Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-04-11

The character Of John x. Beidler was
| tuned completely to the adventurous
era IN which he lived. There was dan
ger in every tickle breeze that blew his
way-and he loved 1t. X. was never one
to cover in the face Of peril. He went
out to meet It with a swagger and a
grin, He was as rough and ready as
any of the hooligans whom he pursued
and the duties imposed upon him as
a vigilante and later as a deputy
United States marshal were right down
his alley. His love for. the Job and his
reckless courage caused many an evil
doer. chilled to the toes with the knowl-
edge that x. was after him, TO get out
of town In the fastest time possible.
Beidler wasn't one of imposing sta
| tlIre, either. He was barely feet 6
inches tall, built on lines similar to
Mayor LaGuardia of New York. But
he was thick and solid and bull-necked.
He looked tough, acted tough and was
tough. He probably was, in all truth,
somewhat of a bully.
Enjoyed the Hunt
The scourge of Henry Plummer's
road agents, who operated In the en-
vironS of Virginia City and Bannack,
Beidler undoubtedly put more zeSt into
the task Of bringing them to heel than
did any Of his fellow vigilantes. To
them it was a distasteful job that had
to be done and they weht about it to
efficient, cool and busineSslike fashion.
But you can read between the lines
of western history and readily see that
the determination of Plummer, Ives,
Helm, Gallagher and the rest of the
boys was to Beidler a glorious adven-
ture, the prospect of which invoked
in him the same reactions that bird
dog manifests when his master gets
out the shotgun.
If hanging the road agents. fate
they richly deserved-was distasteful to
Beidler he kept the fact carefully con-
cealed. Asked later whether he didn't
feel" for a poor wretch while he was
applying the moose that was to jerk
him into eternity, Beidler replied, Eyes,
I felt for his left ear"
Few of the more delicate sensibilities
were present in Beidler's makeup and
it was well for the general public that
this was so. Had he been one to wax
sentimental when the time came to adj
stern justice via the medium
OF hemp, the law would have been
Haunted much longer than it was.
x. had seen the folly of compassion |
shortly after coming to the Montana
gold camps. He witnessed the killing
of Dillingham;, a deputy sheriff, on the
streets of Virginia City, as brash and
foul piece of business as outlaws ever
perpetrated. And he saw Hayes Lyons,
Buck Stinson and Charley Forbes, the
three killers, freed through the work
of sob-sisters even after they had been
condemned to die and after a scaffold
had been erected and graves dug. In
this instance, as in others, someone
produced a phony letter. allegedly
written by Lyons to his mother-a
document filled with expressions Of
love for the aged woman, regret for
his crimes, repentance, acknowledge
nents Of a misspent life and strong
promises of amendment, If only he
;ould be given another chance. |
Such moonshine as this left x. COM
oletly cold and when the hoodlum
element began to pluck at the strings
If popular sympathy to save George
YES from the gallows for the Staying
# Nicholas Tiebalt, Beidler was quick
o blast the effort.
seidIer Broke the Spell
Appeals went up to allow Ives time
o pen a soulful letter to his mother
whom he probably hadn't given
bought for IS yearS-before his execu-
ION. The letter was then to be read to