Plentywood herald., 1928-02-10

sat for 40 days and adjourned April IA,
1866, simultaneously with the adjourn
ment of the constitutional convention,
which had been sitting since April 8.
General Meagher announced that it was
his intention to have the laws SO framed
that mo judge, whatever his powers or
consequence, should dispute or disobey
them" and that he would enforce the
laws passed by the assembly with the
whole power OF the county OF Madison
! Tin which Virginia City is located) and,
II need be, with the whole power of the
territory"
Late in 1865, new governor of Mon
tana territory was appointed by the pres
ident of the United States. He was Green
Clay Smith After his arrival, General
Meagher ceased TO run the territory"
but he continued active in it's affairs,
particularly as he had an Indian war on
his hands. 1t was while on his way to
Camp Cooke. near Fort Benton, to get
muskets that his life was ended.
Colonel Sanders Rlates Incident
OF all the accounts of the tragedy that
given by Colonel w. F.. Sanders, the
generals friend who was at Fort Benton
at the time. is unquestionably the most
accurate. Colonel Sanders says
About noon, July l, 1867, I discerned
on the tableland. where the road de-
scended to the town. number Of horse
men in military apparel and upon their
arrival we Ga steamboat captain and Col
onel Sanders) greeted Colonel Thomas
Francis Meagher and his military staff.
He advised us he was on his way to Camp
Cooke after 130 muskets which the gen.
/ eral government had proffered to the
territorial authorities for use in the In
dian war in which we were engaged.
The day was intensely hot, and the
general and his staff had made a swift
and dusty ride from Sun River, where
Messrs. Carroll and Steel had camp, and
were founding that fiourising town. near
which Major Clinton was marking out
his site of Fort Shaw, SO named in honor
Of Colonel Robert Shaw of the 54th Mas
! sachusetts regiment.
II do not recall all the members of the
generals staff, nor their number, but
one Of them was Captain William Boyce
afterward a resident of Butte. The af
ternoon was delightfully."- spent in social
visits through the business portions of
/ the town, and General Meagher seemed
at his best in conversational way. but
he resOlutely and undevtatingly declined
that form of hospitality with which Fort
Benton then abounded. AS he was my
near neighbor at Virginia City, and a
most genial and interesting companion,
/ spent most of the afternoon with him,
introducing him to 80 many Of the So
journers in that unique and thrifty sea-
port as he had not heretofore known"
| Mr. Sanders goes on to say that Gen
eral Meagher dined with Major t. H.
Eastman, the fur company's agent at
Fort Benton, a sociable and hospitable
i man after his own heart. He also accept
ed the invitation of the pilot of one of
the old steamboats,, an Irish American
who had ascertained the generals iden-
tity, to take voyage on his craft down
the river as far as Camp Cooke.
l. .C,enpra1 Maaphar rpt,1rnad FROM, thp
fort about dusk" continues Colonel San
ders, "in company with some other gen.
tlemen whose names I do not recall.
was seated In front of the store of l. G
Baker & Co., when my attention was ar
: rested by abnormally loud conversation
and as the party came nearer saw that
1t came from General Meagher. AS the
party came to the place where I was, ii
!, was apparent that he was deranged. He
was loudly demanding revolver to de-
fend himself against the citizens of Fort
|, Benton. who, in his disturbed mental
condition, he declared were hostile tc
him, and several who then Joined us
sought to allay his fears and by all the
means in our power to restore to sanity
his disturbed mental condition.
Goes to Bed On Boat
"His nautical friend, whose host he
was to be the ensuing morning, suggest
ed that he go to his state room on the
boat and three or four of us accompa.
MED him. He was still insistent thai
the people at Fort Benton were hostile
to him and was importunate for revol-
yer. He was induced to retire to his
berth, which was on the starboard side o.
, the boat next to the bank, and in the
, hope he would sleep we all went or
, shore, seeking to allay his anxiety by thu
promise OF getting him revolver. Al
, he had removed his outer g0ments anC
lain down in his berth, we did not ap
prehend that there would be any furthei
trouble, thinking the alteration the re
suit Of the hot and exhausting ride Of tht
morning, which sleep would speedily cor
, rect. 1t was q great shock to his friends
but we were confident of his immediate
recovery.
II do not stop here to speculate on tn,
cause Of his hallucination that the peo
pie Of Fort Benton were hostile to him
. but / have always thought that con
tention between the Blackfeet Indial
! agent, George Wright and the general a
superintendent Of Indian affairs where
! in the general directed the release of al
/ the intoxicating liquors in the countr.
which the agent had assumed to seiz
was in his mind. This controversy hat
assumed an epistulary form in the news
: papers. as General Meagher's controver
sizes were exceedingly won't to do. 1 onl.
attributed 1t to this for lack of othe
causes, but General Meagher had no mcr
loyal friends than those in Fort Benton
! who solicitously surrounded him ther
, in his last hours.
/ II cannot say that any one remained
in his stateroom with him, for nothing
: was farther from our thoughts than tn
. denouement then impending. After
brief consultation on the lower deck,
/ went to the office of the Indian agent
opposite the G. A. Thompson and per
. haps so yards distant where / wrote
letter for the outgoing mail to Helen
' which left at IL O'Clock. Perhaps / hal