The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-08-28
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL TICKET
a-.- M 81
For Presidents
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
OF Ohio.
For vice Pre.ldsn,:
JAMES S. SHERMAN
Of New York.
THE PARK
HoLpuP.

dating back tos;the shadowy ages of
tradition. The record of the stage
days OF Europe Is replete with dar-
Ing robberiea, N which all classes
have been relieved Of their money
ana yaluables BY f~reebooters.
some men made a professional the
business, and followed It with artistic
skill, almost coupling villainy with a
mantle Of courtly polish that made
them actually beloved by the poor,
while hated and feared by the rich.
THUS Robin HoodEhas been immortal
izsd II song and verse, as have other
bandits who operated on the highways
OF italy, France. romantic Spain, and
other continental countries.
II this country, instead Of idoliz-
iag the road agent, he has been hunt
"a down relentlessly by the minions
OF the law. Men who have made it .
business to follow this class have
been retained to track them down, and
it Is seldom indeed that q stage
coach u stopped. The business is
tioklish, at best. and the reward not
at All commemorate with the risk.
Heretofore California has held
the palm for this class Of outlawry,
until ! well-known express company
organised . band Of man hunters that
made the highwaymen seek early
graves. -
Some times two Or three, more oft
en- one. coach has been stopped. the
box Hned and the passengers rob-
bed by two or three, and frequently
by ono highwayman.
The man Who operated alone took
greater chances at the time, perhaps,
THAI the men who banded together.
but the chances Of detection were re-
duced, once he made his escape.
Tololiow q sman.oft this character Is
assbnsiaess, q specially, IL you please,
to which;a few men devote their lives.
occasionally someone runs across one
Of these fellows. but more often it is
the man who, has hung to their trail
for years. "a sess
When a man stops sixteen coaches,
one 1t q time and holds up l25
people Il the point Of q rife. without
the least show Of nervousness, he has
certainly reached a pinnacle Of crimi-
nal fame. II this case has a paral-
lei in history we have never heard of
1t.
II the first place, the scene Is laid
in . national park, which is patrolled
by soldiers. who have camps every
few miles, and who watch the roads
and the country that TANKS them
like hawks. Every man who enters
Is carefully scrutinized, and no one
may take in unsealed firearms. Every
possible precaution that govern
ment red tape can conceive and the
mind OF man devise has been adopted
to protect men who enter. It Is not
possible for 81 man who enters by
one route to go out via another with
out being observed-there are SO many
watchful eyes. Every watcher is a
soldier and each soldier is armed, and
he may and will shoot to kill to pro-
tect the citizen. One cannot travel
more than a mile of two without en-
~countering armed men who guard
every point. The longer one looks
upon the picture presented, the less
Inclined he would be to venture an
overtssct.
In the second case there are twenty.
one coaches, which leave the station
in order, "a after the other, at reg
nlar intervals. The lines Of each team
are handled 81 experienced men. who
know the west and who are acquaint
ed with the methods OF the road ag
ent. These coaches leave at regu,
lar Intervals 70 prevent the very thing
that occurred-to provide surprise e
the road agent.
That as many as sixteen coaches,
one 1t : time, could be- halted and
the passengers made to disgorge,
looks Impossible.
TO ssc<casa a. picture alone would
manrs - nost hardened criminal he's;
IT.. go tAcngh he were aware Of
tAe fact that the occupants Of the
staGs ppasmeedI-if one wompal
soseanel ~ hts 5nieht ~ forfeited ted
A. dt1ee Sceehee are coming AoHn th'