely shot by a sea-
son of general rejoicing, and a coroner's jury
exonerated him from all blame.
The funeral followed speedily. A rude coffin
of pine, with four handles of cords knotted into
the sides, was the single preparation. In this the
body, incased in Johnson's overcoat, was laid,
fully exposed, the cover of the box being laid
aside until the conclusion of the ceremonies.
Four strong men grasped the handles, and lifting
the coffin, the procession formed about equally in
front and rear of them, and the march com-
menced. Frequent potations had exhilarated the
entire company to such a degree that no attempt
was made to preserve regularity of motion or
direction. The line of march was between a
ridge on the south and one on the north side of
the station, about a mile apart. No clergyman
was present to conduct the exercises, and no layman
was in a condition to offer a prayer or read the
scriptures. The exigency could only be supplied
by vocal music ; and in the absence of hymn books
it was thought to be exceedingly proper and
befitting the occasion for all to join in an old
444 The Stage CoacK.
California refrain entitled, " The Days of Forty-
Nine." Indeed, the last words of Dowdle seemed
to convey a request for it. The song was a dog-
gerel composed in the early Pacific mining days
in commemoration of '' Lame Jesse," a kindred
spirit to Dowdle. The mourners on this occasion
substituted for the name of " Lame Jesse " that
of " Dowdle Bill." This musical service was
progressing as our coach drove up to the station.
The sono' consisted of a score or more of verses
of which I can recall the following only : —
" Old Dowdle Bill was a hard old case;
He never would repent.
He never was known lo miss a meal, —
He never paid a cent.
" Old Dowdle Bill, like all the rest.
He did to Death resign ;
And in his bloom went up the flume,
In the days of Forty-Nine."
Mrs. Trotter informed me that this procession
of men bearing the coffin, had marched to and
fro between the two ridges in a state of drunken
revelry for a period of five hours ; some singing
one, some another verse, producing an utter con-
fusion of sound, and so excited as to be utterly
unable to preserve a straight line. At one of
their halts near the coach, Johnson, who was at
The Stage Coach. 44,'j
the moment one of the bearers, discovered that
his own overcoat covered the body.
" if they haven't laid him out in my blue
overcoat ! " he exclaimed, and loosening his hold
of the handle, he raised the body, removed the
coat, and put it on his own back. The march
was then resumed, and amid singing, shouts, and
laughter, the body was borne to a low ridge and
buried.
Supper being soon announced, my English fel-
low-traveller did not appear at the table. He was
perfectly appalled at the scene he had witnessed.
" Is this," he inquired, with much earnestness,
" the usual way funerals are conducted in this
wild country ? We never have such proceedings
in England, you know. If the better class of
people do such things, the country must be pretty
rough. I didn't know but they'd take me next,
and I hadn't any appetite."
I assured him that our lives were perfectly safe \
but it was not until we reached the next eating
station, that hunger seemed to conquer his fears,
and he was fully re-assured.
146 Retrospection.
CHAPTER XXVI.
RETROSPECTION.
In the former chapters of this history, we have
seen that the people of Montana did not adopt
the Vioilante code until a crisis had arrived when
the question of supremacy between them and an
organized band of robbers and murderers could
be decided only by a trial of strength. When
that time came, the prompt and decisive measures
adopted by the Vigilantes brought peace and
security to the people. If any of the murderous
band of marauders remained in the Territory,
fear of punishment kej^t them quiet. Occasion-
ally indeed a man would be murdered in some of
the desolate canons while returning to the States,
but whenever this occurred the offenders were
generally hunted down and summarily executed.
When the executive and judicial officers ap-
pointed by the government, arrived in the Terri-
tory in the autumn of 1864, they found the
mining camps in the enjoyment of a repose which
was broken only by the varied recreations which
Retrospection. 447
an unorganized society necessarily adopts to pass
away the hours unemployed in the mines. The
people had perfect confidence in the code of the
Vigilantes, and many of them scouted the idea of
there being any better law for their protection.
They had made up their minds to punish all law-
breakers, and there were many who did not hesi-
tate to declare to the newly arrived officers, that
while the courts might be called upon in the set-
tlement of civil cases, the people wanted no other
laws in dealing with horse-thieves, robbers, and
murderers, than the ones they themselves had
made. This feeling, though not so general as
was claimed for it, was quite prevalent at that time
among the miners. As soon, however, as they
found the courts adequate to their necessities, they
readily conformed to the laws and their adminis-
tration after the manner prescribed by the gov-
ernment, and the Vigilante rule gradually
disappeared. In several extreme cases they
anticipated by immediate action the slower pro-
cesses of law, but this occurred only when the
offence was of a very aggravated character.
Some of the leading newspapers of the nation,
and the people of many of the older communities
where the hand of the law was strong, and suffi-
cient for the protection of all, have denounced
448 Retrospection.
the action of the Vigilantes as cruel, barbarous,
and criminal ; but none of them have had the
perspicacity to discover any milder or more effica-
cious substitute, — though apologies and excuses
for the murderers have been numerous and per-
sistent. The facts narrated in these volumes are
a sufficient reply to these hastily formed opinions.
The measures adopted were strictly defensive, and
those who resorted to them knew full well that
when the federal courts should be organized, they
themselves would in turn be held accountable
before the law for any unwarrantable exercise of
power in applying them. The necessity of the
hour was their justification. Too much credit
can never be awarded to the brave and noble men
who put them in force. They checked the emi-
gration into Montana of a large criminal popula-
tion, and thereby prevented the complete exter-
mination of its peace-loving people, and its
abandonment by those who have since demon-
strated, by a development of its varied resources,
its capacity for becoming an immense industrial
State of the Union. They opened up the way
for an increasing tide of emigration from the
East, to this new and delightful portion of our
country. They sought mainly to protect every
man in the enjoyment of his own, and to afford
Retrospection. 449
every citizen equal opportunity to seek for and
obtain the hoarded wealth of the unexplored
mountains and gulches in the richest portion of
the continent. They made laws for a country
without law, and executed them with a vigor
suited to every exigency.
Not one of that large cosmopolitan community
who faced the realities of brioand domination
and aggression, ever complained of the means by
which they were terminated. The change was as
welcome to them as sunlight to the flowers, or
rain to the parched earth. It changed their fear
into courage, and their despondency into hope.
It cheered them with the promise that their hard
toil and coarse fare would eventuate in good, and
that the star which had led them from homes of
comfort to these distant wilds, did not, —
"Meteor-like, flame lawless through the skies."
A marked improvement soon became visible in
all classes of society. Pistols were no longer
fired, and bowie-knives were no longer flourished
in the saloons. Gambling, though still followed
as a pursuit by many, was freed from all danger-
ous concomitants, and the hurdy-gurdy houses
wore an appearance of decency and order that they
had not known before. An air of civil restraint
450 Retrospection.
took the place of recklessness in personal deport-
ment, and men lived and acted as if they had
suddenly found something in the community
worthy of their respect. This enforced reforma-
tion was only to be preserved by a rigid observ-
ance of the regulations which had produced it.
There were hundreds of men in the Territory
ready to take advantage of the smallest relaxation,
to rush again into organized robbery and murder.
The Vigilantes understood this, and that there
miglit be no mistaking their intentions, they pur-
sued every criminal, from the greatest to the
smallest, oftentimes aiding the civil authorities,
and suffering no guilty man who fell into their
hands to escape punishment.
A quarter of a century has elapsed since the
United States Congress gave to Montana a terri-
torial ofovernment. At that time it was the
wildest and least inhabited portion of our national
domain. A very small portion of it only had
been reclaimed from the savage tribes which had
inhabited it for centuries — the few whites who
had gone there holding it by an occupancy so
nearly divided between the lovers and the violators
of law and order, that it was next to impossible to
convert it into a peaceful, law-abiding community.
There was nothing in the writings of early ex=
Retrospection. 451
plorers to render it attractive for any of the pur-
poses of permanent settlement. Captains Lewis
and Clarke, who explored this region in 1804-5-
6, had told of its great rivers and valleys, its
rocks and its mountains, and the numerous
nomadic tribes which subsisted upon the herds of
buffaloes, elks, and antelopes, that fed on its
perennial grasses. Their story had been repeated
in more graphic form by Washington Irving in
his version of Captain Bonneville's expedition.
Trappers and hunters belonging to the Northwest-
ern and American fur companies, had told many
thrilling adventures of their frequent conflicts
with Indians and grizzlies ; but no one had ever
testified to the vast wealth of its mountains and
gulches, the surpassing fertility of its valleys and
plains, and the navigability and water facihties of
its wonderful rivers. The possibility that it could
ever become anything more than a field for fur-
hunters, or a reserve for some of our Indian
tribes, had never been seriously considered by any
one. All the worst crimes known to the Decalogue
stained its infant annals, until, roused by a spirit
of self-defence, the sober-minded and resolute
population visited in their might with condign
punishment the organized bands of ruffians which
had preyed upon their lives and property. These,
452 Retrospection.
as we have seen, were speedily swept away from
the face of the earth, and the organization of the
Territory was then complete. To-day Montana is
the most attractive of all the Territories recently
admitted into the Union. With a large and
increasing population dwelling in cities, agricul-
tural and mining districts, it is rapidly growing
into one of the most powerful States of the
Union. Favored by nature with a healthful
climate, and with seasons of heat and cold equally
distributed, it cannot fail to give birth to a
hardy, vigorous, and enterprising people. The
development of its vast and varied resources has
just commenced, yet, under its inspiring influence,
large cities have sprung up, manufactories have
been established, vast valleys subdued, great rail-
roads constructed, and the work of a steady and
increasing improvement made everywhere visible
throughout its borders.
Many of the noble-hearted pioneers who placed
themselves in the van of this movement have
passed away. Montana, now a State of the Union,
may well mourn the loss of such courageous
spirits as James Stuart, Walter Dance, Neil Howie,
John Fetherstun, Dr. Glick, John X. Beidler, and
many more who have not lived to see her in her
day of grandeur and triumph. A time should
Mefrospectton. 45B
never come when the memory of these men
shoukl cease to be venerated. It should never
be forgotten tliat Montana owes its present free-
dom from crime, its present security for .life and
projierty, to the early achievements of these self-
denying men, and of their comrades who still
survive ; who established law where no law existed,
spoke order into existence when all order was
threatened with destruction, declared peace where
all was anarchy, and laid broad and deep the
foundations of a great and populous State amid
the perils of robbery and bloodshed. Equal in
degree to the sacrifices made by the brave sol-
diers of the war who saved our Republic, were
the deeds of those who saved the Territory from
rapine and slaughter. Like them, the graves of
the dead should be crowned with flowers, and the
pathway of the living be brightened with the
rewards of a grateful people.
Standing in the valley of the Mississippi, and
beholding its marvellous development, we talk of
the West — its cities, its agriculture, its progress
— with rapture ; we point to it with pride, as the
latest and noblest illustration of our republican
system of government ; but beyond the West
which we so much admire and eulogize, there is
another West where the work of development is
454 Retrospection.
just commencing : a land where but a quarter of
a century ago, all was bare creation ; whose val-
leys, now teeming with fruition, had then never
cheered the vision of civilized man ; whose rivers,
now bordered by thousands of happy homes, then
rolled in solitary grandeur to their union with the
Missouri and the Columbia ; — a land whose rugged
features, civilization with all its attendant bless-
ings has softened, and where an empire has
sprung up as if by enchantment ; — a land where
all the advantages and resources of the West of
yesterday are increased, and varied, and spread
out upon a scale of magnificence that knows no
parallel, and which fills the full measure of
Berkeley's prophecy, —
" Westward the course of Empire takes its way.
The first four acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day.
Time's noblest offspring is the last."
INDEX.
Acquittal of Charley Forbes, i.
365-
Acquittal of Patterson, i. 208.
Action of Congress on N. W.
boundary, i. 69.
Adams, President, orders troops
to Ohio, i. ;^2.
Aden, Joseph, contract with Da-
vid Opdyke, ii. 349; Opdyke
causes his arrest, ii. 350.
Affection for the Parson, i. 331;.
Agreement for joint occupation
terminated, i. 70.
Alarm of our Government, i. 35.
Alder Gulch, description of, i.
352; settlement of, i. 376;
wealth of, i. 392.
Alleghanies, people west of, i.
12.
Allen, Charles, is killed by How-
ard, ii. loS.
Americans become Spanish sub-
jects, i. 15; follow the Mexi-
cans, ii. 357.
American statesmen, fears of,
i- 55-
A modern Haman, ii. 335.
Amusing court incident, i. 35S.
An apt Bible text, i. 329.
A night on the Mexican trail,
'i- 357-
An interesting adventure, ii.
385-
Ankeny, Capt., takes Beachy
down Umatilla rapids, ii. 129.
Antonio de Sedella, commissary
of Inquisition, i. 19; is re-
turned to Cadiz, i. 20.
Anxiety of English fellow-pas-
senger, ii. 445.
Appeals of Hayes Lyons for
mercy, i. 368.
Apprehensions of American
statesmen, i. 55 ; groundless,
i. 60.
A race for life, i. 299.
Arnett, \Vm., arrives from Elk
Citv, i. 21S; shot by Fox and
BuU, i. 218.
Arrest of Happy Harry, i. 13S;
Henry Plummer, ii. 165; Ned
Ray, ii. 165; Buck Stinson, ii.
165; Boone Helm, Jack Galla-
gher, Frank Parish, Hajies
Lyons, and Club-foot George,
ii. 1S7 ; Steve Marshland, ii.
208; Bill Bunton, ii. 211 ; Cy-
rus Skinner, ii. 216; Alex Car-
ter, ii. 216; Johnny Cooper,
ii. 217; Geo. Shears, at Van
Dorn's, ii. 219; Bob Zachary,
ii. 219; Slade, ii. 316; Doudle
Bill, ii. 44t ; Charley Forbes,
Hayes Lyons, and Buck Stin-
son for murder of Dillingham,
i. 361.
456
Index.
Arrival in Walla Walla of Char-
ley Harper, i. 105; of emi-
grants at Fort Benton, i. 215;
of Boone Helm at the Dalles,
i. 160; of Jack Simmons and
party at Sioux City, ii. 410.
Assassination of " Fat Jack," i.
180; of Neselrode, i. 180.
Astoria, settlement of, i. 65 ; res-
toration of, i. 66.
Astor's expedition, i. 65.
A strange history, i. 120.
Atkinson, Dr., i. 215.
Attack on Oliver's coach, i. 410;
Sheep-eater Indians, i. 250.
Attempted journey to Camp
Floyd, Utah, i. 160.
Attempts to intimidate Jack Rus-
sell, i. 222.
Ault, John, arrival of, at Fort
Benton, i. 216.
A weird scene, i. 236.
Bad lands of the Yellowstone,
ii. 389.
Bagg, Hon. Charles S., prose-
cutes Geo. Ives, ii. 68.
Ball, Smith, attempts to arrest
Pizanthia, ii. 175; is shot by
Pizanthia, ii. 175.
Bancroft, Geo., prophecy of, i. i.
Banfield, pistol fight with Dick
Sapp, i. 312; shot by Reeves,
i. 314; dies of his wounds, i.
316.
Banishment of Happy Harry, i.
138; H. P. A. Smith, ii. 233;
Thurmond, ii. 233.
Bannack chiefs, i. 338.
Bannack, irruption of robbers
into, i. 240; its isolation, i.
328; lawlessness, i. 249; union
league, i. 382 ; execution of
Plummer at, ii. 169; execution
of Ray at, ii. 167 ; execution
of Stinson at, ii. 168; execu-
tion of Pizanthia at, ii. 177;
execution of Dutch John at,
ii. 183.
Earnhardt, Martin, fight with
Tom Peasley, ii. 283 ; kills
Peasley, ii. 284; is killed by
Peasley, ii. 284.
Baron de Carondelet, i. 28.
Battle of Bear River, i. 337.
Beach, member of Opdyke's
gang, ii. 344 ; hanged by Vigi-
lantes in 1865, ii. 344.
Beachy, Hill, conversation with
his wife, ii. 97; dream of, ii.
98; suspicions aroused, ii.
114; efforts to trace Magru-
der's murderers, ii. 117; en-
lists Tom Farrell, ii. 1 19 ; inter-
view with Indian boy Jack, ii.
120; prayer, ii. 126; starts for
Walla Walla, ii. 126; assisted
by Capt. Ruckles, ii. 128;
taken down Umatilla rapids,
ii. 129; arrives at Dalles City,
Oregon, ii. 130; arrives with
Farrell at Portland, ii. 131 ;
ruse for learning plans of
murderers, ii. 132; starts over-
land for San Francisco, ii.
134; admitted to murderers'
cell, ii. 135; Magruder's mur-
derers surrendered to him, ii.
Index.
457
136; arrives at Lewiston with
Howard, Lowry, Romaine,
and Page, ii. 137 ; ruse for
ascertaining guilt of prisoners,
ii. 138; procures confession of
Page, ii. 141 ; dies in San
Francisco in 1875, ''• ^44-
Bear River, Smith's Fork of, i.
221 ; Smith's Fork Bridge no-
tice, i. 223; battle with In-
dians at, i. 337.
Beaverhead gold diggings, i. 144.
Beidler, John X., meets Dutch
John, ii. 44; meets Dutch
John in Beaver Canon, ii. 147 ;
explains his feeling for mur-
derers, ii. 206 ; at Fort Benton,
ii. 321 ; arrests John Leech at
Helena, ii. 326.
Bell, Wm. H., funeral of, i.
320.
Be-net-see, first discoverer of
gold, i. 212.
Berkeley, Bishop, his prophecy,
ii. 454.
Berry, John and Joseph, robbed,
i. 134.
Birthplace of Joseph A. Slade,
ii. 288.
Bissell, Dr. Edward, leaves Den-
ver for Northern mines, i. 219 ;
changes Varina to Virginia
City, i. 354; advice to South-
mayd, i. 417.
Blackburn sheriff of Carson
City, i. 117; is killed by May-
field, i. 118.
Blackfeet Indians, i. 233, 237.
Blackfoot City, trial at, i. 258.
Blaine, Hon. James G., speech
of, i. 71.
Blake, A. S., i. 215.
Bledsoe, Matt, kills a miner on
Whitebird Creek, i. 130; kills
a man in Portland, i. 131.
Boise River, gold discoveries, 1.
145-
Boise stage line, ii. 440; Vigi-
lantes organize, ii. 352.
Bonaparte's proposition, i. 52.
Bond, Samuel R., secretary of
overland expedition, i, 231.
Boundary established, i. 30; at
latitude 49°, i. 70; line be-
tween English and French
territory, i. 61.
Bozeman, J. M., attempted rob-
bery of, ii. 37.
Branson, Henry, attempted rob-
bery of, ii. 37.
Bravery of Gen. Connor, i. 348.
Bray, Cornelius, trip to Pike's
Peak Gulch, i. 234; night
camp in canon, i. 234; alarm
of camp, i. 237 ; Blackfeet In-
dians, i. 237; critical situation
of, i. 238; a bold front, i. 239;
arrival at Pike's Peak Gulch,
i. 240.
British invasion of Louisiana
threatened, i. 27.
British Columbia paper, extract
from, i. 171.
Broadwater, C. A., stratagem,
i. 292 : befriends Moore while
sick, i. 293; subsequent inter-
view with Moore, i. 294; starts
for Deer Lodge, i. 295; camp
458
Index.
on Willow Creek, i. 295; In-
dian attempts to steal his
horse, i. 296 ; shoots and
wounds the Indian, i. 296;
reins into camp of robbers, i.
297; coolness of, i. 298; is
pursued by Geo. Ives and
Johnny Cooper, i. 299; a race
for life, i. 299; arrival at Cont-
way's ranche, i. 300 ; outwits
the robbers, i. 301 ; leaves
Contway's by a ruse, i. 302 ;
safe arrival at Deer Lodge, i.
303-
Brockie goes to Florence mines,
i. 113; kills a fellow-brawler,
i. 128; assaults Arthur Chap-
man with deadly intent, i. 129 ;
is killed by Chapman, i. 130.
Brookie, Major, leaves Denver
for Northern mines, i. 219.
Brown, George, arrest of, ii. 89;
trial of, ii. 90; antecedents of,
ii. 94; execution of, ii. 96.
Bryan, Miss Eliza, her Sun
River home, i. 147; engage-
ment to Plummer, i. 147;
marriage to Plummer, i. 325.
Buckner, Hank, shoots Brown
in Madison Valley, ii. 344;
arrested and escapes, ii. 344;
rearrested at Dry Creek,
Idaho, ii. 345 ; is released on
habeas corpus, ii. 345.
Bull, , arrives at Deer
Lodge in pursuit of horse
thieves, i. 21S; arrests Jerni-
gan and Spillman, i. 218.
Bull, John, arrives in Helena
with Langford Peel, ii. 285;
quarrels with Peel, ii. 285;
kills Peel, ii. 286; is tried and
acquitted, ii. 286.
" Bummer Dan," i. 395 ; ruse to
escape robbery, i. 395 ; robbed
in Rattlesnake Canon, i. 402.
Bunton, Bill, at Lewiston, i. 80;
a horse and cattle thief, i. 81 ;
stool-pigeon, i. 404; birth-
place i. 409; ranche on Rattle-
snake Creek, ii. 25 ; arrest of,
ii. 211 ; execution of, ii. 214.
Bunton, Sam, birthplace of, i.
409; quarrels with Jason Luce,
i. 408; is killed by Luce in
Salt Lake City, i. 409.
Burritt, E. H., first assistant of
Fisk's overland expedition, i.
230.
Burtchy, Mr., discovers George
Ives in the rocks, ii. 64.
Caldwell, Tom, coach robbed, i.
Camp Douglas, Utah, i. 338.
Cannibalism of Boone Helm, i.
167.
Captain Fisk's expedition, i. 229.
Captain Samuel N. Ho_yt, oi
Gen. Connor's command, i.
341-
Captain McLean, of Gen. Con-
nor's command, i. 343.
Captain Price, of Gen. Connor's
command, i. 343.
Capture of William Graves, ii.
220.
Capture of Bill Hunter, ii. 228.
Index.
459
Carrhart, George, quarrels with
and shoots George Ives, i. 247 ;
reconciled to Ives, i. 248 ; shot
in Banfield and Sapp fight, i.
314; character of, i. 315.
Carroll, Mr., ransoms a white
girl from Indians, i. 317.
Carson Citj, police of, formerly
roughs, ii. 281.
Carter, Alex, accessory to mur-
der of Tiebalt, ii. S3 ; arrest of,
ii. 216; trial of, ii. 217 ; execu-
tion of, ii. 222.
Casualties at Battle of Bear
River, i. 349.
Cazzette killed by Moore and
Reeves, i. 250.
Central City, Alder Gulch, i. 376.
Cession of Louisiana, i. 53.
Chalmers, Horace, killed by
Howard and Lowry, ii. 108.
Chalmers, Robert, killed by
Howard and Lowry, ii. 108.
Chapman, Arthur, assaulted by
Brockie, i. 129; kills Brockie
in self-defence, i. 130.
Character of Dillingham, i. 372.
Charge of Indians on Jack Sim-
mons, ii. 404.
Charlton, David, engineer of
overland expedition, i. 231.
Chase, H. M., discovers gold on
Grand Ronde River, i. 98.
Chase, Lieut., at Battle of Bear
River, i. 343.
Cherokee Bob at Lewiston, i.
80; disputes Harper's claims
as "chief," i. 106; his ances-
try, i. 106; as a Secessionist,
i. 107; assaults the Federal
soldiers, i. 108; escapes on a
stolen horse, i. no; again at
Lewiston, i. 116; with May-
field, i. 116; leaves for Flor-
ence, i. 120; devotes himself
to Cynthia, i. 122; settled in
business, i. 123; saloon in
Florence, i. 125; killed at
Florence, i. 154; last words,
i. 154; his true name, i.
154-
Chief of the gang, i. 260.
Citizens' mass meeting, i. 252.
Clancy, Judge, leaves Denver
for Northern mines, i. 219.
Clark, John C., shoots Ray-
mond, ii. 351.
Cleveland, Jack, at Lewiston, i.
80; starts for Fort Benton, i.
146; at Sun River, i. 146;
quarrels with Henry Plummer,
i. 148; returns to Bannack
with Plummer, i. 148; pro-
claims himself "chief," i. 243;
covert threat, i. 243; sus-
pected of murdering George
Evans, i. 243; quarrels with
Jeff Perkins, i. 244; is shot
by Plummer, i. 244; sends to
Plummer for his bTankets, i.
245 ; taken care of by Craw-
ford and Phleger, i. 245 ; dies
in Crawford's cabin, i. 246;
buried by Crawford, i. 246.
Club-foot George (Geo. Lane),
escape of, i. 138; is sent to
Bannack for Plummer, ii. 66;
arrives at Bannack, ii. 78;
460
Index.
arrest of, ii. 187; execution of,
ii. 201.
Coach robberies, i. 393.
Columbia River, i. 19; discovery
of its mouth, i. 63; pack-
trains, i. 133.
Commandments, the miners', i.
336-
Commissary of inquisition, i.
19.
Commissioners appointed to set-
tle northwest boundary, i. 66.
Companions of Boone Helm, i.
160.
Complaint of Nez Perce Indians,
i. 84.
Confession of Frank Williams,
ii. 426; of the Mexicans, ii.
370-
Confidence in the Government,
i. 28; of the Indians, i. 342.
Congress, action of, concerning
Louisiana, i. 56.
Congressional debates on Lou-
isiana, i. 48.
Conley, suffering in Leaven-
worth, ii. 271 ; is relieved by
Langford Peel, ii. 271 ; in-
gratitude, ii. 273.
Connor, Gen. P. Edward, i.
338; his strategy, i. 342; his
bravery at Bear River, i. 348;
his conduct of the battle, i.
348.
Consultation of citizens, ii. 83.
Contemplated attack on Winne-
muck's band, i. 316.
Contway, David, ranche on
Deer Lodge River, i. 298;
assists Broadwater to escape,
i. 302.
Conviction and escape of Lyons
and Stinson, i. 364.
Conviction of James Daniels by
the court, ii. 337.
Cook, C. W. , explorations, ii.
376.
Cooper, Johnny, arrest of, ii.
217; trial of, ii. 218; execu-
tion of, ii. 223; his nativity,
ii. 223.
Copley, George, appointed pros-
ecuting attorney, i. 262 ; at-
tempts to arrest Pizanthia. ii.
175; is killed by Pizanthia. ii.
175-
Covert threat of Cleveland, i.
243-
Crawford, Hank, his interview
with Plummer, i. 245; takes
care of Cleveland, i. 246; elec-
ted sheriff at trial of Moore
and Reeves, i. 262 ; abuse of
by roughs, i. 264; his expo-
sures, i. 269; encounter with
Plummer, i. 275; shoots and
severely wounds Plummer, i.
251 ; starts for Fort Benton, i.
252 ; is pursued by roughs but
escapes, i. 282.
Crawford and Phleger, i. 268.
Crisman, George: Plummer
seeks safety by associating
his name with members of his
gang, ii. 78.
Critical situation, i. 238.
Crossing oi Smith's Fork of
Bear River, i. 231.
Index.
461
Cruelty of Patterson, i. 201.
Cynthia, goes to Florence mine?,
i. 120; at New Year's ball, i.
151 ; expelled from ball-room,
i. 152 ; joins Bill Mayfield, i.
154-
Dance and Stuart, their business
watched by Club-foot George,
i. 391.
Dance, Hon. Walter B., arrives
at Deer Lodge, i. 216; life
threatened by roughs, i. 307 ;
his fearlessness, i. 307 ; en-
counter with Plummer, i. 30S ;
held in fear by the roughs, i.
30S.
Daniels, James, career in Cali-
fornia, ii. 336; murders Gart-
ley, ii. 336; trial of, ii. 337;
conviction and sentence of,
ii. 337 ; pardon by Gov. Mea-
gher, ii. 338; hanged in Hel-
ena, ii. 338.
Daly, Peter, his ranche, i. 377.
Davenport pursues Moore and
Reeves to Rattlesnake, i. 253;
robbed by Plummer. i. 310.
Davis, Alex, Judge, defends Geo.
Ives, ii. 68 ; orders arrest of
Slade, ii. 313; fearlessness of,
ii. 315; intercedes for Slade,
ii. 317.
Daylight theft of a horse, i. 87.
Death of Thurmond, ii. 234; of
Wm. H. Bell at Bannack, i.
320.
Debates in Congress on Louisi-
ana, i. 48.
Decay of mining camps, i.
149.
Defining boundary between
Spanish territory and the
United States, i. 67.
Dempsey's ranche, i. 377.
Departure of troops for Bear
River, i. 341.
Description of Alder Gulch, i.
378.
Design of desperadoes to kill
Ford, i. loi.
Desperate attack of Indians, ii.
400.
Desperate fighting, i. 345.
Devices of robbers, i. 394.
Devices to escape robbery, i.
38S.
Dibb, Dr. W. D., surgeon of
overland expedition, i. 231.
Difficulties of mountain travel,
i. 220.
Dillingham appointed deputy
sheriff, i. 354; apprises Staple-
ton of plan to rob him, i. 354;
shot by Lyons, Stinson and
Forbes, i. 360; his character,
i. 372; letter from his father,
i- 373-
Dimsdale, Prof. Thos. J., opin-
ions of, i. 267.
Dinan killed in Port Neuf
Canon, ii. 425.
Disasters to emigrants, i. 143.
Discovery of Alder Gulch, i.
352; of body of Capt. Ben.
Osborne, ii. 372 ; of mouth of
Columbia River, i. 63.
Disheartening prospects, i. 232.
462
Index.
Disinterested opinion concern-
ing Slade, ii. 320.
Dissatisfaction of Western set-
tlers, i. 6.
Dixon, Jolin, hianged by Boise
Vigilantes, ii. 25'^-
Domestic liistorj, A, i. 78.
Donohue kills Patterson, i. 209;
is tried for killing Patterson,
i. 210; escape of, i. 210.
Dorsett, Rudolph, comes to
Bannack in 1863,11.258; pros-
pecting on Big Boulder with
John White, ii. 258; returns
to Virginia City with Kelley,
ii. 259; discovers Kelley with
stolen mule, ii. 261 ; joins
White in pursuing thief, ii.
261 ; anxiety concerning, ii.
262 ; discovery of his body,
ii. 264; is buried at Virginia
City, ii. 265; manner of his
death, ii. 265.
Dougherty, Patrick, trip to
Pike's Peak Gulch, i. 234;
night camp in canon, i. 234;
alarm in camp, i. 237; Black-
feet Indians, i. 237 ; critical
situation, i. 238; a bold front,
i. 239 ; safe arrival in Pike's
Peak Gulch, i. 240.
Dowdle, William, arrest by Trot-
ter, ii. 441 ; is shot by Wohl-
gamuth, ii. 441 ; funeral ser-
vices, ii. 443.
Dread of miners' court by des-
peradoes, i. 258.
Dutch Fred killed by Boone
Helm, i. 169.
Dutch John attacks Moody's
train, ii. 37 ; shoots at Moody's
teamsters, ii. 43; his alarm,
ii. 146; goes to Plummer for
advice, ii. 146; is met by J. X.
Beidler, ii. 147 ; is arrested by
Howie, ii. 153 ; trial of, ii. iSo ;
his letter to his mother, ii.
181 ; his execution, ii. 183.
Early discoveries of gold, i. 212.
Early life of Boone Helm, i.
157 ; of Charley Forbes, i. 365.
Efforts of Plummer towards
reformation, i. 241.
El Dorado Johnny attempts to
kill Langford Peel, ii. 280; is
killed by Peel, ii. 2S1.
Election of sheriff, i. 325.
Elk City deserted by miners, i.
145-
Ellis assaulted by Skinner, i.
306; life threatened by roughs,
i. 306; escapes to Fort Ben-
ton, i. 307.
Emigrants' signboard, i. 228.
Emigration to Grasshopper dig-
gings, i. 228.
Employes Overland Stage Co.,
suspicions concerning, i. 353.
Encounter with robbers, ii. 432.
English goes to the Florence
mines, i. 113; robs the Berry
Brothers, i. 134; arrested at
Wallula, i. 137; taken in irons
to Walla Walla, i. 138; hanged
in the night, i. 139.
Enrolment of 80,000 men author-
ized by Congress, i. 49.
Index.
463
Erroneous opinions concerning
Joseph A. Slade, ii. 291.
Escape of Boone Helm from
keeper, i. 160; of Club-foot
George, i. 138; of Langford
Peel from Utah officers, ii.
277.
Evans, George, supposed mur-
der of, by Cleveland, i. 243.
Evans, — — , kills Mayfield, i.
155 ; arrest and escape of, i.
155-
Executions: — English, i. 139;
Peoples, i. 139; Scott, i. 139;
Charley Harper, i. 178; Jason
Luce, i. 409; George Ives, ii.
75; Brown, ii. 96; Erastus
Yager (Red), ii. 96; Dr.
Howard, ii. 144; Chris Lowry,
ii. 144; Jim Romaine, ii. 144;
Henry Plummer, ii. 169; Ned
Ray, ii. 169; Buck Stinson,
ii. 169; Pizanthia (the Mexi-
can), ii. 177; Dutch John, ii.
183; Boone Helm, ii. 201;
Jack Gallagher, ii. 201 ; Hayes
Lyons, ii. 201 ; Frank Parish,
ii. 201 ; George Lane (Club-
foot George), ii. 201; Steve
Marshland, ii. 210; Bill Bun-
ton, ii. 214; George Shears,
ii. 220; Wm. Graves, ii. 221;
Cyrus Skinner, ii. 222; Alex
Carter, ii. 222 ; Bob Zachary,
ii. 222 ; Johnny Cooper, ii. 223 ;
Bill Hunter, ii. 231 ; Joseph
A. Slade, ii. 319; Hynson, ii.
334; James Daniels, ii. 337;
Frank Williams, ii. 427.
Executive ability of Henry
Plummer, i. 242.
Executive Committee disapprove
acts of members, ii. 338.
Extraordinary efforts to clear
Patterson, i. 208.
Expedition of John Jacob Astor,
i. 65 ; of Lewis and Clarke, i.
64; of Capt. James L. Fisk, i.
229.
Exposure to crime, i. 91.
Express messengers in Port
Neuf Canon, ii. 427; express
riders, i. 88.
Extent of Louisiana, i. 59.
Extortions from flatboatmen, i. 9.
Fairweather, Wm., abets Slade,
ii- 313-
Farrell, Tom, joins Beachy in
search for Magruder's murder-
ers, ii. 119; reaches Portland
with Beachy, ii. 131.
Fat Jack bani.shed from Flor-
ence, i. 178; returns and
warned to leave town, i. 179;
stops at cabin of Neselrode, i.
179; his person demanded at
night, i. 180; killed by two
unknown men, i. iSo.
Fearless discharge of duty by
Judge Davis, ii. 315.
Fears of Henry Plummer, i. 145.
Federal soldiers killed by Chero-
kee Bob, i. no.
Feigned insanity of Boone Helm,
i. 159.
Female horsethief, ii. 439.
Fetherstun, John, joins Neil
464
Index.
Howie in taking Dutch John
to Bannack, ii. 155; arrives in
Bannack in safety, ii. 158; his
fears for Howie's safety, ii.
160.
Fight between Patterson and
Pinkham, i. 19S.
Findlay, Francois, discovers
gold on Gold Creek, i. 212.
Firmness and fearlessness of
Judge Hoyt, i. 267.
First gambling house in Mon-
tana, i. 21S.
First Vigilance Committee in
Idaho, i. 136.
Flatboatmen, oppression of, i.
9; petitions of, to Congress,
i. 9.
Flight of roughs, i. 138.
Florence gold excitement, i. 112 ;
deserted by miners, i. 145; in
decline, i. 151.
Florence mines, David Opdyke
in, ii. 341.
Florida treaty, i. 67.
Folsom, David E., exploration
of Yellowstone in 1869, ii.
376; publication in " Chicago
Western Monthly," ii. 377.
Fonda of San Andreas, search
of, ii. 372.
Forbes, Charley, clerk of miners'
court, i. 359; shoots Dilling-
ham, i. 360; arrested for kill-
ing Dillingham, i. 361 ; early
life, i. 365 ; quarrel with Dutch
John of Grass Valley, i. 366;
killed by Moore at Big Hole,
»• 373.
Forbes, Melanchthon, attempted
robbery of, ii. 37.
Ford, Patrick, fearlessness of,
i. 100; his death resolved
upon, i. loi ; outwits his
would-be murderers, 1. loi ;
departs for Oro Fino, i. loi ;
saloon attacked by Plummer,
i. 102; killed by Plummer's
gang, i. 103.
Foresight of Washington, i. 5.
Fort Benton, ii. 384.
Fortunate escape, ii. 438.
Fox arrives at Gold Creek in
pursuit of horsethieves, i. 2 18 ;
arrests Jernigan and Spill-
man, i. 218.
France, minister to, i. 36.
Frankland, State of, i. 24; alli-
ance with Spain, i. 24.
French Jacobin intrigue, i. 29.
Frenchmen, two robbed by
Plummer, i. loi.
Funeral of Wm. H. Bell, i. 320;
of "Dowdle Bill," ii. 443.
Gallagher, Jack, appointed dep-
uty sheriff, i. 354; at Rattle-
snake Ranche, ii. 25; attacks
Col. Sanders, ii. 28; his early
history, ii. 36; arrest of, ii.
187; execution of, ii. 201;
bravado of, ii. 202; fight with
Slade, ii. 306.
Gallagher, Major P. A., i. 343.
Gambling house, first in Mon-
tana, i. 218.
Gaiduquoi, Spanish minister, i.
14 ; negotiations of, i. 15 ; seeks
Index.
466
support of Miro, i. i6; letter
to Valdez, i. i6; agrees to take
one hundred families into the
Natches District, i. 17.
Gartley is murdered by James
Daniels, ii. 336.
Gavarre's history of Louisiana,
i. 7; eulogy of McGillivrav, i.
7-
Gen. P. E. Connor, i. 338.
Genet's plans, i. 29.
German miner, murder of, i.
127.
Gibson's Ferry, hanging at, ii.
353-
Gilchrist arrests Ridgely, i. iii ;
is shot by Ridgely, i. iii.
Glick, Dr., leaves Denver for
Northern mines, i. 219; recov-
ery of his horse, i. 240; ex-
perience in dressing Plum-
mer's wounded arm, i. 283;
his life in danger, i. 2S4;
preparations for escape by
night, i. 285; is invited by
Plummer to go to Rattlesnake
Creek, i. 287.
Godfrey, Ard, is sent for at
Godfrey's Canon, i. 254.
Godfrey's Canon, messenger
sent to, i. 254.
Gold Creek, first discoveries of
gold on, i. 212.
Gold diggings on Grasshopper
Creek, i. 144; on Boise River,
i. 145.
Gold discoveries in Deer Lodge
Valley, i. 144; in Washing-
ton Territory, i. 98.
Gold Tom, i. 214.
Government, confidence in, i,
28.
Grand jury threatened by Op-
dyke, ii. 351.
Grasshopper Creek, i. 144; gold
discovered by John White, i.
226.
Grasshopper diggings, i. 228;
irruption of robbers into, i.
240.
Graves, Wm., robs Southmayd
and Capt. Moore, i. 413; cap-
ture of, ii. 220; execution of,
ii. 221.
Gray, Capt. Robert, i. 63.
Great American Pie-biter, ii. 82.
Great Britain, rights of, 1. 63.
Grief of Mrs. Slade, ii. 319.
Grimes discovers Boise River
mines, i. 145; is killed by In-
dians, i. 145.
Grizzly bear hunt, ii. 393.
Groves, Dr. Win. H., travels
with Boone Helm, i. 160;
leaves his companions by
night, i. 161 ; gives warning
to chief of Walla Walla In-
dians, i. 161.
Hanging of Hynson on a gallows
of his own erection, ii. 334;
of two miners at Gibson's
Ferry, ii. 1,^1,.
Hanson, the negro, ii. 322.
Happy Harry arrested and ban-
ished, i. 13S.
Harper, Charley, arrives in
Walla Walla, i. 105 ; assumes
466
Index.
to be chief of roughs, i. 105;
goes to Florence mines, i. 113;
robs McClinchj's train, i. 134;
hears of Walla Walla execu-
tions, i. 140; flees to Colville,
i. 141; at Colville, i. 176;
beats a half-breed woman, i.
177; at New- Year's ball, i.
177 ; is hanged bj the citizens,
i. 178.
Hauser, Gov. Samuel T. , arrives
at Fort Benton, i. 216; returns
from trip to Florence, i. 217;
prophetic opinions of Henry
Plummer, i. 383; journey to
Salt Lake with Mormons,
ii. I ; trip to Bannack with
Plummer, ii. 3 ; his stratagem,
ii. 4; is presented by Plum-
mer with scarlet scarf for his
identification, ii. 6; Plummer
is hanged on his next birthday,
ii. 12; stage journey in 1S64
to Montana, ii. 420; appointed
Governor of Montana by
President Cleveland, ii. 2.
Hayes killed in Helena by John
Leach, ii. 326.
Helm, Boone, early life, i. 157;
astonishes a court, i. 158;
married, i. 158; murders
Littlebury Shoot, i. 158; trial
and conviction, i. 159; feigns
insanity, i. 159; escapes from
" his keeper, i. 160; flees to
California, i. 160; arrives at
Dalles, Oregon, i. 160; starts
for Camp Floyd, Utah, i. 160;
avows himself a cannibal, i.
160; plans to rob the Walla
Walla Indians, i. 161 ; plans
frustrated by Dr. Groves, i.
161 ; resumes journey to Camp
Floyd, i. 162; disasters by the
way, i. 162; relates his experi-
ences to John W. Powell, i.
163 ; murders at Salt Lake
City, i. 168; kills Dutch Fred,
i. 169; captured on Frazer
River, i. 171 ; encounter with
Wm. Rumsey, i. 406; arrest
of, at Virginia City, ii. 187;
execution of, ii. 201; bravado
of, ii. 204; story of, ii. 235 ; is
wrecked on Pacific coast, ii.
242; at Yreka, Cal., ii. 249;
visits the hermit, ii. 251.
Heroism of Gen. Connor's com-
mand, i. 347.
Hickey assaults Snapping Andy,
i. 129.
Higgins goes to Rattlesnake to
arrest Moore and Reeves, i.
253-
Higgins and Worden's store : at-
tempt to rob, i. 309.
Highland, Alder Gulch, i. 376.
Hilderman, George, is taken to
Nevada City, ii. 62 ; trial and
acquittal of, ii. 80; Great
American Pie-Biter, ii. 82.
Ililtebrant is murdered, i. 93.
Holliday's Overland Stage Co.,
ii. 419.
Horse robbery, i. 87.
Holter, A. M. , encounter with
George Ives, ii. 49; is robbed
by Ives, ii. 50.
Index.
467
Howard, Dr., is employed by
Magruder, ii. loo; discloses
plans for murder to Page, ii.
105; murders Charley Allen,
ii. 108; murders Horace and
Robert Chalmers, ii. loS; is
arrested in San Francisco, ii.
134; confronted in prison by
Hill Beachy, ii. 135; trial of,
at Lewiston, ii. 143; execution
of, ii. 144.
Howie, Neil, interview with
Plummer, i. 3S9 ; returns from
Salt Lake, ii. 149; arrests
Dutch John, ii. 153; starts for
Bannack with prisoner, ii.
155; meets John Fetherstun,
ii. 155' arrives in Bannack
with Dutch John, ii. 15S;
refuses to surrender Dutch
John to Plummer, ii. 159;
sent to Boise to arrest Hank
Buckner, ii. 345 ; dies in
Guinea, ii. 15S.
Hoyt, Captain Samuel N., ef-
ficency of, i. 341.
Hoyt, J. B., of St. Paul, elected
judge, i. 262 ; roughs threat-
en to kill him, i. 267 ; fear-
lessness at trial of Moore and
Reeves, i. 267.
Hunter, Wm. , search for, ii. 224 ;
capture of, ii. 228; starts for
Virginia City, ii. 230; execu-
tion of, ii. 231.
Hymn at funeral of " Dowdle
Bill," ii. 444.
Hynson attempts to stab X.
Beidler, ii. 326; is suspected
of murdering a Chinawoman,
ii. 327; threatens to kill
Beidler, ii. 330; is made a
night watchman, ii. 331 ; his
high-handed outrages, ii. 333;
erects a gallows on which to
hang a man, ii. 334; is him-
self hanged thereon, ii. 334;
letter from his mother found
in his pocket, ii. 335.
Idaho City Vigilantes, i. 203.
Idaho Territory organized, i.
381.
Idioms of mining camp, i. 330.
Immigration to the gold fields,
i. 142.
Impatience of citizens, i. 340.
Imprisonments of flatboatmen,
i. 9.
Incidents at Moore and Reeves'
trial, i. 259; at trial at Black-
foot, i. 258 ; at trial of Patter-
son, i. 209.
Increase of emigration, i. 375.
Indian alarm, i. 237; mode of
making medicine, ii. 403;
signals, i. 237; stronghold, i.
339; troubles, i. 337.
Indians kill Grimes at Boise, i.
145-
Independence of the people west
of the AUeghanies, i. 12.
Indifference of miners, i. 311.
Influence of executions, ii. 232.
Inquisition, Commissary of, i.
19.
Invasion of Louisiana threat-
ened, i. 27.
468
Index.
Irruption of robbers into Ban-
nack, i. 240.
Isolation of Bannack in winter
of 1862-3, i. 328.
Ives, George, quarrel with
Carrhart, i. 247 ; exchanges
shots with Carrhart, i. 247;
receives Carrhart's shot, i.
247 ; reconciled to Carrhart, i.
248 ; Ives and Johnny Cooper,
i. 297 ; as rancher's clerk, i.
385; robs Southmajd and
Capt. Moore, i. 413; boasts of
robbing Caldwell's coach, i.
420; tries to rob Hauser
and Langford, ii. ii; warns
Mr. McCormick of danger,
ii. 39: daring deeds of, ii.
47 ; attacks Anton M. Hot-
ter, ii. 49; kills Tiebalt, ii.
51; arrested bj Vigilantes,
ii. 60; taken to Virginia City,
ii. 62 ; atiempts to escape,
ii. 63; takes refuge in the
rocks, ii. 64; is discovered by
Burtchy, ii. 64 ; trial of, ii.
66; his indifference at trial,
ii. 70; verdict of guilty, ii. 71 ;
execution of, ii. 75 ; effect of
his execution, ii. 77; birth-
place, ii. 79; career in Walla
Walla, ii. 7q.
Jacobin intrigues, i. 29.
Jay, Hon. John, Washington's
letter to, i. 12.
Jealousy of Spanish authorities,
i. 13.
Jernigan, B. F., arrives from
Elk City, i. 218; tried for
horse-stealing and acquitted,
i. 219.
Joint occupancy for ten years of
North West Territory, i. 67 ;
further agreed upon, i. 68.
"Johnny's" story, ii. 411.
Jones, M. T., attempted robbery
of, ii.37.
Journey to Salt Lake City by
Hauser and Langford, ii. i.
Junction City, Alder Gulch, i.
376.
Kelly kills John White and Ru-
dolph Dorsett, ii. 264; in Port
NeufCaflon robbery in 1864,
ii. 269.
King, Rufus, minister to Eng-
land, i. 34.
Kirby shoots a fellow-gambler,
i. 92.
Knox, Robert C, wagon master,
overland expedition in 1862,
i. 231.
Kustar's bakery in Bannack, i.
331 ; Great American Pie-
Biter at, ii. 82.
Lack of reading matter in Ban-
nack, i. 328.
Langford, Nathaniel P., letter
to, from John W. Powell, i.
162 ; second assistant in Capt.
Fisk's overland expedition, i.
230; trip to Pike's Peak
Gulch, i. 234; night camp in
cafion, i. 234; alarm of camp,
i. 237 ; Blackfeet Indians, i.
Index.
469
237; critical situation, i. 238;
a bold front, i. 239; departure
of Indians, i. 239; discovery
of Dr. Click's horse, i.
240; journey to Grasshopper
Creek, i. 240; is sent for at
Godfrey's Canon, i. 254; ef-
forts to obtain a jury at trial
of Moore and Reeves, i. 260;
appointed foreman of jury, i.
264 ; casts the only vote for
capital punishment, i. 265;
hatred of the roughs for, i.
307; conversation with Plum-
mer, i. 326; judgment of
Plummer's character, i. 328;
meeting with mother ot Hayes
Lyons, i. 373; elected presi-
dent of Union League, i. 382 ;
authorized by U.S. marshal to
appoint a deputy, i. 382; re-
fuses to nominate Pluuimer
deputy marshal, i. 383 ; threat-
ened by Plummer, i. 384;
Plummer attempts to shoot,
i. 386; journey to Salt Lake
with Hauser, ii. i ; trip from
Virginia City to Bannack, ii.
2; is shot at by Ed. French,
ii. 2; on guard at Horse
Prairie, ii. 9; discovers Plum-
mer, Ray, Stinson, and Ives,
ii- 11; meets sister and
brother of Plummer in New
York, ii. 170; encounter with
Overland Slade, ii. 304 ; stage
journey in 1864, ii. 420; total
of stage journeyings, ii. 420;
Port Neuf Canon, ii. 428; en-
counter with highwaymen, ii.
432 ; successful ruse and es-
cape, ii. 438.
Lannan, Patrick, is appointed
constable of Carson City, ii.
282; arrests Langford Peel, ii.
283.
Latimer, "Dad," ii. 357; dis-
covery of his horse, ii. 363.
Lawlessness in Bannack in
1862-3, i. 249; of Slade in
Virginia City, ii. 311.
Leech, John, shoots Hayes in
Helena, ii. 326; arrested by
X. Beidler, ii. 326.
Lear arrests Moore and Reeves
at Rattlesnake, i. 253.
Le Clair, Michaud, i. 221.
Letter from Dillingham's father,
'• 373 i Hynson's mother, ii.
335 ; Pres. Jefferson to Mon-
roe, i. 47.
Levitt, Doctor, leaves Denver
for Northern mines, i. 219; in-
teresting narrative of, i. 386.
Lewis and Clarke expedition, i.
64* descend the Columbia, i.
65;
Lewis, Captain Meriwether,
descent of Yellowstone, ii.
374-
Lewiston the capital of Idaho,
i. 75; at night, i. 76; society
of, i. 76; roughs of: Henry
Plummer, Jack Cleveland,
Cheiokee Bob, Bill Bunton, i.
80; rule of the roughs, i. 85;
in 1861-62, i. 91 ; roughs kill
Hiltebrant, i. 93.
470
Index
Lieutenant Chase, i. 343.
Lieutenant Quinn, i. 343.
Livingston, Robert R., min-
ister to France, i. 36; arrival
of, in Paris, i. 36.
Loafers of a mining camp, i.
330-
"Long John" is arrested by
Vigilantes, ii. 56; confesses
before his accusers, ii. 59; is
taken to Nevada City, ii. 62 ;
turns state's evidence, ii. 69;
is set free and leaves the
country, ii. 83.
Lorrain's Ranche, i. 377.
Louisiana, invasion of, threat-
ened, i. 27; retrocession to
France, i. 33; purchase of, i.
34; misapprehensions con-
cerning boundaries of, i. 40;
offer by Talleyrand to sell, i.
50; fears concerning its settle-
ment, i. 57; extent of, i. 59;
groundless apprehensions, i.
60; western boundary of, i.
61.
Louthen, Frank, arrives at Fort
Benton, i. 216.
Lovvry, Chris, is employed by
Magruder, ii. 100; murders
Magruder, ii. 108; arrested in
San Francisco, ii. 134; con-
fronted in jail by Beachy, ii.
135; trial of, ii. 143; confes-
sion of, ii. 143; execution of,
ii. 144.
Luce, Jason, fight with Sam
Bunton, i. 408; kills Bunton
in Salt Lake City, i. 409;
trial and conviction of, i. 409;
execution by shooting, i. 409.
Lyons, Hayes, shoots Dilling-
ham, i. 360; arrested and
tried for murder of Dilling-
ham, i. 361 ; appeals for
mercy, i. 368; letter to his
mother, i. 368; mother and
sister of, i. 373 ; arrest of, by
Virginia City Vigilantes, ii.
194; execution of at Virginia
City, ii. 201.
Mackinaw boats, ii. 375.
Madison, letters of, i. 39.
Madison robbed in Rattlesnake
Canon, i. 402.
Madrid, treaty of, i. 30.
Magruder, Lloyd, leaves Elk
City for Bannack, ii. 99; is
followed by several roughs,
ii. 99; goes to Virginia City,
ii. 100; employs Howard and
his comrades, ii. 100; starts
for home with strong party,
ii. 102 ; camp in Bitter Root
Mountains, ii. 106; murdered
with entire party, ii. 108;
concealment of his body, ii.
109; his body recovered, ii.
144.
Magruder's murderers, efforts
to escape, ii. iii; on Snake
River, ii. 112; in Walla Walla
stage office, ii. 113; take stage
for Walla Walla, ii. 115; leave
Portland for San Francisco,
ii. 131 ; arrive in San Fran-
cisco, ii. 134; arrested in San
Index.
471
Francisco, ii. 134; surren-
dered to Hill Beach J, ii. 136;
returned to Lewiston, ii. 137;
trial and execution of, ii. 143.
Major McGarrj, i- 342.
Major Gallagher, P. A., i. 343.
Marks on coaches, i. 394.
Marriage of Boone Helm, i. 158;
of Henry Plummer and Eliza
Brvan, i. 325.
Marshall attempts to rescue
Peoples, i. 139.
Marshland, Steve, his attack on
Moody's train, ii. 37 ; robs the
drivers, ii. 42; is shot and
wounded by Melanchthon
Forbes, ii. 43; arrest of, ii.
208; execution of, ii. 210.
Martin's, Judge, history of Lou-
isiana, i. 13.
Masons, meeting of, i. 321.
Masonic funeral, i. 319.
Masonic gatherings, i. 323.
Mass meeting of citizens, i. 252.
Mayfield, Wm., at Lewiston, i.
116; charged with secreting
Plummer, i. 117; altercation
with Sheriff Blackburn, i. it8;
kills Blackburn, i. 118: sur-
renders himself for trial, i.
118; escapes from Carson
prison, i. 118; at Huffaker's
Ranche, i. 119; meets Plum-
mer and Cherokee Bob at
Lewiston, i. 120; jealousy of,
i. 120; surrenders Cynthia to
Cherokee Bob, i. 122; again
joins Cynthia, i. 154: goes to
Placerville, Idaho, i. 154:
quarrels with Evans, 1. 154;
his warning to Evans, i. 155 ;
is killed by Evans, i. 155.
McAdow, P. W., arrives at
Deer Lodge, i. 215.
McCausland killed in Port
Neuf Canon, ii. 425.
McClinchy, Neil, his train
robbed, i. 134.
McCormick, John, attempted
robbery of, ii. 37 ; is warned
by Geo. Ives to be on his
guard, ii. 39.
McDonald, A. J., Plummer as-
■ sociates his nane with mem-
bers of his gang, ii. 78.
McFadden, Daniel, "Bummer
Dan," i. 395.
McGarry, Major, in Connor's
command, i. 342.
McGillivray, Alex., i. 7; Gay-
arre's eulogy of, i. 7; when
died, i. 8.
McLean, Capt., in Connor's
command, i. 343.
McLean, Hon. Samuel, leaves
Denver for Northern mines,
i. 219.
Meagher, Gov. Thomas F., re-
leases Daniels, ii. 337.
Meeting of Masons, i. 321; of
Pinkham and Patterson, i.
195; of the roughs, i. 268.
Mendenhall, Jack, arrives at
Gold Creek, i. 216.
Mers killed in Port Neuf Canon,
ii. 425.
Message to Congress by Pres-
ident Tyler, i. 69.
472
Index.
Method of conducting robberies,
i- 385.
Mexican Charley, ii. 429.
Mexicans of San Andreas, ii.
354-
Mexican prospecting party, ii.
357-
Mexicans arrested, ii. 362 ; trial
of, ii. 364.
Midday robbery, i. loi.
Miners all become Vigilantes,
ii. 162.
Miners' commandments, i. 336;
meeting, i. 362.
Miners perish in mountain
storms, i. 112.
Mining camp wit, i. 330;
idioms, i. 330; loafers, i. 330.
Minister to France, i. 36.
Minnesota emigration to North-
ern mines, i. 230.
Miro governor of Louisiana,
i. 13; writes concerning the
Inquisition, i. 20; district of,
i. 24.
Mississippi River, the, i. i.
Mitchell, Wm., trial of, for kill-
ing Cazzette, i. 254; defended
by Hon. Wm. C. Rheem, i.
263 ; banished from the gulch,
i. 263; his return, i. 266.
Monthe, Jake, arrives at Fort
Benton, i. 216.
Mode of defining western
boundary, i. 61 ; of trial in
miners' meetings, i. 255.
Monroe, James, appointed min-
ister extraordinary to France,
i. 46.
Moody, Milton, attempted rob-
bery of, ii. 37.
Moore, Augustus, attacks an
Indian wigwam, i. 250; joins
in killing Cazzette, i. 250;
escapes to Rattlesnake Creek,
i. 252 ; surrenders himself, i.
253; trial of, i. 254; defended
by Hon. Wm. C. Rheem, i.
263; incidents of trial, i. 264;
banished from the gulch, i.
265 ; returns to Grasshopper,
i. 266; puts Broadwater on
his guard, i. 294.
Moore, Capt., robbed by Ives,
Graves, and Zachary, i. 413.
Mormons accompany Hauser
and Langford from Bannack
to Salt Lake City, ii. 12;
their bigot faith, ii. 12; their
religion, ii. 13; songs and
sacred hymns, ii. 14; advice
to the Gentiles, ii. 16.
" Mose," express rider, i. 89;
foils Plummer, i. 90; his
fortunate escape, i. 90.
Munson, Judge Lyman E.,
sentences Daniels, ii. 337.
Murder of Dillingham, i. 360;
of German miner, i. 127; of
Hiltebrant, i. 93.
Napoleon, i. 32 ; resolves to sell
all Louisiana, i. 50; declara-
tion of, i. 51; prophecy of, i.
54-
Narrative of Granville Stuart, i.
213; of Dr. Levitt, i. 386.
National park, i. 73.
Index.
473
Navarro, Martin, prophecies of,
i. 8; Spanish intendant, i. 8;
efforts to win over Americans,
i. lo; recalled to Spain, i. 2i.
Nearest post-office to Bannack,
i. 390.
Negotiations for settlement of
northwestern boundary, i. 66.
Negro suffrage in Helena, ii.
3^4-
Neselrode refuses to surrender
Fat Jack, 1. 180; is killed by-
two unknown men, i. 180.
Nevada City, Alder Gulch, i.
376.
New diggings, stampede to, i.
150.
New gold discoveries, i. 142.
News of gold discoveries re-
ceived at Denver, i. 219.
New- Year's ball at Colville, i.
177; at Florence, i. 151.
Night camp in canon, i. 234.
Northern mines, i. 96.
Northern overland expedition,
i. 229.
Notice of danger, i. 223.
Oath required of emigrants to
Louisiana, i. 17.
Obligations of prospectors, ii.
260.
Old Snag, Bannack chief, killed
by Buck Stinson, i. 317;
scalped b}' Cyrus Skinner, i.
318.
Old Tex, brother of Boone
Helm, i. 172; killed in Walla
Walla, i. 173.
Oliver's coach, attack on, i.
410.
Opdyke, David, ii. 341 ; his
birthplace, ii. 341 ; wander-
ings, ii. 341 ; known as leader
of Opdyke gang, ii. 342;
nominated as sheriff of Ada
County, Idaho, ii. 345 ; elected
sheriff of Ada County, Idaho,
ii. 346 ; attempts to arrest
Payette Vigilance Committee,
ii. 346; foiled in the attempt,
ii. 347; leader of expedition
against Indians, ii. 348; con-
tract with Joseph Aden, ii.
349; causes arrest of Aden, ii.
350: threatens the grand jury,
ii. 351 ; hanged by the Vigi-
lantes, ii. 352.
Opdyke gang, murder of Parks
by, ii. 343; concerned in Port
Neuf Canon robbery, ii. 345;
conceal Hank Buckner, ii.
345 ; procure nomination of
Opdyke as sheriff, ii. 345.
Opinion of Prof. Dimsdale, i.
267.
Opposition to trial by jury, i.
259-
Organization of Idaho Territory,
i. 381.
Oro Fino deserted by miners, i.
145-
Osborne, Capt. Ben, missing,
ii. 359; his body discovered,
ii. 372.
Overland Stage Company, sus-
pected employes, ii. 353.
Overland Stage Line, ii. 419.
474
Index.
Pack trains, i. 132.
Page, Win., is employed by
Magruder, ii. 100; arrested in
San Francisco, ii. 134 ; con-
fronted in prison bv Beachv,
ii. 135; confession of, to
Beachv, ii. 141 ; trial of, ii.
143 ; turns State's evidence, ii,
143-
Palmer, Wm., finds the body of
Tiebalt, ii. 53.
Parish, Frank, robs Bummer
Dan, i. 405 ; at Rattlesnake
Ranche, ii. 21; arrest of, ii.
187; confession of, ii. 188;
execution of, ii. 201.
Parker, Mr., killed in Port Neuf
Cafion, ii. 425.
Parks, Mr., murdered by Opdyke
gang, ii. 343.
Parks, Charley, express mes-
senger, wounded in Port Neuf
Canon, ii. 425.
Parson Crib, i. 334.
Passamari, meaning of, i. 376.
Pathetic appeal of the Cuban, ii.
365-
Patterson, his birthplace, i.
188; character of, i. 1S9; kills
Capt. Staples, i. 192 ; scalps a
female acquaintance, i. 192 ;
goes to Idaho, i. 193; is ar-
rested by Pinkham, 1 194;
meets Pinkham at Warm
Springs, i. 195; kills Pink-
ham, i. 198; arrested by Rob-
bins, i. 200; incident showing
his cruelty, i. 201 ; trial for
killing Pinkham, and ac-
quittal, i. 207; political divi-
sions at trial of, i. 208; goes
to Walla Walla, i. 209; is
killed by Donahue, i. 209;
incident at trial of, i. 209.
Payette River Vigilantes, at-
tempted arrest of, by Opdyke,
ii. 346.
Payne, D. S. , appointed U. S.
marshal of Idaho, i. 382.
Peasley, Tom, fight with Earn-
hardt, ii. 283 ; kills Earnhardt,
ii. 284; is killed by Earn-
hardt, 284; supposed to be
the original of Mark Twain's
Buck Fanshaw, ii. 285.
Peel, Langford, in Leavenworth
in 1866, ii. 271 ; his kindness
to Conley and Rucker, ii.
271 ; removes to Salt Lake
City, ii. 272 ; is repelled by
Conley and Rucker, ii. 272 ;
is befriended by Robinson, ii.
274; quarrels with Conley, ii.
274; shoots and kills Rucker.
ii. 276; is aided in escaping
by Mormons, ii. 277;. exploits
in Carson City, ii. 278; his
magnanimity, ii. 278; quarrels
with El Dorado Johnny, ii.
280; refuses to submit to ar-
rest, ii. 2S2 ; surrenders to
Patrick Lannan, ii. 283; ar-
ri\'es in Helena in 1867, ii.
285 ; quarrels with John Bull,
ii. 2S5; is killed by Bull, ii.
286; inscription on his monu-
ment, ii. 287.
People spellbound, i. 319.
Index.
475
Peoples, goes to Florence mines,
i. 113; robs Berry Brothers, i.
134; arrested,!. 137; taken in
irons to Walla Walla, i. 138;
attempt to rescue, i. 139;
hanged in the night, i. 139.
Personating express messenger,
"• 433-
Philanthropy River, i. 376.
Phillips. Wm., is killed by
Romaine, ii. 108
Phleger and Crawford, J. 268.
Phleger, Harry, goes to the aid
of Crawford, i. 276; encount-
ers Plummer, i. 279; Plum-
mer determines to kill him,
i. 304; instructions to his
teamsters, i. 305.
Pierce, Mr., an earl^- gold pros-
pector, i. 98.
Pinckney, Mr., minister to Mad-
rid, i. 36.
Pine Grove, Alder Gulch, i.
376.
Pinkham, character of, i. 1S2 ;
native of Maine, i. 184; goes
to California in 1849, •■ '85;
goes to Washington Territory
in 1862, i. 186; his intense
unionism,!. 187; is appointed
U.S. marshal, i. 188; arrests
Patterson, i. 194; subsequent
meeting with Patterson at
Warm Springs, i. 195 ; is
killed by Patterson, i. 198.
Pitt, Thomas : Plummer associ-
ates his name with members
of his gang, ii. 78; arrests
George Shears, ii. 219.
Pizanthia, the Mexican, arrest
of, attempted, ii. 175; kills
George Copley and wounds
Smith Ball, ii. 175; cabin
shelled with howitzer, ii. 176;
is hanged by the populace, ii.
177.
Plans of Genet, i. 29; of the
robbers, i. 268.
Plummer, Henry, at Lewiston,
i. 78; leader of Lewiston
roughs, i. 79; organizes his
first road-agent bano, i. 83 ;
his notoriety as a gambler, i.
84; plan to capture express
rider " Mose," i. 89; he and
gang foiled by "Mose," i. 90;
interferes in behalf of Hilte-
brant, i. 95; his banditti de-
part from Lewiston, i 99;
plans to murder Patrick Ford,
i. loi ; robs two Frenchmen,
i. loi ; enters Oro Fino, i
102 ; he and his gang attack
Ford's saloon, i. 102 ; they
kill Ford, i. 103; has his
horse shot, i. 103; goes to
Elk City, i. 145; his fears, i.
145; starts for Fort Benton
with Jack Cleveland, i. 146;
at Sun River, i. 146; in love,
i. 147; betrothal to Eliza
Bryan, i. 147; quarrels with
Cleveland, i. 148; returns to
Bannack with Cleveland, i.
148; attempts to reform, i.
241 ; his executive ability, i.
242 ; dread of Jack Clevel.ind,
i. 243; his relations to Cleve-
470
Index.
land, i. 243; shoots Cleveland,
i. 244; escapes to Rattlesnake
Creek, i. 252 ; surrenders to
Bannack posse, i. 253; tried
for killing Cleveland, and
acquitted, i. 254; made chief
of the gang, i. 269; desig-
nated to kill Crawfoml, i. 269;
seeks a quarrel with Crawford,
i. 270; skill with a pistol, i.
270; professes friendship for
Crawford, i. 272 ; challenges
Crawford, i. 275; shot and
severely wounded by Craw-
ford, i. 281 ; wound dressed
by Dr. GHck, i. 2S3 ; avows
his true character to Dr. Click,
i. 288; the polished gentle-
man, i. 288; estimate of, by
Hon. Wm. C. Rheem, i. 289;
bones of his wounded arm, i.
291 ; skill with his left hand,
i. 304 ; selects Phleger for a
victim, i. 304; fails to provoke
a quarrel, i. 305; encounter
with Judge Dance, i. 307 ; robs
Davenport, i. 310; acknowl-
edges his part of the robbery,
i. 311; desires to become a
Mason, i. 323; elected sheriff,
i. 325; marriage of, i. 326;
conversation with the author,
i. 326; expresses desire to re-
form, i. 326; his hypocrisy, i.
327 ; his reserve horse, i
327; suspicious conduct of, i.
327 ; recommended by Union
Lengue as deputy U. S. mar-
shal, i. 383; writer refuses to
nominate, i. 383; threatens
writer, i. 384; his malignancy,
i. 3S6; devices to enlist in rob-
beries, i. 388; his popularity,
i. 389; interview with Neil
Howie, i. 389: trip to Bannack
with Saml. T. Hauser, ii. 3 ; at-
tempts to rob Hauser and wri-
ter, ii. 11; conversation with
Sanders, ii. 20; starts for Rat-
tlesnake Creek, ii. 22; adopts
desperates measures for safety,
ii. 78; demands custody of
Dutch John, ii. 159; alarm of,
ii. 163 ; arrest of, ii. 165 ; path-
etic appeal of, ii. 166; execu-
tion of, ii. 169; his nativity,
ii. 169; his sister and brother,
ii. 170; his birthplace, ii. 170.
Political divisions at trial of Pat-
terson, i. 20S,
Pontalba's Memoir, i. 33.
Pony express riders, i. 88; of
Tracy & Co., i. 89.
Porter, Deputy Sheriff, assails
the soldiers, i. 108.
Port Neuf Cafion, ii. 421 ; mas-
sacre of 1865, ii. 423.
Post, Mark, leaves Denver for
Northern mines, i. 219.
Post, Colun.bus, leaves Denver
for Northern mines, i. 219;
drowned at Snake River, i.
224.
Powell, John W., letter to writer,
i. 162 ; camp on Snake River,
i. 163.
Prayer at Vigilance Committee
meeting, i. 204.
Index.
477
President Jefferson's message on
Louisiana, i. 45 ; letter to Mon-
roe, i. 47.
President Tjler's message to
Congress, i. 69.
Price, Capt. , of Gen. Connor's
command, i. 343.
Prohibition of right of deposit,
i- 43-
Prophecy of Napoleon, i. 54.
Prophetic opinion of Hauser
concerning Plunimer, i. 383.
Proposal of Boone Helm to rob
Walla Walla Indians, i. 161.
Prospecting for gold, i. 96.
Prospector, obligations of the,
ii. 260.
Provisions, high prices of, i.
233-
Purple, Edwin R., meets Plum-
mer's sister and brother, ii.
170.
Pursuit of Broadwater bj road-
agents, i. 299.
Qiiarrel between Banfield and
Sapp, i. 312; Slade and Reni,
ii. 293.
Quinn, Lieutenant, of Gen. Con-
nor's command, i. 343.
Ransom of a white girl from
Indians, i. 317.
Ray, Ned, appointed deputy
sheriff, i. 354; attempts to rob
Hauser and the writer, ii. 11;
arrest of, ii. 165 ; execution of
ii. 167.
Raymond, Reuben, testimony
of, ii. 350; killed by John C.
Clark, ii. 351.
Reading matter, lack of, i. 328.
Recklessness of Lewiston
roughs, i. 85.
Reconsideration of verdict, i. 369.
Reeves, Charley, goes to Elk
City, i. 145; attacks an Indian
tepee, i. 250; joins with
Moore in killing Cazzette, i.
250; escapes to Rattlesnake
Creek, i. 252 ; he and Moore
surrender, i. 253; tried for kill-
ing Cazzette, i. 254; defended
by Hon. Wm. C. Rheem, i.
263; incidents of the trial, i.
264; banished from the gulch,
i. 265 ; return to Grasshopper,
i. 266.
Reflections of Dr. Steele, i. 370.
Reilly, Goliah, shot in the heel,
'• 315-
Reign of terror, i. 311; of un-
bridled license, i. 379.
Renewal of treaty for joint occu-
pation, i. 68.
Reni, Jules, quarrels with Slade,
ii. 293; shoots Slade, ii. 294;
is killed by Slade, ii. 299.
Repulse of Indians by Simmons,
ii. 405.
Restoration of Astoria, i. 66.
Results of Gen. Connor's battle
with Bannack Indians, i. 348.
Retrocession of Louisiana to
France, i. 33.
Retrospection, ii. 446.
Return of prospecting party to
San Andreas, ii. 371.
478
Index.
Rheem, Hon. Wm. C, chosen
lo defend Moore and Reeves,
i. 263 ; threats of violence
towards, i. 263 ; letter of, con-
cerning Moore and Reeves,
i. 267 ; letter of, concerning
Henry Plummer, i. 289.
Ride with Mexican Charley, ii.
430-
Ride from Leadville to Pueblo,
ii. 438.
Ridgelj wounded by Patrick
Ford, i .103; disputes Harper's
claim as chief, i. 106; arrested
in Sacramento, i. 11 1; shoots
Gilchrist on his release, i. 11 1 ;
escapes to Oregon, i. in; goes
to Elk City, i. 145.
Right of deposit prohibited, i.
43-
Rights of Great Britain, i. 63.
Riot in Helena on election day,
ii. 324.
Road-agents follow miners to
Virginia Cit\% i. 354.
Robberies en route to Florence.!.
114; on Santa Fe Stage road,
ii. 429.
Robbers go to Florence, i. 113.
Robbers' Roost in Port Neuf
Canon, ii. 427.
Robbery and murder in Port
Neuf Canon, ii. 425 ; of Mc-
Clinchy's train, i. 134; of
Walla Walla express, i. 309 ,
of the Berry Brothers, i. 134.
Robbins arrests Patterson, i.
200.
Rock Creek, Idaho, ii. 440.
Rockfellow, John S. , attempted
robbery of, ii. 37 ; follows
robbers' trail, ii. 44.
Rockwell, pursues Moore and
Reeves to Rattlesnake, i. 253.
Romaine, Jim, follows Magru-
der from Elk City toBannack,
ii. 99 ; is employed by Magru-
der, ii. 100; joins in murder-
ing Magruder's party, ii. loS ;
arrested in San Francisco, ii.
134; confronted in prison by
Hill Beachy, ii. 135; trial of,
ii. 143; confession of the mur-
der, ii. 143; execution of, ii.
144.
Roughs at Moore and Reeves'
trial, i. 259.
Rucker, sufferings of, in Leaven-
worth, ii. 271 ; is relieved by
Langford Peel, ii. 271 ; ingra-
titude of, toward Peel, ii. 272;
is shot in Salt Lake City by
Langford Peel, ii. 276.
Rule of the roughs in Florence,
i. 126.
Rumsej", Wm., drives coach to
Bannack, i. 396; on seat with
one of the robbers, i. 398; dis-
covers the road-agents, i. 399;
parleys with the robbers, i.
4CX); fear of him by robbers, i.
405; encounter with Boone
Helm, i. 406; fears for safety
of Dorsett, ii. 262.
Russell, Jack, Capt., leaves Den-
ver with party for Northern
mines, i. 219; rebuilds bridge
over Smith's Fork of Bear
Index.
479
River, i. 221 ; sells bridge to
Le Clair, 1. 222 ; he and parij
arrive at Fort Lemhi, i. 224;
hemmed in by mountains, i.
224; abandon their wagons, i.
224; consultation, i. 225; di-
vision, i. 225; goes to Beaver-
head, J. 225 ; fears of starva-
tion, i. 226; some of the party
start for Salt Lake City, i. 226 ;
returns to Grasshopper, i. 226;
arrival of provisions, i. 227 ; re-
turns to Denver in 1S63, i. 227 ;
is pursued by Indians, i. 227.
Russian treaty with the United
.States, i. 68; with Great Brit-
ain, i. 68.
Salmon River mines, i. 112.
San Andreas in 1849, "• 354!
Fonda, ii. 359.
Sanders, Col. Wilbur F., pre-
pares to follow Plummer to
Rattlesnake, ii. 6; conversa-
tion with Plummer, ii. 20;
pursuit of Plummer, ii. 23;
arrival at Rattlesnake, ii. 24;
attacked by Jack Gallagher, ii.
28; "gets the drop " on Gal-
lagher, ii. 28; as a Son of
Temperance, ii.30; anxiety of
his family concerning him, ii.
34; admonition to Tilden, ii.
34; prosecutes George Ives, ii.
68; prompt action of, ii. 72;
moves for Ives's execution, ii.
73 ; fearlessness of, at the
critical moment, ii. 76; force
of his example, ii. 76.
Santa Fe stage road robberies,
ii. 429.
Sapp, Dick, pistol fight with
Banfield, i. 312.
Scenery of Snake River, i. 74.
Scott goes to Florence mines,
i. 113; robs Berry Brothers, i.
134; arrested on Dry Creek, i.
137; taken in irons to Walla
Walla, i. 13S; hanged in the
night, i. 139.
Scott, Bob, fight with Slade, ii-
309-
Secession of Louisiana, five pro-
jects for, i. 13.
Secret treaty, copy of, i. 36.
Selection of a jury, for Moore
and Reeves, i. 260.
Settlementin Alder Gulch, i. 376.
Shears, George, arrested at \'an
Dorn's, ii. 219; execution of,
ii. 220.
Shebangs, Pluinmer's rendez-
vous, i. 83; incidents at, i. 86.
Sheep-Eater Indians attacked
and killed, i. 250.
Shoot, Littlebury, killed by
Boone Helm, i. 158.
Shooting of Cazzette by Moore
and Reeves, i. 250; of Rucker
br Langford Peel, ii. 276.
Signboard, i. 228.
Signals of Indians, i. 237.
Simmons, Hon. Andrew J.,
letter to author, ii. 385 ; em-
barks in Mackinaw from Ft.
Benton, ii. 3S5 : Johnny, ii. 387 ;
bad lands, ii. 389; elemental
erosions, ii. 390; steamer Lu-
480
Index.
ella, ii. 393; a grizzlj bear
hunt, ii. 393; a white man's
camp, ii. 396; Sioux Indians, ii.
398; desperate attack, ii. 400;
Johnny's coolness, ii. 402; Ta-
skun-ka-du-tah, ii. 403 ; Indians
making medicine, ii. 403 ; the
Indian charge, ii. 404; repulse,
ii. 405 ; death ofTa-skun-ka-du-
tah, ii. 406; night vigil, ii. 409;
arrival at Fort Buford, ii. 409;
arrival at Sioux City, ii. 410;
Johnny's story, ii. 411; a
startling revelation, ii. 411.
Skinner, Cyrus, saloon in Flor-
ence, i. 125; assaults Mr. Ellis
in Bannack, i. 306; scalps
"Old Snag," a Bannack chief,
i. 318; arrest of, ii. 216; trial
of, ii. 217; attempts to es-
cape, ii. 221 ; execution of, ii.
222.
Slade, Joseph A., his birthplace,
ii. 28S; Overland Stage Co.'s
division agent, ii. 2S9; colli-
sions with Jules Reni, ii. 293;
is shot by Jules, ii. 294; coun-
sels with Fort Laramiejofficers,
ii. 297; kills Jules, ii. 299;
. erroneous opinions concern-
ing the affair, ii.' 291 ; goes to
Montana in 1863, ii. 303 ; quar-
rel with the author, ii. 304;
quarrel with Jack Gallagher,
ii. 306; his overbearing dispo-
sition, ii. 307 ; fight with Bob
Scott, ii. 309; makes his home
on Meadow Creek, ii 310; de-
votion of his wife, ii. 311; law-
lessness at Virginia City, ii.
311; is arrested by order of
Judge Davis, ii. 313; is ar-
raigned, ii. 313; defies the
sheriff, ii. 313; threatens to
kill Judge Davis, ii. 315;
apologizes to Judge Davis,
ii. 316; arrested by Vigilance
Committee, ii 316; is informed
that he must die, ii. 317; ap-
peals for mercy, ii. 317; sends
messenger for his wife, ii. 318;
is hanged before her arrival,
ii. 319; disinterested opinion
concerning, ii. 320.
Slade, Mrs., devotion to her hus-
band, ii. 311; skill with fire-
arms, ii. 311; is sent for by
Slade, ii. 318; arrives after his
execution, ii. 319: denounces
the Vigilantes, ii. 319.
Slippery Joe, a bummer in camp,
i. 331 ; procures a square meal
by stratagem, i. 332.
Sloan, Wm., attempted robbery
of, ii. 37.
Smith, fork of Bear River, i. 221.
Smith, Gov. Green Clay, sends
Howie to arrest Buckner, ii.
345-
Smith, H. P. A., leaves Denver
for Northern mines, i. 219;
banished by Vigilantes, ii.
233 ; abilities as an orator, ii.
233 ; returns after two 3 ears,
ii. 233 ; dies in Helena in 1870,
ii. 234.
Snake River, origin of its name,
i. 73 ; its scenery, i. 74.
Index.
481
Snapping Andv kills Hickey, i.
129,
Society in Lewiston, i. 76; Alder
Gulch, i. 379.
Soldiers attempt to arrest Chero-
kee Bob, i. no.
Song service for Dowdle Bill, ii.
444-
Southmayd, Leroj, starts for
Bannack, i. 410; robbed bj
Ives, Graves, and Zacharj, i.
413; has an interview with
Plummer, i. 417; his stolen
pistol recovered, ii. 61.
Spanish intrigues, i. i ; posses-
sions in America, i. 4 ; treaty
of 1783, i. 9; authorities,
jealousy of, i. 13; surrender
of territory, i. 31.
Spillman, C. W. , arrives at
Gold Creek from Elk City, i.
21S; hanged for horse-stealing,
i. 219.
Stampede to Alder Gulch, i.
352 ; to new diggings, i. 150.
Staples, Captain, killed by Pat-
terson, i. 192.
Stapleton, Hon. Washington,
leaves Denver for Northern
mines, i. 219; apprised of
plans for robbing him, i. 354 ;
encounter with Hayes Lyons,
i- 2>SS-
Startling episode in a court
room, i. 359.
Startling revelation, ii. 411.
State of Frankland, i. 24.
Steele, Dr. Wm. L., president of
Alder Gulch, i. 357; experi-
ence in crossing the plains, i.
357 ; arrival in Montana, i.
357; nonplussed, i.35S; sen-
tences Lyons and Stinson, i.
370; serious reflections, 1370;
a vision — the double rider, i.
371-
Stinking-Water River, i. 376.
Stinson, Buck, kills Old Snag,
i. 317; is appointed deputy
sheriff, i. 354; joins in killing
Dillingham, i. 360; arrested
and tried for the murder, i.
361 ; sentenced to be hanged,
i. 364; interference and es-
cape, i. 369 ; attempts to rob
Hauser and Langford, ii. 11;
second arrest of, ii. 165 ; exe-
cution of, ii. 16S ; boyhood of,
ii. 169.
.St. Ildephonso, treaty of, i. 33.
St. Paul to Fort Benton, route
from, i. 229.
Strange acquittal of Stinson and
Lyons, i. 369.
Strange court decision, i. 211
Stronghold of Bannack Indians,
i- 339-
Stuart, Hon. Granville, narra-
tive of, i. 213.
Stuart, Hon. James, & Com-
pany', set first string of sluice-
boxes in Montana, i. 213.
Successful ruse, ii. 438.
Suffering in Kansas in 1866, ii.
270.
Summit, in Alder Gulch, i. 376.
Sunday in Alder Gulch, i. 379.
Sun River Valley, i. 146.
182
Index.
Surrender of Moore and Reeves,
i. 253.
Suspicious conduct of Henrj
Plummer, i. 327.
Talbert, Henry, real name of
Cherokee Bob, i. 154.
Talifero and comrades arrest
Mexicans, ii. 362.
Talleyrand, his reticence, i. 37 ;
despatches of Livingston to,
i. 37 ; tedious delays of, i. 38,
offers to sell Louisiana, i. 50.
Ta-skun-ka-du-tah (Red Dog),
ii. 403.
Temple of Justice in Virginia
City, Montana, i. 356.
Testimony of Reuben Raymond,
ii- 350-
Theatre in the mines, i. 107.
The blacksmith robbed, ii. 435.
The Boise parson, i. 334.
The Cuban, ii. 365.
The double rider, i. 371.
The driver's story, ii. 439.
The female road-agent, ii. 439.
The female horsethief, ii. 439.
The Great American Pie-Biter,
ii. 82.
The Helm brothers, i. 172.
The hermit, ii. 240; is visited
by Boone Helm, ii. 242; is
visited by a stranger, a lady,
ii. 244; his warning, ii. 246;
second visit from Boone
Helm, ii 251; his return to
civilization, ii. 255; meets his
benefactress, ii. 255.
The stage coach, ii. 417.
The stranger's story, ii. 235.
The Union, danger of dissolu-
tion, i. 44.
The Yellowstone River, ii. 373.
Thompson, Henry, starts in
pursuit of Kelly, ii. 263 ; finds
Dorsett's pistol in Deer
Lodge, ii. 266; is turned back
by deep snows, ii. 266; traces
Kelly to Portland, ii. 268; tele-
graphs to San Francisco, ii.
268; disappointment and re-
turn, ii. 26S.
Threatened destitution, i. 233.
Threats of prisoners' friends, i.
259; violence towards Hon.
Wm.C.Rheem, i. 263; towards
W. B. Dance, i. 307.
Thurmond, J. M., defends
George Ives, ii. 68; banish-
ment of, ii 233; goes to Salt
Lake City, ii. 233; joins the
destroying angels, ii. 234; is
killed in Texas, ii. 234.
Tiebalt, Nicholas, is found dead
in the Stinking Water Valley,
>•• 53-
Tilden, Henry, is robbed on
Horse Prairie road, ii. 7; his
story of the robbery, ii. 33.
Toll Bridge at Smith's Fork of
Bear River, i. 221 ; unsafe
bridge and notice, i.222.
Tom Gold-digger, i. 214.
Tracy &: Co.'s pony express, i.
89.
Treaty of 1783, i. 9; of Madrid,
i. 30; of St. Ildephonso, i. 33 ;
of cession, i. 53 ; of Utrecht,
Index.
483
i. 6i ; of Ghent, i. 66; with
Spain, i. 67 ; Russia, i. 68.
Trial in a miners' meeting, i.
255; of Brown, ii. 90; Bull,
John, ii. 2S6; Carter, Alex, ii.
217; Cooper, Johnny, ii. 21S:
Daniels, James, ii. 337 ; Dutch
John, ii. 180 ; Donohue for kill-
ing Patterson, i. 310; Helm,
Boone, for killing Shoot, i.
159; Hilderman. Geo., ii. 80;
Howard, Dr., for killing Ma-
gruder, ii. 143 ; Ives, George,
for killing Tiebalt, ii. 66:
Lowry, Chris, for killing Ma-
gruder, ii. 143; Mexicans at
San Andreas, ii. 364 ; Moore,
Augustus, for killing Cazzette,
i. 254 ; Mitchell, Wm., for kill-
ing Cazzette, i. 254; Page,
William, for killing Magruder,
ii. 143; Patterson, Ferd, for
killing Pinkham, i. 207;
Reeves, Charley, for killing
Cazzette, i. 254; Romaine, for
killing Magruder, ii. 143;
Skinner, Cyrus, ii. 217 ; Yager,
ii. 90.
Trotter, Charles, arrests Dow-
dle Bill at Rock Creek, ii.
440.
Tyler, President, message to
Congress, i. 69.
Unauthorized action of Helena
Vigilantes, ii. 33S.
Union in danger, i. 11.
Union Lea\j'.ie of nannnck, i
382; recommends Piumniei-
as deputy United States mar-
shal, i. 383.
United States officers at Ft.
Laramie discharge Slade, ii.
300.
Unsheltered camp, i. 235.
Upper Missouri River, ii. 384.
Valley of Sun River, i. 146.
Varina, first name given to Vir-
ginia City, i. 353.
Veteran prospector, the, i. 96.
Views of public men concerning
Louisiana, i. 56.
Vigilantes of Florence banish
Fat Jack, i. 178: organize at
Idaho City, i. 203; meeting
opened with prater, i. 204;
confronted by sherift^s posse,
i. 206; disband, i. 207; arrival
in Bannack from Virginia
City, ii. 164; surround Vir-
ginia City, ii. 184; trailing
Skinner and others, ii. 207;
search for Bill Hunter, ii.
224; arrest Slade, ii. 316; de-
cide upon Slade's death, ii.
316; of Boise City organize,
ii. 352 ; hang Opdyke and Dix-
on, ii. 352.
Violence in miners' meeting,
i. 259.
Virginia City, Temple of Justice,
i. 356; surrounded by Vigi-
lantes, ii. 184.
Visit to Santa Fe in 1S7S, ii.
429.
Wohlgamuth shoots Wm. Dow-
484
Index.
die, ii. 442; fully justified by
coroner's jun-, ii. 443.
Walla Walla chief, i. in.
Walla Walla express robbed, i.
309-
Warning to travellers, i. 223.
Washburn party on the Yellow-
stone, ii. 377.
Washington, foresight of, i. 5;
fears of, i. 12; letter to John
Jay, i. 12.
Washington Territory, gold dis-
covered in, i. 98.
Wealth of Alder Gulch, i. 392.
West Bannack, i. 324.
Western boundary, mode of de-
fining, i. 61.
Western settlers, dissatisfaction
of, i. 5.
White, John, discovers the
Bannack mines in 1862, i.
226; prospecting on the Big
Boulder, ii. 258; returns to
Virginia City with Kelly, ii.
259; joins Dorsett in pursuit
of Kelly, ii. 261 ; anxiety con-
cerning, ii. 262 ; discovery of
his and Dorsett's bodies, ii.
264 ; is buried at Virginia
City, ii. 265 ; manner of his
death, ii. 265.
White girl in Winnemuck's band
of Indians, i. 316; ransomed
by Mr. Carroll, i. 317 ; Indians
attempt to recapture her, i.
3^7-
Whitehead, Charles, leaves
Bannack for Salt Lake Citv,
ii. 8.
Wilkinson, Gen. Jas., intrigues
of, i. 14; interview with Col-
onel Connelly, i. 22 ; ruse to
intimidate Colonel Connelly,
i. 2T, ; efforts of, to unite west-
ern settlements with Spain, i.
24 ; efforts to dismember the
Union, i. 25.
Williams, Frank, stage driver,
confession of, ii. 426; hanged
at Godfrey's Station, ii. 427.
Williams, Jakey, attacked hy
Cherokee Bob and Wm. Wil-
loughby, i. 153; kills Wil-
loughby, i. 153.
Willoughby, Wm., in Florence,
i. 151 ; at New Year's ball, i.
151 ; killed by Jakey Williams,
i- 153-
Winnemuck, a Bannack chief,
at Bannack, i. 316; white girl
in tribe of, i. 316; a contem-
plated attack on by the
roughs, i. 316.
Wit of a mining camp, i. 330.
" Woman for breakfast," a camp
idiom, ii. 321.
Woodmansee's train, arrival of,
i. 227.
Wounded stage passengers, ii.
420.
Wrath of Cherokee Bob, i. 152.
Yager, Erastus (Red), at Rattle-
snake Ranche, ii. 24; arrest
of, ii. 87; trial of, ii. 90; dis-
closes names of members of
Plummer's gang, ii. 92 ; execu-
tion of, ii. 96.
InJi
485
Yellowstone River, descent of,
in Mackinaw boats, ii. 375 ;
discoveries upon, by David E.
Folsom, ii. 376; source of, ii.
376; hot springs, ii. 376;
geysers, ii. 376; description
of lower river, ii. 378.
Zachary, Bob, robs Bummer
Dan, i. 405; robs Southmayd
and Capt. Moore, i. 413; re-
fuses to participate in Magru-
der's murder, ii. 103; arrest
of, ii, 218; execution of, ii.
222.
THE END,
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