The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1935-01-11
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Steees Cabin Where the Vgantes Held Their First Meetings.

Ives trial impended. At any rate there
seems to have been little or no ques-
ton as to who should preside on that
occasion, which was destined to turn
the tide of history in Montana's noun
tain camps.
That only man of deep convictions,
devotion to principles of good citizen
ship, and possessed of courage of I'M
usually high caliber, could have held
the crowd, which had all the attrib-
utes of a mob, during the Ives trial,
can be realized by picturing the scene.
The murder of Nick Thiebalt, young
German, had led to the arrest of Long
John Franck, who charged Ives with
the crime. The arrest, attempted es-
cape and recapture of Ives and the
trip to Nevada for trial after several
other Subterfuges had failed are story
that need not be told here.
The trial was to be at Nevada, three
miles below Virginia City, starting
Dec. 10, 1868. Don L. Byam, miners
judge of Nevada, was to preside, and
Judge Wilson of Junction was to share
the bench with him, due to the impor-
lance of the case at bar. Wilbur F.
Sanders, young attorney and nephew of
Sidney j. Edgerton, afterwards first
territorial governor was to prosecute.
A jury of miners was to hear the eH-
dence and render verdict. But every
one of the hundreds of men took for
granted the right to interject comment,
observations, protests, or questions at
any time.
The courtroom: The street of a rag
ged, rough frontier village; honky-
tonks and saloons were the walls; the
floor the street, Uttered with mining
paraphernalia. Two high wheeled wag-
ons were the dais for court and coun-
sci, prisoners dock and witness stand.
A semicircle of benches for the jury.
A fire in the area between court and
jury for warmth, fueled from the wood
pile of some unlucky nearby resident.
The narrow street, ice covered was
packed with miners who had deserted
their claims for the duration of the
trial. Not all present were in sympathy
with law and order. Ives fellow men,
beers of the "Innocents" (Plummers
road agent banO, the gamblers, saloon
keepers and hangers-on at places of
questionable character, regarded Ives
as good fellow" Guns on shoulders
or in belts, these men milled about
the scene. They would be rather
tough crowd to handle
With no established government, no
constituted authority and no public
servants clothed with responsibility and
authority, the entire crowd must have
a hand, and this mass procedure was
cumbersome and slow. After hours Of
pickering the matter of counesl was
settled. After more pickering jury of
"a men-12 from Nevada and II from
Virginia City-was selected.
A Gordon of guards, selected by Judge
Byam, Tom Williams and others on the
side Of justice and social order, was
thrown about the court. Outside this
armed circle $500 men, all armed and
ready to shoot, milled about. Were the
numbers in favor of justice preponder-
ant, or would these men become ar
outlaw mob? No one could guess.
Sanders and his associate, Charles S.
Bagg, piled up overwhelming evidence
against Ives, duplicating him in many
crimes other than the murder of The
bait. Meanwhile, Ives friends milled
through the crowd, staggering, shout
ing objections to the court and threat
ening dire vengeance should Ives be
convicted. AS their own names were
drawn into the testimony, however, they
wilted and faded into the background
to circulate rumors intended to incite |
mob action.
Judge Byam, Sanders, Bagg and the
resolute little force conducting the trial
knew their own" lives would be the |
penalty should they falter at any point,
for bringing Ives and probably others
to justice in the face of the organized
power Of the outlaws gang whose |
personnel was suspected but not def
nitely known. They knew that any mis-
carriage of justice, a sudden flare of
mob hysteria such as had previously
served the "Innocents," might place the
outlaws in undisputed control of the
territory, with the resultant murder of |
all men known to favor social order
in the camps.
It was a moment to awe the most
Intrepid OF men. But their determina-
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