Deputy Game Warden Charles Peyton
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks
Deputy Game Warden Charles Peyton was shot and killed while attempting to arrest two Native Americans for hunting without a license in the Seeley-Swan Valley.
He had gone out on a patrol of the valley and encountered a hunting camp where numerous deer were being cured. Upon speaking with a boy at the camp who spoke English, it was determined one of the men did not have a hunting license and that another had harvested more deer than his license allowed. Two of the parties were not at the camp, so Warden Peyton told them he would return in the morning.
As he and a deputized civilian returned to the camp, they discovered that the hunting party was packing up the camp. When he approached one of the men in the group they exchanged words and Warden Peyton attempted to explain that two of the men were under arrest for hunting violations. At some point shots were exchanged and Warden Peyton was fatally wounded. The deputized civilian returned fire, killing one of the subjects. Three other members of the hunting party were killed in the ensuing gun battle. Game Warden Peyton had served as a Montana game warden for two years. His wife, three children, mother, and sister survived him.
- End of Watch:
- October 18, 1908
- On the Force:
- 2 years
