The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-11-17
AN EARLY DAY STORY
Uncle Bill Berry, According to the
Statoots," Is a Prisoner.
HOW HE FOOLED THE JUDGE
He and His Men In the Mine We're
Too Busy to Be Arrested, So
They Went to the Court
at Their Pleasure.

old territorial court. 1 am a prisoner
confined in the penitentiary and have
been for nearly 30 vears?"
The speaker was Uncle Bill Berry
and his question was addressed to
Standard reporter. OF course the lat
ter knew nothing about II and he ad
mttted his ignorance. The old veteran
then proceeded 10 tell "how the play
came up."
'It was in e. said Uncle Bill, land
we were holding the Fighting Claim
in Bear gulch. That was the name It
went by then and 1t has been called
by that name ever since. / presume 1t
has been all washed out now. but 1T
was a good one then. The whole trou-
BILE arose over an Injunction which
Judge Williston issued against our OPP
erations. 1t was the oueerest document
that / ever saw. 1t was written on
little piece of rough paper and didn't
look official. 1t was served on me. as
boss. by a private citizen named Will
Jams. who had no more right to serve
an Injunction than 1 had. And 1 told
him so when he served It, We kept
on working and that was the way the
trouble beGan.
THE way that Injunction came to be
issued was this: The claim that we
were working, the Fighting Claim, was
a bar claim. Bill Ely. an Englishman,
held the creek claim at that place and,
under the law of that time, he claimed
the bar. There was almost a perpen-
dicular raise in bed rock on his claim
and as THE law was that a creek claim
should run from summit to summit
and include all bars. Ely claimed our
bar. I couldn't see 1t in that light.
however.
Early that season. the three Mis-
sourians who had located the bar, came
to me and said: Wen give you an
even interest in the claim, If you'll
help us hold It,. That was just what
/ wanted and / told them that II they
would obey my orders and stay with it
we'd hold the claim in spite of hell
SO / went to work with the boys and
Bill Ely sized I'D the situation. He
didn't like the way IL looked, l guess,
for ne sent away and got a big Irish
shoulder hitter. named Mike Sullivan
to stand me off.
I'VE kept on working for while and
then they made a proposition to ref
cree the case. At first / refused, but
later / consented. When / had made
up my mind to referee the case-'leave
IL out we called 1t then-I hunted up
Mike Sullivan l found him one Fri
day night in Jim Talbots saloon and
/ said: mike. we Will leave the case
out
"'No, you'll not leave 1t out said
Mike. Nothing but blood or ground
goes
"'weli.' said. that suits me. Now
we know where we stand
~ went back to the claim and early
next morning we took our horses and
moved a little log cabin that stood
empty about 200 Yards from our claim.
We marked the logs and soon had the
cabin set up on our bar and were
ready for them. This was Saturday
and all day Bill and Mike were rus
Ting fighters. They got lot of them,
mostly Irishmen. On Sunday morning
they advanced toward our claim but
we were ready for them. There were
Is of US in the cabin and we were well
supplied with ammunition. The cabin
was about 20 by 30 and was Is feet
high. The only way they could get in
was by crawling under the lower logs
or by climbing over.
They didn't like the way 1t looked
and they sent three men with flag of
truce to talk with US. The committee
came I'D and talked through the
chinks. They wanted to settle. / re-
fused. Nothing but blood or ground
goes was my answer and they went
back. Well. they couldn't do anything
with US and they finally drew away
their forces. We kept watch for an at
tack, but they didn't make Ii. There
Is one man in Mfssoula to-day, Ed
HIATT, who was one OF my party in the
cabin. lie was just a boy then. There
may be some others. but 1 don't re-
member them.
Finally they made another PROPOSE
tion and we accepted II. They chose
three men. we chose three and these
six were to select a seventh. The de-
cision of this board was to be final
Ny boys didn't like this. but / wasn'i
afraid OF the result and 1t came out
II h. 10 III ~, 4
three Irishmen as his represen natives
chose Henry Mulkey. John Downes
and a Frenchman. whose name have
forgotten. They argued a long time
but they couldn't agree on the seventh
man. Finally Downes proposed thai
each side send one man to the mouth
OF Bear and these two ride either ur
or down the valley. The first mar
that they met who did not live or
Bear should complete the board. They
wouldn't agree TO this and Their
Downes came back to me with The
written agreement to arbitrate. / was
standing on pile of timber and
tore the papers up. throwing the pieces
into the air. This settles IT, / told
them. Nothing but blood or ground
goes
well, they didn't want blood. hui
they did want the ground. So Ely got
on a mule and rode to Deer Lodge
There he got the Injunction that Will.
Jams tried to serve. and that got ms
into Jail. AS said before. We paid NJ
attention 10 the paper and kept or
working. Then came a warrant 70,
our arrest. Fred Burr was sheriff ther
and he served the warrant himself
He rode over from Deer Lodge on,
night and ] met him in the saloon.
knew then what he was after.
"sBill.' he said. where VIII you be Il
the morningT
REPLIED.
I'm coming down TO see you
"'All right. you'll find me at tn
wIndlass'
The next morning ne came down