The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1888-04-25
Is he a Horse Thief ?

Two weeks ago two men appeared in
Yellowstone county with a band of
about fifty fine horses. The officers of
the county, being suspicious that all was
not as it should be, gathered the two
men in. One was acquitted, and the
other, who many profess to believe is
none other than the notorious horse
thief, Teton Jackson, was held by the
officers until the authorities of Wyo-
ming could be notified and secure their
man. In the meanwhile, however,
johnson or Marsh, as his nam may be,
procured an array of legal talent at Bill
lings who at once proceeded to habeas
corpus him. This necessitated the
bringing of johnson to this city on
Wednesday,, where he had q hearing be.
fore Judge Liddell. The prisoner was
not at all crushed by the heavy charge
that hung over him, but, on the con.
trary, refused to tell his name, occupa.
ton, or of his previous life, and took
occasion to inform Judge Magginnis, who
"ho uSANhuiiiS iiiihy tllhl lie WISH I 10
ing a good job. The Judge took the
matter under Amusement and decided
next morning that there was not sutic-
lent evidence to hold the man. By this
time Sheriff Harris. who was in CHI arge
of the man, was in position to re-arrest
him on another charge Of grand larceny
and it is presumed that he will continue
to re,arrest him until the officers from
Wyoming arrive.
The man under arrest has a red face,
red whiskers, dark hair and eyes, a sui.
len look on his face, and the cowboy
swagger in his gait. If he proves to be
Teton his apturers will realize a coz
siderable sum from his capture.
Chapter number two of this narrative
came up from Laurel while Sheriff Har-
rs was in Bohemian. 1t seems that
when the band of horses were taken
away from the men they were given
into the possession of the Stock Associ-
alton, who deputized Jack Hurley to
look after them. O'Brien, the man who
was arrested with Marsh or johnson.
claimed that he was merely an employee.
Accordingly, he repaired to the band
about the time it was supposed that
johnson would be released at Bozeman,
and ~endeavored to take nine head of
horses for his wages, as he claimed. This
action was resented by Hurley, who
shot O'Brien through the back of the
head, and, while the wound is moi dan
gerous, it adds another complication to
the matter. In speaking of the affair,
the Billings Gazette says:
This whole affair seems to be inextric-
ably mixed up, and it certainly looks as
though some determined effort should
be made to clear the matter up. Every.
thing points to the conclusion that
Marsh is a hard case, and that the horses
are stolen, but no absolute proof has
been forthcoming. The horses are grad
ually slipping away, % head having been
In all probability the men will
Don &C free. If they are innocent, yell
lowstone county and the Stock Associa-
ton will have a hard time escaping La
bility for detention and loss of horses
while in their charge. If guilty, the
proceedings will become a farce. After
captured, at a risk of human
life, such an outfit to turn them loose to
commit new d~epredations and to allow
to retain stock belonging right.
fully to other men who are not here to
protect their property.