The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-05
THEY ROBBED THE PLATES.
Slick Game INDUCED in by Two
Brothers.

Brothers.
The Butte Inter Mountain contains
] the following account of the alleged
theft at the Twilight mine, in George
/ town district. Montana:
( Frank j. BENEFITS of Helena and his
brother Robert were arrested Saturday
night at Helena, charged with swim
ding a number of Anaconda people
and getting away with a large guam
tity. of bullion from the Twilight mine.
in the Georgetown district. The COM
plainapts are the miners and the own
ers of the property
The Twilight mine is owned by c. H
Brown and other Denver men and is
splendidly equipped with machinery A
mill was built TO treat the ore, but Just
about the time the mill was ready to
start the Denver stockholders became
involved in financial troubles and the
miners attached the property for their
wages. getting judgment for claims
amounting to about $4,000. The prop
erty was valued at $50, 600, and Attor-
ney c. NJ. Sawyer of Anaconda repre-
sented ali parties concerned.
About Feb. I, T. ]. Bennett. who
represented himself as an expert for
Fraser & Chalmers of Chicago. called
on Mr.. Sawyer and represented that he
had a friend in Chicago named Lewis
who was willing to invest in a good
gold property. He had looked over the
Twilight, he said. and believed that he
could get his friend TO purchase the
mine and mill Before doing so. how
ever. he wished to make a months
trial run at the mill. The proceeds of
the run, he said, would be given into
the hands of Mr.. Sawyer or his agents
for the company's benefit.
The proposition seemed fair enough
and MIR. Sawyer consented. Bennett
took charge at once, engaged a force of
20 miners and placed his brother
Robert in as engineer of the mill.
Charles Isaacs. the former foreman of
the property, had charge of the opera
tons at the mine. and everything ran
along smoothly until after the first
cleanup was made. Then the miners
wanted their pay. After the cleanup
last Friday Mr.. Bennett said he was
coming to Butte to get an engineer to
take the place of his brother. who had
departed for Helena. It developed then
that Robert Bennett had taken with
him to Helena about s125 worth of gold
amalgam.
Saturday evening the amalgamator
of the mill walked TO Anaconda and re-
ported that the BENEFITS had skipped
to Helena. taking with them the pro-
CetuS OF the cleanup. amounting to
about $1,000, and had not paid the men.
a warrant was issued Saturday eve
ming and a telegram sent TO Helena,
where the BENEFITS were placed under
arrest.
F. J. Bennett is we'll known in Butte.
where numerous creditors are mourn |
ing over the fact that they made his !
acquaintance. Some two years ago or |
more, through the influence of Hon. |
Sam Word. he secured a lease and bond I
on the Red Bluff NINE at Red Bluff. /
from Messrs- Filing & Stewart. He had /
no money. but was supplied with an |
unlimited quantity of gall and he pro-
reeded to run the mine on jaw bone He |
secured his supplies in Butte. At the [
end of the second months operation
IF the mine the miners became anxious
FOR their wages for the first months
work and refused to be put OFF with
promises. BenEett made a hasty exit
from the place one night to avoid
rouble with the men and the next day
the mine closed down. The miners
we're so incensed at his action that they
brew into the shaft every particle of
scrap iron that could be found around
he place including several old pumps,
.ars, galiows frame. etc.
Mr.. BENEFITS friends claim that
here was notL-7o crooked about the