The Opelousas courier., 1902-02-08

Those who have remained are reticent
AS to the 80 or more desperate horse
thieves and cattle rustlers who operat
ed in northern Montana in the early
eighties-well, bleaching bones or
wfnd-swept p~rairies tell no tales.
! In 1885 the cattle and horse business
> in northern Montana vas becoming
; more and more improbable, for the
reason that there were organized
bands of horse thieves who had stop
ping places from the Canadian line to
Mexico, and who made more money In
the business Of stealing horses and
live stock than the real owners could
In raising them. OF course more horses
than cattle were stolen, because they
were easier to get away with, and in
those days were worth a great deal
more money.
The stealing became SO serious that
the cattlemen of northern Montana
were forced to do something, and in
the fall of 1885 they did it When the
cattlemen start to do anything they do
1t up brown, and it was SO in this case.
The tale Of the hanging of road
agents of 1S63-64 by the vigilantes of
Alder Gulch has been told SO often
that 1t has become known from n
end Of the world to the other, and 1t is
looked upon as the biggest thing Of its
kind which "a w pulled off in Mon
tana. This is a mistake, and the cow
boys of northern Montana during the
year Of 1885, from September to No
vember. hanged and shot more men
than the vigilantes of Alder Gulch eve
dreamed of. This may seem like a
fairy tale at this time, but it is a fact,
and there are men in northern Mon
tana at the present day who have the
papers to prove the assertion.
During the fall roundup of the Ju-
dith In the fall Of 1885 it was decided
to do some hanging. Who proposed
the matter, or by whom meetings were
held, it is not necessary to state, as
one of the leaders OF the cowboy vigi-
lantes is now a prosperous stockman
within a few miles of old Fort Magin-
mis-, another Is a prosperous sheepman
living near TIBET, and another lives in
Butte, after having spent a number
Of years abroad. And there are others,
but the matter of the real extermina-
ton of the rustler was carried on un-
der the direction Of "Flopping Bill"
Cantwell.
"Flopping Bill" was a desperate
character himself and worked against
the rustlers because IL paid better than
to work with them. From September, |
1885, until the weather became too cold
to ride, "Flopping Bill" and his band
Of cowboy exterminators worked, and
when they had finished there was no
count Of the men whose candles had
been snufed, but there are men in
Great Falls today who can name at
least rs Of them, and 1t has always
been estimated that about 80 people
were hanged or shot by "Flopping
Bills" band during that fall.
The first performer In the bloody
drama of determination was a half
breed near Fort Maginnis. Some one
believed that he had stolen a steer and
butchered it, and one might during
August, 1885, he was taken near the
ranch of Reese Anderson and strung
up to a cottonwood tree without
chance to say his prayers, IL he knew
That was the beginning, and shortly
after 'Flopping Bill" called for volun-
to search for horses which had
been stolen from the herds of several
stockmen. The requisition
was made upon the roundup, which
was camped on the Musselshell about
miles above the mouth, and reck-
Isss riders and desperate men only
were chosen.
The posse made q hard ride that day,
and by night they came to the cabin of
, man named Downs, near the mouth
the Musselshell. Downs kept a sort
trading post, and was suspected Of
being In league with the thieves. It
was early daylight when the posse ar
rived, and they at once surrounded
the cabin, and when Downs came out
It was hands up"
n SO&ECA u u GOTTdl dku P1C1ulty
% D. II. s. horses, and
Downs was asked to explain. He saw
he was up against it, and gave a
full list of all the men connected with
The "Tustling'' business, and indicated
where they had their rendezvous. The
Missouri runs swift and deep where
he waters OF the Musselshell enter 1t,
and the banks are high and steep. A
rope was placed about the neck or
and a convenient tree was
looked for. Some one spied a large
which stood alongside of
he cabin.
'"Tie it to his neck and drop him In
he river" was the suggestion, and It
vas carried out literally. Today the
Sig round grindstone, with the hole In
he centre, Hes In the bottom of the
Missouri, near the mouth OF the Mus
selshell, and If time and water have
proven too much for the hempen
'ope the neck bones, at least, of Jim
Downs are the grindstone's companion.
Armed with the information derived
Downs the posse rode south to
he mouth of Lodge Pole Creek, where :
here were several ttrustlers' located.
md in the early morning light three of
hem were captured and strung up on
HF