He remembered that they could not read.

Fascinated, he watched them. The train started. The two men jumped
aboard.

That night they were hanged.

Exactly what relation the vigilance committee which was seeking to
drive the "nesters" out of western Montana bore to Granville Stuart's
organization, is difficult to determine. They had probably originally
been one of the subordinate bands, who were "feeling their oats," and,
under the pretense of "cleaning up the country," were cleaning up
personal scores. The captain of the band was a man called "Flopping
Bill," a distinctly shady character, and the band itself was made up
of irresponsible creatures who welcomed the opportunity to do, in the
cause of righteousness, a number of things for which under ordinary
circumstances they would have been promptly hanged. Their first act as
a body was to engage a French Canadian named Louis La Pache as guide.
La Pache was himself awaiting trial at Miles City for horse-stealing,
but there is no indication in the records that he was chosen because
he was ready to turn State's evidence. He was merely the type that
Flopping Bill's guardians of law and order would naturally choose.

The raiders began their activities near the mouth of Beaver Creek, not
ten miles from the spot where Sewall and Dow (with their rifles at
hand) were hewing timber for the new house. Two cowpunchers had
recently started a ranch there. They were generally considered honest,
but the vigilantes had marked them for destruction, and descended upon
the ranch ready to hang any one in sight. They found only a hired man,
an Englishman, for the ranchmen had got wind of the raid and fled; and
spent their enthusiasm for order in "allowing the Englishman to feel
the sensation of a lariat round his neck," as the record runs,
releasing him on his promise to leave the country forever. Thereupon
they nailed a paper, signed with skull and cross-bones, on the door of
the cabin ordering the ranchmen "to vacate"; and proceeded to other
pastures.

They stopped at a half dozen ranches, terrorizing and burning, but
catching no horse-thieves. It is impossible through the obscurity that
shrouds the grim events of that autumn to determine to what extent
they were honestly in pursuit of lawbreakers or were merely
endeavoring, at the behest of some of the great cattle-owners, to
drive the small stockmen out of the country. Their motives were
possibly mixed. The small ranchers were not