Stage driver George Ferguson shot:
The day began as usual for George Ferguson on May 23, 1886. He awoke and arrived at the livery stable at Glendale, where he hitched his two horses to a stage coach. He loaded his passengers and luggage, and proceeded to Melrose. There, his passengers disembarked and he warmly greeted his fares seeking transportation on the return portion of George’s round trip. Those passengers included Narcisse Ledoux, Glendale tavern owner; Thomas Merchant, a commercial traveler; a man named Blackburn and two young Miller girls, Effie and Lizzie, and one unidentified girl.

 

The stage departed on time with Mr. Thomas Merchant sitting on the bench beside Ferguson, LeDoux and Blackburn sitting behind Ferguson.  The money constituting the H.C. payroll for the month and amounting to $25,000 had been sent up previously by freight in a nail deg, The hold up occurred during an April evening in a lonely spot along Trapper Creek a spot overlooked by bare, inhospitable hills. About 2 miles from Melrose, they were stunned when a person appeared in the middle of the road in front of them. Suddenly, a masked man ordered the driver to halt, firing the fatal shot simultaneously with the command. According to old timers, Merchant was a man whose excitability verged on hysteria. As soon as the shot was fired, the salesman cried" I'm shot, I'm shot! The frenzied horses bolted and LeDoux leaped to the front seat. Ferguson, his torso riddled with shot, was sprawled lifelessly across the boot. He would never again urge his horses over the marrow, old state road.

 
The bandit, no doubt appalled by the unexpected denouncement of the holdup ,made no attempt to search the stage and had vanished on horseback, Two masks and a mule loading shot gun with one barrel discharged and the other loaded with wadding which were found in the brush near the scene of the holdup, signified that there may have been two highwaymen, and that intended to frighten and not to murder the driver.

The stage arrived in front of Ed Alward’s Pharmacy and the victim was removed to the inside, where he was pronounced as no longer alive. Merchant immediately offered a $25 reward for information leading to the capture of the brutal attacker, and that reward amount eventually grew to a sizable $700.

In less than an hour, a posse was formed to find the killer. Dr. Jones, J.B. Losee, James Bateman and A.L. Pickett were a few of the highly respected citizens, whom were part of the group. The group searched throughout the night with hopes of finding the assailant that took the life of one of Glendale’s citizens. They scoured the area from Trapper Creek to Birch Creek, and returned the next morning with a couple of masks and a double barrel shotgun, which were found near the scene of the crime.

On the evening of the crime, Ed Harrison came down from Soap Gulch, a few miles northeast of Melrose, Harrison was on his way to Glendale but missed the stage, so he decided to walk to the smelter town. By this time the Glendalites were combing the road and surrounding hills for Ferguson's murderer. Consequently, Harrison was taken into custody, After the party reached the Melrose Hotel with their prisoner, the flighty Merchant, having heard Harrison's voice, cried, "That's the man. That's the man, I recognize his voice" The suspect was indeed on the spot but he was soon able to repudiate the salesman's false testimony proving his (Harrison's) whereabouts at the of the shooting. Melrose and Glendale citizens state that if a man had been hanged each time Merchant thought he recognized the murderer's voice there would have been a wholesale execution.

The search continued and a tipster reported the sighting of two suspicious men in the Frying Pan basin. The posse’s efforts began to focus in that region. It was learned that the two had helped themselves to food from one of the cabins in the area before eluding their followers. The murderer and his partner was tracked to the Point of Rocks, Twin Bridges, through Pipestone Pass and into Silver Bow County. Sheriff Sullivan of Butte notified Sheriff Jones of Beaverhead County that the two had been captured and were being held in jail until they could be sent to Dillon. Jones immediately traveled to Butte, interviewed the two and decided that they were not the pair in question. They were released.

The shot gun was the evidence that led to the arrest of Thomas Harding in Butte. The gun proved to be one which Harding had borrowed from an old prospector in the Butte area, Harding ,28, was a native of Cohoes New York and had recently come to Glendale. Two other men, Kennedy and Gregory, were also new arrivals and had immediately fraternized with Harding. Charlie LaDoux, proprietor of the Old Timer's Saloon in Glendale, was robbed of $600 shortly before the state holdup and strongly suspected the three newcomers of the theft.

With the help of a witness in the case, the Beaverhead County law man then arrested Thomas Harding while still in Butte. He was questioned and then taken to be imprisoned in the Dillon jail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled to present the circumstantial evidence against Harding, evidence that would show jurors that it is quite probable that he pulled the trigger.

The proceedings at the county Court House were presided by Justice Schmalhausen, of Glendale. W.S. Barbour, a Dillon attorney conducted the examinations of the witnesses for the Territory of Montana, while the defendant, without counsel, represented himself. The evidence was presented and it was decided that there was enough to send the man and the case against him to trial. Harding maintained his innocence and stated that he was mining during the time that the brutal attack occurred. Justice Schmalhausen concluded that there was reason to hold Harding without bail and wait for the action of the grand jury.

Paradoxically enough, Merchant was the star witness throughout the affair. The two Miller girls, Charlie LaDoux and Blackburn were not called to testify, even during the trial. Thomas Harding protesting his innocence, was sent to the gallows by circumstantial evidence for the murder of George Ferguson.

Before a trial of his peers, Thomas Harding was convicted of the crimes charged against him and sentenced to death. March 25, 1887 was his last day to live. Up until the last minutes before his appointment with the hangman, Harding’s counsel, Mr. Duffy, tried to convince the governor of the Territory to save the man’s life, but without success. Harding was served his last breakfast at 9:00 A.M. and was then taken to the barber shop for his last shave. At 2:30 P.M., the convicted Harding was removed from his cell and taken to gallows. His final remarks were ones of innocence. He was then hung and when his body was completely lifeless, it was cut down and buried in the local cemetery.

George Ferguson was buried in the Glendale Cemetery. His head stone still stands in tribute as a memory of a life which was taken before his time. George Ferguson came to Glendale from his home in Missouri when he was but a youth, and got a job waiting table at the boarding house in the Ore Camp. He was extremely popular with everyone. Young Ferguson’s parents were dead, but he had a brother Roland and a sister back in Missouri and a brother living at Divide. George sent for Roland, who, a bewildered tenderfoot lad of fourteen years of age, came to make his home in Glendale. The boy, at first lived with Jack Reynolds and later with Dr. Schmalhousen. Roland took his brother’s place in the ore camp boarding house and George was appointed to drive the stage between Glendale and Melrose where he was soon to meet his untimely death.

Roland Ferguson, now a resident of Butte, Montana says that when he first set foot in the smelter town it was a wild camp or so it seemed to him. He tells this story, ”One day when I was indulging my curiosity about the smelter, I saw a company official enter a small shed, the shed was the bath-house but, not being aware of this, I thought I'd just look inside and see what the man was doing, The pompous official indignantly declared that I was spying on him and made a great fuss, even threatening arrest, I still remember the terrible fright I had. I could almost feel the hangman noose around my neck. Glendale was a wild, western town and I was certain that I would be hanged for my misdemeanor".

The following article is taken from the pages of the Butte Inter-Mountain (1886 MAY 29) :
MURDERED BY A ROAD AGt - Escape Of The Murderer And The Pursuit.

Last Saturday night, the 23rd inst., while the mail wagon was going up from Melrose to Glendale at about 8 o’clock, a cold-blooded murder was enacted, which is perhaps without parallel in the history of Montana, not expecting the days of terror when the road agents were wiped out by the Vigilantes. At the crossing of Trapper Creek, a man suddenly appeared in front of the team, with a shotgun in his hands, and commanded the driver, George Ferguson, to stop. The command not being instantly obeyed, the man shouted - “Stop, you s--of a b---h,” and immediately discharged one barrel of his shotgun at the driver. At short range the buckshot took deadly effect and young Ferguson fell forward onto the double trees of the wagon, from which position he was taken by Thos. S. Merchant, a commercial traveler, who was one of the six passengers on the spring wagon at the time of the tragedy. The crack of the gun frightened the horses and they ran away for a mile or so up the road before they could be stopped. Ferguson never spoke after receiving the fatal charge of buckshot in his forehead and face, and breathed his last in a few minutes after his arrival at Glendale.

The Glendale community was immediately aroused, and preparations for the pursuit of the murderer were quickly made. A large posse of armed men were soon at the scene of the murder, and in pursuing the man, scoured the country from Trapper Creek to Birch Creek. Sheriff Jones, receiving a dispatch, proceeded to the Birch Creek section after a posse to intercept the murderer should he try to escape that way. On Sunday, three boys, engaged in driving horses, saw two men in Frying Pan Basin, about eight miles from Birch Creek, with two horses picketed and the saddles laying on the ground near by. The two men are described as follows: One a tall, slim man, light mustache, black coat, and blue overalls; the other man was medium sized, compact build, and dark complexioned. The two horses were afterward captured and brought to Dillon and proved to be the horses stolen from Dovespeck & Eustis, butchers in Butte. The pursuit was kept up by a large force of armed men in the mountains northeast of Argenta. Two men answering the above description stopped at the log cabin on Cat Creek - eight miles from Frying Pan Basin - over night. These men got bread and bacon at that cabin next morning and left, taking to the woods. Parties are still on the search, and the range of mountains from Bannack to Dewey’s Flat will be thoroughly gone over. The description of the men is meager, which will make their identification uncertain.

Liberal rewards, amounting in the aggregate to $700, have been offered for the apprehension of the perpetrator of the murder. Young Ferguson was buried at Glendale, where he has lived for a number of years. On the scene of the murder a double-barreled shotgun was found with one barrel discharged, and the presumption is that more than one man made the attempt to rob the mail wagon.
 
LATEST - The Butte Inter-Mountain, of the 27th, contains an account of the capture, by Sheriff Sullivan and Deputy Contway, of two men answering the description of the two men seen in Frying Pan Basin and at the log cabin on Cat Creek. The two men were tracked to Point of Rocks, Twin Bridges, through the Pipestone Pass, and on to Blacktail, where they were captured and lodged in the Butte jail. Sheriff Jones went to Butte to help to identify the men from the descriptions obtained by parties who saw the men with the horses, and at the log cabin on Cat Creek.
 
(1886 JUN 05)
THE GUILTY MAN
Sheriff Jones went to Butte to help identify the two men captured by Sheriff Sullivan of Silver Bow County, who were supposed to be implicated in the murder of young Ferguson, the stage driver, near Glendale. The two men held on suspicion were not identified and they were turned loose. While in Butte, Sheriff Jones, aided by a man who will testify in the case, arrested a man named Harding. The circumstantial evidence against Harding is very strong, and his positive identification as the man who committed the murder is quite probable. Harding’s preliminary examination will take place in Dillon, owing to the feeling manifested in the case will here by next Monday, when the examination will be held. Harding is securely held in the county jail. He keeps his own counsel and has nothing to say about any connection with the murder.

HARDING HELD (1886 JUN 12)
The preliminary examination of Thomas H. Harding, charge with the murder of George Ferguson, the Melrose-Glendale stage driver, on May 22nd, was held at the Court House on last Tuesday before Justice Schmalhausen, of Glendale. W.S. Barbour conducted the examinations of witnesses on the part of the Territory, and the defendant being without counsel, conducted his own case. The evidence elicited at the examination strongly pointed to Harding as the man who did the shooting. In fact, some of the evidence was positive, while the chain of circumstantial evidence was very strong and well linked together, and of a decidedly damaging character to the prisoner, whose appearance in court was not prepossessing. As is usual in all preliminary examinations of defendants much irrelevant evidence was taken down which in a trial in the District Court would be excluded. But as it is only the province of a committing magistrate to examine and find out whether there is probably a sufficient cause to hold a defendant, latitude is given in this class of examinations in order to bring out the material facts of the case. The evidence on the part of the people points strongly, but not erringly, to Harding as the perpetrator of the murder. Harding made a statement in which he endeavored to account for his whereabouts and for his absence from Butte at the time of the shooting, by stating that was at the time prospecting on an iron lead. His statements was considerably mixed up, and was contradictory in many respects. It is not the intention or purpose of the Tribune to try, convict and condemn the defendant. That will be the duty of a higher court and a jury to perform. On the conclusion of the testimony Justice Schmalhausen held Harding, without bail, to await the action of the next grand jury, and the defendant was committed to the county jail.
 
(1886 NOV 05)

In the case of the Territory vs. Thomas H. Harding the jury rendered a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree, and this evening Judge Galbraith sentenced the prisoner to be hung on the 22nd of December. Mr. Merchant identified Harding as the murderer, and the evidence was complete and thorough
 
(1887 Jan 07)

THE HARDING CASE: The hearing in the Harding appeal case came before the Supreme Court this morning. The following points were offered to sustain a demand for the reversal of the judgment in the lower court:

First.

That the grand jury that indicted the defendant was not a legal one, for the reason that one member, Lambert Eliel, was not a citizen of the United States, consequently not competent to act as such juror. Further, that such juror was made and became a citizen of the United States after the finding of the indictment against said Harding.
 
Second.

That the indictment was not signed by district Attorney Pemberton as required by law, and that the court erred in permitting the appointment of United States District Attorney Robt. B. Smith to prosecute the case, and by whom the indictment is signed as prosecuting attorney pro tem. Further, that the court had no authority in law for making such an appointment.
 
Third.

Errors in refusing certain instructions offered by the defendant, to go before the jury.
 
Fourth.

For denying the first application of the defendant the right of continuance on the grounds of absence of important witnesses, much to the detriment of his case, and only allowing him twenty-four hours in which to plead, and about forty-eight hours thereafter in which to proceed to trial.
 
We have not yet heard whether the defendant’s cause has been remanded for a new trial or not. Those familiar with the law say that the first two points made by Campbell, Harding’s counsel, are strong ones.

(1887 JAN 14)
HARDING TO HANG. The Supreme Court Refuses the Murderer a New Trial.
As announced in the last issue of the Tribune, the appeal case of Harding, the murderer of Geo. Ferguson, the Glendale stage driver, was argued before the Supreme Court Thursday of last week. The points upon which Harding’s counsel asked for a reversal of the decision of the lower court were as follows:
 
First.

That the grand jury that indicted the defendant was not a legal one, for the reason that one member, Lambert Eliel, was not a citizen of the United States, consequently not competent to act as such juror. Further, that such juror was made and became a citizen of the United States after the finding of the indictment against Harding.
 
Second.

That the indictment was not signed by district Attorney Pemberton as required by law, and that the court erred in permitting the appointment of United States Attorney Robt B. Smith to prosecute the cast, and by whom the indictment is signed as prosecuting attorney pro tem. Further, that the court had no authority in law for making such an appointment.
 
Third.

Errors in refusing certain instructions offered by the defendant, to go before the jury.
 
Fourth.

For denying the first application of the defendant the right of continuance on the grounds of absence of important witnesses, much to the detriment of his case, and only allowing him twenty-four hours in which to plead, and but forty-eight hours thereafter in which to proceed to trial.
 
The case was taken under advisement by the Supreme Court, and on Monday the decision of the lower court was affirmed by Chief Justice Wade and associate Justice McLeary, associate Justice Back dissenting. The sheriff will carry out the execution on Friday, Jan 21st, unless the governor of the territory exercise his right of pardon. Wednesday morning J.H. Duffy, of the firm of Campbell & Duffy, counsel for Harding, went to Helena to see the Governor to endeavor to obtain a respite of 60 days to enable them to bring the matter before the Supreme Court of the United States on motion for a new trial.
 
We have not yet heard whether the respite has been granted, but it is highly improbably that the governor will under the circumstances interfere.
 
 
(1887 JAN 21)
HARDING RESPITED.
 The Prisoner Reprieved for Thirty Days by the Governor.
 
Last Monday, Governor Hauser granted a reprieve of thirty days to Harding, the Glendale stage robber, who was to have been hung today, in order to permit his attorneys, Campbell & Duffy, to apply to the Supreme Court of the United States for a new trial. The prisoner’s counsel will proceed shortly to Washington, to present his case before the U.S. Supreme court, though there is little hope that the court will take the case under consideration, and Harding’s attorneys themselves think that their only chance of success lies in the writ of certiorari.
 
Harding’s counsel have been most persistent in their efforts to save him, and though the prisoner himself is without money, it is said that they are backed by wealthy officials in New York, where Harding’s people live. In case the U.S. Supreme court takes the case under consideration, it is probable that the President will grant a further reprieve.
 
The Helena Independent says that application has been made to Governor Hauser for the offer of a reward for the apprehension and conviction of the second man involved in the crime in which Harding is convicted. There was an accomplice with Harding at the time of the shooting, and he has never been apprehended. It is rumored here that some clue has been obtained to the robber, and it only remains for the authorities to offer a reward to insure his arrest.
 
(1887 JAN 28)
Harding’s Supposed Accomplice Arrested. We reported several weeks ago that the officers were on the track of the accomplice of Harding, the Glendale stage robber.
 
Last night Sheriff Jones brought in the man supposed to be the accomplice. Several days ago the sheriff wired Marshal Jolly, at Butte, to arrest a man there by the name of Michael Kennedy, which was promptly done, but a description of the person wanted, which was afterwards sent, proved that he had arrested the wrong man. Wednesday Sheriff Jones went up to Butte and with Jolly arrested a man by the name of Michael C. Kennedy, who answered the description, on the charge of being an accessory to the murder. He is a miner, and is supposed to have been in hiding at Butte ever since the time of the robbery. It is said that he is the man who fired upon Jim Murray when he attempted to capture the robbers.
 Kennedy is safely lodged in the jail. The sheriff is of course reticent as to the clue which lead to the prisoner’s identification.

 

(1887 FEB 04)
They Believe Him Innocent. Kennedy, who was arrested in Butte, last week, and brought to Dillon, charged with complicity in the murder of the Glendale stage driver, has many friends in that town who claim that he is entirely innocent, and that he has been arrested so as to enable Harding to get a further stay of proceedings. The Miner states that Patrick Mullen (at whose house Kennedy was arrested) has know Kennedy since the spring of 1879, and that he has worked for him (Mullen) for two years of the time. As to the statements published, of his being a hard case and coming here from Nevada, Mr. Mullen says that Kennedy never was in that state, nor was he at Philipsburg. He is represented as a very industrious man - a hard working miner. That instead of associating with the drinking, vicious class of men, to the contrary, his associates were of the opposite class.
 Kennedy was to have had an examination today, but it has been postponed to Monday forenoon at 10 o’clock.

(1887 FEB 11)
HELD WITHOUT BAIL.
Kennedy’s Preliminary Hearing - His Former Mistress Testifies Against Him. Michael C. Kennedy, arrested a few weeks since, upon the charge of being an accomplice to Thos. H. Harding in the murder of George Ferguson, the Glendale-Melrose stage driver, had his preliminary examination Monday, before H.R. Melton, probate Judge. Wm. Scallon, of Butte, appeared for the defendant; W.S. Barbour, county attorney, and R.B. Smith, U.S. attorney, for the prosecution. A number of witnesses testified. The principal witness for the prosecution was Ida Bates, Kennedy’s former mistress, who swore that he told her all about the murder, how it was done and who was present at the killing. The defense tried to prove an alibi. After the lawyers finished their argument, Judge Melton concluded to hold Kennedy, without bail, to await the action of the grand jury. The prisoner’s counsel will apply for a writ of habeas corpus on the ground that the evidence did not warrant the finding.

(1887 FEB 18)
AGAIN REPRIEVED.
The Governor Grants Harding Another Lease of Life.
Harding certainly has a pair of industrious attorneys working for him, and if his neck does not escape the noose it will not be because of anything they have left undone to save him. Their efforts in his behalf are well know, and it was not much of a surprise to Dillonites when it was announced that the Governor had granted a further reprieve of four weeks. J.H. Duffy went to Helena last week and made a requisition upon Governor Leslie for an additional reprieve for the criminal to apply to the supreme court of the United States for a writ of habeas corpus and certiorari. The former respite was granted for the purpose of appealing to the aforesaid court, but it was discovered that appeal to that tribunal would not stand, hence the latter method was adopted. Upon that showing the Governor granted the further desired respite until Friday, March 25th, pending which date the necessary documents must be prepared and forwarded to Washington. The filing of the papers in the United States supreme court will prove a stay to the further execution of justice until the case is finally disposed of in that court, which may take several months.

Thomas Harding Hanged
(1887 MAR 25)
THE EXTREME PENALTY:
THOMAS H. HARDING HANGED FOR THE MURDER OF GEORGE FERGUSON.
 
Efforts for Reprieve Kept Up Until the Last - Demeanor of the Prisoner During His Last Moments - No Confession Made - First Legal Hanging in Beaverhead County.
 
Friday, March 25th was the last day on earth for Thomas H. Harding, condemned to die on the gallows for the murder of George Ferguson, the Glendale stage driver, last May, the particulars of which are fresh in the minds of our readers.
 
Up to the last moments his attorneys had not ceased their efforts for reprieve or commutation of sentence, but the governor refused to do anything in the matter.
 
Father Dols informed him, last night, of the governor’s decision. Harding remarked that it was “d--- sudden.” The prisoner was awake early, indeed he slept but little. About nine o’clock he ate a hearty breakfast and at ten was shaved for the last time, by Brownie, the barber. He told Brownie not to be too particular, as it was his last shave.
 
Mr. Duffy, his counsel, called upon him and told him there was no hope. He received the news with apparent indifference. He passed the morning in conversation with Father Dols, his counsel and others.
 
At 2:30 Harding was led from the jail by Father Dols, accompanied by the Sheriff, and taken to the corner of the yard where the gallows was erected. The prisoner was dressed in a neat suit of black, wore slippers and was hatless. The scaffold was soon reached. Harding was cool and collected, he did not show any signs of nervousness, or fear though he was very pale. He stepped naturally to the gallows and stopped beneath the dangling rope. Sheriff Jones pinioned his legs and arms and adjusted the noose, which was of 5/8 inch cotton rope. The Sheriff advanced to the front of the prisoner and repeated the death warrant, after which he asked Harding if he had anything to say, to which Harding said: “I forgive everybody.” At 2:35 the 290 pound (a box of sheet tin) weight fell and Harding shot up with a jerk that broke his neck. In six minutes his heart ceased to beat. He was left hanging some time longer before he was cut down and placed in his coffin.
 
The space around the instrument of death was occupied by the officials and spectators. Outside was a crowd of men watching and waiting for the awful moment to arrive. The crowd was kept away from the jail fence by armed guards. The coffin was furnished by the Dillon Furniture Co. Father Dols remained with the condemned man until the last moment and gave him what consolation he could. Drs. Pickman and Leason were the physicians in attendance; the former designed the gallows, which is the style known as the New York gallows.
 
Harding was reprieved three times. He was refused a new trial in the District Court, and the Supreme Court of Montana sustained the decision of the lower court. A plea for habeas corpus was made to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to consider the case. This week another application for the writ of habeas corpus was made to Judge Galbraith without avail: also application to the governor and president for another respite, with like results. The case has attracted attention all of the inter-mountain country. Harding was 30 years of age, and was born near Cohoes, N.Y.

(Glendale Home)