, 1890-01-30
JN0. X. BEIDLER
The Famous Vigilante
Chief of Montana,
WHO DIED RECENTLY.
End OF q Career of Romance
and Peril.
We MEYER THREW UP HIS HANDS
Incidents of q Tragic and Anus
ing Nature-Ae was Ready
for Death.
HE MEYER THREW UP HIS HANDS

John y. Beidler was born near Harris.
burg, Penn, In la3. lie belonged to an
excellent family and had three brothers
who were conspicuous In the localities
In which tnoy lived. lie left his home
when quito Young and went to Elkhart,
| Ill.,, in 1854, WHERE he followed tho husi'
ness Of manufacturing brooms, but this
proved too slow ana monotonous for q
man of his energetic character, aud
| shortly after the breaking out Of tho
! border warfare between Missouri and
Kansas, he Icft Tor that region and cast
his fortunes with the leaders, in the Kan
sas siGe ol tue affair. lie was engaged
| iu number of sklrrnlshes and was tiual'
| ly shot and was left for dead %, the field
| near Oswntgmic, but recovered, and in
| 1865 went to Colorado. Tho wounds
which he received lamed him for life
| Ia Colorado he bought some pack ami
mals and followed the business Of carry
| ing supplies to thc miners In the noun
tains.
Early inthe spring Of 1863 reports OF
rich gold discoveries in Blnnagk, Mont.
Uhcn ldaho) having been received,
/ y, true 10 his adventurous spirit aud
desire to be in the front rank of those
brave and dauntlcss mon who bla2ed the
trails throughout the great west, left for
I thc new gold fields lie arrived ut Ban
muck June 10, 1853 and shortly after
| jo.ncd the law and order society or Wig
/ ilanve committee, Which was organized
/ Tor tn, purpose of supprcssing and rN-
l terminating the bard of treeDOoters or
fOld agents ns they were called. lie
. uu. .tltl-
/ timer eAptu,scs 1t, to help save the coun'
/ try, and hl, share IN those stirring and
dangerous times was Only limited Ny his
physical und mental endurance, and
| he wa strong, actiye and alert on all
occasions requiring nerve and bravery.
CLOSE CALL.
| The closest call ne ever lad in Mon
tana was at Rattlesndke creek, near
| Bannack, in the winter OF 1891. lie
sadilcd his mule nj Bannack ana start
ed Tor Alder Gulch. The weather was
very cold, and it being nearly dark ne
/ stopped for the uight az the small road
sido house on ltattiesuAiu. He had
hardly token up his qdSr1crJ when i've
road agents from Bannuck appeared at
the house with the intention OF killing
| mm, having followed linn Tor that pur-
pose. They had been tried tor ,hct'
many crimes shortly before at Nirgiula
! CITY, hut through some means escaped
conviction. 1hcir graves hat been dug
| however ami they were anxious to wipe
UIt ala who had been Instrumental III
/ ,hvir agtrst.
one ul them said TO NJ "You are
| the mun tn It helped dig my grave"
Yes said ", "aud, by the way, YOU
| have utypr Maid me for that vet.
This was such an ant reply that all
| laughed ana unv OF tie robbers proposed
to treat. Another insult WAS offered In
Ur,lcr ~ provoke "a reply, but it was par
Rcd IN such a humorous way that
drinks were again proposed. The OBJ
| jcct OF thc road agents was to provoke
I y. and then kill him. About this time
/ u committee OF twelve yigilantes walked
in and called Hands up The locks
oi twelve shotguus clicked, and all
threw up their hands.
He wa, rud of lite and spirit and was
So fond of paying pl1riical Jokes that in
puuis 'ncIt lie was often nlado to stand
guard Mt night during nn expedition
10 SHukc river the party CImped on
Sand creek on the opposite side from
the road. The camp hrc was kept up
and duiiug the nj GIT u man came along
the rual and Suil he wanted To come
over. X. told him Ill right; there was u
inot-log mile below. Tie traveller
went Un down TO look for the log hut
not finding ii came back and reported
the i.Ct. lie said he wanted to get 10
the camp, but didn't want 10 yet wet.
"Wcll, that's all right said ", this Is
dry creek. Come overt
No one was more earnest in his efforts
and determination to destroy the power
OF the road agents than ", and he never
GltCrcd nor shirkcd any call OF the vlgl-
lance committee till tho last one of the
plumncr gang was hung. Amer the
gang had been destroyed and IL WAS safe
Tor the people To- go abroad without be.
ing robbed and murdered, ", who had
proved himself an able officer, was ap-
pointed deputy United states marshal
| While acting as deputy marshal he was
| given warrant for bad man ON the
Yellowstone, who wa. wanted for horse
stealing and who had threatened to kill
Beider on sight. y. jumped on
blackboard and started out,
While on the road he heard that
the man he was after was
ahead going down the Yellowstone
aioot with Winchester OH his shoulder.
y. drove leisurely along and, coming up
with his man, lc invited him to Jump IN
and take ride. The invitation was ac-
ccpted, and in course Of conversation he
remarked to y, that lic was looking for
that d-d y. Bcidler and intended TO
kill him OH sight. y. said he was &C
quaiutcd with the man himself and
would point him out II lie got chance.
After while Y, asked his companion
to drive a little, US lie was tired holding
the lines. The man readily complied
with this reasonable request, when y.
deliberately pulled his gun oil the bad
man and told him to surrender, as lie
had some jcwelTy for him. The man
could do no less, so he submitted with
ill-cnuccglcd disgust TO being hand
cuiled, and was taken TO Fort kcogh aud
turned over 10 the civil authorities.
uE sKyFE GOT EXCITED.
This peculiar way OF dealing with bad
men was noted Characteristic OF the
old pioneer. Ho never seemed to get cx-
cited aud was apparently as humorous
and Indifferent under the most ying
circumstances as when relating SOME
story of adventure. surrounded by
friends and companions. He was per
fectly titteed for work requiring nerve
and skill, and nothing appeared to suit
him better than to be engaged In some
hazardous enterprise. His trustworthi.
ness and honesty NJ purpose was never
questioned. knowing he possessed
these qualities In an eminent degree, and
that lac was brave and cautious withal,
the Wells Fargo Express Company en-
gagged him as messenger to guard the
treasures shipped nom Helena
To Corlnne, In early days.
lie was never molested by