The Billings herald. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1882-1885, 1883-03-29
Early Life in Montana.

Early Life in Montana.
In the petition of J. X. Beidler to
the Legislature of Montana, asking
s., 900 for services rendered twenty
years ago, the petitioner narrated
some early Montana history that
will be interesting to repeat here
He says:
"Your petitioner, the undersign-
ed, respectfully represents that he
arrived in Alder Gulch, Montana,
in June, 1868, from Colorado,
bringing with him pack animals,
merchandise, ETC., to the value of
81 800; that he took up a mining
claim in Alder Gulch, and that
while working his claim one George
Ives stole his mules and run them
off, and in few days afterward his
gang killed M. Dillingham;, the dep
uty sheriff of the district. Lyons,
Forbes, and Stinson, were of the
party that was with Ives, and be-
longed to the Plummer's gang Of
road agents, who were then plum
dering and robbing the mines; the
said Lyons, Forbes and Stinson
were arrested for said murder and
tried by peoples court, of which
DR.. Steele, who is now resident of
Helena, was elected judge. Lyons
and Stinson were found guilty and
sentenced to be hung; your pcti-
toner was appointed by the meet
ing to prepare scaffold and d
grave for the murderers. While
the convicted men were being car
ried in u wagon to the scaffold,
Plummer's band of road agents in
tercepted them and forcibly rescued
the prisoners, and they all immc-
diately left for Bannack City. A
few days after the undersigned left
for Bannack to purchase goods for
his camp. While there he met
some of the members of said gang,
for the part he had taken under the
order of the court at Virginia City,
but that by good fortune he and his
friends were able to stand them off
at that time; that said gang again
attempted to murder him at Biven's
gulch shortly after, but did not sue
cccd in killing him as they had
threatened; that he then returned
to his claim in Alder gulch, but
through the threats and waylayings
of said gang of murderers he was
compelled to quit his claim and
stop mining. He further repre-
scnts that afterwards said gang
murdered one Nicholas Diebold
Dutch Nick), and that at the soli-
citation of the miners he went in
search of the body of the murdered
man, and arrested party of the
murderers; that afterwards peo-
pies meeting convened and tried
them for said murder, and the jury
found George Ives guilty of the
murder of Nicholas Diebold, and he
was sentenced to be hung; and the
sentence was Immediately carried
into execution, and your petitioner
was chosen to perform the duty of
carrying out the sentence of the
court. Thus was punished the first
member OF the gang of road agents.
The people from this time on to
protect their lives and property,
organized to exterminate the road
agents, as there were no civil courts
in the Territory; and the under
signed was appointed captain to
lead a party against them. They
spent the whole winter in pursuing
and hunting up the road agents
and pretty effectually broke up the
gang, by capturing, trying and
hanging twenty-five of their num-
Der, thus giving comparative secur-
ity to the lives and property of the
people of the Territory. On an
other occasion, in in 1864, when
! the wages of the miners was from
s15 to S1S per day, your commits
sioner was requested by a commit
tee of the people to go in pursuit OF
Henry Buckner, who had murder
ed Brown on the Madison river,
and accordingly quit his work and
went from Virginia City to Flat
head lake, for which he received no
compensation save his expenses.
This is only one of the many cases
where he served without pay. The
result of all this business was that
it broke your petitioner in all his
business ventures and caused him
to spend all his time, money and
property to protect the lives and
property of the settlers and miners,
and for that he asks the people OF
the Territory to compensate him.
At Helena, after Keene murdered
Slater, he acted as sheriff at the ex-