Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-05-09

LdIBlOru, PrOIeS-
sor Dimsdale's Vigilantes of Montana;
and a leaf from the journal OF James
Fergus, who came here with Capt.
Fishes party in 1862. Dimsdale calls
it "our first Indian trouble" There
are some contradictions in the three
stories, but on the whole they COIN
eide.
/ was acquainted personally with two
OF the men who took an active part in
the trials which took place: Langford
and Rheems. The first named was the
cause Of the miscarriage Of justice and
the other acted as the lawyer for the
defense of the murderers. Both of these
were frequent visitors at our home in
Bannack.
A Bannack squaw, purchased by a
desperate named Reeves, fled from his
i'll treatment to her people, who were
encamped on the hill at the south end
OF that portion of Bannack termed
yankee Flat" Reeves went after her
when, according to Langford, a chief
thrust him from the lodge. The next
evening, Reeves and a companion
named Moore fired into the tepee,
killing N Indian. Not content with
this, the two returned to town and to-
gether, with one Mitchell, returned to
the lodge into which they fired, killing
the chief, a lame Indian, a papoose
and a Frenchman named Gazette.
man "named Brissette, who had run up
to ascertain the cause of the first fir
ing, the ball striking him in the fore
head and the buckshot Wounding him
in ten different places. The Indian
chief and a lame Indian boy were also
killed but the number of wounded has
never been ascertained. John Burns
escaped with a broken thumb and a
man named Woods was shot in the
groin, of which wound he has not yet
entirely recovered. This unfortunate
man, like Brissette, had come to see
the cause of the shooting and the yells
of the savages. The murdererS, being
told they had killed white men, Moore
replied with profanity They had no
business there"
This is a bit from the journal Of
Fergus, published in Vol. II of the
Montana Historical society records.
"Bannack City Gold Mines, Idaho
Territory, Jan. 81, $50.
Morning bright and pleasant; an
other coffin to make-three in a few
days. The first man died of apopleXy
induced by drinking too long and too
freely of his own bad whisky; the sec
ond was shot in cold blood in midday
and the murderer Plummer) is still at
large, untried, unpublished and no one
molests him; the third, a young mar
in the prime of life, died of fever-at
4 o'clock the coffin was finished"
Let me interpolate that undoubtedly
the fever mentioned was typhoid, Of
which disease in its mild form of noun
tain fever, there we're many cases. /
had it shortly after our arrival in Ban
mack. The cause was not far to seek.
All the drinking water came from the
Grasshopper, that was by no means an
untainted mountain stream.
The journal continues: Went across
the river to hang a door, was detained
until dark, when suddenly six or eight
shots were heard in rapid succession
across the river which were instantly
followed by the most unearthly cream
ing and wailing from some Indian
lodges situated on Yankee Flat, occu-
pied by a few helpless squaWs and pa
posses of the lower class inOffenSive,
doing no one any harm, n living
among us by virtue Of an understand
ing or treaty made with the Indians
last fall. l FASTENED over and found
that some friends had crawled up I'M
perceived and fired into the lodges and
killed one or two old Indians and
SquaWs and several children. OF course
CONSERVATION ensued, and interpreters
were sent for to ascertain from the
Indians who had committed this hOrri-
BILE deed and to assure them that the
whites generally we're not going to
massacre them. Still more horrible to