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About The Mineral Independent (Superior, Mont.) 1915-current | View This Issue
The Mineral Independent (Superior, Mont.), 28 July 1938, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn86075304/1938-07-28/ed-1/seq-3/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
• 0 • THE MINERAL INDEPENDENT By D. J. O'MALLEY (N—N KID) T HE many herds of ran cattle from Tessa in the '80's, brought with them an army of cowboys of varied charackristice and ambitions from the great ranges of the south. Many came up the trail just to see the country from Texas to Mon- tana. Many came for the purpose of securing work on the northern range and making a home there; some, were men who were seeking a change of climate by reason of having been too quick with a gun, or too handy with a running iron in changing brands on range cattle. Among the last mentioned was Henry Thompson, better known all over the Montana range as \Long Henry.\ He came to Montana with a herd of Rocking H cattle owned by the Home Land at: Cattle Co., known in Montana , as the N—N. This cattle company , owned many cattle on the Staked„ Plains in Texas and also ran many thousands of cattle in eastern Mon- tana. It was owned by the Niedring- haus brothers of St. Louis, Mo. Thompson, at the time of his arrival in Montana, was a man of about 30 f slender bui d, dark corn lexion with \Long Henr11\ Thompson Considered One of the Fastest Men on the Draw Fuer to Visit Montana that were driven into Montana years of le. He was a black hair and eyes. He admitted being &n Cherokee Indian. He was very um, talking very little of other lf He Quick on Draw Long Henry was an adept in firing from the hip. On several occasions he gave an exhibition of his accuracy in this style of shooting, by standing in the center of a room facing the door and breaking the knob on the door lock without drawing the revolver from its holster. He rarely missed his mark. He was often seen to fire two shots in this manner before a man of ordinary quickness in drawing a gun and firing it could discharge his first shot. He relied on his remarkable quickness in firing as his defense, when tried for his severisl killings, as he always al- lowed his opponent to go for his gun first and his plea was invariably self defense. It was well known that Long Henry had killed three men before he came to Montana and in that state he added two more notches on his gun before he was killed by a saloon keeper. Friends Were Numerous Thompson made a large number of friends on the range as well as many enemies. He was a man who never courted trouble, nor did he ever run from it. He was cool at all times and used a lot of judgment when in any difficulty. It was often said of him that he had never learned the defini- tion of the word \fear.\ He showed his coolness on several occasions, one in particular, when Frank Flannagan, a rider for the N—N, had his revolver full cocked and pressed against Thompson's stomach. was a Miles City boy and was M en as a 'Would-be Badman.\ He seemed to have only one ambition and that was to kill a man. He andThomp- son were very warm friends and in the minds of many that fact alone kept Henry from killing him. One night in the fall of 1892, one of the N—N wagons was camped at the old N—N ranch on the Little Dry. One 'of the riders had just ridden in from Miles City and had brought with him a couple of quarts of whisky. Flanna- gan was rather fond of whisky and had taken several drinks and had begun to feel the effects of it and was already beginning to make a big fight talk. Among the riders who were in the camp were Tom Lowe (Tom Load -em), Henry Thompson (Long Henry), Dom- inick White (N—N Kid), Malcolm (Mac) Hunter, and Harry Northrup (Re Load -em). Several of them under- took to quiet Kid Flannagan but he I seemed to be bent on making a gunj play. Finally Thompson said, \Kid if you don't go to bed take you over my knee.\ Flannagan, who was at that I time very close to Thompson, jerked; his gun and cocked it and shoved the! muzzle against Thompson's stomach; with the remark, \Dam you, Thompson, neither you nor any other man can do that. I've a good notion to let your Insides out on the floor.\ We all felt sure that Flannagan was as good as dead. Thompson never batted an eye or raised his voice, and looking Flan- nagan fair in the eye said. \Kid you ain't goin' to pull that trigger and you know it. If you did you would be liable to hurt someone and that would be mighty bad.\ As he finished speaking he made a rapid grab and caught the revolver by the end of the barrel twist- ing it away from his body and out of Flannagan's hand just as Frank pulled the trigger. The bullet struck a log in the side of the house. Henry then said, \Now you go and lay down and I'll give you your gun in the morning, but any more war talk out of you, Kid, and I'll take my turn.\ Flannagan did go and lay down and the next morning saddled his horse and left for the N— N home ranch on the Missouri river, where he was sent to ride with another wagon. Thompson gave him his gun as he was about to leave and never spoke of the occurrence afterward. people and very rarely 01 nmth drank very little and rarely smoked a -cigar, pipe, or cigaret. He was never seen by anyone without a Colt's .45 caliber revolver belted around his waist. (Some of the cowboys averred that he slept with the gun on). The gun he carried had the trigger and trigger guard removed and the sight filed off. The holster in which the gun was carried, instead of being hung on the cartridge belt by the latter passing through a loop made of the holster flap, was swiveled to the belt which allowed the gun to be revolved to any angle without being pulled free Of the holster. This style of holster was known as the \Ben Thompson Holster,\ named after one Ben Thompson. a noted desperado of the southern ranges in early cattle days. It was used by men who fired from the hip. The method of firing was to depress the butt of the six shooter, at the same time cocking the gun with the thumb. When the hammer was released, there being no trigger to hold it up it fell on the cartridge head and the charge exploded. Flannagan was killed two years later by one of his best friends, Mac Hunter, at the latter's ranch near Port Galpin. It was early winter. Frank was out of work and broke and was staying at the Hunter ranch. He had come from Glas- gow on this day, and beside having quite a supply of whisky inside of him, had brought a quart along. He got pretty full and began making himself disagreeable to' Mrs. Hunter. Mac Hunter spoke to him and told him very plainly that if he didn't quit such talk and actions that he was liable to get into trouble and gave him to under - stand that after that day he wasn't welcome at Mac Hunter's home. Shot Through Heart Flannagan gutted down for a short while but finally just as Mrs. Hunter had occasion to pass between him and her husband he made an insulting re- mark to her, at the same time jumping to his feet and reaching for his gun. Hunter, who had been watching him was too quick for Flannagan, and jerk- ing his gun from a table shot Fianna - gun squarely through the heart, kill- ing him instantly. Hunter gave himself up to the sheriff, but was exonerated by the coroner's jury for killing the Kid. Thompson did his first killing in Montana in 1884 at Fallon, a shipping point on the N.P.R.R., about 40 miles east of Miles City. Normally, Fallon was simply a little station consisting of a section house, a store, saloon, a few dwellings and a lodging house, but during the shipping season it bloomed out into a wild little burg of tents in which were run saloons, gambling halls, clothing stores, and while cattle were being shipped to the eastern markets, Fallon was on the map. It is situated conveniently for handling stock, being in the center of a very large, level flat and many herds can be conveniently held near there on Powder river and , the Yellowstone river nearby. The month of September, 1894, had been a very busy month for Fallon. A great number of beef cattle were shipped' from its stockyards during the month. Many herds of beeves were camped along the Yellowstone and Powder rivers, waiting their turn to be loaded Into the stock cars. The night of Sept. 24, the little ship- ping town was alive with cowboys. Those whose herds had been shipped had nothing to do but celebrate. Those who could get away from their herds were in town and were doing their bit. Shots were heard frequently as well as loud yells and other noises. The poker game and saloons were doing a rushing business. Among the different outfits that were waiting to get their stock into the yards were two wagons of the N—N, one under charge of Steve Rupe and the, other under Jim Snirly. Rupe's herd was camped about three miles north ' of Fallon on the north side of the Yellowstone. Henry Thompson and the writer were riding for Rupe, and along with some of the other members of that crew, rode into town just about sundown. George Denman, the cook, was one of the party. Denman was a Mulatto, a large and powerful man, and a man who was , heartily disliked by every man who i rode for Rupe. He was overbearing, domineering, and insulting in his man- ner and talk, a regular bully and seemed to be always looking for I trouble and seemed to want nothing better than to kill some one. He alwaysl caned a Winchester saddle rifle on the seat of the mess wagon, and the first thing he would do when the wagon was I camped was to take the rifle and stand it against one of the hind wheels with the remark so all could hear, \Stand there little lady. You are good for some white — — — yet.\ Rupe was the only one at the wagon who seemed to have any friendship for Denman at all and it was often won- dered at by the cowboys why this was. It was thought by most of the cow- hands Denman would be a very lucky man if he lived to see the finish of the beef roundup that fall. When the N— N bunch reached town they scattered, going to different places of business. The saloon run by Charlie Hanson, Eugene Egan Is Re-eliected Head o I r ocafionall Group 4, _ Instructors in vocational agriculture BUT in Montana high schools who attended the recent summer conference held at, BUT ENGINEER Montana State college, re-elected all' officers of the Montana Vocational as- sociation of which Eugene Egan of Lewistown is president. Other officers re-elected are C. M. EUGENE EGAN, Lewistown, re-elected president of the Montana Vocational association. Homer, Missoula, vice president; Her- bert Winner, Choteau, treasurer, and Floyd Bowen, Chinook, secretary. At their business sessions during the conference the association members outlined plans for vocational agricul- tural exhibits at Montana fairs this summer. They also suggested changes in the present Future Farmer farm shop contest and in the livestock judg- ing contests. The conference is being followed lay a three-week training school which about half the instructors in the state are attending. who was better known as Dynamite, was filled with cowboys in 8..1 stages of hilarity, each seemed bent on mak- ing more noise than his neighbor. About 10 o'clock Long Henry, the writer, and several others, entered the place and went to the bar. A cowboy named Watson who was riding for the 7 0 L on Powder river and who cared more for a drink of whisky than he did for anything else, was very drunk and was staggering about the place. George Denman, who was drinking pretty heavily, was having (what he seemed to think) a lot of fun with Watson. He would whirl him around and laugh when Watson would fall. He would trip Watson to see him stagger and he bought the drinks for Watson and himself frequently, so Watson was satisfied. Finally Denman seized Wat- son by the shoulders, whirled him about and gave him a shove. Watson staggered and fell, striking his face on the edge of one of the few barroom chairs, cutting quite a gash across his breath and a majority of them felt dead nigger in a minute, but Th son never moved a finger and replied \Never mind who I am. I guess you know anyhow. I'm just telling you to lay off this man,\ then he walked to the bar, took a drink, and went out passing within three feet of Denman. Denman did let up bothering Wat- son and soon left the place and went from one saloon to another taking drinks at each one and getting very -drunk. He got to talking loud and mak- ing all manner of threats against Thompson, who had gone to a room - WILLIAM WRAITH, LONG REST- ing house and to bed. DENT OF STATE, GIVEN DOC- Early next morning, Derima.n, who had gotten partly sobered up, got his horse. Riding to Dynamite's, he dis- mounted and went in and got a couple of drinks and a quart bottle. Then he mounted his horse and rode back down the one street of the town, asking in a loud voice as to the whereabouts of that half breed Thompson. As he got near the lower end of the street, he saw Long Henry coming out of the lodging house and said very loudly, '\There is the —breed now. I'll just get him and pull for camp,\ and rode toward Thompson, who never paused but kept on his way straight toward ' Denman. When they were about 20 feet apart, Denman pulled his horse to a standstill. Thompson also stopped. Denman said, \I guess I've got you just where I want you, Thompson, and I am going to let your insides out,\ at the same time reaching for the Win- chester that was slung udder his left leg. He had it fully half drawn from the scabbard when Henry grasped the butt of his six shooter forcing it down and elevating the muzzle and fired. Denman let go of his rifle and straight- ened up with a jerk, then made another effort to get hold of it and Thompson fired again, and Denman fell from his horse. He was dead by the time he struck the ground. One bullet had struck him a little above the heart, theotherd through his throat just at the Adam's apple. Thompson walked to Dynamite's saloon and went in and said. \Some one of you men send word to the sheriff at Miles City. I have just killed George Denman, the N—N cook.\ e TOR'S DEGREE Mining Man Who Served for Many Years in the Industry in Montana Se- lected by His Alma Mater for Marked Distinction Conferred at Graduation. William Wraith, old-time Butte and Anaconda mining engineer, was recently signally honored by his alma mater, the Michigan College of Mining and Technology, when the honorary degree of doctor of engineering was conferred upon him. The occasion was given much publicity by the press of Houghton and Calumet, Mich. The honor was conferred during the graduation exercises. \In the presence of the largest class ever to graduate fro mthe Michigan College of Mining and Technology,\ says the Daily Mining Gazette, \hon- orary degrees were conferred at the commencement exercises upon two men widely known in mining and engineer- ing circles. The honorary degree of doctor of engineering was conferred upon William Wraith and the honor- ary degree of doctor of science on Dr. Charles M. Carson, who was the prin- cipal speaker at the graduation exer- cises. Dr. Carson and Mr. Wraith were classmates. Dr. Carson was graduated from what is now the Michigan Tech In 1893 and Mr. Wraith in 1894. Dr. Carson was presented for his degree by Hon. A. Peter Mann, chairman of the college board of control, and Mr. Wraith by Dean James iFsher.\ Holds Many Offices Continuing, the account states that \William Wraith, alumnus of the col- lege, is a prominent mining engineer and vice president of the Andes Copper Mining Co., the Greene-Cananea Cop- per Co. and the Inspiraton Copper . He is also director of the International Smelting and Refining Co., of the Park,; Utah, Consolidated Mines Co. and of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers.\ forehead. Denman laughed and threw a glass of whisky in the man's face saying, \There cowboy, that will stop the bleeding. Get up and we will have, a drink.\ Watson let out a bellow of I pain as the whisky entered his eyes' and the cut on his forehead, and Long Henry, who was standing at the bar talking to some friends walked over to where Watson lay and pl..ted him up, and placing him on a chair, wiped the blood and whisky from his face, and then turning to Denman he said quiet- ly, \I guess this will be enough of this sort of fun with this man. George.\ \Who in the h-1 are you butting into my affairs,\ demanded Denman bristl- ing up, at the same time making a motion as though reaching for a gun. All those in the saloon held their, Self Defense Plea The deputy sheriff at Fallon, who was in Miles City at the time, came on the next train and arrested Thompson who was taken to Miles City and cleared by the coroner's jury on the ground of self defense. Denman was buried on the railroad right of way only a few feet from where he fell and a fence of poles was built around his grave. A short time afterward, one of the outfits that were shipping, killed a steer for beef. Its hair was black and a half -drunken bartender named Du Pont hung the hide on this fence, and for a long time it Was the only grave marker George Denman had at his grave. An amusing incident occurred in con- nection with the killing of Denman. The driver of Rupe's bed wagon, who was also a darky and known as \Deacon saw the shooting and tore to the stable where he had his horse and saddled it and rode out to the camp. He rode into camp as fast as his horse could run The cowboys were eating breakfast when he rode in and he literally fell off his horse and gasped out, \Fore God. Long Henry has just killed George, and he has gone wild and is just shootin' Fallon town all toTh h—l.\ (ere were only two shots fired). One of the cowboys asked him, sure that they would looking at a I \How did you get across the river so I early, Deke?\ Deacon looked at him and said, 'What river? I didn't cross , no river.\ The poor fellow was so seared he never remembered of rout- ing the ferryman out of bed. Nor of having crossed the Yellowstone river. , One of the cowboys said that when Deacon, who was very black, rode up to camp, his eyes looked like two fried eggs. Long Henry Thompson was shot and killed in Saco, Mont., by a saloon keeper named Ed Shufelt on the morn- ing of March 15, 1902. The shooting was the result of a row between Thompson and Shufelt over a woman who was known as \Georgie Grant.\ She was known in Saco as \Shufelt's woman.\ About the tenth or March 1902, Thompson came to Saco after an ab- sence of several months. He had with him a sum of money estimated at being from $250 to $300. The Grant woman became interested in the money and proceeded to show Thompson preference to Shufelt much to the latter's anger and discomfiture, as he was of a very jealous disposition. He was also a known enemy of Thomp- son and the feeling between the two men became very much strained. During the night of March 14, Shu- felt went to the room where he knew that Thompson and the Grant woman were, and gaining entrance began to berate and abuse the pair, and finally • demanded a showdown. Thompson had not said very much during Shufelt's outburst. The woman very coolly told Shufelt to be on his way, that as far as she was concerned he didn't exist, and asked him to please close the door as he went out. Shufelt left in a tower- ing rage, vowing vengeance on both Thompson and the woman. Going to his saloon, he went behind the bar and getting a sawed-off shotgun he loaded both barrels and stood it against the wall with the remark to his bar- tender, \If that damned breed— Thompson comes into this place today, I'm going to let his insides out.\ There were several men in the saloon when he made the statement and some of them who were friendly toward Thompson took it upon themselves to warn him. About 9 o'clock in the morn- ing of March 15th, Thompson appeared on the street, and two of the friends tho had been waiting for him to show up, at once made him acquainted with the situation and advised him not to go to Shufelt's until the latter had cooled down a little. Thompson, who had his gun on as always, listened to their' advice and when they had fin- , ished he laughed and said, \Why that blamed coyote wouldn't shoot a crippled calf if he had it tied down. I guess I'll drop in on him and get a cocktail again.\ His friends tried to persuade him not to go but he paid no attention to them and went to the saloon. When he got to the door he paused and buttoned his coat, opened the door, and thrusting his hands in the pockets of his pants, walked in, Closed the door with his foot, and turned toward the bar. , Shufelt, who had seen him coming, I was waiting behind the bar with the I shotgun in his hands. As Henry turned I toward the bar Shufelt fired and Long j Henry Thompson fell to the floor— dead. He was struck with four buck- \ot and died instantly. Shufelt was arrested and tried for murder. He pleaded self defense and testified that Thompson fired first. When Thompson's body WAS examined it was found that his hands were still in his pockets and his revolver showed five cartridges in the cylinder, one acquitted on justifiable chamber being empty, yet Shufelt was the grounds of Henry Booz,80=Year=014 Plioneer of Bi homicide. Shufelt lett Montana shortly (9) . after he kilkd Thompson and within Ls I a year, word reached Saco of his death in a saloon fight in Colorado. Rode Texas Trail. 3 Times N.'n Early Days By GLENDOLIN DAMON WAGNER ENRY BOOZ, 80 years old now. has spent the past 50 years in Montana. as one of her pioneer cattlemen. He has served as farmhand, cowboy, cook, man- ager, and finally as owner of many of the famed ranches. He made three trips to Montana over the old Texas trail before settling here. He was 17 when he left Georgia and started west. When he arrived at Dallas, Tex., in 1875, his fortune comprised three nickels. In- vesting that capital in a watermelon he squatted on the station platform and ate it. Thus fortified, he hunted for a job, and found it on a big Texas ranch. And so began his career as a cattleman. In 187'7 Henry Booz made his first trip up the Texas trail with a bunch of cattle. There were 10 men in the outfit, a chuck wagon, 50 horses and 3,200 cattle. The men lived on sow- belly, beans, fresh beef, coffee and the cowboy's manna—sour dough biscuits. To make this sour dough, Mr. Booz explains, you put flour and water in a keg and stir, and let it sour, and keep stirring. Then, for biseuits, you add salt, lard and soda to the mixture and bake. Parched Own Coffee It's the best bread on earth, he in- sists. Before each meal they had to parch their green coffee before boiling. The trip was made memorable by the gift of a barrel of Arbuckle's roasted coffee, the first Henry had ever seen. Another incident stamped the adven- ture indelibly on his mind, a serious skirmish with treacherous Indians. Cattle outfits paid for the privilege of crossing an Indian reservation. The cunning old Indian chief had been ac- cepting the toll, time after time, and then had stblen the cowmen's horses. But this particular outfit, Mr. Booz says, resented the treachery, eloquent- ly, with guns. In the fight one of the cowboys shot and killed the chief. And the chief was a ward of the United States government. The cowboy would I undoubtedly be brought to trial. He I might prove sufficient justification or he might be convicted of murder. Or the entire outfit might tragically dis- appear on the Texas trail at the hands of resentful Indians, seeking vengeance. That was a harrowing time. The outfit, camped on the battlefield, fortified themselves as best they could, and kept guards on duty night and day, to watch for redskins. Meanwhile messengers were sent to Fort Caldwell for soldiers. Anxious days passed with the men on the trail watchine and waiting, their eyes turned always toward the far western plains, where a faint moving speck might mean the return of the messengers with protective soldiers and officers. At last the soldiers came and the cow - HENRY BOOZ, BILLINGS boy was taken to Fort Caldwell, companied by all his friends. Cowboy Turned Loose But there was no trial. News of the fight had reached the fort and all of Caldwell had turned out to welcome them with shouts: \Turn the cowboy loose!\ And so, Mr: Booz says, we re- turned, rounded up our cattle and trekked on to Montana. There were many hardships, long stretches without water, constant dread of attacking Indians, of stampedes. fording of swollen streams, and the tedious inching along at about a mile per hour. A year or so later Mr. Booz got a job with the 7 -Bar -7 ranch on Crow reservation working as cook for Paul McCormick. And, as cook, Henry was made unwilling custodian of the cow- boys' whisky. One day three young In- dians, with three squaws, rode up to the chuck wagon and demanded white man's firewater. One of the bucks, young, alert, handsome, attracted his attention. His name, Henry learned,' was A-Leek-Cheah-Ahoosh, a name the palefaces changed later to Plentyl Coups. Henry refused the Indians' re- quest but found it convenient, just then, to go to the spring for water, and to remain a long time. When he returned all six Crows were sprawled blissfully' about the wagon, with whisky bottles empty. After that episode, Mr. Booz ac - says, with a twinkle, the cowboys chose to guard their own whisky and he and Plenty Coups enjoyed 40 years of neighborly friendship. Those were the thriving days of Mon- tana's cattle industry, when men talked in big terms—herds of 40,000 head, deals amounting to hundreds of thous- ands of dollars, huge ranches bought and sold, staggering sums borrowed and paid back. Once Mr. Booz, acting as purchasing agent for Paul McCor- mick, bought and delivered $100,000 worth of oats for Fort Custer, Fort Peck, Fort McGinnis and Fort Assinni- boine. Once Henry Booz wanted to buy Lew Nutting's huge herd but he had no money. Chancing to meet Mr. Morse on Laurel streets, he said: \I could make some money if I had some moeey.\ \How much, Henry?\ \About $10,000.\ Mr. Morse said, unhesitantly: \Count on me, Henry.\ And, in two years, Mr. Booz paid back the loan. But those early days also knew their periods of depression. Dur- ing the summer of 1893 there was no money in circulation. Banks were not loaning. If you wanted to draw out deposits you received cashier checks in lieu of cash. You made purchases with cashier checks and received change in the same form. There were many enemies peculiar to the cattle industry on those vast, wild, early -day plains. Wolves, drouths, grasshoppers, cattle rustlers, Indians, homesteaders and sheep men. Mr. Booz solved the wolf problem when he dis- covered that the mule was its natural enemy. He started a herd of mules on his ranch and the mules killed the; wolves. Cattle thieves offered a more serious menace. Cattle disappeared mysteriously by the hundreds, and suspicion settled upon this one and that, but with no actual proof, until an old, pampered bull served as both victim and witness. He had been feeding luxuriously from the corrals on Crow reservation all winter. Then, one winter day, he dis- appeared. Searching, fruitless days stretched into weeks. As mysteriously as he had vanished, he reappeared at the home corrals, with his original \IDGO\ brand skill- fully burned over into the well known \Mashed Pumpkin\ brand. The bull's tracks in the deep snow led straight to the Garvin ranch, 90 miles south of Billings, and led, also, to an investiga- tion resulting in the sentencing of Garvin and his partner, Bob Lee, to a,1 ear's imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. I That, Mr. Booz says, about ended ' thieving. \We couldn't do much, though,' about drouth or grasshoppers, or sheep that ruined good grazing land for our cattle. We couldn't do much, either, about the homesteaders plowing up the, grass and fencing off water holes ahdi free range. Those were things we just had to take.\ But he has wtnessed bitter civil feuds fought between sheep and cattle men on Montana's plains, with blood- shed and men sprawled dead. He has seen cattle maliciously stampeded and sheep clubbed to death. During his 56 years he has seen the Montana cattle industry struggle through its infancy, reach its zenith and then slowly de- cline. He bought his first thoroughbred cattle from Bob Leavens during the Boer war. Since then he has owned the Garvin ranch, the • Cummings ranch, the McNutt, the LaPoint, and the Towers ranches. The lad who, at 17, chose to link his destiny with the west, has played a vital part in its growth. He has shared in its development, from the days of stagecoaches and Indians to the days of airplanes and peace. Now he asks nothing more than the privilege of spending the remaining years of his life in the place he loves best, Montana. The stork outran the grim reaper in Montana again during May, the state board of health reporting 795 births and only 438 deaths. Com- municable diseases claimed 43 lives during the month while the car acci- dent toll reached nine. I Although Henry Thompson was well known to be a gunman and a killer, he could not be classed as a desperado for he was a man who did not try to create trouble at any time nor did he • boast of any of his several killings. ' Nor could he be classed as a crook or stock thief for during his residence in Montana he was arrested but twice for stealing, one time he was arrested for taking part in a bank robbery at Glasgow, and on another occasion for stealing a horse, but at both trials it was proven beyond a doubt that he was guiltless. The writer knew Thompson for 13 years and for seven years rode with him for the N—N and found him as good a man to get along with as any in the outfit. He was a killer but not a thief. It was said that he had killed five men, one in Chadron, Neb., and one in Texas, before he came north. It was known that he had killed a trail hand whose name was John Gallman at Wendover, Wyo. In Montana he killed George Denman at Fallon and Tom Dunn at Saco. In spite of his quickness on the draw and his accuracy of aim he went the way of the gunman and found a rest- ing place in Boot Hill cemetery. SKELETON FOUND UNDER FORT SHAW BUILDING When Fort Shaw was established the wagon trains and stages had to ford the Sun river. The crossing was near the present town of Sun River. There was a trading post at one time on the east side of the river that included a store and hotel, now known as the home of Mrs. Fredrick S. Toman and her son, Wesley. A few days ago the Tomans were remodeling their house and had oc- casion to take up a part of the floor to put in a better foundation. Parts of a skeleton were found about two feet under the ground. Mrs. Toman said that this part was used as the granary when the trading post was there. With the skeleton was found an old can and a bottle which very much resembles the present \steine.\ There was an abundance of rotted wood and a large old fashioned pad- lock near the bones which leads to the belief that the body was originally in a box. According to Mrs. Toman many other skeletons have been found on the ranch. The others were uncovered when fields were plowed and all were believed to have been Indians, as none of them were buried very deep or in a box. At one time, she said, there were eight Indians killed on the same day, when they attempted to steal some horses and a fight ensued. TAXES SHOW GAIN The state's share of property taxes collected by counties for the last half of 1937 totaled $780,118.56, State Treas- urer Ray N. Shannon reported. The state's share of collections for the same period in 1936 was $750,477.51.
