The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-19


courts. They were beyond the protec-
1ion of the law, no part Of the machin-
cry needed for the conveyance of titles
or for the punishment of crime was
present. In a land where placer mining
was the rage there were no means
whereby the use of water could he
legally ascertained. The miners prac-
tically We're trespassers; the region had
not been thrown open TO settlement by
federal authority; all the conditions
were new and strange. The migration
TO Montana, following the sensational
reports of rich discoveries of gold.
brought to this region many hardy
men who were among the best and most
intelligent representatives of American
civilization. They were men of energy
and pluck. They endured risks and
privations on the plains, in order to
get here. They We're men of sturdy
honesty and of unquestioned courage.
But the gold excitement attracted also
good percentage of the lawless-ad-
venturers who. for gold. We're ready and
willing to engage in any crime. Out
laws sought a hiding here-theif deeds
darken the early pages of Montana's
history with stories Of murder. rob-
berry and frontier terror. For the period
OF about two years prior to 1864, when
the government at Washington organ
lied the territory OF Montana, the peo-
pie We're a law unto themselves.
But American sense and citizenship
asserted themselves in a manner that
insured order and liberty and personal
right. and that which was law-abiding
prevailed. There were no lynchings or
mob violence. but. as the outcome of
one of the most unique experiences
through which any civilized community
ever passed. property, life and liberty
were successfully defended, and a law
which was the higher law was upheld.
fSnsff
courts. The presiding judges were men
elected by the miners Of the district
The sessions of the courts were public.
In general way. although by crude
processes. the methods that prevailed in
the Older communities whence the pio-
neers had come We're put in practice.
Juries listened to the evidence, the ac-
cused were permitted to engage attor-
neys in defense. When a verdict was
reached, II was put into execution
promptly, without resort to technical
tiles and fearlessly, as for the public
good
In the Miners Courts.
: During the period of year prior to
territorial organization many men,
some of whose cases have become fam
Gus. were tried in the miners courts.
found guilty and swiftly executed.
Thus a criminal code and a method in
civH procedure were developed. The
miners court became a terror 10 the
criminal classes, the civil forms evolved
a way whereby mining titles were Sc
cured. claims defined, conveyance made
possible, water rights arranged and
property rendered secure. Active in the
practice of law in this state to-day
are a number of well known men who
shared in the trial of causes In Mon
tana miners courts. One of them Is
Hon W. I. Pemberton. the present
chief justice of Montana. The list in
Guides the names Of E, w. Toole, w.
+. Sanders. G. w Stapleton, Samuel
Word and others.
Of course, things were crude in those
days. In an instructive article on ex-
periences in pioneer days In Montana
ex-Chief Justice Wade writes 1.-THE
first lawsuit in which l ever appeared
as advocate was occasioned by what
Was counted defective notice This
WAS IN Florence. district from which
lawyers were not debarred. The law
Yer on the other side was a bright
young fellow by the name of Thur
mond, famous afterward as one of the
lawyers who unsuecessfuIly defended
George ives. and who being notified
by the yigilantes to leave tho country
IN 20 minutes. replied that he would be
of in less than five If his mule didn't
haik- This notice read: @Notese. i
clames the clames on desc here gulch
here. Thurmond held that this was
nc notice at all, but his client admitted
that he knew Dutch Jake. the baker.
put up the notice and claimed the
ground; and so they gave the poor
iliterate fellow the claim. without even
giving me a chance TO make my maiden
speech The supreme court Of the Unit
ed States could not have done better"
These strictly democratic courts of
the miners permitted an appeal 10 tho
whole DndV of mi ,F = hn
trict, presided over by an officer whom
the miners had elected as the president
of the district. The decision reached
on this appeal was final. Says Judge
Wade: These mining rules and regu-
lauons, being much the same in each
district. very soon came to have the
force and effect Of the common law,
the law OF the land for the mining re-
gion. and later. when congress began
10 legislate on the subject. these rates
and regulations of the miners were rec
ognized as valid law and were enforced
by the courts in the adjudication If
property rights.
The Advent of LAW
Montana began To be governed "ac-
10 law. as those words are
accepted soon after congress
had established the territory and pro-
vided for its administration Al the
outset imported talent has most to d.
tyotH Win the executive u0paE tmEnt and
the judiciary of the territory. There
was plenty of first-ciass resident tall
ent both for the governing function and
the department of justice. but there
was patronage in IL for the statesmen
AZ Washington and they let no good
thing in that line get away Sidney
Ed gerton, OF Ohio. was the FIRST terri
torial ofiicer-his commission was dated
June %, 1864. II. J. Hosmer was named
Tor the office Of chief justice. with l..
P Williston and /. J.. Munsar asso-
GATES. L. 3. Neaiy vas United States
district attorney and s. AZ. Pinney
United States marshal Montana re-
seived its name and its territorial or
sanizati0n May 26 1864.
The new officers were named by Pres
dent Lincoln. Judge Muuson was a
second choice, the appointment he re- |
-eIved having first been offered te 4
Amnai Giddings Of Connecticut. who de- .
lined Il. Chief Justice Hesner was