Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-04-06
(By j. w. FAULDS)


CLARENCE YOUNG ran away from
home when he was a mere boy to
come west. He worked around lumber
camps, then turned train robber, was
caught, convicted. served Is years. was
paroled and is now an honest farmer
back in the east.
Young, when a youth of about %, held
up a Northern Pacific passenger train
near Bearmouth in Granite county in
1906. At that time Dave Graham was
sheriff of Missoula county and was one
Of the first officers In pursuit.
1t was through the efforts of Graham,
now a contractor at Missoula, hat Young
was paroled, after he had been sentenced
to so years, and later following an esca-
pade in the p~enitentiary. was sentenced
again to life.
Graham knows the whole story OF the
holdup, which he got from Young when
he was befriending him and aiding him
to return to his people.
1.-THE Northern Pacific was held up at
Bearmouth more than once Mr.. Ora
ham says, and even today passengers or
the trains are shown the country by
other travellers who are familiar with it
as a country where the trains used to be
held up The country is rough and the
passengers of today have menta pictures
of train robbers hiding in the rough hill
sides n all, but this is a story of the
holdup and 1t dates back to take in 6
similar holdup.
Young was working for my brother
Dan Graham, foreman of the Kindel
brothers sawmill at Bearmouth wher
Hammond and Christie held up the
North Coast Limited train in 1904. HI
| naturally heard q lot about It because
the whole country was stirred up. H,
heard the lumberjacks around the camp
in their idle talk, tell how easy 1t was tx
get away, and started to do some figuring
himself.
Hammond and Christie had gotter
onto the train at Bearmouth when 4
stopped at the water tank and ther
forced the crew to break the train. hau
part Of 1t down the track and then the.
got what they wanted in the express car
Their principal haul was diamond
from the strong box. The pair then lef
the train and started up Rock creek to
wards Philipsburg. Before they reached
Philipsburg they swung over the rang
into the lower end Of the Bitter Roo
valley and came out OF Miller creek
skirted around Missoula, crossed the Bit
ter Root river at Sayes' sawmill n tool
up O'Brien creek. They came out nea
Lothrop, west Of Missoula. There the.
got some money on a diamond and wen
to Spokane.
Their haul was divided and the TIVE
men separated, Christie starting east ant
Hammond remaining at Spokane. Ham
mond's undoing came about when
woman friend was disposing of diamonds
and papers found IN him led to the ar
rest of Christie In North Dakota. Boil
were convicted and got short sentences
At that time, I believe, the penalty 10
train robbery in Montana was one to II
years.
Young was familiar with the who'll
procedure, and studied OF a train hold
up in which he would get away. He qui
his job as stable boy at the lumber CAM
the next year and went to Oregon Wher'
he got a Job of handling dynamite in tn
blowing out Of stumps for a canal sys
tenn. He thought from his experience
that he would have no trouble in hand
ling powder On a safe In an express car
so he came back, but brought fuse ant
powder from Oregon.
Upon Young's return to Bearmouti
he thought that no n would suspec
him of the crime. He went on through
Missoula to Clinton, where he hid hi
blankets. 4 did not think that even yo'
would suspect me If you met me out Il
the country Young told me.
He had expected to carry out hi
holdup. cache what he got, get the blan
kets and go over the range into tn
Blackfoot to work in q sawmill CAM
and when the whole thing died down, =
come out with the money he expected t