Year: 1873

BANNAcK CRY, NJ. T., May 20, 1878.


To the Editor OF the Herald:


Before started in to write you this letter,
I took down my prayer-book, New York
edition, and carefully read over those prayers
specially designed to allaying all feelings OF
malice and bad intentions. make this dis
claimey of malicious intent to begin with,
for before you get through you will see that
it is absolutely necessary for me to use plain
language and state stubborn truths. This is
intended to be q personal and, to some extent,
biographical sketch of some of the peoples
servants of Beaverhead county.


You will permit me to introduce to the
readers of the HERALD our Squire Daem,
Representative of this county in the Montana
Legislature He lately made his debut as
Legislator in the extra session, and misrep-
resented the true sentiments OF the people to
great extent.


Squire Daem came to Montana a poor man,
and before he branched out, passed for an
honest miner In the winter of '65-6, he lived
down the gulch and was engaged in the laud-
able pursuit of mining. During that time he
lived on oats and beef shanks, being too lazy
| to work and earn money Wherewith to buy
better grub. About this time the Squire got
hankering to become lawyer, and in the
following summer he studied law under
Hosford Since then the Squire has, occa-
sionally, rubbed up against Sanders, Wash.
Stapleton, Sam. Word, Blake, and other en-
inent legal lights, until he actually thinks
himself lawyer. However, did not intend
to show the Squire up as a desciple OF Black
stone-for if that was all it could be written
in one word. Our Squire is great politi-
cian-in small way. He used to be one OF
that stamp who dotted, with satanic grin of
satisfaction, over the assassination of Presi-
! dent Lincoln He has weakened some on
that point since the whole wide world has
pronounced that assassination most hideous
| crime. The Squire started his political ca
reer by running for Probate Judge, and was
elected. He managed to run the office of
Probate Judge with some skill, particularly
| when he could combine the duties of judge
and counsel together. BY operating the judge
ship in an adroit manner, he took counsel
! fees with one hand while with the other he
reached down into the County Treasury for
his $500 year. Our Squire had higher
| ambition. He wanted to be the saddle-horse
in the Democratic team. He got ''flummixed'
! in making the deal for that position. A
couple of years ago he sought the nomination
for Councilman in this District. He run up
against Wash. Stapleton, and liked to have
got completely skunked- A few outside
French Gulch proxies saved him. lie was
awful mad at his defeat. Rushed up and
down the streets in boiled shirt, splitting
prefusely and using long string of profane
words. He wanted to flop over into the Re-
publican ranks, but they turned cold shoul-
der to his loving advances, well knowing the
old mead-iator would prove slippery. In a
| short time the Squire became tractable
| Democrat again. Last season he run for
| Representative and ''cribbed his fodder" A
few evenings before the election he made an
out-and-out Republican speech. 1t was the
greatest effort of his life, and he had splen-
| did chance to distinguish himself, but made a
| pitiable failure. Old-line Democrats were
put out with the Squire for his duplcity-
| he told them it was only dodge to catch
! votes. He had now reached the longing goal
of his ambition, and was representative of
the people-a legislator Here is where his
ponderous abilities were to shine forth in
magnificent style, entirely eclipsing all other
of Montana's representative savans. 1t was
a sad mistake of the Squire to think he could
do it. Before leaving to attend the extra ses-
| sion, the Squire. in confidential kind of
| way, told one of our citizens he had seven
teen resolutions" to offer in the Legislature.


What these resolutions were the world will
probably never know. Squire Daem rubbed
against your Helena man, Sanders, and it
proved disastrous humiliation for our weak
old Squire. l am told that Sanders lashed
and keelhauled our man without moity of
mercy. Our Squire came back to us with
his tail-feathers trailing in the dust like a
whipped dung-hill ter-cowed beyond the
hope of resurrection. He says Sanders and
Baron O'Keefe are too many for him, and
that he don't want any more Legislature, if
he can avoid it. The Squires ambition has
tumbled down, and he is one of the mighty
fallen. The Squire has other qualifications
than Legislator. His great forte is to make
orders of court for the Probate Judge of this
county, in blank form, to be filled out on
the spur of the moment. Said orders to be
used only at midnight, and are specially in
tended to ignore the records of Beaverhead
county. The Squire will be called before