The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-06-29
CITY NEWS AND GOSSIP.
A Trip With Tenderfeet Up the
Missouri River Twelve
Years Ago.
Pretty Good Testimony That
Robert Ray Hamilton Is
No More.
Children Waiting for tho Opening Of the
CyclOrama on the Wont 4ide-a
Gypsy Camp.

oypBy NAsnp.
Hon. William Wallace, Jr., one Of the
Lewis and Clarke delegation in the legis-
lature, sometimes tells of the days when he
was a tenderfoot, and his experience with
Wild Bill. This Wild Bill was not the in
dividual of that name who died in the Hills
with his boota on, but for a short time Mr..
Wallace's friend inspired as much awe in a
crowd of tenderfeet az any man of his
inches. At Bismarck, in 1879, Will took
passage or the Eclipse with a number of
Others who were in search Of fame and for
tune In Montana. Among the passengers
who attracted attention was a tall, broad
shouldered fellow who wore q wide
brimmed hat. Knotted at the throat of his
blue flannel shirt was a red silk scarf
which dangled about his broad bosom
in true western style. In keeping
with the rest of his appearance were the
hieh-heoled boots he wore. With him WAS
a halfbreed whose general makeup CORES
pended with his W save that the breed
wore gaudy beaded moccasins. "Who is
he?" asked the tenderfeet of a roustabout.
''That's Wild Bill and his pardner," was
UAo AASWeIs i 40 Auulo lllleO uuo DOyS Wlbu
awe and there were soon rnmors floating
about that Bill was a bad man with a record
who was wanted in Montana. There was
nothing in his behavior for a day or two to
indicate his wild nature, until Bill and his
pardner sat Town on the boiler deck to a
game of freeze out. Before the cards were
dealt Bill pulled out a huge bowie knife,
which he Junk into the deck about an inch
deep within convenient reach. The breed
laid a ''gun" at his right side.
The boys gathered about with ''their eyes
sticking out as Bill aftes wards said, until
you could knock them off with a stick"
The game came to an end fortunately with
out any occasion for the use of the bowie or
the gun From this time on, until the
steamer reached Cow Island, five days over
land trip from Fort Benton, Bill related
marvellous tales of hair breadth escapes in
which he had been a participant and mi
tiated the crowd OF tenderfeet into the
ways of the west. When the boat got to
Cow Island the river was too low to reach
Benton and the passengers had to make a
i've days trip on horse back without sad
dies. The journey was made without anyIspe-
cial incident until within a days ride of Ben
ton. Toward evening Bill rode out ahead
to see if the coast was clear of Indians. In
an hour he came back with his horse On Il
dead run, yelling Indians" Across
the country coward the river vent the ten
derfeet on their horses. Bill followed until
the horses were nearly run out and then
called a halt. He assured the boys that he
could get into Benton by another trail fur
ther to the south. This was followed,
hrinvirr %ho rorfr, II, 70 &nru, and avoid In, n,
the Indians. 1t was not many days before
the tenderfeet got better acquainted with
the country. Mr.. Wallace often laughed
over the recollections of the trip. Several
years later he went to Miles City with War
rem Toole to attend a term of court. The
first man he met in the court room was
Wild Bill. who greeted Will by calling him
'Hicky Bud,'' a nickname applied on the
trip up the river. Bill said he Ind been
reading some law, and had just started in
to practice. Here Will found that the
desperado's name was Smith, ana
that hs had never been in the
west before landing in Bismarck, where he
had outtitted himself in border fashion and
made friends with the breed, who passed as
his partner. While at Miles City Smith
was appointed with Henry N. Blake, now
chief justice, to defend a man indicted for
murder. Smith told Will he did not know
much about law, but could paralyze the
court with his ignorance. The prisoner was
convicted and sent up for twenty years.
Smith thought that if he had talked to the
jury q half hour longer his client would
have been hung. After this Wild Bill
drifted over into Missoula county, where he
did some good campaign work when Gov.
Toole made his first run for delegate to
congress. The last news of Smith came
from Portland, the report being that he
died there of consumption.
John D. Sargent, of Marymere. Montana,
was in New Yo.k city last Monday OH some
business in connection with the estate of
Robert Ray Hamilton, the news of whose
death was brought to Helena last summer
by q son of DR.. Norvin Green, of the West
ern Union Telegraph company.
"Ihat's the honest truth about Robert
Ray Hamilton's DEATH" said Sargent, as
he affixed his signature to his testimony re-
speeding Hamilton's death in the Snake
river last summer. He WAS in the law Office
of Roote g. Clarke. No. SO Nassau street.
Standing about watching the nervy ranch
man as he wrote his signature we're Elihu
Root, Samuel b. Clarke. Gilbert M. Speir.
ir., E. ID. O'Connor and ex-Surroeate
Daniel G.. Rollins. THAT'S one of
the last photographs ever published of
Hamilton" Sargent said. throwing upon
the table in front of the assembled throng
of LAWYERS one of Notman's photo
graphs of Hamilton taken when he was in
the state legislature of 1889. Sargent also
threw down a large bunch of checks drawn
by Hamilton in August, 1890. All the doc
uments were tied together in one bundle
and fled away for use in several suits to be
brought against the Robert Ray Hamilton
estate by his p~utative widow. She had
been notified to appear but she was not
present.
The lawyers are all so confident now that
this testimony will put a quietus on tho
Hamilton discussion that they consented
to permit Sargent to return to his home in
Montana. Mr.. Sargent said before he
started for the train that Gen. Schuyler
Hamilton, father of his partner, WAS salts
fed all along of the death of Robert Ray