The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-02-14
BILLINGS HARDWARE STORE Is
ENTERED.
JOHNSON. CONfEsSES
Three Men Arrested Within an Hour
After Crime L. Discovered and All
o. the stolen Goods Are Recovered
stole Guns and Knives.
From Thursdays Daily.

hurglariZed and plundered the Billings
Hardware company's store, Fred John
son and Fred and Ernest Bacgstrum
were arrested by the police, and all Of
the plumber which they had stolen
recovered and returned to the hard
ware company. johnson has made a
complete confession in which he has
not spared himself and also duplicates
the Backstrum brothers.
According to Johnson's story, he
and the two Backstrum boys were
drunk Tuesday night, and Jack Back
strum proposed that they burglarize
the hardware company's store.
He says that about IL O'Clock, Jack
Backstrum succeeded in opening the
back door by using a stick to release
a hook which held it in place. After
they had gained entrance to the store
they stole as many guns, knives, "a
zors, cartridges and other wares as
they could carry.
Each Kept Revolver.
Each one Of them kept a revolver,
several boxes of cartridges, knives
and safety razors, and cached the rest
under the platform just above the
freight depot. johnson accompanied
Chief Of Police Talgo to the cache
yesterday morning and assisted In re-
covering much Of the stolen property.
Johnson says that Jack Backstrum
has been in the city for some time but
that he and Backstrum's brother,
Ernest are recent arrivals here. Jack
Backstrum claims that he has been
working on the railroad grade in this
section, but refuses to make any state
ment regarding the burglary. His
brother is also non-committal.
w. w. Beeman, an employe Of the
hardware company discovered the bur
glary when he arrived at the store
yesterday morning and Immediately
notified the police. He was not able
to furnish a list of the stolen goods
at that time, however. but he notified
Chief Talgo that a number of knives,
safety razers and %revolvers had been
stolen.
Trying to Pebble Knives.
A few minutes after the chief had
been notified Of the burglary, a mar
entered the police station and exhib.
tied a number of pocket knives which
he told the chief another man had
given him to peddle. Talgo accom-
panied the man over to the Globe sa;
loon and here he pointed out the mar
who had given him the knives, and
the chief arrested the man and his
companion. They proved to be the
Backstrum brothers. After an inves
tigation Chief Talgo found that John.
Q had sold a gun at the Montana
saloon and 1t was found that the gun
was q new automatic Colts revolver
johnson was arrested and later con
fessed to the crime.
When Johnson and the Backstrum
brothers were searched it was found
that they had several boxes Of cart
ridges, a safety razer, several pocket
knives apiece and a number of Other
articles which have been identified b,
the members Of the hardware com
pany as their property. All of The
men were too intoxicated to make an,
explanation OF the affair when first ar
rested.
1ackstrum Loaded Rifle.
The guns the two Backstrum broth
ers were carrying were both loaded
as was a rifle found cached under tn,
platform OF the freight rouse. John
o says that Jack Backstrum said
in loading the rife, that he was goin,
to be prepared to fix anyone that in
terfered with them.
Besides a rife, one revolver, sew
eral boxes Of cartridges, several safe
~ razors, a dozen pocket knives,
pair OF pinchers, a steel clamp, boxe
OF shaving soap and numerous othe
articles were found cached in tn,
place mentioned by johnson In cor
Tossing to the crime.
The men picked out four of the hes
revolvers In the store and took carl
ridges enough to stock an arsenal
The rife is a Winchester 1920 cal
Der.
A quantity Of one and two cent pos
age stamps were found on one Of th