Lester Eblen Stiles v. Fred Gove, of the Estate of Ethel Gove, Deceased

HAMLEY, Circuit Judge:

Tragedy struck suddenly on a pleasant August afternoon in Virginia City, Montana. Ethel Gove, fifty-two, and her two grandchildren, Barbara, three, and Carol, one and a half, had boarded the ancient stagecoach at its regular stop in front of the old Opera House. Seventeen other passengers were also aboard as the stagecoach headed easterly up Wallace Street. Lester Eblen Stiles, in the driver’s seat, held a tight rein on the four-horse team as the stage turned northerly and headed for the cemetery, known as “Boot Hill.”

Then, reentering Wallace Street at the village pump,…