Jefferson County had its own version of a Wild West stage hold up back in 1884. The Edmunson gang of horse thieves had been the terror of ranchers and horse breeders all over Montana.
One of the most desperate of them was Con Murphy, who probably escaped a long term in prison by getting himself hanged. Murphy had robbed the mail in the Prickly Pear Canyon in 1884. He was arrested, but the night before his trial was to come off, he broke out of jail.
Pursuit was made and Murphy was captured, a confederate having betrayed him. As the officers were bringing him to town, several hundred people relieved them of their prisoner and hanged him by a railroad bridge.
