Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-06-17
Jim Foster and fna 81

IE1<;
oeadwood Letter TO New Yo,s e i
At the Drum a few days - 81
she pioneers of the BIscl, 3 2
talking about the old I'm.
one of them said: "But .na ,' s.
,ound out what became II =
.eI." IN
mo, nobody ever heard ~,
said half dozen at once'
5he crowd became reflective
1ering what had happsneS y
After a few minutes siiencs III
said that Jim Foster was
low, but that he ought 70 l.
hanged all the same, and =.
served that he would hayebssss 80 !
if he had been caught at cs.s.:
riod in his career.
At this iuncture a stranoer :.
heard all that had been sa;5
what there was about Fosss.
"Oh,, nothing. much, was ~.
OF the first speaker. e.J,m ~.
the boys that was first in he,. z
all, and he went away rathsr ~
He never was cut out for 4 No..
want. He was born Tor 4 en-
He'd no more'n got into the Ie
fore he began to figure on tbal.s.'
OF getting out. Amore homes,ss
you never saw. He didn't -
get along very well, either. q
out OF money, though nobodv
at first, and he found thai t.
made u great mistake in cemia, {
One fine morning Jim turned m /.
ing, and with him a horse t5s''
longed TO q man who believed !.
ing somebody hung for eyery I
that was stolen from him. Ti.s
the worst break OF Jim's life. H.
to skip, and be had to steal Il
but he didn't have TO steal ono Z
Benefits horses. Well, thew ,
after him hot, and he got ava
wasn't heard from. We've OTIS,
ed about him, because there xss,'
many OF us tEen that we'd l,a H.,
forget anybody, and he was ! .
chap, take him all and all.s
THE funniest thing about The /.
business, though" said anotbe, Z
the fact that tor two or thrat
everything that went wrong i
camp was charged up to Jim. II;
was stealing which nobody couIi
count for, it was laid on him
there was a time when, il H.
shown up here, he would have 4
hemp sure. He's the first msa|
ever got away from old Benoe.
think. I've known Bennett to /,
fellows more than 200 r,ils
it never made any differences "a
whether they were generalls a
men or not. He'd let a man 4,
and then il lie stole ration h il
him. His heart was harde.
quartz. Z"
"We'l now" said the stranv
happen to know something ahoai
case. Foster stole that horse 81
he had to get out of the couutr
die. He cut across the cot,ntr
Pierre and rode day and nighs
he got there-a trip that was d
promenade in those days. wbs
got there he sold the bors,
a small sum, and by beating
working he managed in about six i
to get to his home in Michigan
father was well off, and as Be-
soon after he left Jim good basi
which he attended to right up 10
handle. Nobody there knew auyl
about his horse stealing in The
and he soon became a man Of Cd
cradle prominence. He married
of the prettiest girls in the town.,
himself q new house, and was hi
fine style, when an old man who
he was from the Black Hills al
there with an officer, and notifel
City Marshal that he wanted hil
horse stealing. He had been o!
trail for more than two years,
had found him at last. The Ma
was a friend of Jim's, and .
headed fellow, and at his esrnest
gestion Bennett agreed to keep u
ject of his visit quiet until be had
Jim at his home. That night
Marshal and old Bennettcalledoa
and the whole thing was talked
The old man at first refused all
of a compromise, but after he
seen Jim's wife he wilted, and sal
would call the thing squared ndl'
where it was. Jim managed to
hundred dollar bill into the old {
hand just as he was leaving, but
only by waiting until the tram
pulling out that he did so. Nov
shows that he stole the right
doesn't it?"
All shook their heads. and one
another said that that could moi
been old Bennett. 1t was soma
Bennett.
Perhaps Pm some other jim
ter; then" observed the stTanes
he removed his hat, and locke
crowd steadily in the eyes. La
man who stole the horse
The old-timers were speeches
minute or two, and then the
around Jim and told him how
had suspected him all the timed
to tell the truth. there was no
blance between the well-dressed
of to-day and the desperate fo'
ten years ygo.
"0ld Benefits been dead mo
year," some one said. "Helostl
thing that he had, and died viii
friend"
ale had one friend" said jim
ter, land he is here now to maj