Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-05-25

standing not 10 feet from where I was
voted mo" Instantly q thousand faces
turned toward the direction whence came
the no" and a glance at the party was
sufficient TO satisfy every one tina he
belonged TO the undesirable contingent
which made its living in q name not
related to honest toll. 1t will probably
be unnecessary to state further that this
negative voter pulled his freight and left
for parts unknown.
So far. he trial was held by the people
assembled. in a quiet and orderly man.
ner. 1t was in no sense a mob crazed by
the preparation of some heinous crime,
but on the contrary a deliberate, de-
termined body of men. From this point
on, the proceedings were carried into ef-
feet with the precision of a die. The Wig
ilantes now took charge and not a cog
slipped.
AT once. a body of 20 or more men
made for the door in the high board
fence that surrounded the old Jail. The
door was forced open, and here Doc
Steele and his brother were met with
drawn revolvers and orders to the crowd
to stand back. But they were promptly
overpowered, the Jail keys secured. the
door opened and the prisoners taken out
and placed in Neil Vauter's delivery
wagon, which was drawn by a team of
white horses. Father Van Corp was sent
for at the request of Compton, and a
Methodist minister, Rev. S. G. Lathrop,
waited on Wilson. This was q privilege
accorded them at the request of the Wig
ilantes. The march was started to the
old hangman's tree, down Breckenridge
street to Dry gulch, a solid phalanx of
two thousand men.
Money Is Recovered
An incident, however, occurred on the
n,arph That dplauad nnoftarS about IN
minutes. When the procession nae gone
about midway between Rodney and Davis
streets. Wilson, seeing that the game was
up, asked Jesse Armitage to hold up for
a minute and he would get the money
taken from Lenhart. The order to halt
was given n Wilson jumped from the
wagon with the agility of a cat. Fol-
lowed by a strong guard he went behind
a small cabin not so feet from the street.
and against the old fence Of the Ross
Deegan horse corral. After removing
about six inches of dirt he unearthed a
yeast powder can and handed 1t over to
the guard saying: Here is the old mans
money" 1t contained $685. in currency.
Having regained the wagon, the pro-
cession again started and in a few min
utes was under the hangman's tree. The
wagon was halted Immediately under the
tree. A dry goods box wa placed on the
rear end Of the wagon box. and on this
the prisoners stood. Jesse Armitage
bound their hands and feet and adjusted
the ropes with plenty Of assistance. and
the final question was asked: Men, have
you anything to say?"
Wilson was silent and stood defiant,
erect and motionless. Compton respond
ed. Boys, goodbye; don't lead the life /
have the past few days" He had to be
supported on the box, as his knees trem-
bled perceptibly.
"All ready" was then given. A quick
stroke on the horses backs, the wagon
went forward with a jerk. and the bodies
Of Joseph Wilson and Arthur L. Comp
ton were swaying in the air.
Compton's neck was broken, but Will
son was less fortunate as the noose
slipped to the back of his neck and he
died from st~rangulation. After is min
utes they were pronounced dead. One
hour later the bodies were cut down,
placed in pine collins and buried. The
crowd slowly dispersed and by evening
things had again assumed their usual
normal condition.
Lenhart Receivers
The attempted hurdle of George Len
hart was avenged. / say attempted
der, for despite the opinions of the doc
tors Lenhart slowly recovered. 1t would
have been better for him nae he died.
for he was q helpless cripple for life, n
shot having broken his hip, and he was
otherwise badly manned. l saw him fire.
quently and he narrated to me the his
tory Of these events many times. He died
about 10 years afterward and t. H.
K~leinschmidt acted as administrator of
his estate.
The attempted murder, trial and exc
cution took place in less than three days
time. Neither of the executed men was
over rs years Of age, n my personal i'm
preston is that Wilson was q tough