The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-08-01
SHERIFFS RAID IN
|CALLATIN COUNTY
RECALLS OLD DAYS.
GALLATIN COUNTY OFFICIAL
CALLS UPON POOL HALLS
OF WEST YELLOWSTONE.
Officials Censured Bitterly for Need
less Interference With Sports and
Pastimes of the Tourist-Frontier
Town.

Like the climax of a ''wild west"
movie drama with an officer of the
law cooIIy commanding the situa-
ton and in unruffled voice and
gesture placing the Iaw-breakers
under arrest, was the description of
the affair given by spectators who
witnessed a carefully planned and
connected raid recently on gam
bling place at West Yellowstone by
Sheriff Jim Smith, assisted by
County Attorney e. A. Peterson,
of GalIatin county.
Travelling inthe sheriff's car and
reaching the western entrance of Vel
lowstone National park, by way of
the West Gallatin canyon, after
nightfall and being personally known
to but few people in the southern
Gallatin county tourist town of shift
| ing population, the two officers en-
tered the pool hall conducted by
Fletcher e. West, and watched for
some time the play at the two tables
without making known their official
authority.
The big card table at the rear of
the establishment as well filled with
players and was presided over by a
regular dealer whose duty it was to
take in "rake off, would stand
'touch." At this table no actual
money was seen to change hands, the
entire play being conducted by the
use of regular red, white and blue
poker chips which the customer with
gambling proclivities presumably pur-
chased from the dealer before TAX
ing his place at the table and calling
for his cards.
Not so at the craps table, the green
''pass sheet" of which was literally
covered with big silver dollars and
greenbacks of various denominations.
The officers, waiting until literally
hat-full of money was within sight,
called the dealers hand mading him !
fork over total of $213, which Sher-
iff Jim Smith had to scoop up into
an improvised green pool table cloth |
in lieu of bucket.
Up walked the proprietor, Mister
West.
IT presume you are Jim Smith," he
queried, while at the same time ex-
tending his hand.
Gust so,' replied Jim, not to be
put done in politeness or goodfellow-
ship, land at this particular moment
acting in my capacity as sheriff of
5allatin county"
Cali right; let's CO., was Vests
'ejoinder.
Whereupon the pool room propri-
,tor and his dealer, R. J. Haigler,
we're quietly escorted to the office
If Justice of the Peace Plummer, who
lrraigned them and placed them I'M
Ter $500 bail bonds each for their
appearance for trial in the district
curt during September term; unless
n the meantime they carry out their !
implied intention to plead guilty and G
ubmit to the sentence which will, q
n that event, be imposed upon them :
y the Bozeman judge.
One of the old-time residents of
Vest Yellowstone who had known {
heriff Smith for a good many years, :
omplained bitterly to the officer e
bout what he said was needless in !,
with the sports and pas
u,
hose inhabitants, he pointed out, II
ad only three months each year in
hich to fleece the travelling public II
ut of enough money to pay living ex-
enses and buy liquid refreshments
,r the remaining nine. II
The craps table while homemade II
flair, was really a masterpiece of II
annual training craftsmanship. 1t re- II
,mbled huge square-cornered fish H
owl, the height of the sides having II
,parently been designed so as to pre- II
mt the possibility of any of the big II
liver dollars rolling in any other di- II
ction than toward the dealer. The III
BASS sheet" was neatly lettered and II
with black paint on piece II
green-colOred felt, with oiled-cloth III
TEX. 1t contained numerals and HE HI
glyphics that look like Greek to
ose uninitiated in the intricacies
Id extricacies of the game that the ii
lored man calls "Indoor Golf" III
Tree sets of Clones" of the clear, H
pink and white dotted va II
ETY. were also confiscated, as were II
veral decks of new and used play H
g cards. II
The county attorney had the time
his life, this being the first oppor-
nifty he had ever been given to II
rticipate in the kind of raid that II
few years ago, would have resulted
gun play. III
The closest approach to possible II
,uble in this raid came when Haig-
;, the dealer, reaching toward the
BILE ostensibly to gather up the II
,ney, stepped back just as quickly
d dropped his hands to his sides
en- Jim Smith, standing on the op-
site side of the table, and with II
nds resting easily on his hips, H
ispered sharply. "Drop it.