The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1889-11-02
OREGON TO THE FXGNT.
How Pierce The Notorious stock
Thief was Captured.


A remarkable instance OF resolution
and pluck was recently exemplifei in
| the conduct of a woman in eastern Ore
gon, by the arrest of Pierce, one of the
three recently apprehended stock thieves
who are now in ''durance vilc." awaiting
their trial in Idaho county, 1. T. They.
undoubtedly are members of gang OF
desperate outlaws, who infest the entire
country from the Missouri river to til,
| Columbia. They have been opera ing in
North Idaho 10 some extent, andAas We
! are Informed, have succeeded n running
off several hundred head of cattle and
h,rSes. How long they have been "ply
lug their vocation" among Us is not def
nitely known. By their adroitncss it is
evident they haye successfully covered
| their tracks" for sometime. But stern
old Justice has at last shit the trail" oil
these precious scoundrels and three o.
them are now languishing in the Idaho
county Jail, simply awaiting the theatre
of formal justice at next term of court, af-
ter which the turn key at the BOISE Pen,
will shut out to them the light of free
dom and the outlines of "slickears."
| Pierce is one of this trio and there is
some practical romance in the history of
| his capture. He was "tracked,n together
with two of his confederates, into Wallo-
wa county, Oregon, where two of them
| were captured. Pierce eluded the officers
| and sCcJeted himself in the timber and
among the hills. After publishing re-
ward tor his arrest the officers returned
with the Others to Idaho county. Pierce
remained concealed for several days; in
| fact, until lie was literally starved ont"
when he cautiously visi ed the farm house
| of a man whose name We understand is
Brumly, and begged for food. 1t so hap
| pened that Mr.. B. was absent at the time
and in search of Pierce. His wife and
hired man were at home and Mrs. B. pre-
| pared a meal for Pierce of which he ate
voraciously. lie then left the house and
struck across field in which there were
some hay stacks, quite distant from the
house, and hid III the hay. Mrs. 3. sus-
pected he was the fugitive advertised for,
and watching his movements, suggested
to the hired man that he take the gun
! and arrest Pierce. The man had no rel
ish for such an experiment and declined.
Mrs. B. SAID, ''if you won't go after him,
I UiW." The man consented to accom-
pany her as body guard, and procuring
a rope the plucky little woman raided
doubt, preparing himself Tor AN after din
ner nap. The sudden appearance of the
woman, rope, man and gun, quite disor-
ganized Pieces nerve forces and Mrs.
BIS nimble fingers soon had his arms
pinioned and he YVES escorted to the
house. There the woman securely
shacklcd him with long chain and pad
locks and leaving him in custody of the
hired man, went to the barn, harnessed
| and htched the team when the prisoner
was loaded into the wagon and taken by
Mrs. B. to the town of Joseph, where she
delivered him to the proper authorities
for extradItion to Idaho. We presume
that Mrs B. has been paid the amount
of the reward placed on Pierce's head
she certainly deserves it together with a
medal for her exceptional courage and
tact in apprehending desperate whose
proper sphere of excl tion is within the
castle walls Of the penitentiary. We
commend her to the detective craft, and
if we are ever fugitive from justice We
would prefer to encounter that ''hired
man." alone, than 10 combat the relent-
less will of the woman who gave him
such an impressive object lesson in cool
bravery, and furnished to the world
another demonstration of tie fact, that
the will OF willful woman, when will
fully willed, will often brave dangers, in
the face, of which the stoutest hearts of
men have quailed and their boasted
courage vanished as rapidly and effectual-
ly as did the "wolf meal" which our
Oregon heroine set before this "Knight of
the range" and animator of hay stacks.