Montana, S-Z, 1888-1975, Undated

CHLAPS, Ferdinend, white, hanged W olf Point, Mont., 5/20/1927
CRIME DETECT IVE, April, 1947.

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“MURDERED !— ~ Gee
Mrs: ‘Ludmilla Geisler (photo.
“at right) was found horribly :
mutilated in’ a Montana river,

eee,

pe

i DEATH SPOT—
| ‘It was close to this bridge
j in the Little Muddy River F
{ that bodies were discovered.
i ; *
34 Fis,
} 28 =


With plaster of paris, the sheriff made moulds of the
tire pattern. Then, satisfied that no further evidence
could be obtained there, he went to Homestead where
he picked up Coroner Nelson and drove to the Geisler
ranch. :

ORDLESSLY the two got out of the car and

started toward the small, one-story, frame dwell-
ing. It wasn’t a fine house, but Ludmilla Geisler had
endowed it with a gay, cozy touch. Potted plants lined
the windowsills, while outside, trained to carefully
fabricated string trellises, tender shoots of climbing
vines and morning glories already had crept up along
the walls.

The sheriff stepped to the door and walked in. Nelson
was close behind. And in the large main room of the
ranch house the two men stood aghast.

Ludmilla’s cheerful spirit was evident here, too—in
the ruffled curtains, the bright colors, the snug hearth-
side. But there was something else—something horrible.
For, emblazoned in blood on the walls, on the floors, on
the rugs, was the story of the young bride’s last mo-
ments of terror.

Salisbury’s trained eye roved around the room. He
noticed the splintered windowpane, the overturned
‘furniture. Then, following a trail of blood to a closet,
he pushed back a heavy plush curtain in which was a
ragged, gaping hole. “The clothes in here are blood-
stained,” he told the coroner. ‘Mrs. Geisler must have
run in here to hide after she was wounded. But the
killer came after her and shot through the curtain.”

Looking back, the county official reconstructed the
crime. “The first shot came through that window,” he
reasoned. “It hit her, but. didn’t kill her. So the fiend
came into the room and tried to fire point-blank. She
“undoubtedly ran from chair to chair to get out of range.
Finally she went into the closet. See any clues?”

Nelson looked around. There was no weapon, no
empty shells, no object left behind by the assailant.

The sheriff meanwhile came upon a trunk which he
quickly opened, Inside in a box was a roll of bills.

“Two hundred and thirty-five dollars,’ he observed,
after counting it out. ‘“That’s probably all they had. I
doubt whether, they were robbed.”

The coroner agreed and moved out into the kitchen.
“Here’s a gun,” he called back. “A twelve-gauge shot-
gun. And a mop that looks as though it had been used
to wipe up blood.”

Joining Nelson, the sheriff examined the articles.
“We'll send these to the identification men,” he said.
“There may be fingerprints. And we’ll have the mop
tested for human blood, along with those scrapings |
took from the bridge.”’

While Salisbury was speaking there came the sound
of voices, and the county officials went out in the yard
to face several neighbors of the Geislers, who had been
informed of the tragedy by friends who had phoned
from, the village. The newcomers ran up to the officers
and in shocked tones asked for details of the crime.

. “We're doing the questioning here,” Salisbury coun-

‘tered firmly. “And the first thing we want to know is

when the Geislers were last seen alive.”

This query, and others, put to the neighbors sepa-
rately,. revealed that no one had seen the young couple
for two or three days, but one man recalled that he had
noticed the Geisler car parked in front of the garage
at about 11 a.m. the day before.

“That fits into what I figured from the condition of
the bodies,’ Nelson told the sheriff in an aside. ‘Roughly,
I’d say they’d been dead about. twenty-four hours.”

It also was disclosed from what the countryfolk said
that the Geislers lived a quiet life, were exceedingly
industrious and thrifty and were engrossed in making a
success of the ranch.

“They were doing right well, too,” one rancher testi-
fied. “They raised some fine hogs, and only yesterday

_ the hired man butchered them and took them to market.

_ THE BARN—

(photo below) where the killer shot Tony Geisler.
(Cross indicates where Tony fell.) “He tried to
get up,” his slayer said, “and so I shot him again.”


almost decapitated young woman—a blonde. Sprawled bis !

beside het, the corpse of a curly-haired young man

THE WINDOW—
Killer stood against the clapboards indicated
by arrow, shot down the newlywed young woman.

ATHED in the warm sunlight of early spring, the
little village of Homestead, in the northeastern
corner of Montana, was lazily quiet that Sunday
afternoon. There were few persons on the streets

BM and these were strolling leisurely, aimlessly, stopping

now and again to gaze in ata shop window or to chat
with a passing neighbor. ;

Suddenly a strange thing happened. As though sum~
moned by an invisible Pied Piper, men and women
began running out of the houses and up the street and
down the road which led to Little Muddy River a half
mile away. There were shouts and hushed voices and
admonitions to children to remain behind.

One of the strollers grabbed an onrushing citizen by
the arm and demanded what was going on.

“Two bodies have been found floating in the river,”
the man said.

As the crowd surged toward the river, the less stal-
wart among them drew back. For lying on the grass-
green bank of the murky waters was the body of an

gazed sightlessly skyward, his handsome features
swollen and twisted in death. :

A murmur passed over the gathering as-the word _ ie

spread: “It’s Anton and Ludmilla Geisler!” je
It was the postmaster who had identified them—a -
newly-wedded pair who had come to Montana just a.

short time before to operate a small. ranch 15 miles

west of the village.. :
“’ye met her,” a woman gasped. “She was a sweet

- jittle thing.”

There were nods of ‘agreement, and as others slowly
found speech it was generally conceded ‘that the’ Geis-
lers were a fine, attractive, upright couple to whom it _
was incredible that violence could come.

Yet, some thirty minutes later, when Sheriff Rodney
Salisbury and Coroner Martin Nelson arrived from
Plentywood, the Sheridan County seat, and strode past
the sober-faced spectators to where the bodies lay, it
was common knowledge that the young farm couple
had been murdered, for it was plain to see that both
victims had been drilled full of buckshot.

A PEDESTRIAN had discovered them as he walked

across a bridge over the muddy stream on that
bright Sunday afternoon—May 2, 1926. Horrified at
the sight of the bodies bobbing up and down in the
gently moving water, he had raced to the nearest house
to call the sheriff. And, on orders of this official, he had
enlisted helpers and had pulled the corpses up onto
the shore.

Now, after a preliminary examination, Coroner Nel-
son quickly confirmed what the others had concluded.
“The woman was shot three times,” he told the sheriff.
“Once in the neck, once in the left elbow, once in the
abdomen. At pretty close range, too, I’d say. The, man
was hit twice in the chest. It was a shotgun. They’re
peppered with lead.”

Salisbury nodded, then, his jaw tightly set, he turned
to the group of onlookers. Circulating among them he
asked question after question. But none could even
guess why Anton and Ludmilla Geisler had been slain.

Soon the undertaker arrived and the victims were
carried on stretchers to a hearse parked on the road-
side. “We'll take them to Homestead for autopsies,” the

“coroner said. ;

The sheriff nodded. “I’m going to take a look around
here,” he returned. “Then I’d like to have you go out to
the Geisler ranch with me.”

After arranging to meet Nelson in the village, the
sheriff began a minute examination of the bridge and
of both banks of the river in the area where the bodies
were found. On the bridge he stopped and scraped into
an envelope some bits of paint from the railing, which
appeared to be stained with a copper-colored substance.

It was not this river bank where the bodies had been
recovered that yielded a possible clue, however, but the
opposite side, where Salisbury found what looked like
fresh tire marks in the soft, brown earth. A car evi-
dently had been driven from the bridge, down to the
river edge, and thence for several hundred feet along
the water line. From there the tread marks led back
onto the roadway.

Bloodstains on a blanket cleared one suspect im

this case—and sent another one to the gallows!

29


I was there when he sold them.
They brought. a fine price.”

ed man?” the sheriff re-
peated. ‘Where is he? What’s his
name?”

“Ferdinand Schlaps,” the ranch-
er replied. “He’s a young fellow.
I haven’t seen him since yesterday
morning about nine o’clock: when he
was in Homestead selling the hogs.
But I think he said something about
visiting some relatives over the
week end. They live a few miles up
country.”

No one else, either, had seen the’.
_ husky, blond youth since that time,
it turned out, but all spoke well of
his character,

“He was a good, dependable
hand, ” one man declared. “I think
you'll find out he doésn’t. know any;
thing about the killings. Else: he’d
be here, taking care of the stock.”

Salisbury impassively jotted down
these opinions and then recorded
in his notebook the name and ad-
dress of Schlaps’ relatives. “A miss-
ing hired hand sounds mighty interesting,” he observed
to Nelson, when the neighbors had gone. “We'll look sie,
him up as soon as we inspect the barn and the out- tt
buildings.” ~

It didn’t take the investigators long to ascertain
where young Geisler had lost his life. On the east side

- HANGED!— - ‘SHERIFF ANDERSON—
The young man shown above paid Some odd angles puzzled him for a
the full penalty for the murder.. time—then everything “jelled.”

asti- | of the barn, about 15 feet from the building, the sheriff
cday came upon three empty shotgun shells and a sticky
‘ket. pool of blood.

“Looks like that twelve-gauger may be the murder
weapon,” he remarked, as he examined the round, red

sler. | cases. “And since this ranch is in Roosevelt County and

iL to | both the Geislers evidently were murdered here, this

tim.” | case is out of our jurisdiction. We'll have to notify
Sheriff Anderson.”

From a nearby farmhouse, Salisbury phoned the.
Roosevelt County official, Sheriff John Anderson, whose
headquarters were in the town of Wolf Point, some 50
miles away.

“I'd appreciate your co-operation,” that officer told
Salisbury when he had heard the details of the crime.
“And rather than waste time, why don’t you go talk to
Schlaps while I’m on the way? I’ll meet you there.”

This was agreed upon and a short while later, the
Sheridan County sheriff and the coroner reached the
isolated farmhouse in upper Montana, where the ranch
hand was supposed to be visiting.

Bi rae youth, who was in the kitchen when they ar-
rived, was speechless when told of the killings. “I
can’t believe it,’ he murmured. “Who would ever kill
Tony and Mrs. Geisler!”

“We thought may be you could give us some idea
about that,” the sheriff responded. “When did you last
see them? And how does it happen you’re not at the
ranch today?”

The young man made an effort to collect himself.
“This is a terrible shock to me,” (Continued on page 72)

CORONER MARTIN NELSON—
(Photo at right.) He was instrumental in helping
authorities solve the community‘’s most puzzling c«


+ Realname

oP AA we

ere Pee

16 Marked
for Death

(Continued from page 41)

attorney agreed. “There have been some
pretty sharp words between Lee and my-
self lately. There might still be a little
hard feeling.”

As the two drove into the Sahara, Sheriff
Dolve remarked lightly to his trusted
deputy:

“I’m afraid the association men don’t
understand our rancher friend.”

Sheriff Dolve climbed out from behind
the wheel, and started toward the ranch
house. Dusk was near at hand. Halfway
to the picket fence, the officer checked his
stride and started toward the corral, for he
had seen Mrs. Simpson running toward the
house.

Her face was pale. She shouted, “Lee!
Lee!” and ignored the officer.

“Where's your husband?” asked Dolve,
pulling up beside her. She stopped running

» and walked rapidly past him.

»s “I don’t want to talk to you!” she

_ screamed hysterically. Dolve followed her

~~ to the fence, where she slipped through the
gate and slammed it after her:

Just then the door of the ranch house
flew open. Mrs. Simpson leaped aside with
amazing agility and a shot rang out. A hot
slug ripped the sheriff's shirtsleeve and
two more whistled about his ears as, gun
in hand, he leaped the picket fence and
rounded a corner of the house.

Three more shots rang out from the
ranch house as the sheriff peered cautiously
for a view of the crazed gunman. The
bullets ripped through the officer’s car
standing fifty feet away.

Neither officer had fired a shot so far,
and there was a lull from the ranch house.
What had suddenly happened to Simpson?
The sheriff had no time to puzzle the
matter, for just then shots rang out from
an upstairs window directly over his head.
The bullets smacked into the car, shatter-
ing the windshield and the side glasses.
But where was the deputy? Was he
crumpled in the bottom of the car, bullets
tearing his flesh with every report from
the upstairs window? The sheriff leaped
up, savage determination twisting his lips.
He wheeled around the corner of the
house, saving discretion for some other
time.

He stopped short however, and flattened
himself against the building again. A wry
grin touched his lips. He had just seen a
white puff of smoke come from beneath the
rear end of the car. Deputy Burfotd was
lying flat on his stomach behind the rear
wheels of the car.

“Art will be all right there for awhile,”
the sheriff told himself.

‘He slipped back along the side of the
building and tried a rear window. It was
locked. He glanced westward and around
the ranch house to get in mind the geog-
raphy of the place. A creek ran behind
the house and turned south some fifty feet
west of the structure. Just across the
creek stood a small hillock, an ideal place
of fortification where the officer could com-
mand an aerial view of the battlefield. He
slipped into the rocky creek bed and
sprinted toward the hill. When he came up
out of the. creek to climb the hill, half a
dozen bullets ricocheted off boulders near
him, then he dropped behind a large rock
near the top.

Waiting there with his revolver rested

across the rock, Sheriff Dolve reflected
sickeningly that he had only five bullets
remaining in his gun. It would have to be

Lo le eR RC AE: A ER HO a Soakeaied

a short battle he told himself grimly. He
glanced at his watch. It was 5:25 P.M,
and getting dark fast.

The sheriff glanced down at Deputy Bur-
ford, still lying flat behind the rear car
wheels. Suddenly he saw the deputy mo-
tion to him. Burford’s arm swept in a
wide circle and came to a stop pointing
down the road away from the ranch house.
He wanted the sheriff to meet him at a
point down the rdad. The sheriff raised
his arms and signalled back.

He held his two hands a foot apart and
worked them like one operating the steer-
ing wheel of a car. The deputy nodded,
cautiously got to his feet, opened the car
door opposite the house and eased inside.
His foot touched the starter button—and
inside the house a finger touched the
trigger of a 30-30 rifle, and a_ bullet
whined through the air.

Deputy Burford hurtled from the car as
if propelled by a giant force. He fell on his
side and rolled behind the car wheels once
more, his left shoulder pierced by a slug.

What was going on in the brain of the
crazed rancher who seemed bent on killing
the officers? The sheriff couldn't answer.
The battle would have to be settled one
way or another before he found out.

6 UDDENLY he snapped erect and half
raised himself above the rocks. He had
seen a dim figure come out of the front
door of the house and walk toward the car.
Grimly he drew back the hammer of his
revolver, then let it down softly again, for
the figure was that of a woman. Mrs.
Simpson was walking slowly toward the
car. She stopped and glanced down at the
deputy, then turned back toward the house
again, moving slowly, her white dress
silhouetting her form as she drifted ghost-
like in the gathering dusk. Not a shot was
fired on either side until the woman was
safe inside, true to the code of the West.

Two minutes passed. Then a fusillade
of shots shattered the stillness. The sheriff
watched horror-stricken as the  high-
powered steel-jacketed bullets kicked up
dust around the deputy. One bullet did not
kick up dust, and the sheriff groaned as
he saw Burford jerk from the impact of
lead.

“Another half-hour and we'll rush the
house,” Dolve muttered, glancing about at
the thickening: shadows.

That time was never to come, however,
for just then a long lance of flame stabbed
out from the garage far to the right. Bur-
ford lay fully exposed to gunfire from that
quarter. The sheriff leaped up and sprinted
down the hill and as he ran, he saw two
jets of flame from the deputy’s gun, then
a dull roaring blast from the garage. The
rancher was using a revolver this time.

As Sheriff Dolve lunged into sight from
the creek bed, a blood-chilling sight met
his cyes.

Deputy Burford had somehow managed
to get to his feet and face the maniac
rancher who was charging toward him like
a bull. Then the deputy’s gun went off,
but the flame pointed downward many
yards short of its mark. The gun sagged
limply in his nerveless fingers. Like other
peace officers before him, Deputy Arthur
Burford was fulfilling his oath of office
with his life.

“Simpson! Drop that gun!” yelled
Sheriff Dolve, but a wicked snarl spread
over the rancher’s features as his gun arm
swung upward.

Three shots rang out simultaneously,
and Deputy Burford slumped to the ground,
shot through the heart. The murderer's
bullet had done its grisly job, but the
offi¢ers’ had missed.

Then Lee Simpson twisted about savage-
ly to face the sheriff.

What followed during the next few
seconds is now legend in Golden Valley.

- lifted the brave deputy’s body and placed it’

_ search.

Citizens still like to speculate as to wha
the outcome might have been if the sheriff
had had more bullets after coolly emptying
his gun at the murderous madman, How-
ever, when the hammer clicked on an
empty cylinder, there was only one thing
for the sheriff to do. He retreated in the
face of withering gunfire, ran down the.
creek bed, and half an hour later was
knocking on the door of Wesley Johnson
two miles south.

An hour later several cars full of grim
faced ranchers from Ryegate drove across.
the valley toward the Sahara Ranch.

“Have your guns ready, men,” the sheriff '
cautioned the posse. “We're dealing with a
cold-blodded_ killer.” ;

They moved into the ranch yard slowly,
ominously, but their caution was needless,
The house was dark and the rancher and
his wife were nowhere around.

In the glaring headlights they gently

in the back of a car. The body was later *.~
placed in the Weir Mortuary at Roundup, |
where twenty-two bullet holes were.
counted. One thing that puzzled Sheriff
Dolve was a large powder burn oh th
crown of the deputy’s Stetson hat. Ther
was only one explanation. The mad killer 97>
had apparently nuzzled a gun close to th ane
officer's temple and fired, grimly intent or i
a ‘thorough job. . fy MS
“Let’s go after him,” said Sheriff Dolve +.”
abruptly. “He undoubtedly went north be- ° ~
cause we'd have met him on the south ©
road.”
“Wait!” It was the sharp-witted county
attorney, Nat Allen, who stopped them.
“Sheriff, does anything about this look
phony to you? For instance, why did
Simpson run the association men off the
place this morning? What was he afraid of
when old McDonald brought out his rifle?
Why did he fire upon officers this after-
noon, killing Burford?”
“What are you driving at, Allen?” eae
“Simpson had something to hide from = #¥
the association men or he felt you were me”
coming to arrest him for something. 1 bi

can’t explain what he thought you would Bi
arrest him for, nor can I explain his fear fon
of McDonald, but maybe a thorough search ie
of the ranch house and surroundings will Bs

turn up something.” ae

“How about catching Simpson before he ae
gets far?” asked the sheriff impatiently. cat

“He won't go far. I know Lee. I've a
hunch he’s heading for Lewistown where
his children are going to school. That's :
north of here.” a

CTING on the attorney’s suggestion, the

posse went over the ranch in a careful
It was ten o'clock at night when
the search began. It continued until an hour
before dawn, when County Attorney Allen
nudged the sheriff. Both officials had been
punching with sticks into the depths of a
pit of ashes.

“I've found something,” he cried. ae

It was a_ bloodstained shirt, partly, 5)
burned. The two men stood up and faced ©
each other.

Allen said slowly: “This explains Simp-~
son’s attitude yesterday.” “th

“Yes,” Sheriff Dolve muttered. “Thisv. > %
explains a lot of things.” ae

The sheriff wrapped up the grisly bundle”
and gathered his men together. al

“You family men probably want to get
back home,” he said. “Thanks for the help.
Our job’s done here.”

He stepped .to’ his bullet-riddled car,
looked at the surprised faces about him,
smiled wearily and said: “I’m going after
Simpson.”

He started the motor, switched on the
headlight that wasn’t shattered by a bullet, Sy
and roared away, taking the north road. a

But no one was more surprised than 9 |
Sheriff Dolve when two hours later he * 4


“I’ve told you all 1 know, I’m askin’
you to leave, sheriff.”

Sheriff Dolve got up. “Sorry you
can’t see this sensibly,” he said. “We're
only trying to locate the colt.”

Late that night the two McDonald
boys mounted and rode northward again.
A pale moon shone balefully over the
mountains on the east and the cowboys
shivered in their slickers as a chill wind
swept down from the canyons. The
saddle horse and colt nickered a friend-
ly greeting as they approached. Leading
the colt and its companion, they moved
- westward. keeping to the well-worn
canyon trails. They finally stopped in a
ranch yard set snugly in the heart of
the Snowy Mountains.

“That’s our colt out there,” they told
Jess Sterling, who came in answer to
their knock. Jess knew the McDonald
boys and suspected nothing when he
agreed they should leave the little ani-
mal in his corral. The grim-faced cow-
boys rode away and were quickly swal-
lowed up in the inky blackness of the
canyons.

During the next two weeks myste-
rious night raiders kept up their grim
_work, and grew more bold as time went
on. Cattle were missing, sheep herds
were scattered mysteriously. Organized
rustlers had descended upon Golden
Valley.

Finally, on April 4, Sheriff Dolve re-
ceived a phone call from Lee Simpson.
Someone had butchered a calf belonging
to the rancher. Early the next morning
the officer was on the scene. All that
‘remained of the animal was the head,
legs, and skin.

“Not much there to work on,” he
muttered grimly to himself, but he be-
gan a systematic search of the surround-
ings. This procedure turned up a lone
clue that was fated to trap the thieves.
The officer found a set of distinctive tire
tracks which he carefully photographed
from every angle, and hurried back to
Ryegate. A day of strenuous investiga-
tion followed and finally the sheriff
announced :

“I know who our cattle thieves art
now.” He turned to Deputy Arthur
Burford. “Get your gun. We're going
out to a ranch and make an arrest.”

The men they arrested were Roy:

Harmon and Harry Dunwald, residents
of Golden Valley. They were found
guilty and sentenced to prison on the
6th of April, being delivered to the state
prison at Deer Lodge on the 7th. Thus,
Montana justice had worked with swift-
- ness and precision. Three days after
their crime, the thieves were in prison.
Would this arrest put an end to the
mysterious marauding in the valley?
Friday, April 8, Lee Simpson received
a letter through the mail. It was post-
marked at Deer Lodge State Prison and
when the rancher opened it out tumbled
* Harry Dunwald’s warrant of arrest. At
the bottom the cattle thief had written,

things lately.

COUNTY ATTORNEY Nat Allen
(right) was at first as puzzled as any-
one at the stock rustling that had the
county up In arms. He later sent
the guilty man to the gallows.

BEHIND THE CAR shown below,
Deputy Burford hid as he fought a
losing battle against a mad rifleman.
Circles indicate only a few of the
bullet holes made in the automobile.

PELL PPO, OE

“Best Regards.”

Two days passed while the rancher
from time to time contemplated the
warrant for ‘arrest the prisoner had sent
him. Late Sunday night he sat alone
watching the oil lamp cast grotesque
shadows that danced and flickered nerv-
ously on the wall. On the table before,
him was a sheet of paper. His hairy,
labor-gnarled = fingers held a stubby
pencil as he reached out and placed two
black check marks at the top of the
page. -He sighed heavily, let the pencil
drop and ran his eyes down the page.
A chill wind whistled through the
shutters of the picturesque old ranch
abode and the rancher settled lower in
his chair. Outside a hungry coyote’s
howl fell on the heavy night air like a
death knell. Murder had been committed
that day ... but who would ever know?

On April 13, Sheriff Dolve received
a letter from Lee Simpson. It said:

“Dear Sir: I am short some sheep
and horses, and I have seen some funny
I wish you would come
out and look into this matter. I have
been checking on some signs, and I have
found tracks the same as those on the

Dunwald Yours
Simpson.” rf

Also on the same day, T. R. Bigger- «
staff, manager of a loan association of .;
which Lee Simpson was a member, re-
ceived a phone call from the wealthy
rancher.

“I want you to come out here and do
some investigation on behalf of the
association,” said the rancher, “My
sheep have been scattered and a lot of
them are missing according to my
count.” sg

Early next morning, ‘Biggerstaff and ».
his associate, Hall Clement, went to the >
Sahara Ranch. Wy

After a systematic count of the sheep,
on the Sahara, the association manager~
reported to Simpson only a normal loss ©;
of forty-nine or fifty sheep.

Simpson hastily replied, ‘““There’s still:
another herd on my Mountain Ranch. |
There’s nobody there right now to look
after them.”

Remembering that the rancher had
specifically stated there was no one on
his Mountain Ranch, the association
men, therefore, were surprised to find?
two herders present. Their names were,’”.

car.

truly—W. L. 7@

Luger na

Richard McDonald and Aaron Mc-
Donald. The latter was the gray-haired
, father of Richard, Gerald, and Robert.
Again there was no loss of stock discov-
ered, and _the association men clambered
into the car to report back to their
client. Old Man McDonald stopped
them, however, and asked them for a
ride, stating that he wanted to see his
other two boys before he went back to
town.

“Sure, hop in,” Biggerstaff invited
as he touched the starter button.

At high noon, the trio came to a stop
in front of the Sahara Ranch house. A
light rain was sifting down, so the asso-
ciation men hurried toward the rancher
standing on the porch, while Aaron Mc-
Donald carried his rifle to the garage,
placing it carefully inside.

As Biggerstaff placed his hand on the
gate post, Simpson’s words froze him.

“Don’t come any farther, boys. I
don’t like the looks of this.”

The men at the gate stopped short
and stared at the rancher, who was indi-
cating Aaron McDonald with a wave of
the rifle barrel held in the crook of his
arm.

TRUE TO THE CODE of the Weat.
Deputy Sheriff Arthur Burford (left)
defended the law with his life. He
died after a gun battle with twenty-
two bullet holes in his body.

SPACIOUS Sahara Ranch (below),
one of three owned by Lee Simpson,
was the scene of the bloody battle
in which Burford was slain. Here
too was found evidence of other
murders, part of a sinister plot.

“Why did you put your gun in the
garage?”

The stooped old man grinned sheep- °

ishly. “I just put her in there to keep
her from getting wet.”

“Couldn’t you leave it in the car?”
the rancher snapped.

“Yeah, I guess I could,” the old man

drawled, eying the rancher closely.
“Say, where’s my boys, Gerald and
Robert?”

Lee Simpson started violently. “That’s
exactly what I’d like to know,” he
roared. “They’ve disappeared—skipped
the country—and took some of my sheep
with them!”

“Where'd they go?” the old man
persisted. “What——”

“Keep quiet,” hissed Biggerstaff. “We
can’t irritate him now. Let’s get out
of here.”

As they walked away, Lee Simpson
commanded from his porch: ‘Wait. I
want my wife to search the car. Might
be some more calf skins in there for all
I know.”

The rancher’s wife, a tiny, sharp-
featured woman, ran to the car and
peered into the front and rear seats.

“Everything's all right, Lee,” she
called, then walked slowly back to the:
house and stood by her stalwart hus- *
band while the car roared away across;
the valley. k

An hour later Biggerstaff and Clement: a
confronted County Attorney ‘ Allen’ Jing
Ryegate. we ;

‘We just ran into a crazy man!”2~
Biggerstaff declared hotly. “I insist 9.
that you look into his condition oat:

once.’

HE LAWYER leaned back in his =~
chair, and when he had patiently lis-
tened to their strange tale, he smiled.’
“Gentlemen, I’ve had some pretty sharp’
words with Lee Simpson myself lately.--_
In fact I talked to him only yesterday =.
and he was quite sane.’ bs 14

“Yes, but how do you explain his —
strange behavior ?” asked Hall Clement, © ’
staring incredulously at the attorney. .°”
“He acted afraid we’d find something
wrong at his ranch.”

“Maybe that’s easy to explain,” said
the attorney. “A man’s home is his ° a
castle in these parts. Simpson is ap-<—
parently suspicious of something. You.
did just the right thing by leaving him.
alone when he felt that way.”

Biggerstaff shook his head. “Never- 4
theless he chased us off his ranch at the 7+
point of a gun. E think the man ise
insane.’

Allen stood’ up and shoved his hands
deep into his pockets.

“Would you be willing to sign a com-
plaint for insanity against him?”

Biggerstaff did not reply immediately,
but stepped to the phone and called a
number in Lewistown. Presently he
hung up and shook his head slowly.

“Our association lawyer tells me not
to sign anything like that, but I should
think you would.”

The county attorney declined to do so.

“Well,” Biggerstaff insisted. “We *
promised protection to the sheepherder
out there if he would stay with the ~~
herd in our interests. I demand it for
him.”

“That’s perfectly legitimate,” Allen
agreed, picking up the phone. He called
Sheriff Dolve, who was in Roundup, &
fifty miles east of Ryegate. The sheriff iat
agreed to meet the others at Lavina, a”
point halfway between, and from there *
proceed on to the Simpson ranch.

Biggerstaff and Clement went on to
Roundup, while Sheriff Dolve, Deputy
Burford and County Attorney Allen
turned north to the Simpson ranch. ©
None of them knew that a bloody battle...
was to take place this day.

Two miles from the Sahara lives
Wesley Johnson, and here the sheriff
stopped the car, turned to the attorney ,-\.:
and said, “You'd better get out here and 7!
talk to Wes while we’re at the Sahara.”
If there’s any trouble we can pote
it better alone.”

The (Continued on

page ~ 48 )


og

strode into the office of Sheriff Tullock in

Lewistown and found Lee Simpson in the |

act of signing a full confession detailing
how he had slain Deputy Arthur Burford.

“Stop! commanded Sheriff Dolve when
he saw what the killer was about to sign.
“You haven’t told us half the story
Simpson. Suppose you tell the rest of it.’

“What are you talking about?” snarled
the prisoner.

The sheriff leaned forward, his gray

-eyes boring into the murderous ones of

the man who had slain Dolve’s best friend.

“Why did you kill the McDonald boys,
Gerald and Robert?”

Lee Simpson threw back his head and
laughed. “You're crazy, Dolve. I never
killed a man in my life except Burford
yesterday—in self-defense. The McDon-
alds have disappeared from my ranch, been
gone several days—skipped the country.”

“Lying won't do any good, Simpson.”

“Dolve, I told you I found tracks out
at my ranch that were the same as those
on the Dunwald car. If you’d been smart
you'd have tracéd them to the McDonald
Chevrolet. It’s the same kind of car. Now
you're trying to say I killed them just be-
cause you can’t catch up with them.”

“Pretty clever,” the sheriff said softly.
“Calling out the association men and tell-
ing them your stock was missing, then
sending me that letter saying the same thing
—trying to throw suspicion on the McDon-
ald boys, who of course weren’t around.”

“Why not?”

“Because, Simpson, you murdered them
some time during the last few days!”

The prisoner merely stared at the sheriff.

“Why did you threaten Old Man Mc-
Donald when you saw him with his rifle
and he asked you where his boys were?”

“I thought—” The prisoner stopped
short.

“I knew you were afraid of something
yesterday—deathly afraid or you wouldn't
have murdered my deputy and tried to mur-
der me. Might as well come clean. You'll
hang for murdering Burford anyway.” The
officer shifted a bundle under his arm, un-
folded it and tossed it at the prisoner's face.
Dolve roared: “Ever see this before?”

It was Gerald McDonald's _ partially
burned bloodstained shirt that draped it-
self shroudlike around Simpson’s neck and
shoulders. The rancher tore it away and
fell back horror-stricken as if the thing
had bitten him.

“We dug that out of the ash pit behind
your house, Simpson. All right—why did
you kill those boys?”

A look of defeat came into Lee Simpson’s
hard, narrow eyés. “Sure, I'll tell you,” he
said. “I killed the McDonald boys because
I was suspicious that they were framing me.”

“Framing you? How?”

“By sending me to prison the way I had ,

Harmon and Dunwald sent up. The Mc-
Donalds were the only ones who knew
about the stock I rustled. I had them take
stolen stock up into the mountains while
the heat was on.”

“I see—you killed them because they
knew too much. When?”

“Last Saturday and Sunday nights. It
was the day after I got Dunwald’s arrest
warrant through the mail that I got to
thinking how easy it would be for me to
get sent up like that. So I shot Robert in
the back Saturday night and buried him
on the Twin Coulee Ranch. Then Sun-
day I battered Gerald’s head with an ax.”

Simpson said it in an emotionless voice
that made his listeners shudder.

“What did you do with their bodies?”

“I forced my wife to help me load them
into the truck and took them down an old
deserted road over by the Roundup golf
course. I buried them in their underwear
and threw some sticks and rocks over their
bodies. I thought that the boys’ bodies had
been found, and that you and Burford had

come to arrest me for murder.”

Then Lee Simpson reached into his shirt
pocket and drew out a slip of paper. He
handed it to the sheriff.

Dolve unfolded it and read a list of
names—sixteen of them—with Sheriff
Dolve himself at the top. Also included in
the sixteen were the entire McDonald
family of four, Rancher Gibbs, and ten
other Golden Valley citizens. Beside the
names of Gerald and Robert McDonald
were heavy check marks. ,

“What's this?” asked the sheriff with a
puzzled frown.

“T planned to kill them all,” Simpson
said harshly. “Every man on that list.”

“But what did you have against the rest
of them?” queried the sheriff, astounded.

“T had a grudge against them all,”
Simpson said, his grizzled face creased with
hatred. “I only got two of them—and I’m
sorry for that.”

And no amount of questioning would
make Lee Simpson elaborate on his reasons
for marking sixteen persons for death.

The mangled bodies of the McDonald boys
were found where the rancher had buried
them. They were placed in the Weir funeral
home in Roundup, and later given a burial
at Ryegate. The bullet-riddled body of
Deputy Arthur Burford was buried in Rye-
gate cemetery a few days after the bloody
affair. His was the largest and saddest fu-
neral Golden Valley has ever seen.

Mrs. Simpson was held and questioned
at great length. Finally she was completely
exonerated. The court determined that her
part in the ghastly crimes was performed
under threats and fear of her husband.

The prisoner supplied a grisly after-
math to his mad career by slashing his
wrists with a razor blade shortly after his
confession and fingering in his own blood
on the cell wall this unfinished inscription :
“Through a frameup between. . .” He had
grown too weak to finish and was im-
mediately rushed to a hospital.

One wrist became inflamed with poison
and by an ironical twist of fate the strong
arm that bludgeoned Gerald McDonald
with an ax; the arm that raised the rifle
that sent a bullet into Robert McDonald’s
heart; the unerring trigger finger which
so brutally .sent Deputy Burford to his
death; and the murderous gun hand that
had hoped to send fourteen more to their
death. . . . the right arm of Lee Simpson
was atnputated at the elbow.

Lee Simpson was charged with the first -

degree murder of Deputy Arthur Burford.
In court, County Attorney Nat Allen used
the other three cases to establish motive
for murdering the deputy, who was not on
the rancher’s “death list.” The cases were,
namely: The Gibbs colt case: The Har-
mon-Dunwald calf butchering case; and the
murder of the two McDonald boys. The
jury found him guilty on September 23,
1938, and the sentence was “death by
hanging.”

The wealthy rancher appealed his case
to the Montana Supreme Court, but again
the verdict was guilty. Finally he was
sentenced by Judge Wm. L. Ford to hang
on December 30, 1939. '

With cringing cowardice, a prayer book

clutched in his hands, Lee Simpson walked .

to the gallows in Ryegate, Montana, on
December 30. A muffled “Don’t choke me,”
was heard as execution officials slipped
the long black hood over the rancher’s head.
Sheriff: Elmer Dolve, who headed the
long “death list,” sprang the trap that sent
the Golden Valley murderer plunging into
eternity. Peace has once more come to
Golden Valley, and law-abiding citizens
sighed in relief when the ordeal was over.

In summing up, the Montana Supreme
Court declared: “The defendant's attitude
may be described as akin to the old
proverb: The Guilty Fleeth When No
Man Pursueth.” {

‘them, sheriff,” Meek said. “The older man

Nameless Corpse

(Continued from page 35)

Elmer Rhoades meanwhile had, been in- 34.
vestigating another angle. He was con- #
vinced the possessions of the victim had 1»
been concealed somewhere in the Kearney ~
freight yards. He and the city officers”. ~
searched empty box cars, climbed up to ~..
look into coal gondolas, and investigated ~~.
dark recesses under loading platforms, On“
his way back to headquarters to report i
failure he met Jack Prather, a Kearney | .
business man who hadiheard of the tragedy. «

“Find anything?” asked Prather. :

“Not a thing,” Rhbades. replied.

“I wonder if the two fellows my wife >
and I saw last night might have had some= 2"
thing to do with it,” suggested Prather, “Y=

“What about them?” man

“We were walking home from a show ~~
about ten o’clock when we saw a couple §>.
young fellows trying to tear a penny slot
machine from the post in front of Gran- ©)
tham’s restaurant.” 2

“That isn’t far from the railroad station,”* 3)
Rhoades cried, immediately interested. ‘

“No, and these fellows were strangers.
They didn’t notice us until we were fairly
close and then they turned and ran into
an alley.”

“Get a good look af them?” asked
Rhoades.

“Not very. But one of them had a knife
—it looked like a _ beet-topping knife—
stuck down inside his trousers. We could ,
see the handle above the belt.” '

A few minutes later Rhoades was telling | *
us what Prather had reported when Al ..
Meek, manager of the Gamble store in 44
Kearney, walked into Chief Franks’ office.

“What caliber gun was used in that kill-
ine night?” he asked. “I heard it was
& we.

“That’s right,” replied Franks. “Why ?”

“About 9:30 last night a couple of fel-
lows came into the store and asked for a
box of shells to fit a Colt .32 automatic.:
There might be a connection.” re

“T’ll say there might be! Did you know ||
them ?” eS

“No, they were strangers. Looked like =~
a couple of farm hands. They were dressed» .
like beet field workers.” ibys

“Did they get the shells?” asked Franks. »

“No. I told them I couldn’t sell them and
they looked at some other stuff and walked :
out.”

“Anything unusual about them? Some-
thing we could use to have them traced?”
asked Franks.

“They were young fellows, both about
the same height—five feet six or seven.
Rather thin. Light complexions. They
didn’t seem nervous or excited,” replied
Meek. pho,

“Wasn't there something about them you 4»
noticed particularly?” I interrupted. This 5
seemed like the break we had been waiting #
for. Our man had been killed about 8:30
or nine o’clock and a .32 caliber bullet had
been used. Here were two young men want-
ing to buy .32 shells within a half-hour.

“There was one thing might help locate ~

i

had a long scratch or cut on the left side of >
his face. It extended from the edge of ©
his nose clear across to the ear. Looked © -
like it was a week or so old.”
“If those fellows were tied up in this,
why couldn’t they double back west?” broke
in Chief Franks. ‘We've covered every-
thing east of here because the fellow was
thrown from an eastbound freight. Why |
not do the same to the west?” ai
“Okay. Terrell.” I turned to the special
agent. “You notify your men clear through, >

. to Salt Lake City. Have them shake down  ,


the lodger continued. “I turned and
started to run because I thought he was
shooting at me. I heard another shot and
saw the fire from the gun. Then I heard
a man scream.”

He said others had joined him in rush-
ing to the side of the stricken men. The
assailant, he declared, had vanished.

TH man insisted that he did not know
the identity of the assailant. He de-
scribed him rather inadequately as of
medium size, about 45 years old and of
dark complexion.

Duggan dismissed the man and en-
tered the house to question the wife of
the wounded Antone. Tear-reddened
eyes stared dazedly at the officer as he
questioned the motherly middle-aged
woman,

Antone had no enemies, she told then,
dully. He did nothing to harm anyone.

“He was happy?” hazarded Duggan.
“You know of no trouble in which he
might be involved ?”

Antone had been very happy, she said.
There was no trouble.

Duggan felt that in her unnerved con-
dition it would be unwise to question her
further at the moment. Just then the tele-
phone bell sounded and Duggan picked
up the receiver to learn that the call was
for him. His father, Larry Duggan, sher-
iff of Silver Bow county, was calling
back the number which the deputies had
left in reporting in,

“There’s been another shooting,” the
Sheriff said tensely. “I just had a call
that a motorist found a man shot to death
on the bridge across Silver Bow creek
near the old copper tanks east of town.
That’s close to where you are so you'd
better run over there.”

Duggan hurried out of the house and
found Lee and Harris on the walk.

“We've got another shooting. Both of
you come with me.”

As the car raced over perilous icy
pavements to the scene of the second
crime, Duggan quickly detailed the news
he had received from the sheriff, Within
a few minutes they were at Silver Bow
creek.

“The body’s over here,” cried a man
standing in the glare of the headlights of
a parked car. He led the officers to the
bridge and they saw the crumpled body
of a man about 55 years old, clad in boots,
soiled khaki trousers and a heavy mack-
naw.

“He’s dead, all right—his left side is
full of buckshot,” said Duggan after a
quick inspection. Then he turned back to
the man who had awaited the officers.
“What happened ?” ?

“T was driving along, headed east and
moving slowly on the icy street, when
I saw a man staggering across the bridge.
I stopped my car and jumped out. Just
as I did so the man fell to the planking.”

“Did you see anyone else around here
—the person who did the shooting ?”

“No, I didn’t see anyone but this man
staggering toward me.”

“Didn’t you hear a shot?”

“Yes, a moment before I saw the man.
I thought it was just a rock flying out

56

from beneath a tire and paid no attention
to it. Then I saw this fellow. I brought
the car to a halt and ran over to him. He
was dead by that time. I drove to a tele-
phone to notify the sheriff, then came
back to wait until officers arrived.”

Deputies Lee and Harris had been
making a closer inspection of the body.

Lee took a revolver from the dead
man’s holster. ‘He was carrying a fully
loaded thirty-eight, but apparently made
no effort to draw it.”

“Here’s an identification card in his
wallet,”” Harris said a moment later. “The
dead man is John Deranje, 56, watchmafi
at the old copper tanks just over beyond
the bridge.”

Duggan went across the span toward
the tanks. When he had left the confused
mass of tracks in the snow he was able
to pick out two sets of footprints. One
set, which weaved about, had been made
by the watchman as he staggered in
search of aid. The other had been made
by someone going toward the copper
tanks. From their shape Duggan could
tell that they had been left by a man’s
shoes and by. someone apparently run-
ning. ?

The deputy followed them and soon
saw where the runner had come to an
abrupt halt. Close inspection of the foot
marks approaching from the other direc-
tion disclosed a spot at which the man
had stopped. There was a cluster of prints
there.

Duggan decided that the watchman,
attracted by the intruder, had come up to
meet him, presumably in challenge. Then,
the officer believed, the killer had shot
without warning. The fact that the
watchman had not even drawn his re-
volver indicated that the deadly action
was sudden.

Brine killer’s tracks veered sharply to
the left. Duggan followed them to a
road beyond the tanks, but lost them there
in the confusion of footprints and auto-
mobile tire markings. He then returned
and followed the slain man’s weaving
trail to the bridge. An ambulance left
for the morgue with the body of the
watchman. ;

“T can’t figure any motive fer this
killing,” Duggan told Lee and Harris,
“Apparently the slayer ran toward the
tanks and the watchman came up to in-
vestigate. The murderer had not reached
the tanks so he couldn’t have stolen any-
thing. He could have turned back when
the watchman approached, but instead he
killed him.

“This looks like the same berserk killer

‘who did the shooting at the Favero place.

A man with one murder already against

-him shoots fast if anyone tries to halt his

getaway.”

‘Lee nodded. “If Favero’s killer headed
east after that shooting he would have
come out at this spot, all right. It’s only
a mile,” ;

“We've got a gun-crazy killer loose,”
said Harris grimly. “We've got to work
fast! He’s liable to také a shot at some-
one else before the night’s over.”

Duggan and the other two officers re-
turned to the Favero home. There they

found an excited neighbor waiting to tell
a story.

“About a week ago I saw Antone
Favero standing on a corner with a man
named Gino Morelli. They were argu-
ing and when I came up I heard Favero
tell Morelli he was a liar.

Morelli shock his fist at Favero and
said that if Antone ever repeated that
he would punch him in the nose. Favero
called him a liar again. Morelli made a
swing but missed. I stepped in and
stopped the fight. I took Favero by the
arm and started toward his home with
him. As we left I heard Morelli shout:
‘T’'ll get you for this!’ I warned Favero
that he had made a bad enemy but he
merely shrugged and said: ‘Morelli talks
a lot but does nothing.’ ”

TUGGAN learned that Morelli was a

miner and that he lived three blocks
from the Favero home. The neighbor
guided him to the little house. Warm
light from the windows cast shadows on
smooth snow. Duggan’s knock brought to
the door a woman who identified herself
as the wife of the man for whom he in-
quired. “Gino isn’t home right now,” she
said. “He went out after dinner and hasn't
returned. Is there anything I can do for
you?”

“No, I just wanted to talk with him.”
Duggan spoke casually. “By the way, is
his shotgun here ?”

“TI think so.” The woman stepped back
from the door and opened a closet. “Why,
it isn’t here! I can’t imagine why Gino
would have taken it away.”

Duggan thanked Mrs. Morelli and said
that he would return later to contact her
husband. Then he hurried to the Favero
home and telephoned the sheriff's office to
start a citywide hunt for Morelli by both
deputy sheriffs and Butte police officers.

“I was just going to call you,” the
sheriff said. “We’ve had another shoot-
ing.”

“Another one!” cried the deputy.

“Where this time?”
- “Right in town on Nevada street. It’s
a city case and the police are handling
it but you might run over to check on
it. The gunman tried to kill a young
fellow and a girl who were returning
from the theater. They ran into the house
and bolted the doors. The assailant got
away.”

As soon as his report on Morelli had
been made, Duggan instructed Deputies
Lee and Harris to keep an eye on the
home of the man he wanted to question.
Then he turned his car toward the scene
of the new shooting. He arrived to find
Detectives Charles Rodda, Jack Gerry
and Tommy Calpin working on the case.

“A young fellow and his girl were
walking along Casey street on the way
to the girl’s home,” Rodda explained.
“Suddenly a shot was fired and the bullet
hit a building behind them.

“The boy dropped to the snow just as
another shot was fired from the revolver.
The assailant missed again. The girl was
running toward home and her boy friend
got up and raced after her. He got a
quick look behind and. saw the man with

DARING

the gun ru
direction.
“They got
bolted all t!
dows. The
father were
wasn’t any
could not ca
“Then th
hurry up to:
truder tried
dows. He cx
smashed a \
the weapon
ing. The gi
a look and
shotgun. The
the attacker
the gun and
“Probably
coming up th
to make his ¢
Duggan. Th
creased his
you tell me
the two shots
showed up a’
shotgun ?”
“That’s rig
“Well, the
hidden arou
He may even
borhood.”’
“We have:
question the
“She’s been
we ought to
now.”

Te prett
who had
her mother,
of the shock
were red fro:
“T’d like to
tions that may
case,” began
get a good lox
shot at you?’
“No, I did
plied in a tre:
was very dark
he was in the
“Did he say
any threat ?”
“No, he jus
raised his rev
both saw his <

he fired. But
to jump aside.
“T see. Nc

of anyone wh
some motive
you ? Is there;
you have had !
“No, that’s
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want to kill eit
The girl’s ¢
pressed himse
as to the reaso:
Duggan after
When the of!
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turned quickly
“All these s!
the work of th:

DETECTIVE


ey

VETTERE, Tony, white, hanged Butte, MT. October 1, 1926

THESE CRIMES ARE LOCATED NEAR BUTTE

emg

DARING DETECTIVE, January, 1942.

The neighbor told officers how he
had rushed from the house and’

HE ca
subur

open
glittered on
out a crowd ont
ered on the 1
to a halt an
deputy sherift
The nervous ci
to make wa\

they stopped
prostrate figur
Somewhere
hysterically
“How did thi
Chief Deputy >
“They've beet
kneeling besicle
Cicarelli is dea
lance for the ott
Even as he
heard and the n1
headlights r

green lights we

as it came toa
Coroner Pat |
amination.
“This man w
with. buckshot
stantly,”’ he
Cicarelli.
He turned
same age, then r
“We've got
to a hospital
but he’s got
though.” A fey
bulance faded int
two victims

“T want soni
happened her«
the crowd as het
lem. ‘Did anyo:

“No, it a I
when no one el
a man in the cr
woman rose ag

“Who is she!
a jerk of his he
‘That’s Mrs

wounded m

UGGAN’'S

had been 11
time of the shx
relli, himselt
spent the even
chatting in
had been
mining commit

“Tt was ten m

relli took out
that he had to g
ing and ought t


* mam.

HE car roared into Meaderville,

i suburb of Butte, Mont., with siren

open. Piercing headlights that
glittered on the blanket of snow picked
out a crowd on the sidewalk. Tires slith-
ered on the icy pavement as the sedan slid
to a halt and three Silver Bow county
deputy sheriffs got out.

The nervous circle of bystanders parted
to make way for the three officers and
they stopped abruptly as they saw the
prostrate figures of two men on the snow.
Somewhere in the crowd a woman wept
hysterically.

“How did this all happen?” demanded
Chief Deputy Sheriff Jack Duggan.

“They’ve been shot,” answered a man
kneeling beside one of the figures. “Joe
Cicarelli is dead. We’ve called an ambu-
lance for the other one—Antone Favero.”

Even as he spoke another siren was
heard and the night was pierced by white
headlights racing to the scene. Red and
green lights were reflected in the snow
as it came to a halt. :

Coroner Pat Holland made a quick ex-
amination.

“This man was shot through the heart
with buckshot and probably died in-
stantly,” he said of the 50-year-old
Cicarelli.

He turned to Favero, a man of the
same age, then rose to his feet.

“We've got to rush this second man
to a hospital. He’s shot in the abdomen
but he’s got a chance—mighty little,
though.” A few moments later the am-
bulance faded into the distance with the
two victims.

“T want someone who can tell me what
happened here,” Duggan announced to
the crowd as he turned back to his prob-
lem. “Did anyone see this shooting ?”

“No, it all happened on the sidewalk
when no one else was here,” volunteered
a man in the crowd. The wailing of the
woman rose again.

“Who is she?” demanded Duggan with
a jerk of his head.

“That’s Mrs. Favero, the wife of the
wounded man.”

UGGAN’S informant stated that he
had been in the Favero home at the
time of the shooting. The Faveros, Cicg,
relli, himself and another neighbor had
spent the evening together, laughing and
chatting in good fellowship. The men
had been friends for a long time in the
mining community.
“Tt was ten minutes of ten when Cica-
relli took out his watch and announced
that he had to get up early in the morn-
ing and ought to be getting home to bed,”

We Ait, 2 THe

the witness said. “He asked
Favero to walk with him to his
house which is only a few doors
down Main street, and have a goodnight
smoke with him. They put on their hats
and coats and went out.

“Mrs. Favero, the other neighbor and
I went on talking. Suddenly I heard a
shot. Then there was another shot. I re-
alized that something terrible must have
happened and ran outside with the other
two right behind me! I found Joe lying

_on the ground. He was dead. . Antone

was leaning against the fence.”

“Did you see the assailant?” broke in
Duggan.

“No. Joe must have died instantly be-
cause he lay there without a sound. An-
tone was groaning and I knew he was
badly wounded. I left Mrs. -Favero with
them and ran back into the house to tele-
phone for help. When I returned Antone
was unconscious.”

“Better get Mrs. Favero back into the
house and try to quiet her,” suggested
Duggan. “I want you and this~ other
neighbor to stay around for a while. I may
want to ask you some more questions.”

As the man departed to carry out the
request, Duggan turned to Deputies
Paddy Lee and Tony Harris, who had
answered the call with him that night of
Sunday, Nov. 22, 1925.

“Get around the neighborhood and see
if you can find anyone who has any idea
why this shooting took place,” he ordered.
“First, though, call the office and get a
hunt started. No one saw the shooting
so we haye no description of the mur-
derer, but put everyone to work on a man
carrying a shotgun. Concentrate hardest
on East Butte.”

As the two hurried away, Duggan sur-
veyed the scene. The part of the block
in which the shooting had occurred was
poorly lighted. He realized it would have
been easy for the killer to have concealed
himself in the shadows and shoot down
the two victims from ambush as they ap-
proached, unaware that death lurked in
the night.

The crowd attracted by the shots made
it impossible to track the assailant.

The manner in which he vanished so
completely and so suddenly puzzled the’
officer. He felt certain, that had anyone
seen the fleeing gunman he would have
come forward voluntarily with the in-
formation,

Careful inspection of the blood-
smeared patch of snow and the surround-
ing area failed to disclose the death
weapon or any clue left behind by the
slayer. Duggan turned the beam of his
flashlight on the yard in front of the Fa-

ETT Lie

MASSACRE!

By DUANE HENNESSY

,

vero home but there were no footprints
on the blanket of white to indicate that

anyone had waited there.

The chief deputy walked upon the
porch and called for the witness he had
first interviewed to come out.

“Do you know of ‘anyone who had a
grudge against either Cicarelli or Fa-
vero?” he asked. “Any trouble—perhaps
over a woman?”

“No, there was nothing like that. Both
Joe and Antone were happily married.”

EPUTY SHERIFF LEE hurried up
and Duggan looked at him question-
ingly.

“I’ve just been down to Cicarelli’s
house,” Lee reported. “I talked with his
wife and she’s mighty broken up by the
death of her husband. But she says she
knows of no reason why anyone should
have wanted to kill him.”

“Where was she when the shooting
took place?”

“She says she was home with her three
children and that she stayed with them
while her husband went to visit the Fa-
veros. A neighbor told her about the
shooting right after it happened and she
came up here, but friends took her home
and were with her when I got there.”

The three heard rapid footsteps on the
icy cement and turned to see Deputy Har-
ris and a companion. Harris introduced
the man, a lodger in the nearby home of
another Favero, cousin of Antone.

“T think this man has something of im-
portance to tell about what happened to-
night,” Harris said crisply.

“Well, just before the shooting some-
one knocked at the door of our house,”’
the man began. “When I opened the door
there was a fellow on the porch with a
shotgun. He asked if this was the home

of Antone Favero and I told him he was’

at the wrong place, that a relative of An-
tone’s lived there. He didn’t believe me
and said so, waving his shotgun at me.”

Duggan made a mental note of this
statement. The shooting, then, was not
a robbery attempt or a random killing.
The murderer had sought out his victim.

“TI reached out and grabbed the shot-
gun away from him, but before I could
turn it around to cover him he pulled out
a big black revolver and ordered me to
give back the gun. I had to do it, but
then I waited till he went down the street
a little and I followed him.

“I was no more than one hundred feet
behind him when IJ heard the first shot.’

Montana's Kill-Crazy Romeo

un

5


ibor waiting to tell

zo I saw Antone
corner with a man
They were argu-
up I heard Favero
iar.
fist at Favero and
ever repeated that
n the nose. Favero
in. Morelli made a
[ stepped in and
ook Faveto by the
ird his home with
-ard Morelli shout:
‘I warned Favero
bad enemy but he
said: ‘Morelli talks

x”

that Morelli was a
ie lived three blocks

me. The neighbor:

ttle house. Warm
ws cast shadows on
1’s knock brought to
10 identified herself
in for whom he in-
me right now,” she
er dinner and hasn’t
ything I can do for

| to talk with him.”
ly. “By the way, is

voman stepped back
ned a closet. “Why,
imagine why Gino
uway.”
(rs. Morelli and said
later to contact her
irried to the Favero
the sheriff's office to
for Morelli by both
3utte police officers.
z to call you,” the
had another shoot-

cried the deputy.

Nevada street. It’s
police are handling
n over to check on
ed to kill a young
vho were returning
ey ran into the house

The assailant got

port on Morelli had
instructed Deputies
keep an eye on the
wanted to question.
ar toward the scene
. He arrived to find
Rodda, Jack Gerry
vorking on the case.
and his girl were
y street on the way
Rodda explained.
s fired and the bullet
them.
to the snow just as
d from the revolver.
again. The girl was
e and her boy friend
ifter her. He got a
|.saw the man with

DARING

the gun running in the other
direction.

“They got into the house and
bolted all the doors and win-
dows. The girl’s mother and
father were there too. There
wasn’t any telephone and they
could not call for help.

“Then they heard someone -
hurry up to the porch. The in-
truder tried the doors and win-
dows. He couldn’t get in so he
smashed a’ window and shoved
the weapon through the open-
ing. The girl’s father sneaked
a look and saw that it was a
shotgun. Then, for some reason,
the attacker suddenly drew out
the gun and hurried away.”

“Probably heard someone
coming up the street and wanted
to make his getaway,” observed
Duggan. Then a puzzled frown
creased his brow. “‘Say, didn’t
you tell me that the man fired
the two shots with a'pistol, then
showed up at the house with a.
shotgun ?”

“That’s right,” replied Rodda. -

“Well, then, he had that gun
hidden around here someplace.
He may even live in this neigh-
borhood.”’

“We haven’t had a chance to
question the girl,” Rodda said.
“She’s been too hysterical, but
we ought to be able to see her
now.”

Begs pretty, dark haired girl
who had been put to bed by
her mother, showed the effects
of the shock. Her black eyes
were red from weeping. .

“T’d like to ask a few ques-
tions that may help us solve this
case,” began Rodda. -“Did you
get a good look at the man who
shot at you?”

“No, I didn’t,” the girl re-
plied in a trembling voice. “It
was very dark on the street and
he was in the shadows.”

“Did he say anything, or make
any threat?”

“No, he just stepped out and
raised his revolver to shoot. We
both saw his arm come up, then
he fired. But we had been able

to jump aside.”

“T see. Now, can you think
of anyone who might have had
some motive for trying to kill
you? Is there anyone with whom

“Just before the shooting some-
one knocked at the door of our
house. When I opened the door
there was a fellow on the porch
with a shotgun in his hand.”

you have had trouble?”

“No, that’s what I can’t un-
derstand—why anyone would
want to kill either of us.”

The girl’s companion already had ex-
pressed himself as completely mystified
as to the reason for the attack, Rodda told
Duggan after they had left the room.

When the officers had reached the com-
parative privacy of the porch the deputy
turned quickly to the others.

“All these shootings tonight are clearly
the work of the same man,” Duggan said

DETECTIVE

crisply. “If this keeps on the whole town
will be‘in a panic. There’s no telling
where he will strike next.”

“What’s the motive behind all this?”
asked Detective Rodda.

“That I don’t know,” Duggan admitted.
“Perhaps we have a homicidal maniac
loose. I’d say that.he was just killing
persons he happened to encounter if it

were not for the fact that he asked for
Favero at the home of a relative.

“As for the murder of the watchman,
I believe that the slayer, getting away
from the Favero place, was challenged by
the watchman and shot in the mistaken
belief that’ Deranje was a police officer.

“Tn the third instance, there seems to

[Continued on page 60]


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negotiate a sale, had made a proposition
with the dealer.

Wiring Buck and Andrews to make a
pretense of corresponding with Stewart,
I notified the Missouri authorities to pick
up Stewart and hold him for me. Imagine
my surprise when I received an answer
advising Stewart had been arrested and
found guilty on a larceny charge and
sentenced to two years in the peniten-
tiary at Jefferson City.

I immediately got in touch with War-
den John Crawford and a comparison of
fingerprints taken from Walsh in Mon-
tana with those of Stewart in Missouri
showed they were made by the same
man. With the necessary extradition
papers in my possession I started for
Missouri.

“Well, Roy, your vacation is ended,”

I remarked by way of greeting as Convict
26593 was brought before me.

“Maybe you're right, Sheriff,” the erst-
while Stewart remarked with a grin, “but
you haven’t got that rope around my
neck, and what’s more you never will.’’

I took no chances on the return trip.
Shackled and “hefted down” with an
Oregon boot, Walsh started the trip
back to Montana. On May 14 he was
again in a cell in the Boulder jail, and
three days later heard Judge Bennett set
his time for execution hetween the hours
of 4 a. m. and 4 p. m. of June 16. That
significant “last mile’ of the criminal
trail—the manacled tread to the gallows
—stretched immediately ahead of the
man who boasted he would never hang

End Of The Trail

Rue fate again intervened. In an
eleventh-hour effort to save his part-
ner from the gallows, Hughes, who was
serving sentence, made a statement in
which he swore it was he, and not Walsh,
who had fired the fatal shot. He con-
tended that after Walsh had gone to the
side door of Johnson’s store, he watched
around the corner of the building. When
Walsh’s rifle was accidentally discharged,
Walsh ran away, whereupon Hughes
shot through the door with a .38 caliber
revolver. Being under sentence, Hughes
apparently was of the opinion the state-
ment would do him no harm and save
Walsh.

At this juncture County Attorney
Johnson demonstrated his ability as a
pinch hitter, by proving the statement to
be false and inconsistent. In the first
place he called attention to the dying
merchant’s statement that he had been
shot by a tall man. Walsh was tall, while
Hughes was short.

Second, Walsh was solid and hard—
Hughes nervous, so it would have been
impossible to imagine Walsh running
away and Hughes remaining after the
shot was fired.

Third, the bullet that killed the mer-
chant was encased in a metal jacket,
which burst on hitting the door. The
fragment taken from the dead man’s
body was heavier than a .38 caliber ball
fired from a revolver.

Walsh’s attorney carried the case to
the supreme court, which body, after re-
viewing the transcript of evidence, up-
held the ruling of the lower tribunal.

As February 14, 1925, the last day set
for carrying out the sentence, ap-
proached, a move for clemency was
started. Governor J. E. Erickson was
deluged with petitions. But the move
proved futile.

THANK You For MENTIONING STARTLING DETECTIVE ADVENTURES

It was a
the news
the govern
His brava:
throbbed bh:
for dared:
blasted.

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the situati
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mitted.

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intruders—
had held |
heart jum;
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to take hi
readiness
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had be
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partner
Washingt
pit where
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car, the
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PIVE

CRETE

a stolen car in his possession. As the
machine belonged in Butte, he was turned
over to the Silver Bow county authori-
ties. When subjected to a search in the
Butte jail, a piece of lead pipe was taken
from his pants leg. He had broken it
off a drain in the Boulder jail and car-
ried it all the way to Butte without de-
tection.

Hughes Breaks Down

ls THE meantime, the Butte officers
continued to sound out Hughes. For
hours the youngster bore up under the
barrage of questions, but finally ad-
mitted being a partner of a man named
Walsh, with whom he had been stealing
automobiles. Two days prior to his ar-
rest they had stolen a Cadillac and Buick
and taken them to a hideout near the
village of Race Track. Tipped off that
the authorities had learned of their
whereabouts, they decided to leave the
state. Driving to the vicinity of Cedar
Hill, they camped for the night. Being
short of funds, Walsh proposed they rob
the store at Renova.

Driving to that place they parked in
the lane near Johnson’s store. Walsh
designed two masks from an old shirt.
Their plan was delayed when they dis-
covered Johnson had a visitor. Secreting
themselves so they could keep an eye on
the place, they waited until the customer
left. Walsh, carrying a rifle, approached
the back door, while Hughes, who was
unarmed, stationed himself near the front
entrance. He had just reached that sta-
tion when he was startled by the report
of a rifle shot. It unnerved him com-
pletely and without waiting to learn what
had happened, he jumped into his car
and started for Butte, where he was ar-
rested.

At the time he confessed, Hughes had
no idea that we were holding a man

whom we thought might be his partner.
When confronted with Hughes’ confes-
sion, the larger man sullenly admitted
his name was Roy Walsh, and that the
shot fired in Renova had come from his
rifle. At the time of this admission
Walsh was unaware of Johnson’s
death.

“We intended robbing Johnson,” he
told us, “but had no intention of shooting
him. I carried the rifle for a bluff. When
Johnson opened the door, my mask
started to slip off, and as I stepped back
into the shadows to prevent being recog-
nized, I tripped over a vine. The gun
went off accidentally. I beat it to my
car and drove toward Harrison. I stayed
there about an hour and then returned
to learn what had become of Hughes. I
couldn’t locate him so went to the cabin
on Lank’s ranch.”

Informations charging murder were
placed against the pair, and Walsh was
returned to Boulder. He immediately
repudiated his confession when he
learned that Johnson had died and that
Hughes was under arrest.

Posts Special Guard

RR EALIZING T had a bad one to con-
tend with and knowing the obsolete
type of the Boulder jail, I posted a
special guard, who posed as a man ar-
rested for bootlegging. He was assigned
to the cell adjoining Walsh’s, and was
instructed to work himself into the pris-
oner’s favor and pick up such evidence
as could be used in court. It was fortu-
nate I took this precaution.

Acting on a tip obtained through this
“prisoner” two days later, we searched
Walsh’s cell and discovered a key carved
from a bit of hardwood. The key easily
opened the lock on the cell door. Less
than a week later Walsh made a second
attempt to escape by wrenching a piece

It was in the Jefferson county courthouse, shown above, that the boast-

ing killer was tried for his life. The courtroom

roved inadequate to

accommodate the crowds seeking admission.

ADVENTURES

of angle iron from his cot and trying to
force the lock.

Whilg chagrined over his failure to
get out, the prisoner did not lose his
egotism. “There ain’t a jail strong
enough to hold me,” he boasted. “This
shell can’t keep me long.”

Circumstances unusual in Montana
criminal court procedure developed a
few hours after Walsh went on trial be-
fore Judge Lyman H. Bennett on July
21. The jury was secured in record
time, as not a single member of the panel
called expressed the slightest opposition
to capital punishment. Out of a total of
34 men, only 18 were examined before
both prosecution and defense expressed
satisfaction. Walsh was defended by
Attorney John Elliott of Butte, while
County Attorney Johnson was assisted
by Attorney James Kelly of Butte.

Walsh repudiated his former admis-
sion. While admitting his intention to
rob Johnson, he contended the shot that
killed the merchant was fired by a per-
son ambushed in a clump of bushes back

Deputy Sheriff Let Knight played
an important réle in the dramatic
case. He aided Sheriff Mountjoy
in bringing the criminal to justice.

57


eh cnn MERE IE RE IE

SoS SS SL ee

of where he stood when he knocked at SOUTH
the door. This story was torn to shreds

by a ballistic expert, who testified the
bullet that ended Johnson’s life came
from a gun, the muzzle of which was
held not more than four inches from the
door through which it was fired. It had
passed through a screen before pene-
trating the wooden door that was
slanimed in the gunman’s face. Both
holes were in line and powder marks
were in evidence.

During the trial it developed Walsh’s
true name was Albert Schoonover, and
that he was known under the aliases of
Mason and Bell. He had been committed
to prison in Washington under the latter
name.

It was on the sixth day of the trial
that the courtroom was thrown into a
furor. I was preparing to return the
defendant to his cell, when the clank of
metal on the floor caused me to make
a grab at my prisoner. I was none too
soon. Walsh endeavored to brush me
aside in another break for liberty. When
quiet had been restored we learned the
slippery prisoner had succeeded in un-
locking his handcuffs with a_ key
fashioned from a tablespoon! His plan
for a break was shattered when he acci-
dentally dropped the cuffs to the floor.

Not a trace of emotion registered on
his face the following day when the jury
brought in a verdict of “Guilty” and
fixed his punishment at death.

“Well, they made it short and sweet,”
he remarked in a jocular tone as he was
being returned to his cell. “But you
can make up your mind, Sheriff, I'll
never swing.”

Chance for a retrial was practically
eliminated on August 24, when Hughes
entered a plea of guilty to murder in the
second degree and was sentenced to from
18 to 36 years in the state penitentiary.

“T thought you fellows had the goods
on us when I talked,” Hughes informed
the officers while enroute to the pen.
“I’ve got nothing to kick about as far
as I’m concerned, but Roy is getting the
best of this. That fellow will never hang
—he’s too smart. I’m willing to bet
he’ll never swing. He’s one of the
cleverest fellows going.”

Prisoner Escapes

UGHES’ prediction assumed the

status of reality on October 19,
when Under-sheriff Knight went to
Walsh’s cell about 7:30 a. m., and found
it empty. A blanket, rolled to represent
the form of a man, lay on the cot. No
bars were cut and the lock appeared in-
tact. But Walsh was conspicuous by
his absence. The special deputy, who
went on shift at 8 o’clock the evening
before, claimed he looked into the cell
several times and, noting what he be-
lieved to be the form of a man, concluded
the prisoner was sleeping.

Informed of the escape, I hurried to
the jail. There was no doubt in my
mind that the prisoner had been given
assistance from the outside. Further-
more he had no idea such help Was pend-
ing until the last moment. This was evi-

58

TITIITILCCCLLL CLL CAAA Lhd ddd ddd bbb hhh hhhdhhhhhedchchhed ha # Lh hedad A
DOOR
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Diagram shows the in- cra
terior of the Jefferson soo fre
county jail, with the (4 i—r---"Soor
dotted line showing // '
the route taken by the // é |
convicted man in his WALSHS CELL !
daring escape. J A
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Roy Walsh, alias Stewart, alias

Schoonover, boasted that he would

never die on the gallows. But it
was only a boast.

denced by his hurried departure. He
had not taken time to don underwear,
and had left the building clad only in a
light blue suit and a pair of tennis shoes,
Tracks made by the tennis shoes were
found outside the jail door and traced
across a vacant lot to the Boulder river,
where they were lost in the sagebrush
and rocks of the timbered mountain
slopes.

Instead of preparing for a hanging, I
was again confronted with the task of
catching my man. Circulars carrying
his description and picture were scat-
tered throughout the country. During
the next few weeks I was kept busy fol-
lowing up tips, all of which proved false
and productive of no result.

The report of a Buick car stolen from
a Mr. Hallin at Melrose, a hamlet south
of Butte, caused me to remember that
Walsh was partial to this make of ma-
chine. During his confinement he talked
a good deal about automobiles and the
Buick appeared to be his favorite. If
Walsh had taken the Hallin car it would
be for the purpose of putting as much
distance as possible between himself and

Montana, and the location of Melrose
left one road open—that leading south
toward Salt Lake City.

The more I thought it over, the more
convinced I became that my escaped
prisoner was responsible for the theft.
I started tracers and a week later was
advised that a man answering Walsh’s
description and driving a Buick had been
seen in Reno, Nev.

In view of the nasty rumors that were
making the rounds—rumors that re-
flected on the integrity of my force—I
decided to take the trail personally. It
was a long chance, but nothing risked,
nothing gained.

Strikes Hot Trail

T LAS VEGAS I learned that a
man, decidedly like the one I was
after had been there and apparently was
headed for the Mexican border. It was
slow work and there were days when |
felt like giving the mess up as a bad job.
But when everything seemed gloomiest
an incident would crop up that would
revive my enthusiasm. Every courtesy
was extended me by police and peace
officers along the route, but it was when
I reached San Diego, Calif., and met up
with Sheriff James C. Byers and Deputy
Fred Buck that I struck my hottest lead.
“Darned if your description of Walsh
doesn’t fit Don Stewart, who finished a
short jolt here last week,” Buck re-
marked. “We picked him up on a petit
larceny charge. Attorney P. M. An-
drews defended him and may have some
idea as to his present whereabouts.”
[Please turn to page 73]

STARTLING DETECTIVE

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lreadway.
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y Zeck in
r Tread-
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pnson!”

Indict Robbery Suspect

pees in Cleveland Peter Treadway
went before the Cuyahoga county
grand jury in September and told his
story of the kidnaping, shooting and
robbery. He put the finger on Benny
Zeck. The result was the indictment of
Zeck for the robbery.

Eventually Zeck was returned to
Cleveland to face the charge and to face
Peter Treadway in court.

Treadway had kept in close contact
with detectives and the prosecutor’s
office. When the trial came, he was
ready. He took the witness stand for the
state and successfully resisted the best
efforts of defense counsel Leo Rattay
to pick any but minor flaws in his story.

Benny Zeck had a defense and it was
a real one. An alibi, supported by seem-
ingly reliable testimony that he was in
Pittsburgh on July 24; that he purchased
an auto there on that particular date.

Witnesses of excellent character up-
held his story. A Pittsburgh city de-
tective testified that he was there on
July 24. An auto dealer and others.

Perhaps it was Zeck’s record. Perhaps
it was Treadway’s smiling ease on the
witness stand and his convincing man-
ner. At any rate, the jury found Zeck
guilty of robbery and the sentence was
ten to twenty-four years in Ohio pen-
itentiary.

Treadway was satisfied, but not de-
fense counsel Rattay. The latter was
convinced of Zeck’s innocence. He was
convinced that for some unknown reason
Treadway had “framed” Zeck. And he
was determined to do something about
it.

Rattay immediately prepared to carry
the conviction to the Court of Appeals
on error and engaged H. Clay Folger,
a bige detective agency head, to assist

im.

The similarity of the circumstances in
the Steese murder and the July 24 rob-
bery of Treadway, as reported by him,
had impressed Rattay as well as de-

tectives. What, if anything, was the con-
nection?

Rewards totaling $6,000.00 had been
posted for the arrest and conviction of
the killer; hence when Folger started
working on the Zeck matter he was only
one of a dozen private and amateur de-
tectives working on something that
might solve the ten-month-old murder.

“There’s | something phoney some-
where,” Rattay told Folger. “Whether
it has anything to do with the Steese
murder, I don’t know. But I want you
to make a very careful check on Peter
Treadway. I want to know who Peter
Treadway is, and where he came from.”

Folger had been turning the facts over
in his mind. If Treadway’s accusation
was false, he must have had a motive.
What was it? And if the robbery story
was faked, why did the details of method
resemble the known facts in the Steese
case so closely? Perhaps in the strange
maze of coincidence there was a path
which would lead to the murderer of
Ruth Steese.

With these questions clamoring for
an answer, Folger went to work. But he
and attorney Rattay would have been
spurred to even more intensive effort
had they known then what Inspector
Cody and Detective Wolf knew—that the
bullet which pierced Treadway’s leg had
been recovered from the tire carrier of
Treadway’s car and was almost identical
with the slug which had taken the life of
Ruth Steese!

Ballistic Expert Cowles had examined
both slugs minutely; had determined
that each was .380 caliber; that each had
been fired from a Remington automatic
—and probably from the same gun!

What did this discovery mean?
Where did Peter Treadway fit
into the strange death puzzle?
Read the smashing conclusion to
this baffling case in February
STARTLING DETECTIVE
ADVENTURES.

Montana’s Boasting Outlaw
[Continued from page 58]

A half-hour later Buck and I were
seated in Attorney Andrews’ office.

“Yes, I remember Stewart,” the at-
torney told us. ‘He was broke and left
a Buick car to guarantee my fee. I’m
supposed to hold the machine until I
hear from him.”

A Buick car! My heart seemed to skip
a beat.

“Could I examine the machine?” I
asked.

“Why, certainly,” was the reply, and
the attorney directed us to the garage
where it was stored.

The Montana license plates had been
removed and replaced by a California
set, but the motor serial number proved
it was the car stolen at Melrose. It was
gratifying to realize I had located the
car, but where was its driver? He might
be a thousand miles distant, then again
he might be in San Diego. If the last
were true it behooved me to keep out of
sight. It was anything but an enjoyable
Position for me. Walsh’s oft-repeated

boast that he would never swing and that
no jail could hold him seemed to have
materialized. Back in Montana I and
the other members of my staff were be-
ing regarded with suspicion and deri-
sion. Gloom again hung heavy on my
horizon.

“The best thing for you to do is re-
turn home,” Buck advised. “If this bird
is still around and gets sight of you, he’ll
start off and get so far you will never
catch up with him,”

I realized the logic of the advice and
started for home. I had been there but
a day or so when the big break for which
I had been hoping, presented itself.

Stewart had been heard from in Mis-
souri. Attorney Andrews had received
a letter from an automobile dealer at
Armstrong, Mo., asking for data and
papers on the machine the attorney was
holding. Stewart, evidently short on
funds, and apparently of the belief that
he had covered his tracks sufficiently to

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2

Then he stood up and two officers pinioned
his arms while Burton searched him and
took an automatic from his hip pocket. A
moment later handcuffs were snapped on
and True was helpless.

At headquarters they removed the pris-
oner’s overcoat and found Olive Young’s
diamond and platinum watch and valuable
diamond rings in the pocket. True sat in
Burton's office. The handcuffs had been
removed and he now leaned back in a
chair, completely at his ease, staring at
Burton.

“Why, I’ve done nothing,’ said the
jaunty Major. “I can explain about that
jewelry.”

“T guess you'll have to,” said Burton
dryly.

“TY think I’d better make a statement,”
True announced.

Burton called a stenographer. Then
True began in a clipped cultured voice
o tell his story.

“Ves,” said the major calmly, “I went
to Miss Young’s flat last evening. When
I arrived I saw a young man in a light
gray overcoat running down Finborough
road. When he saw me he ran faster.

When I saw Miss Young she said this
man would return later. He did. A
stormy scene ensued between them. When
I left they were in the midst of a violent
argument.”

The prisoner stopped speaking. Burton
asked, “Is that all, Major True?”

“Yes,” nodded the major, “that’s the
story.”

“But that doesn’t explain how you came
to be carrying Miss Young's jewelry
around in your overcoat pocket,” the in-
spector pointed out. True remained silent
and Burton ordered him taken to a cell.

Officers began checking on the back-
ground of this strange man who, they
were convinced, was the brutal murderer
of lovely Olive Young. They found that
he came of a titled family and that his
various escapades had alienated him from
his relatives.

Ronald True had once owned an air-
plane and was an enthusiastic aviator.
But he had suffered two serious crashes
—one of them while flying for the army
during the war—and his injuries had dis-
ordered his mind. His actions were often
peculiar and unpredictable. He had as-

sumed the title of ‘major’ and was so
designated by most of the people who
knew him, but he had no actual right to
the title.

His victim, Olive Young, was known
as a siren of the night clubs. It was in one
of the gay spots of London that she first
met Ronald True. He became infatuated
with her at once but she did not return his
ardor. Repeatedly he tried to see her at
her apartment but she never admitted
him. Police believed that True, maddened
by constant rebuffs, had murdered her in
a frenzy of thwarted passion.

Officers believed that after bludgeoning
and strangling her, he had carried her
body into the bathroom and dumped it in
the tub. What foggy impulse prompted
him to do this was never revealed.

Ronald True went on trial for murder
on May 1, 1922. He was convicted and
sentenced to be hanged. Special influence
was brought to bear, however, and the
Home Secretary appointed a committee
of medical men to examine the killer. The
doctors tound him insane and he was
confined to Broadmoor Asylum for the
rest of his life.

Death in the Reform School

[Continued from page 13]

number of suspects could be narrowed
down through his ,findings.

Prochnow shook his head decisively:
“Not a print,” he said. “I’ve gone over
the filing cabinet. He worked at it
with an old railroad spike. Not a print
and none on the goggles or the flashlight.
The guy wore gloves, of course, and he
knew that two or three hundred dollars
was in that cabinet. It’s money that the
superintendent uses for extra favors for
the boys. A sort of fund they make up
themselves.”

Knew Of Fund

HAT was further proof that the mur-

derer of Lester Jones knew the
reform school and where the money was
kept. It was proof, of course, that our
suspicions must be directed toward one
of the school’s former inmates.

The fingerprint man pointed to the cap.
“You noticed the sweat band already,” he
said to me. “It’s a six and seven-eights
size. I took a couple of hairs out of it and
they are dark. Mrs. Jones says the figure
she saw was that of a short man or youth.
And that’s all we’ve got. A short, dark
fellow, probably in his early twenties,
carrying a .22 revolver.”

While they checked their clues, the two
deputies had studied the newly sodded
lawn and gardens outside the administra-
tion building, They had found fresh im-
prints of a shoe in the disturbed earth be-
tween the shrubbery and had concluded
that the killer raced that way in his escape.
The direction of the footsteps indicated
that the man was fleeing directly to the
railroad tracks, a quarter of a mile away.
And Anderson said an eastbound freight
train was pulling out when he drove to
the reform school.

I telephoned to my wife. She said she
had effectively spread the alarm in every
direction. Before that freight train had
rumbled far beyond the edge of town, all
detectives along its.route had been asked
to search the cars for the killer.

46

i

“The reports are already coming in,”
she told me. “I’ve heard from Terry and
Glendive. They searched the freight at
both places but there’was no one aboard.
The police in town here have two hoboes
arrested as suspects.” .

The body of Lester Jones had been re-
moved to the morgue. Before I left the
reform school, a telephone call from one
of the doctors confirmed the first judg-
ment that the instructor had been killed
with a small caliber revolver.

“We have both bullets,” Doctor Gar-
berson informed me. “They are small and
I’d judge of .22 caliber. But your men
will have to confirm that.”

I gave Walter Prochnow the informa-
tion and he said he would get the bullets
and take them to his laboratory at the
police department.

“Tf only he’d left a print,” Walter said
sadly, his big shoulders still hunched over
the filing cabinet. “With the rest of it as
we believe it happened, we’d know him
in an hour,”

But it was too much to ask that a man
whose fingerprints were already on
record in that reform school would return
there to perform a crime without gloves
to shield his hands.

I tried to talk to the widow before I
left. A brave and beautiful girl, she was
stunned and listless from shock. She re-
peated her description of the “short,
shadowy figure of a young man,” but
could offer nothing more. The floodlights
were not yet turned on, she said, and the
corridor was dimly lighted with the night
bulbs. A shaft of bright light shot from
the open door of the office, she remem-
bered, but the fugitive figure was beyond
that and about to leave through the open
door when she saw him.

Of Superintendent Dorr I asked a ques-
tion which would have thrown this crime
into a vastly different light if he had an-
swered in the affirmative.

: i fo there fingerprints in that cab-
inet?”

“None,” he replied and I breathed with

relief. "Nothing was kept there but val-
uables for the'prisoners and the dittle fund
the boys make up for amusements and
extra privileges. It was that fund he was
after but he did not get through the inner
drawer to where it was. Lester surprised
him just as he was jimmying the drawer.
No. there were no fingerprint records
there.”

It was a relief that there was no evi-
dence that the prowler was seeking to
destroy a record of his own fingerprints,
a thing that is possible in a reform school
of the type we operate in Montana. Juve-
nile delinquents are printed at the Miles
City Industrial School but their records
are not broadcast and their prints are not
sent to other institutions and police de-
partments as is the case with adult crim-
inals. The young men who go to our
industrial school are protected from the
habitual criminal stigma and aided in
every way to reach a normal manner of
living.

Check Discharged Youths

S I saw it, the murderer had gone to
i the reform school to commit burg-
lary, knowing exactly what he was about.
He had carefully furnished himself with
gloves. His tool, a railroad spike, seemed
to be a crude jimmy at first thought but
upon consideration it was easy to see that
such an instrument, properly inserted in
the filing cabinet, would be ample to
spring the lock. A railroad spike is easy
to obtain and leaves no trail to the man
who picks it up beside the track.
Returning to the city I felt convinced
that we were dealing with a very shrewd
young man with a criminal background.
At the city jail I talked to the two
suspects the police had brought in after
Mrs. Taylor sounded the alarm for
a roundup of doubtful characters. One
was a negro, the other a middle aged white
man. Both admitted arriying in Miles
City on the freight train which came from

the west at midnigh
left the freight with
of the industrial scr
denied knowledge
course, and I was in
When daylight
reports that suspec
one town or another
the findings of t
Prochnow in the re:
grounds. We knew
tainty that the kille
haired and we belie
man. That he had «
the industrial sch«
certain, otherwise
known that mone’
filing cabinet. We
for ballistics com}
could be found. We
parison with other
But we had no de:
derer.

Dave O'’Conno!
who was early ©:
enormous task ‘
youths who had
charged from th«
years. O’'Conno!
angle of the my

Speaking slow
gone from his bri
said sternly:
among the boys
discharged. He
worked with th«
befriended mo:
parole system ‘
them ever antas

care. Look ov:

ment and the |
But I had

many times in '

aj

ere


buildings of the State Industrial school.
Two hundred young hoodlums, each one
of whom was a potential suspect.

“You're checking for an escape?” An-
derson asked as he replaced the telephone
and abruptly removed it from its hook
again. With the instrument to his ear
he saw the superintendent nod his head
affirmatively and say: “Every dormitory
is being checked.”

Anderson telephoned to my wife and
gave her a brief account of the murder.
Every sheriff’s wife in America is alert
for such an emergency and mine is no ex-
ception. She told the young deputy that
I had been located and would be with him
in half an hour. She assured him that
she would do all the routine things—tele-
phoning to surrounding towns, to rail-
road detectives and to village marshals
who would watch the highways during
the night.

“A freight train passed through while
I was on the way out here,” he told her.
“I’d concentrate on that if I were-you.”

When he turned from the telephone
Anderson answered the superintendent’s
unspoken question. “Your son-in-law was
sitting at this telephone when he was shot
the second time,” he said. “That’s how
it came to be off the hook. But he never
had time to speak to the operator. He
was shot first near the door and the sec-
ond time with the telephone in his hand.”

‘

Dorr accepted the explanation after a
glante at the bloodstains which the deputy
pointed out. Then, with a full knowledge
that every routine alarm would be
sounded by Mrs. Taylor and every possi-
ble move made to find the fleeing mur-

‘derer in the city, along the railroad or

the highways, Anderson set to work to
gather clues which would speed the in-
vestigation when I joined him.

It was nearing 1:30 o’clock on Sunday
morning when I raced into Miles City
and to the reform school after leaving in
other hands the less urgent task of round-
ing up cattle thieves. Anderson was in
the office anxious to turn over the clues
he had found. With him was H. V.
Babe” Cross, the undersheriff, and Wal-
ter Prochnow, the fingerprint expert
from the Miles City police department.

“It’s to be a clue hunt,” observed Proch-
now, the big shouldered ex-wrestler who
stood with a camel’s hair brush in one
hand and a bottle of dusting powder in
the other. “And he didn’t leave a print
even on his flashlight.”

“Left his tools?” I asked hopefully.

Anderson pointed to a cluster of articles
on the desk pad. I saw there a pair of
broken dark-lens glasses, a soiled cap and
a small flashlight. He quickly sketched
his theory of how the murder occurred.

“Jones heard a noise in the office,” he
explained. “Thought it was someone

Monta

iv)


er

: a
s which the deputy.
ha full knowledge
alarm would. be’
r and every possi-

the fleeing mur
g the railroad or
nm set to work to
uld speed the in-
ed him.
clock on Sunday

into Miles City
| after leaving in
ent task of round-

Anderson was in-.

TN over the clues
him was H, V.
sheriff, and Wal-
‘gerprint expert
ice department,

observed Proch-
ex-wrestler who
ir brush in one
sting powder in
Vt leave a print

sed hopefully.
luster of articles
there a pair of
a soiled cap and
uickly sketched
rder occurred,
1 the office,” he
was someone

bringing a prisoner. They do at all hours
of the night, you know. He surprised
the killer prying open the metal cabinet.
The guy wheeled as Jones switched on
the lights, ‘The first shot took Jones under

- the left arm. He cried out and must have

rushed at the man then} and they tussled.
A chair’went over and they knocked the
desk out of place. | Finally Jones must
have reached the telephone and then he
was shot the second time. -He was in
the chair at the desk and fell where we
found him. He hardly moved after the
second shot, the doctor says.”

I pictured the events as Anderson de-
scribed them. There were two discre-
pancies, I saw. The first was the size of
the hat which indicated the murderer was
a small man. The other was the fact
that Lester Jones-was young, able and an
accomplished athlete. If he had strength
to rush his assailant he would not have
seized the telephone until the other was
subdued.

Cross, the undersheriff, was explaining
the theory these three investigators had
evolved. ,

“The doctors say the bullets are small,
probably .22 slugs,” he said. “We figure
Jones: collided with this killer and

wrestled with him but the man got loose
and started for the door. Jones sat down
to telephone, knowing he was pretty
badly wounded. The killer came back
from the door and shot him again in the
back.”

“Because Jones must have known
him,” suggested Anderson, “this man
knew that Jones could tell who he was.”

An inmate of the school was the natural
conclusion. But the deptuies assured me
that Superintendent. Dorr had checked
and rechecked every cot in the various
buildings. Each one of the 200 or more
criminally inclined youths in the reform
school had been properly checked into
bed the night before. Everything was
quiet when the after-midnight rounds
were made.

If we were to consider every paroled
or discharged member of the Industrial
School’s fluctuating enrollment, our sus-
pects would number into the hundreds.
Our task of finding the murderer of the
young instructor by the elimination pro-
cess would entail the work of months. But
the deputies and Prochow had the cap.
the goggles and the flashlight. I turned
to the policeman for some hope that the

[Continued on page 46]

13

a Se

3

Tragedy swept down on Miles City In
trial School when a ruthless gunman broke
into the administration building, left aboye,
and shot the assistant superintendent.

Swift and fearless, the deputy sprang
up the steps and jnto the corridor of the
office building. His ears were alert for
sounds of rioting in the other buildings
on the Industrial School’s compound but
he heard none.

Murder, if it had come to the reform
school, had arrived with stealth: Where
he had expected catcalls and screams, the
hoarse commands of guards and all the
blind rayings of criminal self expression,
he found silent buildings and a deserted
yard. Age

The sound of low voices guided him to
the superintendent’s office. He stood in
the open doorway and saw the all-too
familiar tableau in which actors living

and dead take the stage when death rings ©

up the curtain.
Pajama Clad Victim

ANDERSON recognized Doctor J. H.
Garberson and Doctor M. D. Winter.

*

dus

One was kneeling, the other standing be-
side the body of a young man stretched
on the floor. The body was clad in bath
robe and pajamas. On the opposite side
of the office a young woman. stood, her

This remarkable photograph shows
the body of Lester T. Jones, assistant
superintendent, as officers found it
in the office of the reform school.

the telephone was

Industrial school !”
alone in my office
o the woman’s ex-
low buzzing in the
c ot the telephone

nderson,”

ither deputies who
to try to locate me
lay, Aug. 12, 1934,

¥—cattle thievery

lave matured too
\nderson did not
! that his fellow
~ he hung up the

he ran up the
awn and jumped

City to the State
wn. Flood and
pped in front of
( the taxi driver
he too handy a

DYNAMIC

shoulders shaking with sobs. while an
older man, his face white and drawn, tried
to comfort her.

The man on the floor was Lester T.
Jones, assistant superintendent at the
reform school. The young woman would
be his wife, Anderson thought, although
he did not know her. The older nian who
tried to calm her was A. C. Dorr, her
father and superintendent of the institu-
tion.

All four looked towards the door as
Anderson appeared. The young deputy
strode into the room. He observed an
overturned chair and the battered and
sagging door of a metal filing cabinet.
He saw blood stains on the parquet floor
and noted that there was one stain near
the desk and another near the door which
he had just entered. The dead man
lay beside the overturned swivel chair
which evidently had stood before the
desk.

The telephone on the desk was of the
French type. The receiver was off the
hook and lying on the desk pad. Ander-

DETECTIVE

son glanced at the telephone and decided
that this was the instrument that had been
dropped by the person who sent the alarm
to the sheriff’s office. Doctor Winter,
observing his interest, said: “Mrs. Jones
telephoned from their apartment in this
wing. That phone hasn’t been touched.”

It was an item important only to the
investigator. The doctor made the brief
comment and moved from the room with
the quiet tread of the professional healer.
His confrere straightened up and with
a sad, drawn face, walked to the side ot
the shuddering young woman whose
wide, moist eyes and trembling lips
marked her as needing his ministrations.

The doctor led the young woman from
the room. As she passed the body of
the man to whom she had been married
for a scant two years, she stared at it
as if trying to force herself to believe that
these midnight events were not the re-
sult of a frightful dream. . She pressed the
back of her hand to her mouth as the

kindly doctor took her arm and led her
towards the open door.

Anderson was alone with the white
faced man and the cold, unheeding corpse.

“They heard a noise in the office,”
Superintendent. Dorr sketched the brief
facts for the deputy ‘sheriff. “My daugh-
ter and her husband have an apartment in
this wing. The noise awoke them and he
slipped out of bed, put on his bathrobe
and started along the corridor. The first
shot was indistinct and:she was not sure
it was one. Then there was another shot.
She telephoned from the apartment when
her husband cried out that he was shot.

“Did she see anything?” questioned
the deputy.

“A shadowy figure,’ replied Dorr.
“That’s how she described it. As she came
along the corridor, a shadowy figure
went out the door. She said it looked
like a young man.”

A young man. Two hundred or more
young men were confined in the various

11

‘ajor” and was
NO actual right to

ung, Was known
ubs. It was in one’
don that she first
ecame infatuated
did not return his
ried to see her at
never admitted
rue, maddened
murdered her jn
‘ss1on,
fter bludgeoning
lad carried her
‘nd dumped it in
ipulse Prompted
r revealed.
trial for murder
5 convicted and
pecial influence
wever, and the
eda committee
‘ the killer. The
© and he was
\sylum for the

ee

‘there but val-
thedittle fund
isements and
tund he was
igh the inner
‘er surprised
< the drawer.
Tint recerds

Was no eyj-
seeking to
ingerprints,
‘orm schoo]
ntana. Juve-
it the Miles
1eir records
nts are not
! police de-
adult crim-
SO to our
! from the

aided in
Manner of

ouths

‘d gone to
‘mit: burg-
as about,
nself with
ec, seemed
ought but
O see that
Iserted in
ample to
ce 1g easy
the man

nvinced
shrewd
“ground.
the two
in after
arm for
rs. One
‘d white

Miles
¢ from

SO.
f the people who

the west at midnight. Both, indeed, had

left the freight within a quarter of a mile
of the industrial school buildings. They
denied knowledge of the murder, of
course, and I was inclined to believe them.

When daylight brought a lull in the
reports that suspects had been seen in
one town or another. I considered again
the findings of the two deputies and
Prochnow in the reform school office and
grounds. We knew with a degree of cer-
tainty that the killer was short and dark
haired and we believed him to be a young
man. That he had once been an inmate of
the industrial school seemed reasonably
certain, otherwise he would not have
known that money was kept in the office
filing cabinet. We had the two bullets
for ballistics comparison if the gun ever
could be found. We had the hairs for com-
parison with others from a suspect’s head.
But we had no definite leads to the mur-
derer.

Dave O’Connor, the state parole officer,
who was early on the job, accepted the
enormous task of checking up on the
youths who had been paroled or dis-
charged from the reform school in recent
years. O'Connor also cleared up another
angle of the mystery.

Speaking slowly, the habitual twinkle
gone from his bright blue eyes, O’Connor
said sternly: “Jones hadn’t an enemy
among the boys out there or among those
discharged. He was an instructor. He
worked with the boys. He and Dorr have
befriended more boys than the state
parole system ever heard of. Neither of
them ever antagonized a boy under their
care. Look over: the system of manage-
ment and the record for yourself.”

But I had already “looked it over”
many times in the years that I have been

-in the law ‘enforcement business in Mon-

tana. The industrial school inmates were
given full opportunity to right their lives
under the guidance of Dorr and, more re-
cently, Lester Jones. Boys were helped
through the town high ‘school and the
stigma of reform school was kept from
them in a dozen different ways. Others
were guided in the workshops until they
became proficient in the various crafts. To
them all Lester Jones had been a big,
athletic brother who would. play their
games with them and train them to be-
come better workmen, better athletes and
better citizens. ,

“They liked Jones,” O’Connor_ re-
peated. “They thought the world of him
and the rat who killed him had better
not show up around those boys out there.”

Thus was abruptly closed another ob-
vious angle of investigation. I compiled
what I believed to be a fair description
of the killer from the evidence of the hair,
the size of the cap and the description
Mrs. Jones had given. This was broad-
cast by radio and published in the news-
papers until my office was a'hubbub of
telephone calls from persons who believed
they had seen the suspect loitering in the
city or the wild country to the east and
south.

Denied any definite leads until O’Con-
nor reported on his check-up of the parole
and discharge list, we concentrated on
running down these rumors of suspects.
-The two first towns eastward had re-
ported that no man was found lurking in
the box cars of the freight. It was plaus-
ible to suppose that our man was still in
the vicinity of Miles City or even in the
eastern Montana badlands where many
a criminal before him had fled.

It was from the Powder River bad-

lands, that vast eroded wilderness to the
east of Miles City, that our most prom-
ising lead came on the afternoon of the
second day. There, where no animal but
a slinking coyote may survive and where
no man but one willing to face starvation
and madness would dare venture, a young
man with dark hair had been seen in the
early morning. The. tip came from a
rancher who telephoned at noon on
Sunday.

I believe his imagination was working
overtime when he sent in his report.
Alone in a lonely land, he no doubt sought
to attract excitement to his wilderness.
He was so successful that for two days a
posse followed his directions and men
rode among the sandstone monuments in
this dead land. Men rode until they were
saddle weary and their mounts became
hungry but the badlands did not show a
single trail of the fugitive the rancher
had described.

While the posse rode and the railroad
detectives repeated their statement that
no man rode the midnight freight train
out of Miles City on Saturday night,
Walter Prochnow clung with the tenacity.
of the true detective to his hope of finding
definite, traceable clues among the objects
the killer had left behind.

Find Telltale Clue

“VY OU’D think there’d be a print on a
flashlight,” he observed to me when
I returned from one of the many wild-
goose chases, “But I can’t find a trace of
anything but the imprint of the glove
fabric down near the bottom. I’ve gone
over the goggles trying to find a single
whorl on the rim or the glass but it's
hopeless.”

He was returning to his den just off
the police department filing room when
he spoke to me. An hour later I heard
his excited voice over the telephone.

“I took that flashlight apart to look
at the bulb,” he said. “It looked like a
brand new flashlight all right but some-
body had changed a bulb.”

“You found a print?” I asked
eagerly.

“Not on the bulb,” his voice was low
and tense, “but on the lens. Just a dab
of a print, too. But there are two whorls
and an island. It’s a thumb print. That
island gives us enough for a classifica-
tion.”

His jargon was Greek to me but I un-
derstood an “island” to be one of the rare
patterns of a fingerprint that makes a
mark readily distinguishable and com-
paratively easy to classify.

“If you do get anything out of that,”
I urged him, “check it against every set
of prints at the industrial school first.”

I told Dave O'Connor, the state parole
officer, about Prochnow’s print and he
could not conceal his excitement. “I’ve
started to’ check that list of paroles and
discharges,” he said, “but it’s a long hard
task and based only on a theory. That
print’ll shorten the route.”

He was right. Before daylight came to
Miles City on the third day of this investi-
gation we knew the name of the killer of
Lester Jones.

Prochnow placed the name and. the
record of its owner on my desk. He
pointed at the file card and said:

“That’s our man. Henry John Zorn,
alias Miller. Look at his rep.”

Zorn, alias Miller, I read, was 26 vears
old. He had first been admitted to the
local industrial school in 1920 as an in-
corrigible. In 1926 he escaped. In 1927 he

47

him


was arrested in St. Cloud, Minnesota, for
burglary and was known to have been as-
sociated with the infamous Homer Van
Meter in St. Cloud when that pleasant
little city was receiving the backwash
from the underworld in St. Paul. He had
been returned to the Miles City reform
school and in 1931 was discharged. In
1932, his records showed he had been de-
ported to Canada by the federal authori-
ties as an undesirable alien. He crossed
the border quickly again, however, and
was re-arrested and sentenced to Mc-
Neil's island for a year. In June, 1934, he
was deported again. Before July of that
year he was back in America and under
arrest for burglary in Idaho. This time
an immigration officer conducted him
towards the border. At Eastport, Idaho.
on July 10, 1934, he escaped from his
captor and nothing had been heard of him
since.

“That print in the flashlight stacked
right up to him,” Prochnow said. “He
left his calling card after all.”

But Dave O’Connor had more to say
that did not appear on this criminal record
of Zorn, alias Miller.

“IT know him,” said O'Connor, “and if
he’s the guy you want he murdered his
best friend that night at the reform
school. Lester Jones befriended Zorn and
helped him. Superintendent Dorr actually
helped him through high school here in
Miles City and Jones, who was teaching
in high school then, took an interest in the
lad. When he got in that jam in Minne-
sota it was Dorr who saved him from
going to the pen there. The St. Cloud
people believed him a mean criminal be-
cause of his contacts. Dorr got him back
and helped him again.”

The parole officer’s words were a sterner
indictment of Zorn, alias Miller, than his
ample record. If he were guilty of this
crime, he had slain the man who had be-
friended him simply because that man

could identify him as the reform school
burglar.

We set out on the trail of Henry John
Zorn, alias Miller. His mother, a former
Canadian resident, was still living in
Miles City. But the aged woman had not
seen her son for a year, she said. We
broadcast his picture, his fingerprint clas-
sification and a description of his habits
to law enforcement bodies in every town
and city in Montana and then spread the
cards to other states.

The federal agents aided us in picking
up his trail where the immigration author-
ities lost it in Idaho. They followed him
to Butte, Montana, and then to Illinois.
It was from Billings that I got the first
real clue to his movements. E. M. Birely,
the sheriff there, following up our leads,
located a garage mechanic with whom the
wanted man had been friendly. Birely
telephoned his information to me on Sat-
urday afternoon, one week after the mur-
der of Lester Jones.

Suspect Leaves Grip

“T HIS Zorn or Miller left a grip with
the garage mechanic here,” said the
sheriff. ““We’ve gone through the grip but
there’s nothing much in it. A few odds
and ends of clothing. The chances are he’ll
never try to get it back.”

But the sheriff’s guess was wrong. On
Monday morning he telephoned again.
“Your man wired from Minneapolis,” he
said. ‘Wants the grip sent to the express
office there.”

Rudolph Nelstead, the efficient district
attorney for Custer county, accompanied
me to Billings as fast as we could drive
a car with safety. We tagged Zorn’s grip
and addressed it to the Minneapolis ex-
press office. Five hours before the arrival
of the train that would carry the suit-
case, we started out to beat it into the
Minnesota city.

And we were at the express office in
Minneapolis when Zorn came to claim
his property. He was a short statured
man with dark hair and flashing black
eyes. He moved his right hand towards
the inside of his coat as my hand fell on
his shoulder. When the handcuffs were
on him the district attorney reached into
the prisoner’s coat and took out a .22
caliber revolver.

The gun convicted him. With the bul-
lets from the body of the man who had
befriended him and samples from his own
gun, we enlisted the aid of Luke May, a
famous criminologist in Seattle, Wash-
ington. May came to Miles City for the
trial and testified that the bullets were
identical. He testified also that the hairs
from the cap were the same as those from
Zorn’s head.

The jury heard the criminologist’s tes-
timony and found Zorn guilty. For a year
he fought the death sentence that Judge
S. D. McKinnon had imposed. In April,
1935, as the date set for his execution drew
near, Henry John Zorn broke his months
of silence and said to me: “I got it coming.
sheriff. I’m going to have a hard time
beating this last rap.”

Finding him in a communicative mood,
I asked him how he got out of town that
night. “By freight,” he said laconically.
“T jumped off at Glendive when I saw
them searching the cars and hopped on
another. At Terry they were searching

’ that one and I ran around in front of the

engine and joined the searchers.”

An old ruse but it had worked and Zorn
escaped the searchers.

He fought to the last for a reprieve or
stay of execution. But on April 23, he
mounted the scaffold that had been
erected in the courthouse yard. The life
was jerked out of the man who went to
a reform school to rob and lingered to
commit murder.

Illinois’ Double Killers and the Abandoned Corpse

{Continued from page 41]

gaze went from face to face as if he was
seeking advice. The apple in his throat
was bobbing up and down.

“Tl tell,” he blurted. “I'll tell.”

Tense officers leaned forward. What a
break! t

“T shot a man,” sniffled Laswell.

“Yeah, we know that,” snorted Deputy
Ralph Choisser impatiently.

“But it wasn’t Law or Sutton,” he went
on. “It was my cousin over in West End,
Ezra Hammock.”

As Laswell described how Hammock
had come over to his house and started an
argument which ended in the shooting,
John Choisser and Medlock came in and
looked him over.

“He’s not tough enough,” was Med-
lock’s comment. Choisser agreed that
Laswell was not one of the men in the
coupe. Check of the man’s record dis-
closed that he was an escaped convict
from Colorado state prison, and eventually
he was returned there when his relative
recovered from his bullet wound.

While this digressiof? had been under
way Sheriff Eugene Choisser got word
from Oklahoma that the license number
had been issued to one Wesley Sheward
of Henrietta, Okla., for a red-wheeled
coupe and authorities there had no record

48

of any transfer. They furnished the motor
and body numbers.

But when Sheriff Choisser compared
these with the numbers on the new bill of
sale he found a discrepancy.

“That means either one of two things,”
Choisser told Trooper Green. “Either the
killers stole Sheward’s car and forged his
name to the bill of sale or Sheward him-
self was one of the trio.” . ‘

“Sheward is our best bet now,” Green
agreed. ,

Choisser sent'a query to Henrietta
police regarding Sheward and forwarded
all the motor and body numbers to the
Chevrolet factory with a request that the
cars they represented be traced to their
disposition.

It was just about 24 hours after the
shooting that Homer Mathis, on his way
to his home near Raleigh, was passing a
little country church. He had passed the
place many times and now for the first
time he saw a coupe parked in the rear.
The car had red wheels.

Mathis peeked in the side window.
Someone was in the car. He paused. No
sound or movement came from within.
He became bolder. There was one man,
apparently asleep, bewhiskered and
roughly dressed. aa .

“That’s one of them,” he said to him-
self and looked around as if expecting
the others to leap upon him.

Then he saw the dark patch on the
man’s shirt front. Blood!

Mathis raced to the nearest phone and
called Sheriff Choisser.

“The red-wheeled coupe,” he shouted
over the wire. “It’s in the Bethel church-
yard. There’s a dead man in it.”

Sheriff Choisser summoned Coroner
Claud Gibbons and with the other officers
roared out to the Bethel church.

The sheriff and coroner stepped up to
the coupe to examine the body.

A moment later Gibbons announced.
“He’s dead, been dead eight or ten hours.
Shot to death. Everything in this car is
shot up. Even the rear view mirror.”

Then from the broken glass on the
coupe floor he gingerly picked up a re-
volver. He laid it on a handkerchief in
his palm.

“Danny Law’s gun,” he explained.
“T’ve seen it a hundred times. They must
have snatched it out of his hands.” He
broke it to find six exploded shells.
“Danny gave them all the lead he had

and he got at least one of them”

With Choisser he removed the body
from the coupe and laid it on the grass.
5

Brushy, three-day whis
the hardness of the you
“He was no cream pu
of the bystanders. No
nized him. Off to one sic
was discussing the Fld
an acquaintance fron
Casson, who was well
district and knew mos'
“Take a good loo!
Sheriff Choisser suge
have seen him down ar«
time or other.” The Eld
the set features for ful
ing them from all ang
“Something seems |
faee but I’m certain
He didn't live in Eldo
Casson went back ¢
another five minutes |
Then he called the
aside.
“T’m pretty certain
this fellow hanging @
place at Eldorado.”
Gibbons ordered
Harrisburg morgue
structed a deputy to '
coupe into town.
“We're heading to
nounced.

Views

HIRTY minutes
searching for ¢
when they had finis!
choice assortment 0!
gups, a heavy calib
of dynamite. The s
explanations.
“Come 6n along.
want you to take a |
In the Harrisbur:
one look at the vi

gun.

“Tt’s Wes Shewar
“He’s been ~~ ati
but I don’t know !
came from Oklaho:

Lany steadfastly

have the slightest k:
associates and he
man for some time

Daylight the fo!
urday, July 3, foun
Trooper Green hea
that fanned out
churchyard.

A yelp from sea
that adjoined the
tended toward st
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and Green on the

They found tw
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found a blue wo
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Green and Che
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and the right slee
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Unable to
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&

48 True Detective Mysteries

Rae salad

es Pe te a ol te ee

(Above) The three different signatures that puzzled

the'detectives were found by Mr. May to have had a

singular origin. (Right) The upper half of the bullet,

greatly magnified, that snuffed out the life of Jones,

and below, a test bullet fired by the criminologist in
his examination of the evidence

had been burglarized on a previous occasion, he thought imme-
diately of the safe in Dr. Dorr’s office. Also, Jones was the
sort of fellow who was not afraid to investigate, even if he knew
he faced danger. '

Jones turned on a light in the bedroom and got a dressing-
gown from the closet. Then he snapped on the switch in the
living-room, the door of which was immediately opposite the
door of Dr. Dorr’s effice.

id O’S there?’”’ Mrs. Jones heard her husband call as he
stepped out into the hall.

Mrs. Jones got out of bed and opened the door from her
bedroom into the hall; what happened after that she will never
be able to relate with exact certainty.

She did see her husband reach inside the office door to turn
on a light; she saw him step inside; she heard words and the
unmistakable sounds of a terrific struggle.

“For G— sake let me out of here,’’ screamed a voice, not her
husband’s.

“You haven’t got the guts,”’ came back Jones’ voice, after a
short silence, as there came a lull in the clatter in the office.

Three shots crashed out, and, as Mrs. Jones stood like one
rooted to the spot, a small, dark figure, which she afterwards
said looked like a Negro, slid through the door on a small rug,
so hurried was his exit. ‘Turning left in the hallway, the flee-
ing figure ran out the main entrance of the building.

Mrs. Jones’ first impression of the possible seriousness of
those three shots came when she realized that her husband had

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not followed the running man into the hall. She
hurried into the office and there, upon the floor,
lay the man she loved, Tle was unconscious and
apparently had not long to live. She rang a buzzer

sounding a general alarm, and help came from all -

sides.

Mrs. Susie Dooley, matron at the school, was the
first to reach Mrs. Jones’ side, whom she found
using the telephone in an attempt to get a doctor.
She had been awakened by the firing and had
run down the hall toward the office; and she it
was who led Mrs. Jones gently from the room; one
glance had told her that Lester Jones was dead.

Mrs. Jones had already gone to the bathroom
for towels, but when she returned she must have
also realized the seriousness of her husband’s
wounds, for the blood was spreading over the floor
where he lay. But now, the horrible realization
of death came over her; before she could suppress
it, and gain control of her emotions, she uttered a
piercing scream that rang through the building;
then she walked, silently weeping, with Mrs.
Dooley, to her room across the hall.

Davey O’Connor, who had just got upstairs
when the shots were fired, is chief parole officer for
the Industrial School. He is one of Montana’s
most fearless and experienced officers, and it was
no doubt lucky for the intruder that they did not
meet in the hallway, for, naturally, because of the
nature of his duties, the officer went armed.

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blankets and clothing.

Pious Killer

“ Schlaps was crying now, the tears
streaming down his sunburned face. “You

don’t know what I’ve been through, keep- .

ing this to myself all this time,” he sobbed.

Sheriff Anderson hesitated a few min-
utes to give Schlaps time to regain his
composure. Then he asked: “How do
you account for the disappearance of the
bodies?” :

“Those two men in that car must have
circled around and come back to the farm
while I drove toward Homestead, think-
ing I was chasing them,” Schlaps replied.
“They must have come back and loaded
the bodies into the car so they could haul
them to the river.”

“I’m afraid your story won’t do,” the
sheriff said, “You'll have to come along
with me.”

He placed Schlaps under arrest and
took him to Wolf Point to the county jail.

Anderson returned to the Geisler ganch
and armed with a spade starte én-
sive search.

He walked about the farm for several
hours, digging in several spots. Finally
he came upon a plot which gave evidence
of having been disturbed recently. In a
few moments Sheriff Anderson unearthed
two blankets, a man’s overalls and a shirt.
All were stained with blood.

The sheriff took the blankets and cloth-
ing to Wolf Point.

Going to the jail, he took the'articles
into the cell occupied by Haynes and
Ensman. They looked at the blankets
and clothing with no sign of recognition
in their eyes.

“Looks like blood,” said Haynes guard-
edly, pointing to the stains.

“It is blood,” Anderson said. “Blood
from Tony and Mrs. Geisler!”

“What of it?” Ensman asked. “What's
that got to do with us?”

Anderson said nothing but took up the
He went into
Schlaps’ cell.

At sight of the overalls, the young
man’s face paled. He looked at Ander-
son fearfully.

“These yours?” demanded Anderson.

Schlaps was silent for several mo-
ments. Then he said, “Yes, they’re mine,
but that doesn’t mean I killed Tony!”

“How do you explain the blood, then?”
Sheriff Anderson asked. :

“Why, I was butchering hogs,” replied
Schlaps. “I buried the overalls because
I knew you’d mistake the blood for
human blood.”

“What about the blankets?” asked
Anderson.

“T was hauling the pigs in the car to
Homestead and I didn’t want to get the
cushions bloody.” ; .

Anderson left the cell. Schlaps’ expla-
nation was not convincing.

Investigation, however, revealed that
Schlaps’ story of butchering hogs and
marketing them in Homestead on the day
of the murders was true.

But was his story about the discovery
of the bodies, the chase after the killers,
finding the bodies missing, to be believed?
Would Schlaps become so panic-stricken
that he would bury his stained clothing,
and not say a word to police about his
discovery? It hardly seemed possible,
yet if he was to be trusted, that left only
the other two men as logical suspects.

Were Haynes and Ensman guilty of the
murder? Were their nonchalant answers
merely a clever defense?

and the Floating

[Continued from page 9].

Perhaps the naysteriows ‘Car which-had.*!
left tire impressions along the river where:
the bodies were found would decide the
enigma and point tothe murderers.
Plaster casts were made:of the tires on
the Geisler car and those of the North.
Dakota auto. i

Comparisons were then ‘made ‘with a
cast of the impressions found in the soil.
Neither of the cars had been driven along
the river road. varie

Anderson then decided to make another
type of test. He enlisted the aid of an
inmate of the jail. This man was placed
in the cell next to that of Haynes and.
Ensman and instructed to gain their con-
fidence. By talking tough and intimating
that he had once killed someone he was
to get the two suspects to confess.- -

The plan failed. At the end of a week
the inmate had learned nothing, He be-
lieved the two were innocent. ;

HE same scheme was then ‘tried on

Schlaps. The inmate got him talking.
on several subjects. All that was learned
was that Schlaps had a girl in his home
town in North Dakota whom he. hoped
to marry. He had gone to see her a few
weeks before in Geisler’s car. He said
he had admired and respected Mrs. Geisler
only as a friend. Nothing was. learned
about the murder. -

The sheriff questioned Haynes and
Ensman again. -They were firm in their
story. There was no evidence on which
to hold the pair any longer. After all,’
the only thing against them was that
they had ‘driven through town at a fast
speed and had been overheard in a
drunken boast. The pair had no motive
for the killing.. There was no robbery.

Haynes and Ensman were released
from jail. The sheriff again talked with
Schlaps but learned nothing new.

Still the youth was held a prisoner.
Circumstances were strongly against him,
First he had pretended to be shocked by

the dual tragedy, and knew nothing of.”

how it occurred. Then when others -had’
mentioned seeing the speeding car con-
taining two men, Schlaps identified the -
auto as one he had seen about four miles
from the murder scene, Previously he
had said nothing of this.

When the case'against the two suspects
had seemed baseless, Schlaps had come |
forward again and volunteered his strange

story of finding the victims, chasing the

murderers and then returning to find the
bodies had mysteriously disappeared.
Fear was his reason for hiding this,’ he
claimed, yet he had not revealed it when
the two were jailed but. waited until. it
seemed they would have to be released.”

Even then Schlaps had not mentioned
burying his bloodstained clothes and the
blankets. Why had he not revealed this
at the same time he told of having chased
the alleged slayers?

Schlaps, too, it was believed, had a
motive. He wanted to marry and there-
fore killed his employers in order to rob
them, take their car, and go to North
Dakota. But after he had murdered he
had lost his nerve, tried to cover up the
crime. Then when two suspects were

arrested, he aided in identifying them.
Schlaps came to be the strangest pris-
oner ever to be incarcerated in the jail.

pe

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SCHLAPS, Ferdinand, white, hanged Wolf Point, Montana, May 20, 1927

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DETECT

STARTLING DETECTIVE, February, 1943


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~ 60

His humor and behavior were capricio
and unpredictable. ia
QOne inmate asked him, jokingly:

“Do you know what will happen if.

they pin these killings on you?”

Schlaps said, ‘No; what will happen?” y
The other removed his belt, wrapped ©
it around Schlaps’ neck and said, ‘They .

will stretch your neck out a foot!”
Schlaps laughed uproariously, to the
amazement of the prisoner who had
expected to frighten him.
Hearing these reports about Schlaps,
Sheriff Anderson decided to “try relig-

jon” on him.

The sheriff had noticed that Schlaps
appeared to be interested in religion. He
made frequent visits to the young man's
cell, turning the conversation to religion

-whenever possible.

Daily he drummed into Schlaps’ eager
ears talk of sin, penance, the hereafter,
righteous living and retribution. Daily
he read the Ten Commandments.

It was on May 23, three weeks after
Anton and Ludmilla Geisler -were so
brutally slain, that Schlaps burst qut, in
the midst of a religious discussion:

“Stop! I did it! I killed them!”

Fifteen minutes later Schlaps refused.

to confirm the confession, He repudiated

it. charging that Anderson had threatened-

him,

Schlaps steadfastly denied he had made
a confession but on July 8, 1926, he went
on trial for murder.

District Judge S, E. Paul was on the
bench. District Attorney Hugh Marron
was prosecutor.

The state demanded the death penalty,
The defense attorney introduced evi-
dence tending to prove that Schlaps was
not responsible for his actions and did

“That looks like Joyce Holmes, who
I can
bring her here now.”

In a short while a woman walked into
the office and stood before us question-
ingly. I informed her that we were of-
ficers from Lynchburg:

“You're here to see.me about Norman
Thompson !".. shewexclaimed. I told her
that was our purpese and showed her
the photograph.

“This is a likeness of you, isn’t it?” I
asked. She glanced at it fleetingly, then
“Yes, it is.’

“I suppose you've heard that Norman
Thompson has been murdered, haven't
you?” I asked.

“Yes, I have.”

“And it's true that, he had been vise
you at least twice a week?”

“Just about.”

“Why didn't you come to see Norman,
Weren't you eevee or
concerned about his death?”

The woman flinched visibly. “Of course
I was. But we had had an.argument. I
was angry with him, Then, when'l heard
he was dead I didn’t know where to’ go
or what to do.” The woman’s voice

‘

trailed off, E
“Miss Holmes, we have information
that you wrote a letter to Norman.

Thompson coytaining a threat. Is that
true?"

“Yes, sir, it is,”
readily.

the woman’ admitted
“But all that was said, wher? I

“lips and Deputy: Sheriff M.
had been, assigned by Sheriff Miles to,

cles lyin

‘ e
of insanity.”

A relative of ‘the defendant testified

that Schlaps had never fully recovered
from a head. injury sustained in 1925 when
he fell from a horse.

A psychopathic expert testified that
the young defendant had been given
several intelligence tests and was found
to be below normal,

The. trial came! to an abrupt climax,
however, when Schlaps’ suddenly made a
full confession to the murders.

Calmly and quietly, the 18-year-old

youth branded himself as the brutal killer

of Anton and Ludmilla Geisler.

“T KILLED them so I could get their
car and money,” he explained. “I
planned it for a week, I wanted the car
and money so I could go and get my girl
in Shbake Dakota. We wanted to get mar-
rie

“Tt was noon’ (on May 1, the day before
the bodies were recovered from the river)
when I did it. Tony was out getting the
horses teady to go to, the field. He was
in the barn. I went into the house and
picked up a shotgun which was in a corner
in the kitchen, “Mrs. Geisler asked me
what I was going to do with the gun and
I told her I was going after a coyote I
saw near the barn, I took four shells
from a dresser drawer:and loaded the
gun, I took four because I wanted to
have enough. so if they didn’ t die the first
time I could shoot them again.

“Tony was about 15 feet from the barn
door on the east side of the barn, I aimed
jat his left shoulder. Just before I pulled
the trigger he looked around. , I shot

(

Shotgun Assassin
[Continued from page 49],

was angry with him. Norman was a
stubborn sort of person. I see what
you're driving at—that I might have had
something to do with his murder, . But
you're wrong. I had nothing in_ the
world todo with that, I swear it. Why,
I didn’t even know where Norman lived.”

The woman spoke earnestly, with ap-
parent honesty. I wondered if we were
troubling an entirely innocent person.
On the other: hand, she was our only
lead in the perplexing enigma.
to.see it to the finish,

THA night we commenced a careful
: check of

her immediate family, trying to find some
reason, no matter how minute, to connect
her Jystiiably | with the mystery. In the
midst of our investigation we received
word from the Roanoke detective bureau
that Deputy’ Sheriff P. W. Phillips urged
our immediate return to phere ‘Phil-
W. Phelps

continue- the’ tiyet tigation on the crime
scene’ ‘proper. | | ‘

“What’ ‘s ha ppened?”, asked the sheriff.
Deputy Philips pointed to three arti-
‘ desk, . One was an ex-

“him*again. ‘Then I walked up to the

' the blood in the house.

We had .

. iss Holmes, learning as much ©
“as ‘possible: about her male friends, about

'\, Wondering what was ‘up, ‘we rushed .
pack: to Sherwill. Both deputies, excite-
ment written all over their faces, awaited’
“us in ' Sheriff Miles’ office.

ing that,

i to get up so I sho

window on the south side of the house.
I peeked in and saw Mrs. Geisler in the
bedroom. I shot through the- window
and hit her in the arm.

“She hollered, ‘Don’t do it! Don't do'

it!’ She ran to the clothes closet and hid
behind a curtain.. I went in and shot her.
She went down but was moaning, so'I
shot again. Then she was still.”

In his confession, related without emo-
tion, Schlaps related how he loaded the
bodies in the car after trying to mop up
He then paused
to cover the oats in a wagon “‘so the cattle
‘wouldn’t get in the oats” and drove off
over the rough country road.

. “I met several cars.
Tony and Mrs, Geisler, but I was afraid
somebody would so I stopped on a side
road and propped them up in a sitting
position. Tony was in front and Mrs.

Geisler in the back seat. Every once in
a while they would slump down and I
would have to stop and prop them up
again. :

“T didn’t keahe what to do with the
bodies so I just drove around the country. !
Finally, after it got dark I dumped them
in the river from the bridge. I thought
they would float away and probably never
be found.

“I buried: my clothes and the blankets
I used to. wrap the bodies in.”

Ferdinand Schlaps was condemned to
die on the gallows. He paid the supreme
penalty on May 20, 1927, a year after the
bodies of Anton and Ludmilla Geisler
were found floating in Little Muddy river.

(Editor's note: The names Samuel Igoe, Ber-
tram Haynes and Kenneth Ensman as used in this
story, are fictitious to protect the identities of
innocent persons.)

ploded shotgun shell, slate-blue ; the other
an old brown hat and the third a leather
windbreaker.

“All three of these were found within
a radius of 25 yards from where Thomp-
son fell,” said Phillips. “Melvin and I
are convinced that one of the killers
dropped that hat when he fled the scene.
It’s our one big clue so far. Look, here on
the hatband!” Phillips. pointed to two
initials rey stamped in bronze on the
band,

“But idle s one thing that puzzles us,”
continued Phillips. “The hat, as you can

see, gives every sign of having been thor- | -

oughly wet. It’s all out of shape and it's
still damp. But the windbreaker appears

to be perfectly dry.”

“Why would any of the killers drop a
windbreaker if he had it on?” demanded
Sheriff Miles. “It’s pretty old. Might
have been dropped by somebody else or
thrown away.’

“But it wasn’t,”

the waist. There is the killer’s name!”
Incredulously we stared at the inside of
the garment. Sure enough there was the
hari “Robert Richardson,” serawied in
in
“As to the garments having’ been

thrown away by one of the townspeople —
continued Phil-\

‘lips, “Phelps and I spent some time check-. _~

We can’t find a single‘person. ~

or farmers hereabouts,”

They didn’t notice -

returned Phillips quiet-
ly. “It belongs to the same person who ©
dropped the hat. Look on the inside, near ©

there’s
there.’

“Are
that n

Phe.

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By RICHARD ENRIGHT

LAF LARSON was walking
C) 0 the small bridge spanning
Little Muddy river, a half-mile
west of Homestead, Mont. “ >

His glance strayed to the dirty waters
of the river. There was an object float-
ing in an eddy about ten feet from
the east bank of the stream. He stared,
then went closer to the edge of the
bridge.

He looked down horrified upon the
body of a woman in the swirling murky
water! +

Larson hurried to Homestead, and tel-
ephoned to Plentywood, the Sheridan
county seat. He told Sheriff Rodney
Salisbury of the gruesome discovery.

“Get the body out of the water,” Sher-
iff Salisbury directed. “I'll get the cor-

DETECTIVE s

Surprised by the killer
in- the - barn doorway,
cross, the victim, lett,
was defenseless against
the fatal barrage of
shots. His body later was
found floating along the
banks of Little Muddy
river (opposite page)
near Homestead, Mont.

Arrested after his care-
fully prepared alibi had
been repeatedly pierced
by officers, this sleek-
haired slayer baffled .
jailers by his strange,
unpredictable behavior.

oner, district attorney and a deputy.
We'll be there in half an hour.”

While the officers were speeding the
30 miles from Plentywood to Homestead,
a crowd gathered at the bridge.

As violent death was rare in the quiet
agricultural community, the town was
virtually deserted and most of its 300 in-
habitants were present as the body was
taken from the water and laid on the
river bank, It was 15 minutes after Lar-
son’s telephone call to the sheriff. Some-
one covered the body with a blanket.

Among the excited group was a Home-
stead merchant, one of the first to arrive.
He had walked a short distance down
stream while the body of the woman was

’ being removed from the water.

“There’s another body!” the merchant

suddenly shouted. Floating face upward
was the fully-clothed and lifeless form of
a man!

When the bodies were brought ashore
they were identified by the Homestead
postmaster as Anton and Ludmilla Geis-
ler, a newly married couple who operated
a farm about 15 miles west of the town.

When the county officials arrived, on
that afternoon of May 2, they saw that
they were confronted with a double
murder.

“Looks like she was shot three times
with a shotgun, at close range,” Coroner
Martin Nelson said, inspecting the almost
decapitated body. The neck was torn.
There were wounds on the left arm, at
the elbow, and in the abdomen.

Geisler had met a similar fate. His

67


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another blast got him. He musta
been cold dead when he hit. .
“This feller had just come out of
the barn: A second guy was hiding.
against the wall. He was doing the
shootin’. He saw us. Before he could
get us in his sights, we dashed for

gal was in there. She had heard
the blast, saw us, and thought we
were the guys doin’ the shootin.
She yelled. Mel and I about-faced.
We. high-tailed it to the car. We
jumped in and scooted off. A few
minutes later, we heard a couple
more blasts. We figured the gal had
got hers.
-" «ye raced out of the state fast
3s we could. Then we heard about
“this farmer and his wife, We knew
we’d better clam up or we'd be rid-
in’ high in the sky at the end of a
The young man stopped and
mopped his brow. That he was very
‘worried and nervous was easily ap-
parent, ‘
“Except that I had to shoot off
my big mouth, you’d never have
caught up with us,” said Fowler.

“we'd have got. you sooner or
later,” Anderson assured him. “The
police of two states have been on.
the lookout for you for two days.”
-He surveyed the two prisoners cool-
ly. “Two innocent people were kill-
ed in cold blood,” he said at last.
“According to your story, you saw
at least one of them shot down.
You knew the police were hunting
the murderer. Yet you didn’t step
forward to tell what you knew.”
The. officer stared at them coldly.
“Would that story make much
sense to you?” he asked.

“It sure would,” said Mellish
promptly, “if I knew the guy tellin’
it was in the wrong state, the wrong
county, broke, without an alibi or
a ghost of a chance of gettin’ him-
self believed. by a hostile sheriff,
judge and jury!” ‘

“Sheriff, we were just plain
scared,” Fowler put in earnestly.
“We done the only thing we ‘could
do. And that was to beat it fast as
we could!”

Persistent and sharp.questioning
by the veteran Anderson could not
shake the men loose from their
story. Both wére willing enough to
admit that it sounded phony. But
they stuck to their statement. with
dogged grimness. Anderson tried to
trip the youths by making them go
over the details of what they claim-
ed they had witnessed in that wild
five minutes at the Geisler farm. He
did not. succeed. ‘ ‘

“what about the man with the
gun?” Anderson demanded. “What
did he look like?”

Both men. looked blank. “We only
saw him a second. And he had his
face squeezed against the butt of
that gun!”

“A man’s got more than a face
What else about him? Was he tal)

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48

HUMAN DETECTIVE CASES

short, slim or heavy? What did ‘he
wear? A hat, cap, bare-headed?
Was he young or old?”

Both men seemed to be studying
carefully. They gave every appear-
ance of searching. their memories
with great care. Mellish shrugged.
A sheepish grin overspread his fea-
tures. “I guess you got me,: Sher-
iff,” he admitted. “All I saw was
a guy with a gun pointed at me.
I know it’s dumb, but honest, I
don’t remember a thing about
him!”

Fowler took refuge in the same
excuse.

_After an hour or more’ of ques-
tioning, Anderson left the two
prisoners and consulted with the
sheriff. and other local officers. A
check had already been made on
the. Buick’s license. It was register-
ed: in Fowler’s name. The two
youths. had been rigorously search-
ed; nothing of a damaging nature
had been found on them. A careful
Scrutiny of the car under powerful
floodlights failed to reveal any-
thing in the nature of bloodstains.
Their clothing, likewise, had been
examined at the time of the arrest

and no signs of blood had been,

found.

Sheriff Anderson was frankly in
a quandry. Beyond any question,

Mellish and Fowler were important -

suspects. Both youths admitted be-
ing on the scene of the crime at
the very moment it was happen-
ing. Both men were jobless, of dubi-
ous character, footloose, mean-
tempered. Fowler had bragged
about killing the couple, and had
even threatened to kill the stranger
who had annoyed him at the pool
table.

A strong. circumstantial case
could be built against them with-
out great difficulty. They had op-
portunity; they had means—the
gun that killed Anton and Lud-
milla Geisler was right inside the
house. The motive was a different
matter, perhaps, although it might
be argued that they had quarreled
with Anton, or they had tried to
make improper advances to his
pretty wife and while they strug-

gled with her, she had screamed |

and Anton had come running to
her aid and was. shot before he
could reach her -side.

On the other hand, the very
blackness ofthe case against them
argued in their favor. If they were
innocent, blind fear and the in-
stinct of self preservation could
have made them behave in the
foolhardy manner claimed by them.
They felt they didn’t have a chance
to prove their innocence, so they
simply fled.

Assured that the suspects would
be held in jail on an open charge
until further investigation could
be got under way, Sheriff Ander-
son returned to Montana.

N the morning, a three cornered

conference was held between
Sheriffs Salisbury and Anderson
and County Attorney Erickson.
Erickson was frankly troubled.
“One thing that bothers me,” he
said, “is the business of the stolen

clothes. Any tough-minded panel I

go before to get an indictment
against Mellish and Fowler will
want to know how that crazy piece.
of jig-saw fits into the picture. If
I can’t tell them, they'll balk. We'll
lose. our case before we even get
started!”

It was agreed not to press for.

the indictment against the two
men immediately; they could be
held on the open charge for an-
other 48 hours, maybe longer. In
the meanwhile, maybe the officers
could figure out the truth.

“I got another angle I want to
work over a little,” Anderson said,
reaching for his hat.

He paid a surprise call to the
farmhouse of one of the Geislers’
neighbors. The farmer stared at the
sheriff, started to ask something,
then changed his mind. They walk-
ed into the kitchen of the roomy.
house and the farmer fussed with
some coffee. They sat down.

“I got a couple of questions I

need answers to,” Anderson said
quietly. “I figured youre my best
bet.”

“Anything. at all,” the farmer y

said.
cup in front of him. “Exactly how

well did you know Anton Geisler?” i

he asked.
Like I said before, we were only

friendly neighbors. Anton and his ©
wife were that kind of people,

neighborly but not chummy.”

“You ever go to their house?”

“Many times.”

“You got a shotgun?” .

The farmer looked warily at the
sleuth. “I got a shotgun,” he said.

“Ever go hunting with Anton?”

“A couple of times.”

“Where does he keep his gun?”

“Hanging on the door, on two
wooden pegs, the door to the front
of the house.”

“And his ammunition?”

“In the drawer of his bureau, the
other side of the room.”

Anderson nodded ‘his _ satisfac-
tion with the answers thus far. He
bent a little closer to the other
man. “The day Anton and his wife
were killed was’one of the hottest
of the year. They got a small house,
it was probably stifling inside, what
with Ludmilla getting a chicken
ready for roasting. Would you say
the door would likely have been
open?”

“Of course it was open!”

“The gun was concealed from
sight?”

A light began to dawn in the
farmer’s mind. He said eagerly,
“Say, that’s right! If those two

rough-spoken guys did the killin’

The sheriff nodded. He stirred the’ -

how’d the.
ton woul?
ready for
shotgun
knew th
where tl
“He kn
lers,” Anc
‘He got
owned by |

' tives. The j

in the too.
sleuth anc
side the bc

“We've

would the
two bodi«
To hide |
maybe fig
ry the *~
néver |
“Rig!
The you
He said, “‘
later, the
neighbors,
own hand,
was a flop
move awa)
would co:
would loo!
clothes go:
The killer:
He searci
for appro’
a good «
now?”. he
“We go
Sheriff A:
The 5
“Maybe
tective,”
“Inste
Schla;
“What?”
“You
derson °*
wife. Y«
your ov
ness to
you hav
own nec

HUMAN FACTS FROM POLICE FILES
’ how'd they see the gun? And An-

ormeed scat HIOME-SIUDY
apsarson "top wouldn't have it all loads me | Muli IAI BRINGS BIGGER PAY
réady for shootin’. Nobody keeps a
pita 0 shotgun loaded like that. The killer | AY i, Don't be caught napping when OPP mey. by trad
vin rs knew the gun was there. He knew | ing now for the job ahead. Be ens mechs Tall
whe aislen where the ammunition was. He.” A Hae Wee se bok ost san aren
i“. - “He knew a lot about the Geis- ae. ein
. Parenter lers,”. Anderson finished quietly. Br od :
wler will ':He got up and drove to the farm cTrette ses si
crazy piece owned by Ferdinand Schlaps’ rela- DLaw—Degree of LL.B. Expert
picture. If bigeye pleasant-faced youth was Dindusteial Man yan gael
ie? tool house. He welcomed the o vy thine Shorthand):
oalk. We'll ie
‘sleuth and offered to take him in-
even get ide the house, but Anderson waved LASALLE EXTENSION UNIVERSITY
. press for a oni to geo Dept R-761 417 Se. Dearborn St. Chicage 5, Mt.
, done thinking
nc A ee f bout those murders,” Anderson POCKET Paced MACHINE
- said conversationally, “and we came Se chi 9 dds,
ee. i up with a couple ‘of ideas. Maybe Aptis ptract ‘Aide, Seiicatiog
he officers yar fad us check one or two THETEE NK steel, quaranteed 5 yoort, fits
ith, be to.” ps. 2 the “de yg edly = . ae
I Tl ,” said Schlaps. f . postage
dinero “about those missing clothes. We reittaE 9 eon fy yp elegy La
° : got two men locked up and | S~osedvemrpasewaetopay. =| | : case included at mo extra
1) to the it looks like they did the killing. U.S. DIAMOND CO., Dept. 131-P args eee ton ts tated.
>» Geislers’ But those clothes. Why would they 225 N. Michigan ° Chicago 1, Wl. | TAVELLASALESCO,Dp 203-25 W. Bway NY7NY
ared at the pass up the money in the trunk “f :
; ‘ and take a mess of clothing they,
sue wake probably couldn’t use? It doesn’t NOW IT’S EAS Y to Relieve
* make sense. And we can’t hold
taeat att them for’ murder unless it does ircuine, BurniNG ATHLETE’S FOOT
make sense.”
wn. \ - a
uestions I ‘The youth showed his interest. The Quick, Soothing
erson said “If you knew about the clothes it
‘re my best would make a real case against Hh
p them, eh?” he said eagerly. Pedilin Way
the farmer - “Jt. would help a lot.”
j Schlaps seemed to be doing some
» stirred the - intensive thinking. He suddenly The new, extra-hondy
2xactly how t slapped his thigh. “I got it!” he plastic tuke makes
yn Geisler?” | 3 cried. “Look at it this way. Why Pedilin easy. to corry—

we were only _

would the killer want to dump the

- two bodies in the river anyhow?
-{o hide the bodies, of course. He

easiest to use. Try it
TODAY—

ton and his = maybe figured the tide would
of people, may’ gur é tide would car-
hummy.” ..£: xy the bodies away so that they’d sti ad Rest
eir house?” oa never be found again. Right?” MAreniae:
t

12”

varily at the

““«Right!” agreed Anderson.
The youth warmed to his talk.

' Be said, “Suppose, a couple of days

Every time you step out on the beach, into the poo! ora
public shower, you are exposing yourself to the denger
of athlete's foot! When that torturing itch strikes— don't
scratch away ond aggrovate the coadition—sprin! © on

25 8 OE knee TRONS

un,” he said. y . later, the police, or one of the quick-acting Pedilin IMMEDIATELY! This wonderfu\_im-
ith Anton?” rt neighbors, got a note, in Anton’s proved tnatmant fer othe’ for hon tohen fost gan "
| own handwriting, saying the farm | sotto col ghost mt
ep his gun?” 63 was a lop e ec ing further. Don’t — o ogicoh to bs bi Mt
Ei meer a a Te OS | |
o the front’ . ey
( would look around, find all the Easy to Use—Unbreakable, Handy in - PEDILIN at the ora sion
% . Athlete’s - a
on?” coe clothes gone. That would be that. Its New, Improved Plastic Tube preventative in all public
is bureau, the — 2 The killers would be in the clear.” syst hondy new opplicator makes it @ joy ' oe bathing ploces. {
” a ‘ eae He searched the detective’s face just squeeze tu » lightly, ¢ en spray on the | fecte'
an. : it " oreas. J Pedilin into ket, travelin
5 satisface ~~ foP approval of hia theory. “You got cre, ee on nent apal—onh brook 00d Try PEDILIN Today
thus far. He =. | : a ng on Ng against those men at hand—whenever you need it! soa on re ror’ ~
to the othety aac, Row? be Seine ace) now,” DON'T TAKE CHANCES— raleving the ogony ef Athlete's Foot
and his wife’ #0 => “We got a fine case, now,” said : without risking one cent! One month's
f the hottest. 4 eee Anderson. You ” po items Foot supply je PEDILIN costs Looky epee ‘
Pes _ : now dollar most importa: complete!
. small house, =. tt ~tt eer hired man_ grinned. ; oe : vi ob satisfied—you oy pe err tube ot oe
small house 7 Maybe I sbould have been a de- | Wh in arama tom coer srry pry Yom pol wil be cenit eter
: a chicken A tective,” he joked. bleeding—you need PEDILIN! Should you neciect this T UNIVERSAL SYNTHETICS, INC. Dept. 2:

ould you say
y have been

pen!”
ncealed from

awn in the

-' “Instead of a killer?”
Schlaps’ mouth gaped open.
“What?” he gasped. ge i
“you killed Anton Geisler,” An-
derson. accused. “You murdered his
wife. You stand accused out of.
your own mouth. In your -eager-

first, warning stage—it may develop and spread through-

out all your toes until it affects the entire foot ond arch
_- area, This is usually panied by an uv Hlabl
‘Itching ond scratching which results in a badly mutilated,
ugly infected condition of the skin. Play safe—be sure—

‘ 100 West 42nd St., New York 18, N.Y.”

‘ Here is my dollar. Please rush to me a one month’s
i supply of PEDILIN, the new foot treatment — in the
{ handy plastic tube. If | am not completely satisfied
t with results, | can return PEDILIN within 10 doys and

' receive my money back.

aid eagerly, ness to acctse two innocent men, VARA NTE E MONEY S piddress ..sssscccsepecesscsoosnnsancooeees ass

tf those two you have tied a noose around your BACK att : oe

tid the killin’: own neck!” ! p City csccceccccusorrerere one. Aracseece
; ; 49


es

Schlaps burst into tears. He
stormed, pleaded, cursed. “What
possible motive could I have had
for killing those two fine friends of
mine?” he demanded.

Anderson admitted he -didn’t
know. why. But it didn’t deter the
officer from placing Ferdinand
Schlaps under arrest.

“You knew where the Geislers
kept their shotgun,” the sheriff
pointed out. “You knew just where’
to find the ammunition. You lied
about leaving Anton and his wife
alive when-you left their farm Sat-
urday morning. The first time we
searched your room, we found two
letters in Anton’s own handwrit-
ing in your suitcase. We didn’t
think anything of it then. We know
better now.

“Your theory of the stolen clothes
is too good, too pat. You couldn’t
have thought it up on the spur
of the moment while talking to me.
You’d figured the whole. thing -out,
how to get away with murder.
Trouble is, you had to show: off!”

Schlaps refused to confess to the
murders. But a few days later, he

h

HUMAN

DETECTIVE

Our grave-filling croaker,
Our old coffin-stoker,

Our moss-covered stoker
Who ne’er makes us well.

Easily second in the unpopularity
sweepstakes — and sometimes a
pretty close second at that—is the
prison cook. You just can’t con-
vince convicts that he doesn’t
spend 24 hours a day thinking up
ways of making the food more
monotonous, more unpalatable and
more meager. And since food, sex
and crime are the three great top-
ics of conversation in a prison, and
as there isn’t any sex and no crime
except.the petty ones which can
be perpetrated in the confines of
@ penal institution, one can imag-
ine -how much attention the food
gets..

The “slum” or stew, served so
frequently in prisons, is a particu-
lar objective of versified villifica-
tion;

All ‘the things with legs or wings
Which creep or fly or hum,

Plus wornout hats and rubber mats
Go in our ‘prison slum.

But now and then our cook is kind,
And in such gen’rous mood,

50

1UMAN DETECTIVE CASES

©’, for Anderson. “I killed them,”
he said quietly. “I killed Anton and
Lu milla. I liked- them a lot, but I
kiiicd them.”

i.e refused to tell why, but he
gave the officer a vital‘piece of in-

formation. Dig on the Geisler farm °

behind the chicken coop,” he said;
“I ‘ot. some blankets buried there.
Anca my shirt and pants.” He ex-
plained that he had wrapped the
bodies in several blankets. Then he
had placed them in Geisler’s car.
He had dumped his victims in the
Muddy River, hoping never again
to see them. He had planned to
write a note “from” Anton and mail
it to the. police. He had mopped up
the floor in a vain attempt to hide
the evidence of the murders.

It wasn’t until the day of his

trial, July 8, 1926, that he revealed

the motive for the incredible slay-
ings.

“I was planning to get married
oon,” he told Sheriff Anderson. “I
wanted -my girl to live near Home-
stead. I figured I could buy up the
Geisler farm for next to nothing
if it was abandoned.

“I didn’t hate Anton or his wife,
I hated to kill them. I couldn’t
stand the sight of Mrs. Geisler ly- |
ing on the floor, full of blood, her
eyes open and staring at me. It
was awful. I almost didn’t kill -her
when she ran into the closet! and
started screaming. She was so pret-
ty, and scared.

“But I had to do it,”

With the full confession from
Ferdinand Schlaps, the two youths,
Fowler and Mellish, were of course. .
released from jail and cleared of
any suspicion of complicity in the
double slaying.

Ferdinand Schlaps was found
guilty of murder in the first degree.
Judge S. E. Paul sentenced him to
die on the gallows. On May 20,
1927, a year and eight days after
the ghastly crime, Schlaps walked
up the wooden steps of the gallows
that had been constructed especial-
ly for him, and was hanged. '

Note: The names John Olson, Phil-
ip Mellish and Mel Fowler are ficti-
tious in order to protect innocent
persons from embarrassment.

SHELLYS OF THE SNEEZER

(Continued from page 29)

He will not pinch, but will use an
inch,

Or even two of food. ’
Still another, parodying . “How

Doth the Busy Little Bee,” goes:

How doth our stingy kitchen bum

Improve each shining hour?

By cooking up a mess of slum

That’s nine-tenths paste and flour.

So, since the hour shows no im-
provement,

We pray for’a reversing movement,

And hope the hour elicits some

Improvement in our kitchen bum.

And we know this improvement
Can be brought about,

It only needs a movement

On our cook’s part—out!

Tl, song “Lookee, lookee, lookee,
here somes cookie!” popular some
time go, was eagerly seized on by

a food-disgruntled convict as an
exci): to pen:

Loo! =, lookee, lookee!

Her* comes cookie!

But | ons who have to eat his slum
Wo rather that he’d go than

me,

For while he does the cooking
trickee
We'll be sickee, sickee, sickee!

The other civilian employes, how-
ever, do not escape these Byron-
esque: barbs. There .was a plumber
in one of the institutions I fre-

‘quently visited who was known

among the inmates as a colossal
crook. This is just one of a number
which he found in his = one
St. Valentine’s Day:

Our plumberless plumber’s an aw-
ful bum,

Who ne’er plumbed a pipe or a
socket, :

The only thing he ever did plumb

Was the depth of sical guy’s
pocket.

One of the Civilian fireman, who
had the reputation of grafting on
the inmates by “flying kites” (tak-
ing uncensored letters in and out)
for them, was rpeny slapped with

this one:

You've got a good job, you coal-
heaving jerk,

You “prey-on-the-poor-convicts”
grafter,

For the heat which surrounds you
will save Satan work

When you come to him in the here-
after.

arin

oe

<nociniinamettesitinadnaaaelia i.


PLACE — citd OR COUNTY DOE & MEANS

ara cade, he thar, Mbit” | P-L Pepe
33 \WWLe| hoo Mesacs ag. hae ed
or |

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bond Bprvsirg linet he Yalta ussel As ht eras eS
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C202 s LAAT 7 LVEM) AG 4
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SOURCE

FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY=OOTHAN
-


weighing around 160
fective eyes.
hat to stop the mad
e they must capture
e could escape from
-ned that. he did not
and would have to
traveling. A watch
sted on all highways.
were contacted and
uard all yards.
»mainder of the night
ed the city seeking
‘lusive, death dealing
combed the gambling
-h miners. Crowded
A close watch was
in but the suspect did

uggan stayed on duty
county courthouse,
some trace of Vetere
=xcitement drove off
d the floor at intervals
sed and dawn broke.
re he got the call for
waiting so tensely.
w reported seeing a
ly through the yards.
rying to keep out of
z of cars. The report
1 detective in the Mil-
Had the dragnet
elusive Vetere in its

ieriff Dale Robinson
William Byers rushed
hey covered the short
reets with siren silent
ch. At the yards the
signaled them to
the direction in which
iad disappeared.
ut across the flats,”
uickly. The officers’
lurch and moved for-
ad white expanse.
it there ahead!” cried

leave the car now,”
d. “The ground gets
here on.”

ontinued their pursuit
cried on as rapidly as
<y ground, eyes watch-
ure ahead. Then they
nly drop out of sight.
some kind of a gully
panted as he advanced
ep your eyes open for
iurderer he may start
warning. He’s kill-

-w their revolvers and
d all was silent. The
pped out of sight did

ached the edge of a
hed forward. The man
vn in the snow at the
ne, apparently seeking
ent the flat landscape
revolver covered him
up out of there,” he

y stirred slowly, then
is feet, arms raised in

he called.
me?” demanded Dug-

The deputies watched

him alertly as he made his way up the
side of the ravine through deep drifts.

“You killed three men last night, Tony,”
snapped Duggan. “Why did you do tr”

“No, I killed no one,” protested the
suspect. “I took two shots at that girl and
the man who was with her. I was
jealous. I did not hit them but I was
on my way to Helena to surrender. I was
going to tell what I did.”

Again Duggan accused the suspect of
killing Favero, Cicarelli and Deranje, but
the challenge brought another denial. The
chief deputy decided that further effort
to question Vetere on the chill flat land
was useless. He started back to the county
jail in Butte with the prisoner.

There the officers took Vetere to the
sheriff's office, where he was questioned
by the Silver Bow county attorney, Toe
Downey. For long hours the dark-jowled
Vetere clung to his denials. Then an
eyewitness was brought to the courthouse
where he confronted the prisoner.

“That’s the man,” he said promptly.
“He is the one who came to the door
that night waving the shotgun at me and
asked for Antone Favero just before the
shooting.” :

Vetere finally seemed to realize that he

GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE

ONVICTED by a Klickitat

county, Wash., jury of murder- —
ing his mother because she would.
not give him money to pay his
gambling debts, Eric Miller re-
cently broke jail while awaiting
formal sentence. :

But while a huge manhunt was
in progress the farm youth calmly
walked into the house of a friend
and gave himself up. That same
day he was sentenced by the court
to life in the state penitentiary at
Walla Walla.

A full account of the brutal mat-
ricide and the tiny bit of evidence
which led officers to the killer was
told in the November, 1941, issue
of DARING DETECTIVE under
the title, “Clue of the Bloodstained
Button.”

was trapped, not only by this identifica-
tion but by his record of the old trouble
with Cicarelli.

“There is no use telling you that I did
not do it,” he said suddenly, “ I shot them.
I guess that I went crazy with hate.”

Duggan’s theory had been right. In
his flight from the scene of the Favero-
Cicarelli shooting, Vetere had become
frightened when he met the night watch-

him. He had shot the man down in a panic.
Resentment against Cicarelli, bh par
blocked one romance, and against 4 girl
who had spurned him had sent the man
berserk. Favero had died simply be-
cause he happened to be with his friend.

The murderer showed the officers where
he had hidden the 10-gauge shotgun used
in the killings.

At his trial Tony Vetere, who had mur-
dered three men in a single maddened
hour, was found guilty and was sentenced
to pay with'his life. He went to his death
on the gallows in the courtyard of the
Silver Bow county courthouse, Butte,
Mont., on Oct. 5, 1926.

(To protect the identity of an innocent man _in-
volved in a murder investigation, the name Gino
Morelli, as used in the story, is not real but fic-
titious.—Ed.)

aie ee em

man who had tried to halt and question.

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Mh arloa, been leat Novem;

cre ) Micah was) convicted.’
en fin im ade |

he VETTERRE, Toney, wh, hanged Butte, Mont., 10/1/1926

ae aa fend oan Th i on or: ie

‘iki i: And

sil tort 4
ite lvanilll) ates
va! ef ASS oy

ns : niet “want
bw ve
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athe ayer Bl cad” deaa |
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“the Ka Bookt ne « ‘ot,’

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& Confingdi]
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be no reason for the attempt on the lives
of the youngsters. Apparently neither had
any enemy nor received any threat.”

Duggan further stressed the fact that
the gunman in the latter affair had fired
with a pistol, then had gone to get his
shotgun. It was decided to check every
house near the shooting scene to learn
if the residents had observed any sus-
picious character lurking nearby.

While city police swung into action,
Duggan and Deputies Lee and Harris re-
turned to the Favero home. There they
learned that Antone Favero had died in
the hospital to which he had been rushed
just after the shooting.

The death toll had now risen to three.

Duggan had been at the house only a
short time when Lee arrived with word
that sent him back to the scene of the first
killing. Gino Morelli had returned to his
home and Harris was watching the place.
A few minutes later Duggan hurried up
the steps of the Morelli home. The man
himself opened the door in reply to the
officer’s knock. He seemed highly nery-
ous.

“T want to talk to you about Antone
Favero,” Duggan began bluntly.

“Tsn’t it terrible thaf he was shot? My
wife just told me.”

“I've been told that you had trouble
with Favero the other day and that you
threatened to get revenge.”

“T said it when I was angry,” protested
Morelli earnestly. “I didn’t really mean to
do anything.”

Arte about his shotgun, he said that
about a month earlier he had taken
it out of the house and since that time had
kept it in the garage at the rear. He led
the officer to the garage and produced the
weapon. Duggan’s quick investigation
and his knowledge of firearms convinced
him that the gun had not been fired re-
cently.

Morelli said that he had been helping a‘
friend in another part of the city do some
work on an automobile and that a third
man had been with them. A quick check-
up bore out his alibi, Duggan and the
other two deputies were convinced that
he had no part in the shootings. They
turned their car back to the scene of the
attack on the young woman and her escort
and as they drove up they were greeted.
excitedly by Detective Rodda.

“We got results out of the check of the
neighborhood,” he told Duggan. “In ques-
tioning residents we located a man who
had seen his neighbor with a shotgun
earlier in the evening. He asked him what
he was doing with it and the fellow replied
that he was going hunting, but he acted
sort of funny when he said it.”

“What’s the man’s name—the one with
the gun?” inquired Duggan.

“Tony Vetere. We went to his home and
he wasn’t there. But there was a thirty-
two caliber revolver with two empty
shells. Perhaps it is the one used to fire
the two shots at the young couple. There
also was a twelve gauge shotgun. It con-
tained number four shot, but apparently
had not been fired recently.”

“Let’s check with the girl and see if she
knows anything of. this Vetere,” sug-
gested Duggan. The officers’ knock ad-
mitted them to the house once more.

“Yes, I know Vetere,” the girl said
nervously.

“Have you ever had any trouble with
him?” Rodda continued.

. 60

Shotgun Massacre!

[Continued from page 57]

“Well, there’s never been any trouble.
I did refuse to go out with him.” She said
that while Vetere had seemed quite de-
jected, he had not made any threats.

Duggan felt a warm glow of satisfac-
tion. It seemed logical to him that Vetere
might have nursed a grudge that he took
care to conceal. He might have resented
the fact that the girl turned to another
companion and, brooding, have gone to
her home in the hope that he would get a
chance to kill her and the man whom she
had preferred to him. ~

Next the officers drove to the Favero
home, 5

“Mrs. Favero, do you know a man
named Tony Vetere?” Duggan asked. He
held his breath as he waited for her
answer.

“Why, yes, I know him, but not very
well,” the widow replied in tones broken
by emotion. “But Joe Cicarelli knew him
better.”

John P. Duggan, chief deputy sheriff of

Silver Bow county, Mont., led the chase

after the berserk Romeo and finally
brought the triple killer to bay.

Cicarelli! The first victim of the mad
slayer’s shotgun. Mrs. Favero was speak-
ing again. Two years ago Vetere had a
quarrel with Joe Cicarelli’s oldest daugh-
ter. Her father had him placed under a
$250 peace bond.

Duggan was jubilant as he led the offi-
cers from the house. On the sidewalk he
turned to the others and spoke eagerly.

“Now, we're getting someplace,” he
declared. “Vetere was out to get revenge
on Cicarelli. He learned in some manner
that Cicarelli was at the Favero place but
he first went to the home of the wrong
Favero.

“When he finally located the house and
killed Cicarelli and Favero he fled toward
the old copper tanks and blasted the
watchman when he was challenged. Two

things tie in to. point to Vetere as our.

killer: he had had trouble with Cicarelli.
The girl he shot at had rebuffed his ad-
vances. So we have motive.”

“Let’s send out a pickup call on Vetere
right away,” suggésted Rodda, “before
he rubs out any more people who may
have snubbed him.”

Vetere was described as about 45 years

old, of medium size, weighing around 160
pounds and with defective eyes.

Officers realized that to stop the mad
killer’s murder spree they must capture
him now—before he could escape from
the city. They learned that he did not
own an automobile and would have to
seek other means of traveling. A watch
was ‘immediately posted on all highways.
Railroad detectives were contacted and
readily agreed to guard all yards.

Throughout the remainder of the night
police squads cruised the city seeking
some trace of the elusive, death dealing
fugitive, Detectives combed the gambling
places thronged with miners. Crowded
bars were scanned. A close watch was
kept at Vetere’s cabin but the suspect did
not return,

Deputy Sheriff Duggan stayed on duty
in the Silver Bow county courthouse,
awaiting a call that some trace of Vetere
had been found. Excitement drove off
weariness as he paced the floor at intervals
while the night passed and dawn broke.
It was 7 a. m., before he got the call for
which. he had been waiting so tensely.

A switching crew reported seeing a
man stealing furtively through the yards.

He seemed to be trying to keep out of

sight behind a string of cars. The report
came from a railroad detective in the Mil-
waukee road yards. Had the dragnet
finally tangled the elusive Vetere in its
meshes?

Duggan, Undersheriff Dale Robinson
and Deputy Sheriff William Byers rushed
to a waiting car. They covered the short
distance over icy streets with siren silent
to hide their approach. At the yards the
railroad detectives signaled them to
halt and pointed out the direction in which
the skulking man had disappeared.

“He’s headed out across the flats,”
Duggan decided quickly. The officers’
car started with a lurch and moved for-
ward across the broad white expanse.

“There he is—out there ahead!” cried
Robinson at last.

ee E’D better leave the car now,”
Duggan said. “The ground gets
pretty rough from here on.”

The three men continued their pursuit
on foot. They hurried on as rapidly a's
possible on the tricky ground, eyes watch-
ing the moving figure ahead. Then they
saw the man suddenly drop out of sight.

“There must be some kind of a gully
up there,” Duggan panted as he advanced
at a dog trot. “Keep your eyes open for
it. If-that’s the murderer he may start
shooting without warning. He’s kill-
crazy.”

The deputies drew their revolvers and
spread out. Ahead all was silent. The
man who had dropped out of sight did
not reappear.

At last they reached the edge of a
ravine. Duggan inched forward. The man
was lying face down in the snow at the
bottom of the decline, apparently seeking
the only concealment the flat landscape
offered. Duggan’s revolver covered him
menacingly. “Get up out of there,” he
ordered.

The figure below stirred slowly, then
the man was on his feet, arms raised in
surrender.

“T have no gun,” he called.

“What’s your name?” demanded Dug-
gan.

“Tony Vetere.” The deputies watched

him alertly as
side of the ra\
“You killed th
snapped Dugga
“No, I kille«
suspect. “I took
the man who
jealous. I did
on my way to #
going to tell w
Again Dugga
killing Favero.,
the challenge br
chief deputy dé
to question Vet
was useless. He
jail in Butte wi
There the oft
sheriff's office,
by the Silver B
Downey. For Ic
Vetere clung t
eyewitness was
where he contr
“That's the
“He is the one
that night wavi'
asked for Anto:
shooting.”
Vetere finally

GIVEN

ONVICT
county, ©
ing his mott
not give hi
gambling d
cently brok
formal sente
But while
in progress
walked into
and gave h
day he was
to life in th
Walla Wall
A full acc
ricide and t
which led o:
told in the
of DARINC
the title, “C)
Button.”

was trapped, n
tion but by his
with Cicarelli.
“There is no
not do it,” he sz
I guess that
Duggan’s th
his flight from
Cicarelli shoo
frightened whe
man who had
him. He had sh
Resentment a
blocked one r
who had spur:
berserk. Fav:
cause he happ
The murdere
he had hidden
in the killings.
At his trial
dered three n
hour, was four
to pay with hi
on the gallow
Silver Bow
Mont., on Oc

(To protect thi
valved in a mur
Morelli, as used
titious.—Ed.)


YEIK, Albert, white, 29, hanged

ae tend pea y Sa

ittention.

women,

udging.

sexiness,
ss, warmth,

and harmful

3, hair and chins.

sure of physical at-

at, so far, the nose

tted by. FAA

sf :
; ° { a
i oly ate i

eit’s men’s faces, not
aces, which are the :

cy Wiggins and Law-
Jones showed photo-
100 black and 100

:ins said in an inter-
black women found
§.to have more de-
aracteristics than
the pictures of white
at-
in- .

yhite women did not
te between black
hite males for these
ics but did find the
5 tO appear more

psychologists are
le’ physical charac-

faces —- eyebrow
Jape of face, mouth
:width, forehead

hickness, distance
'S and appearance

1s said it appears
will be rated high-

ratures
} High Low
SRR SS 48 35
ve 46 30
Oe atte $3°5593
40 19
46 21
Weetts E em 44 29
ide gwlens 46 20
TRS Ween 47 31
A oe ean 44, 26
eee ames 27
::38°%: 33
4432
nas S|
Sead 8 5427
Paws Re Bee |

one......M M_~

‘olice
i eae

*s were again out
Dl Tuesday and

Yooand eg rrot

le natern

eeding citations.

Cay

sa Fe

Bt,
men behold
ns beauiy

A, Ill. \AP* — Beauty
- eof the heholder, and
y of Illinois psy-
"are trying to find out
fs see beauty in the

ay r

4c and ears don’t seem to matter
“much, And, reflecting current
styles, long hair on men was

rated highly by white females,

she said.

Little specific information is
available on what makes a per-
son attractive, Dr. Wiggins
Said.

She said she and her col-

leagues are interested because -
attractive people tend to be
g men to a group of .:more successful than others,

dents of both races.

hologists are trying
ne, from. “emution-
poses, Just v hat it
ien find attractive in
‘they plan to do the
with men

which may mean that people
attribute desirable qualities to
attractive persons.

It is also important for plastic
- Surgeons to know what people
consider attractive, to guide
them in their work, she’ said. °

She said the study also will
explore whether people are at-
tracted to persons who look like
‘themselves.

She said the researchers also
will try to determine what kind
‘of body goes with what‘kind of
face, in the eye of the beholder.

Legal... |
Notice

IN THE DISTRICT COURT
OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL
' DISTRICT OF THE STATE
OF MONTANA, In and For the
County of Beaverhead.
the Matter of the Estate of

IS B. HAZELBAKER, De-

ceased.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Estate of Lois B. Hazelbaker,
Deceased.

Notice is hereby given by the
undersigned Executors of the
estate of Lois B. Hazelbaker,
deceased, to the creditors of and.

all persons having claims ©

against the said deceased, to’
exhibit them, with necessary
vouchers within 4 months, after
the first publication of this
notice, to the said Executors at
law offices of Schulz & Davis,
122 E. Glendale St., Dillon,
Montana 59725 the same being
the place for the transaction of

the business of said estate, in
the County of Beaverhead, State
of Montana. ;
LOIS HAZELBAKER
TOWNSEND
THEODORE BRANTLY
+sHAZELBAKER® - rie

#10; FRANK . W, -HAZELBAKER?

aterExecutors ofthe »Estates of 3

Lois B. Hazelbaker, Deceased.
Dated at Dillon, Montana, this ‘

5th day of February 1974.

Feb. 6, 13,20, 27.

sora a ee tect tes

ES ocean.

To Ee

at Dillon, Monte, August 265 Agee

P sb5 3. wee

ote i
Ce i aed a aed Chet) et ee

Sa ee Se

Mi Lin

oe

Sale m

Beaverhead Nostalgia
by Elfreda Woodside ace
. : ie \

Cold blooded murder

of sheriff in ' 1920

The most historic trial and one of the widest interest ever held
was the trial of Albert Yiek (alias E. C. Davis) for the merciless
killing of Beaverhead Sheriff C. K. Wyman, on April 21, 1920.
Sheriff Wyman is the only Beaverhead County Sheriff to be
killed while performing official duties. *

The Dillon papers spell the name Yiek, Yeik and Yek.
Regardless of spelling it is pronounced Y-e-k. He was 29 years
old and a native of Minnesota. He took the name of E. C. Davis
when released from Deer Lodge prison. Davis was his cell mate
and had died.

Yiek had escaped four times from the State Prison in Deer
Lodge and had been out only one month when he committed this
atrocious action in our county. pre

He had stolen a saddle from a ranch near Monida and a horse
in Idaho. A young man working in the hotel at Monida
recognized his father’s saddle about the same time Idaho

authorities notified Sheriff Wyman that a horse had been stolen ’

there.

Wyman took the morning train to Monida, arriving about
noon. Yiek had just finished his lunch and was in the hotel lobby
when Sheriff Wyman walked up to him and said, ‘‘You’re under
arrest.’’ Yiek made no resistance but said, ‘‘Let me go and get.
my coat in the barn.’’ Wyman had not handcuffed the criminal
and apparently did not frisk him for a gun—a grave mistake.

He and the sheriff went out the door to the back of the hotel to
go to the barn. As soon as they were out of sight, Yiek whirled
around, whipped out his gun, and shot the sheriff once in the
stomach and a second time in the back, killing him instantly.

He jumped on his horse to get away, probably the horse he had
stolen, and the bartender fired a shot at him hitting the horse on
the bridle. The horse became unmanageable and Yiek jumped
off and took off on foot to an old cabin about 214 miles west of
Monida in a field. He was followed by two town dogs. A posse
was. immediately organized at Monida, and one from Dillon
went to Monida on the train and were joined by men from Arm,
stead and Lima.

Shots were exchanged by posse members with the criminal

. but he refused to come out of the cabin. One shot hit one of the

dogs in the cabin with him, and for fear the dog would yip and
give him away he grabbed it and choked it to death with both
hands. The other one was hit in one eye and he took his pocked
/knife and stabbed it in the heart. : :

‘When he was out of ammunition, the posse went in the cabin
and opened the trap door to the cellar. Yiek was back on a dirt ©

ledge under the floor.

He was brought to Dillon on a freight train as the ire in Monida
and Lima was at a fever pitch. The officers were afraid of a
lynching. The train stopped at the stockyards, where a car met

the officers and Yiek, taking him to the county jail Thus, they -
avoided the lynch-minded crowds which were waiting at the’

depot. From that day, April 21, 1920, to August 26, 1921, a special
guard had to be with the criminal around the clock. August 26,
1921, was the date of the hanging.
Dan Mooney (father of county commissioner Earl Mooney)
was deputy sheriff and Bill Ross was undersheriff at the time,
Yiek was tried in District Court for three days starting May

25, 1920. He feigned insanity throughout the trial and had to have »

an officer on each side of his chair to restrain him, Joseph
Smith, brother of ex-Governor Smith, was the Judge, and
Thomas E. GiJbert was the County Attorney. -

Dr. Scanland and Dr. Bolton were summoned from Warm
Springs Hospital to examine Yiek. They pronounced him per-
fectly sane. The jury found him guilty after deliberating only 45
minutes, fixing the punishment of death. The following Monday

he was sentenced to hang in Dillon June 25, 1920. The man then .

ceased his masquerading as a crazy man and confessed to,the

irl dD yA RL gl Oe Pa RAS ins vf oy tect ots seat}
Le ta RP 1920; Yiek’s attornéys.’C.’ W. Robinson and Win
’ Cushing, appealed to the Supreme Court. This caused weeks and

months to go by with nothing accomplished. The conviction was

‘ upheld and on July 20,.1921, the Judge resentenced him.

His brother, William Yiek, came from Minnesota and went
with his lawyers to Governor Joseph Dixon to get his sentence
commuted to life imprisonment. After the Governor reviewed
the case, clemency was denied. Yiek had one brother, two
sisters and an invalid mother. He requested that his mother
never be told of his plight. : 2 3

Aha Eour Gtr if Teseeeenee cs Meet

Ao “
ta eI emis bat wh and betrayed no emotion when

show them how a man dies,”
Next week: The Hanging.

ory Dh
2% hs
DEAS ENT TE OS rts RE RAE Re bom ae oe pane mma eae

¥,

Bl Reh ae af SN eS SS eS

}

ee ae

Nae Fe
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* said, “If that is the way it is, let her go and I will walk out and Se i

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Fee |
¥

TODD

:
sole a

athe s
‘

ing actor?
Tatum O'Neal, who ~

Why did

_ occupied as much screen time “

as her father, Ryan O'Neal, in
“Paper Moon,” receive a nomi-
nation as supporting actress?
Why did’ Bernardo Bertolucci
win nomination as best director
while his ‘Last Tango in Paris”
-was overlooked as best picture?
Why was ‘‘A Touch of Class”?
nominated as best picture while
its director, Melvin Frank, was
overlooked in the direction cat-
egory? ‘ :
These were some of the unan-
swered issues raised by Tues-
day’s nominations. It appeared
that the Academy’s 3,200 voters
-were thinking in terms of hits.
“The £xorcist’’ and ‘The
Sting” scored top honors with 10

ye
s- nominations each.
The voters seemed to shy
he away from overly rewarding -
the sex-ridden ‘Last Tango in
- _ Paris.”’ They also seemed hazy
xo, abut ithe. distinction between
eal tetsjdng supporting players.
'n- The nominees for best picture
were ‘American Graffiti,’
ist. ; “Cries and Whispers,” “The
ng Exorcist,” ‘The Sting’ and “A
ch ‘Touch of Class.” ie
i or. In the race for best actor, two °
erccles former winners, Marlon Brando -
in of “Last Tango in Paris” and
_ jof Jack Lemmon of “Save the
aed Tiger,” are contending against
* job three relative newcomers —
; Jack Nicholson, ‘‘The Last
i Detail’; Al Pacino, ‘“‘Serpico”’; -
lab and Robert Redford, ‘The ~
‘to Sting.” PERS.
ta Three former winners are in
{ the race for best actress:
ac- Glenda Jackson, “A Touch of
ive Class”’; Barbra Streisand, “The
the. Way. We Were”; and Joanne
j . Woodward, ‘Summer Wishes,
seq. «Winter Dreams.”
tra Youngsters Tatum O'Neal, 10,
“Paper Moon,’’ and Linda
ry, Blair, 15, ‘The Exorcist,’’ are
ish- competing for best supporting
ys, | actress with’ Sylvia Sidney, 63,
ce. “Summer Wishes, Winter
and Dreams.” Also nominated are .
Candy Clark,‘‘American Graf-
ver _ fiti,”” and Madeline Kahn, ‘‘Pa-
ake per Moon.” :
the Nominated for best support- .
pen ing actor: Vincent Gardena,
¥ “Bang the Drum Slowly”; Jack
f Gilford, ‘“‘Save the Tiger”; John
i Houseman, ‘‘The Paper

Chase”; -Jason Miller, ‘The
Exorcist”; and Randy Quaid,
_ “The Last Detail.”
The nominations should give
heart to feminists. The acade-

“my noted that, aside from act- |.

perdu
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*9

Beaverhead Nostalgia

by Elfreda Woodside

Pith AO NIT Dillon 74<

(Albert Yeik had been convicted of the murder of Beaverhead
County Sheriff C. K. Wyman and sentenced to hang.)
Extremely well built and strong gallows were erected for the

_ hanging or

n August 26, 1921. It was a massive structure erected
: inthe court yard between the jail and courthouse. The convicted -

man had six steps to climb to the platform, which he did without

hesitation.

A 14-foot board fence was erected around the gallows so the
spectators could not witness the actual hanging. The rope which
released the trap ran from the scaffold through a hole in the
fence to a tent on the outside which concealed the executioner.
To this day no one has even an inkling as to who sprung the trap.

At 4:00 p.m. Yeik ordered a T-Bone steak.
Sam Ditty, Undersheriff Bill Ross, and Chief of Police Skinny

Nelson took turns in spending the last days with the condemned
5:man. They played cards and engaged in friendly conversation

pinmtil. dhe. day -of. execution. Yeik’s-brother.. from. Minnesota.
visited with him several times’ during the last days. Father

. Gallagher of Butte was with him on the last night and Father
Foley of Dillon had spent considerable time with him during the
-months of his incarceration. | -

His brother broke down when he told Yeik good-bye. Yeik
showed no signs of breaking but thanked his brother and said,
“You have done all you can do and no use to make a fuss about it
now.” He thanked his lawyers. The only animosity he had was
for Judge Smith and County Attorney Tom Gilbert. He said he.

hoped, ‘they would never die in bed.”
He requested that he be buried here

in our cemetery as he.

never wanted his invalid mother to know of his disgrace.

At midnight, Yeik ordered his last meal of fried chicken,
French fries, and other good things that he liked. He ate with
gusto and smacked his lips. 2 :

_” At 3:30 a.m. Sheriff Mooney and attendants entered the cell
- andread the death warrant to Yeik. It was a long document and

‘the prisoner sl

nowed a keen interest in it; asking several

_ questions about things in the document that he wanted explained

to him.

When Sheriff Mooney was finished reading, Yeik ex-

claimed, “I am going to surprise you fellows and a lot of people
in Dillon, lam going to die like a man. There will be no trouble. I

will be game.”
Invitations edged in-black with heavy black print had been

issued for the hanging. They went mostly to officers of the law
and others having a part in the trial. No children under 21 or

women were allowed anywhere near the premises. Trees and _

housetops were patrolled for curious onlookers.

As the big clock in the tower struck 4:00, the invited spectators
gathered in the court yard. Silence was most evident. When.the
clock struck 4:30 a.m. the officers entered his cell. Yeik came
forward to meet them: He raised his arms to assist the officers

_in placing the de
'. go.” Father Gallagher then administered the last rites of the.
, Catholic Church. He was led from his cell. Deputy Sheriff Sam .
‘Ditty walked in front of him ‘and Sheriff Mooney and Un-.
*-dersheriff Bill Ross on each side of him, with Father Gallagher _

ath harness.on his body and he said, ‘‘Let her

walking behind. He needed no assistance.

« formance.” -

tt ah Be

meng

Pes

the scene of the execution

\ Hepes tw if

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+ And for your proud new parents, too: .
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__ As he walked steadily forward with the officers, he glanced ~
around at the crowd and exclaimed, “you have quite. an,
audience; you must be going to. pull off a grandstand per- :

‘+ It was just about half past 4:00 a.m. when the man walked up
the steps to the gallows. The morning was crisp and cool. Only
‘just faint rays of daylight were distinguishable in the east, but °
was illuminated with electric lights.”

A deep pit was dug below the trap on ‘the floor of the gallows. .
When in position he was told he could make a last statement. He-
said, ‘Gentlemen, I am going to die.a dead game sport, good- ::
bye, that’s all.” ; ;

A minute later a black hood was placed over his head, the
signal given and the trap sprung. The man dropped out of sight
into the pit beneath the scaffold. Death was instantaneous. ey

The grounds were cleared of spectators, and at 4:55 a.m. the

' physicians, Dr. R. H. Ryburn of Dillon and W. H. Buchner of -
. Wisdom pronounced him dead. . i
-His body was removed after Father Gallagher had. ad--
ministered extreme unction and was taken to the Brundage
Funeral Home. :

The remains were interred in Mountain

day in the potters field. This was his request.
Next Week: Sheriff Wyman the man.

View Cemetery that

RANG THRE

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Have

baby.

ett Se PELE STE

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WAGON cal one.of the first nice things {6

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hearing came fromF?"*
Jensen, representing ;

By THE ASSOCIATE . pape
Polson reigns at the °*. 1;
weekly Associated Pt }
poll of Class A Mot’
‘school basketball. -
replacing Billings. ©
_which had long held ~
crown. ’ 4
Central fell to seca
the rankings as the} :
-hearibreaking. 54-53 :
loss. Polson receive ~.
the 11 first-place vot |“.
weck by sports, é {
sportscasters whil .y
Central garnered of °:'
Polson has one lof: *
ings while Central h
~ mark of 17-2. be
‘Highlighting the Q ‘
- was the tumble exp
Great Falls in the 1
losses during the w.
Bison, rated secon(
now are ranked six,
*. Malta, rated four
among Class A squi
to third, thanks to &. +s:
ry of Shelby. The[ ?.
Shelby to fifth from:
Laurel, the team}... 3
off Billings Ce
rewarded for tl .
performance by
first-place vote an
, position. eae.

Fil Ow

tor f

mond Flowers, tf
..Giants’ strong sal
ing from the Nati
League to the ne}
ball League bect
cerned about his, _
. “T won't alwal
. play football,’’ }\%
after announcinj -
conference Tuesd | |
‘signed a two-ye ©.
with the Hawaii f
new league begil +
1975 season. “If.”
offering not only

; }

Finley
OAKLAND (i>).
winter. of their?
Oakland Athleti( .
manager today
Finley attempt! -.
-bolts ona ship t!
* two World Seri¢
* With a wry st
Finley told nev
ago they wen
_make any gue.
and the guess¢
land coaches
Sherm Lollar,! .
‘ager Alvin I
‘coach Dave Bt
A’s second !
Green. \
. Noren appe_
‘most @akely ci
tian se tt
“Nithing Ck -
vot RHPA PLA

he pmamyo i


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make a
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to pick
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answer
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yeniten-

h War-
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1 Mon-
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ted for
ended,”
Convict

he erst-
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nd my
r will.”
rn trip.
vith an
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he was
ail, and
nett set
e hours
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gallows
of the
r hang.

In an
is part-
ho was
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Walsh,
Je con-
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watched
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tharged,
Hughes
. caliber
Hughes
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nd save

\ttorney
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ment to
he first
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ad been
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hard—
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after re-
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son was
1e move

It was a depressed Walsh who heard
the news on Friday, the thirteenth, that
the governor had refused to intervene.
His bravado was shattered. His hope
throbbed but faintly. Even his reputation
for daredeviltry that knew no law was
blasted.

While he made a pretense of accepting
the situation in a philosophical manner,
it was apparent this was merely a bluff.

“No, I’m not ready to die,” he ad-
mitted.

He spent the night writing to relatives
and friends. One letter was addressed
to a clergyman who had visited him. In

The Crimson Career of Bill Mahan C

[Continued from page 21]

intruders—some spooners probably—and
had held his gun in readiness while his
heart jumped hurdles.

While feeding the boy, they decided
to take him to another pit they had in
readiness near Tonasket, so they bun-
dled him into the. Ford’s trunk, which
had been punched with holes to provide
air.

At the new spot, Mahan left Waley on
guard and returned to Seattle to spend
the night in the apartment with Mrs.
Waley. The following day, he took his
partner’s wife for a long drive into central
Washington before doubling back to the
pit where the lad was kept.

While Mrs. Waley remained in the
car, the men placed the lad once more
in the trunk and pointed east. They
drove for more than 100 miles before
George, from his cramped quarters be-
hind, shouted: “Hey, Mister, can I get
out now?”

It was fortunate for little George that
the cry came from his tiny voice while
they were traveling a deserted stretch

Harmon Waley, Idaho penitentiary
acquaintance of Bill Mahan, joined
in the Weyerhaeuser job but ran
afoul of the law and went to federal
prison for the kidnaping.

THanK You For MENTIONING STaRTLING DEtEcTIVE ADVENTURES 75

it he advised “all young fellows, who —

are in the crooked game, to regard his
plight as a warning while there was still
time.”

The man who boasted he would never
swing and that no jail could hold him,
walked to the gallows on the morning of
February 14, St. Valentine’s Day. The
trap was sprung at 1:43 a. m., and six
and one-half minutes later the attending
physicians pronounced him dead. His
execution marked the first execution in
Jefferson county in 29 years. Today his
body is one of the two resting in potters’
field at Boulder.

of highway. Had it been otherwise, the
child’s life wouldn’t have been worth a
Washington clam. The car was just
outside Ellensburg, however, and needed
gas anyway, so Mahan stepped out and
guarded George in the brush alongside
the road while the Waleys drove to
town for fuel.

They stopped for gas again near
Odessa, another 100 miles east, Waley
remaining on guard this time while
Mahan and Mrs. Waley drove into town.
All the time they argued about where to
go next. The lad had to be secreted
somewhere while ransom negotiations
were conducted.

Eventually they reached Spokane, but
continued right through and out on the
new Newport Highway. Near Elk, they
crossed the Washington line into Idaho
and went through Blanchard and Spirit
Lake in that state before returning to
Newman Lake on the Washington side.
They halted here and George was
chained to a tree all day in custody of
Waley while Mahan and Margaret
Waley drove to Spokane where the wo-
man again rented the house in which
they had lived upon arrival from Salt
Lake City.

Lock Victim In Closet

OP icteort was brought to the Spokane
house that night, Mahan carrying
him in from the garage wrapped up in
a blanket, and lodged in a closet mea-
suring two and a half by seven feet.
He had the company of all his captors
throughout the night, but the following
day, May 28, Mahan took Mrs. Waley
back to the Seattle apartment with him
from where, the same night, the second
ransom note was dispatched to Mr;
Weyerhaeuser. The envelope contained
a note from George in addition to the
letter directing Weyerhaeuser, Sr., to
proceed to the Ambassador Hotel in
Seattle and await instructions.

Mahan seemed to have a rent-a-house
complex all this time for, on the follow-
ing day under the name of Miller, he
rented a small shack on Tenth avenue, S.
That same day, George’s father reached
the Ambassador, registering under the
name, James Paul Jones. He was handed
a note by a cab driver later that night.
The note, a $2 bill pinned on the en-
velope in such a manner as to conceal
the address, had been handed the cab
driver by a man who vanished immedi-
ately.

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outstanding solved crime cases are
asked to write the editor of this
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% +
“" “™ HUGH MOSIER

“Driftwood From The Jefferson”
The Story of Roy Walsh

-.. A. Tragedy on

tree

Prologue) sag urtys

This.is the story of Roy Walsh,
age 22, and Arthur ‘Mickey’ Hugh-
es, age 17, who, in an attempt to
rob A.S, ‘Al’ Johnson at his store
in Renova, Montana on the night
of June 26, 1923, were guilty of
murder, It is the story of a tra-
gedy on the Jefferson --a shot in
the dark! :

This tragedy effected the lives
of many people for three years--
1923-25. This is the re-told story
of the events that led to the hang-
ing of Roy Walsh and years in
prison at DEER LODGE FOR
ARTHUR HUGHES, ;

From the files of The Jefferson
Valley New--Thursday, June 28,
1923, Vol. 10--No, 52- > '

As the culmination of the depre-
dations of a band of young vandals,
who have been operating in this
section for some time, A.S, ‘Al’
Johnson was shot at Renova Tues-
day evening, June 26, 1923, He was
shot during an attempted robbery
of his small, road-side store about
ll P.M, and died from his wounds
at the Murry hospital in Butte late
Wednesday afternoon.

The report reached Whitehall
shortly after Il o’clock Tuesday
evening, when a phone call was
received summoning Dr. Packard
to treat the wounded man, He, with
Marshal Waldo, Fred Fessenden
and Elroy Moulton, went to the
scene of the tragedy. Dr. Packard
gave first aid treatment and took
Mr. Johnson to Butte for special
treatment. In his grave condition,
Mr. Johnson gave some of the de-
tails as they had occurred, His
windpipe was severed and his
testimony was given in writing and
by the nod of his head,

Roy Walsh, a young man of large’

frame, who had worked for various
parties at intervals here for the
past three years, and who has been
accused of previous raids on the
store, with one or moreaccompli-
ces, is the one apparently who is
guilty of the murder of Mr, John-
son, ae + % EE ae :
As per custom, Mr. Johnson had
closed his store, and took the
money from the cash drawer to
his bedroom at the rear of the
store, preparatory to retiring for
the night. No sooner had he reach-
ed his back-room, when a tapping
on the window and a voice ordered
him to open up and surrender his
cash, This was closely followed by
a shot from a 30-30 Winchester
rifle, which penetrated the door and
the right side of his neck and came
out through his left shoulder. (The
bullet traveled downward at about
the height of Mr. Johnson’s should-
er and neck. This.is an important
point inthe st0ty.} @ &% .7#-
The assasins, realizing thot
had probably

1 oF

then strtegied
house across the road, (the old
W.S. Clark. home) following.which

the Jefferson...

Sherm Shrauger phoned the tra-

gedy to Whitehall. :
’ Sheriff John Mountjoy and Under-
Sheriff Knight arrived on the scene
about 2 A.M, Wednesday to investi-
gate the tragedy. The peculiar tread
of a tire.on the auto suspected to
have been used by the robbers led
the officers to Butte, where a
break-down enabled them to dis-
cover the car. It was Hughes’
stolen Cadillac. Note- The vici-
nity had been having frequent and
very heavy rains during June. The
roed to Butte was ver y muddyover
Cedar Hill and old No. 10 High-
way into Butte,

Sheriff Duggan soon started for
the home of Arthur Hughes. (His
name now appears as Arthur in-
stead of Albert) Hughes, a sus-
pected confederate of Roy Walsh,
in Butte, was placed under arrest,
Hughes denied all knowledge of the
crime. He lateradmitted, when ex-
amined by Deputy County Attorney,
J, J, Bourquin and other officers,
that he and Walsh had attempted to
Tob the Johnson store, but con-
tended that it was Walsh that fired
the fatal shot, Note- This is a-
nother very important point. It
sealed the fate of Roy Walsh.

Sheriff John Mountjoy and his
deputies were searching for the
Walshboy. About noon Wednesday,
June 27, after the posse had return-
ed to Whitehall, parties phoned that
Walsh was seen hiding in hisbrush
hide-out on the Lank farm, one mile
west of Cardwell. A posse of Jef-
ferson Island and Cardwell people
joined the posse of Sheriff Mount-
joy and Walsh was captured and
brought to Whitehall, He was then
taken to Boulder and examined by
county Attorney, Howard A, John-
son~--no relation to the murdered
man, The criminals were strongly
suspected, by goods found in their
possession and other evidence, of
doing a lot of stealing in Whitehall
for several months.

Mr. Johnson had a sister in
Texas, a brother in Anaconda and

* @ married daughter in Butte. °

While all this murder story was -
being planned and unfolding, the
good people of Renova znd vicintiy
were planning a big picnic for the
Fourth of July. Mr. Johnson had
promised free ice to crank out the
ice cream, and Sgt.Driftwood Mos-
ier was at Camp Lewis, Washing-
ton, with the Montana National
Guard company from. Whitehall
under Ist. Lieut. Wm.J, Lowry and
2nd. Lieut. T.E, Devore, We re-
turned to Whitehall the next week-
end and missed all the excitement
of the shooting of Mr. Johnson,

The trial of Roy Walsh, charged
with the murder of Al Johnson at
hts store in Renova on the evening

* of tg 26th, ‘ef June, was begun be-

for-SgsudeseO., Ain Ay Bennatt tn
|

Roul

sun was Jefferson

C F d- prosecuting
attorney. Ait ey Llliot was at-
torney for the defendant,

~& jury of twelve men had been

DISTRICT.
COURT
NEWS
Jefferson County- *
The court set a number of

matters for hearing March 3,

The case of Credit Bureau ob- ,
tained a judgment against Cle- |
mence Johnson and Mrs. Clemence ,
Johnson Monday morning the day |
the case was to be tried. By a
stipulation putered into in open
court it was agreed that the
amount oweing to the plaintiff was
$270.00. Judgment was entered
for that amount, :

The arraignment of William

; Merrick was continued to Bb-

ruary 24 at 10 O’clock A.M,
. The opinion: of the Supreme

“ Court came down since the last

issue of these court proceedings
in the case of the State V. the
Local Districk Court involving an
information filed ny County At-
torney Allan LeMieux against
Penny Mitchell and Richard Mit-
chell charging them with “crim-
inal sale of dangerous drugs.’’ In
the opinion of the majority of
three the court held that those
was’? no evidence was offered that
defendents. had ever sold in the
ordinary sense of the word, any
of the marijuana in question.’®
At the end of the States’ case the
defendants attorney moved the trial
court to dismiss the charge of
criminal sale of dangerous drugs
for the reason sections 54~ 132
R.C.M, was unconstitutional, On
December 18, 1974 we ruled the
statue was unconstitutional, be-
cause it created an irrebuttable
presumption that a defendent who
CULTIVATED OR PROCESSED
ANY DANGEROUS DRUG WAS
GUILTY OF SELLING THE SAME.
The Supreme Court divided 3
to 2 on the legal point holding that
the legislatives in the statute set

_ forth certain activities adverse to
the public welfare and broadly

labeled the prohibited activitiesas
the ‘sale’ of dangerous drugs,
Justices Haswell and Daly did not
agree that such was the case and
cited a case from the U.S, Supreme
Court holding that a statutary pre-
sumption cannot be sustained if
there be no rational connection
between the fact proved and the
ultimate fact presumed, if the
inference of the one from proof of
the other is arbitrary because of
lack of connection between the two
in common experience.’’ He, Mr.
Justice Hasewell (conqurred in by
Justice Daly, said in his opinion
‘that this test announced by the
U.S. Supreme Court fits like a
glove in this case.’’ He also said
that the inference of sale from
proof of cultivation between the two
Attorney Goetz Pras announced

an appeal to the U.S, Supreme . ia

Court by the defendents, by Certio-
rari. :

A jury will attend the court for
the trial of the case of Carlington
against Hatch on Wednesday Feb-
ruary 19h., the day on which the
case has been set for trial,

A judgment was entered Mon-
day dismissing the action of Norma
C, Tebay against Gallatin Equip-

- ment Company and John R, Wild

as fully settled on the merits.

This case had been previously set
for trial but the trial was inter-
rupted by the settlement.

accepted before the noon recess,

The trial of Roy Walsh, was under

exresting @ ;

s ¢rime at the end of a
Sebruary 14, 1925,

Two of the Waish Story--

and Convictio: y

Waish will follow in due time,

So-long for Now

Driftwood

"y+ ‘THE BOULDER MONITOR:

I really liked Mr, Art Hall’s let- |

ter to the Editor in last week’s
Monitor. Mr, Hall kinda laid it on
the line regarding the problems at
the Boulder River School & Hosp.

He was a Supervisor out there
up until about a dozen years ago,
so he knows from experience what
conditions used to be at the instit-
ution,

Several years ago, when Mr, Rob-
ert Perry was Superintendent, and
before I started writing this col-
umn, I, too, wrote a letter to the
Ed, on this same subject. I harp-
ed a little bit about the increase
in the number of Administrative
personnel, the drastic reduction.in
the number of residents to be tak-
en care of, and lamented the fact
that the employees who actually
took care of the residents were
underpaid and their units were
understaffed.

The only rise I got from this letter
was a reply in the following week’s
Monitor signed by Mr. Keith Mc
Carty. He said that inthis enlight-
eded day and age, when conditions
have so vastly improved, it wasno
wonder that I was no longer em-
ployed out there, as my archaic
views would be incompatible with
the current thinking of the Admin-

~ istration.

Mr. McCarty later became Super-
intendent and continued the polic-
ies of his immediate predecessor,

Very recently I read that a spoke-
sman for the Coalition decided that
maybe it won’t be necessary to
completely close down the Institu-
tion after all, This concession
might be termed a minor victory
for those of us who are concerned
about the care and welfare and ul-
timate disposition of the Residents.

Must take exception to one argu-
ment on the ERA amendment that
keeps cropping up in letters to the
Ed, in our daily papers. It’s been
stated again and again that a State
may refuse to vote for the amend-
ment, and may later change its
mind and ratify it, but once rati-
fied, the State cannot reverse it-
self and rescind approval of the a-
mendment, :

To me, this isa bunch of hogwash.
Hitler’s use of the Big Lie techni-
que was based on the fact that ifa
statement is repeated often enough
the people will believe it.

With my meager legal training,
I admit I’m not qualified to expound

& JEFFERSON VALLEY NEWS

an

on Constitutional Law, but it ap-
pears to me that any action by the -
Legislature that 1s not popular with
the electorate may be reversed,
cancelled, recinded, whatever. Ot-
herwise we'd be stuck forever with
a bunch of bummers in the Revis-
ed Codes of Montana. ie

Look what happened to the Vol-
stead Amendment. Prohibition
was so unpopular aith the popu-
lace that it was eventually Repeal--
ed.

Equal Rights Amendment -- andI
admit I’m not overly enthusiastic

about it -- I maintin the majority of
the people have the right to change
petition tochange an unpopular leg-
alaction. —

_ Speaking of changing laws,I see a
bill has been introduced to exempt
Servicemen from paying Montana

Income Tax on any service pay
earned while outside Montana.

I think that this is a good bill,

The loss of revenue to the State
would be no big thing, while the
good will and financial benefit
to the individual veteran is a_
good thing. :
_l appealed a case ofthis type sev-
eral years ago. A Montana resi-
dent moved to California, was later
drafted and put in three years in
the Service -- all in California.
He was discharged in California
and spent the next year or so in
that State before returning to Mon-
tana,

Whereupon Montana insisted he
pay State Tax on his Service in-
come. :

I. lost the appeal, and undoubted-
ly would lose any other appeals un-
der our present law. So I hope
that this session of the Legislature
will change this regulation.

Just in passing, I wonder what
would have happened if this parti-
cular client had spent sometime in
combat in Viet Nam (he didn’t),
Do you spose Montana would have
paid him the bonus? I doubt it.

- R, J, Mulvaney

YOUNG MEN - 18 to 35

CAN'T FIGURE OUT.
iF HE'S CRAZY...
OR JUST
INSANE .....).

Re

iM Hee!
OL

PS ee


nne-

said
sher-
tion.
the
i, he
Bil-
out
in in
f the

any
innot
ie of-
Mil-
Olive
true,
Mil-
‘from

on all
id not
cer, he
‘laude
yntana
e that

Kyle
ed him
acted
i0t too
ly nor
ings to
- af he
ice—or
t think.
ng too
eye on

“of
ut
did be-

uy dif-
om him
yout it,
nd that
he fact,
nted. I
ill mean
ve will.”
let you

‘e about
iook no
ider sur-
x would
ind sure
iff’s staff
ceived a

that mes-
3 pocket ;
{ rang in
, he saw
n. On the

went to
wanted to

he__pro-
in Henry
ier shame-
1 Miller’s
two went
’s luggage.

and Prose-
‘Liles City,
ately upon
officers in
id they did
i way. It
suitcase to
graphic re-
ind ask the
ever ealled
would be
ae wired to

elstead

FP awaiting

word from Minneapolis. It was now
August 18th, and they reasoned that,
since the telegram had been sent to Kyle,
it would have been possible for “Brown”
to have called for the luggage and not
finding it there, have been frightened
against returning.

The Miles City officers had requested
Minneapolis to telephone in case they
made an arrest, and at one o’clock that
afternoon the call came through. It was
Captain John Pradeau of the Minneap-
olis Detective Division and he said they
had Miller in custody, having identified
him from the finger-prints. John Henry
Brown and John Henry Miller were one
and the same. Miller would admit noth-
ing and said that he had just come down
from Canada, and had sent for a suitcase
which he had left in Billings. He did not
deny that he was illegally in the country.

“We got a 22 caliber revolver and
thirty-seven shells for the same from his
coat pocket,” said Detective Pradeau,
which was good news to the listening offi-
cers.

Sheriff Birley was immediately notified ;
he hastened to the express oflice and
caught the suitcase before it had been
shipped. It had, nevertheless, served its
purpose as effectively as though it had
been in the Minneapolis office when Mil-
ler so nonchalantly walked in and asked
if there was any express there for John
Henry Brown, only to find the heavy
hand of the law on his shoulder.

Two days later, while Sheriff Taylor and
Davey O’Connor were bringing Miller
back from Minneapolis, Sheriff Birley ob-
tained two letters from Kyle, which were
later to prove very valuable in fixing the
responsibility for the murder; they were
signed Henry J. Bertrand. In these let-
ters, Bertrand said he had got into a
“jam” and would have to leave the coun-
try at once; he wanted Kyle to send him
his suitcase, exhorting him, as a friend,
to perform this last act of kindness in
his behalf.

EELING was running high against Mil-

ler; Lester Jones had been a very pop-
ular young man and the grief of his
widow also served to enrage the pop-
ulace. Miller was taken to the county
jail in Billings for safe-keeping; he was
now a pretty nervous lad.

On the way back from Minneapolis,
Miller asked Sheriff Taylor a question
which showed what was uppermost in his
mind.

“Has there ever been a man hanged
in Custer County?” asked the suspect.

“Tl don’t remember any,” answered
Taylor.

True Detective Mysteries

115

“Well, maybe I’ll be the first one then,” 71
answered the youth. “There always has NST p AT
to be a first one, doesn’t there, and it

looks like you have a tough case against

me.”

made certain admissions relative to, and
pointing to, his guilt.

And now, in the Billings jail, County
Attorney Nelstead drew similar admis-
sions from Miller. To the public, the
case seemed closed until the suspect
pleaded “Not Guilty” when arraigned and
claimed all his statements had been made
under duress, and were not the truth.

This made it necessary for Prosecutor
Nelstead to prove step by step every ma-
terial allegation that Miller had com-
mitted the murder.

OULD the defense try to throw

doubts into the minds of the jury rel-
ative to the original suspects and the two
men seen loitering about the grounds?
Suppose Miller claimed a Negro had bor-
rowed or stolen his flashlight? Did the cap
belong to him or to someone else? Was it
his gun or another’s which had been used
in the killing? Did he, or someone else,
write the letters signed Henry J. Ber-
trand, and sent to Kyle?

Prosecutor Nelstead made an appoint-
ment by long distance telephone and a
few days later arrived at my office in
Seattle, Washington, with a bundle. of
things which he wanted me to examine.
My receipts show that he brought:

A 22 caliber rim fire, seven shot re-
volver, bearing, of all names, the in-
scription “Young America.” There
were also thirty-seven cartridges to fit
this same gun.

The original copy of the telegram
sent by Henry J. Brown, from_ Hills-
boro, N. D., to Claude Kyle, in Bil-
lings. A city of Minneapolis extradi-
tion waiver signed by John Henry
Zorn. Two letters to Kyle, mailed
from Grand Forks, N. D., signed by
Henry J. Bertrand. A letter written
on prison stationery from Henry Mil-
ler, Deer Lodge Penitentiary, to Sup-
erintendent A. C. Dorr. A statement
made in the Yellowstone County jail
in Billings, on August 23rd, and signed
by Henry Miller.

-"The 22 caliber bullets taken from
the body and found in the office.

The cap of small, black and white
design.

Lester Jones’ Indian blanket bath-
robe, in red, white, green and black
colors.

(Continued on page 117)

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The Chanin Building, 122 East 42nd St., New York City,
and ask for our ‘“‘Letter of Suggestions,” covering full in-
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a

118

test bullets could be compared with the
bullets found in the body of Jones.

With the photomicrographs I pointed
out and explained the markings on the
test and fatal bullets. These photos, one
of which accompanies this article, on page
48, had been made on my new four-way
comparison magnascope, a machine in-
vented and built in my laboratories, on
which I have just received a basic patent
giving me the exclusive right to its use.

IIE new machine differs from the old

in that I have a full field for each of
four separate objects instead of the lim-
ited round field when made by the older
comparison microscopes. With this ma-
chine it is possible to photograph under
high magnification, all or any part of two,
three or four test bullets and fatal bullets
at one time, in juxtaposition, apposition
or superimposing one on the other, in
such a way that there can be no doubt
of their identity or non-identity with
reference to a particular gun. In this
instance, test bullet and fatal bullet com-
pared perfectly. The gun taken from

iller by Captain Pradeau in Minneap-
olis was unquestionably the gun which
had killed Lester Jones.

By enlarging all the signatures of
Brown, Bertrand, Zorn and Miller, I
was enabled to point out to the jury
through the use of the photographs that
the signatures were all in the handwriting
of the same man, John Henry Miller.
This again tied up the trail of evidence
from one spot to another.

Prosecutor Nelstead had me_ describe

the science of finger-printing in detail,

thus letting the jury know that to-date .

no two sets of finger-prints have ever
been found which were exact duplicates.

In my examination of the cap I had
discovered, among other things, several
fine hairs which matched those from Mil-
ler’s head, and certainly were not ne-
groid. Thus was any possibility of de-

True Detective Mysteries

fense from that quarter broken down.

So overwhelming was the evidence which
had been piled up through the coopera-
tion of all the different agencies that there
was no use to deny that John Henry Mil-
ler had killed Lester Jones. Defense
Counsel Choate, a very able lawyer, even
allowed a damaging statement made by
Miller to the Prosecutor and Sheriffs in
the Billings jail, to go into the record.
Choate devoted all his efforts in an at-
tempt to create sufficient pity for the
weaknesses and the youthfulness of the
murderer to save his life.

The lone witness for the defense was
Miller’s mother, who told a pitiful tale
of desertion by her husband when she
had four small children, all of whom
were eventually taken from her and
sent to the reform school.

“It will do no good to make another
hallowed grave,” said Choate in his ap-
peal to the jury.

But Prosecutor Nelstead, in powerful
words, drew the other side of the picture,
pointing out Superintendent Dorr’s long
and faithful friendship for the killer, and
how that friendship had been repaid in
bullets of death that took one from the
heart of his own family. Nelstead pleaded
for the death penalty.

The jury retired late Wednesday after-
noon, October 3rd, and, after eight
hours of deliberation, in which eleven of
their number were for hanging, they
brought in a verdict of “guilty of mur-
der in the first degree,” and left the pen-
alty for the court to fix.

On Saturday morning, October 6th, the
youth was brought into court to hear his
fate. The statement of the Judge is
such a one as will bear repeating; it is a
model after which any judge might well
pattern: It says:

_ I listened very carefully to the tak-
ing of testimony in this case to ascer-
tain whether there were any mitigat-

ing circumstances, but I did not hear
a scintilla of evidence in that respect.
Since the completion of this case I
have weighed it in my mind night
and day, and [have come always to
the same conclusion. ‘The evidence
conclusively shows, in my _ opinion,
that you deliberately planned to com-
mit burglary, and you armed yourself
with a deadly weapon for that pur-
pose. You intended that nobody
should interfere with you and if they
did you intended to shoot your way
out. Lester Jones, in the course of
his duty, attempted to interfere with
you and you snuffed out his life. It
was cold-blooded murder. If a place
of business is to be protected, if a
home is to be made secure, the bur-
glar who enters them and commits
murder must be made to pay the
extreme penalty. In no other way,
it seems, can this crime be eventually
stamped out. The time has arisen
when all red-blooded Americans and
officers of the law shall perform their
full duty. If they fail in that re-
spect, then comes the mob, and that
means chaos; that can never exist in
this country. . . . I feel that under
my oath I have a duty which I can-
not shirk.

i, re came the words which sentenced
Henry John Zorn to die on the scaffold
on November 14th, 1934. Slowly and
silently the crowd. filed from the court-
room; only the sobs of the heart-broken
mother could be heard above the shuf-
fling feet of the curious throng, as the
twenty-five-year-old youth, who had re-
peatedly tried one crime after another until
he arrived at murder, was led away to the
county jail to await the time when he would
be “hanged by the neck until dead,” for
taking the life of Lester Jones, a young
man of integrity and character, who had
never done the least thing to offend him.

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TEN PRIZES, EACH $5.00

cliff, N. J.
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Colin Stewart, Madison, Wisc.; Mrs.

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Leo Hastensky, Johnstown, _ Pa.;
Ernest R. Lowe, Waltham, Mass.;
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True Detective Mysteries Alibi Contest
The Names of Winners of Additional Prizes Follow:

First Prize—$200.00, Mrs. M. C. Phillips, Santa Ana, Calif.
Second Prize—$100.00, Mrs. D. M. Carr, Alabama

Nicholas Andrian, New York, N. Y.;
Pearl A. Baxter, Watertown, Mass.;
F. G. Beckner, San Francisco, Calif. ;
Mrs. S. M. Boardman, Davenport,
lowa; Rena A. Bond, Powellton, W.
Va.; Timmy Burns, Gardner, Mass. ;
B. P. Casebeer, Dayton, Ohio; C. R.
Chalker, Cincinnati, Ohio; Louis W.
Copits, Mt. Vernon, Ohio; larry Rk.
Crossen, Bronx, N. Y.; Dorothy G.
Dobiss, So. Portland, Maine; Golden
O. Dungan, Compton, Calif.; Nellie J.
Dwyer, Bethlehem, Pa.; Gladys Fag-

Mexico, Mex.; James Gleeson, Detroit,

Anne E. Johnson, Youngstown, Ohio;
Ruby Johnson, Idaho Falls, Idaho;
Jacob Kapp, Streeter, N. D.; Her-

Sidney Adams, Washington, D. C.; bert Kelley, Alabama City, Ala.; Hugh

Kelly, Vineland, N. J.; Mrs. E. M.
Locke, Lockeford, Calif.; Mildred E.
Lovins, Bellevue, Ohio; Esther P.
Lund, Clontarf, Minn.; Jim Maloney,
Newton, Kans.; B. T. Maloney, Elks
Club, Scranton, Pa.; Albert O. Mason,
Port Huron, Mich.; Mrs. F. D. Mitch-
ell, St. George’s Grenada, W. 1;
Margaret D. Moore, St. Augustine,
Fla.; Charles G. Neidhart, Ossining,
N. Y.; Melvin O’Connor, Los Angeles,
Calif.; John Pandellis, Curacao, N. W.
I.; Carroll H. Parsons, Elko, Nev.;
O. B. Patterson, Conneautville, Pa.;
Mrs. Anna M. Peat, Portland, Ore.;
Arthur H. Reetz, Sheffield, Iowa;
Arthur H. Riss, Manila, P. I.; Ciriaco
S. Salazar, Cebu, Cebu, P. I.; Charles
P. Schulze, San Antonio, Tex.; Ethel
Shaw, Crisfield, Md.; Dick Simon,
Lincoln, Nebr.; William C. Staehle,
East Rutherford, N. J.; C. M. Thomas,
San Francisco, Calif.; Dorothy Van-
derclock, Passaic, N. J.

George
_ Euphe
riage lo
June 14t
Sokolski
tion. Ir
modest |
he livec:
affluence
in his ov
man of -
envy of
her gooc
of the h
But §F
sion, lik
denly,
a mont!
- neighbor:
they ent
young m
roomer i
bridegroc
cured th
the adde
upon the
At any
again, an
foul play
a result,
were pro
Police H

HER!
maint:
whereabo
July 16th
On Nove:
Euphenia
cruelty a
was awa)
Place, wl
at a goo
to be a \
Their s:
the conte
slope and
; “Well, wh
‘ asked.
Wencel
flung the
- container,
there’s a >
cumstance
Sokolski a
In the fo:
borne Pla
last one s
Steve’s pr
worked, p
Steve has
marriage.”
“Where
fits in?”
“T’ve a
this lates:
slowly.
“You m
“but don”
member, °
man of pr
thousands
kolski’s he
“You m
Steve Mor
“That’s >
terrupted
“we've got
John Uder
A half }
brakes of
tance from
spite the
best, the
appearance
excellent c¢:
shabbiness

Persistent work on the part of ©

Sheriff Edgar Taylor, coyuthor of
this amazing story, resulted in the _
capture of a crimson killer,

e *
i nae

at Miles ‘City, Montana,
-~ cited words the line went
"receiver for’a few second
,operator informed him:

were on duty elsewhere that night.
_in the Montana back country where I
‘to investigate a new outbreak
~ by truck and automobile. :

__. by Sheriff Edgar Taylor
| Custer County, Montana
Ree -as told to)’

_ JACK DeWITT

Sy

UY | tosterea. ‘The woman’s voice over the telephone / was:

Uh hysterical, “We need help at the State Industrial school !”
>" Jim Anderson, a young deputy, was alone in my office
Before he could reply to the woman’s ex-
dead. There was a ‘hollow buzzing in the

s and then the calm voice of the telephone

“Phat call came from the reform school, Mr. Anderson.”

_sAnderson instructed the operator to telephone other deputies Who
He asked her to try to locate me
had gone that day, Aug. 12, 1934,
of rubber tired rustling—cattle thievery

as he hung up the

ter, he ran up the
ne | ice, crossed the court house lawn and jumped

/\__, _—__-4 ‘
f f : fr
a ie Pk ( a a

>

Tragedy swe)
trial School w
into the admi

and shot th

Swift and ic
up the steps a!
office building
sounds of riot
on the Indust:
he heard non

Murder, if
school, had ar
he had expect:
hoarse comm:
blind ravings
he found sile:
yard.

The sound
the*superinte:
the open dox

familiar tabl:
and dead tak«
up the curta

Paj

NDERS'

Garbers
One was kn«
side the bod
on the floor.
robe and pa
of the office
shoulders s!
older man, h
to comfort

The man
Jones, assi
reform scho
be his wife,
he did not k
tried to cal
father and
tion.

All fou
Anderson
strode int
overturned
sagging
He saw bli
and noted
the desk a:
he had j:
lay beside
which ev
desk.

The tel:
French ty
hook and

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True Detective Mysteries

(Continued from page 115)

A uv

Sergeant Walter Prochnow of the

Miles City Police Department. His

persistent efforts obtained a damag-

ing clue from an innocent looking
flashlight

These articles made a pretty problem,
for, after all, unless I connected the gun
with the bullets, and the writing of Miller,
Zorn and Brown together, and the cap,
with the defendant, the case was far from
complete.

I spent several days in the laboratory
on the case and arrived in Miles City
with the exhibits on the morning of the
trial. It was Monday morning, October
Ist, and the court-room was packed to
overflowing to hear the testimony.

RANKLY, with the other evidence that

had been assembled since I had seen
Prosecutor Nelstead, it seemed to all. of
us that it had now become a question
of whether or not this young man, seem-
ingly born to crime, who had been in
and out of prisons all his life, should get
another easy sentence, to be coddled,
pardoned, or paroled in a few years again
to take up his life outside the law; or
whether he should be made to pay the
just penalty of forfeiting his own life for
having taken that of another defenseless
being. It was evident that the State
meant to exact the supreme penalty if it
could. It hoped to build, piece by piece,
such a web of evidence that there could
be no escaping the full guilt of John
Henry Miller; no failure to prove the
case; to leave no doubt in the minds of
the jury; to eliminate any possibility
that the crime might be laid to the door
of some rambling Negro or other person
who could not. be found.

Such a job was plainly up to science.

A panel of forty jurors was called and
of these twelve were excused and twelve
more were soon selected to hear the case.
The indictment had been brought under
the name of John Henry Zorn, it being
contended that this was the true name
of the defendant.

Zorn showed no- signs of emotion;
small, of even slighter ‘build than de-
scribed, with dark brown hair and_a_sal-
low complexion, he sat next to Defense
Counsel I. W. Choate, without a tremor
on his features; just behind him sat his
old mother, much more perturbed ‘than
her offspring. .

When the witnesses were called, Claude
Kyle was among the first of them, and a
very damaging one he was. Resolved
to go straight, he had made up his mind
to tell everything he knew, after a lengthy
talk with Sheriff Birley, following Mil-
ler’s return froni .Minneapolis.

Kyle now revealed that’ Miller had
come to the garage in Billings where the
witness worked, about, four-thirty on the
afternoon of August 10th, and that they
later met at six-thirty in IKyle’s room in

the Olive Hotel. Miller had a suitcase
with him at this time. \

The topic of conversation was the In-
dustrial School; Miller stated he in-
tended to go down to Miles ;City and
burglarize the safe in the school office.

“That crib is a cinch,” said Miller, ac-
cording to Kyle. “There will be at least
$100 in it and I know the lay; I made it
once before; they wouldn’t expect me to
come back again.”

Miller changed his clothes and went

out. ‘
Before Miller left, about  six-thirty,
Kyle said, on’ the night of October 10th,
he took a small caliber gun from the suit-
case and put it in his pocket, Kyle
claimed he had not seen Miller after that
until they met in the courtroom.

Kyle identified the suitcase, the tele-
gram from Hillsboro, and the letters from
Grand Forks, as the ones he had received,
and was then excused from the stand.

The bereaved widow told the story of
the tragic happenings on the night of
August 12th, as did the other employees
of the school, and the part they had played
in it. The physicians who had_ performed
the autopsy examination testified as to
how Jones had met his death. Sheriff
Birley and Sheriff Taylor related the man-
ner in which suspicion had attached to
Miller and how they had apprehended
him. Captain of Detectives H. A. Pra-
deau identified the gun offered as an ex-
hibit as the one taken from Miller in
Minneapolis.

Thus was the groundwork laid for the
offering of the scientific testimony,
which it was hoped would connect the
various links in the cireumstantial evi-
denee, and prove conclusively that Miller
had shot Lester Jones in cold-blood in an
attempt to escape from the office where
he had been caught burglarizing the safe.

Answering the routine questions neces-
sary to go through to qualify as an ex-
pert, I was shown the three bullets re-
covered from the vietim and the office.
1 was able to identify and to show the
jury through the use of the photomicro-
graphs, that I could identify all the bul-
lets, for, from the two taken from the
body I had obtained human blood stains,
while the third had a minute bit of plas-
ter clinging to its nose.

ROSECUTOR NELSTEAD then had
me explain in detail to the jury the
manner in which a ballistie expert works;
what was meant by test bullets, fired in a
suspicioned gun, found in this case upon
the person of the suspect; and how the

Photograph of 'the guilty man as he
looked immediately after being sen-
tenced

117
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o th

-ontinuing close
hen turmng

: clear.

ridge, after <€

called to she
a! yA
f ow By.

and deck of
JOHN H. KAM

said.

§ which was
1’ he agreee.

pridge,”’ ea

what's this?”
eading off the

pack
Citizens of Homestead, Mont., were shocked to discover the

{ corpse of a pretty woman floating i
: : g in the water :
Muddy river just below the bridge, edi alee

Sheriff

which decided,
Geisler had
unknown.

DARING

€:

Pa a M

illa
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YETECTIVE

i hi A ah a se
?


DOE & MEANS

January 27, 1899

GEN

NAME PLACE — CITY OR COUNTY

Thomas Salmon Red Lodge, Montana
RESIOENCE

Red Lodge

RACE

“White

OCCUPATION

Coal Niner

DOB OR AGE

RECORD

OTHER

CRIME Murdep "610-1898

AGE RACE

White

METHOD

Shotzwith derringer,

VICTIM

Supte “illiam O'Connor

MOTIVE

SYNOPSIS

iri or Pacer or ayer a eater display of genuine nerve than did the man who this
® : morning tripped lightly up the steps to his doom, 411 throueh the trvine ordeal of mental

anguish which must have been part of Salmon's confinement in the cage he never once betrayed,
by so much as a single word or act, the least trepidation concernine the pending execution,
"Has last night on earth was spent just as though he had a thousand years to live, He retired
at eight, went to sleeo at 11, woke up at five am, ate a hearty breakfast, and then, in the
presence of a few friends and jail officials, preached, as he carelessly remarked, his own
funeral sermon, He was an athiest, and said he wanted to see no priest or minister or sky-
pilot to show him the road to neaven, Continuing, he declared: *tentiemen, you are assembted
here this morning HEMEM to pay your respects to a friend who is to go to that everlasting shore

——_-whrere-man = x4 Pe 7 r) : .
minutes, the trials and tribulations of this life will be over for me, With these few remarks

ich this bayly to the earth from which I think it came if any of you follow

ny body to the cemetery, do "t uncover your heads, and thus contract colds and pneumonia. It
is a BEWBERM barbarous habib- and I hope you will protect yourselves and by so doing you will
please me, Gentlemen, I wish all my friends an everlasting farewell,"
"The doomed man then told the sheriff to proceed with the execution, and do the thing up

; aes cuick, saying he did not want to stand out in the cold and shiver, and have people say he

reas teh ost Says) trembled through cowardice, He was accommodated, He was dumb as an oyster on the scaffold,

ap Was SI
WERE jail door, He ran up vag —— wane of the officers. In the drop his neck was

Y og tes e

“ENE ea, ceremonies.

"he ae "The crime for which Salmon was hanged was the coldeblooded, deliberate murder, last September,

Bron ee in this city of Suoerinvendent William O'Connor of Red Lodge coal mines, Salmon was ex-presi-

“ dent _of the miners' union and took a lave part in the strike last July. The day before the pg

murder he was discharged, he borrowed a gun that night and next morning went to o'Connor's

office, and failing to get reinstated shot the superintendent to death, After the murder he

was expelled and denounced by the miners’ union, He was unmarried, and has several brothers,

but declined to divulge their places of pipipigyyiptyty

HELENA INDEPENDENT, Helena, Montana, Jan, 28, 1899

PEGE OS BEB EL,

TRIAL

b APPEALS
5

LAST WORDS ‘ ’ bids
fe a's sage

EXECUTION

oa! ba ve
sHigapes ofS 2¥

SOURCE

FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY—OOTHAN


SALMON, Thomas, white, hanged at Red Lodge, Montana, on 1-27-1899,

Watt Jspy, Jr.
P04. Box -2h7
Headland, Ala. 363))5

19 December 197);.

Dear sir or madam:

I am engaged in research on Capital Punishment in the United “tates which I hope to
culitinate with the publication of a work which will contain a brief biographical
sketch of each person to have been leyally executed in the United States as well as
a brief account of the crimes for which they were put to death.

Condemned felons in Montana have always been executed by haning in the Counties of
their convictions. I shall cerfainly appreciate it if you will provide me with

the names, dates of executions and any other information possible concerning persons
who have been legally executed in Carbon County (I am not interested in lynchings).
This will enahle me to attempt to search out whatever information is availavle
concerning these persons.

If there has never been a legal hanging in Carbon County, I shall appreciate it if
you will confirm this for me,

Gnclosed is ten cents postage for your convenience in replying and I hope that you
can assist me. If not, please provide me with the name and address of some person
or organiza tion there in Carbon County that can.

Thanking you for your cooperation, and with best wishes for a Morry “hristmas and
a Healthy, Honpy and Prosperous 1975, I an,

R€spectfully vours,

The Clerk of the Sa rbon County Court,

The Carbon County Court “ouse,
Red Lodge, Montana.

f O%Ger
bu eh Pate oF Pata _
AT SO ear
) _ ; . O nner
fs cla Dobos Januar av MG GF Shot bhillam
Te eid yt de hoais of with Lerriuger fist /
7TH#¢S3E A). on Jeo tean bor /0, /898

and O'Connor Hel Ke
fe How g da q

Occutred at Reel Lye, May tee


- or so, decided to rob the

home the day before and had tried
to get Carlton’s daughter to swear
that he had been present at her birth-
day party, which took place on the
night Paulina Deubbert was mur-
dered.

Carlton didn’t like things like that
and told the sheriff, and the sheriff
looked for Miller’s picture and when
he found it and Carlton took a good
look, the farmer exclaimed: “That's
Dave! That’s my nephew!”

Miller was arrested at the Carl-
ton farm. He told Sheriff Hyde that
Tanner was still in Picher, working
in the mines. Tanner was arrested
there. ;

In St. Charles, Miller denied all
knowledge of the murder of Paulina
Deubbert, and the sheriff and the
district attorney received a setback in
their case when August Meier was
vague in identifying Miller. Meier
claimed it was dark and that he didn’t
get a good look at either man.

But Miller didn’t know of Meier’s
failure to identify him, and when the
district attorney produced the sun-
glasses, Miller broke and confessed

that he had killed Paulina to get
money to make good the checks he
had drawn on Hurt, his employer. He
admitted that he got mixed up with
Edith Case and promised to marry
her and didn't tell her about his wife
and family.

FAck with arrest for the checks
he had drawn, Miller said he re-
membered Paulina Deubbert in the
Femme Osage Hills. He and Tanner
drove down there and put on overalls
to do the job. They didn’t plan to kill
the woman, he said, and wouldn't
have, if she hadn’t started to scream.
Then, after the shooting, they both
got scared and didn’t wait to look for
money. ‘On the path through the
woods, they discarded their overalls,
bandannas, and guns.

The next day Miller retracted his
confession. But, by this time, Sheriff
Grothe had brought Edith Case to St.
Charles. When she heard that Miller
was married, she told . everything.
She said that Miller and Tanner had
told her they were going to the Femme
Osage Hills to get some money from

# Woman, and when they returned the
next day they were nervous and
frightened and afraid of their car,
which they abandoned at Booneville.

When told that Miller had confessed,
young Tanner started to talk. He
described the crime in detail and
promised to take the witness stand.
Because of his testimony, and be-
cause it was obvious that Miller had
planned every detail of the crime,
Tanner _was allowed to plead guilty.
Judge Woolfolk sentenced him to life
imprisonment.

Miller stood _ trial. The jury
promptly brought in a verdict of
murder in the first degree with no
recommendation for leniency. Judge
Woolfolk sentenced him to die by
hanging. Three months later he paid
with his life for the murder of
Paulina Deubbert.

Eprror’s Nore: The names Tom and
Joe Telson and Edith Case as used in
the above true story are fictitious, to
spare embarrassment to innocent per-
sons who had to be questioned by the
authorities. .

DETECTIVE

SHOTGUN TERROR

Continued from page 31

he said, running his fingers nervously
through his hair. “TI can’t imagine who
did it. They were both all right when
I left Saturday about noon. Tony let
me take the car to come up here for
the week end. He came to the barn
door to say good-bye to me, and that’s
the last I saw of him. Mrs. Geisler was
in the house when I left.”

Salisbury motioned to a sedan
parked in the yard. “Is that their
car?” he asked. :
.. Schlaps nodded, and accompanied
the officials outside, where they in-
spected it. There were no bloodstains
in or on it. and no evidence that any.
attempt had been made ‘to clean up
any such blemishes. And when the
sheriff compared the plaster tire
moulds with the rubber on the wheels,
the pattern did not match. |

_ Questioni of Schlaps’ relatives
disclosed that on more

purposes
once even let him. drive it to ‘North

.Dakota to see his

gr. fea
The youth said he spent two hours

wondering now is whether someone

saw him collect the money from those
hogs yesterday morning and, know-:
that he was going awa ard a day
ers,’
““Tt's retty evident they weren't
robbed, isn’t it?” the coroner reminded
his tner, - Bey Se
e sheriff shru ged as he replied:
“It’s gprs the killer got cold feet
rong ‘committed the murders, and

oe With this in mind, Salisbury ques-

' Anton and Lu

tioned Schlaps in detail regarding the
persons who had witnessed the hog-
selling deal and those to whom he had
mentioned his projected trip.

B* the time Sheriff Anderson ar-
rived from Wolf Point, the Sher-
idan County officials had gleaned
some information on this score which
they thought might prove important
Schlaps had named three men who
had’ been present when he had re-
ceived payment for the hogs, and at
least one of these undoubtedly had
heard the ranch hand tell Geisler’s
neighbor: about his planned visit to
relatives.

_. “But Schlaps can’t identify this

person,” Salis told the Roosevelt

County official. “He says he never saw:

the man before.”

Anderson felt that this would bear |

investigation and, after driving back
to the Geisler ranch to view the mur-

‘der scene, he ‘followed the Sheridan

County officials to. Homestead, where
reemerged ‘turned over to:.him the
known facts and evidence in the case

“and Coroner Nelson proceeded with

the autopsies. ~ . : ‘i

The latter’s findings, later that day,
cleared up one vital point in the case.
dmilla Geisler had died
of gunshot wounds and not from
drowning. For no water was found in
their lungs. . eCuaene?

Anderson, meanwhile, had launched

- several lines of inquiry. He first sought

to learn the identity of the stranger of

- whom Schlaps had-spoken. Then, with
the aid of

e Sheridan County au-
thorities, he began a check on the

‘ranch hand’s statement as to his .

whereabouts from noon to 2.0’clock on
the day of the crimé. In addition, ‘he

. attempted to probe the private life of

the lers find out whether re-
a or jealousy could have been a
motive for the crime. "

‘Said to the deputy who was workin
im. “Yo ad! f

.it back to town and try to trace these

‘there, he and his deputy returned to
‘automobile license bureau.
Buick belong

_ There was, too, the matter of the
tire marks along the Little Muddy
River bank, and in order that this clue
might be used to maximum advantage,
Anderson had several sets of the plas-
ter moulds made for distribution to
garages and service stations. “Keep
the pattern of that tread in mind,”
he told the proprietors of these
places. “If ody suspicious drives
in, give the wheels the once-over.”

This angle took an un cted turn
the following morning when a 1922
model Buick touring car was found
abandoned in a clearing near a ee
> ween a few miles outside of Home-
stead, | :

_ Sheriff Anderson, informed of the
discovery, hastened to the lonely, iso-
lated _spot.to examine the car. He
found it listing badly from a flat tire
and observed that the spare tire,
normally carried at the rear of the
vehicle, was missing. But when he
bent down and compared the rear tire
treads with the plaster moulds made
on the Little Muddy River bank, his
heart skipped a beat. The pattern was
identical. “Let’s not waste time,” he

with h u examine the front,
I'll take the back. Then we'll hotfoot

license plates.” -

Not many seconds had Passed before
Anderson had further occasion for ex-
citement. On the floor in front of the.
back seat were discolorations which:he
thought might be blood and, whipping '
out a e, he cut out a piece o
the floor covering to send to the State’s
scientific laboratory. When ‘this had
been accomplished and the sheriff was
certain no other clue was obtainable

Homestead, where he phoned the State

It was quickly ascertained that the
od. to John Quinlan, a.

ee.


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iy you

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"

dd the

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srson’s
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it th

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Geisler car bore no. bloodstains, the

sheriff began to wonder, himself,
whether his suspicions: of the youth
were valid.

This doubt was enhanced a few
hours later, when the laboratory re-

sad vy regarding the bloodstains came
ack.

Discolorations on the wet mop and
on-the floor covering of Quinlan’s car,
as well as stains scraped from the
abesige rail, were declared to be human

blood and of the same. type as Mrs.
‘ Geisler’s. But Quinlan, too, in the face
of this development, continued to pro-
test: his innocence, and, aware’ that
Mrs. Geisler’s. blood was of a com-
mon classification, Anderson realized
gloomily that it would take more than
‘this to implicate the dapper young
man in the crime. . .
Determined to find such evidence, if
it were ages d possible, the sheriff
the next day took several deputies and
drove to the Geisler ranch. “Search
this place inch b:
“If you see any freshly turned earth,
dig it up. If you see a board loose
anywhere, rip it off. If you see some-
thing hitched together with a new
nail, tear it apart. If there’s anything
hidden, around here we're going to

OR several hours Anderson and his
‘& men worked. Finally the sheriff,
noticing some loose earth in. an ob-
secure portion of the barnyard, picked
up a spade and began to dig. In a few
minutes the prongs hit something soft
and spongy. Lifting up a clod of
earth Sheriff Anderson stared in
amazement at a horse blanket, stiff
with blood.

Summoning his aides, he unearthed
two other items—a man’s overalls
and a bloody blue denim work shirt.

Holding the shirt gingerly and
spreading it from shoulder to shoulder
line, Anderson eyed the garment. “It’s
a cinch Quinlan doesn’t wear this kind
of clothes—he’s an office worker,” he
declared. “And besides, they wouldn’t
fit him. Unless I miss my guess, these
belong to Schlaps.” i.

Hurrying back to Wolf Point with
the new evidence, the sheriff notified
District Attorney Hugh Marron, who
arrived at once to participate in the
questioning of the ranch hand.

“Yes, they’re my clothes,” Schlaps
admittedly pa 6 “T got them bloody
butchering the hogs. I was afraid
you’d think it was—Tony’s—blood. So
I buried them. I... didn’t know what
I was doing—it was a shock to find

them murderéd. I . Was just
scared.”

“What about the blanket?” Marron
put in.

“I wrapped the hogs up in that so
they wouldn’t stain the car,” the sus-
pect explained. “That looked guilty
too, so I buried it along with the
clothes.”

It was true that Schlaps had butch-
ered hogs that day, but when the
county authorities, sent the blood-
stained clothes to the laboratory to be
analyzed, they didn’t have much
doubt about what the results would be.

Their suspicions were confirmed 24
hours later. The blood not only was
human, but was of two types—the
same as those of both victims.

Still there was no actual evidence
that Schlaps had fired the shotgun that
killed the newly-married pair. Lack-
ing this, the district attorney and the
sheriff sought to make the suspect
confess.

For days all efforts along this line

inch,” he ordered.

- and the sustaining evidence

pee sige) t SP ys Ee en See Te

failed.’ Many ruses were resorted to
in an effort to establish the still un-.

known motive for the crime.. Schlaps
denied that he had any amorous in-
terest in the pretty bride. Or that he

had had any altercations with his em- |:

ployer that would impel him to seek
revenge. “Tony was good to me,” he
declared.’ “And as for Mrs. Geisler—
‘I liked ‘her, but that was all. I was

not’ interested in her. I was engaged

to a girl in North Dakota.”
Suddenly Anderson seized upon this
information. “We know why you did
it!” he declared. “You wan to get
married. But
money. You
some laid away. And you wanted
their car. But after you’d killed them,
you got scared an
money. You took the car, to establish

an alibi and get away from the place.

That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Yes, that’s right!” Schlaps,
cried in wild agreement. “I did it. I
killed them.” iar

This confession, wrung -from the
suspect on the morning of May 23,
ha repudiated by Schlaps 15 minutes

- Jater..
Nevertheless, on the’ stren of it
e ranch

hand
murder and was brought to trial on
July 8, 1926, in District Court before
Judge S. E. Paul and a jury.

eanwhile, John Quinlan had been
completely exonerated of any com-
plicity in the crime. Schlaps, however,
was adjudged guilty by the jury and
later made a full confession.

“I wanted Tony’s car and money so
I could go to North Dakota and marry
my girl,” he said. ‘On May first, at
noon, I went in the house and picked
up the shotgun. Mrs. Geisler wanted
to know what I was going to do with
it. I said I was going to shoot a coyote
that was in the yard. I went out to
.the barn to where Tony was. I shot
him in the left shoulder. He fell and
tried to get up, and I shot him again.
Then I went to the house and shot
Mrs. Geisler through the window. She
cried, ‘Don’t do it!’ and hid in the
closet. I went in and shot her through
the curtain. I mopped up some blood
from the floor, wrapped the bodies in
a blanket and put them in the car.
Then I started to drive around. Sev-
eral cars passed me, and I thought
they might think the blanket looked
suspicious, so I stopped and un-
wrapped the bodies and propped them
up in a sitting position, Tony in the
front seat, Mrs. Geisler in the back.
Once in a while they would fall over
and I’d have to stop and prop them
up again. Finally, when I got to the
bridge over the river I dumped them
in. I thought they would float away
and nobody would ever find them.
When I went back to the ranch I
buried my clothes and the blanket.”

The youth explained that he had
then been seized with panic and had
left without taking the money.

For the heinous crime to which he
confessed, Ferdinand Schlaps paid the
full penalty. On May 20, 1927, he went
to the gallows, a sentence imposed for
the brutal murder of a young couple,
who, he admitted, had treated him not
as a hired man, but rather as one of
the family, and whom he killed for
the paltry few hundred dollars they
possessed,

Epitor’s Nore: The name John
Quinlan is fictitious, to protect an in-
nocent person involved in the investi-
gation.

Rae prose iplen clon stirbsictil n..» «10 gated

ou didn’t have enough’
ew the Geislers -had |.

didn’t take the

t
was indicted for first-degree |

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"| didn't hate Anton

or his wife. | hated to
kill them. | couldn't stand |
the sight of Ludmilla lying on

the floor, full of blood, her eyes

open, staring at me. She was
so pretty and scared | al-
most didn't kill her....
But I had to do it... .”

ON le «


young man known to indulge in fast
living. Though he had never figured
in court actions beyond two arrests

for driving at high speed on county
highways, he was known to be rather
sharp in business deals and, while not
especially attractive, had won a repu-
tation as a “lady-killer.”

Putting two and two together, An-
derson couldn’t help but wonder
whether Quinlan had not been at-
tracted to Anton Geisler’s pretty
young wife, and whether this might
not be the key to the mystery of the
double murder.

It was some time before the sheriff
and his deputy located the suspect, but
when they did, at a local haberdash-
er’s, he readily admitted ownership
of the abandoned car. “Sure it’s
mine,”. he asserted. “I got stuck there
with a flat.tire..I didn’t have any
spare, because it was being fixed. So
I left it and walked home. What’s
wrong with that?”

Anderson’s eyes flashed, and with a
nod towards the door he motioned
Quinlan outside.

The tall, broad-shouldered, 27-year-
old man-about-town complied with
obvious distaste.

Once inside the county car, how-

ever, Anderson came to the point.

“You've got some explaining to do,
Quinlan,” he said. “And you'd bet-
ter do it fast. Your car is known to
have been driven along the river line
where the bodies of the Geislers were.
found.”

The suspect paled, hesitated, then
replied jerkily: “Sure. There’s no
mystery about that. Me and a dame
parked there Saturday night. How
was I to know two bodies were in the
river?”

“Okay,” responded the sheriff. “Give
us this woman’s name.”

Quinlan stiffened, and bit his lip.

“Well, come on,” Anderson snapped
when the young man failed to reply.
“What’s holding you back? What’s her
name?”

“J don’t remember,” the. suspect
said with finality. “You can take that
or leave it.” oy,

“We're taking you to the Roosevelt
County jail,” the sheriff came back
crisply. “Maybe that will help your
memory.” :

Throughout the trip Quinlan main-
tained a stubborn silence. But when
they reached the sheriff’s office, he
condescended to answer some ques-
-tions: ‘He admitted that he knew Lud-
milla Geisler but denied that ‘he had

ever tried to make'a date with her.:
He denied that he had ever had words:
- with her handsome husband, Tony.

But when searched, he was found to
have more than $150 on his person.
This, plus the fact that he refused to

- name the woman who, he declared,

could substantiate -his alibi-as far as
the tire marks» were concerned,

‘ prompted Anderson to hold ‘the sus-
pect on.an open charge pending fur-

ther investigation.

“What we're interested in now,” the
sheriff told his deputy, “is to find out
exactly where Quinlan was on Satur-
day at the time of the murders.”. :

Anderson assigned.two men to check
up on this, and the stained piece of
floor covering from the Buick was dis-
patched to the State identification
experts. oly

Meanwhile, progress in the case was

hampered by the fact that no clear

fingerprints were found on either, the

‘shot or the wet mop taken from’
the Geisler ranch. ,

By late afternoon, Monday, the un-.

identified man who had been at the
market when Schlaps sold the Geisler
hogs was revealed to have been a vis-
iting relative of a Homestead resi-
dent, and he was quickly absolved of
suspicion when he gave a satisfactory
account of his movements on the day
of the crime.

Schlaps, too, appeared to have told
a straight story about his activities
on that day. For, although it was im-
possible to obtain a minute-by-minute
corroboration of his whereabouts, a
sufficient number of persons had seen
him in and near Homestead during the
questionable hours to warrant belief
in his statement.

Quinlan, on the other hand, didn’t
fare so well. “We found two witnesses
who saw Quinlan’s car cruising along
the road near the Geisler ranch early
Saturday afternoon,” one of Ander-
son’s ee wet 3 reported.

The sheriff came to attention. Had
these individuals noticed anything un-
usual in the car, he wanted to know
—a large, crudely wrapped bundle,
perhaps?

The deputy shook his head., “No.
We asked about that. They hadn’t
noticed anything. But we learned
something else. While Quinlan was
moseying down one of those narrow
roads, a car with North Dakota plates
came roaring along and almost ditched
him.. A witness: says this car must
have been doing sixty miles an hour.
There were two men in it.”

Anderson frowned and sent an of-
ficer to fetch Quinlan.

“You've testified you were not at the
Geisler place on Saturday,” the sher-
iff shot at the suspect when he was
brought into the office. “Now we find
out you were y around there just
about the time the couple was mur-
dered. Maybe you can explain that.”

Sullenly Quinlan replied, “I was

just riding around. I drove by their ©

place, but that doesn’t mean I went in.”

Anderson took another tack. “We
only asked because we thought you
might have seen somebody—or some-
thing suspicious. Like a car in a hurry
to get away.” :

The suspect. brightened. “Oh, yes,”
he said quickly. “I ‘did see something.
A car nearly sideswiped me. near the
ag There were a couple of men
in it.”

The sheriff leaned across the desk.
‘Did you get a look at them?” he
asked i

a
.

plied. “And they looked dark-com-
plexioned. The car-was 4 black Nash
with red trim, and had North Da-
kota plates.” i ,

Anderson left the room and went to
the teletype machine, where he issued
a warning for the authorities in other
counties and neighboring states to be
on the lookout for the Nash, possibly
bloodstained, and carrying one or two
men dressed like cowboys.

“It may be pure fabrication on
Quinlan’s part to.shift suspicion from
himself,” the county official explained
when apprising his deputies of this
move a few minutes later. “But we

can’t afford.to take chances. Right -

now I’m going up to see Schlaps to

find out if the Geislers knew any; such‘

pair from North Dakota.”
AS he drove to the ranch where the

hired man was still visiting, the:

sheriff gg nd this new develo-
ment. He remembered that a thor-
ough investigation of the Geislers’

private affairs had evidenced ng sign.

| hesitated. “I remember |
‘they had on ten-gallon hats,” he re-

that they could have been Iitled) for
revenge or jealousy. No men an-
sweriiyg descriptions of the two in
the Nash had been mentioned in their
connection.

It was with little hope, then, that
he approached Schlaps on the subject
an hour later when he reached his
destinatron,

The youth, in turn, greeted Ander-
son solemnly. But when he heard
about the speeding automobile and the
two occupants of it, his eyes lighted
with interest. “I saw ‘hem, too,” he
declared. “I don’t know whether Tony
knew anybody like that or not-—but |
saw that car when I was on my way
back from butchering the hogs. It was
parked near the ranch.”

The sheriff wasn’t sure, but he
thought he noted something hysteri-
cal in the way Schlaps hastened to
place the Nash at the scene of the
crime.

“Funny you didn’t mention this be-
fore,” he mused. “But I doubt wheth-
er it has any connection with the
crime. A murderer with two bodies in
his car wouldn't be likely to exceed
the speed limit. On the contrary, he’d
probably proceed in such a manner as
to attract the least possible attention.”

The ranch hand became excited.
“But I’m sure they had something to
do with it!” he cried. “I know it!”

Anderson’s pulse quickened. This
was what he had suspected might
happen. Schlaps was frantically sus-
taining the idea of the guilt of two un-
identified men.

_ Now the sheriff jumped at the open-
ing, speaking harshly. ‘You know
something about this crime, Schlaps,”
he said. “And you’d better come clean.
How do you know these men killed
the Geislers? You were supposed to
be in Homestead at the time.”

_ The youth, white-faced now, burst
into an explanation. “I didn’t tell you
before—because I was afraid,” he said
in a voice taut with.emotion. “But I
came back to Tony’s ranch about one

- o'clock Saturday to get something I’d

forgotten. Tony was lying there in the
yard—dead. I rushed into the house
and saw Mrs. Geisler in a pool of
blood. I ran out and got into the car
and started back to town. Then I no-
ticed that North Dakota car I’d seen
parked there before. I followed it, and
it raced ahead of me so fast I couldn’t
‘catch it. I circled around those back
roads and pretty soon I was back at
the ranch again. But this time when I
looked in. at the barn Tony’s body
wasn’t there. I was scared to go in
the house again, but I did. And Mrs.
Geisler was gone!” ae eae
“And you didn’t say a word about
this to us!” Anderson sneered. “And

now you expect. us to believe that

while you. were chasing the killers
they had time to load two bodies and
‘get out of the driveway before you
ck-tracked on them.”
“But it’s -true!” the ranch hand

screamed. “I figured you wouldn’t be-°

lieve me if I told you. I figured you’d

think I killed them,. But nomad

someone else besides me saw that car

: think—maybe—you'll believe what
say.

' “Maybe is right,” Anderson scoffed.

“Come along, dy: We're taking you

‘to jail.” .

“But you can’t say I killed them,”
the youth shrieked. “You can’t!”

“Material witness,” snapped the
sheriff and at this Schiape relaxed

Grilled relentlessly st Andersot's
office, the youth stoutly stuck to his:

story. And remembering that the

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Pictured above in Police Head-
quarters are Mrs. Marie Wagner
and her daughter, Elizabeth, moth-.
er and sister of two men who died
of arsenic poisoning in their food

ITHOUT. a rational motive,

Elizabeth Wagner, 22-year-old

factory girl of Astoria, Queens,
New York, put pinches of rat poison
in orange juice, milk and cookies she
served her brothers for a week. Henry,
21, and Charles, fourteen, both died in
a hospital. To lull their suspicions
when they complained that “things
tasted funny,” she had eaten a little
of the food, became ill, but recovered.
Accused, she entered incoherent de-
nials, then confessed. She said she
‘had nothing against Charles, but
Henry hit me once and knocked out
two front teeth.” The girl seems men-
tally: deficient. She had done so badly
in school that she was taken out, and
for eight months was a patient in an
institution. :

Hearing there’ had been trouble
between. Lee Simpson, 35-year-old
rancher, and an agent. of the Federal
farm loan organization, Deputy Sheriff

Arthur Burford went to investigate

near Lewistown, Montana. A . gun
blazed from the ranch house as he
approached. It became a battle lasting
for: two: hours, with other deputies
participating. Nearly a hundred shots
were exchanged. Burford was killed.
When Simpson surrendered he con-
fessed the original “trouble” had been
a double murder by himself. He had
shot Robert McDonald,, 22, and his
brother Jerry, eighteen. Their bodies
were found in a shallow grave on the
premises. The rancher refused to ex-
plain why he had killed them.

In Hoboken, New Jersey, a barrel
that had stood unheeded for two days
in a vacant lot was found to. contain
the body of a man immersed in water.
He had been hacked about the head
eight times with a hatchet. The top
of the. barrel had been covered with
heavy canvas over which a hoop had
been forced. Identification was ham-
pered by the fact that all laundry
marks and manufacturers’ tags had
been cut from the clothing. The vic-
tim looked like an Italian, and was
apparently about 30 years old.

The December-May marriage of the
W. H. Reeses, he 74 and she nineteen,
ended, after-eighteen months, in mur-
der and suicide at .Whitesburg, Ten-
nessee.-In the meantime three attempts
at divorce had failed. Reese is be-
lieved to have shot his wife, wounded

from: the dark her brother, Clabb-

White, and then killed. himself >. .

Another bride of nineteen, Loretta...

92 the CRIM
SPOTLIGHT

Latest Sensations in the Crime Whirl—
and What the Law Is Doing About Them

Babcock, was arraigned in Tonawanda,
New York, on a charge of murdering
her husband, Ronald, 26. The man had
been found shot to death and a certi-
ficate of suicide issued. Then the case
was reopened on the strength of an
anonymous letter to the police. Mrs.
Babcock pleaded not guilty.

The most sensational art robbery
since the Mona Lisa was stolen’ from
the Louvre in 1911 took place in En-
gland. Five old masters, valued at
$500,000, were removed from the sev-
enteenth century castle belonging to
the famous collector, Sir Edmund
Davis. The robbers passed up a South
American idol of solid gold, evidently
supposing it to be brass.

Victor Odell Hardley, 31, a bandit
serving a fifteen-year term, was slain
by a posse while attempting to break
through the woods near Parchman,
Mississippi, after escaping from a
prison camp.

In Birmingham, Alabama, Mrs.
Georgia Hollingsworth took the law
into her own hands and shot dead
Jesse Randolph, 22, annoyer of several
girls who lived in her house. He had
attempted several times to gain en-
trance and had been warned away.
Then, as he lurked in the doorway,
Mrs. Hollingsworth fired seven times
through the screen, drilling his chest.

ECAUSE her husband, father of
seven by a previous marriage, would
not allow her to leave him, Mary Eliza-
beth Simon loosed a fatal shotgun blast
at Cyprien Simon, 46, near Crowley,
Louisiana. She is being held pending
an inquiry ... Following a row arising
over the sale of axe handles,-C. L.

Henry Wagner, at right, and his
brother Charles died in a'New York
hospital in mysterious poison -¢ase

Griffin, 66-year-old blacksmith of Flo-
maton, Alabama, shot and killed his
helper, Dave Johnson. He said it was
in self-defense, that: Johnson had struck
him twice over the head with a walk-
ing stick . . . Near St. Petersburg,
Florida, Captain J. T. Truesdale, a
fishing guide, scrapped with his son,
Joe, shot him in the knee, then slew
Joe’s wife, Dorothy, 28, when she ran
to investigate. Conscience-stricken, he
ended by taking his own life.

“I’m glad they caught me before I
done any more. I’m ready for the hot
spot,” announced Norman Smith, 21,
moron farmhand. He had wiped out
the Henry Baumeister family of three

Mrs. Olga Nowlin weeps after
viewing the body of her husband,
whom she shot three times after
he slapped her when they quar-
reled because of his drinking

e

at North Lima, Ohio, but could give no
convincing reason for his act. His
arrest came four months after the
murders.

His head, face and shoulders bru-
tally bludgeoned, the body of Herman
Hecht, 75, proprietor of a Jewish cere-
monial bathhouse, was found in the
hallway of his apartment in Brooklyn,
New York. His rooms had been rifled,
leading police to believe he had been
slain by a robber he had surprised
there.

Because he slapped her during a
quarrel over his drinking, Mrs. Olga
Nowlin of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
mortally shot her husband, Claude, 57.

Crazed by jealousy, Luther McNeely,
23, of Lafollette, Tennessee, invaded
the home of Mrs. Hazel Arnett, 35 and
a widow, ordered four guests to leave.
Then he shot the woman in the pres-
ence of her two small children and
wounded himself fatally ... Also in
Tennessee the unidentified body of a
woman who had been dead for months
was located on Mount Leconte, Smoky
Mountains National Park. Decomposi-
tion made it impossible to tell whether
there had been foul play or not.

S THEY were entering a restaurant

in Delaware, Ohio, Betty Kerr,
21, and her escort, Charles Hopkins,
20, were confronted by a stranger who
forced them back at the point of a gun
into their automobile. The abductor
drove them 20 miles, ditched Hopkins
and sped away with the girl. Cornered
at an intersection by State troopers,
he jumped from the car and escaped,
leaving Miss Kerr unharmed.

A free-for-all barroom brawl in
Dallas, Texas, left Oscar Bargfeld,
nineteen, dead on the floor. A waiter,
C. W. Musselwhite, 40, said he shot the
boy in self-defense ... The fortnight’s
oddest ransom racket developed in a
Kansas City, Missouri, saloon. Ernest
de Moss, nineteen, snatched the false
teeth from the mouth of Wallace
Boone, 60, notified him later that he
could get them back for $75. De Moss
was arrested.

Mrs. Cora Hebner, 50, of Pocahontas,
Arkansas, suspected of murdering her
invalid husband, committed suicide by
taking poison in her cell. She left a
note beginning: “I did not kill Will
Hebner. He is still alive—” and con-
taining the claim that he himself had
brought the poison to her in jail “one
dark and stormy night.”

37

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where his other two boys were working,
“Haven’t seen ’em in more’n a week,” he
‘explained. “I’d like to see how they’re
getting along.” ; |

“Sure, hop in,” said Biggerstaft.

Old McDonald brought along his rifle,
hoping to get a shot at a coyote ora prairie
chicken. He was puzzled when they were
unable to locate either of his sons at the
Twin Coulée. He and Richard stayed in
the car and rode with their visitors to the
Sahara.

Meanwhile, Simpson had been brooding
about the outcome of the count. He won-

dered if his swelling herds would excite
} suspicions. “Reckon I ought to. kill both
of them hombres,” he meditated. On
second thought, he decided to let their
\ attitude determine their fate.

A fine rain was drizzling from a leaden
sky when the car pulled up to his front
gate at noon. His jaw dropped when he
. saw that old man McDonald and his boy
were with the two men. |

“Now what’s up?” he asked himself
| nervously. . \|

& WHEN HE saw McDonald climb from

fears were confirmed. Imagining that the
old man had learned that his sons were
murdered, the rancher snatched up his
own rifle and a steady forefinger caressed
the trigger. ii
As the four men passed through the
front gate and started up the walk toward
the house, he suddenly jerked open the
door and raised the rifle to his shoulder.
“Don’t. come any closer, boys,” : he
\ warned. “I don’t like the looks of this,”
\ The men. stopped in ‘their tracks and
stared incredulously at the rancher. —
“What are you up to, Simpson?” asked
the amazed association manager.
\“What the devil are you up to?” the
Pen flashed back. ‘Looks like you came
1 here to. make trouble’ for me instead
geryying to: help like you’re supposed

ggerstaff was. so astounded that he
end make no comment. .

impson’s next words were addressed
co McDonald. “What are you doing with
that rifle?” he snapped.

The perplexed old man explained that
he was merely bringing it in the house so
it wouldn’t get wet, but this explanation
did not satisfy Simpson.

“Why didn't you leave it in the car?”

“Figured these men would be going to

-yn soon,” McDonald drawled, eyeing

al -irate rancher with bewilderment.

iy,” he asked suddenly, “where’s my
tvs, Robert and Gerald?”

“That's what I'd like to know,” Simpson
| in éwered sarcastically. “They’re missing,
2 thes all. Right at the same time some of
b € stock is missing. Looks kinda funny,
eto n't it?”

incy” Ifthe old herder was stunned. “You can’t
surchas*\y that about my boys!” he cried angrily.
ng abou'“Quijet,” Biggerstaff whispered to the
ds on ™hq man. “You're only riling his temper.
them, “bYet’s get out of here.” He turned to go.
oe. S| simpson stopped him with a bullet that

in aMpished uncomfortably close to his hat.
ley, old woman,” he called into the

” mepuse His wife’s terrified face appeared
the doorway. “Go out and search that

%y he instructed her. “Those rascals

Aight be stealing cow hides or something

‘se for all I know.”

Without a word, the woman ran obedi-

ently to the car. examined the inside, then
called back, “Don't see anything wrong,
Lee.”

The thief’s brain was working fast.
Should he let them go, or should he drop

them on the spot? No, he couldn't kill
them now, he reflected, otherwise there
would be no one to spread the word that
the two McDonald boys were missing and

jung, 1942

the car with rifle in hand, his worst .

suspected of stealing from.him before
their get-away.

“All right,” he shouted. “Get going, you
whining whelps, or Ill hurry you along
with a hunk of lead.”

The visitors clambered into the ma-
chine and raced away. An hour later they
were in the office of County Attorney Nat
Allen, in Ryegate, indignantly relating
their hair-raising experience.

“The man’s insane, Allen, positively in-
sane,” declared Biggerstaff hotly. “T in-
sist that you lock him up as a lunatic.”

“I can’t agree with you,” retorted the
Prosecutor. “I talked with him only a
few days ago, and I assure you he was
quite sane.”

“Then why in thunder—”

“A man’s home is his castle,” the At-
torney continued. “If he didn’t want you
on his premises, I suppose he had a perfect
right to run you off. Besides, if the two
McDonald boys are missing, how do you
know that they haven’t raided his herds
just as he suspects?” f

Old McDonald had remained silent until

TO NEWSPAPERMEN,
POLICE OFFICIALS
AND DETECTIVES

—if you have in mind any fact case,
with actual photographs, deemed
suitable for publication in this mag-.
azine, please address the Editor,
TRUE DETECTIVE, Bartholomew.
Building, 205 East 42nd Street, New

York, and ask for our “Letter of °

Suggestions,” covering full informa-
tion relative to writing the accounts
of fact crime cases for this magazine.

now. His dimmed eyes became bright as
he said earnestly, “Mr. Allen, them boys
never stole anything in their lives.”

“T insist that insanity is the only ex-
planation for his attitude,” the association
manager repeated. “Imagine, calling us
out there to investigate shortages when,
actually, his herds have grown larger.”

His words struck Allen like a bomb-
shell. “What? You mean his herds were
larger than when you made the last
count?” he asked quickly.

“Absolutely!”

Allen tapped his desk in a meditative
mood. “I think I’m beginning to see light,”
he said finally. “Your discovery fits per-
fectly with a theory of my own.”

Ever since Simpson’s visit to his office,
he had been puzzled. Now he felt that
the man’s persecution complex was ex-
plained by a guilty conscience, for his
over-sized herds might mean that he was
the rustler who had victimized Golden
Valley over the years. Anyway, this
hunch was worth investigating.

“Will you sign an insanity complaint?”
the Prosecutor asked.

The question made Biggerstaff thought-
ful. He knew Simpson was an influential
man: it wouldn't do to tangle with him
legally unless he knew exactly where he
stood. Tle called his attorney. The at-
torney advised him that it would be un-
wise to sign such a complaint.

Allen was disappointed. Another idea
struck him. “You’re on safe enough ground
if you demand protection for these two
herders,” he suggested.

“That's right,” agreed Biggerstaff. “And

I do make that demand here and now.”
Allen swung to his phone and called
Sheriff Dolve, who had gone to Roundup
that day on business. Later in the after-
noon they met at Lavina, seventeen miles
east of Ryegate, and proceeded north to-
ward the Sahara ranch. They were ac-
companied by Undersheriff Burford.

“What's up, Allen?” the Sheriff inquired.

The Prosecutor unfolded his theory that
Simpson might be the daring rustler who
had terrorized Golden Valley for a decade,
that perhaps he was continually complain-
ing to the authorities about losses only to
divert suspicion from himself.
“Considering what's happened, that
sounds plausible enough,” said Dolve.
“We'll tear that ranch apart until we find
out, one way or another.”

As they neared the Sahara, he noticed.
that the attorney was unarmed and that
fact made him feel uneasy. At the Wesley,
Johnson ranch, two miles short of their
destination, he stopped the car. .—..

“Better get out here, Allen, and wait for.
us,” he said. ; >?

“Yes, but—”

“But you’re not~ armed,” ‘the Sheriff
finished tersely. “Can't tell, there might
be trouble. Especially if. your hunch, is:
right.” A ; Phot
_ Dolve and his deputy = continued. on:
alone. é app Ses

Lee Simpson, in the .meantime;>-had:
oiled up his rifle and two six-guns_ and
was nervously pacing the floor. He ob-;
served it was getting late in the afternoon,
nearly four o’clock. He had expected the,
Sheriff to make an appearance long ‘be-,
fore now. . _.. .. Fes ann is poe ere

Impatient for action, he decided -to- go.
upstairs where it would. be: possible to
cover the entire front yard from an.
extremely advantageous: position. He
mounted the bare stairway of his big stone
h Shiggty

i

ouse... : p ory
A chill suddenly seized him .when_ he
looked out of the upstairs. window. The
Sheriff’s car was standing at the gate. He
and his deputy were already halfway to
the house! sis fon? ct

The frenzied killer smashed the window.
pane with the end of his rifle, took hurried)
aim and fired. The blast ripped through
Dolve’s coat and whirled him off-balance.
Instantly he leaped to his feet and dashed
toward the corner of the house.

™@ DEPUTY BURFORD, who had been a

couple of paces behind the Sheriff, fired
two shots from: the hip, shattering more
glass from the window. This speedy action
probably saved Dolve’s life. Simpson had
a bead on the officer as he raced for cover,

' put splintering glass from Burford’s light-

ning shots exploded in his face and he
missed his mark.

Burford barricaded himself behind the
car while Dolve sprinted to a tool shed
twenty-five yards from the house. Now
the house was covered from two sides.

Simpson chuckled grimly as he dashed
downstairs. He knew he had a tremen-
dous advantage over the officers, for their
pistols were virtually useless, against his
high-powered rifle. He could cut the car
and the shed to pieces with hard-hitting
slugs, while the stone house would make
his own position almost invulnerable.

He planted his stocky figure in the mid-
dle of the front room. Through two
separate windows he now commanded a
view of the positions held by each officer.
Calmly he opened fire on Burford. Five

times his well-aimed shots splattered into
the machine with a metallic clang.

The courageous deputy returned the
fire, blasting the front window until only
a few fragments of glass remained intact.

For sixty thundering seconds there was
a blistering exchange of shots. Suddenly
Burford reeled and fell. His hands became

81

Ny

uae 5


wet with blood as he ¢lutched a burning
wound in his side. Before he could move,
another slug ripped through his left leg.
He heard the bone snap like a dry, brittle
twig.

’ Painfully, he inched along the ground to
a position directly behind the rear wheels,
Faint from loss of blood, he raised his
pistol with steely determination to con-
tinue the fight. A rifle ball smashed
through his forearm; left the pistol dan-
gling.

He picked up the weapon in his other
hand but lost consciousness before ,he
could use it. Another deadly shot had
found its mark, this time in his spine,
snapping it in two.

During the terrible two ‘hours that fol-

’ lowed, the blood-thirsty assassin literally

riddled the brave deputy with bullets.

Sheriff Dolve felt powerless to resist
this ghastly mutilation. From the be-
ginning of the gun battle, he had kept a
steady hail of lead streaming through the
side window but Simpson wisely kept well
out of the line of fire.

@ SEVERAL TIMES he tried to rush the

house from different points, but each
time he was turned back with shots that
pierced his clothing. He finally concluded
it was nothing less than foolhardy suicide
to rush the slayer in his impregnable
fortress of stone.

After the deputy’s gun was silenced, the
slayer turned his entire attention.to deal-
ing the Sheriff the same dose of lead. He
bombarded the tool shed until it threat-
ened to collapse. Dust rose from the ram-
shackle structure as if the wind were
blowing through it.

Dolve played a guessing game, dodging
bullets. Peering through cracks in the
building, he fired whenever he caught a
glimpse of the killer’s moon-like face
above the edge of the window-sill.. But
the target was too far away for accurate
shots.

He had still another disadvantage. The
stone wall stopped his bullets while the
thin board wall of the shed stopped noth-
ing. Slugs whined through, in one side,

, out the other.

- Eventually, Dolve realized, a lucky shot
would get him. He glanced about for a

-more secure position. Behind the shed,

less than a hundred yards distant, he ob-
served a rocky point jutting approximately
twenty feet into the sky. He made a dash
for it with bullets nipping at his heels all
the way. ;
‘Simpson followed. to the shed. The gun
battle raged for another hour. Observ-
ing that he was running short of ammuni-
tion, Dolve used his shots sparingly.
“When: darkness comes it will -be an

even fight,” he meditated grimly, glanc--

ing about at the thickening shadows. “My
Pistol at close range will be just as effec-
tive as ‘his rifle.” ;

The cunning rancher evidently antici-
pated this strategy. Twice in swift succes-
sion he rushed the rocky point. In turn-
ing back the madman, Dolve emptied his
pistol three times, using his last shot.
There was nothing to do but retreat.

Cursing his luck, he raced toward the
Johnson ranch. Simpson followed for
three hundred yards, firing as he ran, but
his shots went wild; it was too dark to see
gun sights plainly. Besides, he was easily
outdistanced. He turned back.

. Fifteen minutes later, the Sheriff burst
into the Johnson ranch-house with news
of the fragic gun battle. Within another
half-hour he had organized a posse of
twenty hard-featured ranchers. Swiftly
they sped to the Sahara ranch.

- Dolve’s orders were blunt: “Take no
chances, men. Shoot to kill!”

They met an unexpected surprise. No
one was at the ranch. The killer had fled

82

in his pickup truck. Evidently he had also
taken his wife with him.

Poor Burford was dead. The angered
possemen counted twenty-two bullet holes
in his bleeding body. What infuriated
them most was a shot through his Stetson
that had pierced his brain. The mark
carried severe powder burns, indicating
that it had been deliberately fired by
planting the muzzle of a gun against his
head!

“I know now that your hunch was right,”
Dolve told the Prosecutor. “Simpson was
afraid of the association men’s, count. And
he was afraid of old man McDonald.
Why?” He answered his own question,
slowly and with studied deliberation.
“There could be only one reason for fear-
ing an old man like McDonald. The two
McDonald boys were missing. I think
that Simpson killed them. Why, only God
knows.” I}

“I have it,” cried Allen. “If he was a
thief, he probably figured they knew too
much!”

“Exactly,” exclaimed Dolve. | “Now the
attack on Burford and me is beginning to
make sense. He was afraid of the old man
because he thought he’d found out about
the murders. And he gunned for us be-
cause he thought we'd come to arrest him,
for murder.”

“Your theory fits like a glove,” agreed
the Presecutor.

Convinced now that the two young cow-
boys had been slain, the determined
Sheriff gathered up what lanterns he could
find and began searching for clues to the
crime. He was certain the killer would
not get far away. There was plenty of
time to trail him down, later, | :

M@ MEANWHILE, AS Simpson fled from
the Sahara with his panic-stricken
mate, doubts began tormenting him. He

_ Sped to the desolate, rocky cliff near

Roundup and discovered to his amaze-
ment that the bodies of his first two
victims had not been touched. |

Suddenly he realized that he was a fool
and, like a plunging gambler, had over-
played a poor hand of cards, But, as usual,
his ready wits came to his aid.

“Why should anyone ever find out about
these murders?” he asked himself confi-
dently. “They can’t pin anything on me.

‘Not a thing.”

As for the killing of Burford, he felt cer-
tain he could prove it was self-defense.
He would maintain that the association
men, in cahoots with a clique of Golden

Valley ranchers and “Rat” Dolve, were -

attempting to frame him and send him to
prison. His alibi for killing Burford would
be that the officers had opened fire first,
that he had returned the fire in self-
defense.

He raced seventy-five miles northwest
to Lewistown, the seat of Fergus County.
After threatening his wife to silence and
releasing her, he walked calmly into the
office of Sheriff Guy Tullock. Glibly he
told of the frame-up, told of the McDonald
boys’ thefts and their escape; told how, to
save his own life, it had been necessary
to shoot down an officer. :

Sheriff Tullock sent a deputy speeding
for Dolve. Then, for four long hours, he
listened patiently to elaborate details of
the “‘frame-up.” At last Dolve came.

“Frame-up!” he exploded. “Your lying
won’t do a bit of good, Simpson.”

He opened a paper-wrapped bundle and
spread its contents. The killer’s bulging
eyes fell upon the charred remains of two
Stetson hats, two shirts and two pairs of
Levis. His face paled and perspiration
dripped from his shaggy brows.

“There’s positive evidence,” continued
Dolve sternly, “that you killed Robert
and Gerald McDonald.”

The slayer glanced up. His eyes darted

back and forth, as if searching for escape.
.But there was no way out.

“You’ve got the goods on me, Dolve,”
he croaked finally, Though husky with
emotion, his high-pitched voice squeaked
like a machine that needed oiling. “Yes,I
killed them—the dirty little rats!” he con-
tinued without remorse. “They were in
on the frame-up, too. Only they. didn’t
want to send me to the pen, like the others.
They wanted to kill me.”

After describing where the corpses were
hidden, he explained that one youth had
attacked him with an axe, the other with
a rifle; that on both occasions he had
fought back in self-defense “until they
got a dose of their own medicine.”

Dolve felt certain the prisoner was
lying. Later his conviction was borne out
when he discovered that Robert McDonald
had been shot in the back and that his
brother had been axed from behind.

“I suppose the murder of my deputy
was self-defense, too,” he flung at the
assassin. :

Simpson shrugged hopefully. “Sure,” he
said quickly. “You know a man’s wife
can’t testify against him.” He smirked.

. “So—it’s my word against yours,”

“Hardly,” snapped the Sheriff, He pulled
a crumpled hat from his pocket—a hat
pierced by a blast that had left conspicu-
ous powder marks. “The shot that killed
my deputy,” he added in a deadly tone,
“was fired from a distance of not over six
inches. Get that? Six inches. A de-
liberate shot to finish him off!”

Confronted with this damning evidence,
the prisoner made no comment. Later in
the day when he was searched they dis-
covered the two death lists concealed in
his pockets, another bit of damning evi-
dence he had forgotten to destroy. The
callous assassin admitted that he intended
to kill every person on both lists, but he
steadfastly refused to enlarge upon that
simple admission other than to state,
“They all were trying to frame me.”

He must have known that his naive
story about the “frame-up” and his “self-
defense” alibis would not hold up in court;
for, when he was returned to Ryegate a
few days later, he attempted suicide by
slashing his wrists with a razor blade.
Ironically, one of the wounds became in-
fected and the slayer’s life was saved only
by amputating his right arm at the elbow.

@ FIVE MONTHS later he went on trial

for his life in Judge William J. Ford’s
district court in Ryegate, charged specifi-
cally with the first-degree murder of
Undersheriff Burford. Over vigorous ob-
jection of defense counsel, Prosecutor
Allen succeeded in introducing complete
testimony concerning three other cases to
establish motive. They were the Gibbs colt
case, the Harmon-Dunwald calf-butcher-
ing case, and the McDonald brothers
murder case.

This testimony, coupled with Sheriff
Dolve’s account of the gun battle, snapped

- the killer’s last shred of hope. On Sep-
tember 23rd, 1938, the jury found him
guilty and Judge Ford promptly sentenced
him to die on the gallows.

An appeal to the Montana Supreme
Court only delayed the execution. In
summing up the evidence, that august
body declared: “The defendant’s attitude
which led to his crime may be described

‘as akin to the old proverb: ‘The guilty
fleeth when no man pursueth’,”

On December 30th, 1939, he was hanged
on gallows erected in the courthouse yard
in Ryegate. Sheriff Dolve, the “No. 1” vic-
tim on his death list, sprung the trap.

Everyone in’ Golden Valley—particu-
larly ‘teen living persons who had
been merked for death—breathed easier.
The thieving monster who had troubled

them ‘hrough the years had met his doom. |

TRUE DETECTIVE

t

'
t


<2

WALSH, Roy, white, hanged Boulder, MT on February 15, 1925.

eo ew le

Following the clues of
a red mackinaw, a
Montana sheriff
tracked down a ruth-
less gunman, who
stole only one make of
automobile, to solve a
baffling northwest
murder mystery.

Here is the inside story
of the case, told by the
officer who directed
the investigation and
trapped the swagger-
ing bandit-killer who
boasted that no jail
could hold him, that
he would never swing
on the gallows.

»>
John W. Mountjoy, co-author of this
story, was sheriff at Boulder at the time
of the Johnson murder. He took charge
of the case and trailed the killer across
many states before the case was closed.

By Former Sheriff —

JOHN W.
MOUNTJOY

of Jefferson County, Montana
As Told To
SI STODDARD

L JOHNSON, veteran Renova,
A Mont., merchant, locked the front
door of his store and blew out the
light. A half-hour later, as he checked
over the day’s receipts in the living quar-
ters adjoining the store, there was a
knock at the side door. Thinking it was
a belated customer, he went to investi-
gate. But, being a cautious man, he did
not throw the door wide open.
Peering through the narrow crack into

the night, he saw a large man wearing I was informed of the shooting shortly trace of footprints or other clues the cient
a mask and carrying a rifle. Johnson after midnight, at Boulder, the county _ prowler may have left. The
slammed the door and bolted it. And seat, and immediately telephoned officers Knight and I started questioning the well
at that moment the evening’s silence was in the neighboring towns to be on the villagers. Several had heard the report casin
shattered by the crack of a rifle shot and —_Jookout for suspicious looking motorists. of the gun but thought nothing of it. he ce:
a bullet crashed through the panel. As Then, with Under-sheriff Let Knight, I | One woman, however, recalled that im- Dele
the storekeeper reeled backward, with a started for Renova. mediately after being startled by the tinue t
jagged wound in his neck, he heard the Scores of men were milling about shot she had heard the sound of a running and I
sound of running feet. : when we reached the scene of the crime. | motor. This information caused me to the lar
Seriously wounded, he dragged him- The entire community was aroused toa examine the roadway in front of the main
self to the home of O. W. Severtson, a frenzy, as Johnson, in addition to being store. Tire tracks on a machine that sected
neighbor, where he collapsed. A phy- one of its prominent citizens, was re- evidently had been there only a few hours Highy
sician was summoned from Whitehall, garded as a hero, due to several acts before were noticeable. It was evident the di:
seven miles distant, and a hasty exami- of personal valor performed in line of — they had not been made by a passing exami!
54 STARTLING DETECTIVE ADV!

Ho
Tra

It was this little general store at
Renova, Mont., that Al Johnson
operated at the time he fell victim
to the mysterious masked gunman.

ped

Montana’s
BOASTING

nation showed that a delicate operation
was imperative. The wounded man was
rushed to Butte, 33 miles west over the
Continental Divide,

STARTLING DETECTIVE,
January, 1936

duty while serving in the army during
the Philippine Insurrection. In their de-
sire to be of service they had passed in
and out of the store and obliterated all


Toursday, March 20,1975 Page 6

EPILOGUE TO THE STORY OF
ROY WALSH
Fifty years ago the Roy Walsh
story was the news of the day---
today it is History. The 1920’s
were Violent Years. Prohibition
was the downfall of many youths,
but remember Roy said he did —
not drink. America has grown up
-and become a great nation in spite .
of the yiolence of discovery, set-
* tlement, gold rushes, cattle rust= *

normally and then rapidly de-—

old--it’s Roy’s last day on earth.

Le Ne Wi
ie: : A dean a bea aad lers, fast-gun men of the West,
x ~~ Hugh D, Mosier : the Vigilantes of Montana, and the
{ se © violent years of prohibition. We

= Hee Driftwood From The Jefferson” ser 6) tatne ak Lsesngy-n Soe
3 ti Bee: f in Montana, several young menare -
4 The W waiting trial and sentence for

t ee Story of Roy alsh ara iat st POD crimes such as Roy Walshcommi-
= PART 4- CONCLUSION... ~ sy Sake’ tted. ie ace

e. - ici Sie ee ce) But this is the story of Roy
= : é W Walsh who was hanged on St. ©
é ‘ The Execution of Roy alsh valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1925.

BOULDER, MONTANA--FEBRU- death pit, the youth’s pulse beat St. Valentine’s Day is one hour ear aen oe Wrst - ou : em aaa Walaik

Somewhere in this’thicket of grease wood and wild rose bushes ©

Pte ary 14, 1925
4 - (gT. VALENTINE’S DAY) Oe antehed, Hig neck was broken in. The clock is ticking swey Bis last :
% ROY WALSH EXECUTED! _the drop. ; moments. A last few words with is the grave of Roy Walsh, This old cemetery 1s located at the old
- PAYS PENALTY ON GALLO ws Shortly before midnight Walsh Sheriff Mountjoy--an orange--a Jefferson County Poor Farm. (Now the John Heide ranch south of
3 eae MOSDER OF Ati SONS Gene Tented DF cceveny) Oem short walk to the east door of the Boulder.) Pid “4
" 3 » Roy Walsh, convicted slayer of paper men to whom he declared old jail in Boulder, Montana-~built Trip to old cemetery courtesy of George Paradise and his 4-wheel —
ES - atbert Johnson, Renova stores aeteat he did not fire the fatal shot in 1885--up the few steps to the drive Chevy. Old POOR Farm on ridge in center background. ‘
ee keeper, paid the penalty for the that killed Johnson. He claimed gallows, last used in Bozeman, ara i a (Photo by Driftwood) _ i
at crime on the gallows at Boulder, he was framed. Montana, and which was tobecome ihe Reva Mere
| | & ede Montana, Feb. 14, 1925. The exe- Rev. E.C, Smith, pastor of the known as the ‘galloping gallows’ training and education, an excell- -
| ms - eution of: Walsh ended the. final Methodist church, and Rev,Father because {t was moved from one 41 mechanical engineer -
Re chapter of one of the most not- Franchi, of the Catholic church, hanging to the next one. Sats Driftwood wishes to thank the ‘i feobiagshall ° i
; 4 able murder cases in the history were with the condemmed man The clock is still ticking. ‘Time Sheriff’s office and George Para- J E RR Y s i
eg j of Jefferson county. during the evening, and Rev.Smith _ and Tide wait for no man’ It is  qice for their help in obtaining pic- ; ¥ aiid Be
2 St a eeiely atver-one o'clock sheritt remained with him until slorSy almost 1/42 A.M, St. Valentine's tyres and information about Roy. | eee behora |
4 cd John Mountjoy and Deputy Sheriff before the end. Morgan Johnson, Day, 1925.The cross -beamisover- waish,, CORNE RR.
- iiigota:: Williams,” Jetterson: County brother, ofthe sium man) Nee head, the rope and noose hang you have just read DRIFTWOOD sa iy
 otticers, Sheritt Smith of Gallatin among the thirty whe witnessed ready beside him, as he speaks wo, 74, Next- BacktoHistorytales penne Ep sedi
3 y< County and Sheriff Robinson of _ the execution. Most of the visitors his last few words. Sheriff Mount- o¢ whitehall and some Old-Timer (a hate
| Silver Bow County went to the were sheriffs from other counties Joy adjusts the noose around his ‘pajes, Thanks for your time-- JERRY FASSO, Prop.’
Be ~~ eondemmed man’s cell to prepare and NEWSPAPER men. neck--he smiles, faintly. The - Good Luck ene INN tO oe ee al :
“Wim for the ordeal. ists ~~ Walsh refused proffered stimu- small crowd is hushed and som- ‘ Past cask i ge Gti Wa oe Lae Be
“sere Straps were adjusted about his lants. Dr, George Rutledge of ber--they have come by invitation Seat Te ‘3 2535 So. Main, BUTTE
<p, arms, Walsh was eating an orange Boulder Hot. Springs, and Dr, = to see Roy Walsh die. Many are “* ~~ ‘ So-long for now gna g. oft ae AE
and ‘continued as they prepared Rainville of Boulder were the law officers and newspaper’ men. 2 ifn
the straps, << Pexaadaatet eee official - physicians..When offered "It is 1/42 A.M. A signal from *y DRIFTWOOD ie ae
“2. Well, Roy, have you written stimulants, Walsh refused, saying - the sheriff and the unknown hang- ~ caer j ite ed
alt the letters you want to??? “To hell with that stuff, I don’t- man activates a device that pulls 2 : :
{cask the sheriff.. ‘1 think so, need it.’”’ 3 the pin in the trap door of the ° - si ue 3 i rig
=, John,’? was Walsh’s reply. ‘Tell Walsh left a final statement gallows floor. S-L-A-M! Like Lee 8 Car P ets neh N ates
? the girls many thanks for the in part as follows- “This is the . someone shutting a door real hard. : : ie ; OTI CE (
-- ‘ples and cakes.’? “All right, Roy,’? end. I’m dying with a smile, so There is a C-R-U-N-C-H! as his Simmens ‘Beauty Rest’ hone Py: : ee Aa
Mountjoy replied, as he opened good-bye to the world. Any young body comes to the end of the rope. Kroehler - Tempo erie 2 i
°° the door preparatory to the march folks in existence today had better Like dropping @ sack-of coal on a . THE BRAND NAME New Phone No.»
to the scaffold, When asked by look to this for advise..I have been cement floor, and Roy, Walsh dis- FURNITURZ DEALER PASAGE LOTR Me per a
Sheriff Mountjoy if he wanted out in the world for myself since appeares from sight below the vy! FOR HOME AND ©
. to say anything on the lows, I Was nine years old, with no floor of the gallows. ‘An eye for an : FEET Bist anit a ae
ze Walsh Lene “well, er might Mother or Father tocare for me, eye and @ tooth for a tooth’--- » BOULDER SERVICE:
; say farewell to ‘em.’ and if I haven’t got real experi- death for a young man age 24yecrrs. at © CENTER IS :
ay The condemmed man was ac- ence from 9 to 24 years of age, I know how it sounds and have ex- Stare £4 Sa ‘is 2%
a = companied on the walk to the there is no such thing... « perienced the tense emotion and ; } Hat feinas) sce i
. scaffold by the three count ¢q have never used tobacco, feelings at a hanging. I have wit- : EOE f Ee a
a sheriffs. After the straps pean liquor or drugs in my life, but it nessed two hangings in Montanaon ~.’ 15 E, Park Plaza , Butte (225-3968 Pa
a adjusted about the prisoner’s is not netessary and anyone has the ‘galloping gallows’ by invita- . mc ee
Z ankles.and knees he said, “Well, the same opportunity. What I know tion of the sheriff of Yellowstone +: shea
‘ - ; gentlemen, I’m leaving you now- I have got from experience.” County. I was teaching school in
werave notidng against nobody, tm « Walsh wrote an eulogy on the Nora, Billings at the tme and working SRE uence aa a
saying good-bye’ to the world,1. ; ‘the true triend a mankind’, His with the Police and Sheriffs of ig dla Vesey “
e hope they prosper.’? Walsh’s face statement then continued. fices with my special work with ) A n n @) U rn <r’ in Gg
: _ showed a slight smile as Sheriff ‘"™t is my advise to all young wayward boys. Sometime I will . :
’ Mountjoy adjusted the noose. A fellows who are free that if you tell you about oa ACR is if Aa: poem oY aie: eke ;
signal from the sheriff.and the value your liberty and want to you care to hear an ey¥- tness a . oe
ve aii condemmed man paid the penalty- ‘remain so, just be true and,hon- account of how it feels to seemen F ladaindi meses clogit gine pas’ 1 etree ee tay
See for his crime. CStrecseeeseveeedecause if you don’t die at the end of a rope. The arti- ff : ¥ F M Bs tehEe by Pecke: Sige
q The trap was sprung at 1/42, You will end up as I have. cle will be called- ee si : Pi ivy nie ;
4 - A.M, and six and-a half minute: THERE IS A GOD, «Remember . s Stan & Midge Winn of
: later two physicians rece that there ts a God and that you — easiness TO A HANGING! sere Meee si bd woh amauta
+ Walsh officially dead. For four will meet him some day, though 0) SS ne ee ak “~~ COLUMBUS, MONTANA bs
: Ve minutes, after the plunge into thet you never see Or hear him now.’? Robideau) in stillwater County on : one, 5 rae a pee ; ;
: 4 Jan. 15, 1938 in Columbus, Mon- Including the tremendous herd sire CADET KEY 2319 ‘.
e $ - tana for murder. © , plus breeding interest in the FULL FRENCH BIGAR- >
L i y e M U S H Cc (2) W.L, (Lee) Simpson in Golden REAU SON,PREMIER JOHN Fae kona ee ae nose
; Valley County at Ryegate, Montana i : ry Brag "
“on Dec. 30, 1939 for murder. rt
N“ No hearts and flowers for Roy Se Ag! seamed ese: 0 Se beam iC
this day. Only a lonesome and - © space-age genetics, se@ +++ >

-.” BOULDER

Friday

DIAMOND ()RANCHOTEL

Country Western

Country Folk

neglected grave in the ‘Potter’s
Field at the Jefferson County Poor
Farm, now the John Heide farm
south of Boulder, What a hell of a
way todie on St. Valentine’s Day---
fifty years agol
It wasatough day for John Mount-
joy, the friendly, soft-spoken sher-
iff, son of a pioneer Methodist
minister, but he did his duty and
Roy Walsh died game tothe last---
like he had lived. Many people who
_ knew Roy respected his mechanical
ability but not his way of life. He
could have been, with the right

Saturday

7

“Ranch”

‘gred & Bonnie Brown

Over Yonder

BETWEEN WHITEHALL & BOULDER, MONT. ©
© ON HIGHWAY 281 PHONE 225-3618 :

.

—_

\? 44 CANES cts 14,
Nae a a
fete Selah { Seiad?

The Jefferson county jail, —— above, drew derisive laughs from the
rst was lodged there as a prisoner. He suc-

boasting slayer when he

ceeded in escaping but finally came back to face his doom.

OUTLAW

car, as the marks showed the machine
had come from the west and turned in
front of the store. Earlier in the evening
a shower had soaked the ground suffi-
ciently to make the marks quite distinct.
The tracks indicated both rear tires were
well worn. The tread was gone and the
casings were down to a ragged edge in
the center.

Delegating a special deputy to con-
tinue the investigation in Renova, Knight
and I jumped into our car and started up
the lane leading from the village to the
main highway. Where the lane inter-
sected the Vigilante Trail and Federal
Highway No. 10, the tracks led west in
the direction of Butte. Stopping only to
examine intersecting roads and to make

ADVENTURES

certain the machine we were trailing
had not been diverted from the federal
highway, we roared over the Divide into
Butte.

Our task was more difficult now as
we were traveling on asphalt paving, but
luck was with us. We had proceeded
about ten blocks, stopping at each inter-
section to examine the dirt side streets,
when the tracks we were following
turned to the right. Shortly before day-
light we located a large Cadillac parked
near the Parrot smelter. Not knowing
the identity or whereabouts of the driver,
Knight remained under cover to watch
the machine, while I hurried into town to
ascertain if any developments had been
made there and to report our activity.

Ciosing his store for the night,
Johnson retired to his living
quarters in an adjoining room only
to be shot down by a ruthless
bandit. Interior of the store is
pictured at the left.

Victim in the baffling case, Al
Johnson died a few hours after
the shooting. This portrait, the
only one of him in existence, was
made just before he embarked for
the Philippines where he was cited
for bravery in the line of duty dur-
ing the insurrection of 1899.

In response to my telephone message,
County Attorney Emigh and Court Re-
porter Sullivan had obtained a partial
statement from Johnson, The wounded
man was unable to talk when he reached
the hospital, but could make written re-
plies to questions asked him. He had
failed to recognize the masked man who
shot him. He could recall no enemies.
Despite the operation and everything
that had been done in the desperate at-
tempt to save his life, Johnson died at
6 a. m.

Arrest Suspect

AS I left the hospital I chanced across
Deputies Jack Duggan and Dennis
Lowney. They were searching for a
stolen automobile when they received my
earlier message to be on the lookout for
suspicious motorists. On learning I had
traced a machine into the city, they de-
cided to accompany me to where Knight
was hidden. Knight informed us no one
had made an appearance since I left him.

A glance at the license plates of the
car assured the Butte officers it was the
one for which they had been searching.
In the machine we uncovered a complete
set of burglar tools, and a large size red
mackinaw.

»>
Arthur

Involved in the case,
Hughes wound up his brief crim-
inal career in the north cell house
at Montana state penitentiary, pic-

tured at right.

Fei ell

“That’s where Arthur Hughes lives,”
Duggan remarked, pointing to a nearby
building. ‘I’ve suspected that lad of
picking up autos for some time, and I
wouldn’t be surprised if he knows some-
thing about this. Anyway I’m going to
find out.”

We found Hughes in bed. He was
about 18 years of age and apparently
not in the best of health. He proved a
tough one to question, but after several
hours’ grilling, admitted he had been in
Renova the night before, but denied that
he had been in a shooting scrape. His
record was far from perfect, as the Butte
officials informed me he had given them
trouble in the past.

While Hughes was being quizzed, I
was called to the telephone. The special
deputy I had left at Renova was on the
line.

“A stranger wearing a red mackinaw
was here about a week ago,” he in-
formed me. ‘‘Several parties say he was
endeavoring to sell a used automobile.”

A stranger in a red mackinaw! We
had just found such a garment in an
abandoned car. What was more, Hughes
had admitted being in Renova the day
before. It looked like a real tip, but
there was one drawback. The coat found
in the car was far too large for Hughes.

Hughes had just been returned to his
cell when I was again summoned to the
telephone. This time it was a long dis-
tance call from Jefferson Island, a ham-
let about fifteen miles east of Renova.

“Hello, Sheriff,” an excited voice
called. “This is Jack Lank speaking.
Heard there was a shooting up Renova
way last night, and I’ve got a hunch one
of the birds implicated is hiding out near
here in the river bottom. I tried to get
you at Renova and they told me you had
gone to Butte.”

Lank, a ranchman, while out looking

56

<—«

Arthur Hughes, youthful resident

of Butte, gave officials valuable in-

formation during the early stages
of the investigation.

for cattle that morning, had noticed a
stranger in one of his fields. Wondering
who it could be, he started toward the
man, but before he could get within ear-
shot, the fellow disappeared in the river
bottom thicket. Remembering he had
allowed an itinerant farmhand to sleep
in an isolated cabin on his place several
months before, he decided to visit the
shack. He discovered it had been occu-
pied recently, and nearby, in a clump of
willows he found a Buick car. A 30-30
rifle, with four shells in the magazine,
lay across the rear seat. By slipping his
little finger as far as possible into the
muzzle, Lank ascertained the weapon
had recently been discharged.

I instructed Lank to sound an alarm
among his neighbors and endeavor to
round up the stranger. Knight and my-
self piled into our machine and started
for Lank’s ranch,

Posse Closes In

A SCORE of men armed with rifles
and shotguns were on the job when
we arrived. They were perched on hill-
tops watching a thick growth of willows,
in which they claimed the stranger was
secreted. Deploying the possemen in a
wide circle, we started to close in. Work-
ing to a common center, we were within
speaking distance of each other when
Knight caught a fleeting glimpse of a
man scurrying up a dry gulch. He fired
a shot to attract our attention, at the
same time calling to the fellow to walk
out into the open. There was no response.
By this time the posse had reached the
outskirts of the jungle and were push-
ing their way into the dense growth.

T had lost sight of my companions and
was advancing cautiously, when I was
startled by the snapping of a twig not
more than fifty feet ahead. With gun
ready for any emergency, I stopped try-
ing to locate the exact spot from whence
the sound came. Hearing nothing, I
called out:

“Come out of there if you want t
keep a whole hide!”

Knight was threshing in my direction
when a voice answered:

“All right—I’ll give up.”

A large man, weighing in the neigh-
borhood of 200 pounds, rose to his feet.
He was marched from the brush into the
open, Lank identified him as the farm-
hand who had used his cabin several
months before.

“I thought you had left these parts,”
the ranchman remarked.

“I did, but came back,” was the laconic
response of the stranger. ‘“‘Couldn’t find
work anywhere else.”

“Were you staying in my cabin last
night?” Lank inquired.

“ip,”

“Strange that a fellow out of work can
drive as expensive a car as you have,”
Lank observed.

While the conversation was going on
I studied the stranger closely. Just about
the right size to fit the mackinaw found
in Hughes’ car, was the thought that
flashed through my mind. Suddenly I
had an inspiration.

“Cut out the boloney!” I snapped.
“We've got you with the goods. Hughes
is back of the bars in Butte and has
coughed up full details of last night’s
doings.”

If I figured on taking him by surprise
I was badly mistaken. Not a muscle in
his face registered amazement or fright.

“Yeah!” he sneered. “I don’t know
what you're talking about. I don’t have
to worry about last night or any other
night. If you think I’m guilty of any-
thing why don’t you lock me up?”

That was exactly what I did.

“Call this a jail?” he remarked with
a sarcastic grin when I assigned him to
a cell in Boulder.

Two hours later he was being ques-
tioned by County Attorney H. Johnson,
while I was getting in touch with the
state registrar of motor vehicles at Deer
Lodge. A check of the records showed
the Buick had been stolen in Butte the
previous week.

We could get nothing out of the man
to indicate he knew anything of the
Johnson shooting, so held him for having

STARTLING DETECTIVE

Syme oe

a stolen

machine |!
over tot
ties. W}
Butte ja!
from his
oft a dr:
ried ita
tection.

N TH

conti:
hours t!
barrage
mitted |
Walsh
automol
rest the
and tak
village
the au
whereal
state
Hill, th
short 0!
the stor

Driv
the
designe
Their
covere:
thems¢
the pla
left.
the ba
unarm
entran
tion Vv
of ar
pletely
had h:
and st
rested

Att

no ide


DILLON, BEAVERHEAD | COUNTY, MONTANA, MAY 5, 1920.

|

DEFINES AMOUNT
COUNTY CAN BOND
Opinion from Attorney General Gtven
as Ruling on Question.

Helena. April 28.—Attorney Gen-
eral Ford has written an opinion for
County Attorney Fred W. Schmitz of
Broadwater county regarding the full
cash value of taxable property of a
county as it relates to the limits to
which a county may obligate itself
in bonded indebtedness.

Drake-Ballard & Co. of Minneap-
olis had arranged to take road bonds
of Broadwater county, provided its
attorney approved of the bond issue.
After the bonds were issued the com-
pany asked for an opinion from its
attorney, and he advised not to buy
the bonds upon the ground thet the
county had exceeded its lMmit of in-
debtedness in that the assessed -val-
uation was the basis upon which the
limit is computed.

Attorney General Ford, in his
opinion to County Attorney Schmitz.
says:

“The full cash value has always
been the basis on which to compute
the limit of indebtedness in this state.
In view of this declaration of the
public policy of this state, the lan-
guage of the constitution above must
be construed to mean that the limit
of county indebtedness is 5 per cent
of the value of the taxable property,
as that value is disclosed by the as-
sessment roll; and since the only
value which appears on the assess-
ment roll is the value fixed by the
county assessor, as equalized by the
county and state board of equaliza-
tion, the cash value taxable property
and ‘assessed value’ mean the same
thing.

GOSMAN WILL |
SUCCEED WYMAN

IS UNANIMOUS CHOICE OF
BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS

Mooney Appointed For Under-
sheriff—Ross For Deputy
- Sheriff

At a special mecting of the board
of county commissioners held ‘ast
Thursdzy -morning, O. - Gosinan
was appointed sheriff of Beaverhead
county to succeed C. K. Wyman
who was shot to death April 21 by
Albert Yek. Mr. Gosman assumed
his new duties May 1 and has ap-
pointed Dan Mooney, ‘undersheriff
and W. D. Ross deputy sheriff, the
latter succeeding the former.

Mr. Gosman was the unanimous
choice of the board of county com-
missioners and althongh a majority
of the members of the board are
democrats the appointment was giv-
en to a republican, politics being
put aside in the choosing of the
logical man for the position and in
continuing the administration chos-
en by the vote of the people at the
last general election.

. The commissioners are to be high-
ly commended for their decision anu
it is our opinion that the right man
was chosen for the successor of the
late Mr. Wyman. Mr. Gosman served
this county as the undersheriff for
four years. He served as under-
sheriff with D. V. Erwin for a year
and a half and had scorved in the
same capacity under Shoriff Wyman
during hir entire administration.
He has also served this county for
two years us commixsioner. He is
f.anfllur with every eeetion of the

WYMAN FOUGHT BRADY
GANG WHILE SUPERVISOR

‘

Sheriff C. K. Wyman of Beaver-,

head county, victim of the murder-
ous ferocity of Albert Yek, -ex-con-
vict and horse thief, was a terror to
evil doers even the days when he
was forest supervisor in this state. °

Wyman broke up the Bardy gang
in Montana, and it is said that the
surviving members swore vengeance.
Whether Yek, alias Davis, the horse
thief murderer of Wyman, was a
member of the old gang is hardly
possible, although the theory that he
may have been has been advanced
by Scott Leavitt of Great Falls, who
was formerly assistant forest super-
visor under Wyman.

Mr. Leavitt heard from other men
the story of Wyman’s fight against
the autlaws, but he has knowledge ot
some of it.

“There was no outlaws who did not
fear Wyman, and he feared no out-
law,’ says Mr. Leavitt. ‘I never saw
any more fearless eyes than those of
Wyman. “I never knew how many
outlaws he-had stopped but there had
been enough of them so that the live
ones. feared him.

. Follow Them into_ Hills.

“The members of the Kid Brady
gang were sworn to kill Wyman, but
they never succeeded in any of their
various. attempts, unless this fellow
Davis is a remnant of the gang. Wy-
man went into the hills and got
Bardy, aided only by a half-breed
Indian. Kid Brady had dropped
back into hiding in the hills after
one of his crimes, and Wyman sad-
dled up his horse and went after
him, with the half-breed as his sole
companion.

“Up in the hills they came to the
cabin of an old Frenchman and they
questioned him regarding Bardy, but
he refused for a long time to tell
them anything. Finally, when the
half-breed was some distance away,
the Frehchman whispered to Wyman
“Welcome eanyon.” Wyman under-
stood and set out for Welcome ~can-
yon on foot.

“Within a short time they located
the cabin where Bardy and his gang
were staying. Wyman was hiding in’
the brush beside the trail when three
of four of the gang came along, with
a deer strapped on a horse. He made
no move to get them, however, as he
was after Brady.

- Make Night Attack.

“Wyman waited until night when
he decided to go sud take Brady, in
the cabjn. They had visited the
place during the day and found it
empty. About midnight they crept
up to the cabin and while the half-
breed covered the door with his rife,
Wyman jumped into the middle of
the floor and covered the bunk
where he knew Brady would be
sleeping.
The place was unoccupied.

“The half-breed wanted to stay in

the shack and wait, but Wyman de-|

murred, fearing that they might go
to sleep, as they were ,exhausted.
They had been without sleep for
nearly two days. They went out and
circled around the hill and _ kept
awake until it began to break day.
Then they moved down toward the
rear of the shack.
Brady's Dog Scents Them.

“They were a few hundred feet
away when Brady’s dog came rush-
ing up the hillside. He had caught
their scent, though he had not seen
them. They were about to shoot him
when the wind changed, and he lost
the scont, stood still for a moment,
aniffed the air, and then turned and
rushed down the trail, barking.

_|} and fired as he swung.

But Brady ‘was not there

- The men heard some one at the
rear of the shack and then all was
quiet. There was thick brush at the
rear of the cabin and in the gray
morning light Wyman saw the bushes
move. He knew that Brady was
sneaking ap the hillside through this
brush,.directliy toward the spot where
he and the half-breed lay hidden. In
& moment, Brady emerged and circled
the hillside'a few yards below them.
He crept along until he gained a
point behind a tree, commanding the
trail. He carried his rifle and pre-
pared to ,get his man as he came up
the wooded ' trail.

- Wyman Takes Chance.

“Wyman was not entirely sure in
the darkness that this was Brady,
but he decided to take him, anyway.
The half-breed took a position be-
hind a tree and covered Brady with
his rife. ‘Then Wyman stepped out
also covéring Brady with his eix-
shooter, and shouted:

“ “Brady, hold up your hands.’

“Brady pivoted around on one foot
Wyman saw
the flash of light on Brady’s rifie
barre} and he dropped to the ground
just as the bullet passed overhead.
He fired and at almost the same in-
stant the half-breed fired. “ Brady
rolled down the hillside into the
brush, "There was an instant of sil-
ence and then there sounded a roar
like that of a wild animal, only far
more. ferocious, Wyman afterward
told me. Then all was silent. There
was none other in the cabin.

“The half-breed was afraid to go
to see the body, fearing Brady was
attempting a ruse. _ ‘

“*No,’ said Wyman. ‘That. was
his death road.’ He waiked to the
spot and found that both bullets had
struck Brady in the side and he was
stone dead.

Bad Man ‘Sends Challenge.

“They then walked out of Wel-
come canyon and got a party of men
to help carry ‘the body- out. ‘The
other, members of-the gang did not
show ; themselves, but they were
pledged to. kill him. One of the
number sent word to Wyman that if
he ever went into the hills he would
not get out alive. Wyman went ap.
On ithe mountain trail he met the
man who ‘had sent the challenge.
Wyman turned in his saddle as he
rode..past the bad man, while the
bandit .tikewise turned, but neither
moved to draw a gun. Down the
trail the bandit mer another rider
who afterward joined Wyman and
laughingly told him of meeting the
bandit. .

“*He was deathly white,’ the man
told Wyman. ‘He told me that you
nearly killed him.’

“Asp an example of Wyman’ s fear-
lessness,- he afterward slept with a
member of the gang known as ‘The
Kid,’ and The Kid told him that on
ithe .day of Kid Brady’s death the
gang had taken an oath to avenge
Brady’s death. At one time Wyman
was sitting in a saloon in Philips-
burg and three members of the gang
came down to ‘get’ him. He always
sat so he could see both doors. They
bolted into the back door. He just
placed his hand inside his coat where
be wore his holster, and made no
other move. They milled around for
an awkard minute and then backed
out.

“Y never heard of another attempt
to get him, for the gang broke up
soon afterward when some of them
went over the road.’’—Helena Inde-
pendent.

mNrvermry AV PVE

lpArN Wrarre Ry

'ty poor farm,

NEW SUPERINTEND)
FOR COUNTY

‘John Banks, who for ‘
has been superintendent
on Mon
his resignation to the bo
commissioners, to take «
ately. The resignation
cepted and the applicat:
Melton for the position ;
Melton will take up bi
immediately.

Mr. Banks has been
able superintendent an.
the poor farm on a pay:
has been superintenden!
tution ever since the co:
sioners abolished the <«
tem and he has made
able showing.

Mr. Bank’s successor
ful farmer and will no
good in the new positio

ADOPTS RESOLUTION
‘ASSESSING

a

The city counci] met i
sion last Friday evenin;
pose of adopting a reso!
sessing property and }:
for proposed improven
special improvement di
The council will meet i:
sion on the 12th of th
the purpose of hearing .
the final adoption of the

~~ Senior Class I
The .senior class of
ead county high schoo
their elass play, “‘A Mer.
ice in- Modern Times,”’
of this month. The 3
have been practicing f{:
on the production, .whi:
be a ripping comedy. ‘i
be presented at the N
torinm. ‘

REBEKAHS
DISTRICT

FORTY VISITORS
- ATTEND SESSIC
LODGE

Sumptuous Banquet &c

‘day Evening at ‘
High Schoc

The. district meeting
bekah lodge was held
jJast Thursday, the s¢
conducted under the av
local lodge, -Diana, No.

There are eight dist:
and they were repre::
following manncr: Mr
son of Boulder, Mrs. :
of Sheridan, Mrs. Rut}
Mrs. Alice Davey of Mi
Mrs. Rucker of Marthe
Mrs. Esther Harris ani
Broeben of Silver Lea:
of the Butte lodges. 1:
of the officers of the di
attendance as well as ?
Helena, who is the pr:
Rebekah: assembly o
There were about forts
the outside at the see:

The meeting opened
ternoon at the Oddf«!
an address of welcon:
H. G. Rodgers, Mrs
district vice-presiden:
The remainder of th:
devoted to business i:
lodge work.

At half paat
17 of the month
served at the hirh

six «
Alb

TERK. tae te scee O seed


t for

ad
be
G
az
is

.

4

“+

2

Wits Vikas <<
ities ste —_~- — ne ned Ga i oe 9”

DILLON, BEAVER.

WYMAN FUNERAT

ODDFELLOW conDucT LAST
SAD RITES FOR BEAVER.
HEAD SHERIFF

Funeral One Of The Largest Ever|
Held In City of
‘ Dillon

The funeral of the late C. K. Wy- his

| COMMISSIONERS WILL
The board of .
will meet tomorrow afternoon
ELD SATURDAY in special session for the Purpose of
appointing a Successor to the late
; S

Canvass the election returns for the
three bond

‘APPOINT NEW SHERIFF
—_—___

returns for the Presidentia] pri-
mary election held last Friday. ALBERT YEKIS N,
COUNTY SHER
GOV NOR WHITE HO}
aa oe DAY AFTERN,

MURDERER Ss}

Yek Is Said to Be p.

man, sheriff of Beaverhead County! First National bank, the institution Out of State Pp»

who was ruthlessly slain last Wed- bya is ae pte _ theagar Charged Up
ates according to the Population o

y nesday afternoon by Albert Yek, a the town. The B0vernor is looking Guarded Careful

brutal assassin, was held last Satur- well from his two months’ rest.

Fday aftcrnoon at half past two

o'clock from the St. James Episcopal
church. The services were conducted

of the Oddfellow
late sheriff was
Rev. T. p. Bennett con-
ducted the services held at the church
While Rev. H. Gq. Humphrey preached
the services at the grave. .

The palr bearers

‘were

Was crowded
Overflowing and Many did not
hear the sery-

Mountain View cemetery a
the cortage. |
Cyrus King Wyman was born in
pitefield, Maine, and oi

Maving and was Visiting at the home
his son when the she ‘ff met his
Mesregic death. The aged father was 79
rears of age last Saturday, the same
his son was
manhood in

west locating

the year of

ps for several years. In
: home town

e98 he returned to his

B. C. H. 8. MOVING |

Possible features
films to Dillon, the admission charg-
ed is just sufficient to

TWO NIGHTS OF FUN aT

The

ieee si ~ bund t whole h

i in| with an abundance of w Ole heartegq ; ke-an

Philipsburg whore he followed ioe woe akee nee of ca Se ta Ari
n ay night was presented ¢ e

renowned mincrsel show and it wo. Morning a young man 6)

. £ oevwnaks Albert Yek, who Be
PICTURES 4 St CCESS | 5 C. L. Davis, Was bro:

secretly last Thursday

“Huckleberry Finn,’’| cold blood last Wednes,

were waiting with a
arrival.

The murdéF of Sher

, Saturday, April 24,/ perhaps the cruelest.an;

ured in con- ever committed in Bea

ty and feeling is intense

~ Wyman Goes to Ma

’

x ' Yek arrived in Moni,

COUNTY HIGH AON aurine the night last Tur
—_—_.

two ‘day carry-on-carniya, | Wednesday me arr c

Posed he came Over ¢t.

the B. C. =e off Idaho. After putting the

8. ca

soa net: | himeeit in the hay loft

(a a ae

P engaged in mining for years. Later

Mine late

William Hunt of Kingman, Ariz.

‘in this city and county,

[= TWO YOUNG FARME

and cn March 1 of that year
arried the sweetheart of his boy-
yood days, Miss Alice Hall. Follow-
ipo the wedding the young couple
ame out to Philipsburg where they
de their home, the husband being

pe was appointed a deputy sheriff
of Granite county and served under
Finley McDonald. In 1904
he entered the United States nation-
31 forest service and the following
year came to Dillon to take up his

% juties as supervisor of the Beaver- |
Snead national forest. He
Finis capacity until the fall of 1916:

served in:

when he was elected sheriff af Bea-!
yerhead county by a large majority
and severed his connection with the
forestry department to take up his,
new duties. He was serving his sec;
ond term as sheriff when he was kill-
ed while performing his duty.

He is survived by his wife and one
ehild, a daughter, Miss Thelma, who
was eighteen years of age the first
day of last March. Besides his aged

two brothers, Henry, a rancher, and
Forest, a mining man, both of Phil-
ipsburg, and two sisters, Mrs. Hattie
Moody of Providence, R. I., and Mrs.

“a minstrel
membering. The dusky members of i chores and was surpris

performance worth Tuer Ee; employes: at. *

Te: went out to the barn to

the show were as black as any pol- ; ‘
ished negro might wish to be, and | Saddle, ae ae
all were in that “all dressed up’’:ip, barn. Upon further
stage “and no place to go,” withiy, round Yek asleep in
their brilliant ties and flashy vests.| ¥oung man said nothing
They entertained the audience and 7 aie the saddle but

father he leaves to mourn his loss;

During his fifteen years residence
Sheriff
Wyman had made hosts of warm
friends. He was always fearless in
the performance of his duty and yet
was the type of man who extended
the greatest of consideration to his
prisoners. As supervisor of the Bea-
verhead National forest he made
hundreds’ of staunch friends
throughout the county, for his
judgement could always be relied
upon and his decisions were fair.
When the shocking news of his
tragic death was received here last
Wednesday the citizens of this com-
munity were overwhelmed with
grief. The remains were brought
from Monida to Lima on a special
train and there transferred to an-
other special train and brought to
Dillon Wednesday evening, being
accompanied by Undersheriff Gos-
Man, Undertaker Hiram Brundage
and Edward S. Duff. Dr. L. C. Ford
of Lima accompanied the special to
Monida and gave the injured man
every attention. Ay shocked
and escorted to the Brundage under-
taking parlors where they were held
in state until Saturday when the
funeral was held. Messrs. Henry and
Forest Wyman were here to attend
the funeral. : :

To the stricken-wife and daughter,
the aged father and bereaved broth-
ers the sincerest sympathy of this
entire community is extended.

BUY
WELL KNOWN IGOU RANCH

The so-called Igou ranch on Car-
Men creek,’ comprising 590 acres,
has been sold by John Peterson of
Horse prairie to Otis Slavin and

; - Thurston McCracken. The price is

not stated but it is understood to be
337,500. Peterson bought the ranch
two years ago. The sale includes the
horses required to carry on the

a but no cattle.—Lemhi. Recor-
er.

also themselves with a broadside of|
witticisms and cl:ver remarks. Mr. |
Johnsing, the leader, and the four!
endmen were especially entertain- |
ing and were kept as busy as six;
negroes in a watermelon patch. Their!
musical program was a close rival to:
their jokes. Due credit should be
given to the Smith-Hildreth quartet
for the successful rendering of their
selections. When the curtain fell af-:
ter the last encore, it was with aj
feeling of regret and yet one of ona
isfaction with the past hour of mer-|
riment and fun making that the;
audience witnessed the fall of the'
curtain after the last encore. The;
minstrel was given under the super-i
vision of Mrs. Willis and Mr. Knud-.
son.

The program Saturday night was:
divided into three parts, a piano re-|
cital, an operetta and an O. Henryi
moving picture production. In the
operetta was featured the severe!
court room scene with the sedate/|
judge and the dignified. jurymen.
These were all important factors in
the trial which next took place. The
blushing bride, the care-free defen-
dent, and the unexpected’ climax,
held the undivided, attention of the
crowd. The operetta was the resuit
of Miss Wharton’s careful coaching.
Owing to a default in one of the O.
Henry productions, it coyld not be
shown, but this only added to the
appreciation of the other film. This
second evening was brought to a suc-
cessful close ip.true carnival fashion.
The carnival will go down in B. C. H.
S. history as one of the high school’s
social and financial successes, as the
entertainment not only brought fun-
making but also provided a sum of
money sufficient to cover the ex-
pense of the sweaters and athletic
awards which will be presented in
May.

CONCORD GRAPE PUNCH

The Dillon Bottling Works has re-
ceived the franchise to do all the
bottling of the famous Concord
Grape Punch in this district. The
Concord grape pinch is one of the
famous soft drinks and since the
achievement of making the drink
hag been known thousands are par-
taking of the delicious beverags,
which is without a peer. Mr. Patter-
son has placed the drink in all of
the stores and soft drink emporiums
in the city where it is having a big
run. As a family beverage it cannot
be equaled and can be had in all size
bottles or can be bought by the gal-
lon for party use.

Dance Is Big Success.

The dahce given last Friday eve
ning by the Catholic ladies of Lima
at the opera house at that place was
a huge success and was well attend-
ed and a large sum realized. The
Little orchestra furnished the music
for the occasion. The following eve-
ning they played for the soldiers’

telephone and talked wi
over the long distance.
formed that the saddl
stolea some time before
same man that had stole
had made away with a he
was told to keep the ma
until he could be arrestt

Idaho Falls officials |
nicated with the sherif
Dillon and asked Sherif
place the man under ar!
him until an officer cot
trip and take Yek intoc
iff Wyman immediately

‘eatching the southbou

train for Monida and ar
place shortly after noon.
time J. B. Egan, manage
cantile store at Monida, 5
employment during the
that he would not leav
Upon his arrival in Mo
Wyman found that Yek
his noon day meal at th:
waited until he had finis
walked up to the man
hand on his shoulder, an
are the man I want.”

“All right,”’ respondec
go with you but let me
it is hanging in the bar

Yek Shoots She

Sheriff Wyman conse
two men left the front
hotel walking north do
board walk toward the
When they reached ¢é
about 25 feet wide betv
buildings, Yek was wal
in the lead. Suddenly
about, pulled his autom
and fired, aiming at
stomach. He was not
six feet from the sher
fired. The bullet entered
and with the first pang
Wyman pressed both I
body and bent forward j
gailant fired a second tir
severing the left thumb :
joint and entered the be

An autopsy performed
of the murdered sher
Thursday showed that o
tered at the fifth rib anc
a level in the back, break
ribs where entering ani
body. The second bt
above the liver and r:
|ward lodged in the pe
that the end of the '
thumb was shot off anc
the bullet entering att
ed downward indicate:
the second shot and wa
man was falling.

Knox Is an Eye

A man by the name
witnessed the shooti)
diately ran to the store
the men there of the
then ran to assist the z
mortally wounded and
hours later before me
could be summoned.

Clerk Shoots

After shooting the!

and sailors’ dance at Dubois, Idaho.

to his horse and mo

—

POT SOO SEAN Cee eee Oe ae

ener reer A ripe rea rorperietety cp Sone

oe

~ pas Pie. re ge es AA +

Adetneal: Fbsue Mak,

es Ae abd Ve SY a wt

Mian:
SN
Fetiod
Beek wht
ag

? meee i ; $ ‘ i Sane

Fb UMS x vant ‘ : . ran: Se Be Ye Ag eeptee. ih 3

dh Si OR eta ig en ba? sn he et » Mars ES. 1 Yoh Rok ae oe > 3 pe B... ¥ 5 y> ee o. Pic
\ \ %

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he ae y the ‘ pe 5 * ‘Fo. ; york ok % \ yA j ’
BAA YY SPRUE Ves Ged WOR CEM SOL ROME SEW SON MES ORES OTS ID SOC OA elds CD BURNERS Seb A SR I ek iv em wee EY Y Wy ey oe oe oa

‘ : t

| 4
Sahai ee ju sa di : Pied Sa Bi TN by iid peep ived ig Ps Soa M EI Bie TR Se eae %
— “ee }
Nps
RY FPN A Em ue Yay Basen

pe Se Tah is thes

———
erie &
14 54


p

about the barn,
husband turned

the deadly attack {
-a] assailant. The
she victim was |
: barn door, {
,e picture at
Martin Nel-
<camined the
nducted the
nquest.

Schlaps,” he said.

. 3°)
with me: ganas
w questions
* the sheriff

wal C
to ask you a te
vd Mrs. Geisler,

>?” Schlaps

ty wantto know’ -
ee them last’ ;
t morning,” replied the

OT haven't been at the sala
ay morning when Tony sarc
‘the car for the week-end.

vas startled a ibe
“You're kidding, he said
at Sheriff Salisbury

aw came to the door.

sk .d, sharply: “Don’t you
and Mrs. Geisler are

and stared unbe-

Anton Geisler, below, was
the first victim in the mur-
derous plot. The slayer then
went to the bedroom win-
dow, at right, to complete
his crime. Sheriff Rodney
Salisbury, far right, of
Sheridan county, Mont.,
started the investigation of

the strange mystery.

the deaths. Shaken, Schlaps asked if the
authorities had any idea of the identity
of the killer. The sheriff said no.

The farmhand said he had left the ranch
shortly before noon the day before and
had driven to Homestead where he stayed
for several hours before going to his rela-

{ tives’ ranch. He said he had remained
‘there all afternoon and night.

His host
confirmed the story and_ said that
Ferdinand had come there early that
morning from his relatives’ place.

The relatives of young Schlaps also
told the authorities that Ferdinand came
to their home from Homestead and spent
the afternoon and night with them.

Schlaps explained that Geisler had
vfiten given him permission to use his

d the farmhand about ar, and had once let him drive it to

DARING \ETECTIVE
sere

North
girl.

Sheriff Salisbury — in-
spected the car in the yard
near the ranchhouse. Then
he and his companions left
for Homestead. En route
County Attorney Erickson
and the sheriff decided to
call Sheriff John Anderson
of Roosevelt county into the
case as the Geisler farm was
in that county and evidence
indicated that the murders
were committed in the
farmhouse.

Sheriff Salisbury phoned
Anderson, and that veteran
officer hurried from Wolf
Point, the county seat, to
meet the Sheridan county
officials.

Salisbury told Anderson
what was known about the
case, and turned over to
him the evidence he had
collected at the Geisler
farm.

Although the bodies of
the victims gave no clue,
Sheriff Anderson, who was
acquainted with most of the residents of
the sparsely settled agricultural region,
was of the opinion that the murderer, or
murderers, was not a Roosevelt county
resident,

The sheriff visited the Geisler ranch,
then retraced the route taken by
Sheriff Salisbury. He interviewed
ranchers ‘and neighbors of the Geislers
and was told substantially the same
stories.

Returning to Homestead, Anderson
found and questioned all known acquaint-
ances of Mr. and Mrs. Geisler.

There seemed to be no clues. Every
person who reasonably could be suspected
had a legitimate, iron-clad alibi. Ferd-
inand Schlaps had been in Homestead as
he had stated and investigation indicated

Dakota to see his

that he was in town at about noon on the
day Geisler and his wife were killed. The
coroner had stated that death had
occurred approximately at noon, as near
as could be judged from the condition of
the bodies.

Then Sheriff Anderson received inior-
mation which gave him hope.

About 1 o’clock on the day Tony and
Mrs. Geisler were killed, his informant
said, he noticed a car speeding through
town at about 60 miles an hour. It just
occurred to him that the two men in the
car might have had something to do with
the killings. The car had North Dakota
license plates. He did not get a good
look at the two men in the car, but said
they were young fellows.

Sheriff Anderson assumed that the car
was headed toward the Montana-North
Dakota state line, southward. He sent
descriptions of the car to law enforcement
offices throughout eastern Montana and
western North Dakota, spreading a
loosely-drawn dragnet.

FEW hours later he received the en-
couraging word that several per-
sons in Froid, seven miles south of Home-
stead, had seen a speeding car with North
Dakota license plates. In Froid, Ander-
son was told that the car, occupied by
two young men, hurtled through the out-
skirts of the town between 1 and 1:30
o’clock on the day of the double murder.
A similar report came from Bainville,
near the North Dakota border. Sheriff
Anderson was elated. He had been
correct. The two men had, from all
appearances, sped across the border.

Police in Williston, N. D., shortly ad-
vised Sheriff Anderson by telephone that
they had in custody two young men and
the car in which they had driven from
Montana.

One of the pair, arrested in a pool hall,
had been heard remarking to an attendant
that “We bumped off a guy and his wife
in Montana.” The two gave their names


Late that afternoon the sheriff and his
party drove over the rough country roads
to the Geisler farm, in Roosevelt county.

In the house the sheriff found con-
fusion and disarrangement speaking
mutely of a furious struggle. There was
no doubt but that murder had been com-
mitted there.

A window on the south side of the
house was shattered and pieces of the
pane were scattered about the floor. The
walls and floors were stained with blood.
There was a hole about three inches in
diameter in a heavy curtain in the door-
way of a clothes closet. Clothing in the
closet was spattered with blood.

In a trunk, which had been unopened,
officers found $235 in currency. Robbery
apparently had not been the motive.

There was a 12-gauge shotgun leaning
against the wall in the kitchen. Nearby
also was a mop, brown and discolored.

“~ WONDER where Geisler’s car is?”

Sheriff Salisbury asked. He had
been informed that the farmer owned a
new auto.

Three empty shotgun shells were found
near the barn.

Sheriff Salisbury placed the shotgun,
mop and shells in his car, handling them
carefully so any fingerprints on them
would not be disturbed.

A thorough examination of the place
having been made, Sheriff Salisbury and
his party drove to the farm of Samuel
Igoe, not far from that of the slain man.

Igoe met them at the gate entering his
yard. “Have you any idea who did it?”
he asked.

“Did what ?” said the sheriff.

“Why, killed Tony and his wife,”
answered Igoe.

“How do you know they’re dead?” the
sheriff asked.

“Heard it on the phone,” Igoe replied.

“No, we don’t know who killed them,”
Sheriff Salisbury said. ‘We thought
maybe you might know something about

6

it.” He watched Igoe closely.

Igoe said he had no idea
as to the identity of the killer,
or killers.

He told Salisbury that he
hadn’t noticed Geisler about
the farm for several days.
“Haven’t seen the hired man,
either,” he volunteered.

In response to the sheriff’s
questions, Igoe said that the
hired man was Ferdinand
Schlaps, a young man who
lived on the Geisler farm,
working as a farm laborer.

Igoe said that Schlaps
might be in North Dakota
because he formerly had lived
there, and went there to visit
once ina while. _

Next, the sheriff and his
party stopped at a ranch
about half a mile from the
Geisler farm.

The owner, the sheriff
noted, appeared to be a sub-
stantial, upright man. He
answered Salisbury’s ques-
tions brusquely, denying any knowledge
of the Geisler murders.

“But, sheriff,” the man said, “I did see
the Geisler car in the yard yesterday
about 11 o’clock. . It was in front of the
garage.”

The sheriff asked about Schlaps, the
farm-hand.

“I think he has some relatives farming
north of here,” the farmer said.

After a few more questions the sheriff
went to the relatives’ farm.

There Salisbury learned that the rela-
tives of Geisler farmhand were visiting
at another farm, several miles distant.

At the latter place, Salisbury’s knock
was answered by the farmer himself.

“Can you tell me where I can locate
Ferdinand Schlaps ?” the sheriff asked.

“Sure, he’s upstairs,’ was the answer.
“TH call him.”

A few minutes later a pleasant-appear-

Working about the barn,
a young husband turned
to meet the deadly attack
of a brutal assailant. The
body of the victim was
found at the barn door,
marked X in the picture at
left. Coroner Martin Nel-
son, below, examined the
bodies and conducted the
double inquest.

ing, husky young fellow came to the door.
“T am Ferdinand Schlaps,” he said.

rE)

“What do you want with me

“We want to ask you a few questions
about Tony and Mrs. Geisler,” the sheriff
said,

“What do you want to know?” Schlaps
asked.

“When did you see them last?”

“Why, yesterday morning,” replied the
young man. “TI haven’t been at the ranch
since yesterday morning when Tony said
I could have the car for the week-end.
What’s the matter?”

The sheriff asked, sharply: “Don’t you
know that Mr. and Mrs. Geisler are
dead?”

Schlaps was startled and stared unhe-
lievingly. ‘‘You’re kidding,’ he said
finally, looking at Sheriff Salisbury
questioningly.

The sheriff told the farmhand about

DARING

Anton Geis]
the first victi
derous plot, 7
went to the
dow, at righ

his crime. §
Salisbury,
Sheridan co;
Started the in

the strang

the deaths.

authorities }

of the killer

The farmh
shortly befo;
had driven to Hoy
tor several hor;
tives’ rar.:h,
there all afte:
confirmed — th
Ferdinand had
morning from

The relatiy..
told the authoririe
to their home ;;
the afternoon -

_Schlaps expl:
often given hin
‘ar, and had .

a

n
1001

mi }
nd ni
ined

per
nce

YETECTIVE
i :

This gallows was es-
pecially constructed for
the hanging of the mur-
derer of the Geislers.
Sheriff Anderson is
standing directly behind

the scaffold, at left.

Kenneth

as Bertram and
Ensman.

Sheriff Anderson hurried to Williston,

In the city jail Haynes grinned at the
officer. ‘This is all a mistake, Sheriff,”
he said. “We never killed anybody. I
was just sort of drunk and wanted to
make an impression on the fellow in the
pool hall. That’s why I told the guy I
killed a man and woman.” Sheepishly,
he added, “I guess I just wanted the
fellow in the pool hall to think I was
tough.”

Haynes and Ensman said they were
from Minot, N. D. They and the car in
which they had been riding were taken
to Wolf Point, There Sheriff Anderson
directed deputies to book and hold them
on an open charge. Then he went to
Froid, Homestead and Bainville, and re-

Haynes

g

turned with the witnesses who had de-
scribed the mysterious speeding car.

The witnesses positively identified the
car as the one they had seen.

Inspection of the car revealed no traces
of blood. In the hone that fingerprint ex-
perts could “place” the suspects in the
Geisler farmhouse, Sheriff Anderson sent
the shotgun and mop from the house to
Great Falls, Mont., for inspection. Dis-
heartening word was soon returned that
there were no clear prints on either
article.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand Schlaps, the
Geisler hired man, came to Anderson's
office in Wolf Point.

“T heard that you arrested two men,”
he said. ‘Well, I remembered, after
hearing about some people in Froid
seeing a car go through town in an awful
hurry, that I saw a car going plenty fast
when I was going to my brother’s place
on the day Tony and Mrs. Geisler were

ce a es

killed. I didn’t think anything about it
but now that I heard about other people
seeing that car I think it was the same
one I saw.”

Schlaps accompanied Anderson to the
car of the suspected men. He glanced
at it and said positively, ‘“That’s the one
I saw, with two men in it, going to beat
the dickens towards Homestead, about
four miles from Tony's place.”’

Sheriff Anderson asked Schlaps how
many men were in the car he had seen.
“Two, I think,” he answered. “But I
didn’t get a close look at them.”

“But I thought vou told me before that
you were in Homestead that afternoon ?”
said Anderson.

“T was in Homestead but I saw the car
on my way to my _ brother's place,”
Schlaps answered.

The sheriff confronted Haynes and
Ensman, deciding on a chance stroke.

“You were seen near the Geisler farm
shortly after they were killed. You were
seen going through Froid and Bainville
as well as Homestead. You admitted in
Williston that you had killed a man and
woman in Montana. You might just as
well come clean and confess the whole

DARING

thing becar
Stantial e\
you do it 2”

forget you

“But that

Ise w

Ensman |:
haven't got

The two n

do:

aynes protested

thing to do

weren’t run:

wit
ling

out looking for y
Asked why the

Haynes said.

Sheriff A;

men for sey.
get either 0;
admissions,
Realizing
double mur;
upon circu:
Anderson we;
sought out
Mr. and My
The sher:
double murd
vated by |,
taught him
motives wer:

Proved to be the

Could it be

been in love \i:
the “eternal trian,
Perhaps a form

DETECTIVE

i =e

+}

“T al
ders
ral h

rem

that
Y Case


wnvthing about it
bout other people
it was the same

{| Anderson to the
ected men. He glanced
siti y, "That’s the one
n it, going to beat
Homestead, about
: place.”

sked Schlaps how
car he had seen.

tne
“But |

he answered.

look at them.”
» told me before that
ad that afternoon ¢

ad but I saw the car
brother's place,

cnironted Haynes and
ling on a chance stroke.
seen near the Geisler farm
-hey were killed. You were
Froid and Bainville
yestead. You admitted in
. sad killed a man and
You might just as
d confess the whole

DARING

The killer, above,
finally confessed his
crime to Sheriff John
Anderson, center, of
Roosevelt county,
Mont., and then faced
prosecution by Dis-
trict Attorney Hugh
Marron, far right.

thing because we’ve got enough circum-
stantial evidence to hang you. Why did
you do it?”

Ensman laughed. “Don’t kid us. You
haven't got a thing on us. And don’t
forget you can’t run a bluff like this.”

The two men finally admitted, however,
that they had been in the vicinity of the
Geisler farm on the day of the murders.

“But that doesn’t prove anything,”
Haynes protested. “We didn’t have any-
thing to do with the killings and we
weren’t running away. We were just
out looking for work.”

Asked why they were driving so fast,
Haynes said, “I always drive fast.”

Sheriff Anderson questioned the two
men for several hours but was unable to
get either of them to make any damaging
admissions.

Realizing that the solution of the
double murder case depended a great deal
upon circumstantial evidence thus far,
Anderson went again to Homestead. He
sought out friends and acquaintances o
Mr. and Mrs. Geisler.

The sheriff began to wonder if the
double murder could have been moti-
vated by love. His experience had
taught him that in many cases, where
motives were obscure, illicit love often
proved to be the basis.

Could it be possible that someone had
been in love with the young bride? Could
the “eternal triangle” enter into this case?
Perhaps a former suitor had slain Lud-

DETECTIVE
af

milla Geisler and her husband because
of spurned or unrequited love.

No other motive appeared. There was
no evidence of robbery or burglary as
the $235 had been found in an unlocked
and undisturbed trunk in the farmhouse.

Sheriff Anderson went about the
country gathering all possible informa-
tion about those having any possible con-
nection with the baffling case.

Neighbors of the Geislers scoffed at
the triangle theory. Mrs. Geisler, it was
said, had been extremely devoted to her
husband. Her behavior had always been
marked with strict propriety.

Nevertheless Sheriff Anderson went to
work on his theory that someone might
have been in love with Mrs. Geisler.

One person in Homestead admitted,
with reluctance, that Ferdinand Schlaps
had appeared to “more than like’: the
young wife of his employer.

T VARIOUS times, the attractive
Ludmilla Geisler had been accom-
panied by Schlaps when she went to town
to buy groceries and supplies for the farm.
On these occasions it was noted that
Schlaps had treated his companion with a
deference almost amounting to chivalry.
One woman told Sheriff Anderson that
“Schlaps seemed to have a bad case of

puppy love but Mrs. Geisler sort of
laughed it off!”
Schlaps, Anderson learned, was a

native of a small town in North Dakota.
He had no criminal record. He had left
school at an early age to go to work ona
farm,

The young man, friendly and tractable,
had apparently been on the best of terms
with his employer. Geisler, too, had been
considerate of his employe and had per-
mitted Schlaps to use his car on an
occasional trip to North Dakota.

Sheriff Anderson decided again to in-
terview Schlaps. The officer had been
impressed by the young man’s compas-
sion and regret at the deaths. He also
had shown a great deal of interest in the
case. Several times he had offered to

help authorities “get the rat who killed
Tony and Mrs. Geisler.”’

The sheriff drove to the farm where
Schlaps was staying and was met at the
gate to the yard by the young man.

“Got anything yet on who
Tony ?” asked Schlaps.

“No,” said Anderson. “But I thought
maybe you might be able to help me out.”

Schlaps assured the sheriff that he
would do anything he could to aid.

“How about those two fellows you had
picked up in Williston?” he asked.

“T’m afraid I'll have to turn them loose.
I haven’t got enough on them to hold them
indefinitely,” the sheriff said. He noticed
that Schlaps had been eyeing him closely
and warily.

“Sure you’ve told me everything you

killed

know about it?” Anderson asked sud-
denly.
Schlaps hesitated a few moments.

pulling at his lower lip nervously.

“T probably should have told you this
before but I’ve been afraid because |
figured I’ve been sort of on the spot,”
he said rapidly. ‘But I think what I'm
going to tell you will give you enough to
try those two men for the killings !"

Sheriff Anderson was surprised at this
startling statement and stared at the
young man as he continued:

“T met those two fellows, as I told you
before, on my way from Homestead to
this farm. They were going awful fast,
probably about 60. I drove on and turned
into the Geisler ranch.

“Tony was stretched out by the barn,
dead. Inside the house Mrs. Geisler was
lying on the floor. She was dead, too
I didn’t know what to do.

“T remembered meeting that car and
knew right away that the men in it must
have killed Tony and his wife. I chased
after the car but couldn’t catch it. |
chased them almost to Homestead. Then
I went back to the farm, and the bodies
were gone!

“T was afraid to report it, afraid you
would think I did it. So I went to my
relatives’ place.”

[Continued on page 59]

.” he

Brittain
wife be-
nagging.
ital, then
‘he back-

the laun-
. I picked
ner with
followed.
a second
‘tic. I fin-
oured the
threw a

ie, when
the shirt
‘o Mapes.
jing the
» pantry.
le thing
’ to my
nill with
-re when
that my

afession,
| to the
‘aducah
rats of
the in-
gather-
Manton
given a
e Graves
vermission
red.
f murder
Brittain
ige W. F.
‘ss Circuit
He fought
ning tem-
mnsible for
ite’s case,
‘utor Mar-
i his guilt.
verdict of
judge Mc-
ce of life
d at the

Mapes is
innocent

Watch bl
the >.

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the house and takes back butter in”
exchange.”

The farmer glanced around with
a half puzzled frown on his
deeply tanned face. “Where’s Fred,
the hired man?” he asked. “I ain’t
seen him around.” :

The hired man, Sheriff Salisbury
learned, was Ferdinand Schlaps, a
24+year-old youth who had been
working for the Geislers for over
a month. His own relatives did
some farming a couple of miles.
north, and the young man stayed
with them.

“Yd like a lot to talk to Fred,”
said Salisbury grimly.. “Funny he
didn’t get in touch with us soon as
he heard about the killings.”

The farmer could offer little else
in the way. of practical informa-
tion. Like the other farmers in the
vicinity, he had been impressed
by the quiet, hard-working Anton
Geisler and his pretty bride.

A more distant neighbor of the
slain couple, who was visited by
Salisbury, offered the information
that early Saturday morning a bat-
tered Buick had stopped by his
place and two-young men, dressed
in work clothes, got out and asked
for work. .

“They were rough-talkin’ and I
didn’t like their looks much,” said
the farmer, shaking his head.
“Happens I didn’t have any work
for ’em anyhow, but even if I had,
they wouldn’t of got it. Not from
me. No, sir

“J-waited till they drove off. They
headed in the direction of Anton’s
farm. Wouldn’t‘be surprised if they
stopped off there.”

“What about young Schlaps?”
one of the deputies asked.

ed promptly. “I know his people.
Matter of fact, I put Anton Geisler
up to hirin’ Fred. He came cheap
and he works hard. I know; I had
him on my farm last year.”

Salisbury’s next visit was to the
home of Ferdinand Schlaps’ rela-
tives. He inquired about the where-
abouts of the hired hand and was
told the young man was upstairs
in his room. A few moments later,
a blond, heavy-shouldered youth,
whose nice features plainly showed
that he had been under a strain,
appeared.

“[’m Ferdinand Schlaps,” he said
quietly. “I was expectin’ the law
to come here.”

He explained that he had heard
about the murder of his employer
and Ludmilla Geisler over the party
line. The telephone had .been busy

“A fine boy,” the farmer answer-

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43


Sadly he shook his head. “No sign
of rain yet,” he called out to his
hired hand.

Troubled, he decided to walk

‘over to one or two of his neigh-

bors and discuss the bad situation

with them. He reached the small

bridge over Muddy River, a half

_ mile west of Homestead, Montana.

The sight of the lazily flowing wa-

ter relaxed him and he stared

moodily. into its murky, muddy

‘depths.

His attention strayed to an ob-

ject that was ‘bumping up and.”

down in the water. It was big and
awkward. As. it came slowly closer,

he licked his suddenly dry lips. No -

mistake about it, it was a woman’s

. © body.

Olson turned. and ran. The near-
est telephone, was in a gas station
a quarter of a mile down .the high-'
way. He called Sheriff Rodney Sal-
isbury at Plentywood, the Sheridan
County seat. Excitedly he’ related
his discovery.

. “Get back to the river,” the sher-
iff instructed, “follow the body the

ih best you can. I'll be right over!”

In 20 minutes he joined Olson at

the left bank of the river about 75

feet below the bridge. The _ body
was only a few feet from the bank.
With the aid of a pole the sheriff
had brought along, it was quickly
beached.

The two men stared in silence at
the dead woman. She was a young
blonde, about 25 years old, plainly
dressed in a gingham dress. and
cotton stockings. She wore white
‘shoes. Her long tresses had been
loosened by the action of the wa-
ter and hung like tangled sea weed
over her face,

“Know her?” Sheriff Salisbury

“Olson shook his head. “She’s
dressed like a farmer’s wife,” he
said slowly, “but I’ve never seen
er. Pretty thing, she ‘ust have
been.” He gazed at ‘' mple gold
wedding band on |: inger. She
wore no other jewelry.

The news had spread and @&
crowd collected. Among the specta-
tors was the Homestead postmas-
ter. A gasp escaped his lips as he

suddenly recognized the woman.

“That’s. Mrs. Ludmilla Geisler.

~ Her husband’s name is Anton. They

just got married a couple of months
ago. They run alittle farm about
15 miles outside of town.”

Mrs. Geisler had been shot at

‘close range. A gaping hole was torn

in her neck. An ugly wound ex-
posed some of the bone in her left
arm. The sheriff got 2 blanket from
his car and covered the body while
he awaited the arrival of the cor-
oner. The district attorney and sev-
eral deputies had also been sum-
moned. :

A few minutes later, there was a
loud shout from one of the spec-

_tators. “Hey!” he yelled, “there’s

another body floating down the
river headed this way!”

Straining eyes picked up the ob-
ject. still moving slowly down-
stream on the other side of the
bridge. It was still too far out to
reach with the pole, but like the
other body, it took a sharp inward
course and soon reached the bank

‘almost within yards of the wom-

an’s body.

Willing hands secured it to the

shore.

The postmaster was again the
first to recognize the corpse. “An-
ton Geisler!” he cried.

Like his wife, Anton Geisler had

been blasted by a shotgun held at
close’ range. Two savage wounds
had ripped his chest. His neck and
hands were peppered with shot.
Corongr Nelson made a brief ex-
aminat of the bodies and then
ordered {them removed to Home-
stead for autopsy by @ police sur-

geon who would be brought down

- from the county seat. .

bev sheriff and two of his depu-
ties drove out without delay to
the Geisler farm, in Roosevelt
County. ‘ {

The farm was a poor one. There

‘was no livestock, only a few dozen

chickens. The buildings were home
built and bare looking, but there
was.an unmistakable air of clean-
liness and industry everywhere.

In the two-room house, the of-
ficers found unmistakable evidence
of a struggle. Clothing was strewn
on the floor, dishes were broken,
blood. was .spattered everywhere.

a ee ~ oe yee
‘ SS

The single closet door was open
and a trail of plood led from there
to the kitchen. Had one of the vic-
tims tried to hide in the closet?

A 12-gauge shotgun was leaning
against the kitchen * wall. A mop
that was wet and sticky and brown.
colored was also there. The killer
had apparently made a half-heart-
ed effort to clean up the mess his
bloody violence had caused.

Both mop and shotgun were
carefully wrapped and placed in
the sheriff’s car for later chemical
analysis.

Near the single, brass bed against
the east windows, the searchers
found a trunk that was unlocked.
Inside was a small tin box with a
simple clasp that opened to the
touch. The box contained $235 in
bills.

The killer, whoever he was, had-
made no attempt to search the

trunk. If robbery was the motive

for the brutal double slaying, the
trunk would have been the first
objective of the murderer since it
plainly offered the most likely hid-
ing place for any valuables.

Near the barn, Sheriff Salisbury
found three empty shotgun shells.
There was a profusion of blood on
the dry, sandy earth and plain _
marks where a body had been
dragged. , :

“The killer probably ambushed
Anton as he came out of the barn,”
Sheriff Salisbury mused. “Then he
went into the house, struggled with
Mrs. Geisler, and finally cornered
her in the closet and shot her. He
must have had a car because he
could not have dragged the bodies
to the fiver. He dumped them and
then made his escape.”

Clearly imprinted in the dirt road
along the front of the house were
tire marks. A plaster cast was
made. Within the gate, closer to
the farm buildings, the officers
found numerous tracks made by @
second set of tires. These were
probably the imprints of Geisler’s
own car tires, The murdered man —
owned a black Ford sedan. It was
nowhere in sight.

A car drove up to the gate as the
officers were preparing to leave.
The caller was one of the Geisler’s
neighbors.

“I came over to see if there is
anything I can do to help,” he said

. earnestly. :

“you knew the Geislers pretty
well?” Salisbury asked.

“we were friendly. We swapped
tools back and forth. Nothing more
than that.”

“When did you see them last?”

“Not for a couple of days. Mat-
ter of fact, I was comin’ over today
to see them. They got no phone,
and I was gettin’ a mite worried.
Anton usually drives by my farm a
‘couple of times a day. And on Sat-
urdays he drops some eggs off at

(Continued on page 43)
15


e lolf

’ Hardina = I Jn ey
9 +0L dinand, WOIUE 4 hanged

A newly wedded couple, living in this lonely farm home, became
the victims of a slayer who stalked his unsuspecting prey as they
worked at their accustomed chores.

LAF LARSON was walking across the small bridge
(.) sp2nning Little Muddy river, a half-mile west of
Z1omestead, Mont. y

H's glance strayed to the dirty waters of the river. There
was an object floating in an eddy about ten feet from the east
bank of the stream. He stared, then went closer to the edge of
the bridge.

He looked down horrified upon the nude body of a woman in
the swirling murky water!

Larson hurried to Homestead, and telephoned to Plentywood,
the Sheridan county seat. He told Sheriff Rodney Salisbury
of the gruesome discovery.

“Get the body out of the water,” Sheriff Salisbury directed.
“T’ll get the coroner, district attorney and a deputy. We'll be
there in half an hour.”

While the officers were speeding the 30 miles from Plentywood
to Homestead, a crowd gathered at the bridge.

As violent death was rare in the quiet agricultural community,
the town was virtually deserted and most of its 300 inhabitants
were present as the body was taken from the water and laid on
the river bank. It was 15 minutes after Larson’s telephone call
to the sheriff. Someone covered the body with a blanket.

Among the excited group was a Homestead merchant, one of
the first to arrive. He had walked a short distance down stream
while the body of the woman was being removed from the water.

“There’s another body!” the merchant suddenly shouted.
Floating face upward was the fully-clothed and lifeless form of
a man!

When the bodies were brought ashore they were identified by
the Homestead postmaster as Anton and Ludmilla Geisler, a
newly married couple who operated a farm about 15 miles west
of the town.

When the county officials arrived, on that afternoon of May 2,
1926, they saw that they were confronted with a double murder.

The body of the young wife, who was comely in life, was
badly mutilated.

“Tooks like she was shot three times with a shotgun, at close
range,” Coroner Martin Nelson said, inspecting the almost de-
capitated body. The neck was torn. There were wounds on the
left arm, at the elbow, and in,the abdomen.

Geisler had met a similar fate. His chest bore two deep
wounds. Gunshot was peppered over the upper part of the
torso, imbedded in the flesh.

A possibility that the couple met death by drowning after

Point, MT Mz

‘y 20, 1927

Pretty Ludmilla Geisler was not alarmed by nearby
gunshots until confronted by a vicious killer who
aimed a gun through her bedroom window.

being shot was disregarded when
it was found that there was no trace
of water in the lungs of either
victim.

The bodies were taken to Home-
stead.

Meanwhile, authorities began
their investigation. They learned
at the outset that Mr. and Mrs.
Geisler were new-comers to Mon-
tana, having moved to the ranch
just a year before. Both enjoyed
good reputations and were highly
respected.

Seeking a motive for the vicious
double slaying, Sheriff Salisbury
and his companions questioned
several Homestead men and women
who had been acquainted with the
Geislers. Nobody could suggest a
possible motive for the crimes.

The postmaster, who first identi-
fied the couple, acompanied authorities back to the bridge, after <€
the bodies had been taken to the village. There, he called to the
sheriff, pointing to several brown spots on the rail and deck of
the structure, about 15 feet from the east end.

“T£ those aren’t bloodstains, I miss my guess,” he said.

Conon: NELSON examined the spots, one of which was
more than a foot in diameter. “You're right,” he agreed.
“Certainly looks like blood.”

Samples were taken for chemical analysis. PI

“The bodies might have been thrown from the bridge,’ rea-
soned Sheriff Salisbury. “But wait a minute, what’s this?”
He took note of fresh automobile tire tracks leading off the
bridge, running south, parallel to the river, continuing close
to the river edge for several hundred feet, then turning back
onto the highway.

The impressions left by the tires were deep and clear. Sheriff
Salisbury made a plaster cast of them.

Citizens of }
corpse of a

Coroner Nelson, meanwhile, called a jury which decided, Muc
after a brief session, that Anton and Ludmilla Geisler had
died from gunshot wounds, murdered by persons unknown.
DARING YETECTIV

ey aN

ANNG JETECTIVE.

(F434


HUMAN DETECTIVE CASES

‘for hours, ever since the grisly dis-
covery had been made. ‘

“People keep calling up here,
askin’ do I know anything,” he said
bitterly. “Just gossip mongers,
that’s all they are.”

Young Schlaps was mollified
somewhat by the patient. Sheriff
Salisbury. In calmer tones, he re-
lated that he had been given the
weekend off, early Saturday morn-
ing, as usual. He had a date to
travel to North Dakota, to visit his |

HERE'S
ENTERTAINMENT

ae you bike

ory girl friend, and he had borrowed
= Anton’s car. He was to leave in the
a morning, but he had been delayed,
i= and now, that the news of the
war tragedy had broken, he was, of
ae course, staying home.

rneil “I got Anton’s car right outside,”
tore he said. “I don’t know what to do
Bead with it now.”

Saat “We'll take it,” Salisbury told
sett him. He did not explain that the
= automobile would be shipped off to
es oe the State Police Laboratory for a

complete examination. Salisbury
had seen the car as he arrived and
had glanced at it quickly, but there
were no obvious bloodstains or any
other evidences that two badly
bleeding bodies had been trans-
ported inside it.

“Was there anything out of the
ordinary when you left the Geisler
farm this morning?” Sheriff Salis-
bury asked.

“Oh, no. Mrs. Geisler was making
stuffing for a chicken. She was all
excited about it. It was her first
try. Anton was laughing at her.
They were having a wonderful
time!”

with a steady and level gaze. “You
got any idea who shot those two
people?” he asked.

“I ain’t got an idea in the world,
Sheriff. I wish I did have. I only
-| wish I did have!” his big hands

‘worked themselves into knotted

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A detailed account of his move-
ments that morning was taken
down. He had left the Geisler farm
at 7230 that morning. At 8 o’clock
or thereabouts he reached his own
house. He. had been tinkering with
the car and tuning up the motor in
preparation for his trip to see his
girl friend.

“Anton asked me did I want to
borrow some money,” the youth
said-unhappily. ““He was joshin’ me
when I left because I was plannin’
on asking my girl friend to marry
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Fp fiat Fee ae a the nead of at Gage y || _ “And Mrs. Geisler? She was pret-
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¢ iff asked, watching the young man

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The officer eyed the young man.

= |
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44

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Bullet holes in this car (above)

show how deadly was the fire

that made it a futile refuge for Undersheriff Burford (below) when
he chose it as cover for his last stand against the enraged killer

‘m#EE SIMPSON, wealthy rancher of
] g Golden Valley, Montana, wolfed

his supper like a hungry hound.

‘Quietly, his wife nibbled at her beans

and salt pork. The thin little woman

‘didn’t feel like eating; she hungered for

‘companionship more than food. Yet
she knew better than to intrude upon
‘the monotonous, noisy sounds which her
husband. made when he was eating;
‘even a single, unsolicited comment
might rouse his vile temper. So she ate
in silence. Not a word passed between
them.

When the rancher had gorged him-
self, he grunted with satisfaction as he
wiped the stubble around his mouth
with. the. back -of.a pudgy hand. He
raised his squat body and stretched.
' “Well, old woman,” he said, “was
there any mail today?”

His wife’s pinched face lit up a trifle.
‘The sound of a human voice—even
Lee’s squeaky; irritable voice—was so
‘pleasant to her that she glowed for a
moment at the mere sound of words.
They reminded her that she was still
alive.

“Yes, there was a letter,” she flut-
tered,. rising briskly to fetch it to the
man, who had flopped down on a sofa
in the front room. : 4

“The mailman didn’t bring the paper
today,” she continued, anxious to drain
every possible word from this conversa-
tional opportunity.

“Darn his cussed hide,” the man
growled. “First thing he knows he won't
be carrying mail.”

Today he wanted his newspaper
badly. He wondered if it contained
any news about the two young rustlers
who had butchered one of his calves
five days ago. The pair had been trailed
down and captured by Sheriff Elmer J.
Dolve, hard-fisted “law man” of Golden
Valley County, the same day they com-
mitted the crime.

™@ HE WAS anxious to learn if they

had been convicted yet. It irritated
him to think that he must wait at least
one more day to read the news of what
he hoped would be harsh judgment.
_ “Imagine those young punks figuring
they could steal a calf from me and get
away with it,” he mused with a chuckle.

The incident was ludicrous, indeed,
for he counted himself to be the biggest
rustler who rode the ranges of beautiful
Golden Valley, the most successful thief
east of central Montana’s Crazy Moun-
tains. Because he was as cagey as a
fox, he had found it easy to steal un-

TRUE DETECTIVE

4 79d JO

SON St EO ee
Bias


ire
en
ler

the paper
s to drain
conversa-

the man
she won’t

iewspaper
contained
.g rustlers
iis calves
-en trailed
f Elmer J.
of Golden
they com-

n if they
irritated
it at least
s of what
idgment.
figuring

e and get
chuckle,
indeed,

« biggest
beautiful
sful thief
-y Moun-
wey as a
steal un-

E DETECTIVE.

-the rancher (below

the mounting total

One after another the
names of the pro-
posed victims were
added to the death .
list (right). Eachwos  *
grimly numbered b

with no regard for

Terror chilled the ranchers
heart when the killers
death list revealed the full
measure of his evil design

JUNE, 1942

57

roe


Simpson seemed:genuinely surprised.
“Holy smoke!” he ejaculated. “Wonder
how that mare got here?”

“But where’s the colt?” asked Gibbs, |

as he scanned the herd.

The grizzled old rustler was in the
worst spot of his fifty-odd, thieving
years. He couldn’t reveal where the
colt was without also revealing his
secret hideout in the hills. Quickly he
decided upon a ruse.

& “THIS MUST be it.” As he spoke

he pointed out a wobbly-legged,
mangy colt of his own. ‘Don’t belong
here,” he added,

“Hey,” snapped Gibbs, “that ‘starved
little cayuse isn’t mine!”

“Must be yours,” insisted the rancher.
“See, it’s going over to the mare now.”

Gibbs eyed the man suspiciously.
“You can’t pawn that runt off on me,”
he grated.

Sheriff Dolve broke the tenseness.
“Take it easy, boys,” he cautioned. “TI’ll
settle that point in a jiffy.”

He roped the two animals and

brought them outside the‘corral. Im-
mediately the colt attempted to suckle,
but the mare kicked it away. Again
the hungry colt tried. This time it was
kicked into a somersault.

“Plain enough,” the officer an-

nounced. “The colt doesn’t belong with |
|\the time, Now—

that mare.” ;

Simpson had been watching with
wary eyes. His hand itched to rip the
pistol from his belt. The Sheriff is too
smart, he thought; I’ve got to get him
out of here before he puts me behind the
eight ball. Maybe I’d better kill him!

Yes, he would kill him, he decided;
him and his deputy and the troublesome

The hill (above) gave good cover until that

empty click that meant—no more ammunition

|

neighbor, too. He would drill lead
‘through their hearts and bury them

| right here in the corral. -

Their backs were to him. Now was

At that moment, luckily, the Sheriff
turned sharply, facing the two ranch-
ers. ‘He suggested that Gibbs take the
mare home and that Simpson keep his
eyes open for the missing colt.

Now that the convenient opportunity
for murder was gone, the old rustler’s
wits came to his rescue.

Sheriff E. J. Dolve and County Attorney Nat Allen (/eft to right)
believed that the wanton rustler lived right in their own valley

june, 1942

“Has it occurred to you, Sheriff, that
this is probably a frame-up?” he asked
suddenly. “You know as well as any-
one that there’s been rustling in these
parts for years. My stock’s been raided
the same as other herds in Golden
Valley, only I’ve lost more because I’ve
had more to lose.

“Finally I send a couple of rustlers
to the pen. Then, right afterwards,”
he continued pointedly, “a mare is
planted in my corral. See what I
mean?” :

™@ THE SHERIFF nodded. “I see what
you mean.” ‘

Gibbs was infuriated by this in-
nuendo. “For your information, Simp-
son,” he said grimly, “I’m going to town
right now and swear out replevin
papers.” ‘ ia

Legal matters mystified the wealthy
rancher. .““What’s that?” he asked,
scowling.

“That means the law will have the
right to go over your ranch from stem
to stern and find that colt,” flared Gibbs.
“And if you’re caught hiding it, it means
you’ll spend a year in the pen and
cough up a $5,000 fine!” “

Simpson’s face colored beneath its

stubby growth and he swallowed hard. .

The possibility of swift Montana justice
terrified him. Why didn’t I kill them
when I had the chance? he thought, in
sudden desperation.

The officers left and Gibbs cut across
the flat toward his ranch, riding the
mare. Simpson watched them disap-
pear with eyes narrowed to slits.

“The rats!” he snarled. “If they think
they can do anything to me—”

Yet he realized he was in a precarious
situation. It wouldn’t do any good to
bring the colt from the hills, he specu-
lated, because two of his men who had
hidden it might talk, eventually. If
Gibbs brought out replevin papers—he
shuddered as hé envisioned himself, the
biggest rancher in Golden Valley,
locked behind prison bars.

“Never,” he (Continued on page 79)

59


From behind the walls of this house (above)

the gunman fought his long and bloody duel

branded calves ‘and to raid herds of
sheep just before shearing time.

During a decade of profitable looting,
he had grown wealthy and he now
owned three large ranches in the heart
of the valley’s best grassland. He'called
them the “Mountain,” the “Twin
Coulée,” and “Sahara.” The latter was
his home ranch.

That, two young upstarts should try
to steal his calves—calves which he
might have stolen from a neighbor—
caused a hearty guffaw as he reflected
upon the irony of the incident.

“What are you laughing about?” his
wife ventured.’ '

“Shut up, old woman,” he promptly
rebuked her. “You talk too much for
your own good.”

He observed that the letter was post-

marked “Deer Lodge, Montana.” Pres-
ently he was examining two legal docu-
ments which it contained. One was the
complaint he had signed charging Roy
Harmon and: Harry Dunwald, the
youthful rustlers, with the theft of a
calf.. The other was a district court
sentence committing them to prison for
one year each.

™ SCRAWLED: ACROSS the latter
document were these words, “To Lee
Simpson—with best regards.” Beneath
this greeting appeared the signatures
of the two young men he had sent to
prison.

“Holy smoke!” he exclaimed. “Those

* two punks have already been sent to the

pen!”

: It seemed incredible. Only five days. -
had elapsed since the crime. With ter-

rifying clarity, he was impressed with
the swiftness of Montana justice—a
justice that might be meted out to him
some day.

The woman’s meek voice interrupted
his reflections. “A car’s parked outside,”
she said. “Someone’s coming in.”

“A car! Who is it?” :

He darted to the front window. Sil-
houetted against the rugged horizon of
faraway Coffin Peak, he saw three men

58

striding toward the house. Instantly he
recognized them as Sheriff Dolve, Un-
dersheriff Arthur Burford and a neigh-
bor rancher named H. K. Gibbs.

In a guilty flash, he recalled that he
had stolen a mare and colt from Gibbs
less than a month ago. His men had
taken the colt to a hideout far back
in the hills, but the mare was still at
his Twin Coulée ranch twelve miles
down the valley.

He snatched up a pistol and concealed
it underneath his belt. Then, casually,

he walked outside to meet the trio.

“Howdy, boys,” he greeted the
visitors.

The two officers nodded,

“Howdy, Simpson,” said the Sheriff.
Dolve was a big man with sharp eyes,
a turned-up nose, a belligerent chin. He
was not in the habit of mincing words.
‘ “Want to look over your horses,” he
said. “Gibbs heard you had a black
mare and colt of his running with your
stock.”

A puzzled frown creased the ranch-
er’s face. “The devil you say. Where’d
you hear that, Gibbs?”

“Percy Badgett was riding up this
way about a week ago,” Gibbs retorted.
“Claims he saw my mare in your
corral.”

“Let’s take a look at your hosses,

Simpson,” said Dolve, leading the way .

to the corral.

The rancher’s face flushed beneath
the stubble. “This ain’t a very neigh-
borly way to find out about a missing
mare,” he told Gibbs, indignantly.
“What’s the idea bringing these boys
out?) You know dang well you could
have your mare without bringing along
law men. Besides I doubt if -your mare
is here,”

“T aim to find out without having any
trouble,” the other man answered
quietly.

The visitors examined a herd of
twenty steeds in the corral, but the
missing mare was not there.

“Might be down at one of his other
ranches,” Gibbs suggested to the Sheriff.

“Bet it ain’t,” Simpson flared ina
squeaky, injured tone.

They drove to his Twin Coulée ranch,
Soon Gibbs spotted his black mare.

The Sheriff soon realized that though this shed hid him from view
it could not stop the high-powered slugs that blasted so near him

TRUE DETECTIVE


Pes

“4
q

ec 4
Cin taaligein thy Nitin salts ws hae 2



‘ye

=. HughD, iaaakar HE guy ay “rs
“Driftwood From The Jefferson”

back in the County Jail in Boulder,

A reward of $250.00 was offered
for information that would lead to

f The Story of Roy Walsh
3 Part Three Escape and Recapture
e “
& :
; Roy Walsh, Condemmed Man Es-
= capes From Boulder Jug! Montana,
= Two dates are given in different __
pete Me issues ofthe Jefferson Valley News
wey

for Roy Walsh's escape from The

Jefferson County jail in Boulder,

Montana, One issue states that

it was Oct. 27, 1923, The issue of

yz Oct. 25, 1923 gives the date as

Re Friday Oct, 19, 1923. The 19th is
the correst date, ‘

Considerable excitement was

 g telephone message received at the
«.... /New's office from Sheriff John
“a Mountjoy at Boulder to the effect
' that Roy Walsh, condemmed mur-
“>. derer awaiting sentence in the

towlas

EPS Reb te P2500 VOATIP ey. AE) >
; i bag, Sake

sapod,

Just how Walsh managed to anbe
‘hts get-way is a mystery, but
, suspicion points strongly to the
spécial deputy sheriff employed

*
Wee
*

ot nal Co wigan

7

@adé, Note-The mystery cleared
up iater, after Walsh was re-

2f-he desired supper. No response

“Was made by the prisoner and the

‘oT under sheriff went in and shook
_) hf, ~thinking perhaps he was

ise Sealeaps He was lying on bis bunk:

~ aRd as he was in ihe habit of
-gulking and refusing his meals,

AVAL 2 Hees ch
About . eight 0 clock thai night

BOVIS

as” Mone as. ‘guard, dnd according
we fri to. the formef, ha ‘did not talk to
sores the prisoner all that night, That
; * Walsh did not.escape before that
_( ime is” known, for from about
-* 400n unifl the time he turned the
t. keys to the cell over to Deputr
~ Knight, early in the evening, She=
he « Tiff Mountjoy had the keys to the

<> 22 cell in his possession, having gone
“s-"-4nto the eneiosure shortly after

Bg RR ORE Ay 8

cover bis car,
All the doors leading to the
jail corridor and cell were locked
_ trom the inside and could not have

FS

and Walsh, in order to make his
escape must have had ‘inside
> help’

-o>< The next morning Deputy kedgit
. went to Walsh’s cell to inquire
Vy" s@"?* whether or not he desired break-
Tas “4 fast. He. called, but™no answer
-. was forthcoming.. Knight opened
the cell door and went in to in-
|“ S. vestigate the reason. He took hold
\ of what resemble< a man under the
be bed clothing, but no man wasthers.
-that he had

Sie SS Walsh made a good escape,
en This had been his plan since jailed
be, Sigh bak for the murder of Al Johnson.

own cleverness, he at last had out-
witted the law.Jt would be almost
seven months before he would be

SEA
r sk
m4 t,.*

occasioned in Whitehall by the.

_, county jail in that oa had es-

&s guard when the break was .

i gapcured and returned from Mis-.~
“Sgourt. © More later on that point.”

ma farly Friday night he was known |
““<o have been in his cell to inquire ©

nething further was Fought of the.
<> came early in May, 1924, when the
, > sheriff's office in Boulder recetved
ihe night cuard relieved Lester:

noon. for a blanket with which io-

been. unlocked from the outside, ©

his arrest, Walsh was described as
follows- Roy Walsh--age 22 years,
height 6 ft, 1 1/2 inches, weight,
19 pounds, blue eyes and light-
brown hair,

He was reported to have been
seen in several places in Montana.

The law was hot on his trail, but.

it would be some time before he
would be recaptured,

New Trial for Walsh is Denied by
Judge.

*4n the district court at Boulder,
Judge Lyman H, Bennett refused
the plea of attorney John Elliott
of Butte, for a new trial for Walsh,

The date for hanging would be pro-

nounced by Judge Bennett on Nov 10,
notwithstanding the fact that the
condemmed man was stillat large.
All who want to see justice done

are with the sheriff in his en-.

deavor to land in a cell the man

Rey Walsh at the time of his arrest in Missouri. He was charged
with two counts of burglary and sentenced in Howard Co., Missouri 5 ae: j
to two years in the State Pententiary at Jefferson City. Thisisthe ~ ~~ Fe

Lea _<*..- photo recelved by John Mountjoy from Missouri. Be is ee as a ava

an experi sencti are aad machinist. ee

waist and wearing an ‘Geiger

Boot’, The trip home took two
days and two nights. Upon their
arrival in Butte, the condemmed
man was placed in the Silver Bow
County jail and then taken to

Boulder, Walsh was landed in the
Jefferson County jail just eleven
days after the letter was received
from Jefferson City, Judge Lyman
H, Bennett could now set the new
date for the hanging of Walsh..
Walsh was then taken toDeer Lodge
for safe keeping until his case was

who committed one of the most deposed of by the Supreme Court.

‘cold-blooded murders in the

tory of JEFFERSON County,” Geffer

son Valley News ot Nov,,!, 1923)
WALSH [S RECAPTURED . .- ©
’ Wefferson Valley News - er. 8,
1924) Peek :
The search for Roy Walsh was
almost nation-wide, Asfaras Mon-
tana was toncerned, he was Public
Enemy No.k.

The ‘big break’ in the man-hunt

2 letter from the warden of the

~ staté- penitentiary at Jefferson

City, Missouri. The letter con-

| tained a photograph of the prisoner

held at that institution, All doubt
as to the idenity of the wanted man
was removed, IT WAS ROY
WALSH! (See photo of Walsh from
the Missouri State Penitentiary)

The report to the effect that
Walsh had escaped through a trap
door in the ceiling of the outer
room at the jail andthence through
the tin roof of the jail was true.,
This fact had been known by the
sheriff and his deputies for some
time, The implements used by
Walsh to cut his way through the
roof were still 4p place. meats he
leftthem, .

Roy Walsh went by the alias of
Donald Stewart and Sheriff Mount-
loy almost had caught up with him
on one occasion in Tia Junta, Mex-
feo and again in San Diago, Cali-
fornia, Walsh was serving a two-~
year term in The Missouri State
Pen for two charges of burgalry
in Howard county, Missouri.Jos.
M, Dixon, Governor of Montana
issued a requisition for the return
of the prisoner. Walsh liked Buick
cars.and the Buick he had stolen
in Melrose, Montana was in Miss-
ouri., This deal was clearedup for
the return of the Buick to its
owner,

Sheriff Mountjoy and his deputy
L.B, Knight left for Jefferson City
to return Walsh to Montana, They
left Jefferson City with Walsh
handcuffed to a belt around his

hig- = On December 23, 1924 the Supreme

Court uplield the verdict of the
jury as rendered in Boulder on
July 27, 1923, This action was final
unless executive clemency would
be granted, Erickson was now the
“new Governor of Montana nad he
declined to interfere. Walsh was
resentenced to hang on February
14,. 1925, between the hours of 1
A.M, and 1 P.M, This sentence was
carried out on Saturday morning,

a

February 14, 1925 at 1 ee AM,
Conclusion--Part lil (Three)
After Walsh was returned and
while he was still in jailat Boulder,
Mr. Fred Fessenden received a
call from Boulder that Roy was

willing to show them how he escap- ~~

ed and to come over. I was in the
News office at that time and Fred
ask me to go with him to Boulder,
We jumped into his car and hurried
to Boulder over the hill road. There
were quite a few of us in the cell
block with him that day, He was in
his cell, we onthe outside.. He re-

lated how he had made keys for the
cell door and the cell block door
after having the keys in his pos-
session for a few minutes. They
were supposed to have been given
to him by the night guard..He

claimed that he made keys out of
hardwood and contrived a device
to fit the key in to the cell lock and
turn same..All this seemed to be
far-fetched.Jt was a known fact

that Walsh had had ‘inside help”’:

“BAYERS

oo Spring Hereford

*

‘°° Rancher Special”

- Bul | ie

STHAVA DADO:

Saturday Mi

The night guard was tried by a jury s
and acquitted for lack of evidence. Sie.
His name is not used in this story ~~~ —
because of due respect for mem-
bers of the family that might stilt
be living.

Arthur Hughes served several
years of his sentence and J am
told was rehabilitated to become :
a good citizen, He liked Sheriff
John Williams and came to Boulder
several times to see the sheriff,
Part Four---The Execution at how ;

DEE Ae barre See
NO. TBs

Fa an et

‘Support your local paper --Gub-
scribe to the Monitor and the News.

wes 80-long for now
_ DRIFTWOOD

flare

. . Wy , Mast, ‘ 5
Sate at 1 p.m. Free lunch. at noon

is tins ot

‘Twin Bridges, Mt.

60 ear rade

ae

+574

including 20 Helter Type | Bulls.


Lipsesey

ss Air again HK Af et

Pa

1

lo

BF]

Taye sts. senha ik gna a rary

Thursday, Feb. 27, 1975,

“Yi

tsa

“= HUGH MOSIER

“Driftwood From The Jefferson”

: The Story of Roy Walsh rarri-

The trial and ‘conviction ‘ot ‘Roy Walsh |

oF uth :

"July 21, 1923--Boulder, Montana -

The trial of Roy Walsh started’
on Saturday July 21, 1923, but due
to the illness of juror Martin Jen-
sen of Grace, it had to be post-
poned by Judge Lyman H, Bennett
until he, Jensen, would recover
enough to continue.

A fight was made by Attorney
Elliot, for the defendant, against
the admission as evidence of the
confession made by the accused,
Walsh. Judge Bennett ruled that the

. written document or Walsh’s con-

- fession of June 30th, be admitted.

* The legal fight continued. Despite
repeated objections on the part
of the attorney for Walsh, the
State succeeded in eliciting state-
ments from the sheriff to the
effect that Walsh and Hughes had
made several attempts to break

It developed that, because of the

“length of the Walsh trial, Hughes
would not be tried at this term
of Court. When arrested, he had
confessed and placed the blame’

“Son Walsh, Hughes was later to’

plead guilty to second degree mur-

der and receive a sentence of from

18 to 36 years in the state prison
-at Deer Lodge.

Walsh’s confession admitted. ©

Roy Walsh being first duly sworn,
deposes and says- ‘I am making
this statement for the reason that
you told me of Hughes’ statement.
Since you know about our camp on
Cedar Hill, I will tell you the rest.
We got toour Cedar Hill camp about
5 or 6 o’clock in the morning of
June 26th, We left there after dark,
probably 8/30 for Renova, It was
our intention to hold Johnson per-
sonally for the money he keeps
- there. It was my intention to go to
Seattle. He (Hughes) wanted to
stay on the Madison until the pur-
suit died down over the stolen
Cadillac. We had no definite plans,
but planned to hang around the
store until Johnson was alone and
then stick him up. Y .
«q didn’t want to hurt Johnson,
but supposed we would have to tie
him, That was our intention.
Hughes was to hold Johnson up with
the six-shooter or .32 he had. I
would walk in after him and tle
Johnson up. Hughes went ahead of
me in the Cadillac, I followed in
the Buick. We waited in the Cadil-
lac at Renova and mask ourselves

up with parts of an old white shirt ;

Hughes had in his car. .
- «ewhen we got to the store, there
was a man talking to Johnson. Then
we saw the fellow leave and John-
son got down off the counter. He
took the money out of the cash re-
gister and counted it-and went into
the back rooms, Hughes stayed by
the door that opens on the walk
to the tracks. (West) I went around
-to the other side of the store, (East)
‘gq crouched down by the vines
at the door. Ihitabox with my gun
and leg. Johnson opened the door
and looked out. I started to beat it
and the gun caught in something
and went off. After the gun went off, °
1 went over the fence and ran back

* to the Buick. It may have been five

Jreait by 4 y 4 e
minutes between the firing of the
shot and the time I- started the
Buick. When the gun went off,
there was a light in Johnson’s.
bedroom window. I started the
Buick and went up the lane to the
main road and past the store,
across the bridge and up the hill on
Parrott bench, As I went past the
store, I noticed the light still on
in Johnson’s room, There also
was a light in the house across the
road. ; * hacayie

*q have made this statement not

because of any promise that were

made me. I have not been threaten-
ed, but make them of my own free-
will, and because I think it will be
found out anyway. I did not know
that Johnson was hurt when I left’?

The confession was signed by Roy
Walsh and witnessed by Howard
A. Johnson. The confession was
later to be somewhat inaccurate
and full of holes- just like the
bullet hole in Johnson’s bedroom
door. Walsh went by way of the

_ Parrott bench road to his brush
hide-Out near the Lank farm on)

the Jefferson. Hughes went back

_ to Butte. Both were arrested and

Hughes confessed and accused

Walsh of firing the fatal shot.

The stolen Cadillac trapped Hughes
and Hughes’ confession was
Walsh’s down-fall. The two young
robbers had bungled the job and
Al, Johnson was murdered.

The Jefferson Valley News of the
Aug, 2, 1923--vol XI, No. 5.
Headlines ~ ‘ ,

WALSH FOUND GUILTY OF MUR-
DER--FIRST DEGREE, 3
Jury fixes penalty at death for kil-
ling of Renova merchant,

July 27, 1923, :

The case reached the jury at
8/20 o'clock after Judge Lyman
H, Bennett had called a night
session, and three hours later, at
11/20 P.M., the twelve men re~-
turned with the verdict that meant
death to the convicted man.

‘*we find the defendant guilty
and fix the penalty at death,’’ This
was the verdict of the jury in the
case of the State of Montana vs
Roy Walsh for the murder of Al.
Johnson, Revona merchant, in the
District Court at Boulder, Montana
on July 27,1923, .
~The jury found Walsh guilty
on the first ballot. Two of the
men, however, were inclined to
leave the punishment to the Court,
and the others insisted on the death
penalty, The last ballot was un-
animous for the extreme punish-
ment, ‘

In the court room, while waiting
for the jury to come in, Walsh
sprung another surprise on his
guards, Handcuffed and closely
guarded, he sat talking to Sheriff
Mountjoy and Under Sheriff Knight.
¢q*11 bet I can unlock these brace-
lets,”? he remarked to the Sheriff.
As the officers smiled unbelieving-
ly down at him, Walsh reached into
his side pocket and produced a
small key which had been per-
fected out of the handle of a small
spoon, Fitting the improvised key

into the lock, he turned it smoothly —

‘

“Music Co. at their big shop and

and slipped the handcuffs from his
wrist.

Judge Lyman H, Bennett would
pass sentence on Walsh at a later
date, A constant guard was to main-.
tained over the prisoners. Three
deputies, working in eight-hour
shifts, would be on guard at all
hours of the day and night,OnOct- -
ober 27, three days before the con-
victed man was to have sentenced

. and the day fixed for hanging, he

escaped from the Boulder jail
by using a key fashioned after the
one which, according to Walsh,
wes given to him by one of the
guards on watch at the time.
In the summer of 1923, after re-
turning from National Guard Camp
at Camp Lewis, I went to work for
C.D. Flaerty, Jefferson County
Surveyor. We were re-locating
mining claim markers for claims

” at Comet. I believe they were the

Giulio claims, We stayed at the
Winsor Hotel. C.D, had to be a
witness at the Walsh Trial as he
had surveyed the angle of the bullet
hole in the store door at Renova.
I got to hear some of the. trial
as we came in early on the days
C.D, had to testify.
From the Jefferson Valley News,
of Sept. 27, 1923- 2 he
«Hugh Mosier, 2 member of the

W.H.S. Class of 1923, expects to 25+

leave for Stockton, Claifornia on ..
Oct. 1.2 I worked inStockton during
the winter of 1923-24 for the McN eil

warehouse for $15.00 per week.
While in Stockton, I took Journa~
lism at night school at the Stock-
ton daily newspaper. I returned to _.
Whitehall in the spring of 1924,
about: the time Walsh was re-
captured and returned to Boulder.
Part Three of the Roy Walsh
Story---Escape and Re-capture--
will appear in the papers in about
two weeks. You have just read

Driftwood No. 72...) pcuighs ick Wbace

ee est te . So-long for now
Se les Driftwood «03° ahaa:

to the Editor.

"” Qeattor’s Note - ‘The followliig -
letter , received by Mr. Russell”

\ McGinnis, a former resident ‘of ~

Boulder, will testify to rehabil-
itative efforts at our state prison. ~
Mr.. McGinnis is working as a
dental techician at the prison and
is considered with high regard
by prison officials). Me

Inmate Russell O, McGinnis
Dear Mr. McGinnis, oe
Iam writing at this time to,
commend you for your actions on
Sunday, Feb. 9, 1975 when the
institution experienced a serious
fire. oes
The medical assistance that”
you rendered to Officer Burdette
was outstanding. 7 g
As well as the thanks from Of- |

ficer Burdette, you have my per- pee

sonal gratitude.
ay Roger W, Crist,
acrenuen; Warden...”
Montana State Prison

MEMORIAL
PROGRAM

Dixie Rennie is the Memortal
Chairman for the American Can-
cer Society for the north end of.
Jefferson County, Anyone wishing
to give a memorial in memory of
some person may contact Mrs.
Rennie by calling 225-3819 or wri-
ting to her at Box 231 in Boulder, |

- AMERICAN
CANCER
SOCIETY

A i a é ae she sda ds

ar |

. Forms,

* ployees’s Income Tax Return.
Realizing that with my advanced 441 our local diaper-changing em-

‘tribute,

THE BOULDER MONITOR* & JEFFERSON VALLEY NEWS:

Rv; Mulvaney:

Received a nice letter from Mr.
Hugh Mosier, also known as & :
‘Driftwood’?, (this is the man who” ~~ - pon

writes for the Jefferson Valley 4,6 4 «Feed Bill” for our 1 oak

News) following my challenge last 4) cistution
week to a feud. ‘But I can’t quite agree with the

_ i as sgt " theory that ‘If we don’t get what
elig! eee ’ we want, we’re going to strike.”

the present time he’s still involv- rig attitude amounts to a threat —

ed in the Hatfield - McCoy feud,
and as soon as he gets that prob-
lem resolved, he’ll arrange terms,
with me. He suggested for OpeM- pion. hang in. there, and if the
ers we use pop-corn balls at 20 Legislators watt until the lasts

to the Legislature that ‘You give
us what we want, or else.’

I’d much rather see the local.

paces, for a drink for the house. minute to.pass a law providing.

Personally, I’d prefer columns at for a. retroactive pay increase:

forty miles, and I’m not talking  tnat is not satisfactory to the rank
about upright columns. PF and file, then cal! for a strike.
_ Nor uptight columns, either. This would almost certainly re-
Sliding rather gracefully into wit in the call for a special ses-
my next meanderings, I’m rather ion of the Legislature to make
uptight - over the way the Glor- amends, 1’m also sure that the
fous State of Montana issues W-2, members of the National: Guard
This is the statement to the em- ° es ged ae vw on

: ployee which lists the salaryearn- t e tution.
ed, the Federal Tax withheld, Soc. ppenibignce? se eam

Sec, deducted, and Montana Tax civ Air Patrol might be press- ©

withheld... ‘ed into service here in Boulder,

I find it almost impossible to'“bu4 1 doubt that they’d
. " Mista enjoy the
decipher ‘the figures, when I try work any more ‘han the eataoat

to prepare a Montana State Em- - Guard did.

> It probably doesn’t set too well

age, my eyesight is getting poor- ; .
‘ _-ployees when they read that there
rec 2 wns th nek ~~ ane {sa bill recently introduced that
pocatiden ast NaarE e ie gives Governor Judge a $9,000.00

“could improve the forms they dis, a year salary increase (much more
the .average Attendant re- *
ceives here in Boulder for an an~ -

Manet wet

Even in this “penney-ante “pusi-

ybe the Coast Guard or the .

ness I’m involved in, I can afford a
-nual wage) with the stipulation that -
to. buy’, A. few. sheets of Sarbon the Governor pay for his own

* paper, so that anything I type =~. oven repairs from now on.

dahon alee “ Pier a a _.This bill. also specifies that the

“-Y Wag ‘asked by Gordon “Work to
$ the Governor’s Mansion monthly
uote a’ comment f - *
te mment_from Paul Har, grocery bill - except for official

““oyey’s radio’ program ‘in which he — fonctions
Wish there were some way that ~

lifted a comment from some oth=_
er source, Anyhow, the comments + ¢owld walk into a local cafe
Be ‘

had something to- say about the “order something special ~ like a
‘most un-common saying in this pBone steak - announce that this

on SB yo we the term. yas an official function (like get-
mon Sense’. _..ting material for this column) and

with Dean Browns front page edi-

Dodie’ ‘tagitting ihe poasibsiy ofr: cet gh ays
a strike at the Boulder River
School and Hospital. | is

‘» gure, I agree that the rank-

‘column ¢sMul’s Meanderings,’’ it
should be changed to » “Mul’s

State quit picking up the tab for_

?

¢

.- Afraid I don’t completely agree get somebody else in the cafe to =

Maybe instead of heading this ~

ming.’? isthe i tiecetae
and-file employees deserve a sub- pres " ce j " ol
j - R, J, Mulvaney
stantial raise in salary. ‘ es

. Sure, I agree that our Legis-
lators appear to be dragging their -
feet when it comes to introduc=".5°


4UnN, Henry John, wh, co, hanged Miles City, Mont.., on 4-24-1935,

ww
\

DARK

 Montana’s Mid

HE night of August 12th, 1934, was insufferably warm; the

hot winds of the most devastating drought in American history

swept across the eastern Montana plains and made of Miles

City a veritable oven. In their rooms in the Administration
Building of the Montana State Industrial School, Professor and Mrs.
Lester Jones had tossed and tumbled for hours before he finally
dropped off to sleep; she still lay open-eyed beside him.

Nervous, from hours of wakefulness, every little night sound was
borne to her ears with an exaggerated distinctness, as she forced her-
self to remain quiet in order not to disturb her husband’s needed rest.
She knew the old building with a thoroughness acquired through
years of association, and suddenly she heard a sound which was
foreign to those that she was accustomed to hearing in the middle of
the night. The clock in the hallway had struck twelve not fifteen
minutes previously.

It was a terrifying sound; the sort of sound which would make even
a strong man want to cry out; the intermittent squeak, squeak, of a
door on un-oiled hinges being opened by stops and starts, creating
the un-nerving feeling that someone is sneaking upon you.

The transom of the bedroom was, of course, open, and scarcely
breathing, so intently was she listening, Mrs. Jones was certain that
the sound came from the swinging doors of the rear hallway, which
opened directly into the main hallway of the building. Then, too,
she recognized the squeak of that particular door, only never before
had she heard it opened in such a slow and mystifying manner.

For fully ten minutes the irregular squeaks continued; then there
were soft footfalls passing directly in front of the bedroom door.

(Left) Professor Lester Jones,
of the Montana State In-
dustrial School at Miles
City, victim of &@ mysterious °
slaying

egexgag

as cee

a Aaiahdiel

et, Sete

Mrs. Jones, startled at last from her Jethargy,
realized that someone with evil intent had
entered the building and was creeping along
the main hallway.

The Administration Building of the school,
along the main hall of which the intruder
now crept, is a large, three-story affair,
situated approximately two city blocks from
the main highway, running north and south,
immediately west of the institution grounds.
Here, wayward youths, convicted of steal-
ing and minor offences, are given a chance
to rehabilitate themselves while serving
sentences; they may learn trades and be-
come useful citizens, if they apply themselves.

The front portion of the lower floor was
split by a main hallway, reached through a

vestibule with swinging doors which were
never locked. Off this main hallway, to the

£
Ww
O7
.

TRUE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES, February, 19


.
ee:
ESR er Seat eC |
\
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- Ms
4
komad beihddinid ogee east ay
.

s
af

ff
{due Ils U. of

Watt Espy, Jre
Pe O. Box 27
Headland, Alabama 363)5

lth December 197.

The Clerk of the Beaverhead Court,

Court House,
Dillon, Montana 59725.

Dear sir:

I am engaged in research on Capital Punishment in the United States which I hope to
culminate with the publication of a work containing brief biographical sketches of
each person to have been legally executed in the United States as well as brief
accounts of the crimes for which they were executede

I understand that condemned felons in Montana have always been hanged locally in the
Counties of their convictions and never at the State Prison. Accordingly, the State
does not maintain a list of executed felons and it is necessary that I write to each
County in an effort to ascertain the names and dates of executions of those who have
been legally executed.

I shall certainly appreciate any information that you ngght be able to provide n.
concerning executions in Seaverhead County. If you can provide me with any names
or dates, this would be most helpful as I would have sonething to go on. It woula
be of tremendous assistance if you can provide me with any of the facts and if any
old records, newspapers or pages from a County History are photocpied, I shall gaadl)
pay for the cost of the copiese

If you are unable to help me, I shall appreciate it if you will provide me with the
names and addresses of some individuals or organizations that might be of assitance.

Enclosed is ten cents (10¢) postage for your convenience in replying, and you wills
of course, be given credit in the work itself for any assistance rendered.

Thanking you for your kindness and cooper tion, and with best wishes for a very Merry
Christmas, I am,

oe é ff j
ih bucks dae Very truly yours,

OLE 46 ,
er ecctllak Monde) Aye
ea Leehcad 4 biel 4 Wiantaren— VA
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of Shirepl

7 % 7K. Pen) aed Law

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Cackaiky . Piracy sect OF DISTRICT COURT


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True Detective Mysteries

Dark Killer—Montana’s Midnight Marauder

(Continued from page 49)

Later, when the autopsy was performed,
two bullets were taken from the body;
one had hit him in the side while the
other, no doubt fired point-blank, had
gone straight through the heart!

“Not much doubt about the intention
of the fellow who pulled that trigger,”
said O’Connor. “He meant to kill—
right then.”

The broken glass provided a theory and
a hope that the killer might be hurt;
might have a black eye, for the glass
was apparently a part of a lens from a
pair of goggles. On the following morn-
ing Frank Grengo, secretary ‘for the
school, prowling around the premises, saw
a pair of goggles on the ground, with the
right lens broken out; the remaining lens
was identical with the glass found in the
murder room. Alongside the goggles lay
a railroad spike like the one found in the
office. Being an officer, Grengo realized
the importance of not touching anything,
so he left the spike and the goggles where
they were until Police Sergeant Walter
Prochnow came out and picked them up
to be preserved as evidence.

Ww Superintendent A. C. Dorr ar-
rived on the scene to comfort Mrs.
Jones, who was his daughter, he supplied
the officers with what seemed the first
plausible motive for the crime.

“Whoever did this knows the building
quite well,” said Dorr. “And my first
opinion would be that it was someone
who had at one time been confined here.
They might have been after Lester or
myself, or O’Connor. Or they might
have been after the money we keep in
the safe. The office was burglarized once
before, you know, by a fellow named
Miller—an inmate. He was about the
size of this fellow tonight—I wonder if it
could have been he?”

“fT know Miller,” stated Mrs. Jones. “T
remember him well, and he was about the
size of this man, but I really think this
man who ran out the door was a Negro.”

Sheriff Taylor set the wires buzzing and

Administration Building -
[Noat}

by three o’clock in the morning every
sheriff within striking distance of Miles
City had been warned to be on, the look-
out for a small, well-built, hatless man,
who might get off a freight train, and to
hold him for questioning. The thery that
the killer would use the freights had been
brought about by the fact that the check-
ered cap had been found to be grimy and
greasy, as a cap would likely be when
worn by one beating, his way on the
railways. brett

By daybreak, along the rail lines from
Miles City to Billings, many suspects had
been picked up and questioned, but none
of them could in any way be connected
with the crime.

But, on the theory that the crime
might have been committed by an ex-in-
mate of the school, Sergeant Prochnow be-
gan comparing such finger-prints as he
could find on the articles left behind by
the killer, with the records of the paroled
and escaped school inmates.

It did not take long to determine that
there were no clear prints on the outside
of the flashlight. But, as he was turning
the light about, Prochnow noticed what
appeared to be a print on the inside of
the lens. His first thought was that this
was the print of someone who had re-
paired the torch, or who had previously
owned it, for it did not seem reasonable
that the killer would be so careless as to
leave his own prints there. Prochnow
took the flash apart and got a photograph
of the lines he found there.

The prints were not too good, but yet
good enough, and finally he came_ to the
conclusion that they were those of a boy
named John Henry Miller, and that was
the lad who had’ previously burglarized
the industrial school office safe.

Word now went out, with a description,
to pick up John Henry Miller, who was
bdlieved to be in Canada. But this was
easier said than done; if Miller had any-
thing to do with the killing, he had seem-
ingly made his get-away.

Of course, the mere fact that Miller’s

Montana State Industrial School.»

Living Quorters| _

Lester Jones

and Wife.

Killer Escapes

“= - Sony

5 s.

¢
Jones: MW
Hesse

aynqissan

Orrice =
Flashjight , Cap,
Spike “and Gloss
Found in this Room

Sidewalk - Route

Floor plan of the Administration Building,

rer. ee

Killer Pauses

*,

one wcers

Office

O'Connor Went
Up This Stair.

omen ween sseee

of Killer's Entrance?

Montana State Industrial School, showing

route of the killing marauder and the scene of the death struggle

'

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ne hall. She
on the floor,
onscious and
‘ang a buzzer

ume from all

hool, was the
n she found
get a doctor.
ng and had
; and she it
1e room; one
23 Was dead.
1e bathroom
e must have
r husband’s
ver the floor
2 realization
uld suppress
he uttered a
he building;

with Mrs.

got upstairs
le officer for
' Montana’s
, and it was
they did not
cause of the
armed.

Dark Killer—M ontana’s Midnight Marauder

O’Connor had just removed his shoes when he heard the shots;
then a door slammed. He ran toward the front window,of the
upper hall of the second story which overlooked the grounds.
He heard the rapid patter of feet on the concrete walk, then as
they ran across the sun-baked ground toward the highway.
It was dark and he could not see the fleeing figure, but from the
rapidity of the footfalls that resounded on his ears he deduced
that the runner was not very large; the footfalls were very '
close together.

Then O’Connor heard Mrs. Jones’ scream and knew that
something terrible had happened. He ran downstairs, felt
Jones’ pulse, took a quick look around the room to impress
upon his mind the condition of things there, and then called
Coroner James E. Graves and Sheriff Edgar Taylor of Miles
City, and asked them to come at once to the scene of the crime.

HILE he awaited the arrival of the officers, O’Connor

busied himself with a search of the room. Jicked under a
table in one corner of the office, was a flashlight. O’Connor
carefully laid it aside in the hope of finding finger-prints, never
having previously seen it about the premises. Then he found a
cap, a gaudy checkered thing which it was not likely anyone
having seen would forget. On the floor were some broken
pieces of brown glass and a railroad spike, which he soon found’ |
= been used to gain entrance to the office by prying on the

oor.

These were the clues found in the room of death, and with
the bullets to be taken from Jones’s body, and one found on the
floor, they provided the only leads to the killer. The bullet
picked up on the floor had struck the ceiling and dropped; it was
of .22 caliber. (Continued on page 113)

(Right) Sheriff Edgar Taylor of Custer County,

Montana, whose clever trailing of a fast-traveling

suspect resulted in solving the riddle. (Below)

The Administration Building of the Montana State

Industrial School. Arrow points to the section where
the Professor was wantonly shot down


tet

Tt Stee —

114

finger-prints had been found on the flash-
light lens, proved nothing. There were
no prints around the room to correspond
with it and there were no prints on the
outside of the flash. The one inside the
lens could have been made by Miller long
before the murder, as the very place of
its location would have assisted in its in-
definite preservation. Proof that the
flash had not been loaned, sold, bor-
rowed or stolen, would positively be nec-
essary before the print would directly
connect Miller with the murder. It
would be almost necessary to prove that
Miller actually had the torch in his pos-
session on the day of the crime, in order
to make the evidence effective. Had the
pecs been outside the lens, it would have
een rather conclusive evidence—but in-
side was another and less positive thing.

But now came word that seemed to
corroborate what Mrs. Jones had said
about the killer being a Negro. A boy of
that race had been seen loitering around
the grounds on the very day of the kill-
ing, in company with a white boy, who
was soon identified as a former inmate.
Had there been more than one in on the
Jones murder? the officers wondered. It
seemed reasonable that a confederate
might have waited outside.

Tones to the other physical evi-
dence, it was apparent that the cap, and
what a scientific investigation of it would
reveal, might be of use in connecting the
killer with the crime, if he was ever found.
The bullets, of course, would be very val-
uable, to identify the gun, if found, and,
even now they were a possible means of
revealing what type of revolver, pistol or
automatic had been used.

The first clue as to the route used by
the killer in his flight came on the day
following the murder when a report
reached Sheriff Taylor that ‘a young man
answering the description of the mur-
derer had been fed by a rancher in the
Powder River country. Immediately an
extensive hunt was organized in that sec-
tion, and the ranges scoured as only these
Western posses and cowboys of the cat-
tle country can scour them. But it was
all to no avail and in a very short time
the search had narrowed down to one
lone suspect—John Henry Miller.

Miller had been born in Canada and
had a record with the United States De-
partment of Justice, in spite of the fact
that he was but twenty-five years old.
It was now fourteen years since he served
his first time; he had entered the Mon-
tana State Industrial School at the age
of eleven, being committed. on a charge
of burglary. An unruly boy, always in
trouble with his superiors, he, six years
later. or when he was seventeen, escaped
and fled to Minnesota.

In October, 1926, the same year in
which he escaped from the Montana
school, he was received at the St. Cloud
Reformatory, in Minnesota, having been
convicted of six burglary charges in that.
state. He had been given a twenty year
sentence under the name of Henry Doyle.

But somehow, those who had known
Henry Miller at the Montana Industrial
School still retained a spark of hope and
friendship. for him, and, in 1929, he was

released from. St. Cloud upon the sug- |

gestion of Superintendent Dorr. He re-
turned to ‘Miles City and the school. A
few weeks later Dorr got Miller a job in
Rosebud County. This was in June, and
before snow flew he was again in the toils

True Detective Mysteries

who prefers crime for a career.

Miller served most of his sentence at
Deer Lodge and when he was released
was deported to Canada. In December of
that same year of 1932 he was recognized
by Superintendent Dorr, on the streets of
Miles City, and taken into custody. Con-
victed in the United States District
Court at Great Falls, Montana, of hav-
ing entered the United States illegally,
after deportation, he was sentenced to
eighteen months in McNeil Island prison,
in Puget Sound.

Upon his release he was again deported,
but within four days, on June 26th, 1934,
he was picked up at Eastport, Idaho, by
federal immigration officials, having again
falsely entered the country. While be-
ing held for deportation, he escaped from

Sheriff E. M. Birley of Billings, who
ran the hunted quarry to earth

the officials and went back to Canada;
that was the last heard of him,

In addition to his own record, Miller
had two elder brothers who had served
time in the Industrial School, both of
whom had escaped, one of them after an
almost deadly assault on a guard. Davey
O’Connor had been responsible for the
incarceration of these other Millers.

So, it was little wonder that Superin-
tendent Dorr suspicioned the Miller fam-
ily, and especially Henry Miller. Might
not any of them be wanting vengeance
on either him or Davey O'Connor? And
when the finger-print examination re-
vealed that the flashlight had once been
in the possession of John Henry Miller,
Dorr was convinced that he was the mur-
derer. And, anyway, if he could be found,
he would have to explain about that
flashlight, and if not guilty himself, his
statements might lead to some other val-
uable clue.

Several days went by and there were
still no clues to Miller’s whereabouts,
when one quict aftetnoon. Sheriff Taylor
got a caf! from one of Montana’s most ac-
tive officials, who never slept on a job
like this one. ‘Sheriff Birley, of Billings,
first large city west of Miles City, was on

_ the line.

of the law; he had robbed the safe in the .

office of his friend and benefactor, Super-

intendent Dorr. This time he drew five

years in the State Penitentiary at Deer
Lodge. From grammar school to high
school of crime, and now to college, he

had progressed by natural stages of one. ;

“You better, come over here at ‘once)”

‘he said. “I think I have something good

for you.”

When Sheriff Taylor got to Billings,,

Birley .handed him a telegram; it was

from a man named Brown, at Hillsboro, ,

North Dakota, requesting the regipient
of the message, one Claude Kyle, :to send

his (Brown’s) suitcase to him in Minne-
apolis, Minnesota.

“KXyle says that’s from Miller,’ said
Mirley, and then told the Miles City sher-
if how he had come by the information.

As soon as Sheriff Birley had got the
information that Miller was wanted, he
contacted several characters in the Bil-
lings’ underworld and tried to find out
if any of them had ever seen a man in
the city answering the description of the
suspect.

wo or three days passed without any
luck and then a man whose name cannot
be revealed, drifted casually into the of-
fice and told the Sheriff he believed Mil-
ler had recently been around the Olive
Hotel, on First Avenue. If this was true,
it was the first. definite evidence that Mil-
ler had again returned to this country from
Canada.

The Sheriff sent.a man to check on all
the steady roomers, and though he did not
find the name of Miller on the register, he
learned that a mechanic named Claude
Kyle had served a term in the Montana
State Penitentiary at the same time that
Miller had been there.

Fortunately Sheriff Birley knew Kyle
very well; so well that he approached him
on the proposition. The ex-convict acted
peculiarly, thought the Sheriff, and not too
friendly. Kyle would neither deny nor
affirm that Miller had been in Billings to
sec him. Birley began to wonder if he
had) stumbled “upon an accomplice—or

maybe more? However, he did not think,

it, wise to continue his questioning too
far at that time; he would keep an eye on
Kyle and see what happened.

“Kyle,” he said, as he started away, “if
I were you and got any information about
this fellow, I’d turn it in. What he did be-
fore he shot Jones may not make wny dif-
ference to you, but if you hear from him
now and don’t let me know about it,
I'll find it out sooner or later, and that
will make you an accessory after the fact,
because I’m warning you he is wanted. I
don’t need to tell you what that will mean
for you when we catch him. as we will.”

“If I find out anything, I'll sure let you
know, Sheriff,” Kyle answered.

But the Sheriff was not so sure about
that statement by Kyle. He took no
chances and kept the mechanic under sur-
veillance, in the hope that Miller would
try to communicate with him, and sure
enough, a member of the Sheriff’s staff
shortly reported that Kyle had received a
telegram.

VIDENTLY Kyle thought of that mes-

sage until it began to burn his pocket ;
the warning words of the Sheriff rang in
his ears; an ex-convict himself, he saw
himself on the way back to prison. On the
morning of August 17th, Kyle went to
Birley’s home and told him he wanted to
talk with him.

Alone with Sheriff Birley, he pro-
duced a telegram signed John Henry
Brown, from Hillsboro, and rather shame-
facedly admitted that) he had Miller’s
suitcase in his room. Then the two went
to the hotel and got the suspect's luggage.
Birley sent for Taylor at once.

Sheriff Birley, Sheriff Taylor and Prose-

cutor Rudolph Nelstead, of Miles City,

went into a conference immediately upon
the arrival of the two latter officers in
Billings. They had a break and they did
not want to muss it up in any way. It
was decided to express the suitcase to
Minneapolis, as per the telegraphic re-
quest of John Henry Brown, and ask the
police there to pick up whoever called
for it. Believing that man would be
Miller, a description of him was wired to
the Minneapolis officers.

Returning home, Taylor and Nelstead
spent some uncomfortable hours awaiting

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upon circumstantial evidence thus far,
Anderson went again to Homestead. He
sought out friends and acquaintances of
Mr. and Mrs. Geisler.

The sheriff began to wonder if the
double murder could have been moti-
vated by love. His experience had taught
him that in many cases, where motives
were obscure, illicit love often proved to
be the basis.

Could it be possible that someone had
been in love with the young bride? Could
the “eternal triangle’ enter into this
case? Perhaps a former suitor had slain
Ludmilla Geisler and her husband be-
cause of spurned or unrequited love.

No other motive appeared. There was
no evidence of robbery or burglary as
the $235 had been found in an unlocked
and undisturbed trunk in the farmhouse.

HERIFF ANDERSON went about

the country gathering all possible in-
formation about those having any pos-
sible connection with the baffling case.

Neighbors of the Geislers scoffed at
the triangle theory. Mrs. Geisler, it was
said, had been extremely devoted to her
husband. Her behavior had always been
marked with strict propriety.

Nevertheless, Sheriff Anderson went to
work on his theory that someone might
have been in love with Mrs. Geisler.

One person in Homestead admitted,
with reluctance, that Ferdinand Schlaps
had appeared to “more than like” the
young wife of his employer.

At various times, the attractive Lud-
milla Geisler had been accompanied by
Schlaps when she went to town to buy
groceries and supplies for the farm. On
these occasions it was noted that Schlaps
had treated his companion with a de-
ference almost amounting to chivalry,

One woman told Sheriff Anderson that
“Schlaps seemed to have a bad case of
puppy love but Mrs. Geisler sort of
laughed it off!”

Schlaps, Anderson learned, was a
native of a small town in North Dakota.
He had no criminal record. He had left
school at an early age to go to work ona
farm.

The young man, friendly and tractable,
had apparently been on the best of terms
with his employer. Geisler, too, had been
considerate of his employe and had per-
mitted Schlaps to use his car on an
occasional trip to North Dakota.

Sheriff Anderson decided again to in-
terview Schlaps. The officer had been
impressed by the young man’s compas-
sion and regret at the deaths, He also
had shown a great deal of interest in the
case. Several times he had offered to
help authorities “get the rat who killed
Tony and Mrs. Geisler.”

The sheriff drove to the farm where
Schlaps was staying and was met at the
gate to the yard by the ‘young man.

“Got anything yet on who killed
Tony?” asked Schlaps. ”

“No,” said Anderson. “But I thought
maybe you might be able to help me out.”

Schlaps assured the sheriff that he
would do anything he could to aid,

“How about those two fellows you had
picked up in Williston?” he asked,

“Dm afraid I'll have to turn them loose.
I haven’t got enough on them to hold
them indefinitely,” the sheriff said, He
noticed that Schlaps had been eyeing
him closely and warily.

“Sure you've told me everything you
know about it?” Anderson asked sud-
denly.

Schlaps hesitated a few moments,
pulling at his lower lip nervously.

“T probably should have told you this

VEE

before but I’ve been afraid because I
figured I’ve been sort of on the spot,”
he said rapidly. “But I think what Tm
going to tell you will give you enough to
try those two men for the killings |”

Sheriff Anderson was surprised at this
startling statement and stared at the
young man as he continued:

“T met those two fellows, as I told you
before, on my way from Homestead to
this farm. They were going awful fast,
probably about 60. I drove on and turned
into the Geisler ranch.

“Tony was stretched out by the barn,
dead. Inside the house Mrs. Geisler was
lying on the floor, She was dead, too.
T didn’t know what to do.

“T remembered meeting that car and
knew right away that the men in it must
have killed Tony and his wife. I chased
after the car but couldn’t catch it. I
chased them almost to Homestead. Then
I went back to the farm, and the bodies
were gone!

“I was afraid to report it, afraid you
would think I did it. So I went to my
relatives’ place.”

Schlaps was crying now, the tears
streaming down his sunburned face. “You
don’t know what I’ve been through,
keeping this to myself all this time.”

Sheriff Anderson hesitated a few min-
utes to give Schlaps time to regain his
composure. Then he asked: “How do you
account for the disappearance of the
bodies?” .

“Those two men in that car must have
circled around and come back to the farm
while I drove toward Homestead, think-
ing I was chasing them,” Schlaps replied.
“They must have come back and loaded
the bodies into the car so they could haul
them to the river.”

“l’'m afraid your story won’t do,” the
sheriff said, “You'll have to come along
with me.”

He placed Schlaps under arrest and
tear him to Wolf Point to the county
jail.

Anderson returned to the Geisler ranch
and armed with a spade started an exten-
sive search.

He walked about the farm for several
hours, digging in several spots. Finally
he came upon a plot which gave evidence
of having been disturbed recently. Ina
few moments Sheriff Anderson un-
earthed two blankets, a man’s overalls
and a shirt. All were stained with blood.

The sheriff took the blankets and cloth-
ing to Wolf Point.

Going to the jail, he took the articles

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Why does God permit war? Why does He per-
mit cruelty, injustice, pain, starvation, sickness
and death?

Thirty years ago, in Forbidden Tibet, behind
the highest mountains in the world, a young
Englishman named Edwin J. .Diugle found the
answers to these questions. A great mystic opened
his eyes. A great change came over him. He
realized the strange Power that Knowledge gives,

That Power, he says, can transform the life of
anyone. Questions, whatever they are, can be
answered, The problems of health, death, poverty
and wrong, can be solved.

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world-wide professional recognition. Thirty years
ago, he was sick as a man could be and live. Once
his coffin was bought. Years of almost continuous
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vation and danger had made a human wreck of
him, physically and mentally.

He was about to be sent back to England to
die, when a strange message came — “They are
waiting for you in Tibet.” He wants to tell the
whole world what he learned there, under the
guidance of the greatest mystic he ever encoun-

He wants everyone to experience the greater

tered during his twenty-one years in the Far East.

WHY GOD PERMITS WAR!

health and the
Power, which there
came to him.

Within ten years,
he was able to retire
to this country with
a fortune. He had
been honored by
fellowships in the
World’s leading
Geographical
Societies, for his
work as a geogra-
pher. And today, 30
years later, he is still
so athletic, capable
of so much work, 60
young in appear-
ance, it is hard to believe he has lived so long.

As a first step in their progress toward the
Power that Knowledge gives, Mr. Dingle wants
to send the readers of this notice a 9,000-word
treatise. It is free. For your free copy, send your
name and address to the Institute of Mental-
physics, 213 South Hobart Blvd., Dept. B 229,
Los Angeles, Calif. Write promptly.

91

—~

{
w

riff. ey
1 his wife,

re dead ?” the

Igoe replied.
killed them,”
We thought
rething about
lv.

ea as to the
llers.

t he hadn’t
farm for sev-
1e hired man,

ff’s questions,
cd man was
ing man who
working as a

might be in
formerly had
2 to visit once

. party stopped
mile from the

oted, appeared
t man. He an-
ons brusquely,
of the Geisler

said, “TI did see
vard yesterday
in front of the

iurder investiga-
ypened by the
ig inquest of
r Martin Nelson,
was climaxed on
allows, specially
icted for punish-
e youthful crim-
‘ho committed 2
uble murder,

STARTLING

The sheriff asked about Schlaps, the —

farm-hand.

“I think he has some relatives farming
north of here,” the farmer said,

After a few more questions the sheriff
went to the relatives’ farm.

There Salisbury learned that the rela-
tives of Geisler’s farm-hand were visiting
at another farm, several miles distant.

At the latter place, Salisbury’s knock
was answered by the farmer himself.

“Can you tell me where I can locate
Ferdinand Schlaps?” the sheriff asked.

“Sure, he’s upstairs,” was the answer.
“T’'ll call him.”

A few minutes later a pleasant-appear-
ing, husky young fellow came to the door.

“T am Ferdinand Schlaps,” he said.
“What do you want with me?”

“We want to ask you a few questions
about Tony and Mrs, Geisler,” the sheriff
said.

“What do you want to know ?” Schlaps
asked.

“When did you see them last ?”

a

net ate
ewer

“Why, yesterday morning,” replied the
young man. “T haven’t been at the ranch
since yesterday morning when Tony said
I could have the car for the week-end,
What’s the matter ?”

The sheriff asked, sharply : “Don’t you
know that Mr. and Mrs. Geisler are
dead ?”

Schlaps was startled and stared unbe-
lievingly. “You're kidding,” he said

DETECTIVE

ri

finally, looking at Sheriff Salisbury
questioningly,

The sheriff told the farm-hand about
the deaths. Shaken, Schlaps asked if the
authorities had any idea of the identity
of the killer. The sheriff said no.

The farm-hand said he had left the
ranch shortly before noon the day before
and had driven to Homestead where he
stayed for several hours before going to
his relatives’ ranch, He said he had re-
mained there all afternoon and night.
His host confirmed the story and said
that Ferdinand had come there early that
morning from his relatives’ place.

The relatives of young Schlaps also

The attractive farm wife, left, a bride of a few months, was the sec-
ond victim of the fatal gunblasts, She was shot down by the killer
when he fired through the farm house window, arrow above.

told the authorities that Ferdinand came
to their home from Homestead and spent
the afternon and night with them,

Schlaps explained that Geisler had
often given him permission to use his
car, and had once let him drive it to
North Dakota to see his girl,

Sheriff Salisbury inspected the car in
the yard near the ranchhouse. Then he
and his companions left for Homestead.
En route County Attorney Erickson and
the sheriff decided to cail Sheriff John
Anderson of Roosevelt county into the
case as the Geisler farm was in that
county and evidence indicated that the
murders were committed in the farm-
house.

Sheriff Salisbury phoned Anderson,
and that veteran officer hurried from
Wolf Point, the county seat, to meet the
Sheridan countv officials.

Salisbury told Anderson what was
known about the case, and turned over

[Continued on page 90]

69

ee A we eee

_ ORSD a

a#<S3cR

LS RS

es ET SP

chest bore two deep wounds. Gunshot
was peppered over the upper part of the
torso, imbedded in the flesh.

A possibility that the couple met death
by drowning after being shot was disre-
garded when it was found that there was
no trace of water in the lungs.

The bodies were taken to Homestead. *

Meanwhile, authorities began their in-
vestigation. They learned at the outset
that Mr. and Mrs. Geisler were new-
comers to Montana, having moved to the
ranch just a year before. Both enjoyed
good reputations and were highly re-
spected.

Seeking a motive for the vicious
double slaying, Sheriff Salisbury and his
companions questioned several Home-
stead men and women who had been
acquainted with the Geislers. Nobody
could suggest a possible motive.

8 Being postmaster, who first identified
the couple, accompanied authorities
back to the bridge, after the bodies had
been taken to the village. There, he called
to the sheriff, pointing to several brown
spots on the rail and deck of the struc-
ture, about 15 feet from the east end.

“If those aren’t bloodstains, I miss my
guess,” he said.

Coroner Nelson examined the spots,
one of which was more than a foot in
diameter. “You're right,” he agreed.
“Certainly looks like blood.”

Samples were taken for chemical
analysis.

“The bodies might have been thrown
from the bridge,” reasoned Sheriff Salis-
bury. “But wait a minute, what’s this ?”
He took note of fresh automobile tire
tracks leading off the bridge, running
south, parallel to the river, continuing
close to the river edge for several hun-
dred feet, then turning back onto the
highway. ;

The impressions left by the tires were
deep and clear, Sheriff Salisbury made a
plaster cast of them.

Coroner Nelson, meanwhile, called a
jury which decided, after a brief session,
that Anton and Ludmilla Geisler had
died from gunshot wounds, murdered by
persons unknown,

Late that afternoon the sheriff and his
party drove over the rough country roads
to the Geisler farm, in Roosevelt county.

In the house the sheriff found con-
fusion and disarrangement speaking
mutely of a furious struggle. There was
no doubt but that murder had been com-
mitted there.

A window on the south side of the
house was shattered and pieces of the
pane were scattered about the floor. .The
walls and floors were stained with blood.
There was a hole about three inches in
diameter in a heavy curtain on the door-
way of a clothes closet. Clothing in the
closet was spattered with blood.

In a trunk, which had been unopened,
officers found $235 in currency. Robbery
apparently had not been the motive.

There was a 12-gauge shotgun leaning
against the wall in the kitchen, Nearby
also was a mop, brown and discolored.

“T wonder where Geisler’s car is?”
Sheriff Salisbury asked. He had been
informed that the farmer owned a new
auto.

Three empty shotgun shells were found
near the barn. ~

Sheriff Salisbury placed the shotgun,
mop and shells in his car, handling them
carefully so any fingerprints on them
would not be disturbed.

A thorough examination of the place
having been made, Sheriff Salisbury and
his party drove to the farm of Samuel
Igoe, not far from that of the slain
man,

Igoe met them at the gate entering his
yard. “Have you any idea who did it 9
he asked.

“Did what?” said the sheriff.

“Why, killed Tony and his wife,”
answered Igoe.

“How do you know they’re dead?” the
sheriff asked.

“Heard it on the phone,” Igoe replied.

“No, we don’t know who killed them,”
Sheriff Salisbury said. “We thought
maybe you might know something about
it.’ He watched Igoe closely.

Igoe said he had no idea as to the
identity of the killer, or killers.

He told Salisbury that he hadn’t
noticed Geisler about the farm for sev-
eral days. “Haven’t seen the hired man,
either,” he volunteered.

In response to the sheriff’s questions,
Igoe said that the hired man was
Ferdinand Schlaps, a young man who
lived on the Geisler farm, working as a
farm laborer.

Igoe said that Schlaps might be in
North Dakota because he formerly had
lived there, and went there to visit once
in a while.

Next, the sheriff and his party stopped
at a ranch about half a mile from the
Geisler farm.

The owner, the sheriff noted, appeared
to be a substantial, upright man. He an-
swered Salisbury’s questions brusquely,
denying any knowledge of the Geisler
murders,

“But, Sheriff,” the man said, “I did see
the Geisler car in the yard yesterday
about 11 o’clock. It was in front of the
garage.”

The murder investiga-
tion, opened by the
revealing inquest of
Coroner Martin Nelson,
above, was climaxed on
this gallows, specially
constructed for punish-
ing the youthful crim-
inal who committed 2
double murder,

STARTLING

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Murder Secret of Muddy River

[Continued from page 69]

to him the evidence he had collected at
the Geisler farm,

Although the bodies of the victims
gave no clue, Sheriff Anderson, who was
acquainted with most of the residents of
the sparsely settled agricultural region,
was of the opinion that the murderer, or
murderers, was not a Roosevelt county
resident,

The sheriff visited the Geisler ranch,
then retraced the route taken by Sheriff
Salisbury. He interviewed ranchers and
neighbors of the Geislers and was told
substantially the same stories,

Returning to Homestead, Anderson
found and questioned all known ac-
quaintances of Mr. and Mrs. Geisler.

There seemed to be no clues. Every
person who reasonably could be sus-
pected had a legitimate, iron-clad alibi.
Ferdinand Schlaps had been in Home-
stead as he had stated and investigation
indicated that he was in town at about
noon on the day Geisler and his wife were
killed. The coroner had stated that death
had occurred approximately at noon, as
near as could be judged from the con-
dition of the bodies, :

Then Sheriff Anderson received infor-
mation which gave him hope.

About 1 o’clock on the day Tony and
Mrs. Geisler were killed, his informant
said, he noticed a car speeding through
town at about 60 miles an hour. It just
occurred to him that the two men in the
car might have had something to do with
the killings. The car had North Dakota
license plates. He did not get a good look
at the two men in the car, but said they
were young fellows.

Sheriff Anderson assumed: that the car
was headed toward the Montana-North
Dakota staté line, southward. He sent
descriptions of the car to law enforce-
ment offices throughout eastern Mon-
tana and western North Dakota,
spreading a loosely-drawn dragnet.

A few hours later he received the en-
couraging word that several persons in
Froid, seven miles south of Homestead,
had seen a speeding car with North
Dakota license plates. In Froid, Ander-
son was told that the car, occupied by
two young men, hurtled through the out-
skirts of the town between 1 and 1:30
o’clock on the day of the double murder,

A SIMILAR report came from Bain-
ville, near the North Dakota border.
Sheriff Anderson was elated. He had been
correct. The two men had, from all ap-
pearances, sped across the border,

Police in Williston, N. D., shortly ad-
vised Sheriff Anderson by telephone that
they had in custody two young men and
the car in which they had driven from
Montana,

One of the pair, arrested in a pool hall,
had been heard remarking to an attend.
ant that “We bumped off a guy and his
wife in Montana.” The two gave their
names as Bertram Haynes and Kenneth
Ensman.

Sheriff Anderson hurried to Williston.

In the city jail Haynes grinned at the
officer. “This is all a mistake, Sheriff,”
he said, “We never killed anybody. I was
just sort of drunk and wanted to make
an impression on the fellow in the pool
hall. That’s why I told the guy I killed
a man and a woman.” Sheepishly, he
added, “I guess I just wanted the fellow

in the pool hall to think I was tough.”

Haynes and Ensman said they were
from Minot, N. D, They and the car in
which they had been riding were taken
to Wolf Point. There, Sheriff Anderson
directed deputies to book and hold them
on an open charge. Then he went to
Froid, Homestead and Bainville, and re-
turned with the witnesses who had de-
scribed the mysterious speeding car.

‘Vhe witnesses positively identified the
car as the one they had seen.

Inspection of the car revealed no
traces of blood. In the hope that finger-
print experts could “place” the suspects
in the Geisler farmhouse, Sheriff Ander-
son sent the shotgun and mop from the
house to Great Falls, Mont., for in-
spection. Disheartening word was soon
returned that there were no clear prints
on either article.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand Schlaps, the
Geisler hired man, came to Anderson’s
office in Wolf Point.

“I heard that you arrested two men,”
he said, “Well, I remembered, after hear-
ing about some people in Froid seeing
a car go through town in an awful hurry,
that I saw a car going plenty fast when
I was going to my brother’s place on the
day Tony and Mrs. Geisler were killed.
I didn’t think anything about it but now
that I heard about other people seeing
that car I think it was the same one I
saw.”

Schlaps accompanied Anderson to the
car of the suspected men. He glanced
at it and said positively, “That’s the one
I saw, with two men in it, going to beat
the dickens toward Homestead, about
four miles from Tony’s place.”

Sheriff Anderson asked Schlaps how
many men were in the car he had seen.
“Two I think,” he answered. “But I
didn’t get a close look at them.”

“But I thought you told me before that
you were in Homestead that afternoon?”
said Anderson.

“I was in Homestead but I saw the car
on my way to my brother’s place,”
Schlaps answered.

The sheriff confronted Haynes and
Ensman, deciding on a chance stroke.

“You were seen near the Geisler farm
shortly after they were killed. You were
seen going through Froid and Bainville
as well as Homestead. You admitted in
Williston that you had killed a man and
woman in Montana. You might just as
well come clean and confess the whole
thing because we’ve got enough circum-
stantial evidence to hang you. Why did
you do it?”

Ensman laughed. “Don’t kid us. You
haven’t got a thing on us. And don’t
forget you can’t run a bluff like this.”

The two men finally admitted, how-
ever, that they had been in the vicinity
of the Geisler farm on the day of the
murders.

“But that doesn’t prove anything,”
Haynes protested. “We didn’t have any-
thing to do with the killings and we
weren’t running away. We were just out
looking for work.”

Asked why they were driving so fast,
Haynes said, “I always drive fast,”

Sheriff Anderson questioned the two
men for several hours but was unable to
get either of them to make any damaging
admissions,

Realizing that the solution of the
double murder case depended a great deal

upon c
Anders:
sought
Mr. an
The
double
vated b
him th:
were ol
be the |
Could
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the “et
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the $23:
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the tria:
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husband
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Never
work o1
have be:
One |
with rel
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young w
At va
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Schlaps
grocerie
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One w
“Schlaps
puppy |
laughed
Schlap
native o!
He had
school at
farm.
The ve
had appa
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consider:
mitted $
occasion:
Sheriff
terview
impresse
sion and
had shoy
case. Se
help aut!
Tony an
The sl
Schlaps »
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Schlaps
pulling at
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HUMAN DETECTIVE CASES

Laboratory came. It stated that
blood had been found on the mop
picked up by Sheriff Salisbury in
the Geisler kitchen. The shotgun
had been recently fired and there
were bloody smears on the butt of
the weapon. But not a single clear
print could be lifted from the gun
or the mop. .

No: bloodstains had been’ found
anywhere on the Geisler car.

Sheriff Anderson made a visit to

the farm owned by Anton Geisler.

He was accompanied by a half doz-
en deputies. With methodical ex-
actness, they went over every yard
of the property, inspecting the var-
ious outbuildings, the well, the cel-
lar of the storage house and the
dust-parched fields. They found
plenty of bloodstains in the kitch-
en of the farmhouse and the area
outside the barn. This helped to
confirm Sheriff Salisbury’s earlier
‘construction of the crime. But
they found nothing that would give
them a fresh slant-on the case, a
new approach, a workable lead..
In the kitchen; the searchers
found a plucked chicken that was
being prepared for roasting. They
found the ingredients for stuffing

the fowl in a pan near the stove. -
‘Yhe breakfast dishes had been put °

away but two cups of coffee, half
finished, were on the table. The
barest traces of lipstick were visible
on one of the cups.

Peaceful indeed must have been
the scene in the humble house of
the newly married farmer and his
bride before Anton walked out to
the barn and death struck with
such savage and terrible force at
him and his wife!

Sheriff Anderson had an uneasy
feeling of something being amiss
as he surveyed the interior of the
two room farmhouse. Suddenly he
knew what it was. Every stitch of
clothing belonging: to Anton and
Ludmilla was missing!

The closets, hangers, even the
bathroom shelves where Anton
kept his shaving brush, soap, razor
had been stripped. Shoes, stock-
ings, dresses, underthings, the mur-
dered man’s overalls, had been re-
moved!

Anderson opened the trunk where
the small tin box with the money
still intact had been found. The
clothing was removed from there,
too. Anderson scratched his chin
in deep puzzlement. What senseless
quirk underlay the killer’s action in
stealing clothing worth, at the
most, $25, and leaving cash and
other valuables behind?

Back ‘at headquarters, Anderson
discussed this disquieting discovery
with Sheriff Salisbury. Homestead
is a small, clannish village. Its in-
habitants number 300. Salisbury
knew every resident in the village.
They were his friends. The pos-
sibility of a mad killer being loose
in that God-fearing, kindly com-

munity was appalling. Yet the evi-
dence was starkly real. ;
While Anderson and Salisbury
were chasing down every possibility
of a lead in the baffling case, in-
cluding an intensified hunt for the
two job-seekers in the battered Bu-
ick, electrifying news came from
Williston, North Dakota. The sher-
iff of that town wired Anderson
that two young men had just been
picked up in a pool parlor, and one

of them had made the significant

remark to a stranger, who had.
crowded him at one of the pool
tables, “Don’t mess with me, mister.
I just killed a guy and his wife in

Montana, and I’d just as soon bump

you off, too!”

The two youths were rough-spok-
en and garbed in working clothes.
They were driving an old Buick

car with North Dakota license |

plates. At the moment, they were
safely lodged in the county jail.

Sheriff Anderson lost no time
getting to Williston. He confronted
the two prisoners. The younger man
was Phillip Mellish. He was dark,

short, rugged. His lips seemed to '

curve in a perpetual sneer. ‘His
companion was taller, blonder, and
spoke in a soft, almost hushed

voice that contrasted with his-

husky, muscular build. He gave his
mame as Mel Fowler.

Fowler was the spokesman for
the pair. He seemed to be getting a
kick out of the stir of excitement
the arrests had caused-

“What's eatin’ on you hick cops?”
he demanded. “Can’t a guy make

a dumb crack without being dump-
_ ed in jail?” . ;

“What about that man and
woman you admitted killing?” —

“That was just a gag, Sheriff.”

“How did you know they had
been killed?” ;

“The papers were full of it. So
was the radio.”

Anderson. shook his head. “You'll
have to do better than that,” he
advised.

Mellish. spoke up. A sober look
was beginning to creep into his coal
black eyes. “Okay,” he said sullenly,
“so we didn’t read about it in the
papers. Here’s what really happen-

ed.” He took a deep breath. “My

pal and I were tourin’ around look-
ing for work. We hit the county
around Homestead. We tried a
couple of farmers; they treated us

like we were an epidemic. Satur-~

day mornin’, we pulled up at a run-
down farm run by a buy named
Anton Geisler.’We found that out
from his sour-pussed neighbor. We
figured the place was good for a
couple of days’. work, anyhow. We
started walkin’ toward the house

when suddenly we heard the blast.

of a shotgun.:

“We stopped cold, thinkin’ some-
body was taking a pot shot at us.
Then we saw a guy in overalls grab-
bing at his chest. He started to
fall. Before he could hit the ground

: 4
_ STUDY ATH

and publiclife. G’

TULA |

4% HOLLYW
+ 7021 Santa Monic

Our Dice are ©
on any surface «
Correctly spo!
by our own dics
or Green Tran:
MISSOUT DICE
PASSER DICE, -
MISS, PASS, TC
When ordering


DOB OR AGE

_ Eton

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FRANK NEWTON OFFICE SUPPLY—DOTHAN


sIMPSON, Lee, white, 52, hanged atRyegate, Montana, on 12/30, ‘
What was the unseen menace that enshrouded Golden “Shore. What’s up?” j
Valley, Montana, that blustery spring of 1938? What brought “I’ve had a black mare and her colt stolen!” Gibbs told ‘
the strange prescience of evil that struck fear to the stoutest him brusquely. — x 4
hearts? Simpson smiled that slow smile of the Westerner. a
It tainted the very air that men breathed, bringing into the “This isn’t a very neighborly way to investigate, but,” he j
peaceful valley the virus of distrust between friends and neigh- shrugged, “‘let’s go see if I’ve got your horses.” Be
bors. No rancher and no housewife in all that 1l-fated valley Half an hour later, the entire band corraled at the Sahara. hs

was immune to the tense strain of waiting for what was Ranch had been cut out and carefully looked over by rancher 97g
destined to come to pass, though only one among them knew Gibbs and the sheriff. The black mare and her colt were not 793%
that sixteen were marked for death. among them. Gibbs was scratching his head in perplexity’
co when the sheriff asked which road to take to the Twin Coulee
. L. SIMPSON, wealthy owner of three Golden Val- Ranch, also owned by Simpson. The three men drove down |
ley ranches, felt the evil foreboding keenly on the the valley a few miles to the other ranch. Very soon Gibbs’ %
morning of March 4, 1938, as he stood on the porch of — black mare, fine-looking beast, was found in a corral with ¢
his Sahara Ranch house and squinted across the broad valley = many others.
at an approaching car. He glanced at a 30-30 caliber rifle “Why, it’s a frame-up!” Simpson exploded indignantly.
leaning against the house, shrugged, then long-legged it across Gibbs shouted, “That’s her all right!” Then he suddenl
the ranch yard to stand at the picket gate and wait for the stopped. “But where’s the colt?” he said slowly. ae

ie

ar ee! ies ; Biestiiee ¢

=

_ visitors. He was a large man but not fleshy, and beneath his Simpson shrugged. “Boys, this is as much a puzzle to me | ;
mackinaw the hard muscles rippled freely. as it is to you. I swear I don’t know how that mare got in gaa
The Dodge sedan rolled to a stop and Sheriff Elmer J. with my stuff.” Then he pointed to a scrawny spraddle+* 4

Dolve stepped out from the driver’s seat, while H. K. Gibbs, legged colt tottering over near the mare. “That’s the colt
a neighbor rancher, emerged from the other door. Side by there. See, he’s going right up to the mare.” ;

es side the two men strode to meet the wealthy rancher. Gibbs’ The sheriff nodded. “That must be him, all right.” He: i

\ eyes held a warning glint of danger, but Simpson smiled turned to Gibbs. Gibbs was shaking his head emphatically. ‘

A amiably and said, “Morning, boys.” Then a surprising thing happened. The black mare lifted’ 9am

Gibbs grunted and the sheriff returned the rancher’s greet- her hind leg and dealt the colt a resounding kick in the ribs Roce

i, *, ing with: The tottery little animal snorted fright, his tail shot straight. i:
r “We'd like to have a look at your horses, Lee.” up and he darted away to become lost among the other horses
A puzzled frown creased the rancher’s brow. The black mare looked up, unconcerned with the affairs o!

i August

@@ SUSPICION TAINTED. THE VERY, AIR THAT MEN @

os Armen amnpe te > gene

et _ aan


Ses,

«t

: My ie why Aa vat
; ba a te pean

1 CITRATE EEN ae TE Eo

man.
A thorough search of Simpson’s three corrals was made
that afternoon by the sheriff and Gibbs. Simpson accom-
panied them and often protested: “It’s beyond me how that
mare could have gotten in with my stock.”
Late that afternoon, Gibbs took his mare back home and

Sheriff Dolve returned to Ryegate, county seat of Golden |

Valley County.

At ten o'clock that night the sheriff was still in the office
of County Attorney Nat Allen.

“But I can’t understand it,” Sheriff Dolve said. ‘Lee
swears he doesn’t know anything about the mare and colt,
and besides that we couldn’t even find the colt.”

The sharp-eyed young attorney glanced down at his desk
top meditatively. ‘Looks like somebody’s trying to fasten a
horse-stealing rap on Lee. And then. . . . There might be
more behind this thing than appeats on the surface.”

“What do you mean?”

“IT mean there’s something in the air in Golden Valley,” the
attorney told him. “People are talking a lot. Stock is being
stolen. I have a strong feeling it’s more than idle rumor. We
better keep our eyes open, Dolve.”

Meanwhile, a strange party of men rode north out of the
valley into the rugged foothills of the Snowy Mountains.
Gerald McDonald, a 19-year-old Montana cowboy, rode a
saddle horse and led a black colt at the end of a rope. Behind
him his 21-year-old brother, Robert McDonald, drove a team
and wagon directly over the trail taken by the colt and saddle
horse. It was an old trick of rustlers, using the wagon to
cover the tracks of the colt.

BREATHED—AND RACED TO A BLOODY CLIMAX...”

aeaaaalea

or ari ec s Pakeate OP dake 9. A

Into the heart of the mountains they rode for two hours.

Finally Gerald dismounted in a deep canyon, stripped the sad- ie
He climbed —

dle from his mount and tossed it into the wagon..

up beside his brother who yanked the team around and started ”

back down the canyon, leaving saddle -horse and colt tethered
to a scrub pine.

Who was directing the movements of the mysterious night |
riders? Was the Old West being re-lived by a series of night

raids on helpless ranchers? Very soon now, dusty Frontier. 4

&
<

Model .44’s would come down from the mantel and. rest once oe
more against lean hips. eae
“3

To NEXT DAY Sheriff Dolve talked again with Lee
Simpson.

“Lee,” he began as they talked together on Simpson’s porch ©
gazing out across the valley at the rolling sea of slopes set—
against the jagged peaks of the Crazy Mountain Range sev-
enty-five miles to the west. “Gibbs is pretty sore about his
colt. He thinks you got it hidden. He’s been talking to the
attorney, and as a result I have replevin papers for the colt.”

The officer paused, looked deep into the rancher’s gray eyes
and said slowly:

“It’s a five thousand-dollar fine and a year in prison in
Montana for purposely hiding property that a sheriff has
replevin papers for.”

The rancher leaped up in rage.
me?” he shouted, “You seem to take it for granted that I’m
hiding the colt. And besides, why would I want to steal a
measly horse and colt? I’ve got plenty of my own!”

“IT know you have, Lee, and it’s got me puzzled. But——”

to ore ate pene oe © oe seme an ee ee ae

“What’s that got to do with ,

a:

§
Dy


cl ition al Nhe iss ah eit ANN tb i ae 8 SEE Se etary ao nat ei adbeinrtgciabi he stoned
| 1 of Missoule, made and entered on the 2nd day of April, A. D.
2 1921, be affirmed and that said order overruling his said motion
3 fora nev trial be effirmed, ond that said judgment be carried
4 into execition eccording to the tems thereof;
: 5 And ereus, on the 10th day of Jamany, A. D. .1922, the
6 above entitle District Curt dvnly md rertlarly mde an order
@ directing that the Sheriff of Missoula County carry said judg-
8 ment end sentence into execution on the 17th day of February,
9 7%

a. D, 1922, between the hours of six o'clock aA. Il, am three

10 o'clock ©. 1.., of said day, by ranging said Joe Vuckovich, alias
11 Joe Wines, by the neck until he is dead;
12 NON, TEBREFORZ, THIS IS TU CULIMAND YOU, the said Sheriff

—
w

of Nissoula County, Stste of Montmna, that on Friday, the

—"
>

SEVENTEENTH day of Febrvary, A. D. 1922, between the hours of

—"
On

six o'clock A. M, and three o'clock P. ML, of said day, within

16 the walls or yard of the county jail of said Missoula County,
17 or some convenient private place in said County, you execute

18 the said fudgment and sm@mtence of death upon the person of

19 said Joe Vuckovich, alias Joe Wines, by ltanging hin by the neck
20 until he is dead, AND Hi r2ror PAIL TOP AT YOR’ PERIL.

21

And vhen you have complied with the commands herein contain-

so
vo

ed youwill return this warrant to the office of the Clerk of the

wo
Ww

above entitled court, with ymrretirn indorsed thereon, showing

bo
>

the time, mode am manner it was execited.

so
On

Il] WITNESS WHERSOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 10th

Se)
fon)

dey of January, A. D., 1922.

Judge of the District Court o
the Fourth Judicial Disffict/of
the State of Montana, inmsend for
the County of Missoula.

Yo OO WwW NH WH WNW
ono - © 6&6 Oo N


oe ie alae

TT Sion = tii Ble ake listle aretha Eo it + ss

11 sc esbnead whereof, I, B. Bs RAW, Clerk: of the District Couns
of the Fourth Judiciel District of the State of Montana, in and
for the County of Missoula, have-hereunto set my hand and affixed
the officiel Seal of vaid Court thic 10th day of January, A. D.,

1922.

31
32


SE LS ST ee ye eS eg
J ‘ - a " ry EM ST Prey & me Se
beh Silas Ms ia A MRR Se a ee Bak i he ee i ak i el Ci
ES AE OT FE ET GTOe ee a Pe Sh
a CSAP Ie

State of
County of Missouls

cheriff of the Courty

return thet I received

tre within werrent on the 10th day of January, A. D. 1922,

/

and thet I executed the same on the 17th day of February,

on which said last ramed day, between the

nours of 6 o'clock in the forenoon and 3 o'clock in the after-

noon of said day, to wit: Between tre hours of 6 and 7

in the forenoon
o'clock of said dey, in pursuance of said warrant, said Joe

Vuekovich, elias Joe Wines, was executed by me, as such

Sheriff, by hanging by the neck until he was deed, in the
teil yard of the jail of said County of Missoula; and that
said execution wes conaueted in conformity to the provisions

of law of this State concerning capital punishment, ard of the
‘

sentence referred to in said werrent.

yer y
oti en = tee
Sheriff of the County of Miss

Dated at Missoula, Montana, this. 17th day of February,


uo oO N TD WO eke WHY KE =

ROO Oe mmm ms
~~ oOo Ob ON DTD DW BRB WY NYO K§K§ CO

1. THE DISTR CUR Me CXS SOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE
STARS: O02 MONT All 2 T] AND POR LHS CGUNTY-OF HISSOULA.
State of Monts ns Cosigarnd

-lairtiff

Joe Vucxovicnh,

eee e
wIlNé€S,

MID anemm AM pPootTMapr:
ths Oat, OF WCNTANA:
3

fo the Sheriff of Missoula County, Greeting:-

Whereas, the above nemed defendant Joe Vuckovich, alias Joe
Wines, wes on the 28th day of Merch, 1921, A. D., in the District
Court of the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Montana,

in end for the County of Missoule, duly end regularly convicted
of murder in the first degree, committed on the 12th day of

February, A. D. 1921, upon the person of one Mrs. Jerry Shea,
in the County of Kissoula, Stete of Montana;

And wherees, on the 2nd day of April, A. D. 1921, the above
named Joe Vuckovich, alias Joe Wines, being the defendant above
and herein named, was by the above mtitled Court, in pursuance
of the cmviction of murder in the first degree, thenetofore had
ond herein above recited, duly end regularly Le huared and sentenced
to suffer death by being hinged by his neck until he is dead;

And whereas, said District Court on the 18th day of June,

A. ». 1921, made an order overruling said defmdéent's motion for -

a new trial in said action, md thereafter said defendant appealed

fron said judgment and from said order overruling his motion for

a new trial to the Suprene Court of the State of Montana, which

sid Supreme Court on the 5th day of Decenber, 1921, ordered am
adjudged that the judgment of the said District Court of the Fourth’:
ae

Judicial District of the State of ‘‘ontana, in end for the County %

7
wae
Whey.

Te) .

hy ea £%, wo 4 2 :
2 saat SuOTCHANTe ty tite mupuverisned fit mmfunusrea

1 the globe. Friend and foe alike. :
#©* led, too, for progress and betterment on the home

; \

© ation we have conquered or controlled diptheria,
\oid, polio, measles, tuberculosis and pneumonia.
these ancient scourges sweep across our land
ind tortured limbs and minds and hearts in their

ll other generations since the beginning of time.°
ined and graduated more scientists, doctors,
sts, lawyers, teachers, engineers and physicists
bears for a thousand years before.

2d our standards of living and lowered our hours .
ies that were beyond the dreams of princes and .
“ neration ago are now available to all our people.
“ile, the radio, the telephone, the airplane, the
‘ision, antibiotics and a hundred other miracles

‘ ull flower in one generation.

*’ed ourselves unmercifully to bring hope and
k, our indigent, our young and our aged.

ersonal gifts to private charities exceeded 22 -
more than twenty times the cost of running the
“Government the year J was born.

“2 more to bring dignity and equality and op-

* nation since the dawn of history.

ake it clear that I do not minimize the need for
in these areas. :
gent moral responsibility to move decisively in
tices that have too long prevailed.

“ne, we must not minimize the progress that has

rage Negro in our nation is more likely to go to
average citizen—white or
~ ny, Belgium, Denmark, Italy or Spain.
”® than 300 Negro millionaires in our nation. We
Negroes sitting as judges....more in
-e in state legislatures. ..more in our city
_e in positions of power thanvall the communist
—orld combined. iste eBags
anyone sell you the idea that ours is ‘a sick}
om perfect, but it is also far and away the most’
t unselfish, most compassionate in the history

T generation has done. I’ll stand on our record.
2 scored as high as we hoped. But we scored
before.

not yet. :
wrk to be done. There are still challenges to be

» ill hopes to be realized. There are still goals to

4,

— begemazee by the preachers and teachers of
Sot be attained by. sniffing flowers or staging
AS. - es . ;
ied by the unsung heroes of every generation.
» can dream. And the doers who can hope.”
_d by the men and women who honor the Ten
‘. respect our Constitution. ..have faith in:
em. Men and women who believe in God and a
_ar tomorrow and are willing to work to that

By Charles L. Gould,

San Francisco Examiner

Sart

It more schools and colleges and: hospitals and. #

“minority groups than any other generation has ©

black or any color—in ~

Publisher, .

—

“a

Ser ewer Bia es

| by Elfreda Woodside

Beaverhead Nostalgia | "3%,

Crystal Jo Dolson |;
Virginia Straugh
Maurice Burwell

The funeral of Sheriff C. K. Wyman, who was ruthlessly slain >
by Albert Yeik, was held April 24, 1920, at St. James Episcopal
.. Church with Rev. T. D. Bennett officiating. Rev. H. G. Hum- _
phrey of the Methodist Church was in charge of graveside rites -
at the interment in Mountain View cemetery. ae

At that time it was one of the largest funerals ever in Dillon.
He was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge and a Republican. : ..
> Cyrus King Wyman was born in Whitefield, Maine, and at the ¢

age of 19 came west to Philipsburg, Montana, where he engaged

in mining for several years. In 1898 he returned to Maine, andon _

‘ March 1, 1898, married his boyhood sweetheart, ‘Alice Hall. They °

.' came out to Philipsburg to make their home.

He engaged in mining again. Later he was appointed Deputy

- Sheriff of Granite County. In 1904 he entered the U.S. Forest ~

Service and the following year came to Dillon to take up the
duties as Supervisor of Beaverhead National Forest. Ped

He served in this capacity until 1916 when he was elected .

- Sheriff of Beaverhead County by a large majority and was

serving his second term at the time of his untimely death.

During his 15 years residence here he made many friends. He . ,
was fearless in performance of his duties and yet extended the ~
greatest consideration to his prisoners. The latter trait no doubt : -
caused his death. As U.S. Forest Supervisor he was known for .
his good judgment and fair decisions. He was a gentle man and‘:

- soft spoken. ei!

Wyman was survived by his wife and 18-year-old daughter, an‘: *.
- g2-year-old father, two brothers and a nephew. The men at-.:;
tended the funeral of the Sheriff and the Yeik hanging. - ar.

Scott Levvitt, a U.S. Congressman from Great Falls (1923-33), '.
who had been an assistant U.S. Forest Supervisor under’
Wyman, had this to say about him:
ye “There were no outlaws who

“feared no outlaws. 1 never knew how many outlaws he had 5}
sore. but there had béen enough so that the live ones feared

A notorious outlaw gang known as the Kid Brady gang had
holed up in a cabin on the National Forest in Granite County.

Wyman and a half-breed Indian went after them. They were ©

ambushed by the gang and in the ensuing gun battle Wyman.

shot and killed the outlaw leader, Kid Brady. ; Vd

One of the Brady gang later told Wyman that the gang had

come to Philipsburg to gun him down. They discovered him in a

bar, watching both the front and back doors and with his hand on’

‘his holstered gun. Noting that Wyman was alert, they hung

around a short time and left. :

. After the death of their leader, the Brady gang broke up. But:
there was always speculation that Yeik’s killing of the Sheriff
ig a reprisal for the killing of Kid Brady and the breaking up of

e gang. ain ;
A footnote to the Yeik story printed earlier: Once before Yeik’
had been captured in the Beaverhead. In May of 1916 he was

‘. apprehended in the Big Hole Basin after one of his four escapes
“ from the State Prison in Deer Lodge. He must have liked the;

*: Beaverhead. a age ; gee
a he week: A change of pace—the old time Dillon peal i
S. BE ahh MM Sea a ety ihe!

: pene : yas Gav ‘ te a Vr

$374 PS ae bs
* pba etd

fn
* adfoyes ;

cone
+ eegy SET EE
‘ hye

ee pa ae
= hss ‘
oR AES gat
okie hots we
‘ . ».

‘~ ~~,
e 4 ‘ fi

: a iY
sr site SSAROARLAALNS TOE te

Dillon Police

- license and anothe

did not fear Wyman, and he |. >

Dillon officers iss
citations Tuesday, 4
was arrested for dri
intoxicated and nt

proper license plate: |
One’ woman was |.)

speeding. ~pih be

Police Court

Feb. 26 with Jud
Delaney presiding: .
. Margaret Dooling,
license, $20 and spe
bond; Bee M
speeding, $20 bond; 3
Willes, speeding, $20,
Little, drunk, $15 fim |


pub-

THE DILLON BXAMINER aiednseied ace a oa .

Te a ———_ PHAN ‘siderable bitterte #
LAYER OF SHERIFF WYMAN lthe most inhuman kind is shown by becn warned to keep him under a‘to the sherift’s office but this was the SOLDIER BONUS LAND PLAN : 'giderable bitterness bas waged i
HELD AT THE COUNTY JAIL the fact that he had hammered down gtrict guard and not to take any pane *. _—, —- mie a CREATES SEVERAL OF INIONS | ik pein anges mee 5
en f the bullets in the cart- ; ‘ odge, who ale recently, & : ee |republican honse Masag ay
(Continued from pape One) siauen 3 vrake them into dum dum chances with him. The man is 80 €X"|ngg taken his name Washington, April 23.—Raaicat ‘gerved notice of its eo,
jaimed to be hunting rabbits at the bullets so that when one of them convict and was sentenced to beer At the time that Yek appeared in differences of opinion among repub- j road the bill throug the bona 05
Lime the sberiff was shot. would take effect the wound would Lodge in 1910 from Miles City being | Monida he made frionds with two lican members of the house over the; May 3 without giving the cm '
Yek is a man of about 35 years! >° all the more terrible. - sent up on a charge of burglary for|dogs and both animals followed him | plan of taxation that should be adopt- amend the bill ag It finally s aewalecs
t ace He is five ‘fest. nine Incnes Last Friday Mr. Knox, the man a period of two years. Soon after hisito the Price cavin. One dog was ed to finance the ponus land | by the ways and means costa sd
ahipet arrival at the state prison he was wounded during the shooting and be- reclamation plan le was this snnouncemeas th

: who W eye witness to the shoot-
eee 166 pounds. Prezion oe eae the revolver which placed at work with a road gang and | gan to howl; later it wao found that ment of the caucu me to oppose the plana af Mecagz
and is slightly ‘bald with a low slop- was used by Yek and which caused immediately took French leave. He| Yek had choked the animal to death next Friday. In fact, -and means COMMILiee, side aon caeeey”
ing forehead. He has an anchor tat-, the life of Sheriff Wyman. The re- was later apprehended in the state of | by using & noose made from a rope, -|who favor tnan.tas. "t nia:
the left arm. When arrested into a field soon Oregon, returned to Deer Lodge, and)then stabbed dt through the heart _ adyocating one plan of most entirely ws =
tooed on nape icbaki trousers ad crossing. escaped from & road camp for & 8eC- with his pocket knife. While none of y, changing its plan ;made fortunes ont of the Bart”
he wore & ar 2 pieltg thirt, {It 18 @ 4 contained ond time but was captured and sent) the pullots fired at the cabin during|the nex nd discussing a atill aroused general democratie wena:
sore eal seoee black hat, a suit of | five unused . The revolver back to the state prison where he |the bombardment struck the man, one different P eeting. |and may yet be able to muster agp.
pececgget Bb A. ae ilk hose and |is now in the custody of the sheriff's was held for-a year OF 80 and then | bullet hit the other dog putting out) The taxation fe to ba} jority of the house, thongh thee ig «
new woolen un sebeg > aie ee cents | office me ; escaped for a third time from a camp |an eye. the most troublesome feature ‘ot the charge of the bill believe thie scheme” 2
d walking shoes. He ha con’s * Vek Is a Bad Man near Warm Springs in company witn | | -Yek Is.Arraigned bonus bill, and each plan that is sug-|of taxation can be defeated. “ws (0.
rson. Strappe another convict. The men made their t Sheriff Wy- gested by the committee brings forth There is 8 possibility of tajecttas 5
The ruthless slayer of Sher y-|a flood of telegrams of protest. partisanship into the bonus Sigh mi if

was a rainco . According to information furnish-
. tfice here from the way to Anaconda where they stole
ed the sheriff's 0 two horses and rode into the Big man was arraigned in the district Apparently the committee io now |tf Heme:

fle he carried was &

tained 9 cartridges when he was ar-|state ponitentiary Yek is a very dan- rourt Monda before Jud J. ¢.

rested. ,That ~ ie man is & fiend of | gerous man and officers here have Hole basin ptured Smith and vihcontit Ww. ry, Cushing in agreement on the land reclamatjoa | the pill in th

inted to defend the man section of the bill, put’ there ara dif- dangered.

was appo : ferent units of the house fighting one

Qist, just thirty days pefore his mur- Yek is prptending\ insanity and| another on the taxing plan, and con-

der of Sheriff Wyman. Since that | when brought 4n to court refused to

time he stole a saddle and a horse at |talk or answer any questions. He sat —?

Idaho Falls, another horse at a grad- perfectly quiet repeating one PHrase | eeepegectentrdeers Seatote to erien ocipeteeet ee en Spleen Pe"

ing camp 8 miles north of Idaho | after another raising his voice when

Falls, purglarjzed two homes at Du- others — bj nevelenee* was . ;

bois, stealing the rifle he carried from continued for a few ays. 4
Repair work on all makes of Se

one of them, and he is suspicioned of; -saturday morning when Officer

robbing @ pool hall and a general | 4 g break- e >. tee 23

store at Dubois as these crimes were and : M achines : ete +
Fite

in

age Eigat’

- SS

his after-

Examiner is. perhaps

the first paper in

the state to pub-
7)

sind annent

count, which was finished t

Upon noon, and the

y closing in un-

the door.
JX ant he coen an

and returne
released from the state pr

wwe wosves OULEVUMU™

ed the place graduall

aaw menl at the hotel so he|til they pushed open

rt 4?

2

a,
renter *e'

oe

oo,

ectopic

nos

committed at practically the same peters up pe

time that Yek robbed the two houses. ! . was .
The horse he rode to Monida was the} not give a of the call saturday one
second animal stolen. -tana Sund g was willing to
| Yek isa cowpuncher. His home, it|eat and A y night
is said, is in Laram _ He is of |he preten and | ‘°° %;
bed to 8 if ¥

that he had b g throug $
this city, where his bunk and the
as a cowman or electric nd everything | : ;

Yek gave the name of L. C. Davis | else that was . CPPOOeoeee

ua%
"ee"

°
eae

2.

o
ne

"e"
By

ot

ones
_-_-?7

co?

tat

2
re

soon

‘oe!

noes

Soa”
ere

an found that Yek was mon

rym

the severe! W

oes

Se

1. 1 tuned conveniently arranged apd
at.

satured


© a =
eis |
hanged
Dillon,

aMonte,

ILL

N Ek

Mbp MD

-@

DILLON, BEAVERHEAD COUNTY, MONTANA, APR. 28, 1920

ee

LL
EW SHERIFF

ry commission-
row afternoon
the purpose of
r to the late

is morning to
eturns for the
3 which were
ay. A board is
canvassing the
residential pri-

SLAYER OF SHERIFF WYMAN
JS INCARCERATED IN THE
BEAVERHEAD COUNTY JAIL

| ALBERT YEK IS NAME OF OUTLAW WHO SHOT BEAVERHEAD

§ BEAVERHEAD STOCKMEN

ARE FACING CRIS!‘

The stockmen at the present tim:
are facing a crisis in the feed ques-
tion which has been so serious dur-
ing the past few months. Almos!

been fed and it is impossible to se-
cure hay at any price. While train-
loads of hay have been-shipped in
from Idaho and other states practi
cally all of it has been fed alon:
with many carloads of cotton cake.
brand, corn and otber grain. With -

st Friday.
hard winter in 1918-1919, a drout:
E Is HOME COUNTY SHERIFF DOWN IN COLD BLOOD LAST WEDNES. | guring last summer, a long and bar.
winter just past and a backwar.

hite who has
weeks of sun-
eatk*r at hia
Re‘lands, Cal.,
id has resumed
resident of the
the sinstitution
in the United
e population of
nor is looking
ynths’ rest.

X

DAY AFTERNOON—POSSE

-GETS MAN NEAR MONIDA—
MURDERER SECRETLY BROUGHT TO DILLON

Yek Is Said to Be Dangerous Man and Is an Ex-Convict—Had Been
Out of State Prison But Thirty Days—Has Series of Crimes
Charged Up Against Him Since Leaving Deer Lodge—Being
Guarded Carefully for Authorities Here Have Been Warned

Albert Yek, who gave the name

¥
“@ S of ne ee es beds che to mae a one pole gate just as James Rob-]| 02 sale on and after May 1, 60,00
z secretly las ursday morning an : : hunting and fishing licenses for th.
2 HM school| escorted to the county jail where he| 7S 3 clerk at the Egan store emerg-|,.., 3920. Officials of the stat
Sic Monday|is bene Held ou the charge of mur-|&¢ fromt the front door of the store|zame and fish commission hav.
sess. Over four|der. Yek is the brutal assassin who with a rifle. Robbins fired at the} made all necessary preparations [0
ended the first'shot down Sheriff C. K. Wyman injTider but the bullet struck the fence!, jarge sale and every dealer wil:
leberry Finn,’ |cold blood last Wednesday afternoon and glanced, inflicting a flesh wound | be well supplied when the sale open:
d best picturesi when that official was performing in the animals cheek, causing it to] Resident hunting and fishing li
- was different! his duty. Yek was captured by a posse become unmanageable and Yek dis-| censes will sell for $1.50 and are rc
it was greatlyiseveral hours after he had committed mounted and crossed the railroad] quired of all males over the age Cc:
e. It reminded! his dastardly crime in a lonely cabin grade. Robbins kept up his firing but|}14 years and of females over 1:
their youthful|twoand a half miles west of Monida was unable to wound the man, who|years of age. The non-resident 1:
: working in secret that! returned the fire several times to no u)
w ideas in the;It was only by working that : censes are in three classes, generz:
The same show|the officials were able to escape the effect. As Yek left the railroad grade| which permits hunting and fishir.
nesday evening| waiting crowds of enraged citizens he took his chappes off and hid them |and is seld for $50; limited, whic
again attended, |at Monida, Lima and Dillon who were behind a telephone pole. ~ ' |permits hunting small featherc
the -popularity | unable to suppress their indignation Posse Organizes’. game only and fishing, and sells f: Cr:
» purpose of the; and who threatened to lynch the mur- While one man kept ¢he fugitive $15, and fishing, which permits fis! fie.
bring the best!derer and if the man had beenjcovered with field glasses others ing onty, and is sold for $3. Fol}
Be pe oucstions) brought - nettles poe ee ee hurried to arm themselves and fol-| ' . Del]
,dmissic' arg-| passenger tra -jlow the man. They traced him to a : \ tar:
- to cover the!tion some hundred citizens would | jonely frame cabin on the E. F. Price C Ut:
xpenses and al-|have taken the man from the train!ranch, about two and a half miles LS bwas
odations in the!and lynched him on the spot for the. | west of Monida and by Keeping up a Z Tou:
3 ae * Seah —— eons with a rope for hi8| steady rain of rifle bullets held the ATE: hes
equa e aver-! arrival. : man at- bay until reinforcements}; — ac
pictures will al-| The murder of Sheriff Wyman is| could arrive. Me
urday, April 24,| perhaps the cruelest.and most brutal Dillon Appraised of Murder aoe and
rhe in con-|ever committed in Beaverhead ae Five minutes after the murder had : = ever
peeset: ty and feeling is intense.against Yek.| heen committed word was telephoned : Ti;
ee ay Wyman Goes to Make Arre:t to the sheriff's office at Dillon. Depu- |] HIRAM JOHNSON CHOICE C i por:.
)
Yek arrived in Monida some time} ty Sheriff Dan Mooney was on duty REPUBLICANS FOR The:
HIGH SCHOOL ' quring the night last Tuesday or early ue Le office si ee ce reas back to PRESIDENT pro:
= Wednesday morning ano it is sup-|Monida to run down the man and : Mre.
arry-on-carnival! posed he came over the line from|then phoned to Undersheriff Gosman, Dill:
Hig aceite: lIdaho. After putting the horse he was ee was aie oe ante ee live:
riding in the barn he made a bed for|Gosman had a special, cons sting o
hirleaf confetti.|}imself in the hay loft. Wednesday |an engine and caboose, ready in ten Small Vote Cast at Bond & |...
- nted the’ morning a young man by the. name of | minutes and taking with him a posse Primary Elections and
how d it WasS,rhorpe, employéd at the hostlery, of twelve or fifteen heavily armed : dear
ance worth re-: Jont out to the barn to atterd to his! men, started for Monida and after Friday. awe.
is members of! chores and was surprised to see ajreaching that place headed for the wife
ack as any pol-| ,qdle, belonging to his father who Price cabin from the other side from | * .
wish to be, and! : oo b ing 3 hich the Monid had tak es
tages is G@’ resides near Idaho Falls, i a tes Lb arise oe vas All of the three bond issues ¥: ate

attempting to make the animal jump

spring stockmen have had one I<
verse after another to contend wit:
until it seems that. if spring does nc
break within the next week thei.
will be great losses among cattle an
sheep. All parts of the county seer
to be hard hit.\

OFFICIALS PREPARE TO
SELL MANY LICENSI
Se
Hardware stores, sporting good
dealers, druggists and justices of th
peace throughout Montana will hav.

— 82 t atantine whi

every whip of hay in the county has.

8-26-1921,

| he abe e aiomae ‘Ene Darn. Upun surcacs samvocuisecsve | ~ ew S- + --—

4 bo place to go,” With}. round Yek asleep in the loft. The| barding was continued, but nothing
young man said nothing to Yek con-|could be seen of the fugitive, al-
‘cerning the saddle but went to the|though he retaliated with several

GQOCLlSaAtLOU Be-wuYs weyprvers wee
was held in Beaverhead county !

Friday. The hundred thousand <
lar highway issue was defeated

elves with a broadside of} +ej¢ talked with his father | shots. . %
phone and 11 votes. there being 50 vO

| and clever remarks. Mr. over the long distance. He was in- Special From Dill 2h %VULOCD, ssavaw arses & vve Tuer

ae —* benefits. Bes formed that the saddle had been; Just before three o’clock in the af- oe "gig ges ancl al ea

were ecia y n ig ; Stolen some time before and that the|ternoon a special train was made up| ‘tne dormitory bond ‘

were t as busy a6 6'X'.ame man that had stolen the saddle |at Dillon and a posse rushed to Mo- ry bond issue was de

feated by 27 votes, there being 61
votes against the measure and 48

a watermelon patch. Their horse. The bo
ogram was a close rival to | 22d made away with a Y|nida to join the man hunters. When

‘was told to keep the man at Monida

Due credit should be until he could be arrested.

he Smith-Hildreth quartet

i] rendering of their
the curtain fell af-

_. Ore,
and yet one of sat-

e past hour of mer-
making that

1e last encore. The.
‘en under the super-

1

it was with a;

Idaho Falls officials then comm«a-
nicated with the sheriff’s office at
Dillon and asked Sheriff Wyman to
place the man under arrest and hold
him until an officer could make the

the | trip and take Yek into custody. Sher-

3ed the fall of the'

iff Wyman immediately responded by
catching the southbound morning

‘train for Monida and arrived at that

Jillig and Mr. Knud-: Place shortly after noon. Jn the mean-

“Saturday night was

eye parts, a piano re-

‘@ and an O. Henry:
production. In the
satured the severe

ne with the sedate
dignified jurymen.
important factors in
next took place. The
«the care-free defen-
unexpected’ climax,
Jed, attention of the
retta was the result
«o’s careful coaching.
.ult in one of the O.
ms, it coyld not be
t only added to the
the other film. This
vas brought to a suc-
:rue carnival fashion.
1 go down in B. C. H.
f the high school’s

1 successes, as the

ue only brought fun-
> provided a sum of
it to cover the ex-
weaters and athletic
will be presented in

GRAPE PUNCH

yttling Works has re-
ichise to do all the
1e famous Concord
a this district. The
punch is one of the
inks and since the

making the drink
o thousands are par-
delicious beverags,
it & peer. Mr. Patter-
the drink in all of
soft drink emporiums
‘re it is having a big
ly -beverage it cannot
can be had in all size
3e bought by the gal-
(se.

s Big Success.
iven last Friday eve
tholic ladies of Lima
‘use at that place was
and was well attend-
3 sum realized. The
t furnished the music
1. The following eve-
voaA for the soldiers’
s at Dubois, Idaho.

time J. B. Egan, manager of the mer-
cantile store at Monida, gave the man
employment during the morning so
that he would not leave tha place.
Upon his arrival in Monida Sheriff

| Wyman found that Yek was eating

his noon day meal at the hotel so he
waited until he had finished and then
walked up to the man, placed his
hand on his shoulder, and said: ‘You
are the man I want.”

“All right,”” responded Yek. “I will
go with you but let me get my coat
it is hanging in the barn.”’

Yek Shoots Sheriff

Sheriff Wyman consented and the
two men left the front door of the
hotel walking north down a narrow
board walk toward the Egan store.
When they reached an alleyway,
about 25 feet wide between the two
buildings, Yek was walking slightly
in the lead. Suddenly he whirled
about, pulled his automatic revolver
and fired, aiming at the sheriff's
stomach. He was not farther than
six feet from the sheriff when he
fired. The bullet entered the abdomec
and with the first pang of pain Mr.
Wyman pressed both hands to his
body and bent forward just as his as-
sailant fired a second time, the bullet
severing the left thumb at the second
joint and entered the body.

An autopsy performed on the body
of the murdered sheriff at noon
Thursday showed that one bullet en-
tered at the fifth rib and came out at
a level in the back, breaking all of the
ribs where entering and leaving the
body. The second bullet entered
above the liver and ranging down-
ward lodged in the pelvis. The fact
that the end of the dead sheriff’s
thumb was shot off and the fact that
the bullet entering at the liver rang-
ed downward indicates that it was
the second shot and was fired as Wy-
man was falling.

Knox Is an Eye Witness

A man by the name of W. H. Knox
witnessed the shooting and imme-
diately ran to the store and appraised
the men there of the shooting. He
then ran to assist the sheriff, who lay
mortally wounded and who died two
hours later before medical attention
could be summoned.

Clerk Shoots Horse

After shooting the sheriff Yek ran

to his horse and mounted and was

-

the first news of the shooting reach-
ed Dillon citizens were so incensed
and so eager to capture the man that
but a tenth of those who volunteered
could be taken with the posse. The
Dillon contingent reached Monida be-
fore five o’clock and were soon at the
Price ranch. It was a cold and bitter
day accompanied with a stinging sleet
and the members of the posse were
forced to seek refuge in a barn where
a fire was built and rifles taken care
of. It was decided to burn the cabin
and while members of the posse kept
up a continual firing on the builaing
others attempted to fire it but with
little effect. The posse then surround-
ed the place gradually closing in un-
til they pushed open the door. Upon
entering the man could not be seen 80
a trap door leading to a dirt cellar
was opened and the man’s feet could
be seen for a second. The fugitive
was ordered to come out but there
was no response. A flashlight was
then turned in to the cellar and the
man was seen to be lying on the dirt
shelf between the dugout and the
floor of the building while his rifle
protruded through a hole under the
floor. For-the second time the man
was told to come out. Heo asked if an
officer was present. He was told that
there was. He then came forward,
cast his rife to one side and stated
that he would let the law take its
course.

The man was taken to Monida and
under guard was placed in a room at
the hotel. Feeling ran high at Monida
and there was much talk of hanging
the man. As the fecling seemed to
grow it was decided that it would be
better to take the men secrctely from
the hotel to the through northbound
freight train. This was done by tak-
ing the man through the window and
through the dark to the freight train.
He was placed on the train in the
custody of Dan Mooney and W. D.
Ross, deputy sheriffs, and J. W. Car-
ney. The man was taken from the
freight train just south of the stock-
yards and hurried to the county jail.
A large crowd of enraged citizens
met both the passenger and freight
trains as they pulled into the station
at Dillon and they were determined
to capture the prisoner and string
him up. .

Is in County Jail

Yek is being incarcerated in the
county jail being locked in a double
cell. It is stated by the officers that
he slept all the way to Dillon from
Monida and that he is not the least
remorseful over the terrible crims
that he has committed. He eats and
sleeps well but has very little to say.
When talking to County Attorney
Gilbert in regard to the shooting he

(Continued on Page Eight)

for it. The central heating plar
issue was defeated by the overwheln
ing majority of 278 votes, there b+
ing 633 votes counted against th
measure and 3565 in favor of it.

Hiram Johnson was elected by
big majority as the republican:
choice for president, as was the eigh
delegates who were pledged to sur
port him. Governor Sam. V. Stewar
received a handsome democratic vot«

The vote in Beaverhead count
was exceedingly small and little
terest manifested in the electior
This county is perhaps the first i
the state to complete the officia
count, which was finished this afte:
noon, and the Examiner is. perhar
the first paper in the state to put
lish the official count. It is put
lished on page four of today’s pape
and tells the complete story of tas
Friday’s election.

WINS FIRST HONORS IN
‘ DECLAMATORY CONTES

Jeanette Garver won first honor
in the 'declamatory contest held i
the high school gymnasium Wedne
day evening and will represent B. ‘
H. S. in the state contest at Missoul:
Max 14. Those chosen from the pr:
liminaries to compete in the fina
were Jeanette Garver and Thelm
Knapp from the humorous reading
Ella Free and Dagmar Nelson rro:
the dramatic class, and Wyma
Smith and Frank Ryburn from th
declamations. The contest has crea
ed quite a sensation at B. C. H. <
Not only the contestants were ben:
fited by the contest, but also th
students now realize the fact th:
‘“‘memorizing’’ ig not an unattal:
able asset. Each selection averag¢
ten minutes and each of these mi’
utes was one of intense interes
There was keen competition in bo’
the preliminaries and the finals. T!
students received careful coachir
under the direction of Miss Lan
and they realize that the contest
one of the most worth while thin:
B. Cc. H. S. has ever had. Both t!
number of contestants and the i:
terest shown by the student not co
testing, proves that this kind of wo:
is beginning to be appreciated at t!
high school.

AUCTION SALE TOMORROW

Another farm arnction sale will
held tomorrow afternoon at the fe:
yards opposite the court yard
which time a big bunch of cattle a:
horses, some farm machinery and
lot of other equipment will be av
tioned off. This is one of a series
very successful auction sales that h
been conducted by the Sulhv
brothers during the past few wee)

if
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‘the truth

‘The youth shuddered. “I couldn’t
bear to look at them,” he. said,
“even if I was down. there. But I
was home when the news came in.”

Further questioning brought to
light nothing new in the way of a
lead. Salisbury and a deputy made
a careful search of Ferdinand
Schlap’s room. They, found noth-
ing suspicious. There was a 12-
gauge shotgun in the closet. It was
fired for

men had traveled and asking that
a dragnet be set up
car had been seen at various points
traveling at a high rate of speed
for an old machine. It was headed
in the general direction of the
Montana-North Dakota. state line.
car had North Dakota plates.

The state
plete co-operation.

Back at his. office in Homestead,
Sheriff Salisbury conferred with

| County Attorney Erickson and it
was decided to call in the more ex-

perienced. Sheriff John Anderson oi
Roosevelt County. A matter of jur-
isdiction was involved, too, since
the murders had probably been
committed at the Geisler farm-
house and the place was in An-

wiry veteran peace. officer arrived

‘ and the extreme sun that had beat-

them

impossible.

in the report

left the couple alive
7:30 Saturday morning: Anton and
Ludmilla Geisler could have been
alive at that hour.

A report from the State Police

police promised com- ;

HUMAN FACTS FROM POLICE FILES

derson’s territory. The lean-jawec,

a eee es ere OT

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-)

JOE VUCKOVICH CASE from DAILY MISSOULAN, Missoula, Montana, Feb, 13, 1921,

Mrs, Jerry# Shea, aged 25, and the mother of 2 children was the victim of a brutal mrder

committed here early last evening.

Joe Vackolvich, alias Joe Wines, a Serbian, alleged to be

the slayer, is still at liberty although posses scoured the surrounding country last night

searching for him,

Just what was the exact motive in the killing of Mrs, Shea is not known,

but there is the old-time story of one man attempting to steal the affections of another's

wife,

believe that ske knew too much about his activities in violating the prohibition law.
it was a case of Mrs, Shea being too intimate with Wines,

Some think that Wines might been angered because Mrs, Shea spurned him, while others

Anyway,

People who live in the vicinity of

the shooting were highly wrought up over the killing last night and many remarks about lynching

and 'necktie parties! could be heard,

Mrs, Shea was shot through the head shortly before 8 o'-

clock last night in front of the Rose Avenue house at the corner of Rose Avenue and North lst
Street. The bullet, believed to have been fired from an automatic pistol at close range,
entered the righttemple, tore through the brain, and emerged at the other side of the head.

Mrs, Shea was taken to St. Patrick's hospital,
be learned last night, there were no eye witnesses to the shooting,
home, 50) North First Ste, to go to a store to buy some candy.

She never regain consciousnesse
Mrs,
She had been preparing to

As far as could
Shead had left her

leave for the Bitter Root valley to visit relatives and wanted get the candy to take along

with her,
thought,

Shea and Joe Wines aalking east on North First,

Somehwere between her home and the Rose Avenue house she met Joe Wines, it is
A boy 13 years of age told Chief of Police Morre afterward that he had seen Mrs,
He said that near the Burkhart Brocery store

on that street, Wines crawded Mrs, Shea off the side walk and put his face close to hers,

Apparently they were quarreling,
running west on North First,
Rose Avenue with her head in a pool of blood,...."

Wines or Vuckovich

Afew minutes later a shot was heard and Wines was seen
Mrs, Shea was found prostrate at the corner of North First and

also known as "Dago Joe"

His home directly back of Shea residencee...."Wines and Peter Kossich, another Serbian, were
arrested on Jan. 25 by Chief of Police Moore following a disturbance at the Shea home, It is

said that Wines slapped Mrs, Shea.
then jumped into an auomobile and drove around the block,
As Wines and Kossich drove by Movre niticed that “tineshad a gun in his hand,

on the scene,

The chief X#4K called to them to halt and when they did not heed his co

into the back of the car,

Mrs, Shea would not appear against him,

Wines threwthe gun away and stopped the car,

He took her two children as far as the gate of the yard and
By that time Chief Moore had arrived

mmand he fired
Wines was fined $250,

Later Wines was arresbed by Policeman Rogs on a charge

of bootlegging hut was released after he had been held for a few daySececeeNeighbors said that
Shea knew that Wines was tampering with his wife's affections, but apparently was a little
afraid about interferingsse."s.."The police saiid that several days before Wines had traded a

-rifle for an automatic pistol at one 6f the local pawnshéps,"
He is five feet eight inches in height and weighs about 10 pounds. He has gray
His upper teeth are gold.eeee"

of age,

eyes and is dark complexioned and is smooth shaven,

From paper of 2-15-1921:

He went to Grant County and spent night of 2-1) at the home of a rancher friend,

"Wines is a man about 33-years=

The next day

friend discovered about murder and notified police but Vuckovich had already left then they got
there, changing into some of rancher's clothing,

From paper of 2-17-1921:

Vuckovich captured at 9:30 on morning of 2-16 five miles west of Bearmouth as he was walking up

a railroad tracks eeeeeehe had come to U, S, from home in Belgrade 13 years

He had worked on railroads and in copper mineSceee

8

previously,


LUKE S. MAY

bedroom of the sleeping couple was not more than twenty feet
from this rear entrance door, which Mrs. Jones now heard creaking
with such terrifying effect:

A few soft footfalls in the hall outside her door and then complete
silence; the marauder had paused!

In a panic of fear, Mrs. Jones could not find her voice; she expected
at any minute to hear the knob of her door slowly turning. Then,
with some relief, she heard the outer door of the back hallway open
and the running steps of a man on the back stair.

“That would be Davey O’Connor,” she thought, recognizing the
footfalls.

For a few more moments Mrs. Jones lay very still and heard again
the cat-like tread in the main hall; it seemed to disappear, at last,

_toward the front entrance. Turning to her husband, she gave him 8
healthy shake; he was sleeping soundly but she managed to awaken
him without undue noise. .

“There is somebody creeping along the hall,” she whispered.

Lester Jones was accustomed to handling boys and young men
who had been sneak-thieves, and since the offices of the institution

4 (Above) Damaging links in a chain

“2 of evidence: cap dropped by the es-.
x ~ feaping killer, a revolver and (above,
es, “‘Jeft) loaded cartridges found on... }
Ine. * suspect by Captain Pradeau; (right) ©" ~
iles test bullets and shells fired by Mr. ..
ous May. (Right) Enlarged photo of |!

; yerprint on flashlight ~~
; ‘
rlethargy, north, with doors opening into
ntent had it, were the quarters of the
sing along Joneses. Directly across the
hallway were two offices, one of

the school, - which was used by Superin-
2 intruder tendent A. C. Dorr and the other
ory affair, by Lester Jones, who was Dorr’s
locks from assistant.
and south, The living quarters of the
n grounds. Jones couple consisted of two
1 of steal- rooms with a connecting door,
1 & chance and with a door, as has been
le serving stated, opening from each room
's and be- into the hallway The rear
hemselves. hallway was entered from the
: floor was south side of the building, and,
through a at each end of this passage was
vhich were a stairway which led to the
vay, to the second and third floors. The

47