The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1889-06-06
CRIMES SWIFT
RElRIBUFION.
Fiendish Double Murder at Silver
Early Yesterday Morning by
Two Tramps.
Station Agent Jobst and G. w. Bur-
relI Shot TO Death in Cold
Blood.
The Assassins Pursued Into the
Foothills by a Sheriffs
Posse and Corraled.
A Running Fight Continuing For
About Five Hours---The Fugi-
tives Both Killed.
Their Bodies Riddled With Rifle
Balls---Robbery the Object
of Their Deed.
Probability That They Were
Cousins Named Quade. From
Waseca County. Mimi.

A double murder of the greatest atrocity
occurred yesterday morning at Silver, on
the Montana Central railway, about TWEEN
~ milrs from Helena. The retribution
was as swift as IL was terrible, for the mur-
derers. two in number, were followed by a
sheriffs posse for nearly five hours and
shot down without mercy. They offered a
desperate resistance, ASKED no quarter,
and died without a word to tell who they
were or whence they came. There was
nothing upon their persons to indicate
their identity, and at this writing nothing
is known as TO who they were. Ii is ap-
parent, from the manner in which they
went about their bloody work and the alb
sence of arrangements to insure their es-
cape, that they were men of a low grade of
intelligence, and their dress and features
bear out the inference that they were
tramps. possibly men who had hung about
Helana and the mining camps of the terri
tory, and probably having recently been in
the vicinity of the Jay Gould mines, where
they may have learned that a quantity of
bullion was to be shipped On Tuesday to
the eastern refneries, being carried by
wagon to Silver and there put on board the
cars. The suppositiOn is that it was in the
hope of capturing this consignment of bull
lion that the two tramps, if such ther were,
planned the murder of Station Agent Frank
c. Jobst and his friend, George w. Burrell,
carrying out the scheme with a fiendish de-
Liberation snd cold-oloodedness that have
rarely been exceeded in the history of this
territory.
A little before O'Clock yesterday morn
ing, as J0bst and BurreIl were dressing in
the little room in the northeast corner Of
the little station building, in which they
slept, the muzzle Of Winchester rife was
thrust through the window and before
either of them had an opportunity to utter
prayer or protest or TO seek safety in flight,
the weapon was discharged and the bali
went crashing through the cheek of
Agent JObst as he sat on his cot Al
most simultaneously with the explosion
BHrrell sprang through small window not
more th an eighteen inches wide and three
feet high, carrying the glass and sash out
with him, and ran towards a section
house sixty or seventy rods from
the depot building. AS he ran the
man who had shot Jobst fired at him and
shot him through the back, but BurreII did
not fall, continuing until he reached the
little section house, where. as he reached
the door, the assassin again discharged
his weapon, the bullet this time strik-
ing the victim in the head and laying him
dead at the threshold Then the two
murderers entered the station, broke open
the agents cash drawer and transferred its
contents, which amounted only - about
$50, To their pockets. In looking tor plum |
der they missed Agent Jobsts last remit
tance 70 bis employers, which was in an
envelope that had been laid upon the table. |
but which had fallen or been knocked into |
the waste basket by the first discharge of |
the murderer's rifle, and there il was
found when the room was entered soon
after by Eugene Sears, who lives a few
rods from the depot, and who showed THAI
he is possessed of the highest order OF /
courage.
When Mr.. Sears, who arrived from Jay /
Gould about =, entered the station he
found poor JObst lying on the bed, uncOn-
scious, his life blood ebbing fast through /
the horrible wound he had received. Jobst
never recovered his senses, but lived until
away. Among the first TO arrive at the
station after the murder were c. J.
Murray and Wm. IL. Martin, to
whom the rapidly receding forms
of the two murderers were pointed
out by Mrs. Sears. and they started
in pursuit. following the pair to a
patch of timber In the hills, whsre
several shots were exchanged, but
without effect Murray and Martin kept
close upon the trail of the fugitives
and at last succeeded in driving them out
of the timber and into a c0ulee- Here
Murray and Martin were reinforced by
Paul Rehoerg, and the three crowded the
murderous pair into Trust-to Luck gulch. Il
where they were held al bay for nearly an
hour, when q party Of men from Helena,
under command of Under Sheriff George
Walker, sent out by Sheriff Jefferis.
on q special train which left the Montana
Central depot at $50, arrived. This
company, comprising six or eight men and
accompanied by Eugene Sears, mounted /
such ponies as could be found and started
OF for the foothills as quickly as possible. |
and came up with the men who had been
first 20 follow the sssassins' trail. Then 4
tie plans OI lne unucT Snerlu were briefly Il
explained, and the posse separated TO sur
rounH their game The two fugitives evil /
IDENTITY understood that their position was
desperate. They asked no quarter, and |
disregarded q command shouted to then,
TO hold up their hands: il was war 70 the |
death. with the odds greatly in favor of the |
pursuers. who were mounted and well |
armed, while the pursued were on foot and /
had but one Winchester rife and q Colts l
a calibre revolver, the latter supposed TO |
have been taken from the depot when they |
left after killing JObst and Burrell. They 1
were well supplied with ammunition, how |
ever, and at least fifty shots must have /
been fred by the two before they fell. aud
then there were as many more cartridges |
In their pockets and . leather pouch one Of |
them carried around his neck
When the hot pursuit began the murder |
ers were well up In the hills; as it pro- |
gressed they were driven down and around
through the gulch until they came to the
outlet, on the south side of the foothills.
They had taken OF their boots in order |
that they might be in lighter running or
der, and 80 they ran from rock to rock,
seeking shelter which could be but momen-