The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-01-05
CAPTAIN JAMES WILLIAMS WAS ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS OF
VIGIL Antics; STRICT RULES WE'RE MADE TO INSURE SECRECY;
CAPTURE OF Y0GER AND BROWN, THEIR TRIAL AND EXECUTION


The cold wa increasing, and there
seemed no alternative but to return,
leaving further pursuit of the outlaws
until later; so the Disguised and di:
spirited Vigilantes began to retrace the
way. The return trip wa more diff
ficult than the first. On the main
range the snow was Ia. inches. deep, al
trackless waste. williams said, IT
never saw such weather, nothing like
it,"
Physical suffering is not conducive to
thinking, but. during the long ride the
Captain was: revolving in his mind the
occurrences of the last ten days, and
what had seemed q w~ell-founded su1-l
mise ripened into ia. certainty; that Che
outlaws had perfected aj smooth Wpdk-
ing and effective Organization. Hpwiase|
'Assognt for the warming. SO speedily
conguyo6s - Dee. Lodge?
- T.. l11IRsa, must
8 A1 -.
was made, but thel0
except willows, and dry w1fIoNs1D|
scarce. The food was low. A feNl
horses were tethered, the fest turHed
loose. The next morning ushered in a
blizzard, and the mems sufferings In
creased. To make matters worse the
horses which had been, turned. out to
forage drifted away in the storm and
it was no small task to gather them.
Almost the entire day was spent in this
endeavor and in a struggle to keep from
freezing.
1T is darkest just before dawn" and
Fortune now smiled upon them. The
party had but reached the road lead
ing from Bannack to Virginia City
when two horsemen were observed ap-
preaching. Tom Baume, in the lead.
called upon them to throw up their
hands. K. Biedler, OF; the two rec
ognized Baume's voice and laughed,
he said,
you might as well kill a. man. as
scare him to death!"
The two, Beidler explained, himself
and his friend, Andy Lewis, were on the
way from Bannack to Virginia City.
He had left Virginia on the day after
the hanging Of Ives to. assist the Kis-
kadden freight train, which was found
to be in distress; at the Hole-in-the-
Rock on the Salt Lake road; his mission
accomplished he was on his way home.
Williams was pleased to see Beid1er;
the two were great friends. What are
you out on?"' x. asked, and when, the
object of the expedition was explained
he said he thought Red would be found
at the Rattlesnake ranch ION the way
to Bannack); Stinson wa there. 80
The Captain at once called for VOL
unteerS to go with him to arrest, that
swift messenger; all offered to 60.
Selecting seven men, the Captain d.
rected the rest to go to Dempsey's and
wait his return, while he and his seven
set out for Rattlesnake ranch. At mid
night they reached the Oliver & Co.
stage station at Stones ranch, where
fresh horses we're secured, and after a
short rest pushed on the remaining 20
miles to Rattlesnake ranch. Arriving
there, Williams with two others sought
to enter the house which wa occupied
by Buck Stlnson and Ned Ray, who as
deputy sheriffs had a prisoner in
charge; seeing Williams, to him IAN
ominous sight," Stinson appeared at the
door with a drawn pistol, but as he
looked into the muzzles of pistols held
by the Captains companions he con-
cluded to be peaceful. :.
Red was found in a wakiup a short
distance up Rattlesnake creek, arrested,
disarmed, and told he was to go to
Virginia City. He went along quietly,
c%heerfully. During the long ride TO
Dempsey's he was not given any in
timation as to the cause of his arrest,
but he seemed to sense it. Indeed, he ex-
pected death when he met the Vigil
lantes on the Deer Lodge divide.
The main party had been at Demp-
sey's two days when the posse arrived
there with Red. To the Captains
pleasure, but not to his surprise, the
faithful and courageous Beidler was
there. K. was not going to miss being
in at the death! Placing Red in charge
of men who had enjoyed sleep, the
Captain and his companions ate supper
and went to bed, but not until the Cap
tain was informed that another i'm
portant person was at Dempsey'-
Brown. keep an eye on him." said
the Captain.
After breakfast Red was taken by the
Captain to a room and accused OF being
a road agent. He denied it.
why, then" said the Captain, did
you take a message to those fellows at
Deer Lodge?" =.
Red answered that he had stopped at
Dempsey's ON his way to Deer Lodge
and Brown had asked him to take a
letter to Aleck Carter, and he had done
so. Taking Red with him, the Captain
called the party together and had
Brown brought to the meeting. The
two men were accused. Red again ad-
mitted carrying a letter written by
Brown to Carter. Browns manner
showed his character; he was a sneak
ing, groveling, cowardly william. Red on
the other hand was a bold, straight
forward man. Williams was q rare
judge of human nature. AS his brother
John said, IF he got a chance to study
a man for a short time, he seemed to
know all about him." =:
1t did not take him long to estimate