Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-04-11

oPohcH 10 vi tIic SuUJcCt.
His funeral was the largest ever held
IN Fort Keogh. Almost every man,
woman and child were in the funeral
procession; only those OF duty stayed
at the fort. Soldiers and civilians alike
followed his body to the graveyard and
a great many of the commissioned Of
Ulcers and their wives were present.
Spotted Elk, the wounded Indian,
claimed he was the one who fired the
shot that killed Douglas. / saw him
often at the fort after he recovered
from his wound.
Doulas seemed to be one Of those who
are followed by bad luck. He had been
detailed on detached service only twice
during his service in the Second cav
airy and nearly lost his life on the
first trip and did lose it on the second.
In 1879 the paymaster, after paying
the troops at Fort Keogh, was going
to Fort Buford to pay there. A four
mule ambulance was sent a. his con-
veyance, guarded by an escort of six
soldiers in charge Of a sergeant. Doug
las was appointed as driver Of the am
mulance. Just before the paymaster
was to start, Morris Calm, a merchant
OF Miles City, who was going east to
buy goods, obtained permission from
4 III llO w accompany WIN Ply
master. Calm was known to have quite
a sum Of money with him and he
thought the escort would be a prOtec-
ton to him OF his trip as far as Bis
marck, as the paymaster on leaving
Fort Buford would proceed to Fort
Abraham Lincoln, just below Mandan.
About 40 miles east OF Fort KeOgh
the little command was crossing a
gravelly creek about four miles east Of
where the town of Terry now stands,
intending to camp on the Yellowstone
for the night. AS they swung around
a curve, they heard the command,
Hands up!" and saw two or three
masked men with rifles leveled on
them. Douglas was a little slow to
obey the order, when 1t came again,
accompanied by a shot from n or the
road agents (they were not bandits"
seat of the ambulance just over Doug
las shoulder, and he raised his hands.
The road agents took all the money
Calm had, but did not bother the mil
itary money and rode away. Only two
were seen but it was thought more were
concealed along the bank of the creek
which has been known ever since by
the name of Gains coulee. The credit
of this hold-up has always been given
to a man known as big Nosed George"
a gunman and tough, and all around
bad man who was n of the rough
element of Miles City. 1t was known
that a day or two before Calm left
town, Big Nose was broke, that he
disappeared the night before the hold
up and was in Miles City the day fol-
lowing and appeared to have consid-
cradle money on him. He left Miles
City shortly after this and went to
wyoming where he established q record
by killing some deputies who at diff
ferent times tried to arrest him. He
years later with a price on his head
vine and a man named Schmalsle.
George was taken to Wyoming and
escaped from jail, was recaptured and
tried to escape from the train but
failed, and the citizens, becoming tired
Of him, hanged his to a telegraph pole
in RaWlinS. No n ever knew his
name. Big Nose George wa all the
name he ever WaS known by In Mon
tana or Wyoming.
The description of the fight in which
Douglas was killed is as I remembered
hearing Sergeant Glover tell it to my
step-father, Charlie White, with whom
Glover was very intimate. Glover was
an Indian fighter in every ems of
the word. In 1879 he led q detach-
ment Of soldiers against q band of
Sioux who had attacked a rancher, and
after locating them and placing his
men, one of the Indians showed up
with a white flag. Glover and a cor
poral went to meet him and when they
had advanced about so yards, a party
Of Indians In ambush opened fire on
them. Glover ordered the corporal
back and got behind a knoll and with
his carbine stood the Indians off by
himself till his men came up. He cap
tured the Indians after a brisk fight
without the loss of a mar or having
one wounded. He was cited for bravery
in this action and his two citations
him the congressional medal of
honor. He was afterWard commissioned
second lieutenant and rose to the rank
OF major and won recognition during
the World war. He enlisted in B troop,
Second cavalry, in 1877 when only Is
years Of age, and at the time that
Douglas was killed Glover vas only 81
years Of age. He took part in a num-
Der of fights against the Sioux.
I see many names mentioned in the
different articles appearing in your
paper of old timers whom / well knew
in the early days In Montana. L. A.
Huffman of Miles City, remember
him when he came to KeOgh q think it
was 1879 to take charge of the pho
tOgraph gallery there. S. j. Morrow
was his predecessor. Cap. Eli l.. Hug
gins was commanding officer OF my
stepfather's troop.
/ remember when General Liggett
then l~ieutenant), came to Fort Keogh
from West Point as second lieutenant
Of company F, Fifth infantry. He mar
ried q sister-in-law of Lieutenant Sib-
ley, Miss Halle Lane. Jack Conley
and jeff Phillips were packers at
Keogh. I remember H. G. Thompson,
now OF Miles City, when he vas first
sergeant Of company E, Fifth infantry
in 1877. After his discharge he was
clerk for w. D. OToole, post trader at
Fort Keogh, and was government in
terpreter at Keogh for the Cheyennes.
| lived at Keogh and Miles City during
the buffalo and Indians days and came
to know q great many there.
Plane Turns Turtle
Verne Lucas, Billings pilot, and mem
berS of a dance orchestra who flew to
Livingston to play for a dance. lar