New Britain herald., 1915-01-05

1 mlttee, winch made him very ac- ceptable member of the Montana wig ilantes during the latter part of '62.
 Have Answered Hast Call.'
 Nearly all of those hardy pioneers who served on the vigilantes commit l tee have answered the last call l With but few exceptions the stories ! of those stormy days which are told to the generation of today come from the sons and daughters of those who took an active part in ferreting out 1 the 1awbreakers of fifty years ago.
 Of those who remain, Billy Rumsey. one of the best known citizens of Hel- ena, has stored away within the re- cesscs of his memory many interesting tales of the frontier days, and as he 1 sat in the brilliantly decorated ball | room recounting incidents in which ne | took part his eyes kindled and the warm red blood of the young man Of fifty years ago flowed once more through his veins as he lived for moment in the past.
 First Experience in 1863.
 It was in the latter part of Octo- ] ber 1863, that Billy Rumsey had his first experience with the bad men of Montana. It was during that month that he entered the employ of the Peabody & Caldwell stage line as driver, his route being from Virginia | City to Bannack.
 few days after he had begun driving the stage he had his first OK perience with the road agents and he still remembers the incident as 1 though it were yesterday. He was driving the down stage from Virginia City to Bannack at the time the first of the two holdups in which he was 1 victim.
 We left Virginia City in a driving snow storm" he said in relating the story to a coterie of friends who were grouped about him. 'I had but three passengers with me and we were making good time until we reached the relay station on Stinking Water | Creek. We were to have changed 1 horses there, but when we arrived we found the corral empty, and men had to SCOUT the surrounding country in search of the animals.
 Went to Bunton's.
 "Because of this delay it was nearly | dark when we reached the ranch l of Bill Bunton, who We afterward | learned was a member of the road agent gang and was later hanged for the part he played in those early days. Bunton took the stage at that place to go with us the remaining few miles to Bannack.
 l We were only a few miles up the road from the ranch when, looking up the road at the brow of an ap- preaching hill, I saw two men wrapped in blankets. with hoods over their heads and guns in their hands stand ing in the middle of the road. As soon as I saw them I knew what we 1 were up against, so l called to the boys inside the coach that we were l going to be held up and told them to get out their firearms.
 When we came up to the men they ordered me to get down off the | seat and ordered all the passengers l to get out and throw up their hands. 1 I told the leader of the pair to go to hell. that I wasn't going to let l my team run away. At that, Bun ton, who had been feigning fright and was continually pleading for mercy at the hands of the road agents. quickly offered to hold the horses, so 1 they ordered him to grab hold of their heads, while I had to go from one passenger to another and get what money and valuables they had.
 Got Away With S2,2OO.
 'They got away with about S2,200, 1 and then ordered Us to drive on l They told me if said anything about the holdup in Bannack they would | kill me the< next time they saw me. However. I reported the pair as soon as I reached my destination. George ] Ives and Frank Parrish, both of whom helped to hang some months later. confessed their part in the holdup, as did Bill Bunton"
 There was another noldup in which Billy Rumsey was a near victim, and he laughed heartily as he told of the l incident
 That time three men stuck up the stage about twenty miles the other 1 side of Virginia City, near Alder 1 Gulch," he said T had five pas sengers with me on that trip. I hap pened to get a glimpse of the road agents before they saw me, so I told the boys inside the coach what was up and cautioned them to hide their money and gold dust in the bottom of | the coach.
 | "When we came upon the three men they ordered me to get down and go through the passengers. I told them I had nothing but bunch of l deadheads, who were broke and I | guess they thought I was telling the truth when I searched my passengers and found nothing but bunch of jackknives, combs and other trinkets.'
 Cause for Sympathy.
 In all his many and varied expert ences with the road agents and bad men, Billy Rumsey never crossed" them at any time He knew the per