The Dickinson press., 1915-10-02


Holts, Frank Chase and Kid Edgar.
These boys were taken entirely un-
awares, not having heard of their ex-
pedition and they invited the travel
ers to dinner. The invitation was ac-
cepted, but after the meal the hosts
suddenly found themselves prisoners
and were told that they were to be
hanged to the cottonwood trees which
stood near the cabin. The situation
was for them critical but they were
saved by Frank Chase, who was a
brilliant speaker Of striking person
ahty, and man of wonderful in
genuity. Chase told them that they
were mistaken in their parties. He
said that he was one of the biggest
stockmen in that country, that he
sympathized with their project, and
would gladly cooperate with them.
He proved the truthfulness of his
statement, he took them out and
showed them several herds of stock.
He told them what he had ac-
complished and his plans for the
future. They listened and believed,
and they departed thinking that they
had found a friend, but in fact he
was their dangerous enemy. Many
years afterwards Kid Edgar said:
II never was so dead sure of any
thing in my life as that we would be
hanged to that cottonwood tree, but
Chase lied out of it." After leaving
Shafer the expedition was uneventful
for some time. The party continued
the Missouri river near the mouth of
the Little Missouri. There the COM
nittee boarded a steam boat and went
up the river to Ft. Buford. While
on the steamboat the vigilantes did
not by any means lose sight Of their
purpose. At a place called Nerson
Flat, near the mouth Of Tobacco
Garden Creek, they found two hunt
ers, Eva Bronson, and a man known
as Red Mike. Bronson attempted to
escape and was shot dead but Red
Mike was captured. Every effort was
made to make the prisoner divulge
information which it was believed he
possessed. To this end he was bound
securely to a chair and fire was
made under it, but Red Mike refused
to give any information, probably due
to the fact that he had none to give.
He was taken along to Ft. Buford
and later let 60. Thus after a
months sojourn in Dakota, the vigi-
lantes committee returned to Mon
tana. The results of the campaign
might be briefly summoned up in
this way: a large amount of prop
erty was destroyed, countless miles
of prairie was burned, one English
man was persuaded to leave the
territory, Two Shields, the Indian,
was frightened back to the reser-
walton; one man was killed, one man
scorched, and no horse thieves were
captured. The original purpose OF
the vigilantes committee was to catch
and hang horse thieves, but it
sought later to achieve a secondary
purpose which was not so commend
able. The real purpose of the ex-
pedition into Dakota was not to
catch horse thieves, but to drive
the small ranchers out of the country.
There are five circumstances which
point to that conclusion. First, it was
at this time that the big stock men
of the west fully realized that they
were soon to be crowded out of busi-
ness by the ever increasing number
of small settlers, and nothing was
left undone to discourage settle
ment. Second, the expedition was
largely one of devastation and not
of pursuit. Horse thieves were not
interested in grazing condition, Meth
er were they injured by the de.
struction of property, for they had
none. Third, the campaign seemed to
be directed entirely against perman-
ent settlers. Horse thieves in those
days were not permanent settlers, en-
gagged in the cattle and sheep busi.
ness, but instead, were transients OF
the most migratory character
Fourth, the committee did not catch
or so far as is known, attempt to
catch any one suspected of being
horse thief. The expedition was in
fact, the most notorious example OF
vandalism known to that part OF
the region. 1t was in the expedition
that lawlessness reached it's height
The small rancher and cowboys, an.
ticipating another invasion, provided
a proper defense, but neither the vlgl-
lantes committee, nor any of its
members, ever returned.
r, w, T||RNFR'S