GRAVE MARKER

1867

Gift of Wilbur Fisk Sanders

X1928.27.01

Some who came to Montana stayed whether they intended to or not. One such man was Irish-born immigrant Langford Peel (ca. 1831—1867). A gambler and gunslinger, Peel was known equally for his generosity toward those who had fallen on hard times and for his hair-trigger temper. In July 1867 Peel slapped his friend and business partner John Bull across the face (the exact cause of Peel's ire is unknown - some said it resulted from a card dispute; others attributed it to money wasted on a worthless mine). Bull retaliated by shooting, and fatally wounding, Peel outside of a Helena saloon. Despite the fact that the murdered gunslinger had been responsible for the death of more than eight men, he was beloved by his friends, one of whom commissioned this marker for his grave.