Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1940-02-16

friend. He was always buying new
guns, searching, I suppose, for gun
with greater power, accuracy and
range.
"a large proportion of his food he
shot in the hills with his rifle and
tice. He brought the pelts to me to
take to Deer Lodge to collect the
bounty as he absolutely refused to
enter any kind of an office.
"a man of about IS or 40 years of
age. he was tall and slender with
an identifying mark he had knife
or bullet scar on his neck. Something
about him gave the impression that
he was a Southerner and that is prob
ably what started tire story that he
had been in some southern mountain
feud. Nobody believed that his name
was Simmons and it was thought that
agent or a telegraph operator as he
was supposed to be able to sit in
depot and tell what was coming in
over the wires.
He was an exceptionally good rider
and owned a good horse and saddle,
and had reputation of being able
to stay with any bronc that thought
Back of my cabin is a couple-acre
patch of willows and box elders which
was almost impossible to get through
even on foot. One day bronco that
he was breaking started bucking, and
being unable to control it, Simmons
rode it bucking through this willow
patch.
"Happy-go-lucky and at times very
laxative he nevertheless took no one
into his confidence. Slow to anger, but
once aroused he was remorseless and
ordered the unlucky man with whom
he got into an argument to leave the
country Immediately and threatened
violence if his order was not carried
out. He was a little too ready to shoot
arguments with him. Although he had
never been in any kind Of a gun fight
in this locality, he was given credit
for being bad man with a gun and
no one bucked him. AS a matter of
fact. no one had any proof OF his
having ever beer, in any kind of
trouble anywhere but they gave him
the benefit of the doubt and tackled
on reputation for good measure.
He worked off and on at various
jobs, for ranchers as hay hands, cut
ting ties and so on. He sold mine
for which he received somewhere in
the vicinity of $1,000. Those who be-
sometimes suspected it myself, were
sure that he had lot of money hidden
somewhere around his cabin but none
was ever found.
Seldom Went to Town
He seldom went to town and never
stayed long. In saloon he would talk
for half an hour or so and then
leave, in the meantime never drinking
enough to have any effect on his
ability to handle a gun. He never
stayed long in one saloon and always
watched the door and the crowd, never
allowing anyone to get behind his back.
When a crowd gathered he was always
on the outskirts and If man came
behind him he would step aside and
push him ahead of himself
THE last time he was seen was in
ElliSton early in the summer OF 1910,
and at the time he was accompanied
by stranger, who purchased a pair
of new shoes there. When the body
was found by Charles Kimmerly and
two hunting companions in the fall of
1911, it had on these same shoes, which
started stories to the effect that the
dead man was not Simmons. The body
was removed to Avon where several
inquests were held late in November
and early December. Absolute identifi-
cation was impossible as it was esti-
mated that the man had been dead
about year and half, but he was
identified by general build, clothing,
and especially a belt made of an old
harness strap, which everyone agreed
belonged to Simmons, and the identi-
fication was accurate enough for the
coroner's jury to decide that 1t. was
Simmons.
"Rumors spread rapidly and people