Distinctly Montana Magazine

21 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m A cattleman named James Fergus wrote to Conrad Kohrs that, in his opinion, no one had "did a braver, nobler, or more neces- sary act or one that paid better in its results." And though Fer- gus, another rich cattleman, had not personally rode with the Stranglers, he was proud that his son, Andrew, had. Nevertheless, rumors persisted that not everyone killed was really a rustler—that some were simple homesteaders whose plots stood in the way of the cattlemen's aims. Perhaps there was a flaw in Stuart's assumption that everyone camping or living on the Musselshell River was automatically guilty. Rufus Zogbaum, journalist and artist for Harper's Magazine, happened to be traveling by riverboat along the Musselshell and was able to sight the results of the Battle of Bate's Point from the deck of the ship: the charred remains of a small house, a dead dog, a dead mule, and a posse of Stranglers. Zogbaum did not avoid a tone of romance when he record- ed that the Stranglers present were "standing at their horses' heads waist-deep in the weeds and wild flowers, bronzed-faced, resolute-looking men, unconsciously picturesque in costume and attitude; bright barrelled Winchesters swung across their high-pommelled saddles, on which is bound the scanty baggage of the cow boy." But there, suspended in the branches of a tree, was a hanging corpse that Zogbaum tastefully describes as "something indis- tinct, but fearfull in its mystery and silence..." Could it have been the once-charming, well-educated, strik- ingly grey-eyed Stringer Jack? Or, God forbid, was it someone else, perhaps even an unlucky soul in the wrong place at the wrong time? * * * Although Stuart would claim in his autobiography that his actions in 1894 had put a stop to cattle rustling in the area for decades, a letter he penned one year later to Bill Cantrell—one of the chief stranglers—seems to tell a different story: "The stealing is as bad as ever this summer..." But, optimistic to the last, Start added, "I think we will fetch 'em yet." VOTE FOR US WIN $ 500! FOR YOUR CHANCE TO "I highly recommend Mona for whatever your massage needs are.. She does a really great deep tissue, but her relaxing massage is equally as wonderful!" -Debbie M Full Service Day Spa support@alloramassage.com • 406-291-0456 • 410 N 1st St, Suite A Hamilton, MT 59840 B E S T O F M O N TA N A B M D I S TI N C T L Y M O N T A N A ' S 2023 Hydrafacial Body Treatments Massage Pilates

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