The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-11-05

WHOLESALE MURDER
How a Party Met Death at the Hands
of Outlaws.
ALL THE ASSASSlNS DEAD
II Is a True Story OF Early Life In
Montana-ToId by Dave Upton,
a Man Who Knows the
Country.
ALL THE ASSASSINS DEAD

ssThe wholesale murders, such as
Durrant and Holmes have been found
guilty Of" said David N. Upton, one
of Montana's oldLthmers, yesterday, as
he leaned up against the railing of 'the
Butte, remind me of the murder or
Lloyd Magruder and party, which took
place on the old 10 Lo trail at point
beyond the Clearwater. near Elk CITY,
idaho, dn the fall of 1868 1t was an
atrocious crime, and was planned and
executed dn the most cold-blooded man.
ner by a gang of cutthroats that affil-
lated with Henry Plummer and his
band of assassins, whose red-handed
work in those days of gold and no rail-
or wagon roads is still fresh in the
minds of all oldItmers in Montana
Lloyd Magruder lived at Lewiston,
ndaho," continued Mr.. Upton, when
asked by the little parity surrounding
him no relate the incident, land was a
packer on the trail between Walla wal
Ia, Wash, and Alder Gulch, this SKATE
He was one of the most prominent
men in the territory, and had been ire
quently spoken of as the republican
nominee for delegate in congress. He
was man of sterling worth-one in
whom everybody, irrespective OF poll
tics, repoSed the greatest confidence.
AT that time the gold excitement In
uAlder gulch was at its height, and Ma
gr'uder was engaged in the transporta-
Hion of merchandise from Walla Wana
TO the guIldh, a distance of nearly $50
miles. The trail was one that had
been made by the coast Indians as
means of ingress and egress to the
bufralo country of the Sioux in Eastern
Montana and Dakota and da,aversed ehe
ridges and gulches of the Bitter Root
range of mountains a large portion OF
the way. Magrrier's train comprised 40
mules and, owing to the great distance
that had TO be itraveled, the risks taken
by the travellers and flush times in the
gulch. the cargo OF a mule tram was
valuable. Each shovel brought an
ounce of gold dust, each pick was worth
a similar amount, and everything else
bore a proportionate value. On the
Hateful voyage Magruder carried $4,000
worth of merchandise. He arrived
safely in Alder guilch, received the
money for the goods and started on
1.-THE return trip in company with c. Al
Zen, Horace Chalmers, Robert CHAIN
ers and a man named Phillips. Ma
gruders money was in gold dust ana
was being packed by the mules. After
the party had travelled about two days
Vt was overtaken by another party,
comprising Jem Romaine. Billy Page,
BILL Lowry and doc" Howard, who
asked Magruder for permission ito ac-
company him, adding that the Indians
were bad and by concentration of for
ces they would be better able to frus-
draIte an attack of the red men. The
real object of Romaine and his party.
however was murder and robbery.
They knew that Magrnder had $14, 900
with him and had followed him from
Adder gullch for the purpose of murder
ing the whole outfit and securing the
dust. Their motto was: Dead men
tell no tales Magruder consented to
allow the four bandits to accompany
him, and for several days they an trav-
eled together over the lonesome trail.
IA short distance beyond the Clearwater
the party went into camp for the night
and the murderers concluded that Ma
gruder had held ftlhe yellow metal long
enough. A quiet conference was held
by them and a plan of attack decided
upon After the packs had been re-
moved from the backs of THE mules
Magruder started to a spring a short
ways off to get some water Ito be used
I'm the preparation of the evening meal
and Lowry followed him. Not having
had the slightest admont'tion that he
and his party were to be ruthlessly
slaughtered within the next few min
utes, Magruder did not take his fire.
arms with him, and was therefore COM
tp1etely at the mercy of the villain who
WAS logging his footsteps a few yards
Ito the rear. AS soon as Magruder
reached the spring Lowry pulled his
gun and shot him dead. This was the
signal for the other assassins to begin
their murderous attack on those in
camp, and in less than three minutes
after the first shot was fired ait the
spring the souls of the two Chalmer
boys. Phillips and Allen were with that
of poor Magruder. The work OF TAX
Ding human life having been completed,
the murderers next turned their aitten-
ton Ito the mules, and butchered all of
them save the one that had been ridden
by Magruder himself. The bodies OF
the men were then thrown over a preci-
pice near by and the>murderers, with
Magruders gold. mule and saddle, re-
sumed their journey over the trail. Ma
gruder was also well known in Elk City
as well as in Lewiston, and when the
party reached that pJtle mountain set
ulement some miners noticed that Low
ny was riding his mule: and, knowing
the character of the desperadoes. began
TO suspect that all was not right.
The murderers remained in Elk only
few hours and then proceeded to
Lewiston. Magruder's home, where
they displayed the gold which had been
taken from their victims several days
before. The people of Lewiston also
recognized the mule and saddle in the
possession of Lowry and began to
speculate on the fate of Magruder,
The murderers, realizing how unpro-
fessional IL would be for them to stay