Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-11-15
BY CHARLES HIGGINBoTHAM

had been a staged driver prior to my
4 coming to these parts. Here / got
work Immediately with the Wells Fargo
people, who a the first contract from
Salt Lake City to Helena, Mont, un
der GOV" Pollinger, who was division
agent.
He sent me down to take a string of
stock from Pocatello, Ida, to Malad,
Utah. I left Portneuf, going south about
one O'Clock in the morning. While driv-
ing there a big treasure was sent over
the road, q shipment of 100000. With
it were sen seven messengers to guard
the precious treasure. They were A. B.
Keller and A. Y. Ross on the seat with
me-; Mike Tovay, Jimmy Brent n
Johnny Grant on the front "dicky'' seat,
and Wise Osborn and Ralph Watson on
the back "dicky" seat. In addition | had
eight passengers inside the stage.
Meet Road Agents
The first leg of the route was from
Pocatello to the "Roost," is miles, where
l forded the Portneuf river. l had a
bank to pull up, and just as I got on
top of it I was held up by 10 or ID road
agents. Holdups were then occurring
with annoying frequency-almost weekly,
in fact. That was why they were sending
so many messengers.
l had let my team slow up q little in
making the pull out of the river. When
one of the road agents hollered Haiti
The sound Of the words had hardly
reached me before A. Y. Ross, on the seat
beside me discharged his gun and a road
agent fell. The partner cut loose with a
shotgun that must have been loaded with
l6 buckshot in each barrel. The shot
did not have time to scatter much; one
of the pellets struck me in the left hand,
which dropped helpless to my knee. 1t
felt as though I had struck the crazy
bone in my left elbow. The other 81
shot struck Keller in the right side, as
he pitched forward. Ross reached out
his right foot and paved the body of
Keller into the front boot. grabbing as
he did so Keeler's shotgun.
Keller was killed so quickly that he
had no time to fire a shot.
Shooting Becomes General
The shooting had become general. Ross
told me to keep the team going, which
l did. They all went to work with their
six-shooters, and the outlaws shot off
my wheel-horse, but he did not drop.
/ got one ball in the right leg, out of
the 40 or so shots that were fired by
the robbers. My off wheeler stayed on
his feet till within 200 yards of the
barn, then fell dead.
The stocktender at Robbers Roost sta
ton, where McCammon is now located,
on the Oregon Short Line railroad,
heard the shots, as he was not more
than half a mile distant from the Port
neuf river. AS / had between 80 and 40
miles to go to reach my home station
at Malad, with the shot that / had re-
ceived in my hand, the boys thought 1t
would be a good idea to remove it. Mike
Tovey. being of a jovial nature, said.
pulling out an old tobacco knife, 81 am
a surgeon. but / haven't got my d.
ploma. yet l think this knife is stout
enough to do the work"
Big Ross set me down in a chair. Mike
had his knife open by this time. 1t was
a Barlow" with the blade broken off
at the point. 1t was all gummed up with
tobacco, Mike being ar~great smoker of
smoking plug tobacco Johnny Brent
took me by the left hand, while Ross
fastened himself to my elbow and bent
my hand over the edge of the table SO
that it would become taut. Mike then
stuck the corner of his surgical In
strument in the wound, which had COM
menced to get sore by this time. He
gave 1T a twist, and out dropped the
shot. / have felt pains n'my life, but
l never had felt anything like that, be-
fore or since. We buried Keeler as o
as the shot had fallen out of me.
Five Bandits Killed
The messengers started out to note
the effect OF their shooting. They had
five road agents dead. We had lost about
an hour and twenty minutes, and there
was no other driver to be had until we
got to my terminus, Malad. All the pain
that q white man could suffer was mine
in going that 35 or 40 miles.
"Old Gov. Pollinger," as he was famil
iarly known, happened to be at Malad
l Urhnn VIC unf fhara Qnd VIC told h4f~,
what had happened. He started me foI
Salt Lake City with an order for board
and room at the Walker House, one OF
the leading hotels of that day, where the
stage fraternity was staying, also, an or
der to a doctor, named Ritz, to take care
of mt while l needed 1t. aud charge the
same to Wells Fargo company.
/ stayed in Salt Lake three months
drawing $125 per month, with board and
bed. After the first six weeks my hand
had healed until 1t was almost well
and I had the time OF my life for the
next six weeks or two moXths, when
Gov" reappeared On the scene and put
an end to my vacation. He wanted M
to resume the ribbons, and to start ou
in the morning.
Meets Henry Plummer
He sent me up the road to drive from
Bannack to Virginia City. While driving
there / became acquainted with a gooc
many fellows. Among the crowd was the
sheriff. Henry Plummer. Also, l soor
knew George Ives. Ned Ray. Buck Stin.
son, and quite a number who later were
found to be road agents.
I also formed an intimate acquaintance
with a placer miner by the name OF
Johnny Neubert. He was from Leaven
worth, Kan. He was counting a girl In
that town-by mall. She had sent him
q silk purse with the legend Prom II
to j." worked in red, white and blue
silk thread. Johnny had sold out thai
spring, and calculated to go down the
Missouri river to Fort Benton, the heac
of navigation, in order to catch a steam.
er to take him to his darling.
Steamboats, ran only in the early part
of the summer. I pulled out from Ban
mack at 7 O'Clock one bright june morn
ing with Johnny Neubert on the seal
with me. There were 10 other passengers
besides him. l got a mile or two out OF
Bannack when a GROVE Of masked mer
held me up. Neubert had $50, 600 in the
treasury box and SIS or $40 in his purse
They lined up passengers in a v shape
they said. Driver, throw out the treas
ure box i knew from the weight Of Il
1t had taken two men TO DAD it-thai
} 1t was rich. and. as / had the reins IL
nv bapHg I uafA ~ Tho rnaA uuaptu 90