Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-06-01

| back to Nave. They summoned more
Of the crew and recovered the body.
There were no Identification marks
on the body or clothing so rider was
| dispatched TO LewistoWn where Sheriff
William Clary was given her descrip-
ton.
Only one woman answering that de-
Scription was known to have been In
the vicinity. She was nurse and, q
! few days before the body was found,
she had left for Fort Benton with Bill
Clegg, then ranching near Denton.
Sheriff Clary assumed that Clegg had
murdered the nurse and thrown her
body in the stream It was plausible as
the route the couple had taken to
Fort Benton ran near the river. The
sheriff prepared to roundup Clegg.
In reply to the request Of the cow
boy who had come in with news OF the
body, Coroner F. E. Smith went to
Samples Crossing. When he got there
he received shock.
Four More Bodies Found
-Four bodies Give in alb have been
found indicating the most atrocious
murder in the history Of Montana. Or
ganize a party. Help us" That Is the
message he sent to LewtStown.
While the cowboy was on his way to
Lewistown others had secuted the
neighborhood attempting to see If there
were any clues to how the body OF the
woman had been thrown in the river.
The men found several places where
a wagon had driven to the edge OF the
creek and, examining the tracks, they
found that not only one, but five times,
someone had driven to the water.
Search Of the places near where the
tracks went to the water revealed the
bodies Of two men, another woman and
young girl in addition to the body of
the woman originally discovered.
The discovery, OF course, blew any
theory concerning Bill Clegg's activi-
ties sky high. But, who were the peo-
pie? Who could have killed them2
What was the killers motive?
All the bodies were well dressed. The
clothing and fingers Of the women bore
1ewelry which was worth money. 1t
did not seem that robbery was the
motive; And, there was not a bit Of
Identification excepting the initials
j. K" tattooed ON one man.
There was no radio or teletype then,
but the roundup was on and, with
riders coming and going all the time,
the news soon spread all over the |
Basin country. A check soon showed |
that the murders must have been the |
work OF q stranger.
Efforts to identify the people and to |
establish just how many strangers had |
been In the vicinity recently were un-
dertaken.
Soon information began to trickle In. |
James Crowder reported seeing man !
with Balm wagon and led horse (
Spring creek below Samples |
near Louise creek A rider came In to |
report that someone had thrown lot /
Of dishes into the water near Louise I
creek.
Abe Hogeland, now justice of the
peace at LewiStoWn, then had taken up I
a premption near the crossing. He had |
been on freighting trip to Fort Ben !
ton and returned shortly after the |
bodies were found A young man who
worked for him disclosed to Hogeland I
that the man In the Balm wagon had |
called at the Hogeland place and asked, /
"Is there anybody down the river be- I
tween here and the mouth?"
Il told him there wasn't anybody as I
the folks on the ranch below were not I
home" the boy told Hogeland.
Suspicion clearly centered on the /
man with the Balm wagon. Then, G. w. |
a freighter, came in. He too |
had news of the wagon and the man. /
But, it was not exciting news. Quite the /
man with the wagon, had camped over (
night with him. There was nothing /
about the man excepting /
that he had, In the presence Of Nor |
gan, thrown away some broken dishes. /
The man had identified himself as a |
homestead seeker from Nebraska.
In view of Morgan's information con-
corning the innocent actions Of the |
man with the Balm wagon suspicion /
was lulled Authorities continued their
and a deputy and the sheriff