Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-08-01
Tom Mcguire Lived for Almost 80 Years With Grim Reaper as
His SdeKc He Fought Hostile Indians and Killed Buffalo
figures it is bad luck TO kill a crazy

figures it is bad luck to kill a crazy
man.
Il tried 20 get my brother TO turn
back but he would not. At the time
told him he would get killed II he
went into the Black Hills and ne was
killed about two years later.
IF he had let me alone / could
have killed the Indians. There were
only seven in the party and I was
pretty good shot used to throw a
bottle into the air and hit it at IS
feet. I had to keep in practice be-
cause I did not know when ! was
going TO get killed"
Ambush Feared
Wyoming Indians were bad actors,
accounting for more than one unfor-
tunate whom they plucked off from
ambush. OF all the men who covered
the road, who at once was immune
from the bullets or arrows of his foes
and at the same time an unlucky
companion was Pelong. a French driy-
er, who died in Butte Other French
men liked TO ride with Pelong and
almost without exception they were
killed, while Pelong escaped. After
four or five had been sent to the
France could be induced to ride on
the seat beside his compatriot and
few would ride inside Pelong and his
stage was not the only one under
attack. According to Mcguire the In
dams killed more men along the route
that he freighted over for Il years
than any other he ever worked. u
don't know how I got through alive"
hi N1.- ,.af-g =
how he escaped.
Kills Towns Bad Man
One of the early chapters in Ma
CURES life at Bryan was the killing
by him of Henry (Trantla) Brown.
''Trantla" was the towns bad man,
and at the time of his meeting with
Mcguire had five notches in his gun.
Mcguire arrived in town from the
west with a considerable sum OF money
after selling his outfit in Nevada TO
collect bill from a former partner
in his freighting business. The part
ner, Jasper Scott, reformed member
of Quantrell's band of outlaws, and
companion of Jesse James and Cole
Younger, was broke and borrowed S35
from Mcguire to go to a friend To
make loan. Mcguire had TO take off
his money belt TO get the cash. Trant-
la saw the transaction and immediate
ly made plans to get the belt and its
contents. His first move was to ad-
vertise to the town that an old enemy
of his had returned and the place was
too small for both OF them Mcguire
heard of the threats and planned ac-
cordingly. He went home and to sleep
Later in the night he heard a noise
in the outer room Of the two-room
cabin he occupied at the edge Of the
town.
Shot Grazed Him
"Trantla came in while I was
asleep" continued his intended victim
He stopped in the outer room and
heard his revolver click while he
was getting ready for me. l reached
over and got my gun from under the
( pillow and went 10 the door. When
I opened it a revolver was stuck in
my face. jerked back my head and
shot grazed my hair. The next shot
was mine and he fell: the light went
out and I went out. started for town
to give myself up but heard a horse
coming down the road I thought it
/ was Trantla, so I got ready to have
it out Later I learned that after
being shot Brown got up, unsaddled
his horse, and dropped over dead
After investigating the affair, the Of
/ ficers let me go. Brown was one of
/ those fellows who liked TO draw a
revolver and make a man dance by
shooting at his feet"
( In the eighties, Johnny Sheirin in
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