The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-06-12
BOLD ROBBERS THESE,
Particulars Of the Two Hold UPS on
the Billings Great Falls
Stage Line
They Occurred on Successive DAVIS
Within q Few Milea OF
Each Other.

Each Other.
Postof'cs Inspsetors and Deputy she,in
Securing tho Country for the Three
4 Daring Highwsymen.
Chief Postoffice Inspector Franks. Bedei
10 in receipt Of particulars OF tho two Bill
iinRs-Great Falls stage robberies near La,
vina on juno and q Az soon as II WA
known that the robbers had taksn and ,tflet
the mail sacks. Chief Bedsll sent Inspect
ors VIM. Watkins and O. i. Wayland to tb,
scene and offered q reward Of $500 for th,
capture of the thieves. The chiefs lstes
information, just received BY mail. come,
from Inspector Wsyland, Who was al Bill
hngs on Thursday last. having just re-
turned from Iewistown and the scene o,
tho robberies. Inspector Watkins, he said
was working back to the railroad via Mai
den and junction. The story Of the rob
berries and the efforts made 10 oapture th.
hiRhwaynen 10 told BY inspector Wayland
% follows:
The first robbery. that Of June 2, was a
the edge Of . woods on ! steep hill eight
miles south Of Lawns. The mail va car.
ried that day in road wagon with no cover,
Bill NsRus was the driver. Halsey Watson,
OF Lewistown, and. his mother, were pas.
ssnRers. They had about 600 with them,
but they wore unmolssted. One highway
man stood ON the hill twenty or thirty fee,
away and ordered the stage stopped. The
occupants were commanded to 90 20 the
top Of the hill, which they did. The robber
took out two pouches Of mail and the treas.
urs box. The'robber then shot one Of the
stage horses and commanded tho driver to
80 on with one animal, which he did. He
had to so in this way seven miles to Fair
view before he could procure another horse
or give the alarm. Continuing, the in
spector says: mo one made
any attempt to capture the
thieves until reaching Billings about
seven o'clock in the evening. when Nacus
made report, and the sheriff dispatched
two deputies, Will Ramsay and G. E.. Bos-
we'll, to the Mussslshell. Clarence Ed
wards. sheep herdsr on Bears ranch.
witnessed the robbery and saw one m an
ride very fast to the northwest, almost par
allel with the stage road. into coulee and
out OF sight. The man who stood near the
stage 10 described % tall, broad shouldered
and dark skinned. He wore . mask Of
'nen enn1ss pns no noa. has M, md had on sicker
man. with the other, who saa hid III the
woods took one horse ana yhitohed him
with a singletree to the treasure box and
dragged it that way into the woods, but the
driver does not think 30. No description
can DC gwen OF tho second man, and while
n thpnn
three at one time, and there is no positive
indication shat there were three,
he second robbery was on a steep bluff
a mile and q half north of Lavina at eight
o'clock on the morning OF June g. the stage
bong one hour late. One man lay behind
driver. One man is described by Frank
Craven: the driver, as being five feet nine
inches high and weighing $50 pounds. dark
complexion and dark eyes. He had the
toes cut out of both shoes. This rob-
berry was Witnessed by County Commits.
with some workmen, was on the bridge over
the Musselshell. and on the opposite side
OF Lavina from the robbery.
THE two deputy sheritfs had arrived in
Lavina about six in the morning with two
men whom they had arrested on suspicion.
Ihey turned tho men loose when the driver
came IN as fast as he could and reported
the second robbery. Tho deputies had
Just ridden from Billings, fifty miles, and
their horses we're very tired. They tried to
get fresh ones, but could not. and rode to
the scene on the same horses, arriving
twenty minutes after the robbery occurred.
They found the two cut pouches, and claim
to have looked around and seen no one, and
returned to Lavina within thirty minutes
after leaving, and won't to bed. Commits
sioner McCourt tried to get guns and
horses. but none were to be had. William
Mendenhall rode to the scene Of the rob-
snG eefy and n1as found the mail pouches ripped
yards or less from the place. Everything
Indicates the robbers were there rifling the
mail while the deputies were 800 Yards
away. From the summit of the hills near |
by the country can be viewed for from i've |
10 ten miles in all directions, but it con-
tains coulees and pockets in which men
and horses can be easily hidden. 10 the
east 1t is worthless. hilly, badland coun-
try, stretching for 400 miles, very sparsely |
settled, and those settlers are much more |
likely to conceal than TO expose a criminal. |
Ihe deputies went to Halbert and returned |
On the stages the next two nights, expecting
another attack. but mono occurred"
Mayland says that near whore the second |
robbery occurred were found tracks show
ing that horses had been held there appar-
'ntly for several hours. Wayland, Watkins
and Mendenhsll went north on the stage
SSa w. AsSoAS N'PAAukSS aAu tuCuC6 eHBv, on |
he theory that the culprts would cross the
snow mountains to 90 to tho Missouri
liver or further north. woman living
aear Highheld, twenty-five miles north OF
Iavina told the patty she had seen three
men going northeast on Saturday, June 4.
Going in that direction the pursusrs could
ind no ranehmen or sheep herders who had
'esn the horsemen. II was found that the
men had not entered the mountains BY any
II the regular roads or passes but had
crossed tho foothills to the east of the
snowy mountains. The trail was followed
% Lewistown but no trace was found there.
The robbers were heard of IN several
places, and Wayland thinks they are either
II the Snow mountains or on their way to
he Missouri river, or the bad lands east of
'ergus county; and that Watkins and the
heriH may be on The trail now.
Crazy Man ON = Train.
HoLY, Mich. June ia man named
ohnson took possession Of the baggage oar
n train for Detroit this morning, driving
Mt the baggage man and assistant at the
oint OF his revolver. When the train
saohed this place he ordered the conduc-
A "a A