W.W. Greer left his home in Kentucky for Montana. He settled on a small island on Medicine Lake, a few miles northeast of Culbertson. Here he built a small dugout.

Geer lived miles away from his nearest neighbor. He was a hermit who liked living alone; he could be friendly enough to let an occasional passerby stay the night during bad weather. Geer was given the name “Duck Man” when he started raising ducks.

The Duck Man was outside gathering firewood. It was February 1905, and a storm was coming. Duck Man heard dogs barking, and he turned to see who was coming. The lone rider was on a horse that Greer recognized as Bill Crohn’s, a rancher on the Muddy River. The young freckled-faced lad introduced himself as James Malcolm. Malcolm heard there were lots of coyotes around the lake, and he wanted to set up a camp and hunt them. Duck Man invited him into the dug out.

James Malcolm was new to the Culbertson area. Malcolm was 19 and lived with his father and two brothers. His mother was still in the East and hadn’t come out West yet. The family was poor and had very little material goods. Malcolm was slim built, with grey eyes, sandy complexion and round ears that stuck out from the sides of his head. Malcolm was called “poor white” because of his simple speech and the crude way he dressed. He usually worked at odd jobs and did a little trading.

Malcolm and Duck Man entered the dugout. Once inside Duck Man started accusing Malcolm of being a horse thief. Malcolm denied taking anything and claimed he had traded for the horse and the dogs. Duck Man continued to accuse and stare at Malcolm. Malcolm was feeling uneasy and was becoming a little terrified. He thought maybe he should be moving on to another place and spend the night. The Bowman’s ranch was only three miles away.

Not believing the young man, Duck Man reached over his wooden barrel and lifted out his shotgun, and started wiping it off with rags. Malcolm opened the door and started walking toward his horse. He glanced back and saw Duck Man standing at the door with the shotgun aimed at him. Without thinking, Malcolm turned around took aim and pulled the trigger. The Duck Man fell to his knees and said, “I’ll get you yet.” Malcolm fired another shot and the Duck Man fell dead.

Malcolm checked the Duck Man to make sure he was dead. He then dragged his body back into the dugout and placed the gun back into the barrel.

Malcolm rode to the Bowman’s ranch. He was fed dinner and slept on a soft bed. The Bowmans never suspected they were harboring a murderer. The next morning Malcolm road away on a horse which left unusual tracks.

The following day Mr. Bowman rode by the Duck Man’s place. The weather was cold, and Bowman thought he would stop to say hello and warm up. He hollered and no one came to the door. He almost decided to ride on, and then on a hunch he decided to go into the dugout. When he opened the door he saw Duck Man lying on his side. At first he thought Duck Man had fallen, when he went to help him get up Duck Man was stiff as a board. Bowman quickly rode to a neighbor’s house and got help; on the way he stopped the stagecoach driver to inform the officials at Culbertson.

The officers found the hound and unusual horse tracks leading from the dugout. The right front foot of the horse’s hoof was broken. The officers traced the tracks backward to the Smith’s place. The Smith’s informed them James Malcolm had been there the day before and was heading in the direction of the Duck Man’s place.

Malcolm was caught and arrested for stealing a horse, saddle and gun from the George Bolster’s ranch. He had taken the horse plus two rifles and traded them to William Crohn for a horse. That was the horse Duck Man thought Malcolm had stolen. Later Malcolm was charged with the murder of Duck Man.

Malcolm went to trial and claimed self-defense, but he had no proof. The jury felt sorry for Malcolm because he was so young, and they felt he didn’t realize the enormity of the offense he had committed. Malcolm was found guilty and charged with second-degree murder and sentenced to 99 years. Malcolm seemed relieved to have escaped the death penalty.

The court ordered the Duck Man’s place to be cleaned out and his personal items sold. No one knew much about the hermit. Two prominent citizens were put in charge of this job. In sorting through Duck Man’s things they found one surprise after another.

W. Greer, aka Duck Man, was highly educated. Diplomas from many prominent colleges and a degree of bachelor of arts were found. Then in the corner of the dugout they discovered a trap door that led to a hidden cellar. Lighting a lamp, they headed down the cellar and to their amazement found a complete set-up for making counterfeit money. They found some money in the process of being manufactured and enough raw materials to make $20,000. They also found addresses of relatives in Kentucky.

Twice a week the Duck Man would be out on the road waiting with a package to be expressed to Chicago, stated Louis Ator, the stage driver from Plentywood. The boxes were about the weight and size that money would fit in, exclaimed Ator.

The officials contacted Duck Man’s relatives and had his body sent to Bloomville, Ky.

Hearing all this, James Malcolm’s father got up a petition to have James freed. The petition claimed the Duck Man was afraid his counterfeiting scheme might be found out, and he pulled a gun on James. The court honored the petition. In September 1913, after serving eight years, James Malcolm was paroled.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Information compiled from Border Outlaws of Montana, North Dakota and Canada by Barbara Hegne.