Magruder and Beachey
Hilary Beachey is the hero of the story. He doggedly tracked down the men who murdered his best friend, Lloyd Magruder and others.
Photo courtesy of MUSEUM OF NORTH IDAHO
South of Coeur d’Alene is an off-road Idaho treasure, the “Magruder Corridor” (U.S. Forest Service: 1980). It is 109 miles long. There are 117 miles between the two nearest gas stations. Almost 60 miles is rated as “four-wheel drive required.” At mile 60 is a sign directing to the site where the grisly murders of Lloyd Magruder, Charles Allen, and Horace and Robert Chalmers occurred in 1863.
Lloyd Magruder was an early pioneer to Idaho. He was known as a hardworking, honest grocery store owner who was also involved in mining. He had saved 97 pounds of gold dust. In those days, gold was the only recognized legal tender. This amount of gold would be a fortune by anyone’s standard.
Magruder wanted to haul a large amount of commercial goods from Bannock, Mont., over the southern Nez Perce Trail to Lewiston, Idaho. To do so, he had assembled a large train of mules and horses to haul the wagons. He also hired nine men to manage the train and provide security. In the hiring process, the word got out that the goods being transported included a large amount of gold dust. The train started out for Lewiston 300 miles away Oct. 3.
Three of the hired hands, David Renton, George Christopher Lower(y) and James Romaine immediately began to plot how to steal the gold. The others, William Phillips, Charles Allen, Daniel Howard, William Page and two brothers, Horace and Robert Chalmers, became aware of the plot, but declined to join in the crime.
On Oct. 8, the train decided to camp in a meadow with a stream. (The site is now designated as “Mile Marker 44.2 Westbound” by the U.S. Forest Service.) Later that night, while checking on the mules, Lowery split Magruder’s head open with an ax. Next, the tent of the two brothers Chalmers was entered by Lowery and Renton and the brothers were also killed with axes. Renton then shot Allen to death with his gun. Romaine finished the killing spree by cutting up Phillips with his ax. Finally, came the mules, 80 of which were slaughtered. The gold was divided and each headed out in different directions.
The story would have ended there except for the dogged determination of Hilary Beachey, a Lewiston innkeeper, who was Magruder’s best friend. He knew in his heart that Magruder was dead. It would take Beachey over a year of travels throughout the Pacific Northwest and down into California to gather the evidence needed to bring his friend’s killers to justice.
After a trial in Lewiston, Lowery, Renton and Romain would be found guilty. Their hanging March 3, 1864, was a public execution attended by a large audience of men, women and children, plus many from the local Nez Perce Tribe. Their execution was the first legal hanging in Idaho.
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References:
Hamilton, Ladd: This Bloody Deed, The Magruder Incident: Washington University Press, Pullman, Washington, 1994.
Cuyle, Deborah: Murder & Mayhem in Coeur d’Alene and the Silver Valley. The History Press, Charleston SC, 2022
Errata: In the Feb. 9, 2024, Coeur d’Alene Press, Part 3 of my writing of Murray, Idaho, and “Molly b’Damn Days, a 3-day celebration of the history of Murray," I wrote the wrong month for the annual event. The correct month is August, with the days being the 17th, 18th and 19th. I apologize for my error and urge readers to attend this marvelous event.
