The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-03
Burden of Poverty Too Much for
Mrs. E. J. Bramford.
SHE is ADJUDGED INSANE
Searchsrs Found Her Hiding in the Race
track Buildings-Shields Pardoned
by the Governor-At the
Byam Mine.
Special Correspondence of the Standard.


ance of Mrs. e. J. Bamford, who
lived with her two children in River
.side addition. The woman had been ill
for some time, and it was thought chat
in moment of mental ALTERATION she
had left the house and thrown herself
in the river near her home. Searching
parties were organized, and from
o'clock in the forenoon, the time of the
woman's disappearance, to the same
hour in the evening, the search contin-
ued. The river was dragged below the
Main street bridge, and every nook and
corner explored with a view to finding
the woman, who was thought to be de-
mented and supposed to be in hiding if
not at the bottom of the Yellowstone
About o'clock in the evening p. ]. Nc
Nulty and Otto Eastman were return
ing from fruitless search of the woods
south of town and stopped to examine
the buildings at the race track for
traces of the missing woman. They
found her there, crouched in one of the
stalls, and suffering from mental eX-
element closely bordering on insanity.
She was taken to the city Jail and an
attempt made to restore her to some
thing like a normal condition of mind,
but the effort was fruitless, and on Sat-
urday morning Mrs Bamford was ar
raigned before Judge Henry of the dis
trict court and a commission of doctors
and an examination made touching her
mental condition. She was morose and
hysterical by turns, and seemed ca
pable of understanding the fact that
she was mentally unbalanced, and it
was this consciousness OF her afttlctlon
that seemed to prey upon her mind in
lucid intervals and cause a return of
the dementia. She was adjudged in
sane and ordered taken to the Warm
Springs hospital for the insane until her
mental condition improves sufficiently
ITO admit of her release. Mrs. Bamford
was a widow and very poor, and the
burden Of a life of poverty and exact
ing labor is ascribed by the doctors to
be the cause of her arrangement. 1t
is thought by the physicians that she
can be cured.
James E. Shields, who has been Ian
gushing in the county Jail for several
months as a result of being too hasty
with a Winchester, was pardoned by
the governor recently, and the docu-
ment directing the sheriff to turn him
loose was received here Saturday morn
. ing and Mr.. Shields was given his lib
erty a couple of months before his
sentence would expire by limitation.
Shields naturally felt somewhat elated
at his release and told the Standard
reporter that he would make tracks
out of Park county at once and go
to Miles City, when the wicked
cease from troubling and gun players
are not barred. The offense for which
Shields ran the gauntlet of the courts
and pardoning power was committed
on Sept. 25 of last year at the Craig
ranch, near Cokedale. and Shields got
sentence for assault in the third de-
gree at the January term of the dis
trict court. Shields is not regarded
as being particularly vicious, and his
pardon meets the approval of nearly
every one who is conversant with the
facts of the case and who regard the
culprit in the light of harmless, but
cratic crank.
George White, the manager and SUI
perintendent of the Byam mine on
Trail creek, was in the city Saturday
and transacted business here relative
to the company's interests in the new
coal camp near Frdley. Mr. White re-
ports that the mines are shut down for
a few days, but that there Is no in
tention of making this temporary halt
in the work of development anything
but benefit to the coal concern. New
entries will be driven during the time
the mines are idle, and further develop
ment work done with view to proving
the veins of coal already located. The
coal measures there are of immense
proportions, and with a railroad to the
mines the camp would be a veritable
bonanza for its owners. A. B. Cook
of Helena was in the city during the
week and went up the Park branch to
the mines and looked the situation
over. He stated that there was an
effort being made to get a branch of
the Park line from Fridley to the camp,
and if this is done the work of taking
out coal will be facilitated to such an
extent that the profits on the mines
will make the Byam camp the best
paying mine in the Yellowstone val
ley.
]. E. Swindlehurst, E. NJ Day, John
T. Lilly and J. w. Kelley made a trip
to the Lambert ranch about 10 miles
up the Yellowstone, Friday afternoon.
Mr.. Lambert was burned out a week
before and his residence was completely
destroyed and the building and con-
tents reduced to heap of ashes be-
fore help could be secured to fight the
flames. The house was insured for
$500 and the house for $500, and the
loss on the property was adjusted Fri
day by representatives of the under
writer's from this city, and the full
amount of both policies will be paid
The domestic affairs of the Lambert
household are conducted in a tent at
present and the work of erecting a new
residence will go forward as rapidly
as possible, and a more commodious
ana substantial dwelling than the one
destroyed will be erected on the SPLEEN
did ranch of which Mr. Lambert is the
fortunate p0ssessor. Mr. Lambert acts
as guide for hunting parties from
the East in the summer and will fin
ish the work of erecting the new
house before going on the annual
hunting trip with his party
work was begun last week on the
bridge across the Yellowstone, near
CT
of town. F. II. Hornbeck of this citv
has the contract and the workmen ex
pect to have the bridge finished by the
latter part of this week. The old bridge
is In considerable danger from high
water, which is expected with more
than usual force this season on account
of the immense amount of snow in the
mountains and the lateness of the
spring thaws, which is supposed to take
part of the flood down the river be-
fore the warm weather starts the snow
in earnest.