Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1937-07-31

seeking out the poor the lowly and
destitute.
Several days later all three met again
by appointment. ETcer told them he
had been to a local bank few days
prior and asked the cashier to send to
Roundup for his money. Now he would
go into the bank and see If the money
had come.
His two friends waited. In a few
minutes Ercer emerged with the 81 400.
Ercer suggested getting the thing settled
up on the spot. But the two bunco men
said no. They wanted to transact the
business elsewhere.
So they went down near the Milwau-
kee depot. They seemed to like that
spot. In a backyard grown up in long
grass and pretty well cut off from pub
lie gaze, they stopped. The young man
had new miners bucket in his hand.
The $50, 900 was In it, Ercer was asked
to show his ST 400, after which they
would place it in the tin box and give
him the box. When that was done he
would have their blessing and a heavy
load would be off their minds.
Pulls Out Roll
The sheepherder pulled out his roll
and handed it over. The two ShySters
looked it over but kept cool.
In the meantime they held up the
nicely-packed charity roll. 1t was COW
cred with oil cloth, neatly done up 1t
certainly looked genuine. Actually there
were five one-dollar bills in the pack
age. The balance was a wad of news /
papers. The one-dollar bills were not
laid lengthwise, but were folded over
the top-five in row, much as if the
roll had been tied together with five
bandages.
One Of the pair laid the sheepherder's
roll in beside it. The transaction was |
about ended. But, in some manner the /
can't quite recollect, they /
got him to divert his gaze from the /
chest. In that moment his roll I
was taken out of the bucket and the /
lid closed and locked.
@TOOdIe-IOO"
Suddenly the bunco men thought of /
something They had to leave but would I
be right back. Actually there was no
need to come back. They could just as
well have said, We'll, here you are, old
topper; mud in your eye, good luck,
and all the rest"
Ercer did as he was told and waited
for them to come back, all the time
fondling the nice new lunch bucket
and cogitating about his new Job of
giving away money. His mind drifted
off into some sort of seventh heaven
and the time passed quickly. Suddenly
he began to think it was time for the
philanthropiSts to return. He got sus-
oicious then panicky. He opened the
box to make sure his twenty grand was
here.
A few minutes later-and very few,
1t that-he walked into the sheriff'S
office. Deputies said later that it was
almost duplicate Of the scene a few I
ears prior when the other sheepherder
walked in-through the same entrance
md with the same look Of terror on
lis face.
All afternoon Sheriff Weir chased s
bout the country with Ercer in the
ar. They went as far as Three Forks !
o head off a bus. On return to Butte ,,
he sheriff and his deputies made all
he trains. The sheriff expressed the
pinion that the bunco men had car :
f their own and had lit out immedi- !
tely after the deal.
Il have been in America 80 years" s
aid the man who came from Switzer- I
and to herd sheep. Il have been %
ears in Montana from one job to an /
ther. don't work steady. No sheep e
erder does. There are many times we S
must lay off and then we have to pay Y
ur board and room. The 81 400 was all !
had" He wrung his hands and swore =
oftly He was heart-broken.