The Helena independent., 1891-05-03

I
to every old resident of Alder Guleh anu
Cottonwood, as Deer Lodge was once
called. jeff was not a strictly professional
gambler, though he was gambler ana
ne,yy one He Was leader in every sense
of the word. He was the first III every
stampede. no matter how dangerous. II
JEFF standifer goes, | co. was common
cry when new expeditions were talked OF.
| never saw man OF such fearless
courage. And fighter You talk about
the art of throwing gun in any way, why
that man was a miracle. There were no
chances SO desperate that he would not
walk into battle with recklessness that
never saw in any Other man."
~
Let mo tell you what he once did One
time he and q small party of men were
attacked in Idaho by band OF Indians.
JEFF and his party were along the bank OF
river, which was lined with willows The
Indians were on q hill shooting ut them.
Standifes and his men might have escaped
but he was not built that way. Under his
directions the boys cut the willow twlGS
and by bending them made great ball.
| This was big enough to shield all, ard away
they started rolling it up the hill. The bail
protected them and they kept it moving
until it reached vantage point There
they stopped and opened fire on the In
dians. and they never quit until the band
was wiped out After this jeff came to
Montana. He was first in every stampede
that was started. He led party of fifty
men in the Big Horn expedition in 1870,
and of that number only jeff and one or
two others came back to Fort Laramie alive.
He was an Apollo in appearance Fully
six feet tail slim and wiry, with jet black
beard and piercing black eyes. And thor
ough gentleman, too. and always diesseo
like one. When he was in town he would
be seen attired in the finest brondcloth that
money could buy. His boots were of the
latest fashion, and he always wore the
cleanest linen. In the saddle he was dressed
in a well-itting buckskin suit neatly
trimmed He was always quiet and pleas
art except when he was aroused, and then
he was fighter from Taw But he was
always cool. Few men over Jumped" him
and no man ever did it twice. HE was a
good man to keep away from if yon were
looking fora fight, but he never started fight
as remember. When gambling there was
no limit too high when his pile would
reach. he was the coolest gambler l ever
saw. If Il dispute arose he tried to settle
! matters quietly, but no man could run a
gun bluff. When he decided that was all
there WAS to it, Ant. he decided right The
people of every community where he liveo
hau absolute confidence in hun. Whel
tl,, ,fa1a hay Ee
, he never retreated. Well | never knew
Just what became Of jeff. He went tt
Fort Laramie and became scout, which
was natural, for he liked outdoor life. We
learned afterward that he Was killed, bu
never knew just how. II he was killed it Il
safe to bet five years of your life that five
other men were killed on that occasion"
~
. heard an amusing story of young ves
! side housekeepel's troubles with greer
Chinese servant. After various trials will
, different cooks. she finally hired China
inan that at first glance seemed all tina
. WAS required. He insisted on carrying
=, candle about during the night until th,
mystery of gas illumination was explained
i, TO him. He was told how to turn off TIL
. ont. One morning the family wa
. awakened by the odor of escaping gas aut
an examination showed that the kitchen
! was full of it. The danger was explained
to the son OF the celestial empire but h
= mo sabe." He WAS also fold to arouse tn
family for breakfast by ringing the bell
The next morning all were awakened b.
, the ringing of the door bell. The China
, man had gone outside and was tearing thu
f bell to pieces when stopped by the rathe
disc outraged housekeeper.
e The identity of the mysterious Fair
v weather in San Francisco brings man
! "reminiscences to the old timers Hug
McQuaid, while talking about the twic
famous "Bill," suid: 81 knew him ve
Ia well ana | have the only picture of him !
:, the state. In 1866 he started for Alaska t
IA find gold. At my suggestion he had fe
+ pictures taken, and have one of them
FarweatheT was tall well-built man, wit
"a a sandy beard and a narrow and thin fac
10 He was an odd character in many way
q lie could be both pleasant and morose.
J. 1866, he and party of prospectors starte
h from BGnnack for the Big Horn mountain
n which even to this day carries the trnditlo
a.. of being an unknown field of fabulor
! wealth. After suffering great hRrdshil
,o they returned to Bannack. One night the
f. camped at u bar. Bill thought he wou
"a try the dirt. 1t panned out very rich. Th
N was the discovery of Alder, the riches
,f gulch ever known.
: ~
y Harry Woolrich the Montana plunge
d was talking about the way regulations a
ts sometimes made by so-called bad" me
" If a man kills two or three men, no mat t
o, under what conditions, he Immediately a
Mt uuires Il reputation HIS dangerous ma
a, who will fight at the drop of the hat. | /
n member a fellow named Collins ut Mil
Is City and he was one of the greatest cowar
ne ever knew. He would run rather th
Of fight any time and would take any amou
n of abuse. Ono time he killed sold
a from Fort Keogh when he had tho best
o. it, He was locked up i'll a log Jail for t
Id night. A rumor came to town that I
ia soldiers were cening down to lynch hi
The sheriff told Collins what was likely
or happen and, giving him "A Winchester, l.
he the jail. The soldiers took charge Of
mi jail. The first one that looked
of the cell fell back dead wi
vl, Il shot i'll his head. Collins gave Il simi
re- dose to the next one who peeyed in. Tn