Murder victim
Killed by George Weber
From Page 157-158 Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey:
"On Monday afternoon, August 20, 1883, at about 4:00 p.m., George Weber (known to the locals as the "Crazy Dutchman" or "Mad Dutchman") got into an argument with John Zutavern, age about 26, at Mammoth's National Hotel. The two, both employees of the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company, fell out over a trade they had made of some blankets and a razor in which there was difference of about four dollars. Weber accused Zutavern of stealing the razor from him and refused to give up the blankets.
The quarrel was renewed in front of Charley's beer hall in Gardiner. Words were exchanged, then fists, and then Zutavern beat Weber over the head with a rock. Weber responded by pulling out his revolver and shooting Zutavern in the left breast. Weber than sat on a nearby rock, watched Zutavern die, and fled to the Yellowstone River.
Weber was a shady character who had been a member of a gang at Miles City. It was at first believed that he drowned crossing the river, but friends correctly thought that he had escaped. In fact, Weber had sneaked along the river into the park.
Two professional hunters, Bill Germayne and George W. Grow, were camped in the park when they met a man at Willow Park walking rapidly. Thinking it was a strange place for someone to be afoot, they made inquiries as to his condition. He replied that he had lost a horse but declined offers of assistance. Later that morning, the three, now traveling together, met a soldier who told them of the murder at Gardiner, and who also listened to the walking man's story that he was looking for his horse. The soldier offered assistance, and again the man on foot declined it.
Germayne and Grow became convinced that the man they were traveling with was the culprit. Apparently alarmed, the man lost them at a curve in the road by ducking into the forest. So the two men continued toward the geyser basins, determined to catch the solitary walker. They made camp, hastily cooked supper, put out their fire, and waited secretely in the darkness. They took turns sleeping and watching, and about 12:30 a.m. both heard footsteps approaching. Guns drawn, Germayne and Grow confronted the man and arrested and disarmed him. At first he denied everything but eventually he confessed to the shooting, claiming self defense.
After spending the night, the two took Weber, their prisoner, back to Mammoth and then started toward Livingston. Weber was "greatly afraid to being lynched" by angry Gerdiner townsfolk. At Mammoth, park superintendent Conger told Germayne and Grow of Judge D. H. Budlong's presence at Gardiner...
Meanwhiel, citizens buried Zutavern in the Mammoth civilian cemetery, thus adding his grave to the three or four already there. Judge Budlong ordered Zutavern exhumed, to the consternation of local citizens who were his brothers in the Oddfellows order, and who had already divided up his estate. The judge also ordered all of Zutavern's property returned for distribution by law. ...
George L. Weber was tried at Bozeman, convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to twenty years at the Montana prison. After serving just under fieve years, Weber was pardoned..."
SOURCE: Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey
Killed by George Weber
From Page 157-158 Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey:
"On Monday afternoon, August 20, 1883, at about 4:00 p.m., George Weber (known to the locals as the "Crazy Dutchman" or "Mad Dutchman") got into an argument with John Zutavern, age about 26, at Mammoth's National Hotel. The two, both employees of the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company, fell out over a trade they had made of some blankets and a razor in which there was difference of about four dollars. Weber accused Zutavern of stealing the razor from him and refused to give up the blankets.
The quarrel was renewed in front of Charley's beer hall in Gardiner. Words were exchanged, then fists, and then Zutavern beat Weber over the head with a rock. Weber responded by pulling out his revolver and shooting Zutavern in the left breast. Weber than sat on a nearby rock, watched Zutavern die, and fled to the Yellowstone River.
Weber was a shady character who had been a member of a gang at Miles City. It was at first believed that he drowned crossing the river, but friends correctly thought that he had escaped. In fact, Weber had sneaked along the river into the park.
Two professional hunters, Bill Germayne and George W. Grow, were camped in the park when they met a man at Willow Park walking rapidly. Thinking it was a strange place for someone to be afoot, they made inquiries as to his condition. He replied that he had lost a horse but declined offers of assistance. Later that morning, the three, now traveling together, met a soldier who told them of the murder at Gardiner, and who also listened to the walking man's story that he was looking for his horse. The soldier offered assistance, and again the man on foot declined it.
Germayne and Grow became convinced that the man they were traveling with was the culprit. Apparently alarmed, the man lost them at a curve in the road by ducking into the forest. So the two men continued toward the geyser basins, determined to catch the solitary walker. They made camp, hastily cooked supper, put out their fire, and waited secretely in the darkness. They took turns sleeping and watching, and about 12:30 a.m. both heard footsteps approaching. Guns drawn, Germayne and Grow confronted the man and arrested and disarmed him. At first he denied everything but eventually he confessed to the shooting, claiming self defense.
After spending the night, the two took Weber, their prisoner, back to Mammoth and then started toward Livingston. Weber was "greatly afraid to being lynched" by angry Gerdiner townsfolk. At Mammoth, park superintendent Conger told Germayne and Grow of Judge D. H. Budlong's presence at Gardiner...
Meanwhiel, citizens buried Zutavern in the Mammoth civilian cemetery, thus adding his grave to the three or four already there. Judge Budlong ordered Zutavern exhumed, to the consternation of local citizens who were his brothers in the Oddfellows order, and who had already divided up his estate. The judge also ordered all of Zutavern's property returned for distribution by law. ...
George L. Weber was tried at Bozeman, convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to twenty years at the Montana prison. After serving just under fieve years, Weber was pardoned..."
SOURCE: Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey
Murder victim
Killed by George Weber
From Page 157-158 Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey:
"On Monday afternoon, August 20, 1883, at about 4:00 p.m., George Weber (known to the locals as the "Crazy Dutchman" or "Mad Dutchman") got into an argument with John Zutavern, age about 26, at Mammoth's National Hotel. The two, both employees of the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company, fell out over a trade they had made of some blankets and a razor in which there was difference of about four dollars. Weber accused Zutavern of stealing the razor from him and refused to give up the blankets.
The quarrel was renewed in front of Charley's beer hall in Gardiner. Words were exchanged, then fists, and then Zutavern beat Weber over the head with a rock. Weber responded by pulling out his revolver and shooting Zutavern in the left breast. Weber than sat on a nearby rock, watched Zutavern die, and fled to the Yellowstone River.
Weber was a shady character who had been a member of a gang at Miles City. It was at first believed that he drowned crossing the river, but friends correctly thought that he had escaped. In fact, Weber had sneaked along the river into the park.
Two professional hunters, Bill Germayne and George W. Grow, were camped in the park when they met a man at Willow Park walking rapidly. Thinking it was a strange place for someone to be afoot, they made inquiries as to his condition. He replied that he had lost a horse but declined offers of assistance. Later that morning, the three, now traveling together, met a soldier who told them of the murder at Gardiner, and who also listened to the walking man's story that he was looking for his horse. The soldier offered assistance, and again the man on foot declined it.
Germayne and Grow became convinced that the man they were traveling with was the culprit. Apparently alarmed, the man lost them at a curve in the road by ducking into the forest. So the two men continued toward the geyser basins, determined to catch the solitary walker. They made camp, hastily cooked supper, put out their fire, and waited secretely in the darkness. They took turns sleeping and watching, and about 12:30 a.m. both heard footsteps approaching. Guns drawn, Germayne and Grow confronted the man and arrested and disarmed him. At first he denied everything but eventually he confessed to the shooting, claiming self defense.
After spending the night, the two took Weber, their prisoner, back to Mammoth and then started toward Livingston. Weber was "greatly afraid to being lynched" by angry Gerdiner townsfolk. At Mammoth, park superintendent Conger told Germayne and Grow of Judge D. H. Budlong's presence at Gardiner...
Meanwhiel, citizens buried Zutavern in the Mammoth civilian cemetery, thus adding his grave to the three or four already there. Judge Budlong ordered Zutavern exhumed, to the consternation of local citizens who were his brothers in the Oddfellows order, and who had already divided up his estate. The judge also ordered all of Zutavern's property returned for distribution by law. ...
George L. Weber was tried at Bozeman, convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to twenty years at the Montana prison. After serving just under fieve years, Weber was pardoned..."
SOURCE: Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey
Killed by George Weber
From Page 157-158 Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey:
"On Monday afternoon, August 20, 1883, at about 4:00 p.m., George Weber (known to the locals as the "Crazy Dutchman" or "Mad Dutchman") got into an argument with John Zutavern, age about 26, at Mammoth's National Hotel. The two, both employees of the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company, fell out over a trade they had made of some blankets and a razor in which there was difference of about four dollars. Weber accused Zutavern of stealing the razor from him and refused to give up the blankets.
The quarrel was renewed in front of Charley's beer hall in Gardiner. Words were exchanged, then fists, and then Zutavern beat Weber over the head with a rock. Weber responded by pulling out his revolver and shooting Zutavern in the left breast. Weber than sat on a nearby rock, watched Zutavern die, and fled to the Yellowstone River.
Weber was a shady character who had been a member of a gang at Miles City. It was at first believed that he drowned crossing the river, but friends correctly thought that he had escaped. In fact, Weber had sneaked along the river into the park.
Two professional hunters, Bill Germayne and George W. Grow, were camped in the park when they met a man at Willow Park walking rapidly. Thinking it was a strange place for someone to be afoot, they made inquiries as to his condition. He replied that he had lost a horse but declined offers of assistance. Later that morning, the three, now traveling together, met a soldier who told them of the murder at Gardiner, and who also listened to the walking man's story that he was looking for his horse. The soldier offered assistance, and again the man on foot declined it.
Germayne and Grow became convinced that the man they were traveling with was the culprit. Apparently alarmed, the man lost them at a curve in the road by ducking into the forest. So the two men continued toward the geyser basins, determined to catch the solitary walker. They made camp, hastily cooked supper, put out their fire, and waited secretely in the darkness. They took turns sleeping and watching, and about 12:30 a.m. both heard footsteps approaching. Guns drawn, Germayne and Grow confronted the man and arrested and disarmed him. At first he denied everything but eventually he confessed to the shooting, claiming self defense.
After spending the night, the two took Weber, their prisoner, back to Mammoth and then started toward Livingston. Weber was "greatly afraid to being lynched" by angry Gerdiner townsfolk. At Mammoth, park superintendent Conger told Germayne and Grow of Judge D. H. Budlong's presence at Gardiner...
Meanwhiel, citizens buried Zutavern in the Mammoth civilian cemetery, thus adding his grave to the three or four already there. Judge Budlong ordered Zutavern exhumed, to the consternation of local citizens who were his brothers in the Oddfellows order, and who had already divided up his estate. The judge also ordered all of Zutavern's property returned for distribution by law. ...
George L. Weber was tried at Bozeman, convicted of second-degree murder, and sentenced to twenty years at the Montana prison. After serving just under fieve years, Weber was pardoned..."
SOURCE: Death in Yellowstone by Lee H. Whittlesey
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