Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1932-01-28

was usually mfteo
out swiftly and sur
ely. The punish
ment did not always Homer r..st
have the sanction OF
recognized law. but there is no record
Of q single miscarriage of justice.
bitter feeling lInwaTd-haTs
thieves had q further firm foundation
Horses formed the fastest and sHFest
means Of transportation-ll fact, the
only means, II one excerpts Che Flooding
oxens OF the freight trains. A good
horse, any horse for that matter, was
a priced possession, no merely for his
intrinsic worth but for his great use
fulnesS. He was a necessity. an in
tegral part Of pioneer life. Thus the
msscreant who stole him was commit
ing q greater crime, under the circum-
stances, than his fellow ruhber who's
loot was g~littering gold
In the tbs, stockmen Of Beaverhead
and Madison counties began to import
high-grnde and even pure-brad horses.
The quality Of Southwestern Montana
horses increased rapidly, and to such an
extent that their fame spread far and
wide. Men of criminal tendencies, at
tracted by the tales. cast greedy eyes
upon the splendid bands. Horses turn
ed up missing. sometimes one or two.
sometimes a few more
In 1850, Montana's first railroad, the
Utah Il Northern, tapped the territory,
building into 9eaverhead county from
the south. Instead OF injurying the
horse industry, by partially eliminating
the freighting teams. 1t actually gave
it added impetus by providing an cas-
ier market for the Montana animals
and enabling the territorial stockmen
to ship In more high grade breeding
stock
In the spring Of the following year,
the ranchers Of Beaverhead and Madi-
son counties began to suffer heavy
losses through the mysterious disap-
pearance OF great numbers Of their
prize animals from the ranges. No
longer did the thieves take only one
or two animals-whole bands vanished
as though swallowed up by the earth.
Range riders mAdly secured the hills
and remote canyons In search of the
thieves hiding place. all in vain. The
relay or chain system had made its
appearance
So clever was the system that it was
several months before ranchers secured
a clue to the methods used by the
chain men,.
Two or three men, CARRIED and out
fitted as p~rospectors, would skirt the
ranges, o6tensibly looking for thu
mother lode, actually playing the role
of spoilers. Finding q central loca-
tion, they would establish camp and
perhaps dig . few hobs In the ground
to cover their real purpose. Since thu
hills were well populated at that time
by genuine miners, their actions caused
little suspicion From their headquaT-
ters they rode In various directions
always careful to keep out Of the WAY
Of range riders, until they had located
the choicest band of horses i'm the dis
trict.
Tncn they waited patiently ant
watchfuIly until Ill riders were out O.
the immediate neighborhood- The nom
ent they considered themselves safe
they pulled camp, Jumped" the desir'
ed band Of horses and headed them fo
the Idaho Iine. choosing oIt-of-the- wa,
and little used trails.
For 80 or 40 miles the band wotl6
be driven at break neck speed by thu
thieves They would then arrive at an
other prospecting" camp established
as they entered the territory. Their
fresh animals were mounted and tn,
st0len horses, without rest or food, wer'
1919 w~noxrt1oCr1u nnyo onAfhnr IN
mile stretch At the next camp, no
only fresh mounts, but usually freSl
riders took up the chase, and this tim
the horses were driven until they cOuk
go NO further.
Completion of the third lap, though
usually found the thieves and the ex
halsted equines practically safe iron
pursuit. and the animals e all0wet
to rest and Craze for at least a few
hours before being taken to the u1ti
mate objective, sorne remote spot IN tn
u1Ids Of eastern Idaho or western
wyoming. where a horse ranch" wa
established. The following day the.
were joined by the spoilers" and tn
work OF altering the brands was be
gun
After the burns were healed, tn
horses were taken to the railroad Il
Utah and shipped. Because OF the tim
elapsed since the horses were stolen
and the altered brands, the thieve
we're practically safe from apprehen
sion as they loaded their f~our-foote'
loot. Anyway, horses were SO greatf
in demand that buyers asked no ques
tons. and in a pinch, would even pro
tect the iIlegitimate sellers
It WA . group Of four determines
BevrrfreAd and Madison county stock
men who detected the system and, al