Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-08-17
MADE A BREAK
FOR LIBERTY
Continued from page One).

them Pacific railroad company to pa!
him money.
Gravelle first came to public atten
ton in this county a number of years
ago, when he stole horses and TAX
ing them over to Priests pass killed
them and fed them to hogs. Later
he went to Jefferson county and there
he was convicted of grand larceny II
stealing beef animals. He served or
his first conviction a llttle more thar
two years. He was free four years
then he was convicted in this coun
ty OF the same crime and got sever
years.
Gravelle was released from the pen
itentiary at Deer Lodge on July 16
1903, and just 1863 days later, Deem
Der 81, he was adjudged guilty OF
writing the threatening letters to the
Northern Pacific. Those 169 days
were filled with anxious moments fol-
all connected with the Northern Pa
ciic railway company from Charles
s.. Mellen, who was president at that
time, to the brakemen running on the
Montana division and the section
men. Mr.. Mellen knew not what hour
he would receive a telegram bringing
the news that a train loaded with
passengers had been wrecked by the
dynamter and the brakemen knew not
what hour, when running on his train
he would be hurled into eternity, and
the section man was in constant
dread that he would come across the
dynamiter in the dark hours of the
night, when the blackmailer was en-
gagged in putting dynamite on the
track, and he would get a bullet for
his discovery.
The day after Gravelle was releas.
ed from the penitentiary the first
three blackmailing letters were mail
cd from Butte. These letters de-
manded the payment by the railroad
company OF $4,000, and announced
that a refusal to pay would be follow
ed by the ~dynamiting of the tracks
of the company. They gave the rail
road company Is days in which to
designate its intention, and if it &C
quiesced ii was to the a piece OF
white cloth to the drawhead of the
last coach of each passenger train
between st. Paul and Spokane.
The railroad paid no attention tc
the letters and promptly at the ex
piration of the time limit dynamite
was exploded on the bridge at Liv
ingston, doing great damage, and two
days later the track was dynamited
near Bozeman about 30 miles from
the scene of the bridge outrage.
A few days later. acting on orders
from st. Paul, Supt. Dan Boyle, of the
Montana division. put the signal or
a passenger coach, and that sigma
remained on all passenger trains from
August 5 until September 10.
After the signal had been display
ed a day or two the railroad company
received three more letters from the
blackmailer. These letters set Aug
ust % as the time when the money
must be paid and told how it was Il
be delivered. The company was di
rected to send out that night a little
engine, leaving Livingston at Z p. m
and running at the rate of 80 miles
an hour it was to proceed west t
Missoula by way of Helena.
When a red signal Was seen On the
road one man was to leave the en-
CINE and take the money, which was
to be in two packages of certain de,
nominations and leave it at the red
light.
1t developed on the lrial that these
first six letters We're written in the
penitentiary on the suggestion of Q
convict named Harvey Whitton, who
Is serving an S0-year sence for nun.
der, having killed a deputy sheriff
who went to serve a summons in q
civil al on him. The six letters
were smuggled out of the prison or
the day of his discharge by Gravelle
in a hair kane which the prisoners in
the penitentiary are allowed to max;
and sell.
That the men did not expect the
railroad company TO accede to theil
first demands was made evident by
the fact that the date in the three
letters fixing August 20 as the time
for paying the money was left blank
and il was filled in in a different
handwriting from that in the remain
der of the letters. 1t was also shown
that Gravelle went directly from the
penitentiary to Butte, where the let
tiers were mailed.
Railroad people did make the run
with the light engine August 20. BuI
following this engine was another
with two cars, n of the cars bein,
filed with deputy sheriffs and de
teCtives and other officers fully arm
ed, and the other car contained horse.
and bloOdhounds. The run was madt
as directed but no sienal was seen
On the trial it was developed why thu
red light had not been shown. Ora
velle was on the line of the road ives
of Helena and he saw the engin,
coming. He started on a run for
point lea the track and fell into
hole and his lantern went out. Tn
wind was blowing a gale and all O
his matches went out SO he could no
relight the lantern. Then he wrot
again, saying the fault was his, tina
he owed the company an apology
that an accident had happened, Blu
not telling what IL was. and he fixe
September 2. as the next date TO
the payment of the money, the con
/ pdny 10 10 as IL ndu uone vi Aut
ust 20. Again the company made tn
trip, but the engine was a poor on
and when 1t got west of Helena
was two hours behind time. Gravel
had waited an hour for the engin
and became disguised and quit. Whe
he was about a mile from the trac
he saw the engine passing but h
could not get there and thus the G
fort to capture him came to naugh
Then another letter was receive
fixing the date as September IL. n
more signals were run no attentio
was paid to the letters and dynamit
outrages continued, first east of lie
ena, then west, but all in this vici
ity. Meanwhile superintendent Boy
was ordered 10 take charge of Il