Old Missoula

ON THE DOWN GRADE

A Tramp in Missoula with Millionaire Brothers in Chicago
One of the three tramps arrested last week for “rolling” Mohar, a Northern Pacific brakeman, was R. H. Mundy. His only apparel at the time of his arrest was an old undershirt and about two-thirds of a pair of drawers. He was one of the dirtiest looking tramps ever taken by the Missoula police.
Before Mundy came up for trial he requested Town Attorney Murry to telegraph his brother in Chicago, who, he said, was worth six millions of dollars. The fellow’s story was so plausible that the attorney sent the telegram as requested, and in a short time, unexpectedly, an answer was received from Chicago. Another telegram was soon after received from the tramp’s brother, requesting the town authorities to hold Mundy if possible until the arrival of Dr. Viets, of Chicago, as it was believed the tramp’s mind was unsettled.
Dr. Viets arrived Saturday morning. He is the chief physician of one of the leading railways centering in Chicago. By reference to the directory it is found that the Mundys of Chicago are very prominent people, both being attorneys and one being a prominent politician. The tramp Mundy who was arrested in Missoula came west two years ago with $18,000 in his pocket, bent on making his fortune. He was a bright fellow, but like a great many other promising young men who have come west, whisky and other evil influences overcame him and he continued on the down grade until he was arrested for rolling a poor brakeman in Missoula, and at the time of his arrest his sole possessions consisted of less than enough clothing to cover his body from the light.
Dr. Viets was formerly acquainted with Mundy, but when he met the fellow here he did not know him. On looking closely he recognized a peculiar movement in Mundy’s lips, but in other respects he would have never discovered any resemblance between the tramp Mundy of today and the same man of two years ago. The doctor had him cleaned up and clothes put on him, and, as the charge of rolling the brakeman was not sustained, he left Missoula in company with the doctor from Chicago.

The above article appears in “The Missoula County Times” newspaper on August 3, 1887.

Very likely the same fellow in the above article, R. H. Mundy, was a Butte, Montana resident a few months prior to being arrested in Missoula. An article in a Butte, Montana newspaper, “The Butte Weekly Miner,” on April 23, 1887, furnished a completely different picture of the same man who was the dirty looking “tramp” arrested in Missoula a few months earlier. The Butte article is quoted below:

Mysterious Disappearance.

Robert Mundy, who occupied a cabin in Dublin Gulch, has not been seen for over a week and his friends are quite apprehensive something serious has happened to him. He occupied the cabin on Tuesday night April 12th and has not been there since nor has he been heard from. All his clothes and papers are intact and the only article missing is his gun, which he evidently took with him. John Hodges and Frank Allen have been occupying the same cabin for the past year and they can assign no reason for Mr. Mundy’s sudden disappearance. They are surprised that he would go without saying something about his movements. He is a man of excellent habits, is not in debt, always paid his bill promptly and had recently purchased an interest in a lease of mining ground. Mr. Mundy came to Butte from the Coeur d’Alenes about three years ago, and during the past year has been a regular boarder at the Southern Hotel. Inquiry of Landlord Tewey developes the fact that he has not been there for a week and that his board bill is paid in full. He is highly connected and has a brother in Chicago who has an excellent reputation as a criminal lawyer. The missing man is about 5 feet 10 in height, weighs 185 pounds, is light complexioned has a light moustache and is 33 years old. He wore, when last seen, a light brown checkered coat and vest and derby hat. Any information concerning him will be thankfully received by his friends.

3 Years Earlier
Searching other early Montana newspapers revealed another interesting mention about R. H. Mundy approximately 3 years prior to his disappearance from Butte, Montana in 1887. It occurred in Butte’s “The Semi-Weekly Miner” newspaper on November 26, 1884. If the article was true and presented an authentic fact about Mr. Mundy’s behavior, it indicated that he was very violent man. That he would encounter future problems was not surprising. The article also mentioned Mundy’s fellow boarder, John Hodges:
“Martin Broderick appeared before Judge Wilcox yesterday and swore out a complaint against Robert Mundy and John Hodges, charging them with attempting to do him bodily harm, in support of which he exhibited his head, showing that he had been struck with a hammer or club. It was also stated that Mundy, after committing the assault, went and got an axe and threatened to kill him. The Judge placed Mundy under bail in the sum of $100 and Hodges for $30 for their appearance today at 2 o’clock.”
A later article from the same newspaper reported that the charges against Mundy and Hodges were dismissed.