The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-12-12
Mr.. ERWIN'S VISION
Occult Experience of St Paul's Great
Criminal Lawyer.
YELLOWSTONE KELLY'S PAL
Bill Witnesses Keily's Thrilling Es-
cape From a Band of Black
feet Indians In Montana-A
Horses Hoofbeats.

st. Paul Pioneer Press. Dec. 9:
There are few better raconteurs in the
west, or In the east, either. for the
matter of that, than w. w. (BiD Err
win, the criminal lawyer, who has
probably defended more men for capi-
tai crimes than any other attorney In
the west. He il known only as law
yer to most of the later corners to the
northwest, but the fact is that he had
a good deal of Indian experience in
his early days and has always had
penchant for the men who spent their
early life on the frontier, and knew all
of them more or less intimately. His
brother John was once a resident OF
St. Paul and later a scout in the gov
eminent employ, and he, himself. saw
some service dn the same line. Paul
Blum was another st. Paul boy who
was in the government service as scout
or bull puncher'' in early days. and
there was a session of storytelling
the other evening when Blum and Err
win met after years separation. En-
win told a story which involved some
thing of the occult, but which was
known to some of the auditors and was
undoubtedly true. He told 1t with that
earnestneSS of manner and speech
that characterfzes his addresses in
court and every moment or two he
used that questioning ejacula ton "Ha!'
that he so frequently throws into the
jury box. And among the people who
listened to him were two men VINO
knew of the verify of the remarkabie
occurrence because Of having seen the
correspondence verifying IL. The story
detailed a mental communica tton that
passed between Erwin and yellow
stone" Kelly the famous frontiersman.
Brwin being in st. Paul and the scout
in the Yellowstone valley. The story
went back to and involved one of the
most sensational cases in which Err
win ever figured.
Nineteen years ago Erwin was tele-
graphed to go to Bismarck and defend
a young man, a mere boy, who was ac-
cused of murder. The young fellows
name was Kahn. He was accused OF
having killed a man named Smith. II
was IN the days when Bismarck was ait
the end of the Northern Pacific line
and 1t was probably the hottest" town
in America. And 1T wasn't a bit too hot
for the people who were engaged In
running 1t. There was Denny Han
nif1n, then in his glory. who kept the
principal saloon 1t was about that
time that a man was killed in Denny's
place and HannIfin, having proper
sense of the fitness of things, gave the
dead man a wake and sent the bill TO
the county commissioners He put the
expense at sS5 and the commissioners
thought 1T was too much. and asked
that 1t be ftemized. Denny itemdzed the
candles. pipes and whisky for the wake
the cost of the coffin and the price OF
cleaning things up, and Ii all amount
ed to $93. He got the money. Alex
mckenzie was then sheriff of Burleigh
county and the police affairs of the
county and town were run with an
iron hand. This young Kahn had gone
into the whisky business on the trail
to the Black Hills and had got HIM
self dislked. He had an alteration
with two brothers of the name of
with one of them. The young fellow
was badly cut up, but he managed to
pull a gun and kin Smith. He was not
popular. and the friends of the dead
man were looking for chance to put
him out of the way. That was the state
of affairs when Erwin got up there,
and he soon found out how the land
lay. He had to make personal and
warlflke declaration before he could get
a hearing. and there was one among
the frontiersmen then IN town who
took sides with him. He was Yellow
stone Kelly.
Kelly was a bad man in a row. and
there were not many people who went
cunning for him particularly. He had
been in the Indian country so long that
he had many of the habits of the red
men, and particularly as TO silence. He
never talked unnecessarily, and when
he did talk ne was believed. Erwin $
fixed countenance and habit OF saying
nothing when there was nothing to be
said caught Kelly. and they became
friends. The Kahn trial Is another
story, though. Erwin saw IL through.
and Yellowstone staid with him. Kahn
got off, Afterward Kelly and the law
yer were firm friends, though they met
very infrequently.
"Yellowstone," said Erwin, made a
great impression on me. He said so
little, and what he did say meant so
much. And then / knew of the man;
capable of doing, that he was In my
thoughts a good deal.
''lt was the spring after / met Kelly
that i had this queer experience, whlch
some of the gentlemen here knew OF al
the time. 1 was in Gus Knights place,
at Sixth and Wabasha streets. one
afternoon, and had been DOING in a
chair Suddenly / gave whoop like
an Indian and went down on my knees
with my ear to the floor. That Is what
knight saw. This is what l saw: The
canyon of a deep creek; on each side
of the canyon a growth OF timber thaf
might have been couple or hundred
yards wide. on either side of the stream
at the bottom of the gulch slow-mov-
ing and deep. The creek runs in a
southeasteTly direction, and in the tim
Der ON the south side. / saw a white
man moving dFOnS SONiy Dy the sly
of a horse. Some few hundred yards
behind him were a party Of Indians
trailing along silently and seeking &c
come up with the white man. They
stopped for a moment 20 converse. and
then three OF them made a detour
leaving the timber and riding rapidly
ahead. They were going, saw. to get
On front OF the white man and make
sure of him. The white man knew
there was danger. but he didn't seem
70 think IL was so close. He turned