USA > Idaho > Vigilante days and ways : the pioneers of the Rockies, the makers and making of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, Vol. I > Part 26
USA > Montana > Vigilante days and ways : the pioneers of the Rockies, the makers and making of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, Vol. I > Part 26
USA > Oregon > Vigilante days and ways : the pioneers of the Rockies, the makers and making of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, Vol. I > Part 26
USA > Washington > Vigilante days and ways : the pioneers of the Rockies, the makers and making of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, Vol. I > Part 26
USA > Wyoming > Vigilante days and ways : the pioneers of the Rockies, the makers and making of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, Vol. I > Part 26
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The scene, by its associations and objects, could not be otherwise than terribly impressive to all who were actors in it; it wanted none of the elements, either of epic force or tragic fury, which form the basis of our noblest poems. A whole community, burning under repeated outrages, sit- ting in trial on one of an unknown number of desperate men, whose strength, purposes, even whose persons, were wrapped in mystery ! . How many of that surging crowd now gathered around the crime-covered miscreant, might rush to his rescue the moment his doom should be pronounced, no one could even conjecture. No man felt cer- tain that he knew the sentiments of his neighbor.
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Trial of George Ives.
None certainly knew that the adherents of the criminal were weaker, either in numbers or power, than the men of law and order. It was night, too, before the testimony closed ; and in the pale moonlight, and glare of the trial fire, suspicion transformed honest men into ruffians, and filled the ranks of the guilty with hundreds of re- cruits.
The jury retired to deliberate upon their ver- dict. An oppressive feeling, almost amounting to dread, fell upon the now silent and anxious assemblage. Every eye was turned upon the prisoner, seemingly the only person unaffected by surrounding circumstances. Moments grew into hours. " What detains the jury ? Why do they not return ? Is not the case clear enough ?" These questions fell upon the ear in subdued tones, as if their very utterance breathed of fear. In less than half an hour they came in with solemn faces, with their verdict, - Guilty ! - but one juror dissenting.
" Thank God for that ! A righteous ver- dict!" and other like expressions broke from the crowd, while on the outer edge of it, amidst min- gled curses, execrations, and howls of indignation, and the quick click of guns and revolvers, one of the ruffians exclaimed, -
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Trial of George Ives.
"The murderous, strangling villains dare not hang him, at any rate."
Just at this moment a motion was made to the miners, " that the report be received, and the jury discharged," which, with some little opposition from the prisoner's lawyers, was carried.
Some of the crowd now became clamorous for an adjournment ; but failing in this, the motion was then made, " that the assembly adopt as their verdict the report of the committee."
The prisoner's counsel sprung to their feet to oppose the motion, but it was carried by such a large majority, that the assemblage seemed at once to gather fresh life and encouragement for the discharge of the solemn duty which it im- posed. There was a momentary lull in the pro- ceedings, when the people found that they had reached the point when the execution of the criminal was all that remained to be done. They realized that the crisis of the trial had arrived. On the faces of all could be read their unex- pressed anxiety concerning the result. What man among them possessed the courage and com- manding power equal to the exigencies of the occasion !
At this critical moment, the necessity for prompt action, which had so disarranged and
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Trial of George Ives.
defeated the consummation of the trial of Stin- son and Lyons, was met by Colonel Sanders, one of the counsel for the prosecution, who now moved, -
" That George Ives be forthwith hanged by the neck, until he be dead."
This motion so paralyzed the ruffians, that, before they could recover from their astonishment at its being offered, it was carried with even greater unanimity than either of the previous motions, the people having increased in courage as the work progressed. Some of the friends of Ives now came up, with tears in their eyes, to bid him farewell. One or two of them gave way to immoderate grief. Meantime, Ives himself, begin- ning to realize the near approach of death, begged piteously for a delay until morning, mak- ing all those pathetic appeals which on such occa- sions are hard to resist. " I want to write to my mother and sister," said he; but when it was re- membered that he had written, and caused to be sent to his mother soon after he came to the country, an account of his own murder by Indians, in order to deceive her, no one thought the reason for delay a good one.
" Ask him," said one of the crowd, as he held the hand of Colonel Sanders, and was in the
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Trial of George Ives.
midst of a most touching appeal for delay, "ask him how long a time he gave the Dutchman."
He, however, made a will, giving everything to his counsel and companions in iniquity, to the entire exclusion of his mother and sisters. Sev- eral letters were written under his dictation by one of his counsel.
In the mean time, A. B. Davis and Robert Hereford prepared a scaffold. The butt of a small pine, forty feet in length, was placed on the inside of a half-enclosed building standing near, under its rear wall, the top projecting over a cross-beam in front. Near the upper end was fastened the fatal cord, and a large dry-goods box about five feet high was placed beneath for the trap.
Every preparation being completed, Ives was informed that the time for his execution had come. He submitted to be led quietly to the drop, but hundreds of voices were raised in oppo- sition. The roofs of all the adjacent buildings were crowded with spectators. While some cried, "Hang the ruffian," others said, "Let's banish him," and others shouted, "Don't hang him." Some said, "Hang Long John. He's the real murderer," and occasionally was heard a threat, " I'll shoot the murdering souls," accompanied by
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Trial of George Ives.
curses and epithets. The flash of revolvers was everywhere seen in the moonlight. The guards stood grim and firm at their posts. The miners cocked their guns, muttered threats against all who interfered, and formed a solid phalanx which it would have been madness to assault.
When the culprit appeared upon the platform, instant stillness pervaded the assembly. The rope was adjusted. The usual question, "Have you anything to say?" was addressed to the prisoner, who replied in a distinct voice, -
" I am innocent of this crime. Alex Carter killed the Dutchman."
This was the only time he accused any one ex- cept Long John.
He then expressed a wish to see Long John, and his sympathizers yelled in approbation ; but as an attempted rescue was anticipated, the re- quest was denied.
When all the formalities and last requests were over, the order was given to the guard, -
" Men, do your duty."
The click of a hundred gun-locks was heard, as the guard levelled their weapons upon the crowd, and the box flew from under the murderer's feet, as he swung " in the night breeze, facing the pale moon, that lighted up the scene of retributive
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Trial of George Ives.
justice." The crowd of rescuers fled in terror at the click of the guns.
" He is dead," said the judge, who was standing near him. " His neck is broken."
Henry Spivey, the juror who voted against the conviction of Ives, was a thoroughly honest and conscientious man. He was not satisfied that the evidence showed Ives to be guilty of the murder of Tiebalt, and as this was the specific charge against him, he could not vote against his conscience. He said that if Ives had been tried as a road agent, he would have voted for his conviction.
The highest praise is due to Colonel Sanders for the fearlessness and energy he displayed in the con- duct of this trial ; for it furnished an example which was not lost upon the law and order men in all their subsequent efforts to rid the Territory of the ruffians.
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Result of Ives's Execution.
CHAPTER VI.
RESULT OF IVES'S EXECUTION.
EFFECT OF IVES'S EXECUTION -LONG JOHN AND "TEX" ACQUITTED - GEORGE HILDERMAN TRIED, CON- VICTED, AND BANISHED -FORMATION OF A VIGI- LANCE COMMITTEE -- PURSUIT OF ALEX CARTER - MEET WITH YAGER (" RED ") IN DEER LODGE - DISAPPOINTMENT - RETURN BY WAY OF POINT OF ROCKS - ARREST OF "RED " AT RATTLESNAKE, AND OF BROWN AT DEMPSEY'S - "RED " DISCLOSES THIE NAMES OF MANY OF THE MEMBERS OF PLUMMER'S BAND - " RED " AND BROWN EXECUTED ON TIIE PAS-SAM-A-RI.
THE confederates of Ives spared no efforts, while his trial was in progress, to save him. When intimidation failed, they appealed to sym- pathy ; and when that proved unavailing, it was their intention, by a desperate onslaught at the last moment, to attempt a forcible rescue. They were deterred from this by the rapid clicking of the gun-locks at the moment of the execution. All through the weary hours of the trial, their hopes were encouraged with the belief that
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Result of Ives's. Execution.
Plummer, their chief, would come, and demand the custody of Ives ; and if refused, obtain it by a writ of habeas corpus, in the name of the civil authorities of the Territory. But if he obeyed the summons of Clubfoot George, which is at best problematical, he acted no conspicuous part. A saloon-keeper by the name of Clinton was very positive that he saw him drink at his bar a few moments before the execution, and that he immediately went out to lead the " forlorn hope " of the roughs. Some other person was probably mistaken for the robber chief, as he was not rec- ognized by any others of the crowd present at the time. In fact he had enough to do, to make provis- ion for his own safety ; for Rumor, with her thou- sand tongues, had carried the intelligence of the arrest of Ives to Bannack, before the arrival there of Clubfoot George. He found the people wild with excitement over a version of the arrest, which Plummer himself had already circulated, coupled with a statement that a Vigilance Committee had been formed at Virginia City, a number of the best citizens hanged, and that from three hundred to five hundred armed men were on the march to Bannack, with the intention of hanging him, Ned Ray, Buck Stinson, George Crisman, A. J. McDonald, Thomas Pitt, and others. This antici-
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Result of Ives's Execution.
patory announcement was made with the hope that by mingling the respectable names of Cris- man, McDonald, and Pitt, with those of Stinson, Ray, and his own, he might divert, or at least divide, the attention which would otherwise ineul- pate only the real villains. It produced a momen- tary sensation, but failed of effect.
George Ives was no common desperado. Born of respectable parents, he was reared at Ives's Grove, Racine County, Wisconsin. The fore- ground of his life was blameless; and it was not until he came to the West, that he developed into the moral monster we have seen. His career as a miner in California, in 1857-8, though wild and reckless, was unstained by crime. No accusation of dishonesty was made against him, until after his employment as a herder of government mules belonging to the military post at Walla Walla, in Washington Territory. The heavy storms of that latitude, often destructive to herds in the moun- tains, afforded him opportunity from time to time, by reporting the fatality to the herd in his charge, greater than it was, to obtain for himself quite a large number of animals. The deception was not discovered until after his departure. He was by turns a gambler and a rowdy in all the mining settlements made on Salmon river. His down-
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Result of Ives's Execution.
ward course, once commenced, was very rapid. On one occasion he surprised the man who had employed him as a herder, by riding into a saloon kept by him, at Elk City. After the man had seized the horse by the bridle, Ives drew and cocked his pistol to shoot him, but was prevented by a fortunate recognition of his old employer. He apologized, and withdrew; and on several occasions afterwards, proffered him the gray horse he rode as a present, which the gentleman, con- vinced that Ives had stolen the animal, as often declined to accept. He was only twenty-seven years of age at the close of his bloody career in Montana. His appearance was prepossessing. In stature nearly six feet, with light complexion, neatly shaven face, and lively blue eyes, no one would ever have suspected him of dishonesty, much less of murder, and cold-blooded heartless- ness. And yet, probably, few men of his age had ever been guilty of so many fiendish crimes.
George Hilderman was fortunate in being put upon trial immediately after the execution of Ives. Ten days later he would have been hanged upon the same evidence. It was proved that he knew of the murder of Tiebalt, and of the murder of the unknown man near Cold Spring ranche, neither of which he had divulged. He had even
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Result of Ives's Execution.
concealed the stolen mules, and knew the per- sons engaged in the stage robberies, and was found guilty upon general principles, but recommended to mercy. Upon being informed of the verdict, he dropped upon his knees, and exclaimed, -
" My God ! is it so !"
He then made a statement confirming all that Long John had testified to concerning Ives.
The people commiserated his hapless condition. He was an old man, weak, somewhat imbecile. They concluded that his silence had been enforced by the threats of Ives and his associates, and that, as there was no proof implicating him directly with robbery or murder, they would sentence him to banishment from the Territory. Ten days were given him in which to leave. Glad to escape with his life, he applied to Plummer for assistance. Plummer advised him to remain ; but the old man took wiser counsel from his fears. He decided to go. Plummer gave him a pony and provisions, and he left Montana forever.
Hilderman was possessed of a coarse humor, which he had lost no opportunity to demonstrate, while a sojourner at Bannack. It made him quite a favor- ite with the miners, until they became suspicious of his villanous propensities. He was also a notorious " bummer," and was oftener indebted
·
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Result of Ives's Execution.
to his humor, which was always at command, than his pocket, which was generally empty, for some- thing to eat. In width, his mouth was a deform- ity, and the double row of huge teeth firmly set in his strong jaws gave to his countenance an animal expression truly repulsive. He was the original of the story of "The Great American Pie-biter." This feat of spreading his jaws so as to bite through seven of Kustar's dried-apple pies, had been frequently performed by him, in satisfaction of the wager he was ever on hand to make of his ability to do it. On one occasion, however, he was destined to be defeated. A miner, who had been victimized by him, arranged with Kustar, the proprietor of the Bannack Bakery, to have two of the pies inserted in the pile without removing the tin plates in which they had been baked, the edges of which were concealed by the overlapping crusts. Hilderman approached the pile, and spreading his enormous mouth, soon spanned it with his teeth. The crunch which followed, arrested by the metal, was unsuccessful. He could not understand it, but, despite the vice-like pressure, the jaws would not close. The trick not being discovered, he paid the wager, declaring that Kustar made the toughest pie-crust he had ever met with.
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Result of Ives's Execution.
Long John purchased his freedom by his testi- mony, and nothing appearing against "Tex " at the time, he also was released.
The execution of Ives had a terrifying effect upon the ruffian horde; though a few of them put a bold face upon the matter and were as loud in their threats as ever. The prominent actors in that drama were singled out for slaughter, but no serious instance of personal assault occurred. The ruffians felt secure, as long as they were unknown, and the only revelation yet made was insufficient to implicate any of them with the numerous mur- ders and robberies that had been committed. Facts had appeared upon the trial, making it probable that Carter was accessory to the murder of Tiebalt. The assassination of Dillingham was unavenged. Either of these causes, in the ex- cited state of the public mind, was sufficient to remind the people that the work they had to per- form was but just begun. If what they had done was right, it would be wrong to permit others equally guilty to escape. Carter, Stinson, and Lyons must be punished.
This spontaneity of thought brought a few of the citizens of Virginia and Nevada into consulta- tion the day following the execution ; and before the close of the succeeding day, a league was
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Result of Ives's Execution.
entered into, in which all classes of the community united, for the punishment of crime and the pro- tection of the people. Before the organization of this committee was completed, a fresh impulse was given to the public indignation on receipt of intelligence that Lloyd Magruder, a merchant of Elk City, and the independent Democratic candi- date for Congress, who had been trading in Vir- ginia City during the fall, had, while on his return to his home, with four others, been cruelly murdered and robbed by a number of the gang, in the Bitter Root mountains. Full particulars of this terrible tragedy will be given in the two fol- lowing chapters.
Magruder was very popular with the people of Virginia City. The committee went to work im- mediately. Twenty-four of them, well mounted, and provisioned for a long ride, started in pursuit of Carter. That villain, accompanied by William Bunton, Graves, and several others, in anticipa- tion of arrest, left as soon as the trial of Ives was over, for the west side of the range. The pur- suers followed on his trail as rapidly as possible, into the Deer Lodge valley. While riding down the valley, the vanguard of the scouts met Eras- tus Yager, who from the redness of his hair and whiskers was familiarly called " Red." He in-
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Result of Ives's Execution.
formed them that Carter and his companions were lying drunk at Cottonwood (since Deer Lodge City ), and that they avowed themselves good for at least thirty of any men that might be sent to arrest them.
The party had suffered severely from the wintry blasts and storms, especially while crossing the divide ; and they were glad that both strategy and comfort favored their detention for the next twenty hours, at the ranche of John Smith, seven- teen miles above Cottonwood. At three o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, they left for Cottonwood, expecting to surprise and capture the fugitive without difficulty. How great was their disappointment, to find that both he and his companions had fled. A distant camp-fire in the mountains at a later hour convinced them that further pursuit at that time would end in failure. They learned upon inquiry that the ruffians had received a message from Virginia City, warning them of the approach of the Vigilantes. And this intelligence was afterwards confirmed by a letter which was found at their camping-ground, the writing of which was recog- nized as that of one George Brown, who was supposed to belong to the gang. It afterwards transpired that " Red " or Yager was the messen-
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Result of Ives's Execution.
ger who brought this letter, and that he had killed two horses on the expedition. Disappointed in the object of their search, the scouts now determined to return by the way of Beaverhead Rock, and, if possible, arrest both Brown and "Red " for their criminal interference.
Their sufferings from exposure to the keen December storms were intense. Arriving at Beaverhead, they camped in the willows, without shelter or fire, except such as could be enkindled with green willows. Some of their animals strayed to a cañon to escape the severity of the storm. After remaining in camp at this place for two days, they ascertained that "Red " was at Rattlesnake, twenty miles distant. A small party of volunteers started immediately to arrest him, while the others, on the route to Virginia City, stopped at Dempsey's to await their return.
At Stone's ranche the pursuers obtained fresh horses from the stage stock of Oliver & Co., and resumed their dismal journey to Rattlesnake. The weather was intensely cold, but this offered no impediment to the pursuit of their journey. Arriving at Rattlesnake, they surrounded the ranche, while one of their number entered. Stin- son and Ray, both present, had in their capacity as deputies of Plummer arrested a man, whom
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Result of Ives's Execution.
they held in custody. Stinson, who disliked his visitor, confronted him with his revolver; but seeing a like implement already in the hands of the scout, who "had the drop" on him, he returned his weapon to its sheath.
"I have come to arrest 'Red' for horse- stealing," said the scout.
On hearing this, Stinson and Ray released their prisoner, on his promise to go immediately to Bannack and surrender himself. The man started forthwith to comply with his promise.
Meantime the scout joined his party outside, and they all rode hurriedly to a wakiup a few hun- dred yards up the creek, which they surrounded while the leader entered, observing as he did so, -
"It's a mighty cold night. Won't you let a fellow warm himself?" Advancing towards the fire, his eyes fell upon "Red." Raising his revolver, he said, " You're the man I'm looking for. Come with me."
" Red " asked no questions, and exhibited no terror. Putting on his hat, and gathering his blankets under his arm, he did as he was ordered, with as much apparent nonchalance as if he were going on a holiday excursion. When told that he would be taken to Virginia City, he simply manifested by a glance that he fully com-
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Result of Ives's Execution.
prehended the situation, and acted in all respects, while a prisoner, like one who knew that his doom was irrevocable. The scouts took him down to the ranche, where they passed the night.
They left early the next morning; "Red " unarmed, on his own horse, and riding beside one of the scouts. The dreary ride through snow and wind was enlivened by the stumbling mule of the leader, which on one occasion rolled over, and after safely depositing its rider, made two or three somersaults down a steep bank, plunging head- long into a snowdrift at the bottom, which completely enveloped him.
At Dempsey's the captors joined the main party. Fatigued with the journey through the drifts, they took supper, provided for the security of their prisoner, and enjoyed a night's repose. Brown, the man who had written the warning missive to Carter, was the bar-keeper, and a sort of general factotum of the ranche. He had been for some time suspected as a petty thief and robber, without the courage needful to engage in graver offences. The Vigilantes saw that he was terrified, as soon as they arrived ; though uncon- scious of the evidence they had obtained against him.
In the morning the captain of the Vigilantes,
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Result of Ives's Execution.
in a private interview with " Red," charged him with being connected with the robber horde. " Red " denied all knowledge of its existence.
" Why, then," inquired the captain, "should you have been at such pains to apprise the rascals that the Vigilantes were on their track ?"
" It was the most natural thing in the world," " Red " replied. "I stopped here on my way to Deer Lodge, and Brown, on being told of my destination, asked me to take a letter to Alex Carter and some friends. I knew no reason why I should refuse, and did so."
Brown was then called in, and " Red " repeated the statement in his presence. Brown did not deny it, but betrayed by his blanched cheeks and trembling limbs that it was true. The captain, laying his hand upon his shoulder, and looking him steadily in the eye, said, -
"Brown, you must consider yourself under arrest; we will at once proceed to a full investi- gation of this matter. It looks very dark for you." "
He was put under guard, to await the termina- tion of the trial of "Red," which was at once commenced. When this was over, Brown was subjected to a second examination before the entire company.
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Result of Ives's Execution.
" Did you write this letter of warning ?" in- quired the captain.
" I did," replied Brown.
" Why ?"
"""Red' came to Dempsey's and said he was going to see the boys, and asked me if I had any word to send them, offering to carry it for me. I wrote them that the Vigilantes were after them, and advised them to leave."
No other explanation was given ; and on their own confessions, and some additional proof show- ing that " Red " had made inconsistent statements to different persons belonging to the Vigilantes, while passing them on his return from Cotton- wood, with a view to deceive them as to the whereabouts of Carter, - the company withdrew to the Stinking-water bridge, to decide upon the guilt or innocence of the prisoners.
" Boys," said the captain, addressing the assem- blage, "you have heard what these men have had to say for themselves. I want you to vote ac- cording to your consciences. If you think they ought to suffer punishment, say so; if you think they ought to go free, vote for it. Be very careful to do the right thing for yourselves, as well as for the prisoners. All those in favor of hanging them, step to the right side of the
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Result of Ives's Execution.
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