The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-06-11
THE OUTLAWS TERROR.
Beiilcr Recognized as The Terrible
Nemesis Of Montana.

Execution of Road Agents.
Helena Mont Cor. ST Louis Glohe-Democrat
One of the greatest characters the
northwestern portion OF our country has
ever produced was j. n. Beidler, who re-
Gently died here at Helena. He was pop
ularly known as Y Bodler. and a simple,
unadomcd narrative of his life and adj
ventures would fill many rood-sized vol
umes j. B. Mcclure, the publisher once
offered y Beidler $4,000 if he would
come east and have his life written up.
but this rude frontier character was en-
tirely too busy at the time rounding up
horse thieves and hanging road agents TO
listen to the proposal. He lived and died
among the stirring scenes of the north
west beloved, admired and respected by
all, and even honored in his old age by
manyof the rufiians whom he had brought
TO Justice
X. Beidler, before ne made great deal
of the history of the northwest, was en-
gagged in many stirring scenes farther east.
When quite young man before thewar)
he accompanied John Brown to Kansas
and became a member of the celebrated
legislature of that state. One day, while
in session, a number of shotguns were
brought to bear upon the important abo-
litionist lawmakers and when the situa-
ton was fully understood X promptly
followed his leader out of a window with
out stopping to argue or parley the matter
with any one.
After that little unpleasantncss Brown
tried to persuade his friend TO go back to
Virginia with him, but the latter wisely
declined the honor, and struck out for
the unknown uneXplOred northwest,
where he made name and fame for him
self among the newly-discovered mining
camps of Montana.
While John Browns body was ''molder-
ing in the grave X. Beidler was busily
engaged in ferreting out and hanging evil
doors in Montana and Idaho,
Up A TREE.
The writer first met X. Biedler nearly
fifteen years ago on the shOw-covered
plains of Northern Montana and-up a
tree
1t was in the dead of winter (thermome-
ter zero), and our command, in pursuit of
Sitting Bulls band ofhostiles, was slowly
blowing its way up Milk river through
the snow when Beidler recognized us
He was deputy sheriff then, having in
charge five captured desperadOes whom
he was conducting from Fort Benton, on
InG upper Missouri, 10 MICS AlbN, on bIe
Lower Yellowstone, for trial.
When our command, mounted on Indian
ponies and clad in buffalo coats, hove in
sight, the deputy sheriff supposed us to
be Indians, whereupon he ordered his five
prisoners each to mount a tree, and
climbing a cottonwood himself he covered
them with his Winchester and swore
thatathe first one who should utter a
sound or make a rustic would be dead
man When the mistake was discovered
the plucky deputy descended and with
his prisoners under our guard he was
given the opportunity of a much needed
sleep. 1t is needless to add that the five
miscreants were conducted by this one
man to Miles City in safety, where they
were afterward tried and duly punished.
Along about 1868 y. Beidler found him
self rather busily engaged in handling the
dangerous element of the frontier mining
settlement called Virginia City in West
.ern Montana. 1t was no child's affair to
meet and oppose the scores of toughs, cut
,throats aud other bad characters who in
Tested the locality, and for a long time
the courageous deputy sheriff did his
duty in a bold, fearless way but the
work was too lively for him to accomplish
in a strictly lawful manner, and so he or
gained the first vigilance committee
which was ever brought together in the
northwest. The scheme was brought
about by the fact that
the bad element among the min
ers of Bannack, neighboring camp
had sworn in as their sheriff one of their
pals named Henry Plummer "a notorious
scoundrel. who had drifted north from
some Of the Nevada camps), and this fell
low had gathered around him as deputies
characters even worse than himself, viz.
Jack Gallagher, Buck Stinson, Ned Ray,
George Ives, Charley Forbes and Haze
Lyons.
HAD THEIR OWN WAY
These fellows did pretty much as they
pleased in the camp at Baunack, as well
as at Virginia City, for the mob element
controlled, and they robbed, garroted
and murdered unchecked anybody worth
the trouble who came along. Horses,
coaches, miners and travellers were
marked in some mysterious manner in
both camps, and the only stumbling block
in the way of these Williams was X. Beid-
Ter, the territory deputy
Plummer was, in fact, the head chief of
secret organization whose object was
the plumber, and murder, if necessary, of
the very people he was supposed to pro
tect. While assassinating and robbing
his constituents, this arch fiend actually
had the gall or check to send an APP
plication to Washington for appointment
as marshal of the territory, and while he
was cutting Threats and playing the part
of highwayman out west his papers as
marshal were being made out at Washing
ton.
AT the very moment when Plummer
was hanging as malefactor ON a gallows
of his own construction (the result of X.
Beidler's nerve and his vigilance commit
tee), the commission arrived from Wash
ington appointing him marshal The
story of this most famous exploit is part
Of the unwritten history of the North
west.
Among Plummer's deputies was young
fellow named j. w. Dillingham;. He was
noble, upright young man, and decidedly
in the wrong place among the robher gang
whom his chief had drawn about him.
Being one of them, of course he was let
into all their secrets; but he was an hon
est man, and had no sympathy with his
fellow confederates. One evening in
June, 1863 while camped near Banuack,
he accidentally heard some of the others,
principally Ives and Stinson, both depn-
ties, plotting TO rob a miner named Dodge,
who intended to leave Bannack next day
it'll 5000 in dust and nuggets for Vim
ginia City.
The plan was 10 meet Dodge at Rattle-
snake Crossing, there waylaF and rob
him. and. if necessary, 10 murder him.
Dillinghams honest heart reyolted at this
contemplated Outrage. so he sought out