Vigilante Days and Ways: The pioneers of the Rockies; the makers and making of Montana and IdahoLangford, Nathaniel Pitt
History
Vigilante Days and Ways: The pioneers of the Rockies; the makers and making of Montana and Idaho
Langford, Nathaniel Pitt
Frontier and pioneer life -- Northwestern States; Northwestern States -- History; Vigilance committees; West (U.S.) -- History
These surroundings, terrible to a guilty conscience, were not alleviated
by the frequent interruptions of Beachy and Ankeny, who, to all outward
seeming, were closely comparing the statements of Page with those of his
companions. The confession thus obtained bore internal evidence of
truthfulness; and, when it was finished, Page entreated Beachy not to
return him to the room with the other prisoners.
“They will kill me if they suspect me of betraying them,” said he, “and
the fact that we have all been requested to confess will make them
suspicious.”
Page was heavily ironed, and confined in a separate room on the side of
the hall opposite the room occupied by the other prisoners, who, in the
seeming severity with which he was treated, received the impression that
he was singled out as the real criminal. Acting under Beachy’s
instructions, Page occasionally stood in the doorway of his apartment,
so that the other prisoners could see him, and they improved these
opportunities by making significant signs to him to be silent. Howard
would break out into a song, into which he would improvise words of
caution for Page to observe. At length, at their own request, the
prisoners were occasionally permitted to perambulate the hall, and at
those times opportunity was given to converse with Page. They finally
would enter his room, and in a conversation with him, while, as he
supposed, he was enjoying one of these stolen interviews, Beachy heard
Lowry tell Page that the body of Brother Jonathan—meaning Magruder—could
never be found, whether the others were or not. It was a great
satisfaction to Beachy to learn, from this and several other little
incidents that occurred while the murderers were in custody, that he had
made no mistake in arresting them.
Twenty-four hours before the trial, the prisoners, as required by the
laws of Idaho, were served with a copy of the indictment found against
them, with a list of witnesses, in which it appeared that the charge was
substantiated by the testimony of Page. This was the first intimation
they had that he was to be received as State’s evidence. Lowry read
enough of the indictment to learn this fact. Handing it to Beachy, he
exclaimed with an oath,
“I have read far enough. If old Page is to testify, the jig is up. I
don’t wish to know any more.”
More than a hundred persons summoned as jurors were rejected in
selecting an impartial jury. Good counsel was provided for the
prisoners; and after a careful and protracted trial, in which no legal
effort was spared both to convict and to defend, the prisoners were
found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged on the fourth day of March,
1864, six weeks after the trial.
During this interval, they were confined in their old quarters, where
they received every attention from Mr. Beachy and his wife. As the day
of expiation drew nigh, both Lowry and Romaine confessed to their
participation in the murder, and the truth of Page’s testimony; but
Howard denied it to the last.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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