The Mail, September 1, 1899, headlined a major arrest when John (Jack) Boyd was charged in Butte with Grand Larceny. Boyd was charged with stealing retort from the Granite Bi-Metallic Mining Company where he had been employed as a watchman. The amount stolen ranged from $10,000 to $70,000. It was claimed retort had been missed for the past fourteen months and the company was aware it was being systematically robbed. Paul Fusz had offered Mr. Boyd a $500 reward to discover who the parties were stealing the retort. Detectives were also employed. Apparently Mr. Boyd visited Butte last week and: “…about the same time a quantity of retort valued at about $30,000 was found with Max Meyer which was identified as coming from the Bi-Metallic mill. It was this that caused Mr. Boyd’s arrest. Assayer Meyer has also been taken into custody and it is said the detectives are looking for other parties who are thought to be implicated. Two detectives arrived Tuesday and Mr. Boyd was taken to Butte Wednesday morning.
The affair has caused a sensation in the city as Mr. Boyd had borne an excellent reputation and is a man of considerable prominence. He is the brother of Mayor Charles A. Boyd of this city and also of the well known liverymen, A.J. and David A. Boyd of this city and Anaconda.”
The September 22, 1899 Mail stated that John Boyd was released on Bond for $10,000. The bond was put up by Kenneth McRae, Samuel T. Salverson, David A. Boyd and Alex J. Boyd. The outcome of this charge is unclear and failed to produce any more comments in the Mail.
Then, I found a description of another robbery in the September 9, 1904 Mail: “A bold and desperate attempt was made between 12 and 1 o’clock Saturday morning to rob the bullion vaults at the Granite Bi-Metallic Consolidated Mining Company, where at all times there are stored several thousand dollars of silver bullion.
Two men appeared near the retort room at the mill where the vaults are situated and there met watchman George Johnson. They ordered him to throw up his hands and upon his refusal to do so they knocked him down and beat him over the head with the butt of a revolver. The men then carried Johnson to a barn nearby and bound him hand and foot and gagged him also.
The robbers then returned to the bullion room, where they met George McGuire, an electrician in the employ of the Montana Water, Electric Power and Mining Company, who had come into the room for some supplies for his department. He also was commanded to put up his hands.
McGuire at first thought that the intruders were joking, but they soon convinced him that they were in earnest. McGuire was also knocked down and carried to the barn where Johnson lay bound and gagged. He as well was tied hand and foot and a gag placed in his mouth.
The robbers then again returned to the bullion room and set to work to effect an entrance to the vaults where the bullion was stored. They had tools with them for breaking through the brick walls to the interior of the vault and tools also for boring the iron portions of the vaults and they worked vigorously at their enterprise for a time.
In the meantime Johnson, lying gagged and bound in the barn, somehow managed to work his shoes off and slip the ropes from his feet. He then got out of the barn and gave an alarm. The robbers evidently saw their game was up and quit, leaving their work only started and the tools they had been using on the ground near the vault. They left not only their tools but also a number of sacks they had brought with them in which to carry away their loot.
James Thompson and Arthur Smith were arrested the next morning, having been suspected of being connected with the affair. Smith has since been released, there not being any evidence against him, but Thompson has so far been unable to satisfactorily explain his whereabouts on the night of the holdup and is still in jail.
Hank Noble and Jack Boyd have been arrested, the complaint charging them with burglary, for which they have been placed under $5,000 bonds each. A second complaint charging them with assault in the first degree has been preferred and $6,000 bonds each, making a total of $11,000 each in bonds. Both say they are innocent.”
The final conclusion was both parties were found not guilty. Did the family name's influence the verdict?
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