The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1884-05-16
DRAMATIC SCENE In COURT.
Four Cheyenne indians Plead Guilty OF
Arson and Exculpate Others.
From the YELLOWSTONE Journal.

From the Yellowstone Journal.
room yesterday which practically ends the
trials Of the Cheyennes on tho indictments
for arson and grand larceny growing out Of
the fool-hardy shot fired in fun by tho cow
boy Talford, which not only perforated Black
VOLTS hat, - intended, but SCARED the old
chiefs scalp, resulting in retaliation en- the
part Of Black Wells band in sacking and
burning the house Of w. j. Anderson, the
cattle man. Tho trial Of Black Wolf, sepa-
rately from the others, began OH May LIST ;
the testimony dragged aloRg slowly until
yesterday afternoon. The crowd Of specta-
tors, including prominent citizens and their
ladies, as we'll As Indians, both Cheyennes
and Crows, was to NO extent diminished yes
terday. Hon. Andrew +. Burleigh, District
Attorney, conducted the prosecution, and
United States Attorney w. II. Dewitt, Of
Butte, and Judge Strevell, of Miles City,
defended tho prisoners. The examinatio on
of the witnesses was ably carried on by At
torney Dewitt. Testimony being taken, ar
gaments pro and con were heard with great
interest, District Attorney Burleigh present
ing telling points against Black Wolf, while
Dewitt and Strevell as persistently urged
the merits of Black VOLTS side of the case,
Judge Strevell speaking very forcibly and
effectively in the interest of the savage. At
$3.50 o'clock the case was given to the jury,
and in ten minutes they returned to the bench
a verdict Of not guilty. On the announce
meht of the verdict, Attorney Dewitt had
the interpreter, William Rowland, translate
IL to Black Wolf, who simply grunted, and
turning to his brother, Howling Wolf, talked
with him few moments. Then came the
scene Of the day. The trial Of the other nine
Indians was called, and Howling Wolf,
White Bear, Stand-to-ons-Sidea and A Handle
arose in court and said that they were the
guilty ones, and would SO plead, rather than
that their innocent friends should suffer with
them. Howling Wolf said am man and
not boy. was one Of those that burned
the house, and 1 confess it. My brothers
that did not play with the fire must not
suffer.
United States Attorney Dewitt, then adj
dressing the court, said: my business on
behalf of the United States is not to shield
any guilty persons, but to ascertain who are
guilty and who are innocent, and to see that
the innocent are not punished. have in
vestigated the matter with considerable care,
and from the statements of the defendants
and many Indians and others, whom have
examined, believe that four of these defend
ants alone are guilty, and now, after consul
tation with Hon. +. Burleigh, the District
Attorney, and by consent of the defendants,
we are ready to plead guilty for those four,
and have the indictment nolled against the
Others" Thereupon tho plea of the four
Cheyennes, Rowling Wolf, White Bear,
Stand-to-one-Side and A Handle, guilty
Of the charge of arson, was accepted, and
nolle entered in both indictments as to FIVE
others, namely: Wolf Teeth (the medicine
MANI, Black Deer, Kinky Hair, Wolf Black
and Crawls-out-of-the These toyed
with their shell necklaces and brass beads as
they stepped out Of bondage, and now they
enjoy the free air o. the prairie.
The guilty four who caused the sensation
Of the day, and have saved the county great
expense, mainly through the discreet and
earnest efforts of Attorney Dewitt, were re-
manded to Jail, and after two days, the time
set by statute, they will receivs sentence,
which will be Ave years each in the Terrific
rial prison. Thus the guilty are convicted,
the innocent are free, and il there is any
sympathy to 60 out toward any of them, it
should be to Black Wolf who sports a bald
spot on top Of his Uranium, the spot where
the bullet ploughed its stunning furrow.