Washington sentinel., 1900-10-27

uSplnS ana making IL abSO uteIY impOS-
sible to travel anywhere in the Bad
Lands, and that when the breakup came
the river rose to a great height and IL
was exceedingly dangerous to navigate;
that their provisions were nearly
exhausted and that to retrace their steps
up the river or cross TO the railroad
over the Bad Lands would be impossible
because the river was running at a rae
amounting to rapids in many places
and the great gorges and cOulees of
the Bad Ls nds were iull of slushY snow
and water, and the only possible escape
from death bv STAR alton was to take
their irail boat and go down the river
and attempt to reach Mandan by way
Of the Big Missouri
That they gathered together their
little possessions, consisting Of their
winters catch OF furs and what provis-
ions we're leit-the combined bulk OF
the latter scarcely filling fifty Pourd
flour sack half full-and started down
the river for Mandan; that alter being
out a few days their boat was carried
into an ice gorge and completely
wrecked, and they barely escaped with
their lives and a part Of their luggage,
that they found they were cast ashore.
as it we're, at the Roosevelt ranch, which
had been abandoned for the winter, aud
they could not procure any food, aud
finding a small boat at the ranch they
took it and started again for Mandan.
expecting to either return it or settle
with the owner for 1t.
That in taking the boat they realized
that il was the only means at hand to
assist them in reaching civilization with
their daily diminishing supply OF food,
and the question which presented itself
to them was whether they should lie
down and perish ior want Of food and
shelter on the banks Of the Little
Missouri or take the boat at the Roose
Yelt ranch and attempt to reach MandaD;
that alter two days out they again
encountered an ice gorge. but they
succee ded in getting out OF the current
in time TO save their boat and It's
contents, and pulling the boat up the
river were delighted to find they had
h
submitted to arrest at the hands Of some
hunters who chanced to be there.
Affiant SAYS that sv ND ,thy for the
boys was very general IN Mandan at that
time, who were considered inofis nsive
cowboys and had dove nothing more
than any other human being would have
done il placed in like position; that
MI Roosevelt, through his attorneys
and agents, was unmerciiul and uu-
Welding IN his demands that vengeance
be meted out to the helples and defence
less cowboys: that Judge Francis, who
was then District Judge, construed their
state ments into a plea of guilty TO the
charge Of grand larce ny, and sentenced
them to two and one half years at the
Territorial peniteutiary al Bis 'marck.
That bridge foreman ofthe Northern
Pacific Railroad Company told this
aifiant some time aiterward that the
boat in question was built by his lthe
bridge fOreman's) crew Of common
lumber belonging to the said railroad
company when building the Little
Missouri bridge, and not thought of
sufficient value to take along with them
when they went farther up the road to
the west, and was afterward "appropri.
ated" by some Of the Roosevelt men
and taken down the river to his ranch,
and was never worth over $40 at the
very outside; that the Young man
Bernstead grieved so severely over the
disgrace heaped upon him uniustlY that
he became insane a short time aiterward
and is now an inmatr at the asylum at
Jamestown, North Dakotl
Afiant says that Of those things he
spaaks OF he has positive personal
knowledge, and OF all other things
mentioned herein he rscites from his
best knowledge, information and belief,
and that he believes them to be true.
And further affiant saith not.
r Z. GIBSON.
Subscribed and swOru 10 before me
this Ist day of Octa Der, 1900.
Frank Wilder (SeaD Notary Public,
North Dakota.
The moral Of this affidavit is that
Roosevelt loves the cowboy. but
the cowboy must not take Roose-
velps cheap cd boat borrowed
from a railroad even to save his
miserable Govt oy lie.