Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-07-20

on a ranch near the Musselshell. Billy
! was the wild one while Jim was quiet
, and sympathetic but easily led by his
, older brother.
Billy fought with his stepfather
There Is another old-timer'S story that
once he kept his stepfather under a
bed for half a day, sitting nearby In
q chair with a shotgun across his knees
threatening to blow Smiths head off
the moment 1t was poked out. Billy
did not stay at home much. He visited
Billings where he posed as q prize
fighter and general all-around tough
guy. He had a brush with the law and
! spent term In jail there.
Like all tough guys Of the time Billy
had weakness for music particularly
when the ladies and liquor had soft
ened his feelings. In a house in the
+ restricted district in BoZeman he heard
James Eli Fisher, fresh from WiScon-
sin, play piano and became very
friendly with the musician. He invited
him to spend some time with him at
the Smith ranch. where he and his
mother were working, remarking,
There's good hunting up that way"
Animal or human he did not specify.
Fisher, % years old, turned up at the
ranch with a new gun in September to
go on hunt. After a night of laying
plans the two brothers and Fisher got
up early and started out.
At a spot near where the Box Elder
empties into the Flatwillow Billy
paused at clump of trees and re-
marked, II know how we can make
some easy money"
He Proposes Murder
OF course the others were anxious to
hear how but they were stunned when
Billy said casually, Kill old man Nc
Rae and Allen, his herder, take their /
sheep to Miles City, and skip after |
selling them"
According to recorded testimony the I
others at first demurred but Billy |
pulled six-gun and said, Now you
know what I'm going to do, you're in
on 1t or kill YOU too"
So the lads rode on over a rise where
they came upon Farquhar McRae, an
elderly man, alone with part of his
flock. McRae had 400 head of sheep of
his own. John Allen, his herder, and
a paragon among herders of that time
In that he actually owned stock of his
own, had 800 head. In addition the
men were running 800 head on shares
for Max Hildebrant
For 20 minutes the men talked.
Fisher was to shoot when the time j
came but apparently lost his nerve.
firing Of the wait Billy took the gun
from Fisher and calmly shot McRae 1
through the head before the old man
Snew what had happened. Billy looked {
Town at the body and remarked, IT'S {
10 more than killing the dogs to kill s
him"
McRae's body then was wrapped in a t
addle blanket and dragged half a mile t
o a chimney Of rocks near his cabin.
Billy then disappeared over a ridge, L
mother shot was heard and he came +
,ack announcing that Allen was dead. ]
Ills body then was brought to the L
chimney. t
In the morning the trio located the
abin Billy went across the MuSSel- F
hell to the ranch of Lew Lewis who h
Ias a half-brother of Sam Smith. h
here he secured a wagon and team ii
IcRae had lent Lewis and returned to e
he cabin The bodies we're wrapped a
/ a tarp and placed in the wagon. ev
he young men then headed out for
Tiles City. N
The outfit had gone but a short dis y
lnce when Sam Smith showed up on =,
orseback. To him Billy told wild T.
DRY that McRae was hiding out" in ~
lie wagon box and did not wish to &c
: seen McRae, he said, had hired IN
I'm and the others to trail the sheep ~
Miles City where McRae planned to III
ii them, including Hildebrant's share, fe
Id skip. NJ
smith didn't like the sound of the M
DRY so he went to McRae's cabin. ar
evils showed up and together the men nj n,
)dies of McRae and Allen had been IN
jagged were plainly marked with m
God and bits of blanket. The men to
.cided murder had been done and m
NTH wrote a letter to Sheriff j. D. III
ate in Lewistown. m,
Smith, however was not able to write MI
UGH and confused his information so
at the sheriff, after taking the letter nj,
the county commissioners, was or ha
red to check on another band of M
eep and they were found safe. The a
tie was disregarded.
Jeff Sherman, rancher of this dis 20
let, felt, when the sheriff did not
ow up that some action should be
ken The murders had been COM
tilted Sept. "a, 1888, and on Sept. 26, r.
Monday, he organized a posse and
arted on the trail of the sheep.
The posse came up with the three
Jung men and the outfit on Big
)rcupine near Forsyth, the youths
wing missed the Miles City trail.
sher and Jim Calder gave up with
ghs of relief, young Calder remarktng
at Il knew this would come sooner
later" Billy was taken while out
arding the sheep and surrendered
ietly
There was only one flaw In the Sit
were no bodies. And, no
dies. no murder
Sherman however, considered they
ID been dumped in the Musselshen
lich was in low water and that they
uld be found. Some OF the posse
lrted the search and the prisoners
re taken to the Forsyth jail
BODIES Were Creunafed III
There Billy's first act was to ask
r material with which TO write a
ter. He wrote something then tried
get a man to take letter TO Miles
ty, drop it in the mail there. The