Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1902-07-11

made by Hannah he knows nothing
about the rimrocking of Strong's cattle,
claiming that the fight took place as
result Of .he bad blood existing between
him and the half-breed, Charley Phelps.
His story is as follows:
TUESDAY morning about 8 o'clock |
took my moving machine and went to
Joe Davis ranch, next to mine, to cut
some hay tor him. Mrs. Hannah
was in Billings, SO l took along
my two children, boy of 2 and girl of
z. The girl was on horse and packed
my rifle along with her, and the boy |
had on my lap. After I had entered
Davis field and was busy oiling the
machine noticed Mogan making signs
to me from little hill to the west of
where was. Looking in the direction
he was signaling me to / saw Phelps
stealing up over coulee and evidently
trying to get shot at me. l told my
little girl to get behind rock and take
her little brother with her. Then | pro-
ceeded to small pile Of rocks which lay
just outside the field. BY that time
Phelps had signalled his party, consist
ing Of his wife, the two Ewing boys, Ed
Morris and the man Frank Strong, the
Stinkingwater cattleman, to come up.
The next minute there was rifle crack
and the sand flew up in my face from
the bullet. Then / took q couple of
shots and understand one Of them cut
of Morris suspenders and dug up lit
tie of his flesh. We were about 25O
yards apart at that time. a little while
after this first BATTLE as ] understand
Strong calls II, ] went back from my
position UP little hill to see if any OF
the half breeds party was trying to
surround us. While up there saw
Mrs. Phelps on horse and Strong
afoot. I shot over Strong's head to
frighten him back and he went out Of
there. Mrs. Phelps also wheeled on her
horse and got away from there, but !
did not fire at her and would not fire at
woman, anyway.
"When the fight first commenced old
man Davis tried to stop hostilities by
going to Phelps. AS he approached the
half breeds party he was hollered at
and told not to come down where they
were or they would shoot him. Davis
kept on going and yelled at them that
he was an old man and if they wanted
| to shoot him they could do SO, as he
hadn't long to live and they wouldn't
cheat him out of much, anyway. About
I o'clock in the afternoon Davis tinall,
got the Phelps party to call a truce
Mogan and l had cut them off from
their horses when they came up afoot te
fire at us. and we refused to allow them
to recover the animals unless they
emerged from cover to be counted. This
they finally did, when we allowed then
to mount their horses and DECLARED hos
tilities off.
sPhelps and have not been very good
friends since last summer. He then ac
cused me Of stealing three head Of ms
cattle. which afterwards we're accounted
for. and he was never man enough tt
saw SO. l think the scheme was made
to assassinate me in my field that day
and when | went to Davis the gang
came over there to do me up. knew
several days before that Strong had lost
some cattle, which, it was reported, hac
gotten into the river at the canyon ant
were drowned. / heard nothing abou
the rimrocking story until after the en-
counter.
II know have been arrested severa
times and | suppose | have a prett.
hard rep However, whenever hav'
been brought into court ! have shown
that l was not guilty Of even misde
meanor, and think when this jack-po
} IS explained it will be seen that i wa
doing no more than defending myself.
Hannan's story, however, does no
agree exactly with Phelps story of tn
affair. nor with that of Ed Morris, tn
WOulQeQ COWDOy. IHoJ 1l"i' oiisA
. their party was fired upon by Hanna
while he was behind the rocks and tina
i at no time did they shoot at him. Phelp
: is not SO sure but that one shot wa
fired in the direction of Davis, when h
was coming toward them, to make hir
go back, but each one Of the PhelI
party is sure he did not fire shot dul
ing the whole time they claim Hanna
kept them under fire.
A. A. Ellis OF Thiel creek, who own
G the bunch of cattle which were recentl
: driven over into the Dry Head to b
ranged there under contract wit
Teeples, and in whose latter etnplc
I Morris was at the time he was shot, a
: rived in Red Lodge Monday noon fro1
5 the Dry Head, to which place he wei
= as soon as he heard of the shooting t