I 



Cherry 



strong Montana posse was headed for the 

 ranch. Even then he and Murphy took no 

 measures to disassociate themselves from their 

 suspicious company, but decided to stick to- 

 gether, and take chances. Our party was 

 camped on the river, about two miles below 

 the ranch, and one morning in April we heard 

 the posse go by on the gravel bank below, 

 and by the time our horses were caught and 

 saddled, we heard the shooting in the dis- 

 tance. We found out afterward that Spald- 

 ing had gone to the cow barn about the time 

 the posse arrived, and the leader met him at 

 the door as he came out. He was at once 

 covered with revolvers and ordered to sur- 

 render, but, instead, he jumped back into the 

 barn, and opened fire with both his guns. 

 The odds against him, however, were too 

 heavy, and he was shot down where he stood, 

 but not until more than one poor fellow had 

 been sent to his long account. Spalding was 

 riddled with buckshot, and a fusilade of Win- 

 chesters was kept up long after he was dead, 

 so that we had to bury him in a blanket. 



Murphy, hearing the shooting, grasped his 

 rifle and started for the barn, but just as he 

 opened the door of the ranch, a bullet im- 



75 



