Q: What caused the demise of old LeBeau?
A: Murder. LeBeau was a thriving community in Walworth County until ....
On December 11, 1909, a bartender, "Bud" Stephens, in DuFran's saloon shot David G. "Dode" Mackenzie twice in the chest. Mackenzie was the son of Murdo Mackenzie, the legendary cattle baron and general manager of the Matador. As Dode staggered out the door of the saloon, the bartender pumped another two bullets into Dode's back. Bud was tried for murder. Murdo Mackenzie hired one of the highest priced lawyers available to prosecute Stephens. Saloonkeeper DuFran could only afford a young, still wet-behind-the-ears, 23 year-old attorney to defend Stephens. The jury was composed of homesteaders who had no use for the Matador. In March, Stephens was acquitted -- self defense. An angry Murdo MacKenzie never shipped another load of cattle out of LeBeau. About two months following the acquittal, a major portion of the town burned down -- arson by persons unknown. With no cattle to ship, the railroad pulled up its tracks. The town has not exactly dried up -- it is now under the waters of the Oahe Reservoir.
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Q: Is Hugh Glass vs. the Grizzly a true story?
A: Yup. In 1823, Hugh Glass was part of an expedition traveling through the plains near the fork of the Grand River (near what is now the town of Lemmon, SD). He was attacked by a grizzly bear, which slashed him from head to foot.Glass’s travel partners nursed his wounds for a while, and then moved on, leaving a young Jim Bridger to tend to Glass. Believing Glass was a dead man, Bridger took Glass's gun and gear and left him.When Glass came out of his coma, he was alone on a desolate plain, with maggots eating the rot in his back. His leg was broken, so he had to crawl 200 miles to Fort Kiowa (near Chamberlain) and safety. Fever and infection took their toll and frequently rendered him unconscious. The trip took more than two months.Angry, Glass sought revenge. Eventually he caught up with Bridger, but let him live. Glass died in an Indian ambush a few years later.In 1998, Ried Holien of Watertown traveled the same 200-mile journey made by Hugh Glass and wrote about it for South Dakota Magazine.
