Follow up from readers to the four part series

Reporter’s note: It seems any time I write a story about local history readers respond. The “Murder in the North Country” series that ran during October, 2015, generated several comments from readers about the series and some readers shared new information. I’ve summarized some of this information, just to give the stories a bit of new background on two of the murders.

Murder of Harry Tubbs, 1912

Frank McDaniels was quickly convicted of the murder of Harry Tubbs. The murder occurred in early July, 1912, and McDaniels was convicted the following fall after a short trial. The stated cause of the murder was a conflict over cutting hay on land that was still unclaimed at that time. Elvira Ballantine Tubbs, Harry’s wife, was a witness to the murder.

In a phone conversation with Duane Klindworth, who had written a story about the Tubb’s murder for a 2012 publication by the Big Flat Historical Society, Klindworth speculated that perhaps an underlying motive was the marriage of Harry Tubbs to Elvira Ballantine. McDaniels and Tubbs both arrived in the North Country, as bachelors and lived together out on the prairie. After Tubbs married, McDaniels had to live on his own. Klindworth wondered if there was some rancor between the two former roommates over Elvira and her marriage to Tubbs.

Just this year a retired Montana lawyer, named Eric Olson, wrote a second volume “Courting Truth: More Montana Courthouse Tales” about cases that went to trial in the state. In the section about Blaine County cases, Olson uses an apparition of Frank McDaniels to talk about the Tubbs case as well as several subsequent cases. The apparition of McDaniels is somewhat evasive about the reason for his shooting Tubbs, but suggests it might have had something to do with his own love interest in Elvira, who had married Tubbs.

The author asks McDaniels, “Why the murder?” McDaniels’ apparition responds, “Well, as I recall it was over Elvira.” Again the author asks, “Wasn’t Elvira married to Tubbs?” McDaniels answers, “Actually, maybe she was. And maybe that’s why I was upset.” Obviously this is all speculation on the author’s part, but there was some notion that the murder might not have been only about who had the right to cut unclaimed hay.

Nellie Obrecht, from Turner, brought in a family history about Elvira. The year after Tubbs’ murder she married James Ryan. They left the Big Flat area to homestead in the Brusett area, between Jordan, Montana and what would later become Fort Peck Lake. In a story about her early life written for her children and grandchildren, Elvira Tubbs Ryan wrote simply of her first marraige, “We moved to Harlem (from Woody Island) in Sept. 1909. Sarah (the Tubbs’ only child) was born there. Her Dad and another guy fought over hay. He was killed.”

Elvira died in 1988. She and James Ryan had an adventurous life and seven children together. A newspaper story, about her pioneering days, was included in the family history book. At the time the story was written she had 165 direct descendants, including 37 great-great grandchildren. Obrecht described Elvira as a very outgoing, happy and helpful person, returning often to the Harlem area to visit relatives and friends.

Murder of Joseph Benski and

Harry Salazar, 1952

Leah Noel, from Great Falls, left a phone message at the “Journal” office about a week after the last story in the series ran. In 1952 Joseph Benski and Harry Salazaar’s bodies were found in a culvert north of Harlem on the highway to Turner. Noel said she had read the Benski/Salazar murder story and wanted me to talk to Joseph Benki’s son, John. John Benski lives in Great Falls and is a retired mechanic. He told me he was seven years old when his father was murdered.

John Benski said, “I don’t really remember a lot of the details about my father’s murder. My family didn’t talk about it much. Most of what I know I heard from conversations among my adult family members. I never recall directly talking to anyone about my father’s murder.” John Benski added, “Until I saw the article I never really knew the name of my dad’s killer (George McIntyre, dubbed the ‘bar strongman,’ was convicted of the murder in 1953). I thought it was a guy with a Mexican name but saw in the story the Mexican guy was also a victim.” He said, “Mainly I remember my uncles going to retrieve my dad’s body in Harlem, bringing dad’s car back to Butte and sitting at the funeral home during the visitation before my dad’s funeral. That was about the extent of my memories of the event.”

Asked about how his family fared after his father’s murder, Benski said, “It was very hard. I was seven, I had a one year old brother and my mom had another baby boy in October after my father was killed. My mom couldn’t get any of my dad’s life insurance through the miners’ union because he wasn’t killed in the mine. She did get some Social Security benefits but it wasn’t enough. I started working when I was nine years old and worked until I retired. I’m 71 now.”

Benski said even though he didn’t know a lot about the details of the murder, he did have questions. One question was, “If they were going to Idaho to find work, why were they so far north on the Hi-Line?” Benski said when the Butte mines went on strike his dad often picked up the family and went to Idaho to find temporary work. He recalled going to Kellogg, Mullan and Wallace, Idaho several times when his dad was temporarily out of work in Butte. On a trip years later, with his own son, Benski recalled seeing a boarding house in Spokane that he recognized as a place his family had lived during the times his dad worked in Idaho.

Another mystery to John Benski was why the murderer was sentenced to life in prison but was paroled after 17 years. To Benski, “That just didn’t seem right.” Asked if he had any idea what happened to the murderer after he was paroled (to the Boston area) he said, “I never knew anything about the guy.” In writing the story I never could find what happened to McIntyre, who was convicted of Benski’s murder, though it was rumored he killed again. That is also speculation.

When Benski got out of the military he applied for a job driving a truck in one of the Butte mines. A company official told him, “We don’t hire young guys to drive trucks. We could put you underground, that’s where a lot of young guys got their start.” Benski told him, “That’s also where a lot of young guys died.” He never pursued a job in the mines again.

After 60+ years Benski said he is now more curious about the events that led to his dad’s murder. But he admitted, “There aren’t many people around who can give me any information that would help.”

Thanks to the readers who added more information to these stories. For readers who may have additional information, please share it. You can leave a message at 357-3573 for a call back.