MONTANA LEGENDS: Chas Hecker and Michael Wortham
CHAS HECKER
Two Cowboys sat down with a deck of cards on the Montana Countryside. As the story goes, it didn’t take long for their tempers to collide. Two shots were fired, both from the same gun. McMillan lay mortally wounded–Hecker was on the run.
Chas Hecker was his name, and he was twenty-one years old. He was baby faced with a tan and most of the time was covered in dust. Overalls a shade of blue that looked far from his Sunday best was his daily attire and as his Wanted Poster read, “Be sure if you spot him, get the Powell County Sheriff so he can make the arrest.”
At this point, Chas was known as the “Apple Pickin’ Killer” on the Upper Blackfoot River and across the Montana Countryside. You may ask yourself, ‘why?’
Well, while Hecker was on the run, he stopped for a few days under a grove of apple trees to rest and refuel. Little did he know that he’d been spotted and there would be no time to flee. The Lawmen finally pinned him from all sides, and he could not escape the Apple Orchard. Chas Hecker froze and was hauled in for questioning and eventually a trial where he was excused by a hung jury and let go.
The times weren’t so different back in 1911. Do you think he was guilty? Remember, “it’s not what you know. It’s what you can prove.” There was not a witness, although a few did see Hecker and McMillan go off together just an hour earlier. Not to mention, McMillan had passed by then and could not speak for himself.
However, in his final moments, he was able to able to utter two words that were audibly heard by at least one.
Sixteen-year-old Hal “Tiny” Timpton took the stand and quoted the dying man’s last words.
“Your Honor, I couldn’t hear him at first due to the blood gurgling in his throat, but he kept repeating the same sounds. After a few attempts, I was able to make out two words. He said, ‘Chas Hecker.’ I heard it. I swear I heard it.”
His testimony wasn’t enough, and Chas Hecker was free to leave. A frustrated Prosecuting Attorney, Albert Bein, knew the guilty man was walking free.
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MICHAEL WORTHAM
Tomorrow at 1:00PM in Ogden unbeaten Montana will take on Weber St. It’s not Cowpokes with .32 Calibers but stud athletes on the gridiron. The tempers might flare in a similar way that Hecker’s did back in 1911, but the violence it produces will be channeled into clean pad-popping football.
Senior Michael Wortham will be ready to light up the scoreboard once again. The 5’9 Wide receiver has already amassed over 1,000 All-Purpose Yards from passing, rushing, receiving, and his work in the return game. This young man does it all. Only up Michael.
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To bring it back to the twenty-one year old Chas Hecker, he was similar to the star man for the Montana Grizzlies in just about only one way. Chas Hecker was also 5’9.
“Is that a true story Sheriff?” Carla Jean
“Well, I won’t swear to every detail, but it’s true that it’s a story.” Sheriff Bell
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(8-0) Montana @ Weber St 1:00 on Espn+
GO GRIZZLIES!!
Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’
Whit W.