Glacier County chief., 1940-12-06

medlate!y IEo more men appeared on
the scene. taking their positions on
each side OF the coach where hey
could watch The passengers. The driver
and the drummer were ordered down
and the mail and express thrown out
III the roac.
Then the passengers were lined up
and a systematic search began.
Watches, jeWeIry and money. down to
the last niCSel, were taken. The lead
er laughed at the passengers threats
ana offered them a drink. The ilrSt
man refused but decided that ne
needed one IN a hurry when the twin
barrels OF the 8-gauge shotgun slid
up to within few inches OF his nose.
Everybody had a drink, just as
friendly gesture, but the drummer
made mistake. Before taking the
: bottle he pulled the glove Oft his right
hand On the third finger gllttered
a large diamond.
Pull II off. ordered the leader
~ can't protested the drummer.
I haven't had 1t off for years
LII get It off Tor you, was the
answer as Gamble shifted the gun
hunting KNIFE. The drummer accom-
plBhed III seconds what he hadn't
been able to do IL years
The passengers were ordered back
INTO the Stage and the driver instruct
ed to drive slowly and under no cir
cumstauc,, Communicate WITH anyone
he might meet on the road.
1T was late afternoon when the
stage reached Deer Lodge and spread
the alarm II was not until the next
day that detailed description OF the
men reached Helena.
The bandits had Camped Tor sew
eral days near the scene OF the hoIdup.
The day they pulled the JOB they
brought their outfit down off the hill
and hid II i'll the bushes quarter OF
a mile below the actual scene OF the
robbery. After the hOldup they. took
only the choice articles of mail and
express and carried them down to the
wagon.
Took Side Reads
Immediately after the holdup they
started back toward Helena but they
did not take the Mcdonald pass road
Instead they turned off on Priest pass
and spent the night with rancher
on the east side who also ran sort
of a halfway house Here they shod
their horses and after an early break
fast started east again. They did not
enter the main part OF Helena. out
skirted the edge of the town and TOOK
the BoZeman road.
When the news of the holdup ana
the description of the men reached
Helena. Deputy SheriffS Steele and
Roberts were Immediately assigned 10
the case. They spent the greater part
of the first day questioning travellers
at the junction of the Mcdonald pass
road and the Bozeman trail, until they
finally found a man who had seen an
outfit answering to their description
along the Bozeman road. some 10 miles
or so out of town. and noticed the
crooked wagon track
Steele and Roberts returned 20
town for provisions and in less than
an hour were on the trail again. each
leaving by a different route to confuse
any friends the bandits might have
in Helena. They met again several
miles out of town. Knowing that the
road agents were heavily armed each
carried rifle and two revolVers.
While both were sure that the bandits
were well ahead of them, they trav-
eled a course parallel to the road but
well out of rifle range to prevent any
possibility of ambush. They were so
sure that the holdup men were headed
for Bozeman that they did not even
make an attempt to see if they had
left the main road for any Of the
numerous side roads which branched
off from it.
"They rode hard until sunset with
out a sign of their quarry so they
cooked a simple meal over sheltered
fire along the banks of the Missouri
Then, extinguishing the fire. they
rolled their beds some distance away.
Dawn found them in the saddle