The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-04-29
IT Was THE FIRST CASE
A Dip Into the History Of Old
Deer Lodge County.
PAPERS GETTING YELLOW
The Trial OF Danie Sloane for Cutting a
Man With q Bowie Knife In q
Drunken Row at Sill
yer Bow.

ta IA Dttl
Lodge county after the admission Of
Montana as a territory was the case Of
the territory VS.. Daniel Sloane and the
papers In the case are already taking
on the yellow Of age. The first case is
in a measure Indicative of some Of the
manners Of the period. inasmuch as 1t
is a case of assault with a bowie knife
with intent to kill. The indictment
found by the grand jury. which was
filed In open court July IS. 1865. by An
son Ford, foreman, c. Z. Irvine, clerk Of
the court. reads as follows:
AT a term of the district court, 2nd
judicial district OF the territory of Mon
tana, began and holden at the court
ous in Silv Bow, Deer Lodge coun-
ty, on the third Monday of July, 1866.
the jurors of the grand jury. good and
lawful men of the counties of Deer
Lodge and Missoula aforesaid, being
first duly summoned. impaneled. tried.
charged and sworn to enquire in
and for the counties Of Deer Lodge and
M.ssoula, do On their oaths present that
one Daniel Sloane did on the 18th day of
June A. d., 1865, at Silver Bow, in Deer
Lodge county and state of Montana. and
within the Jurisdiction of this court and
with force and arms feloniously. will
fully and maliciously make an assault
with a deadly Weapon. to-wit, a bowie
knife. upon one Reube w. Allen. and
with the intent aforesaid to commit
murder and to take the life of said
Reuben w. Allen aforesaid. contrary to
the form of the statute in such case
made and provided and against the
peace and dignity of h territory of
Montana.
And the Jurors aforesaid and upon
their oaths aforesaid do further present
that one Daniel Sloane of Silver Bow,
Deer Lodge county and territory of
Montana, did on the 18th day Of June
A. D., 1866, at the aforesaid and within
the Jurisdiction of this court with force
and arms f~eloniously, wilfully and ma
liciously and with the intent to commit
murder upon and to take the life of
Reuben w. Allen aforesaid, he the said
Daniel Sloane did then and there make
an assault with a deadly weapon upon
Reuben w. Allen aforesaid with a large
knife commonly known as a bowie
knife and hat Daniel Sloane aforesaid
with a knife aforesaid did then and
there grievously and dangerously wound
Reuben W.. Allen aforesaid contrary to
the form OF the statute. in sue case
made and provided and against the
peace and dignity of the territory of
Montana"
The indictment is signed by z. T.
Phelps as district attorney.
From the evidence given when the
case came to trial before Judge Willis
ton. who was also the judge of the
United States district court and also one
of the supreme court judges, il appears
that the defendant was fairly well
jagged up at the time of the assault and
presumably had blown in his last two
bits. for he was working every one he
- ~- T..a
to put them up for him he took excep-
tions and started in to resent such UNI
gentlemanly conduct by carving Allen
in the most approved style with his
bowie knife. When arrested he begged
to be shot or hanged Immediately, but
instead he was k to the Jail at Vir-
ginia City.
Upon his first trial the jury disagreed
and Sloane was released on $4,000 bonds.
He failed to appear at his second trial
and his bonds were declared forfeited.
Among some of the other early crimi-
nal cases which illustrate the conditions
at the time and incidentally show that
murder wac treated as leniently as 1t is
now in Silver Bow county, is that of
the territory VS.. Isaac, who was charged
with assault with intent to kill. He
was tried. found guilty and was fined
800. John Heeber pleaded guilty TO the
charge of assault with intent to kill n
was fined $25. Thomas c. Lloyd was
indicted Oct. 10, 1866. for assault with
intent to kill, but the prosecution was
finally dropped in 1867. Three other
indictments for intent to murder
were also dropped. David Mills was in
dicted for murder, but the record Is
blank recording the disposition Of the
case. Hardly a dozen criminal cases
were tried in the first two years of the
terr'tory's existence, and there were no
convictions.
In the United States district court f.
B. Neatly was the United States attor-
ney and George NJ. Penney was mar
shall. The first cases were for viola
lions of the revenue laws. One of the
! cases is entitled "the United States VS..
~ 1O-gallon kegs of liquors n W
cases of bitters."