Author: Sheri

Jowell was a handsome likable fellow. In fact, women swooned when he walked into a room. He was eloquent of speech and pen, able to sway the pendulum his way. One article described him as “uncommonly good looking, and doesn’t look to be a man of hardened criminal tendencies.” In May of 1912, Mel Jowell began serving a 22-year sentence at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge for the killing of Deputy Sheriff Joseph Brannin on the streets of Melville, Montana in November 1911. He and S. P. McAdams, both serving time, were transported to Livingston, Montana, as witnesses at the trial of Walter Waymire who had been charged with assisting in the murder of Brannin. After the August trial the two men, under guard, were put on the Northern Pacific No. 41 for the return trip to Deer Lodge Prison.

The train pulled up the steep grade at Pipestone Hill near Hell’s Canyon in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains foothills. Fuel was added to the fire in the belly of the beast as the engine belched steam from the slow-moving train. Two men, joined by chains attached to steel cuffs, slid out of their seats to go to the toilet. Jowell was first to go in with McAdams still attached on the other side of the slightly opened door. He opened the toilet window and somehow managed to get his feet out. In one short movement with a jerk of his hand, the toilet door flung open. McAdams’ coat caught on the door knob but was torn loose as Jowell jerked. McAdams shot out the window behind Jowell. They jumped from the train moving at 30 mph, rolled down the hill and disappeared into the rocky hills. The commotion broke loose so quickly, Sheriff Killorn, only three feet away, was helpless to act. He grabbed and pulled the bell cord, yelling for the trainman to pull the air. The train stopped in short order but before Killorn could alight, the train started moving. By the time it came to a complete stop again, they were a mile away. Jowell and McAdams fled into the rugged wilderness of rough cliffs, rocks and timber.

It was evident the men had assistance in their escape. Jowell had such brash confidence that he would have help along the way, he left a note at the home of Earl Flynn on Trout Creek informing Flynn that “the writer of the note” had been there.

In the note he added, “Tell Fallang that he will have a harder time catching me than he did before.” He openly signed it “M. B. Jowell.” (Fallang was the Sheriff of Sweet Grass County, Montana who pursued him after the killing of Deputy Sheriff Brannin and picked him up in Phoenix, Arizona in December 1911.) One of the men who supposedly assisted their escape was a man by the name of Harvey Whitton.

It wasn’t long after their jump from the train that McAdams was seen at Pipestone Springs freed from his shackels. Jowell was seen at Fish Creek and in Wyoming as he escaped south heading to Texas or Arizona. He took up company with Whitton. The two headed into Nevada, leaving a trail of at least 18 stolen horses along the way, each to replace their spent mounts. Although they had eluded posses and authorities, they were soon pinned down near Elko, Nevada. A shootout ensued. Before Jowell was taken, his stolen horse was shot out from under him. Jowell was dismounted and opened fire on the officers. He failed to hit his target and seeing he was outnumbered, he surrendered. Jowell and Whitton were taken into custody October 14, 1912.

Mel Jowell used the alias of Rex Roberts when he was arrested in Elko. In December 1911, when he was picked up in Phoenix for the murder of Joseph Brannin, he used the name of Dalton I. Sparks. His partner, Harvey Whitton was arrested using the alias of Jim Ross. He was also known by the alias of James B. O’Neal as noted in California records. After serving some time in Nevada, Jowell was returned to Deer Lodge in 1915 under the alias Rex Roberts.

Joseph Shelby Brannin’s life was taken from him November 16, 1911. He left his widowed mother, seven brothers and five sisters to mourn his loss and future generations of nieces and nephews to carry on his legacy.

The wagons rolled to a stop. The travelers must have felt overwhelmed as they came into Virginia City on September 7, 1864. This boomtown had sprung up almost overnight. Prospectors and those seeking their fortune flooded the area. Along with the wealth of the discovery of gold came a wealth of crime. Just ten days after their arrival, John “The Hat” Dolan was hung on the town gallows for stealing $700 from a roommate.

The Brannin wagons left Boonville, Missouri, in March of the same year, traveling with other pioneers headed west along portions of the Oregon Trail. Stanton Brannin was among the wagon train members with some of his relatives – Andrew & Ann Brannin Gibson, William & Sommerville Brannin Gibson with sons Henry & George, Elnora Brannin, Balsora & Dr. George Stein, Sarah Furnish, Bob Brannin and William Brannin. Mary Furnish planned to make the trip but had to postpone until the next spring due to sickness.

The wagon train followed the Missouri River, through Platte River Valley, Ft. Laramie, Sweetwater River, Landers Creek, Bear River Mountains, into Portneuf Canyon near Pocatello, Idaho and Fort Hall. Elnora added that they came by way of “Sanders Cutoff, which was considered a very dangerous route at that time,” and passed by the foot of Blue Mountain. They traveled through the Bear River Mountains of which she said, “the road was so steep and rugged we had to walk the greater part of the time.” Aunt Elnora gave a written account of some of the atrocities they saw.

After camping at Fort Hall, Idaho, the wagon train split up. Cousins Bob & William Brannin traveled on to Oregon. The other Brannin relatives took the road north to Virginia City, Montana.

They were soon part of the raw, tough and tumbling Western boomtown. The Gibson’s ran a boarding house on Idaho Street for a couple of years. The newspaper recorded the grand parties they hosted in December of that same year. William Anderson Clark, the Copper King, described as “the most powerful, influential, and ruthless of the 19th century American robber barons,” was a visitor at the boarding house before he rose to such power and wealth.

Some of the family remained in Virginia City until the Spring of 1865 when they went to Blackfoot City and spent the summer. They moved on to Helena in December and stayed the winter. Sarah Furnish married Wilson Redding. He discovered the Hot Springs at Alhambra. He and his bride, Sarah Furnish, opened the Alhambra Hot Springs & hotel. It was a flourishing business for several years.

It wasn’t long before the Gibson’s moved closer to Helena at Gates of the Mountains where they managed the King & Gillette Toll Road that led from Ft. Benton to Helena through Prickly Pear Valley. Naturally, the Gibson ranch was a perfect stopping place.

The Gibson ranch was described by some its guests:
“Just at the mouth of the canyon, on this side, we found a spot that all, even the grumblers, were in love with. For a great distance on both sides of the stream, a thick growth of trees and underbrush presented its dark green foliage to the view, while on either side the beautiful valleys hills and mountains caused many an exclamation of admiration from those just from the States, who had never seen the like before. Here is Gibson’s ranch which we must say, is the neatest place in the country. As one sits down to the table there, and luxuriates on sweet milk, nice butter and Dutch cheese, and sees the elderly people about him, trying to do all they can to make him perfectly at home, he goes back in memory to the days of childhood when he used to disturb the cream on the milk in his grandmother’s pantry, and not get much of a scolding for it either. Fishing and hunting are “in order” near Gibson’s and we know of no better place at which to spend a few days or weeks for summer rustication.” 
Post, June 29, 1867

“At a time when they expected it not they seem to have “passed through Switzerland,” as some of them have pointedly expressed it. And here, in this connection, we will remind our friends that they can find no better place at which to spend a few hot summer days than at this same Little Prickly Pear Canyon. Gibson’s ranch, at its mouth a combination of neatness and good cheer offers a convenient stopping place for all who would enjoy the pleasure of hunting and fishing amidst the grand towers and groves of this mountain nook.”
Montana Post, June 26, 1868

By 1870 the Gibson’s were back in Missouri. The return to their home state did not deter Stanton Brannin from his adventures. He made his way to New Mexico where he married and started a large family. It seems that the Montana mountains continued to call his name. In June 1896, on their way to Marysville, they arrived in Helena just in time to witness the hanging of William Gay who claimed innocence with his dying breath. When the wagons rolled to a stop, some of the family may have felt just as overwhelmed as the Brannin relatives did when they arrived in Montana the first time thirty-two years earlier.

1864 seemed promising. Horses stomped impatiently. They were harnessed to the loaded wagons waiting for the command to pull out. Excitement hung in the air as the travelers made final preparations for their journey west to a land of opportunity. They faced the unknown, unaware of the hardships they might face on the trail. They didn’t know how long the trip would take or if they would even survive.

Balsora, her husband Dr. George W Stein, and Balsora’s daughter, Sarah Furnish were among those traveling with their Brannin relatives. As the wagons pulled out from Boonville, Missouri, headed west, Mary Furnish was left behind. She suffered from sickness and was not able to travel. She promised to follow the next spring and bring their other belongings. 

True to Mary’s promise, she did follow in the spring. Along with other pieces of furniture, she also brought a piano. It wasn’t just any old piano, but an 1863 square rosewood Steinway Grand Piano that had taken first prize at the St. Louis Exposition of 1863. Mary took the boat up the Missouri River to Ft. Benton, Montana, then took the piano by ox team overland to Virginia City, then later to Helena. It has been said that the Steinway was the first to be played in Helena.

The piano made its way to Alhambra to the home of Sarah Furnish Redding and her husband, Wilson Redding. They owned and operated Alhambra Hot Springs which served as a medical and recreational resort. The hot springs attracted travelers and the elite. Movie stars, high ranking political figures and professionals were guests at this “sumptuous retreat.” Sarah was a gracious hostess and a charming entertainer, playing the 1863 Steinway and dancing for their guests.

The Steinway came into the possession of Sarah’s daughter, Sarah Redding Cramer. After being in Butte for a time, Sarah Cramer donated the piano to the Montana Historical Society in May of 1930 with the intent of being placed on display. It was in the main room of the Historical Society quarters in the capitol building for a short time. 

Today you can find the piano in pieces in the graveyard of historical relics in the basement of the Montana Historical Society Museum in Helena, Montana. We were told that funding is not available for the piano to be exhibited. I am intrigued at the passion and determination the Furnish girls had to haul this heavy cumbersome piano across the country by boat and ox drawn wagon. It is amazing that it has survived all these years. Though some of us would love for it to be displayed, that probably won’t happen without an advocate to intervene on behalf of our family’s rich history.