The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-10
JONES And THE ORE
The Story Of the Midnight Robbery
and Capture Coming Out
HELD TO DISTRICT COURT
Witnesses Testify to Seeing the
Defendant With the Metal Mat
ter In His Possession
Under So 800 Bonds.


ceny in stealing ores of the Anaconda
Copper Mining company from the cars
OF the B.. A. & =. railroad, was con-
Quoted before Judge Turner yesterday
afternoon. Jones had his wife and in
FAINT child with him in the court room
and held the child much of the time.
He was greatly interested in all the
Testimony presented and made fire.
Quent suggestions to his counsel,
Messrs. Newton and Jackson. County
Attorney Wines conducted the prosecu-
ton.
City Detective Dave Meiklejohn, who
was the first witness, said he Is ac-
Quainted with Charles Jones. He saw
him on the evening of Dec. "a driving
his team to Rocker. He saw him
1fttle later on the same evening stand
ing on a B., A. q p. car, throwing ore
OFF of Ii to the ground. Some of the
ore which was thrown off was loaded
3 into a sleigh by Jones and two others
whom the witness did not positively
know. There was 2e25 pounds of the
ore placed in a sleigh. Part of ii was
unloaded on the way to the city in the
sage brush, the load being apparently
too heavy. They drove on with the
balance to South Butte. The following
Sunday the witness placed Jones under
arrest at his residence in South Butte.
Jones denied the charge and called the
witness a id liar, and the witness
slapped Jones in the mouth. Jones de-
MED that he had taken the ore and
gave permission to search his house.
cellar and barn without a search war;
rant He afterwards admitted to the
witness that he had taken the ore, but
said he had found that the officers
were on TO him and so took Ii back
After Jones had been taken to jail the
witness and other officers found ! 600
pounds of ore concealed In a dugout
underneath the floor of Jones' barn.
The witness found also 1.025 pounds
of ore which had been thrown off in
the sage brush on the way to the city.
Police Court Officer Henry Wey. who
accompanied Meiklejohn on the trip,
corroborated the detectives testimony.
He saw Jones throwing ore from the
B.. A. a p. car. loading it on the sled,
driving 1T to the city. concealing part
of the load in the sagebrush and TAX
ing the rest to South Butte. He and
Meikletohn kept them in sight to South
Butte and told the officers there to keep
watch of what became of the ore. He
was with Meiklejohn and Tebo when
Jones was arrested. Jones said he had
no ore about his place. He took Jones
TO Jail and afterwards returned and
helped search the premises more thor
oughly. They found the ore under the
barn. Jones had told the witness that
he wasn't out Christmas eve at ALL and
that he could prove an alibi. The witt
ness said that while throwing the ore
from the cars Jones and the others
would run ito a hiding place and lay
down whenever there was any switch
ing In the vicinity or anyone coming
along. a
Chief of Police Tebo saw Jones at
his house the Sunday morning follow
ing Dec. "a. and was present at the ar
rest. He testified to the finding of the
cache under the barn. The defend
ant at first denied all knowledge of the
affair but afterwards said this was the
only time he had ever done It, He said
he had taken the ore back. The wit
ness had offered Jones "a little leniency
IL 'he would make a clean breast. but
Jones insisted that he was alone In the
AFFAIR and entirely to blame. is
o. L. Chapman, superintendent of the
B.. A. & p, testified that ores of the
Anaconda Copper company were pulled
on cars of the b., A. * II. TO Anaconda.
through Rocker on the might of Dec. "a.
He had a conversation with Jones, and
Jones told him he had once hauled four
loads of ore from near Rocker to the
Butte Sampling works. but said they
were not for himself He was simply
hauling them for some one else. The
loads would average two tons each
Mr.. Rombauer. assayer of the Mon
nana Stamping works, said he sampled,
on Jan. 2. ores taken there by Detective
Meikletohn. The ore ran 10 per cent.
copper and 20 ounces of silver to the
ton. The Montana Sampling works he
said. pays for ore of that quality 90
per cent. of the New York quotation for
silver and cents per pound for cop
per. This would make that ore $50 per
ton.
The state had a marrow escape here.
as by those figures the value of what
Q1lapan have htNan OF oil hxyI
Jones would not equal the $50. neces-
eary to prove grand larceny. Mr.. ROM |
bauer was recalled. however, and said |
that the value of the ore would be |
greater than what the sampling works |
would pay for IL, as the aampling works |
would, of course, figure a profit on 1t. |
The total value of the 2,625 pounds of |
ore. he figured at between $50 and $57.
Detective Meiklejohn was recalled to |
testify that he had taken to Mr.. Rom |
bauer the ore which Jones had taken |
from the B.. A. & p. cars.
Officer Hadleytestified that in the ear |
ly morning of Dec. 25. he saw Jones and |
two others drive to Jones' barn with a /
sleigh load of ore. officer Back testified 1
TO the same thing, except that he did /
not know any of the parties I'm the |
sleigh. He said to the men as they were /
working kind Of late" and received the /
answer: Yes; we just came in"
The state rested at this point Mr.. /
Newton moved dismissal and argued /
that there had been no proof OF grand /
larceny. The value of a thing he said. /
10 the owner. Is what ne can sell II for, |
and IL had been shown that this value 4
was only $50 per ton. The complaint
only charged the larceny of LOGO l
pounds. Attorney Wines argued that
the value TO be considered Is not what
the Montana Sampling works might
ffnv-4 faas Arr kae
prize of the copper and silver contained
IN the ore was on that date. The mo-
ton to dismiss was overruled.
The defense then stated Il had no
testimony to present at this time and
Jones was held 10 the district court I'M I
der bonds Of $500 TO answer 10 the
5harge of grand larceny