Vigilante Days and Ways / The pioneers of the Rockies; the makers and making of Montana and Idaho

by Nathaniel Pitt Langford

Yager also joined in the conversation, and deprecated any such difficulty, saying to Gallagher that he was blamable for having been the cause of the disturbance, Gallagher meanwhile standing with his coat open, as if waiting to be shot down.

Yager continued his suave and conciliatory remarks to Gallagher, and said finally that he thought Jack owed Sanders an apology, and that all had better take a drink.

A double-barrelled shotgun is a powerful factor in an argument; its logic is irresistible and convincing; and under its influence Jack finally relented, and said that he guessed he had made a fool of himself, and invited the colonel, who up to this time had maintained a position of hostility, to have a drink; but, becoming satisfied of the sincerity of Gallagher’s assurances, he placed the shotgun behind the bar, and the entire party joined in a pledge of amity over a bottle of “Valley Tan,” a liquor well known throughout the mountains, and a production of the Mormons of Salt Lake Valley.

Some controversy then arose as to who should pay for the liquor. Yager claimed the privilege, but Gallagher said it was his row, and it should be his treat, and that the man who wouldn’t drink with him was no friend of his. The affair was finally compromised by allowing Gallagher to order another bottle of “Valley Tan,” and the actors in this scene dared fate by taking another drink. This was, doubtless, the easiest method of settling the difficulty and appeasing the wrath of Gallagher; and my readers will doubtless agree with me in thinking that the circumstances of duress which surrounded Sanders ought not to impair his standing as a Son of Temperance.

After this renewed pledge of friendship between all the parties, Yager and Gallagher withdrew to exchange horses, and in a few moments the latter was on the road in pursuit of his comrades. Yager returned to bed, and all at the ranche were soon sound asleep. About two hours thereafter, there was heard another tumultuous rapping at the door, and the voice of somebody, seemingly very angry, demanding admittance. Yager exercised the same precaution as before, with his light and gun, and finally opened the door, when in came Jack Gallagher, with his saddle, bridle, blankets, and shotgun, and threw them all down upon the floor, saying that he had been lost since he left the ranche, that his horse was not good for anything, and he wanted the fire built up.

He was accommodated; and as there was not room for more than three on the bed, he spread his blankets on the floor at its foot, in front of the fire, and soon all were asleep once more. However, they were not destined to enjoy this peace very long, for shortly after they had all dropped asleep, there came still another commotion at the door. Yager arose, armed himself once more, and going to the door demanded to know what was wanted. It proved to be Leonard A. Gridley and George M. Brown, from Bannack. They inquired for Colonel Sanders, and being informed that he was there, and invited in, they declined, and asked that he come out.

The colonel went out and joined the two men, when he was told that they had been sent by his wife to ascertain his whereabouts and bring him home; and they related to him the events now to follow.

On the morning of the preceding day, a young man named Henry Tilden, who had accompanied Chief Justice Edgerton and Colonel Sanders from their homes in Ohio to Bannack City, had been sent to Horse Prairie, ten miles south of Bannack, to gather together a herd of cattle owned by them and to drive the same into town.

It was rather late when he left Bannack, and as the cattle were somewhat scattered, night came upon him before he had got them all together. He therefore put those he had found in a corral, and having decided to go to the town and spend the night, and return the next day to find the rest, he started in the darkness for Bannack.

He was a young man used to quiet and peace, and wholly untrained in the experiences he was about to undergo. Midway between Horse Prairie Creek and Bannack, as he was riding along at a gallop, he saw in front of him several horsemen. He was somewhat startled, as he was not prepared to meet men under such conditions and in such a country. He gathered courage as he rode, and proceeded along the highway until he came up with the horsemen, who produced their revolvers and told him to throw up his hands and dismount, a request with which he quickly complied, notwithstanding the impolite manner in which it was conveyed. They “went through” his pockets, he meanwhile maintaining a very awkward position with his hands in the air above his head. Finding nothing, they told him to mount his horse and proceed on his way, telling him further that if he ever dared to open his mouth about the circumstance, he would be murdered, or, in their expressive language, they would “blow the top of his head off.”