Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-03-01
r.p,Y LIFE IN MONTANA.

T, tbe petition of J. K. Beidler to the
legislature Of Montana, asking 5000
.er serviess rendered twenty years ago,
-. pe.itioner narrated some early
Mo,+aua history that will be interesting
n repeat here. He says;
..vop- pstitioner, the undersigned, re
.;trily rep. .esents that he arrived in
~ Gulch, Montana, IN June, 1863,
ai" aI". Colorado. bringing with him pack
iio,els merchandise ETC.. To the value
h.ii 81 5nO. that he took mp mining
o. % in Alder Gulch. and that while
cioa.ir;no his claim one George Ives stole
~. ,n1les and run them off, and in a
I-,r " 6ays afterwards his gang killed Nj.
1IsS,;~gharp. the Deputy Sheriff OF the
l.a,-ict LYONS. Forbes and Ssinson
.a of the party that was with Ives.
ssdV ssa Vhelonced TO the Plummer's gang of
old agents. who were then plnndering
and robbing the mines; the SAID Lyons,
1.t'oo en and Stinson were arrested for
aid murder end trled by people
eanrt. of which DR.. Steele. who Il now
rssident Of Helena, was elected Judge.
Tyons aud Stinson were found guilty,
and sentanced to be hung; your pstl-
.,a,er was appointed by the meeting to
nrsnsre a seaffold and grave for the
ir",rrdsrars. While the convicted men
,rara i,einp carried in wagon to the
esaff,ld. Plummer's band OF road agents
Corrected them and forcibly rescued
.he prisoners, and they all immedi-
stelr left for Bannack CITY. few days
as,ey the undersigned left for Bannack
10 nnrshase goods for his camp. While
- he met some of the members of
I'D Gang. who Threatened to murder
b;o, for the part be had taken under
.ha order of the court at Virginia City,
hat thnt by good fortune he and his
t-;ands were able to stand them off at
tbat time: that said gang again at
.smnted to murder him at Biven's
onInr shortly after. but did not succeed
in killing him as they had threatened;
that he then returned to his claim III
Alder oulch, but through the threats
ard wavlavings of said gang of murder
ara he was compelled to quit his claim
and stop mining. He further represents
thai afterwards said gang murdered one
Nicholas Diebold Dutch Nick, and
that AZ the solicitation of the miners he
wrI,t In search of the body of the mnr-
dared man. aud arrested a party of the
,onrde-ers; that afterwards peoples
u,eetisc convened and tried them for
said murder, and the jury found George
lees guilty of the murder OF Nichoias
Diehold. and he was sentenced to be
hung: and the sentence was immediate
ly carried into execution, and your pc
titioner Was chosen TO perform the duty
of carving out the sente lce OF tue
court. Thus was punished the hfst
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. ~ taere
were no civil courts in the Territory; and
the Undersigned WAS appointed Captain
20 lead Il party against them. hey
spent the whole winter III pursuing and
hGnting up the road agents and pretty
effsctUaliy broke up the gang. by CAP
turing. trying and hanging twenty-five
Of their number, thus giving COMPARE
tive security to the lives and property OF
the people Of the Territory. On another
occlsion, i'll 1864, when the wages of the
miners was from $l5 to Sls per diy,
your petitioner was requested by com.
Ipittee of the people to 90 in pursuit OF
Henry Ruckner. who had murdered
Brown on the Madison river, and ac-
cordingly quit his work and went from
Virginia City to Fiathead 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 vas
that it broke your Petitioner IN all his
business ventures and caused him TO
soend all his time, money and property
10 protect the lives and property of the
settlers and miners, and for that he
asks the people of the Territory to com
pensate him. At Helena, after keene
murdered Slater, he acted ss Sheriff at
the execution of Keene, and for several
years thereafter he was constantly called
upon 10 pursue murderers and road
agents, and this lasted until after the
establishment of civil courts, greatly to
his pecuniary loss. Your petitioner
respectfully asks an appropriation of
5000 out of the Territorial treasury to
compensate him, and your petitioner
will ever pray"