3/28/2011:
The Marquis de Mores is a well-known character in North Dakota. According to the stories, some curious, some true, and some legend, he led an exciting and diverse life, and contributed to the history of this state. His chateau overlooks Medora, the city he named for his young wife, and his meat packing plant is historic… in fact, J. W. Foley later wrote, ”There were as many myths written about the old packing plant as there were about Helen of Troy, Dido and Carthage or the foundation of Rome.”
Even the Marquis himself was legendary. When he died in 1896, he was described as “A dead shot, ignorant of the meaning of the word fear, an ex-cavalry officer who had seen the roughest kind of life in Africa… This man fought in twenty duels and killed most of his men. Personally there are few handsomer men than was Mores. He was five feet ten inches in height, of a lithe, graceful figure, full of strength and agility. His eyes were brown, his hair coal black and his skin bronzed by the sun of many climates.”
So, it is no surprise that such a man was held accountable for the death of Riley Luffsey in 1883. Luffsey was part of a group of roughs who had been shooting up the area. Word was sent to the Sheriff in Mandan, and he brought his posse out to take care of the problem. According to the story, the Marquis and some others were on their way to meet the sheriff at the train, when Luffsey and his crew attacked them. By the time the sheriff arrived, Luffsey was shot and killed.
The Marquis fought a first-degree murder charge for two years, and finally found not guilty by a jury in Burleigh County District Court. It was an unpopular decision, and certainly, as a man with his reputation, many did not believe in his innocence.
However, on this date in 1931, years after the Marquis’ death, the Bismarck Tribune published “proof” from Dickinson resident W. F. Reiche that the Marquis was innocent.
Reiche used to work for the marquis, and he said he was present when the bullet that killed Luffsey was extracted from his shoulder. The bullet was fired from a 45-75 gun. Reiche said the marquis had carried a 50-95 express, that day, and that the Dickinson Postmaster, William Lenneville, held that gun at his office, if anyone doubted Reiche’s words.
Luffsey and the Marquis are both dead…but the controversy lives on.
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
Bismarck Daily Tribune, Sunday, June 21, 1896
Bismarck Tribune, October 5, 1916
The Bismarck Tribune, Golden Jubilee Edition: August 15, 1939
The Bismarck Tribune, March 28, 1931, p1