The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-02-22
BACK IN The SIXTIES
A Brooklyn Policeman Recalls moutana's
Early Days.
Ne Was a Soldier and Fought the
Red-Skirped Devils - STRAIT
egy and Buliets--A Trib-
ute to

were chatting i'm the muster rs,sn Of tine
18th precinct station house the other
day, when some one happened tn n,.nt'"i.
the name OF thu late John N. fcidier of
Montana, tai whose memory so many
glowing tributes have been paid recently
throughout the entire country Said tf-
ficsr Patrick Bowdlcp. who was listening
To- the conversation: Their was "a braVe'
upright and CONSIDERATIONS maii' " ever
on. lived"
.You knew linn. them" remarked the
officer.
many years ago. when he WAS acting as
sheriff i'm "a wild portion "f the
state. That was in lSaj. l think.
Montana WAS hut tbinly settled in those
days and many 81 tho settlers were men
who had little or no respect Tor
the Law. Horst. stealing was - reg
ular business. and those. who had
carried il on had grown reckless
from long immunity from punishment.
Previous sllcrifrs had made scarcely amy
effort to- keep the mar;iudcrs i'm check, but
Mr.. B.isllcr as SOON as hc took Office. COM
mcnccd "a campaign against them ami
carried il ON until all ar nearly all of them
had been driven from his part of the state.
He led the expeditions himself and was
always at the front when danger was tn
be feared. In his work hc war aided 10y
In yiralantss, who, II they did not nr1-
toward inspiring the thieves with - whole
some dread Of capture. Once. i'm the hands
GI vlKlIAuttS tDlit Sblptt SttEtIN WstS TsttitsN
them. just outside of Helena there was
in those days. and IL may bc there yet for
all l know, an immense cottonwood tree.
one of whose branches extended at right
angles with the trunk mt ~ tIistaiice oil
about ID feet from the ground. THIS limb
from il many a bold horse thief has
After rccafine several interesting Incl
dents in tile career eff the famous sheriff.
Mr.. Bow,ien went on To explain how he
happened To find himself i'm Montana in
at was in May, isr,.' he said, ...tlna, I
In tn. same regiment were many other
brooklyn men, the names OF most al
whom I have forgotten. -Four of them,
however. l. do rcc"ilect. They were
Thomas Gaya"r and James Reilly. ali
good soldiers and full of life. We were
sent out tn Montana tn relieve certain
companies at rsbs.ls who. having been
captured i'm the South. had volunteered
into the regular service for frontier duty.
and when the report that they had mas
sacred the whole 18th. including the pay
MASTER. reached the. East IL WAS pretty
generally believed. Ii Is hardly necessary
To state that nothing of the kind occurred.
Fights among thc J%ollnnics themselves
moies,ad ns. That year We wintcrsd at
II. Mary's Mission, "a place about one
hundred aud fifty miles above Fort BEN
ton. and n mighty harsl winter il was. We
were on short ri,tioi.s ourselves. and sew
eral of oar horses died from starvation.
Inc ttttbr tNiAStS Suuereu tsffiDIy. IL IL
an absolute fact that they ate u' the very
posts to which they were tied. In addition
tn not having LAT enough I" eat
bent on theft and murder. One night they
ran or all our stock and would have got
clear away with IL had il not been Tor
Flahcr,y. whom I have mentioned. Flah-
erty'. horse. "a very fast ana higl, rnettl.sl
animal. was tln. only one az the troop
Lowell 10 Craze. Well. the redskins
swoorcd down in the middle Of the night
ricdly driving them away. when Fial'cr,y
was awakcns-h 10y the nrighing OF his
Ssn,s: He km"~ What ,ooh had
ar"t,ni. aud .sprinrinr ON the
back of his horse hc sat oil alone in pnr-
I na..dc.l oh on t a"'s Ss,Hp animals "s.s" an" ND despite .sIa%'
"a brisk fire kept ny 10y the Indians sue
cec,cd i'm getting them all back in safety.
While we were AT Fort Laramie three men
deserted from the regiment, intending to
go TO the mines. Poor fellows, they had
s%rr"Sndc, 10y Indians. ri,ey got ScHini
some rocks on n knoll aud fought there
desperately until their ammunition gave
ont. The firing was heard in the camp
and "A company was ordered out to see
what was the matter. When we reached
the knoll, having driven away the Indians,
killed. One had seven bullets i'm his
body. The third was mnrtaliy wounded.
'lcu. 'tlI. Indians were unusually trouble
SOM aud We were sent tp cooperate will,
u NDiiiitt'fr rssiflitit winch ltt ttt'h
raised 10y General Thomas Francis
M.aghpr. military governor of Montaua.
and of which Neil Howe. United States
marshal. had been made. colonel. The
troops were taken over to the Yellowstone
where they were applies with arms and
ammunition. that il the volunteers. Soon
aftcrySaist one captain and two companies
of men. who did not like tho prospect of
the work bcfois. them. deserted AMI made
their way to New Mexico. In the spring
of l~51. while W. were at Fort Benton.
~siencral Mca.ircr was invited q" sleep on
board tire boat which had brought up
our supplies. During the right ls, got up,
intending tn go ashore. having some bust
hess To attend tn which had ESCAPED his
mind. In some way or another. IL was
never known how. lac fell overheard and
was drowned. A sad end for such "A brave.
man. I SAW him II few hours before the
accident as lac stood i'm the center of "a
group of officers. the very picture nf "a
slashing soldier.
"t,cneral McaEher was Succeeded 10y
Green 4 lay Smith, of Kentucky. and il
WAS soon after his appointment that an
other very lamcntabte affair occurred. A
detachment of recruits had tss.n sent on
from Governors Island to headquarters al
Fort Benton and ON the way up the river
these men acted as n body guard to Coy
ernor Smith. The boat WAS named the
Labarge, after its French owner. and oII
IL was "a captain of the English army. also
ON his way to Fort Benton. where he Was
to join a party of his countrymeu on "a