The Marquis de Mores, the man who founded Medora and attempted to build a large meat-packing empire centered in that community, was put on trial for murder in Dakota Territory.

There were three trials, and in each he was found not guilty. None of the trials determined who actually fired the shot that killed William Luffsey, and it was never proven who initiated the shootout that resulted in Luffsey's death.

The marquis was of titled French nobility and got involved in stock market investments in 1881. Through his investing he met an American girl, Medora von Hoffman, the daughter of a wealthy Wall Street banker who spent considerable time in France.

On Feb. 15, 1882, the marquis married Medora and, later that year, moved to New York to work in his father-in-law's bank. While studying the market, he reasoned a fortune could be made if cattle could be butchered on the open prairie and shipped in refrigerated railroad cars to markets out east.

Convinced by a cousin that the best site was in the Badlands of Dakota Territory, the marquis boarded a train in New York City and arrived at his destination on April 1, 1883.

With money from his father-in-law and Mandan banker C. Edgar Haupt, the marquis acquired land, cattle, and sheep and established the Northern Pacific Refrigerator Car Company. To maintain his large herd, he soon began to fence in much of his 9,000 acres.

Since many of the residents of the area were buffalo hunters, the barbed wire fence became a source of contention because it inhibited their free access over the open range. One of the hunters who was most vocal about the fence was Frank O'Donnell (some sources have him listed as O'Donald).

When the marquis' employees began to construct the fence, O'Donnell warned them that he would kill them if they continued, but the work proceeded. After some drinks on June 22, O'Donnell reportedly went out to cut the fence. When he snipped the barbed wire, it coiled around him, and, in a drunken stupor, he became entangled in it. Now, he was furious.

The next day, Eldridge Paddock, one of the marquis' employees, heard that O'Donnell was going to kill de Mores. Paddock relayed the information to the marquis, who went to Mandan on June 24 to seek advice from Mark Bateman, a justice of the peace.

Bateman advised him that in a matter of self-defense, he was allowed to shoot O'Donnell. The marquis also notified Mandan Deputy Sheriff Henry Harmon and received a warrant for the arrest of O'Donnell. Harmon and the marquis returned to Medora on the train, and plans were made that de Mores and his men would guard one of the trails between the railroad station and O'Donnell's cabin, and others would guard the remaining trail.

O'Donnell was waiting at the station with two other buffalo hunters, John Wannegan (aka Reuter) and William Riley Luffsey. However, de Mores got out of the railroad car on the opposite side of the station and was not seen by the hunters.

Harmon supposedly met the men and read his warrant but was told to "go to hell." He could not apprehend them because he was only armed with a pocket pistol, and the hunters went off in pursuit of the marquis.

When the hunters spotted de Mores and two of his employees, Dick Moore and Frank Miller, shots rang out. When the dust settled, one shot knocked the gun out of O'Donnell's hands and another went through his thigh, killing his horse. Luffsey's horse was shot from under him and he was shot and killed.

Harmon arrived and took the marquis, O'Donnell, and Wannegan back to Mandan to stand trial. The two hunters, unable to post bail, were placed in jail, while Haupt posted the $3,000 bond for the marquis.

On June 30, Bateman held a hearing and exonerated de Mores, Miller, and Moore and charged O'Donnell and Wannegan with manslaughter because they provoked the death of Luffsey.

On July 2, de Mores was handed a warrant for his arrest signed by Daniel Collins, Mandan's other justice of the peace. The marquis, Miller, and Moore were ordered to appear before Collins on July 6. Despite the testimony of a number of witnesses who claimed that O'Donnell had threatened to kill the marquis, O'Donnell testified that he never made such a claim.

After several days of deliberation, Collins ruled that it was "justifiable homicide" on the part of the marquis and his co-defendants.

On Aug. 22, 1885, de Mores, Miller, Moore, and Eldridge Paddock were indicted for murdering William Luffsey. Friends of Luffsey, most notably Joe Ferris, had the case reopened.

District Court Judge William F. Francis moved the trial to Bismarck.

The trial began on Sept. 14. At noon on Sept. 19, the case wrapped up and the jury was given its instructions. Ten minutes later, they brought in a verdict of "not guilty."

The Marquis de Mores remained in Medora one more year before his dream of a meat-packing empire collapsed. In 1887, he left America.

He was killed in an ambush on June 9, 1896, while leading an expedition across the Sahara Desert.

(Written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen. Reach the Eriksmoens by e-mail at cjeriksmoen@;cableone.net.)