The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1883-06-06

| Gt Royteulhg ~ Dcta)ls d lax. !
Weal1 CaDtale and Escape ffen
uontnDa onclaIs - Some
tk1lS q Tie CFinlnal's
Ireyisas History.
From az N;nneapolis Journal.
Custer county, aside from being divi-
led ~ tho last legislature, and the most
valuable portion Of the territory, being
designated - Yellowstone country, is
slowly recovering from an expose Of NAL
feasance and indictment Of some Of it's
most prominent county officials. Just
how much money has been stolen will
never be known, and it is patent that
many guilty ones, owing to their politi-
cal creed, will 60 unscorched. The re-
. ept term OF court 1t Miles City, the
yosnfys sest, notwithstanding the fact
\ t6at ) great deal Of time was taken up in
stnightening up the officials, fifteen pri-
soners were found guilty of the charges
preferred against them. One was found
guilty of murder and saved the debt-rid-
den county from the necessity Of defray-
ing his hanging expenses by taking an
overdose Of opium, which was kindly
furnished him by an accommodating
jailor. Fourteen. were handcu6ed, and
under guard Of four men started for Deer
Lodge, where the territorial penitentiary
Il utsd The journey was made without
difficulty to Gallatin City, the terminus
Of the N. P. B. R. Here the prisoners
were chained to each other and locked in
the car, and guards stationed themselves
on the outside. No trouble was given
during the night. In the early morning
thpe Of the guards stepped into . car
near by to get their breakfast. They had
no sooner reached the table than one Of
stesprisones, with piece Of wire un-
d3nS his shsckles, raised the window
-and lcaped out. He then ran under the
car and disappeared in the brush near by.
Tie alarm was at once given, but as yet
he remains . free man. But now comes
the sensational part Of the story. The
escaped prisoner gave his name as Ed
wards. He was under fifteen-year
sentence for holding up" a conductor
and express agent at Billings last winter.
These two men were walking near the
depot at Billings when they were sud-
denly confronted by asix-shooter and
command TO hold up their hands. From
the two men Edwards extracted $43 and
other valuable collections, among which
was gold watch. He was soon after ar
rested and was identified by the men,
and Is he was reckoned to be danger
os,s man in any community the district
gave him fifteen years. At the time Ed
wards-was confined in the Miles City jail
awaiting trial, he became acquainted
with prisoner who has been acquitted
@of murder. As soon as this man was re-
leased he stated that he had good and
substantial reasons for believing that Ed
wards was none other than the notorious
Lon Maxwell. And who is Lon Max
well perhaps many will inquire. I will
tell you. Lon and Ed. Maxwell were for
several years as notorious and as daring
az the James brothers. They stole horses
from every section Of Wisconsin and
Minnesota, and did not hesitate to COM
NIT outrageous murder when necessary
to:carry out their plans. In 1881 Sheriff
Coleman, Of Menominee, Wis.,, with q
: posse, undertook to capture the Max
wells in grove near that town. The
result was the death of the brave sheriff
and his deputy, both being killed instant
~ from shots fred by the Maxwells. The
death Of Coleman, who was very popu-
lar, raised such storm of indignation
that large party armed themselves and
went in pursuit. The entire country in
that neighborhood wasscoured, and suf-
feient men were in pursuit to surround .
huge forest, while others endeavored to
hunt the fugitives out. At a particular
point the crowd waited on the out
skirts for two weeks hoping that the
murdereB would be starved out. And
yet they failed to capture them at that
time.
Early in the following winter, how
ever, they were traced and run into
! farm house in Nebraska. Ed. became
disabled, by some means, I can't remem-
Der exactly how, and was captured, but
Lon by . sudden spring and good use of
his legs escaped, and until now his
whereabouts have not even been mat
ter Of conjecture. The story of Eds.
capture was very thrilling one, and If
remember rightly was something a. fol-
lows:
Il. A German living in Omaha went to
visit some friends in the country, spend
ing q few days hunting wild geese.
While there two strangers, remarkably
fine looking mn, came to the farm and |
asked if they could be boarded for |
week, AZ they wished to recuperate from |
. long journey on horse back, and shoot |
geese. They were informed that they
could and were given the best the house
afforded. The German visitor soon made
the acquaintance of the men and was
surprised at their remarkable skill with
the rifle and revolver. Upon reaching
Omaha again he happened to look over a
paper and read the account of the Max
well boys and their adventures in Wis
cOnsin. As soon as he had read the
article over, the thought came to him
that perhaps the two strangers he had
met were the outlaws. He read the
article again and found that the descrip-
ton Of the men, described the strangers
exactly. For two days he thought the
matter over, making inquiries and keep
ing his own counsel. At last he learned
that IS 700 was offered. for either Of the
[ngitives, dead or alive. He then went
TO friend, told him what he had seen
and learned. The friend offered to &C.
him to the farm house and
there form his opinion of the matter,and