National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-08-27
THE COWBOY PLAN,
Now Cattle aud Other Thieves Arc Punished
In Montana.

III
NcC York Sun.
HELENA, Mon, Aug. t7.-sincc tho great
horse and cattle thief round.up began IL has
been almost impossible to keep cowboy on
the ranges Of Montana, The fraternity IL en-
tircly takcn up with the man hunt, and the
boys who are forced to remain behind arc in
capable ofthinking Of anything else but the
adventures Of their fellows Every scrap OF
information rom the front is eagerly listened
to and discussed with the greatest enthusiasm.
once or twice, whom ro.onforcemcnts have
been sent for, II has been With great difficulty
that the bosses could make their selections of
recruits and prevail upon those not chosen TO
remain behind. It is the prevailing opinion
that this is the last grand roundup that this
country Will ever witness, and the cagcTness
Of the boys to take part In II Is thus explained.
Nothing approaching II in thoroughness aud
determination has ever been witnessed here,
Tho punishment meted out has been and VIII
be, so sweeping md terrible that no one be-
ltoves an occasion Will ever arise for similar
demonstration.
After the fight ut the mouth of tho Musscl-
shell last week Stuarts cowboys followed the
fugitive thieves on hot trial e the woody
mountains The second day oftne chase they
came upon the thieves in campnnd stampcdcd
them, exchanging about twenty shots. Two
OF the robbers fell behind little, owing 10 the
wounding OF their horses, and volley from
llltlI DuIbutIb UTuuknl DDlll VI lutlll hpNli Nn
they fell, the cowboys pounced upon them,
and, without stopping TO investigate the nature
oftheir wounds, fastened ropes to their necks
| and swung them up In a tree.
While this diversion was In progress tho
cowboye became separated and narrowly cs-
| capped disaster. dozen or moroJo the pur-
| suers, paying no attention to the hanging cpl
sode, pushed on, and having some difficulty IN
finding the cutthroats, concluded that the
| thieves had got away from them. Amer the
| boys had ridden four or five miles without
discovering the trail they were aurprscd TO see
the desperadocs coming upon them from the
roar. They had stolen along the margin of
creek for some distance, and then urOssed to u
clunp of trees, In which they hid, and from
which they saw the cowboys going by on the
other side. Having separated the party, they
| got in between them, and when the hanging
party came UP they were amazed to find tho
outlaws In their front, with no signs of their
Ionssoclntes visible. II both parties of cowboys
had known the exact situation they might
have been able to make successful attack,
but each felt its own weakness, and being in
doubt as TO the whereabouts of the othor, both
abandoned the trail temporarily. When they
Joined each other q day later the thieves had
He'd.
Last Monday, Just at dark, the cowboys came
upon log house, set well back tn the timber
among the hills just this side OF the interna-
tional boundary, and, dceming the place sts-
piclous, they decided to watch II closely That
night several men were seen 10 enter and
leave the house, and one of the boys who stole
up close to the place reported that thirty or
forty horses were plckcted near by. The next
day further evidences Of the character. of the
4 rendezvous were obtuincd and II was decided
that the house should be attacked that night.
About 10 o'clock the boys, leaving their ponies
at safe distance, crept up to within a nun
dred feet Of the cabin, from the woody side,
and awaited orders. Tho thieves had q light
inside, and through the open door and win
dows could be heard voices and laughter. Al
the word every rifle in the cowboys party wa,
simultaneously discharged awakening the
echoes for miles. 1t had boon agreed that q
second volley should b6 iired INSTANTLY, and
this did fatal execution. on the first repoT
, the thieves seized their arms and rushed pei
nell out OF doors, some of them jumpinl
. through the windows. The second yollel
; caught them just as they emerged and tht
few who survived II took 70 their heels and es
capped. The boys remained at the house unit
. daybrcak. There were nine dead thieves Il
} aud around II, and the remnants of half
finished meal were scattered about on tn,
D floor. The place was found TO be n theadquar
teri for the thieves, and many stolen articles
wore recovered from IL. After II had beer
) thoroughly ransackod the bodies of the doaC
were piled up In one room, and the house was
then set on fire.
From this point the lynching party movot
\ due west, with the idea of striking the orig
! inal trial which they had been following, ant
their search was rewarded much sooner thar
thoy had expected. They found at poln
/ not more than five miles from the burned
3 house camp of despcradoes much large
. than any yet encountered, and hasty OK
Z animation convinced them that they were no
strong enough to capture it. The thieves ha!
some sort of military organization whicl
prevented any attempt at surprise, sAfte
l. making a comprehensive survey of the situa
ton the boys determined TO withdraw an
send for re-enfoTcements. Three of the boy
were sent back after recruits aud from thes
e the details of the operations at the front hay
been learned. One relief party was made u
. in this vicinity, and another even strongo
. has Just LEFT from the neighborhOod Of Fol
Keogh. 1t Is believed that pitched battl
has occurred before this, and information AS /
| its result Is anxiously awaited
. While Stuart's boys have been operating In
the Mussclshell valley and along the interna
tional boundary, several other bands have hai
= big round.ups In Judith, Teton, and Maria
counties. Hunting in small parties thes
lynchcrs have been able to rake IA Il greH
many of the stragglers from the Stuart cau
paign, and 1t is thought that comparativel
:, | few have been able To got away. Two q
y three wounded men have been lynched br
:. all efforts to make them tell under what eli
cumstances they were shot proved unavailinl
&c These rowing bands of lynchers report thu
they have hanged more than twenty thicYe,
and the stolen stock that they have recoverc
" is coming in daily The achievement Owe
. which the most satisfaction il expressed Is tn
lynchlng of Dutch Louis, q notorious ally
;. the thieves who had long been a nuisance 1
this country, but about whom there has bee
much mystery. Bender and Galbraith'h part
came up with him on Crooked creek. He ha
fine ranch near there, and no one in tn
been left behind on tho trail and some stole
|, cattle were found in his corral. While til
z boys were investigating his ranch be rode VI
j: and they questioned him. He made eXplani
y; tOns OF the presence of the cattle whic
2 might have proved satisfactory, If one Of tn
o boys had not said
). II believe this Is Dutch Louis"
d The old fellow few into passion of donuI
o citation and denial and in his rage fell int
II broken English, which confirmed the suspicion
q The more he protested the more determine
q the boys became, and at last, when he began
% fear that nothing could save him, he coniesse
0 his identity and begged for mercy.
d up with him !" yelled two or three of III
n boys one of them exposing a rope.
T. "I'll give you Il tOusand dollar" no screamed
y 'if you let me go, and I'll leave the COUNT
70 and never come back"
0. You'll leave tho country anyway" observe
D; the brawney cow puncher who had him by II
8, neck" aud If you ever come back Wen do yo
- up again"
$, spite of his protestations tho rope was a
n justed, and, hardly moving him from where !
. stood, the passed the other end of the cord ovt
II n limb, and the portly form of the old thief WI
10 swung high in the air.
" Az they moved on some of the old man
u cattle passed near his suspended body anC
% believing theiy GstOniShment ut the unwonte
l; scene, cantCred away TO join the herd.
10 No Water for Eleven Days.
y The shipwreCkod crew Of the British bar
~ BenemCtrcss were adrit in an open boat, su
u porting life on some bits OF dry bread and