The Panola weekly star. (Sardis, Miss.) 1882-18??, 1885-07-11


rgnf bright sammsf evening ahd
lha NJ narf, ~ the number n hfa th0a
sani NJ fis thousand. assembied " ihe
psee ~ execution . slnplng hiilsldo
~ witness The i|fdi hanging in Mon.
iana The iDreh0ding 'can1Ids stood
iuldly Dut Into thH air. and ollsa w,
near their haso, worn tho three graves
awaiting their tenants The condemned
men. seated In q cart and surrounded
nv q guard. we're driven 10 the gallows
steps. and then plnioned hand and foot
preparatory ~ "swinging of
A gondly number u that crowd wers
either members or else In sympathy
With the robhcr gang aud The hlllslde
was foil of cDnfcderaic'. who had not
been idlc rlummpr was there, Ned
RAY, Al Moore. Babc Skinner and
Charley Reeves (nll u whom we're aft
crwnrd hungl aud they bustlcd
through tho crowd, helping their con.
dcmned comrahrs In every way they
could Three women the only females
In Virginia City. were also pres cnt, and
they begged for mercy for tho doomed
prisoners. The rough men Of the from
tier were unused TO fcninlnc loars, aud
were visibly affected. Jack Gallagher.
another confederate, Jumped on
barrelhcad and said ho had something
TO read II was the farewell letter
" Young Lyon, and evidently prepared
by an expert for the exact moment
that had arrived. II was beautifully
written, containing loving messages
10 his mother and sister far away
IN the States, and was most
touching farewell TO every
body. The effect OF II upon that audi
ence OF rugged men was very much the
Same rs Marc Anthony's oration over
the dead body OF Cnsar. Richardson,
another pal but who stood well with
the community ~ an A No. square
follow, took advantage of the turn in
the popular tide, and moved that the
miners verdict be set aside Another
confederate yelled "All In favor Of
dlscharging the prisoners move down
the hill. All opposed move up With
rush the vast multitude moved down
hill. leaving less than two hundred reso-
luto men on the upper slope. A wild
yell broke forth, aud hundreds Of will
Ing hands set tho prisoners free X.
Beidler was one Of the firm ones, and
from that day became spotted man.
The gang individually kept their eyes
upon him. and had he been less cour-
ageous hc would have been murdered
long ago instead Of being alive to-day.
But he was always prepared, and, as II
happens, survives them all
That night Virginia City was turned
into pandemonium. The robber band
and their friends kept up wild rovelry
until daylight. Placards were stuck up
on the streets bearing the words
"Grayes to let" The three empty holes
near the gallows wcro illuminated By
fires. and the three men who were 10
have been hung there stood on the gal
lows platform and entertained their
friends with rum and whisky galore.
On the other side Of town another scene
was being enacted the funeral Of poor
Dillingham;. All day long the body had
been lying upon blllIard.table In the
saloon In front Of which he had met his
death. A few friends gathered there
about twilight, and, placing the re.
mains upon stretcher, moved through
the boisterous streets toward thu
; now made grave. On all sides
were reeling. drunken men. and they
were greeted at every crossing with
boistcrous reyclry. The day had Ia
lesson, nevertheless. Good citizens be.
stirred themselves, and il was not long
; before Plummer and his companions
were found out This was principall,
brought about by the murder Of Lloyd
Maqruder. one Of the most popular
young men In tho Montana mining
camp. lIe had started on an overland
; Journey from Alder Gulch 10 Virgins
City, n distance Of four hundred miles,
! carrying with him sixteen thousand
I dollars In dust aad nuggets. Unsus
) plciously he employed men around
, camp 70 drive his teams who wer.
Plummer's sooundrels In disguise
Magruder never reached his destination
|, alive, although his dead body wai
] brought into Virginia City some tim,
. after, riddled with bullets. The crime
! was traced TO Sheriff Plummer; and thu
!. fact that tho officers OF the law were In
! reality highwaymcn and murderers LED
. 10 the organization Of vigilance commit
0 tees or committees Of safety.
Five men Of nerve, residents Of vir
0 ginia City, took the initiative step, ans
:. secretly commenced operations agains
. tho road.aQents. In December, 1858
: there were as many vigilantes as out
= laws In Western Montana. and q wa
: Of determination commenced. II wa
! q hard tight, but organized law met an,
Q crushed organized lawlessness In
Q hand.to-hand conflict Twenty two road
; agents were hunted down and hun,
!, within few days Among the numbe
J, were Ives, stlnson. Forbes aud Lyon
d More than thirty others were strun,
= up between December 20 and Januar
u 10. and this eifectually broke up IN
= road-agent business IN Montana, for
J, time al least On the last date, Januar