The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-11-18

ing that his son, Benson and Per
singer, were innocent.
Clinton Dotson believed that this
would result in the pardoning of him
self, Benson and Persinger, and be
proposed to Macarthur, that after they
had been released, they would join
Macarthur, the four would secure
SIS, 900 cached in Wyoming and they
would engage in train robbing and
bank robbing en- route to Texas. Nc
Arthur agreed to the plan. He was
discharged from the penitentiary De-
cember 80, 1900, and a few days
later Persinger, who had hopes of a
pardon, revealed the plot to the Of
f%icers, who did not give it credence.
About January 5, 1901, Macarthur
appeared in American gulch, where
strangers seldom were seen, and went
to Captain Dotson's house. He told
the neighbors that he intended to
buy Captain Dotson's land. He made
the captain a satisfactory offer but
the land had not been proved up on.
Captain Dotson made arrangements
to make final proof and asked Nc
Arthur to remain as his guest until
this had been done. A few days later
they went to Helena together to ar
range for making the proof and
while there both were attacked with
smallpox and were placed in a hos
pital together. Upon being released
they secured a room together in Hell
ena and in the morning Macarthur
was gone and the old mans pockets
- 49, -sfI@l --I III 1s 1870
taken.
On February Z or s, Macarthur re-
turned to Dotson's house and left
there only twice in the next week.
Once he borrowed a bottle of ink,
which had been frozen, from a neigh
Dor.
February Is Captain Dotson re-
turned to his cabin from Helena, and
Is minutes after he entered his home
a neighbor heard a shot and an hour
later Macarthur was seen to leave the
gulch. February 20 the dead body
of Captain Dotson was found in the
house. On a table was a writing in
frozen ink signed "Oliver Dotson,"
stating that the writer had murdered
Cullinane and asking that his son,
Benson and Persinger, be pardoned.
The body lay on the floor. Nearby
was a rifle with muzzle pointing to-
ward the spot where the old mans
head would have been had he been
standing. To the trigger was at
a string leading to the old
mans right hand. But under the
head of the corpse was a pillow, a
folded piece of underwear and
marks on the coat showed the body
had been dragged.
The confession was not in the
handwriting of the dead man. The
was of smaller caliber than the
bullet that caused death. Then the
officers at the penitentiary gave cred
to Persinger's story and the pur-
suit of Macarthur was begun. Sew
sral weeks later he was found at the
of a friend in the Bitter Root
md was accused of the murder of
Dotson.
He attempted to establish an alibi
md his every statement was disprov-
ID by reputable witnesses. He was
ound guilty and sentenced to be
and on September 6, 1901,
,efore a crowd of $50 persons in the
Deer Lodge Jail, he vas executed.
On the scaffold Macarthur made
he following statement:
Friends, 1 want your attention for
few moments. l am about to meet
ny Maker. I am here to die, an in
man. 1 have been wronged
nd God knows it. / forgive every
.ody. I go with a clear conscience
meet my Maker. / thank you for
our attention and am now ready to
leet my Maker. Goodbye, ALL"
A few days after the conviction of
IcArthur, Clinton Dotson, as Access
DRY before the fact, was tried and
onvicted of murder in the first de-
rec and was sentenced to be hanged
n the same date as Macarthur; but
is attorneys appealed to the SUI
rene court and he obtained a res
tie until the following spring, when
e was hanged.
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