The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1922-09-15


around the cabin and ran into san
ders' office. He told Sanders of thu
conversation he had overheard, ane
warned him of his danger.
1--WE will have to put up the bole
front to these fellows" said Sanders
"The slightest weakening would en-
courage them in their campaign Of
reprisal. I'll see what they have t
say to my face"
He rushed around the cabin. Penn
berton followed him. AS Sanders
turned the corner Pemberton heard
the report of a pistol. He felt sure
the highwaymen had carried out the
threat and had killed Sanders. But
he kept going.
He found Sanders calmly taking
off his coat, which was on fire. In
the near distance he saw thtAe men
running as for dear life. Sanders
smilingly explained:
Nothing to it Penn. These fell
lows have no real courage. AS ]
came around the corner l had my
hand on my cooked pistol in my
pocket. In some way the pistol in my
discharged. That is what set my
coat tail on fire. But what is coat
tail more or less, to the subjugation
of these murderers? They saw me,
heard the shot, and thought l was
attacking them. They Immediately
broke for the tall timber. We should
take courage from this exhibition of
cowardice. Some speed, Penn And
he pointed to the rapidly disappear
ing figures of the men who would
put him out of the way.
Judge Pemberton says it was the
greatest exhibition of speed occur
ring in Montana before the days of
the automobile. "They ran in way
that would make a scared jackrabbit
wonder" he said. "And as they ran
we laughed. That incident did more
to hearten the men who were with us
than anything else possibly could do.
We told all the boys about it, and
in a few hours the whole camp was
talking and laughing about it. 1t
helped to relieve the tense feeling
and demonstrated to the miners that
the road agents were human beings,
lust like ourselves, and as suscept-
ible to the emotion of fear as the
average individual Their fellows
heard of it and it served to add to
the lustre of Sanders courage, all
though we detailed couple of men
who we're known to be quick on the
trigger to keep around close to him
for time"
Pemberton Was in Danger
And so brave old Penn, the joke
smith of the pioneers, laughingly dis
missed his part in an incident in
which the courage of two Montanans
Of those early days was proven. He
did not dwell on the fact that he was
close at his impetuous friends heels,
,arelessly ready to take the medicine
hat the desperate bandits planned to
give to Sanders. Because if the rob-
oers had killed Sanders as he dashed
around the corner, they would have
lad to kill Pemberton, too. All he
thought of was that Sanders was in
LANCER. and he proposed to share that
danger in order to give him some
measure of protection.
After these two pioneer lawyers |
lad helped their fellows to clean the
district of brigandage, they assisted |
n the organization of the territory. |
With the creation of the territory the
democrats and republicans aligned |
in contests for glory and |
place. Pemberton became the war
horse of the territorial democracy. |
Sanders was the perpetual leader of
he republicans. Both were famous |
orators. They would stump the state
when campaigns were on, and make |
,renzied oratorica1 onslaughts on
Zach others principles and purposes.
They were so bitter that their respec-
i've adherents sometimes thought !
hat only a physical encounter could |
adjust the differences in their politi-
al beliefs. When they would meet
1t some central place of these politi-
al campaigns, it was blood and thun-
Ter on the platform, and toddy to-
yether at some quiet resort after the
meetings were over.
Named County for Sanders
There they would forget their poll
les and express their mutual admira-
ion and respect for each other, born |
n the perilous days when they were |
helping each other to rid the state of
olummer and his cutthroat gang, by |
Zach trying to do all the buying, the |
while their political friends stood |
around with bated breath. waiting |
or the real fight to begin. 1t never
began. Pemberton and Sanders re-
NAMED friends up to the time of San
lers' death, and it was at Judge |
oemberton's suggestion, when the
friend of his youth lay dying, that the
legislature changed the name of
Paradise county, then in the throes |
Of creation, to Sanders" county, |
md made ON the man of Montana |