The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-13
As Faid in Belt.

| Special Correspondence of the Standard.
| Belt, Dec. 9.-The. arrest of J. r. Bo-
wen, William Van Bergen and ]. E.
Ford last week on charge of grand
larceny created a stir here amounting
| almost a sensation. The men are all
| well known and prominent citizens. v an
| Bergen resides here and Is in the en-
| ploy Of the A. G. M. Co. Bowen is
stockman residing at Arlington. Ford
is rancher living on Box Elder. Van
Bergen owns a ranch near Ford's place
and Bowen has a ranch on Neil creek.
They are accused of killing steer be-
longing to George Edwards, a rancher
on Box Elder, They were brought be-
fore Judge Des Combs and, pending the
preliminary hearing, released under
1000 bonds each. The story Of the al
legged crime with it's variations, suppo-
sitions and auxiliary allegations is
somewhat interesting. The indications
are that the preliminary hearing will
bear marked resemblance to the
famous Welcome disbarment proceed
inge. There are allegations Of q con-
spiracy to blast the spotless reputa-
lions Of three good men. There are
statements to the effect that the evil
dence upon which to convict is over
whelming. There are no 1000 bills, be-
cause we in this part of the world are
poor people, but there are open accusa-
tions made that 80 big iron dollars were
paid as the purchase price OF silence.
County Attorney Gormley from Great
Falls is instituting vigorous invesilsa-
| ton.
Edwards, the man who lost the steers,
tells substantially the following story:
Early Sunday morning he missed
steer from a bunch of cattle he was
feeding near his house. Assisted by
| light snow that lay on the ground the
started out to trail the missing ami
| NAL. Soon he discovered that evidently
two persons on horseback had driven
| the steers away. There was the track
Of the steer and the track of two horses
and from the nature of the tracks 1t
| was evident some difficulty had been
| experienced in driving the animal away
| from it's feeding ground. Edwards fol-
! lowed the trail for several miles until
! in a coulee on Bowens Neil creek
| rancho he found the entrails of an AMI
| NAL and other evidences going to snow
that a beef had been butchered there.
The entrails were still warm and Ed
wards began to realize he was hot on
the trail. A wagon track showed plain
~ at this point and Edwards followed
the same until 1t led him to Bowens
residence in Arlington. Here he claims
to have found BoWens wagon and In
the wagon, underneath some hay ne
found dressed meat and the head and
hide of his missing steer. The hide was
cut in two and the brand was cut out.
He says about this time Bowen came
out and inquired what he was doing.
He told Bowen some one had stolen one
of his steers the night before and that
he was looking for it and had found IT
there in Bowen's wagon. EDWARDS hau
stated that Bowen replied: well TINS
is a h--ll of a fix those fellows have got
ten me into" According to Edwards
story, Bowen then told him that some
hours previous Van Bergen had borrow
ed the wagon and that only snort
time before he, Edwards, came up, that
Van Bergen and Ford had returned the
wagon. Bowen claimed to have not
known the meat was in the wagon. 1t
is said Bowen then tried to br.be Ed
wards to keep still about the matter.
Edwards, so it is claimed, wanted 500,
but finally compromised by accepting
$50 and the meat. Edwards then Dor
rowed Bowen's wagon and drove home
with his beef. The whole transaction
would probably have forever remained
secret had Edwards lived up to his part
of the agreement The story leaked
out, however, and finally came to the
ears OF Constable Rush. He began
quiet investigation with the result that
the three men were placed under ar
rest. 1t is understood that Edwards
has since told the officers here the whole
story. Van Bergen who owns a ranch
near Edwards place, says the whole
transaction Is a foul conspiracy gotten
UP to do injury to himself and others
He claims to have been at his work at
the time the theft is said to have occur
red. He says Edwards and others out
in that neighborhood have it in for him
on account of some trouble over llc
division lines between their ranches. He
says Bowen and Ford are not on friend
ly terms with some of his enemies out
there. He believes that if the $50 is
produced in court that Edwards claims
Bowen paid to him that that, too, is a
part of the conspiracy gotten up 10
make the play strong. By the way,